《Splitting the Heave》 CH 1 ¡°I heard that the chief has emerged from seclusion! Could he have entered the peak of his current stage?¡± ¡°What do you know?! Didn¡¯t you hear that the location where the chief entered seclusion was ravaged by lightning? He would be lucky if he didn¡¯t suffer from hidden injuries. It¡¯s no surprise that he¡¯s been forced out of seclusion¡­¡± ¡°Huh? Did the chief already reach the level of attracting heavenly tribulation?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ If he really managed to enter the Martial Extremity Realm, wouldn¡¯t that spell trouble?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just the first year and more than 70 percent of us are stuck in the Qi Gathering Realm. We can¡¯t even break through to the Martial Realm yet! What¡¯s the use of comparing ourselves to him¡­¡± ¡°...¡± As the leader of the freshmen batch in the Tongyou Institution, Shang Xia heard everything they said. However, a nonchalant expression hung on his face as he acted indifferent to their praises. His heart pounded in his chest as he maintained his calm. Everything happened too quickly. The last thing he saw was the flash of lightning. When he opened his eyes again, he noticed that his body was no longer the same as before. Moreover, he seemed to have been transported into a completely different world! It was a world where cultivators reigned supreme! Examining his newfound body, he noticed that he was clad in a long white robe, and there were silver runes swirling around his sleeves. An ancient white jade pendant hung around his waist and a small fan was held firmly in his hands. From the memories of the original owner of the body, Shang Xia realized that his identity was far from ordinary. The Shang Clan was a large clan in the You Continent, and their roots ran extremely deep. They were also ranked among the top 4 clans in the Tongyou City. Shang Xia also learned that his ancestor, Shang Bo, wasn¡¯t just the patriarch of the Shang Family. He was also one of the Martial Extermination Realm experts in the Tongyou Institution. Since the institution was created, Shang Bo was given a huge responsibility. Now, he was sitting comfortably in the position of the deputy patriarch. He was also one of the five strongest experts in the organization. As Shang Bo¡¯s only grandson, Shang Xia didn¡¯t just enjoy a high position in the Shang Clan. He was also doted on by his grandfather. To make matters worse for the current Shang Xia, he was a terrifying genius who managed to become the leader among the freshmen in just a single year. One had to know that the Tongyou Institution was one of the five largest factions located at the border region. Anyone who could enter had either terrifying identity, or extreme talent. Even so, Shang Xia managed to rise above the rest! ¡°What the f*ck is this?! With his background, talent, and desire to grow stronger, he should be the protagonist of the era¡­ Is there something wrong with him?!¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself. ¡°Humph, doesn¡¯t he just have a strong grandfather, If I was part of a strong clan and had the same backing as him, it won¡¯t be a problem for me to reach his level!¡± A snort rang in the air, and it silenced the disciples who were chatting among themselves. Turning around slowly, Shang Xia looked at the source. The disciple who spoke started to regret his decision immediately. He might have vented his frustration, but he was met with the mocking stares of everyone present. Realizing that there was no way out other than to stand his ground, he puffed his chest out and stared directly into Shang Xia¡¯s eyes. His decision proved to be wrong as a sharp pain stabbed into his eyes. ¡°Ah!¡± Screaming in pain, he retreated several steps as tears welled up in his eyes. ¡°He was injured with a mere gaze¡­ Could it be? Did he master the legendary ¡®Eye Art¡¯?¡± Those present sucked in a cold breath, but it soon turned into another round of praise. A chuckle left Shang Xia¡¯s lips as he waved his fan casually before his chest. He quickly stepped through the crowd as if the previous incident had nothing on him. Shang Xia knew that that only happened because it was because he failed to control his power perfectly. When the disciple jumped out to curse at him, his luck ran out as Shang Xia directed the uncontrollable energy his way. Taking several steps, Shang Xia finally realized that something was wrong. His actions and thoughts seemed to come too naturally! The confidence he felt and the air around him felt a little unnatural, but he managed to pull it off flawlessly. As it clicked in his mind, Shang Xiao finally realized that the original Shang Xia was too damn pretentious! It was no wonder he was struck by lightning! It seemed as though he had to learn how to be low-key from now on¡­ When Shang Xia was still evaluating the habits of the original owner of the body, another voice broke his train of thoughts. ¡°Shang Xia, one¡¯s background doesn¡¯t mean anything! We have a long way to go in the institution, and no one can be sure of the final victor!¡± This time, Shang Xia didn¡¯t bother turning around. He chuckled casually, ignoring the man¡¯s cries behind him. As soon as the words left the disciple¡¯s lips, he was met with a rain of abuse. ¡°Dou Zhong, did a screw come loose in your brain?!¡± ¡°Dou Zhong, you¡¯re at the late-phase of the Qi Gathering Realm! You might be hardworking, but you can¡¯t even see the gates of the Martial Realm! The chief seems to have broken through to the Martial Extremity Realm! Do you think you can close the gap by spewing some bullsh*t here?¡± ¡°Humph! You¡¯re trying to vie for the position of the chief?! Look at yourself in the mirror and learn your place!¡± ¡­ Shang Xia¡¯s heart trembled slightly. He realized something was wrong once again. Wasn¡¯t this situation one that would only happen to protagonists in the novels he read?! He might have affected Dou Zhong slightly with his gaze previously, but if things were to play out like the stories he read, Dou Zhong¡¯s potential would be ignited after the humiliation he received. He would receive help from those who pitied him, and he would use the help to grow stronger than Shang Bo! When that happened, the patriarch himself would retire and give Dou Zhong the position, making Dou Zhong the eventual winner! A wave of excitement filled his heart all of a sudden. Dou Zhong¡¯s counterattack? Challenging the protagonist of the entire storyline? Too damn exciting! Shang Xia discovered that there was much fun to be had in this new world¡­ As he approached the entrance of the institution, he saw a bearded young man in his twenties walking briskly towards himself. ¡°Young master, we¡¯re glad you¡¯re alright!¡± Rolling his eyes involuntarily, Shang Xia snapped the fan in his hands and sighed, ¡°It¡¯s just some tribulation lightning. I won¡¯t be affected by something so trivial.¡± It was an obvious lie. However, it was a lie no one other than himself knew! A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. ¡°However¡­¡± A frosty light flashed through his eyes all of a sudden. ¡°It seems like we have to investigate why the tribulation lightning was attracted!¡± The bearded young man growled, ¡°The young lady has already sent out countless experts to get to the bottom of the matter.¡± Nodding slightly, Shang Xia muttered, ¡°Let¡¯s hope it¡¯s an accident.¡± ¡°Young master, your appointment with Young Lady Mu is coming up¡­¡± A weird smile formed on the bearded man¡¯s face and his expression turned unnatural. ¡°Seventh uncle, there¡¯s no need for formalities between us. Just call me by my name!¡± ¡°Impossible! I have to follow the rules since I¡¯m part of the family!¡± The bearded young man sighed. Knowing that he wouldn¡¯t be able to change the way the bearded old man addressed him, Shang Xia gave up. Before he could react, the bearded young man, Yan Qi, grabbed two horses over and said, ¡°Young master, please. We can¡¯t be late!¡± Right before mounting the horse, Shang Xia seemed to have thought of something. ¡°Seventh uncle, get some men to investigate Dou Zhong. He¡¯s someone who entered the institution with me.¡± Yan Qi acknowledged the order immediately. ¡°That¡¯s easy! You will know everything about him!¡± ¡°Alright! Now that that¡¯s settled, I wonder what¡¯s up with her¡­ Is she trying to mess with her marriage?!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s thoughts turned to Young Lady Mu and he contemplated softly. Yan Qi¡¯s expression sank when he heard what Shang Xia said. Seeing the look on Yan Qi¡¯s face, Shang Xia laughed, ¡°What¡¯s wrong, did you hear some rumors out there or something?¡± ¡°Young Lady Mu and young master have been interacting more frequently recently and your actions have been noted down by some individuals. Even though you were only exchanging pointers with Young Lady Mu, it¡¯s difficult to avoid wagging tongues¡­¡± Yan Qi said softly. ¡°Haha! She¡¯s someone with a fiance¡­¡± Shang Xia knew that the original owner of his body had his eye on Young Lady Mu. However, that was mere infatuation! The original owner of the body was a seventeen year old kid at best! He might be a genius when it came to cultivation, but he hasn¡¯t matured yet! As the two of them went towards their destination, it didn¡¯t take long for them to arrive before an ordinary looking courtyard. It was too bad they weren¡¯t the only ones there. Getting off his horse, Shang Xia tossed the reins to Yan Qi before approaching them. ¡°Disciple greets Instructor Zhang, Teacher Liu, and Teacher Ma.¡± Instructor Zhang looked extremely refined and he had a long beard flowing down his face. He was one of the 24 instructors in the institution, and his name was Zhang Haogu. He was pretty well-known among the instructors in the institution, and he was a popular individual. From what Shang Xia understood, an instructor in the institution was like a teacher in high school. They were responsible for teaching a specific topic. As for Liu Zhifei and Ma Shaofeng, they were custodians responsible for managing parts of the institution. They were in charge of the first and second outer division respectively. They were comparable to teaching assistants in the modern world. Young Lady Mu, Mu Qingyu, was part of the outer division under Ma Shaofeng, and her fiance, Zhu Ying, was part of the outer division under Liu Zhifei. As for Shang Xia, he was part of the third division. The custodian accountable for his division was called Sun Haiwei, and she was an expert at the Martial Extremity Realm! ¡°Oh? I wonder what this little lass is up to now that she attracted the leader of the freshmen over¡­ Is she planning to make all of us her witness?¡± Zhang Haogu chuckled in amusement when he saw Shang Xia. It seemed as though the instructor wasn¡¯t as strict as they all thought. A bitter smile formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°I have no idea what is going on either. Shouldn¡¯t they invite all of you in for tea the moment you arrived?¡± Even without Shang Xia¡¯s reminder, the three of them were already prepared for some unexpected events to happen¡­ CH 2 ¡°Isn¡¯t Zhu Ying a disciple of the great Zhu Family?¡± Ma Shaofeng asked all of a sudden. He was clearly directing the question to Liu Zhifei, but from the look on Liu Zhifei¡¯s face and the lack of response, Ma Shaofeng seemed to have reached a conclusion. Instructor Zhang turned around all of a sudden, and the two custodians soon noticed the same thing. Shang Xia followed their gaze and noticed a pretty lady walking towards them. As if on cue, the entrance opened the moment Mu Qingyu arrived. A pale Zhu Ying appeared before them, and an old servant followed closely behind. Even though the couple was separated by several feet, their gaze met and Zhu Ying¡¯s originally pale face turned a little whiter. An uneasy expression also appeared on Mu Qingyu''s face, but she quickly regained her composure. ¡°Everyone, please¡­¡± Zhu Ying¡¯s voice was strained, and he turned to return to his courtyard without waiting for a reply. Seeing his expression, Zhang Haogu and the rest wouldn¡¯t bother with his lack of mannerisms. They followed him into the courtyard. After experiencing the matter with Dao Zhong previously, a bad premonition filled Shang Xia¡¯s heart the moment he entered. Luckily, he had nothing to do with the matter. From the looks of things, they were there to act as witnesses. Shang Xia made up his mind to not interfere with anything during the ceremony. Since he wasn¡¯t going to mess with anyone, he could take the time to familiarize himself with his strength! Hopefully, the situation with Dao Zhong wouldn¡¯t happen again. ¡°Senior brother Zhu¡­¡± Mu Qingyu was interrupted before she could finish her sentence. ¡°Are you going to break off the engagement?¡± Zhu Ying glared at Mu Qingyu and his eyes turned bloodshot. Shang Xia could even see his eyelids jumping violently. Taking a deep breath, Mu Qingyu explained, ¡°Senior Brother Zhu, the engagement was something decided by our fathers when they were half drunk. Moreover, we¡¯re adults now, we should make our own decisions¡­¡± ¡°What a joke¡­ Hahaha¡­¡± Zhu Ying¡¯s laughter echoed through the courtyard before grabbing a document from the table beside him, ¡°Is this letter of engagement a lie?!¡± A frown formed on Mu Qingyu¡¯s face. However, she sighed softly, ¡°Senior Brother Zhu¡­¡± ¡°I have one last question for you. If my clan still exists in the You Continent, will you still choose to break off the engagement?¡± Zhu Ying snapped. Mu Qingyu muttered, ¡°Senior Brother Zhu, there¡¯s no need for this. I didn¡¯t do this to latch on to a stronger power. It¡¯s just¡­¡± ¡°Hahaha! You¡¯re right! It¡¯s definitely not because of that!¡± As though he heard the most hilarious joke in the world, Zhu Ying threw his head backwards and roared with laughter. When he was done, he pointed at Shang Xia and growled, ¡°What¡¯s the relationship you share with him then?¡± ¡°What the f¡­ That¡¯s the reason behind my appearance!¡± Shang Xia thought to himself. ¡°I¡¯m the bad guy here!¡± He could tell that there was an amazing show ready to unfold, but he didn¡¯t realize that the ¡®culprit¡¯ behind the entire break up would be him! Feeling the gazes of the three seniors, Shang Xia could no longer remain silent. There was no way he was going to take the blame for that. Without giving Shang Xia a chance to explain himself, Mu Qingyu spoke first. ¡°This has nothing to do with Senior Brother Shang! Don¡¯t misunderstand the relationship between us! We merely cultivate together when we have free time!¡± Close to face palming himself, Shang Xia knew that the misunderstanding was only going to get worse after her dubious explanation. The more he looked at Mu Qingyu, the less pure she looked. The image of a scheming b*tch filled his mind. Indeed¡­ Zhu Ying, who was trying his best to remain calm, exploded with anger. ¡°Cultivate together in your free time?! Leader of the outer divisions?! Haha! Isn¡¯t it because of the Shang Clan behind him?! Humph! Who cares about the four great clans of the Tongyou City?! From what I remember, the You Continent only has five super families! They¡¯re the Zhu, Liu, Yun, Ji, and Murong Family! The Shang Family doesn¡¯t even come close! They¡¯re merely a bunch of monkeys!¡± No longer able to sit still after the insult to his family, Shang Xia got to his feet and growled, ¡°Martial Brother Zhu, what¡¯s the meaning of this?!¡± Zhang Haogu frowned slightly and he berated Zhu Ying immediately. ¡°Junior Zhu, you went too far!¡± Ma Shaofeng cut in before Zhang Haogu could continue, ¡°Zhu Ying, do you know what the hell you¡¯re talking about?!¡± Liu Zhifei murmured soon after. ¡°There¡¯s no need to bring up things of the past.¡± Glancing at Liu Zhifei, Shang Xia realized that the rumors of the Liu Family being close to the Zhu Family were true. From the looks of it, Liu Zhifei was planning to protect Zhu Ying. ¡°Great! All of you are clearly standing on his side! No wonder you were invited by her!¡± A defeated smile formed on Zhu Ying¡¯s face. The humiliation he faced made him lose his sanity. Looking coldly at Zhu Ying, Shang Xia didn¡¯t say anything else. Zhang Haogu sighed softly while shaking his head and an expression of rage could be seen on Ma Shaofeng¡¯s face. As for Liu Zhifei, he could only frown. ¡°You¡¯re not qualified to break the engagement!¡± Zhu Ying screamed as his face twisted with rage. He grabbed the letter of engagement and roared, ¡°All of you can be my witness since you¡¯re here. She went out to mess with another man before the marriage! I, Zhu Ying, refuse to take such a wanton woman as my wife! I hereby break the engagement!¡± As soon as he spoke, he ripped the letter of engagement to pieces. Tossing the scraps up in the air, pieces of paper scattered everywhere. Mu Qingyu stared at the scaps fluttering around, and she tried to keep her tears from streaming down her face. No longer able to suppress his emotions, Zhang Haogu turned to leave. ¡°What a farce. I¡¯m leaving!¡± Ma Shaofeng harrumphed before following behind Zhang Haogu. As Liu Zhifei got to his feet, he swallowed his initial thoughts before giving Zhu Ying some final words of advice. ¡°You should prepare to face the consequences of your actions.¡± Watching the three seniors taking their leave, Shang Xia was about to leave when he saw Mu Qingyu trembling silently where she stood. He decided to help her in case she collapsed from the blow Zhu Ying dealt. Taking a step forward, he asked, ¡°Young Lady Mu, are you alright?¡± ¡°Senior Brother Shang¡­¡± When Mu Qingyu¡¯s gaze fell on Shang Xia, it was as though she found her pillar of support. She grabbed his arm immediately. Unwilling to draw more trouble to himself, Shang Xia stopped her immediately. It was too bad he failed to control his strength at the crucial moment. Pure energy leaked out of his body towards a defenseless Mu Qingyu. Moaning once, she crumpled into his arms. As someone who was pretty much a playboy in his previous life, he knew exactly what happened. Unable to avoid her, a helpless smile formed on his face as he opened his arms wide. ¡­ ¡°What the f*ck do I do now?! I haven''t done anything yet¡­ ¡°Shang Xia¡­¡± A growl that contained the fury of a thousand suns came from Zhu Ying and he glared at Shang Xia with a gaze that could kill. He was humiliated when she tried to break off the engagement, but he experienced something ten times worse right after! The adulterous couple was showing off right in front of him! No one could endure such a huge provocation! ¡°You¡¯re going too far!¡± Zhu Ying leaped into the air as his palms started to glow red. Streams of energy flowed chaotically through his body as he struck out at Shang Xia. Right before his palm could land on Shang Xia¡¯s back, a figure appeared in mid air. With a casual swipe, he stopped Zhu Ying. His attack was nullified and Zhu Ying was sent stumbling backwards. Feeling a soft breeze beside him, Shang Xia saw Custodian Ma Shaofeng standing beside him. He glared at Zhu Ying who sneakily attacked Shang Xia. ¡°How dare you attack Shang Xia from behind?!¡± Zhang Haogu walked over with his arms clasped behind his back and he glanced at Shang Xia before turning to look at Zhu Ying. ¡°You were too rash!¡± Liu Zhifei sighed. ¡°I¡­ Alright! I was wrong! I apologize!¡± Zhu Ying sucked in a cold breath and he calmed down instantly. The red glow around his palm disappeared. Shang Xia was shocked to hear his apology. The caution in his heart towards Zhu Ying went up by several levels instantly. All of a sudden, Mu Qingyu¡¯s body left his side. Zhang Haogu held her sleeves and lightly pulled her away. When he did, her body rose slightly into the air and she drifted behind him. Shang Xia was stunned to discover that Instructor Zhang had already broken through to the Martial Intent Realm. He could finally relax his body and he straightened his back slowly, relieving him of his awkward posture. Shang Xia didn¡¯t leave immediately. Instead, he turned his attention to Mu Qingyu. He saw that her eyelids fluttered slightly, but in order to avoid the embarrassing situation, she continued to act unconscious. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Liu Zhifei and Ma Shaofeng stood between Zhu Ying and Shang Xia, preventing a brawl from happening. Seeing as it was about time for Zhang Haogu to place Mu Qingyu down in the chariot he came in, Shang Xia chose to take his leave. Right before he could step out of the courtyard, Zhu Ying¡¯s voice rang through the air. ¡°Chief Shang¡­¡± Shang Xia turned to look at the pitiful Zhu Ying, and he was met with a venomous gaze. ¡°The position of the leader of the outer division belongs to the strongest expert in all six outer divisions¡­ Shang Xia, do you really think that you¡¯re the strongest?!¡± ¡°Hehe, do you have anything to say about it?¡± Shang Xia chuckled. ¡°You might be pretty talented to reach the Martial Extremity Realm in your first year, but you only managed to gain the title because of your identity! Humph, don¡¯t forget, there are several seniors stronger than you!¡± Shang Xia looked at Zhu Ying from head to toe and muttered, ¡°Looks like Martial Brother Zhu is confident in your strength. Oh right, I forgot! You¡¯re not a freshman¡­ You¡¯re already in your second year..¡± ¡°Does it matter? In three days, the year will end. When that happens, you¡¯ll learn that the position of the leader of the outer division isn¡¯t yours to keep!¡± Zhu Ying sneered. Opening his fan slowly, Shang Xia grinned, ¡°Come at me.¡± ¡°Shang Xia, just you wait! The moment you enter the inner division, I¡¯ll give you a lesson you won¡¯t forget!¡± CH 3 The cultivators who entered the Tongyou Institution would be separated into different batches and nurtured differently! Those who entered would be considered freshmen, and nearly a third of them would be able to awaken their talent for cultivation to enter the Martial Realm! Those who entered the late stages of the Qi Gathering Realm would be eligible to enter the inner division in their second year. As for the remaining two thirds, half of them would be rejected from the institution due to their lack of ability to cultivate. The remaining half who had a little talent would be able to remain in the outer division as ¡®retainees¡¯. Naturally, they wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the inner division the moment they broke through to the late Qi Gathering Realm. They had to enter the Martial Realm in order to qualify! If they were unable to do so, they would be expelled from the institution at the end of their second year. Those expelled that way were able to use their identity as students who were once from the Tongyou Institution to introduce themselves to the outside world. As such, many disciples would work extremely hard to just remain in the institution for another year. Naturally, the end goal was to enter the inner division. None of the retainees would bother with the freshmen. All of them wanted to use their remaining time to advance! Since that was the case, the leader of the outer division became a mere title. It didn¡¯t signify the strongest disciple in the outer division. ¡­ After the incident in Zhu Ying¡¯s courtyard, all six divisions caught wind of it and chaos broke out among the student body. As one of the three main characters in the rumors that were going around, Shang Xia was relaxing under a tree. A pot of tea was steeping beside him, and he didn¡¯t seem to have a care in the world. When the entrance to his courtyard opened, Yan Qi¡¯s footsteps rang through the air. Waking up from his nap, Shang Xia asked, ¡°Are you done with the investigation?¡± ¡°Young master, there¡¯s something off about Zhu Ying!¡± Yan Qi¡¯s expression turned extremely solemn and he reported. Unfazed, Shang Xia seemed to have already expected something like that to happen. He gestured for Yan Qi to sit before pouring him a cup of tea. ¡°Tell me about it.¡± Downing the cup of tea in one gulp, Yan Qi explained, ¡°Zhu Ying is the only survivor of the great Zhu Family, but the resources he received were non-existent. He entered the outer division last year, and he failed to qualify for the inner division with his talent.¡± Shang Xia patiently waited for Yan Qi to get to the point. ¡°There was nothing weird about his strength initially, and he only managed to enter the late Blood Qi Forming Realm half a year ago. Things seemed to change all of a sudden and he managed to enter the Martial Realm in a single month after the short holiday given by the institution!¡± A look of interest appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he asked, ¡°Entering the Martial Realm in a month? That¡¯s interesting¡­¡± Yan Qi¡¯s expression sank once again. ¡°That¡¯s not all. According to students in his division, he managed to successfully cultivate the Scarlet Blood Palm by the time the evaluation started two months later.¡± ¡°Entering the Martial Realm in a month and learning the Scarlet Blood Palm in two¡­ Looks like his life was a mess before that!¡± Yan Qi sighed, ¡°According to Liu Zhifei, Zhu Ying managed to awaken his hidden potential!¡± ¡°Hehe¡­¡± ¡°Two months passed since he learned the Scarlet Blood Palm. He might have already learned another move! That might be the reason behind his desire to challenge you.¡± Yan Qi thought out loud. ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry. I won¡¯t let my guard down. Especially not against him.¡± Shang Xia smiled. ¡°Right, with your strength, there¡¯s not much to worry about.¡± Yan Qi tried to form the same smile as Shang Xia but failed miserably. Turning to look at Yan Qi, a mischievous glint appeared in Shang Xia¡¯s eye. ¡°Seventh Uncle, do you know how creepy you look? What you just said doesn¡¯t suit your brutish features at all¡­¡± With the corners of his lips twitching slightly, Yan Qi snapped, ¡®Young master, Liu Zhifei is someone from the Liu Family. When Zhu Ying entered the institution, the Liu Family¡¯s shadow seemed to be behind him. Do you think this has anything to do with them?¡± Thinking back to the crazed look on Zhu Ying¡¯s face, Shang Xia shook his head slowly. ¡°It¡¯s too obvious. The possibility is there, but the Liu Family isn¡¯t stupid enough to use such an obvious method.¡± Yan Qi nodded silently in response. Thinking deeper, Shang Xia realized another important point. Weren¡¯t there novels where the protagonist was born due to their broken engagement?! Was there an old grandpa living in Zhu Ying¡¯s mind or did he manage to obtain some weird ass treasure? One had to know that he met two experts with the glow of a protagonist since he arrived. To make matters worse, he was someone the two of them hated! Was he supposed to be the villain they stepped on in order to grow stronger?! Wouldn¡¯t that mean that his time left was limited?! The more he thought about it, the worse his mood became. ¡°Seventh Uncle, what about Dou Zhong? Did you manage to dig up anything on him?¡± ¡°He¡¯s just a wimpy brat. He managed to reach the late Qi Gathering Realm, and he¡¯s considered a little above average in the outer division. According to an instructor, he¡¯s extremely disciplined and determined. It¡¯s a little difficult to meet someone like him, but in the end, he¡¯s just a weakling. There¡¯s no need for young master to focus on him.¡± Disciplined?! Determined?! As long as he didn¡¯t die, he was destined for greatness! The only thing he needed was motivation to grow stronger¡­ Shang Xia frowned slightly and he muttered, ¡°Regardless, keep an eye on him. Take note of everything he plans to do.¡± Even though Yan Qi didn¡¯t know why Shang Xia was so interested in the kid, he acknowledged the order. ¡°What about Mu Qingyu? What is she up to now?¡± When he asked about her, his tone seemed to harden slightly. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t a fool. The current Shang Xia wasn¡¯t someone who would be blinded by her beauty. He didn¡¯t care if she invited him over intentionally, but it was true that she threw him under the bus. We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. As the person who started everything, she didn¡¯t even show her face after the incident. If not for the fact that she was just a little girl, Shang Xia would think that she planned everything out in order to frame him. ¡°She is currently cultivating. She might break through to the Martial Realm soon.¡± As Yan Qi stood at the entrance to Zhu Ying¡¯s courtyard, he didn¡¯t know anything that happened inside. ¡°Do you know the reason behind her actions?¡± Shang Xia asked again. After Zhu Ying ripped up the letter of engagement, he flew into a rampage. Mu Qingyu didn¡¯t reveal the reason behind her actions either, leaving all of them clueless. Rumors were even going around that Mu Qingyu broke off the engagement because of Shang Xia! A strange look formed on Yan Qi¡¯s face and he glanced at Shang Xia from the corner of his eye. ¡°Currently, all I know is that she doesn¡¯t wish to be bound by the engagement¡­¡± ¡°I have nothing to do with this! What¡¯s with your expression?!¡± Shang Xia snapped when he noticed the look he was getting. ¡­ On the 1st day of the 6th month 843rd year of the Divine Martial Calendar, the examination of the Tongyou Institution ended. According to the rules, they would be given 2 months of holiday. However, things were different that year due to a challenge made by a student in the first outer division for the position of the leader of the outer divisions. Everyone was looking forward to the match. ¡°How is it? Are you confident?¡± Sun Haiwei¡¯s impression of Shang Xia decreased tremendously since the incident, but since he was the most outstanding disciple of the third outer division, she couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°You should ask Zhu Ying that¡­¡± Shang Xia chuckled. A frown formed on Sun Haiwei¡¯s face and she muttered, ¡°You better not get careless. Zhu Ying is a second year student after all¡­¡± ¡°Just three days ago, you failed to break through¡­ You were definitely injured by the backlash¡­ In fact, I was planning to stop you from taking part in the battle today.¡± She continued. Shang Xia could hear the concern in her voice, but he smiled in response, ¡°Leave it to me. I know what to do.¡± Giving him a deep stare, Sun Haiwei mentioned, ¡°The higher ups of the institution aren¡¯t here these days. Take care of yourself!¡± After she left, Shang Xia fell deep into thought. All of a sudden, a loud roar came from the plaza outside. ¡°Leader of the outer division, Zhu Ying from the first outer division plans to challenge your position! Do you accept?¡± Staring towards the plaza, Shang Xia noticed that there were hundreds of students standing around. Zhu Ying wielded a short sword as he stood in the middle of the plaza. His glare clashed directly with Shang Xia¡¯s gaze. Ignoring the kid, Shang Xia looked at the three custodians who were present. Two of them were people he knew. Liu Zhifei of the first division and Sun Haiwei of the third division. The other was a middle aged man who had a distant look on his face, However, Shang Xia was shocked to discover his presence. The man came from the Protection Division, and he was a pretty impressive figure comparable to an instructor in the other divisions. ¡°Disciple greets teachers and Instructror Yuan!¡± Yuan Zilu, the expert from the Protection Division, shook his hand and muttered, ¡°There¡¯s no need for formalities. I was only invited here to be the judge of the competition.¡± Pausing for a second, Yuan Zilu asked, ¡°Zhu Ying of the first outer division challenges you to a battle. Do you accept the challenge?¡± Shang Xia was expressionless when he responded, ¡°I accept.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Turning to Zhu Ying, Yuan Zilu continued, ¡°Are you sure you wish to use weapons in the challenge?¡± Zhu Ying revealed a sinister smile as he waved the sword in his hand around. A frown formed on Yuan Zilu¡¯s face when he examined the weapon. ¡°Mid-grade weapon?¡± Commotion broke out in the plaza after his evaluation. One wouldn¡¯t even be able to find a low-grade weapon in the institution ordinarily, but now, Zhu Ying brought out a weapon one grade higher than that! ¡°Zhu Ying seems to be from one of the great families in the You Continent¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s no wonder he managed to bring such a weapon out. The family might be exterminated, but their inheritances remain!¡± ¡°Shang Xia is in deep trouble this time¡­¡± ¡°Heh, did you forget how he obtained his position as the leader of the outer division?¡± Yuan Zilu ignored the comments going around in the crowd and he turned to Shang Xia to request an answer. ¡°Do you accept the use of weapons?¡± ¡°It might not be a good idea to use weapons¡­¡± A look of hesitation appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. The plaza fell silent in an instant. It didn¡¯t take long for Zhu Ying¡¯s sneer to break the silence, ¡°Chief Shang, weren¡¯t you extremely pleased with yourself when you used your Ivory Fan to take your position? What¡¯s with the lack of confidence now?¡± Shang Xia revealed a conflicted expression, but with the looks of scorn he was given, he could only agree reluctantly. ¡°Alright then.¡± The Ivory Fan in his hand appeared and Yuan Zilu sighed, ¡°Shang Xia will be using a low-grade weapon. If you¡¯re ready, the battle can begin.¡± ¡°Wait. Instructor, you¡¯re not done yet.¡± Shang Xia smiled before handing over the jade pendant hanging around his waist. A weird light flashed in Yuan Zilu¡¯s eyes when he examined the pendant. ¡°You have a defensive talisman too?!¡± Zhu Ying, who was about to mock Shang Xia for his lack of treasures, swallowed his words immediately. The confident expression he had started to disappear. ¡°Hehe, he has a weapon for offense and a defensive talisman to protect himself from Martial Brother Zhu¡¯s attacks¡­ Looks like the mid-grade weapon isn¡¯t enough to give martial brother Zhu an advantage.¡± ¡°Their weapons are amazing! I haven¡¯t touched a low-grade weapon and they have so many of them!¡± ¡°What the f¡­¡± Looks of envy and jealousy were thrown their way, but the noise quickly stopped. Shang Xia brought yet another item! It was his belt. As the corner of Yuan Zilu¡¯s mouth twitched, he tapped the buckle on the belt and a sword emerged. ¡°Delicate Jade River Sword! It¡¯s a mid-grade weapon too!¡± ¡°Hiss¡­¡± Zhu Ying¡¯s face turned completely black. He didn¡¯t know if Shang Xia was showing off his wealth, but he felt as though a fly was caught in his throat. Other than the Ivory Fan that was known to the rest of the disciples, that was the first time he was revealing his secrets! No one would have thought that both treasures he brought out would be more precious than the low-grade Ivory Fan! Turning to look at Zhu Ying, Shang Xia shrugged nonchalantly, ¡°I told you it wasn¡¯t a good idea.¡± The corners of Zhu Ying¡¯s eyes twitched violently in response. Coughing lightly, Yuan Zilu decided to break the awkward air between them. ¡°It¡¯s just a friendly competition between fellow disciples. Let¡¯s not use any weapons.¡± A frown formed on Sun Haiwei¡¯s face as she looked at Shang Xia. Chuckling slightly, he handed over his treasures to her for safekeeping. After thinking about it for some time, Zhu Ying finally decided to hand his weapons over to Liu Zhifei. As silence filled the air, the look in everyone¡¯s eye changed when they looked at him again. CH 4 The number of people crowding around the plaza only increased as time passed. As there were 50 students in each class, there were a total of 300 disciples in the outer division. Since the semester had already ended, a third of the student population left, leaving only 200 of them back in the institution. Despite that, there were close to 300 spectators around the plaza. Many students in the inner division and upper divisions of the Tongyou Institution heard of the challenge, and they rushed over to catch the exchange. There were even several instructors in the crowd. ¡°Why is someone from the Protection Division here?¡± Many instructors frowned when they saw Yuan Zilu. ¡°Instructor Zhang was the one who requested for him to be here¡­¡± Someone revealed. A weird look appeared on the faces of those present. Guesses formed in their minds, but none of them dared to press the matter. Seeing as the two disciples had handed over their weapons and were preparing to start the battle, everyone started to back away slightly. As the judge, Yuan Zilu remained in the middle of the plaza. Noticing that everyone had left, he nodded his head and announced, ¡°Start!¡± He retreated as soon as he spoke, leaving the two challengers to face each other. ¡°Hehe, Chief Shang, I guess you¡¯ll be losing your title today.¡± Zhu Ying snorted and he circulated the energy in his body. A red glow surrounded his body, and it was certain that he had activated his Scarlet Blood Palm. Shang Xia chuckled in amusement when he noticed Zhu Ying¡¯s actions. ¡°If you still had your weapon, you''d actually be able to scare someone!¡± Unable to hide the sarcasm in his voice, the audience laughed at Zhu Ying¡¯s failure to intimidate Shang Xia with his mid-grade weapon. Zhu Ying¡¯s already red face turned a shade darker, and he roared with anger while charging at Shang Xia. As a streak of red light swirled about the surface of his palm, his opponent would feel as though they were facing a tsunami of blood when he attacked. The first move of the Scarlet Blood Palm, Towering Blood Wave! Shang Xia twisted his body slightly, avoiding Zhu Ying¡¯s attack. He returned the favor with a palm of his own, and the rumbling of lightning followed. The giant wave of blood crumbled. That was the third move of the Lightning Palm, Wild Lightning! Shang Xia displayed the martial art he comprehended and it clashed against Zhu Ying¡¯s Scarlet Blood Palm. In order for a cultivator to enter the Martial Realm from the Qi Forming Realm, they had to form their first strand of inner qi! That was the basis of the strength possessed by an expert at the Martial Realm! Unleashing their martial arts with inner qi allowed them to release an extraordinary amount of power! When Zhu Ying¡¯s Scarlet Blood Palm was destroyed by Shang Xia, he wasn¡¯t surprised at all. He didn¡¯t expect to defeat the leader of the outer division with a single move after all. He faced the lightning palm flying towards him seriously. Right before it could crash into him, he punched out with all his might, forming over a dozen shadow fists. It sealed off all possible routes of retreat for Shang Xia. ¡°Is this all you got?¡± Shang Xia also released several shadow fists in mid air, and they accurately crashed into those sent by Zhu Ying. When the fists came into contact with each other, a loud explosion rang through the skies. The battle raged on as they displayed their respective martial arts to the best of their abilities. Zhu Ying¡¯s Scarlet Blood Palm required fine control over one¡¯s strength, and it boasted power above all else. Shang Xia¡¯s Wild Lightning prioritized speed, and the two of them were on the opposite ends of the technique spectrum. The two of them exchanged blows endlessly, and the shockwaves of the battle started to spread. Yuan Zilu, who had been watching the competition, started to release his energy alongside Liu Zhifei and Sun Haiwei, stopping the shockwaves from doing additional damage to the spectators. Even so, the battle was shocking enough to cause those standing around to suck in a cold breath. The battle between the two ignited the fighting spirit in the hearts of those present, and many of them swore to cultivate diligently in order to enter the Martial Realm. In the blink of an eye, they exchanged more than ten moves. Their figures flashed around the plaza in a frenzy. Ordinary disciples were no longer able to keep up with their movements. The expressions of those from the inner division weren¡¯t too good either. They could tell that Zhu Ying and Shang Xia possessed strength that could place them in the upper middle portion of the power pyramid in the inner division. The instructors and custodians watching the battle couldn¡¯t help but nod their head silently. ¡°The amount of inner qi they have is pretty impressive¡­¡± One of the professors clad in blue robes leaned over to speak to Zhang Haogu. Zhang Haogu¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t leave the two as he replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need to evaluate them now¡­. Their battle is far from over. You can¡¯t imagine how talented they really are.¡± The blue robed professor smiled, ¡°Looks like the two of them are still hiding their true strength¡­ Hahaha, this is really interesting!¡± From the looks of things, the professor¡¯s position in the institution wasn¡¯t any lower than Zhang Haogu! A blast came from the plaza where the two were fighting, and the situation changed. Seeing as none of them could gain the upper hand, they decided to change their approach. Zhu Ying extended a single finger, and a ray of blood red light pierced through Shang Xia¡¯s shadow palm. It shot towards Shang Xia¡¯s face without any intention of stopping! The ray of light left behind a trail of fire that burned in the air. ¡°Burning Blood Finger!¡± The yell came from the inner disciples in the crowd. When the outer disciples heard the name of the martial art Zhu Ying used, a look of confusion formed on their faces. In stark contrast to the shock the students received, the faces of the custodians and instructors turned serious. ¡°Did he also manage to comprehend the Burning Blood Finger? This¡­ This batch of outer division disciples never ceases to surprise me!¡± ¡°Using two different techniques¡­ That can only mean that his inner qi has reached the large completion stage! He¡¯ll be able to enter the Martial Extremity Realm soon!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t there some sort of connection between the Scarlet Blood Palm and the Burning Blood Finger?¡± ¡°Great! This is great!¡± The flames burning in the air seemed to stifle the hearts of the spectators present. Facing the blood red ray, Shang Xia chose to meet it head on. His arm slowed down and he exhaled once. He sent out a single palm to stop the attack. The moment he did, a terrifying aura descended. Everyone who hadn¡¯t entered the Martial Realm felt a massive weight pressing down on their chest and it became hard to breathe. The blood red ray scattered in the wind the moment it came into contact with the fluctuations produced by the palm. ¡°Chaos Essence Palm!¡± After shaking off the oppressive feeling, several inner disciples yelled out the name of Shang Xia¡¯s attack. Facing Zhu Ying¡¯s relentless offensive, the leader of the outer division also revealed his second technique! Different from the speed possessed by his earlier technique, the Chaos Essence Palm focused on complete oppression. There was no way to dodge the attack and Zhu Ying could only meet it head-on. ¡°The Chaos Essence Palm requires a huge amount of inner qi! Anyone who manages to master the move has a terrifying amount of it!¡± Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. ¡°Looks like the leader of the outer division managed to reach a high level in his cultivation¡­¡± ¡°Without actual strength, one wouldn¡¯t be able to take up the title no matter how strong his background is! Looks like they underestimated him¡­¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t they say that he failed to break through to the Martial Extremity Realm?¡± As discussion broke out among the disciples, a sour taste was left in the mouths of many. ¡°Wait a minute¡­ Wasn¡¯t Zhu Ying¡¯s performance in his first year mediocre? How did he improve so quickly in his second year?¡± ¡°Hasn¡¯t there been rumors about him being from the exterminated great Zhu Family? He might have inherited something from them before they fell.¡± ¡°Hehe, one of them is a disciple from the fallen Zhu Family. The other is a core disciple of the four great clans in our Tongyou City. Looks like the battle between the new generation and old generation is getting pretty interesting!¡± ¡°Shut up! Hurry and look, the situation changed again!¡± Zhu Ying¡¯s techniques were indeed connected. As he used them in unison, they managed to create a lot of trouble for Shang Xia. Regardless, they were only slightly more troublesome for Shang Xia to deal with. Even though his Wild Lightning and Chaos Essence Palm might not be as flashy as Zhu Ying¡¯s martial arts, he used them flawlessly. Zhu Ying failed to find any weakness! It didn¡¯t take long for them to fight to a stalemate. It went without saying that an end like that was extremely detrimental for Zhu Ying! No matter how great Zhu Ying¡¯s performance was, it only served to accentuate the improvement Shang Xia made! The battle also managed to show off Shang Xia¡¯s accumulation in the Martial Realm! His usage of the Chaos Essence Palm was enough to prove that point! As such, the longer the battle dragged out, the worse things would get for Zhu Ying. He might even lose his ability to battle before Shang Xia ran out of energy. Igniting the last bit of energy he had, Zhu Ying¡¯s attacks became even more violent. ¡°Who would have thought that a battle between two outer disciples will put most of our inner disciples to shame¡­¡± Zhang Haogu sighed. ¡°If he only cultivated the Scarlet Blood Palm, it might not mean anything. However, the Burning Blood Finger is an inheritance technique from the Zhu Family! Hehe, can you see the shadow of them from the way the kid fights?¡± Jia Yuntian, the professor in blue robes, seemed to be extremely interested in Zhu Ying¡¯s technique. As the words left his lips, Zhang Haogu¡¯s eyes went wide when he saw what happened in the plaza. With his brows furrowing together, Jia Yuntian turned to look at the two, and a roar thundered in his ears. ¡°Shang Xia, you forced me to do this!¡± Crushing a jade rune in his hand, the aura Zhu Ying released grew stronger once again. ¡°Today, I¡¯ll drag you down from your high pedestal! I¡¯ll return the humiliation you made me feel ten times over!¡± Zhu Ying screamed as the blood red glow around his body increased in intensity. From afar, he looked like his body was on fire! ¡°Martial¡­ Martial Extremity Realm!¡± The inner disciples in the crowd yelled in unison. CH 5 ¡°Martial Extremity Realm¡­¡± Along with their cries of surprise, Zhu Ying¡¯s aura reached the strongest it had ever been. At long last, he revealed his true cultivation level to the world. That was a cultivation level required for disciples of the Tongyou Institution to enter the upper division! It was the cultivation level required to be a custodian of one of the six outer divisions! As it turned out, that was how strong Liu Zhifei and Sun Haiwei were! Now, a mere outer disciple had a cultivation level at the Martial Extremity Realm! ¡°Heh? Looks like he even managed to hide his cultivation level from me!¡± Jia Yuntian raised an eyebrow in surprise. The look on Zhang Haogu¡¯s face turned solemn and no one knew what he was thinking. Another person in the crowd whose expression was dark was Liu Zhifei. He didn¡¯t know anything about Zhu Ying¡¯s improvement. From what it seemed, Zhu Ying had already left his control. A worried look could be seen on Sun Haiwei¡¯s face when she looked at Shang Xia. ¡°Crap! His position as the leader of the outer division is in trouble!¡± ¡°Martial Realm and Martial Extremity Realm¡­ This is the difference between the two of them!¡± ¡°Hehehe, looks like the wastrel is going to change his fate. He¡¯ll crush the chosen one under his feet, regaining all the glory he lost! If Mu Qingyu could see this, I wonder what she¡¯ll think!¡± ¡°I heard that the chief went over to Zhu Ying¡¯s courtyard with Mu Qingyu to break off the engagement¡­ He really went overboard this time.¡± ¡°No one can endure such humiliation¡­¡± ¡°Hehehe, looks like all these dumbasses are mocking Shang Xia because of Zhu Ying¡¯s revelation¡­¡± ¡°Fuck off!¡± Zhu Ying¡¯s performance was too dazzling. Even Shang Xia was taken aback. ¡°So this is what you were relying on. You managed to increase your cultivation in six short months! How did you do it?¡± Shang Xia gasped. ¡°Haha! You¡¯ll know when I crush you under my feet!¡± Zhu Ying revealed a sinister smile and he directed the flames in the air to surround Shang Xia. Not only did he wish to defeat Shang Xia to obtain the title of the leader among the outer division, he also wished to embarrass Shang Xia! He would return the shame he felt a hundredfold! He even fantasized about the panicked expression Shang Xia would have in a bit. However, a faint chuckle left Shang Xia¡¯s lips as he stared at the flames burning around him nonchalantly. ¡°Is this it?¡± Slightly surprised by Shang Xia¡¯s attitude, Zhu Ying found his heart going cold. After considering the difference between their cultivation level, a sneer formed on his face. ¡°What are you playing at? I¡¯ll crush you today and make you a joke of the institution!¡± As soon as he spoke, the flame charged towards Shang Xia in one unstoppable motion. ¡°This is a rank two fire qi! Wouldn¡¯t that mean that he can only be countered by a rank two water or ice qi?¡± As the disciples in the upper division chatted among themselves, the disciples from the outer and inner division perked their ears up, afraid to miss a word. Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. Ordinarily, the institution wouldn¡¯t pass down knowledge that was far above one¡¯s level as it was detrimental to one¡¯s growth. At the edges of the plaza, Liu Zhifei and Sun Haiwei were ready to leap into action at any moment. However, Yuan Zilu, the judge of the competition, remained silently at his post. Despite not moving, a bright light flashed in his eyes. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± After the flames engulfed Shang Xia, a sigh came from within the sea of fire. ¡°Martial Brother Zhu, I was really looking forward to our battle. Who would have thought that you would enter the Martial Extremity Realm without caring about your foundations? I¡¯m really disappointed in you¡­¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you a stubborn fool?! How can you remain so cocky even at the brink of death? Did you get your position as the leader of the outer division by bragging?!¡± Zhu Ying snarled. Looking at the ball of flames burning in the middle of the plaza, discussion broke out in the crowd. ¡°Did you hear that?! Did Chief Shang say that he was disappointed in him?¡± ¡°Humph! Zhu Ying is at the Martial Extremity Realm, and he¡¯s not even close! What gives him the right to say something like that?¡± ¡°Haha! He¡¯s definitely trying to keep his image before losing miserably to Martial Brother Zhu.¡± A chuckle rang through the skies, and Shang Xia¡¯s voice rang in the minds of everyone present. ¡°Alright. Since you can¡¯t see your mistakes, my kind self will enlighten you.¡± Zhu Ying¡¯s flames was currently burning intensely, but it seemed as though he was unable to obtain victory even after some time. Yuan Zilu didn¡¯t seem to have any intentions of stopping the battle either, and a feeling of unease crept up his heart. In complete denial, Zhu Ying refused to believe that he could ever be defeated by Shang Xia, whose cultivation was much lower than himself. Supplying even more inner qi into the flames, he tried his best to push for victory. ¡°You¡¯re thinking too highly of yourself!¡± Zhu Ying growled in anger when he saw that Shang Xia wasn¡¯t admitting defeat. ¡°With your shaky foundations, you¡¯re mere garbage in front of me.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s voice sounded in the air once again. As soon as he spoke, rays of blinding light emerged from the ball of flames. The sound of buzzing echoed in the ears of everyone present. A bolt of lightning shot into the skies, tearing the ball of flames in half. ¡°This¡­¡± Zhu Ying¡¯s eyes widened in shock. He couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. Before he could say a word, searing pain ripped through his body as bolts of lightning slammed into him. He soared through the air and crashed into the ground behind. As the flames burning in the plaza subsided, Shang Xia emerged completely unscathed. Those standing around felt question marks popping up in their mind. What just happened?! They couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation was clearly much lower than Zhu Ying, but he was able to turn the situation around with a single strike! The students in the outer division gasped in fright, but those who knew better had solemn expressions on their faces. The instructors, custodians, and disciples from the upper division fell deep into thought. When everyone was staring at him, Shang Xia¡¯s gaze turned to look at Yuan Zilu who had finally made his move. The instructor leaped into action the moment he sent Zhu Ying flying. Appearing beside Zhu Ying, Yuan Zilu pressed his palm down on Zhu Ying¡¯s chest as the sparks caused by the lightning bolt faded. Zhu Ying twitched about on the ground, while Yuan Zilu felt a tingle traveling through his body. The ground under his feet cracked all of a sudden as the excess energy passed through him, and he stared at Shang Xia with a strange gaze. ¡°This isn¡¯t possible¡­ How¡­ How did you win?!¡± Zhu Ying growled as he got to his feet unsteadily. He ignored Yuan Zilu who saved him, and he glared at Shang Xia angrily. Finally realizing that Yuan Zilu was standing silently beside him, he turned and asked, ¡°Instructor, please make a fair decision!¡± With his cultivation being higher than Shang Xia, he thought that there was only one way for Shang Xia to do what he just did, and that was to cheat! Without even looking at Zhu Ying, Yuan Zilu¡¯s voice boomed through the air, ¡°Shang Xia is the winner of this battle!¡± ¡°Impossible!¡± Zhu Ying¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot and he sneered, ¡°His cultivation is only at the Martial Realm, while I¡¯ve reached the Martial Extremity Realm!¡± Without an explanation from Yuan Zilu, Zhu Ying pointed at him and sneered, ¡°Hahaha, all of you are conspiring against me! Is the Protection Division also going to bow before Shang Bo¡¯s power?¡± Yuan Zilu¡¯s expression sank immediately and a snort thundered in Zhu Ying¡¯s ear. However, Shang Xia interrupted him before he could say anything. ¡°Martial Brother Zhu, it¡¯s not embarrassing to lose. It¡¯s another thing if you don¡¯t know where you went wrong. However, covering up your weakness with an excuse is unacceptable! You¡¯re a disgrace to the Tongyou Institution.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Zhu Ying felt a sickly sweet taste in his mouth after hearing Shang Xia¡¯s remark. ¡°Everyone said that you were trying to break through to the Martial Extremity Realm during your previous seclusion. Who would have thought that you were training your martial intent. Seems like you made some progress in it.¡± Yuan Zilu said all of a sudden, and there was a look of appreciation in his eyes. He no longer bothered with the sore loser, Zhu Ying. ¡°Instructor, I merely lucked out.¡± Shang Xia smiled humbly. With a strange smile on his face, Yuan Zilu¡¯s tone changed to one of seriousness when he addressed the crowd. ¡°There is no such thing as luck in your journey of cultivation! Your fate depends on the foundation you form! Techniques are part of the dao and intent is the road to the peak! In order for him to produce the slightest trace of intent, his inner qi has to be fully converted.¡± Finally glancing at Zhu Ying, Yuan Zilu muttered, ¡°You lost fair and square.¡± Along with his explanation, those standing around finally erupted. ¡°Martial intent! Is this the legendary martial intent?¡± ¡°So the chief wasn¡¯t planning to break through to the Martial Extremity Realm. He was trying to comprehend martial intent and it was no wonder he was struck by lightning! Hiss¡­ Will we actually attract lightning punishment when comprehending martial intent?!¡± ¡°What a shame¡­ Martial Brother Zhu¡¯s fiancee was stolen, and he was defeated by the person who did it!¡± ¡°As it turns out, Chief Shang might not be the person responsible for Mu Qingyu¡¯s refusal to marry Zhu Ying¡­¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so before?!¡± ¡°...¡± As chaos broke out in the crowd, jeers and looks of pity were thrown Zhu Ying¡¯s way. ¡°It¡¯s over¡­ Everything is over¡­¡± As Zhu Ying looked at Shang Xia¡¯s lofty figure slowly walking further away, his gaze turned hazy and a final surge of anger filled his heart. ¡°You¡­¡± Before he could complete his sentence, he spat out a mouthful of blood before fainting. Hearing the thud behind him, Shang Xia turned around only to see Zhu Ying''s body lying motionlessly on the ground. He shook his head slowly before walking away. Forming one¡¯s first trace of inner qi was the sign of breaking through to the Martial Realm. When a cultivator truly becomes a Martial Realm expert, they will face two serious problems. One would be to increase the amount of inner qi they had. The other was to improve its quality. In order to solve the second problem, cultivators would practice cultivation arts in order to refine their inner qi. When Shang Xia entered the Martial Realm, the cultivation art he learned was the Chaos Essence Manual. The Chaos Essence Palm and Lightning Palm were the techniques he trained in to complement his cultivation art. Due to the way he trained, the martial intent he comprehended was called the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm! From its name, one could tell how impressive it was! It was just too damn cool! CH 6 After the outcome of the battle was announced, Shang Xia sauntered out of the plaza. Even though the challenge was over, the effects it brought about were far from it. It didn¡¯t take a genius to realize that trouble would befall him now that he had revealed his martial intent. Because of that, he left the institution as soon as he could. It was too bad two figures stood in his way, and they seemed to have been waiting for him for quite some time. ¡°Where¡¯s the leader of the outer division going?¡± Zhang Haogu stared at Shang Xia with a sly expression on his face, and there was a mischievous glint in his eyes. Knowing that there was no escaping, Shang Xia forced a smile. ¡°This disciple greets Instructor Zhang and fellow instructor.¡± Pointing at the man beside him, Zhang Haogu continued, ¡°This is Jia Yuntian, a deacon from the Scripture Depository.¡± A flash of surprise crossed Shang Xia¡¯s face. A deacon in the Scripture Depository enjoyed near supreme status in the institution. He quickly changed his greeting. ¡°Disciple greets Deacon Jia.¡± Waving his hand, Jia Yuntian snorted, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the formalities. I¡¯ll get straight to the point. How did you manage to comprehend your Chaos Essence Lightning Palm? Is there a way for you to record your technique in the Scripture Depository?¡± A look of confusion could be seen on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he turned to look at Zhang Haogu. ¡°It¡¯s not the first time someone comprehended the same martial intent as you. The last time anyone comprehended the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm was more than three hundred years ago. It¡¯s said that it came from a mystical art that originated thousands of years ago, the Lightning Core Palm. The technique was passed down from a Martial Warrior!¡± Zhang Haogu explained. That was the first time Shang Xia heard anything about the source of his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm, and he didn¡¯t even know what a Martial Warrior was. Shang Xia could only stare at the two of them in stunned silence. Was he wrong?! Didn¡¯t he transmigrate into a high level cultivation world?! Without giving him any time to think, Jia Yuntian snorted to bring him back to reality. ¡°Humph. The Martial Warriors that existed in the past were nothing but bugs!¡± Zhang Haogu sighed, ¡°No matter what, they paved the way for us.¡± Nodding seriously, Jia Yuntian sighed, ¡°That¡¯s right. Everything we know today is because of everyone¡¯s efforts.¡± Not wanting to continue on the topic, Zhang Haogu turned to Shang Xia. ¡°Even though the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm was conceived from the Lightning Core Palm, the first person who managed to comprehend it only managed to do so after a hundred years.¡± ¡°Is comprehending the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm so difficult?¡± Shang Xia gasped. ¡°It¡¯s not easy for anyone to comprehend any martial intent. Without talent, comprehension ability, fate, and determination, one will never be able to do so!¡± Jia Yuntian sighed. ¡°Oh.¡± Shang Xia nodded, but a smug expression soon formed on his face. ¡°This disciple understands what teacher is saying. Even though every martial intent in the world is difficult to comprehend, the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm is much harder than the rest!¡± Luckily for Shang Xia, Zhang Haogu¡¯s temper was extremely mild. Even so, the corners of his mouth started to twitch violently. Afraid that he would beat Shang Xia¡¯s face in if he were to continue bragging, Zhang Haogu ignored his comment completely. ¡°There were only seven people who managed to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm in the past hundreds of years. More than ten times that number died because of the dangers it posed. As for those who chose to give up on the technique after realizing how dangerous it was, let¡¯s not go into details¡­¡± No one knew if Shang Xia was asking for a beating, but the grin on his face only became wider after hearing what Zhang Haogu said. Waving the fan in his hand, he continued, ¡°Since there are so many deaths, it only proves how difficult it is to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. However, the might of it is clear for all to see. It¡¯s no wonder so many people refuse to give up on it.¡± Sucking in a cold breath, Jia Yuntian nearly failed to contain his emotions. He tilted his head upwards to look at the sky, not wanting to stare at Shang Xia¡¯s haughty expression a second longer. Coughing lightly, Zhang Haogu forced himself to calm down and he explained, ¡°Our Tongyou Institution was created less than 20 years ago, and there were 5 students who tried to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. Out of the first four, one of them died, one of them was seriously injured. Another was slightly injured, and the last gave up. You¡¯re the fifth, and you¡¯re the only one who managed to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm.¡± Chuckling ¡®awkwardly¡¯, Shang Xia responded, ¡°It was all luck¡­¡± Completely done with the little brat¡¯s attitude, Jia Yuntian roared, ¡°If you manage to properly document the entire process of your cultivation of the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm, we¡¯ll report this to the institution and they¡¯ll give you a massive reward! Stop with this shitty act of yours!¡± A frown instantly formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face when he understood Jia Yuntian¡¯s intention. He hesitated, ¡°It¡¯s my honor to contribute to the institution, but I lucked out when cultivating, allowing me to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. I believe you have heard of the incident where I was struck by lightning during my seclusion¡­¡± A disappointed expression flashed across Jia Yuntian¡¯s face. A soft sigh left Zhang Haogu¡¯s lips. ¡°The lower the cultivation, the more difficult it is to try to comprehend a suitable martial intent. One has to know, if you manage to record your experiences, your contributions will benefit the institution eternally. If Shang Shanchang were to hear of it, he¡¯ll definitely be extremely grateful¡­¡± ¡°Stop, stop, stop!¡± Shang Xia slapped the fan against his chest and a bitter smile emerged. ¡°I¡¯ll arrange my thoughts and try to come up with something! I¡¯ll give you an answer in three days, but I have no idea if I¡¯ll be able to remember anything substantial!¡± Shang Xia left soon after. Looking at his leaving figure, a frown could be seen on Jia Yuntian¡¯s face. ¡°What a slick brat! He¡¯s completely different from his ancestor!¡± ¡°As long as he helps the institution out by sharing his experiences, it doesn¡¯t matter if we give him some extra benefits¡­¡± Zhang Haogu muttered. Glancing at his old friend, Jia Yuntian thought that he was hearing things. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that rumors will go about saying that you¡¯re trying to suck up to Shang Bo?¡± ¡°What a joke. When have I, Zhang Haogu, ever been one to care about rumors?¡± A chuckle left his lips. However, his tone changed immediately after. ¡°I¡¯m afraid this brat doesn¡¯t realize how important it is to comprehend a martial intent. He¡¯ll be running into a lot of trouble soon¡­ It won¡¯t be easy for him to leave the institution anymore.¡± ¡°This¡­¡± ¡­ When Shang Xia ran into yet another person standing in his way, he discovered that things weren¡¯t as they seemed. His expression changed slightly. Yuan Zilu looked at the kid standing before him, and the indifferent expression on his face in the plaza had long since been replaced by a more friendly one. Waving to him, Yuan Zilu spoke, ¡°Little brat, you¡¯re pretty good!¡± Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Not used to Yuan Zilu¡¯s sudden change in attitude, Shang Xia asked, ¡°Instructor Yuan, have you been waiting for me?¡± ¡°Nonsense! I¡¯m from the Protection Division and there¡¯s no need for you to address me so formally. You can call me Old Yuan.¡± Clicking his tongue, a short chuckle left Shang Xia¡¯s lips. ¡°Instructor Yuan, you¡¯re kidding.¡± Ignoring the way Shang Xia addressed him, Yuan Zilu went straight to the point. ¡°Brat, have you thought of joining our Protection Division?¡± Without waiting for Shang Xia¡¯s reply, he continued, ¡°As long as you come under our wing, we won¡¯t mistreat you! In the future, no one will dare to force you to do anything you¡¯re unwilling to do once you¡¯re part of us!¡± Shang Xia sucked in a cold breath. Even without the care of the Protection Division, there weren¡¯t many people who had the ability to force him to do things he didn¡¯t want to do. However, a smile remained on his face as he thanked Yuan Zilu. ¡°Many thanks to Instructor Yuan¡¯s offer. However, the Protection Division only recruited from the ranks of inner disciples. I¡¯m still an outer disciple, and¡­¡± Snorting in amusement, Yuan Zilu explained, ¡°Brat, have you forgotten your current position? Your first year is up. There¡¯s no way you¡¯ll remain an outer disciple. You¡¯ll enter the Inner Division soon, and you¡¯re more than qualified to enter our Protection Division!¡± ¡°This disciple still needs to discuss the matter with the seniors of my family¡­¡± Glaring at Shang Xia, Yuan Zilu grunted, ¡°What¡¯s there for you to discuss? Fuck! Stop being such a wuss! You¡¯re a grown man! Make your own decisions!¡± Before he could continue, he was interrupted by a roar coming from the side. ¡°Old Monkey Yuan, you have to be really daring to steal someone from my Shang Clan¡­¡± Yuan Zilu¡¯s expression darkened instantly, and he snapped, ¡°What the f¡­¡± When he finally turned his head to look at the person who spoke, his attitude turned 180 degrees. ¡°Senior Sister Shang, it¡¯s an honor to see you here! Why didn¡¯t you tell me that you were coming to the institution?¡± Yuan Zilu, who was about to explode in anger a moment ago, turned into an obedient child all of a sudden. Even though Shang Xia had experienced a lot of things, he was struck silly by the abrupt change. The person who came was a young lady whose facial features slightly resembled Shang Xia. The smile on her face gave him a sense of security, and when she finally glanced at Yuan Zilu, she snapped, ¡°I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re from the Protection Division! You won¡¯t be able to stop me from bringing my nephew home today! Stop me if you dare!¡± ¡°Why would I stop you? I was merely making him an offer! Our Protective Division hasn¡¯t fallen so far as to start kidnapping experts¡­¡± An awkward laughter left Yuan Zilu¡¯s lips. As the pretty young lady approached Yuan Zilu, she looked at him from head to toe before revealing a wide smile. ¡°Xia¡¯er, you did well!¡± Receiving her praise, Shang Xia lowered his head slightly and snickered, ¡°Aunt, when did you get here?¡± Indeed, the lady who arrived was his biological aunt, Shang Xi. There were many people in the Shang Clan who took care of him from a young age, but Shang Xi was the one who doted on him the most. She was the closest relative he had in the Shang Clan. Instead of continuing her praise, she snapped at him all of a sudden. ¡°You caused such a huge ruckus here. If I don''t come, who knows when you¡¯ll be able to leave the institution?¡± An awkward smile hung on Yuan Zilu¡¯s face and he quickly piped in to save his ass. ¡°Nonsense! We won¡¯t do such a thing!¡± Completely ignoring him, Shang Xi brought Shang Xia towards the entrance of the institution. Yuan Zilu¡¯s voice echoed softly behind them, ¡°Be careful on your way back!¡± With Shang Xi present, no one dared to stop Shang Xia any longer. Seeing as there wasn¡¯t anyone else around, Shang Xia could no longer contain the curiosity in his heart. ¡°Aunt, about Yuan Zilu¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s just a junior disciple I had when studying here.¡± ¡°Wow¡­¡± Shang Xia secretly gave his aunt a thumbs up. However, it didn¡¯t take long for Shang Xi to douse his excitement. ¡°Brat, you better be ready to answer some questions. There are many people in the family interested in your martial intent¡­ However, you can rest assured that even without your grandpa, no one will dare to force you to do anything. With your potential, I¡¯ll be able to fight for tons of benefits from the family on your behalf!¡± CH 7 When he left the institution, they ran into Yan Qi who was about to break down in panic. ¡°Young master, are you alright?¡± An unpleasant expression formed on Shang Xi¡¯s face and she laid down a torrent of abuse on Yan Qi. ¡°Brother Yan Qi, what do you think?! If not for my timely appearance, who knows what would have happened to him.¡± After she was done with Yan Qi, she sighed, ¡°Your Seventh Uncle notified the clan as soon as he heard the news of you comprehending your martial intent.¡± Grinning silently in his heart, Shang Xia gave Yan Qi a double thumbs up secretly before speaking, ¡°Aunt, the Training Division, Scripture Depository, and Protection Division looked for me right after the battle. From what I know, many cultivators comprehended martial intent other than me. Why are they so concerned about my Chaos Essence Lightning Palm?¡± ¡°Heh, weren¡¯t you gloating silently about how everyone was trying to win you over?¡± Shang Xi pouted. Sniggering, Shang Xia revealed an awkward smile to his aunt who knew him best. ¡°Hehe, I was a little afraid too¡­¡± ¡°You should be!¡± Shang Xi rolled her eyes and continued, ¡°That¡¯s because you managed to comprehend your martial intent in the Martial Realm! Not many people can do what you did. Now that the news has spread, god knows how many powers in the city have their eyes on you!¡± Shang Xia thought of what Zhang Haogu said previously, and he quickly repeated it back to Shang Xi. ¡°... Is this the reason behind it?¡± Shang Xi nodded solemnly. ¡°Instructor Zhang is right. Comprehending martial intent means that the inner qi in your body has reached a terrifying level. Not many people can comprehend martial intent in the Martial Realm, and if you manage to pass down your experience to the institution, you¡¯ll definitely be held in high regard.¡± A light flashed in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes as his thoughts started to spin. ¡­ On the fifth of the sixth month of the 843 year of the Divine Martial Calendar, the fourth day of the holidays arrived. Under the blazing sun, a topless Shang Xia laid casually in the shade of a tree in his courtyard. He drank ice water from his straw as a profound look could be seen in his eyes. Twisting his body suddenly, he looked at the entrance of the courtyard. Yan Qi entered with a small case, and a smile could be seen on his face. ¡°Young master, the clan has sent over a hundred year old Lightning Wood Charm.¡± Shang Xia glanced at the item and muttered, ¡°It''s pretty lacking¡­ Whatever, I¡¯ll use it anyway. After all, I can probably only use it once.¡± The corners of Yan Qi¡¯s mouth twitched, but he was ready for Shang Xia¡¯s response and he quickly managed to calm himself. ¡°Young master, is the Lightning Wood Charm really useful for comprehending the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm?¡± Glancing at Yan Qi from the corner of his eye, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t surprised that Yan Qi could guess that the item was beneficial for his martial intent. Since there was no point in hiding it, he explained everything. ¡°Far from it! In order to start comprehending it, you¡¯ll definitely need the core of the Lightning Tree! Moreover, it has to be a Lightning Tree more than five hundred years old!¡± Yan Qi sucked in a cold breath. ¡°That¡­ That¡­ That is pretty rare.¡± ¡°Even though Lightning Trees are rare, one can probably find them in the Thousand Leaves Mountain Range. Isn¡¯t the Tongyou City connected to the outside world?! The world is massive. You can find anything if you put your mind to it.¡± Shang Xia sneered. ¡°Of course, the number of Lightning Trees with a core is much lesser than the number of Lightning Trees out in the wild. Do you think comprehending a martial intent is something anyone can do?! Besides, getting the core of the Lightning Tree is only a start.¡± Shang Xia continued, ¡°It can assist one in their comprehension, but it¡¯s no godly item! If it¡¯s so easy, everyone can choose the two techniques and get a Lightning Tree Core themselves to fully comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm!¡± Yan Qi raised his eyebrows in shock. ¡°This¡­ Young master, did you reveal the use of the Lightning Wood Charm on purpose?¡± Sucking the last of his water, Shang Xia snorted, ¡°More than twenty years have passed since the great tribulation of the You Continent. No matter what, the Tongyou City has some sort of reserve built up. Let¡¯s not mention the others right now. Didn¡¯t our family already collect more than two chests of Lightning Wood Charm?¡± ¡°If we¡¯re able to do it, what do you think about the other three clans? Do I even need to talk about the Tongyou Institution?¡± Yan Qi hesitated for a second, and he stuttered, ¡°This¡­ What if they really choose to bring out their treasures? Are you really planning on revealing your experience?¡± A sarcastic laugh left Shang Xia¡¯s lips instantly. ¡°What do you think? Without enough resources, how am I supposed to discover a way to comprehend the martial intent? If it¡¯s so easy, everyone who died trying to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm in the past 500 years will probably turn in their grave.¡± Yan Qi nodded solemnly, but laughed secretly. Their young master managed to extort a bunch of resources before he even started! ¡­ The word ¡®extort¡¯ might be a little too much, but you know what? That was exactly what Shang Xia was doing anyway! ¡°Not many people can comprehend a martial intent. Even with my experiences, close to no one will be able to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm.¡± Shang Xia muttered. Yan Qi nodded as he knew Shang Xia was right. Even if Shang Xia managed to produce the way to comprehend the martial intent, the technique would be secretly guarded! Not many people could get their hands on it. That was how the path of cultivation worked anyway. No one would give away techniques to other people easily! Before Shang Xia could get to his feet, Yan Qi¡¯s voice broke his train of thoughts. ¡°Young master, remember when you got us to keep an eye out for Dou Zhong? He¡¯s actually crazy. He¡¯s trying to break his way into the battlefield between the two worlds, and he says that he¡¯s planning to widen his horizons there! He¡¯s just a little brat who hasn¡¯t entered the Martial Realm! He¡¯s clearly looking to die!¡± Ignoring Yan Qi¡¯s comments, Shang Xia¡¯s thoughts started to spin. That was exactly how the story of a protagonist started! ¡°Keep an eye on him! Do not let anyone notice you¡­¡± Shang Xia reminded him again. After acknowledging the order, Yan Qi wasn¡¯t in a rush to leave. Instead, he brought up another topic. ¡°Oh right, Young Lady Mu has left seclusion. She successfully broke through to the Martial Realm.¡± As a thought came to mind, Shang Xia asked, ¡°From what I remember, her family holds some power in the city. Am I right?¡± ¡°Young Lady Mu¡¯s father, Mu Jiansheng, is an expert at the Martial Extremity Realm. Even though he¡¯s the patriarch of the Mu Clan, the true expert in the family is Mu Jiansheng¡¯s younger sister, Mu Jianyin. She is one of the four heads of the Tongyou Institution¡¯s Outreach Division. She¡¯s extremely mysterious and not many people know of her existence. ¡°Outreach Division?¡± A frown formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face when he heard the name. The Outreach Division was the Tongyou Institution¡¯s information organization, and their leaders held much higher authority than those of the three cultivation divisions. Even Zhang Haogu would have to lower his head when meeting her. However, their status wasn¡¯t why they were scary. Instead, the cultivation levels of the four heads of the Outreach Division were really profound! Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Due to the nature of their responsibilities, everyone in the Outreach Division would remain low-key. Disciples like Shang Xia who had many connections in the city only knew some surface level information on the four heads. Even if they ran into each other on the streets, he wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize them! ¡°Who would have thought that Mu Qingyu would have such a strong backer¡­¡± Shang Xia sighed. Since she made use of him in the past, he wouldn¡¯t let her off easily. He had always believed in returning the favor. After thinking about the existence of Mu Jianyin, Shang Xia decided to hold off his plan for revenge. He wasn¡¯t afraid of Mu Jianyin specifically, but the Outreach Division was too troublesome to deal with. He would be in big trouble if they set their eyes on him. Thinking about the reason behind her determination to break off the engagement, Shang Xia became even more intrigued. After all, the scene that played out in Zhu Ying¡¯s courtyard the other day made no sense. Inviting an instructor, two custodians, and the leader of the Outer Division to witness the farce showed how serious she took the matter. Despite that, not a single member of the Mu Family showed up! There had to be something suspicious behind it. As he was too caught up in the matter, he failed to notice the abnormalities behind their actions. Now that he thought back, it seemed as though there were many mysteries surrounding him. It was no wonder Instructor Zhang chided all of them before leaving Zhu Ying¡¯s courtyard previously. He probably knew something! Shaking his head, Shang Xia realized that he was pretty inexperienced compared to the old monsters like Zhang Haogu and the others. After thinking so much, Shang Xia finally remembered that Yan Qi was standing beside him. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Seventh Uncle, is there something else you need to tell me?¡± Lowering his voice, Yan Qi continued, ¡°As soon as Young Lady Mu left seclusion, she said that she wished to enter the battlefield between the two worlds. This¡­ Zhu Ying left for the same place several days ago.¡± ?? Shang Xia looked at Yan Qi with a strange expression on his face. ¡°Why did the news of Zhu Ying¡¯s departure only come now?¡± Due to the grudge between Zhu Ying and Shang Xia, Yan Qi should have ordered his men to keep an eye on Zhu Ying as soon as the battle ended. All of Zhu Ying¡¯s movements should have been reported to Shang Xia at the earliest time possible. An ugly expression formed on Yan Qi¡¯s face. ¡°There seems to be someone helping him in the dark. They drew our men away when Zhu Ying left.¡± ¡°Are they the members of the Liu Family?¡± Shang Xia quickly thought of the possible culprits. Yan Qi replied, ¡°No¡­ Our men don¡¯t recognize any of them. By the time we realized that something was wrong, the other party disappeared.¡± A snort left Shang Xia¡¯s lips. ¡°How many clans in the Tongyou city have the ability to hide experts from our Shang Clan?¡± ¡°Other than the Tongyou Institution, only the three great clans can do something like that.¡± Yan Qi replied. Chuckling lightly, Shang Xia revealed an expression of amusement. ¡°Looks like things are getting interesting.¡± Taking his leave, Yan Qi soon left the courtyard. As soon as he did, Shang Xia opened the case in his hand. There were six intricately carved wooden boards in the case, and he could feel a trace of lightning energy coming from within. After a Lightning Tree was processed, only three to four Lightning Wood Charms would be produced. Looking at the tiny charm, no one would think that it weighed more than a hundred pounds! ¡°With those I received before, there should be close to 20 charms¡­ Let¡¯s try it out now and hope I manage to craft a few talismans¡­ After the battle with Zhu Ying, nearly all my trump cards have been revealed to the world.¡± Closing the case, Shang Xia closed his eyes and profound thoughts filled his mind. CH 8 Shang Xia tried to recall the feeling he had when he comprehended the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm in the past. Naturally, he wasn¡¯t planning to record his own experience for others to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. Instead, he was planning to include some methods to make it more difficult for others to comprehend the martial intent. If they were to use his method, they would be in hell when they tried comprehending the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. Most importantly, the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm they comprehended would be a little weaker than his! When Shang Xia reincarnated into the world and took over the owner of the original body, he managed to gain a complete understanding of the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm! The comprehension didn¡¯t come from the original Shang Xia. In fact, the original Shang Xia was killed because of his lack of knowledge! Thinking back, the current Shang Xia felt that the previous owner of his body probably used the resources of the Scripture Depository in order to form his martial intent. Because of that, he was killed by a lightning bolt that brought the current Shang Xia into the world! What a shame¡­ One had to know that there was a lot of luck involved in comprehending the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. It was a miracle that there were people still trying to learn the way to form the martial intent. ¡­ Thinking about the insights he gained when he reincarnated, it seemed as though the original Shang Xia did a lot of research. Otherwise, why would he risk everything in order to comprehend it? It was too bad the original Shang Xia lost control of his inner qi. Because of that, his soul was destroyed by the bolt of lightning that fell from the heavens, bringing the current Shang Xia into the world. For the current Shang Xia, it could be said that he was also an unlucky loser. He was playing around with an antique weapon he managed to purchase at the market in his original world! When it started raining, he hid in a shelter nearby, but the antique weapon in his hand attracted a lightning bolt that dragged him through time and space and into this body! The moment Shang Xia arrived in his current world, he was too shocked to do anything. Noticing the damage to his physical body, he couldn¡¯t help but curse. The bolt of lightning that struck the original Shang Xia caused the inner qi in his body to go on a rampage; if he failed to condense the wild energy running through his body, his fate was sealed. He, who had just reincarnated, was going to die immediately! As the knowledge and experience of the original Shang Xia¡¯s soul merged into his own, he realized that there was absolutely nothing he could do! At the last moment, Shang Xia discovered a blood red tablet in his sea of consciousness. There seemed to be a diagram of a golden finger on it, and without any choice, Shang Xia focused all his energy on the object. Since he was going to die anyway, there was no harm in trying out anything that might work. The instant his consciousness touched the blood red tablet, his body started to tremble and a weird sensation filled his mind. A wave of comfort washed over his soul, and he noticed something peculiar about the blood red tablet. It had expanded to the size of a giant mountain, and there was something poking out from the bottom of it. Wasn¡¯t that the ancient weapon he bought in the antique market back in the world he came from?! How in the world did it appear in the giant tablet?! Shang Xia eventually discovered that the ancient weapon he had bought previously wasn¡¯t as massive as it looked. Instead, his soul was comparable to a grain of sand as he stood before it! As the tablet shook lightly, a row of words appeared on its surface. Martial Intent: Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. Secret Art: Chaos Essence Manual Martial Arts Required: Chaos Essence Palm, Lightning Palm. Three massive rows of words appeared on the surface of the tablet. However, Shang Xia noticed that that wasn¡¯t all. He turned the tablet over to the side, only to see another three rows of words recorded on its right face. Assistive Treasures Required: None Useful Treasures: Lightning Wing Effective Medicine: Soul Clearing Dust, Snow Condensate Turning it again, Shang Xia noticed something different recorded on the third face of the tablet. Secret Art: None Looking at the final face of the tablet, Shang Xia gasped in shock. Success Rate: 35% When he looked through all four faces of the tablet, Shang Xia seemed to understand what it was trying to describe. It was no wonder the original Shang Xia¡¯s inner qi went wild. He had only comprehended 35 percent of the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm! However, Shang Xia didn¡¯t have the luxury of caring about the success rate. The only thing he needed to do now was to save himself! He didn¡¯t want to die the moment he appeared in this world! As though the tablet knew what he was thinking about, the words on its surfaces started to change once again. Martial Intent: Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. Secret Art: Chaos Essence Manual Martial Arts Required: Chaos Essence Palm, Lightning Palm. Assistive Treasures Required: Core of a 500 year old Lightning Tree, Fine Peach Wood Useful Treasures: Lightning Wing, Heavenly Lightning Rocks Effective Medicine: Painkillers Secret Art: Lightning Collection Blood Technique Success Rate: 45-65% After reading through the words on the tablet, despair filled Shang Xia¡¯s heart. He urgently needed a way to calm down his raging inner qi, but the tablet seemed to be giving him an upgraded form of the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm! Even though it was an impressive upgrade to the martial intent, he had no use for it if he died right there and then! As he continued to think about ways to save himself, the words on the tablet changed once again. It returned to its original form. Martial Intent: Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. Secret Art: Chaos Essence Manual Martial Arts Required: Chaos Essence Palm, Lightning Palm. Assistive Treasures Required: None Useful Treasures: Lightning Wing Effective Medicine: Soul Clearing Dust, Snow Condensate Secret Art: None (Heavenly Lightning Refinement in progress) Success Rate: 43% ¡­ In the instant the words changed, Shang Xia managed to feel a slight difference. The success rate seemed to have increased by 8 percent! Looking at the number in disbelief, it once again increased to 45 percent! That seemed to be the lowest success rate recorded in the upgraded form of the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm! Turning away from the success rate, Shang Xia¡¯s gaze turned to the third face where the words ¡®Heavenly Lightning Refinement in progress¡¯ were written. He didn¡¯t know what it meant, but since the upgraded form of the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm required the Lightning Collection Blood Technique, the Heavenly Lightning Refinement definitely had something to do with it. ¡®Heavenly Lightning¡¯... When Shang Xia was brought into the world by the sudden bolt of lightning, some of its power still remained in his body. Perhaps, it unknowingly allowed him to complete the final step where his body would be refined completely. When he reached the realization, the completion rate increased to 48 percent! It became clear to him that the more heavenly lightning he refined, the larger the success rate. Calming himself, he quickly focused on circulating techniques recorded in the Chaos Essence Manual. Due to his inner qi going on a rampage earlier, Shang Xia failed to focus on controlling his techniques. From what it seemed, his inner qi was experiencing some sort of transformation. Desperately trying to control his inner qi with the Chaos Essence Manual, Shang Xia forced a strand back to its original flow. A single strand might seem like it was too little when compared to the raging sea of inner qi, but it was like a beacon that guided more strands of inner qi to their original flow. The completion rate increased once again to 54 percent! As the refinement process continued, Shang Xia finally regained control over his inner qi. The moment that happened, the success rate increased to 57 percent. With his newfound knowledge, Shang Xia changed the way he circulated his inner qi. Flashes of lightning emerged from his body and it took a long time for them to return. When that happened, the success rate increased to 60 percent. As intense pain wrecked Shang Xia¡¯s body, he no longer bothered with the success rate on the tablet. One of the Lightning Wings in his hand shattered, and rays of light entered his body. On the blood red tablet, the success rate increased by 2 more percent. When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Forcing himself to remain conscious, Shang Xia opened a jade box before swallowing the Soul Clearing Dust contained within. Tossing it to the side, he took out yet another bottle. He sucked up the Snow Condensate contained within, and the pain in his body slowly started to subside. As his thoughts started to clear, Shang Xia felt his body recovering. The success rate reached the threshold of 65 percent, and it seemed as though it was the maximum amount reachable by the original Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation technique. When he was done, Shang Xia realized that he had used up every single treasure the original owner of the body prepared. Using the techniques contained in the Chaos Essence Manual, Shang Xia could only continue to circulate his inner qi to consolidate his foundations. CH 9 Shang Xia could only pray that everything the original owner of the body learned was enough for him to survive this ordeal. The bolt of lightning that brought Shang Xia into the world seemed to have miraculously implanted the method to fuse the two fundamental techniques required to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm! He might not have been able to control the refinement of his body, but controlling his inner qi wasn¡¯t such a difficult task. He was more than capable of combining the two techniques into one. Even if the heavens have given up on him, he wouldn¡¯t give up on himself! Unwilling to let his chance of survival go, he started to combine the Chaos Essence Palm and Lightning Palm! Pushing his inner qi to the limit, Shang Xia managed to familiarize himself with his newfound power. He could control his physical body to a certain extent! With the power contained in the bolt of heavenly lightning, the fusion of both moves caused him to experience some sort of transformation. The number on the tablet broke through the 65 percent mark and increased all the way to 70 percent! A whole new circuit seemed to be forced out by the waves of inner qi traveling through his body, and when it was completed, the success rate increased to 75 percent. On the blood red tablet, the words ¡®in progress¡¯ behind the Heavenly Lightning Refinement disappeared, and it was replaced with the word ¡®complete¡¯. The success rate jumped all the way up to 80 percent the moment that happened. With the fusion of two techniques, Shang Xia felt his inner qi drying up as they traveled through the new path in his body. A trace of lightning poured through him and continued its job, tearing apart his meridians and forming them again. Since he no longer had any medicine on him, Shang Xia could only grit his teeth in pain and endure the searing pain. As the number on the tablet seemed to plateau, the last bit was left up to chance. Due to his intense desire to live, Shang Xia pushed himself to the limit as he squeezed out every single drop of inner qi left in him. Seemingly touched by his actions, the heavens didn¡¯t let him down. With the complete integration of both techniques, Shang Xia casually pressed his palm on a rock beside him. With a crackling sound, it shattered into countless pieces. As a smile formed on his tired face, he heard the commotion coming from outside¡­ It seemed as though the bolt of lightning had caught the attention of many people in the institution. With a smile on his face, Shang Xia slowly emerged from seclusion. ¡­ ¡°Looks like I shouldn¡¯t do too much to mess with it!¡± Shang Xia decided after analyzing the technique given to him by the blood red tablet. After all, the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm that he comprehended did indeed possess terrifying power. The heavenly lightning that struck Shang Xia, allowing him to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm, contained extreme power. If anyone were to use the lightning contained in the Lightning Tree, god knew how ineffective it would be. As such, there was no point for him to mess with the technique too much! If they really wished to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm and be comparable to Shang Xia, there was only one way to do it! Draw over a bolt of Heavenly Lightning and take it head-on! Of course, the most important thing then wouldn¡¯t be comprehending the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. It would be to survive! That also allowed Shang Xia to understand the key to comprehending the martial intent. The abysmal success rate probably had something to do with the Lightning Collection Blood Art! It was a secret art he had never seen in his life, but when his consciousness came into contact with the blood red stele, everything regarding the secret art poured into his mind. ¡°This¡­ Should I hide the existence of the Lightning Collection Blood Art?¡± Shang Xia thought to himself as a sinister smile appeared on his face. Martial Intent: Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. Secret Art: Chaos Essence Manual It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Martial Arts Required: Chaos Essence Palm, Lightning Palm. Assistive Treasures Required: Core of a 300 year old Lightning Tree, Fine Peach Wood Useful Treasures: Lightning Wings, Heavenly Lightning Rocks Effective Medicine: Vitality-Based Medication Secret Art: Lightning Collection Blood Technique Success Rate: 50-70% After many days of examining the blood red tablet, Shang Xia learned even more! It seemed as though the tablet could improve upon the technique he already understood! That was how the success rate of the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm increased to 65 percent when his soul touched the tablet for the first time. In the days that passed, Shang Xia discovered another use for the blood red tablet. It could estimate the success rate of a technique after Shang Xia made some changes to it. For example, he changed the treasures required to the core of a 300 year old Lightning Tree, and the success rate changed! The reason behind the 300 year old core of the Lightning Tree was because that was how long it took to nurture one! When the thought flashed across his mind, the success rate increased by 5 percent! Changing the requirements based on his own knowledge seemed much more reliable than counting on the tablet to make the changes on its own! Of course, it didn¡¯t take a genius to know that using the core of a younger Lightning Tree would affect the power one could wield after comprehending the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. Compared to Shang Xia who comprehended it with the help of heavenly lightning, the rest would be a little stronger than flies. However, what if someone were to use the core of a 1000 year old Lightning Tree? Shang Xia looked at the success rate on the blood red tablet and a sneer formed on his lips. 20 percent¡­ A wild thought formed in his mind as he changed the core of a 1000 year old Lightning Tree to heavenly lightning. Widening his eyes in shock, he looked at the number ¡®0.1¡¯ staring at him in the face. ¡°God damn¡­ This daddy is really lucky¡­¡± ¡­ ¡°Is this your experience when comprehending the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm?!¡± Shang Xi looked at the secret manual he handed her and she glared at him from the corner of his eye. ¡°Lightning Collection Blood Art? Looks like this is the key behind comprehending the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm¡­¡± As the person taking care of the Shang Clan, Shang Xi didn¡¯t lack knowledge when it came to cultivation techniques. She could tell that Shang Xia jumbled in a ton of garbage in his ¡®experiences¡¯, and she captured the key point immediately. Going back to Shang Xia, he chose not to hide the existence of the Lightning Collection Blood Art. After all, without it, the secret manual he wrote was worthless! Even if they had a way to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm, they wouldn¡¯t be able to succeed! After all, he didn¡¯t promise to hand over the manual to cultivate the Lightning Collection Blood Art. Well, even if they did manage to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm through sheer luck, they wouldn¡¯t be able to reach his level! With the Lightning Collection Blood Art, Shang Xia could easily extort the families or clans even more. After all, no one hated having more resources. ¡°Yeah. I gave it a name on my own. After all, I was messing about when I created it. It has the ability to draw out the power of lightning from the Lightning Wings and the other items.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s ability to bullshit wasn¡¯t something he learned on the fly. In fact, that was a skill he had honed meticulously in his previous life. A content look could be seen on Shang Xi¡¯s face as she chuckled, ¡°That''s right! You¡¯re my nephew alright! This secret manual is more than enough. You don¡¯t have to give up any other techniques to the institution¡­¡± Nice! Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but praise his aunt silently. In the secret art he handed over to the institution, Shang Xia might not have hidden the existence of the Lightning Collection Blood Art, but he lowered the requirement to the core of a 300 year old Lightning Tree. Even though it affected the power contained in the martial intent, it did increase the success rate. That itself could save countless lives. Without a shred of guilt in his heart, Shang Xia handed the weakened version over. If one thought that Shang Xia was ruthless, they didn¡¯t see Shang Xi¡¯s edits to the secret manual. She removed every single item that would help in the cultivation of the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. From what everyone knew, the Lightning Tree was definitely required. There was no point in hiding that. However, they could figure the rest out themselves. After several batches of cultivators failed, they would naturally improve on the secret manual. ¡°Humph! My nephew went through so much to successfully cultivate the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. Why should they have it easy?¡± Shang Xi wasn¡¯t wrong. Even though Shang Xia was trying his best to disagree with her ¡®sinister¡¯ methods, the grin on his face betrayed him. Shang Xia sniggered in his heart. ¡°I tried to persuade her¡­ Too bad my aunt calls the shots!¡± Closing the final version of the secret art in her hands, the look in her eyes turned dead serious as she looked at Shang Xia. ¡°Brat, what¡¯s the success rate if they use this?¡± Thinking for a second, Shang Xia explained, ¡°If they follow the exact steps, probably 40 percent.¡± It went without saying that there were definitely deviations when it came to the success rate. Even so, Shang Xi revealed a shocked expression and she yelled at him, ¡°The Tongyou Institution is going to earn big this time! No¡­ I have to extort them¡­ This secret manual is too precious!¡± ¡°... what the f¡­?¡± Shang Xia stared at his aunt with a strange look on his face. CH 10 According to the blood red tablet, there was definitely a success rate of 40 percent after hiding so much information! It was a terrifying percentage that not many experts would ever hear of in their cultivation journey. Shang Xia even suspected that if the Tongyou Institute were to leak the information to the disciples, everyone would be trying to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm! Of course, disciples who had surpassed the Martial Realm could forget about it. If an expert wanted to change their martial intent and techniques past the Martial Realm, things would get ugly. Moreover, the Chaos Essence Palm and Lightning Palm one had to learn along with the Chaos Essence Manual boasted extreme difficulty. The Tongyou Institution and Shang Xia could easily estimate that even with his secret manual, the chances of success wouldn¡¯t actually hit 40 percent. Determination and desire to succeed weren¡¯t much of an important factor when it came to comprehending the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. Luck and talent were the deciding factors. After all, comprehending the Chaos Essence Manual along with the two techniques would force many cultivators to a dead end. As for treasures like the core of the Lightning Tree, they were priceless artifacts. They commanded a sky-high price even in auctions. Shang Xia also didn¡¯t need to use his brain to know that the institution would be reluctant to give away the Lightning Collection Blood Art easily. Without a doubt, the number of contributions one needs to exchange for the Lightning Collection Blood Art would be far higher than the Chaos Essence Manual! No one knew how long it would take for anyone to accumulate enough contribution points to exchange for it! In essence, the Tongyou Institution was a massive organization. It was no charity. Even if one became a teacher in the institution, they would have to make significant contributions if they wanted to exchange anything of value. At the end of the day, the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm might be strong, but the difficulty of comprehending it was comparably high! If one failed, they would be seriously injured for life, if not dead. Shang Xia might have mitigated a lot of uncertainties along the way, but a 40 percent success rate couldn¡¯t be considered high at all! To a certain extent, the disciples of the Tongyou Institution would be scared off by the low success rate and horrendous difficulty level. Anyone who was crazy and talented enough to reach all the requirements would be able to raise their success rate of comprehending the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm to the maximum level indicated by Shang Xia, 40 percent. That didn¡¯t take into account any mishaps that would happen in their seclusion. Just a slight deviation in their concentration during the cultivation process would affect them significantly. Even till that day, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t forget the feeling of the heavenly lightning tearing through his body. This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡­ ¡°So¡­ Is the institution trying to negotiate for a better price?¡± Shang Xia asked while he controlled a trace of lightning on his fingertips to draw some weird diagram on a board before him. When Yan Qi looked at how far Shang Xia had progressed since he comprehended the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm, he sucked in a cold breath. However, he quickly replied, ¡°That''s what it sounded like. However, the young lady said that this is a sign that the institution is taking you seriously.¡± Shang Xia nodded slightly. ¡°Since aunt¡¯s taking care of the matter personally, there¡¯s nothing for us to worry about.¡± Finishing the final stroke of the diagram, a ray of light emerged for a split second before returning to the board. The ray started to swirl around the board in a mysterious pattern. ¡°Yes! It succeeded!¡± Shang Xia roared and he was close to jumping in joy. It looked easy when he was drawing the rune on the charm, but he was extremely focused when controlling his energy earlier. ¡°There were close to 20 Lightning Wood Charms, but I only managed to create four of them¡­¡± Shang Xia shook his head silently and he sighed, ¡°If I manage to get my hands on another twenty charms, I might succeed in creating six or seven of them¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t help but look at Yan Qi with a trace of displeasure. ¡°Seventh Uncle, the clan didn¡¯t send anymore after the first delivery. What¡¯s the meaning of this? Shouldn¡¯t there be more rewards after I successfully created a secret manual for the family?¡± Yan Qi could only chuckle softly. He was in no position to answer the question. A piece of Lightning Tree could create three to four Lightning Wood Charm. With close to twenty charms in the boxes given to Shang Xia, they had to take out four entire Lightning Trees! The Thousand Leaf Mountain Rage might be massive, but Lightning Trees that grew for more than 100 years weren¡¯t cabbages that grew at the side of the road! ¡°You brat! What do you think I¡¯ve been doing all this while? I negotiated with the institution in order to obtain more benefits for you, but here you are talking behind my back! Humph! You little scheming brat, don¡¯t you know who I¡¯m doing this for?¡± Shang Xi¡¯s voice echoed through the courtyard all of a sudden, catching Shang Xia and Yan Qi off guard. Closing his eyes, Yan Qi seemed to turn into a wooden statue that had nothing to do with the matter. Slapping his forehead, Shang Xia revealed a bitter smile as he addressed his aunt. ¡°Aunt, eavesdropping isn¡¯t something someone of the older generation should do!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you intend for me to hear what you just said?!¡± Strolling through the entrance, a pout could be seen on her face. ¡°It¡¯s not as if you were trying to hide your displeasure¡­¡± A sly smile formed on Shang Xi¡¯s face and she continued, ¡°You probably already knew that I was coming. You were waiting for me to arrive before telling all that stuff to your uncle, right?¡± Turning to look at Yan Qi, she continued, ¡°Seventh Brother, am I right?¡± ¡°HUH?¡± Snapping back to reality, Yan Qi revealed a confused expression. ¡°Young lady, I wasn¡¯t paying attention. Oh right, the young master ordered me to look for Lightning Wood Charms in the treasury. I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± Before the words could leave his lips, he had already left for the entrance. ¡°Humph, scaredy cat.¡± Shang Xi rolled her eyes before taking out a tiny red box. ¡°Embroidered Cloud Case?¡± A light flashed in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes and he reached towards it immediately. ¡°Did the institution give this to me? Wow, I didn¡¯t expect them to be so generous!¡± Flipping her palm, Shang Xi immediately hid the case from him. Her expression sank and he growled, ¡°That¡¯s mine!¡± Realizing that the Lightning Collection Blood Art was nowhere near the value of an Embroidered Cloud Case, Shang Xia chuckled in embarrassment. ¡°I thought that you managed to obtain a reward from the institution for all of us¡­¡± Snorting lightly, Shang Xi remarked, ¡°Even if I hand it over to you, will you dare to bring it out?¡± She tapped her finger on the lid of the case, and several objects emerged from within. The Embroidered Cloud Case was an extremely rare spatial artifact. Even in the Shang Clan, there were only three of them! The case in Shang Xi¡¯s hand was only obtained after she received permission from the entire upper echelon of the Shang Clan. Even though the box was tiny and measured less than three inches wide, the space contained within close to one cubic feet! Even though it wasn¡¯t a lot, it was an absolute treasure to Shang Xi! She wouldn¡¯t allow it to leave her sight no matter what. Ignoring the case, Shang Xia looked at the items floating before him. Reaching out slightly, he grabbed at the roll of silk among them. ¡°Is this the true reward given by the institution?¡± Hearing the scorn in Shang Xia¡¯s voice, Shang Xi sneered, ¡°Can you be content with what you have? Your Lightning Collection Blood Art might be shocking, but it¡¯s just another choice for Martial Realm disciples.¡± ¡°There are more than 20 manuals to comprehend martial intents in the Scripture Depository for disciples in the Martial Realm, and the number of martial intents gathered in the world probably reached the high fifties. The Chaos Essence Lightning Palm seems to be one of the strongest ones¡­¡± Shang Xi continued, ¡°... Even so, a huge majority of the disciples from the institution can¡¯t even try to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm.¡± Even though Shang Xia understood where she was coming from, he still complained slightly, ¡°But the power one can unleash with the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re strong compared to disciples in the Martial Realm! However, the Martial Realm is only the start of the long journey of cultivation!¡± Shang Xi shattered his delusions immediately. ¡°The strongest part about a martial intent isn¡¯t its offensive strength! Instead, it¡¯s a guide for the future! If you really care about power and strength, increase your cultivation realm.¡± After breaking through, one would experience a huge increase in strength. When they were still weak, their martial intent wouldn¡¯t matter too much. Shang Xia shook his head and sighed. His aunt was referring to cultivators in the Martial Realm who were focused on cultivation levels alone. He was more inclined towards improving both his cultivation level and martial intent at once. Whatever the case, there was no need to argue with his aunt over the matter. He slowly inspected the silk in his hand and his expression started to change. Thinking that he was still dissatisfied with his reward, Shang Xi explained, ¡°These are some treasures that you would need to enter the Martial Extremity Realm. The institution promised that they would reward you with an entire set of cultivation techniques after you break through.¡± Shang Xia ignored her words completely as he stared at the roll of silk in his hand. Misunderstanding his silence, Shang Xi started to get annoyed with the childish tantrum she thought he was throwing. ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll make the decision on behalf of the clan. After you enter the Martial Extremity Realm, I¡¯ll allow you to choose a portion of spiritual herbs for our chemist to refine into suitable medicine. How¡¯s that?¡± Raising his head suddenly, a crafty smile appeared on his face. ¡°Alright!¡± CH 11 Ever since he discovered the presence of the blood red tablet in his sea of consciousness, he had always been looking into it. After the tablet improved on the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm, Shang Xia tried several methods to use the tablet, but to no avail. As one of the four largest clans in the Tongyou City, the library of the Shang Clan wasn¡¯t lacking in secret manuals. He entered the library and dug out every single manual on martial intents suitable for cultivators in the Martial Realm and looked through them one by one. He tried to create a new and improved version, but the tablet refused to budge. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is this a one-time use item or something?! Is there no way to improve on the other manuals?¡± Shang Xia was more inclined to believe the second possibility, but he couldn¡¯t be sure without doing more experiments. ¡°Looks like I have to look for a way to activate the tablet.¡± He had half a mind to transfer his inner qi into the tablet before using his soul to look for clues, but that was something he could only do after breaking through the Martial Extremity Realm to enter the Martial Extremity Realm. Learning that the Martial Realm was used to classify cultivators in the First Order of the Primary Realm, Shang Xia had to enter the Second Order Primary Realm in order to do anything substantial. ¡°I can¡¯t possibly restart my cultivation to test it out, right?¡± Shang Xia laughed bitterly before shaking the thought. However, a shocking discovery came to mind. The blood red tablet could probably only affect techniques and secret arts he had learned! In order to activate the blood red tablet once again, he had to personally cultivate another martial intent! A despondent expression soon appeared on his face. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that I can only try it after breaking through to the Martial Extremity Realm.¡± Once the thought of giving up formed, a shocking change occurred. The roll of silk he obtained from Shang Xi earlier trembled, and rows of words started to form on the surface of the blood red tablet. Staring intently at the roll of silk, Shang Xi thought that Shang Xia was experiencing some sort of freakish mood swing. After all, he agreed just a second ago! Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with her at the moment, and he quickly inspected the blood red tablet. It finally moved¡­ Wait a minute, this doesn¡¯t seem to be the way to comprehend a martial intent. It¡¯s a recipe to refine medicinal powder! In order to avoid arousing Shang Xi¡¯s suspicion, Shang Xia quickly calmed himself. He found an excuse to chase her away before examining the recipe on the tablet. He soon came to a conclusion. In order to activate the blood red tablet, the item or technique Shang Xia was trying to investigate had to belong to himself! He might have studied the secret manuals in the library, but he didn¡¯t possess the relevant cultivation experience! He found a recipe similar to the one he was looking at previously, but the tablet didn¡¯t react in the slightest. Now that he obtained the roll of silk, it finally showed something. Medicinal Powder to Advance into the Martial Extremity Realm: Powder of Purification Prerequisite: Martial Realm Main Herb: Soul Clearing Jade x1, Mysterious Yang Stone x1 Assistive Herbs: Rootless Dew x9, Mysterious Yang Milk x9 Accompanying Herbs: White Deer Jade Powder x2 taels, Seventh Ginseng Root x3 taels, 100 Year Rose Bark x3 taels, Hibernation Seaweed x2 taels, Blue Shell Powder x1 taels Supplementary Herbs: Sweet Soul Grass x1 Remarks: Dry ingredients in the shade for three days, sun for three additional days. Ingest Powder of Purification when cultivating at the crossroads of purification. Requires sudden insight Compatibility: 90% Success Rate: 85% Those were the words on all four faces of the tablet. Unlike the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm, the formula on the tablet revealed the optimal way to create the medicinal powder. The compatibility and success rate reached a sky-high level. With his heart trembling slightly, Shang Xia started to make changes to the formula. Medicinal Powder to Advance into the Martial Extremity Realm: Powder of Purification Prerequisite: Martial Realm Necessary Medicine: Soul Clearing Jade x1, Mysterious Yang Stone x1 Assistive Herbs: Rootless Dew x9, Mysterious Yang Milk x9 A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. Remarks: Dry ingredients in the shade for three days, sun for three additional days. Ingest Powder of Purification when cultivating. Compatibility: 70% Success Rate: 70% That was the original recipe recorded for the Powder of Purification he had seen before. A strange look could be seen on Shang Xia¡¯s face when he saw the compatibility and success rate. Soon, the words changed once again. Medicinal Powder to Advance into the Martial Extremity Realm: Powder of Purification Prerequisite: Martial Realm Necessary Medicine: Soul Clearing Jade x1, Mysterious Yang Stone x1 Assistive Herbs: Rootless Dew x9, Mysterious Yang Milk x9, White Deer Jade Powder x2 taels, 100 Year Rose Bark x3 taels, Hibernation Seaweed x2 taels Remarks: Dry ingredients in the shade for three days, sun for three additional days. Ingest Powder of Purification when cultivating Compatibility: 77% Success Rate: 77% That was the recipe the chemist he knew came up with, and it seemed to be an improvement on the original one. Since the start of the cultivation era 800 years ago, there have been great improvements to cultivation techniques and medicine formulas. Even though there were only minute changes to the techniques and formulas, there were great changes to their effects. It was also the reason behind the elevated status of chemists in the world. The creation of recipes could be done by anyone, but accomplished chemists had the ability to improve on them, making them more effective than before! When cultivators used such formulas to increase their strength, they would benefit more than before! In order to bring out the greatest effect of the medicine on certain cultivators, they would have to customize their recipe to fit different individuals. That was also the reason behind their exalted status. They held an in-depth understanding of every cultivator who they helped, and they could easily discern their weaknesses. The moment one¡¯s opponent obtained their weaknesses from the chemist they hired, they were as good as dead. Because of that, there was no lack of stories where cultivators killed their chemists as soon as they served their purpose. Cultivators relied heavily on chemists, but neither side trusted the other. In the end, chemists started to work with great powers in order to receive protection. They could also avoid a lot of cultivators requesting medicine, giving others less reason to kill them. As one of the greatest factions in the city, the Shang Clan naturally had chemists loyal to them. With his status as the third generation heir of the clan, the medicines used by Shang Xia were produced after a ton of research. That was also the reason behind the reward given by the institution. They knew that the Shang Clan had their own chemists, and the treasures they gave out were general herbs that would greatly assist in the medicine creation process. They had no idea what would be useful to Shang Xia, and they picked out some that might be of use. With the blood red tablet, Shang Xia verified the compatibility and success rate of the medicine created by the chemists of the Shang Clan. It was too bad they weren¡¯t up to his standard now that he noticed the optimum version produced by the tablet! Since the upgraded version had a much higher compatibility value and success rate, it went without saying that Shang Xia was planning to use that instead. Of course, the difficulty of creating the medicine was much higher than the ones produced by the chemists of the Shang Clan. There were four different types of herbs, and the recipe came from Shang Xia¡¯s original world! Seeing the different types of herbs required, Shang Xia didn¡¯t think too much about it and ordered for them to be brought to him. The only problem was obtaining Sweet Soul Grass. It might not be as precious as the Soul Clearing Jade and Mysterious Yang Stone, but it was close enough. Shang Xia grunted, but when he thought about the treasury in the Shang Clan, he heaved a sigh of relief. They definitely had some of the herbs he needed. Even if they didn¡¯t, it would be easy for him to look for some. With nothing left for him to do, Shang Xia decided to see how important the Sweet Soul Grass was when crafting the medicine. Removing the herb from the recipe, both the compatibility rate and the success rate dropped by 10 percent! Without a doubt, the Sweet Soul Grass was extremely important! Shang Xia¡¯s doubts decreased after learning what he did. However, there were still 2 more giant questions in his mind. He didn¡¯t know what the crossroads of purification and sudden insight meant! Additionally, he didn¡¯t know what compatibility had to do with anything. From what he could tell, it was probably as important as the success rate. From the recipe given by the tablet, the compatibility rate was high, but the success rate seemed to be slightly compromised. Tossing away the crossroads of purification and sudden insight, the success rate shockingly increased to 95 percent! However, the compatibility rate decreased by 10 percent. ¡°Ha!¡± Shang Xia jumped in joy and he seemed to have discovered something new. CH 12 It seemed as though being in the ¡®crossroad of purification¡¯ caused there to be a difference of 10 percent in the compatibility rate. Even though ignoring it could increase the success rate, Shang Xia knew that he would regret it. Next, he thought about the flash of inspiration. It caused the compatibility rate to drop by 10 percent, and it wasn¡¯t a negligible amount. What in the world did it mean?! Would it actually be worth it to try getting inspiration when breaking through?! The blood red tablet seemingly provided the optimal recipe and techniques belonging to Shang Xia, and it looked as though compromising the success rate for compatibility rate wouldn¡¯t be the worst thing in the world. ¡°Whatever. I¡¯ll take a look at what the hell the crossroad of purification is before deciding!¡± Shang Xia shook his head as a bitter smile appeared on his face. There were several legends he heard in his original world and he needed to verify if the world he was currently in worked the same way. If he went crazy and did whatever he wanted to, he might lose control of his inner qi during the advancement process. When that happened, he would lose his little life for a second time! Moreover, the legends he heard in his original world were merely rumors. There was no way he was going to act on them without truly understanding the dangers involved. When Shang Xia turned his attention away from the blood red tablet and got ready to write down all the treasures he would need, some crackling sound came from his sea of consciousness. Jumping in fright, he quickly turned his attention back to the blood red tablet. He saw a crack running down the right face of the tablet, and it didn¡¯t take long to extend all the way down to the base of the tablet. What was going on?! Did it happen because he tried to play around and improve the recipe for the Powder of Purification? ¡°Did I exhaust all its power by making it come up with so many different versions? Maybe it had something to do with the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm too!¡± Shang Xia thought of several different reasons in an instant. Now that the right face was completely cracked, it was possible that the tablet would shatter soon enough! As soon as he thought about it, a terrifying premonition filled his mind. It came from the depths of his soul, and his doubt that the tablet would shatter vanished. He also became sure that the day the tablet shattered was the day his soul would scatter. It was at that moment he knew, the tablet had fused into his soul! Their fates were linked! ¡°... If that¡¯s the case, shouldn¡¯t there be a way to restore the tablet?¡± There had to be! Shang Xia refused to believe that his soul would activate a self-destruction timer the moment he transmigrated! ¡°Three other faces of the tablet look alright. If it works like how I think it does, I have three more chances to create the strongest version of any technique or recipe I obtain. Before using up all three chances, I have to find a way to restore the tablet!¡± ¡­ ¡°Crossroads of purification?¡± Zhang Haogu frowned as his mind started to spin. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. Shang Xia looked at him expectantly. It didn¡¯t take long for the instructor to retrieve a book from one of the many bookshelves filling his home. Opening it slowly, Shang Xia noticed a talisman contained within. Looking at the intricately carved runes on the talisman, he knew that it was several times better than the Lightning Wood Charm he created. Signs of extreme wear and tear, along with indications of rotting could be seen on the bamboo strips under the talisman. It was a sorry sight, and many bamboo strips seemed to be defaced by messy writing. Even though he was slightly taken aback, Shang Xia knew that the bamboo strips were far from ordinary. With the way Instructor Zhang treated them, they looked to be some sort of treasure! Zhang Haogu casually reached out and tapped his finger in the air above the book. It hovered in the air for a quick second before flying through the air. Focusing the best he could, Shang Xia could only read the words inscribed on the first bamboo strip. He was greeted with several words carved disorderly on the surface of the bamboo strip. ¡®Secret Manual¡¯ Of course, those were the words he barely made out. The rotting was so bad that nearly half of it was unreadable. Trying his best to understand what was written after, a feeling of agitation affected his heart. The short distraction caused him to turn his gaze away. It seemed as though he would have to reach the Martial Intent Realm before he could truly use the power of his soul to counteract the weird power coming from the bamboo strips. Once he entered the Martial Intent Realm, he would be able to replicate what Instructor Zhang did. He would be able to suppress the distraction to read the entire content of the book. ¡°I found it!¡± Zhang Haogu interrupted his thoughts all of a sudden. Raising his head slowly, Shang Xia saw a complete bamboo strip hovering before Zhang Haogu. ¡°... Since the creation of paradise, clear qi filled the skies and turbid qi entered the grounds¡­¡± Without Shang Xia reading it for himself, Zhang Haogu recited the words on the bamboo strip. Staring at Instructor Zhang in shock, a trace of excitement soon filled Shang Xia¡¯s heart. When Zhang Haogu turned to stare at him, he saw the look of confusion plastered on the kid¡¯s face. ¡°Instructor¡­¡± Content with Shang Xia¡¯s desire for knowledge, Zhang Haogu explained, ¡°If this old man isn¡¯t wrong, purification probably has something to do with clear and turbid qi!¡± ¡°From what you just said, the different types of qi reside in different places. How can there be a place called the crossroad of purification?¡± Shang Xia frowned. After hearing what Zhang Haogu said, the cloud covering Shang Xia¡¯s mind seemed to have disappeared. How terrified would Zhang Haogu be if he realized that Shang Xia¡¯s understanding of the contents on the bamboo strip was much more thorough than himself? ¡°It¡¯s indeed possible¡­¡± Zhang Haogu muttered. ¡°What about paradise?! Didn¡¯t it say something¡­¡± Shang Xia wanted to continue, but he cleverly shut his mouth when he saw the look on Zhang Haogu¡¯s face. Sighing lightly, Zhang Haogu avoided the question and continued, ¡°There is definitely a possibility for the crossroad of purification to exist. It might exist in the battlefield between the two worlds!¡± That again?! Thinking about it, Shang Xia realized that it was indeed possible. Without the need to ask another question, Zhang Haogu carried on with his explanation. The battlefield between the two worlds is a giant crossroad itself. When the qi between the two worlds clash, it mimics the creation of the world¡­¡± Shang Xia sucked in a cold breath before asking, ¡°Is there a way to determine if the location is a crossroad of purification?¡± ¡°No idea. Everything I just told you was something I thought of myself. Nothing has been proven yet.¡± Rejoicing inwardly, Shang Xia noticed the stare on Zhang Haogu¡¯s face. The instructor finally asked, ¡°The crossroad of purification seems to be an important factor in your advancement.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t plan to conceal the fact. He couldn¡¯t be stupid enough to think that everyone else had no idea what he was up to. Moreover, that was Instructor Zhang they were talking about! The world he was in might not be as developed as his original world, but they were on the right track. They could easily make interpretations of Shang Xia¡¯s actions. Regardless, Shang Xia could agree on one thing. The way they coined their cultivation realms was a mess. Zhang Haogu was content with the reply, and he started to lay out his guesses. ¡°Our ancestors said that the battlefield between the two worlds came into existence because of the collision between the worlds. It created a mysterious land, and there are places with extreme weather conditions. Some of the places are cold and dark, without a single ray of sunlight. Others experience rain and shine intermittently, and there are some regions where the sun and moon hang in the sky simultaneously. These regions might not be the place you¡¯re looking for. However, they might be somewhat connected to it. You¡¯ll have to see for yourself.¡± Shang Xia nodded his head when he heard the introduction of the battlefield between the two worlds. After all, he was definitely heading there after some time. Now that he learned what he came for, it was time to take his leave. Before he could bid his farewell, he saw the smile on Zhang Haogu¡¯s face and an idea flashed in his mind. ¡°Instructor Zhang, I¡¯ll be heading to the battlefield between the two worlds soon. Is there something you need my help with?¡± Roaring with laughter, Zhang Haogu said, ¡°Our institution is planning to send over a batch of resources to the Tongyou Peak. Now that the holidays have arrived, we can¡¯t seem to find enough disciples from the Protection Division to head over. Since you¡¯re planning to go over, feel free to help us!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡­ After leaving Zhang Haogu¡¯s courtyard, Shang Xia planned on returning to the Shang Clan, but he stopped when he heard the hasty footsteps behind him. ¡°Shang Xia, wait a minute!¡± Turning around, Shang Xia raised an eyebrow in shock. ¡°Teacher Sun, can I help you?¡± Sun Haiwei revealed an embarrassed expression while speaking. ¡°I heard that you were planning to head over to the battlefield between the two worlds and will be sending the resources to the Tongyou Peak¡­¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ Is there anything else?¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t understand her reason for stopping him. ¡°... This¡­ This is related to the holiday training schedule!¡± Sun Haiwei continued. Shang Xia finally realized what she wanted. ¡°Because there were sixteen students in our outer division eligible to enter the inner division, I was planning to bring them to the battlefield between the two worlds for them to gain some experience. But¡­¡± As soon as she got that far, Shang Xia knew what she was getting at. ¡°Are you planning to ask me to bring them to the Tongyou Peak?¡± ¡°I was planning to let them follow the replenishment team. That was why I went to look for Instructor Zhang. When I saw him, he told me that you were heading to the Tongyou Peak too. That¡¯s great! If you follow the replenishment team and lead our students there, I¡¯ll feel much more at ease.¡± Sun Haiwei smiled. Shang Xia chuckled in response, ¡°Alright. Leave it to me. The replenishment team will set off in three days. When the time comes, all of them can travel with us.¡± The two of them exchanged some formalities before taking their leave. Looking into the distance, Shang Xia muttered to himself, ¡°Looks like the rumors of Instructor Zhang getting promoted are true¡­¡± CH 13 On the tenth of the sixth month¡­ Shang Xia arrived in the institution as soon as dawn broke. He hurried over to meet with the members of the Protection Division who were part of the replenishment team. By the time he arrived, they were loading the supplies from the members of the Warehouse Division. ¡°Hurry up! Didn¡¯t you guys eat breakfast or something?!¡± ¡°Why are you guys so slow? Even if you useless bums go to the battlefield between the two worlds, you¡¯re going to send yourselves to your death!¡± ¡°You useless fools¡­ How unlucky do we have to be to be stuck with you?¡± ¡°What is the institution thinking?! They sent us a bunch of weaklings to head over to the Tongyou Peak. If we run into any danger along the way, don¡¯t expect me to save you. Just get ready to die.¡± Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°...¡± Shang Xia heard the curses long before he saw them. He couldn¡¯t help but walk a little faster. He saw sixteen students of the third outer division loading huge sacks onto the carriages, and the moment they did, they ran back to the warehouse to take a new load. As long as they took a little too long, they would be scolded by someone at the side. Even though the sixteen of them entered the Martial Realm, they didn¡¯t dare to talk back. Their faces were flushed red with anger, but they continued to load the carriages without saying a word. In the distance, several disciples of the Protection Division were sitting on the carriages leisurely as they yelled at the students from the outer division. Mocking smiles could be seen on their faces, and they were clearly enjoying what they were doing. The instant he arrived, they discovered his presence. The curses only became louder with his arrival. ¡°Do all of you really think that you¡¯re special after obtaining the qualifications to enter the inner division?¡± ¡°Let me tell you right now¡­ None of you have experience on the battlefield! All of you are nothing but a bunch of dogshit cultivators!¡± ¡°Heh, even if you enter the Martial Realm, all of you are trash!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! You¡¯re so useless we can¡¯t even compare you to dogshit!¡± ¡°Hahaha! You don¡¯t even have the qualifications to be cannon fodder on the battlefield!¡± ¡°Hahah!¡± Shang Xia roared with laughter when he heard what they said. In an instant, the gaze of everyone present turned to him. Since they were scolding him indirectly, there wasn¡¯t any point in him avoiding detection! Weren¡¯t they planning on intimidating him? He wasn¡¯t afraid in the slightest. In fact, there was a trace of anticipation in his heart! With a shit-eating grin on his face, Shang Xia snapped his fan open and walked towards the warehouse. The yelling continued all of a sudden. ¡°Aren¡¯t you bunch of useless fools angry? Don¡¯t you just want to punch us in the face?¡± ¡°Hahaha! You can try! I can¡¯t wait for you useless fools to try something! Cowards¡­¡± By the time they were done speaking, Shang Xia had already arrived at the entrance to the warehouse. He looked at his fellow students who were working hard and he leaped on board one of the carriages beside him. He had no intention of helping them at all. Waving the fan in his hand, a look of ridicule could be seen on his face as he looked at those all around him. He couldn¡¯t help but wait for the rest of their performance. The disciples from the outer division didn¡¯t notice Shang Xia, but they discovered that the disciples of the Protection Division went quiet all of a sudden. However, it didn¡¯t take long for the verbal abuse to continue. It became much worse than before. ¡°Every newcomer to the Protection Division has to go through this! This is so that you can let go of your pride and learn to humble yourself! Train your mentality so that you can survive in the battlefield between two worlds!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! This is a rule everyone has to follow! There are no exceptions!¡± Shang Xia could feel that they were looking at him while spouting all the crap coming out of their mouth. Well, whatever, there were many instances of bullies wherever he went. The rule in the Tongyou Institution made it such that any disciple entering the inner division had to join an expedition led by the Protection Division in order to hone their real-world experience. After all, the Protection Division had the authority to deploy disciples in the inner division when an emergency happened. As such, every disciple in the inner division could be considered part of the Protection Division¡¯s reserve force. The sixteen students in the outer division might have qualified to join the inner division, but there were two more months before the next semester started. The moment they entered the Martial Realm and gained the qualification to enter the inner division, they were eligible to be conscripted by the Protection Division. That was also the reason behind the nasty treatment by the members of the Protection Division. Of course, everything they did to the sixteen students was merely an appetizer. All they wanted to do was to mess with Shang Xia. Sniggering in his heart, Shang Xia took out a silver flask from his sleeves and took a nice swig. A contented sigh left his lips as he stared at the clowns in front of him. The sweet scent of his Hundred Flower Dew filled the air. With their throats dry after shouting at the sixteen disciples, they gulped down a mouthful of saliva when they caught a whiff of Shang Xia¡¯s Hundred Flower Dew. Those who had been working the entire morning were even more thirsty compared to the disciples of the Protection Division. Slowly tracking the source of the smell, the sixteen disciples soon caught sight of Shang Xia who was chilling on one of the carriages. Anger burned in their hearts when they noticed that he wasn¡¯t suffering along with them. Well, no one could blame them. After all, everyone would feel uncomfortable when they were forced to suffer while their fellow disciple enjoyed a better fate. Shang Xia nodded when he saw the dark expressions on their faces. If he didn¡¯t do what he did, he would be letting down the great director behind the show! Now, he was surrounded on all sides! Glancing at the disciples of the Protection Division from the corner of his eye, Shang Xia noticed him giving one of the sixteen disciples a signal. The next moment, the disciple slammed the supplies he was carrying into the ground and he pointed at Shang Xia, ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys say that going through all of this is a rule set by the institution?! Why isn¡¯t he doing anything?!¡± Here it was¡­ Shang Xia remained completely indifferent and he ignored the disciple who was yelling. Their way of doing things was too damn amateurish! Shang Xia turned to look at the disciple from the Protection Division who jumped off his carriage on cue as he started his performance. ¡°Zhang Wei, are you going against the rules?! Pick it up right now!¡± With someone leading the charge, many of the sixteen disciples tossed the supply they were carrying and ran over to stand by Zhang Wei¡¯s side. Now that he had several people on his side, he seemed to grow even more confident. He yelled, ¡°None of you dare to pick on him! Instead, you take out all your anger on us! What¡¯s wrong? Are you afraid to enforce the rules on him because his grandfather is the deputy patriarch?!¡± ¡°Why does he get to enjoy his drink up there?!¡± ¡°Yeah! Since you guys said that it¡¯s the rules, why is he exempt?¡± Seeing as things were going according to plan, Zhang Wei started round two. ¡°Since all of us are new to the inner division, Chief Shang should also be doing his fair share of work!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± The disciple of the Protection Division smiled as he returned to his carriage. He turned to look at Shang Xia with a mocking expression. Even his fellow disciples were clamoring for him to carry the supplies to the carriage! Wasn¡¯t he the leader of the outer division? There was no way for him to weasel his way out of it now¡­ The moment he joined them, he would suffer endless humiliation. That was the plan. The disciples of the Protection Division and the upper division wanted to make a good show of strength. Now that Shang Xia¡¯s performance had threatened them, they wanted to make him look as bad as they could! Since he was the grandson of the deputy patriarch, making him bow and scrape before them would greatly enhance their status! If he refused, his reputation as the leader of the outer division would be dragged through the mud. The news of his refusal to help his fellow disciples would spread through the ranks quickly. A light chuckle left Shang Xia¡¯s lips and he slowly got to his feet. ¡°Are you guys actually stupid? If you use your brain a little, you might be able to put up a better show¡­¡± Even though he sounded like he was joking, his gaze turned serious. He looked at the sixteen disciples of the outer division forced to carry the supplies and he sneered, ¡°I¡¯m extremely disappointed in you guys. None of you dared to stand up for yourselves when they were bullying you. Instead of standing up for yourselves, you chose to single out a fellow disciple and pressure them into suffering with you guys. What are you thinking?!¡± Many of the disciples lowered their heads in shame. ¡°Bullshit! Why should you get to rest while we have to go through that?¡± ¡°Hehe, you really do have the mentality of a loser.¡± Shang Xia chuckled. ¡°What¡­¡± Zhang Wei avoided eye contact with Shang Xia, but he continued to complain, ¡°This¡­ This is the rule we have to follow!¡± ¡°Rule?¡± Shang Xia snorted. ¡°They came up with this nonsense themselves! When did the institution implement a rule that states that all new disciples have to be bullied? Go ahead and ask any of your seniors. See which one of them admits it.¡± Silence filled the air. There was no way Zhang Wei would go around asking them, and neither would the disciples of the Protection Division admit to anything. ¡°Come on¡­ Use your brains! Think about how they were cursing at you when you were forced to carry the supplies.¡± Shang Xia continued, ¡°I was planning to cooperate, but ever since I arrived, no one dared to order me around.¡± The expression on the faces of the disciples of the Protection Division fell instantly. ¡°Isn¡¯t that because of your status?¡± Zhang Wei sneered under his breath. ¡°You¡¯re right!¡± Instead of refuting it, Shang Xia nodded his head and sighed at their stupidity. ¡°Why else am I calling you guys stupid? None of them from the Protection Division have the guts to call me out, but here you are cussing at me. Have you thought your actions through?¡± The disciples of the third outer division weren¡¯t stupid either. All of them realized that they became tools for the disciples of the Protection Division. As for Zhang Wei who was working together with them, he felt beads of cold sweat dripping down his forehead. He could even feel the sharp gazes from his fellow disciples stabbing him in the back. Clap, clap, clap. The disciple of the Protection Division got off his carriage and spoke to Shang Xia. ¡°Amazing! You¡¯re definitely the only disciple who can swagger around the institution and use his background with no shame!¡± ¡°Many thanks!¡± Closing the fan in his hand with a loud snap, Shang Xia ignored the insult. ¡°Oh right, what was your name again?¡± Waving his hand, the disciple from the Protection Division sneered, ¡°I¡¯m Guo You from the inner division.¡± ¡°Alright, I guess I¡¯ll address you as Senior Brother Guo then.¡± Shang Xia waved his hand and continued, ¡°I saw you winking at Zhang Wei a long time ago¡­¡± ¡°Heh¡­¡± Giggling came from the disciples of the Protection Division behind Guo You, and they tried their hardest to suppress their laughter. However, Guo You didn¡¯t think it was funny. His face flushed red and he glared at Shang Xia. Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Shang Xia realized that their sense of humor was pretty bad¡­ CH 14 Revealing a smile, Shang Xia realized that there were many people who enjoyed his play on words. With the disciples of the Protection Division as an example, it seemed as though the members of the inner division were all pretty easily amused. Their reactions didn¡¯t just affect Guo You. Even Shang Xia forgot what he wanted to say. ¡°Zhang Wei has always been a man of few words. If not for Seniors Brother Guo¡¯s instructions, he wouldn¡¯t dare to offend his fellow disciples.¡± Shang Xia quickly calmed himself and said with a serious face. ¡°From what I can see, you were the one who started it all.¡± As his expression darkened, Guo You growled, ¡°Nonsense! This has always been according to the rules set by the Protection Division. Why would I be at fault?¡± ¡°Oh really? Why are you the only one standing out here talking to me then?¡± Shang Xia raised an eyebrow craftily. That¡¯s because they¡¯re afraid that your grandfather will make things difficult for us! Guo You nearly cursed out loud, but he was smart enough to swallow his words. If he were to speak his thoughts out loud, the disciples of the Protection Division would go crazy. Even though it was true that they were afraid of offending Shang Xia because of his grandfather, Guo You couldn¡¯t say that out loud! Guo You didn¡¯t dare to piss off his fellow disciples from the Protection Division. If they turned against him, he would be left alone to offend Shang Xia! Seemingly able to guess his thoughts, a smile formed on Shang Xia¡¯s lips. ¡°Are you not afraid of offending me then?¡± Without waiting for a reply, Shang Xia continued, ¡°Are you thinking of saying that you will never bend to power? Looks like you¡¯re a real manly man¡­ Look at yourself. Do you think they¡¯ll believe you?¡± Guo You opened his mouth slightly, but he failed to utter a single word. That was indeed what he planned to say. Too bad for him, his instincts told him that he would only turn into a laughing stock if he tried something like that. Shang Xia¡¯s gaze turned to Zhang Wei who was trembling slightly and asked again, ¡°Of course Senior Brother Guo isn¡¯t willing to offend me. Why else will he force this pitiful kid to take the bullet for him?¡± ¡°Senior Brother Guo, even if you wish to kill with a borrowed blade and hide in the shadows, you have to choose a better knife! Your mistake this time forced you to stand against me. I bet you¡¯re feeling all sorts of helpless now, right? I wonder¡­ Who¡¯s the one behind this? Who turned you into their scapegoat?¡± Guo You¡¯s expression started to flicker and no one knew if it was because Shang Xia was right. ¡°Senior Brother Guo, if you refuse to admit that you were made use of, I guess you should be flying into a fit of rage right now. Shouldn¡¯t you teach me, your junior brother, a lesson I¡¯ll never forget?¡± Shang Xia muttered nonchalantly. ¡°It is as the rumors say¡­ Junior Brother Shang really has a way with words.¡± Glaring at Shang Xia, Guo You forced the words out of his mouth. A shit-eating grin was plastered on Shang Xia¡¯s face. In stark contrast to Shang Xia¡¯s expression, Guo You growled angrily, ¡°I¡¯ll teach you a lesson. A lesson to uphold the rules of our institution! Since you insist on going against the regulations, others will look down on us if we don¡¯t stamp this behavior out!¡± Guo You was trying to force the members of the Protection Division to take his side. Now that he used the ¡®regulation¡¯ as his reason, they couldn¡¯t allow anyone to be an exception. Shang Xia had long since expected things to reach that point and he snickered, ¡°Since you were going to do this anyway, why waste all our time?¡± Guo You felt his eyelids jumping and he suppressed his urge to pummel Shang Xia. Even he became slightly surprised by his self-control. ¡°I have been wanting to exchange pointers with disciples of the inner division for a long time. I didn¡¯t have a reason to do so in the past, but now it seems like you can fulfill my wish.¡± Shang Xia turned serious and he clasped his hand behind his back. ¡°Please.¡± The moment the words left his lips, the atmosphere changed. The disciples of the outer division started to discuss among themselves. We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. ¡°Chief Shang is actually challenging the members of the Protection Division!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you realize that there was a scheme behind it all? Chief Shang managed to reveal their hidden intentions!¡± ¡°Can Chief Shang win?¡± ¡°This¡­ He¡¯s up against disciples of the inner division¡­¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t Zhu Ying, a cultivator at the Martial Extremity Realm, lose to Chief Shang?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t compare Zhu Ying to disciples in the inner division! Zhu Ying barely broke through before the battle, but Senior Brother Guo seems to have already consolidated his foundations! He¡¯s definitely much more difficult to deal with than Zhu Ying!¡± ¡°Regardless, Chief Shang is standing up for us! We have to support him somehow!¡± ¡°I really wish Chief Shang can teach them a lesson¡­ However, the difference in strength is too large! It¡¯s a gap that cannot be bridged because we choose to root for him¡­¡± The disciples of the Protection Division were much quieter compared to the sixteen disciples from the outer division. From the look on their faces, it seemed as though they were pretty interested in Shang Xia who had already comprehended martial intent. Their discussions were much more discreet compared to the sixteen disciples. ¡°Do you think Guo You can win?¡± ¡°Of course! Guo You entered the Martial Extremity Realm half a year ago and his foundations are solid. Do you really think that the kid can defeat Guo You just because he managed to comprehend martial intent?¡± ¡°Hehe, of course not. Let¡¯s see how long it takes for Guo You to win!¡± ¡°Speaking of Guo You, he¡¯s actually a little pitiful. He should be able to enter the upper division with his strength.¡± ¡°Right¡­ Wasn¡¯t his place taken over by someone else?¡± ¡°Not really. The other person is comparable to Guo You in strength, but his network in the institution is slightly better. That is also the reason behind Guo You¡¯s hatred of those who rely on their background.¡± ¡°Heh, it¡¯s no wonder Guo You chose to offend him. Here I was thinking that he went crazy.¡± ¡°Enough. The battle is about to begin¡­¡± Even though Guo You was embarrassed by Shang Xia¡¯s verbal assault, he didn¡¯t lose the demeanor of a disciple from the inner division. With a swing of his sleeve, he became serious. ¡°Junior Brother Shang, you can make the first move.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t plan to stand on ceremony as he accepted the advantageous offer instantly. Guo You¡¯s lips twitched once when he heard Shang Xia¡¯s reply. He was merely trying to act courteous, as he thought that Shang Xia would forgo the chance of making the first move. After all, his pride as someone from one of the four great clans should prevent him from openly taking advantage of others. That would be true if the original Shang Xia was still alive. The current Shang Xia was much more practical than the original owner of the body. He would take every edge he could get! Even though Guo You wasn¡¯t feeling happy that he made things easier for Shang Xia, he forced a smile and got ready for battle. Soon, his expression sank. A bolt of lightning tore through the skies as he was blinded by a white flash. ¡°I¡­ You¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t be bothered with his own image any longer. He fell to the ground and rolled in an attempt to avoid any strike he couldn¡¯t see. When he got to his feet a second later, a look of trepidation could still be seen on his face. All of a sudden, a scream from the side. ¡°What the f¡­ That was too dangerous!¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t even bother testing out his opponent! He released his ultimate move the moment the battle started!¡± ¡°Who the hell does that?! Is he crazy?¡± ¡°,,,¡± Since Guo You yielded the chance to make the first move, Shang Xia didn¡¯t waste any time and he unleashed his strongest move, the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm, instantly. Looking at the shattered ground below, a cloud of dust filled the air. Guo You didn¡¯t disappoint. Like a true cultivator who managed to enter the inner division, he managed to avoid the most dangerous region affected by Shang Xia¡¯s Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. Even so, he was still struck by the leftover lightning in the air. One side of his body went completely numb. Rage filled his heart. Who would have thought that someone of Shang Xia¡¯s status would resort to cheap tricks like that? Even before he could scold Shang Xia for being shameless, the second attack came. A terrifying pressure surrounded him. The First Move of the Chaos Essence Palm: Fusion of Heaven and Earth Swallowing everything he wanted to say, Guo You felt extremely disgusted. Even so, he didn¡¯t dare to be careless when facing Shang Xia¡¯s powerful strike. He could only try his best to nullify the attack. As a thud rang through the air, a grunt left their lips as Shang Xia wobbled slightly. Guo You took half a step back in retreat. Shards of rock flew everywhere, and it only stopped when it crashed into the wall surrounding the area. Tiny holes could be seen where the shards struck. ¡°No way¡­ Is Guo You at a disadvantage?¡± ¡°Heh, there¡¯s no difference between what he did and a sneak attack.¡± ¡°His Chaos Essence Palm focuses on brute force. The martial intent he comprehended also increases the force behind his moves, it¡¯s amazing that Guo You only took half a step back.¡± ¡°Yeah! Without the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm¡¯s focus on explosive strength, Guo You will be gaining the upper hand now!¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid Guo You is about to break through¡­¡± ¡°The standard to enter the upper division is getting way too high!¡± Before the battle, Shang Xia knew that his martial intent wouldn¡¯t be able to bridge the gap between their difference in cultivation level. Estimating Guo You¡¯s strength the best he could, Shang Xia gained the upper hand because of a bunch of reasons. He didn¡¯t push his advantage in the following exchange. Eventually, Guo You gained the upper hand. After entering the Martial Extremity Realm, a cultivator¡¯s qi would experience another round of transformation. Shang Xia¡¯s foundations might be stable, but Guo You had much more inner qi than him! The quality of inner qi was also better. That wasn¡¯t all. Guo You¡¯s techniques weren¡¯t weak at all. Having gained exceptional control over his strength, Guo You managed to suppress Shang Xia with his own strength! In terms of speed and power, Shang Xia fell to a disadvantage! ¡°How did someone like that fail to enter the upper division?¡± Shang Xia cursed silently and his emotions fluctuated slightly. The change was quickly discovered by Guo You. ¡°Heh, the leader of the outer division isn¡¯t that impressive after all!¡± A sneer soon formed on Guo You¡¯s lips. ¡°If you admit defeat right now, I¡¯ll stop.¡± With victory at hand, the grin on Guo You¡¯s face grew wider. CH 15 ¡°If you admit defeat right now, I¡¯ll stop.¡± Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. With victory at hand, the grin on Guo You¡¯s face grew wider. Whatever the case, he wasn¡¯t a fool. He wouldn¡¯t offend Shang Xia to the point of no return. Since he had already given Shang Xia a way to end the battle, he thought that the other party would take the opportunity immediately. In fact, he felt that Shang Xia would even form a favorable impression of him. The enmity they had might even disappear completely! Too bad for him, nothing went according to plan. Standing strong, Shang Xia continued to defend himself calmly. ¡°Humph! What a stubborn brat!¡± A surge of rage filled Guo You¡¯s heart. He gave Shang Xia a chance, but he didn¡¯t cherish it! Since there wasn¡¯t a way to salvage the situation, he had to give Shang Xia a lesson he would never forget! He couldn¡¯t just win the battle. He had to defeat Shang Xia so badly that he would crush the kid¡¯s confidence completely! Setting his mind to it, he no longer held back. His attacks became even more violent. ¡°That¡¯s the King Kong Fists! Guo You finally used his strongest move!¡± ¡°Looks like he¡¯s planning to learn how to use supple techniques and moves with extreme force at the same time!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ He could use the elementary level Comprehension Fist to suppress Shang Xia completely, stopping Shang Xia from unleashing his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. It¡¯s too bad he failed to develop his move to the extreme¡­¡± ¡°If he managed to take the final step, he wouldn¡¯t be stuck here with us!¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡± ¡°Hmm? How can Shang Xia still hold on under the relentless assault? This¡­¡± When Guo You used the even stronger King Kong Fist, everyone thought that he would defeat Shang Xia immediately! Who would have thought¡­ In fact, Shang Xia lost his calm demeanor the moment Guo You became determined to defeat him. Being forced to the limit, he nearly retrieved his Ivory Fan to continue the battle. At the last moment, he seemed to have reached a new level of comprehension and Shang Xia¡¯s attacks became stronger than they had ever been. Rumble¡­ Shang Xia¡¯s moves didn¡¯t change, but every time he thrust out his palm, a tiny streak of lightning would travel through his arms. He might not have unleashed the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm, but the amount of lightning in his hand didn¡¯t dissipate. If he were to compare the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm to a one time use ability, his current state allowed him to retain his combat strength for a long period of time! Shang Xia seemed to understand something. A whole new level of understanding of the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm appeared in his mind. Explosive power might be good, but the key behind the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm was control! With enough control, a cultivator could use their martial intent to the best of their abilities! They could use it to boost the amount of power they wielded! It could also make up for any weaknesses they had! That was probably the true strength of the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm! That was how cultivators were meant to use their martial intent! ¡­ Using his King Kong Fists like before, Guo You realized that they were starting to lose their effect against Shang Xia. The opponent he was once suppressing was slowly growing stronger! Every time they clashed, a trace of lightning would pierce deep into his bones! He could feel his body growing numb as the power contained in his punches decreased. Eventually, his arm started to tremble every time he released a punch. Unlike Guo You, Shang Xia¡¯s counterattack became even more intense. Panic setting in, Guo You¡¯s attacks became more and more sloppy. He wasn¡¯t the only one who was surprised. The disciples of the Protection Division were equally as shocked. ¡°Could it be?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s the second form of his martial intent!¡± ¡°To fuse his martial intent into his martial arts¡­ How long has it been since he comprehended his martial intent again?¡± ¡°Guo You¡­ Things aren¡¯t looking too good for him!¡± Along with their evaluation, Shang Xia changed his approach once again. The palm strikes that emphasized on power sped up and after sacrificing some power for speed, the shadow of Shang Xia¡¯s palms filled the skies. That was the essence of the Lightning Palm, the other technique he cultivated! Every single strike contained the power of lightning. Tearing through the air, countless streaks of lightning landed on Guo You¡¯s body. Being pushed to the limit, Shang Xia actually managed to deepen his understanding of his martial intent during the battle! Unwilling to show his weakness, Guo You continued his relentless assault, hoping to overpower Shang Xia with his King Kong Fist. It didn¡¯t take long for him to discover that his attacks were in disarray! Trying to correct his technique, he discovered that he didn¡¯t have the strength to raise his arms! As streaks of lighting filled his vision, he could only watch helplessly as they landed on his body. ¡°Guo You lost!¡± ¡°He should admit defeat quickly¡­ Otherwise, he might actually suffer serious injuries from the assault!¡± ¡°The leader of the outer division deserves his title¡­ What terrifying talent!¡± As their words entered Guo You¡¯s ears, he nearly lost himself in rage. All of a sudden, Shang Xia¡¯s voice echoed in his mind. ¡°Hehe, Senior Brother Guo, is that all you got?¡± That was what Guo You said to him before. He was merely repeating it back to the man himself. Looking at Guo You¡¯s face, no one knew if he was flushed from anger or embarrassment. With Shang Xia¡¯s newfound control over his power, Guo You was suppressed so badly he couldn¡¯t even speak. A smile hung on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he chuckled, ¡°If you admit defeat now, I¡¯ll stop.¡± Again, that was the words Guo You said to him. Those words were like a giant palm that slapped Guo You in the face. No matter how embarrassed or humiliated he was, he couldn¡¯t say a word! Right at that moment, an imposing voice boomed through the air. ¡°Enough! Both of you can stop right there.¡± With his heart trembling slightly, Shang Xia stopped himself while discharging the lightning he built up internally. As they shot out from his body, Guo You jumped in fright. Reaching out slowly, Shang Xia patted Guo You¡¯s shoulder lightly. With his body shaking violently, he took several steps back and he crashed into the wall behind. He held the structure hastily in an attempt to stay on his feet. Luckily for him, Shang Xia allowed him to keep the last shred of his dignity. He didn¡¯t release too much lightning into his body. If he did, Guo You would probably pee himself. Clasping his hands behind his back, a smile formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. As he revealed a dignified and elegant appearance, he made it look as though he didn¡¯t take part in a massive brawl several minutes ago! A figure appeared before all of them and a formless pressure descended. ¡°It¡¯s him!¡± A light flashed in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes as he looked at the newcomer. It was none other than Yuan Zilu, the judge who presided over his battle with Zhu Ying. Due to the talent Shang Xia revealed, he even tried recruiting him to the Protection Division! Who would have thought that they would meet again so soon? From the looks of it, the person in charge of leading them to the Tongyou Peak was Instructor Yuan Zilu. Shang Xia felt Yuan Zilu¡¯s gaze land on his body for a split second, but it quickly disappeared. Next, a snort left his lips, ¡°Interesting¡­ Someone invited me over for a cup of tea and all of you caused so much trouble!¡± Shang Xia raised an eyebrow silently. Who the hell drank tea that early in the morning? Yuan Zilu seemed to be implying something¡­ As the leader of the resupply team, he was drawn away by someone. Without him in the picture, the disciples of the Protection Division started to provoke Shang Xia. Even a dumbass could tell that a scheme was brewing. Well, there was only one other question left to ask. Who invited Yuan Zilu over for tea? Shang Xia raised his head only to be greeted with a stare from Yuan Zilu. ¡°... Here we have someone who doesn¡¯t respect his seniors¡­¡± Shang Xia felt his body growing heavy all of a sudden. Turning towards Guo You, Yuan Zilu continued, ¡°... And here we have someone who tried bullying someone weaker than him! What¡¯s more, he lost!¡± Guo You¡¯s face turned ashen. ¡°Both of you are disciples of the institution. Yet, both of you fought like you had to kill the other! If I came a little later, am I supposed to be looking at a dead body?!¡± None of them dared to say a word when faced with Yuan Zilu¡¯s questioning. Yuan Zilu didn¡¯t stop there. A frosty expression could be seen on his face and he continued, ¡°If you have so much excess energy, go kill some cultivators from the other world when you arrive at the battlefield between two worlds!¡± Lowering their heads, the two of them acknowledged immediately. Seeing that the two of them were no longer going for each other¡¯s throats, Yuan Zilu¡¯s tone became a lot better. However, he pointed at the warehouse and sighed, ¡°Since the two of you know your mistakes, load up the rest of the supplies!¡± A bitter smile formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he could only follow Yuan Zilu¡¯s orders obediently. Even though he was in the Martial Realm and possessed a strong body, he exhausted a huge portion of his strength. Moving supplies posed a huge challenge. Luckily for the two of them, everyone started to chip in after they loaded several carriages. It didn¡¯t take long for them to complete the task. CH 16 Roughly 20 years ago, in the 821st year of the Divine Martial Calendar, a foreign region descended on the lands. More than half of the You Continent was affected, and a massive region was sealed, turning into the place they now called the ¡®battlefield between two worlds¡¯. Perhaps it was because it was somewhere that contained the properties of both worlds, all sorts of precious resources were born within. Naturally, the greater the treasures, the greater the risks that accompanied the journey to retrieve them. In the twenty years that passed, there had been countless conflicts between cultivators of both worlds! Enough blood was spilled to fill a sea. The Tongyou Institution was created not too long after the other world descended. Speaking of which, the location of the Tongyou Institution was pretty special. They sat on the southern frontier, and everything past the institution was complete wilderness. Tongyou City sat comfortably behind the institution. When cultivators from the city entered the institution, they would only use the rear entrance. That was because the main entrance of the institution was shrouded in mystery. Even in the institution, not many people would choose to approach the main entrance, much less use it. ¡­ ¡°There¡¯s a simple reason behind this!¡± Yuan Zilu explained, ¡°Right outside the main entrance of the institution lies the only entrance to the battlefield between the two worlds in our You Continent!¡± ¡°Our Tongyou Institution was created to defend our land from the dangers contained in the battlefield between the two worlds!¡± Seeing the looks of amazement on the faces of the outer division disciples, Yuan Zilu smiled and a triumphant expression formed on his face. ¡°You can even say that our You Continent suffered minimal damage because of the presence of our Tongyou Institution!¡± Even though the others were surprised by their newfound knowledge, Shang Xia knew about it for a long time. However, that was the first time he would be using the main entrance of the institution. When they finally arrived at the main entrance of the Tongyou Institution, anticipation filled Shang Xia¡¯s heart. Yuan Zilu was seemingly content with their reaction, and he quickly stood atop the carriage. ¡°Now, it¡¯s time for you to witness the opening of our institution¡¯s main entrance!¡± ¡°This might be where your fates truly change! The moment you step through the entrance of our Tongyou Institution, you will carry the weight of defending our world!¡± A loud rumbling sound filled the air as the massive entrance started to open. A refreshing breeze swept across their faces. Even though it was his first time entering the battlefield between two worlds, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t as excited as the rest of the outer disciples. His expression was solemn, similar to the disciples from the Protection Division. ¡°Onwards!¡± With Yuan Zilu¡¯s command, the convoy advanced, and they were quickly surrounded by a colorful mist. Disciples who were leaving the main entrance for the first time looked at the giant gate they just passed and their jaws fell. They were awed by the giant gate and imposing walls all around them. Shang Xia raised his head and saw the weathered walls. There were even signs of damage made by some sort of projectile. There were also scars left on the wall by what seemed like a claw of a giant beast. Other than that, there were large black streaks that extended all the way to the ground. It was clear that those were dried up blood. ¡°Look at the ground!¡± One of the disciples from the outer division yelled. Shang Xia recognized him as Huang Zihua, and he was a disciple who was just a step away from breaking into the Martial Realm. The carriage rolled along as everyone turned to look at the blood-red dirt under their feet. It didn¡¯t take much imagination to know that there was a massive battle that took place outside the main entrance of the Tongyou Institution. The damage to the walls were an indicator, but the blood stained land solidified their guess. ¡°There might even be more than one battle that took place!¡± The person who spoke was a female disciple, and Shang Xia recalled her name. She was called Jiao Haitang. Silence fell upon the land as soon as she spoke. None of their gazes left the massive walls. Shang Xia was no exception. His status in the Tongyou Institution might be high, but it was his first time leaving the institution. It was the first time they realized that their lives might not be as safe as they thought. Yuan Zilu and the disciples of the Protection Division looked at the disciples who were entering the battlefield between two worlds for the first time and they remained silent. They experienced the exact same feeling in the past. A neigh from the Scarlet Cloud Horse pulling the carriages broke the silence. They were much sturdier than ordinary horses, and they had a trace of the Fire Cloud Beast¡¯s bloodline. The Fire Cloud Beast was a demonic creature that existed a long time ago, and even though its bloodline was thin, it allowed the Scarlet Cloud Horse to be much stronger than ordinary horses. That was the reason why they could pull the Embroidered Cloud Carriage created by the Hundred Profession Pavilion. Just the name of the carriage was enough to draw a connection to the Embroidered Cloud Case. In fact, both items were created by a great craftsmen of the Tongyou Institution. The Embroidered Cloud Carriage was like the Embroidered Cloud Case, and the space contained within the carriage was much larger than what it seemed. After Shang Xia asked around, he learned that a single Embroidered Cloud Carriage could contain eight times its original size! Sitting on top of the carriage, Shang Xia felt that traveled across a thin veil that separated the institution from the battlefield between the two worlds. His senses became much clearer than before. ¡°This¡­ The qi between heaven and earth seems to be denser here.¡± Shang Xia looked around and thought to himself. He discovered that he wasn¡¯t the only one. He discovered that everyone who arrived became much more excited. The oppressive atmosphere that filled the air was nowhere to be seen. ¡°This isn¡¯t all¡­ The heaven and earth qi didn¡¯t just grow denser. It seems to be more active than usual.¡± Shang Xia noticed. Very quickly, he received confirmation of his guesses from Yuan Zilu. ¡°Do you guys feel a lot more alert than usual?¡± A smile hung on his face when he said that. ¡°Many of you should have guessed¡­¡± He glanced at Shang Xia for a second before continuing, ¡°The density of heaven and earth qi is much higher than that in our institution! Moreover, we are only at the outskirts of the battlefield between two worlds! When we go deeper, all of you will realize that the heaven and earth qi will grow even denser and more active!¡± A sigh followed, ¡°Naturally, the heaven and earth qi might be denser here, but you¡¯ll find it much harder to control!¡± Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. ?! Many disciples of the outer division looked at each other in confusion. Shang Xia was the only one who revealed an expression as though he had expected it. He was cautious the moment they entered. He started to circulate his inner qi and tried to control the energy in his body more effectively. He no longer allowed the inner qi in his body to run wild. ¡°All of you might not understand what it means to lose control of your inner qi, but this is something quite common in the outside world. Yuan Zilu continued, ¡°In our own words, you¡¯ll experience cultivation deviation!¡± The faces of many disciples changed when they heard what he said. Many of them hastily suppressed the inner qi in their body, but unlike Shang Xia who had such precise control over his own body, many of them suffered from their overhasty actions. Some of them felt the blood rushing to their head, and there were even some who suffered slight internal injuries. ¡°This is only a small lesson to all of you.¡± Yuan Zilu seemed to have expected something like that to happen. As such, the smile on his face disappeared and he gave them a serious warning. ¡°All of you need to know that there are dangers lurking all around the battlefield between two worlds. Even the heaven and earth qi you absorb might pose a threat to your life!¡± His words were like a bucket of cold water that doused the excitement they had. He didn¡¯t stop there. ¡°Some of you might already know that many disciples gave up their lives in the battlefield between two worlds. Disciples of the inner and outer division alike. I bet none of you know the reason behind their deaths.¡± Yuan Zilu looked at the disciples around him and he saw that many of them had suppressed the chaotic flow of inner qi in their bodies and a satisfied smile returned to his face. ¡°One third of those who die here were killed by experts from the outside world! Half of the remainder were killed when they tried to forage for treasures! The rest died after suffering from cultivation deviation!¡± Looking at the surprised expression that was forming on their faces, Yuan Zilu chuckled, ¡°Are you amazed? Who would have thought that so many cultivators would die when cultivating?! If that¡¯s the case, why are so many people rushing over here?¡± ¡°Are you confused?¡± Many disciples nodded solemnly. As a sharp light flashed through his eyes, no one dared to meet Yuan Zilu¡¯s gaze. ¡°That is because this is the battlefield between the two worlds! There¡¯s not much else for me to say! All of you will have to search for the answer yourselves!¡± Thinking of something, Shang Xia turned to look behind him. He discovered that even though it hadn¡¯t been long since they left the main entrance of the institution, it appeared to have been left a long way behind. Shang Xia¡¯s actions attracted the attention of the other disciples, and all of them turned to look behind them. Yuan Zilu¡¯s voice rang in their ears once again, ¡°The boundary between the You Continent and the battlefield between two worlds is something you cannot comprehend. It¡¯s a spatial wonder that might cause you to lose your way forever.¡± ¡°Naturally, the path we¡¯re taking is an exception. The moment we left the gates, we entered the spatial tunnel connecting the continent to the battlefield!¡± CH 17 ¡°Who goes there?!¡± When they saw a spot of extremely bright light shining in the distance, they seemed to have reached the end of the tunnel. A deep voice rang in their ears before they could exit the tunnel. Yuan Zilu raised his hand slightly, and the entire convoy stopped. ¡°Is Deacon Wu Tinghai up ahead? I¡¯m Yuan Zilu, and the institution sent me to resupply the Tongyou Peak!¡± Yuan Zilu tossed out a shining plaque after he spoke. ¡°Hmm? Why did Junior Brother Yuan come personally?¡± The voice continued, ¡°Right, your plaque is real. Please enter!¡± The convoy continued to advance, and everyone was blinded with a flash of light. Everyone felt as though they had entered a whole new world. Even though they had prepared themselves, the disciples of the outer division gasped in awe. Looking all around them, they discovered that they were at the bottom of a valley, and a sentry-post looking structure hung above their heads. From the looks of it, one had to pass through the sentry point if they wanted to enter or exit the valley. With the gates of the sentry wide open, a boorish and well built man stood directly in the convoy¡¯s way. He was Deacon Wu Tinghai of the Protection Division stationed there. Two disciples clad in robes that had differing design to the ones worn by outer and inner division disciples stood behind him. Those were disciples in the upper division! Shang Xia wasn¡¯t the only one who managed to guess their identity. Everyone looked at the two of them, but Guo You was the only one who had a complicated look in his eyes. After all, he was supposed to be a part of them. Thinking about the reason behind his rejection to the upper division, a look of malice flashed through his eyes and he glared at Shang Xia. After all, Shang Xia was like the disciple who took his spot! Both of them relied on their connections and background! Feeling Guo You¡¯s gaze on him, a snort nearly left Shang Xia¡¯s lips. If you feel so strongly about it, go look for the person who took your spot! What do I have to do with it?! Hold up¡­ Did the person who replaced him rely on the Shang Clan¡¯s influence?! FUCK! Realizing that it was a true possibility, a trace of guilt appeared in Shang Xia¡¯s heart and he turned his head away in order to avoid Guo You¡¯s gaze. Their behavior didn¡¯t affect Wu Tinghai and Yuan Zilu who were catching up with each other. Even though the two of them were talking to each other, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but realize that the gazes of the disciples from the upper division were flittering past the students from the outer division. After the two of them were done, Deacon Wu introduced the two disciples behind him. ¡°Brother Yuan, let me do the introductions. This is Tian Mengzi from the first upper division, and this is Jin Guanchao of the second upper division.¡± Yuan Zilu chuckled happily, ¡°I have long since heard of them! Instructor Yu often sings your praise!¡± ¡°Senior Yuan exaggerates!¡± The two of them smiled at Yuan Zilu¡¯s comment. Shang Xia could feel that Tian Mengzi had great manners, and the way he acted was elegant and graceful. Unlike Tian Mengzi, Jin Guanchao looked a lot more unassuming. When he stood beside Tian Mengzi, it was easy to overlook his presence. However, the occasional streak of light in his eyes allowed Shang Xia to discover that Jin Guanchao was no pushover. He wasn¡¯t as simple as he seemed. Since he was focused on the two of them, he didn¡¯t hear what the others were saying. Only when Yuan Zilu speak did he snap back to reality. ¡°Oh? Are they also planning to head over to the Tongyou Peak? That¡¯s great! With their help and protection, our journey will be much smoother!¡± Turning to look at Yuan Zilu, Shang Xia noticed that the mood had changed. Wu Tinghai had a solemn expression on his face as he spoke to Yuan Zilu, and Yuan Zilu¡¯s expression started to sink. Their lips were moving, but no words came out of their mouth. It was clear that their conversation wasn¡¯t meant to be heard by the disciples around them. An uneasy feeling started to form in Shang Xia¡¯s heart. All he wanted was a peaceful trip over to the Tongyou Peak! ¡­ Wu Tinghai waved his hand all of a sudden and his voice rang through the sky. ¡°Brother Yuan, be careful on the way there!¡± Yuan Zilu nodded slowly before signaling the convoy to continue on its way. Leaving behind a single carriage of supplies for the sentry point, everyone else continued onwards. The only difference was that there were two disciples from the upper division following them. ¡°Wow! It¡¯s so pretty out there!¡± One of the outer disciples cried out softly. Even though they had been reminded time and time again to remain cautious in the battlefield between the two worlds, they were still shocked by the magnificent scenery around them. Many tossed the warnings to the back of their minds. As the heaven and earth qi grew even denser, the air around them seemed to grow heavier. Since Yuan Zilu warned them about the dangers brought by the chaotic heaven and earth qi, everyone was able to prepare adequately. ¡°All of you should raise your guards now. We have truly entered the battlefield between two worlds!¡± ¡°If you wish to keep your sorry little lives, start paying attention to your surroundings. You¡¯re not here for sightseeing.¡± Yuan Zilu¡¯s voice boomed in the minds of the outer disciples. His tone was grim, and there wasn¡¯t much else he could say. ¡°You should really listen to Senior Yuan¡­¡± A comforting voice soon followed and it caught everyone¡¯s attention. Even Shang Xia had to admit that he nearly forgot about the dangers they were facing when they entered the battlefield between the two worlds. Frowning slightly, Shang Xia turned to look at Tian Mengzi who gave them the warning. No one knew when, but he was traveling beside the outer disciples at the rear of the convoy. Jin Guanchao was beside him, but due to Tian Mengzi¡¯s overpowering aura, everyone failed to notice his presence. Shang Xia was no exception. Tian Mengzi¡¯s gaze soon swept across those present. A flash of disappointment appeared in his eyes and he sighed, ¡°Are you from the third outer division? Why isn¡¯t your teacher here?¡± Teacher? Sun Haiwei? Was Tian Mengzi friends with her? Or was she the reason he came all the way out to the valley to meet with them? Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. According to the rules of the institution, disciples in the upper division were allowed to take on a job as a custodian in the outer division. Naturally, only disciples who performed exceptionally would be given the chance to do so. Sun Haiwei was a student in the upper division, and that was her first year taking on her job as the third outer division¡¯s custodian. If that was the case¡­ Those who came from the outer division glanced at Tian Mengzi from the corner of their eye. Their actions were instantly caught by Tian Mengzi. ¡°You little brats are really something else¡­¡± Tian Mengzi didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. Even though he looked slightly older than Shang Xia and the others, his attitude and approach to things gave off a sense of maturity little people had. Everyone felt as though they were speaking to an elder when talking to him. Laughter rang through the air all of a sudden and even Shang Xia failed to conceal his smile. Shaking his head with a bitter smile on his face, Tian Mengzi continued, ¡°Do you guys know the reason why she didn¡¯t come?¡± The sixteen disciples from the outer division turned to look at Shang Xia instantly. Tian Mengzi¡¯s gaze followed, and he chuckled in amusement, ¡°I know you! You¡¯re Shang Xia, the leader of the outer division!¡± Even though he was the leader of the outer division, everyone in the upper division knew him by another identity! Shang Bo¡¯s grandson! After all, his identity as the grandson of the deputy patriarch sounded much more imposing compared to the leader of the outer division. Shang Xia responded quickly, ¡°Senior Brother Tian is exaggerating! I only managed to gain my title by luck! It¡¯s nothing special!¡± Tian Mengzi maintained the smile on his face, but his tone turned serious. ¡°Nonsense! You managed to comprehend your martial intent in your first year, and out of everything you could learn, you cultivated the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm! Even I wasn¡¯t as powerful as you when I was your age.¡± Shang Xia returned Tian Mengzi¡¯s pleasantries and he started to talk about Sun Haiwei. Raising his eyebrow slightly, Tian Mengzi exclaimed, ¡°She changed her plans and asked you to take her place?¡± He turned to look at Jin Guanchao who was beside him and only then did Shang Xia notice the other disciple¡¯s presence. When Tian Mengzi came over to talk to him, Jin Guanchao was clearly doing his own thing! When in the world did he appear?! Shang Xia also discovered the looks of shock on the faces of the outer disciples. It seemed as though he wasn¡¯t the only one who didn¡¯t discover Jin Guanchao¡¯s presence. Jin Guanchao was also surprised. Naturally, it had nothing to do with Shang Xia¡¯s discovery of his presence. Instead, he was taken aback by Sun Haiwei¡¯s decision. It was clear that Sun Haiwei had some sort of agreement with the two of them to enter the battlefield between two worlds. ¡°Was she really anxious when she asked you to replace her?¡± Tian Mengzi followed up with another question. After receiving a confirmation from Shang Xia, a trace of joy could be seen on his face. However, an envious look soon followed. ¡°Yeah¡­ She has been stuck for quite some time at her current realm. She went over to the outer division in order to focus on her cultivation. Now, it seems she¡¯s going to break through before us.¡± After he spoke, Tian Mengzi turned to look at Shang Xia. ¡°In the past, your teacher requested for me to accompany you guys to the Tongyou Peak. Even though she isn¡¯t here, Junior Brother Jin and I will definitely ensure your safety!¡± Turning to look at Jin Guanchao, he reminded everyone of the latter¡¯s presence again. Shang Xia once again realized that he had forgotten that Jin Guanchao was present. ¡°Oh right, your Chief Shang is also here to protect you.¡± ¡°Be careful!¡± Yuan Zilu¡¯s voice boomed all of a sudden. CH 18 ¡°Be careful!¡± The entire convoy sprung into action instantly. It was especially so for the disciples of the Protection Division. They gathered around to form a defensive perimeter before the disciples of the outer division could react. A foreign voice rang in their ears. ¡°It¡¯s just several ordinary corpses¡­¡± It was clear the person who spoke didn¡¯t think too highly of the ¡®danger¡¯. Turning to look at the source of the voice, Shang Xia discovered that it belonged to Jin Guanchao, the disciple of the upper division who barely spoke since they arrived. Disciples from the Protection Division clashed with the corpses, and the sound of battle soon traveled into Shang Xia¡¯s ears. The next thing he knew, Yuan Zilu¡¯s voice resounded through the air. ¡°Alright. That¡¯s it. Leave the rest for the outer disciples so they can train themselves. Laughter rang through the air and several corpses wobbled over to the back of the convoy. Even though the Scarlet Cloud Horse only had a trace of the Fire Cloud Beast¡¯s bloodline in their body, they could easily scare off the corpses. As such, Yuan Zilu and the others had to steer the carriage away in order to direct the corpses towards the outer disciples. Without Shang Xia¡¯s instructions, fourteen disciples from the outer division ran over to surround the corpses that approached them. The bodies of those corpses were already falling apart by the time the disciples approached. Their unbearable stench assaulted the noses of those present before the corpse even arrived. Disciples of the outer division retched, and it was especially so for the female disciples who were close to puking their guts out. Even so, the disciples didn¡¯t retreat. Even if they had to vomit along the way, they dealt with the threat without a trace of hesitation. ¡°I remember this like it was yesterday¡­ Do you recall the first time we entered this place?¡± Tian Mengzi spoke to Jin Guanchao beside him. Shang Xia didn¡¯t make his move. Even though it was his first time at the battlefield between two worlds, mere undead corpses weren¡¯t enough to make him move out. He turned his attention to the disciples from the outer division who were busy fighting the corpses. Even though they were frightened by the appearance of the creatures, they quickly suppressed the fear in their hearts and they started to attack the corpses in unison. They displayed everything they learned in the institution perfectly. The corpses might look terrifying, but they were barely slightly stronger than ordinary humans. It didn¡¯t take long for their bones to line the dirt. Defeating the corpses wasn''t as difficult as they thought. ¡°Hehe, looks like they¡¯re nothing special!¡± One of the disciples in the outer division, Huang Zihua, shattered the skull of a corpse while snorting. His performance was one of the better ones in the battle. His gaze unintentionally went over to Shang Xia. In fact, he respected Shang Xia quite a bit! Respect was one thing, but that didn¡¯t mean that he planned on looking up to Shang Xia forever. I managed to obtain a secret manual from the institution. This time, I¡¯ll break through to the Martial Realm at the Tongyou Peak! When that happens, I won¡¯t be left behind by the elite students! As the thoughts ran in Huang Zihua¡¯s head, he was too distracted to notice how Shang Xia moved. The next thing he knew, a streak of lightning flashed through the air. When he was still confused, a terrifying surge of energy sent him flying. Even though it was directed towards him, it didn¡¯t hurt him in the slightest. In mid air, Huang Zihua twisted his body, only to see Shang Xia in his place. A lightning spear stabbed straight into the ground. ¡°Oh no! They¡¯re in the ground below us!¡± Tian Mengzi seemed to have realized the problem as well and he cautioned. However, neither him nor Jin Guanchao moved. They weren¡¯t worried about the disciples at all. ¡°Second form of martial intent!¡± Jin Guanchao exclaimed and he was clearly surprised by Shang Xia¡¯s display. Meng Tianzi sighed, ¡°Yeah¡­ He managed to fuse his martial intent into his moves¡­ Not even I could do something like that at his age.¡± That seemed to mean something else¡­ However, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered as he noticed that his speed increased by a whole lot with the use of his martial intent. From the time he noticed the danger to the time he stabbed his lightning spear into the ground, the corpse didn¡¯t even manage to make its appearance. Sending a surge of lightning into the ground, several explosions rang through the air. ¡°Watch out! Retreat right now!¡± Shang Xia yelled when he realized that something was off. The corpses that appeared from the ground had a gaping hole in its chest. The stench of burnt flesh filled the air and its body trembled violently. Heaving a sigh of relief, Shang Xia took out his Ivory Fan. With a flick of his wrist, he sent a lightning bolt crashing into the corpse¡¯s skull. ¡°Crack¡­¡± With a loud snap, the corpse stopped moving. ¡°Junior Brother Shang¡¯s lightning art is extremely effective when dealing with undead corpses!¡± Tian Mengzi appeared beside him all of a sudden and he looked at the corpse in the ground. ¡°Senior Brother Tian, are you familiar with the weakness of these undead corpses?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°Somewhat¡­¡± Tian Mengizi continued, ¡°We call these corpses hiding in the ground ¡®buried corpses¡¯. They¡¯re a little different from ordinary undead corpses, and they possess a little bit of inner qi. If you dig around, you might find some useful treasures.¡± Shang Xia continued to wave his fan around. His expression changed when he saw the charred body on the ground. He could guess what treasure Tian Mengzi was talking about, but was he really supposed to dig for it himself?! ¡°I¡¯ll do it!¡± Huang Zihua ran over and declared. ¡°Many thanks to Senior Brother Shang for saving my life. I¡¯ll take over all these menial tasks!¡± Shang Xia nodded slightly and revealed a smile, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll trouble Junior Brother Huang.¡± Their fingernails were naturally the treasures Tian Mengzi was talking about. Even though there were close to ten of them and were pretty valuable, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t retrieve them himself! However, there was also no way the other disciples of the Tongyou Institution would allow the treasures to be wasted. Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. To many outer disciples, obtaining them on their first trip to the battlefield between two worlds had more symbolic meaning than practical ones. ¡­ Since the battle caused such a huge ruckus, there was no way Yuan Zilu could ignore it. The appearance of a buried corpse had exceeded his expectations, but he didn¡¯t rush over immediately. It was clear that he trusted Tian Mengzi and Jin Guanchao. Huang Zihua quickly dealt with the corpse and he handed the treasure over to Shang Xia. Waving his hand, Shang Xia sighed, ¡°We killed all of them together. All of us should split the rewards evenly. When we arrive at the Tongyou Peak, we¡¯ll exchange it for money and we¡¯ll split it with everyone.¡± Huang Zihua stared at Shang Xia in shock. ¡°How can this¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s it! No more arguments.¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t allow Huang Zihua to continue. He clearly didn¡¯t care about such worthless treasures, but to the outer disciples, those things were worth a fortune! Since he could use them to improve his reputation, there was no harm in doing so. ¡°Continue onwards!¡± Yuan Zilu¡¯s voice came from the front of the convoy. His timing was impeccable, and everything was clearly under control. As the disciples returned to the carriage, they thought about the battle they just experienced. Shang Xia coughed lightly and he asked, ¡°Senior Brother Tian, how did the undead corpses come about?¡± Shang Xia might have whispered, but he caught everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Undead corpses¡­¡± Tian Mengzi didn¡¯t expect Shang Xia to ask a question like that. However, he replied after arranging his thoughts. ¡°There¡¯s nothing special about them. The corpses started to appear twenty years ago when the battlefield between the two worlds appeared. They were probably the humans who failed to escape during the collision. Our world, the Azure Origin World, collided with the Azure Spiritual World. I¡¯m sure all of you know the stories.¡± Shang Xia asked, ¡°Why would those who failed to escape turn into corpses? Is there something to do with the composition of both worlds?¡± Tian Mengzi hesitated for a moment, but he continued, ¡°The boundary between our worlds formed because of the massive collision. It also caused violent storms of heaven and earth qi that swept through the battlefield. The storms transformed their physical bodies and souls, turning them into undead corpses that roam the lands.¡± CH 19 When Shang Xia was learning about the corpses¡¯ origin, a slight drizzle started to fall. The sudden change caused no small reaction among the disciples. Luckily for them, it didn¡¯t take long for a giant umbrella to appear above every carriage. Torches were lit all around, and they illuminated the space around the convoy. They were clearly ready for anything that might happen. Disciples of the Protection Division and Yuan Zilu himself didn¡¯t seem surprised by the sudden change in situation. When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Amidst the splattering of rain, Tian Mengzi¡¯s voice rang through the air. ¡°It¡¯s nothing special for ordinary humans to become undead corpses. The only thing special about them is their above average strength. They have no way to think for themselves, and even ordinary humans can kill one after getting over their fear.¡± ¡°The scary ones come when cultivators turn into corpses. Even after their souls were destroyed, they kept their inner qi. They have all sorts of weird abilities.¡± ¡°Is that how buried corpses came about?¡± Jiao Haitang, another disciple from the outer division, asked. Tian Mengzi nodded slightly. ¡°That¡¯s right. However, buried corpses are the weakest ones.¡± A complicated expression formed on Tian Mengzi¡¯s face and he continued, ¡°Moreover, the corpses can form any time. Not just twenty years ago¡­ Even today, cultivators might turn into undead corpses that roam the battlefield.¡± Tian Mengzi¡¯s revelation shocked many disciples. When they thought about becoming weird creatures like that even after their death, the blood drained from their faces. Tian Mengzi sighed when he saw their reactions. ¡°That is why learning how to kill your enemy isn¡¯t the most important thing. You should learn how to survive in the treacherous battlefield filled with dangers!¡± Even though the facts he presented were shocking, there were several disciples who managed to keep their cool. Those were the ones who caught Tian Mengzi¡¯s attention. Shang Xia also noticed that Tian Mengzi was testing them. He was probably trying to see how their mental capabilities were. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know that Tian Mengzi¡¯s actions were merely a standard practice passed down by the institution. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t say anything about it in front of so many people. Instead, he looked at those who were unaffected by the news. He noticed Huang Zihua and Jiao Haitang among them. ¡°Relax¡­¡± Tian Mengzi wanted to comfort the disciples, but his tone changed all of a sudden. ¡°Well, here comes a chance to test yourselves¡­¡± Shang Xia raised his head suddenly and he felt a sense of danger drawing close. Screeching sounds came from the skies, and a terrifying black figure swooped down towards a carriage. ¡°Ah!¡± A scream rang through the air, and it was obvious that someone was injured! More screeching came from the skies and black figures tore through the skies. Shang Xia¡¯s expression changed, and he yelled, ¡°Get out of the carriages!¡± After he spoke, he turned into a streak of lightning that charged towards his fellow student. The third move of his Chaos Essence Palm, Unwavering Storm, arrived before he did. It cleared out an empty space from the rain. Still in a state of shock, the disciples watched on as a black figure crashed into Shang Xia¡¯s palm. The black figure slowed down significantly when it crashed into Shang Xia¡¯s attack, and everyone finally noticed its true appearance. ¡°This¡­ Rain Swallows?¡± The disciple who was saved by Shang Xia gasped in fright. ¡°Even if they are, they definitely underwent some sort of mutation.¡± Shang Xia frowned. Looking at the swallow that was barely two feet long, he yelled, ¡°Hurry up and get out of the carriage!¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Unable to thank Shang Xia in time, they leaped off the carriage. Shang Xia flicked his finger and a bolt of lightning blasted the Mutated Rain Swallow into pieces. The wings stiffened before falling to his feet. Looking outside, Shang Xia noticed more than a dozen Mutated Rain Swallows attacking the convoy. Even with his reminder, the disciples weren¡¯t able to avoid the attack completely. From time to time, yells would fill the skies. Shang Xia swept his gaze across those flying creatures and a light flashed through his eyes. His lightning abilities were unable to cause them much damage. He also noticed the golden glow in their eyes, and when the birds swooped down, their wings would act as blades that tore into the flesh of their target. As they attacked the disciples, many of them started to suffer cuts all over their bodies. When the outer disciples were trying to avoid the attack of the Mutated Rain Swallows, Shang Xia noticed that the disciples from the Protection Division were running around, actively trying to capture some of those mutated birds. The Mutated Rain Swallows might be fast, but the inner disciples weren¡¯t weaklings! They managed to capture a few of them. When their companions suffered from the cuts brought along by the swallows¡¯ wings, they were ruthlessly mocked by their fellow disciples. From the looks of it, they were having a lot of fun! Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate and he reached out to grab a Mutated Rain Swallow. Chirping loudly, the bird that was about to land in his grasp sped up slightly and avoided capture. ¡°Huh?¡± Shang Xia wasn¡¯t going to be humiliated by a bunch of birds. Activating the fourth move of his Lightning Palm, Capturing Lightning, his arm flew across the air and grabbed at the Mutated Rain Swallow¡¯s tail. ¡°Chirp!¡± With a loud cry, the bird that was soaring through the air a moment ago trembled and died. Shang Xia¡¯s technique might have allowed him to keep up with the bird¡¯s movements, but it was evidently too barbaric to capture them alive. Tossing the dead Mutated Rain Swallow to his feet, Shang Xia sighed. ¡°Alright, you can end the lesson now¡­¡± Yuan Zilu¡¯s voice came from the front of the convoy once again. Tian Mengzi responded, ¡°I was planning to teach them one final lesson before we actually run into trouble in the future! Since Junior Sister Sun isn¡¯t here, I thought I¡¯d take her place. Looks like it was unnecessary!¡± The torches on the carriage flared with even greater intensity all of a sudden, and the light that covered the convoy extended by several feet. The Mutated Rain Swallows were evidently startled by the sudden change, and they retreated slightly. Realizing that the light could affect their combat abilities, the Mutated Rain Swallows became reluctant to continue their attack. Only those with more courage continued to swoop in towards the disciples in the convoy. It was too bad they turned into the student¡¯s prey the moment they did. When the rest of the Mutated Rain Swallows were deciding whether to retreat, the flames transformed once again. They turned into a web of flames that extended outwards rapidly. Crying out in fright, three of the remaining Mutated Rain Swallows were burned to a crisp. They didn¡¯t even have time to react! Five of them managed to avoid touching the flames, but due to the suppression, four of them lost their lives to the disciples. The final one was captured by Shang Xia, and despite its attempts to struggle free, it landed in Shang Xia¡¯s hands. This time, Shang Xia controlled his strength perfectly. He made sure that he wouldn¡¯t kill the swallow in one strike. Every other bird flew away in fright, and they disappeared in the blink of an eye. With the rain stopping suddenly, pretty rays of light fell upon the lands. A weirdly beautiful scene formed. If not for the soaked dirt beneath their feet, no one would believe them if they said that it had just rained. The convoy continued on their way, and the disciples of the inner division collected the corpses of the swallows. The mutated swallows had a body full of treasures! Their wings and claws were both valuable items! However, like the fingernails of the corpses before, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with them. Wounded disciples started to treat themselves, and it didn¡¯t take long to take care of all the superficial damages they suffered. However, the gazes of inner and outer disciples alike would turn to look at Shang Xia from time to time. ¡°Did you actually capture a Mutated Rain Swallow?!¡± Tian Mengzi looked at Shang Xia in amazement. He wasn¡¯t the only one. Yuan Zilu, who was leading the convoy, was equally as surprised. CH 20 ¡°You actually managed to capture a live one?!¡± ¡°How did you do it?!¡± Tuan Mengzi and Yuan Zilu asked in succession, shocking Shang Xia. Mutated Rain Swallows were extremely fast! Even cultivators like Tian Mengzi and Yuan Zilu would find it difficult to capture one! Wait¡­ this is just a Mutated Rain Swallow¡­ Isn¡¯t this a little too much?! They seemed to notice Shang Xia¡¯s doubts, and Tian Mengzi explained, ¡°These creatures are extremely fast and aggressive! Not even Brother Jin and I can capture one¡­¡± he turned to look at the bird in Shang Xia¡¯s hand and pouted, ¡°However, it won¡¯t be too difficult if Instructor Yuan wishes to get his hands on one.¡± Yuan Zilu shook his head, but his haughty tone betrayed his feelings. ¡°I might be able to capture one or two, but the moment the Mutated Rain Swallows discover that they have no chance of escaping, they will kill themselves!¡± Shang Xia looked at the creature in his hand, but he noticed that it hadn¡¯t killed itself. ¡°Is it unable to kill itself because of the nature of my lightning attacks?¡± Shang Xia tossed the bird into a specially crafted cage by his side before hanging it up on the side of the carriage. The mutated creatures that appeared in the battlefield between the two worlds were extremely precious! Any creature that was captured alive was worth a terrifying amount of money! ¡°No, no, no¡­¡± Tian Mengzi shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re thinking about it too simply! You can believe me when I say that cultivators of the Tongyou Peak tried ways and means to capture a Mutated Rain Swallow alive. No matter how hard they tried, they were unable to capture a live one!¡± Yuan Zilu turned to look at the bird fluttering about in the cage. The swallow looked extremely weak, but it seem as though it wasn¡¯t planning to kill itself anytime soon. A weird gaze flashed in Yuan Zilu¡¯s eyes and he spoke to Shang Xia, ¡°Looks like your control over your strength improved. However, now that you managed to capture it alive, you have to make sure it lives! If you¡¯re unable to stop it from self-destructing, you have to kill it immediately to preserve a complete corpse.¡± Shang Xia asked ¡°Is there something special about the mutated creatures? Why are they so interested in getting their hands on a live one?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Tian Mengzi and Yuan Zilu were the ones stunned by his question. ¡°Why the hell did you capture one then?! Don¡¯t you know that killing one is much easier than capturing one alive?¡± Shang Xia chuckled in response, ¡°I caught it for fun. I wanted to see how well my control over my strength is!¡± Staring at each other in confusion, Tian Mengzi and Yuan Zilu exclaimed, ¡°Is that it?!¡± ¡°What other intentions can I have?¡± An innocent smile formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face, but in the eyes of Yuan Zilu and Tian Mengzi, it was the most annoying expression they had ever seen. Not wanting to indulge him any further, Tian Mengzi said, ¡°You¡¯ll see. You¡¯ll know everything when we arrive at the Tongyou Peak.¡± Shang Xia tried everything he could to loosen their lips, but there was nothing he could do to gain any more information. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. After moving for quite some time, Shang Xia saw another amazing scene. With too many interesting views, Shang Xia had long since grown numb to it. He calmed himself and he told himself to stay on guard. Since Tian Mengzi was planning to take Sun Haiwei¡¯s place as their teacher, he wouldn¡¯t let the chance go. ¡°Senior Brother Tian, will the mutated swallows only appear when there is rain? Did their mutation occur because of the battlefield?¡± Tian Mengzi explained patiently, ¡°That¡¯s right. They will only appear when there is rain, and due to the weird weather conditions here, no one knows when they will actually show themselves.¡± ¡°As for the mutation, there are different views on the matter. Some say that it has something to do with the heaven and earth qi here. Others say that the swallows are slowly starting to evolve.¡± Shang Xia felt like Tian Mengzi was still hiding something, but seeing as the other party wasn¡¯t planning on explaining further, he didn¡¯t push the matter. Another question soon popped up in his mind. ¡±Senior Brother Tian, from what I know, there were many cultivators in the region when the worlds collided. A lot of them escaped, but they didn¡¯t become¡­¡± Twenty years had passed since the worlds collided, and the cultivators who were alive then were still kicking now. They were the pioneers who set up the Tongyou Institution, and some of them were terrifying individuals. As someone from the Shang Clan and the grandson of the deputy patriarch of the Tongyou Institution, Shang Xia knew a lot more than the rest. Of course, it wasn¡¯t polite for him to ask why the cultivators who escaped didn¡¯t turn into walking corpses. After all, the early cultivators of the Shang Clan were also experts who escaped from the collision between the two worlds. Tian Mengzi thought for a second and continued, ¡°Even though I wasn¡¯t there when it happened, I heard rumors from many teachers from the institution. When the two worlds collided, the energy fluctuations weren¡¯t considered a disaster to mankind. Those who managed to survive received a huge opportunity.¡± Tian Mengzi continued, ¡°Cultivators who didn¡¯t die then experienced a huge increase in strength. Their cultivation speed became terrifying¡­ That was also how we managed to regroup our troops within a short period of time. The collision of our worlds might have caused a lot of damage, but with their newfound strength, our forefathers managed to secure the Tongyou Peak in the battlefield between two worlds. They reached an agreement with the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World to cease fighting for 20 years. They also established the Tongyou Institution right outside the entrance to the battlefield, sending in disciples to temper themselves occasionally.¡± Shang Xia knew some of the things Tian Mengzi revealed, but a part of the information contained stuff he was hearing for the first time. As for the rest of the disciples, they were hearing it for the first time and looks of amazement could be seen on their faces. Tian Mengzi chuckled, ¡°A lot of the things I said aren¡¯t really secrets. When you enter the inner division in two months, these will be taught in your lessons.¡± A voice rang from the side after Tian Mengzi spoke. ¡°Brother Tian, are we able to identify the undead corpses based on their clothes or appearances? Do their movements follow some sort of pattern?¡± Shang Xia looked at the person who spoke and a weird light flashed in his eyes. The disciple who asked the questions was called Meng Liangchen. He was a cultivator who was about to enter the Martial Realm. He wasn¡¯t exactly friendly to anyone in the outer division, and Shang Xia never really interacted with him. Tian Mengzi raised an eyebrow in shock. His expression turned solemn when he looked at the disciple who spoke. ¡°What is your question exactly?¡± Meng Liangchen didn¡¯t seem to notice the change in Tian Mengzi¡¯s tone and he continued, ¡°If we are able to identify the corpses, I wish to look for the traces of my Meng Family in the battlefield!¡± ¡°Are you a descendant of the Meng Clan? This¡­ I¡¯m afraid this will be extremely difficult.¡± Tian Mengzi sighed. ¡°Due to the collision between our worlds, a greater half of our continent was swallowed. The Azure Spiritual World probably had some of its land mass eaten up as well. Due to the impact, the geography here is extremely complex. It¡¯s completely unrecognizable, and it won¡¯t be easy to look for a specific location in this place.¡± Thinking of something all of a sudden, Tian Mengzi shook his head again. ¡°You¡¯re not the first one who thought of that. There were many people who wanted to try looking for their territory after the fluctuations died down. In the end, they paid the price of blood to obtain paltry benefits¡­¡± Meng Liangchen¡¯s expression sank. ¡°Wait. It¡¯s not exactly impossible¡­¡± Another voice rang through the air. A strange look filled Shang Xia¡¯s eyes. Once again, he forgot the existence of Jin Guanchao. ¡°Brother Jin, this¡­¡± Tian Mengzi revealed a conflicted expression. He didn¡¯t think that Jin Guanchao would actually take the initiative to speak. ¡°Buried corpses like the one you saw before formed due to the special energy fluctuations caused by the collision.¡± Jin Guanchao muttered. Looks of confusion were thrown around instantly. No one knew what he was talking about. The only person who understood him was Tian Mengzi, who quickly explained, ¡°Due to the sudden change, many clans chose to hide underground. They were unable to avoid death, but their bodies were completely preserved due to the restrictions they laid down before.¡± As time passed, their restrictions lost effect and their bodies appeared in the outside world. That is why their clothes and appearances look recognizable. Since most of them were humans before they died, their clothes will contain the insignia of the faction they belonged to.¡± A trace of hope appeared in Meng Liangchen¡¯s eyes. ¡°Was there ever any news about my Meng Clan?¡± Tian Mengzi chuckled lightly. ¡°Isn¡¯t no news the best news you can get?¡± Even though Meng Liangchen was disappointed, he understood what Tian Mengzi meant. However, Jin Guanchao¡¯s words shattered his dreams completely. ¡°In the past, our disciples found a corpse that was wearing the clothes of your Meng Clan¡­¡± CH 21 ¡°In the past, our disciples found a corpse that was wearing the clothes of the Zhu Family too¡­¡± Jin Guanchao¡¯s revelation managed to pique Shang Xia¡¯s interest. ¡°Zhu Family?!¡± Meng Liangchen gasped in fright. ¡°Are you talking about the Zhu Family that reigned supreme in the You Continent twenty years ago?¡± Meng Liangchen¡¯s looked at both Tian Mengzi and Jin Guanchao, expecting them to continue their explanation. However, Jin Guanchao seemed to be done talking. Everyone could only turn to Tian Mengzi, the more friendy of the two. Tian Mengzi forced a smile and he muttered, ¡°Indeed¡­ However, that¡¯s a rumor going around the Tongyou Peak.¡± ¡°I got it!¡± Huang Zihua yelled suddenly. When everyone turned to look at him, they saw a contented smile on his face. His voice deepened and he muttered, ¡°Did all of you forget how Zhu Ying challenged Chief Shang the other day?¡± Before they could react, he continued, ¡°Don¡¯t you find it weird? Zhu Ying wouldn¡¯t normally provoke anyone. He even remained in the outer division for another year. How did he break through to the Martial Extremity Realm without any warning to challenge Chief Shang?¡± The look in the eyes of everyone present turned weird. Wasn¡¯t it because of Mu Qingyu?! Shang Xia¡¯s expression remained the same, but the look in his eyes turned gloomy. Brat, are you trying to badmouth me here? Huang Zihua felt a formless pressure pressing down on him suddenly, and he didn¡¯t dare to look in Shang Xia¡¯s general direction. Jiao Haitang followed up, ¡°Didn¡¯t he improve quickly because of Teacher Liu Zhifei¡¯s support?¡± Huang Zihua could tell that she was trying to help him change the topic there, and he was more than happy to avoid p*ssing off Shang Xia even more. ¡°Of course¡­ However, if Zhu Ying received help from Custodian Liu, he wouldn¡¯t have remained in the outer division for one extra year.¡± That was true. With the Liu Family¡¯s resources, they could make a useless fool enter the Martial Realm in a year. If Liu Zhifei was hell bent on helping Zhu Ying, he would have entered the inner division a year ago! Of course, it was even less likely for him to be able to increase his cultivation to the Martial Extremity Realm in half a year! One had to know that Zhu Ying was barely at the peak of the Qi Gathering Realm when they last saw him. Wasn¡¯t that itself a clear indication that there was a huge problem?! The Liu Family was strong, but they wouldn¡¯t throw unlimited resources into training an outsider! No matter how great the relationship between the Zhu Family and Liu Family, such a situation was impossible! Unless¡­ A light flashed in Meng Liangchen¡¯s eyes. ¡°There were signs of the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance on Zhu Ying! In order to get to the bottom of the matter, the Liu Family chose to help Zhu Ying cultivate!¡± Shaking his head slowly, Meng Liangchen sighed, ¡°Wait, that¡¯s not right. Even if the Liu Family covets the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance, they wouldn¡¯t do it so openly! The only reason behind Zhu Ying¡¯s sudden increase in strength was because he discovered the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance himself! He even managed to hide it from the Liu Family!¡± Jiao Haitang followed up, ¡°Did Zhu Ying enter the battlefield between two worlds previously?¡± ¡°Haha! It¡¯s not impossible for him to do so as an outer disciple! With the Liu Family¡¯s influence, sneaking a disciple into the battlefield between two worlds is as easy as pie!¡± Meng Liangchen snorted. ¡°From the looks of it, Zhu Ying might not be working as closely with the Liu Family as we thought. The Liu Family wants the inheritance left behind by the Zhu Family, but Zhu Ying has his schemes too. He won¡¯t allow them to do as they wish.¡± Meng Liangchen seemed to have thought of something more and he continued, ¡°I heard that Zhu Ying entered the battlefield between two worlds again¡­¡± Silence filled the air. Now that Zhu Ying has entered the battlefield between the two worlds again, his objective was clear for all to see. Huang Zihua coughed dryly and he muttered, ¡°Is it really alright for us to be making so many deductions behind his back?¡± Hold up¡­ Didn¡¯t you start it?! Their discussion wasn¡¯t as private as they thought. Tian Mengzi, Jin Guanchao, and several disciples of the inner division had long since taken note of their discussion. One had to know that the Liu Clan was part of the four great clans in the Tongyou City. The patriarch of the Liu Clan was another deputy patriarch of the institution, and their roots ran deep. Who knew if there were spies of the Liu Clan among them? Realizing the severity of the matter, the three of them revealed unnatural expressions. It was especially so for Meng Liangchen. When they had their conversation earlier, the three of them spoke as if they knew exactly what was going on. They reveled in the attention they were getting, but after realizing how serious the accusations were, they felt as though their butts were on fire. Huang Zihua and Jiao Haitang fared a little better than Meng Liangchen. At that moment, Meng Liangchen squirmed around his seat. ¡­ As the convoy continued, the temperature in the air spiked without any warning. It didn¡¯t take long before everyone felt as though they were stuck in a giant oven. The umbrellas that sheided them from the rain earlier reappeared, preventing them from turning into human bbq. The dirt that was slightly moist dried up instantly. A dust cloud was kicked up by the carriage as they proceeded onwards. Shang Xia looked at the cage hanging at the side of the carriage and saw that the Mutated Rain Swallow was pretty much recovered. It closed its eyes while laying still in its new home. Seemingly able to feel Shang Xia¡¯s gaze, the bird leaped into the air and chirped loudly. ¡°Chirp, chirp!!¡± It seemed to be verifying something with Shang Xia. Didn¡¯t they say that it would self-destruct after realizing that it was captured? Shang Xia looked at the Mutated Rain Sparrow and he couldn¡¯t see any signs of it trying to kill itself. Instead, it seemed to be yelling at him repeatedly. ¡°Hmm why does this bird seem like some sort of masochist¡­¡± Huang Zihua looked at the Rain Swallow in the cage before looking at Shang Xia. One had to admit that Huang Zihua was someone with balls of steel. Not only did he ¡®reveal¡¯ the conspiracy behind the Liu Clan, he even dared to crack jokes on Shang Xia. Couldn¡¯t he see that Meng Liangchen was still shivering with fear in the corner? Shang Xia glared at him in response. ¡°Hey! Why are there two shadows?¡± A yell from someone in the convoy saved Huang Zihua from Shang Xia¡¯s attention. This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Looking down, everyone saw two giant shadows shaking in the ground. ¡°Look! There are two suns in the sky!¡± Everyone soon discovered the reason behind the weird phenomenon. Regardless of their status, everyone in the convoy ignored the blazing sun and looked at the sky. Yuan Zilu was no exception. Even though there were many weird events that happened in the battlefield between two worlds, it was a rare sight for them to see two suns. The rarer the phenomenon, the greater the opportunity! ¡°All those who cultivate fire arts, what are you waiting for?!¡± Yuan Zilu¡¯s voice boomed in the ears of those present. With two suns in the sky, the fire qi in the air had reached a whole new level. The appearance of two suns signified the best time for cultivators who absorbed fire qi to improve their cultivation! One had to know that one of the most common paths to walk down was to cultivate the qi of water and fire! According to a study done by the institution, nearly two thirds of cultivators did so! It was a pity that there were only three of them among the disciples in the convoy. The others could only watch enviously as they managed to grasp the opportunity to absorb the dense fire qi in the air. Shang Xia saw Yuan Zilu sitting down on top of his carriage, absorbing fire qi without a care in the world. Even though Instructor Yuan had already surpassed the elementary level of controlling the elements, it didn¡¯t stop him from consolidating his foundation. Shang Xia leaped on top of the carriage as he circulated the inner qi in his body. ¡°Huh? Didn¡¯t you walk down a different path?¡± Tian Mengzi¡¯s voice came from behind him. With a smile spreading on his face, Shang Xia explained, ¡°The fire qi in the air is also a type of heaven and earth qi. You don¡¯t need to cultivate fire arts in order to absorb it.¡± ¡°Oh my, why didn¡¯t I realize that?¡± Tian Mengzi slapped his forehead in embarrassment. Even though the appearance of two suns would allow the density of fire qi in the air to reach the peak, it didn¡¯t mean that only cultivators who cultivated fire art would be able to benefit from it. Shang Xia¡¯s Chaos Essence Manual allowed him to successfully refine any type of heaven and earth qi. Even though he might not be able to break through to the Martial Extremity Realm immediately, he could still use the fire qi to strengthen his foundations. Tian Mengzi looked at Jin Guanchao with a helpless look in his eyes. The two of them were at the Martial Extremity Realm, but they were unable to be like Shang Xia. The cultivation of cultivators in the Martial Extremity Realm was different, and they didn¡¯t walk down the path of fire and water qi. Absorbing the fire qi in the air would actually be detrimental to their cultivation. A phenomenon like the appearance of two suns naturally wouldn¡¯t last for long. After a short hour, the two fireballs in the skies started to fade. The fire qi in the air weakened slightly. Eventually, one of the suns could no longer be seen. The other turned extraordinarily dim. Even so, it remained in the air. The fire qi in the air returned to their ordinary level. Disciples who were cultivating opened their eyes slowly and they revealed reluctant expressions. ¡°If only it can last for a long time¡­¡± Shang Xia was one of them, and he sighed softly. When the disciples who couldn¡¯t absorb the fire qi in the air heard what he said, the urge to punch Shang Xia in the face reached a whole new level. CH 22 ¡°Who would have thought that we would run into such a lucky encounter?¡± Yuan Zilu whistled with a contented expression on his face. He seemed to have gained quite a lot in the short hour. Shang Xia and the others could guess that chances like that didn¡¯t come often in the battlefield between the two worlds. As soon as the words left Yuan Zilu¡¯s lips, the disciples who were unable to refine fire qi stared at each other awkwardly. It was especially so for Tian Mengzi and Jin Guanchao. If Shang Xia was the only one gloating in their faces, they could let him off seeing as he was their junior. However, Yuan Zilu was an instructor in the Protection Division! Yet there he was, rubbing it in their faces. Where is your pride as an instructor?! Even though Shang Xia and Yuan Zilu gained quite a lot during the short hour, they weren¡¯t the ones who benefited the most. Two disciples of the inner division who cultivated fire related arts gained the most! The two of them took a step closer to the next cultivation realm. For disciples of the outer division who had yet to break through to the Martial Realm, encountering such a miraculous opportunity was as good as moot. They couldn¡¯t feel the presence of fire qi anyway. As the convoy traveled onwards, Shang Xia asked Tian Mengzi about the phenomenon. His reaction wasn¡¯t out of Shang Xia¡¯s expectations. ¡°Every single region in the battlefield between two worlds experiences random changes. No one knows what will happen next. The suns we saw a moment ago belong to our Azure Origin World and the Azure Spiritual World respectively.¡± ¡°As the space here is twisted, anything can happen. The sun might appear in one region, but one might stumble into the endless night the next moment. The sun above us right now might even belong to the other world!¡± Shang Xia nodded slowly. ¡°It''s no wonder it¡¯s rare for both suns to appear in the same place¡­¡± Tian Mengzi chortled, ¡°Of course. In fact, it¡¯s a miracle that they appear both at once! From what I know, the occurrence of such a phenomenon in the past twenty years can be counted on both hands!¡± ¡°It might have happened several more times when no one was present¡­¡± Tian Mengzi added. Shang Xia took the chance to ask another question. ¡°Since it¡¯s possible for two suns to appear, is it possible for us to run into two moons?¡± ¡°Absolutely!¡± Tian Mengzi exclaimed, but he sighed soon after. ¡°I heard of it from others, but I¡¯ve never seen it myself. What we experienced a moment ago was my first encounter with two suns!¡± Shang Xia thought for a moment and thought out loud, ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s possible for all four celestial bodies to appear at the same time¡­ If there are two moons and two suns¡­¡± Tian Mengzi was close to slapping Shang Xia¡¯s head and he snapped, ¡°Do you really think it¡¯s possible?! Even if it is, how many of us will be able to see it?!¡± A bitter smile formed on Shang Xia¡¯s lips. He was aware that his expectations were a little too unrealistic. The voice that came over from the side broke their train of thought. ¡°Even though what you just said isn¡¯t too possible, there is a time when a sun and moon appeared simultaneously.¡± Shang Xia and Tian Mengzi turned to look at Jin Guanchao in confusion. Shang Xia asked, ¡°Is it during an eclipse or¡­?¡± ¡°No. They appeared at the same time in the sky.¡± Shang Xia sucked in a cold breath in response. Even though it wasn¡¯t rare to see an eclipse, it was the first time he had heard that both celestial bodies were shining in the skies together. In an ordinary world, that was something that would never happen. However, that was the battlefield between two worlds they were talking about! Anything was possible. Shang Xia didn¡¯t let up. ¡°Senior Brother Jin, is there a way to predict what we would see next?¡± Shang Xia understood that running into a chance encounter like that was based completely on luck. He also knew that Jin Guanchao might not understand the specifics behind the phenomena either, but it didn¡¯t hurt to ask. Indeed, Jin Guanchao shook his head decisively. ¡°Nope. I have no idea what we¡¯ll run into next. However, there¡¯s one thing for sure. These chance encounters only happen after a small eruption of an origin tide.¡± Shang Xia wasn¡¯t the only one who was surprised. Tian Mengzi¡¯s jaws were wide open when he looked at Jin Guanchao. He didn¡¯t expect his soft spoken martial brother to be so knowledgeable. Of course, even if they could detect the eruption of any origin tide, they might not be able to catch the phenomenon that it brought about. However, knowing that was much better than running around like headless flies. Ever since Shang Xia received Zhang Haogu¡¯s guidance on the crossroads of purification, he had been thinking about the difference between clear qi and turbid qi. In the past, he was completely clueless. Even Zhang Haogu didn¡¯t have a complete picture of what to look for. However, he had his experience from his original world. In addition to the weird phenomena he ran into on the battlefield between the two worlds, he seemed to have thought of something¡­ The carriage rolled slowly across the dirt and he was suddenly alerted by the sound of chirping coming from the side. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Shang Xia looked at the Rain Swallow that was behaving abnormally before turning to look at Huang Zihua. Huang Zihua shook his head and sighed, ¡°It was behaving normally just a moment ago. Is it trying to kill itself?¡± Shang Xia turned to look at the cage with a frown on his face. However, he looked at the Mutated Rain Swallow that seemed to go crazy. It was jumping about and chirping frantically. ¡°It¡¯s trying to leave¡­¡± Tian Mengzi muttered at the side. Shang Xia could feel that Tian Mengzi¡¯s concern for the Mutated Rain Swallow was something else from the attention he gave. ¡°Looks like a live Mutated Rain Swallow might be worth a lot more than I thought¡­¡± Shang Xia whispered to himself while approaching the cage. He looked at the bird silently, trying to understand the reason behind its actions. Before he could discover anything unusual, Yuan Zilu¡¯s warning came from the front. ¡°Keep your guards up. Something seems to be coming towards us.¡± His warning seemed to come a little too late. No one reacted in time when a silver streak of lightning tore through the defensive barrier around the convoy. Yuan Zilu hadn¡¯t moved when the silver light shot past his head. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. ¡°What is that?!¡± Countless attacks flew into the skies in an attempt to slow down the unknown figure, but to no avail. By the time their attacks arrived, the silver light had long since traveled past them. Under the pressure of countless strikes, the silver light managed to dodge every single one of them to arrive at the core of the convoy. Rattle¡­ When it flew past one of the carriages, the light dipped slightly and it crashed straight into it. The Embroidered Cloud Carriage that was carefully crafted by a master craftsman of the institution was shattered instantly. Exploding into countless pieces, the supplies contained within scattered all around. With the carriage shattered, the items contained within didn¡¯t fare much better. They were completely wrecked. Naturally, no one could be bothered with the loss now that they were facing a much bigger threat. The silver light continued to fly towards the end of the convoy. Other than the two disciples from the upper division, everyone else there was from the outer division! ¡°He¡¯s coming¡­ Brother Jin¡­¡± Tian Mengzi¡¯s voice barely left his lips before they leaped into action. Flying towards the silver light, they revealed their strength. This time, Shang Xia could finally watch them in action! Meng Tianzi made the first move and his right hand stretched forward. There didn¡¯t seem to be much power in his palm strike. However, his left fist didn¡¯t remain idle. A heavy punch was thrown at the silver light. The deferring attacks caused a sense of disharmony, but that was exactly the type of technique Tian Mengzi cultivated! With both agile and forceful techniques, Tian Mengzi possessed extraordinary strength! He seemed to be cultivating the power of gravity! A thought flashed through Shang Xia¡¯s mind, but he couldn¡¯t ponder over it as he saw the silver light trembling under Senior Brother Tian¡¯s assault. Jin Guanchao moved at the exact moment, and his punch swept up a storm that complemented Tian Mengzi¡¯s attack. When it did, the silver light felt as though it fell into a quagmire. Its speed was seriously affected, and the trembling became a lot more serious. Before anyone could heave a sigh of relief, a loud whistle rang through the skies. The silver light that was struggling a second ago released a silver bolt that tore through Tian Mengzi and Jin Guanchao¡¯s barrage. With the small opening it created, it flew out of their encirclement. CH 23 After tearing a path through the resistance of the two upper division disciples, the silver light charged towards Shang Xia. A familiar qi entered his senses, but without any time to think about it, Shang Xia circulated all the inner qi in his body and sent a devastating strike towards the threat. ¡°What are you doing?! Dodge!¡± A yell came from the side, but Shang Xia didn¡¯t react. It was too late to dodge anyway. He didn¡¯t even have time to think about the person who warned him. A reddish gold lightning bolt emerged from Shang Xia¡¯s hand and crashed straight into the silver streak. A terrifying explosion enveloped the land and three different colored sparks flew across the lands. The carriage Shang Xia was in was torn apart instantly, and copious amounts of supplies were thrown onto the ground. As the lightning that filled the sky slowly dissipated, Shang Xia felt his arms going numb. Luckily, he suffered no other injuries. ¡°Chirp, chirp!¡± When the convoy was thrown into chaos by the silver light, two different warbles rang through the skies. Was the objective of the silver light the Mutated Rain Swallow? A strange feeling formed in Shang Xia¡¯s heart. However, he couldn¡¯t do a thing about it as he turned to face the enemy. Like Shang Xia, the silver light didn¡¯t suffer much injuries. Making a beautiful arc in the air, it turned towards the bird cage at the side of the carriage. Indeed¡­ It was there for the Mutated Rain Swallow! ¡°That¡¯s a Lightning Bird! All of you, leave!¡± A roar resounded through the air and the next thing Shang Xia knew, Yuan Zilu was flying through the air. Lightning Bird! Shang Xia¡¯s thoughts spun, and he thought about the Lightning Bird Feather that was imperative to his advancement. That explained the familiar feeling he felt when facing the creature! Rage filled Yuan Zilu¡¯s heart as he rushed over. As an expert in the Martial Intent Realm, he allowed a mere bird to wreak havoc in the convoy! That was utter humiliation! Releasing his aura completely, the heaven and earth qi around started to boil. Shang Xia could feel Yuan Zilu¡¯s anger by the intensity of heaven and earth qi that gathered around him. That was what an expert in the Martial Intent Realm was! At their level, their martial intent was enough to influence the world around them! Reaching out with one hand, a giant palm formed in the skies above. It was tens of feet tall, and it crashed down towards the silver light. Right before the Lightning Bird could save the Mutated Rain Swallow from its cage, Yuan Zilu¡¯s palm arrived. With an unwilling cry, the silver light around it shattered. A feather that was close to half an inch long fell from the skies. As soon as the silver light around the bird scattered, everyone saw its true appearance. It looked much sturdier than the Mutated Rain Swallow Shang Xia caught! Flashes of lightning surrounded it when it traveled, and it eventually turned into a silver streak that shot through the skies. It was no wonder people would draw a connection between Lightning Birds and Mutated Rain Swallows. Due to Yuan Zilu¡¯s interference, the Lightning Bird was unable to maintain its protective layer of silver lightning. Now that its appearance was revealed, something clicked in the minds of those present. Could the Lightning Bird be born from a second mutation of the Rain Swallows? Feeling the dangerous aura coming from Yuan Zilu, the Lightning Bird no longer thought of rescuing the mutated Rain Swallow. It started to make its escape. ¡°Chirp, chirp!¡± An unwilling cry came from the Mutated Rain Swallow in the cage. Its dreams of freedom were dashed with the appearance of an expert in the Martial Intent Realm. When everyone was still stuck in a state of shock, one person managed to react. It wasn¡¯t Tian Mengzi or Jin Guanchao, nor was it Instructor Yuan who barely vented his anger. Instead, Shang Xia, a cultivator at the Martial Realm, activated his martial intent and he rushed in the direction of the Lightning Bird. Faint traces of lightning gathered around Shang Xia and when they gathered around his feet, his speed reached a whole new level. Even so, the distance between him and the Lightning Bird didn¡¯t decrease. The bird flew further and further away from him. Decisively circulating all his inner qi, a ball of lightning formed in his hands as he sent it flying towards the Lightning Bird in the distance. The moment it left his hands, Shang Xia knew that it wouldn¡¯t be able to damage the creature in the slightest. As an explosion rang through the skies, a ray of reddish gold lightning bolt tore into the silver light in the distance. A wail left the Lightning Bird¡¯s lips and it twisted around in mid air. However, that was all Shang Xia could do before it escaped. As its speed increased once again, it disappeared into the horizon. In mid air, a delicate feather slowly drifted into Shang Xia¡¯s palm. Holding it in his hand, he felt a faint current running through the feather and he sighed, ¡°It¡¯s too damn fast¡­¡± ¡°If Junior Brother Shang is able to learn a movement art in the future, you will definitely be able to catch up to the Lightning Bird once you activate the second form of your martial intent.¡± Tian Mengzi appeared beside Shang Xia without him noticing, and he looked in the direction where the bird escaped. Shaking his head slightly, Shang Xia didn¡¯t reply. With the speed of the Lightning Bird, Shang Xia knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up even if he learned the best movement art in the institution. Regardless, Tian Mengzi¡¯s words made Shang Xia remember that training a movement art was extremely important in his path of cultivation. ¡°Chirp, chirp¡­¡± A pitiful cry came from the cage and the Mutated Rain Swallow sounded like an abandoned toy. When Shang Xia and Tian Mengzi turned to look at the cage, they saw Yuan Zilu picking it up from the floor carefully. A complicated gaze could be seen in Yuan Zilu¡¯s eyes and he spoke to Shang Xia, ¡°Looks like you stole another person¡¯s spouse¡­¡± He didn¡¯t forget to shake the cage slightly after speaking. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. This¡­ Dark lines appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face after hearing what he said. ¡°What are you guys waiting for? Pack everything up. We¡¯re leaving¡­¡± Yuan Zilu no longer bothered with Shang Xia and he yelled at the other disciples. With two Embroidered Cloud Carriages broken, there was much to pack even after discarding the supplies that could no longer be used. Luckily for them, they emptied an entire carriage at the sentry post. After packing up everything that could be used, they managed to fill up the empty carriage. Yuan Zilu¡¯s expression was dark when he saw the number of high-level herbs and treasures that were blown to bits by the Lightning Bird. Ever since the Tongyou Peak was captured, the institution sent out countless experts to clear the path between the institution and the Tongyou Peak. Everything was to ensure the safe passage of the resupply convoys that would travel to and fro. As the Tongyou Institution increased in strength, the path to the Tongyou Peak became extremely safe. Other than several times when they ran into freak accidents, there had been no incidents where supplies were lost. The only trouble they would run into were the undead corpses that roamed the lands. However, those corpses would be easily defeated by the disciples of the Tongyou institution. Yuan Zilu would definitely take the blame for their missing supplies this time. Cursing his luck for running into the Lightning Bird, Yuan Zilu eventually sighed, ¡°Luckily, it wasn¡¯t all bad¡­¡± He looked at the Lightning Bird Feather in his hand and thought about it for a second before shaking his head in defeat. ¡°... But this isn¡¯t enough¡­¡± He looked at the cage that hung on one of the carriages at the back of the convoy. ¡°Actually, the value of the Mutated Rain Swallow should be more than enough to make up for the losses we suffered. With this Lightning Bird Feather¡­ No! The brat has another one!¡± Yuan Zilu turned to look at Shang Xia and a bitter smile formed on his face. ¡°We couldn¡¯t have obtained so many treasures without this kid¡­ Looks like the Contribution Division will be taking note of him when we arrive¡­¡± Yuan Zilu¡¯s expression sank even further when he thought about it. When he was still sulking, Tian Mengzi walked over with a doubtful expression. ¡°Hasn¡¯t the journey to the Tongyou Peak always been safe? The appearance of the Mutated Rain Swallows seems a little unusual.¡± Yuan Zilu harrumphed, ¡°When we arrive at the Tongyou Peak, I¡¯m going to have a nice chat with the person in charge of patrolling the route we took!¡± With the reorganization done, Yuan Zilu wanted to order the convoy to advance when he saw Jin Guanchao rushing towards them. In order to ensure everyone¡¯s safety, Yuan Zilu sent him out earlier to scout the road ahead. Who would have thought that he would return so quickly? Before Tian Mengzi could say a word, Yuan Zilu¡¯s countenance turned serious. Jin Guanchao¡¯s yell rang through the air. ¡°Enemy attack!¡± CH 24 First, they were attacked by the swarm of Mutated Rain Swallows. Next, a sudden assault by the Lightning Bird caught them off guard. Yuan Zilu had long since realized that their journey wouldn¡¯t be as peaceful as he thought. Sending Jin Guanchao out as a scout proved to be the smart move. However, he didn¡¯t expect them to run into trouble so quickly! ¡°Enemy attack!¡± Hearing the panicked tone in Jin Guanchao¡¯s voice made it all the more worse, considering he was someone who didn¡¯t speak most of them time. In a flash, Jin Guanchao arrived back at the convoy. Approaching Jin Guanchao, Yuan Zilu asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Before Jin Guanchao could explain, a group of experts appeared from behind the mountain range in the distance. ¡°It¡¯s the members from the Azure Spiritual World!¡± Yuan Zilu discovered their origins before Jin Guanchao could say a word. Panic started to set in the hearts of the disciples following the convoy. Tian Mengzi knew that Jin Guanchao wasn¡¯t a coward. From the looks of it, only experts who were stronger than him could cause him to escape so frantically. ¡°Prepare yourselves! Protect the carriages at all costs! Get ready to light the Cloud Piercing Rainbow Arrow to request for assistance the moment they try anything funny!¡± Yuan Zilu could feel the danger approaching and he looked at the experts from the Azure Spiritual World coldly. His orders were transmitted quietly into the ears of the disciples from the institution. When the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World ran into Jin Guanchao, they were more than willing to hunt him down. After all, how much trouble could a lone individual bring? However, things were different when facing an entire convoy. They didn¡¯t dare to attack randomly. Even after noticing the hesitation in their eyes, Yuan Zilu didn¡¯t relax. Instead, his expression turned even more serious. There were several experts from the Azure Spiritual World who were eyeing the convoy cautiously, but they didn¡¯t seem scared at all. That could only mean that there might be even more experts on their way over. ¡°There¡¯s nowhere to run now¡­ Light the Cloud Piercing Rainbow Arrow and request for assistance!¡± Yuan Zilu yelled. His judgment proved to be correct. Rumbling came from behind them as more experts from the Azure Spiritual World arrived. ¡°We can¡¯t escape! We have to hold out until our men come!¡± Yuan Zilu warned. There was no way out. They could only choose to hold their ground until help arrived. If anyone tried to run, their defenses would crumble instantly. Moreover, they couldn¡¯t abandon their supplies! With several disciples from the outer division in the Qi Gathering Realm, they wouldn¡¯t be able to escape no matter what! They were far too weak! Realizing that they held the advantage, the cultivators who were chasing Jin Guanchao earlier started to swagger around while laughing at the opposing party. Sighing slowly, Yuan Zilu knew that things were about to go completely out of control. Instead of losing his cool, he became extremely calm. ¡°Those who reached the Martial Extremity Realm, stand out now.¡± Yuan Zilu ordered. Tian Mengzi and Jin Guanchao stood by his side, ready for battle. Among the inner disciples, several disciples approached the frontline. That included Guo You, who had messed with Shang Xia earlier. A pillar of light tore through the skies, and the signal was visible for dozens of miles as the Cloud Piercing Rainbow Arrow exploded in midair. Shang Xia was a little rattled by the sudden attack, but he found it a little weird that Yuan Zilu was taking things so seriously. There were slightly more than ten experts from the Azure Spiritual World, and the members of the Tongyou Institution had already lit the signal to ask for reinforcements. If a massive battle broke out now, both sides would suffer serious losses, and no one would benefit! Why were they acting as though they were about to fight with everything on the line? With Yuan Zilu, an expert at the Martial Intent Realm, they definitely possessed some sort of fighting power. There were five disciples who reached the Martial Extremity Realm, and fourteen of them who were in the Martial Realm. Their strength should be comparable to the enemy at the very least! No matter how suspicious Shang Xia was, he couldn¡¯t do a thing. After all, it was an order from the leader of their convoy. Yuan Zilu might have only called for disciples at the Martial Extremity Realm, but everyone moved forward in unison. Looking at the outer disciples who were approaching, Yuan Zilu¡¯s gaze stopped on Shang Xia for a second and he said, ¡°The moment the battle begins, I¡¯ll hold them back. Find a chance to escape!¡± Yuan Zilu¡¯s order caused much unrest among the disciples, and a frown formed on Shang Xia;s face. ¡°Enough! Do as I say. We¡¯re not strong enough to challenge them. If you don¡¯t escape, all of us will die here.¡± Looking at Tian Mengzi and Jin Guanchao, the disciples saw the grim expression on the upper disciples¡¯ faces. They couldn¡¯t help but realize things weren¡¯t as simple as it seemed. ¡°What¡­ What about those who haven''t reached the Martial Realm?¡± Yuan Zilu sighed reluctantly. ¡°Just follow my orders. Focus on escaping!¡± Did he mean that they would be unable to save the outer disciples?! Shang Xia might not agree with his decision, but deep down, he knew that trying to escape with the outer disciples who hadn¡¯t broken through to the Martial Realm meant that they would be dragged down eventually. From the looks of it, Yuan Zilu had already determined that they weren¡¯t a match for the experts of the Azure Spiritual World! Shang Xia looked at the experts on the other side and wondered if there were several experts in the Martial Intent Realm. Why else would Yuan Zilu be so afraid?! Moreover, the look on Tian Mengzi and Jin Guanchao¡¯s face showed their uncertainty in winning the upcoming battle. Shang Xia wanted to clarify his doubts, but the appearance of a newcomer interrupted him. ¡°Hahaha! Our luck is great indeed! Even though we failed to locate the swarm of Mutated Rain Swallows due to the interference of the Lightning Bird, we managed to run into a supply convoy of the Azure Origin World! Looks like we¡¯re rich!¡± Her voice sounded really sweet, but her words were anything but. ¡°What are you guys waiting for?! Kill them and snatch their carriages!¡± The moment her voice fell, twelve figures charged down the mountain. Every single step they took allowed them to travel tens of feet. It was as though they were flying across the land. Out of the twelve of them, the woman on the lead was especially eye-catching. She might not be moving the fastest, but every step she took made her look like she was walking on air. An invisible pressure surrounded her. ¡°Not good¡­ They¡¯re from the Wind Swallow Race and should be here for the Mutated Rain Swallow!¡± Tian Mengzi recognized them from the techniques they used, and his expression changed. Her voice and her secret arts allowed them to single out the race they came from, and they learned of her intentions. Shang Xia wanted to ask more about the origin of the Wind Swallow Race, but a glare from Yuan Zilu stopped him. ¡°Go right now! Bring the bird with you!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Shang Xia exclaimed. Allowing him to escape right before the battle began¡­ Wasn¡¯t his actions a little too biased?! Didn¡¯t he see the looks on the faces of the disciples around him?! Tian Mengzi hurried, ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. Our opponents are from the Wind Swallow Race. They¡¯re here for the Mutated Rain Swallow. If they see that we captured a live one, we¡¯ll be in deep shit! Leave!¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t want others to curse him for his actions in the future, and he made several suggestions on the spot. ¡°Why don¡¯t I set it free? I can even kill it right now¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid!¡± Yuan Zilu cried. Seeing as the enemy was approaching, there was no time for explanations. ¡°Get out of here!¡± Shang Xia no longer hesitated. His speed was comparable to the cultivators of the Wind Swallow Race even without using his martial intent. Grabbing the cage, he turned to look at his fellow cultivators. There were looks of desperation and fright, but there were also some who were glaring at him with hatred in their eyes. ¡°Run towards the tallest peak in the distance! That¡¯s our Tongyou Peak!¡± Tian Mengzi¡¯s voice traveled through the air and into his ears. His fellow disciples knew that Shang Xia didn¡¯t have a choice, but their upcoming fate left a bitter taste in their mouth when they thought about how they had to sacrifice their life for his escape. Huang Zihua broke the silence after some time. ¡°Brother Shang, good luck.¡± Shang Xia nodded solemnly. ¡°Good luck.¡± Leaping in the opposite direction of their attackers, Shang Xia held the cage in his hand as he made his escape. Increasing his speed, he startled the Mutated Rain Swallow that released a frightened cry. By the time that happened, the battle had already started. The Embroidered Cloud Carriage beside Yuan Zilu exploded and items filled the air. The woman might be the leader of those from the Wind Swallow Race, but she wasn¡¯t the strongest. The battle started without her as the cultivators around her found a suitable opponent for themselves. When the chirp entered their ears, the woman felt a wave of emotions rushing through her mind. ¡°What was that?! Did I hear wrongly?¡± Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Turning to look in the direction of the chirps, she saw Shang Xia¡¯s escaping figure. No¡­ To be exact, she saw the cage in his hands. That was a living Mutated Rain Swallow! A surge of joy filled her heart and excitement burned in her veins. Ignoring everyone else, she stared directly at Shang Xia. Turning around innocently to check if anyone was after him, Shang Xia met her gaze. ¡°Grab the handsome kid! There¡¯s no need to bother with the rest!¡± Hearing what she said, Shang Xia increased his speed even further. Pushing away the cultivators around her, the woman flew towards Shang Xia. ¡°Protect the young lady!¡± A cry came from an elderly expert behind the woman and four experts broke off from their opponents to follow behind her. CH 25 Even though Shang Xia made his escape under orders of Yuan Zilu, he still felt a little bad. However, he soon realized that they were starting to pursue him. With four experts by her side, the woman quickly arrived at the back of the convoy. Noticing the outer disciples, a smile formed on her face. ¡°Two of you, stay behind and watch them. We¡¯ll be able to extort the Tongyou Peak soon!¡± Her voice rang in the air, and Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief. Nothing else mattered as long as they could keep their lives! Tossing away the last of his worries, Shang Xia pushed himself to his limit. He continued to run further away from the battle. Even without training in any sort of movement art, Shang Xia¡¯s speed wasn¡¯t any slower than cultivators who did. After all, his body was extremely sturdy after being refined by heavenly lightning. Moreover, his qi reserve was much larger than disciples his level. ¡°With the amount of inner qi I have, cultivators who learned a movement art will only be able to catch up with me if they were right in my face. I¡¯ll outlast them any day. If they try to catch up with Scarlet Cloud Horses, the distance between us will only increase¡­¡± Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief after running for quite some time. Feeling no one behind him, a trace of delight formed in his heart. ¡°Handsome man, why did you slow down? Are you tired already?¡± Shang Xia felt all the hair on his body standing on end when he heard the voice. Pushing even more inner qi into his legs, he couldn¡¯t care less about the pain shooting through them due to the overload. His speed increased by onefold all of a sudden. The confidence he felt earlier quickly withered. Turning back, he saw a lady flying towards him while unleashing a strange movement technique. Her feet barely touched the ground, but her body would be propelled several feet forward every time it did. Her movements were graceful, and her speed was extremely quick. Even after pushing himself to his limit, the distance between them was closing fast. According to his calculations, she would catch up soon. ¡°Little brother, place the cage down and I promise to let you live!¡± Even while traveling at high speeds, her voice didn¡¯t seem strained. Shang Xia yelled without turning back, ¡°After releasing the Cloud Piercing Rainbow Arrow, my reinforcements from the Tongyou Peak will head over as quickly as they can! They are rushing here as we speak! You can continue chasing me if you¡¯re tired of living¡­ Don¡¯t you know where you are right now?!¡± ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Her laughter rang in his ears before she continued, ¡°If the teams stationed around here are actually doing their job, will we be able to get so close?¡± Shang Xia glanced back once again and noticed that the distance between them had shortened. There were two other experts following closely behind her, and Shang Xia could only curse them in his heart while focusing on his escape. Seeing how he ignored her, her verbal assault continued. As the distance between them closed, she seemed to be able to hear the heavy panting from the exhausted Shang Xia in front of her. All of a sudden, a massive platform that was half a feet tall appeared in their sights. Due to the randomness of the battlefield between two worlds, a stone platform like that appearing wasn¡¯t out of the ordinary. Shang Xia could leap across it as long as he wanted to. However, it hit him suddenly. The woman behind wasn¡¯t trying to catch him¡­ She was wasting his energy! If their chase continued, he would eventually be too exhausted to go on! They¡¯re not trying to get their hands on the Mutated Rain Swallow! They want the method to capture one! Since that was the case, he would risk it all! Shang Xia didn¡¯t leap across the platform as planned. Instead, he kicked off the side, using the rebound to charge straight towards the woman. She obviously didn¡¯t expect something like that to happen. After all, who in the right mind would counterattack when they had no chance of winning?! Shang Xia used up the entirety of his energy behind his final strike. Floating in mid air, a ray of golden light converged in his palm before shooting straight towards her. ¡°Preposterous!¡± A flash of rage crossed her face. She didn¡¯t think that Shang Xia would attack her, much less the possibility that he had already comprehended his martial intent! Luckily for her, she was stronger than him. Without another word, a golden hairpin shot out from her top bun and emitted an eerie scarlet glow. The phantom of a giant scissors appeared in the sky, and it snipped thrice, cutting Shang Xia¡¯s golden lightning into four. What the fuck?! How can scissors cut through lightning?! Shang Xia didn¡¯t have time to ridicule the situation. Instead, he quickly unleashed another move, Fearless Storm, in preparation to take the scissors head-on. He could count his lucky stars as the scissors that formed in the air seemed to lose all power after cutting through his golden lightning. The hairpin fell to the ground powerlessly. A trace of fear lingered in the female cultivator¡¯s heart when she realized how close Shang Xia¡¯s sneak attack was to working. However, her heart started to ache when she thought about the hairpin lying on the ground. It was a life-saving treasure that couldn¡¯t be replaced! Facing Shang Xia¡¯s second barrage of attack, a tinge of resentment formed in her heart and she released two thin strands of silk towards his neck. ¡°Pay me back for my hairpin!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s attack might be strong, but the strands of silk danced around him gracefully. While controlling the strands of silk, the lady used another type of movement art that allowed her to dance in mid air. An elegant dance of death was performed in front of Shang Xia. As the two of them exchanged several moves, Shang Xia started to fall to a disadvantage. Her cultivation realm was much higher than him, and it was a foregone conclusion that she would gain the upper hand. Knowing that he wouldn¡¯t be able to last for long, Shang Xia changed his approach again. He unleashed his Lightning Palm, challenging her in terms of speed. ¡°Chasing Wind, Racing Moon, Wild Lightning, Capturing Lightning¡­¡± All four moves were used to the best of his abilities and whistling could be heard in the air. As streaks of lightning filled the skies, Shang Xia barely managed to keep up with her. By that time, the two experts behind her arrived. They joined the battle wordlessly and surrounded him immediately. Even though they were slightly weaker than the woman, they were more than enough to tip the scales of battle. Shang Xia cleared his mind of all random thoughts and focused on the battle. One careless move and he would suffer a disastrous defeat! The more they fought, the more Shang Xia realized that something was wrong. All three of them seemed to be holding back, but he quickly discovered the reason. They were afraid of harming the Mutated Rain Swallow in his possession! There were several instances in the battle where the three of them withdrew their strike at the last moment, allowing him to remain in battle. Hold up¡­ are they actually here for the Mutated Rain Swallow? Taking a hit to his shoulder, Shang Xia removed the cage from his waistband. Watching the female cultivator¡¯s palm extending towards him, Shang Xia tossed the cage over. If they tried to grab the cage, he would kill the Rain Swallow without hesitation. We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. A frown formed on the woman¡¯s face as she avoided the cage at the last second. In stark contrast, Shang Xia revealed a brilliant smile. Beating back one of the other two, the other almost landed a strike on his back. Tossing the cage behind him, he heard a yell. ¡°No!¡± The other cultivator was clearly aware of the importance of the Mutated Rain Swallow and he stopped himself. As his inner qi flowed backwards from the abrupt withdrawal, he suffered some slight internal injuries. The Mutated Rain Swallow chirped anxiously in the cage after being tossed around like a toy. ¡°You¡¯re despicable!¡± The female cultivator yelled. ¡°Hand it over and I¡¯ll let you live!¡± ¡°Let me leave, or I¡¯ll kill it right now!¡± Shang Xia harrumphed. ¡°Impossible.¡± The female cultivator snorted as anger filled her heart. With her advantage in cultivation, there were times when she could have killed him directly. However, she stopped herself in order to avoid harming the bird. The humiliation she felt couldn''t be described in words. ¡°Looks like we have nothing else left to discuss then!¡± Shang Xia sighed. No matter how tired he was, he knew that he couldn¡¯t reveal the slightest weakness. With the Mutated Rain Swallow in his possession, he had a chance to live. Catching on quickly, the female cultivator spoke to the other two. ¡°Hong Que, Hui Que, do not allow him to escape. He has already comprehended a martial intent¡­¡± Their expressions changed slightly, and the look in their eyes changed when they looked at Shang Xia. Shang Xia cursed her silently. However, his gaze drifted behind her and a smile returned to his lips. ¡°Chirp!¡± A cold whistle came from behind as a familiar silver light reappeared. The female cultivator¡¯s expression changed drastically and she leaped to the side desperately. Shang Xia did the same, and the silver light tore through the skies. One of the silk threads in her palm was torn to shreds by the Lightning Bird as it flew towards the cage. CH 26 The cage in Shang Xia¡¯s hand was nearly shattered by the Lightning Bird. It wasn¡¯t just trying to sneak attack the woman. It was also trying to save the Mutated Rain Swallow. Attacking the female cultivator from behind before shooting for the cage in Shang Xia¡¯s hand was really a way to kill two birds with one stone¡­ Or perhaps, that wasn¡¯t the most appropriate quote to describe the little Lightning Bird¡¯s action but who cares. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. Regardless, Shang Xia realized that it was the best time for him to get away with the distraction from the Lightning Bird. When the female cultivator dodged the attack, a gap formed between the three of them. Moreover, the other two cultivators were too distracted by the threat of the Lightning Bird to pay attention to Shang Xia. Circulating his inner qi, a bolt of lightning appeared under his feet as he charged out of the encirclement without hesitation. In the blink of an eye, he traveled tens of feet away. ¡°Stop him!¡± The female cultivator yelled in a fit of rage, but she was promptly interrupted by the Lightning Bird. Oh right, they messed with the Lightning Bird before¡­ It was no wonder the bird chose to attack the female cultivator previously. However, when he thought about the Mutated Rain Swallow in his hand, his expression changed. As the chirps of the Lightning Bird echoed behind him, Shang Xia knew that it had already arrived. Allowing himself to fall face first into the dirt, he barely managed to prop himself up when he heard the whistling of wind above his head. Cursing the Lightning Bird in his mind for not stalling his enemies, Shang Xia got back to his feet. He knew that he wasn¡¯t out of the woods yet and he continued to escape. When Hong Que and Hui Que tried to obstruct him, they realized that they were a step too late. They could only give chase like the little annoying flies they were. If only the damn bird can turn around to stop the woman¡­ ¡°You can¡¯t escape from me!¡± The female cultivator¡¯s voice rang in his ears, and Shang Xia felt his scalp going numb. He reached down instinctively to hold his jade pendant while imbuing a trace of qi. A ray of light emerged from the pendant and it formed a solid barrier around him. Without even turning his head, he could feel the energy fluctuations coming from behind. Feeling more confident with the barrier of light around him, Shang Xia decided to risk a glance behind him. A green colored light chopped towards him and the impact sent him flying dozens of feet forward. Crashing into a massive tree, the ball of light surrounding him trembled violently without popping. A large crack appeared on the pendant hanging around his waist. Even with the protection of the light barrier, Shang Xia felt a sharp pain shooting through his body. As the leaves fell from the violent rustling, Shang Xia gnashed his teeth and growled, ¡°Martial intent!¡± Without a doubt, the green light that slammed into him was something like a martial intent that cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World practiced. If not for the protective jade pendant, he might have died from the strike! ¡°What a ruthless bitch¡­¡± Shang Xia cursed in his heart while turning to run away. He had to remind himself that the Lightning Bird was probably after him instead of the three cultivators from the Azure Spiritual World. Shang Xia might be shocked by the female cultivator¡¯s strength, but she was equally as surprised by the fact that he survived her previous strike. Even though Shang Xia was strong, she knew that he wasn¡¯t her opponent! She thought that she could use her bloodline intent to seriously injure her opponent, but she didn¡¯t expect him to possess a defensive treasure! It seemed as though his identity wasn¡¯t simple! ¡°Interesting¡­ Capture him!¡± She yelled at the two other cultivators. Shang Xia had successfully piqued her interest. ¡°Young lady, we¡¯re about to head into a forest¡­¡± Hong Que hesitated. ¡°That¡¯s alright! With obstructions everywhere, the damn bird won¡¯t be able to use its full strength. We¡¯ll take care of it when we¡¯re done with the brat!¡± The female cultivator muttered. As Hong Que and Hui Que returned to her side, the three of them rushed into the forest in unison. Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief as soon as he stepped into the covers of the trees. Luck is finally on my side. The moment he crashed into the tree before, he noticed the forest and realized that his only chance to escape would lie in there. Rushing through the thicket, he forcefully cut a path through, leaving tons of damage around him. Such an obvious path was quickly noticed by the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World, and they sneered in contempt. ¡°That brat is starting to panic!¡± ¡°Look at him¡­ This is probably his first time coming into the battlefield between two worlds¡­¡± The female cultivator snorted. However, a frown formed on Hong Que¡¯s face. ¡°Could he be luring us into a trap?¡± ¡°Nonsense. You overestimate the brat. He managed to comprehend martial intent and he has a jade pendant to protect himself. He definitely comes from an impressive background¡­ Humph. People like that don¡¯t have any battle sense!¡± ¡°Young lady, we still need to take precautions.¡± Hui Que persuaded. ¡°If you¡¯re so afraid, you can follow further behind.¡± The female cultivator said before increasing her speed. Chuckling bitterly, the two of them kept up with her in case anything happened. ¡­ Leaping past a giant crater five by three feet wide, Shang Xia stared at it with interest. Waving his sleeves casually, an item fell into his palm before he slapped it on the tree beside him. He repeated his actions several times before stopping. Carefully erasing the trace of whatever he had done, he continued to run ¡®frantically¡¯ through the forest. After getting several dozen feet away from the crater, he stopped dead in his tracks and hid behind one of the massive trees beside him for cover. It didn¡¯t take long before he heard hurried footsteps and leaves rustling all about. Estimating the distance between his pursuers, Shang Xia felt that it was about time and he started to make his way back. As the female cultivator followed his tracks, she could tell that the distance between them was shrinking. Entering a clearing that contained the crater Shang Xia traveled across, she could tell that someone leaped across it several moments ago. Her body soared through the air gracefully and her destination was the opposite side of the crater. Hong Que and Hui Que followed closely behind. However, a change in situation happened. Shang Xia charged through the thicket and arrived right on time. All three of them were in mid air when he arrived. Circulating his inner qi, the Chaos Essence Palm and Lightning Palm he unleashed in each of his hands fused with each other and a brilliant reddish gold bolt shot towards the female cultivator¡¯s head. That was one of the strongest martial intents anyone could comprehend! Chaos Essence Lightning Palm! ¡°How dare you show yourself?!¡± The female cultivator yelled before summoning her treasure. A thin gauze appeared to protect her. Her sleeves flapped outwards and they resembled a pair of wings that flapped aggressively towards Shang Xia. A ray of green light tore through the air once again. As their martial intents clashed in mid air, the female cultivator suddenly realized that something was wrong! Shang Xia¡¯s attack broke into a thousand parts and scattered all around the crater. The surrounding trees were charred black instantly. Before she could react, pillars of reddish gold light shot into the skies and formed a massive web that trapped the three of them. Lightning rained down upon them. CH 27 Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. Shang Xia hid four charms around the crater several moments ago and it became a simple ambush he used against them. After his intricate planning of making his tracks as obvious as he could, he knew that they wouldn¡¯t bother checking for traps. Of course, they wouldn''t believe that Shang Xia was courageous enough to launch a counter attack. The charms he laid down contained enough power to unleash an attack no weaker than his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm! With his assistance, the might released by the lightning charms wasn¡¯t just impressive¡­ It was downright terrifying! Catching them off guard, there was nothing they could do! A sense of familiarity appeared in Shang Xia¡¯s mind. It seemed as though the lightning web was responding to his will! Even though it was only a slight connection, he could feel that there were ways to improve it. It was a different feeling from unleashing his martial intent directly, but comprehending it at the moment wasn¡¯t too likely. As the rain of lightning continued to bombard the three of them, Hong Que and Hui Que released a wretched cry before their bodies were burnt to a crisp. Crashing into the crater with their status unknown, they managed to buy a breath of time for the female cultivator! Even though her defensive treasure was torn into shreds, she managed to toss out the strand of silk she had left. As it latched onto one of the giant trees around her, she pulled herself out of the lightning web. It was a pity that Shang Xia couldn¡¯t control the formation as he wished. Otherwise, none of them would be able to escape! Of course, Shang Xia had already been prepared for such an outcome when he laid down the lightning formation. Taking on her desperate strike, the jade pendant around his waist shattered completely. Shang Xia expected that as well, and he charged towards the female cultivator while slapping his waistband. Mid-grade weapon, Delicate Jade River Sword! When his sword slashed towards her, she knew that there was no avoiding it. Instead, she raised her arm to greet the strike. The sound of metal scraping against metal rang through the air and even though one of her sleeves was cleanly sliced off, he failed to do any damage to her. Shang Xia looked at the short knives hidden in her sleeves and he sucked in a cold breath. It was a pair of low-grade weapons! In contrast to Shang Xia¡¯s cold gaze, the female cultivator was enraged! Her chest heaved up and down as killing intent raged in her heart. Leaping into the air, her knived chopped towards Shang Xia. She didn¡¯t expect him to turn around to run the moment she jumped. Shang Xia might be using a mid-grade weapon, but he didn¡¯t enjoy using swords. In fact, he didn¡¯t know much about them in the first place! The reason he brought it along was to act cool in the first place. He placed all his focus on the Chaos Essence Palm and Lightning Palm! Shang Xia didn¡¯t even know how to use the fan he carried around normally, much less the sword! Other than the jade pendant that could protect his life, the original Shang Xia used the other graded weapons to give himself a more dignified image! Now that he successfully made the battlefield an even one, he could tell that her cultivation was at the Martial Extremity Realm. Her martial intent was in no way weaker than his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. ¡°You¡¯re not going anywhere!¡± She screamed before chasing him relentlessly. He might be slower than her, but under the cover of the dense forest, he managed to make up for the lack of speed. As the two of them ran through the forest and exchanged blows from time to time, massive blasts rang through the air. Trees fell everywhere and animals scattered. If anyone were to look at the forest from the skies, they would easily see the path the two took. While the two of them were playing a violent game of tag, a silver light circled above them. With no idea how large the forest actually was, Shang Xia could only run around aimlessly. He couldn¡¯t stop to confirm his location as the female cultivator behind him wasn¡¯t in the mood to talk about a truce. As such, the two of them fought their way forward. Seeing a clearing appearing along with a peaceful river that flowed in the distance, Shang Xia yelled in his heart before turning around to run back into the forest. It was too bad the female cultivator sealed off his retreat the moment he turned. With a sinister smile on her face, she sneered, ¡°There¡¯s nowhere else left to run¡­¡± Shang Xia could use the forest to hide from the female cultivator¡¯s blows, but the moment he ran into the fields, his chances of escaping became close to zero. As she approached him slowly, Shang Xia once again brought the cage up to his chest. ¡°I know this is what you came here for. Do you want to make a bet with me? Let¡¯s see if you manage to capture me first or if I kill the Mutated Rain Swallow before you come close?¡± Her expression turned green and flames of rage burned in her heart. Indeed, the Mutated Rain Swallow was of extreme importance to her. She wasn¡¯t the only one who was angry. Shang Xia, who had been chased around like a dog, was countless times more annoyed. Looking at the complex emotion on her face, he rejoiced silently. So what if you can chase me around? You can¡¯t do anything to me anyway! Of course, he was really curious about the reason behind her persistence. Was the bird really that important to her? ¡°Are you a man?! Stop using a tiny bird as your shield! If you want to call yourself a man, put down the cage and we¡¯ll fight one on one!¡± She snapped at him. ¡°There¡¯s no need to fight one on one¡­ We can do other things when it¡¯s just the two of us¡­¡± Shang Xia sneered. ¡°You¡­ You¡­ You¡¯re a hooligan!¡± Her face flushed red. ¡°...¡± The bright chirping of the Mutated Rain Swallow woke both of them up. When Shang Xia saw the female cultivator¡¯s gaze behind him, his heart sank. ¡°Not good!¡± Leaping to the right, a ray of silver light flew past the place he once stood. The female cultivator who was gloating in Shang Xia¡¯s misfortune wasn¡¯t spared. The Lightning Bird shot towards her the next instant. It seemed as though the bird knew the best time to attack! Regaining his footing, Shang Xia looked at her and noticed that she managed to dodge the Lightning Bird too. Raising his head in the direction where the bird flew, Shang Xia noticed it perched on top of a tree. The female cultivator followed his gaze, and soon, the three creatures were staring each other down. A man, a woman, and a bird stood at a deadlock. ¡°Hey, Lightning Bird, why don¡¯t we work together to deal with this little bastard? We¡¯ll save your little lover from the cage before deciding what else to do.¡± The female cultivator broke the silence and started the negotiations first. Flapping its wings, the Lightning Bird seemed to be thinking about her suggestion. With his heart trembling slightly, Shang Xia interrupted, ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her! Didn¡¯t she mess with you previously? She¡¯s a venomous bitch! Think about it! If you work with her, she¡¯ll take advantage of you once I die! When that happens, you won¡¯t be able to save your lover! You might even turn into her dinner!¡± Flapping its wings violently, it recalled what she had done to its flock before. ¡°Nonsense!¡± Leaping towards Shang Xia, she waved the knives in her hand once again. The Lightning Bird seemed to have thought it thought and it shot towards her back silently. Pulling out the Delicate Jade River Sword and his Ivory Fan, a chuckle left his lips as inner qi ran through his body. Since she wanted him dead, there was no point holding back! When a bolt of lightning emerged from the Ivory Fan, the Mutated Rain Swallow in the cage released a strange cry. Lowering his head, he saw the Mutated Rain Swallow with its feathers ruffled and a look of enjoyment on its face. Thinking back, it seemed to be the same expression Mu Qingyu had! What the hell?! Before he could ponder further, an enraged cry came from the Lightning Bird in the air. Ignoring the female cultivator, it charged straight at him. What the fuck?! Did the Mutated Rain Swallow really¡­ Slapping the silver light as hard as he could with the Ivory Fan, Shang Xia turned tail and ran. Things went south the moment the bird changed its target to him. There was no way he could fight the two of them at once. CH 28 Not wanting to take them both on at once, Shang Xia chose to escape. Unable to run back into the forest, he could only flee towards the river in the distance. He could only hope that he could make it before they caught up. With all the knowledge he learned from Tian Mengzi, he knew that any type of water body would contain an endless amount of danger. Even so, there was nowhere else to go. He could only take the gamble and hope that approaching the lake would give him a chance at living. He didn¡¯t forget to hold the cage up in the air and taunt the other two while making his escape. ¡°Are you really going to let it die?!¡± A loud cry and the whistling of air from the female cultivator¡¯s knives were all he received as a reply. Shang Xia didn¡¯t dare to turn around. Shooting two bolts of lightning to protect himself, he didn¡¯t stop running. As soon as the lightning appeared, another long cry came from the Mutated Rain Swallow. Wasn¡¯t he just making things worse?! Shang Xia felt a thousand alpacas running through his mind as the Lightning Bird became even more enraged. As the lake grew larger and larger, Shang Xia could see faint black figures darting under its surface. Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Shang Xia thought if he should really jump in. Taking a closer look, Shang Xia saw the mouths of countless fishes appearing under the surface. Fish of all sizes lined the side of the lake. Crying out frantically, the Mutated Rain Swallow crashed into the cage repeatedly. The Lightning Bird that was close to catching up turned at the last second, drawing a beautiful arc through the skies as it returned to the forest. Even a brainless person could tell that something big was about to happen. Stopping dead in his tracks, Shang Xia noticed that the female cultivator did the same. Noticing a sudden change in the weather, Shang Xia raised his head to look at the sky. The sun that was originally hidden behind the hazy clouds emitted brilliant rays that lit up the earth below. Feeling the temperature rising dramatically, the grass beneath his feet started to wither. Cracks formed in the ground and the water in the lake started to evaporate. A lizard-like creature that was covered in black scales leaped out of whatever water remained in the lake before running away from it. Shang Xia looked at the female cultivator and saw the look of confusion in her eyes. Deciding to return to the forest, he knew that it would be much better than staying out in the open. The moment he started walking, she went over to block his path. ¡°Are you done?!¡± Shang Xia snapped at her. He had to admit that he wasn¡¯t her opponent. However, without the Lightning Bird, there was no way she could defeat him. Anyone with half a brain would choose to give up on the chase now that their life was in danger. The sudden change in weather was a bad sign. She had to be actually crazy if she wanted to continue the pursuit. Pointing at the cage on Shang Xia¡¯s waist, she sighed, ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal.¡± She wasn¡¯t stupid. She also knew that it was impossible for her to snatch it from him. However, there was no way she could let him walk away like that. The moment he left, there was no way she could obtain the bloodline of the Mutated Rain Swallow. If she made a deal with him, there was a chance for her to reach her goal! She could tell that Shang Xia was also in a rush to leave, and she could play to his emotions. Despite the ugly expression on his face, Shang Xia could only growl, ¡°What do you propose?¡± Holding out the pair of knives in her hands, she muttered, ¡°What do you think of these? They¡¯re called ¡®Red Sleeves¡¯ and they are both low-grade weapons.¡± Shang Xia was slightly taken aback. He didn¡¯t expect her to trade her weapons away. He could tell that she was really desperate. However, that only told him how much she valued the Mutated Rain Swallow. Tapping his Delicate Jade River Sword, he snorted, ¡°Do you really think I lack low-grade treasures?¡± A trace of rage flashed through her eyes, but it quickly disappeared. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll add on fifty pieces of silver essence!¡± Silver essence was the common currency in the battlefield between two worlds and it was made from pure silver that contained a trace of heaven and earth qi. In the Azure Origin World, they called it silver essence. In the Azure Spiritual World, they called it spiritual silver. It has lots of uses, and it had some supplementary effects that could assist cultivation. That was how it became the common currency in the battlefield between two worlds. From the looks of it, the Azure Origin World and Azure Spiritual World didn¡¯t share an enmity that would result in the extermination of the other world. At the very least, they came to an agreement on some matters. Shang Xia felt a strangely cool sensation washing over his back as the heat subsided. Ignoring the feeling, he chuckled in amusement when he heard her price. ¡°Are you throwing scraps at a beggar? Do you think I won¡¯t turn the bird into barbecue because of a little bit of silver?¡± ¡°You!¡± Realizing that the negotiations were going nowhere, a sneer appeared on her face. She retreated several feet in an instant. Shang Xia thought that she was finally going to give up, but the smile on her face caused him to turn uneasy. Discovering a trace of cold air blowing behind him, his bones turned chilly. Turning around abruptly, Shang Xia saw the presence of a giant moon beside the brilliant sun! With the presence of the sun and moon, half of the water in the lake started to boil while the other side started to freeze. A layer of frost appeared on one side of the plains while the other side remained cracked like before. This¡­ Sun and Moon in the sky¡­ It was the sign of an Origin Tide! Tian Mengzi¡¯s earlier explanation rang in his mind as panic started to set in his heart. Shang Xia knew that he had to leave. However, a ray of frosty light shot towards him the moment he moved. Suppressing his shock, he turned to look at the source of the light. Seeing two knives flashing in mid air, the female cultivator¡¯s voice entered his ears. ¡°Are you still thinking of leaving? It¡¯s too late now.¡± Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Realizing that he had fallen for her trick, he wanted to kick himself. From the start, she had seen the appearance of the moon! She was buying time with her stupid offer! By the time the moon had fully appeared, she retreated in order to stop Shang Xia from running away! ¡°What do you want?!¡± Shang Xia could feel the energy fluctuations coming from behind him, and he could tell that the Origin Tide was about to erupt. ¡°Hand over the cage and I¡¯ll let you leave.¡± She crossed her arms and sneered coldly. ¡°Is there no way to negotiate?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°What do you think?¡± Raising her chin, she chuckled smugly, ¡°You better hurry up and make your decision. The Origin Tide is coming¡­¡± As soon as the words left her lips, a giant explosion rocked the lake. When he turned his head, he saw lava spewing into the skies. There was actually a giant volcano hidden under the lake! The strange thing was that part of the lake remained frozen. The lava didn¡¯t manage to melt it in the slightest. A strange scene played out before him as an imaginary screen formed in mid air to separate the fire and ice. Dense heaven and earth qi started to gather around to form strong currents. ¡°Hey, the Origin Tide is about to arrive. If you don¡¯t wish to lose control of your inner qi, do as I say!¡± The female cultivator yelled. Was the brat tired of living?! Her words fell on deaf ears as Shang Xia stared directly at the strange scene before him. She even thought of carrying out a sneak attack to snatch the Mutated Rain Swallow. As the inner qi in her body started to rampage around, she quickly got rid of her thoughts. Before anything else could happen, the heavens darkened as the qi in the air disappeared. Everything returned to chaos! The Origin Tide had arrived! CH 29 With the arrival of the Origin Tide, she turned to run. In the blink of an eye, she appeared tens of feet away as she approached the forest they came from. Turning to look behind her, she didn¡¯t see Shang Xia and she snapped angrily, ¡°What an idiot¡­¡± Disappointment filled her heart when she thought about the Mutated Rain Swallow. ¡°Our race lost a chance to improve our bloodline¡­ However, no one in the battlefield between two worlds caught a live Mutated Rain Swallow before. How did he do it?¡± ¡°If there really is a way for him to get his hands on one, he¡¯s definitely hiding a lot of secrets¡­ Our race might have to start reevaluating our relationship with the Tongyou Peak¡­¡± The more she thought about it, the more serious she became. ¡­ Shang Xia, who was thought to be dead, was slowly trudging forward towards the Origin Tide. Tian Mengzi told him that the inner qi in his body would go out of control, but all he could feel was his inner qi disappearing from his body. However, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t afraid. When Tian Mengzi told him about the Origin Tide, a guess appeared in his head. He felt that it had to be the Crossroad of Purification the blood red tablet was talking about! He had to find it before his inner qi ran dry! According to his memories in his past life, he felt that the Crossroad of Purification had something to do with the crossing of Yin and Yang! Even the naming of cultivation realms didn¡¯t make sense to Shang Xia. What they called the Martial Extremity Realm in the Azure Origin World and the Second Limit Realm in the Azure Spiritual World were both supposed to be called the Yin Yang Realm! However, cultivators in the two worlds would only specialize in one type of qi when they just entered the Second Order Primary Realm. As such, they couldn¡¯t call it the Yin Yang Realm. With the appearance of the sun and moon, there was nothing more Shang Xia could think of that embodied both yin and yang. Without a doubt, it had to be what he was looking for! The Origin Tide was what he needed to break through! Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Of course, a trace of doubt still remained in his mind. He might have memories of his past life, but when facing a tribulation at the level of the Origin Tide, anyone would hesitate! No one could march straight towards their death even if they knew a huge fortune was hiding behind it! As such, his first reaction was to test the waters instead of throwing himself in completely. However, the female cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World blocked his way right before he could escape, forcing him into the path of no return. Taking a step forward, he felt his body breaking down slowly. If he were to keep it up, he might disappear completely into the Origin Tide. Too bad there was no way to retreat now. He could only throw caution to the wind and go all in. Walking towards the tiny separation between the lava and ice, it was the place that was most likely to be the Crossroad of Purification! At the very least, that was the only place that looked like a crossroad of anything! As his thoughts ran wild, Shang Xia felt his body turning lighter as he stepped into a whole new world. ¡°Shang Xia, it¡¯s time to go home!¡± A voice boomed in his mind. ¡°Home? What home?¡± A complicated expression appeared on his face. What home were they talking about? ¡°Did you forget where you came from?¡± The voice seemed to echo in the distance, but it slowly warped into countless different voices. It was trying to hurry him home. With a headache that wrecked his brain, he felt countless spikes stabbing into them. Two different sets of memories started to surface. Even though he was in both sets, everyone else was different. The memories of the original Shang Xia and himself filled his mind. ¡°Who am I?¡± ¡°Which Shang Xia am I?!¡± ¡­ Shang Xia felt his soul tearing into two separate pieces as he argued with himself. With his brain on the verge of exploding, the two sets of memories continued to play out with no end. In the Origin Tide, Shang Xia had long since stopped his movements. His expression would shift from time to time, and he grabbed his head and released a blood-curdling scream. His clothes were drenched in cold sweat as the inner qi from his body nearly dried up. He was close to losing control of himself, but a bolt of lightning sundered both sets of memories in his mind. As a tablet fell from the skies, it suppressed all the fragments of his memories before fusing them together. The scene where he opened his eyes in the Tongyou Institution for the first time flashed through his mind. Opening his eyes, the cloudy light in them was replaced by a terrifyingly sharp gaze. He understood the reason behind the Origin Tide¡¯s power to make one lose themselves. However, it was far from enough! Despite his body being extremely frail from the lack of inner qi, his mind was clear. Nothing could stand in his way! I, Shang Xia, will walk my own path! No one can stop me! No matter how strong the waves of energy coming from the Origin Tide, they failed to obstruct Shang Xia¡¯s will to grow stronger! Reddish gold lightning surrounded his body and he took another step. It sliced a path through the chaotic qi that remained in the air and the thin layer between the lava and ice was revealed. Stepping onto the frozen water, layers of ice formed around his shoes. The sun and moon hung high in the sky, but at that moment, their luster was focused on a single person. Finally stepping into the band between the lava and ice, Shang Xia sucked in a cold breath. He retrieved a jade bottle before pouring out its contents. That was the Powder of Purification made with his unique recipe! Even though the institution gave him a set to assist in his breakthrough, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t bother with it. There was no way they possessed the optimal formula used to create the Powder of Purification! He didn¡¯t even provide the complete recipe to the chemist of the Shang Clan! He made the entire set of medicine himself after gathering all the herbs he needed discreetly. The Powder of Purification didn¡¯t leave his side the moment he entered the battlefield between two worlds. His decision proved to be right as he ran into the perfect opportunity to break through! There wasn¡¯t a trace of hesitation in his actions as he emptied the Powder of Purification into his mouth. He didn¡¯t have time to savor its taste as two different sensations welled up in his body. A trace of fire and a trace of frost shot through him. The two types of qi were just a guide. They served to draw in the surrounding heaven and earth qi as he charged into the Martial Extremity Realm. Along with the appearance of both types of qi, his body started to swell as the differing elements clashed against each other. Hold up¡­ Shang Xia realized that he made a miscalculation! The Powder of Purification served as a guide, but it didn¡¯t mean that he would break through the moment he took it! There had to be some sort of intermediate step! As the different types of qi clashed in his body, his already withering inner qi became even weaker. No matter how prepared he was, he wasn¡¯t prepared for the effect of standing in the Crossroad of Purification! Exhausting the inner qi in his body would allow the clash between the qis to weaken, but standing in the Crossroad of Purification allowed him to rapidly replenish his inner qi! As his body sucked in both types of qi greedily, he felt as though his body had turned into a ticking time bomb! CH 30 He might be entering the Martial Extremity Realm for the first time, but Shang Xia didn¡¯t lack knowledge. He had records of experts when they tried to break through previously! According to the experiences left behind by some seniors, the inner qi in their bodies would start to separate when they refined the Powder of Purification. When the process was complete, a cultivator¡¯s dantian would appear. It would signify that they had successfully entered the Martial Extremity Realm! Of course, when their inner qi separated, it didn¡¯t mean that it experienced a fundamental transformation. Shang Xia realized that the problem lay with the pure qi pouring into his body. The separation couldn¡¯t be completed due to their never ending invasion into his body. As the separation couldn¡¯t be completed, the formation of his dantian couldn¡¯t be accomplished! Stepping into the Martial Extremity Realm would be an impossible task! The amount of inner qi Shang Xia could contain in his body was limited. As his dantian wasn¡¯t forming, the two different types of qi started to clash against each other. If that kept up, Shang Xia would explode from the excess qi! If only Shang Xia had a secret art suitable for cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm, he could forcefully suppress his inner qi. Learning and using any random secret art at that time might not be in his best interest in the long run, but it was enough to save his life! Alas¡­ Shang Xia was promised a set of secret art from the institution, but he failed to make his choice in the short amount of time he had before leaving for the battlefield between two worlds! Now, he was really in deep shit¡­ What am I supposed to do?! Looking down desperately, he suddenly thought of the blood red tablet. ¡°Oh right, a flash of inspiration!¡± Perhaps that was the key to everything! Looking at the long path before him, he realized that he might have to venture even deeper into the Crossroad of Purification in order to obtain his flash of inspiration! With the bubbling lava and endless frost beside him, a soft chuckle left Shang Xia¡¯s lips as he took another step into the Crossroad of Purification¡­ ¡­ As the eruption of the Origin Tide only covered a tiny area, the female cultivator wasn¡¯t affected in the slightest after retreating into the forest. Looking at the lake, she tried to peer through the curtain of rampaging heaven and earth qi. Other than a screen of chaotic qi, she failed to see anything else. ¡°Did he really die?!¡± Muttering to herself, she eventually sighed, ¡°Well, he deserved it¡­ However, the little bird¡­¡± Seemingly able to hear her thoughts, a high-pitched cry came from the skies above. Raising her head slightly, she saw a flash of silver light as the Lightning Bird flew towards a tree beside her. ¡°Are you also here to see if that brat died?¡± She said as she took several steps towards the tree. A cautious chirp was all she received as a reply. Ignoring its warning, she continued to move forward. ¡°Is that Mutated Rain Swallow really your lover? Are Lightning Birds and Mutated Rain Swallows from the same race?¡± Flapping its wings, the Lightning Bird warned her not to get any closer. Too bad for the creature, she had already entered her attack range. Leaping up towards it, the knives in her hands started to dance. ¡°Get down here!¡± ¡­ Shang Xia looked at his feet in confusion. Even though he was standing on a strip of water, his feet were completely dry! It might not be difficult for cultivators to walk on water, but the current Shang Xia was nowhere near capable enough to do it! Moreover, he felt as though he was walking on solid ground. He soon thought of the reason behind it. The chaotic qi in the Crossroad of Purification formed a mystical equilibrium with the qi in his body, allowing him to stroll casually on top of the river. The chaotic qi running amok in his body suddenly calmed down, allowing Shang Xia to avoid certain death. Was that the flash of inspiration he needed?! Shang Xia seemed to have captured a key point in his journey of cultivation. Even after he opened his dantian, it seemed as though finding a balance was the key to everything! What comes after balance? Shang Xia reached out to grab a droplet of water as he pondered over his question. Looking at the clear droplet in his hand, he felt that it perfectly contained both the essence of yin and yang. The chaos around him seemed to fade. The appearance of the water droplet didn¡¯t just signify balance between the two sides. What would happen when extreme yang fused with extreme yin? The heat and frost on either side perfectly integrated with each other and it gave birth to harmony! That was the flash of inspiration he needed! As the doubts in his mind disappeared, he swallowed the droplet of water. The two differing types of qi in his body started to come together. Unlike last time when they clashed with each other violently, it started to show signs of fusion. Without any type of interference from Shang Xia, the inner qi in his body started to move again. A loud blast rang through his body and a separate space was formed. His dantian appeared, and he finally entered the Martial Extremity Realm! At that moment, he truly stepped into the Second Order of the Primary Realm! The energy in his body surged towards his dantian, forming a thin layer of mist. As soon as it formed, it started to churn. Very quickly, it started to separate. A portion of it started to rise while the other part started to fall. His dantian expanded slightly, and before he knew it, the mist was gone. Raising an eyebrow curiously, he felt that the size of his dantian was larger than what those who entered the Martial Extremity Realm in the past described. Whatever the case, he wasn¡¯t too concerned about it. After all, his foundations were extremely solid when he entered the Martial Realm. The energy contained in his body was dense and pure, and that was probably behind the reason behind his larger dantian. A sudden pang of emptiness struck Shang Xia. He wanted nothing more than to devour an endless amount of energy in order to fill his newly created dantian. Taking a deep breath, a whirlpool formed under his feet. Throughout the entire process, he didn¡¯t need to control the energy entering his body as it traveled straight into his dantian. Boom! Another loud blast came from inside it. With his face turning pale, Shang Xia felt his entire body trembling. Taking in too much energy at once caused his dantian to become unsteady. Trying to stop the intake of energy, Shang Xia realized that he messed up once again. His dantian was like an endless black hole that sucked up energy endlessly. However, it wasn¡¯t strong enough to bear the load! Regret filled Shang Xia¡¯s heart again when he thought about how he didn¡¯t find a secret art to practice. His intestines were turning green in anguish. Everything could have been avoided if he wasn¡¯t so picky! Did other cultivators suffer from the same fate?! Shang Xia refused to believe that he was the only case. When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. However, the most important thing was to deal with the danger he was currently facing. The moment his dantian failed to contain the amount of energy rushing into his body, it would crumble! His hopes of cultivation would end there! Thinking of solutions, Shang Xia seemed to chance upon a brilliant idea. Fusing the two different types of energy in his body, he was several steps ahead of cultivators his level. That was also the reason behind his predicament. Ordinarily, transforming the qi in his dantian would take quite some time! He would have to slowly strengthen his dantian to contain more and more energy. He barely formed his dantian and he was trying to absorb pure yin and yang qi from the Crossroad of Purification! It was no wonder he was about to lose control. Without a secret art to divert the power, he could only hope to strengthen his dantian enough to contain the energy within. In order to accelerate the process, he would have to use the heaven and earth qi he already absorbed to temper it even further. He would have to separate the qi once again, but the question was whether he had the time to do it! Separating after fusion, returning to its origin¡­ When the thought flashed through his mind, Shang Xia knew that he had truly stepped onto the path of cultivation. CH 31 Shang Xia¡¯s consciousness returned to the blood red tablet and he tried to look for anything that could help him. It was a shame the blood red tablet remained completely silent this time. It didn¡¯t seem like it planned to give him any hints now. Was the flash of inspiration he was supposed to receive contained in the water droplet that contained both yin and yang qi?! Shang Xia understood the laws of fusion and harmony from the water droplet, and he opened his dantian. However, it was just a medium that allowed him to succeed. It wasn¡¯t exactly a flash of inspiration¡­ The flash of inspiration happened when he understood the laws of fusion. However, it was so advanced that his dantian failed to contain the heaven and earth qi pouring into him. As such, his understanding deepened once again. From fusion of the two different extremes, it became a fundamental transformation of the qi! Separating the two different types of qi after they integrated with each other was a different concept from transformation. After transformation, Shang Xia could control it however he liked! Clearly understanding the theory behind it, Shang Xia had no idea where to start. All of a sudden, an image that was wildly popular in his previous life appeared in his mind. It was a symbol that signified the combination of yin and yang! That was right¡­ It was the yin yang diagram! Taking another droplet of water from under his feet, Shang Xia examined the qi contained within. With a thought, he controlled the qi within. Swirling around, they started to form the image of yin and yang. The instant they did, the two extreme qi within it separated. Roaring with laughter, Shang Xia tossed the water droplet into his mouth. With all the qi in his dantian rotating the same way as the qi in the water droplet, a giant Yin Yang Diagram was formed. The amount of qi in his dantian no longer mattered. As long as he willed it, balance would be found once he rotated the qi around. Both types of qi tempered his dantian slowly, making it incomparably solid. From a certain perspective, Shang Xia¡¯s control over energy became part of his own self-created secret art! He might have barely entered the Martial Extremity Realm, but his understanding of cultivation was far from a beginner! ¡°The qi in my dantian shouldn¡¯t be called two extreme qis¡­ Instead, it should be called the Yin Yang Essence Qi!¡± Shang Xia exclaimed in his heart. Even though he had only started to control it, he found many amazing ways to use it. Cultivators who walked the same path as him in the past were a dime a dozen. Now that he comprehended the way to control the power of yin and yang, the number of cultivators who could be compared to him decreased dramatically. In fact, they were extremely rare! Shang Xia understood that the concept behind equilibrium and the control of extreme heat and frost was far from comparable to the concept of yin and yang. Cultivators who entered the Martial Extremity Realm would improve their control over fire qi before turning to cultivate icy qi. The process would result in a disequilibrium, causing a disaster. Even with suitable secret arts to control the different qi, they wouldn¡¯t be able to solve the root cause of the problem! At any point of time, cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm had a chance of losing control over their inner qi! Of course, there were also some geniuses who discovered that cultivating both types of qi at once could greatly reduce the danger. Doing so came at a massive cost. There was no way ordinary cultivators would be able to afford the resources required to do so. As such, cultivators would raise their cultivation with whatever resources they had, even if they could only increase their cultivation of one type of qi. After all, one couldn¡¯t possibly stop cultivating if they failed to locate any resources¡­ Those might be problems for the average cultivator, but they were nonissues for Shang Xia! The Yin Yang Essence Qi in his body surpassed the fundamental ¡®balance¡¯ cultivators needed. It even exceeded the ¡®harmony¡¯ level that came next! He could transform the Yin Yang Essence Qi any way he wanted! Regardless of the time and place, Shang Xia could maintain the equilibrium in his dantian no matter what type of resources he consumed! That also solved the problem of him losing control of his qi at the very root! It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. With the new ability to control his Yin Yang Essence Qi, he could turn it into anything he wanted! As long as he wanted to, he could use both fire and ice qi. After forming his dantian, Shang Xia understood that the Yin Yang Dao he comprehended was what Zhang Haogu told him before! With the ability to turn his Yin Yang Essence Qi to any type of qi he wanted, he could hide his strength and avoid being suppressed by most cultivators! Closing his eyes, he started to examine himself closely. When he finally awakened, he discovered that the celestial bodies in the skies had long since disappeared. The part of the lake that was covered in lava before returning to its original tranquil state. The ice on the other side disappeared without him realizing. The raging Origin Tide was nowhere to be seen, and the dense heaven and earth qi that came with the tide started to dissipate. A sense of disappointment filled Shang Xia¡¯s heart. After all, it wasn¡¯t every day he got to experience a phenomenon like that! As the Origin Tide was caused by the clash between the heaven and earth qi contained in both worlds, one could only imagine the impact it caused. It happened extremely suddenly, but it receded just as quickly. From the moment Shang Xia entered the Crossroad of Purification to the time he opened his eyes, the time that passed was barely enough for a stick of incense to burn. Wondering if the Origin Tide left anything special under the lake, Shang Xia quickly gave up on any foolish thoughts to venture deeper into the water body. Everything that happened seemed like a blur. In fact, Shang Xia would have thought that everything was an illusion if he hadn¡¯t broken through to the Martial Extremity Realm! Taking a step forward, ripples formed around him. When he finally reached the riverbank, a soft chirp reminded him of the Mutated Rain Swallow¡¯s existence. He turned around in shock. The moment he decided to risk it all and enter the Origin Tide, he was prepared to let the bird die. Even though a Mutated Rain Swallow was worth a lot, Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate to choose to give it up the moment the Origin Tide erupted. Never in his wildest imaginations did he expect the bird to survive. ¡°Ha! I earned big this time!¡± Raising the cage slightly, a triumphant smile appeared on his face. Walking slowly across the plains, he headed back towards the forest. Even though the Origin Tide caused a lot of damage to its surroundings, the lush greenery in the forest seemed to possess an astounding amount of vitality. The moment he stepped into the forest, he noticed a figure emerging from the cluster of trees nearby. The moment she saw Shang Xia, the knives in her hands slashed at his throat. ¡°What is your problem?!¡± Shang Xia yelled in irritation. Releasing the Delicate Jade River Sword, the soft blade wrapped around both knives as Shang Xia flicked his wrist angrily. The knives clattered against each other as they fell to the ground. CH 32 Shang Xia disarmed her without much difficulty. Looking at Shang Xia incredulously, she couldn''t believe what just happened. Even Shang Xia found it incredible. Just several minutes ago, he would be thanking the gods if he could avoid her attack. Blocking it head-on was something he couldn¡¯t imagine! Now, disarming her took a mere flick of his wrist. He had no idea how much his strength increased after breaking through. Even though he estimated it to be a lot, he wouldn¡¯t have met her attack directly if not for the fact that he was irritated by her actions. It was at that moment Shang Xia realized that his breakthrough didn¡¯t just give him a slight increase in strength. It made him far stronger than he thought! The sudden increase in his strength also shocked the female cultivator. Even though she didn¡¯t use her martial intent previously, her knife skills were nothing to scoff at! Her foundations were strong, and she was ready to break through to the Martial Intent Realm at any moment. Even if she ran into a cultivator who was at the Martial Intent Realm, she would be able to hold her own for quite some time! Unfortunately, Shang Xia¡¯s actions shattered her pride. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with her reaction as he turned to look at the knives on the ground. Seeing the chips on the edges, the corners of his lips twitched violently. The pair of low-grade weapons was almost as valuable as his Delicate Jade River Sword! However, they looked slightly damaged after their prolonged cat and mouse game. ¡°When I find a suitable secret art for cultivators in the Martial Extremity Realm, I have to look for a sword cultivation manual too¡­¡± Shang Xia whispered to himself. The reason he damaged the twin knives was because he failed to control his strength. With an appropriate sword manual, he wouldn¡¯t have to use brute force to deal with everything! When Shang Xia was still cursing himself for destroying her weapons, the female cultivator flew into a fit of rage. She used her martial intent to release a ray of green light towards Shang Xia. Despite his first instinct to dodge the strike, an absurd idea flashed through his mind. He raised his Delicate River Jade Sword and drew a perfect circle in the air before him. A wave of Yin Yang Essence Qi emerged from his body, forming the yin yang diagram. When the green light clashed into it, it quickly lost power. The yin yang diagram didn¡¯t stop there. As it started to rotate, the green light was completely nullified by the time it made the fifth rotation. He might have created the move on the spot, but the results were more than satisfactory. Despite using up a lot of Yin Yang Essence Qi, it was the first time he unleashed the move. After refining his control over it, it would experience an all round increase in capabilities. Moreover, that was merely an experiment conducted by Shang Xia. After nullifying the female cultivator¡¯s martial intent, his guesses were further solidified. It seemed as though his Yin Yang Essence Qi was very different from the qi used by other cultivators. Immersing himself in joy, he didn¡¯t notice the change in her eyes. With complicated emotions filling her heart, she turned around to run. How could Shang Xia let her off so easily? She hunted him down the moment he left the convoy, and she left him in such a desperate state. If not for his sudden breakthrough, she would have killed him! Without hesitation, he ran after her despite knowing that catching up would prove to be difficult. Regardless, he just wanted her to experience the feeling of being hunted down. He wanted to disgust her by doing what she did to him. A streak of silver light appeared not too long after he started the chase. ¡°Oh right, I forgot about this damn bird!¡± Shang Xia yelled. Despite his cries, he didn¡¯t use his Delicate River Jade Sword. Instead, the Ivory Fan snapped open in his hand. The Lightning Bird was too damn fast. His eyes couldn¡¯t keep up with the little creature, and it was completely impossible for him to hit it with the sword considering the fact that he wasn¡¯t a sword cultivator in the first place. He swung the fan to release a strange energy wave that disrupted the Lightning Bird¡¯s flight. Wobbling in the air, it was no longer able to zoom around as it pleased. When it finally flew out of the area affected by Shang Xia¡¯s strange energy wave, it realized that it was no longer as fast as before. Watching it glide unsteadily through the air, another ridiculous idea appeared in Shang Xia¡¯s mind. He wanted to capture it alive! However, a yell came from the side as the female cultivator stood between him and the Lightning Bird. It seemed as though she had chosen to work with the little creature. ¡°This bitch¡­ I¡¯ll change my surname if I don¡¯t teach her a good lesson!¡± Shang Xia gnashed his teeth and growled. Of course, being angry was one thing. He didn¡¯t lose his rationality. He didn¡¯t dare to be careless when facing someone at her level even if she had already lost her weapons. Her graceful movement couldn¡¯t conceal her deadliness as all her strikes went for his vital organs. The bird wasn¡¯t dumb either. It could tell what the female cultivator¡¯s intentions were, and it started to accelerate in mid air. Releasing a high-pitched cry, it shot towards Shang Xia. As Shang Xia¡¯s attention was placed on the female cultivator, he had no choice but to throw himself to the side when the silver streak flew towards him. Adjusting its trajectory mid flight, the bird flew under his arms. This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Shit! Realizing what the bird was after, Shang Xia didn¡¯t have time to react as the Lightning Bird tore through the cage hanging on his waist. With the help of the female cultivator, the Lightning Bird managed to save its lover! ¡°Chirp chirp!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression changed when the Mutated Rain Swallow was freed. However, he didn¡¯t have the luxury to care about that as the female cultivator increased the intensity of her attacks. She attacked him without a care for her life and managed to force him back slightly. Even though Shang Xia¡¯s Yin Yang Essence Qi possessed many miraculous qualities, he hadn¡¯t cultivated any techniques or martial arts related to it! He could only use his Chaos Essence Palm and Lightning Palm to repel her strikes. With his strength greatly restricted, he could only watch on as the Mutated Rain Swallow flew into the air. ¡°Chirp chirp!¡± The Lightning Bird landed on one of the trees around them. Flapping its wings happily, it seemed to be expressing its excitement. ¡°Hehe, If I can¡¯t obtain the Mutated Rain Swallow, you can¡¯t either.¡± The female cultivator sneered. It was clear that her actions were all for the sake of annoying Shang Xia. As the corners of his lips arched upwards, Shang Xia didn¡¯t bother replying. Lightning formed on his palm as he unleashed his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. Caught off guard, she retreated instantly. To her surprise, a shocking change happened the moment he released the bolt of lightning. The Mutated Rain Swallow that was freed tried to leave his side, but found it difficult to do so. Streams of qi emerged from his body and they swirled around him in a strange motion, and they sapped the energy of those trapped within. The Mutated Rain Swallow was no exception as it flapped its wings desperately. At the same time, the bolt of lightning that scared off the female cultivator seemed to interest the bird. It flew back into Shang Xia¡¯s hand and it narrowed its eyes. A look of enjoyment soon formed on its face. Enjoying the tingling sensation running through its body, it ignored the cries of the Lighting Bird on the tree nearby. The female cultivator looked at the Mutated Rain Swallow before turning to the Lightning Bird. ¡°This¡­ This¡­ This¡­ You¡¯re committing adultery!¡± ¡°What are you even talking about?!¡± Shang Xia raised his Ivory Fan and threw it at her. Yelling in terror, she leaped to the side. Too bad for her, the distance between them was too small for her to escape the strike completely. She only managed to avoid letting it hit her vital organs. Cutting through her robes, a long wound formed on the side of her belly. The pain caused her snowy white breasts to shake violently. Shang Xia was stunned for a solid second as he stared directly at them. ¡°You¡­ You hooligan!¡± She pointed at Shang Xia and screamed with rage, but her actions only caused the tear in her clothes to grow larger. She retracted her hand instantly. When that went down, the Lightning Bird whose lover was ¡®shamelessly¡¯ stolen by Shang Xia cried out in rage and shot towards Shang Xia. In its fit of rage, it failed to notice that the female cultivator wasn¡¯t in a state to give it assistance. Shoving the Mutated Rain Swallow into his sleeves, Shang Xia drew his Delicate Jade River Sword and drew a perfect circle in mid air. Changing directions mid air, the Lightning Bird managed to avoid the edge of the blade. However, it crashed straight into the chaotic flow of energy around it. Struggling desperately to keep itself in flight, several feathers dropped from its body. CH 33 ¡°What a pity¡­¡± Shang Xia sighed when he saw the Lightning Bird flying away. He used a huge amount of Yin Yang Essence Qi to restrict the Lightning Bird earlier. If it went just a bit better, he would be able to capture it alive! Too bad for him, it sacrificed a full tail of feathers to break through the binding the Yin Yang Essence Qi had on it. Because of Shang Xia¡¯s sudden increase in strength, the Lightning Bird no longer dared to mess with him. It turned into a streak of light and escaped. The female cultivator turned tail and ran, seeing as her only other ally was gone. The two of them were barely able to suppress Shang Xia earlier. She knew that there was no way she could take him on alone. Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate to chase after the female cultivator. He knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up, but all he wanted to do was to mess with her. He didn¡¯t want to give her a chance to catch her breath. He didn¡¯t forget to retrieve the two damaged knives on the ground before giving chase. This time, luck stood on his side. When they left the cover of the trees, Shang Xia was greeted with the sight of a massive valley. It was dozens of feet deep and almost ten feet wide! If they ran into the valley earlier, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to escape! The appearance of the valley definitely had something to do with the Origin Tide. Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief, but a trace of delight soon formed in his heart. Regardless of how the valley appeared, it managed to stop the female cultivator from running away. Shang Xia casually strode towards her and she asked, ¡°Who are you?!¡° Opening his fan, Shang Xia waved it slowly and sneered, ¡°Are the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World as rude as you? Don¡¯t you know that you¡¯re supposed to introduce yourself before asking for someone else¡¯s name?¡± Anger flashed in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it. ¡°I¡¯m from the Wind Swallow Race of the Azure Spiritual World. My name is Yan Ming!¡± Shang Xia snapped the fan shut and he turned serious. ¡°You can call me Shang Xia. I¡¯m from the Tongyou City of the Azure Origin World.¡± ¡°Shang Xia¡­ Shang Xia¡­¡± Repeating his name a few times, she seemed to be carving the name deep into her memories. A sneer formed on her face and she continued, ¡°I¡¯ll remember your name. I¡¯ll be back!¡± Raising an eyebrow in surprise, he soon realized that something was wrong. The Delicate Jade River Sword shot towards in an attempt to stop her. He was a little too late as she leaped into the valley behind. Rushing over to the edge, Shang Xia saw her robes fluttering in mid air and she resembled a giant butterfly as she drifted away. ¡°She managed to run away!¡± Shang Xia growled. He wanted to give chase, but that didn¡¯t seem doable. He could only roar behind her, ¡°You¡¯re exposing yourself in public! Shameless woman!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s gaze drifted up her long white legs and caught a faint glance at the jade white¡­ When she heard what she said, her flight became unsteady and she nearly crashed into the cliff face beside her. When she arrived on the other side, she shot a glare towards Shang Xia. Roaring with laughter, he turned back and disappeared into the darkness. ¡­ Since his path out of the forest was obstructed by the massive valley, he used slightly more than a day to look for another route. When he finally returned to the place where he separated from the convoy, he noticed that the battlefield had already been cleaned up. There were no traces of battle, and no one from the institution was anywhere to be seen. He had no idea how his fellow disciples were doing, and his thoughts drifted to the outer disciples who followed them into the battlefield between two worlds. He knew that the chances of them being alive were slim to none. ¡°Chirp, chirp!¡± Shang Xia felt his arms sinking slightly as the Mutated Rain Swallow perched on his forearm. ¡°Alright, alright!¡± Shang Xia sighed helplessly as he gathered a ball of lightning in his arms. It flew directly towards the ball of lightning and streaks of lightning danced about its body. As its feathers stood erect, the Mutated Rain Swallow closed its eyes slowly and gave off a sense of enjoyment. However, a dissatisfied chirp soon left the bird¡¯s lips after a few moments. ¡°That¡¯s enough! Can¡¯t you learn to take things slow? Even that damn lightning chicken can¡¯t give you as much lightning as you want, right?¡± Shang Xia snapped in frustration. Crying out softly, the Mutated Rain Swallow returned to his shoulders. Several cries came from behind and Shang Xia turned around slowly. On a tree quite some distance away, the Lightning Bird glared at Shang Xia, seemingly trying to intimidate the man. This time, the Mutated Rain Swallow responded on his behalf. Flapping its wings, the Mutated Rain Swallow chirped several times, and the two winged creatures seemed to be getting into a heated argument. Luckily for Shang Xia, the Lightning Bird looked rather calm. It was the Mutated Rain Swallow¡¯s reaction that shocked him. The little bird on his shoulder fluttered about and Shang Xia seemed to barely understand it. You useless bird! He¡¯s able to nourish me with lightning every day. What about you, you weak little lightning bird? Can your lightning last for so long?! You have so many other lovers¡­ Think about how rarely I get to enjoy your lightning! The Lightning Bird couldn¡¯t back down after that! Not a single member of the male species could endure such humiliation! So what if it was just a bird?! However, Shang Xia could hear the helplessness in the Lightning Bird¡¯s chirps. The only creature getting more and more agitated was the Mutated Rain Swallow on his shoulder. It was leaping about animatedly, and Shang Xia felt his ears stinging from the high-pitched cries. From the looks of it, the story started a while back. ¡­ Even though Shang Xia knew how precious the Mutated Rain Swallow was, the cage had been broken by the Lightning Bird. Shang Xia could only use his hands to capture the Mutated Lightning Swallow. It solved his problem immediately, but it wasn¡¯t a long term solution. After all, he might slip up unconsciously. When Shang Xia was searching for a way around the valley, he noticed the presence of the Lightning Bird once again. It wasn¡¯t willing to give up on its lover! An idea formed in his mind. He wanted to repair the broken cage to prevent the Mutated Rain Swallow from escaping. However, he didn¡¯t have the appropriate materials to do so. If he used ordinary materials, the bird would slice through them in an instant! In a fit of desperation, he released a surge of lightning, quelling the Mutated Rain Swallow¡¯s movements. He found a way to solve the problem temporarily, but he still made a mistake when he sat down to take a short break. Due to the extreme stress he had been under ever since leaving the convoy, his brain had been operating in overdrive. Being hunted down and risking it all to break through in the Origin Tide wasn¡¯t an easy thing to do! No matter how determined and resilient he was, his body was sleep deprived. Despite knowing that the battlefield between two worlds was filled with dangers, he fell asleep the moment he closed his eyes. When he awakened, he heard some tweeting nearby. Jumping to his feet instantly, he saw two birds lying pitifully beside him. One of them was the Mutated Rain Swallow and from the looks of it, it suffered quite a bit in a battle against the other creature. A wave of fear swept through Shang Xia¡¯s mind. He didn¡¯t hear anything in his deep slumber, and if any one carried out a sneak attack¡­ Huh? Shang Xia noticed an important problem all of a sudden. The Mutated Rain Swallow was lying on the ground nearby. Logically speaking, it could have escaped when he fell asleep. Did the Mutated Rain Swallow protect him while he was asleep? His suspicions were quickly confirmed when the Mutated Rain Swallow soared into the air in excitement before returning to his side. ¡°Chirp, chirp!¡± It praised itself and looked at Shang Xia expectantly. Opening his palm cautiously, a ball of lightning started to gather. The Mutated Lightning Swallow released a happy cry before leaping into the ball of lightning. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. CH 34 Shang Xia understood everything after thinking about the events that transpired. The Lightning Bird was definitely the creature that led the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows. Moreover, it seemed to possess a large harem of female Mutated Rain Swallows. From the looks of things, it was able to lead the flock because of the power of lightning it harnessed. As Mutated Rain Swallows yearned for the power of lightning, the Lightning Bird was able to attract many partners. Everything changed for the Mutated Rain Swallow when Shang Xia captured it. It not only managed to feel the familiar power of lightning around him, it also enjoyed the benefits of bathing in the ball of lightning he summoned. When it was part of the Lightning Bird¡¯s harem, it was only able to receive the wonderful lightning it desired occasionally due to the Lightning Bird¡¯s limited stamina. After interacting with Shang Xia for a short period of time, the Mutated Rain Swallow enjoyed several times more joy compared to when it followed the Lightning Bird. Comparing the two, the Lightning Bird was barely able to fulfill its desires once every few months. Shang Xia allowed it to bask in lightning several times a day¡­ There was no need to compare the two! It was faced with a clear choice! Forsaking its original partner, the Mutated Rain Swallow remained loyally by Shang Xia¡¯s side. Everything was so that it could enjoy the power of lightning whenever it wanted! That was also why the Mutated Rain Swallow refused to run away when he was asleep. It even protected him in his slumber! The time he spent with it while returning to the place the convoy once got raided confirmed his guesses even further! Even without any restrictions around it, the bird seemed to be hell bent on following Shang Xia. What Shang Xia couldn¡¯t understand was the Lightning Bird¡¯s actions. It had been following Shang Xia around since he awakened, and Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but think that it was still trying to find a chance to retrieve its lover. He cursed the bird several times in his heart. Why the hell are you so adamant about this Mutated Rain Swallow? Don¡¯t you have the rest of your harem to care about?! A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. He didn¡¯t wait long to realize that he was wrong. The interaction between the two birds was minimal. Even when the Mutated Rain Swallow chirped naggily at it, the Lightning Bird would reply curtly. No male in the right mind would do that if they were trying to regain the love of their woman¡­ Even though it had been following Shang Xia, the Lightning Bird made no attempts to attack. Eventually, Shang Xia gave up and allowed it to follow slowly behind him. ¡­ Looking at the Lightning Bird in the distance, a weird look formed in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes. ¡°Does it have something to ask of me?¡± Shang Xia wondered. After all, its actions were too suspicious. ¡°Chirp chirp!¡± Too bad Shang Xia didn¡¯t speak bird. He turned to the Mutated Rain Swallow for an explanation, and the little bird hovered in the air before him. The feathers on its body puffed up before returning to normal, and it repeated several more times. Thinking about it for a second, he guessed, ¡°Does it want to bathe in my lightning?¡± The Mutated Rain Swallow cried out several times and it turned a little despondent. The Lightning Bird snapped urgently, and it seemed to be blaming the Mutated Rain Swallow for meddling in its business. As the Mutated Rain Swallow turned to stare at the Lightning Bird, it started to chirp angrily again. Even if Shang Xia didn¡¯t know bird talk, he could tell that the Mutated Rain Swallow was scolding the Lightning Bird. Shaking its head, the Lightning Bird eventually lowered its head. After thinking about it, Shang Xia gathered another ball of lightning in his hand before looking at the Lightning Bird. Flapping its wings, the Lightning Bird turned its head away as though it didn¡¯t care about Shang Xia¡¯s gesture. Chuckling helplessly, Shang Xia understood what the bird was feeling. The amount of lightning he gathered was enough for the Mutated Rain Swallow to enjoy itself, but it was far from enough for the stronger Lightning Bird. ¡°Chirp chirp¡­¡± The Mutated Rain Swallow cried out softly as it looked at Shang Xia. Sighing inwardly, he wouldn¡¯t lower himself to argue with the little winged creatures. As his inner qi surged, the ball of lightning in his hand grew larger. The faint golden lightning grew brighter, and a trace of red could be seen within. The Lightning Bird stared at Shang Xia¡¯s hand instantly. Leaping around, it raised its head slightly. Hehe, you¡¯re not being honest with yourself¡­ Shang Xia sneered. The lightning in his hand grew even stronger and a reddish hue overpowered the gold. The Lightning Bird no longer hesitated. Leaping off the tree, it shot towards Shang Xia¡¯s hand. Who would have thought that Shang Xia would retrieve his energy at the last second, scattering the lightning ball? Crying out in displeasure, the Lightning Bird flapped its wings and tried returning to the tree before. However, the space around it started to solidify and no matter how hard it struggled, it couldn¡¯t move an inch. Shang Xia walked over slowly and stopped when the bird was struggling at his chest level. The ball of lightning slowly reappeared in his palm again as he addressed it. ¡°Why should I give it to you?¡± The Lightning Bird was stumped. Now, the female cultivator, Yan Ming, wasn¡¯t there to work with it! In a fit of desperation, it could only cry out desperately. Shang Xia stared at it while walking a complete circle around the creature. He examined it closely. He didn¡¯t forget how the Lightning Bird tried to take his life several times back in the forest when it worked together with Yan Ming¡­ Now that it fell into his trap, Shang Xia felt that it should be thanking the gods that it didn¡¯t turn into bird barbecue. Of course, it had something to do with Yan Ni¡¯er too. Oh right¡­ Yan Ni¡¯er was the name Shang Xia gave to the Mutated Rain Swallow after it started following him. ¡°Chirp, chirp¡­¡± Yan Ni¡¯er chirped softly by his ear as she tried to beg him for mercy. Chuckling softly, Shang Xia eventually released the ball of lightning in his hands once again. The Lightning Bird that was screaming desperately fell silent. ¡°You¡¯re a glutton too¡­¡± Muttering softly, he directed the lightning in his palm towards the Lightning Bird¡¯s lips. The damn bird was an absolute thief. It didn¡¯t show any gratitude at all as it swallowed as much as it could. When more than half of it was gone, it released a mighty cry. Shang Xia reacted quickly by closing his palm. ¡°Chirp¡­ Chirp¡­¡± The Lightning Bird quickly expressed its displeasure. Flicking his finger, he hit the damn bird¡¯s head. ¡°What are you shouting for?! If you want it, you¡¯ll have to look for the owner of this item!¡± Shang Xia could tell that the Lightning Bird was on the verge of breaking through. He could understand its thought process. There wasn¡¯t a single cultivator who didn¡¯t wish to break through. In order to do so, the Lightning Bird would usually charge into the clouds to receive baptism from the endless lightning stored within. Those who succeeded would experience a fundamental transformation. Those who didn¡¯t would be turned into ashes. Since Shang Xia¡¯s body contained the power of heavenly lightning, not only could he assist the Lightning Bird in its breakthrough, it could also reduce the risk significantly! After he spoke, he tossed a bunch of items onto the ground. Those items belonged to the students of the institution, and they were scattered all over the place. Several of them belonged to the outer disciples and they had been deliberately buried underground. Due to the sudden changes in the geography in the battlefield between two worlds, the cleanup crew failed to pick them up. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know if the Lightning Bird had the same sense of smell as a dog, but he knew that it definitely had amazing eyesight. As long as the bird gave its all, he might be able to locate his fellow disciples. Moreover, Shang Xia¡¯s plan didn¡¯t just involve the Lightning Bird. One couldn¡¯t forget that the Lightning Bird was the leader of the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows! Shang Xia¡¯s plan had long since taken them into account once he subdued Yan Ni¡¯er. CH 35 To be honest, Shang Xia was trying his luck. He was more than ready to tear off all pretense with the Lightning Bird for the sake of getting it to help him. However, he seemed to have underestimated the Lightning Bird¡¯s intelligence and desire to break through. Releasing his Yin Yang Essence Qi, the Lightning Bird soon gained its freedom. Rising into the air, it didn¡¯t fly away immediately. Instead, it circled the air above Shang Xia. Realizing that it wouldn¡¯t be able to obtain the other half easily, it shot into the skies, hoping to quickly discover traces of the convoy. As Shang Xia left under Yuan Zilu¡¯s orders, he had no idea what happened after. From the looks of it, the members of the Tongyou Peak failed to reinforce them in time. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have left stuff like silver essence on the ground. In order to trade with Shang Xia, Yan Ming wanted to give him her low-grade weapons and fifty pieces of silver essence! Shang Xia might have rejected her easily and scoffed at her offer, but fifty pieces of silver essence wasn¡¯t a small amount in the Tongyou Peak! Many disciples at the Martial Extremity Realm wouldn¡¯t be able to take out so much money anyway! For ordinary cultivators in the Martial Realm, they would consider themselves lucky if they had three to five pieces of silver essence. They would use copper boards as their currency of choice instead. Since they buried their money in the ground, there was definitely some sort of special meaning behind their actions. On the off chance that the outer disciples weren¡¯t killed, they wouldn¡¯t have gotten far with their cultivation. More than a dozen Embroidered Cloud Carriages were robbed and sixteen disciples who were about to enter the inner division disappeared. There were the disciples of the Protection Division too! No matter how slow they were at reacting, the Tongyou Peak should be in complete chaos at the moment. If anyone managed to rescue them, they would have returned for their stuff. After all, disciples who hadn¡¯t broken through to the Martial Realm would never be able to give up on treasures like that! Sighing slightly, Shang Xia hoped that nothing serious happened in the Tongyou Peak. Since the members of the Wind Swallow Race could openly plunder resources, Shang Xia could tell that trouble was definitely brewing at the Tongyou Peak. It was too late to panic. Regardless, he wouldn¡¯t be able to go head to head with the Wind Swallow Race alone. He could only wait patiently for the Lightning Bird to return. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. The only other thing he could think about was the blood red tablet in his sea of consciousness. Even if he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to gain anything useful from it, he knew that it contained a massive secret. Uncovering the secret the best he could, he could only find two uses for it. One was to improve his secret art, the other was to obtain the most optimal recipe from whatever half baked recipe he was given. Other than the two times it worked, it didn¡¯t react in the slightest. Those novels told amazing legends of how cultivators transmigrated and received a special guide or an invincible system¡­ It helped them grow strong extremely quickly and turn into the main character of the story¡­ Those characters either had insane plot armor or freakish help given from the heavens¡­ Look at me! What the fuck is this?! All he got was a damn tablet that stood in the middle of nowhere. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn¡¯t do anything with it! According to Shang Xia, the blood red tablet was probably ranked extremely high in the list of ¡®most useless treasures after transmigrating¡¯. Was there even a need to mention how one face was cracked?! If he managed to dig out a way to use the blood red tablet, it might crack even more! Once all four faces of the tablet cracked, it was probably time for it to shatter¡­ That wasn¡¯t a god-given talent or system¡­ That was a goddamn time bomb! Shang Xia racked his brains but came up with nothing. The only time it reacted was during the eruption of the Origin Tide. It was one of the reasons Shang Xia decided to go deeper. Deep in his heart, he thought of an idea of repairing the blood red tablet with the help of the Origin Tide. From the looks of it, he overestimated himself. When his mind nearly broke down in the Origin Tide, the tablet remained completely motionless! It might not have helped him, but looking at things from another point of view, the tablet was strong enough to withstand the eruption. It had to be hiding even more secrets. Naturally, he would be unable to uncover anything with his low cultivation level. ¡°Let¡¯s just hope that the tablet doesn¡¯t destroy itself before I grow stronger¡­¡± Shang Xia sighed in his heart. He was brought back to reality by sounds of chirping and quickly discovered that his surroundings were changing again. Dark clouds gathered in the skies, but a warm breeze swept through the lands. Raising his head, Shang Xia saw the Lightning Bird circling around him with Yan Ni¡¯er following closely behind it. Looking closely, he realized that Yan Ni¡¯er¡¯s speed had increased by quite a bit. Even though it was slower than the Lightning Bird, it was much faster than when it attacked the convoy. If it could fly so quickly then, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t have been able to capture it! The lightning bath it enjoyed recently definitely allowed it to improve significantly. ¡­ Was he going to nurture another Lightning Bird? Shang Xia thought of the possibility, but his thoughts soon returned to the Lightning Bird. For it to return so quickly, it might have found traces of the other disciples! This lightning chicken doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s good for it¡­. I¡¯m the one giving it the lightning, but there it is flying around playing with Yan Ni¡¯er¡­ Putting his fingers in his mouth, a loud whistle tore through the air. Catching the birds¡¯ attention, he waved to them. Yan Ni¡¯er ignored the Lightning Bird immediately and she soared towards him. She released several cries to hurry it up while flying. Who would have thought that the Lightning Bird would turn around and fly in another direction seeing as it had Shang Xia¡¯s attention? Chasing behind the damn lightning chicken, Shang Xia quickly discovered that there were Mutated Rain Swallows every seven or so miles out. They were resting on anything they could find, and they would fly away when Shang Xia arrived. They were obviously sitting there to act as guides for Shang Xia. Flames of hope ignited in his heart the further he went. After passing nearly forty birds, two hours later, Shang Xia found that he traveled nearly two hundred and fifty miles. He caught sight of the Lightning Bird again, flying high above a tiny hill in the distance. Not in a rush to barge into whatever the hill contained, Shang Xia took a short break, restoring himself to his peak state. When he was well rested, he circled the hill once in order to avoid running into a trap. Indeed¡­ He discovered something wrong with the hill after walking around it. Even though he didn¡¯t alert the enemy, he discovered horse tracks outside a hidden valley and signs of people trying to remove it. The signs of battle didn¡¯t continue into the valley. Instead, it went in another direction. Shang Xia guessed that the battle was a result of the members of the Tongyou Peak discovering traces of cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World after they robbed the convoy. The cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World probably retreated, and the experts of the Tongyou Peak started to hunt them down. Light flickered in his eyes when he looked at the entrance of the hidden valley. Since the experts of the Tongyou Peak discovered the place, they would definitely enter the valley to take a look. After all, there were too many cultivators of the Tongyou Institution involved. The experts of the Tongyou Peak who arrived later had to save the cultivators of the Tongyou Institution no matter what! If they were dead, they had to retrieve the corpse! Since the battle had ended, it made no sense for there to be anyone in the hidden valley! However, from how the Lightning Bird was flying about in mid air, the people he wanted to find had to be inside! Holding caution towards the bird that annoyed him since the raid on the convoy, Shang Xia was extremely suspicious of it. His instincts told him otherwise. Choosing to take another route to enter the hidden valley, he crawled up one of the wall faces to avoid detection. When he arrived at the top, he peeped downwards only to be greeted with a sorry sight. Dozens of disciples were tied up, and they were squatting in a circle with their backs against each other. CH 36 ¡°The damn bird was right!¡± Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief in his heart. A trace of excitement started to form when he discovered his fellow disciples. Even though the valley was hidden, it was pretty small. Aside from the disciples, there were six complete Embroidered Cloud Carriages sitting in the valley. On one of them sat a cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World. From what he was doing, he looked to be cultivating. Turning to look at a nearby boulder, Shang Xia saw another cultivator staring at the captives. ¡°Are there only two of them?¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself. Even though there were only two of them, he didn¡¯t make any rash movements. ¡°Looks like I was right¡­ A group of cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World discovered the patrolling disciples of the Tongyou Peak. They baited them over and pretended to flee for their lives. Once they left, the disciples of the Tongyou Peak wouldn¡¯t return!¡± ¡°The other group of cultivators from the Azure Spiritual World went over to rob the convoy while they were at it! Hiding under their enemy¡¯s nose was dangerous, but no one would think to look there!¡± ¡°Since they erased the traces of battle and struggle, the experts of the Tongyou Peak wouldn¡¯t look twice¡­ If not for the Lightning Bird, I wouldn¡¯t enter the valley either!¡± Shang Xia chuckled to himself. ¡°Shady b*stards¡­¡± When Shang Xia was thinking of how to save them, a voice distracted him. ¡°Is there no news?¡± The person sitting on the carriage spoke. It seemed as though his status in the Azure Spiritual World was higher than the others as the cultivator on the boulder responded respectfully, ¡°Senior Brother Ling Que, we haven¡¯t heard from the young lady¡­¡± The disciple on the carriage frowned in response. ¡°Qing Que, there¡¯s no need to cover for her. She has always been so stubborn. If not for her, we would have left the area a long time ago! Caretaker Hua Que and the others wouldn¡¯t have to draw the patrol squad away while risking their lives!¡± The disciple on the boulder chuckled, ¡°The young lady was thinking about our race¡¯s bloodline¡­ If she manages to capture the Mutated Rain Swallow¡­¡± ¡°As a disciple with a pure bloodline, she should just look for a few more guys to continue the bloodline¡­ What¡¯s so good about hunting a Mutated Rain Swallow?!¡± Ling Que sneered. An awkward expression appeared on Qing Que¡¯s face. ¡°My legs are numb from squatting in this place. Huang Que has been standing guard outside for some time now. I¡¯ll call him back.¡± He leaped off the boulder and left for the entrance to the hidden valley as soon as he spoke. Glancing at Qing Que from the corner of his eye, Ling Que snorted, ¡°Wuss¡­¡± ¡­ Shang Xia was slightly surprised by what Qing Que said. ¡°There actually is someone else hiding out there. Luckily I didn¡¯t enter from the entrance. Instead of saving them, I¡¯ll probably run straight into their traps¡­¡± Retreating sneakily, Shang Xia waved his hand to call the two birds circling in the air back to him. He explained his plan to them using awkward hand gestures for half a day before returning to the edge of the cliff face overlooking the valley. A trace of anxiety filled his heart when they flew away. He didn¡¯t know if the two birds actually understood what he said¡­ Not too long after, he saw a young man clad in yellow robes walking into the hidden valley. He wasn¡¯t far, but his deep voice rang through the air. ¡°Brother Ling, did you say something bad about the young lady again? I¡¯m not one to butt into your business, but she¡¯s our junior. Why are you picking on her?¡± Ling Que muttered in response, ¡°I¡¯m not picking on her. We¡¯re hiding in a valley in a region controlled by the Tongyou Peak right now! We might be surrounded any time! The cultivators of the Azure Origin World might not be too strong, but there¡¯s too many of them! They¡¯ll discover us sooner or later! Why should we let the young lady gamble with our lives?¡± Huang Que took out a small pouch from his sleeves and popped the cork. As soon as he did, the aroma of wine filled the valley. Taking a good swig, a smile formed on his face. Stuffing the cork back into the pouch, he raised it towards Ling Que. ¡°Do you want some?¡± Watching Ling Que shake his head, he kept the pouch before saying, ¡°Relax¡­ Don¡¯t you know that most of the experts on the Tongyou Peak are distracted right now? Those people chasing Caretaker Hua Que and the others won¡¯t be able to do much.¡± Ling Que frowned in response, ¡°Can we really trust what the Rose Party says? It¡¯s true that the Slaughtering Hall brought a group of experts away from the Tongyou Peak, but do you really believe that Kou Chongxue is seriously injured? That bastard is extremely treacherous. The four great races of the Azure Spiritual World suffered countless times in the past twenty years because of his schemes¡­ How should we know if this entire thing is a plot or not?¡± As soon as the name left his lips, Huang Que¡¯s expression turned a little unnatural. Taking out his pouch again, Huang Que took a huge gulp of his wine. His newfound courage eclipsed the fear in his heart. ¡°Who cares about that! We have a lot of bargaining chips now that we captured them!¡± Pointing at the cultivators they captured, he continued, ¡°Even if Kou Chongxue kills his way over here, he¡¯ll have to listen to us!¡± The alcohol started to take effect as blood rushed into Huang Que¡¯s face. ¡°They won¡¯t expect us to be here anyway! They won¡¯t think we¡¯re stupid enough to hide in their own territory! When the time comes, we¡¯ll extort the Tongyou Peak before returning to the Four Spiritual Peak. When we return, we¡¯ll tell them that the people they¡¯re looking for have always been in their territory!¡± Roaring with laughter, Huang Que continued, ¡°The looks on their faces will be a sight to behold! The more I think about it, the more I can¡¯t wait to see their reaction!¡± An odd expression appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face after hearing what Huang Que said. He knew who Kou Chongxue was. In fact, everyone from the Tongyou Institution was familiar with his name. He was the creator of the institution, and he was their patriarch! He was also the strongest expert in the You Continent! Despite his terrifying reputation, he was an extremely mysterious individual. He would rarely appear in the institution, and many disciples wouldn¡¯t be able to see him throughout their journey to the upper division! There were even several upper disciples who joked that they wouldn¡¯t recognize the patriarch even if he walked by them! We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. Mysterious, low-key, elusive¡­ Those were the words they would use to describe their patriarch! Amidst Huang Que¡¯s laughter, Qing Que¡¯s voice tore through the hidden valley. ¡°Hey! Come here! Hurry up!¡± By the time his cries reached their ears, they discovered that he had already arrived at the entrance. Huang Que¡¯s laughter stopped abruptly as he turned to look at the entrance. Getting to his feet, Ling Que frowned, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?!¡± His question was met with silence. Qing Que seemed to have left the valley already. ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look.¡± Huang Que muttered. However, he was stopped by Ling Que. ¡°You stay here. I¡¯ll go.¡± ¡­ After Qing Que took over Huang Que¡¯s post, he had been hiding near the entrance of the valley to observe the surroundings. Even though his fellow cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World led the patrol team away, they were stuck in the depths of the territory controlled by the Tongyou Peak! There might be wandering cultivators who might discover their presence. As such, the three of them didn¡¯t dare to let their guards down at all. Keeping themselves on high alert, fatigue soon started to set in. When Ling Que was scolding him earlier, he didn¡¯t feel the onset of lethargy. Now that he arrived at the quiet spot in the outpost, he nearly fell asleep the moment he closed his eyes. Yawning softly, he struggled to keep his eyes open. However, he caught sight of a creature and he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn¡¯t dreaming. That¡­ That was a Mutated Rain Swallow! Pinching his thighs ruthlessly, the pain woke him up. When he caught sight of the little bird flying away from the hidden valley, his thoughts fell into disarray. That was definitely a Mutated Rain Swallow! Moreover, it was a Mutated Rain Swallow that was traveling alone! ¡°Hurry up¡± He didn¡¯t forget to yell after leaving the hidden valley. However, he soon realized that it wasn¡¯t a wise move to alarm the Mutated Rain Swallow. Seeing how it went to perch over on a branch on a nearby tree, a trace of excitement formed in his heart. Wasn¡¯t their goal to capture a living Mutated Rain Swallow to improve the bloodline of the members of their race? Now that they saw a lone Mutated Rain Swallow outside the hidden valley, it was a sign from the heavens! No¡­ It was a gift! It was a gift from the heavens! CH 37 As the Mutated Rain Swallow was extremely vigilant, Qing Que used all the cover he could find to slowly approach it. While he inched closer, he tried to recall everything he knew about the Mutated Rain Swallow. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. Ordinarily, Mutated Rain Swallows moved together in a giant flock. Now, a single Mutated Rain Swallow was sitting alone. It had to be left behind by its group, unless¡­ Qing Que was starting to suspect that something was wrong when the Mutated Rain Swallow flapped its wings and jumped around the branch. His heart leapt into his throat and he stopped moving entirely. However, he soon discovered that the little creature didn¡¯t fly away. Instead, it started falling towards the ground in an unsightly manner. Flapping its wings desperately, it managed to drag itself over to another tree nearby. ¡°Ha! Just as I thought! It¡¯s injured! No wonder it was left behind.¡± Excitement filled Qing Que¡¯s heart. ¡°Humph! The moment I get my hands on this Mutated Rain Swallow, I¡¯ll be able to obtain the pure bloodline of our race! When that happens, they¡¯ll bestow me a new name! In the future, They can call me Yan Qing!¡± He didn¡¯t realize that he was getting further and further away as he tracked the Mutated Rain Swallow. ¡­ Shang Xia coldly watched on as Ling Que, the strongest of the three, slowly approached the entrance. Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief after noticing that Qing Que hadn¡¯t returned. A trace of joy filled his heart after noticing that the Lightning Bird and Yan Ni¡¯er understood his meaning earlier. Now, the only problem was how long Yan Ni¡¯er could stall for! No¡­ I have to end this as quickly as possible. It¡¯s good enough that the little bird managed to draw them out. I can¡¯t expect too much from them! Shang Xia used the cover in the hidden valley to slowly approach Huang Que. Oblivious to the danger approaching, Huang Xua sauntered around the hidden valley slowly. When Ling Que was still there, he held himself back. Now that his senior brother was gone, he finished the alcohol with a few large gulps. Walking towards one of the Embroidered Cloud Carriages, he dragged out a barrel of wine before refilling his pouch. When it was full, he didn¡¯t forget to take a large swig from the barrel itself. Smiling in satisfaction, he kept his pouch securely. The aroma of wine filled the air once again. The wine was made with a herb called the Hundred Grass, and the effects were slightly different to Shang Xia¡¯s Hundred Flower Wine. The Hundred Grass Wine could help cultivators recover from inner injuries, but Shang Xia¡¯s wine could replenish a cultivator¡¯s inner qi! By the time Huang Que kept his pouch, Shang Xia had nearly descended the cliff. As the amount of cover grew lesser, many disciples had discovered his presence. Traces of anticipation and hope filled their hearts. Luckily for Shang Xia, the disciples were smart enough to remain silent. They couldn¡¯t let the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World discover his presence. They quickly turned away to avoid looking at him. Even so, Huang Que noticed the change in their eyes. He growled angrily at them, ¡°Humph, do you think that you will find a chance to escape because I¡¯m the only one left?¡± As they lowered their heads, Huang Que revealed a contented look. A sinister smile soon formed on his face. ¡°Let¡¯s play a game. I¡¯ll give all of you a chance. You can go ahead and run. Before I finish my wine, I won¡¯t chase you down. How¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Begin!¡± Huang Que popped open the cork on his pouch again and took a huge swig of wine. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him! All he wants is a chance to beat us up!¡± Huang Zihua. ¡°Humph! Brat, how dare you slander me?¡± Huang Que glared at the person who spoke. When Huang Zihua saw the look in Huang Que¡¯s eyes, he flinched. However, he caught a glimpse of Shang Xia closing in on Huang Que and the look in his eyes hardened. He raised his head to glare at Huang Que and yelled, ¡°You¡¯re a despicable bastard! Our seniors will soon discover this place! When that happens, you¡¯ll¡­¡± ¡°Brat, there¡¯s no need to wait for them to find me. I¡¯ll help you loosen your bones right now!¡± Huang Que grabbed Huang Zihua by the collar and dragged him around. Noticing the figure behind Huang Que, a cold smile appeared on Huang Zihua¡¯s face. ¡°Too bad you won¡¯t have the chance any more.¡± Staring at Huang Zihua in shock, Huang Que seemed to have thought of something and he whipped his head around violently. The last thing he saw was a pair of vaguely familiar knives! ¡°Aren¡¯t those the young lady¡¯s weapons?¡± With doubt filling his heart, his vision went black. ¡°Senior Brother Shang!¡± Huang Zihua couldn¡¯t care less about the blood that sprayed onto his face and he cried out happily. ¡°Shhh¡­¡± Shang Xia placed his finger to his lips and he nodded at the rest of the captives. Handing one of the knives over to Huang Zihua and the other to Jiao Haitang, he got them to cut the rest loose. He stealthily moved over to the entrance of the hidden valley. Only then did the rest of the disciples realize that they weren¡¯t out of the woods. There were still two other cultivators from the Azure Spiritual World around! ¡°Huh? He actually gave us low-grade weapons!¡± Huang Zihua examined the knife in his hand and a light flashed in his eyes. ¡°Hurry up! One of the carriages contains Cloud Piercing Crossbows. We haven¡¯t broken through to the Martial Realm, but we can use them to help Senior Brother Shang!¡± Jiao Haitang.yelled. She went over to free the others as soon as she cut off her restraints. Huang Zihua didn¡¯t remain idle and soon, everyone was free. Huang Zihua turned to look at Huang Que¡¯s corpse and he sighed, ¡°I wonder how Chief Shang did it¡­ This guy seems to be at the large completion stage of the Martial Realm. However, Chief Shang killed him before he could react!¡± A bundle of arrows for the Cloud Piercing crossbows flew into his arms, and he grabbed it hastily. ¡°Senior Brother Shang might have already broken through!¡± Jiao Haitang¡¯s voice came from inside the carriage. ¡°Of course, your stupid move to draw the guy¡¯s attention away probably helped.¡± Huang ZIhua chuckled haughtily in response. ¡°Of course I had something to do with it!¡± As soon as the words left his lips, a massive blast rang through the valley. When they saw flashes coming from outside and heard the curses flying over, they yelled, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The disciples of the Tongyou Institution ran out quickly. ¡­ ¡°... A Mutated Rain Swallow?! Do you really think you can catch it yourself?! If it¡¯s that easy, why would we bring so many people over and kick up such a huge fuss?! Do you think the others are completely useless?!¡± Ling Que refused to believe Qing Que¡¯s explanation as he yelled at him for leaving the hidden valley. ¡°It¡¯s true! I definitely found an injured Mutated Rain Swallow. It couldn¡¯t even fly properly! I thought it was a good opportunity and I¡­¡± Qing Que tried his hardest to explain. ¡°Even if it is true, are you sure you can capture it alive?!¡± Ling Que snapped at him angrily. After all, capturing a live Mutated Rain Swallow was easier said than done. Too stunned to speak, Qing Que could only follow behind Ling Que. He forgot about the fact that the Mutated Rain Swallow would kill itself the moment it was captured. A sense of superiority filled Ling Que¡¯s heart as he led Qing Que back. He continued to lecture Qing Que on their way back. Helpless, Qing Que could only shake his head and listen to his senior brother. When they entered the hidden valley, Ling Que was still droning on while Qing Que looked into the distance to soothe his feelings from the criticism he was receiving. When he casually raised his head, he felt his soul leaving the body. Ling Que noticed the problem too, and when he followed Qing Que¡¯s gaze, a curtain of red light enveloped his vision. ¡°Ah!¡± Raising his hand in a desperate attempt to defend himself, a bolt of lightning struck him, turning his arm into charcoal. The rest of the lightning sank into his body, turning half his face into a mixture of coal and mush. He smashed into the ground with a massive thud. CH 38 Shang Xia¡¯s sudden attack caught the two of them off guard and he basically incapacitated the stronger of the two! The change in situation caught Qing Que completely by surprise. However, as a cultivator who survived in the battlefield between two worlds for quite some time now, he reacted quickly. Energy gathered in his fists and he punched upwards. After landing his initial sneak attack on Ling Que, Shang Xia leaped out from his hiding spot. He was less than ten feet away from them, and the distance was covered in an instant. His Delicate Jade River Sword flashed as a soft glow emerged from the tip of the blade. It stabbed straight towards Qing Que¡¯s chest. Shang Xia clearly underestimated his enemy. Qing Que was at the Martial Realm, or in the terms of the Azure Spiritual World, the Blood Essence Realm, but he was no weakling. His ability to react to changes and adapt wasn¡¯t poor! Shang Xia¡¯s sword didn¡¯t contain any special moves. All he had to supplement it was his inner qi and brute strength. Under Qing Que¡¯s nimble fist art, it was redirected. Of course, Qing Que wasn¡¯t able to escape completely unscathed. The mid-grade weapon sliced deep wounds in his fists. Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. Using the impact from the exchange, Qing Que quickly retreated. After opening the distance between himself and Shang Xia, he took a protective stance in front of the seriously injured Ling Que. The shockwave of the exchange caused the hills beside them to crumble and massive chunks of rocks came raining down on them. Struggling to get to his feet, Ling Que brought out his nine-segmented staff from his robes. His left arm might have turned to ash, but that wasn¡¯t what impacted his combat abilities the most. The left side of his face was charred black, and all he could see out of his left eye was a blurry picture of the world. However, he was at the Vital Blood Realm in the Azure Spiritual World! He was comparable to experts at the Martial Extremity Realm here, and he was able to withstand a wound at that level. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Ling Que obviously remembered the man before him. He was the person who fled with the Mutated Rain Swallow, drawing Yan Ming, Hong Que, and Hui Que away from the team. He was the reason they were unable to leave the god forsaken place! Wait a minute¡­ He left with Yan Ming in hot pursuit. However, he was the only one who appeared! Where did the others go?! Ling Que might have criticized Yan Ming previously, but that was only because of her actions. He understood the importance of her bloodline in their race. ¡°Where is she?! Where did Yan Ming go?¡± Ling Que was able to keep his calm when half his body was incapacitated, but his hands started to tremble when he thought of the possibilities. Shang Xia finally understood how important she was to the group of cultivators from the Wind Swallow Race. If he messed with them, he might be able to make them go crazy¡­ ¡°Hehe, since I¡¯m here, where do you think she is?¡± Shang Xia had to admit that her pursuit caused a massive grievance to build up in his heart. He wanted nothing more than to annoy the members of the Wind Swallow Race. He didn¡¯t expect Ling Que¡¯s reaction to be that large after hearing what he said. As the blood drained from his face, his hands stopped trembling. He glared at Shang Xia with hatred in his eyes. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, you can go to hell!¡± Ling Que lunged at him without warning. A sharp whistle could be heard in the air as his nine-segmented staff cut through the air. Shang Xia stared at Ling Que in shock. It seemed as though he had underestimated the man¡¯s determination! How could he, a newcomer to the battlefield between two worlds, compare to Ling Que who had been toeing the line of life and death there? His will was stronger than steel. It wasn¡¯t something that Shang Xia could destroy with a sentence or two. Ling Que might be acting impulsively, but Shang Xia didn¡¯t dare to let down his guard. He made Shang Xia lower his guard while fighting for an additional breath of time to recover when he asked about Yan Ming. In fact, Ling Que knew the answer in his heart. Now that he was caught in a surprise attack and lost a huge portion of his fighting strength, he no longer held back. He wanted to injure Shang Xia at the expense of his own life! At the crucial moment, Shang Xia calmed himself down and released a heavy palm towards the incoming Ling Que. The second form of the Chaos Essence Palm, Empty Distance! A torrential amount of qi emerged from his palm and the space three feet in front of him flipped upside down. A dent appeared in Ling Que¡¯s chest as blood sprayed out from his orifices. Even so, he ignored all the damage he received and he charged at Shang Xia. He staked his life on his final strike! Shang Xia could see his intentions, and his sword trembled slightly. It slashed at the nine-segmented staff in Ling Que¡¯s hand. A cold light sliced across Ling Que¡¯s arm and formed multiple lacerations. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Ling Que imbued his inner qi into them. Bloodied droplet filled with true qi shot at Shang Xia. Not expecting that type of suicidal attack, Shang Xia hastily retrieved his fan to protect himself. He managed to block a portion of the blood rain, but the rest fell on his body. Because of that, his sword missed its consecutive strikes. It clattered against Ling Que¡¯s weapon and failed to stop his advance. Ling Que¡¯s plan was to create an opening with his life, allowing Qing Que to deal the final blow. It was too bad his desperate attempt failed. Shang Xia¡¯s sword soon wrapped around his arm. In his last ditch attempt, he stumbled forward to close the distance as much as possible. Circulating his inner qi, Shang Xia sent a massive lightning bolt into Ling Que¡¯s body. It went through his staff and out the other side of his body, causing Ling Que¡¯s body to tremble violently. He instantly lost all mobility. ¡°Qing¡­ Que¡­ Why¡­ Why haven¡¯t you killed him¡­¡± Ling Que forced the words out of his lips. Even though a lot had happened, the time that passed was barely enough for Qing Que to blink! How was he supposed to land a killing blow on Shang Xia?! Roaring in rage, Qing Que appeared from behind Ling Que. His fists came crashing down towards Shang Xia¡¯s skull. Before it could arrive, the sound of arrows tearing through the skies rang through the air. Stopping a few of them with the strength he had, the arrows soon overpowered him. ¡°Run¡­ Run¡­¡± Ling Que knew that Qing Que only had a single chance to hurt Shang Xia. Now that he lost it, there was only one thing left to do. He had to run for his life! Shang Xia no longer bothered with Ling Que. As a yell escaped his lips, the lightning bolt running through Ling Que¡¯s body exploded. It brought with it the destruction of his weapon. As the segments of his staff flew in all directions, most of it crashed against the cliff faces beside them but one flew straight into Ling Que¡¯s chest. A hole was blown through his body, and from it, Shang Xia could see Qing Que¡¯s escaping figure. A mirthless smile formed on Ling Que¡¯s face as he crumpled to the ground. While Qing Que was focused on running away, a familiar silver streak appeared in front of him. When the two crossed paths, Qing Que continued to stumble forward several steps before his head fell from his shoulders. Huang Zihue and the other disciples quickly arrived on the battlefield and they caught sight of Qing Que¡¯s headless corpse lying not too far away from them. They raised their heads to look at the Lightning Bird standing on a branch and a look of shock formed on their faces. ¡°Senior Brother Shang¡­¡± Jiao Haitang carefully approached him. Turning his head, a brilliant smile hung on his face. He looked at the bow in their hands and chuckled, ¡°Cloud Piercing Crossbow? Who would have thought that there were such treasures in the carriage¡­¡± A bitter smile formed on Huang Zihua¡¯s face in response. ¡°We might be able to kill some undead corpses with them, but cultivators at the Martial Realm will be able to avoid them easily.¡± ¡°At least they came in handy at the crucial moment! If you didn¡¯t stop the other cultivator, I might be a corpse lying on the ground too!¡± Shang Xia laughed. ¡°Senior Brother Shang, have you entered the Martial Extremity Realm?¡± Jiao Haitang asked softly, interrupting their conversation. Seeing no point to hide it, Shang Xia nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. We¡¯ll clean up the battlefield first. Check their corpses carefully! Make sure not to leave behind any valuables!¡± Huang Zihua and Jiao Haitang walked towards the corpse, and as soon as they took their first steps, the sound of crumbling came from behind them. Shang Xia looked at the cliff faces around him and saw cracks forming all over their surface. Soon, the entire structure fell. Thinking back to Ling Que¡¯s staff, he recalled how they crashed into them. Could they actually cause the valley¡¯s destruction? Shang Xia ran out of the valley, but when he saw the group of disciples rushing towards him, he yelled in fright, ¡°Stop right there!¡± As the words left his lips, the entrance to the valley carved in. It was blocked off from the outside world. ¡°What¡­ What do we do now?¡± Huang Zihua looked at the blocked entrance and asked helplessly. After searching through the corpses, Jiao Haitang sighed, ¡°The entrance is sealed, but none of us are injured. We can follow in Senior Brother Shang¡¯s footsteps and climb out¡­¡± Huang Zihua patted his chest and sighed, ¡°Oh right¡­ I was worried for nothing. Too bad we won¡¯t be able to save the carriages and the horses¡­¡± CH 39 Shang Xia soon appeared and he brought them out of the valley by climbing out the top. ¡°Senior Brother Shang, what do we do now?¡± ¡°Yeah! Chief Shang, we¡¯ll listen to you!¡± The disciples gathered around him and they clearly took him as the core of their group. Sweeping his gaze across those present, a frown appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Why are there three people missing?¡± The atmosphere around them dampened immediately and a deafening silence filled the area. With a bad premonition in his heart, Shang Xia turned to look at Huang Zihua. A streak of pain flashed in Huang Zihua¡¯s eyes and he muttered, ¡°Zhang Wei, Li Qu, and Zhou Sitian are no longer with us¡­¡± Despite already knowing about the dangers in the battlefield between two worlds and that their lives were at risk at every turn, it was their first time facing such a situation. They might have received countless warnings from their instructors before coming, but the feeling was completely different when they experienced it for themselves. They finally knew what risking their lives meant. Their fellow cultivators who were laughing beside them turned into a stiff corpse by their side. Everything they stood for turned to dust. Jiao Haitang choked, ¡°Zhang Wei was killed because he ran away in terror¡­ Li Qi was beaten to death by Huang Que while trying to protect Zhou Sitian, and when she tried stabbing Huang Que with her hidden dagger, they crushed her skull!¡± Shang Xia was from the same outer division as them and he knew the relationship between Li Qi and Zhou Sitian. However, he didn¡¯t expect their love to run so deep. Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. As for Zhang Wei, Shang Xia had a guess on why he tried to run. He knew that the other disciples faintly disliked him due to the stunt he pulled back in the institution and decided to risk it all by taking the chance to run away. Speaking of which, Shang Xia seemed to have some sort of grudge with him. However, he wasn¡¯t particularly thrilled to learn that Zhang Wei had died. ¡°We¡¯ll remember this¡­ In the future, we¡¯ll claim our debt from the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World!¡± Shang Xia declared. ¡°That¡¯s right! They¡¯ll pay the price in blood!¡± The other disciples roared in unison. ¡°Gather all our rations and all the water we have. Rest up for now and recover your strength. We¡¯ll leave for the Tongyou Peak when everyone is ready.¡± Shang Xia ordered after looking at their tired faces. ¡°Yes!¡± With their fighting spirit ignited, the disciples quickly did as they were told. However, one of them thought of an important matter and asked, ¡°Senior Brother Shang, what about the carriages and Scarlet Cloud Horses?¡± Recalling that the supplies they were supposed to bring to the Tongyou Peak were stuck in the hidden valley, they realized that there were still six large carriages stranded! Once they left, they wouldn¡¯t know if the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual Peak would return to retrieve the goods. If that happened, they would have lost a lot! Shang Xia dismissed their concerns with a wave of his hand. ¡°We¡¯ll deal with that later. Hurry up and eat something.¡± Since they were captured, the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World treated them like hostages. After all, their goal was to extort the Tongyou Peak with their lives. They were given some food and water, but that was barely enough to keep them alive. After Huang Que¡¯s constant abuse, they weren¡¯t too far off from death. That was also the reason why Shang Xia didn¡¯t bring them away the first instance he could. In actuality, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t confident of bringing them all to the Tongyou Peak. Without the protection of the disciples from the Protection Division, a group of disciples who hadn¡¯t reached the Martial Realm would be a massive burden in the battlefield between two worlds. If they really ran into dangerous situations, how many of them could Shang Xia protect? Deep down in his heart, Shang Xia knew that. However, there wasn¡¯t much he could do. As the thoughts ran through his mind, Shang Xia continued to look through the bodies of the three cultivators from the Azure Spiritual World to look for his spoils of battle. He might have asked Huang Zihua and Jiao Haitang to check the corpse, but they were tactful enough to hand over everything. After flipping through Huang Que¡¯s body, Shang Xia managed to gather a pile of items. There were three small cloth bags that looked like they were made from ordinary cloth, but the clattering sound when he shook them caused a smile to form on his face. The three bags were where they kept their money! He counted thirty seven silver essence and hundreds of copper boards after looking through them. As Qing Que and Huang Que were ordinary cultivators, they didn¡¯t have much. Ling Que had strength comparable to a cultivator at the Martial Extremity Realm, and he had a lot more than the two. Even so, they barely had much. Shang Xia understood that currency in the battlefield between two worlds was truly hard to come by. They only served to prove that the offer Yan Ming made to trade her weapons and fifty silver essence for the Mutated Rain Swallow was more than fair. After counting the money, Shang Xia turned to look at a manual he picked up from their body. The manual was written on metal boards, and there were precious materials mixed in when creating those boards. That was the only reason it hadn¡¯t turned into shreds. The manual might be precious, but they were completely worthless to Shang Xia. The only thing that intrigued him was a tiny box on Qing Que¡¯s body. Opening it slowly, he saw three eggs protected by a layer of foam. ¡°This¡­¡± Shang Xia raised an eyebrow after looking at them. He could tell that there was a faint aura coming from all three eggs. The sense of familiarity he had grew the more he looked at them, and if he wasn¡¯t mistaken, they were eggs of Mutated Rain Swallows. They looked larger than ordinary eggs, but when Shang Xia thought about how a Mutated Rain Swallow was larger than ordinary Rain Swallows, he swallowed his doubts. As Rain Swallows traveled in a huge group, there was no way Qing Que managed to obtain it himself. The only explanation was that the cultivators of the Wind Swallow Race ambushed the nest of the swallows to obtain them! Carefully closing the box, Shang Xia planned to hand the eggs over to Yan Ni¡¯er. He wanted to see if she could recognize them. After storing the box away, his gaze turned to a dagger beside him. It was something that intrigued Shang Xia. It belonged to Huang Que, but it looked extremely new. When he held it, the circulation of inner qi in his body would speed up. That alone spoke volumes about the dagger¡¯s quality. It was a low-grade weapon, and it was a rare thing for cultivators in the Martial Realm to have! Injecting a tiny amount of inner qi, the dagger started to fade. Camouflage? Shang Xia knew that the dagger in his hand didn¡¯t really disappear. Instead, it became really transparent. It blended in with his surroundings, and from other people¡¯s perspective, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t holding anything in his hand. Shang Xia was content with the spoils of war. Reading the inscription on the dagger, he learned that it came from the Hundred Profession Pavilion, and it was called ¡®Origin Light¡¯! The Hundred Profession Pavilion was naturally loyal to the Tongyou Peak. They didn¡¯t sell the weapon to Huang Que. Instead, Huang Que only found it after scouring the Embroidered Cloud Carriages. A treasure like that was obviously meant for an important disciple in the Tongyou Peak, but if it was stolen by the members of the Azure Spiritual World, no one could do anything about it. However, if Shang Xia brought it back, he knew that the experts of the Tongyou Peak would definitely force him to give it up. In fact, the Hundred Profession Pavilion might move in the dark to retrieve the treasure! Shang Xia could tell that even though the outer disciples seemed focused on eating their rations and restoring their strength, their gazes flashed subconsciously. There was no way for him to keep the secret of him obtaining the dagger. ¡°Senior Brother Shang, that¡¯s a low-grade weapon!¡± Huang Zihua muttered softly as an itch filled his heart. To ordinary disciples, they barely had any contact with treasures at that level! Moreover, most of the graded weapons they saw belonged to Shang Xia! Shang Xia chuckled and concealed the dagger in his boots in front of everyone present. Jiang Haitang tactfully declared, ¡°Chief Shang killed the enemy himself to obtain this treasure. It definitely belongs to him!¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Huang Zihua responded immediately. After dealing with the dagger, Shang Xia saw several plant-like items on Huang Que. He had no idea what they were, but from the dense qi it emitted, he knew that it was definitely a rank two herb! As Huang Que was a cultivator close to breaking through, he probably prepared it for use at the crucial moment. Shang Xia turned to look at the final two items. They came from Ling Que, and a trace of anticipation filled Shang Xia¡¯s heart. His face froze when he realized that he didn¡¯t recognize any of them. One of the two was a glass bottle slightly thicker than his thumb. There was a blood-red liquid rolling about inside it, and it seemed to be some sort of blood essence. He wanted to open the bottle to inspect it again, but he eventually decided against it. The other resembled a big ball of wool. It gave Shang Xia the same feeling as that of the Mutated Rain Swallow. Is that made from the hair of the Mutated Rain Swallow?! Shang Xia thought about the eggs again and he wondered if it was an item they found in the nest of the Rain Swallows. CH 40 Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡­ ¡°... Zhang Wei actually thought that the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World would allow him to leave. The moment he turned his back, Huang Que smashed his skull.¡± Jiao Haitang recounted the events that happened back then. After collecting the treasures, Shang Xia decided to gain a clearer picture of what happened after he left the other day. ¡°How naive could he be to believe that the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World would let him go?¡± Shang Xia frowned. ¡°After we were ambushed, Zhang Wei¡¯s sanity was on the verge of collapse. He told everyone that you abandoned us to make more time for your escape. Also that the institution wouldn¡¯t care about outer disciples like us anyway.¡± Jiao Haitang continued. Shang Xia sneered in response. ¡°Humph. It¡¯s one thing to be selfish when we run into danger. However, spreading lies like that to destroy our morale is unforgivable! He¡¯s a burden to our convoy!¡± ¡°The cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World saw through his thoughts and lied to him that they would let us live as long as we told him your identity and the way you captured the Mutated Rain Swallow. They even told him that they would release him to inform the instructors of the Tongyou Institution about the negotiation. He told them everything after that.¡± Jiao Haitang sighed. Huang Zihua added, ¡°We pleaded with him not to talk, but we received a punch in the face from Huang Que in response. They dragged him away and made him talk.¡± Jiao Haitang reminded Shang Xia hastily, ¡°Senior Brother Shang, you have to be careful. Now that they know everything about you, they¡¯ll definitely think of ways to counter your fighting style.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression turned serious for a second, but it soon returned to normal. ¡°Whatever. We¡¯ll leave it at that.¡± Waving his hand, he handed over some of the silver essence and copper boards along with several other treasures. ¡°You helped in killing them earlier. Split these among yourselves.¡± Huang Zihua and Jiao Haitang tried to refuse his gift as all they did was to shoot a few arrows. Shang Xia saved their lives to begin with, and they didn¡¯t think they were worthy of the reward. However, Shang Xia didn¡¯t plan to lug so many items with him. He insisted that the other disciples get a share of the spoils. Seeing as they were unable to refuse the gift, everyone split the treasures up among themselves as joy filled their hearts. Huang Zihua laughed, ¡°Now that we have some money, we might be able to exchange for some herbs to break through to the Martial Realm when we reach the Tongyou Peak.¡± The battlefield between two worlds contained a lot of treasures. As the Tongyou Peak was affiliated to the Tongyou Institution, they would be able to obtain treasures for a little cheaper than the market rate there. Shang Xia chuckled in response when he heard what they said. ¡°What herbs do you require? You might not have to go all the way to the Tongyou Peak to buy them.¡± Huang Zihua and Jiao Haitang looked at Shang Xia in shock. Getting to his feet, he looked at the various disciples around him. ¡°Everyone, we have to leave. But first, how likely do you think it will be for us to arrive at the Tongyou Peak unscathed?¡± The fighting spirit in their eyes died instantly. They knew the risks, but they had been ignoring it all this while. Shang Xia continued, ¡°What do you think our chances will be if a few of you broke through to the Martial Realm?¡± ¡°How is that possible?!¡± Someone asked. However, someone who was a little brighter felt his eyes lighting up as he looked at Shang Xia in shock. ¡°Senior Brother Shang, are you suggesting that we use the resources in the carriages?¡± Someone quickly suggested. Shang Xia recognized that the disciple who spoke was called Wang Hua, and he nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Many people rejoiced silently. However, there were looks of hesitation on their faces. ¡°Senior Brother Shang, we need to think this through. The resources are used to reinforce the Tongyou Peak. We do not have permission to use them!¡± Jiao Haitang reminded him. Huang Zihua was extremely tempted, but his sense of reasoning stopped him from agreeing with Shang Xia completely. He sighed, ¡°We might be able to use the resources for ourselves, but the list of treasures in the convoy has already arrived at the Tongyou Peak. Instructor Yuan Zilu should also possess a complete inventory list of the items. The moment they conduct a proper search, they¡¯ll discover that we had something to do with it! After all, several people entering the Martial Realm at once is suspicious in itself.¡± Shang Xia knew that the two of them were reminding him out of goodwill, but he had his reasons for the suggestion. Sighing softly, he explained, ¡°We won¡¯t be able to retrieve the carriages now that the valley is blocked. The moment the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World return, all the resources will fall into their hands. When that happens, they¡¯ll be the ones who benefit from our resources!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s explanation caused all of them to look at each other quietly. In fact, Shang Xia never planned to retrieve the six carriages! They were pulled by the Scarlet Wind Horses, but they were basically asking to be targeted if they did that! The moment they were attacked by anyone, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t be able to protect any of them! He couldn¡¯t even ensure the safety of the outer disciples as it was. How was he supposed to protect six more carriages?! ¡°When the institution carries out their investigation¡­¡± Wang Hua might be moved, but they were all too afraid of the repercussions. In fact, Wang Hua had his eyes on the resources a long time ago! ¡°I¡¯ll take responsibility.¡± Shang Xia hit the final nail in the coffin. ¡°No, no, no¡­ We¡¯ll take the responsibility together!¡± Wang Hua added. ¡°Yes! We¡¯ll all be responsible for this!¡± Huang Zihua and Jiao Haitang commented from the side. Seeing as a few of their fellow disciples had already agreed, the others quickly agreed. Looks of anticipation could be seen on their faces. Shang Xia smiled and said, ¡°Alright, we¡¯re doing this in order to survive. Look for the resources suitable for yourselves. As for the others¡­¡± The footsteps of those who were already racing back into the valley paused. Even though there was no one to stop them from taking as much as they could, Shang Xia¡¯s words seemed to remind them of something. The greed in their hearts quickly disappeared. Chuckling in amusement, Shang Xia continued, ¡°If you¡¯re not afraid that bringing more treasures will affect your journey towards the Tongyou Peak, feel free to take as many as you want. The enemy will probably grab whatever we leave here and it¡¯s better for the treasures to remain with us. However, let me remind you once again. If you affect our journey to the Tongyou Peak because of your greed now, no one will save you when danger comes.¡± Shang Xia swept his gaze across those present and gave a proper warning. ¡°No matter how precious those treasures are, you need to be alive to use them.¡± Since he gave them the reminder, he didn¡¯t mind giving another piece of advice. ¡°As long as you refine the herbs, the institution won¡¯t be able to take it back. After all, we had to use them to ensure our survival. As for the other treasures that you might find¡­ you might not be lucky enough to keep it.¡± His words caused them to become a lot more obedient when looking through the carriage. A mischievous glint flashed in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes all of a sudden. ¡°Of course, the more you take, the better it will be for us. It¡¯s better for us to get the good stuff. We shouldn¡¯t leave it for the members of the Azure Spiritual World. Take as much as you can and live!¡± His continued ¡®reminders¡¯ caused waves to batter against their hearts. Wang Hua raised his head that was covered in sweat and sighed, ¡°Senior Brother Shang, you made your point clear¡­ Can you stop scaring the rest of us?¡± Laughing in response, Shang Xia no longer spoke. He followed behind them to look for useful treasures. Soon, a new problem arrived. ¡°What?! Only eight of you have a way to break through?¡± Shang Xia snapped. A bitter smile appeared on Jiao Haitang¡¯s face. ¡°The others barely reached the requirement. The institution was unable to provide a suitable method in time¡­¡± Actually, the number of disciples who could break through immediately was already a respectable amount. There were fifty disciples in their third outer division, and other than the anomaly that was Shang Xia, four other cultivators had already broken through to the Martial Realm. Two of them were retainees, and the other two were like Shang Xia. They entered the Martial Realm in their first year. However, all of them entered the battlefield before the convoy and took their own paths to the Tongyou Peak. With the sixteen outer disciples who followed the convoy, there were twenty one students in the third outer division who would be promoted to an inner disciple this time. It had long since broken through the institution¡¯s initial estimate. ¡°You should have a rough sense of how to break through, right? Try to follow in the footsteps of someone before you. Alright whatever, grab all the resources that aids in a breakthrough. Even if something happens, we¡¯ll be able to switch out the herbs. The institution won¡¯t be stingy enough to scold us for it since we did it to survive¡­¡± Shang Xia sighed. He only realized how delusional he was after he spoke. There might have been a lot of resources on the carriages, but the amount that could aid in a breakthrough was few and far between. After all, the Tongyou Peak was filled with cultivators. They wouldn¡¯t need to break through to the Martial Realm as the lowest requirement to be there was to be a cultivator at the Martial Realm. The carriages were filled mostly with weapons, food, and herbs for recovery. The convoy going back to the Tongyou Institution would probably be the one that contained herbs used for breaking through¡­ Indeed, the disciples only managed to obtain several herbs from the carriages. There were only enough resources for five disciples to break through! The other three that were on the verge of breaking through lacked several extremely important herbs, and there was no way to substitute them. As for those who weren¡¯t close to breaking through, they could only blame their luck. Of course, they were able to obtain several precious herbs from the carriages. If they managed to keep their treasures after arriving at the Tongyou Peak, they would definitely be able to exchange them for treasures they needed. CH 41 As the medicine cultivators require to enter the Martial Realm were at the elementary level, they were usually paste or powder-like substances. The quality of the medicine was determined by the ingredients they used! Medicine used by cultivators trying to break into the Martial Realm were easily created. To put it bluntly, they could cook it in a pot as long as they wanted to! The way to make the medicine they needed might be more complicated than the medicine crafted by ordinary mortals, but for students who studied in the Tongyou Institution for a year, it was a task they could accomplish. Medicines that could allow cultivators at the Martial Realm to break through to the Martial Extremity Realm were classified as rank two medicine! Those were usually in a powder form, but that didn¡¯t mean that it was easy to create! Shang Xia¡¯s Powder of Purification was a good example. He had to get a proper chemist to create the medicine! There was medicine that cultivators injected themselves with, and there was also liquid medicine, but Shang Xia had no idea who would take them. After scouring through all six carriages and getting all the herbs required, the five got ready to prepare their own medicine. Because of the effects brought out by the herbs during the cooking process, it would be extremely easy to fail if all five of them cooked their medicines beside each other. Of course, cooking the medicine one at a time wasn¡¯t feasible either as they had limited time. The five of them left the valley and looked for their own area to prepare themselves to break through. Jiao Haitang sighed when she saw them heading out in different directions. ¡°If they go so far away, Senior Brother Shang won¡¯t be able to save them all if anything happens. Moreover, this is only the cooking process. The five of them still have to break through. The distance between them will only increase when we reach that phase¡­¡± Jiao Haitang had a way to advance, but she was part of the unfortunate trio who couldn¡¯t find enough herbs in the carriages. When the disciples were leaving to cook their medicine, Shang Xia looked through the inventory list in each carriage. That was the only other list that contained the list of goods in each carriage other than the copy in Yuan Zilu and the warehouse manager¡¯s hand. Previously, he told them to take as much as they could as long as it didn¡¯t affect their movements. He might have convinced them that it was because he didn¡¯t want to allow the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World to benefit easily, but he was clearly not doing it for the sake of the institution. He wasn¡¯t going to make a loss from this. If he didn¡¯t take the chance to raid the supplies with his ¡®moral high ground¡¯, was he supposed to go back to receive an empty praise from the institution for being honest? He naturally heard Jiao Haitang¡¯s concern when doing his own stuff. He reassured her, ¡°Relax. There isn¡¯t any danger in the area around us.¡± Seeing as she was about to ask him more questions, Shang Xia quickly added, ¡°I know everything that happens in a ten mile radius. If they run into any danger when advancing, I¡¯ll know.¡± Jiao Haitang was no fool. She recalled the silver flash of light that beheaded Qing Que, and her thoughts quickly turned to the Mutated Rain Swallow that Shang Xia left with before. A light flashed in her eyes, ¡°Senior Brother Shang, is it because of the Mutated Rain Swallow?¡± Shang Xia glanced at her casually. He knew that she was really smart, but he didn¡¯t expect her to connect the dots so quickly. However, he didn¡¯t plan to hide anything. Nodding, he replied, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! Congratulations, Senior Brother Shang!¡± She wasn¡¯t purely trying to kiss up to Shang Xia. Instead, she felt that the protection of the Mutated Rain Swallow was extremely crucial to their safety. Of course, she misunderstood Shang Xia¡¯s confirmation for something else. She thought that he only controlled a single Mutated Rain Swallow when in actuality, he had the entire flock working for him! If she knew, the expression on her face would be priceless! ¡°It¡¯s a pity¡­ There aren''t any books or manuals regarding secret art for cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm.¡± Shang Xia sighed before tossing the list to the back of the carriage. Medicine, martial arts, secret manuals, and martial intent were the four most important things for cultivators. There wasn¡¯t a need to speak about medicine as they were the key to advancement. Martial arts increased the effects when using inner qi, and it allowed cultivators to control their energy better. Secret arts allowed cultivators to refine heaven and earth qi. One had to add that the main use of the medicine was to transform the inner qi in a cultivator¡¯s body. With the transformation, a cultivator would be able to gain an insight of the transformation process and start doing it themselves. Like Shang Xia when he advanced into the Martial Extremity Realm, the inner qi in his body started to transform into Yin Yang Essence Qi in the Origin Tide. With such a huge amount of heaven and earth qi produced in the Origin Tide, Shang Xia managed to greatly increase his reserves of inner qi in his dantian, leaving cultivators at the same level far behind. Due to the large amount of inner qi he had, the transformation process took a lot longer than expected. He had a lot of inner qi that hadn¡¯t transformed, and if they clashed with the transformed Yin Yang Essence Qi, he might experience cultivation deviation. Even with the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian to maintain a careful balance, the effects were far from actually practicing a secret art for cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm. What a pity¡­ Secret arts for cultivators had always been a precious resource. There was no way he would be able to find one so easily. As such, Shang Xia was already prepared to fail when he looked through the carriage. Even though he failed to find it, he managed to find three other items that piqued his interest. One of them was a medicine kept in a clay bottle. The clay bottle was made from volcanic ember, and it had the ability to restrain the qi from fire attributed medicine. It could prevent the medicine from losing its effect. There was a rank two medicine contained in it, and Shang Xia recognized it as the Scarlet Crystal Powder. It was medicine cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm would use. Moreover, it was exceptionally useful for those who cultivated fire arts. Shang Xia pouted silently. He didn¡¯t know how his Yin Yang Essence Qi would react if he refined it. When he finally opened the bottle and felt the fire qi resonating with his Yin Yang Essence Qi, Shang Xia realized that it would definitely help his cultivation. That begged another question. Shang Xia wondered if his dantian was actually filled with Yin Yang Essence Qi or other types of qi? Thinking back to the Origin Tide where there were both extreme fire and ice qi surrounding the lake, the answer to his question became slightly unclear. The most important thing he had to do was to locate a suitable secret art. Once he controlled his inner qi, he would be able to uncover the secret behind it. He turned to look at another item, a pen. It was a pen made from the spike of a Thorny Wolf, and it was named the Thorny Brush. The Thorny Wolf was a ferocious creature, and its spikes could pierce through essence steel. Those thorns were especially useful to make rune brushes. As Shang Xia was slightly accomplished in creating talismans, he could be considered a rank one Talisman Master. He might only be able to create a single type of talisman, the Lightning Wood Charm, but he learned the fundamentals to be graded as one. He could easily expand his knowledge to create other types of talismans. ¡°With the Thorny Brush, I¡¯ll be able to create talismans until I become a rank two Talisman Master.¡± Shang Xia muttered as he kept the brush. According to him, the brush was comparable to a low-grade weapon! The third item was a box of jade pendants. When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Different from protective talismans, the jade pendants in the box were purely pendants that hadn¡¯t been inscribed with a protection rune. If not for the fact that he found the pendants and brush in different carriages, he would suspect that they belonged to the same person! Ordinarily, the supplies would be split into different categories. They would either be part of the general supplies used to restock the Tongyou Peak, or they would be special equipment meant for someone. Those that were for general use were less troublesome to deal with. The other might pose a slight problem. Like the boards Shang Xia used to create his Lightning Wood Charms, the treasures meant for special use were of a completely different grade! Like the box of jade pendants, they were much more valuable compared to ordinary talisman papers. Runes inscribed on it would be able to display a much stronger effect! Shang Xia noticed that there were thirty six pendants in total, and each one of them was the size of a small rectangular tablet slightly smaller than two inches in length. Their value could be compared to the boards from the Lightning Tree Shang Xia used in the past. ¡°It¡¯s a waste to create rank one talismans with these¡­¡± Shang Xia said as a weird light flashed in his eyes. ¡°Since I have already entered the Martial Extremity Realm, I should try creating some rank two talismans¡­¡± CH 42 After keeping all three items into his pouch, Shang Xia knew that that was all he could carry. The more he brought with him, the more it would tire him out when traveling to the Tongyou Peak. They weren''t truly out of the woods yet. Seeing as he had to leave so many good items behind, Shang Xia¡¯s thoughts turned to the Embroidered Cloud Case Shang Xi had. When would he be able to obtain his own Embroidered Cloud Case? A high pitched chirp came from the skies all of a sudden, bringing Shang Xia back to reality. Raising his head, he saw a silver light shooting down towards him. A smile slowly formed on his face and he didn¡¯t attempt to dodge it. ¡°Senior Brother Shang, be careful!¡± The disciples who were still in the valley yelled when they noticed the incoming danger. However, they saw Shang Xia waving his hand nonchalantly at them in response. The chirps got louder, and the bird seemed to be displeased with Shang Xia¡¯s lack of reaction. Before the silver light crashed into him, it stopped. The Lightning Bird hovered several feet above his head and circled him a few times before eventually landing on his shoulder. ¡°Lightning¡­ Lightning Bird!¡± The disciples standing around gasped in horror. They didn¡¯t forget the creature that attacked them several days ago. However, the little bird stood with its chest puffed up on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulder, and the disciples looked at each other in disbelief. ¡°Did the Lightning Bird behead the cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World?¡± Jiao Haitang¡¯s gaze was filled with admiration and she asked. ¡°Chirp, chirp!¡± The Lightning Bird chirped impatiently while looking at Shang Xia. It was pestering him for the ball of lightning he promised to provide. Before he could react, another chirp sounded out above him. A bird that was slightly smaller than the Lightning Bird soared through the skies and faint flashes of silver would appear behind it from time to time. It was slightly slower than the Lightning Bird, but it quickly landed on Shang Xia¡¯s other shoulder. ¡°Chirp, chirp!¡± The Mutated Rain Swallow glared at the Lightning Bird in response. It seemed to be saying, ¡°What are you so anxious for?! Since we promised, we¡¯ll definitely give it to you! Do you really not trust us?¡± Shang Xia raised an eyebrow slightly while staring at Yan Ni¡¯er. ¡°Wait¡­ Is that the Mutated Rain Swallow Senior Brother Shang captured?¡± The disciples in the valley were slightly numb to the surprises Shang Xia brought to them. The Lightning Bird wanted to cry out once again, but Shang Xia opened his palm to reveal a ball of lightning. It was precisely the other part he promised to give it. The Lightning Bird charged at it instantly. Devouring the entire ball of lightning, it cried out pleasurably. Eventually, it turned into a silver streak that disappeared into the heavens. Yan Ni¡¯er chirped loudly on his shoulder and seemed to want to follow the Lightning Bird into the heavens. Thinking again, she remained on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulder while staring expectantly at the sky. Shang Xia could estimate that the Lightning Bird was about to evolve and he started to regret his actions. He might have given the ball of essence lightning to the creature too early¡­ After all, there were several disciples trying to break through to the Martial Realm. If the Lightning Bird started its advancement, the disturbance it created might affect the others! After some time, it seemed as though Shang Xia had worried for nothing. The Lightning Bird¡¯s advancement couldn¡¯t be done in a short amount of time, and one of the five disciples returned. ¡°Congratulations, Brother Meng!¡± Shang Xia could feel his aura long before he approached. Meng Liangchen revealed a brilliant smile and he cupped his hands to thank Shang Xia sincerely, ¡°Senior Brother Shang, many thanks! I will definitely repay you for this favor!¡± After he spoke, he nodded and left for the carriages. ¡°He really is something else¡­ He can even say such weird stuff.¡± Jiao Haitang wrinkled her nose and snorted. Shang Xia knew Meng Liangchen¡¯s personality, and he laughed in response, ¡°He was extremely close to breaking through before entering the battlefield between two worlds. It makes sense that he¡¯s faster than the others. I wonder how the rest are doing.¡± Not too long after he spoke, another disciple returned. This time, it was Huang Zihua who had a slightly better relationship with Shang Xia. ¡°Did you succeed?¡± Jiao Haitang might not be able to determine his advancement from his aura due to her lack of cultivation, but from the look on his face, it wasn¡¯t hard to realize that he had succeeded. ¡°Of course!¡± Huang Zihua laughed and he cupped his fists towards Shang Xia, ¡°Senior Brother Shang, I didn¡¯t let you down!¡± Jiao Haitang rolled her eyes when she heard what he said. ¡°What are you so happy about? You weren¡¯t the fastest anyway¡­¡± Huang Zihua looked at Meng Liangchen and he slapped his forehead, ¡°Oh right! With my increase in strength, I can probably bring a few more items with me!¡± As soon as he spoke, he approached the carriages. He looked at Jiao Haitang with a smug smile on his face and he ran over. ¡°I won¡¯t let that brat steal all the good stuff!¡± Jiao Haitang glowered silently, ¡°Humph! You¡¯re just going to get Senior Brother Shang¡¯s leftovers¡­¡± Huang Zihua nearly tripped over himself when he heard what she said. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. How was it his problem?! As the weather turned gloomy slowly, it was unlike anything they had ever experienced in the battlefield between two worlds. Shang Xia looked up, and he caught a faint glimpse of silver light flashing through the clouds from time to time. Could the evolved Lightning Bird affect the weather conditions?! Shang Xia found it unbelievable. While that was happening, the disciples who went out of the valley to break through peacefully started to return. No one knew if it had something to do with the denser heaven and earth qi in the battlefield between the two worlds, but none of the five failed when trying to break through! That was a miracle in itself! If that were to happen back in the institution, it would bring about an uproar! Also, their success was met with envious gazes from the other eight. They would definitely get a chance to advance in the future, but who knew if they would be lucky enough to succeed? Those who broke through quickly started to rummage through the carriages to look for additional items they wanted to bring with them. Naturally, Shang Xia remained silent at their actions. After entering the Martial Realm, one would experience an increase in strength. They would be much stronger than before, and it would be understandable for them to carry more. There was no way they would leave the treasures to the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World. They would bring the most valuable treasures with them, especially since Shang Xia did the same. The treasures Shang Xia picked out were the best among the supplies! All of a sudden, a heaven-shattering cry came from the skies. Everyone raised their heads in unison only to see a silver streak dancing in the air. Every time it appeared, a ray of lightning would shoot towards it. The flashes lit up the otherwise dark clouds for a moment, but they would soon disappear. As the silver sliver light continued to soar around in the skies, the dark clouds seemed to contain the rage of the heavens as it gathered tightly around the Lightning Bird. Finally, the rage contained in the heavens erupted all at once. Massive bolts of lightning emerged as thunderous blasts roared. The heavens shook and the earth trembled. The silver light that was the Lightning Bird nimbly danced around, shuttling about the dark clouds that covered the earth. It was like a tiny dancer that directed the grand tribulation striking down at it. ¡°Is this a sign of transformation or advancement?¡± Meng Liangchen asked. From what Jiao Haitang said, the disciples learned about the relationship between Shang Xia and the birds. Moreover, they could see the Mutated Rain Swallow standing on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulder, verifying their guesses. All of them envied him. ¡°It already advanced¡­ This looks more like something it¡¯s attempting¡­¡± Shang Xia muttered. He knew that the Lightning Bird had already advanced the moment it swallowed the ball of lightning. The lightning storm in the skies above seemed to be orchestrated by the little creature. ¡°Will it return after advancing?¡± Meng Liangchen asked again. Shaking his head, Shang Xia sighed, ¡°It was never under my control to begin with¡­ I probably won¡¯t be able to subdue it after this either.¡± Meng Liangchen looked at the Mutated Rain Swallow on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulder and muttered, ¡°By the way, you¡¯re a target of the Azure Spiritual World¡­¡± ¡°I know. Jiao Haitang reminded me earlier.¡± Shang Xia sighed. ¡°Alright then.¡± Meng Liangchen raised an eyebrow and asked, ¡°What are your plans after this? I mean¡­ Assuming we arrive at the Tongyou Peak, what do you plan to do next?¡± After thinking for a moment, Shang Xia replied, ¡°There¡¯s a lot I wish to do. The most important thing should be to find a suitable martial art¡­¡± No longer looking at the silver streak flying through the air, he looked at Meng Liangchen. ¡°What about you?¡± It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°Me?¡± Meng Liangchen chuckled. ¡°I plan to stay in the battlefield between two worlds for some time to look for the inheritance left by my Meng Family.¡± CH 43 At the foot of the hill, a group of disciples on horses rode peacefully across the lands. ¡°Brother Shang, the environment here is pretty good. We traveled for an entire day and we should take a break.¡± One of the disciples pulled on the reins of his horse and said. His large face and thick features gave him a dignified look, until one caught a glimpse of his tiny neck. Behind him was a disciple who had a huge forehead, and his eyes were long and narrow. He quickly pulled on the reins of his horse seeing as the person before him had slowed down. An anxious look hung on his face, but the exhaustion in his eyes couldn¡¯t be hidden by his anxiety. After several days of searching, he had already received numerous complaints. Since he heard the captain of the patrol team suggesting they take a break, he replied softly, ¡°We¡¯ll listen to Brother Ji¡¯s commands.¡± Captain Ji chuckled happily in response. ¡°Dismount! We¡¯ll take a two hour break!¡± The four other disciples behind the two of them cheered and quickly got off their horses. The disciple with a huge forehead revealed a bitter smile, but he swallowed his words eventually. Their group consisted of disciples from the Protection Division of the Tongyou Institution, and they were in charge of patrolling the area. Other than the person Captain Ji addressed as ¡®Brother Shang¡¯, the other five formed one patrol squad. Captain Ji Sheng was at the late stage of the Martial Extremity Realm, and the deputy captain, Jiang Changyu, was at the early stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. The other three were seasoned cultivators in the Martial Realm. The extra person in the group was called Shang Quan, and he was a member of the Shang Clan. He followed the patrol squad in order to look for traces of Shang Xia! Ji Sheng took out a pouch of water and finished half of it, and when he was done, he tossed it over to one of his men. Turning to Shang Quan, he asked, ¡°Brother Shang, other than the fact that they were ambushed by the bunch of cultivators from the Wind Swallow Race, is there any news from the Shang Clan?¡± Shang Quan chuckled bitterly. ¡°Brother Ji, I¡¯ve been with you all this while. If I get any new reports, I can¡¯t hide it from you.¡± ¡°True¡­¡± Ji Sheng sighed as he got comfortable on the ground. ¡°The cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World have been chased out by us. If your young master is still alive, he should have arrived at the Tongyou Peak by now¡­ Even if he has to crawl over, three days is more than enough time.¡± Shang Quan¡¯s expression sank and he glared at the person who spoke, ¡°Brother Jiang, what do you mean by that?¡± Ji Sheng smiled and placed a stalk of grass in his mouth. Jiang Changyu rolled his eyes and snickered, ¡°Brother Shang, there¡¯s no need to get angry. We¡¯re speaking the truth here. The corpses of people that died in the battlefield between two worlds can form a mountain. Is it something new for someone of our Tongyou Peak to fall? If not for the fact that one of the disciples is a member of your Shang Clan, they won¡¯t bother sending us out to search the area.¡± Shang Quan seethed with anger, ¡°The Tongyou Institution will not give up on locating a student who might still be alive! Shang Xia isn¡¯t the only one who¡¯s missing¡­ There are more than ten disciples of the third outer division who have yet to be found too!¡± Ji Sheng laid on the grass casually and he looked at the birds in the sky while ignoring the two of them. Jiang Changyu sneered in response, ¡°Of course we won¡¯t give up on any students who might still be alive. Right now, you should head over to the Wind Swallow Race to start negotiating with them for the hostages. There¡¯s no point wasting your time with us!¡± ¡°You!¡± Shang Quan glared at Jiang Changyu who had a mocking smile on his face. Snorting heavily, he turned to Ji Sheng. ¡°Brother Ji, what do you think?¡± The moment the words left his lips, Ji Sheng leaped to his feet. A grave expression hung on his face. ¡°Not good¡­ Someone has their eyes on us.¡± ¡°Who?!¡± ¡°Where?!¡± The two who were locked in a quarrel a second earlier raised their guards instantly. The three ordinary members of the patrol squad rushed over with the horses as soon as they heard the captain. As the institution had a secret technique that combined the power of five cultivators, every single patrol squad consisted of five members! With Ji Sheng¡¯s group as an example, they could hold off an early stage Martial Intent Realm cultivator if they worked together! If they were lucky, they might even defeat the enemy! This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. If they were to ride into the battle on their Scarlet Cloud Beasts, the chances of victory would increase significantly! That was the reason why Ji Sheng¡¯s men returned with the horses the moment he yelled. According to the rumors, the Protection Division on the Tongyou Peak had cultivated an elite patrol squad. Their members had cultivation levels that surpassed the Martial Extremity Realm! The moment they unleashed the secret technique and worked together, they would be able to slay cultivators in the Martial Intent Realm! Their battle records were legendary. They had countless records where they killed Martial Intent Realm cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World! It was even said that they retreated without any casualties when up against a late stage Martial Intent Realm expert! Of course, the elite squad wouldn¡¯t patrol the path that connected the Tongyou Institution to the Tongyou Peak. They traveled around the chaotic regions of the battlefield between two worlds. They would even actively enter regions where cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World were active to slay them. Ji Sheng turned in a particular direction and yelled, ¡°Who¡¯s there?! Come out right now!¡± The members of the patrol squad turned in unison while getting into formation. Shang Quan was left at the side to fend for himself. A figure popped up from behind a rock and started waving at them. Before they could react, the figure started running towards the squad. ¡°Are you the patrol squad from the Tongyou Peak?! Uncle Quan?! It¡¯s me, Shang Xia!¡± As he got closer to them, the looks on their faces stiffened. Wasn¡¯t that the brat they were ordered to find? ¡°Xia¡¯er! It¡¯s you!¡± Shang Quan looked at Shang Xia who was perfectly alright and he roared with laughter. He wanted to run over to welcome the kid, but before that he turned to look at Jiang Changyu who had an unnatural expression on his face. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re right. I don¡¯t have to waste my time with you anymore. Moreover, I don¡¯t have to go to the Wind Swallow Race to carry out hostage negotiations¡­ Too bad for Brother Jiang. I¡¯ll have to trouble you to look for the other disciples.¡± The words were like a giant palm that slapped Jiang Changyu mercilessly. Shang Quan giggled in amusement before walking towards Shang Xia. Jiang Changyu harrumphed coldly when he looked at Shang Quan¡¯s leaving view. ¡­ When Shang Xia left the area, he realized that he had no idea where to go! Even with the advice he had gotten to head towards the highest peak, there were too many people following him! There was too much to consider. Helpless, he could only bring them back to the place they were ambushed. From there, they would follow the path the convoy took to the Tongyou Peak. Luckily for Shang Xia, he could use the Mutated Rain Swallows to scout ahead. That allowed them to avoid many dangerous situations to arrive safely back at the region they were ambushed. Because of that, Shang Xia traveled ahead of the group in case he ran into anything unexpected. That was why he discovered the presence of Shang Quan and the others. Ordinarily, he would have to verify their identities if they claimed to be a patrol squad from the Tongyou Peak. However, there was no need for that considering that Shang Quan was present. There was no doubt about it, the patrol squad came from the Tongyou Peak and it was there to look for them. He failed to contain his excitement when traveling over and that was how he was discovered by Ji Sheng. ¡­ ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re back!¡± Shang Quan clapped Shang Xia¡¯s shoulders and laughed. However, the harmonious atmosphere was broken by a sarcastic voice. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s good that you¡¯re back. You saved us a lot of trouble. Don¡¯t you know how much time we¡¯ll save now that we don¡¯t have to look for someone who fled before the battle started?¡± Shang Quan snapped his head around, and he glared at the person who spoke. Shang Xia looked at the man and asked curiously, ¡°This¡­ Who are you again?¡± ¡°Xia¡¯er, let me introduce you¡­ This is¡­¡± Shang Xia interrupted him before he could start. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in who they are. They¡¯re all useless bastards who allowed the enemy to run rampant in our own backyard.¡± ¡°You!¡± Jiang Changyu wasn¡¯t the only one offended by him. Everyone in the patrol squad turned unfriendly as they glared at Shang Xia. Despite that, they knew that everything he said was true. For the members of the Wind Swallow Race to ambush the convoy and kill so many cultivators of the Tongyou Peak, the patrol squads were definitely at fault. Since the convoy was ambushed, the report of the deaths and damages were sent to the Tongyou Peak. The patrol squads had to endure extreme pressure coming from the higher ups for failing to do their job. Deputy Patriarch Ji Wenlong, the expert in charge of the Protection Division, was stationed in the Tongyou Institution. However, he personally rushed over to the Tongyou Peak the moment he heard the news in order to take charge of the situation. Ji Sheng could no longer pretend to be deaf when he heard Shang Xia¡¯s accusations. ¡°Bullshit! What do you know?! How dare you accuse us without knowing anything?!¡± Ji Sheng snapped at Shang Xia. Jiang Changyu rolled his eyes and sneered, ¡°Of course he gets to look down on us¡­ Don¡¯t you know who his grandfather is?¡± His statement instantly dragged the Shang Clan into the crossfire. Shang Quan¡¯s expression sank, and he growled, ¡°Preposterous! Who do you think you are to sow discord between my Shang Clan and the Protection Division? You best remember that my Shang Clan was the first to send aid when your patrol squads were falling short of manpower!¡± ¡°Brother Shang, there¡¯s no need to get so agitated. He didn¡¯t mean it.¡± Ji Sheng glared at Jiang Changyu, signaling him to stop talking. Seeing as they took a step back, Shang Quan explained, ¡°Because of something that happened that day, a huge part of the Protection Division was drawn away. They had not enough men, causing a gap in the defense.¡± As Shang Quan didn¡¯t say anything about the reason they were drawn away, Shang Xia decided not to ask about it. Heaving a sigh of relief now that Shang Xia was found, Shang Quan spoke to Ji Sheng, ¡°Brother Ji, about this¡­ What do you plan to do now?¡± Ji Sheng knew that Shang Quan was no longer interested in assisting their squad now that Shang Xia was found. Even though he was unhappy about it, he could understand Shang Quan¡¯s considerations. ¡°Since you found your nephew, you can bring him back to the Tongyou Peak. Let¡¯s not let Uncle Ke worry.¡± A smile formed on Shang Quan¡¯s face. ¡°Many thanks to Brother Ji! After bringing him back, I¡¯ll return to assist you once again.¡± Ji Sheng hadn¡¯t said anything when Jiang Changyu¡¯s voice drifted over. ¡°Hehe, seventeen disciples of the outer division went missing. Only one survived¡­ What a fortunate ending!¡± Shang Xia turned his head and looked at Jiang Changyu deeply. Before anyone else could speak, Ji Sheng snapped, ¡°Shut up!¡± Jiang Changyu got to his feet and he ignored his captain entirely. ¡°Are you not willing to admit it? Do you dare to tell us that you weren¡¯t the first to escape that day? Everyone was resisting the enemy the best they could. Now, all your fellow disciples are missing and you returned without the slightest trace of injury on your body. Their deaths were really unjust!¡± CH 44 Jiang Changyu growled. No one knew where his enmity towards Shang Xia came from. Ji Sheng saw how his subordinate ignored his order, but he didn¡¯t push it. He sneered angrily, but he continued to watch the show from the side. Shang Quan wasn¡¯t going to let Shang Xia be insulted. He retorted, ¡°Jiang Changyu, Shang Xia left on Yuan Zilu¡¯s order! He didn¡¯t run away from the battle. There are witnesses to this! Are you ignoring the rules set by the Tongyou Institution? Do you want to take a trip to the Contribution Division for spreading rumors about a fellow disciple?¡± Jiang Changyu¡¯s expression changed slightly, but he snorted in contempt the next moment. ¡°Humph, you can¡¯t talk your way out of it and you¡¯re using your authority to suppress me¡­ Hahaha, I can¡¯t challenge your massive Shang Clan! Left based on orders? Is there anyone in the Tongyou Peak who doesn¡¯t know that Yuan Zilu is someone from your Shang Clan? Of course he¡¯ll send Shang Xia away before the dangerous battle.¡± ¡°That is complete bullshit! Yuan Zilu sent him away because he captured a live Mutated Rain Swallow! It concerns¡­¡± Shang Quan roared angrily. ¡°Oh really? Where¡¯s the Rain Swallow now?¡± Jiang Changyu interrupted him. A sinister smile formed on his face. It seemed as though his plot had succeeded. ¡°You¡­¡± Shang Quan pointed at Jiang Changyu angrily, but he failed to say a word. Shang Quan finally understood that he had fallen for Jiang Changyu¡¯s trap. Of course Jiang Changyu knew that Shang Xia left on Yuan Zilu¡¯s order! So what?! It was true that he left before the battle. Even if he had a reason to leave, he couldn¡¯t avoid being the target of malicious rumors. Moreover, Shang Xia returned without the Mutated Rain Swallow. That was what the higher ups of the Tongyou Peak wanted, and there was no sign of it! Jiang Changyu was precisely using the point to shame Shang Xia. ¡°Yuan Zilu is a member of your Protection Division.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s voice rang in their ears and he stared directly at Jiang Changyu. ¡°Are you prepared to back your words up that Yuan Zilu is part of my Shang Clan and ordered me to leave because of our relationship?¡± Jiang Changyu was stumped by the simple question. He seemed to have forgotten a serious point and the haughty expression that was forming on his face froze. Indeed¡­ Yuan Zilu was an expert of the Protection Division. He was extremely capable and his position in the institution was no weaker than many instructors. How could someone who had no ability or backing gain such a position in the Protection Division? If Jiang Changyu¡¯s accusations were to spread, the first person to deal with him wouldn¡¯t come from the Shang Clan! It would be Yuan Zilu himself! Deputy Patriarch Ji Wenlong might be in charge of the Protection Division, but he wasn¡¯t the only one who had the ability to influence things there! Jiang Changyu was a mere vice captain of a patrol squad! Even with the slight connection to the Ji Family because of their captain, the Ji Family wouldn¡¯t bother offending a deacon of Yuan Zilu¡¯s level for him! Ji Sheng realized that he had no choice but to step in now that things had gotten so serious. ¡°Hey, this brat is busy sprouting nonsense. He doesn¡¯t think his words through. Little Brother Xia, please don¡¯t lower yourself to his level.¡± ¡°Oh? Uncle Ji finally plans to step in now that your subordinate fucked up¡­¡± Shang Xia might have said it jokingly, but his words firmly stabbed into Ji Sheng¡¯s heart. He suppressed his rage and smiled mirthlessly. Shang Xia didn¡¯t bother with his response. Instead, he turned to Jiang Changyu, ¡°Not to worry, my Shang Clan will definitely invite Yuan Zilu to make things clear to the Contribution Division. I¡¯ll prove that you were wrong in your accusations.¡± A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. The Contribution Division not only evaluated the merits one brought to the faction. They were also used to mete out punishment.to those who made mistakes. There was no way Shang Xia would let Jiang Changyu off so easily after the animosity the other party showed. Jiang Changyu¡¯s expression started to flicker uneasily as he glanced at Ji Sheng. Noticing Shang Quan¡¯s gaze on him, Ji Sheng decided to close his eyes to ignore Jiang Changyu¡¯s silent cry for help. ¡°As for your accusation where I left my fellow disciples to die¡­ You¡¯ll find that you¡¯re wrong.¡± Shang Xia waved his hand in the air and several heads popped up from the rocks behind him. Turning around, a brilliant smile bloomed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. He turned to look at Jiang Changyu and his expression turned serious again. ¡°There were only three who lost their lives.¡± Several figures started to make their way over and the members of the patrol squad realized that they were the people they were looking for! ¡°They¡¯re still alive! Hahaha! They¡¯re alright!¡± Shang Quan chuckled and patted Shang Xia¡¯s shoulders again. ¡°Did you save them yourself?¡± Shang Xia snickered, ¡°That¡¯s right. I ran into some luck and found their hiding spot. After killing the cultivators of the Wind Swallow Race taking them hostage, I brought them out.¡± Ji Sheng, who was pretending to be deaf and blind just a moment ago, failed to hide the shock he felt. One had to know that practically every single patrol squad was sent out to look for the hostages the Wind Swallow Race took. The cultivators of the Wind Swallow Race used their secret movement art and fled the moment they ran into the patrol squads. Even though they managed to kill a few members of the Wind Swallow Race, they were unable to find the hiding spot. After some time, the patrol squads started to slacken off. After all, quite some time had passed and the disciples were nowhere to be found. According to their estimates, the disciples should have already been brought out of the battlefield between the two worlds. The experts on the Tongyou Peak knew the motive of the Wind Swallow Race. With more than a dozen of their outer division disciples captured by the members of the Wind Swallow Race, the Tongyou Peak would be beaten to a passive state. However, the ¡®hostages¡¯ taken by the Azure Spiritual World reappeared right in front of them! How else were they supposed to react? It was especially so for Shang Quan and Ji Sheng. They knew everything that was happening on the Tongyou Peak, and they knew that the reappearance of the outer disciples would solve a lot of problems! In front of such a sensitive issue, not even Ji Sheng dared to be careless. He no longer bothered with Jiang Changyu and he hurried his other subordinates, ¡°Quick, light the Cloud Piercing Rainbow Arrow! Get the other patrol squads over to assist us!¡± The three members immediately ran off to light the signal. Shang Quan roared with laughter, ¡°Great¡­ This is great! Little brat, you did a great service this time!¡± Shang Xia chuckled in amusement, ¡°Uncle Quan is exaggerating¡­ I merely got lucky. After running into them, I took a gamble and killed those guarding them! It¡¯s nothing much!¡± At this point, Jiang Changyu¡¯s expression turned completely pale. He wanted to beg Ji Sheng for help, but the man was ignoring him completely. Even though whatever he said earlier was slander, he knew that Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t be able to talk his way out of it without anything to back him up. Now, Shang Xia saved nearly all the outer disciples alone! It was a task that all the patrol squads couldn¡¯t complete! None of the accusations against him would work any longer! All of a sudden, Shang Xia turned to Jiang Changyu and said in a serious tone, ¡°Looks like you were wrong!¡± Shang Xia might seem serious, but in Jiang Changyu¡¯s eyes, the mockery was evident. He knew that whatever Shang Xia said wasn¡¯t only an explanation to him. It was a warning to tell him that their grudge wasn¡¯t over. After all, his repeated attempts to discredit Shang Xia had already infuriated the other party. Shang Xia¡¯s continued ¡®explanations¡¯ only served to deepen the grudge between them. Jiang Changyu wasn¡¯t planning on taking the beating passively. He tried one last trick. Raising his voice, he asked, ¡®So what? You lost the Mutated Rain Swallow!¡± Jiang Changyu looked at Ji Sheng who had a cold gaze in his eyes before turning to Shang Quan. ¡°Do you not know what state the Tongyou Peak is in right now? The Mutated Rain Swallow might be the key to all of this! He had to go along and lose it! Hahaha¡­¡± ¡°Huh? Mutated Rain Swallow? Senior Brother Jiang, wasn¡¯t it flying in the air above your guys? Why would you say that Chief Shang lost it?¡± Huang Zihua who just arrived asked. Jiang Changyu¡¯s smile froze on his face. Whistling lightly, Shang Xia looked at Jiang Changyu with a sarcastic smile on his face. Ji Sheng suddenly remembered the bird that was flying in the air above him when he laid on the ground, and he raised his head only to be greeted by a blur flashing past his eyes. It landed on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulder and it looked at the strangers that surrounded him. Jiang Changyu opened his mouth but failed to utter a word. He stared at the little bird resting on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Is this the Mutated Rain Swallow?¡± Shang Quan widened his eyes and asked. ¡°You¡­ You managed to subdue it?!¡± Ji Sheng gasped. That was the only explanation for the scene he was seeing. If Shang Xia hadn¡¯t tamed the bird, he wouldn¡¯t have released it from its cage! Shang Quan seemed to have thought of something, but his surprise was quickly replaced by rambunctious laughter. Shang Xia turned to look at Jiang Changyu who had an ashen expression on his face and sighed. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re wrong again!¡± CH 45 Capturing a living Mutated Rain Swallow and taming one was a completely different concept! Selling and buying a live Mutated Rain Swallow was one thing, but taming one had a much deeper meaning! Shang Quan and Ji Sheng¡¯s reactions were more than exaggerated. If Shang Quan felt both relief and excitement when Shang Xia returned, the feeling he had when he saw Yan Ni¡¯er standing obediently on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulder could be described as endless reverence! Naturally, his reverence had nothing to do with Shang Xia. That little brat wasn¡¯t worthy of his veneration! He stared at Yan Ni¡¯er like she was a precious treasure! As for Ji Sheng, the look on his face turned pretty colorful. He tossed Jiang Changyu to the back of his mind and no longer cared about his existence. His tongue was twisted together and talking became a little difficult. ¡°Little brat, you made a real contribution¡­ No! This is a great contribution to our faction!¡± Shang Quan didn¡¯t know how else to express his joy. He could only slap Shang Xia¡¯s shoulder happily. If not for the fact that his body became a lot stronger after entering the Martial Extremity Realm, Shang Quan¡¯s slaps would have shattered his bones. ¡°Uncle Quan, how important is the Mutated Rain Swallow exactly?! I¡¯ll make things clear first. Since Yan Ni¡¯er agreed to follow me, I won¡¯t allow anyone to kill her¡­¡± Shang Xia could guess that the Mutated Rain Swallow was extremely important to the Wind Swallow Race of the Azure Spiritual World, but he didn¡¯t know what the Tongyou Peak wanted to do with her. ¡°Chirp, chirp!¡± Yan Ni¡¯er flapped her wings aggressively as though she understood what Shang Xia meant. ¡°Umm¡­¡± Shang Quan scratched his head and muttered, ¡°You¡¯ll know when we arrive at the Tongyou Peak¡­ At least, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll kill her¡­¡± Shang Quan¡¯s words were completely useless at reassuring Shang Xia. ¡°No! We won¡¯t let her die!¡± Ji Shang spoke all of a sudden. Meeting Shang Xia¡¯s bewildered gaze, Ji Sheng explained, ¡°If you only managed to capture a live Mutated Rain Swallow, they might not care so much. Now that you tamed the bird, the patriarch will definitely not allow them to kill her!¡± Ji Sheng¡¯s cultivation level was comparable to Shang Quan, and their status in their respective families were about the same too. However, Ji Sheng¡¯s identity as a captain in the Protection Division allowed him to learn some things Shang Quan couldn¡¯t. His words managed to calm Shang Xia to a certain extent, but due to their reluctance to say anything about what they wanted to do to Yan Ni¡¯er, Shang Xia felt extremely irritated. In the short time that it took for them to conclude their conversation, a rumbling sound could be heard coming towards them. Other patrol squads were gathering towards their location because of the signal they sent out earlier. Indeed¡­ Five disciples riding on Scarlet Cloud Horses approached. The captain of their group pulled on the reins and he looked at Shang Xia and the others as a trace of surprise crossed his face. ¡°Huh? There¡¯s actually so many of them¡­ Brother Ji, you made a great contribution by finding the outer disciples! I¡¯ll congratulate you in advance.¡± The disciples dismounted after he spoke. A bitter laugh left Ji Sheng¡¯s lips and he waved his hands to dismiss the other captain¡¯s blessing. ¡°Junior Brother Tang, you¡¯re mistaken. Anyway, it¡¯s a long story. I¡¯ll tell you when we return. We¡¯re taking a short break here. When Junior Brother Li comes, we¡¯ll return to the Tongyou Peak.¡± Three patrol squads would be sent out to secure a single area. As they wouldn¡¯t venture too far away from each other, they could assist the other squads in case anything happened. Tang Youqian, the other captain, tossed his reins to another disciple. He walked to the side with Ji Sheng and Shang Quan, and they seemed to be discussing something. Shang Xia felt their gaze on him from time to time. ¡°Shang Xia!¡± A young disciple whose age was comparable to Shang Xia ran over all of a sudden. ¡°I heard that you managed to comprehend your martial intent and teach Zhu Ying a lesson! Is that true?¡± Shang Xia raised an eyebrow and gasped, ¡°Ju Hang? When did you enter the Protection Division and join a patrol squad?¡± The youngster chuckled happily, ¡°Haha, you definitely didn¡¯t expect it. After all, I entered three months before you. I managed to catch Master Tang¡¯s eye and when he invited me over to enter the Protection Division, I had to accept!¡± As long as a disciple in the outer division entered the Martial Realm, they would be allowed to do whatever they want! Previously, Ju Hang was a disciple of the second outer division. He was fighting for the position of the leader of the outer division with Shang Xia, but he chose to enter the battlefield between two worlds eventually. He didn¡¯t even take part in the final evaluation! The two of them could be considered acquaintances back in the institution and when Shang Xia heard the smugness in his voice, he was slightly taken aback. How important did one have to be for one of the heads of a division to personally invite them? Shang Xia could tell that Ju Hang probably received a letter of appointment, but he was blatantly exaggerating in Shang Xia¡¯s face. However, there wasn¡¯t a need for Shang Xia to expose him. ¡°Congratulations, Brother Ju!¡± ¡°So¡­ We¡­¡± Before he could speak, he was interrupted by a cry of shock. ¡°What?! He saved them?¡± Ju Hang and the others turned to look at Tang Youqian who just yelled out loud. Shang Quan slapped his shoulder and snapped, ¡°Little brat, there¡¯s no need to shout!¡± Tang Youqian looked at Shang Xia once again, but he was dragged even further away by the other two and their voices became softer. Ju Hang stared at Shang Xia as a confident expression returned to his face. He clearly didn¡¯t understand what was going on. ¡°Let¡¯s compete again, what do you think?¡± His words drew the attention of the other disciples. Jiang Zihua looked at Ju Hang and asked, ¡°You know that Senior Brother Shang has already comprehended his martial intent¡­ Did you also comprehend your martial intent?¡± Ju Hang chuckled lightly without giving an answer. ¡°You did?!¡± Huang Zihua cried. This time, more people started paying attention to them. Shang Xia finally turned serious when he looked at Ju Hang. Clearly, he wasn¡¯t the only one who ran into some sort of fortune! Indeed¡­ It was difficult for him to be the only outstanding cultivator in his generation! Ju Hang revealed a crafty laughter and explained, ¡°I¡¯ve long since had enough of you! Hehe, you¡¯ve been sitting in the position of the leader of the outer division¡­ Today, it¡¯s time¡­¡± ¡°WHAT?! That little brat managed to tame a Mutated¡­¡± Ju Hang couldn¡¯t complete his sentence when he was interrupted once again. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. Turning to look at his captain, Ju Hang didn¡¯t know what was going on there. ¡°Can you shut up?! Keep your voice down at least! Are you trying to tell the whole world what happened?!¡± Ji Sheng snapped at him again. Grabbing Tang Youqian by the neck, the three of them lowered their volume. With the repeated interruptions, Ju Hang couldn¡¯t maintain his haughty attitude any longer. His feelings were slightly affected. After all, he entered the Protection Division before entering the inner division! Wasn¡¯t he supposed to be special since they broke the rules for him?! Weren¡¯t the disciples of the outer division supposed to be admiring his prowess? Moreover, he managed to comprehend a martial intent too! When he was trying to show off to everyone, he was interrupted time and time again! The person who did it was none other than his own captain! He didn¡¯t even know how to react! Noticing the awkward expression on Ju Hang¡¯s face, Huang Zihua couldn¡¯t hold it in any longer. A mischievous smile formed on his face and he asked, ¡°Ju Hang, are you trying to challenge Senior Brother Shang?¡± Even though he was interrupted several times, Ju Hang felt that he had to at least uphold the inspiring momentum he had! He tilted his chin up slightly and spoke, ¡°That¡¯s right! Chief Shang, do you dare to take me on?¡± Shang Xia snickered, ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°Are you fucking joking?! Didn¡¯t you see that at least five of them entered the Martial Realm?!¡± Tang Youqian¡¯s voice came from the side once again. However, no one yelled at him after he spoke. Shang Quan, Ji Sheng, and Tang Youqian stared at the outer disciples all of a sudden. Ji Sheng and Shang Quan failed to hide the shock on their faces. Ju Hang wanted to smash his head in the ground due to the interruption once again. He seemed to have forgotten his identity as a newcomer to the patrol squad and he grumbled at Tang Youqian, ¡°What are all of you on about?! Aren¡¯t you afraid of scaring us to death?!¡± He turned around and stared at Shang Xia. Afraid that someone would interrupt him, he spoke quickly, ¡°Do you accept or not?!¡± Shang Xia was helpless. When he wanted to reply, he caught sight of someone and a strange look appeared in his eyes. Ju Hang didn¡¯t have to turn his head when a giant hand pressed down on his head. A familiar voice entered his ears. ¡°Little brat, don¡¯t you know that he has already entered the Martial Extremity Realm? Are you sure you wish to challenge him?¡± Tang Youqian scraped his knuckles on Ju Hang¡¯s head and slowly turned to look at Shang Xia. There was an incredulous look in his eyes. He seemed to have forgotten that Ju Hang was yelling in pain beside him until the kid spoke up. ¡°Captain, can¡¯t you address me by my name?!¡± After speaking, he turned to look at Shang Xia with a suspicious look on his face. The pain he felt seemed to disappear. ¡°What?! You¡­ You entered the Martial Extremity Realm?!¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with Ju Hang as he looked at Tang Youqian who was staring at him. There had to be something off about how the man was looking at him¡­ Shang Xia explained helplessly, ¡°I was hunted down by the members of the Azure Spiritual World and I had no choice but to risk it all. Luckily, I managed to break through and survive¡­¡± ¡°...¡± How the fuck were they supposed to fight? They weren¡¯t even on the same level! Ju Hang¡¯s expression froze on his face, but he slowly raised his thumb at Shang Xia. ¡°Alright, you¡¯re something else indeed¡­¡± After escaping from Tang Youqian¡¯s grasp, Ju Hang returned to his mount in dejection. Shang Quan and Ji Sheng approached Shang Xia and asked in disbelief, ¡°How did they do it?¡± ¡°Oh, about this¡­ I found six intact carriages in a hidden valley. It should still be there now¡­¡± Shang Xia explained the matter entirely. CH 46 ¡°All of them are located in a hidden valley¡­¡± Shang Xia spoke casually as though the news he was revealing was completely useless. However, the news caused the hearts of Shang Quan, Ji Sheng, and Tang Youqian to shake. When they heard how casually Shang Xia was describing it, other than Shang Quan who still had a brilliant smile on his face, the two captains felt an urge to beat the brat up. That was six carriages they were talking about! Even if they estimated the worth of the goods in each carriage conservatively, they would be worth more than a thousand silver essence each! As for the Embroidered Cloud Carriages that could carry eight times that of an ordinary carriage, they were worth a considerable amount too! The convoy that was headed to the Tongyou Peak consisted of nearly forty carriages. A lot of them were destroyed, and a ton of supplies were lost! When the patrol squads arrived to assist Yuan Zilu and the others, they saved eleven carriages. Even so, the Tongyou Peak was short of supplies! At the very least, they would have to ration their goods before the Tongyou Institution sent them another batch. As such, the six other carriages were extremely important! Even though the number of supplies contained in them was less than the eleven carriages that were salvaged, it would be able to ease the shortage slightly. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Just recovering the carriages themselves would allow the patrol squads to earn some merits! The third patrol squad finally arrived when Shang Xia was done explaining. After Ji Sheng and Tang Youqian revealed everything that happened to the third squad, Shang Xia became the center of attention once again. Luckily for him, he experienced it with Tang Youqian¡¯s squad. He wasn¡¯t flustered at all. After Shang Quan discussed their next course of action with the three captains, they decided to split into two teams. Shang Quan would lead members of the three squads to return to the Tongyou Peak with Shang Xia and the outer disciples. The captains of the three squads, along with Jiang Changyu and Ju Hang, would head to the location where the carriages were hidden. Initially, only the three captains were supposed to go. However, Jiang Changyu and Ju Hang strongly insisted on following them. They were unwilling to follow the group with Shang Xia and Shang Quan after the humiliation they received. On the way back to the Tongyou Peak, Shang Xia asked Shang Quan about the outcome of the raid. ¡°Yuan Zilu stood his ground and fought the enemies to the best of his abilities. If not for him holding down both enemy experts who were at the Martial Intent Realm, the entire convoy would have been destroyed!¡± Sighing lightly, Shang Quan continued, ¡°He managed to keep his life in the end, but according to the doctors on the Tongyou Peak, he received several serious internal injuries. Without three to five years to recover, he will never return to his peak state.¡± Shang Xia nodded solemnly. ¡°What about the rest?¡± ¡°The upper division disciples suffered serious injuries too, but they should be able to recover in two months. As for the disciples of the Protection Division¡­ Eight of the fifteen disciples died¡­ The other seven were seriously injured.¡± No matter how prepared Shang Xia was to receive the bad news, he was shocked by the high death rate. ¡°What in the world happened to the patrol squads? From what I heard, they took extremely long to arrive after the signal was fired. We didn¡¯t run into any of them on the way to the Tongyou Peak either¡­¡± Shang Xia muttered. His accusations caused Shang Quan to jump in fright, but after noticing that the members of the patrol squad didn¡¯t hear them, he explained, ¡°Liu Jitang left the Tongyou Peak and brought a batch of experts with him. There were several strong patrol squads with him, and the Tongyou Peak didn¡¯t have enough people. In order to prevent an invasion from another power, we gathered most of our strength back to the Tongyou Peak. We had no choice but to decrease the number of patrol squads.¡± Shang Xia gasped silently. Shang Quan expected Shang Xia¡¯s reaction and signaled for him to remain silent. With unease in his heart, Shang Xia asked, ¡°How is this possible? Didn¡¯t he arrange for people to take over his post when he left the peak? Isn¡¯t he afraid that the Azure Spiritual World would attack the moment he left? Twenty years of hard work would go down the drain if that happened!¡± Shang Quan sighed, ¡°With our foundations laid down over the past twenty years, we thought that no one would find out when he left.¡± ¡°How long did he leave for? Now¡­¡± Shang Xia felt the unease in his heart growing. ¡°He should have left for more than ten days¡­ Relax. The moment we received news of the convoy being attacked, Ji Wenlong rushed over to the Tongyou Peak. Now, we should be relatively safe¡­¡± Shang Quan tried to reassure Shang Xia. Calming down slightly, Shang Xia could tell that there was something his uncle wasn¡¯t telling him. ¡°Did the news of Liu Jitang¡¯s departure get leaked?¡± ¡°Liu Jitang¡¯s absence wouldn¡¯t matter if Ji Wenlong arrived at the Tongyou Peak. However, our enemies managed to learn of Liu Jitang¡¯s departure before Ji Wenlong came!¡± Shang Quan sighed. There had to be a traitor in their ranks! Even without Shang Quan stating it explicitly, Shang Xia knew what he meant. However, there was something still bothering him. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Why didn¡¯t the Azure Spiritual World take the chance to siege the Tongyou Peak when they learned that Liu Jitang had left?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know too much about the details. You can ask around when you arrive at the Tongyou Peak, but¡­¡± ¡°But what?¡± Shang Xia quipped. Shang Quan thought about it for a moment and continued, ¡°According to my guesses, the Azure Spiritual World couldn¡¯t verify the news of Liu Jitang¡¯s departure. They didn¡¯t know if he had actually left the Tongyou Peak. They were afraid that we released the news in order to draw them into a trap and decided to probe us by raiding our convoy. In the end, they lost their best chance.¡± Shang Xia nodded slowly. After all, the appearance of the Wind Swallow Race deep in the territory of the Tongyou Peak was probably the Azure Spiritual World verifying their guess. Too bad for them, the Tongyou Peak reacted in time. The moment they felt that something was off, they quickly notified Ji Wenlong to head over to the battlefield between the two worlds, stabilizing the situation. Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, the situation on the Tongyou Peak should be a lot better than before. It¡¯s no wonder there are so many more patrol squads out in the wild.¡± Shang Quan¡¯s voice echoed in his mind, ¡°That might not be the case. Uncle Ke said that Ji Wenlong had been confronting the members of the Four Spiritual Peak recently. All the experts on the Tongyou Peak who had reached the Martial Intent Realm are on edge right now. Everyone is ready to react in case anything happens.¡± Shang Xia looked at Shang Quan with a face full of shock. He didn¡¯t believe his ears. To that, Shang Quan could only reveal a bitter smile. Shang Xia muttered softly in disbelief, ¡°Liu Jitang might have transferred some of the elites of the Tongyou Peak, but Ji Wenlong is one of the strongest deputy patriarchs. His strength is second only to Patriarch Kou. Shouldn¡¯t the Four Spiritual Peak be wary of him?¡± ¡°If not for him, the Four Spiritual Peak would have already launched their attack on us. None of us knows what is actually going on. However, I can see that Uncle Ke has been extremely weary over the past few days. There are things he can¡¯t tell us, and we are in no position to question him about it.¡± Shang Quan whispered. Shang Xia thought back to the conversation he overheard from the members of the Wind Swallow Race back at the hidden valley. ¡°Uncle Quan, did you hear anything about Patriarch Kou and our ancestor recently?¡± Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Shang Quan looked at him. ¡°Nope¡­ What¡¯s wrong?¡± Shang Xia shook his head and frowned. ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡­ Let¡¯s hope that I¡¯m wrong. The moment we return to the Tongyou Peak, I have to look for Grandpa Wu.¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll make the arrangements the moment we get back.¡± After a long period of traveling, they finally caught sight of the towering peak that was their destination! They finally caught sight of the Tongyou Peak! It was no wonder Yuan Zilu told Shang Xia to head towards the highest mountain after ordering him to leave. Looking at the majestic sight before him, Shang Xia sucked in a cold breath. There was no need to mention the other outer disciples who had come to the Tongyou Peak for the first time. They were awed by the sight. Before they could even arrive at the Tongyou Peak, the news of the outer disciples¡¯ rescue had already reached the ears of the higher ups. As such, there were many people waiting to welcome them when they arrived. There were even several familiar faces. ¡°Hey, Huang Zihua, I heard that your entire division turned into captives of the Azure Spiritual World!¡± A joking voice reverberated through the air. ¡°Your ass!¡± Huang Zihua sneered in response, and he waved his sleeve to reveal three heads. As they fell to the ground, those standing around gasped in shock. ¡°Do you see this? We worked together to kill three cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World! We¡¯re here to claim our rewards!¡± CH 47 Everyone knew that the sixteen disciples of the third outer division had turned into captives of the Azure Spiritual World, and it was nothing to be proud of. Even though they were disciples who had yet to enter the Martial Realm, they didn¡¯t seem to put up any resistance. However, the implications were completely different if they managed to kill their captors and escape! The experience wouldn¡¯t be a blemish on their lives. In fact, they would receive endless praise and respect from other disciples for accomplishing such a feat! Naturally, there were many higher ups in the Tongyou Peak who learned about everything that happened. Even so, they wouldn¡¯t jump out to discredit the disciples. They were more than happy to use the disciples¡¯ experience as a motivational factor for the rest. Besides, it was true that Shang Xia received Huang Zihua and Jiao Haitang¡¯s assistance when he killed Qing Que and Ling Que. Of course, Shang Xia exaggerated slightly when he mentioned the battle to Ji Sheng and the others. Huang Zihua¡¯s actions were met with shocked gasps from the crowd. Jiao Haitang and the other disciples of the third outer division didn¡¯t expect Huang Zihua to exaggerate so much, but they were smart enough to not jump out and push the credit away. They could only silently thank Shang Xia in their hearts. Shang Xia didn¡¯t tell anyone when he mentioned the matter to Ji Sheng and Shang Quan as he didn¡¯t want them to think that they owed him. The only person that could pull off such a shameless act would be Huang Zihua, and that was precisely the reason why Shang Xia revealed his plan to the kid alone. However, there was someone in the crowd who raised some doubts. ¡°Hey Little Huang, did you really kill three cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World with your ragtag group?¡± The disciples there heard of Shang Xia, but they refused to believe that he could lead the disciples of the third outer division to kill three experts of the Azure Spiritual World. ¡°Who the hell said that?! Who called me Little Huang? Your whole family is called Little Huang! Fuck!¡± Huang Zihua roared with rage, ¡°Are you guys really looking down on us? Do you really think we are that weak?¡± As soon as he spoke, he released his aura to reveal his cultivation level. He wasn¡¯t the only one. Meng Liangchen did the same, and everyone saw that they had already entered the Martial Realm. Next came Wang Hua, Xu Xindi¡­ Other than Shang Xia, five disciples of the third outer division revealed their cultivation bases to be at the Martial Realm! The faces of the disciples standing around them didn¡¯t just change slightly. Gasps of shock filled the air. One had to know that before their breakthrough, there were four other disciples who entered the Martial Realm other than Shang Xia in the third outer division. With Shang Xia¡¯s identity as the leader of the outer division, the third outer division was ranked way above the rest! Now, Huang Zihua, Meng Liangchen, and three other disciples entered the Martial Realm. They pushed the third outer division¡¯s strength to a whole new level! There was no doubt about it! None of the other outer divisions could hold a candle to them! Moreover, there were three more disciples who hadn¡¯t broken through due to the lack of resources! Now that they have arrived at the Tongyou Peak, breaking through would be a matter of time. As for the other disciples who weren¡¯t close to breaking through, they had several pieces of precious treasures ready to trade for items they required. They could also rapidly increase their strength with the help of those treasures. Of course, that was only if the treasures weren¡¯t confiscated by the Tongyou Peak. ¡­ Since they arrived, no one asked about the three disciples who were missing. After all, thirteen of the sixteen managed to return! So what if three died? After the charade where they entered the Tongyou Peak, the disciples were quickly whisked away to get their injuries looked at. They would probably be sent to the Contribution Division in order to reveal everything that happened. Shang Xia left with Shang Quan and headed to the stronghold of the Shang Clan on the Tongyou Peak. Along the way, Shang Xia asked Shang Quan about the exact date outside the battlefield between two worlds. He learned that it was the twenty fourth of the sixth month outside, and fourteen days had passed since he entered. As one of the four great clans in the Tongyou City, the Shang Clan had their own foundations on the Tongyou Peak. The expert stationed there was the second strongest expert of the Shang Clan, Shang Ke! Shang Ke was the cousin of Shang Bo, the ancestor of the Shang Clan! The Shang Clan might possess a lot of resources on the Tongyou Peak, but on the surface, their main income stream came from the Shang Pavilion. It was a three story building located in the middle of the mountain. There, Shang Xia saw a giant drawbridge connecting the Tongyou Peak to two other individual peaks in the distance. In actual fact, there were several drawbridges like that connecting the surrounding peaks to the Tongyou Peak. It allowed disciples to travel around easily. The Tongyou Peak was more like a mountain range and the tallest peak they were on was considered the main peak of the Tongyou Peak. When Shang Quan and Shang Xia arrived at the Shang Pavilion, they learned that Shang Ke had already left. That was Shang Xia¡¯s first time in the Shang Pavilion, and under Shang Quan¡¯s introduction, he discovered that the entire place was pretty quiet. Not many people frequented the place, and the amount of goods they sold was lacking. Many shelves were empty. Even though it was his first time there, he could tell that the prices of goods there were extremely inflated. He quickly realized the reason. ¡°Did the raid on our convoy cause so much damage to the economy on the Tongyou Peak?!¡± ¡°The robbery affected it to a certain extent, but it shouldn¡¯t be so serious. The true reason is because Liu Jitang left the Tongyou Peak and the cultivators here started to panic.¡± Shang Quan explained. ¡°Ji Wenlong might have arrived promptly, but the clashes against the Four Spiritual Peak started and things are not as peaceful as before. An incoming battle looms over our heads, and everyone started stocking up on supplies. With no choice, we can only raise our prices to retain some supplies. Even so, it¡¯s basically all gone now.¡± After some thought, Shang Xia muttered, ¡°Uncle Quan, I still have some treasures on me. Should I¡­¡± Shang Quan waved his hand and laughed. ¡°Just keep them. You barely entered the Martial Extremity Realm. The most important thing for you is to locate a suitable secret art and the relevant martial arts. The reason we need to meet Uncle Ke immediately is because of the inheritances left behind by the Shang Clan.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need for so much trouble! The institution already promised to give me a complete set of secret art and the relevant martial arts!¡± Shang Quan slapped his forehead and sighed. ¡°Oh right! I completely forgot about that¡­ When you comprehended the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm and handed over the key points to the institution, your Uncle Ke joked that our Shang Clan made a serious loss¡­¡± ¡°Hehe, Aunt Xi managed to fight for me to get an entire set of cultivation techniques and herbs I require to break through!¡± Shang Xia chuckled. However, the pout on Shang Quan¡¯s face betrayed his true emotions. ¡°That¡¯s barely enough¡­ Little Sister Xi is too soft on them. She should have extorted them for more!¡± ¡°...¡± We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Shang Xia recalled the stories he heard. In the past, Shang Xi came to the Tongyou Peak to learn from Shang Quan how to care for the business. Everything she learned came from him! Shang Quan didn¡¯t care too much about Shang Xia¡¯s reaction and he continued, ¡°Do you want me to bring you to the Scripture Depository now? Only a portion of inheritances are kept there though¡­ It¡¯s not complete either¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to rush! Uncle Quan, arrange a room for me here. I haven¡¯t slept well in a long while!¡± Shang Xia yawned. Indeed¡­ It had been a long time since he slept peacefully. ¡°We¡¯ll go over when I wake up. If there¡¯s something suitable for me there, that would be for the best! Otherwise, we¡¯ll talk after I return to the institution.¡± ¡°But¡­ Alright. Follow me.¡± Shang Quan smiled. Since the convoy was attacked, Shang Xia hasn''t had a good night''s sleep! Even though cultivators were much more resilient than ordinary humans, they could be exhausted mentally too! The moment Shang Xia fell onto his bed, he fell into a deep sleep. He didn¡¯t know that the undercurrents of the battlefield between the two worlds were gathering. ¡°Bang!¡± Snapping awake, Shang Xia leaped out of his bed to discover that one of his windows was blown open by a strong gust of wind. Looking out of the window, Shang Xia realized that there was something strange going on outside. Half the night sky was filled with twinkling stars, and the other half was pitch-black! ¡°Are you awake?¡± Shang Quan¡¯s voice came from downstairs. Shang Xia looked down from his window only to discover his uncle staring up into the skies. He had no idea what his uncle was looking at. Scratching his head, Shang Xia asked, ¡°Uncle Quan, how long have I been asleep for?¡± ¡°Looks like you were really tired¡­ You slept for nearly 12 hours!¡± Shang Quan chuckled. Cultivators would usually sleep for 4 hours a day due to their increased vigor. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Shang Xia asked again. Looking up at the skies, Shang Xia had no idea what he was looking at. However, Shang Quan¡¯s gaze extended deep into the distance and he sighed, ¡°Did you feel that? That isn¡¯t wind produced by the forces of nature. It¡¯s a surge of qi¡­¡± Shang Xia¡¯s heart trembled and he focused on the heaven and earth qi around him. Indeed, they were swirling around like a hurricane. Shang Xia guessed, ¡°Did the Tongyou Peak activate our protection formation?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Shang Quan sighed. ¡°This happened because a cultivator at the Martial Intent Realm fell¡­ Moreover, it might have something to do with you.¡± ¡°Something to do with me?¡± Shang Xia frowned. CH 48 The disturbance in the heaven and earth qi was evident. Even though there were places with denser heaven and earth qi, it wasn¡¯t something that could be affected by ordinary winds! Shang Quan pointed into the distance and said, ¡°You didn¡¯t notice a thing because you were asleep. However, a giant tornado of qi appeared in the distance and it resembled a giant pillar that extended into the skies. It looked like a sign when Martial Intent Realm cultivators fell.¡± Shang Xia asked, ¡°Will the deaths of Martial Intent Realm cultivators cause something so big to happen?¡± ¡°No¡­ They will only affect the area around them after going all out.¡± Shang Quan explained. ¡°I heard from Uncle Ke that Martial Intent Realm cultivators have already consolidated their divine sense intent. Their divine sense can interfere with reality. When they die, the energy in their body would scatter and affect the surroundings around them.¡± ¡°Since it¡¯s able to affect the main Tongyou Peak, the person that died has to be a true expert! Unless¡­ Unless they died around the area?¡± Shang Quan smiled. ¡°Did you remember where Ji Sheng and the others went while we returned to the Tongyou Peak?¡± ¡°They went to the hidden valley to retrieve the six Embroidered Cloud Carriages!¡± Shang Xia paused for a second. ¡°Didn¡¯t you realize what they were truly doing? Since the members of the Wind Swallow Race hid the carriages and captives there, they would definitely return. Our patrol squads wouldn¡¯t miss this opportunity to give them a heavy blow.¡± ¡°But¡­ There are only five of them!¡± Shang Xia raised an eyebrow in shock. Shang Quan burst into laughter. ¡°Do you really think that we only sent out three patrol squads? If I¡¯m not mistaken, there were more than five other squads that were sent out. They probably received Ji Sheng and the others¡¯ report and hid around the area in order to ambush the members of the Wind Swallow Race! Master Tang Yuan might have even rushed over to join the battle!¡± Shang Quan continued his explanation when he saw the look of confusion on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°After the convoy was attacked, the Protection Division was placed under a lot of pressure. It was especially so for the patrol squads under them. As the person in charge of the patrol squads, Master Tang Yuan had to take responsibility! They were looking for a chance to redeem themselves, and you conveniently gave them the opportunity.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean that the Protection Division would owe me big time? At least, the patrol squads will have to repay the favor¡­¡± Shang Xia gasped. ¡°No¡­ You¡¯re thinking too small! Think bigger!¡± Shang Quan smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, you brought the outer disciples back¡­¡± The heaven and earth qi started to return to its original calm bearing and it signified that the battle had truly come to an end. After their short conversation, Shang Xia decided to return to his bed to continue napping. However, Shang Quan seemed to have thought of something else. ¡°Right¡­ Your fellow disciples came over to look for you, but they left when they realized you were sleeping.¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Did the Contribution Division release them already? Did they say anything about me?¡± ¡°Haha! They were only captured for a few days! They were kept together, and none of them were brought away by the enemy¡­ There¡¯s no way they could have betrayed us! The Contribution Division probably kept them there for some time for formality¡¯s sake. Oh right, they didn¡¯t say anything¡­ Everyone¡¯s waiting for you to wake up now.¡± ¡­ The battlefield between the two worlds didn¡¯t have a set day and night. Cultivators who remained there for a long time would rest whenever they were tired and there wasn¡¯t a proper sleep schedule. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. After Shang Xia felt better, he headed towards the Scripture Depository under Shang Quan¡¯s arrangement. The Tongyou Institution left behind a portion of secret arts in the Tongyou Peak, but most of it was uncompleted. After all, they couldn¡¯t leave behind too many treasures in such a dangerous place. Regardless, the Scripture Depository was a sacred land in the Tongyou Peak. It wasn¡¯t just open to the students at the Tongyou Institution. Any cultivator from the Azure Origin World could apply to enter! Naturally, the requirements for cultivators not of the institution to enter were much higher¡­ Even so, it was extremely attractive for wandering cultivators who had no affiliations! When Shang Xia arrived, he took out his identity plaque and handed it over to the guardian. As the plaque contained Shang Xia¡¯s personal information, the guardian managed to quickly obtain his record. Handing the plaque back to Shang Xia, the guardian raised an eyebrow and reminded Shang Xia, ¡°You should return to the Scripture Depository in the institution. The secret arts there are of much higher quality.¡± Shang Xia laughed in response, ¡°I¡¯ll be using it for the time being. These should be enough.¡± Not saying anything else, the guardian opened the restrictions around the Scripture Depository. The Scripture Depository was located in a natural cave formed in the Tongyou Peak and it was pretty wide within. There were various crystals lighting up the place to give it a homelier feel. The Scripture Depository contained several natural platforms that cultivators used to differentiate the different qualities of secret arts. Every single stone platform had its individual restriction, and without enough authority, they couldn¡¯t open it. Anyone who tried to break through forcefully would be attacked by the restrictions. They might even alert the protective formation surrounding the Tongyou Peak. Because of the institution¡¯s promise, Shang Xia managed to obtain the highest permission level to open any restriction he wished. He looked through the vague descriptions of every secret art, but he couldn¡¯t see any detailed information unless he chose the specific art. He would have to obtain the recognition of the guardian in order to release the restriction around the secret manual. Before that could happen, he would also have to swear an oath never to hand over the details of the secret manual without the approval of the institution. That included anyone who was related to him by blood. Of course, there were many cultivators who would lie. However, they wouldn¡¯t dare to make an oath easily. In the cultivation world, one would experience a terrifying backlash if they went against their oath. The Tongyou Institution also had another goal behind their actions. They didn¡¯t want the contents of the secret manuals to spread as they wanted cultivators to gather at the Tongyou Peak. When Shang Xia entered the Scripture Depository, he headed straight for the two tallest platforms. Those were the ones that contained the secret manuals for cultivators at his level. Shang Xia headed towards the platform on the left and drew a line in mid air with his plaque. A gap formed in the restriction, and a wave of heaven and earth qi emerged. Understanding that it was a sign that the restrictions around the platform had opened up, Shang Xia stepped onto it confidently. The number of books on the platform could barely be compared to the others. There was a single bookshelf that was the height of a human and it had five shelves in total. The two on top contained proper books while the three at the bottom contained books made from bunches of bamboo strips. Due to the fact that most of the books were copied by hand, many of them were in poor condition. From what Shang Xia knew, the original copies were kept in the Tongyou Institution. They were written on stuff like turtle shells, stone tablets, wooden plates, bones, or even caved in bronze! That wasn¡¯t the most extraordinary part. There were even more exaggerated ones that used formations to demonstrate the skill once! Not only did they take up a lot of space, they had limited amount of uses! Naturally, the most effective ways to record a secret manual weren''t any of those. Instead, it was to record them on jade strips. Cultivators referred to them as Jade Books. However, those would only be used when one broke through to the Martial Intent Realm since reading one could only be used when one gathered their divine sense. As such, cultivators under the Martial Intent Realm would probably use ordinary methods to record their manuals. Shang Xia grabbed one of the paper books and read the words on its cover. ¡°Fire and Ice Art¡± That was one of the more common techniques practiced by most people in the Azure Origin World. The requirements for one to start training in the Fire and Ice Art wasn¡¯t too high, and it was pretty safe. Most people would choose to learn it, but the drawbacks were apparent. It was difficult to advance, and the heaven and earth qi they could produce in their dantian wouldn¡¯t be of high quality. When using martial arts, the second rate inner qi they had would cause attacks to possess much weaker power. The introduction of the book alone described the more important parts of the secret art in order for cultivators to make their choice. Shang Xia tried reading more, but he only managed to read three hundred words before the rest started to turn blurry. He knew that the amount of information he read was more than enough for most cultivators to make a choice. The moment he chose the Fire and Ice Art, he could look for the guardian of the Scripture Depository. After making his oath, he would be able to read the rest. Putting the book back, he looked at another book, the ¡®Water and Fire Mysterious Manual¡¯. The similarities between the book in his hand and the one he placed away was obvious. The only difference was that it followed the path of water instead of ice. Next came the Icy Flame Dao¡­ Then came the Blazing Ice Code¡­ There was a secret art called the Earth Fire Tide, and it was definitely a manual only crazy people would choose. If they didn¡¯t lose themselves in the process of cultivation, they would be stuck at the Martial Extremity Realm for the rest of their lives. ¡°Mysterious Ice Heart Fire Skill¡± That was somewhat interesting. One could transform ice into fire! However, a large proportion of the people who practiced the art would probably turn themselves into an ice sculpture before they could master the art. ¡°Mountain Collection¡±... Finally, there was a book that didn¡¯t contain either fire or ice¡­ After reading the introduction, Shang Xia was extremely confused. That was definitely a book written by beginners¡­ Training in it would lead nowhere! ¡°Spring and Autumn Manual¡± The name sounded pretty impressive, but most of the content within came from guesses. The writer of the book probably didn¡¯t dare to train in the way he described¡­ ¡°Sun and Moon Divine Art¡± That was a bold name. According to the contents, the cultivator had to take the night and day as the two extremities and train in them accordingly. The idea was there, but the naming convention was somewhat off¡­ Shang Xia flipped through the rest of the book and even though he didn¡¯t choose anything, he managed to expand his horizons. There were a couple of secret arts that suited him, but after looking through it, there seemed to be something lacking about them! Was he supposed to return to the institution before looking for a suitable secret art?! Shang Xia looked at the last few books lying on the ground and the fire in his heart was extinguished. He decided to flip through them to increase his knowledge, and he casually grabbed one of them. ¡°Triple Mystery Polarity Art¡±... This¡­ CH 49 What type of secret art was this¡­ Shang Xia opened the book slowly and read the description. As it turned out, the creator of the secret manual had his own views on the matter. The secret art didn¡¯t consist of two different powers at the different extremes. Instead, he wanted to merge three pairs of opposite powers into one! In the manual¡¯s introduction, the author wrote about comprehending one pair of opposing qi. With the experience they had, they would try to comprehend two other pairs of opposing qis, eventually fusing all three pairs together. When that happened, the cultivator would be able to freely use three pairs of different qis! The most interesting part was that said cultivator would be able to use many different types of medicine when training. Due to the numerous types of qi they comprehended, they would be able to switch between various herbs when refining medicine. Shang Xia felt his mind jolting when he read that part as thoughts started to form in his mind. Ever since he entered the Martial Extremity Realm, he managed to transform his inner qi to the Yin Yang Essence Qi. His dantian contained a massive Yin Yang Diagram and from what Shang Xia knew, the meaning of yin and yang back in his original world contained the power of balance. He agreed with Triple Mystery Polarity Art in a sense, but only a part of it. From what Shang Xia knew, the true Yin Yang Essence Qi was countless times better than other types of qi! It could transform freely between all types of qi! The Triple Mystery Polarity Art could allow a cultivator to switch between three pairs of qi, but it was far too lacking when compared to the Yin Yang Essence Qi. Shang Xia was a living example. With the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian, his qi had already started to transform! During the Origin Tide, Shang Xia stood in the middle of the lake. He experienced both extreme heat and frost, and he knew that his inner qi could easily transform into them! During the crucial moment when he was advancing, his inner qi also transformed to encompass the sun and moon in the sky! What Shang Xia was lacking wasn¡¯t a secret art. In a world where none of their concepts could align with his, Shang Xia decided that he had to gather enough insights to create one of his own! All he was missing was a stroke of inspiration! Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. Now, he found it! It was contained in the Triple Mystery Polarity Art he was holding¡­ ¡°Are you sure you wish to train in this technique?!¡± The deacon looked at the book Shang Xia handed him. ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Shang Xia nodded. Thinking for a moment, the deacon continued, ¡°You¡¯re a disciple of the institution and there are some things I will have to remind you of. Even though the contents of this book is novel, there are extreme risks associated with switching between different types of qi. Not many people dare to try, and the number who succeed are few and far between.¡± ¡°Many thanks for your reminder. This disciple has already thought it through.¡± Shang Xia replied. Once again, the deacon tried to change his mind. ¡°Are you sure? Have you consulted your elders about this?¡± The deacon of the Scripture Depository clearly knew Shang Xia¡¯s identity. That was also the reason why he was trying to make him rethink his choice. Shang Xia chuckled in amusement. ¡°I¡¯m sure!¡± Knowing that it was no longer his place to say otherwise, the deacon unsealed the book. The words that were blurry started to become readable again. Handing it over to Shang Xia, he didn¡¯t forget to add a reminder. ¡°This book is split into two different parts. You¡¯re holding the first part of the book and it should be enough for you. When you return to the institution, you can look for the second part there.¡± Thanking the deacon, Shang Xia seemed to have thought of something. Turning around, he asked, ¡°If someone not from the institution chose this secret art, what would you do?¡± The deacon smiled in response, ¡°I would strongly recommend it. If they manage to learn its contents, they wouldn¡¯t be able to continue anyway! They wouldn¡¯t be able to get their hands on the second part of the manual!¡± Shang Xia instantly knew the reason behind the institution''s actions. They were clearly trying to refine and improve on it and there was no better way than to use the lives of the wandering cultivators to do so! Those who chose the secret manual would become lab rats for the Tongyou Institution! Naturally, the institution wouldn¡¯t use their own students to conduct experiments. The wandering cultivators who chose the secret art wouldn¡¯t be so lucky. After all, they chose it¡­ Hold up¡­ Wouldn¡¯t that mean¡­ Did I become their new guinea pig?! Shang Xia widened his eyes slightly in surprise. He found it slightly amusing. Whatever the case, Shang Xia felt that the deacon¡¯s straightforward personality was something he admired. ¡°Disciple not only wants to select a suitable secret art, I also wish to look for a set of martial arts. Deacon, you¡¯ve been here for a long time and should be really knowledgeable. Can you recommend something to me?¡± The deacon was taken aback slightly, but whatever the case, it wasn¡¯t difficult for him to do so. ¡°There are countless martial arts suitable for those at the Martial Extremity Realm here. What requirements do you have?¡± ¡°A sword technique that can assist in my comprehension of the Triple Mystery Polarity Art.¡± Shang Xia replied after thinking for a moment. A chuckle left the deacon¡¯s lips, ¡°What do you know¡­ There actually is something like that.¡± ¡°Is it complete?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes lit up, but he was slightly confused. Turning towards the other platform, the deacon signaled for Shang Xia to follow him instead of replying. He brought out a scroll made from sheep¡¯s skin that was around a foot in length. ¡°This¡­¡± Confusion was visible on Shang Xia¡¯s face when he looked at the item. The deacon didn¡¯t bother explaining too much. Instead, he released the binding on the scroll and revealed the upper portion of the scroll. ¡°River Sword Policy¡­¡± Shang Xia read the words before turning to the deacon. ¡°Sword Policy?!¡± In the cultivation world, there was a simple saying. As long as a sword technique was merely called a Sword Method, it would rank at the very bottom. Like its name suggested, anyone would be able to train in it. Of course, the power they could unleash would be limited. Many people would call the moves flashy and lacking in substance¡­ Above that would be Sword Techniques. Sword Techniques required a cultivator to use their inner qi a certain way. The move unleashed like that would contain a lot of power! However, the cultivator had to ensure that there was no clash between their inner qi and the technique. Above that were Sword Policies. They appeared when cultivators started to comprehend sword intents. Cultivators who did would compile their experience and provide it as a Sword Policy to those after them. Above a Sword Policy was a Sword Scripture! The cultivation method recorded in it was much more complete, but the requirements were much harsher than usual! That was because there were dedicated techniques and martial arts related to the sword intent it referred to. The moment the inheritor started to comprehend the sword scripture, they would be able to receive techniques, cultivation methods, and the relevant secret arts. Their path would be set for them! Their road of cultivation would become extremely smooth with all the guidance they received. Shang Xia knew that there were rumors of a higher level, called Sword Laws, but that was merely theoretical. Of course, any mention of Sword Laws was closely monitored. It was said that there were several fanatics of the sword who were trying to create something like that in order to ¡®clear the path¡¯ for fellow sword cultivators. The gist of it started from the moment a cultivator started training. Their techniques, martial intent, and secret arts needed to contain the core of their practice, the sword. When they advanced to the Martial Extremity Realm and the Martial Intent Realm, they would deepen their understanding of the way of the sword with every step they took! From what it implied, they would toss away everything that had nothing to do with the sword! Even if they received another inheritance in the future, they would never be able to make any advancement in it! Of course, that was just in theory. Many people felt that it wasn¡¯t feasible. Despite that, many cultivators were affected by the idea of it. In the Scripture Depository, Shang Xia slowly calmed himself down and asked, ¡°Why is this called the River Sword Policy?¡± ¡°The sword art focuses on the two extremities, softness and strength. The Triple Mystery Polarity Art you chose also focuses on them too. The two of them should complement each other. The name probably came from one of the ideas the author had. You can try to comprehend this later. Anything I say now might affect your comprehension of the manual.¡± ¡°Coupling strength with softness¡­¡± The thought flashed through Shang Xia¡¯s mind, and he knew that that was the sword manual he was going to choose. CH 50 Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. The moment Shang Xia left the Scripture Depository, he saw an attendant of the Shang Pavilion sitting under a tree nearby. His eyes lit up the moment Shang Xia appeared and he approached, ¡°Young master, Master Quan sent me here to wait for you. He said that you have several disciples waiting for you back at the pavilion and he hopes you can return soon.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Shang Xis wasn¡¯t surprised. He walked towards the Shang Pavilion quickly and he asked along the way, ¡°Did Uncle Quan say the reason they were looking for me?¡± ¡°Nope¡­ However, they look a little panicky¡­¡± The attendant rushed to keep up with Shang Xia and replied. When Shang Xia returned to the Shang Pavilion, Jiao Haitang and the others had already refilled their cups twice. Shang Quan sat in the hall with them as they awaited Shang Xia¡¯s return. They stood to greet him the moment he stepped through the door. ¡°Senior Brother Shang!¡± ¡°Chief Shang!¡± Signaling for them to sit, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t even get the question out of his mouth before he was interrupted by Shang Quan. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll let you young ones talk. We caught two Nine Feather Phoenix Chicken the other day. I¡¯ll head over to the kitchen to oversee the preparations. Please stay for lunch.¡± After Shang Quan left, Jiao Haitang went straight to the point. They wanted Shang Xia to introduce them to some avenues to obtain precious herbs. Ever since they entered the Tongyou Peak, Jiao Haitang and the other students had been looking for students who were trying to advance. They had herbs they obtained from the carriages before, and even though they couldn¡¯t use it themselves, they could trade it with other disciples. After the incident with the supply convoy, the Four Spiritual Peak started to loom down on the Tongyou Peak. Many disciples were afraid that they would no longer be able to obtain useful herbs in the short term and adding on the fact that all of them were unwilling to leave their residence, basically no trades were taking place. No matter how precious the herbs Jiao Haitang and the others had, it was useless if they couldn¡¯t trade it for something they could use. If they really wished to force it, they would definitely be lowballed by other cultivators and receive a lot less than they were supposed to! To make things worse, the way they obtained their treasures was dubious to begin with! If they went to the higher ups to force a trade, many people would start asking questions on the origin of the treasures! They only thought of Shang Xia after looking around the entire peak for an avenue to sell their gods. They hoped that he would assist them in some way. ¡°Is there a need to rush things? Why don¡¯t you wait for the situation to settle down before trying to trade for the stuff you need? Now, even if you trade with my Shang Clan, you¡¯ll definitely be incurring a loss. Even though I can help you guys out to reduce your losses, the trades won¡¯t be in your favor!¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t agree immediately. However, a bitter smile formed on Jiao Haitang¡¯s face. ¡°Senior Brother Shang, did you forget that the experts of the patrol squads have already gone to retrieve the carriages?¡± Chuckling in embarrassment, Shang Xia seemed to have realized their worries. The carriages contained the records of all the supplies it contained, and it would be extremely easy to discover the missing treasures. Even though the members of the Azure Spiritual World would be the prime suspects, Shang Xia and the others wouldn¡¯t be overlooked either. No one could be sure that there was no one on the Tongyou Peak who noticed them when they were going around trying to trade in their treasures. The moment the Protection Division conducted a serious search, the outer disciples would be exposed instantly! After all, the herbs they had were precisely the ones that were missing from the carriages! When that happened, they couldn¡¯t argue even if they had ten mouths. Shang Xia finally noticed that the number of disciples from the third outer division who broke through to the Martial Realm was more than he expected. Previously there were three others who didn¡¯t gather enough herbs to enter the Martial Realm. However, there were five sitting in front of him right now! ¡°The two of them managed to claim some credit after going to the Contribution Division and they found a chemist to make their advancement medicines.¡± Jiao Haitang explained on their behalf. That would mean that the third outer division¡¯s strength increased once again. As such, there should be only three disciples who had yet to enter the Martial Realm before the school semester started! It was extremely possible that they would be able to set a record in the Tongyou Institution for the most number of students who broke through! Whatever the case, since all of them had come to him, he wouldn¡¯t turn away a chance for them to owe him a favor. Congratulating those who advanced, Shang Xia started to address the issue. ¡°Since all of us are fellow cultivators, I can help out a little. However, you should know that I don¡¯t call the shots in the Shang Clan. You¡¯ll have to negotiate for the stuff you need yourselves and all I can promise you is that the prices won¡¯t be too exaggerated!¡± Looks of joy formed on their faces as soon as the words left his lips. All of them knew that they had to get rid of the hot potatoes in their hands right now. The moment they traded the treasures and herbs for items to help them advance, things would get much better! The moment they entered the Martial Realm, their status would definitely increase. The consequences of the things they did might not cause them to be punished so severely! Due to the inflated prices on the Tongyou Peak, the outer disciples would be alright even if the Shang Clan were to rip them off a little. Anyway, the stuff they obtained was free! Shang Xia invited Shang Quan over and found an excuse to leave. Strolling around the Shang Pavilion, Shang Xia familiarized himself with the place before heading straight for the kitchen. He grabbed a slice of Nine Feather Phoenix Chicken and tossed it into his mouth. While waiting, he saw several attendants running around the place. They were bringing stuff in and out, and they were clearly moving the supplies owned by the Shang Clan on the Tongyou Peak. Looking around casually, Shang Xia placed another piece of meat into his mouth. It was a shame that it didn¡¯t really taste that good. The only saving factor was the soup. It provided great nourishment for cultivators, and after Shang Xia took a sip, he felt the inner qi in his body speeding up. The soup should be a type of medicine that could assist in cultivation, but they managed to infuse it into a dish. Shang Xia decided to annoy Shang Quan till he got the recipe after his uncle was done with the deals. His train of thought was broken by the din that came from the foot of the mountain. As there were many messengers who traveled around the various peaks, Shang Xia quickly learned of what happened. Victory! The Tongyou Peak was victorious! Tang Yuan, the head of the patrol squads, led five squads out to lay an ambush for the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World the night before. They managed to kill an expert in the Martial Intent Realm, three cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm. The other Martial Intent Realm cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World paid a heavy price, but eventually managed to escape. In return, a captain and a vice captain of their respective patrol squads gave up their lives. They were at the Martial Extremity Realm, and three other cultivators at the Martial Realm were killed by the enemy. The Tongyou Peak might have suffered one more casualty compared to the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World, but they managed to take down a Martial Intent Realm cultivator! Just that alone was more than enough to claim a huge victory. After the news of their victory started to spread, celebrations also went about when the news of four carriages being recovered entered the ears of the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak. With the amount of supplies found in them, they would be able to weather the tough days ahead! Shang Xia snorted in contempt when he heard the news. ¡°What the fuck! They only managed to kill four people after laying down an ambush. This granddaddy over here killed three of them alone! One of them was even at the Martial Extremity Realm!¡± ¡°Who would have thought that the Protection Division would be so damn corrupted¡­ They reported four carriages in total, but there were six in the valley! Humph¡­ Won¡¯t their conscience hurt from telling such lies¡­¡± Shang Xia pouted. However, he quickly realized that it was possible two carriages were destroyed during the battle. Whatever the case, the members of the Protection Division who escorted them back, along with the outer disciples, had already reported the total number of carriages left in the valley. There was no way for the patrol squads to steal anything. In fact, the destruction of two other carriages was good news for the members of the outer division! Shang Xia felt a commotion happening behind him, and he turned around only to be greeted by the sight of the outer disciples leaving the Shang Pavilion. From the looks on their faces, they seemed to have already obtained what they wanted from Shang Quan. The bustling sight around the mountain caused them to be slightly taken aback. ¡°What¡­ What¡¯s going on right now?¡± Huang Zihua asked. A trace of mischief flashed through his eyes and he quickly revealed everything he learned. The faces of Jiao Haitang and the others changed instantly. They bade their farewell before taking their leave. Even though Huang Zihua and Wang Hua had already entered the Martial Extremity Realm, they couldn¡¯t help but feel extremely pressured after hearing the news. Only after thinking about it for a moment, they calmed down. Of course, they didn¡¯t accept Shang Xia¡¯s invitation to stay for lunch. They might not be as worried as Jiao Haitang and the others, but they were still slightly afraid that they would get in trouble. Finding an excuse, they returned to their quarters. Not too long after they left, Shang Quan sauntered out from the Shang Pavilion. It seemed as though he had also received news of the great victory. ¡°Uncle Quan, I hope I didn¡¯t trouble you.¡± Shang Xia sighed. ¡°What do you mean? All of the herbs they wanted were rank one herbs. Our clan has more than enough of those. As for the other random supplies they wanted, we managed to profit from them too! Not to mention the fact that they¡¯ll owe us a favor after the deal is complete¡­ Where else am I supposed to find such a good deal?¡± Shang Quan chuckled. Heaving a sigh of relief, Shang Xia changed the topic. ¡°Uncle Quan, do you know any craftsman who can repair weapons?¡± Raising an eyebrow, Shang Quan asked, ¡°Our Shang Clan has someone capable of that on the Tongyou Peak. Which one of your weapon is damaged?¡± Shang Xia took out his Ivory Fan that was stained in blood and Shang Quan frowned after seeing it. ¡°I can get rid of the stuff on the fan, but if you wish to repair the spine of the fan, bring it over to our craftsman.¡± ¡°Oh right. I nearly forgot that Uncle Quan is a qualified ink master¡­¡± Shang Xia quickly kissed up to Shang Quan before handing over another pair of gloves. He pointed out the damage on it before mentioning, ¡°I won¡¯t be able to use this. Uncle Shang, you can just sell it away after repairing it.¡± Shang Quan inspected the item and raised an eyebrow in surprise, ¡°The quality of this is pretty good. Even though it¡¯s not a low-level weapon, it should contain some precious materials. This should be worth fifty silver essence or so¡­ If we can find someone who really wants the weapon, we might be able to get seventy silver essence for it.¡± Fifty silver essence was enough to buy precious herbs to create half a set of medicine required for one to enter the Martial Extremity Realm. ¡°Oh right. I have something else too¡­¡± Shang Xia spoke casually, and Shang Quan chuckled in amusement. However, the smile froze on his face when he saw the item Shang Xia brought out. CH 51 When Shang Xia retrieved the knives he obtained from Yan Ming, Shang Quan¡¯s eyes nearly popped out from their socket. ¡°Actual graded weapons?! A pair of them?!¡± Shang Xia gasped in fright. When he finally pulled himself back to reality, he looked around them. Ensuring that no one had noticed them, Shang Quan dragged Shang Xia back into the Shang Pavilion. ¡°Where did you get these?!¡± The moment they returned to the Shang Clan¡¯s territory, Shang Quan heaved a sigh of relief. His tone turned serious. Shang Xia was shocked by Shang Quan¡¯s sudden change in attitude, but he eventually revealed everything that happened with Yan Ming. After listening to the story, Shang Quan heaved a sigh of relief. However, he didn¡¯t fully relax. ¡°Even though the origin of these weapons is not a problem, but since they came from the Wind Swallow Race, they will definitely turn you into a target!¡± Shang Xia grimaced. He had already formed a grudge with them due to the problem with Yan Ming. Now, it seemed as though the grudge was only going to deepen. ¡°Is that really necessary? Isn¡¯t it just a pair of low-grade weapons?¡± Shang Xia asked. Of course, he didn¡¯t mean to brag. It was just that he had too many of them! Other than the Ivory Fan, he had the Delicate Jade River Sword! The sword was a mid-grade weapon, and he naturally didn¡¯t think that low-grade weapons were valuable. A snort left Shang Quan¡¯s lips. ¡°You¡¯re something else alright! Do you know what a low-grade weapon means to our Shang Clan?¡± Hesitating slightly, he finally realized that a low-grade weapon was much more valuable than it seemed. He probed, ¡°Do we not have a lot of them?¡± He was lucky that Shang Quan had been doing business and crossing paths with different types of people. His experiences allowed him to become a lot more mellow-tempered, but hearing what Shang Xia said, he snapped, ¡°What do you think?! Our Shang Clan has five graded weapons in total! Apparently, someone here is holding two of them!¡± ¡°Is that really true?¡± Shang Xia felt that his uncle was pranking him. ¡°The number of graded weapons we have aren¡¯t many to begin with. The quality isn¡¯t that good either. Out of the five of them, two of them are mid-grade weapons. The other three are low-grade ones.¡± Shang Xia stammered, ¡°This¡­ This can¡¯t be true¡­ My grandpa¡¯s Nine Firefly Lance is a high-grade weapon!¡± In a dispirited tone, Shang Quan explained. ¡°That doesn¡¯t belong to our clan. The Nine Firefly Lance belongs to the institution. As the deputy patriarch, he gained the authority to use it. The moment he loses his position, he will have to return the treasure.¡± Shang Xia nodded in enlightenment. He didn¡¯t think that that would be the case. Glancing at Shang Xia, Shang Quan continued, ¡°One of the mid-grade weapons is with Uncle Ke, and two low-grade weapons have been given to two experts at the Martial Extremity Realm. Even your aunt, Shang Xi, doesn¡¯t possess suitable weapons!¡± ¡°Then¡­ I have two of them!¡± Shang Xia suddenly realized that the weapons in his hands were getting a little hot. ¡°Do you finally realize how important the weapons are to our family?!¡± Shang Xia nodded hastily. He decided to hand his Ivory Fan and Delicate Jade River Sword back to the clan. However, he was met with a hearty chuckle from Shang Quan. ¡°There¡¯s no need for this. You can keep it for now. The moment you return them, you won¡¯t be able to show them off anymore.¡± Shang Xia thought about the time he flaunted his weapons back in the institution and his scalp went numb. ¡°?!¡± Shang Quan noticed the look on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he laughed, ¡°No one in the family uses these weapons. It remains in the vault most of the time and anyone can apply to use them. Do you really think we¡¯ll give them to you so you can strut your stuff in the institution?¡± Shang Xia came to a realization. His aunt, Shang Xi, grabbed the mid-grade sword from him several times. However, she always returned them after a few days. Shang Xia looked at the pair of knives and muttered, ¡°Uncle Quan, this¡­¡± Shang Quan looked at the chips on the blade and a smile appeared on his face. ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry. Our craftsman might not be good enough to create low-grade weapons, but repairing some damage isn¡¯t a problem. In fact, he will be more than happy to fix them!¡± ¡°Great¡­¡± A brilliant smile appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. After thinking for a moment, Shang Quan reminded Shang Xia, ¡°Our clan will provide the materials to repair the weapon. You can keep them after they are repaired. Since you¡¯re part of the clan, it can be considered a boost to our organization too.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Shang Xia grinned. ¡°Moreover, the knives came in a pair. The actual value of them doesn''t pale in comparison to a mid-grade weapon. Now, our clan will be able to close the gap between the other three¡­¡± Excitement bubbled in Shang Quan¡¯s heart. A question left Shang Xia¡¯s lips all of a sudden. ¡°Our Shang Clan is one of the four great clans of the Tongyou City. Is the difference between our families so obvious?¡± Shang Quan said bitterly, ¡°Brat, you were born after everything that happened. You have no idea how powerful the five great families before the calamity was. Now, three of the four great clans of the Tongyou City, the Ji, Liu, and the Yun Clan, come from the remnants of the five great families. We can only be considered a new upstart compared to them.¡± ¡°Even a skinny camel is larger than a horse¡­ The three other clans might not be as glorious as the five families of the past, but our Shang Clan can¡¯t compare to their hundreds of years of accumulation.¡± Shang Quan muttered. ¡°Just the high-grade weapon they possess shows it. The patriarchs of their families are also deputy patriarchs, but the weapons they hold come from their families.¡± Shang Quan¡¯s explanation gave Shang Xia a whole new understanding of his clan. He felt a sense of oppression like never before. Shang Quan could feel the change in Shang Xia¡¯s mood and he quickly comforted his nephew, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be too sad. Our strength has been rising the past few years, and we¡¯ve been slowly closing the distance between our clans. The pair of low-grade weapons you brought back today greatly shortened the difference between us. If anyone brings back another weapon in the future, we might just surpass them!¡± Shang Xia thought about it for a moment and his expression turned serious all of a sudden. ¡°Uncle Quan, do you really think that we can grow stronger than them with another low-grade weapon?¡± Shang Quan stared at Shang Xia in stunned silence and he muttered uncertainty, ¡°Perhaps? I don¡¯t know¡­¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Shang Xia nodded and took out his dagger he stuffed into his boots. ¡°What do you think about this dagger? It¡¯s called Origin Light and it¡¯s also a low-grade weapon!¡± ¡°...¡± Shang Quan¡¯s eyelids started to twitch violently and he felt his brain buzzing slightly. ¡­ Even though Shang Xia didn¡¯t interact too much with Shang Quan, he felt that his uncle was someone who was always calm and collected. When he thought about the terrified expression Shang Quan had on his face when he brought out three graded weapons, he chuckled in his heart. Shang Xia sat in a quiet room his uncle organized for him in the Shang Pavilion and the scent of incense filled the air. He thought back to the inheritance he obtained back in the Scripture Depository and ensuring that he recalled every word, he started to focus on the Triple Mystery Polarity Art. He pondered over every single sentence contained in the manual. At the same time, the inner qi in his dantian started to rotate around subconsciously. Due to the presence of the giant yin yang diagram, his dantian remained relatively stable as his inner qi moved about. After entering the Martial Extremity Realm, Shang Xia absorbed a ton of heaven and earth qi. They gathered in his dantian alongside his own inner qi and both types of qi were controlled by the giant yin yang diagram. If anyone else was in the same situation as him, they wouldn¡¯t dare to use their inner qi at all in fear that it would lose control and cause their dantian to explode. Of course, Shang Xia was the only exception. After entering the Martial Extremity Realm, he wasn¡¯t just cautious when using his inner qi. He even fought with others several times! After every battle he experienced, his foundations became a little more sturdy. From the start, Shang Xia knew that the Taiji Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian was the core of his strength. Martial arts, martial intent, and different techniques were only secondary when compared to the diagram. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. As such, Shang Xia didn¡¯t intend to look for a martial art that could allow him to control his inner qi! Nothing could come close to the usability of his yin yang diagram. One could even say that the moment the diagram appeared in his dantian, Shang Xia had already completed half the creation of his secret art. It was no ordinary secret art he was creating. As soon as he completed it, it would definitely be considered one at the high-grade level. The only thing he was lacking was a way to maximize the power when using his inner qi. That was the reason he chose the Triple Mystery Polarity Art. He was interested in the idea within, and when he infused it with his own secret art, he would complete it for real! ¡°If I start at the two extremities of water and fire¡­¡± Shang Xia thought to himself as the yin yang diagram started to spin. Water gushed around half of the diagram while fire burned strong on the other half. ¡°Water and Fire are the most basic of ways to enter the Martial Extremity Realm. Even though they look simple, the combination of the two are extremely stable. The reason the creator of this manual chose these two elements is probably because of the dangers behind the transformation of the different types of inner qi.¡± The diagram rotated slowly, and the heaven and earth qi stored in his dantian started to awaken. They poured towards the diagram and started spinning about with it. At the same time, the inner qi that was contained in his body gathered towards his dantian in one unstoppable wave. CH 52 In the Shang Pavilion, Shang Quan was speaking to a well-built man with a bearded face. There was a look of excitement on the bearded man¡¯s face, and his actions were extremely animated. It was as though he was on the verge of breaking out into a dance. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. Shang Quan nodded lightly at the side as he tried to calm the bearded man down. Finally realizing that he was a little over the top, the bearded man calmed himself as his face flushed with embarrassment. When he thought about the four weapons that Shang Quan was handing over to him to fix and customize, he soon lost control of his emotions again. After estimating the resources he would require from the Shang Clan to carry out the specifications, he requested for another batch of herbs from Shang Quan. Finally appeasing the craftsman of the Shang Clan, Shang Quan arranged for someone to send them tea. However, he felt a sudden fluctuation of energy coming from the room above. Shang Quan wasn¡¯t the only one who felt it. The bearded man raised an eyebrow suspiciously and looked upwards. Soon, their expressions changed. The heaven and earth qi in the surroundings started to move as they charged straight for the room at the very top! There seemed to be some sort of black hole up there sucking up all the heaven and earth qi. Now that the heaven and earth qi in the surrounding were absorbed by something at the top of the tower, more heaven and earth qi started to move to replenish it. They were lucky they were on the Tongyou Peak. The protection formation had the ability to regulate heaven and earth qi and it directed a whole lot of it towards the Shang Pavilion the moment an abnormality was detected. If they were in the wilderness, the sudden disappearance of so much heaven and earth qi would cause the surrounding to turn into a wasteland. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The bearded man asked as he got ready for battle. Suppressing the fright in his heart, Shang Quan forced a chuckled, ¡°It¡¯s nothing special, this is just an accident.¡± Before the bearded man could continue his line of questioning, Shang Quan interrupted him. ¡°I¡¯ll hand over the items you need as soon as possible. After you repair the knives and fan, grind away the insignia of the Hundred Profession Pavilion, I¡¯ll personally head over and beg my little sister to allow you to use the full accumulation of our treasury to create a graded weapon!¡± Shang Quan paused slightly, and he turned serious. ¡°It¡¯s time for our Shang Clan to nurture a master craftsman who can create graded weapons!¡± The bearded man¡¯s expression turned a lot more solemn when he heard what Shang Quan said. After sending the bearded man away, Shang Quan headed up to the highest floor of the Shang Pavilion. When he noticed Shang Xia still deep in seclusion, he left quietly. ¡­ In his cultivation room, Shang Xia gasped in fright. He didn¡¯t expect to create such a huge commotion when he circulated the Triple Mystery Polarity Art for the first time. ¡°I was too careless¡­ I didn¡¯t think that it would transform so much after I fused the secret art with the Yin Yang Diagram! Looks like my cultivation method will be completely different from what I imagined¡­¡± Shang Xia thought to himself. Ordinary cultivators would slowly work their way up with their newfound techniques, starting from scratch. When they started cultivating after entering the Martial Extremity Realm, they would start with a single element before going to the next one. In fact, they would try to reach a certain level of control over a single element before progressing. That could be considered to be at the small completion stage of a cultivator at the Martial Extremity Realm. When that was done, they would focus on the second element. When they finally controlled the second element as well as the first, they would achieve a new sense of balance. They would reach the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. Only then would a cultivator be able to touch on the entrance towards the Third Order of the Primary Realm, the Martial Intent Realm! Throughout the process, if one wanted to make their foundations a little more stable to increase their chances of breaking through, they would comprehend a martial intent. Supplementing their understanding over the elements they controlled, they would be able to reach the grand completion stage of controlling their elements. When cultivating, one could choose not to focus on one element. If they trained in both elements at the same time, they would need to ensure that their control over both elements was at the same level. The moment one element got out of control they would experience cultivation deviation instantly. As such, training in both elements was not feasible for a majority of cultivators! After all, one would meet special situations like the phenomenon with the dual suns in the sky. That would instantly cause one element to overpower the other! Moveover, if a cultivator had to focus on keeping both elements in check, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything else! As such, training one element at a time would be the way to go. There were even some of them who sealed off the other element in order not to receive any distractions when cultivating. Shang Xia¡¯s way of training was completely different from theirs. The Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian ensured that the elements were balanced at all times. Regardless of which element he trained in, the equilibrium wouldn¡¯t be broken. Or so to say, the training methods in the Azure Origin World weren''t suited for Shang Xia at all! There was no point in classifying him at different levels in the Martial Extremity Realm. Shang Xia could train however he liked! After circulating the Triple Mystery Polarity Art, the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian seemed to experience a transformation and he started to suck in heaven and earth qi frantically. During his cultivation session, he tried to transform the Yin Yang Essence Qi in his dantian into the fire and water element respectively. When he was done with one circulation, the fire and water qi returned back to the Yin Yang Essence Qi it had once been. Shang Xia rejoiced in his heart. With the method recorded in the manual, he started to change the form of the Yin Yang Essence Qi to the qi of strength and softness as recorded in the second part of the manual. In the Triple Mystery Polarity Art, the author mentioned that the second level would be much harder than the first. One would be putting their life on the line, and they needed to exercise extreme caution when doing so. However, Shang Xia was training in it recklessly! The initial stage of the Triple Mystery Polarity Art indicated the element of fire and ice. The second extremity was the difference of softness and strength. The final level was to harness the power of the void and reality. Fire and water, softness and strength, void and reality¡­ Those were the three mysteries! In the Scripture Depository of the Tongyou Peak, Shang Xia only managed to obtain the first volume of the Triple Mystery Polarity Art. He needed to return to the institution to obtain the second part. The second part volume would contain the transformation process to the void and reality. ¡°But¡­ Do I really need the method?¡± Shang Xia sneered when he noticed the inner qi in his body already had the properties of softness and strength. A third transformation process began immediately. As the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian started to turn blurry, half of it seemed as though it would disappear entirely. The other half slowly started to turn solid and it became so real that Shang Xia felt he could touch it. That was the third level of the Triple Mystery Polarity Art. From everything that happened, Shang Xia seemed to have fused the secret art into his own technique! Shang Xia could transform his qi however he wanted! He could even increase the types of qi he controlled after doing a little more research and understanding the different types of qi¡­ Feeling the change in his body, a sudden thought crossed Shang Xia¡¯s mind. The Second Order of the Primary Realm was called the Martial Extremity Realm now, but in the past, it used to be called the Extremity Realm! That seemed to be a more appropriate name for his cultivation level! Even though Shang Xia was young, his knowledge on the history of cultivation couldn¡¯t be doubted. Before the calamity happened, the martial world had so many classifications of cultivation levels that it was getting messy. Cultivators from different regions would have to exchange pointers in order to understand how strong the other party¡¯s cultivation actually was. There were too many hot headed cultivators in the past, and the contest could actually turn into an all out battle. Many lives were lost in the process. When the battlefield between two worlds appeared, the seniors of the Azure Origin World came together and fixed the terms of cultivation due to the pressure coming from the Azure Spiritual World. Only then did a unified term come about. From the Martial Realm, Martial Extremity Realm, Martial Intent Realm, the term of every cultivation realm was created twenty years ago. ¡°If they used the term Extremity Realm to classify this level, they won¡¯t be able to properly show off their strength¡­¡± Even though he was currently in a cultivation world, there wasn¡¯t anything they could brag about. As a person who transmigrated, Shang Xia would definitely compare the achievements of his own world to the one he was currently in¡­ ¡°¡®Martial Extremity Realm¡¯, ¡®Extremity Realm¡¯... None of their cultivation terms make sense!¡± Shang Xia ended his first training session just like that and before he left the room, he muttered to himself, ¡°Should I give my own realm a term of its own? I can probably call it ¡®Yin Yang Realm¡¯... Wait a minute, they probably wouldn¡¯t know what it means¡­¡± ¡°Maybe the term ¡®Heaven and Earth Realm¡¯ would be better¡­¡± CH 53 After leaving the room, Shang Xia wanted to head downstairs but a roaring laughter boomed in his ears. A grin slowly formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he raced downstairs only to be greeted by another stocky man. ¡°Seventh Uncle, why are you here?¡± The man was none other than Yan Qi. ¡°Young master!¡± Yan Qi laughed. ¡°The Tongyou City received news of your disappearance and the lady sent me over to look for you. The heavens help the worthy indeed¡­ Young master managed to return unharmed, and your cultivation also increased! I was delighted to hear the news!¡± Shang Quan added from the side, ¡°Little Qi here followed another patrol squad to look for you and the outer disciples. Luck didn¡¯t seem to be on his side. However, he managed to join the ambush on the Wind Swallow Race.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes lit up and he asked, ¡°Seventh Uncle, tell me what happened during the ambush! Did Tang Yuan really make his move?¡± Yan Qi¡¯s expression sank and he became extremely serious. ¡°Indeed¡­ Tang Yuan¡¯s cultivation had already reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm! One of the Martial Intent Realm cultivators on the Wind Swallow Race¡¯s side who was only at the large completion stage was caught off guard and seriously injured. His appearance in the battle instantly changed the tides in our favor.¡± ¡°However, the expert of the Wind Swallow Race was no pushover. After suffering his injury, he went all out and tried to injure Tang Yuan at the cost of his life. Just like that, he managed to crack our formation and give his companions a chance to escape. Because of his sacrifice, Tang Yuan chose to hold back in order to preserve the Tongyou Peak¡¯s fighting strength. The other Martial Intent Realm cultivator of the Wind Swallow Race charged out of our encirclement with several disciples¡­¡± ¡°Tang Yuan actually entered the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm!¡± Shang Quan frowned. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder he didn¡¯t appear even after all the commotion the raid caused. He didn¡¯t appear when Liu Jitang deployed away a large portion of the patrol squads¡­ He was probably trying to break through then! If he was sitting at his post, Liu Jitang wouldn¡¯t have been able to move so many personnel around as he liked¡­¡± Tang Yuan wasn¡¯t just the head of the patrol squads. He was also one of Ji Wenlong¡¯s capable generals. Now that he entered the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, the strength Ji Wenlong controlled would take a huge leap forward! Even though they suffered some backlash when the convoy was attacked, his breakthrough would definitely give the Protection Division a huge morale boost. With the victory they achieved against the Wind Swallow Race, Tang Yuan¡¯s reputation in the Tongyou Peak and institution would increase greatly! Even though the Tongyou Institution was the greatest power in the city controlling everything, the four clans under it were fighting with each other either in the dark or openly. The battle would sometimes stretch into the administration of the Tongyou Institution. Glancing at Shang Quan, Shang Xia could roughly guess that his uncle was slowly evaluating the strength of the four clans. The silence was broken by Yan Qi. ¡°During the final part of the battle, a sudden change occurred and experts of the Wind Swallow Race appeared outside our formation to assist those trapped. They killed two of our disciples and helped their companions escape¡­¡± Shang Xia¡¯s mind turned to Yan Ming who had hunted him down during the raid on the convoy. Even though Yan Qi didn¡¯t say anything about the people who appeared at the end, Shang Xia could practically confirm that it was her. Even though he was curious, Shang Xia knew that it wasn¡¯t time to ask Yan Qi such questions. He needed to verify something else. ¡°Seventh Uncle, was there anything unusual back in the clan before you came? Did anything happen in the city?¡± Shang Quan¡¯s train of thought was broken by Shang Xia¡¯s sudden question and he turned to look at the kid in shock. Yan Qi had no idea what Shang Xia referred to and he replied after some time. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be anything unusual. The lady panicked a little when she sent us out to look for you, but that was it¡­ As for the city¡­¡± Yan Qi paused for a second when he spoke up to that point. ¡°What happened to the city?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°They imposed martial law. The reason was because of the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World. Is that something unusual?¡± Yan Qi frowned. The city implementing martial law wasn¡¯t something new. Every time a huge event happened in the battlefield between two worlds, the city would enter a state of emergency. Even though it wasn¡¯t very often, it would still happen from time to time. It didn¡¯t happen too often due to the cultivators of the two worlds restraining themselves in recent years. When the battlefield between the two worlds just formed, the killing that happened caused rivers of blood to form. When that happened, Tongyou City implemented martial law once and it lasted an entire year! Shang Xia¡¯s expression turned serious and he continued, ¡°Seventh Uncle, how many cultivators did the clan send other than you?¡± An awkward expression formed on Yan Qi¡¯s face. ¡°Young master, please don¡¯t get mad¡­ The lady was placed in a difficult situation and a lot of our members were sent to protect the institution. We only managed to¡­¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression sank and he waved his hand hastily. ¡°You misunderstood. It was a simple question. I¡¯m not mad at anything¡­¡± Shang Quan looked outside and fell deep into thought. Yan Qi might not understand Shang Xia¡¯s thoughts, but Shang Quan was much sharper. ¡°Xia¡¯er, you seem to think that something happened in the city¡­ Is that it?¡± ¡°It will be great if it¡¯s just our city¡­¡± Shang Xia wasn¡¯t planning to explain further and he quickly changed the topic. ¡°Uncle Quan, it¡¯s been so long. Has there been no news on my fifth grandpa?¡± ¡°I sent a report to Uncle Ke previously. However, there hasn¡¯t been a reply¡­¡± Shang Quan hesitated slightly. ¡°Xia¡¯er, do you know what is going on?¡± Shang Xia forced himself to calm down before going through his thought process. ¡°I received some bad news and I was planning to verify it. However¡­¡± Shang Quan nodded his head to indicate his understanding. A bitter smile appeared on his face. ¡°Right now, the higher ups of the institution and the various families cannot be contacted. If not for Tang Yuan¡¯s appearance, I would have thought that all the Martial Intent Realm cultivators in the Tongyou Peak had disappeared.¡± Shang Xia sucked in a cold breath and sighed, ¡°Looks like we have no other choice. I have to look for Tang Yuan.¡± Turning to look at Shang Quan, Shang Xia asked, ¡°Uncle Quan, can you make an arrangement for me to meet him?¡± ¡°Leave it to me.¡± Shang Quan nodded. However, he hesitated slightly before saying, ¡°Is this really important? Will it affect our Shang Clan?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a matter of life and death¡­¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression sank. With his face turning pale, Shang Quan rushed out of the pavilion. ¡°I¡¯ll go right now.¡± ¡­ The location of the Patrol Hall was at the foot of the mountain. It took up a massive area and from afar, it looked like a massive stadium. ¡°Our Tongyou Peak placed the Patrol Hall at the foot of the mountain so that it¡¯ll be easy for them to head out. They wouldn¡¯t be able to fit on the peak either.¡± Shang Quan explained to Shang Xia. Since Shang Xia was in such a rush, Shang Quan brought him over directly. The two of them were stopped at the entrance, and Shang Quan bowed slightly and requested, ¡°I am Shang Quan of the Shang Pavilion and I need to meet Tang Yuan immediately.¡± His actions were humble and he looked like nothing more than a businessman. The guard at the entrance was no fool. He retrieved a letter Shang Quan handed over and he looked at Shang Xia standing behind him quietly. ¡°Manager Shang, please wait a moment. I¡¯ll relay your message.¡± Shang Xia muttered at the side, ¡°Looks like he¡¯s starting to put on airs now that he broke through¡­¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s only going to get worse.¡± Shang Quan whispered at the side. Nodding, Shang Xia agreed with what his uncle said. The guard who went into the Patrol Hall earlier ran out after some time and invited them in. ¡°Please enter. The head of our Patrol Hall, Master Tang Yuan, is ready to see you.¡± Shang Quan nodded slightly and entered the Patrol Hall. He wasn¡¯t unfamiliar with the place. After passing through a small passage, Shang Xia saw a group of disciples training in a field nearby. ¡°Shang Xia!¡± A voice rang through the air and a horse charged towards him. It stopped a foot away from Shang Xia, displaying the rider¡¯s amazing horsemanship. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± The rider removed his facepiece and stared at Shang Xia vigilantly. ¡°Zhang Jianfei? Did you enter the Protection Division too?¡± Shang Xia frowned. ¡°I need to meet with Master Tang Yuan immediately. I¡¯m too busy to mess around with you.¡± He turned away after speaking, but he was stopped by a yell. ¡°Hold it right there!¡± Zhang Jianfei leaped off his horse and charged towards Shang Xia instantly. Twisting his body around, Shang Xia sent a palm flying towards Zhang Jianfei. Unable to stop himself from rushing forward, Zhang Jianfei was pushed back by Shang Xia¡¯s sudden actions. After stabilizing himself, a trace of rage formed in his heart. ¡°You¡­¡± His expression changed abruptly as he felt another wave of energy traveling towards him. Snorting loudly, he circulated his inner qi hastily. Too bad it was useless as the wave of energy crashed into his body without the slightest bit of resistance. The power of softness and strength showed itself at that moment. He was sent flying by Shang Xia before he could react. Trying to crawl to his feet, he felt yet another wave rushing towards him. He could only roll on the ground in order to avoid the strikes. With grass and dirt all over his body, he looked extremely disheveled. With rage clouding his heart, he didn¡¯t notice his sorry appearance as he glared at Shang Xia. He didn¡¯t understand how he lost without the ability to fight back. When he was still stuck in a daze, Shang Xia was nowhere to be seen. Only his voice rang in Zhang Jianfei¡¯s ears. ¡°Since you joined the Protection Division, didn¡¯t Ju Hang tell you that I broke through to the Martial Extremity Realm?¡± It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°Martial Extremity Realm?! Is this the dao of softness and strength or void and reality?!¡± Zhang Jianfei spat, but anger filled his heart. ¡°Damn it! Ju Hang, no wonder you talked so much shit previously! You definitely lost to this brat and want me to experience the same fate!¡± CH 54 ¡°Is that your fellow outer disciple?¡± Shang Quan asked after they left. Shang Xia chuckled, ¡°Yeah. He was one of my opponents in the outer division.¡± ¡°Looks like you improved quite a bit. He couldn¡¯t even take a single strike from you!¡± Shang Quan muttered. Shang Xia laughed in response and a trace of contentment flashed in his eyes. As they chattered with each other, they quickly arrived at the main hall. Shang Quan sniggered under his breath when he saw that there wasn¡¯t a single guard at the entrance. However, he quickly suppressed his amusement. ¡°This is absolutely disgraceful! Are all of you stupid or something?! How dare you frame Junior Brother Yuan?! With your guts, are you going to slander me in the future?!¡± A roar rang through the air as the two of them approached the main hall. A soft cough followed by a weak response could be heard. ¡°Senior Brother Yuan, please calm down. They¡¯re too young and don''t think through their words¡­ Let¡¯s stop here. We have guests coming and it wouldn¡¯t be nice to embarrass ourselves in front of them.¡± Silence filled the air for some time, but a loud yell soon filled the air. ¡°Your position of vice captain is stripped and I¡¯ll dock half a year of your pay! Get out! Are you trying to embarrass yourself by staying here?¡± A sorry figure limped out of the hall and his expression changed when he saw Shang Quan and Shang Xia standing outside. He quickly scuttered away. Shang Xia could see that the person who was kicked out of the hall was Jiang Changyu who was throwing all sorts of accusations at him the other day. Looking at his sorry figure, Shang Xia tapped Shang Quan¡¯s shoulder and whispered, ¡°Uncle Shang, do you know what¡¯s going on?¡± When Shang Xia saw the shit-eating grin on Shang Quan¡¯s face, he understood everything¡­ When the two of them entered the hall, they saw a figure sitting in the main seat. He had a narrow forehead and large chin, and his nose was unusually big for his face. It was none other than the head of the patrol squads, Tang Yuan! Another middle aged expert was sitting on his right. From his robes, Shang Xia recognized that his position was comparable to Yuan Zilu. He was probably another deacon from the Protection Division. Several captains stood behind him and Shang Xia recognized three of them. Ji Sheng, Tang Youqian, and Yu Shenglong were people he had seen before. On Tang Yuan¡¯s left was a man who was coughing lightly. His complexion didn¡¯t look too good, and he was Yuan Zilu who held the experts of the Wind Swallow Race back during the raid. ¡°Haha, I wonder what wind managed to blow the great manager of the Shang Pavilion over to my humble hall! Your presence brings light to our tiny little Patrol Hall¡­ Please, take a seat!¡± Tang Yuan released a hearty laughter and he gestured for them to sit. Shang Quan might only be at the Martial Extremity Realm, but he was the person who held the authority of the Shang Clan when Shang Ke was absent. Since Shang Quan requested an audience, Tang Yuan should have greeted him at the entrance. Even if he didn''t, he should have stood up when greeting the man. From the looks of it, he wasn¡¯t showing Shang Quan much respect. Of course, Shang Quan turned a blind eye to his actions. He looked for a random seat in the hall and laughed, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare to receive your compliment! I¡¯m here because my nephew wishes to meet Master Tang Yuan.¡± After he spoke, he greeted Yuan Zilu before drinking his tea nonchalantly. He threw Shang Xia over to do whatever he wanted. ¡°Oh?¡± The smile on Tang Yuan¡¯s face started to fade as he got comfortable in his chair. He looked at Shang Xia and sighed, ¡°Alright, speak your mind. I¡¯m a little tired from the battle against the members of the Azure Spiritual World.¡± As if on cue, he released a long yawn to show that Shang Xia was interrupting his rest. Cupping his fist, Shang Xia asked, ¡°I wonder if Master Tang Yuan can contact Deputy Patriarch Ji. This junior has something serious to report!¡± ¡°Heh¡­¡± Tang Yuan seemed to have heard the greatest joke of his life and he snorted, ¡°Looks like this old man is merely a messenger in your eyes¡­ What¡¯s so serious that you can¡¯t tell me?¡± Shang Xia replied, ¡°Indeed¡­ The matter is extremely serious. I hope that Master Tang Yuan will listen to my request.¡± Tang Yuan finally snapped. He sneered in contempt, ¡°Deputy Patriarch Ji is busy defending the Tongyou Peak! Do you really think you can disturb him with any little request you want?! Hmph. I don¡¯t even know what you have to say to him¡­ How am I supposed to request for an audience with him?! Even if you¡¯re someone from the Shang Clan, you can¡¯t do as you wish here!¡± The corners of Shang Xia¡¯s lips curled upwards and a trace of amusement flashed in his eyes. An ¡®awkward¡¯ expression soon appeared on his face and he sighed, ¡°Does Master Tang Yuan really wish to know? I haven¡¯t even told Uncle Quan what happened¡­ Can I really say it in front of everyone here?¡± He swept his gaze across everyone in the hall with a worried look on his face. It was as though they were not fit to listen to what was going to come out of his mouth. Snorts left the lips of the various captains and those in the hall. ¡°Alright¡­ I¡¯ll really say it¡­¡± ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Tang Yuan¡¯s second in command couldn¡¯t control his laughter and neither could the captains behind him. All of them revealed mocking expressions while looking at Shang Xia. ¡°The Rose Party sent the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World a secret report that our patriarch, Kou Chongxue, is seriously injured and missing!¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t speak too quickly. He looked at everyone in the hall with a mysterious expression on his face. Even so, his words were like a massive storm that swept through the hearts of those present. As for Tang Yuan, he realized that things were going south the moment he heard the name ¡®Rose Party¡¯. When he heard the words ¡®secret report¡¯, he grabbed his armrests to get up, but he crushed them into dust in a fit of anxiety. As his body shook unsteadily, the greatest bomb was released. Tang Yuan leaped to his feet with all his might as the chair he was sitting on crumbled to dust. When Yuan Zilu heard the news, his already weak body trembled violently and the cup in his hand crashed into the ground. ¡°Pui!¡± Shang Quan spat out the tea in his mouth. He didn¡¯t expect Shang Xia to actually say something like that. The captains and deacon sitting opposite him were completely dumbstruck. ¡°Preposterous!¡± Tang Yuan roared as he released his aura completely. The strength of a cultivator at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm was on full display as a formless pressure came crashing down on Shang Xia. ¡°How dare you spread rumors like that?! Do you think this is something you can joke about as you please?¡± Shang Quan yelled at Shang Xia all of a sudden, but his figure appeared in front of his nephew as he resisted the pressure coming from Tang Yuan. His face turned pale, but he stood his ground. The captains and deacon came back to reality and started to yell at Shang Xia in unison. With Tang Yuan¡¯s aura crushing him, Shang Xia found it hard to speak. For an expert at the Martial Intent Realm, they could suppress cultivators weaker than them with their divine sense alone! If ordinary cultivators at the Martial Intent Realm could do that, there was no need to speak for Tang Yuan who was at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. He was an existence who was headed towards the Fourth Order of the Primary Realm! Luckily for Shang Xia, Shang Quan came over to share the pressure with him. As the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian rotated violently, it started to grind away at the pressure crushing him. He only managed to speak after some time. Shang Xia might be a cultivator who just broke through to the Martial Extremity Realm and his words didn¡¯t carry much weight, but Tang Yuan knew what he was saying was the truth. There was no way he could have made it up. After all, even Martial Intent Realm cultivators in the Tongyou Peak might not have heard of the name ¡®Rose Party¡¯ before. There was no way in hell Shang Xia would know about them unless he heard some reliable news. As the head of the patrol squads, Tang Yuan was considered part of the upper echelons of the Tongyou Peak even if he wasn¡¯t considered to be the core of the organization. Everything that was going on seemed to back Shang Xia¡¯s words up. That was exactly the reason he didn¡¯t wish for Shang Xia to continue talking. The rage he was displaying was merely a facade to hide the panic brewing in his heart. If what he said was true¡­ This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Tang Yuan didn¡¯t dare to imagine what would happen next! When he released his aura to pressure Shang Xia, he expected Shang Quan to interfere. Even so, he had half a mind to punish the uncle and nephew pair. However, something unexpected happened. He discovered that Shang Xia¡¯s inner qi was flowing a little strangely. Not only could it grind away his aura, it was using the pressure to strengthen his will! It might seem minuscule, but he could feel his martial intent slowly disappearing. There was definitely something weird about the brat! The thought flashed through his mind, but he was interrupted by a soft voice. ¡°Master Tang, if I were you, I¡¯ll report this immediately! Regardless of the validity of the news, you no longer have the authority to suppress it.¡± Shang Xia spat word by word. Shang Quan stared at him incredulously, but he couldn¡¯t utter a single word. ¡°You¡­¡± Tang Yuan was raging in his heart, but he knew that whatever Shang Xia said was true. Regardless of whether what Shang Xia said was a rumor, it was out of his reach. He could only swallow his unhappiness. ¡°No one in this hall is allowed to leave!¡± Understanding the severity of the situation, Tang Yuan locked down the place instantly. The deacon sitting on his right snapped back to reality. Even though he was extremely flustered, he knew how serious things were. He glared at Shang Xia and snapped, ¡°Who else knows about this?!¡± CH 55 ¡°Who else knows about this?!¡± As Tang Yuan dispersed his aura, the entire hall fell silent. Shang Xia chuckled lightly and shrugged, ¡°Every single outer disciple from the third division heard about this back in the valley.¡± Seeing Tang Yuan¡¯s face turn green, Shang Xia continued, ¡°Calm down. I have long since told them to keep the news to themselves. They know how serious the implications are. If any of them wanted to spread the rumor, they would have long since done so.¡± Tang Yuan stared sternly at Shang Xia and he swept his gaze across everyone present. ¡°I¡¯ll look for Deputy Patriarch Ji right now. Before I return, anyone who tries to leave the hall will be a traitor of the Tongyou Peak and will be punished with death!¡± Shang Xia knew that if Kou Chongxue was really injured, the higher ups of the Tongyou Institution would definitely be in the loop. One couldn¡¯t be sure that Tang Yuan¡¯s hysteria was due to Shang Xia¡¯s revelation. He might be afraid that the news was actually leaked to the outside world! Shang Xia knowing about it wasn¡¯t terrifying. But from what he said, he learned the news from the members of the Azure Spiritual World. What would that mean?! That meant that there was definitely a traitor in the institution! Moreover, the traitor¡¯s position in the institution wasn¡¯t low. There was no way he would be able to come into contact with such sensitive news otherwise. As the pillar of support of the You Continent, if the Tongyou Institution was in trouble, there was no way the Four Spiritual Peak would remain quiet. One had to know that the Tongyou Peak was in a precarious situation. All of them thought that it was because of the lack of manpower due to Liu Jitang¡¯s departure, but if that wasn¡¯t the real reason, the situation might be worse than they thought. If the members of the Azure Spiritual World attacked in order to verify their intelligence, the Tongyou Peak would be in true danger. This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. If they failed to assess the situation properly, the results would be catastrophic. Now that Shang Xia reported the news to Tang Yuan that the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World might be aware of Kou Chongxue¡¯s injury, the situation had to be reassessed by the higher ups immediately! In the past, they had been taking precautionary measures to deal with Liu Jitang¡¯s departure. From what it seemed, they might have fallen into their opponent¡¯s trap! That was the true reason behind Tang Yuan¡¯s panic. The moment he left, the entire hall sank into an uneasy silence. The gaze of everyone present was concentrated on one man, Shang Xia. As the person of interest, Shang Xia didn¡¯t really care too much. He simply sat down and turned to the other deacon. ¡°How can I address you, teacher?¡± As long as he wasn¡¯t talking to a fellow student, it was never wrong to call them a teacher. The deacon chuckled unnaturally. ¡°You can call me Sang Youqi¡­¡± ¡°Instructor Sang¡­ Glad to meet you!¡± Shang Xia heard that there were three deacons of the patrol hall, and he finally met one of them. Shang Xia thought back to when Shang Quan told him about Liu Jitang deploying the patrol squads in Tang Yuan¡¯s absence and he couldn¡¯t help to think that the other two deacons were brought away by him. Shang Xia nodded slightly and he turned to whisper to Shang Quan, ¡°Uncle Quan, what is the Rose Party exactly? They seem to be some group of people who like to admire flowers from the name of their organization¡­¡± ¡°Ahem!¡± Yuan Zilu coughed softly and Shang Quan turned to look at him. Glancing at Deacon Sang, Shang Quan observed the various captains behind him. ¡°Since we have reached this point, there is no need to keep any more secrets. They¡¯ll know soon anyway.¡± It was clear he was talking to Yuan Zilu and Sang Youqi. As they didn¡¯t respond, Shang Quan knew that they had given their consent. ¡°All of you might not know about the Rose Party, but you should have heard of the Evil Remnants of the five great families.¡± The expression on several captains¡¯ faces changed. ¡°Evil Remnants? Are they the traitors of the five great families of the past? Shang Xia asked. When Shang Quan was about to explain, his expression stiffened as he turned to look at the entrance of the hall. A terrifying pressure surrounded the hall as everyone felt their bodies growing numb. ¡°Indeed¡­ The Evil Remnants refer to the traitors of our continents. They come from different families and clans that stood tall in the past¡­¡± A tall figure strode into the hall and his hair was combed back in a slick fashion. His hands were clasped behind his back as he approached the main seat. He emitted a dignified air, and from the moment he entered, he caught their attention. Everyone looked at him as they seemed to ignore the existence of the group of cultivators behind him. The person who appeared was the strongest deputy patriarch of the Tongyou Institution, and his strength was second only to Kou Chongxue! Deputy Patriarch Ji Wenlong strode quickly towards the main seat. By the time he arrived, a new chair had been prepared for him. A wave of energy swept through the hall after he sat down, causing everyone to break out of their trance. Shang Xia and the others finally noticed that there were several other cultivators behind him. All of them were heavyweight figures in the Tongyou Institution, and Tang Yuan was only qualified to walk at the very back. Those seated in the hall quickly got up. Shang Quan and Shang Xia turned to look at a bearded elder who entered with Ji Wenlong. ¡°Uncle Ke!¡± ¡°Fifth grandpa!¡± The two of them greeted in unison. The elder nodded slightly in response before sitting on the first seat on Ji Wenlong¡¯s right. Shang Xia and Shang Quan headed over and stood behind him respectfully. When everyone got to their seats, Shang Xia looked around and fell deep into thought. All of a sudden, Shang Xia felt a piercing gaze on him. In the hall, no one dared to release their aura. Neither did anyone dare to suppress him with their divine sense. Even so, Shang Xia felt an undeniable pressure pushing down on him. It was countless times more terrifying than what Tang Yuan did earlier. Shang Ke waved his hand casually and sighed, ¡°This junior of mine was too rash. Let¡¯s not trouble a kid¡­¡± The pressure dissipated in an instant and Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief. However, Shang Ke turned his head the next instant and chided Shang Xia, ¡°Brat, you alarmed so many people¡­ What are you waiting for? Hurry up and spill what you heard. If you dare to hide anything else, our Shang Clan won¡¯t be able to protect you.¡± Shang Xia hiccuped and he repeated everything he heard from the cultivators of the Wind Swallow Race. Even though many of them had prepared themselves, it was a different feeling when they heard the words come out of Shang Xia¡¯s mouth. Only after a long time did laughter break the silence. A middle aged man sitting beside Shang Ke said, ¡°Since the cultivators were easily killed by Little Shang Xia over here, they have to be ordinary cultivators. Can¡¯t you tell from their names? They don¡¯t even share the proper family name of the Wind Swallow Race, ¡®Yan¡¯! How can they know anything? They might¡­¡± ¡°Enough! Stop lying to yourself!¡± Ji Wenlong snapped, causing an awkward expression to appear on the man¡¯s face. Shang Quan whispered to Shang Xia, ¡°That man is called Ji Min and he¡¯s a Martial Intent Realm expert of the Ji Family¡­¡± Shang Xia nodded and he heard someone else asking cautiously, ¡°Deputy Patriarch Ji, is Patriarch Kou really¡­ Really injured?¡± Everyone turned to look at Ji Wenlong in an instant. That was the true question plaguing their hearts. Shang Quan took the chance to mutter into Shang Xia¡¯s ear, ¡°That¡¯s Deacon Zhao Yang of the Scripture Depository.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen him before.¡± As the core figure of Tongyou City, Ji Wenlong was the only one who had the authority to say anything about the matter. Without any fluctuations in his expression, Ji Wenlong muttered indifferently, ¡°There¡¯s no need for any of you to know this.¡± The faces of many people in the hall changed. However, Ji Wenlong turned his gaze to the four people sitting beside him before anyone else could say anything. ¡°Has there been any news from the Outreach Division? When will Qian Sitong be back?¡± ¡°That¡¯s Deacon Li Zengyu of the Outreach Division. Qian Sitong is his superior.¡± Shang Quan added, ¡°Qian Sitong left with Liu Jitang previously.¡± Shang Xia might not recognize the man, but he had long since heard of Qian Sitong¡¯s great name. Facing Ji Wenlong¡¯s questioning, Li Zengyu was clearly flustered. He got to his feet and apologized, ¡°Other than the news of Tongyou City¡¯s lockdown, we received nothing out of the ordinary¡­ Also¡­ We¡­ We can¡¯t seem to contact Chief Qian¡­¡± Ji Wenlong stared at the rest and asked, ¡°Alright, since we are all here, update me on everything that happened. Now is not the time to keep any secrets.¡± After a short silence, someone stood up and spoke. ¡°I¡¯ll start. Please feel free to correct me if I¡¯m wrong. First, I would like to talk about the situation at hand.¡± ¡°If things are really as Shang Xia had said and Patriarch Kou suffered serious injuries, the Rose Party will definitely join hands with the Four Spiritual Peak. We will be in a precarious situation when that happens. If the Rose Party makes their move, Tongyou City will be thrown into chaos. We won¡¯t be able to receive any reinforcements from the institution when that happens. Next, Deputy Patriarch Liu left with a huge portion of our strength. We have a serious gap in our defenses right now, and even though Deputy Patriarch Ji came to hold the fort, we¡¯ll be in trouble if the Four Spiritual Peak launches an offensive. If we fail to receive support from the institution¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t help but shake his head silently after speaking up to that point. CH 56 Due to Liu Jitang¡¯s sudden departure and the change in the situation, Ji Wenlong only brought along Yuan Zhen, one of the heads of the Protective Division. He was also the one analyzing the situation on the Tongyou Peak at the moment. ¡°As such, I am extremely unsure if we can succeed in protecting the Tongyou Peak!¡± Yuan Zhen shook his head while forcing a smile. ¡°Of course, this is just my view on the matter. Feel free to bring up your thoughts.¡± ¡°So what do you propose?¡± Shang Ke asked all of a sudden. Sucking in a cold breath, Yuan Zhen¡¯s voice sank. ¡°We give up on the Tongyou Peak and return to protect the city. We¡¯ll fight out way back in the future!¡± ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Yuan Zilu roared while disregarding his injury. ¡°Even though this is a serious matter, it¡¯s not completely hopeless. Deputy Patriarch Liu might come back at any time and our defenses will increase significantly. With the protection formation, we can defend ourselves against the Four Spiritual Peak!¡± Yuan Zhen sighed, ¡°Brother Yuan, you¡¯ve been resting all this while and you have no idea what we¡¯ve been doing. Deputy Patriarch Ji brought us out to fight experts outside the Tongyou Peak the past few days in order to restrain the experts of the Four Spiritual Peak. Our plan was also to raise such a huge commotion to catch Deputy Patriarch Liu¡¯s attention. We sent out multiple squads to look for him, but we received nothing in return.¡± Yuan Zilu sighed softly, ¡°The Tongyou Peak was built using twenty years of hard work! So many fellow disciples have left their lives here¡­¡± Yuan Zhen shook his head in response, ¡°Of course I know that¡­ But¡­¡± Everyone looked at Ji Wenlong, waiting for the final decision. A low voice left Ji Wenlong¡¯s mouth. ¡°We cannot give up on the Tongyou Peak so easily.¡± Shang Ke nodded. ¡°Forsaking the Tongyou Peak would mean that we would give up on the battlefield between two worlds. We would fall into a passive state for the foreseeable future.¡± As a member of the Ji Family, Ji Min wouldn¡¯t go against Ji Wenlong. He declared solemnly, ¡°We can only choose to battle to the death!¡± Yun Yishu, a member of the Yun Family, proclaimed, ¡°My Yun Family will follow everyone into battle!¡± Since three of the four great clans had already spoken, there was no longer anything else to say. Seeing as the outcome had been decided, Yuan Zhen continued, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll have to make preparations to fight to the death. Let¡¯s hope Deputy Patriarch Liu will be able to return in time!¡± As soon as the words left his lips, a question that remained on everyone¡¯s mind rang through the air. ¡°Why did Deputy Patriarch Liu leave the Tongyou Peak anyway?¡± Deacon Zhao Yang¡¯s question was like a bucket of cold water that rained over their heads. A mocking smile appeared on Zhao Yang¡¯s face. ¡°Wait¡­ Am I the only one who doesn¡¯t know?¡± Li Zengyu looked at him and opened his mouth, but he eventually swallowed his words. Shang Xia wanted to pipe in, but a thought flashed through his head. Could he be looking for traces of the Zhu Family?! From the looks of their faces, it seemed that many of them knew. Only experts like Zhao Yang who would mind their own business most of the time would be kept in the dark. Ji Wenlong was evidently not planning to go deeper into the topic. He looked at the person sitting on his right who hadn¡¯t spoken a word since the start and he spoke respectfully, ¡°I wonder how Brother Shang views the matter?¡± He wasn¡¯t from the Shang Family and he was the head of the Contribution Division. He was called Shang Bing, and he was from the same generation as Ji Wenlong and Shang Ke. Ever since he entered the hall, he hadn¡¯t said a word as though nothing was related to him. Hearing Ji Wenlong¡¯s question, Shang Bing slowly opened his eyes and a sharp light flashed through them. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about this for a while and I thought of a problem.¡± After pausing the second, he pointed at Shang Xia and said, ¡°From what he said, the Rose Party not only revealed the fact that Patriarch Kou was injured. They seem to be trying to form an alliance with the Four Spiritual Peak. If they only plan on revealing the information, they would be able to do it with any single spy. However, they revealed themselves to the Four Spiritual Peak. In order to coordinate their actions, the upper echelons of both sides would have to meet.¡± ¡°There¡¯s the problem. Where and when will they meet?¡± Shang Bing¡¯s words cleared their minds instantly. Yun Yishu slapped his thighs and yelled, ¡°That¡¯s right! If the two of them want to meet, the Rose Party will have to enter the battlefield between two worlds! Otherwise, the experts of the Azure Spiritual World would have to enter our Azure Origin World!¡± ¡°Those who can participate in the meeting have to be in the Fourth Order of the Primary Realm. It¡¯s not possible for experts like that to avoid detection when entering or leaving the battlefield between two worlds¡­¡± Yun Yishu¡¯s voice became smaller and smaller as he spoke. Eventually, he didn¡¯t dare to continue. From what he was implying, the Tongyou Institution definitely had a traitor in their midst! He could even be implying that Liu Jitang, who had left the Tongyou Peak, was part of the Evil Remnants! Ji Wenlong broke the silence eventually. His voice was steady and the words that came out of his mouth next were unquestionable. ¡°Liu Jitang is no traitor.¡± Even though his words disproved everything that they were talking about earlier, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Shang Bing had long since expected Ji Wenlong to say that and he nodded slowly. ¡°Alright, it doesn¡¯t matter whose side we¡¯re talking about. No Martial Extermination Realm expert would be able to meet under our noses. That rules out the Tongyou Institution and the area we control. There¡¯s only a single possibility left.¡± Shang Bing looked at the important figures of the Tongyou Institution and spat, ¡°Another passage between our Azure Origin World and the battlefield opened up and we have no idea where it is.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible!¡± Li Zengyu was the first to oppose him. ¡°If a second connection appeared, there would definitely be a sign in the You Continent! Our Outreach Division would have caught wind of it!¡± Shang Bing looked at Li Zengyu and muttered, ¡°What if it¡¯s just a passage that allows one to enter but not leave?¡± Before Li Zengyu could respond, Shang Bing explained, ¡°If that were to happen, the sign would only appear in the battlefield between two worlds! It might even bring about a small-scale Origin Tide!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s face changed and he stared at Shang Bing. ¡°No one would be able to discover any abnormality unless they are close to it. Since Liu Jitang¡¯s departure, our strength has greatly reduced. Our control over our territory weakened and we might have missed it.¡± A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. Tang Yuan, who hadn¡¯t said a word since the appearance of the higher ups, couldn¡¯t help but speak. ¡°Even though this is extremely reasonable, the existence of a passage is questionable. The Rose Party doesn¡¯t have the ability to create a passage of their own. Otherwise, why wouldn¡¯t they try in the past twenty years?¡± Shang Bing looked at Ji Wenlong and fell silent. Ji Wenlong seemed to be thinking carefully about his next words. However, a saw a tiny arm shooting into the skies all of a sudden. Ji Wenlong wasn¡¯t the only one who was surprised. Everyone in the hall turned to look at him. Shang Xia lowered his hand and sighed, ¡°It really is possible for such a passage to appear.¡± Silence descended on the lands. ¡°Ridiculous!¡± Shang Ke slapped the table by his side and yelled in apparent anger, ¡°Brat, why did you keep something so serious from us?! Spit it all out!¡± Shang Xia wanted to cry out in indignation. How was he to know that the Origin Tide was a serious event?! He didn¡¯t hesitate as he told them about the Origin Tide he experienced. Of course, he casually left out the part where he broke through. He didn''t think that someone would actually make a conjecture based on his story. Shang Bing sighed, ¡°Looks like my guesses were true¡­¡± Yuan Zilu added, ¡°From the looks of it, the appearance of the Wind Swallow Race had something to do with the Rose Party!¡± Tang Yuan didn¡¯t expect the proof to come so quickly. When he thought about how many times he was questioned and accused by the Contribution Division because of the raid, Tang Yuan¡¯s impression on Shang Bing fell again. However, he had to say something now that they proved him wrong. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, the actions of those from the Wind Swallow Race make sense. They didn¡¯t leave even after robbing us. Could they be there to welcome the members of the Rose Party?¡± Shang Xia coughed lightly, ¡°The reason they chose to stay was to attract your attention. Also, they were waiting for someone with a pure bloodline to return to their side¡­¡± CH 57 ¡°Looks like a massive battle is about to break loose¡­ I wonder how many people will live after this war¡­¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself. In the hall, countless battle plans were thrown out and they eventually decided on the entire course they were going to take. A huge battle loomed over their heads. Contrary to the oppression Shang Xia should be feeling, he felt a trace of excitement bubbling in his heart. After he gave them the intel on the Origin Tide, the upper echelons of the Tongyou Institution quickly predicted the actions the Four Spiritual Peak and Rose Party were going to take. Even without Liu Jitang and the men he brought away, those in the hall felt as though their chances of winning had increased. No one spoke about abandoning the Tongyou Peak any longer. Now that everyone was of one mind to charge straight into battle, the undercurrents that were brewing around the Tongyou Peak stopped instantly. Every single individual of importance left the main hall of the Patrol Hall and started their preparations. Countless pieces of information flew out of the Tongyou Peak. Many reports and orders were thrown out in a hurry. Seeing as nothing would concern him at the moment, Shang Xia decided to return to the Shang Pavilion to continue his cultivation. Even though the battle could break out at any time, Shang Xia felt that any amount of strength he could accumulate would prove to be invaluable. Since he just entered the Martial Extremity Realm, it was time for him to increase his strength as much as possible! Especially since he just started training in his secret art. He didn¡¯t wish to waste a single second! A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. Who would have thought that before Shang Xia could return, Shang Quan would appear to drag him back to the Patrol Hall. By the time he returned, most of the people had already left. The only ones left were Ji Wenlong, Shang Ke, Ji Min, Yun Yishu, and Shang Bing. ¡°Kid, I heard that you managed to capture a live Mutated Rain Swallow. Why don¡¯t you bring it out for us to see? Are you afraid that it will run away?¡± Shang Bing spoke the moment he arrived. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know how to react. Out of those present, Shang Bing was known to be an extremely serious man. No one had seen him joke around with an ordinary disciple before. Shang Ke beckoned Shang Xia over and said seriously, ¡°You managed to tame the Mutated Rain Swallow but you allowed it to run free all this while. Are you sure it will still listen to you? The bird is extremely crucial to our future plans. I hope you don¡¯t let us down at the critical moment¡­ This concerns the safety of our Tongyou Peak¡­¡± Shang Xia stared at them in silence, but a smile soon formed on his face. ¡°Of course it does!¡± Shang Ke looked at Ji Wenlong and nodded slightly. Receiving the confirmation, Ji Wenlong said, ¡°Ji Min, you should stay here and start our battle preparations. Shang Ke, Brother Shang Bing, Little Yun, let¡¯s go see the kid¡¯s pet.¡± ¡­ The Four Spiritual Peak was located thousands of miles away from the Tongyou Peak, and it was made up of four mountains. It was the location where experts of the Azure Spiritual Race gathered in the battlefield between two worlds. This time, Ji Wenlong and the others went straight towards the steepest of the four peaks, the Spiritual Swallow Peak. The distance between the peaks could be crossed by Ji Wenlong in a mere hour. After all, he was able to travel through the air by manipulating the qi in the air. As for Shang Ke and the others who were at the Martial Realm, they could probably arrive in slightly more than two hours. Due to the fact that they had to bring the kid who had barely broken through to the Martial Extremity Realm, they took four whole hours before arriving. The only reason they moved so quickly was because Shang Ke taught Shang Xia a movement technique along the way, the Irregular Steps! Otherwise, they would have to waste more time waiting for Shang Xia to move at his own pace! Shang Xia¡¯s desire to learn a movement technique had already been ignited when he was hunted down by Yan Ming the other time. In the Scripture Depository, he wanted to look for a suitable one but he felt that they were far too lacking compared to the Shang Clan¡¯s Irregular Steps! The movement techniques available to the general population of cultivators were either focused on close combat battles or traveling far distances. Only rarely would one find movement techniques that did both. Of course, focusing on both would mean that they couldn¡¯t bring out the benefits of either side fully. The Irregular Steps was praised by Kou Chongxue to be the second best movement technique in Tongyou City! It only lost to the Yun Family¡¯s Delicate Cloud Steps. His evaluation was enough to prove the technique¡¯s worth. Due to the fact that the Irregular Steps focused on speed, it was the only aspect that was better than the Yun Family¡¯s Delicate Cloud Steps. With Shang Ke¡¯s teaching and experts at the level of Yun Yishu and Shang Bing giving Shang Xia pointers at the side,, he managed to learn it extremely quickly. His speed increased visibly, reducing the burden he brought to the rest. Naturally, Shang Xia only managed to gain a preliminary understanding of the Irregular Steps. He had to practice a lot more in the future. Ever since Shang Xia entered the Martial Realm, he hadn¡¯t truly cultivated a technique that belonged solely to the Shang Clan. Now that he was imparted the Irregular Steps, it was the first inheritance technique he received. As they approached the Four Spiritual Peak, the five of them started to withdraw their aura as they selected the most complicated of terrain. They needed to avoid detection at all costs. In the last fifty miles, Ji Wenlong brought out five talismans and handed them to everyone in the party. When Shang Xia held the talisman in his hand, he could feel that it was made with a type of special material. He looked at the runes inscribed on it and saw that it was much more complicated than what he had drawn in the past. He had no idea what the runes represented. ¡°This is a concealment talisman. It can hide our aura and prevent it from leaking to the outside world.¡± Shang Ke¡¯s voice entered Shang Xia¡¯s ear and he introduced it briefly. Shang Xia followed Shang Ke¡¯s instructions and imbued his inner qi into the talisman. After doing it, he slapped it against his chest. As the light around them started to distort, their figures became blurry. ¡°This is only effective for two hours at best. Once we see that old swallow, let¡¯s wrap it up as soon as we can.¡± That was the first time Shang Xia heard Ji Wenlong say anything during the entire trip. His tone was firm and there was no room for negotiation. Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t dare to say anything that went against him, but Shang Ke and the rest seemed to be accustomed to it. ¡°Two hours¡­ It would be a little difficult to convince that old hag¡­¡± ¡°You should know how cautious they are¡­ They won¡¯t give us anything without obtaining some benefits upfront. Now that we¡¯re looking for them in such haste, they¡¯ll definitely try to rip us off!¡± Ji Wenlong snorted, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll do the negotiating then.¡± ¡°Absolutely not!¡± ¡°No fucking way!¡± Shang Xia might not be able to see anyone who spoke but he could guess how ugly Ji Wenlong¡¯s expression was. When Shang Xia let his thoughts run wild, a formless hand slapped his shoulder and Yun Yishu spoke in an unwavering voice. ¡°Enough! Little brat, you¡¯ll be in charge of negotiating with the old hag!¡± ¡°...¡± What the fuck? As they approached the Spiritual Swallow Peak, they avoided several patrol squads and went towards a hidden entrance. Ji Wenlong¡¯s voice rang in their heads all of a sudden. ¡°She¡¯s here¡­¡± A chuckle came from the depths of the valley as soon as he spoke. ¡°Since all of you are here, why don¡¯t you reveal yourselves? Are you waiting for me to personally welcome you?¡± Ji Wenlong was the first to reveal himself. He walked straight into the valley. Shang Xia slowly tore off the talisman from his chest. He discovered that the talisman was completely intact but it started to leak heaven and earth qi. Shang Ke and Shang Bing did the same, but Shang Xia discovered that he couldn¡¯t feel the slightest trace of Yun Yishu. ¡°Head on in. I¡¯ll keep a lookout.¡± Yun Yishu¡¯s voice echoed in Shang Xia¡¯s mind. That was the Yun Clan¡¯s secret concealment technique. It was also the reason why the Yun Clan was in charge of the Outreach Division in the Tongyou Institution. Shang Xia kept the talisman in his robes before following behind the three seniors. As soon as they entered, they saw a kind old lady looking at them. She held a staff that was much taller than her, but the smile on her face didn¡¯t fade as she looked at those who came. Shang Xia¡¯s gaze quickly fell on the person behind the old woman. It was someone extremely familiar, and he was greeted with a glare. As their gazes clashed in mid air, Shang Xia cursed in his heart. Why is she here?! CH 58 The moment the two of them noticed each other, a sense of disdain filled their hearts. Shang Xia could only think about how unlucky he was. Of course, the others didn¡¯t notice their exchange at all. They had no idea what the two kids were thinking about. The old lady standing on the other side laughed, ¡°Why do we have to behave so secretively¡­ All of us are old friends! There¡¯s no need for such pettiness¡­ To the one standing outside, why don¡¯t you come in for a chat? There¡¯s no need to behave so cautiously. I have complete control over the territory I own. If word gets out that you have to stand guard outside, people might think that I¡¯m mistreating my guests.¡± There wasn¡¯t the slightest trace of movement that came from the entrance and the old woman wasn¡¯t angered in the slightest. Instead, a look of surprise appeared on her face. ¡°Oh? What a mysterious concealment art. It¡¯s no wonder it feels so familiar.¡± Ji Wenlong interrupted her as a trace of irritation flashed through his eyes. ¡°Enough. There¡¯s no need for all this nonsense. Let¡¯s get straight to the point. If your Wind Swallow Race chooses not to take part in the battle, we can reach an agreement on something.¡± The old woman revealed a grin but a trace of mockery could be seen in her eyes. ¡°Old bastard, all you can do is fight. Your brain can¡¯t handle this. Who am I supposed to be talking to today?¡± Ji Wenlong snorted in contempt. However, he remained silent after. It was true that he was absolute trash at negotiating. Shang Ke and Shang Bing emerged from behind him. Despite that, the old woman didn¡¯t look at them. Her gaze fell onto Shang Xia who was a distance away. ¡°Oh my, whose descendant is this? He looks so likable¡­ Wait a minute. He looks pretty familiar too.¡± As she spoke, she gestured for him to come closer. She looked like a kind old grandmother beckoning for her grandson to approach. As Shang Xia walked forward slowly, he thought about the way she spoke to Ji Wenlong. There was no doubt she was also an expert at the Fourth Order of the Primary Realm. Those creatures they know as old monsters who devoured their opponents without spitting out so much as bones should be used to describe her. Coughing lightly, Shang Ke interrupted, ¡°Elder, you shouldn¡¯t scare the kids. All of us are pressed for time. Let¡¯s talk about something more practical, shall we? The longer we stay here, the more likely it is for us to catch someone¡¯s attention. I don¡¯t think you want to be caught talking to us, no?¡± The old lady finally retrieved her gaze and she stared at Shang Ke. ¡°I know you. You¡¯re the next in line of the Shang Clan!¡± ¡°Ahem¡­ I¡¯m the fifth in line. Shang Bo is my third brother¡­¡± Shang Ke explained. The old woman didn¡¯t care too much about what he said. The smile on her face didn¡¯t fade as she continued, ¡°Is that the kid who caught the Mutated Rain Swallow?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen him. Let¡¯s talk about what we agreed on¡­¡± ¡°Hehehehehe.¡± She interrupted him again. ¡°Well, I changed my mind!¡± Ji Wenlong, who had been standing passively at the side perked up all of a sudden. As he got ready to fight the old swallow, an uneasy silence descended in the valley. Shang Ke¡¯s expression changed slightly. ¡°You¡¯re the ancestor of the Wind Swallow Race. Are you going to go back on your words?¡± She chuckled in response, ¡°There¡¯s no need to rush things. Why don¡¯t you listen to my suggestion?¡± She glanced at Ji Wenlong at the side before ignoring him completely. Shang Bing stepped up and attempted to diffuse the situation. ¡°Please.¡± Raising an eyebrow in surprise, she didn¡¯t seem to recognize him. However, she eventually spoke. ¡°My promise remains. If you get the kid to hand over the method to tame a Mutated Rain Swallow, I¡¯ll find another reason to withdraw an expert at the Martial Intent Realm. I¡¯ll also personally promise not to touch anyone on the Tongyou Peak who has a cultivation base lower than the Fourth Order Primary Realm. What do you think?¡± Shang Bing sank into contemplation. In fact, her suggestion was extremely tempting. If they took into account the battle that was about to break out, every single Martial Intent Realm cultivator made a difference. As for her promise, it was enough to stop her from going for those who were weaker than her. Shang Ke chuckled in response, ¡°Looks like you¡¯re facing a lot of pressure too!¡± The old woman glanced at him and snorted, ¡°Het, that¡¯s not an attitude you should be coming in with. Don¡¯t forget, I haven¡¯t even seen the live Mutated Rain Swallow. I¡¯m already showing my trust in you guys by agreeing to this.¡± Even though she seemed to be compromising, the threat behind her words couldn¡¯t be more clear. If not for Ji Wenlong¡¯s presence, Shang Ke and Shang Bing would have been crushed by the pressure she was emitting. A helpless smile formed on Shang Ke¡¯s face. ¡°We¡¯re not bringing the bird out because we¡¯re afraid you¡¯ll change your mind again.¡± ¡°What?¡± Her expression changed all of a sudden. ¡°You brought it with you? Is that why that brat outside isn¡¯t coming in? Is he afraid that I¡¯ll snatch it from you?¡± ¡°You won¡¯t dare to do it.¡± Ji Wenlong snorted at the side. His words were like a fart that the old lady ignored. Instead, an interested expression formed on her face. ¡°Alright, bring it out. I promise not to change my promise. Hehehe, I might even add some favorable conditions for you guys if I see it.¡± Shang Ke looked at Shang Bing and they suppressed the smile that was threatening to break out on their faces. They weren¡¯t surprised by her reaction at all. Turning around, Shang Ke signaled to Shang Xia. At that moment, Shang Xia was listening to their conversation casually. He didn¡¯t expect to be called on so soon. Since they were afraid that the members of the Wind Swallow Race would do something stupid, they advised him not to approach. When he thought about how Yan Ni¡¯er was going to be used as a bargaining chip with those from the Wind Swallow Race, a sense of distaste filled Shang Xia¡¯s mind. It was true that the deal would greatly reduce the casualties of the Tongyou Peak, and Yan Ni¡¯er wouldn¡¯t be in much danger. However, he hated the feeling that his fate was controlled by others! Even if Yan Ni¡¯er was a mere bird, she was Shang Xia¡¯s bird! Seeing Shang Ke¡¯s signal, Shang Xia could only call for Yan Ni¡¯er despite his reluctance. It didn¡¯t take long before a loud cry was heard and a tiny figure shot towards him. The tiny black figure was headed straight to Shang Xia, but when she felt the terrifying aura coming from inside the valley, she started to chirp noisily in mid air. Yan Ni¡¯er circled the skies trying to make sense of the situation. The look on the old woman¡¯s face had long since changed. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the tiny bird circling the air. Her grip on her staff tightened and her fingers were trembling slightly. Even with her countless years of cultivation, her thoughts were in a mess. If not for Ji Wenlong ready to pounce, she might have chosen to risk it all. Tamed¡­ The brat actually managed to tame a Mutated Rain Swallow! What did that represent? With the thinning of the Wind Swallow Race¡¯s bloodline, a live Mutated Rain Swallow was the only hope for them to purify their bloodline! Now, their only hope lay in the hands of the little kid standing before them! It was no wonder Shang Ke was afraid she would change her mind again. There was a point where she actually thought of sacrificing herself to capture the Mutated Rain Swallow! No¡­ She also wanted the kid who could tame them! The last part of her rationality brought her back to reality. Of course, there was also Ji Wenlong who was standing at the side. After Shang Xia reassured it again and again, Yan Ni¡¯er finally returned to his shoulder. When that happened, the old woman of the Wind Swallow Race wasn¡¯t the only one who was surprised. Ji Wenlong and the others were equally as shocked. They might have heard that Shang Xia tamed the Mutated Rain Swallow, but they couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. Sucking in a cold breath, the kind look on the old woman¡¯s face was nowhere to be seen. She forced a smile and said, ¡°You¡¯re right. I changed my mind.¡± Shang Ke nodded. He had expected as much. ¡°Hurry up and add your conditions. However, I¡¯ll remind you that killing a golden goose won¡¯t provide you with much returns.¡± The old woman stared at Shang Ke before revealing a wide smile. She addressed Shang Xia out of the blue. ¡°Little brother, do you have any arranged engagements?¡± Seeing the stunned expression on Shang Xia¡¯s face, she continued while dragging Yan Ming over. ¡°This is my baby granddaughter. What do you think about taking her as your wife?¡± Before Shang Xia could say anything, she continued, ¡°Look at her. She¡¯s a great beauty in my Wind Swallow Race! She has a great figure and people will kill for her looks! Look! She has a tiny waist and a beautiful butt¡­ She looks good in clothes or without!¡± ¡°Grandma¡­¡± The old woman ignored the cries of her granddaughter. ¡°As long as you marry her, I¡¯ll give you anything in my power! All I ask for is for the two of you to quickly give birth to some grandkids for me¡­¡± Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Shang Xia waved his hand in haste and declined instantly. ¡°Many thanks for senior¡¯s kind grace. I¡¯m afraid that my lifespan will shorten if I accept your offer¡­ Thanks, but no thanks!¡± The smile on the old lady¡¯s face didn¡¯t fade, but her tone became a lot more serious. ¡°Kid, think about it carefully. As long as you marry my granddaughter, you will receive my protection!¡± ¡°Ahem¡­ My ancestor Shang Bo will protect me anyway¡­ There¡¯s no need to trouble senior!¡± Shang Xia rejected the offer again. CH 59 Shang Xia couldn¡¯t understand their desire for Yan Ni¡¯er. How was the blood of a swallow supposed to transform their bloodline? However, there were tons of mysteries in the world of cultivation. Not everything made sense. Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t bother getting to the bottom of things. To him, the most important thing was to receive all the benefits he could from the situation while changing the situation for the better for the Tongyou Peak. ¡°Senior, since your descendants¡¯ bloodline is growing thinner and thinner, why would you want to join such a huge battle? If a few more of them die in battle, wouldn¡¯t it be a huge loss to your race? From what I see, you should leave the battle entirely. In the future, I¡¯ll provide all the blood you need for you to purify your bloodline. How about that?¡± ¡°Little kid, what do you know? If my race chooses to forsake the battle, wouldn¡¯t we be betraying our world? Moreover, you only have a single Mutated Rain Swallow. We can probably obtain a drop of blood essence every three to five years. How am I supposed to strengthen my whole race?¡± The old lady frowned at Shang Xia¡¯s suggestion. ¡°I¡¯ll just tame a few more of them!¡± Shang Xia cried. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. ¡°How dare you! Are you trying to force my race into submission by using the threat of the Mutated Rain Swallow?¡± ¡°Senior, you think too much! Since I showed you my abilities, it¡¯s time for you to bring out some sincerity!¡± Shang Xia bargained. ¡°Humph. My race will never back out of such a huge war. I have to send several Martial Intent Realm cultivators at the very least. No matter what, I can promise you that I will never allow descendants with a pure bloodline to join the battle. I¡¯ll join the battle and put up a show with that old bastard. This is the greatest concession I can make!¡± Shang Xia understood that like Yan Ming, all members with a pure bloodline would be given the surname ¡®Yan¡¯. That meant that most of their experts wouldn¡¯t be joining the battle. Clapping, Shang Xia laughed, ¡°What a great plan! You can stop tongues from wagging when you join the battle, and you don¡¯t even have to sacrifice any of your pure blooded descendants. At the same time, our Tongyou Peak will get rid of those of your race who have some sort of conflict with you¡­ What an amazing plan! This junior here seriously admire your schemes.¡± The old woman glared at Shang Xia while snapping, ¡°Humph, what do you know?¡± Shang Xia remained impassive as he continued to explain, ¡°Do you really think it¡¯s that hard to guess? There¡¯s no way you can command the entire race by yourself. There are bound to be several old monsters you dislike and wish to get rid of. What better way than to send them to fight us?¡± ¡°Kid, are you really not going to consider marrying my granddaughter?¡± The old lady changed the topic instantly. Shang Xia glanced at Yan Ming and he pouted slightly, ¡°You can keep her for yourself. I won¡¯t be fortunate enough to enjoy the marriage.¡± Yan Ming saw his reaction and fury caused her face to twist up in anger. However, she didn¡¯t dare to say anything with the old ancestor of her race present and she could only swallow her anger. As the two of them bargained with each other, Shang Ke and the rest could only remain passively at the side. Only at that moment did they realize that their role had been taken over by the little kid. Seeing how he wasn¡¯t losing ground when negotiating with the ancestor of the Wind Swallow Race, they looked at each other quietly before letting things roll. They could see that the little brat had a lot more up his sleeves than they had initially thought. That was Shang Xia¡¯s intentions precisely. He managed to tame Yan Ni¡¯er, and the hope of the entire Wind Swallow Race rested in his hands. Now that they had to beg him for it, he could use the chance to get rid of a huge enemy for the Tongyou Peak. There was no way he would let up now. The ancestor of the Wind Swallow Race sighed softly. ¡°Since you do not wish to marry my granddaughter, my final offer does not change.¡± Soon a sneer left her lips. ¡°It¡¯s your turn. Prove to me that you have the ability to tame more of them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy.¡± Shang Xia laughed. He didn¡¯t bother communicating with Shang Ke and the others and he whistled again. The face of everyone present changed as the ancestor of the Wind Swallow Race widened her eyes in shock. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you tamed more than one¡­¡± As soon as the words left her lips, a silver streak tore through the air and landed on his other shoulder. ¡°Lightning Bird!¡± ¡°It¡¯s that damn lightning chicken!¡± Shang Bing and Yan Ming cried out in unison. The Lightning Bird experienced a huge transformation after advancing. It stood haughtily on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulder as it looked around casually. Shang Xia grinned, ¡°Senior, you should have tracked the pack of birds for quite some time now. You should know the relationship between a Lightning Bird and a pack of Mutated Rain Swallows. Yan Ni¡¯er is merely one of the partners of this Lightning Bird!¡± The ancestor of the Wind Swallow Race experienced more shock in a span of several minutes than she did in the past few years of her life. She tried to suppress the excitement building in her heart and she snapped, ¡°Alright, what else do you want?¡± Shang Xia looked at Shang Ke and the others and realized that they were handing the baton over to him. He continued, ¡°I wish to know when the three other races are planning to attack the Tongyou Peak. I also want detailed information on their strength.¡± ¡°Kid, your scheme won¡¯t work. I might choose to abstain from the war, but I will never betray my comrades. That''s my bottom line.¡± However, her tone turned a tad softer in the next instant. ¡°Although, I can give you information about something else. I¡¯m sure it will interest you.¡± Shang Xia pressed his lips together and acted all nonchalant. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that the information you¡¯re providing me concerns the Rose Party joining the war.¡± ¡°How do you know?!¡± This time, she was seriously shocked. However, she shook her head the next instant. ¡°Well, they¡¯re not there for the Tongyou Peak.¡± It was Shang Xia¡¯s turn to be surprised. However, he reacted quickly. ¡°Well, they¡¯re there for Liu Jitang. Do they actually know where he is?¡± The ancestor of the Wind Swallow Race lost her composure. ¡°Fine! I¡¯ll give you a piece of information for free. Even though they won¡¯t attack the Tongyou Peak with us, they¡¯ll help us destroy your protective formation from the inside!¡± Ji Wenlong and the others turned serious, but they weren¡¯t too shocked by the news. Since the Rose Party could gain information on Kou Chongxue¡¯s injury and Liu Jitang¡¯s location, they had to be in the upper echelon of the Tongyou Institution. It wouldn¡¯t surprise them that the plan was to destroy the protective formation from the inside. Ji Wenlong spoke all of a sudden. ¡°It¡¯s time for us to leave.¡± Time passed in a flash and they spent close to two hours in the valley. Since they needed a little time to leave the core region of the Four Spiritual Peak, they had to make their move now. Shang Xia asked hurriedly, ¡°How strong are those in the Rose Party? When will they make their move?¡± Ji Wenlong grabbed Shang Xia¡¯s collar and started dragging him away. ¡°Hehe, why should I tell you?¡± The old lady smiled at Shang Xia. Even though he was being dragged away, it didn¡¯t stop him from yelling, ¡°Heh, the number of cards I have up my sleeves is more than you can imagine. Since you refuse to answer this simple question of mine, I won¡¯t show you anything else!¡± ¡°Are you sure you will have the chance to impress me anymore?¡± ¡°You better not force me!¡± Shang Xia roared. He looked at the Lightning Bird and Yan Ni¡¯er circling him. ¡°Yan Ni¡¯er, you thieving bird, call for backup! Show them who¡¯s boss!¡± By that time, they were already approaching the entrance. Yan Ni¡¯er chirped loudly, as though trying to convince the lightning bird to listen to Shang Xia. Releasing a reluctant cry, the Lightning Bird turned into a silver streak that shot towards the heavens. All of a sudden, countless cries filled the air as a dense cloud of Mutated Rain Swallows arrived. Ji Wenlong who was dragging Shang Xia by the neck at that point whispered in his ear, ¡°Brat, are you really able to control the entire swarm?!¡± In the valley, the ancestor of the Wind Swallow Race held her mouth in shock. ¡°An entire flock of them! This¡­ This¡­ The chance for our race to rise up again has arrived! No! The fate of our race is held in his hand!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s voice echoed from outside the valley, ¡°Old Woman, answer me!¡± After calming herself, she growled, ¡°A single expert at the third layer of the Martial Extermination Realm, a first layer expert of the Martial Extermination Realm and five Martial Intent Realm disciples! That''s our complete battle strength in the upcoming war!" Her voice turned into a beam that entered Ji Wenlong and Shang Xia¡¯s ears. ¡°I don¡¯t know when the Rose Party will attack, but they plan to destroy all the bridges connecting the main peak to the others. You should know better than me what that entails!¡± ¡°Not enough!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s voice became softer as he was dragged further away. ¡°You should know better than me what this flock of Mutated Rain Swallows means to your race!¡± The expression on her face changed several times and she finally came to a decision. Her chest caved in and she spat out a mouthful of blood. ¡°Ancestor!¡± Yan Ming screamed before rushing over to help her. The moment she touched her ancestor, she was flung through the air. She fainted in mid air, missing out on what happened next. When Shang Xia and the others ran away as quickly as they could, a roar pierced through the air, ¡°Old bastard Ji, How dare you sneak attack me on the Spiritual Swallow Peak?!¡± CH 60 ¡°You despicable bastard!...¡± When her voice rang through the skies, Ji Wenlong nearly tripped over himself. ¡°Heh, old hag, you¡¯re really something else for thinking up something like this.¡± ¡°Hurry up and run! If she alerted the other races¡­¡± ¡°Heh, now, there¡¯s no need for her to put up an act. She can use the excuse to avoid the battle entirely. Haha! Deputy Patriarch Ji, you¡¯ll have to take all the credit for this.¡± ¡°Xia¡¯er gained huge credit this time¡­ Shang Bing, how do you think your Contribution Division will grade his contribution this time?¡± Shang Xia was completely stunned by the conversation going on around him. He had to give it to the ancestor of the Wind Swallow Race. She actually came up with such a method. ¡°Ji Wenlong, how dare you barge into the Four Spiritual Peak?!¡± A roar came from behind them, scaring Shang Xia shitless. Ji Wenlong tossed Shang Xia over to Shang Ke and yelled, ¡°Alright, since we¡¯re acting, we¡¯ll go all the way. I¡¯ll go play with Lang Xiaoyun for a bit. Take the chance to escape.¡± Shang Ke and Shang Bing grabbed Shang Xia¡¯s arms and dragged him away. Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. Shang Xia barely managed to turn his head when he saw four different colored lights emerging from Ji Wenlong¡¯s body. As he stepped into the air, he got ready for battle! That was what an expert at the Fourth Order of the Primary Realm, a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator, could do! At his level, he could tread on air and soar through the clouds! A horrifying jade green hurricane arrived abruptly, and it shattered the clouds above. ¡°You¡¯re right on time!¡± Ji Wenlong roared. A large blade that was five feet long appeared in his hand and he slashed ruthlessly at the black cloud above. A massive blast rocked the world and all sound seemed to be lost. Shang Xia noticed the giant jade green hurricane in the air trying to tear through Ji Wenlong¡¯s four colored qi before being forced back into a tiny corner. As the rumbling subsided, shockwaves tore through the lands. When it smashed into one of the large mountains in the distance, the entire area turned into a flat wasteland. ¡°AH!¡± A cry of pain rang through the air. ¡°Lang Xiaoyun, do you really think you¡¯re capable of taking me on by yourself?!¡± Ji Wenlong sneered. ¡°What if I join in?¡± Another voice appeared and a long spear cut through the air. Two streams of light surrounded the tip of the spear as it joined with the jade green hurricane before finally gaining enough power to resist Ji Wenlong¡¯s attack. The concealment talisman wore off that instant, but Shang Ke and Shang Bing managed to bring Shang Xia dozens of miles away from the battle by then. As he looked at the battle raging on behind him, Shang Xia started to worry. ¡°Will Senior Ji be fine?¡± Shang Bing shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and Yun Yishu appeared out of nowhere. ¡°Relax. Uncle Ji has already reached the peak of the Martial Extermination Realm. He shouldn¡¯t run into a problem if it¡¯s just the two of them. Well, unless another one arrives.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s not waste the chance he bought us.¡± Shang Xia circulated his inner qi. In this situation of life and death, his understanding of the Irregular Steps increased once again. The four of them ran away as quickly as possible as the battle raging behind experienced another change. ¡°Heh! He¡¯s injured!¡± The second person who arrived to the battle laughed. As soon as he spoke, he increased the amount of energy he used and found a way to counter attack. Ji Wenlong who was holding the firm advantage started to show signs of weakness as he started to retreat. ¡°Heh, if not for that old hag going all out at the last moment, you two clowns won¡¯t be able to hold me down! Hehe!¡± Ji Wenlong grunted in apparent pain. Shang Xia and the others looked at each other in confusion. When the hell did he suffer injuries?! ¡°Fuck! That old freak learned how to mess with the enemy!¡± Shang Xia looked at the old experts around him and gasped. ¡°Hey, you have to admit¡­ He¡¯s pretty good at acting¡­¡± Shang Bing sneered. ¡°The old woman shouldn¡¯t expose him, right?¡± Shang Xia asked. Yun Yishu chuckled at the side, ¡°All of them are old monsters who lived for countless years. Uncle Ji screamed so loudly¡­ The old hag will probably play along.¡± ¡°Alright, alright, time to go. He¡¯s planning to retreat.¡± Shang Bing waved and called for the others to hurry up. Since Ji Wenlong was just planning to mess with them, he would retreat shortly. After all, he was supposed to be ¡®injured¡¯. ¡°Wait!¡± Shang Xia muttered. Even so, his tone was firm. Turning to look at him in confusion, they saw him looking up at the skies above. ¡°Chirp, chirp!¡± A lone Mutated Rain Swallow was hovering above them as it cried out incessantly. That was the first time they had noticed the bird. ¡°There¡¯s someone up ahead and they¡¯re closing in on us. We might run into them¡­¡± After Shang Xia tamed Yan Ni¡¯er, he somewhat managed to understand what the birds were saying. ¡°This is really close to the Four Spiritual Peak¡­ Those ahead shouldn¡¯t be from our Tongyou Peak¡­¡± Shang Xia lowered his head slowly and noticed the weird looks he was getting from the other three. Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but try to dissolve the awkward situation. ¡°Should we¡­ Should we head in another direction?¡± Yun Yishu gasped with a complicated expression, ¡°Kid, are you actually able to use the Mutated Rain Swallow to observe your surroundings?¡± ¡­ In the valley where Ji Wenlong and the others met the ancestor of the Wind Swallow Race¡­ Her grip on her staff was firm, but her body trembled slightly. ¡°Ran Biluo, why did you come here instead of hunting down the old freak?¡± The ancestor of the Wind Swallow Race revealed a hostile expression when she looked at the middle aged beauty before her. Ran Biluo chuckled lightly in response, ¡°Elder Su''er is reading too much into it. I¡¯m concerned about you and came over to see if I can help. The two of them should be more than enough to stop him. He won¡¯t be in the mood to stay and fight anyway¡­ There¡¯s no need for me to join in the battle.¡± Yan Su''er, the ancestor of the Wind Swallow Race, didn¡¯t let down her guard after hearing what Ran Biluo said. Instead, a sneer slowly left her lips. ¡°Stop pretending. You can¡¯t wait for me to die¡­ You came all the way here the moment he ran to see if you could finish me off.¡± All of a sudden, a cry from outside alarmed them. ¡°Ha! He¡¯s injured!¡± ¡°Sister Su''er, you actually managed to injure the old freak?!¡± A light flashed in Ran Biluo¡¯s eyes and she became a little warier of the ancestor of the Wind Swallow Race. ¡°Since you don¡¯t welcome me here, I¡¯ll take my leave!¡± The pretty middle aged lady spun around and turned into a streak of pink light that flew through the air. She disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving behind the scent of her perfume. After seeing her leave, Yan Su''er straightened her back and her body stopped trembling entirely. The haggard and sorry look she had previously had disappeared. Tapping the ground lightly with her staff, the scent that filled the valley dissipated instantly. At the same time, Yan Ming was awakened by the soft rumbling in the ground. ¡°Grandma, you¡­¡± Yan Ming quickly recalled everything that happened and she looked at Yan Su¡¯er in confusion. A trace of worry flashed in the old ancestor¡¯s eyes and she sighed, ¡°Ming¡¯er, do you think our Wind Swallow Race will be broken into smaller powers after my death?¡± Yan Ming ran over to support the old lady and she cried, ¡°Grandma, you won¡¯t die! You¡¯ll live till the end of time and our Wind Swallow Race will never be divided! We¡¯ll only grow stronger!¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Yan Su¡¯er laughed lightly before revealing a grave expression, ¡°Ming¡¯er, keep this in mind. Never allow our Wind Swallow Race to fall! Never! Everything I do is for the sake of our race!¡± Yan Ming hesitated for a moment before nodding. ¡°Ming¡¯er understands grandma¡¯s intentions!¡± ¡°Alright, bring me back to the Spiritual Swallow Peak. Don¡¯t forget¡­ I¡¯m seriously injured by the old man.¡± With Yan Ming¡¯s help, Yan Su¡¯er left the valley slowly. ¡°Oh! Grandma, my knives! We forgot to take them back from that brat!¡± Yan Ming cried out all of a sudden. ¡°Forget it¡­ We¡¯re asking him for a lot right now. An entire flock of Mutated Rain Swallows¡­ He holds the fate of our race in his hands.¡± Yan Su¡¯er sighed helplessly. ¡­ Not too long after Shang Xia and the others returned, Ji Wenlong arrived. However, his expression was really grim. ¡°How is it?¡± Shang Ke asked. ¡°Lang Xiaoyun and She Zhiqing made their move. Ran Biluo was hiding in the shadows, trying to find an opportunity to sneak attack me. Other than Yan Su¡¯er, there should be a fifth cultivator at the Fourth Order Primary Realm hiding on the Four Spiritual Peak.¡± Ji Wenlong muttered. ¡°Looks like the Four Spiritual Peak is determined to go all out!¡± Shang Bing sighed. He stared into the distance and he turned a lot more serious. Yun Yishu turned to Shang Xia and said hurriedly, ¡°Why don¡¯t we let the kid go look for Uncle Liu? He can use the flock of birds to cover a greater area. He might even be able to discover the place they¡¯re looking for! Once Uncle Liu returns, we¡¯ll be in a much better situation to take on the Four Spiritual Peak!¡± Before anyone else could say a word, Shang Xia disagreed. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a bloodbath and we¡¯re going to battle to our deaths¡­ There is no need to think of ways to send me away. I¡¯m more than ready to join the upcoming battle.¡± CH 61 After he displayed his ability to control the entire flock of Mutated Rain Swallows, Yun Yishu realized that Shang Xia shouldn¡¯t be risking his life in the upcoming battle. However, his plan was immediately rejected by Shang Xia. Not to mention the fact that traveling alone in the battlefield between the two worlds could prove to be much deadlier than staying on the Tongyou Peak. Even if he managed to find traces of Liu Jitang, they might not be able to hurry back in time. In the worst case, locating Liu Jitang might throw him into a situation that proves to be a whole lot more frightening. The Tongyou Peak hadn¡¯t revealed Liu Jitang¡¯s actual intentions of leaving the peak. Shang Xia guessed that he was heading for the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance, but that was merely a guess. Yun Yishu chuckled helplessly when he received Shang Xia¡¯s response. Of course, Shang Xia came up with another plan. He didn¡¯t necessarily have to look for Liu Jitang himself! On the way back to the peak, Shang Xia received Ji Wenlong¡¯s permission and brought Yan Ni¡¯er over. Because of the little bird¡¯s significance in the grand scheme of things, Ji Wenlong gave it permission to freely enter the Tongyou Peak. The only drawback was that Shang Xia had to be present whenever it was crossing the protection formation. With the help of the Lightning Bird, Shang Xia could command the Mutated Rain Swallows to keep tabs on the activity at the Four Spiritual Peak. The moment they received news that the enemy was about to attack, the Tongyou Peak would be able to make sufficient preparations. Due to the fact that Shang Ke and the others still had to discuss defensive measures with Ji Wenlong, Shang Xia decided to take his leave. After leaving the main hall, he returned to the Shang Pavilion. Even though the Four Spiritual Peak could attack at any time, he would never be wrong to choose to raise his strength. As he ascended the mountain, he noticed that the once deserted streets were filled with people. Clearly, many people noticed the battle looming over their heads. Everyone was trying to make their final preparations. ¡°Senior Brother Shang!¡± Turning his head in the direction of the voice, Shang Xia noticed Jiao Haitang and Huang Zihua walking towards him. A smile formed on his face when he saw Jiao Haitang this time. ¡°Congratulations on breaking through!¡± ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Senior Brother Shang¡¯s assistance. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to find suitable herbs to advance. Luckily for me, I broke through before the upcoming battle.¡± Shang Xia nodded and turned to Huang Zihua, ¡°What about the rest?¡± ¡°Three other disciples failed to gather enough herbs. As for those who did, all of them advanced except for one!¡± There were sufficient spaces to train on the Tongyou Peak, and cultivators from the institution could use any of them to advance. The situation was much better than the time they had to advance in the wilderness. After receiving the report from Huang Zihua, Shang Xia muttered, ¡°It¡¯s alright to fail. There will be chances in the future. The most important thing is to remain calm and not lose confidence in themselves.¡± Huang Zihua laughed, ¡°Even though Liang Shuai seems dispirited, he should be alright. The success rate of our breakthroughs is too high! Disciples from the other divisions are looking at us in envy.¡± Shang Xia chuckled. ¡°Indeed¡­ Anyway, when Liang Shuai tries to break through in the future, there should be nothing stopping him.¡± Jiao Haitang interrupted them as she could no longer suppress the curiosity in her heart. ¡°Senior Brother Shang, do you know what is going on? Everyone on the Tongyou Peak is behaving like a headless fly right now. No one cares about us and they¡¯re not telling us anything!¡± Raising an eyebrow in shock, Shang Xia asked, ¡°How is that possible? Didn¡¯t a few instructors enter the Tongyou Peak too? Are they not saying anything?¡± ¡°Senior Brother Shang, you might not know about this, but our division was the last to depart from the institution. By the time we came, the other instructors had already been called away. None of them came back!¡± Huang Zihua explained. It was then Shang Xia realized that the instructors were probably also brought away by Liu Jitang. ¡°The disciples of our third outer division are doing better than the rest. At the very least, we have you, Senior Brother Shang, to stabilize the situation. Those of us who broke through have a direction of what to do. Those who hadn¡¯t are trying desperately to advance. Disciples of the other outer divisions aren¡¯t as lucky as us. Many of them can¡¯t even afford the most basic of herbs¡­ They¡¯re really pitiful¡­¡± Jiao Haitang added. Shang Xia nodded. It was too bad he couldn¡¯t do anything to help them. Even if he wanted to help them, the Shang Clan wasn¡¯t a charity. There were limits to what he could do. However, a haughty smile appeared on Huang Zihua¡¯s face and he continued speaking, ¡°Senior Brother Shang, you might not know this, but our fellow disciples are the target of envy right now. Everyone looks at us differently when we walk along the streets.¡± Jiao Haitang slapped his arm when she saw the stupid look on his face. ¡°Many fellow disciples in the outer division hoped to form a connection with you. However, we rejected them all. We know that the prices of herbs on the Tongyou Peak have reached a new high. Your Shang Clan helped us a bunch by giving us some of them at a low price. We can¡¯t possibly trouble you even more.¡± Shang Xia laughed, ¡°We¡¯re fellow disciples and we should help each other. Moreover, Teacher Sun requested me to take her place and it¡¯s my duty to help you out.¡± Laughter soon filled the air as they continued to chat a little. We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. Jiao Haitang could feel that Shang Xia was a little busy, and she tactfully excused herself. ¡°There¡¯s one last thing Senior Brother Shang needs to know. Even though the Contribution Division and Protection Division didn¡¯t confiscate the items we have, they sent people to warn us not to reveal anything that happened throughout our journey. Is there something else behind it?¡± Shang Xia thought about it for a moment and chuckled, ¡°Nope. Just follow whatever they tell you to do!¡± Jiao Haitang nodded, but she sank into thought. Shang Xia seemed to have thought of something and he reminded them, ¡°Oh right, all of you should check out the Scripture Depository after advancing. The inheritances and secret manuals there might not be comparable to that in the institution, but they are extremely helpful. Don¡¯t miss the chance to raise your strength.¡± After speaking, he hurried back to the Shang Pavilion. ¡­ Huang Zihua looked at Jiao Haitang who was stuck to her spot and waved his hand in front of her eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s go. What are you thinking about?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking about the warning we received¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s the problem with that? Didn¡¯t Senior Brother Shang tell us to follow their instructions?¡± Huang Zihua frowned. Rolling her eyes at him, Jiao Haitang snapped, ¡°It¡¯s just that we might not be qualified enough to know what the problem is!¡± ¡°Hehe, I have no idea what you just said¡­¡± Huang Zihua sniggered in response. Turning around in a huff, she decided to leave. ¡­ As soon as Shang Xia returned to the Shang Pavilion, he was dragged to the highest floor by Shang Quan. He was greeted with the sight of an unexpected guest. ¡°Aunt, why are you here?¡± Shang Xia nearly yelled out loud when he saw her. However, he quickly suppressed his voice. ¡°What are you doing here?! Shouldn¡¯t you be back at the clan taking charge of the situation?!¡± Shang Xia might sound rude, but there was an unmistakable sense of concern in his voice. Shang Xi giggled softly when she heard what he said. ¡°Hehe, little brat, at least you have a conscience.¡± Shang Xia scratched the back of his head and he realized that Shang Xi wouldn¡¯t enter the battlefield between two worlds if there wasn¡¯t something important. He also thought about how Shang Quan dragged him over without a word and he asked, ¡°Aunt, did you come here on a secret mission? Who else came with you?¡± Shang Quan exchanged a gaze with Shang Xi and a grin appeared on her face. ¡°How did you know someone else came?¡± Shang Xia explained, ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, other than the Liu Clan, the other clans sent several experts over to the Tongyou Peak. They¡¯re probably here to thwart the plans of the Rose Party, right?¡± ¡°Brat, you know quite a bit¡­¡± Shang Xi smacked his head playfully. If the institution openly sent reinforcements over, the Rose Party would definitely take the chance to infiltrate the Tongyou Peak. As such, they sent members of the four great clans over in secret to protect the protection formation. It was too bad there was no news of the Liu Clan. A great portion of their battle strength was gone, and there were only three great clans left to fight the enemy. Shang Xia¡¯s train of thought didn¡¯t stop there. Since the rumor of Kou Chongxue¡¯s injury was spreading around, coupled with the martial law passed down in the city, the institution chose to send backup to the Tongyou Peak. Their conjecture was basically confirmed. The Rose Party probably found another way into the battlefield between two worlds, and they would use the chance to destroy the Tongyou Institution¡¯s hard work and accumulation in the past 20 years! Of course, the news provided by Yan Su¡¯er helped. The Rose Party¡¯s main focus was on the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance, and they wouldn¡¯t join in the Four Spiritual Peak¡¯s offensive. It was too bad they couldn¡¯t send the news back to the institution in time. CH 62 On the third level of the Shang Pavilion, Shang Xia circulated the Triple Mystery Polarity Art and cultivated for three whole days before stopping. Compared to the time he first started, the process became much smoother. After completing his cultivation session, the inner qi in his body became a little stronger and the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian grew more solid. Visible improvement wasn¡¯t something that could be seen all the time. It was only possible previously as he was consolidating his foundations after breaking through. The stronger he became, the less obvious the improvements would become. All of a sudden, a bold thought entered his mind. He didn¡¯t waste any time and started testing it out immediately as the Yin Yang Essence Qi in his body started to transform. Half the Yin Yang Diagram started to turn increasingly solid and excitement filled Shang Xia¡¯s heart. He focused completely on the Yin Yang Diagram and it became even more corporeal. Slowly releasing his breath, the inner qi in his dantian returned to normal. Shang Xia was afraid that his Yin Yang Essence Qi would cause other people to suspect him due to its high purity, but from the looks of it, he had a way to deal with the problem. As long as he willed it, he could make one type of qi appear stronger than the other. As such, he could easily hide the extent of his cultivation. He could pretend that he only had the strength at the small completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. He could avoid a lot of suspicion about his insane cultivation speed that way. Of course, hiding the Yin Yang Diagram would be for the best. He didn¡¯t wish to reveal anything about his original world. Concentrating on the Yin Yang Diagram for the last time, Shang Xia noticed that there was a lot of remnant heaven and earth qi left from the Origin Tide. Even though some of them would transform into his own qi when cultivating, he needed to train in some type of special technique in order to use them up completely. As such, he decided that it was time to start on the River Sword Policy. Because of the incoming battle, raising his strength was necessary. When he finally left cultivation, he had no idea how long had passed. That was one of the reasons the battlefield between the two worlds was so chaotic. There wasn¡¯t an actual way to tell the time from the rising and setting of the sun. The moment he opened his eyes, Shang Xia saw that his once organized room was in a mess. Locking his gaze onto the culprit, Shang Xia glared at Yan Ni¡¯er who was sitting on a box. The moment he laid eyes on her, a gasp left his lips. If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, he saw something that resembled an eggshell in the box! Weren¡¯t they supposed to be his spoils of war after killing the three cultivators from the Wind Swallow Race? Oh shit¡­ Don¡¯t tell me she ate all three of them! Shang Xia knew that creatures like the Mutated Rain Swallow were extremely hostile to the eggs of other birds. From the looks of it, the cotton padding that was scattered throughout the room came from inside the box. Reaching over to grab Yan Ni¡¯er, Shang Xia growled, ¡°Alright, be good, let me see what¡¯s inside. I won¡¯t blame you if anything happens. If you ate them, so be it.¡± He might be feeling a sense of heartache, but he couldn¡¯t do a thing if she ate them. ¡°Chirp chirp!¡± Yan Ni¡¯er seemed to be extremely unwilling to move from her spot. However, she wasn¡¯t Shang Xia¡¯s opponent and could only scoot over to the side. When he saw all three eggs intact, Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed as though the little bird wasn¡¯t planning on killing three unborn babies! When Shang Xia was about to turn away, he saw Yan Ni¡¯er resting her body on the other side of the case. Her body trembled unsteadily for a second and a trace of red emerged. ¡°Huh?¡± Shang Xia found it a little weird and he grabbed Yan Ni¡¯er by the body. ¡°One¡­ Two¡­ Three¡­ Four?¡± Why were there four eggs?! He definitely counted them in the past and there were only three of them! The fourth egg had some sort of golden specks on it¡­ There was no way an egg would appear out of thin air, right? Shang Xia looked suspiciously at the fourth egg before turning to Yan Ni¡¯er. ¡°Is that your egg?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°Chirp, chirp!¡± Well, that seemed to be the only explanation. Shang Xia didn¡¯t care how displeased Yan Ni¡¯er would be as he lightly tapped the fourth egg. He felt a trace of familiar energy coming from it. He could feel traces of the Lightning Bird and traces of the lightning origin he would bathe the birds in from time to time. Alright, it seemed as though he had debunked the mystery. When he was in seclusion, Yan Ni¡¯er probably had to find a place to lay her egg. Since she didn¡¯t dare to interrupt him, she could only try to look for a nest of her own. When she was rummaging through his stuff to look for suitable materials to build her best, she chanced upon the case with the three other eggs. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. Wait a minute¡­ If she was planning to lay her egg in the case, why would she empty out the cotton padding around it?! What in the world was left to support the eggs?! Shang Xia looked at the case and he noticed it was a bunch of fur he obtained somewhere in the past. Chuckling softly, he placed Yan Ni¡¯er down beside him. She hopped back onto the case and sat on top of the four eggs. Laughing, Shang Xia decided to pack up the room before doing anything else. Finding a case on the floor that was broken into, he recalled that it contained several pills. They were nothing important and Shang Xia didn¡¯t mind that Yan Ni¡¯er helped herself to it. As for the bottle that held the drop of blood, it was sturdy enough that it wasn¡¯t broken. When he finally left his room, Shang Xia ordered an attendant to bring over some thin bamboo strips. He wanted to make a nest for Yan Ni¡¯er before transferring the eggs over. It would be much more comfortable for the little bird that way. When he was done, Shang Xia created another ball of lightning in his palm for Yan Ni¡¯er. When she was done bathing in it, Shang Xia placed her back into her nest and went to the backyard of the Shang Pavilion. There was a massive field behind the pavilion and previously, Shang Xia used it when exercising. This time, he was there to start practicing his River Sword Policy! There were five manuals in total and a way to comprehend a sword intent. All five manuals had something to do with the dao of softness and strength. The Vigorous Sword Manual, Formless Sword Manual, Flexible Sword Manual, Flexible Dual Sword Manual, and the Flexible Dual Sword Formation. Every single technique had its own inner qi controlling art. Of course, the River Sword Policy in the Tongyou Peak wasn¡¯t complete. Only the first three manuals were recorded, and the final two contained the true strength of the River Sword Policy. Most of the techniques recorded in the manuals only provided a general idea. If one wanted to reach a level of accomplishment, they would have to comprehend the theory behind the sword policy. Casually grabbing a long sword at the side of the field, Shang Xia swung it through the air. He started to circulate his inner qi according to the instructions recorded in the manual. The first thing he had to train in was the Vigorous Sword Art. According to the manual, he only required qi that had the strength attribute. As such, the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian started to rotate and streams of qi flowed through his body. The sword in his arm rose and fell according to the tempo of the qi traveling through his body and his training began. His movements were slightly rigid and the way he circulated his inner qi was a little awkward. He found it difficult to synchronize his movements with the qi traveling through his body. As he practiced it more and more, he became well-versed in the movements. The inner qi in his body started to synchronize with his actions and the strength of the Vigorous Sword Art started to show itself. When he was increasing his proficiency in the third move, a sharp scream came from Shang Xia¡¯s room and interrupted his training process. ¡°AHHHHH! How dare you waste resources like this?!¡± CH 63 ¡°AhHHHH!¡± The sharp scream came from Shang Xi, and Shang Xia tripped over himself as he tossed the sword in his hand to the side and ran back up the pavilion. When he arrived, Shang Ke, Shang Quan, and Yan Qi were already present. They wanted to barge into the room when Shang Xi¡¯s enraged voice rang through the air. ¡°You little brat! How dare you waste precious resources?!¡± Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief after noticing that nothing was wrong. Shang Quan and Yan Qi gasped in shock while Shang Ke shook his head helplessly. It seemed as though there was no hiding Shang Xia¡¯s secret anymore. Yan Ni¡¯er seemed to be in a state of extreme fright when they entered. Shang Xi was holding the nest in her hand and the little bird was chirping desperately at it. Shang Xi couldn¡¯t be bothered with the little bird as she glared at Shang Xia who just entered the room. Forcing a smile, Shang Xia asked, ¡°Aunt, what¡­ What is going on?¡± ¡°You¡­ Do you not know how precious the Rain Swallow Fur is?! How dare you make it into a nest?!¡± Shang Xi snapped. Shang Ke moved quickly as he approached Shang Xi¡¯s side. He looked at the ball of fur in the nest and his eyes widened in shock. Shang Quan walked over and his lips trembled uncontrollably. They thought her screams had something to do with the appearance of the Mutated Rain Swallow but from the looks of it, it was something way more important. Behind Shang Xia, Yan Qi was also craning his neck to look into the nest. ¡°It really is a ball of Rain Swallow Fur¡­ It¡¯s huge!¡± Shang Quan rubbed his fist together as though he was about to pluck out the entire ball from the nest. His actions were met with aggressive chirps from Yan Ni¡¯er. Shang Ke coughed lightly, ¡°Ahem, we expected as much, but didn¡¯t think that the brat would be able to gather such a huge ball of it so quickly¡­¡± Shang Xi looked at Shang Ke and asked, ¡°Fifth Uncle, what do you mean?¡± ¡°This little brat showed off in front of Yan Su¡¯er, Ji Wenlong, Shang Bing, Yun Yishi, and myself back at the Spiritual Swallow Peak. He brought out an entire flock of Mutated Rain Swallows. All of us expected him to gather a bunch of Rain Swallow Fur eventually.¡± Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. ¡°What?! A flock of it?! And you even allowed someone else to see it! Wait a minute¡­ Did you say that the little brat summoned it to show off?¡± Shang Xi¡¯s voice grew higher and higher as she spoke. In her shock, she handed the nest over to Shang Quan. She reached over to twist Shang Xia¡¯s ear in a fit of rage. ¡°Little brat, look at what you have done now! Our Shang Clan could have kept it all for ourselves¡­ Look at what you¡¯ve done!¡± Shang Xia gnashed his teeth and cried, ¡°Aunt, I was wrong! Can you at least tell me why it¡¯s so precious?¡± Shang Xi twisted his ear and snapped, ¡°Why? Little brat, weren¡¯t you always envious of my Embroidered Cloud Case? You¡¯ve been scheming to get your hands on it for a while now haven¡¯t you? There¡¯s no need to come up with weird ideas to obtain it anymore. Now that you have such a huge ball of Rain Swallow Fur, it¡¯s more than enough to create a massive spatial pouch!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Shang Xia felt his eyeballs popping out of their sockets. He looked at the ball of fur before looking at the elders standing beside him. ¡°Is this what you use to create spatial artifacts?!¡± Shang Ke smiled at the side, giving Shang Xia the answer he needed. It didn¡¯t take a genius to know that spatial artifacts were extremely rare. As one of the four great clans, the Shang Clan only had three Embroidered Cloud Cases when they pooled everyone¡¯s resources together. That was also the reason why Shang Xia had lusted for Shang Xi¡¯s Embroidered Cloud Case. It was too bad she never gave him a chance to get his hands on it. The family had five graded weapons in total and Shang Xi had the authority to let Shang Xia take away two of them to flaunt his wealth in the institution. However, she refused to allow him to get close to the Embroidered Cloud Case. When Shang Xia saw the look on Shang Xi¡¯s face, he turned to look at Yan Ni¡¯er slowly. He didn¡¯t know if he should ask his fifth grandpa or someone else, but he eventually decided to get Shang Quan to enlighten him. ¡°Uncle Shang, is the Rain Swallow Fur really required to create the Embroidered Cloud Case? What did she mean by a Spatial Pouch?¡± Shang Quan looked at Shang Xi and saw her turning her face away in a huff and he chuckled, ¡°Spatial artifacts are split into different tiers. Rain Swallow Fur is the most important ingredient when creating them.¡± Shang Quan didn¡¯t answer Shang Xia¡¯s question directly. Instead, he talked about how precious the treasure was before adding, ¡°The Embroidered Cloud Case can be split into different grades according to how much space they contain. They are usually one, two, or three cubic feet large. That¡¯s the limit of an Embroidered Cloud Case.¡± Shang Quan sucked in a long breath before continuing. ¡°Shang Xi¡¯s case is three cubic feet large, and it¡¯s the largest storage item in our family." ¡°How much Rain Swallow Fur is needed to make that?¡± Shang Xia asked. Shang Quan waved his hand to dismiss Shang Xia¡¯s impatience and he continued, ¡°If nothing goes wrong, five maces of Rain Swallow Fur is required to create an Embroidered Cloud Case one cubic feet large. One tael of it is required to make an Embroidered Cloud Case two cubic feet large. Two taels of it are required to make one three cubic feet large. Shang Xia looked at the ball of fur in the nest and saw that it was three taels at the very least. According to what Shang Quan said, that was more than enough to make an Embroidered Cloud Case three cubic feet large. Hiss¡­ Shang Xia finally understood why Shang Xi was so agitated. He also realized that he was truly wasting resources. However, he thought of the other thing Shang Xi mentioned. ¡°What¡¯s a Spatial Pouch?!¡± ¡°Calm down. I was just about to explain what it is. A Spatial Pouch is different from an Embroidered Cloud Case. The case is created with the Rain Swallow Fur on the interior, and even though the fur is the most important ingredient, we still require other treasures to create it.¡± ¡°As for a spatial pouch, it¡¯s created entirely by the Rain Swallow Fur.¡± ¡°Of course, there are also secret techniques involved in the creation process. From what I know, we need to inscribe a tine rune on each thread. These runes will interact with each other to form a massive formation to increase the space contained.¡± Seeing the look of confusion on Shang Xia¡¯s face, Shang Quan continued, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be surprised. That¡¯s just the outline of it. No one knows if the institution has a complete manual on how to craft one. Even if they do, the craftsmen in the Hundred Profession Pavilion might not be able to do it.¡± Looking at Shang Xia¡¯s disappointed expression, Shang Quan continued, ¡°Even though it¡¯s difficult to create a spatial pouch, every single one of them contains five cubic feet of space. It¡¯s said that spatial pouches at the peak level would be able to store up to ten cubic feet! An Embroidered Cloud Case is nothing more than a toy in front of it.¡± Gulping, Shang Xia asked, ¡°How much Rain Swallow Fur do we need to make one?¡± ¡°Three taels!¡± Shang Quan chuckled mischievously. That was the exact amount Shang Xia had! However, from what they said, creating a single spatial pouch was a difficult task. If they failed¡­ When Shang Xia was deciding if he should risk it all to request for a spatial pouch, he sighed softly. ¡°How long does it take to obtain three taels of fur from a flock of Mutated Rain Swallows?¡± Everyone else was shocked by Shang Xia¡¯s sudden question. Shang Quan eventually replied, ¡°Did you really find this on a cultivator of the Martial Realm?¡± Shang Xia finally realized how weird it was, but he nodded in affirmation. ¡°Yeah.¡± Once again, he recounted what happened when he obtained the ball of Rain Swallow Fur. He also spoke about the other items he recovered. Shang Quan shook his head slowly, ¡°Even if they were hunted down by our patrol squads, items of such importance would be held by an expert at the Martial Intent Realm or higher! Unless¡­ The others didn¡¯t know of its existence!¡± ¡°That¡¯s the only possible explanation. We can confirm that the group of cultivators attacked a nest of Mutated Rain Swallows. The fur should have been obtained by the cultivator secretly when rummaging through the Lightning Bird¡¯s stash. He might or might not know what it was, but he chose to keep it for himself.¡± Shang Xi deduced. Everyone nodded and seemed to agree with Shang Xi¡¯s guess. ¡°What do we do now? There isn¡¯t an expert capable of creating an Embroidered Cloud Case on the Tongyou Peak¡­¡± Shang Quan spoke while looking at Shang Xia. Scratching the back of his head, Shang Xia asked uneasily, ¡°Since I haven¡¯t thought of what to do with it, why don¡¯t we allow Yan Ni¡¯er to keep it to incubate her eggs?¡± CH 64 ¡°Wait. Answer my question! How long does it take to gather three taels of fur?¡± Shang Xia asked once again. Of course, while they were still stuck at an impasse on what to do with the fur, it was decided that it would remain in Yan Ni¡¯er¡¯s possession. Everyone in the room looked at each other and didn¡¯t know what the answer was. Eventually, Shang Quan coughed awkwardly and sighed, ¡°If the amount of fur here was gathered from the flock slowly and only obtained after they raided the nest, it might take an extremely long time.¡± Shang Ke shook his head and added, ¡°Wait a minute¡­ This ball of fur should contain those purposefully gathered up by the birds. What about those that were blown away in the wind?¡± ¡°Fifth Uncle, you mean¡­¡± Shang Quan muttered. Shang Ke turned to Shang Xia and spoke, ¡°If we manage to gain more control over the flock of Rain Swallows, we will not only hold the fate of the Wind Swallow Race in our hand. We will also gather enough fur to make a huge amount of spatial artifacts!¡± The fire in Shang Ke¡¯s eyes burned bright as he looked at Shang Sia. Even though Shang Xia felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, he had to say that the idea was tempting. Shang Ke definitely had the Shang Clan¡¯s interest at heart. As such, he chose to remain silent. All of a sudden, Shang Xi yelled, ¡°Fifth Uncle, we cannot do this!¡± Frowning, Shang Ke looked over at Shang Xi to be met with an exasperated sigh. ¡°There¡¯s too much riding on this. If we try something like that, our Shang Clan will become public enemy number 1!¡± Shang Ke was no fool. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to sit comfortably as the second person in charge of the Shang Clan. He was blinded by the gains they could obtain with the flock of Mutated Rain Swallow under Shang Xia¡¯s control. He completely forgot the risks associated with it. When Shang Xia displayed his control over the flock of Mutated Rain Swallow to the Wind Swallow Race, Shang Ke knew that the only reason Yan Su¡¯er didn¡¯t risk it all and fight them to the death for it was due to the support of the Tongyou Institution! If not for the tyrannical Tongyou Institution standing behind him, the Shang Clan would have long been flattened to the ground! Since the Rain Swallow Fur was something crucial to the creation of spatial artifacts, they would only be targeted by many other factions. Holding the fate of the Wind Swallow Race was nothing in comparison! Shang Ke understood that if the Shang Clan wanted to obtain the greatest amount of benefits, the best method would be to split the profits with the other powers. With the Tongyou Institution at its core, they could stand against any threat that came knocking. Shang Ke felt his heart aching like never before when he thought about how he would have to give up so much. Never in his wildest imagination would he expect Shang Xia to be against using the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows to fight for gains. The reason Shang Xia was able to gain the birds¡¯ trust was because he had always seen them as equals! As friends, they wouldn¡¯t scheme against each other! Shang Xia sighed and made his decision. Regardless of whether it was the Wind Swallow Race, Tongyou Institution, or the Shang Clan, none of them would be allowed to harm the Rain Swallows! If they wanted to obtain anything from the flock of birds, they would have to promise to put the wellbeing of the birds first! When Shang Ke saw the absent-minded look on Shang Xia¡¯s face, he muttered, ¡°Brat, what are you thinking about? You seem to have a lot of treasures on you¡­ What else are you hiding? Bring it all out. Otherwise, you¡¯re not going to know what to do with them.¡± Shang Xia thought about it for a moment and he frowned. ¡°I actually have two more¡­ I¡¯m not sure what they are. Since all of you are here, help me look at it.¡± He brought out a case filled with sand-like objects inside and Shang Xi sneered in response, ¡°Blue Clay. It¡¯s a rank two treasure, and it¡¯s mostly used for laying down formations. It would sometimes be used to create graded weapons, and on the rare occasion, it would be used to create medicine for cultivations trying to enter the peak of the Martial Realm.¡± Shang Xi had been learning from Shang Quan in the past, and with her current position as the caretaker of the Shang Clan in Shang Bo¡¯s absence, she was extremely knowledgeable about such things. Shang Xia nodded and retrieved a clear crystal bottle that housed a drop of blood. ¡°This¡­¡± Shang Xi seemed to recognize it, but she didn¡¯t dare to confirm her guess. As for Shang Quan, he seemed to have thought of something when he saw the drop of blood. His expression changed greatly as he turned to look at Shang Ke. Shang Xi wanted to grab the bottle to get a closer look, but someone snatched it away before she could come close. ¡°Fifth Uncle¡­¡± Shang Xi raised an eyebrow in surprise. Shang Ke¡¯s expression turned deadly serious and he looked at Shang Xia with a trace of hesitation. He didn¡¯t know how to phrase his words. Only after some time did he gather his thoughts. ¡°This is blood essence¡­ Sometimes, cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World would call it Blood Essence Crystals. It¡¯s used to strengthen the bloodlines of those from the Azure Spiritual World.¡± Shang Ke eventually explained. ¡°Blood Essence Crystal?! Is this what the Wind Swallow Race is relying on to improve their bloodline?¡± Shang Xia gasped. Shang Ke shook his head and laughed, ¡°The success rate isn¡¯t set in stone. Moreover, it¡¯s impossible for them to stop the weakening of their bloodline¡­¡± Shang Xia continued, ¡°How did this come about?! Is this what they are after from the Mutated Rain Swallows?¡± Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°Of course not. This Blood Essence Crystal can only form after pure blooded members of the Azure Spiritual World die. Those who are capable of something like that are experts in the Martial Intent Realm or higher. Also, the success rate of creating it can¡¯t be confirmed.¡± Shang Ke sighed. ¡°So that¡¯s the case¡­¡± Shang Xia grinned. ¡°This treasure might sound valuable, but it doesn¡¯t seem too useful to us! In the future, we can trade with the Wind Swallow Race for some good stuff!¡± Shang Xia barely completed his sentence when he saw the serious look on Shang Ke¡¯s face. ¡°Xia¡¯er, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll have to take this treasure away from you. Our Shang Clan will keep it safe.¡± ¡°Alright! However, I don¡¯t know what you plan to use it for. Fifth Grandpa, why don¡¯t you tell me what it can do?¡± Shang Xia chuckled in amusement. Shang Ke smacked Shang Xia¡¯s head playfully and chided. ¡°You¡¯re full of shit. Do you really think that I¡¯ll steal your treasures? Anyway, your Grandpa Bo told all of us to keep it a secret. I can¡¯t exactly reveal what this drop of blood can be used for. Whatever the case, the treasure belongs to you and our clan will have to give you suitable compensation if we take it away. However, you can only wait for the battle to end. The resources we have at our command now are channeled into the war, and I¡¯m unable to take anything out.¡± A mischievous smile formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he tutted, ¡°There¡¯s no need to rush! As long as Fifth Grandpa doesn¡¯t forget about it, that¡¯ll be great!¡± ¡°Shoo! Damn brat! I¡¯m leaving!¡± Shang Ke muttered before rushing off. However, he seemed to have recalled something and his voice echoed in their ears even after he had left. ¡°Right, don¡¯t tell anyone about Xi¡¯er¡¯s appearance here. It¡¯s absolutely forbidden to tell anyone of her whereabouts!¡± Shang Quan, Yan Qi, and Shang Xia nodded like chickens pecking on rice. Now that the great clans had sent their core members over, Shang Xia knew that the Tongyou Peak¡¯s plot was about to succeed. After making sure that the Rose Party¡¯s objective wasn¡¯t the Tongyou Peak or Tongyou City, the institution started to send their experts over secretly to the Tongyou Peak. Not too long after Shang Ke left, Shang Xia¡¯s voice rang in the room, ¡°Uncle Quan, I have no use for the Blue Clay. You can deal with it for me.¡± ¡°A rank two treasure. Ordinary ones would cost thirty silver essence per portion. The expensive ones will reach up to eighty silver essence a portion. Blue Clay is pretty rare, and you have an entire case of it. It¡¯s slightly more than a portion and a conservative estimate will be fifty pieces of silver essence.¡± ¡°Alright. Why don¡¯t you give me fifty silver essences and you can keep the case?¡± Shang Xia grinned. ¡°What the hell? Are you lacking cash right now?¡± As Shang Ke heard the commotion coming from the Shang Pavilion, he felt as though something was amiss but he couldn¡¯t put his finger on it. After Shang Xia handed the case over to Shang Quan, everyone left the room. Shang Xia was left alone with Yan Ni¡¯er who returned to her nest. ¡°Huh? Why do I feel like I lost big¡­ Wait a second¡­ All my treasures are gone! They even have their eyes on those I¡¯m left with! No, no, no¡­ I can¡¯t keep this up. So what if I manage to gain a bunch of favors? In the end, I¡¯m still a pauper. I have to get something in return!¡± Shang Xia cried after checking up on the treasures he owned. ¡°Chirp, chirp!¡± Yan Ni¡¯er¡¯s voice rang softly beside him. When he turned to look at her, he saw the egg sitting peacefully under her butt and he chuckled to himself, ¡°We¡¯re the only ones left¡­ Haha all of them were busy arguing with each other and they didn¡¯t notice the fourth egg! These are spiritual creatures that can be tamed the moment they hatch! One of them could even be a Lightning Bird the moment it emerges from the shell¡­¡± CH 65 As the situation on the Tongyou Peak became tenser and tenser, Shang Xia could feel the heavy atmosphere even when he was training his sword skills deep within the Shang Pavilion. Due to the dwindling resources, the Shang Pavilion closed its doors as carriages full of resources were sent towards fuelling the war efforts of the Tongyou Peak. The Shang Clan handed over all their usable resources to the Tongyou Peak for better deployment. The Shang Clan wasn¡¯t the only one. The resources of the other great clans and small powers were handed over to the Tongyou Peak unconditionally. Now that things were at a critical stage, no one could be bothered with their losses anymore. If the enemy managed to break through their defenses and take over the Tongyou Peak, they would lose a whole lot more! Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. Not only would they lose their only footing in the battlefield between the two worlds, the entrance to the Azure Origin World would be laid bare before those of the Azure Spiritual World! The You Continent wouldn¡¯t be the only one under threat. With the entrance to their world taken over, the thirteen other continents would come under constant pressure. ¡­ Shang Quan was so busy his head spun. Luckily for him, Yan Qi was there to provide some support. Ever since the incident in Shang Xia¡¯s room, Shang Ke disappeared after grabbing the bottle of Blood Essence Crystal. In the Shang Pavilion, only the aunt and nephew pair had nothing to do. Shang Xi locked herself in a room and continued to cultivate as though nothing was going on. Other than Shang Ke, Shang Quan, Shang Xia, and Yan Qi, no one else knew that she was on the Tongyou Peak. As for Shang Xia, he immersed himself in his River Sword Policy. He solidified his foundations a long time ago, and he met with a massive opportunity when breaking through to the Martial Extremity Realm. It was difficult for anyone to imagine how much potential he had accumulated within him. The only reason he hadn¡¯t experienced a massive leap in strength was because he failed to find a suitable technique in the past. Now that he obtained the River Sword Policy, his accumulations quickly showed. It didn¡¯t matter if it was his inner qi or his ability to master the sword techniques. Both sides progressed at a terrifying rate. In the training field behind the Shang Pavilion, Shang Xia held the same sword as before as he completed the last move of the Vigorous Sword Art. After training in it for some time, he became extremely familiar with the moves it contained. The way he controlled his inner qi synchronized with his actions, and he was able to display the full strength of his technique. Of course, that was merely the start. Familiarizing himself was one thing, but understanding and using the sword techniques to their fullest potential was another. He had a long way to go. When using the Vigorous Sword Art, Shang Xia noticed that a huge portion of the heaven and earth qi in his dantian had transformed into his inner qi. ¡°Clap, clap, clap¡­¡± Shang Xia snapped his head around and noticed Shang Xi standing at the corner of the field. From the looks of it, she had been there for some time. ¡°You seem free today¡­¡± Shang Xia muttered. Tossing the sword casually, it clattered while it stabbed straight into the weapons rack at the side. ¡°Cultivating silently became too boring and I decided to stroll around. There aren¡¯t many people in the Shang Pavilion now anyway.¡± Shang Xi smiled. ¡°I never thought that you would make so much progress in your sword technique¡­ You¡¯re really something else.¡± Shang Xia chuckled in amusement. ¡°Oh really? I don¡¯t think this is the only time I¡¯ve surprised you¡­¡± ¡°Damn brat¡­¡± Shang Xi pretended to jump and Shang Xia ran to the far corner of the field. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Shang Xia could obviously tell that she had something on her mind. Chuckling lightly, Shang Xi flipped her wrist to reveal an Embroidered Cloud Case. A mischievous smile started to form on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he cried, ¡°Aunt, are you finally willing to give me your Embroidered Cloud Case?¡± However, the case opened slightly and a jade pendant that was roughly two inches long emerged. Holding it in her hand for some time, Shang Xi threw both the pendant and case towards Shang Xia. Shang Xia didn¡¯t dare to be careless as he ran over to grab them. ¡°What? I was kidding! Are you really going to give them to me?¡± Shang Xi snickered in response. ¡°Are you chickening out now?¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t dare to joke with his aunt any longer and he quickly returned the case. ¡°Yeah¡­ I can¡¯t accept this¡­¡± Of course, he only returned the case. The pendant was held firmly in his hand. He could tell that that was the real reason behind Shang Xi¡¯s appearance. She threw the Embroidered Cloud Case over as a joke. ¡°Humph, scaredy cat¡­¡± Shang Xi snapped before turning serious. ¡°Anyway, you should know that the battle is about to start soon¡­¡± Shang Xia nodded solemnly. ¡°Yeah. Didn¡¯t we already make enough preparations?¡± Shang Xi ignored him and continued, ¡°Now that news of Patriarch Kou¡¯s injury has spread through the lands, the Rose Party will definitely not hold back.¡± ¡°Aunt, you can relax. We already calculated the odds and came to a conclusion that the experts of the Rose Party wouldn¡¯t make a move on our Tongyou Peak!¡± ¡°Can you stop interrupting me?!¡± Shang Xi finally snapped. She pinched his ear and dragged him around the field as she continued, ¡°Once the battle begins, who knows what will happen¡­ Are you so sure that we¡¯ll emerge as the final victor? Nothing is set in stone. This talisman can turn into your life saving treasure¡­ Did you hear me?!¡± Shang Xia yelped in pain as he was getting dragged across the field. ¡°Yeah, I get it, I get it! Hurry up and let go!¡± Releasing her grip, Shang Xi growled, ¡°If anything goes wrong, be smart. Use this talisman and run for your life. Understood?¡± Shang Xia nodded his head in haste. Finally letting him off the hook, her tone turned a tad bit softer and she asked, ¡°Do you know who has the greatest achievement with our Shang Clan¡¯s Irregular Steps?¡± Shang Xia knew the answer when he saw her expression. ¡°Of course it¡¯s my amazing Aunt Shang Xi!¡± ¡°This is a rank three talisman. Our clan doesn¡¯t have a single master capable of creating one of these, and I only managed to obtain it after exhausting a huge portion of my resources. I begged Master Chen of the Hundred Professions Pavilion to create this, and a part of my divine sense is sealed within. The moment it¡¯s unleashed, not many Martial Intent Realm cultivators will be able to catch up to you.¡± Shang Xi snorted. ¡°Aunt, you¡­¡± Shang Xia understood that creating a talisman like that would definitely affect Shang Xi¡¯s cultivation. Even if she was able to recover in the future, it would be more difficult for her to advance to the next rank! That alone spoke volumes about how much she cared for him. ¡°Alright, alright, enough of this! There¡¯s no need to thank me!¡± Shang Xia shrugged her shoulders and she continued, ¡°Now that that¡¯s done, hand over Jade River.¡± Shang Xia revealed a pained expression as he slowly brought the sword out. ¡°Aunt, you should know that¡­¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± Shang Xi snapped as she grabbed the sword from his hands. ¡°Aunt, do you think that you can use this sword to its fullest potential?¡± Flipping her eyes, she sighed helplessly, ¡°If I could, do you think I¡¯ll allow you to bring it around and flaunt your wealth? So what if I can¡¯t? No matter what, this is a mid-grade weapon. Having one by my side is much better than having nothing¡­¡± Shang Xia continued, ¡°Will you take the Ivory Fan away too?¡± ¡°Yeah. We¡¯ll have to distribute the best weapons to those who can bring out their strength. I¡¯ll give the fan to Yan Qi.¡± ¡°Who?!¡± Shang Xia cried, ¡°Stop joking with me¡­ Can Seventh Uncle really use the Ivory Fan?¡± Thinking about Yan Qi¡¯s tough and buff figure, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t imagine how such a brute could use a delicate weapon such as the Ivory Fan. He lost control of himself and a few chuckles left his lips. ¡°What else can we do? Our Shang Clan can¡¯t bring out any more weapons¡­¡± Shang Xi sighed. ¡°Wait a minute¡­ Who said that we only had these two weapons?¡± Shang Xia frowned. ¡°Didn¡¯t Uncle Quan tell you?¡± ¡°He¡¯s so busy that I can¡¯t even see his shadow these days¡­ What is he supposed to tell me?¡± Shang Xi asked. Before he could explain, they heard hurried footsteps sounding out from outside the Shang Pavilion. ¡°Haha! Brother Quan, are you there?!¡± A loud voice boomed through the air. ¡°Crap¡­ What great timing¡­!¡± Shang Xia said as he went out to welcome the guest. When he turned his head, he realized that Shang Xi was nowhere to be found. ¡°Brother Quan¡­ Oh? Little Xia, where¡¯s your uncle?¡± Seeing as no one was in the Shang Pavilion, the person who arrived went straight to the training field behind and ran into Shang Xia. Recognizing the newcomer, Shang Xia laughed, ¡°Uncle Hong, my uncle has been extremely busy the past few days. Are you looking for him because of the weapons?¡± The person who came was the craftsman of the Shang Clan, Duan Hong. He was pretty talented when it came to blacksmithing, and he had been nurtured by the Shang Clan since a long time ago. They hoped that he could become a rank three blacksmith and create graded weapons, but he had been stuck at the peak of the second rank for a long time now. He was the person Shang Quan entrusted the weapons with. ¡°You know?¡± Duan Hong was slightly taken aback. No shit! All the weapons he gave you belong to me! Shang Xia nearly rolled his eyes, but he managed to control himself. ¡°Uncle Quan isn¡¯t here. You can just hand the weapons over to me.¡± ¡°Oh? Alright then.¡± Duan Hong wasn¡¯t suspicious at all. Handing the weapons over to Shang Xia was the same as giving them to Shang Quan. The only thing he cared about was to apply for the treasures to try crafting a graded weapon, but it didn¡¯t seem appropriate for him to ask Shang Xia about it. As such, he could only take his leave after handing the weapons over. Unwrapping the three packages in his hand, Shang Xi appeared beside him all of a sudden. She stared at the pair of knives with her eyes glittering. CH 66 ¡°Aunt, what do you think of these knives?¡± Shang Xia asked. Shang Xi didn¡¯t seem to hear him as she played with the knives happily. A dazed look could be seen in her eyes and she stroked the knives gently. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but ask again, ¡°Aunt, do you know how to use them?¡± Shang Xi¡¯s hand stopped on the handle of the knives and she shot a cold glare towards Shang Xia. As the hair on his body stood on end, he saw two rays of light shooting towards him. He dodged on instinct. ¡°Blade intent!¡± Shang Xia yelled and he looked at his aunt. ¡°You actually managed to comprehend blade intent?!¡± For a cultivator who reached a certain accomplishment in the way of the blade, they would comprehend blade intent. When using their techniques, they could attack formlessly through the form of qi. When they improved and reached the next level, they could tear through space itself with their blade light. That was called blade qi! Coupled with a martial intent that specialized in the blade, a cultivator could summon their blade intent at any time. That was what Shang Xi used previously. Even though she had only entered the Martial Intent Realm and remained at the small completion stage, her comprehension of blade intent put her ahead of cultivators at the same level. As long as she was using a weapon with a sharp edge, she could utilize her blade intent! Shang Xia laughed bitterly in his heart when he thought about it. ¡°Aunt, haven¡¯t you thought of making weapons that would suit yourself?¡± Shang Xia asked cautiously. However, Shang Xi¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t leave the twin knives when she replied, ¡°Of course I have. It¡¯s just that the weapons I made can¡¯t compare to graded weapons!¡± ¡°Then¡­ What do you think about this pair of knives? Do you think the clan will accept it if I trade it for the rights to own Jade River?¡± Shang Xi finally looked at Shang Xia when he raised the question. A smile formed on her lips. ¡°You brat¡­ Looks like you have everything planned out.¡± Shang Xia chuckled softly in response. ¡°Relax. From now on, Jade River is yours!¡± Shang Xi declared all of a sudden. Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect her to make the decision on the spot, and he seemed to be stuck in a state of disbelief. ¡°Don¡¯t you need to ask the elders of our clan?¡± Shang Xi lowered her head to look at the knives again and snorted in contempt, ¡°No one will dare to reject the notion.¡± ¡°But¡­ Jade River is a mid-grade weapon! Even though the pair of knives can be compared to a mid-grade weapon, it¡¯s still¡­¡± Shang Xia continued. It was too bad Shang Xi wasn¡¯t listening to him at all as she kept the pair of knives in her Embroidered Cloud Case. Seeing as they were safe, she turned to Shang Xia and explained, ¡°From my point of view, it¡¯s more than worth it to trade a treasure I can¡¯t even use three tenth of the power of one that suits me. Anyone who refuses will be going against me! Humph! Even your grandfather will agree with me on this matter!¡± Shang Xia finally relaxed when he saw how confident she was. He turned to the other weapon in his hand and sighed ¡°Aunt, this is another low-grade weapon called the Origin Light¡­ No¡­ It¡¯s now called ¡®Formless¡¯... Why don¡¯t you give this to Seventh Uncle?¡± ¡°This knife belongs to you. You can give it to whoever you want. The clan won¡¯t interfere.¡± Shang Xi muttered. After Duan Hong was done with the knife, the insignia of the Hundred Professions Pavilion was scraped away and it now belonged to the Shang Clan. As Shang Xia imbued his inner qi into the knife, light started to distort around it and the blade turned blurry. Shang Xi frowned when she saw the uniqueness of the blade. ¡°This dagger is a great weapon indeed¡­ It¡¯s able to conceal itself and it¡¯s much better than any ordinary weapon¡­¡± She sucked in a cold breath and continued, ¡°Strictly speaking, a weapon like that isn¡¯t suitable for Yan Qi. Of course, It¡¯s much better than sending him into battle with a fan.¡± Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. Shang Xia laughed in response, ¡°Whatever the case, someone might recognize this dagger even after Uncle Hong¡¯s customization¡­¡± Shang Xi rolled her eyes at him. ¡°Are you afraid that someone will recognize it now? Why didn¡¯t you think of it sooner?¡± ¡°What do you mean! This is a graded weapon! If you were in my shoes, what would you do?¡± Shang Xia pouted. ¡°Relax. Since your Uncle Quan saw the weapon, he definitely knows what to do with it.¡± How could Shang Xi not see through Shang Xia¡¯s intentions? Even though the dagger was obtained by Shang Xia, it definitely belonged to someone on the Tongyou Peak. From the scarcity of weapons in the Shang Clan, one could imagine how important a graded weapon was. The moment news of the dagger was revealed, Shang Xia would be dragged into a major conflict. As such, he needed to borrow the clan¡¯s power to keep it. A better way to put it was that Shang Xia wanted to use the Shang Clan¡¯s power to scare the other party so he could keep the weapon. Of course, Shang Xia knew that the value of the weapon was enough for the clan to shield him from the backlash. Naturally, his actions would definitely piss off some people in the clan. Now that Shang Xia had grown up and entered the cultivation world for real, he would no longer be treated like a kid. Even with Shang Bo¡¯s support, Shang Xia needed to form his own support in the Shang Clan in order to prevent tongues from wagging. It seemed as though his aunt, Shang Xi, was his greatest ally in the clan. Yan Qi might not belong to the Shang Clan, but he had been attending to Shang Xia all the time. His cultivation level was at the limit of the Martial Extremity Realm and he was an important combat figure in the clan. It was especially so for the war that was about to break out. The Shang Clan only had half their original fighting power and Yan Qi¡¯s importance was further accentuated. It wasn¡¯t impossible to bestow the low-grade weapon on him. With the ability to hand the Ivory Fan over to Shang Quan, Shang Xia would gain extremely strong allies in the Shang Clan. His grandfather, Shang Bo, and his fifth grandfather, Shang Ke, might not be able to handle things in the later generations as the forefathers of the clan, but those around him could! ¡°I haven''t seen Seventh Uncle in awhile now. I heard that he¡¯s been following Uncle Quan around. I¡¯m afraid that I won¡¯t be able to leave the pavilion for some time as I have to enter seclusion again and I hope that Aunt Xi can hand the dagger over to him.¡± Shang Xia said while passing the dagger over. A trace of hesitation could be seen on Shang Xi¡¯s face as she muttered, ¡°No¡­ He hasn''t been seen around Shang Quan for some time now.¡± ¡°Did he run into any trouble?! What did Uncle Quan say?!¡± Shang Xia jumped in fright. ¡°That¡¯s the weird part. Shang Quan knows where he is, but he refuses to tell me anything. There¡¯s something fishy about all this. If Fifth Uncle is around I could look for him¡­¡± Shang Xia frowned. ¡°Does this have something to do with Fifth Grandpa?¡± Shang Xi raised an eyebrow slowly and she muttered, ¡°It¡¯s not something you have to worry about right now. Concentrate on your cultivation.¡± Retrieving the weapons, Shang Xi left in a haste. She was an expert in the Martial Intent Realm. Training in the training field was of no use to her. Before she left, she didn¡¯t forget to remind Shang Xia to pass the Ivory Fan to Shang Quan when he saw him. A large grin appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face after Shang Xi had left. Now, the mid-grade weapon finally belonged to him! Putting some of his inner qi into the Delicate Jade River Sword, it became taut in an instant. The first move of the Vigorous Sword Art, Torrential Advance! His sword stabbed forward and it seemed to contain the might of a thousand men! Shang Xia circulated his inner qi and continued to practice his sword art. A soft glow enveloped the tip of the sword. As he went through the moves one by one, he eventually finished all nine moves of the first manual. Every time he completed one move, the glow around his sword grew longer. The sword light turned more and more solid. When he completed the final move, Twisting Matter, a sword light emerged from the Delicate Jade River Sword and sliced the sword he was using previously in two! When the sword qi dissipated, countless weapons on the rack clattered to the ground. Sword qi! That was the first appearance of sword qi Shang Xia summoned! He might not have reached a complete understanding of the Vigorous Sword Art, but his improvement was clear as day. The Delicate Jade River Sword played a role too as it channeled the transformed inner qi in his body into sword qi. Even though the appearance of the sword qi wasn¡¯t too helpful in telling him how much his strength increased by, it told him that he was on the right track! In the future, he wouldn¡¯t face any obstruction when cultivating the Vigorous Sword Art. It was too bad Shang Xia wasn¡¯t content with the results. After recovering, he started to swing his sword again. This time, his moves were completely different from the ones he displayed previously! CH 67 As the Tongyou Peak entered full battle preparations, a heavy atmosphere filled the area. Disciples of the Protection Division would leave from time to time to fight cultivators from the Four Spiritual Peak. Tang Yuan had ordered the patrol squads to give up on patrolling the area and they would throw all their fighting force into the skirmish that was going on with the Four Spiritual Peak. As Liu Jitang brought away a huge portion of the fighting strength, the Tongyou Peak fell to a disadvantage against their opponents. Every time the patrol squads returned, there would be casualties. The area they controlled reduced day by day. The Four Spiritual Peak started to encroach on the Tongyou Peak. ¡­ When the fight grew more and more intense, the Shang Pavilion experienced an unprecedented period of calm. As the Vigorous Sword Art focused on the aspect of strength, Shang Xia focused on transforming his Yin Yang Essence Qi to that of the strength attribute. He discovered that when he used the Yin Yang Diagram, he would be able to unleash double his strength! Since that was the case, he felt that the opposite would be true too. He could easily transform the qi in his body to possess the softness attribute. No good would come if he kept thinking about it. As such, Shang Xia decided to try it. He transformed the inner qi in his body to possess the softness attribute and he swung the sword around. The technique he was displaying was completely different from those described in the Vigorous Sword Art. He started on the second manual contained in the River Sword Policy, the Formess Sword Art! Shang Xia¡¯s method of cultivation was nothing more than suicide in the eyes of others. One had to achieve balance when they reached the Martial Extremity Realm. They needed to advance carefully as they trained in the two opposing types of qi. Throughout the process, one could easily die if they lost control of their inner qi! As such, cultivators would tread carefully when it came to practicing the opposing type of qi. Training both at the same time was something a madman would do! There were even some cultivators who had no choice but to seal off one type of qi, causing them to miss out on several opportunities. Shang Xia¡¯s actions were something they would never be able to understand. As he practiced the Formless Sword Art, he realized that it wasn¡¯t living up to its name. It didn¡¯t make the strikes formless, and neither did it make the sword. In fact, it was more appropriate to call it a flowing sword style. The way his sword moved became irregular, and the difficulty of comprehending the sword art completely was astounding. Every single strike came from an angle one wouldn¡¯t expect. The person who trained in the sword art itself would go crazy from trying to master the haphazard sword movements. As the sword technique had high requirements on one¡¯s inner qi, Shang Xia contemplated if he should actually start training in it. He had the ability to prevent different types of qi from crashing in his body, but he wasn¡¯t confident he could control his qi so intricately that he fulfilled the requirement to utilize the sword art. Luckily for him, the Delicate Jade River Sword in his hand had a softness attribute of its own and it was the best weapon he could ask for when training in the Formless Sword Art! Previously, his main problem was that the sword still belonged to the Shang Clan. It would be taken away when the battle began, but now that he traded it with his aunt, it finally belonged to him. The twin knives were something he obtained alone, and even the clan wouldn¡¯t be able to take them away from him. When he saw the River Sword Policy in the Scripture Depository, he had already made the decision to trade his treasures for the Delicate Jade River Sword. Despite his greatest efforts, he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to complete training in both sword arts before the battle began. ¡­ When Shang Xia finally received his inner qi, he opened his eyes and walked out of his room. Utter silence filled the upper levels of the Shang Pavilion. There would be occasional yells coming from the first floor, but they would quickly disappear. No one came to interrupt Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation and in the face of the massive battle, everyone seemed to have forgotten about his existence. Shang Xia chuckled softly. Of course, that wasn¡¯t the case. The only reason he could cultivate peacefully was because of the Shang Clan¡¯s interference. They wanted to keep him away from the battle the best they could. It also had something to do with all the credits he gained. Not only did he single handedly save his fellow disciples, but he also managed to make the Wind Swallow Race back off from the battle. Those were more than enough to make the Tongyou Institution reevaluate his worth. At the very least, Shang Bing hadn¡¯t appeared to reward Shang Xia openly as they were still discussing what he deserved. If Shang Xia was adamant about returning to the Tongyou Institution, no one could force him to stay. Of course, that would cause his image to drop slightly. Circulating his inner qi slowly, Shang Xia casually unleashed his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm as a ball of lightning gathered in his hand. Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Sending it towards Yan Ni¡¯er, Shang Xia slowly approached the table in his room and picked up his brush. Dipping it into the ink, he started to draw some lightning runes on the tablets laid before him. He was a talented talisman master and he chose to create as many Lighting Charms as he could. After all, they were the ones that possessed the most destructive power. Since he obtained the Thorny Brush and the box of jade pendants, Shang Xia could feel that he was closing on becoming a rank two talisman master. After selling away some of the treasures, he got Shang Quan to purchase some rank two treasures to create talismans. When Shang Quan learned of his intentions, he encouraged Shang Xia to create more rank one talismans to consolidate his knowledge and deepen his understanding before trying to make anything better. Shang Xia was in high spirits when Shang Quan brought out a ton of helpful ingredients and items. Shang Quan promised Shang Xia to split the profits after they sold away the talismans Shang Xia created. They were going to split the profits 80-20, with 20 percent going to the Shang Clan. Since Shang Xia broke through, the amount of inner qi he wielded was much more than before. He finally understood the importance of getting good resources. Before breaking through, Shang Xia could rely on the institution and his clan for the resources he required. Now, he would have to look for a huge portion of the treasures he required. When Shang Quan agreed to split the profits of the talismans with Shang Xia, that was the greatest concession the Shang Clan could make. Just as he was starting to create the talismans, Shang Xia noticed that there wasn¡¯t a single board of Lightning Wood that was more than a hundred years old. There were only several talisman papers and plaques made from uncommon materials. Even though he could be considered a rank one talisman master, he didn¡¯t know how to create any other talismans other than the Lightning Charms. The Lightning Charms he produced previously had close to forty percent of the power in his Chaos Essence Lightening Palm, but the amount of resources required to make one was terrifying! There was no way they could give him all the resources he needed. Adding on the fact that his success rate for crafting those wasn¡¯t too high to begin with, the Shang Clan would never allow him to try to mass produce them. Strictly speaking, Shang Xia hadn¡¯t made a single cent from any talismans he made. That also allowed him to realize that his talent for creating talismans might not be as high as he thought. If he tried to create rank two talismans, he would be wasting a huge bunch of resources for nothing! He could only focus on creating rank one talismans with the items before him. Very quickly, he realized that creating lightning attributed talismans was something he was better at. He was capable of creating more than Lightning Charms. After several tries, he managed to create something new and he looked at the talisman on the table with a smirk on his face. It was a different type of talisman entirely, and it was called the Stimulation Talisman. It was something used to save a cultivator¡¯s life at a critical moment. CH 68 As the Thorny Brush flew across the talisman papers on the table, a powerful wave of lightning qi filled the room. His Stimulation Talisman was complete. He used close to twelve hours to complete the single talisman, and that didn¡¯t include the preparation time. ¡°With this, our Shang Pavilion should finally be able to earn some money, right? Especially when times are so desperate¡­¡± Shang Xia inspected the talisman in his hand as he heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°I can make a little more preparations next time before I start and get into my peak mental state. I should be able to take one less break during the process and that should lower the chances of failure significantly.¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself. ¡°Also, I seem a little unfamiliar when creating the talisman and that resulted in my inner qi becoming unsteady. It increased the consumption of my inner qi and after getting used to it, I should be able to further reduce the number of breaks I need.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll estimate that I¡¯ll need four breaks throughout the entire crafting process. Three of them are absolutely necessary and I¡¯ll need to think of a way to get rid of the fourth. Of course, getting rid of two breaks already increased the chances of success by a lot!¡± Shang Xia estimated. The Stimulation Talisman was one of the more complex ones among the rank one talisman. When he reevaluated his talent earlier, he thought that he might not be as gifted as he was. Now that he successfully created the Stimulation Talisman, his confidence returned. When he made the Lightning Charm in the past, he used boards of Lightning Wood that were hundreds of years old! Now, he only used some talisman paper to create such a complex creation! Shang Xia looked at the ingredients on the table when he was interrupted by a report that someone was there to look for him. A trace of doubt formed in his mind. However, he still invited the guest up. ¡°Junior Brother Shang, it¡¯s been a long time. How have you been?¡± A familiar voice came from outside the door. Gasping in shock, a look of pleasant surprise appeared on his face as he welcomed the guest. ¡°Senior Brother Tian, long time no see! Oh, Senior Brother Jin is here too!¡± The two who came were precisely Tian Mengzi and Jin Guanchao. However, they seemed to have donned a disguise before coming over to look for Shang Xia. Inviting them both into the room, Shang Xia spoke, ¡°I heard that senior brothers were injured during the battle. I wanted to pay you a visit, but I failed to locate your residences. I¡¯m truly sorry.¡± The two of them looked at each other and laughed, ¡°Of course you won¡¯t be able to find it. There are some people who are trying to hide our condition.¡± A light flashed in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes and he muttered, ¡°So, you¡¯re here today because¡­¡± ¡°Is that a Stimulation Talisman?!¡± A gasp interrupted Shang Xia before he could complete his sentence. Shang Xia realized that Jin Guanchao had appeared beside his table without anyone noticing and he was looking at the talisman he just completed. Shang Xia noticed that the aura around Jin Guanchao had grown stronger since they last met. Suppressing his surprise, Shang Xia smiled, ¡°I was lucky enough to create one right before you came.¡± Tian Mengzi headed over and after gesturing to Shang Xia, he held the talisman in his hand and examined it carefully. Placing it down properly, he exclaimed, ¡°Junior Brother Shang, you surprise us every time. The Stimulation Talisman is one of the hardest ones to create¡­ From the looks of it, you should be close to a rank two talisman master.¡± Jin Guanchao nodded at the side. ¡°This life saving talisman is worth more than some rank two talismans¡­¡± ¡°Senior brothers, you¡¯re exaggerating. It¡¯s not that easy to become a rank two talisman master!¡± Shang Xia chuckled. The use of a Stimulation Talisman was like a defibrillator in Shang Xia¡¯s original world. It could restart someone¡¯s heart after they died. However, its use was much more exaggerated in the world of cultivation. As long as a cultivator¡¯s heart was still beating, the Stimulation Talisman would ensure that their heart continued to pump for a quarter of an hour. That should be more than enough for a cultivator to bring themselves back from the brink of death. Even if they were to die after the time was up, they would be able to handle a lot of things right before they died. As such, the Stimulation Talisman had another name. It was also called the Talisman of Last Breath! Shang Xia changed the topic quickly. ¡°Why did you come all the way here to look for me?¡± Tian Mengizi nodded and sighed, ¡°We guessed that you would know what is going on at the moment. Not many people know that the two of us were injured. Now, those who know think that we¡¯re still recovering from our injuries.¡± Shang Xia turned serious. ¡°Do you have any instructions for me now that you¡¯re here?¡± Tian Mengzi waved his hand casually. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t dare. We only hope that Junior Brother Shang can help us with something small..¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t agree immediately. ¡°This¡­ What exactly is the favor you need?¡± ¡°Junior Brother Jin and I received a secret mission from the institution. The two of us are to protect the bridges that connect the main peak to the other mountain peaks from any surprise attacks the Four Spiritual Peak might launch.¡± Tian Mengzi muttered in a low voice. There were six auxiliary peaks around the Tongyou Peak, and they were called Mingxiu, Kaiyuan, Qiling, Luohui, Yuxi, and Pinxin respectively. The six of them were connected to the main peak with a long bridge, and they were connected to neighboring peaks the same way. If anyone were to look at the Tongyou Peak from above, they would see that the peaks formed a massive hexagon. With the main peak at the center, every other peak would form a giant triangle with the bridges connected to the main peak. That was the core of the protection formation surrounding the Tongyou Peak. If the bridges were to fall, every peak would lose its support. They wouldn¡¯t be able to receive any reinforcements from the Tongyou Peak when that happened. If so, the power of the protection formation would be reduced by two-thirds! ¡°Destruction of the bridges?¡± Shang Xia revealed a puzzled expression. ¡°Is the Four Spiritual Peak going to sabotage them with the help of a spy?¡± Shang Xia knew much more than the two of them. He knew that the destruction of the bridges wouldn¡¯t be done by those of the Four Spiritual Peak. Instead, the Rose Party would be the ones behind it. Shang Xia could also guess that the appearance of the elites of the three great clans had something to do with that. Tian Mengzi shook his head and sighed, ¡°I have no idea. However, all we need to do is to ensure that the bridges remain intact. Anyone who tries to sabotage it will be deemed as a traitor punishable by death!¡± Shang Xia chuckled. ¡°Of course. Do you wish to ask for my help to protect the bridges?¡± Tian Mengzi nodded solemnly. ¡°Indeed. The bridge between the main peak and the Mingxiu Peak is located close to your Shang Pavilion. If any bastard sets their eyes on it, we might not be able to stop them in time. We will have to trouble Junior Brother Shang to deal with it in case that happens.¡± ¡°Of course. It¡¯s my duty to do something like that. However, I have to say that you really think highly of me. I barely entered the Martial Extremity Realm and you entrusted me with such a difficult task. Aren¡¯t you experts who are close to entering the Martial Intent Realm?¡± Shang Xia cried. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to enter the Martial Intent Realm¡­¡± Tian Mengzi laughed bitterly. ¡­ The Shang Pavilion was the stronghold of the Shang Clan on the Tongyou Peak. However, the Pinxin Peak was where the Shang Clan actually carried out most of their business and it was where they had to protect when the time came. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. Since Ji Wenlong and the rest returned from the Four Spiritual Peak, the Shang Clan had been given orders to protect the Pinxin Peak. Recently, the Shang Clan had been channeling most of their resources there, causing the Shang Pavilion to turn into a ghost town. At that moment, Shang Ke and Shang Quan were waiting outside the entrance of a secret region. Shang Quan looked over his shoulder from time to time with an anxious expression on his face. ¡°Fifth Uncle, it has already been so long. Why isn¡¯t there any sign?!¡± Shang Quan couldn¡¯t suppress his curiosity any longer. ¡°Remain calm!¡± Shang Ke opened his eyes and glared at Shang Quan. ¡°You¡¯re part of the core of our Shang Clan. Why are you always so hasty? If you refuse to change your ways, when will you ever condense your divine sense?!¡± Shang Quan sighed and he suppressed the worry in his heart. ¡°Fifth Uncle, I¡¯m worried that he might make the connection now that he has the Blood Essence Crystal!¡± ¡°Humph. Do you really think he¡¯s stupid? He has been in our family for more than twenty years. Every one of us sees him as our own¡­¡± Shang Ke muttered. ¡°You¡¯re right¡­¡± Shang Quan whispered softly. All of a sudden, a terrifying wave of qi emerged from the top of the mountain and it charged straight towards the foot. The ground started to quake, and Shang Quan widened his eyes in surprise. ¡°This¡­ Bloodline recovery! Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± ¡°Enough of your bullshit! Hurry up and suppress the sign with me! Do you want everyone to find out our secret?!¡± Shang Ke snapped at him. CH 69 Yuan Zhen ran into the main hall of the Tongyou Peak hastily and cried, ¡°Master, the deputy patriarch, he¡­¡± Yuan Zhen¡¯s expression changed when he noticed someone else standing in there. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Did Liu Jitang send some news over?¡± Ji Wenlong ignored Yuan Zhen¡¯s stunned expression and got straight to the point. Yuan Zhen looked at the other person in the hall and he slowly took out the report from his sleeves. ¡°I received a message earlier and it seems to be from Deputy Patriarch Liu Jitang. He sent it over by a Wind Pigeon.¡± Ji Wenlong raised his palm slightly and the letter flew over. Reading the contents, a sneer formed on Ji Wenlong¡¯s face. ¡°Haha old freak, looks like he¡¯s trapped somewhere by the Rose Party and he¡¯s asking us to send help.¡± He handed the letter over to the other person in the hall and muttered, ¡°Take a look.¡± The other person in the hall shook his head after reading the letter. ¡°Looks like he doesn¡¯t care about your attempts to help him.¡± Ji Wenlong¡¯s expression sank slightly. The person who came definitely respected him, but the way he spoke was still pretty casual. Waving the letter in his hand, the man continued, ¡°Requesting for assistance? Humph. He¡¯s basically trying to order you to move the entire Tongyou Peak out to help him.¡± There were hints of blame in his voice and even though Ji Wenlong¡¯s expression was grave, he didn¡¯t say anything in response. Turning to look at Yuan Zhen, Ji Wenlong asked, ¡°Do we save him?¡± ¡°How are we supposed to do that?!¡± Ji Wenlong sank into silence again. The other man in the hall continued, ¡°What do you think is of more importance? The Tongyou Peak or Deputy Patriarch Liu? Perhaps, it¡¯s the combination of Deputy Patriarch Liu and the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance¡­¡± Seeing as Ji Wenlong was still keeping mum, the man shook the letter in his hand as if to emphasize a point. ¡°Look at this! A thousand mile radius around the Coral Forest¡­ If he really requires assistance, he would have specified a place! How are we supposed to look for him with this vague description? How long will we have to waste?¡± ¡°He¡¯s clearly afraid that we¡¯ll steal his fortune after going over. He probably gave us such a huge area so that we would run into the members of the Rose Party and get into a huge brawl. When both parties are seriously injured, he¡¯ll be able to obtain the inheritance and leave unharmed. He might even feel benevolent and save us after he¡¯s done, making us owe him a huge favor.¡± Yuan Zhen couldn¡¯t hold back any longer and he snapped, ¡°That¡¯s a little too much¡­¡± ¡°What do you know?!¡± The other man roared at him. Anger flashed through Yuan Zhen¡¯s face, but seeing as Ji Wenlong had remained silent, he could only suppress his rage. The man looked at Yuan Zhen and chuckled, ¡°I have to say¡­ It¡¯s been so many years and Liu Jitang¡¯s bad habit of scheming against everyone got worse.¡± ¡°Alright, enough. No matter what, he¡¯s still your teacher.¡± Ji Wenlong growled. ¡°We cannot lose the Tongyou Peak. Liu Jitang will have to hold out until the end of the battle.¡± After thinking for some time, Ji Wenlong added, ¡°Let this be a lesson to him¡­ We¡¯ll hope that he manages to hold on for long enough.¡± The other person in the hall tutted, ¡°Of course he will¡­¡± Even though he wanted to continue, he swallowed his words after Ji Wenlong shot a glare at him. When Yuan Zhen left the hall, all the anger in him had dissipated. Looking at the shadow under his feet, Yuan Zhen sighed, ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to focus on my cultivation after this battle¡­ I¡¯m the only head of the Protection Division at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. I can¡¯t fall behind too much!¡± ¡°Wait¡­ Why the hell is my shadow moving without me?¡± Yuan Zhen raised his head to look at the skies, and he saw shadows descending rapidly. ¡­ After sending Tian Mengzi and Jin Guanchao, Shang Xia wanted to complete the third move of the Formless Sword Art. Perhaps it was because of the technique, Shang Xia felt that his thoughts were in disarray after he finished the third move. Leaving the training field, Shang Xia raised his head to see giant beads of water droplets falling towards the Tongyou Peak. The sound of water rushing entered Shang Xia¡¯s ears and the sound got louder and louder. As the inner qi in his body started to slowly speed up, Shang Xia could feel that it was starting to run wild. Cultivators other than him would feel their inner qi battering against the insides of their dantian! Of course, Shang Xia was no ordinary cultivator. The Yin Yang Diagram started to spin and he was jolted awake from the strange trance he had entered. ¡°Not good¡­ There¡¯s something wrong with the sound!¡± A light flashed in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes and he raised his head again only to see rays of light slowly rushing towards the Tongyou Peak. Those rays of light smashed against the mountain range and the bridges connecting the peaks started to sway violently. The protection formation around the Tongyou Peak started to counterattack the sudden influx of energy. Even so, the rattling of the bridges didn¡¯t stop. Heaven and earth qi slowly scattered all about. When the protection formation finally suppressed the sound waves, a second round came. The power weakened slightly when it passed the protection formation but the remaining power still slammed into the peak. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. ¡°Ah!¡± A terrifying roar came from the various peaks as several cultivators experienced cultivation deviation. Shang Xia could see several disciples around him with the blood drained from their faces as they tried to keep their inner qi under control. However, there were some who were at peace. Those were the ones who had consolidated their foundations and had reached a certain level of cultivation. At the same time, Shang Xia noticed that there was another moon in the skies above the Tongyou Peak. It was falling at a terrifying pace, and it was about to crash straight into the Tongyou Peak. ¡°Enough!¡± A roar came from the top of the main peak and a wave of true qi enveloped the area. It completely destroyed the offensive energy waves coming at them. With a single move, Ji Wenlong shattered the first offensive thrown over by the enemy. However, Shang Xia¡¯s attention was drawn away by a knife that was soaring high above the Tongyou Peak. It was the second time he had seen the blade and he knew that it was Ji Wenlong¡¯s high-grade weapon, the Lithe Blade! With a single slash, it sliced the moon in half. The scene caught the attention of many cultivators on the Tongyou Peak. A shocking scene played out as the blade separated the moon in half! As a burst of light threatened to blind them, the world seemed to lose all sound. Everyone shut their eyes instinctively and when Shang Xia finally opened his eyes again, he saw a giant crater in the air. Deafening blasts came from above. The protection formation around the Tongyou Peak caved in completely, and the bridge around the peaks continued to rattle. Eventually, they dissipated the energy that came from above and the crater slowly disappeared. No one knew when, but Ji Wenlong had appeared on top of the Tongyou Peak. He held the blade in his hand as he stared into the distance. The moon that had been sliced in half released a pained cry as it flew towards the empty space around the Tongyou Peak. CH 70 The cultivators were still enamored by Ji Wenlong¡¯s strike, but a massive shockwave was kicked up when the moon crashed into the ground below. Well, it came as a surprise when they didn¡¯t feel the shockwave blasting against them. None of them noticed that the protection formation had already recovered after Ji Wenlong sliced the moon in half, and it counteracted the subsequent energy wave. ¡°Lang Xiaoyun, Ran Biluo, how dare you run all the way here to cause trouble?!¡± Ji Wenlong roared as he left the range of the protection formation alone. Waving the Lithe Blade in his hand, he shattered whatever remained of the moon and yet another shockwave battered against the protection formation. The bridges connecting the peaks trembled once again as the six surrounding peaks bore the brunt of the blow. A soft ringing came from each of the six peaks and a myriad of light emerged. The heaven and earth qi that was rampaging about calmed down and became a lot denser than before. Shang Xia felt a wave of qi blasting against his body. ¡°Hehe, Ji Wenlong, you¡¯re not our opponent!¡± The voice entered the ears of everyone in the Tongyou Peak. ¡°You can try.¡± Ji Wenlong remained motionless as he stood facing the enemy. Two figures appeared eventually and it was a man and a woman. The man looked pretty skinny and he was clad in gray. There was a treacherous look in his eyes and his movements resembled a wolf. He was one of the four leaders of the Four Spiritual Peak, Lang Xiaoyun! The woman was a great beauty who emitted a mature air. Every move she made caused one¡¯s heart to flutter. She was Ran Biluo, another one of the four leaders. The two of them stepped in the air as they approached Ji Wenlong slowly. They stopped hundreds of feet away. ¡°Ji Wenlong, we¡¯ve been fighting for close to 20 years now and you¡¯re still as stubborn as before. If it was Kou Chongxue who said what you just said, we might be a little afraid. Too bad he¡¯s trying to recover from his serious injury now. Today, we¡¯ll crush your Tongyou Peak whether you like it or not!¡± Ran Biluo sneered and her voice entered the heads of everyone present. When they heard what she said, their expressions changed. If it wasn¡¯t because the battle was upon them, Shang Xia was sure that the news would cause more than half of the Tongyou Peak to fall into chaos. As for the other half, they would be the ones who had no idea who Kou Chongxue was. Even so, Shang Xia could feel the hearts of various cultivators wavering. That wasn¡¯t right¡­ The will of cultivators was as strong as steel! How could they be swayed by a few words? There had to be something off about the woman¡¯s speech. Shang Xia quickly made a deduction and thought about the soundwave that caused many of them to lose control of their inner qi earlier. It had to be related to the woman. A wave of worry swept through his heart. What in the world was that kind of power? Was it her martial intent? Or something else? When Shang Xia was still trying to make sense of things, a clear explosion rang in the ears of those on the Tongyou Peak. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. It brought them back to reality, and a rough voice took over. ¡°Ran Biluo, our Tongyou Peak isn¡¯t a place you can run your mouth off as you please.¡± A long whip extended out from Ji Wenlong¡¯s back and it went straight for Ran Biluo¡¯s face. Ran Biluo revealed a frosty expression and her wrist whipped about. A shortsword that contained seven specialized holes appeared and it blocked the whip. ¡°Pa!¡± Another crisp explosion could be heard as the whip broke apart into seven pieces before returning to its user. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Ran Biluo might have nullified the attack easily, but her expression sank instantly. ¡°Who would have thought that you would enter the battlefield between two worlds¡­¡± A figure appeared above the Tongyou Peak and approached Ji Wenlong. ¡°Instructor of the Upper Division of the Tongyou Institution, Liu Qinglan! Looks like you already know who she is.¡± The newcomer was a middle-aged female and her appearance was comparable, if not better than Ran Biluo. Unlike Ran Biluo who had a charming air around her, Liu Qinglan emitted a dignified and noble aura. ¡°Liu Qinglan? I¡¯ve heard of you.¡± Lang Xiaoyun snorted in contempt. He was greeted with a soft chuckle from Liu Qinglan. ¡°I¡¯m really honored that you heard of me. I hope we can exchange pointers in the future. I¡¯ll personally carve my name into your bones so that you won¡¯t forget me.¡± ¡°Wow, you¡¯re really smart. Are you scared that you can¡¯t take me on right now?¡± Lang Xiaoyun sneered. Facing the useless exchange, Ji Wenlong lost his patience and growled, ¡°Why are we wasting time talking to each other? If you want to fight, come at me! If you¡¯re planning to run your mouth off, you can scram!¡± The words barely left his lips when his blade chopped at Lang Xiaoyun. ¡°Old wolf, let your granddaddy here see if you improved since we last fought!¡± Ji Wenlong yelled as four rays of light emerged from his blade. ¡°Perfect timing!¡± Lang Xiaoyun yelled as a silver ring behind his back appeared to defend himself. Looking at the silver ring, one would think of the moon that appeared earlier. His weapon was called the Startling Moon Loop and it was a high-grade weapon. As it soared into the air, it emitted three different colors. Silver, blue, and gray lights danced around it and it didn¡¯t lose out to Ji Wenlong¡¯s Lithe Blade. The blade and loop danced about in mid air and shockwaves swept across the battlefield. Even though they were hundreds of feet away from the Tongyou Peak, the shockwaves caused the protection formation to cave in once more. Fortunately for Ji Wenlong, he started to suppress Lang Xiaoyun with his relentless attacks and he started to push him away from the Tongyou Peak. When the two men started their brawl, Ran Biluo and Liu Qinglan glared at each other. ¡°Hehe, little sister of the Liu Clan, show me what you got!¡± Ran Biluo laughed as her Seven Conch Sword emitted a strange ringing sound. The weapon she wielded was also a high-grade weapon, and from the looks of it, she wanted to carve out a flower in Liu Qinglan¡¯s face. ¡°Hehe, old witch, even if you¡¯re not a hundred years old, you should be close to it. Do you really think you qualify to be my older sister? Why don¡¯t I call you grandma instead?¡± Liu Qinglan didn¡¯t lose in their battle of words. Even though her Seven Tendon Whip was only a mid-grade weapon, it would accurately slash at Ran Biluo¡¯s neck every time she swung it. The attacks of the two women were sinister and ruthless and they exchanged many blows in an instant. However, Ran Biluo¡¯s cultivation was slightly higher than Liu Qinglan and it was a matter of time before Liu Qinglan would fall to a disadvantage. As such, Liu Qinglan didn¡¯t follow in Ji Wenlong¡¯s footsteps to drag the battle away from the Tongyou Peak. She wanted to tap on the protection formation when she was no longer able to hold on. Naturally, Ran Biluo was no fool. She saw through Liu Qinglan¡¯s intentions instantly. Even so, she didn¡¯t try to drag Liu Qinglan away. She decided to go all in and play at whatever game her opponent was laying down and they started to make laps around the protection formation. She would shoot out a ray of sword qi from time to time to attack the barrier. Every time she swung her sword, a weird sound wave would be released. It could affect her opponent¡¯s frame of mind and cause them to lose control of their inner qi for a split second. That caused a huge portion of disciples on the Tongyou Peak a lot of trouble whenever she attacked the barrier. That was the result even after Liu Qinglan took the brunt of the blow. If she didn''t, the weaker cultivators on the Tongyou Peak would suffer great casualties. ¡°Upper Division Instructor Liu Qinglan¡­ Looks like she managed to enter the Martial Extermination Realm¡­¡± Shang Xia thought to himself as he observed the great battle taking place outside the barrier. From the looks of it, it wasn¡¯t enough! The Four Spiritual Peak definitely had another expert in hiding. When they revealed themselves, who would the Tongyou Peak send out? Ji Wenlong¡¯s estimate that the Rose Party wouldn¡¯t attack the city might be taken seriously by the institution and they sent numerous experts over to the Tongyou Peak. However, they couldn¡¯t possibly leave the city defenseless! Under the premise that Kou Chongxue was seriously injured, they needed another Martial Extermination Realm expert to hold the fort down at the Tongyou Institution! As such, the weakness of the institution was laid bare before everyone¡¯s eyes. Compared to the Tongyou Institution, the Four Spiritual Peak had way more high level experts! CH 71 In the past twenty years, the Tongyou Institution had always maintained a balance of power with the Four Spiritual Peak due to Kou Chongxue¡¯s personal strength. However, a balance based on one person¡¯s strength was easily broken! The moment Kou Chongxue came into trouble, the Four Spiritual Peak would wreak havoc in the battlefield between two worlds. Now, the Tongyou Institution¡¯s most feared scenario has occurred! Since they managed to verify the news of Kou Chongxue¡¯s injury, they immediately waged a war against the Tongyou Peak! That was the greatest opportunity they would get to deal a huge blow to their enemy! When Shang Xia was slightly distracted, Liu Qinglan and Ran Biluo had nearly circled the protection formation twice! The occasional soundwave started to become even more clear in their ears. Shang Xia could feel his thoughts slowly falling into disarray and his inner qi started to speed up. He even had an urge to leave the Tongyou Peak to shatter the sword in Ran Biluo¡¯s hand! The inner qi in his body sped up and crashed against his meridians. The Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian trembled slightly, pulling everything under control. Shang Xia returned to his senses and he was shocked by the change in his mood. He knew that there was something wrong with the soundwaves, but he was unable to defend against them anyway. Was that the true power of an expert at the Fourth Order Primary Realm? Could the reason behind the naming of the realm, ¡®Martial Extermination Realm¡¯ have something to do with the power of extermination they used? The thought flashed in his mind and he continued to watch as the two of them made laps around the Tongyou Peak. Of course, Ran Biluo was no fool. She would try her hardest to weaken the protection formation as much as she could. The most important thing wasn¡¯t to defeat the woman in front of her. Shang Xia knew that she was waiting for a chance for the Rose Party to make their move. When the battle was raging, the spy from the Rose Party would take the chance to destroy the bridges connecting the peaks! They would shatter the protection formation once and for all! Even though Shang Xia was watching the battle from inside the Shang Pavilion, he didn¡¯t forget to pay attention to the bridge nearby. He noticed that many cultivators were trying their hardest to suppress the rampaging inner qi in their bodies due to the soundwaves Ran Biluo emitted. If the Rose Party used this opportunity to make their move, things would be disastrous! The more he thought about it, the more worried he became. He felt that Ran Biluo¡¯s actions were signals for the Rose Party to hurry up. Shang Xia quickly headed over to the bridge after a short moment of contemplation. He arrived at the bridge connecting the main peak to the Mingxiu Peak not too long after leaving the Shang Pavilion. Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. The Mingxiu Peak was the stronghold of the Liu Can, and due to Liu Jitang¡¯s departure to find the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance, there was barely anyone left there. The institution could only send several disciples of the Protection Division over, further splitting up their strength. At that moment, two disciples in the Martial Intent Realm who were pretty famous stood on the Mingxiu Peak. They were called Lu Yan and Ma Dengfeng respectively, and it was said that they were cultivators who didn¡¯t come from the You Continent. Since the collision between the worlds, there were countless powers dragged into the conflict. Cultivators of the Azure Origin World gathered at the You Continent to take on the enemy, and a huge portion of experts in the battlefield between the two worlds came from other continents. Lu Yan and Ma Dengfeng stared at the battle raging outside and they gasped in shock. They weren¡¯t as affected as the rest of the disciples, and they could even joke around with each other. ¡°We won¡¯t be able to catch an exchange between two Martial Extermination Realm cultivators in our Ji Continent. Even if there was a battle, they would exchange a few blows before stopping¡­ Brother Ma, what do you think?¡± Lu Yan seemed much more excited compared to Ma Dengfeng. ¡°Brother Lu, have you seen exchanges between Martial Extermination Realm cultivators in our Ji Continent?¡± Ma Dengfeng asked in response. ¡°Yeah. However, they stopped after some time. There wasn¡¯t any killing intent at all!¡± Lu Yan chuckled. He seemed to have thought of something and he sighed the next moment, ¡°When our worlds collided, the number of cultivators in the You Continent reduced drastically. All of them went to war with the Azure Spiritual World. The Tongyou Institution that stands as their pillar of strength might look like it¡¯s struggling to hold its own, but we cannot underestimate them. Unlike our continents where there are many factions, the Tongyou Institution has so few cultivators it almost seems pitiful! However, every single one of them is a terrifying beast when it comes to battle. The cultivators from our continents will never be comparable to them.¡± Me Dengfeng sighed, ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ They mature extremely quickly!¡± Lu Yan didn¡¯t think too much of Ma Dengfeng¡¯s tone, and he continued, ¡°The news of Patriarch Kou¡¯s injury has already spread through the lands. The Four Spiritual Peak wouldn¡¯t miss this chance to flatten our Tongyou Peak. Two experts at the Fourth Order Primary Realm revealed themselves, and there will definitely be more coming over soon. I wonder if the institution managed to think of a countermeasure¡­ The appearance of Liu Qinglan is shocking enough!¡± Ma Dengfeng stared at Lu Yan from the corner of his eye. ¡°Brother Lu, aren¡¯t you afraid that the Tongyou Peak would be defeated? Even with Liu Qinglan, the Four Spiritual Peak has way more experts at the Martial Extermination Realm than us!¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to worry about? Even if Patriarch Kou is seriously injured, our two deputy patriarchs Shang Bo and Yun Jing hadn¡¯t made an appearance! With the protection formation to assist them, we won¡¯t be in any danger even if they¡¯re stronger than us!¡± Ma Dengfeng laughed helplessly, ¡°Brother Lu, you¡¯re too naive. If Shang Bo and Yun Jing came over, wouldn¡¯t the institution be defenseless?¡± Raising an eyebrow, Lu Yan snorted, ¡°So what if it is? Are the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak going to teleport into the city to attack them?¡± Ma Dengfeng snapped back to attention. It seemed as though Lu Yan didn¡¯t know as much as him! He had no idea that the Rose Party was playing a part in the battle, and from what it looked like, the higher ups of the Tongyou Institution didn¡¯t wish for that to be widespread knowledge! As for the reason behind Ma Dengfeng¡¯s knowledge¡­ ¡°It¡¯s really scary to be ignorant¡­¡± Ma Dengfeng whispered into Lu Yan¡¯s ear. Turning around, a trace of confusion could be seen on Lu Yan¡¯s face. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°Well, an ignorant bastard like you can go to hell now!¡± Ma Dengfefng said as he punched straight into Lu Yan¡¯s chest. Lu Yan didn¡¯t expect that his fellow disciple would sneak attack him. He couldn¡¯t protect himself in time, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. ¡°Why¡­ Why¡­¡± Gasping for breath, he forced the words out of his mouth. Ma Dengfeng looked at Lu Yan with a pitiful expression on his face. ¡°Sorry. Brother Lu, you should know that my name is Sima Dengfeng!¡± ¡°You¡­ You¡­ You¡¯re part of the Evil Remnants¡­¡± Lu Yan propped himself up with his fist and cried. Sima Dengfeng sneered, ¡°Looks like you know about us. Too bad you have no idea what the Rose Party is. Otherwise, you would have known that Shang Bo and Yun Jing had to remain in the institution.¡± Lu Yan wanted to say something else, but blood was the only thing that came out of his lips. Sima Dengfeng sighed softly, ¡°Brother Lu, my condolences.¡± After he spoke, he flicked his finger and a trace of inner qi shot towards Lu Yan¡¯s eyebrows. Realizing that his fate was sealed, Lu Yan closed his eyes slowly. However, a soft ring came from beside him and he heard Sima Dengfeng¡¯s cry of surprise. Forcing his eyes open, he saw a slender figure standing in front of him with a thin sword in her hand. Every time she slashed out, she would draw the image of a plum blossom in the air. The plum blossom wouldn¡¯t fade immediately as it contained some of her martial intent. It didn¡¯t take long before she drew three plum blossoms in the air and they bloomed in unison. It didn¡¯t stop there as three more appeared. Before long, nine plum blossoms circled around Sima Dengfeng and they forced him into a corner. ¡°Who are you?!¡± Sima Dengfeng screamed in terror. ¡°Mu Jianyin of the Outreach Division!¡± Her voice rang in his ears. The plum blossoms exploded as soon as she spoke and nine rays of sword qi stabbed towards him. ¡°Clang!¡± The bridge connecting the two peaks trembled violently suddenly and Mu Jianyin¡¯s expression sank. She stared in the direction of the main peak and a frown found its way onto her face. CH 72 Shang Xia could feel that Ran Biluo was sending a signal to the members of the Rose Party, hurrying them to take action. Without a doubt, it was the best time to move now that Ji Wenlong and Liu Qinglan were both occupied. Shang Xia hurried over to the bridge and he was greeted with a miserable cry coming from the other side. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s going on?¡± He looked in the direction of the Mingxiu Peak and frowned. All of a sudden, a wave of sword qi appeared on the other side and the heaven and earth qi around the area trembled. Not good. Anyone who could unleash that kind of strength had to be in the Martial Intent Realm! Did the Rose Party start moving?! Shang Xia unleashed his Irregular Steps and ran towards Tian Mengzi and Jin Guanchao¡¯s location. He was just about to greet them when he received the shock of his life. Jin Guanchao and Tian Mengzi turned to stare in the direction of the Mingxiu Peak when Jin Guanchao pointed at Tian Mengzi¡¯s back. ¡°Ah!¡± Screaming in pain, Tian Mengzi fell to the ground. Shang Xia stared at the scene before him in complete shock and he was at a loss for words. He thought of many scenarios where the Rose Party would attack the bridges connecting the peaks. Never in his wildest imagination would he have thought that the spy from the Rose Party was right beside him! No one expected Jin Guanchao to stab Tian Mengzi in the back! In the institution, there was a saying that the two of them had an unbreakable bond! However, the first person Jin Guanchao Betrayed was precisely his best friend! Shang Xia recalled the scene where Jin Guanchao and Tian Mengzi rode into battle valiantly when they were attacked by the Wind Swallow Race previously. They bought him time to run! Today, Jin Guanchao, who had been nurtured by the Tongyou Institution for so many years, revealed himself as a spy for the Rose Party! ¡°Clang!¡± The loud blast shook Shang Xia awake and he stared at Jin Guanchao who was attacking the bridge. ¡°Jin¡­ Guan¡­ Chao!¡± Shang Xia spat his name out word by word. However, he wasn¡¯t the only one who saw what happened. ¡°Jin Guanchao, what have you done!¡± A sharp cry came from nearby. ¡°There¡¯s someone else! Shit! The Rose Party might have sent someone else to attack the bridge and they were waiting for the perfect moment to do it!¡± Shang Xia exclaimed in his mind. His shock deepened when he saw the person who appeared. Sun Haiwei! It was the instructor of the third outer division and the upper division disciple who sent him to the Tongyou Peak in her stead! When Shang Xia thought about the members the institution sent over, he wondered if Sun Haiwei had entered the Martial Intent Realm. Shang Xia felt that it was extremely possible. After all, she sent Shang Xia over as she had to enter seclusion. When his brain was operating in overdrive, she had already turned into a streak of light that appeared several feet away from Jin Guanchao. ¡°Hold it right there!¡± Her scream filled the air as a trace of orange flame surrounded her body. At the same time, a trace of jade-green frost appeared below her. Sun Haiwei trained in the dao of ice and fire and it seemed like she had a deep understanding of it. Even though she released her aura, the heaven and earth qi around her remained calm. Two streaks of qi intertwined to form a fire and ice snake that shot towards Jin Guanchao¡¯s back. Ignoring her attack completely, Jin Guanchao used his chance to slash at the bridge one more time. ¡°Clang!¡± One link of the chain snapped, and it fell straight down. Luckily for the Tongyou Peak, there were two other chains holding the bridge in place. ¡°Hurry up and dodge¡­¡± Sun Haiwen cried out instinctively. A trace of panic appeared on her face even though she was the one who unleashed the attack in the first place. The moment the words left her lips, Jin Guanchao turned around and his fists slammed into the incoming fire and ice snake. Jin Guanchao seemed to turn into a massive wall that stopped the attack. As her ice and fire snake exploded, waves of qi swept through the area and flattened everything. When the dust settled, Jin Guanchao looked like he ate a faceful of dirt. However, there seemed to be no damage to his body. Sun Haiwei took the chance to stand between the bridge and Jin Guanchao. She glared at him with endless rage in her eyes and her voice trembled slightly as she spoke. ¡°Who would have thought that you have already consolidated your martial intent. Who the hell are you? Why will you betray our Tongyou Institution?¡± Sun Haiwewi waved her hand in the air and tossed the weapon she held to the side. As it was of too low grade, it failed to withstand her inner qi and the tip shattered. Jin Guanchao didn¡¯t dare to meet her gaze. He looked at Tian Mengzi lying down on the ground and a trace of guilt flashed in his eyes. However, he slowly suppressed his emotions before raising his head. ¡°Everyone has their own story. Haiwei, you might have comprehended your martial intent, but you¡¯re not my opponent. Stand down and cease your helpless struggle. Leave the battlefield. Today, the Tongyou Peak will fall!¡± ¡°We entered the institution together and we were best friends ever since our time in the outer division. We saved each other countless times! Is everything a lie?!¡± Sun Haiwei cried. Facing her question, Jin Guanchao nearly lost control of his emotions. However, he eventually managed to suppress them. Sun Haiwei continued and she seemed to be on the verge of breaking down. ¡°From now on, you¡¯re no longer the friend I knew! Regardless of who you are, your plan to take down the Tongyou Peak won¡¯t succeed!¡± It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. She raised her hand and condensed a ball of inner qi in her hand after she spoke. An orange ball of flame danced around on it. On her other hand, layers of frost started to appear. Jin Guanchao knew that there was no avoiding the battle and his expression turned ugly. He was the first to leap into action. His body seemed to split into two as a shadow appeared from behind him. It shot towards the bridge as he lunged at her. With a cold snort, Sun Haiwei released the ball of frost in her other hand and the ground froze over. The shadow summoned by Jin Guanchao dissipated from the shockwave released by Sun Haiwei. The only thing left was a set of footprints that was directed towards her, but there was no one to be seen! ¡°What¡¯s fake cannot be real and what¡¯s real won¡¯t be able to hide from me!¡± Sun Haiwei screamed and the ball of fire in her hand exploded. It turned into a sea of flames that engulfed everything in a ten feet radius. However, there was no one to be seen! Her eyelids twitched and a sense of danger filled her mind. ¡°Above you!¡± A voice rang in her ears. As soon as it did, a horrifying martial intent descended on her. The scene in front of her eyes changed. Everyone she ever loved had a sinister smile on her face as they lunged at her, swallowing her in a sea of betrayal. Lucky for her, she snapped awake almost instantly due to the reminder from before. She clapped her hands together and fused the power of frost and flame before raising it above her head. The two elements intertwined and every time it pulsed, the power of fire and ice would grow stronger. In several short flashes, a massive sphere of energy appeared above her. It froze everything in its way, and a figure was eventually revealed within. It was none other than Jin Guanchao who had comprehended the dao of void and reality. CH 73 With the main peak in the center, the Qiling and Mingxiu Peak were located on the west and east side respectively. The Yuxi and Pinxin Peak stood on the main peak¡¯s southwest and southeastern direction. The Kaiyuan and Luohui peaks were on the northwest and northeast. The last two formed a massive gate that stopped the invasion of the Four Spiritual Peak. The battle between the Martial Extermination Realm Cultivators had reached the peak, but it seemed as though none of them could achieve the upper hand. Ever since the appearance of Liu Qinglan, the Four Spiritual Peak didn¡¯t send out another expert at the Martial Extermination Realm to deal with the Tongyou Peak. The members of the Tongyou Peak knew that things weren¡¯t as simple as it seemed and the Four Spiritual Peak was merely dragging things out. The members of the Four Spiritual Peak were like bystanders who were watching the battle as they waited for something to happen, but the Tongyou Peak had already caught wind of their plan. Basically, every important personnel on the Tongyou Peak knew that the Four Spiritual Peak was waiting for the Rose Party to destroy the protection formation around the Tongyou Peak before making their move. After all, waiting for the protection formation to fall could greatly reduce their casualties! No matter how confident they were, the Tongyou Institution had been running the Tongyou Peak for close to twenty years! They wouldn¡¯t dare to underestimate their enemy. What the members of the Four Spiritual Peak didn¡¯t know was that the Tongyou Peak was also waiting for the members of the Rose Party to jump out to attack the protection formation. Eventually, it fell into a waiting game as both sides were waiting for the Rose Party to do their thing! Now, the time has come! ¡­ Ji Chen was the manager of one of the Ji Clan¡¯s businesses, and due to some accounting issues, the goods that were meant to be sent to the Qiling Peak had been delayed by one day. Due to the sudden battle that fell on their heads, he hurried the various attendants to rush over the bridge with the goods. ¡°Hurry up! Be careful of where you¡¯re stepping! Young Master Ji Min urgently requires these supplies. If you mess up, just jump off the bridge and kill yourself!¡± He yelled urgently as the attendants rushed across the bridge. He looked at the Qiling Peak in the distance. Seeing as the attendants had arrived at the center of the bridge, an insidious smile appeared on Ji Chen¡¯s face and he brought out a black jade bottle . ¡°Hehe, the chains connected to the support pillars are protected by a layer of restrictions. Without the cultivation of a Martial Intent Realm expert, there¡¯s no need to think of breaking it. However with this¡­¡± He chuckled in amusement and he opened the bottle. Just as he was about to pour it on the chains, a voice rang beside his ear. ¡°Ahem¡­ What is in this bottle?¡± A wheeze came from beside him and the bottle trembled in his hand. A ray of light blinded him and by the time Ji Chen came to his senses, he felt a numbing coldness coming from his wrists. They had been sliced right off as the black jade bottle fell into someone else¡¯s hand. Blood sprayed from his wound and landed on the bridge. Alas. His blood wasn¡¯t strong enough to destroy the restrictions. ¡°Indeed¡­ It¡¯s Spiritual Filth Liquid.¡± Yuan Zilu looked at the bottle before turning back to Ji Chen. ¡°You deserve death!¡± Another ray of light shot past and Ji Chen tried to raise his hand to hold his neck when he realized that his hands were no longer attached to his arm. Gurgling, he choked on his blood as he crumpled to the ground helplessly. The commotion was quickly discovered by those on the Qiling Peak and a figure dated into the air. The figure soared through the air and quickly arrived on the main peak. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Yuan Zhen looked at Ji Chen whose body was still twitching on the ground before turning to Yuan Zilu. Since Ji Chen was the manager of one of the Ji Clan¡¯s businesses, Yuan Zhen recognized him. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. ¡°It¡¯s Spiritual Filth Liquid.¡± Yuan Zilu handed the bottle over before staring at the corpse. ¡°He either got controlled by the Rose Party, or someone else took his place by disguising as him...¡± ¡°God damn it!¡± Yuan Zhen¡¯s expression changed when he noticed the liquid in the bottle. Squatting beside Ji Chen, he reached over and tore off a human skin mask. The person revealed below was completely foreign. ¡°I¡¯ll let Ji Min know about this. We¡¯ll try to look for him, but from how things are, the chances of him being alive is slim to none.¡± Yuan Zhen sighed. Just as he was about to return to the Qiling Peak, a loud clattering sound rang through the skies. The bridges connecting the various peaks emitted a high-pitched ringing, and Yuan Zhen¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Not good! One of the chains is broken! How can this happen?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Kaiyuan Peak! Tang Yuan and Sang Youqi are the ones stationed there!¡± Yuan Zilu¡¯s expression turned completely black. Due to the injuries he suffered, his chest heaved violently when he thought of the possibilities. ¡°Sang Youqi?!¡± Yuan Zhen guessed as he started to run towards the Kaiyuan Peak. He was stopped by Yuan Zilu. ¡°I¡¯ll go. If it¡¯s really broken, our defensive formation will start to show signs of weaknesses. The other peaks will have to endure a whole lot more pressure. You cannot leave Ji Min alone.¡± ¡°But your injuries¡­¡± Yuan Zhen frowned. ¡°I won¡¯t die. Moreover, there will be several others heading over.¡± Yuan Zilu growled as he leaped into action. ¡­ Back at the bridge connecting the main peak to the Mingxiu Peak. With Shang Xia¡¯s reminder, Sun Haiwei managed to snap back to reality and unleash her Mysterious Burning Ice Art to seal Jin Guanchao in a ball of ice. Above her. As an upper division student cultivated by the institution, Jin Guanchao was no pushover. His cultivation was slightly higher than Sun Haiwei. Jin Guanchao¡¯s figure started to turn a little blurry before solidifying again. Cracks started to form in the ball of ice trapping him. Even though Sun Haiwei tried her best to maintain the ice prison, the cracks formed much quicker than she could repair them. Her hands started to tremble slightly. As the crack extended all the way around the sphere of ice, Jin Guanchao¡¯s expression twisted and he released his inner qi. The sphere was blasted apart and Sun Haiwei¡¯s body shook violently. She spat out a mouthful of blood and it was clear that she suffered internal injuries. As the shards of ice scattered all around, Jin Guanchao charged towards her. He might be quick, but someone was even faster than him! A thunderous explosion rang through the air and a streak of red lightning went straight for Jin Guanchao. Seeing as there was no way to avoid it, a short stone axe appeared in Jin Guanchao¡¯s hand and he raised it to protect his face. ¡°Rumble!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s beautiful execution of his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm caused some parts of the axe to shatter into countless pieces and the sharp edges tore into Jin Guanchao¡¯s flesh. He was completely disfigured after the strike! ¡°Shang Xia, you¡¯re looking to die!¡± Jin Guanchao roared in rage and he jumped into the air. He imbued his inner qi into whatever remained of the axe and flung it at Shang Xia in an attempt to kill the brat. A torrential hurricane of heaven and earth qi rushed towards him. ¡°Martial Intent!¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect Jin Guanchao to be able to muster up enough energy to make a counter attack even after suffering so much damage! It was then he finally realized how powerful a cultivator at the peak of the Martial Extremity Realm actually was. ¡°Be careful!¡± Sun Haiwei screamed. She managed to catch her breath after Shang Xia bought some time for her, and she gathered her inner qi to counter attack. Even so, Shang Xia¡¯s expression was solemn as he looked at the incoming wave of inner qi. The Yin Yang Essence Qi in his body was transferred into the Delicate Jade River Sword and the body of the blade became taut. A soft grunt left his lips as he chose not to retreat. Mustering his strength, he stabbed at the axe flying his way. All of a sudden, the inner qi in his body transformed. From a pure strength type attribute, it became qi that contained the attribute of softness. The Delicate Jade River Sword was no longer as stiff as it had been and he accurately struck the tip of the axe thrice. It nullified the force from the axe. Before Shang Xia could heave a sigh of relief, the stone axe trembled slightly and changed its trajectory. It wanted to return to Jin Guanchao! Shang Xia¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. As it turned out, a cultivator at the peak of the Martial Extremity Realm could do something like that! Of course, he wouldn¡¯t allow Jin Guanchao to retrieve his weapons so easily. The Delicate Jade River Sword in his hand bent slightly and wrapped around the handle of the axe. He took a step forward and struck the axe with his palm, scattering the heaven and earth qi around it. At the same time, he destroyed Jin Guanchao¡¯s lingering martial intent! CH 74 Shang Xia smacked the axe and it clattered into the ground. As Jin Guanchao roared in a frenzy while fighting Sun Haiwei, he tried to retrieve his axe by sending out another stream of energy. It was too bad Shang Xia stepped on it heavily, preventing Jin Guanchao from recovering his weapon. Even so, Jin Guanchao had no signs of losing. ¡°Shang Xia, how dare you!¡± His yell was met with a snort from Shang Xia and he stepped even harder, burying the axe several inches deep in the ground below. Now that it was stuck, Jin Guanchao wouldn¡¯t be able to retrieve it with his martial intent no matter how hard he tried. Seeing as Sun Haiwei was about to fall to a disadvantage, Shang Xia entered the battle. The Delicate Jade River Sword danced in his hand as his footsteps became irregular. ¡°I damaged his martial intent and he¡¯s on the verge of death! His fate is sealed the moment the others arrive!¡± Sun Haiwei gasped between breaths. It was clear that her injuries were not light. Shang Xia gasped in shock when he heard what she said. She actually managed to injure his martial intent! It was no wonder he managed to block the axe earlier. He wasn¡¯t facing Jin Guanchao¡¯s full strength. That begged the question. How strong was Jin Guanchao¡¯s martial intent after it was weakened? Also, for Sun Haiwei to injure his martial intent would mean that there was something special about her own! Shang Xia thought back to the orange flames pulsating in the ball of ice. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. Was there something really special about it? Shang Xia became extremely interested in the matter. Perhaps it was because of Shang Xia¡¯s interference in the battle, or it might be because of what Sun Haiwei said¡­ Jin Guanchao felt the pressure and he wanted to look for a chance to escape. His actions were quickly noticed by the two and Shang Xia snorted as he unleashed the nine moves of his Vigorous Sword Art. With his mid-grade weapon, he took over Sun Haiwei¡¯s position as the main attacker. Sun Haiwei retracted the balls of flame in her hand and focused on slowing down Jin Guanchao¡¯s movements with her ice attributed qi when she saw Shang Xia¡¯s actions. As Shang Xia¡¯s sword stabbed deep into Jin Guanchao¡¯s left arm, he ignored the pain and reached towards Sun Haiwei. In a state of panic, Sun Haiwei took a step back and summoned her flame to stop him. ¡°Not good! He¡¯s trying to escape!¡± Sun Haiwei yelled. Her reminder came too late as Jin Guanchao¡¯s palm turned blurry as he fled in the opposite direction. The flame that came from her palm slightly surprised him when it torched the blurry palm. Even though it didn''t harm him physically, it injured his martial intent! Luckily for him, it didn¡¯t affect his escape. Shang Xia¡¯s sword sliced open yet another wound on his chest, but that was merely a flesh wound. He couldn¡¯t stop Jin Guanchao from leaving the encirclement. No longer hesitating, Jin Guanchao leaped through the air as he reached down to grab his fallen axe. If a cultivator at the peak of the Martial Extremity Realm was hell-bent on escaping, it would be extremely difficult for Shang Xia and Sun Haiwei to stop him. Especially so when one of those chasing him had barely broken through to the Martial Extremity Realm. The two of them could only watch as he grabbed his weapon from the ground. The change that happened next appeared too suddenly. Tian Mengzi who had suffered a sneak attack previously leaped up from the ground and sent a heavy punch through Jin Guanchao¡¯s back when the latter was picking up his axe. ¡°Puff!¡± Tian Mengzi, who had forced himself up, crumpled to the ground once again after spotting a mouthful of blood. ¡°AH!¡± Jin Guanchao released a miserable cry as he was sent flying from the punch. Not only did he miss the chance to retrieve his weapon, he also suffered serious injuries. After enduring so much damage from Sun Haiwei and Shang Xia, the punch from Tian Mengzi pushed him to his limit. He vomited mouthfuls of blood and he saw the grin on Tian Mengzi¡¯s face as he fell to the ground. ¡°Brother Jin, I guess we¡¯re even now!¡± Tian Mengzi¡¯s expression was twisted beyond belief, and Shang Xia couldn¡¯t believe that the gentle and elegant Tian Mengzi he knew could reveal such a scary smile. Well, that didn¡¯t stop him or Sun Haiwei from attacking Jin Guanchao. The two of them pincered him once again. They made the decision to send Jin Guanchao to the gates of hell themselves! There was no way he could escape this time! It was too bad the heavens decided to play a massive joke on that at that instant. A terrifying surge of energy came from outside the barrier, and Shang Xia who had experienced it several times previously knew that another expert at the Martial Extermination Realm had revealed himself. A loud screeching sound came from the Tongyou Peak and it seemed as though the protection formation was about to be broken! How is that possible?! A trace of shock flashed in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes. Tian Mengzi fell to the ground helplessly, and he seemed to have breathed his last. Sun Haiwei couldn¡¯t be bothered with Jin Guanchao any longer as she rushed over to his side. Her cry snapped Shang Xia out of his trance and he saw a wary expression flashing across Jin Guanchao¡¯s face. Standing between the man and his weapon, Shang Xia prepared himself for a ferocious brawl. It was too bad Jin Guanchao turned to run after seeing the figure behind Shang Xia. When Shang Xia was still questioning Jin Guanchao¡¯s decision, a ray of light shot past Shang Xia and pierced straight through Jin Guanchao¡¯s shoulders. His hand was cut right off! Even so, Jin Guanchao didn¡¯t dare to stop. Turning around slowly, Shang Xia noticed Shang Xi rushing over with a sunken expression on her face. ¡°Go hunt him down! I¡¯ll go over to the Mingxiu Peak to take a look.¡± Shang Xi ordered Shang Xia before rushing across the bridge. Sword qi filled the Mingxiu Peak, but there were no signs of anyone attacking the bridge. It was clear that something had already happened there. Even though a single chain was broken, that would only weaken the formation slightly. It wouldn¡¯t push the protection formation to the point of destruction. As Shang Xi¡¯s voice rang in Shang Xia¡¯s mind to take care, her figure disappeared across the bridge. Shang Xia caught sight of Sun Haiwei who was utterly distraught as she held Tian Mengzi in her hand. ¡°Teacher Sun, use this!¡± Shang Xia tossed a talisman over before running after Jin Guanchao and by the time she reacted, he was already gone. When she recognized the talisman he tossed at her, her eyes lit up. ¡­ From the bloodstains on the ground, Shang Xia quickly located Jin Guanchao. Worry clouded Shang Xia¡¯s heart at the moment. Even though the formation wasn¡¯t broken, the destruction Jin Guanchao caused was enough to reveal some weaknesses in it. Shang Xia circulated his inner qi as he approached the bridge connecting the main peak to the Luohui Peak. He heard a maniacal cry coming from the front. ¡°Hahaha! Today, the Tongyou Peak shall bow beneath me!¡± A formless ripple emerged and a huge spear stabbed straight into the protective barrier. Runes fill the skies as they resonated with the spear to stab deep into the protection formation. Giant tears formed in the protection formation as the extermination qi emitted by the cultivator prevented the gaps from repairing itself. Everyone looked up to see a white robed man holding the spear in his hand. ¡°Hahaha! Again!¡± As his spear fell, a sharp blast rang in the ears of those present as a tear hundreds of feet long appeared in the barrier. The dome that protected the Tongyou Peak was sliced right open as a huge gap between the peaks appeared. ¡°What are you waiting for? Follow me in and kill the members of the Azure Origin World!¡± CH 75 The third Martial Extermination Realm cultivator from the Four Spiritual Peak arrived! He was Yu Zhiqing, and he was at the second layer of the Fourth Order of the Primary Realm. The Spiritual Snake Spear in his hand was his high-grade weapon. The moment he arrived, he tore a massive hole through the protection barrier that defended the Tongyou Peak for the past twenty years. As he charged straight into the Tongyou Peak, countless disciples followed behind him as the real battle began. When they arrived at the foot of the mountain and saw the Patrol Hall, the atmosphere remained eerily quiet as no one appeared to stop them. ¡°Attack!¡± Yu Zhiqing pointed his spear forward but his eyes locked onto the peak of the mountain. Before he could commence his attack, a red gourd appeared to block him. Yu Zhiqing¡¯s face sank but there was no trace of fear to be seen. ¡°Don¡¯t act all mysterious. Come out and fight!¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡± A long sigh transmitted over and an old expert who had a head full of gray hair and a big red nose stepped through the air. Fourth Order of the Primary Realm! There was another Martial Extermination Realm expert hiding in the Tongyou Peak and they had no idea who it was! As a cold wind swept across him, Yu Zhiqing asked, ¡°Who are you?¡± Rubbing his red nose, the old man sighed, ¡°I am Dong Qianzui from the Scripture Depository of the Tongyou Institution!¡± ¡°What? Dong Qianzui? How can you be at the Fourth Order of the Primary Realm?¡± Yu Zhiqing frowned. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do I not look like Dong Qianzui?¡± As the Four Spiritual Peak and the Tongyou Peak had been enemies for the last twenty years, they knew about all the experts the other side had! For example, Liu Qinglan might have revealed herself for the first time, but Ran Biluo wasn¡¯t surprised at all. From their estimates, they had enough power to take down the Tongyou Peak even with her presence. That was the basis of their invasion! However, who the hell was Dong Qianzui? He was an old man who had been hiding in the Scripture Depository of the Tongyou Institution for the past twenty years! It was said that his cultivation had never improved and he was a lazy old man who drank his days away! His martial intent was said to be crippled a long time ago! How in the world did he turn into an expert at the Fourth Order of the Primary Realm? How many secrets had been hidden by Kou Chongxue?! Wasn¡¯t there news from the Azure Origin World that things were going really badly and the Tongyou Institution was starting to fall from their position of power? Was everything a lie?! Was it all a ruse to bait them there? From the looks of it, the source of their information was extremely suspicious! Yu Zhiqing snorted in his heart. He decided to properly interrogate the spies that came from the Azure Origin World after the battle ended. He would clean house! When he was slightly distracted, the gourd in Dong Qianzui¡¯s hand popped open. Yu Zhiqing jumped in fright and got into battle preparations, but he saw a torrent of alcohol rushing towards him the next instant. The fragrance of the alcohol filled the skies. That was the first time anyone was fighting with Dong Qianzui and no one knew how strong he was. Yu Zhiqing didn¡¯t dare to let the alcohol touch him. As the spear in his hands started to waver, he deflected every drop fling at him. ¡°Old man, you¡¯re a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator. Stop with these cheap tricks!¡± Yu Zhiqing snapped in annoyance. If he wasn¡¯t afraid of the alcohol flying around, he would have charged straight towards the old man. ¡°Hehe, young man, since you came all the way over, I¡¯ll be rude if I fail to offer you a drink. Can¡¯t you tell that I have good intentions?¡± Dong Qianzui grinned. ¡°Old man, let¡¯s see what you¡¯re capable of!¡± Yu Zhiqing shook the spear in his hand and rushed towards the old expert. Strands of qi surrounded him and he seemed to transform into a devious snake capable of devouring everything in his path. ¡°Young man, you¡¯re too hasty¡­¡± Dong Qianzui sighed softly and he blew lightly. A tornado of flames emerged and shot at Yu Zhiqing. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. ¡­ The disciples of the Four Spiritual Peak were ready to charge the moment the protection barrier broke. There were more than 10 Martial Intent Realm cultivators and nearly forty cultivators at the peak of the Martial Realm. All of them rushed towards the Tongyou Peak behind Yu Zhiqing. Despite their readiness to do battle, the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak seemed to have a different mindset entirely. They had no intention to fight at the gap in the protection formation and the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak could only venture deeper within. Even though there didn¡¯t seem to be any traps along their way, the hearts of those from the Four Spiritual Peak grew heavy. They didn¡¯t think that they would be able to enter so smoothly! All of a sudden, a light rain came from above. ¡°Be careful! There might be poison in the rain!¡± The Martial Intent Realm cultivator charging at the front yelled as he used his inner qi to push the raindrops away. However, they quickly caught a whiff of the scent of alcohol in the air and they realized that the rain falling on them consisted of nothing more than ordinary wine. ¡°Wine?!¡± They raised their heads in unison, wanting to know where the alcohol came from when they were greeted by a sea of flames. As alcohol filled the plains below, the entire region was turned into a sea of fire when Dong Qianzui made his move. After all, what better way to spread the flames than the most flammable liquid they could get their hands on? In an instant, the whole region turned into hell on earth. The cultivators who charged in behind Yu Zhiqing were engulfed in flames. Some of them died, and others suffered varying degrees of injury. Only the Martial Intent Realm cultivators managed to remain relatively safe. Only four of them were slightly injured by the flames. Even so, that wasn¡¯t what they were afraid of. They were in a state of disbelief when they realized that the Martial Extermination Realm cultivator of the Tongyou Peak made a move on them! ¡°Dong Qianzui! How dare you break the rules and attack cultivators of a lower realm?¡± Yu Zhiqing¡¯s voice boomed through the air. ¡°Do you think I won¡¯t dare to start slaughtering those with lower cultivation base than me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a mistake! An honest mistake!¡± Dong Qianzui sounded remorseful as though he really didn¡¯t mean to attack those below. ¡°Sigh¡­ Look, none of this would happen if you didn¡¯t avoid my attack.¡± The old man continued, ¡°I¡¯m merely a cultivator who entered the first layer of the Fourth Order of the Primary Realm. You¡¯re in the second layer and you have a supreme weapon in your hand! I¡¯m not a worthy opponent for you! I have to give it my all the moment we fight! You clearly had the ability to stop my attack, but you chose to avoid it! How can you blame me for this?¡± The old man might be running his mouth, but he didn¡¯t forget to release another ball of flames at Yu Zhiqing. Yu Zhiqing raged silently. He had never seen such a shameless person in his entire life! He was clearly using the chance to eliminate the weaker cultivators, but after one round of deflection, it became his fault! It was true that he had the ability to nullify the old man¡¯s attack, but why the hell would he do something like that if he could dodge? He wouldn¡¯t have to waste any energy countering! The ¡®wronged¡¯ expression on Dong Qianzui¡¯s face made Yu Zhiqing even angrier, and a sinister thought formed in his mind. You can¡¯t blame me for returning in kind! Yu Zhiqing¡¯s spear shot towards Dong Qianzui all of a sudden, and the old man yelped before twisting his body to avoid it. Making no attempt to go for the old man, Yu Zhiqing swung his spear downwards! A shockingly long spear appeared in the skies as heaven and earth qi converged. It shot straight down towards the Patrol Hall and a huge explosion ensued. ¡°Aiya!¡± Dong Qianzui cried out in a weird voice, ¡°Yu Zhiqing, how dare you attack weaker cultivators!¡± A snort left Yu Zhiqing¡¯s lips, ¡°Dong Qianzui, why did you dodge?¡± Dong Qianzui cried out in anger, ¡°You did it on purpose! This old man won¡¯t let you off!¡± As soon as he spoke, he rushed towards Yu Zhiqing with the giant gourd in his hand. ¡°You¡¯re looking to die!¡± Yu Zhiqing couldn¡¯t contain his rage when facing such a shameless opponent and he raised his spear. Even though he felt that there was something wrong with Dong Qianzui, he glanced at the structure he blew up before turning to look at the old freak. He started to hesitate. If the old man really wanted to go all out¡­ The next thing he knew, Dong Qianzui was rushing towards him with a twisted expression on his face. From the looks of it, he was really going to go all out! Well, that was what Yu Zhiqing wanted in the first place. Raising his spear, he gathered his inner qi and got ready to fight. Even if he had to suffer some injuries from the battle, he had to get rid of one of the opposing side¡¯s Fourth Order Primary Realm cultivators! Too bad for him, whistling sounds came from behind him and the sound of rattling could be heard. He noticed that something was wrong, but it was too late for him to do anything about it! Three long chains whipped towards him and they twisted around his spear! Yu Zhiqing¡¯s expression changed. Pushing the inner qi in his body to the limit, he struggled to pull his spear out. It was too bad he couldn¡¯t achieve it in a short period of time. The chains used to connect the Kaiyuan Peak to the main peak, and they were an important part of the protection formation of the Tongyou Institution. Even though they had been broken, the chains were extremely useful when it came to actual combat! Bang! CH 76 On the Mingxiu Peak, Sima Dengfeng had been forced to the edge of a cliff by Mu Jianyin and Shang Xi. Sima Dengfeng shattered Mu Jianyin¡¯s nine peach blossoms strike, but Shang Xi¡¯s blades took off one of his fingers in exchange. Crying in pain, Sima Dengfeng tried to look for an escape but he was stopped by Mu Jianyin. ¡°Let¡¯s see how you unleash your Sima Family¡¯s Painting Finger after losing your finger!¡± Shang Xi¡¯s knives drew another arc through the skies before returning. Mu Jianyin¡¯s sword pressed against Sima Dengfeng¡¯s throat and she growled, ¡°Speak. Who else is part of the Evil Remnants?¡± Sima Dengfeng knew that there was no escaping death now, but a strange smile appeared on his face. Shang Xi gasped, ¡°Be careful!¡± However, Mu Jianyin evidently didn¡¯t need Shang Xi¡¯s reminder as she started to retract her sword. She was a step too late as Sima Dengfeng fell straight into the blade, slashing his neck. ¡°Hehe, you can¡¯t stop the fusion of our worlds¡­¡± Sima Dengfeng¡¯s eyes dimmed as he spat out his last words. He was desperate to die as he scattered his life force the moment he sliced his throat on the blade. One had to know that a Martial Intent Realm cultivator had an enormous life force. They would be able to live for some time even if they sliced their throats. Naturally, that was only valid if their heads weren''t looped off completely. The resulting storm of heaven and earth qi from the Mingxiu Peak crushed every structure not protected by restrictions. The sign of a Martial Intent Realm cultivator falling swept through the lands. Shang Xi stood beside Mu Jianyin and they watched as Sima Dengfeng¡¯s body scattered in the wind. An awkward atmosphere quickly descended upon the two ladies. ¡°This¡­ This is the first time we met in years, right?¡± Shang Xi broke the silence. ¡°Umm¡­ Yeah.¡± Mu Jianyin sounded a little unnatural when she replied. ¡°Are you trying to avoid me?¡± Shang Xi asked while looking straight into her eyes. ¡°No¡­? Why would I?¡± Mu Jianyin revealed a stiff smile before turning her head away. ¡°You know why!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t we already reach a conclusion?¡± Mu Jianyin whispered softly. ¡°I need to hear it from you. How did my brother really die?¡± Sucking in a cold breath, Mu Jianyin¡¯s body stiffened up. ¡°I have no idea. It was really chaotic at that time. I could only focus on escaping. I didn¡¯t notice anything else around me!¡± ¡°You said that he saved your life!¡± Shang Xi pressed on. ¡°Yes. I was in a state of shock after he did. He told me to run, and I did! He told me to not look back and I didn¡¯t! I ran all the way back until I met Uncle Shang and the instructors. After that¡­¡± Mu Jianyin muttered. ¡°After that, they said that my brother died! However, they can¡¯t find his corpse!¡± Shang Xi completed the sentence for her. ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡± Mu Jianyin nodded slowly. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, why do you try to avoid me all the time?¡± Shang Xi sighed. Raising her head slowly, Mu Jianyin eventually turned her head away in shame. ¡°He died saving me. I¡¯m too ashamed to meet any one of his family members.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Shang Xi snorted, ¡°Since you¡¯re afraid of meeting us, why did you instigate your niece to mess with my nephew?¡± A frown found its way on Mu Jianyin¡¯s face and she snorted, ¡°We shouldn¡¯t be interfering with the affairs of the younger generation, right?¡± ¡°If one day, my nephew learns that his father died because of you, how do you think he¡¯ll feel?¡± Shang Xi continued. At a loss for words, Mu Jianyin¡¯s gaze landed on the knives in Shang Xi¡¯s hand and she tried to change the topic. ¡°Where did you get your weapons? Looks like you finally managed to obtain suitable weapons to complement your fighting style. It won¡¯t be easy for me to defeat you any more¡­¡± Shang Xi sneered once again. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re one of the heads of the Outreach Division? Your attempt to change the topic really sucks¡­¡± Before Shang Xi could say another word, the rattling sound coming from the bridges caught them off guard. Yu Zhiqing¡¯s spear tore through the barrier and he started his assault. Shang Xi¡¯s expression changed and she harrumphed, ¡°I¡¯ll head down there first. We¡¯ll settle this later.¡± Looking at Shang Xi¡¯s leaving figure, Mu Jianyin heaved a sigh of relief. However, her gaze quickly landed on someone who was on the verge of death. ¡°Mister Lu, stop pretending to be unconscious. Any more and I will have to silence you¡­¡± Compared to the weak demeanor she had when talking to Shang Xi, killing intent rolled off her when she snapped at Lu Yan. ¡°Wait¡­ Don¡¯t¡­ I just woke up¡­ I didn¡¯t hear anything! Ahem¡­ Deacon Mu, please spare¡­ No¡­ Please save me!¡± Even though he was sneak attacked, a Martial Intent Realm cultivator wouldn¡¯t die easily. He barely managed to keep his life. Mu Jianyin¡¯s gaze landed on him and she sighed, ¡°You suffered pretty serious injuries¡­¡± Lu Yan spat out a mouthful of blood in response. ¡°I know how serious this is. I will most probably live. Everything depends on the help I¡¯ll receive¡­ Oh right. I suffered all these injuries to protect the Tongyou Peak. Even though I didn¡¯t fight with the members of the Azure Spiritual Race, I was still injured by members of the Evil Remnants¡­¡± Mu Jianyin nodded slowly. ¡°Brother Lu, I heard that you weren¡¯t from our You Continent. The Lu Family in the Ji Continent seems pretty famous¡­¡± ¡°Deacon Mu, there¡¯s no need to beat about the bush. I¡¯ll do anything in my power as long as you give the word¡­¡± A smile appeared on Mu Jianyin¡¯s face. ¡°Brother Lu is too kind. Of course our Tongyou Institution will take care of you! After all, you kept us safe!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡­ Shang Xia was shocked by the sudden turn of events when Yu Zhiqing tore open a hole in the protection formation. However, he couldn¡¯t be bothered as he continued to chase Jin Guanchao down. Perhaps it was because they had been expecting the barrier to be broken when one of the bridges was destroyed, the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak gathered near the foot of the mountain ready for battle. That was part of the reason Jin Guanchao ran into no obstruction when making his escape. As the two of them ran across the mountain, they quickly approached the bridge connecting the Luohui Peak and the main peak. Jin Guanchao and Shang Xia both saw the fluctuation of heaven and earth qi crashing into the earth in the form of a spear. Soon after, they saw three massive chains locking Yu Zhiqing¡¯s weapon in place. No one knew what he was thinking of, but Jin Guanchao increased his speed. The bridge should have been protected by the experts of the Tongyou Peak secretly, but Jin Guanchao didn¡¯t run into anyone there either! Shang Xia continued to chase as he saw a giant ball of flame flying straight into Yu Zhiqing, sending him flying out of the protection formation. The ball of flame followed him out, and the protection formation showed signs of repairing itself. However, Shang Xia quickly noticed that Yu Zhiqing managed to free his spear at the last moment and he held firmly onto it as he was thrown out. Jin Guanchao¡¯s intention was to head towards the foot of the mountain and escape during the chaotic battle that would break out. Seeing as Yu Zhiqing was sent flying, he changed his plan and ran in the direction of the Kaiyuan Peak. Shang Xia gnashed his teeth as he continued his pursuit. ¡­ Yu Zhiqing basically took Dong Qianzui¡¯s attack head on and he was sent flying out of the protection barrier. Even with his cultivation base above Dong Qianzui, it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine that he was seriously injured by the previous strike! Luckily for him, he kept his wits and held on to his spear before he was flung out. Otherwise, he would fall into an extremely precarious situation when Dong Qianzui went out to fight him. Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. He knew that he wouldn¡¯t be Dong Qianzui¡¯s opponent if he didn¡¯t have his weapon with him after suffering such a serious wound. The cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak who rushed in with him were placed on the spot now that he was flung away. Some of them died due to Dong Qianzui¡¯s careless attack previously and the only man they were relying on was forced back! They would have to fight the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak alone! It didn¡¯t take long for forty riders from the Protection Division to appear. There were eight squads in total and they surrounded the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak. When Yu Zhiqing blew up the Patrol Hall previously, he expected there to be some casualties at the very least. But the scheming Tongyou Institution had long since recalled everyone there when they chose to send Dong Qianzui to meet the enemy. They knew that his shameless actions would cause the other party to retaliate. As such, the patrol squads remained completely unharmed! Among the eight squads, there were four captains in the Martial Intent Realm and they were Zhao Yang of the Tongyou Peak¡¯s Scripture Depository, Li Zengyu of the Outreach Division, Wu Tinghai of the Protection Division, and Kang Ci of the Outreach Division! With Kang Ci as their leader, the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak charged into battle. CH 77 The instant Yu Zhiqing tore a hole through the formation, Ran Biluo who was fighting Liu Qinglan turned and flew in that direction. Liu Qinglan flung her whip at Ran Biluo. ¡°Why are you leaving now? We¡¯re just getting started!¡± Countless rings came from Ran Biluo¡¯s sword and Liu Qinglan¡¯s expression sank. Her wrist trembled lightly and her whip separated again. It clashed violently with the sword qi in the air. As Liu Qinglan had comprehended the dao of fusion and separation, her weapon was built on that! It was too bad her Seven Segment Whip was weaker than Ran Biluo¡¯s Seven Conch Sword. Even her cultivation was weaker than Ran Biluo by two layers! She might have shattered Ran Biluo¡¯s sword qi, but one of the segments of her whip was damaged. Even so, that was the price she had to pay to delay Ran Biluo for an instant. With her expression darkening, Ran Biluo couldn¡¯t understand why there were two accidents ever since they arrived. First came Liu Qinglan and they could deal with that. Now, there was an old freak from the Scripture Depository of the Tongyou Institution. How were there so many Fourth Order Primary Realm cultivators?! How much was Kou Chongxue actually hiding?! What pissed her off even more was that Yu Zhiqing was injured by the opponent! As she cursed him in her heart, she started to waver. She didn¡¯t know if the Four Spiritual Peak¡¯s plan would go like how they thought it would. Well, Yu Zhiqing was sent flying, but he was alive. The most urgent matter was dealing with the disciples who were trapped deep within enemy lines. Even though they had slightly more than ten Martial Intent Realm cultivators and Ran Biluo had confidence in their ability to hold out for some time, all of them represented the precious fighting power of the Four Spiritual Peak! If anything went wrong, their overall strength would take a great hit! Not to mention the fact that there were three experts among them from her race. That was the reason she was trying to brush Liu Qinglan off. She wanted to save her fellow clansmen when the protection formation was still broken. The moment she moved, Liu Qinglan saw through her intention. No matter what she had to do, she couldn¡¯t allow Ran Biluo to achieve her goals. From the start, Ran Biluo had always been in an advantageous position. The two of them circled the Tongyou Peak six times and she had been wasting the formation¡¯s power from time to time. Who would have thought that Liu Qinglan would thwart her plans to save the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak! Liu Qinglan could delay Ran Biluo for a moment, but she couldn¡¯t stop her entirely. She could only request for support. ¡°Do not let her get away!¡± The moment she spoke, the heaven and earth qi in the surrounding started to shake. A hundred feet long spear stabbed straight at Ran Biluo before anyone could react. ¡°Shang Clan Spear!¡± Ran Biluo gasped in fright. A trace of fear flashed across her face, but she quickly calmed down when she noticed the power contained in the strike. The weapon was the Shang Clan Spear, but the user wasn¡¯t as strong as she thought. ¡°You¡¯re not Shang Bo! How dare you try laying your hands on me?¡± Rage stormed in her heart as she summoned countless rays of sword qi that crushed the phantom of the Shang Clan Spear. A loud blast rang through the air as the mid-grade weapon returned to the Pinxin Peak. Behind Ran Biluo, several dozen waves of sword qi appeared and flew towards her. ¡°Preposterous!¡± Ran Biluo cried and the sword in her hand started to dance. It destroyed every sword qi that came her way. Much of the remaining sword qi smashed into the protection formation and sounds of rattling ensued. It didn''t matter how powerful the summoned sword qi or spear light was. In the face of an expert at the Martial Extermination Realm, they were useless! When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. The only person who could do anything to Ran Biluo was Liu Qinglan! The Seven Segment Whip appeared beside Ran Biluo¡¯s face silently. Before Liu Qinglan could celebrate, Ran Biluo whipped her hair around to trap the segments. As three rays of light appeared around her, Ran Biluo¡¯s hair turned into snakes that coiled around the whip segments¡­ ¡­ The Tongyou Peak¡¯s five man formation was a well-kept secret even in the Protection Division. Only the most elite of cultivators would be taught the ability of the foundation after entering their patrol squads. Of course, that only applied to cultivators under the Martial Intent Realm. Anyone in the Martial Intent Realm would be taught the basics and they could lead a team in case of any emergencies. That was the true core of the Tongyou Peak¡¯s strength! Even though three of the four captains weren¡¯t from the Protection Division, they were still able to utilize the five man formation! The eight squads charged into battle immediately. Facing the ferocious attack, the members of the Four Spiritual Peak started to panic. With their cultivation base, they might stand a chance of winning if they were of one mind. Everything changed when the rattling of chains sent three of their strongest Martial Intent Realm cultivators flying through the air. That was right. The protection formation wasn¡¯t there for show. If the chains could stop Yu Zhiqing¡¯s spear, it was more than enough to deal with several puny Martial Intent Realm cultivators. The remaining cultivators were thrown into disarray and many of them tried to escape. They were cursing the fact that they had too little legs and couldn¡¯t run any faster. The patrol squads cut straight through their disorderly formation. Even though it was easy to kill a Martial Intent Realm cultivator in battle, it was a different story when they focused all their attention on running. Regardless of how heavy their encirclement was, the patrol squads only managed to capture two Martial Intent Realm cultivators who were burnt by Dong Qianzui¡¯s flames earlier. As for the three who were thrown into the air by the chains, one of them managed to escape using some sort of secret art and he left the radius protection by the array. His escape seemed to have enraged the Tongyou Peak¡¯s protection formation as the chains started swaying violently, smashing the two other cultivators into meat paste. Seeing as the protection formation had recovered and the tear had healed to the size of a fist, the patrol squads regrouped and killed whoever they could. The two Martial Intent Realm cultivators who were trapped died, along with half a dozen cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm. In the end, four Martial Intent Realm cultivators were killed and a huge portion of the cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm died! The Four Spiritual Peak suffered a crushing defeat on their first offensive! On the side of the Tongyou Peak, only six riders died due to the struggle the Martial Intent Realm cultivators put up. All of a sudden, two lone Martial Intent Realm cultivators rushed down from the Tongyou Peak. Kang Ci sighed, ¡°If only you came earlier. We might be able to hold a few more of them back!¡± He didn¡¯t speak blindly. Strictly speaking, the patrol squads were really outgunned. The opponent had close to twice the number of Martial Intent Realm cultivators they had, and their strength was slightly lacking when compared to the other side. ¡°What happened on the Kaiyuan Peak?¡± Shang Xi¡¯s expression was ugly and she asked. According to their estimates, every elite student who came in to support the Tongyou Peak would finish off the spies of the Rose Party before meeting up to repel the Four Spiritual Peak¡¯s attack. Their seamless plan actually went awry and the bridge connecting the main peak to the Kaiyuan Peak was destroyed! The cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak took the chance to cut a hole in their protection formation, forcing Dong Qianzui to reveal himself. Luckily for them, Kang Ci¡¯s reaction was quick and he brought several squads over to stop the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak. Shaking his head, Kang Ci sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t know. Yuan Zilu, Yuan Zhen, and Yun Yifei didn¡¯t come according to plan. Looks like they went over to the Kaiyuan Peak instead.¡± As he spoke, he ordered the patrol squads to retreat further into the Tongyou Peak. ¡°Who¡¯s in charge of the Kaiyuan Peak?¡± Shang Xi pressed. ¡°Tang Yuan, Sang Youqi, and Jia Yuntian!¡± Kang Ci replied. ¡°Which one do you think is the spy?¡± Shang Xi sighed. A trace of hesitation flashed across Kang Ci¡¯s face, but a terrified expression soon appeared when he turned to look at the barrier. ¡°Run!¡± CH 78 ¡°Run!¡± Kang Ci yelled but his voice was quickly drowned out by the blast that followed. Outside the protection formation, a ray of golden and blue light squeezed through the gap that was finally about to recover and shot towards the eight squads that were about to return. Boom! The resounding blast swallowed the patrol squads whole, and the entire area fell eerily quiet. As the horses ran away in a state of panic, Kang Ci tried to calm his mount down before looking all around him. As the light faded, he discovered that they were stuck in a massive crater after the explosion occurred. Li Zengyu¡¯s squad of five was completely annihilated, and not even their bones remained! ¡°Run! Hurry up and retreat!¡± Kang Ci roared in panic. The person who attacked had to be another expert at the Martial Extermination Realm! Yet another one had appeared! As a loud chuckle came from the distance, a figure appeared beside the barrier. ¡°Expert on the Luohui Peak, it¡¯s time to reveal yourself¡­¡± The man looked to be a little younger than Lang Xiaoyun, and a cruel expression hung on his face. He stared directly at the Luohui Peak. ¡°I am Lang Jingyun of the Four Spiritual Peak and I hope to receive your pointers!¡± The figure who appeared spoke. Lang Jingyun, Lang Xiaoyun¡­ From their name alone, one could guess their relationship with each other. Kang Ci and the others who were frantically escaping looked up at the Luohui Peak in confusion. ¡°Chief Shang?¡± Kang Ci was puzzled, but he soon accepted the fact. Anyone who had the ability to control the three broken chains that made up the protection formation had to possess terrifying strength! Even at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm, Kang Ci wouldn¡¯t be able to do something like that! One had to know that Kang Ci was the strongest deacon in the Outreach Division. He was Yun Jing¡¯s strongest general and he was considered an unbeatable existence in the Martial Intent Realm. If he wasn''t able to control the chains as he wished, the cultivator who did it had to be a Martial Extermination Realm expert! Moreover, Shang Bing had been in charge of the Contribution Division when Kang Ci was still a disciple. Strictly speaking, Shang Bing was from Patriarch Kou Chongxue¡¯s generation and Kang Ci had to address him respectfully as ¡®teacher¡¯ when they met! We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. Of course, advancing into the Martial Extermination Realm wasn¡¯t something they could conceal! The only explanation was that Shang Bing had already been in the Martial Extermination Realm before he entered the institution! ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you still planning to hide in your tortoise shell?¡± Lang Jingyun snorted with irritation. ¡°Do you plan to let this half-baked protection formation take another stroke from me?¡± The moment he spoke, he pressed his palm down against the protection formation. A massive palm print that was close to thirty feet in length appeared in mid air and fell on the protection screen, creating a massive dent. It seemed to be on the verge of breaking when the sound of chains rattling came from the skies again. The chains pushed against the palm print from the other side of the screen. Lang Jingyun¡¯s palm print started to fade, and the barrier started recovering. ¡°Hehe, finally¡­¡± Lang Jingyun wasn¡¯t surprised by the interference. Instead, a trace of excitement appeared on his face. ¡­ At the foot of the mountain, Kang Ci brought everyone he could back to the main peak. When he eventually turned around, he saw a figure stepping into the air. It was none other than Shang Bing of the Contribution Division! A voice rang in his mind suddenly, ¡°Go protect the Luohui Peak.¡± Kang Ci looked at those around him and he noticed their expressions. He could only relay the order he heard slowly, ¡°I have to head over to the Luohui Peak now. Deacon Wu Tinghai will take over.¡± Wu Tinghai was in charge of the patrol squads to begin with and his cultivation was second only to Kang Ci. As such, it didn¡¯t come as a surprise when Kang Ci placed him in charge. With the revelation of Dong Qianzui and Shang Bing¡¯s cultivation level, the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak were pleasantly surprised. Kang Ci didn¡¯t say too much and he rushed towards the Luohui Peak. Gliding through the air, he climbed three hundred feet up in an instant. Cultivators at the Martial Intent Realm might not be able to soar through the air like Martial Extermination Realm experts, but they could glide for some distance. Of course, in the eyes of ordinary humans, there was no difference between the two. All of a sudden, a whistling sound came from behind him and Kang Ci turned to see Shang Xi following closely behind. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°There hasn¡¯t been any movement on the Kaiyuan Peak since the start. I¡¯ll go take a look.¡± Shang Xi muttered. Opening his mouth slightly, Kang Ci sighed, ¡°Alright, but take note of what happens below.¡± ¡­ Outside the Luohui Peak, Lang Jingyun watched as Shang Bing slowly approached. He roared with laughter, ¡°That¡¯s what I thought. Heh, the old man who forced his cultivation level to advance with some sort of secret technique would never be able to do something like that. Looks like you helped him secretly. With Yu Zhiqing¡¯s arrogance, he suffered big time!¡± Shang Bing snorted coldly in response, ¡°You made a move on Martial Intent Realm cultivators and those weaker than that. Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll head over to your Four Spiritual Peak to start a massacre?¡± Lang Jingyun snorted in disdain, ¡°What a joke. You¡¯re a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator and yet you¡¯re hiding on the Luohui Peak. If I¡¯m not wrong, you made a move against the cultivators of my Four Spiritual Peak when they were trying to make their escape too.¡± Shang Bing¡¯s eyelids jumped and he growled, ¡°Looks like there¡¯s no point talking anymore. If you want to fight, let¡¯s fight!¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Lang Jingyun clapped in response, ¡°Too bad you¡¯re not Shang Bo. I have long since wanted to experience his Shang Clan Spear Art.¡± ¡°Humph. You¡¯re not worthy.¡± Shang Bing sneered. ¡°You can think about it after you defeat me.¡± A thin sword appeared in Shang Bing¡¯s hand and his surroundings started to freeze over. Frosty qi filled the space around him whenever he swung his sword. Lang Jingyun¡¯s look of disdain slowly disappeared as he retreated several feet to avoid getting hit by the frosty qi. At the same time, a four segmented whip appeared in his hand. He swung it towards Shang Bing ruthlessly. Crackle! A loud crack was heard and the long ice pillar that extended towards Lang Jingyun crumbled. At the same time, two strands of extermination qi that were blue and black in color emerged from his whip. The heaven and earth qi around him started to tremble as they shot straight for Shang Bing. Feeling a sense of danger, Shang Bing slashed out twelve times and every wave of sword light that emerged turned into a wall of ice that stopped Lang Jingyun¡¯s assault. When the tip of the whip shattered the eleventh wall, the power contained in his strike dissipated. Shang Bing looked at Lang Jingyun and his expression turned serious. ¡°Second layer of the Martial Extermination Realm?¡± Lang Jingyun laughed in amusement. ¡°That¡¯s right. I bet you didn¡¯t expect it.¡± The words barely left his lips when a heaven-shaking roar came from the distance. ¡°Mysterious Frost Sword, Shang Lubing! You didn¡¯t die! Jingyun, kill him! Kill him right now!¡± Lang Jingyun was slightly taken aback, but he soon released a soft chuckle. ¡°Interesting¡­ Shang Lubing? Mysterious Frost Sword? Looks like there¡¯s something special going on here¡­¡± Another voice tore through the air and suppressed the yell that came earlier. ¡°Haha! What¡¯s the fuss? Do you think you can be careless when fighting me? Or are you afraid that people will know how much you suffered in the hands of our You Continent¡¯s Triple Frost? ¡°Fuck you¡­!¡± Before he could complete his sentence, Ji Wenlong¡¯s voice rang through the air. ¡°Who would have thought that Chief Shang would be able to hide his true identity from me? It¡¯s been twenty years since you entered the institution and I failed to notice your secret¡­¡± From how easily Ji Wenlong interrupted Lang Xiaoyun, it seemed as though the latter wasn¡¯t having it easy when they sparred. Even so, one could hear from Ji Wenlong¡¯s tone of voice that he wasn¡¯t extremely excited to discover the presence of another Martial Extermination Realm expert on their side. In fact, there was a trace of suspicion behind it. Shang Lubing stared into the distance and sighed, ¡°It¡¯s not the time to focus on this. When this is over, I¡¯ll personally give all of you an explanation!¡± ¡°Explanation? There¡¯s no need for you to explain yourself! I heard Chief Shang mention something about our You Continent¡¯s Triple Frost before, and Patriarch Kou is the leader of the trio! Chief Shang is Patriarch Kou¡¯s sworn brother and he definitely knows about your presence in the institution! This has to be part of Patriarch Kou¡¯s plan!¡± Liu Qinglan¡¯s voice boomed through the air and even though she sounded like she was retorting against Ji Wenlong, what she said actually raised the morale of those from the Tongyou Peak. Ji Wenlong no longer spoke. Instead, Dong Qianzui¡¯s weary voice came next. ¡°There¡¯s no need for so much talk! Save your energy for the fight!¡± As his words fell, Ji Wenlong cried out in surprise, ¡°Elder Dong, be careful!¡± CH 79 ¡°Elder Dong, be careful!¡± Ji Wenlong roared as four stands of qi appeared in the distance. It formed a massive blade that shot towards Dong Qianzui. ¡°Ji Wenlong, you should focus on our battle!¡± Lang Xiaoyun yelled as a massive moon appeared in the skies above. Three strands of extermination qi attempted to stop Ji Wenlong¡¯s blade, but a ray of blade light managed to escape. The black colored blade light tore through space and arrived beside Dong Qianzui as it forced a figure to jump out from his hiding spot. A pair of wings formed with his inner qi could be seen keeping him in flight. Waving a branch-like weapon, it crashed into the black blade light. Rumbling filled the air as the black blade light started to dissipate. Not too far from the person who appeared, a sea of flames appeared as Dong Qianzui hugged his giant gourd. Unfortunately, he missed. ¡°What a pity¡­¡± The winged man sighed. He seemed to regret the fact that he missed his chance to ambush Dong Qianzui. ¡°Elder Dong, come over here!¡± Ji Wenlong heaved a sigh of relief. Out of all the Martial Extermination Realm experts, Dong Qianzui was the weakest! Even with his feat of defeating Yu Zhiqing at the start of the battle, he was still the weakest link among them all! As such, the winged man had the intention of taking him out. It was fortunate that Ji Wenlong¡¯s senses were sharp. Otherwise, the battle would turn on its head the moment a Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Tongyou Peak died. A spear light tore through the sea of flames at that very instant as Yu Zhiqing flew unsteadily towards the winged man. ¡°Lu Zhanyi, why didn¡¯t you stop him earlier?!¡± Lu Zhanyu rolled his eyes and said casually, ¡°Yu Zhiqing, let¡¯s make things clear. You invited me here to help you fight. I¡¯m not here to listen to your orders. If you think that I¡¯m useless, I¡¯ll leave the battle right now!¡± ¡°You¡­ Cough, cough, cough!¡± Yu Zhiqing felt a sickly sweet sensation rising up his throat. Lucky for him, he didn¡¯t choke on his own blood. Lu Zhanyi ignored Yu Zhiqing and looked behind him casually. ¡°That old man¡¯s strength might not be extremely impressive, but he¡¯s a cunning bastard. If I were you, I wouldn¡¯t have wasted my time talking to him in case I fall into his trap.¡± Yu Zhiqing suppressed his injuries after much difficulty, and he wanted to take his leave. However, he felt danger coming from behind and he was swallowed by a ball of flame before he could react. Fortunately, that was an ordinary ball of flame that couldn¡¯t hurt him. Even so, the fire that appeared was more than enough to burn through his clothes! Even though he was unharmed, some parts of his clothes turned into ash and his ash-colored buttocks were revealed to the world. ¡°Ha¡­ Haha¡­ Hahahahahaha!¡± Lu Zhanyi roared with laughter. ¡°Brother Lu, this isn¡¯t time to crack your jokes! The enemy is before us and I hope you can give it your all! Otherwise, Brother Lang will have to endure even more pressure!¡± Ran Biluo, who was observing the situation from the side, quipped. Suppressing his laughter, Lu Zhanyi muttered, ¡°Big Sister Ran is something else. Since you said so, I guess I will have to take action!¡± He waved his branch-like weapon across the air and a pillar of light emerged. A ball of wine-red light appeared not too far away and emitted a soft silvery glow. It behaved like a sinister bandit waiting for the perfect moment to enter the battle when Lu Zhanyi sighed, ¡°Brother Yu, please.¡± The battlefield that was already filled with chaos as Ji Wenlong and Lang Xiaoyun clashed with each other received their new addition, a giant winged deer! Every time it went deeper into the battlefield, it would be repelled by the four colored lights. Even so, it was able to waste Ji Wenlong¡¯s strength. Yu Zhiqing quickly donned another robe and jumped into the fray with his Spiritual Snake Spear. Even though his figure looked extremely weak, the three of them finally managed to eke out an advantageous position when facing Ji Wenlong¡¯s terrifying strength. ¡­ Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with the huge battle in the air as he continued to chase. Even when Lang Jingyun destroyed the patrol squad previously, Shang Xia forced himself to remain focused on the task at hand. All of a sudden, the situation changed and Shang Xia¡¯s expression sank. With yet another rattling noise filling the air, another chain was broken! There were twelve bridges in total around the Tongyou Peak, and every bridge was made with three thick metal chains! In order to destroy a bridge, one had to shatter all three chains! From the sound of it, the destroyed chain came from the Kaiyuan Peak. Hearing the disturbance, Jin Guanchao sped up once again. As the two of them continued their little game of tag, the distance that separated them drew closer. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. ¡°Jin Guanchao, you won¡¯t be able to escape! If you continue running, all the blood in your body will dry up!¡± Shang Xia snapped. Shang Xia could see that even though Jin Guanchao tried to seal off his wound, the inner qi in his body was weakening as he ran. Blood was already started to reappear. As he said that, the two of them approached the bridge connecting the Kaiyuan Peak to the main peak. Looking at the intact bridge before him, Shang Xia concluded that the one that broke was the bridge connecting the Kaiyuan Peak to the Qiling peak. How could such a serious mistake happen?! What in the world was Tang Yuan doing?! However, Shang Xia soon noticed three people standing at the side of the bridge, arguing about something. Seeing someone he was familiar with, Shang Xia yelled, ¡°Instructor Yuan, stop Jin Guanchao! He¡¯s a traitor from the Rose Party!¡± His voice quickly caught their attention and looks of surprise appeared on their faces. The lady among them reached over to grab Jin Guanchao. What Shang Xia didn¡¯t understand was that all three cultivators standing at the side of the bridge were in the Martial Intent Realm. Jin Guanchao knew that he would be caught, but he still chose to head over. Jin Guanchao was injured by both Sun Haiwei and Shang Xia, and he lost his arm to Shang Xi! He was so weak that he was captured easily. However, their surprise was broken by a yell coming from the other side. ¡°Send him over!¡± The woman who captured Jin Guanchao revealed a smile. She held him over the edge and waited for the rest to do their thing. Yuan Zilu yelled, ¡°Jia Yuntian, looks like he¡¯s pretty important to you guys! Since that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s trade!¡± ¡°Jia Yuntian?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s heart thumped. He thought back to the time he displayed the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm and how Jia Yuntian looked for him. ¡°Enough of your nonsense! If you don¡¯t want him to die, send Jin Guanchao over!¡± Jia Yuntian¡¯s voice came from the other side. The woman who was holding Jin Guanchao snapped, ¡°Do you really think we¡¯re afraid to kill him?¡± ¡°Is that so? Alright. Let¡¯s just kill the hostages we both have!¡± Jia Yuntian chuckled. ¡°Now that the bridge connecting the Luohui and Qiling Peaks are broken, what do you think will happen when I break this too? Make a bold guess. Do you think I¡¯m fast enough to destroy the bridge after killing Sang Youqi?¡± Shang Xia finally arrived and he saw Yuan Zilu nodding slightly to acknowledge his presence. Staring at the Luohui Peak, Shang Xia saw Jia Yuntian holding a giant pair of scissors in his hand. There was someone in his other hand, and it was none other than Sang Youqi of the Protection Division. ¡°You dare?!¡± Yuan Zhen roared. ¡°Jia Yuntian, if you try anything funny, you¡¯re dead!¡± ¡°Oh really?¡± Chuckling softly, Jia Yuntian kicked the person at his feet off the mountain. Shang Xia¡¯s heart pounded in his chest. He recognized Tang Yuan who was rolling off the mountain, and from the looks of it, he had been dead for some time now. ¡°Jia¡­ Yun¡­ Tian!¡± Yuan Zhen wanted to rush over, but he was stopped by Yuan Zilu. However, his actions caused his internal injuries to flare up once again and Yuan Zilu¡¯s body swayed in the wind. ¡°Cough¡­ Senior Brother Yuan, you can¡¯t¡­ Junior Brother Sang is still in his hands!¡± Yuan Zhen was boiling with rage but he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. He could only return to his original position. ¡°Haha, Yuan Zhen, if threats are useful, I¡¯ll be dead a hundred times over! You¡¯re a deacon of the Protection Division after all. Stop being so naive¡­¡± Jia Yuntian sneered. ¡°What do you want?¡± Yuan Zilu took a step forward and stood between Yuan Zhen and the bridge. CH 80 Jia Yuntian¡¯s action of kicking Tang Yuan¡¯s body off the mountain enraged the members of the Tongyou Peak. Yuan Zhen was close to going crazy, but luckily, there was Yuan Zilu who held him back. Otherwise, he would have rushed over without regard for his life. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. ¡°What do you want?!¡± Yuan Zilu tried his best to project his voice over. ¡°Haha, Brother Yuan, congratulations! Now that I got rid of the person above you, you¡¯ll get a chance to be promoted!¡± Jia Yuntian mocked. ¡°You should be thanking me!¡± Yuan Zilu frowned. ¡°Humph. There¡¯s no need to brag about your lowly actions! I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re Jia Yuntian or someone else. Neither do I care if this person is actually Jin Guanchao¡­ Whatever the case, you want us to let him go. Now, let¡¯s negotiate. What will it take for you to release Junior Brother Sang?¡± ¡°Easy!¡± Jia Yuntian¡¯s voice boomed. ¡°We¡¯ll let them go at the same time! They¡¯ll go across the bridge to the other side.¡± The frown on Yuan Zilu¡¯s face grew deeper. ¡°Is that it?¡± ¡°Of course! However, they need to seal off their cultivation for the time being. I won¡¯t release a Martial Intent Realm cultivator at full strength over to you guys!¡± Jia Yuntian continued. ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll trust you after everything you pulled?¡± Yuan Zilu asked. ¡°Haha, Brother Yuan, you don¡¯t have a choice!¡± Jia Yuntian held Sang Youqi and waved the scissors in his hand. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to trade the hostages, I¡¯ll destroy the bridge between our peaks right now! You know what I mean. Once the bridges around the main peak are destroyed, the protection formation will lose all power! The Tongyou Peak will fall!¡± ¡°How dare you!¡± Yuan Zhen could no longer control his anger and he roared. ¡°Hahaha, I destroyed two of the three chains already! Do you think your threats will affect me? The only reason I haven''t cut the final chain is because I want the battle to grow even more intense!¡± Jia Yuntian snorted. ¡°Indeed¡­ You really are an asshole! From your words, we should be thanking you for keeping the bridge intact, right?¡± Yuan Zilu grunted with disdain. ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me! Enough! We¡¯re running out of time. The Four Spiritual Peak should have discovered the weakness in your protection formation. If you fail to regain control of the Kaiyuan Peak, the consequences are clear! If you wish, we can continue to waste each other¡¯s time! Haha, Patriarch Kou might have hidden another Fourth Order Primary Realm expert in the Tongyou Peak. If you waste any more of my time, I might not be able to leave!¡± Jia Yuntian finally revealed his true intentions. He was truly afraid that there was someone watching his every move, waiting to strike! As such, he had to leave as soon as possible! The woman who was holding Jin Guanchao by the neck spoke all of a sudden, ¡°How can we believe that you won¡¯t cut the chain after we make the exchange?¡± ¡°Big sister Yun, did you not hear what I said? We want you to fight with the Four Spiritual Peak till both sides are seriously damaged! Why would I destroy your protection formation now and give them an easy victory?¡± The woman who spoke was Yun Yifei of the Yun Clan, and she was Yun Yishu¡¯s cousin. She was also at the Martial Intent Realm. Yuan Zhen¡¯s angry roar rang through the air yet again. ¡°The Rose Party is also part of the Azure Origin World! Why are you doing this?!¡± ¡°Alright. Looks like you¡¯re not convinced¡­ Can¡¯t you tell? We both go crazy and kill our hostages, you¡¯ll definitely be able to rush all the way here. I¡¯m not someone who wishes to throw away my life. Right now, all I care about is retreating in one piece. I¡¯ll release the captive and spare your defensive formation. How about that?¡± Jia Yuntian made it clear that destroying the third chain wasn¡¯t as easy as it sounded. Yuan Zilu and the others were more than capable of rushing over before he succeeded. In a situation where he had to fight Yuan Zilu, Yuan Zhen, and Yun Yifei, he knew that there was no chance of him leaving alive. Both parties stared at each other, waiting for the other side to make the first move. One side was afraid that Jia Yuntian would kill Sang Youqi, and the other side was afraid that Yuan Zhen and the others would risk it all. It was true that destroying the bridge would cause the protection formation to weaken a lot, and Yuan Zilu and the others had no choice but to give in. That was what Jia Yuntian expected. Otherwise, Yuan Zilu and the rest wouldn¡¯t have chosen to save Sang Youqi. Since the other party was willing to trade the hostages, Yuan Zilu and the others discovered that he wasn¡¯t in a position to sacrifice his life for nothing. ¡°Alright! We agree!¡± Yuan Zilu eventually made the decision. ¡°You better not play any tricks! Otherwise, the person who comes looking for you will probably be one of our deputy patriarchs! Perhaps, even Patriarch Kou will choose to hunt you down personally!¡± The mocking smile on Jia Yuntian¡¯s face faded instantly when he heard the words ¡®Patriarch Kou¡¯. His name alone didn¡¯t just scare the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak¡­ Not willing to drag things out any longer, Yuan Zilu sealed off Jin Guanchao¡¯s inner qi as Jia Yuntian tapped Sang Youqi¡¯s body several times. Soon, Jin Guanchao and Sang Youqi stepped onto the bridge at the same time. Yuan Zilu and the others felt their hearts pounding in their chests. They wanted nothing more than for the two of them to hurry up so that they could wrap things up. Of course, they were silently thanking the gods that Jia Yuntian wouldn¡¯t destroy the bridge. As long as the bridge remained standing, they would be able to protect the Tongyou Peak. As the two of them walked along the bridge, Jia Yuntian was trying to suppress his joy of completing his mission. He nearly failed the mission to destroy the bridge! As one of the most important chess pieces the Rose Party had in the institution, he was that close to failing the mission! He never expected that the Tongyou Peak would learn of the Rose Party¡¯s plan. They even sent out countless experts to protect the various bridges! As everyone received their missions individually, Jia Yuntian wasn¡¯t able to inform the rest of the spies placed by the Rose Party! In the end, he could only watch on as the spies revealed their identities and were killed off one by one. Luckily for him, he managed to succeed! When everyone was waiting for the two of them to cross the bridge, Shang Xia, who had been silent all this while, rushed out. Yuan Zilu wanted to stop him, but Shang Xia expected as much. His body trembled slightly and his movements became irregular. He avoided Yuan Zilu as he stepped onto the bridge. He ran straight towards Jin Guanchao! ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Yuan Zhen raged. ¡°This is a misunderstanding!¡± Yun Yifei stepped onto the bridge to grab Shang Xia, afraid that the other side would get the wrong impression. She didn¡¯t forget to throw an explanation over to Jia Yuntian! A talisman appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s body before she could grab him, and a massive wave of power appeared. His speed increased by more than one time, and Yun Yifei grabbed at air. ¡°Jin Guanchao has to die!¡± ¡°Preposterous!¡± Yuan Zilu exclaimed as his chest heaved from his overexertion. Looking at Yuan Zhen and Yun Yifei who were stuck in a daze, he cried out between his coughs, ¡°What are you standing there for?! Cough, cough¡­ Go! Hurry up and charge!¡± Yuan Zilu bent down slightly and blood sprayed out of his mouth. Yuan Zhen and Yun Yifei finally snapped back to reality. Even though they were blaming Shang Xia in their heart, they knew that hesitation would cost them a lot more. They would only be able to grasp the opportunity if they were fast enough! When Shang Xia rushed up the bridge earlier, Jia Yuntian was slightly taken aback and he raised the scissors in his hand. However, he quickly discovered that his actions weren¡¯t part of Yuan Zilu¡¯s plan when Yun Yifei tried to grab him. Heaving a sigh of relief, he lowered his weapon. The next scene caused him to raise his guard once again. Shang Xia used the additional speed to cross a quarter of the bridge in an instant. He was three feet away from Jin Guanchao when Jia Yuntian realized the problem. He wasn¡¯t the only one! Yuan Zhen and Yun Yifei were right behind him! ¡°Oh shit!¡± Even though he didn¡¯t understand what just happened, their actions destroyed his entire plan! All of a sudden, Sang Youqi burst forth with the speed of a Martial Intent Realm cultivator and rushed towards Jin Guanchao. ¡°Shit! Sang Youqi is a traitor too! He wants to save Jin Guanchao!¡± CH 81 Seeing the change in the situation, Sang Youqi released his inner qi and rushed towards Jin Guanchao. The change happened too suddenly. Yuan Zhen and Yun Yifei couldn¡¯t wait for Yuan Zilu¡¯s order and they acted on instinct. By the time they moved, Yuan Zilu¡¯s voice rang in the air. ¡°Sang Youqi is a traitor too!¡± When Yuan Zilu, Yuan Zhen, and Yun Yifei rushed over, Jia Yuntian had already destroyed the bridge connecting the Kaiyuan Peak to the Qiling Peak. It was then he took Sang Youqi hostage and threatened the three of them. In order to save Sang Youqi¡¯s life and regain control over the Kaiyuan Peak, the three of them forgot one small detail. Tang Yuan was at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm! Even if he was ambushed by Jia Yuntian, he would be able to fight back! One had to know that Tang Yuan was no fool. He might be a little hot-headed, but he wasn¡¯t stupid! He would have raised his guard to the maximum once he learned that there were traitors amongst them. Unless both of his companions were spies of the Rose Party, he wouldn¡¯t have lost! Moreover, there should be close to thirty disciples other than the three Martial Intent Realm cultivators on the Kaiyuan Peak. Since the time they arrived, they haven''t seen a single one! It was clear that everyone on the Kaiyuan Peak had been killed. For so many people to die without any sign of struggle, there had to be another expert among the spies! When Sang Youqi revealed his true intentions the moment Shang Xia appeared, Yuan Zilu came to a realization! They almost fell into the enemy¡¯s trap! The other party was clearly trying to buy time for themselves. At the same time, they could save another spy of the Rose Party. Since Jia Yuntian learned that the Tongyou Peak caught wind of their plans to destroy the protection formation, they send countless hidden experts over to protect the bridges. He knew that the only way to wash away Sang Youqi¡¯s suspicion was for him to take him hostage. According to their plan, Sang Youqi would reveal his strength when he passed Jin Guanchao before bringing him back to the Kaiyuan Peak. If he was fast enough and Yuan Zhen and the others reacted a little too slowly, the chips in Jia Yuntian¡¯s hand would increase! Their chances of retreating unscathed would double, or maybe even triple! Even if the other side reacted quickly enough and jumped on the bridge, Sang Youqi had already crossed half the bridge! They wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up in time! Moreover, Jia Yuntian was waiting on the other side to receive them! No matter how many times they ran the scenario in their heads, the two of them didn¡¯t expect Shang Xia to bash his way into their plan. Before Sang Youqi got to the middle of the bridge, Shang Xia ignored everyone and rushed over in an attempt to kill Jin Guanchao. He didn¡¯t expect Sang Youqi to be part of their group! Now that two of his comrades were on the bridge, Jia Yuntian couldn¡¯t destroy it if he wanted to! When Yun Yifei tried to grab Shang Xia earlier, they thought that it was a genuine mistake, causing Sang Youqi to continue acting. By the time he realized that something was wrong, Shang Xia had already used the talisman given to him by Shang Xi. He approached Jin Guanchao with the speed of the Martial Intent Realm cultivator! Sang Youqi could no longer be bothered with his identity and he tried to save Jin Guanchao. Unfortunately for him, he was too late. Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. Shang Xia, who had taken the initiative, arrived beside Jin Guanchao. A massive bolt of red lightning tore through the air and it slammed straight into Jin Guanchao. ¡°I said this before. Jin Guanchao has to die!¡± The bolt of lightning flew through the air as a charred body fell from the bridge. As they were suspended close to a thousand feet in the air, Jin Guanchao¡¯s fate could be imagined. ¡°No! You¡­ You deserve to die too!¡± Sang Youqi yelled as he lunged towards Shang Xia. He wanted nothing more than to tear the body of his comrade¡¯s killer to shreds! ¡°Dodge!¡± Yuan Zhen exclaimed instinctively. However, the bridge was merely five wide! Even if he wanted to dodge, where was he supposed to go? Shang Xia knew that the only thing he could rely on was the talisman his aunt gave him. It not only allowed him to achieve the speed of a Martial Intent Realm cultivator, it allowed him to become more nimble than them! Sang Youqi¡¯s attack struck the air as the wooden planks below him blew up. A gaping hole was formed on the bridge. That wasn¡¯t the end. Leaping into the air, Sang Youqi reached his claw towards Shang Xia¡¯s skull! This time, he really sealed off all paths of retreat. ¡°Let¡¯s see where you run to now!¡± Sang Youqi growled. He seemed to have already seen the outcome of the exchange where he smashed Shang Xia¡¯s skull into a mess of blood and bone. However, Jia Yuntian¡¯s voice sounded out behind him. ¡°Come back you dumbfuck! He¡¯s already dead! We have to go!¡± ¡°The kid is baiting you, you fool! Come back right now so I can cut the bridge!¡± Jia Yuntian¡¯s voice rang out twice, but he realized that he was too late. Yuan Zhen and Yun Yiufei were charging right at him. Sang Youqi was at a loss for what to do, but he eventually decided to kill the kid who finished off his comrade. ¡°Hold it right there!¡± Yuan Zhen roared. Even though he knew that shouting wouldn¡¯t solve the problem, he didn¡¯t have a better idea. In a fit of desperation, Shang Xia leaped into the air, away from the bridge. ¡°Huh?¡± Sang Youqi¡¯s attack landed in the air again, but seeing as Shang Xia had jumped off the bridge, he knew that the kid¡¯s fate was sealed. All he had to do was to think of a plan to escape. All of a sudden, Shang Xia¡¯s legs moved in a weird fashion and he seemed to pull him back a little. ¡°Irregular Step? So what?¡± Sang Youqi sneered in contempt. No matter how special it was, it couldn¡¯t allow him to walk on air! Moving slightly was already the greatest help it provided. ¡°Clang!¡± When Sang Youqi couldn¡¯t be bothered with Shang Xia any longer, the Delicate Jade River Sword flew towards the chain holding the bridge together. The Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian spun around and a strand of soft qi caused the blade of his sword to wrap around the chain. Shang Xia¡¯s body trembled in mid air as he threw himself back onto the bridge. When he did, he appeared behind Sang Youqi. The instant he stepped onto the bridge, the qi he utilized changed. The sword turned completely taut and it slashed towards Sang Youqi¡¯s back. Sang Youqi didn¡¯t have the luxury of turning around to see what Shang Xia was doing when he felt the chilly killing intent coming from behind him. ¡°You little¡­¡± Sang Youqi yelled but he couldn¡¯t do a thing. Learning from Shang Xia, he grabbed the chain before throwing himself off the bridge. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t surprised when he missed. He didn¡¯t attack again. Instead, he retreated while tossing out a talisman at Sang Youqi. ¡°Lightning!¡± As he poured his inner qi into the talisman, the rumbling of lightning arrived. Countless bolts of lightning emerged and caused Sang Youqi¡¯s arm to go numb. He couldn¡¯t use any more strength and he had to desperately pull himself back. Shang Xia was no fool. He wasn¡¯t going to fight head-on with a Martial Intent Realm cultivator no matter how injured or flustered the other party was. He retreated once again, but he stood between Sang Youqi and the Kaiyuan Peak. After suffering so much at the hands of a mere Shang Xia, killing intent brewed in Sang Youqi¡¯s heart. He snarled at Shang Xia, planning to get rid of him once and for all when his expression changed. He reached behind him in a desperate attempt to block the sneaky fist. ¡°Ah!¡± Turning around, he discovered that his palm was stuck to the other party¡¯s hand! Another figure shot past him entirely. Even though it looked slow, the figure disappeared as soon as it landed. ¡°Bang!¡± That was the last thing he heard as his consciousness slowly faded. CH 82 Jia Yuntian barely hesitated when he saw what happened to his comrade. In the split second, Jin Guanchao¡¯s body was torn to shreds by Shang Xia. In the same second, Yuan Zhen and Yun Yifei crossed one-third of the bridge. When he realized that things were going out of control and yelled for Sang Youqi to return, the latter went crazy trying to kill Shang Xia. Who would have thought that even though the kid was at the Martial Extremity Realm, he would have a ton of annoying skills? With Shang Xi¡¯s talisman to complement it, he managed to gain an advantage over Sang Youqi. In the blink of an eye, Sang Youqi was about to lose his life too! As someone at the small completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, Sang Youqi hadn¡¯t even had the chance to exchange blows with Yun Yifei who was at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, much less Yuan Zhen who was at the grand completion stage! The two Martial Intent Realm cultivators on Shang Xia¡¯s side ignored Sang Youqi who fell face-first onto the bridge and they rushed towards Jia Yuntian. As they shot past him, Shang Xia felt his footing slip as Jia Yuntian¡¯s scissors came crashing down on the final chain. Knowing that there was no saving Sang Youqi now, Jia Yuntian turned his eye to the bridge. The shaking didn¡¯t affect Yuan Zhen and Yun Yifei as they continued on their way. However fast he moved, Jia Yuntian saw that he couldn¡¯t swing his scissors a second time. He glared at Shang Xia before retreating. ¡°Rumble¡­¡± Shang Xia saw Sang Youqi¡¯s body rolling off the bridge due to the shaking Jia Yuntian caused. ¡°Cough, cough, cough¡­¡± Shang Xia stopped where he was as Yuan Zilu appeared beside him. We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. ¡°Instructor Yuan¡­¡± Shang Xia muttered before reaching out to support him. Smacking Shang Xia¡¯s hand away, Yuan Zilu sighed, ¡°I¡¯m still fit enough to walk.¡± Waving his sleeves in apparent anger, Yuan Zilu growled, ¡°You¡¯re messing about! Cough¡­ Cough¡­ Luckily, this didn¡¯t end badly!¡± He looked at Shang Xia as he made his way to the other side. ¡°How did you find out?¡± ¡°What?¡± Shang Xia scratched his head in embarrassment, ¡°It was a fluke¡­ Now that I think about it, I was a little too rash.¡± Yuan Zilu snorted coldly in response, ¡°It¡¯s good that you know your mistakes. Don¡¯t do something stupid like this in the future!¡± Shang Xia bowed in embarrassment, ¡°Thank you for your guidance!¡± ¡°Why are you still here? Hurry up and follow me. Are you enjoying the view here or something?¡± Yuan Zilu¡¯s voice rang in his ear. As a grin slowly appeared on his face, Shang Xia ran after the man. By that time, Yuan Zhen and Yun Yifei had already arrived on the other side of the bridge. As Yuan Zilu¡¯s body trembled unsteadily, he muttered, ¡°Jia Yuntian wouldn¡¯t stay here unless he had a way of escaping. Think¡­ What is his plan?¡± Shang Xia thought for a moment before grunting, ¡°Maybe he has someone waiting for him!¡± Yuan Zilu nodded, but his expression quickly changed. The protection formation turned even weaker, and the members of the Four Spiritual Peak discovered its weakness. A black figure tore through the space between the two peaks and the shockwave caused the protection barrier to tremble uncontrollably. ¡°What is that?!¡± Shang Xia gasped. ¡°Hurry! To the Kaiyuan Peak!¡± Yuan Zilu exclaimed as the two of them ran over. In several breaths of time, the black figure reappeared. This time, Shang Xia caught sight of it. The black figure had a pair of massive wings and it flew really quickly. It shot towards the weakness of the formation! ¡°Fourth Order Primary Realm! Another one!¡± Without Yuan Zilu¡¯s reminder, Shang Xia also discovered the strength of the black figure. A solemn expression appeared on Yuan Zilu¡¯s face. ¡°You best leave this area right now. Return to the main peak. You are no longer needed here¡­¡± Before Shang Xia could ask anything, Yuan Zilu¡¯s figure trembled and he disappeared. Yuan Zhen and Yun Yifei were still chasing after Jia Yuntian, and the energy fluctuations suddenly stopped. It seemed as though they managed to force him into a corner. As a Martial Intent Realm cultivator at the third layer, Jia Yuntian was no weakling. His combat ability was comparable to Yuan Zhen, and the pair of scissors in his hand was a high-grade weapon. He was able to hold his own even against the two of them. Recalling Yuan Zilu and Shang Xia¡¯s conversation behind them, the two of them thought of a possibility. Did Jia Yuntian bait them over to wait for the reinforcements from the Four Spiritual Peak? Shang Xia might have made the guess, but he wasn¡¯t able to watch the battle. He was able to do something when up against Sang Youqi who had barely stepped into the Martial Intent Realm, but he would be like a helpless chicken against monsters like Jia Yuntian. As for Yuan Zilu, Shang Xia could tell that he went to control the protection formation on the Kaiyuan Peak. The black figure appeared once again and his wings formed an ¡®X¡¯ as it tore through the protection formation! The figure seemed to be a little impatient as it rammed straight towards the opening between the Kaiyuan Peak and the Qiling Peak. The shockwave that came with it caused the surroundings to be torn to shreds. When the figure stopped, the bridges shook violently. The wooden planks that formed a base for the bridge exploded into tiny little shards and the chains were the only thing left of the bridge. The storm ripped through both peaks and threatened to form a separate space that belonged solely to the black figure. No matter what structure existed on the two peaks, they turned to dust in the face of such a violent show of strength. Finally, Shang Xia saw the face belonging to the black figure. The man had an unnaturally long nose and his eyes were long and narrow. They painted a ruthless and conniving look on his face, but he had a terrifying aura around him. He gave off a familiar feeling and Shang Xia instantly thought of the Wind Swallow Race! That had to be a Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Wind Swallow Race! Shang Xia¡¯s expression sank and his face twisted together. Previously, they came to a deal. Yan Su¡¯er would restrict the number of experts she sent over and she would remain back in her territory. Who would have thought that she would send another expert at the Martial Extermination Realm over?! Moreover, this person made such a huge scene the moment he appeared! What the hell! Shang Xia might be reluctant to accept the fact, but it was laid bare for him to see. At his level, he wasn¡¯t qualified to question their actions. The Martial Extermination Realm cultivator of the Wind Swallow Race tore another hole through the protection formation the moment he appeared. He seemed extremely content with his actions and he roared with laughter, ¡°I am Yan Que of the Wind Swallow Race! Hahaha! Disciples of the Four Spiritual Peak, charge! Today, we¡¯ll lay claim on these seven mountains!¡± Amidst the cheers of the disciples he led, Shang Xi¡¯s voice rang through the sky. ¡°Hah! The pure blooded members of the Wind Swallow Race have the surname ¡®Yan¡¯. The mix-blood is bestowed upon the surname ¡®Que¡¯. Are you a pureblood member or a mixed-blood member of your race? Perhaps¡­¡± CH 83 The longer he stayed in the battlefield between the two worlds, the more Shang Xia understood about the Azure Spiritual World. He concluded that the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World placed a very strong emphasis on their bloodlines. The purity of their bloodline would determine their strength and achievements in the future. As such, the purity of their bloodlines also decided their status in their world. There were times when a cultivator who hadn¡¯t stepped through the gates of the Martial Realm would receive more care and attention from their faction than a Martial Realm cultivator with low bloodline purity. In the Azure Spiritual World, they split themselves up into different races based on their bloodlines. Moreover, there were different castes in each race. The Wind Swallow Race was a good example. Those who had high bloodline purity were known to possess the ¡®Swallow Bloodline¡¯. Those who weren¡¯t were known to possess a ¡®Sparrow Bloodline¡¯. Of course, the way they split themselves caused a lot of hatred between the two classes. That was one of the reasons members who were known to possess the ¡®Swallow Bloodline¡¯ were more inclined to be called ¡®purebloods¡¯. They termed anyone with a Sparrow Bloodline a ¡®mix blood¡¯, and it sounded extremely insulting. The separation was all the more obvious in the Wind Swallow Race. The purebloods were given extremely high positions in the race and special rights, and they would be given the honorable race name, ¡®Yan¡¯. The others would be given names with ¡®Que¡¯ and the race name given to them would be said after their own, making it sound kind of derogatory. The disdain the purebloods had for the others was obvious, from the way Yan Su¡¯er spoke. That was also why Yan Que was an extremely unique name among the Wind Swallow Race. Shang Xi pointed out the problem in order to humiliate the other party and weaken their momentum. Well, her ruse worked and chuckles broke out in the Tongyou Peak. The oppressive atmosphere diminished by a whole lot. As the cultivators laughed, they projected their voices around the mountain peaks and it caused a much louder echo to ring through the air. Blood rushed to Yan Que¡¯s face and he stomped his feet into the ground, ¡°How dare you! All of you deserve death!¡± Because he successfully penetrated the barrier, he had been in high spirits. Now that he was insulted by a bunch of weaker cultivators, he no longer kept his cool. He turned into a black tornado that swept through the land. Things were as Shang Xi guessed. The expert who was called Yan Que was born as someone whose bloodline purity was low. However, he managed to climb to his position due to his talent in cultivation. He turned into one of the chiefs of the Wind Swallow Race even though he didn¡¯t possess the pure bloodline. The only reason he managed to rise up the ranks was because the bloodline of the Wind Swallow Race was thinning. In order to protect the race¡¯s prestige, Yan Que was promoted. Maybe because he accumulated a lot of hatred in his heart due to his treatment when he was young, he had always hated members who called themselves purebloods. The Wind Swallow Race wanted to use him as a source of strength to prop up their race, but their promotion only caused more inner cracks to form. To Yan Que, his position was high above the rest the moment he broke through to the Fourth Order Primary Realm. Despite his strength and cultivation, he could feel the dirty stares on his back wherever he went. When the Four Spiritual Peak attacked the Tongyou Peak, Yan Su¡¯er chose not to enter the battle due to Ji Wenlong¡¯s ambush. In order to prove himself, Yan Que volunteered to take her position. After joining the rest of the cultivators who were going to siege the Tongyou Peak, he felt left out yet again as even Lu Zhanyi who was pulled into the battle chose to ignore his presence. The hatred in his heart reached the breaking point and all he wanted to do was to prove that he was worthy of respect! He made an amazing appearance and it could be said to be the turning point of the battle. However, Shang Xi¡¯s words stabbed deep into his heart. Releasing a heaven-shaking roar, Yan Que turned into a black tornado that tore through everything in his way as he headed straight for the main peak. The chains that were broken previously danced in the air as they whipped out at him in unison. A snort left Yan Que¡¯s lips as he reached out to grab the chain. It was dragged into the tornado. Yan Que, who was charging manically towards the main peak, slowed down. ¡°Rattle, rattle¡­¡± Loud creaks came from one of the chains as it pulled completely taut. Another chain shot towards the tornado. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. As the two chains pulled in different directions, the black tornado that was Yan Que stopped moving all of a sudden. Realizing that something was off, Yan Que circulated more inner qi in an attempt to free himself from the chains. Who would have thought that a massive spear tens of feet long would appear from the solitary Kaiyuan Peak? It stabbed straight into the tornado. Like the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back, the black tornado was torn to shreds and a stream of black qi returned to Yan Que¡¯s side. At the same time, the spear returned to the Kaiyuan Peak. The chains flew back to their respective peaks. After the tornado was torn apart, everything it sucked up was thrown into the air. Several lower leveled cultivators were unlucky and were smashed to bits. While that went down, close to a hundred cultivators from the Four Spiritual Peak entered through the gap created by Yan Que. At the foot of the mountain, the battle began. ¡°Fuck!¡± Yan Que didn¡¯t expect his first attack to be stopped so quickly. Not to mention the fact that the chains and spear that stopped him were operated by cultivators in the Martial Intent Realm. They were nowhere near his level! ¡°It¡¯s the damn protection formation! How can the protection formation still be standing?¡± A light flashed in Yan Que¡¯s eyes. He turned to look at the battle that broke out at the foot of the mountain and discovered that it was difficult for them to gain an inch of ground. The cultivators from the Tongyou Peak rushed over in all directions. ¡°I need to destroy the formation!¡± Yan Que concluded. In order to break the stalemate, he had to find a way to destroy the formation on the Tongyou Peak. His gaze quickly landed on the chains connecting the bridge of the Kaiyuan Peak to the main peak. ¡­ Shang Xia realized that something was wrong when he saw the shadow of the spear that emerged. A trace of joy appeared in his heart when he saw how they destroyed the black tornado, and he could no longer care about Yuan Zilu¡¯s original order to return to the main peak. He turned and joined Yuan Zhen and Yun Yifei. He knew that Yuan Zilu wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on for long. How many more spears could he summon?! Right now, Yuan Zilu was at the core of the formation alone. In order to activate it, he would have to burn his own life force! Shang Xia knew that he wouldn¡¯t last long. He could only assist Yuan Zhen and Yun Yifei to defeat Jia Yuntian as quickly as possible so that they could assist Yuan Zilu. A hundred feet away, Shang Xia saw the three of them going all out. Yuan Zhen and Yun Yifei knew the severity of the matter too, and they wanted to end it fast. As for Jia Yuntian, he had long since learned the secret of the institution after serving for so many years. He could tell exactly what they were going to do. As such, he focused all his energy on defending. The thing that annoyed the two of them the most was that Jia Yuntian actually hid his cultivation level! That freak was actually at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm! CH 84 The protection formation between the Kaiyuan and Qiling Peaks were torn apart, and the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak rushed in from the opening. The squads at the foot of the mountain were unable to utilize the full power of their mounts and could only fight the enemy on foot. That was the easiest offensive members of the Four Spiritual Peak launched. There was a Martial Extermination Realm expert standing above their heads to scare the enemy. The cultivators of the Tongyou Peak could only defend passively at the foot of the mountain. Yan Que¡¯s shoulder trembled slightly and a gust of wind blew behind him. A strand of extermination qi emerged from his hand and turned into a long black staff. Stepping back slightly, Yan Que swung his staff towards the two peaks. The bridge that was already damaged earlier rattled violently and no one knew if they could withstand the strike from Yan Que. As the heaven and earth qi in the area gathered to form a massive staff eighty feet long, the rattling of chains became even stronger. It was as though someone was shaking it intentionally. Shang Xi grabbed the broken chain that was swinging in the air as she poured her true qi into it. The thick chains and Shang Xi¡¯s slender body formed a stark contrast. When the massive staff smashed into the bridge, the chains that were still intact turned limp all of a sudden and absorbed the impact. The chain controlled by Shang Xi shot upwards to soften the blow even further. As a massive shockwave tore through the Tongyou Peak, the bridge managed to remain completely intact. Of course, Shang Xi wasn¡¯t so lucky. She took on the remaining impact of the collision and her arms went completely numb. Her expression fluctuated greatly and she only managed to suppress her rampaging inner qi after some time. Shang Xi¡¯s expression turned grim as she looked at Yan Que hovering in mid air. She barely managed to hold out against the attack earlier. How was Yuan Zilu going to defend against it with his injured body? ¡­ On the Kaiyuan Peak, Shang Xia stabbed his sword straight into the heart of the battle. ¡°Senior Yuan, take the sword!¡± He could see that the sword in Yuan Zhen¡¯s hand was merely a low-grade weapon. Compared to the Stinging Gold Scissors in Jia Yuntian¡¯s hand, it was at an obvious disadvantage. The Delicate Jade River Sword whistled through the air and Yuan Zhen threw his own sword at Jia Yuntian. Grabbing Shang Xia¡¯s weapon in one smooth motion, he charged straight towards Jia Yuntian. Jia Yuntian¡¯s expression changed as he raised his scissors to defend himself. A loud clang rang through the air and he retreated slightly. He was forced to the edge of the mountain! Several stones beneath his feet crumbled, and Yuan Zhen arrived with Shang Xia¡¯s sword. Even though the Delicate Jade River Sword was a soft sword and Yuan Zhen wasn¡¯t comfortable using it, it was a mid-grade weapon nonetheless. He no longer needed to be afraid of Jia Yuntian¡¯s scissors cutting through his weapon and he could release his full strength. As a burst of booming laughter left his lips, Yuan Zhen waved the sword through the air to summon several rays of sword qi. ¡°Alright, you can leave now!¡± Yun Yifei reminded Shang Xia as a thin strand of silk emerged from his sleeves to wrap up Jia Yuntian¡¯s legs. It was an attempt to create a striking chance for Yuan Zhen! Shang Xia retreated several feet, but he chose to observe the battle. The more he watched the battle, the weirder his expression became. In the blink of an eye, the three of them exchanged dozens of moves. Ordinary cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm wouldn¡¯t be able to see their movements clearly! However, things were different for Shang Xia. The light in his eyes shone brighter and brighter as he observed the battle. Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. All of a sudden, he yelled, ¡°He¡¯s going to use ice attributed qi in his left hand and fire attributed qi in his right!¡± Even though Yuan Zhen and Yun Yifei heard him, they didn¡¯t think too much about it. In the next instant, a ball of flames appeared in Jia Yuntian¡¯s right hand and surrounded the pair of scissors he was holding. The scissors turned into a giant crocodile that spat flames as it cut towards Yuan Zhen. A layer of frost covered his left hand as he chopped at Yun Yifei, causing her movements to slow down. Jia Yuntian¡¯s sudden change in tactic caused the two of them to be slightly taken aback. With his battle experience, Yuan Zhen knew that there was no retreating now. Otherwise, his opponent would be able to regain his footing and prolong the battle. Yuan Zhen continued to swing his sword as rays of sword light appeared in the air above him. They forcefully suppressed the flames, but his clothes were charred black by the time he did. Blisters started forming on his skin due to the extreme heat. Yun Yifei wasn¡¯t so lucky. She was weaker than Jia Yuntian to begin with and she retreated quickly to Yuan Zhen¡¯s side. Too bad for Jia Yuntian, Yuan Zhen didn¡¯t retreat. He was quickly suppressed once again. Yun Yifei didn¡¯t hesitate. As soon as the icy qi faded, she went back to the battle. All three of them came to a sudden realization of how helpful Shang Xia¡¯s earlier reminder was. ¡°Soft qi from his left hand and strength attributed qi on his right!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s voice came from the side again. Yuan Zhen instinctively released a wave of sword qi to push away everything in his path before pointing at the area under Jia Yuntian¡¯s ribs. The pair of scissors in Jia Yuntian¡¯s hand was deflected by the sword qi and most of the strength contained in it dissipated. His weakness was revealed instantly. Facing Yuan Zhen¡¯s finger, he couldn¡¯t dodge at all as he pulled his weapon back to forcefully take on the impact. A loud blast rang through the air. Even though he managed to block Yuan Zhen¡¯s finger at the last second, his arm went numb from the impact. His hand started shaking involuntarily. As for Yun Yifei, she was still suspicious about Shang Xia¡¯s reminders. She hesitated slightly and the long strand of silk she used was caught by Jia Yuntian. Forcefully suppressing his inner qi, Jia Yuntian¡¯s gaze landed on Shang Xia who was hiding behind a rock. ¡°Brat, did you also cultivate the Triple Mystery Polarity Art? How did you predict the type of qi I was going to use?¡± In a battle between experts of the same level, any distraction could prove fatal. Now that Jia Yuntian¡¯s attention was placed on Shang Xia, Yuan Zhen took the opportunity to release his sword qi. It slashed deep into Jia Yuntian¡¯s shoulder and blood stained his clothes red. Shang Xia was obviously unwilling to reveal anything. He not only cultivated the Triple Mystery Polarity Art. He also fused it with the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian to create his own technique! The secret art he created was leagues ahead of the Triple Mystery Polarity Art! That was the reason why Shang Xia could easily foresee what type of qi Jia Yuntian was going to use. However, he had to admit that Jia Yuntian¡¯s usage of the different types of qi was impressive indeed. Even though he reached the limit of the Martial Intent Realm, he didn¡¯t possess the ability of the Yin Yang Diagram! Even so, he was able to control his qi so perfectly! Strictly speaking, he cultivated for a much longer time than Shang Xia. The way he transformed his qi was already ingrained into his bones after countless hours of cultivation! Shang Xia¡¯s mind might be full of thoughts, but he didn¡¯t forget to give Yuan Zhen and Yun Yifei reminders from the side. In a short amount of time, Jia Yuntian suffered three nasty wounds from Yuan Zhen¡¯s sword. His body was soaked in blood and he was an arrow at the end of its flight. Yun Yifei slowly adapted to the battle and she made several key changes to her fighting style. She managed to affect Jia Yuntian¡¯s movements with Shang Xia¡¯s reminder, and Yuan Zhen became successful in his attack. Right before Jia Yuntian could fall to Yuan Zhen¡¯s sword, a sudden change occurred. A giant palm formed from heaven and earth qi smashed towards the Kaiyuan Peak before anyone could react. ¡°Be careful!¡± Shang Xia, the only one who was paying attention to the surroundings, yelled. Boom! The palm smashed into a formless barrier above the Kaiyuan Peak, but it didn¡¯t stop there. It pressed down mercilessly, causing the peak to shake. CH 85 The giant palm print was stopped by the barrier eventually, but the impact caused the peaks to tremble and shake. Everyone at the peak of the mountain felt like a tiny ant ready to be crushed by the giant boot that was the palm print! Luckily for them, the formless barrier managed to stop it. Before they could heave a sigh of relief, the barrier above them counterattacked. It was as though the barrier had a mind of its own! Who would have thought that a second wave of energy would arrive, popping the barrier of light it was nothing! In an instant, the Kaiyuan Peak lost its protection layer! The sudden change shocked the cultivators on the Kaiyuan Peak! Jia Yuntian, who had been forced to the edge of the mountain, roared with laughter before jumping off. Yuan Zhen reacted quickly and sent a ray of energy shooting into his back. Jia Yuntian¡¯s laughter stopped abruptly as he spat out a mouthful of blood. His body swayed violently as he fell uncontrollably off the mountain. As Yuan Zhen and the others rushed over to the side, they saw a similar palm appear from nowhere to grab Jia Yuntian. The giant palm brought the traitor away. ¡°Jia Yuntian, if you¡¯re still alive, tell us your real name!¡± Yuan Zhen yelled. He knew that his final attack had the ability to injure Jia Yuntian, but not kill him. The bloodstained figure slowly crawled to his feet on the palm that saved him and spat out a sinister smile. ¡°Yuan Zhen, Yun Yifei, Shang Xia, I¡¯ll remember this defeat today! I, Murong Yuntian, will pay you back a thousand times in the future! Hahaha!¡± Yuan Zhen gnashed his teeth and growled, ¡°Jia Yuntian? Murong Yuntian? Heh, the Murong Family, part of the Evil Remnants that form the Rose Party. Alright, we¡¯ll see what happens when we meet next.¡± Shang Xia emerged from his hiding spot and approached the two. ¡°Which families make up the Evil Remnants? I heard that there¡¯s some connection between them and the five great families of the past¡­¡± Yuan Zhen returned the sword to Shang Xia and retrieved his sword with a wave of his hand. He didn¡¯t answer Shang Xia¡¯s question immediately. Instead, he sighed, ¡°The person who saved him was definitely at the Fourth Order Primary Realm. It has to be an expert from the Rose Party!¡± ¡°The protection formation around the Kaiyuan Peak is broken, and there isn¡¯t any sign of recovery¡­ Oh shit!¡± Yuan Zhen yelled and rushed towards the center of the peak. Shang Xia¡¯s heart sank. Everyone forgot that the person controlling the protection formation around the Kaiyuan Peak was the severely injured Yuan Zilu! They thought about how the protection formation exploded at the final stages of the battle and realized that something was wrong. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t showing any signs of recovering. Something bad definitely happened to Yuan Zilu! As such, the three of them rushed over to where he was stationed. Who knew if Murong Yuntian and the expert who saved him would return for a counterattack? The movements on the Kaiyuan Peak quickly attracted the attention of those of the Four Spiritual Peak. They didn¡¯t wait for Yuan Zhen to arrive at the core of the protection formation before launching another offensive. Yan Que was no fool either. He attacked the bridge connecting the Kaiyuan Peak and the main peak immediately. Shang Xi tried once again to repel Yan Que¡¯s staff and sent the free chain flying upwards. When Yan Que¡¯s staff smashed into the bridge, the chains went soft once again, but he was prepared for it. He yanked his staff up violently. Shang Xi wanted to work with Yuan Zilu to resist the attack for a second time, but who would have thought that the chains connecting the bridge would sway unsteadily through the air? Yan Que¡¯s attack shattered the second last chain connecting the bridge easily. How could it be?! Only then did Shang Xi think of the previous scene where the protection screen above the Kaiyuan Peak popped. A sense of foreboding entered Shang Xi¡¯s heart. Something bad happened to Yuan Zilu! With no one to helm the protection formation on the Kaiyuan Peak, the bridge was naturally unable to withstand a strike from a Martial Extermination realm expert! The moment the bridge connecting the main peak to the Kaiyuan Peak was broken, the protection formation was seriously weakened! Yan Que¡¯s laughter boomed through the air. When the giant palm appeared above the Kaiyuan Peak, he knew that his chance had come. The moment he shattered the bridge, destroying the protection formation around the Tongyou Peak became a matter of time! Without a doubt, he was the one who gained the most credit during this war! He could imagine receiving the congratulations and thanks of the great races that resided on the Four Spiritual Peak. Before the battle, Yan Su¡¯er chose to enter seclusion to recover and many of the other races were enraged by her actions. Since he took her place and gained a huge credit, he could borrow the power of the other races to increase his position in the Wind Swallow Race! The more he thought about it, the louder his laughter became. He swung his staff at the final chain connecting the bridge. As his staff came crashing down, the two chains that swayed in the wind wrapped around it in an attempt to stop him. Shang Xi used all her strength to resist Yan Que¡¯s attack. ¡°You¡¯re overestimating yourself!¡± Yan Que sneered as he smacked the chain away with a flip of his wrist. When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. However, a rattling sound came from behind him all of a sudden and another chain whipped towards his waist. With Ji Min controlling the formation on the Qiling Peak, he made a last-ditch effort with the help of the other cultivators there to stop Yan Que. Ever since the bridge between the Kaiyuan Peak and Qiling Peak was broken by Murong Yuntian, Ji Min took control of the protection formation and managed to gain control over a single chain. He wasn¡¯t especially strong, but he was at the Martial Intent Realm. Controlling one chain wasn¡¯t too bad. Yan Que snorted coldly as he rose higher into the air. The chain that came from the Qiling Peak missed entirely. However, Yan Que wasn¡¯t Ji Min¡¯s target. The chain went to assist Shang Xi. ¡°Do you really think that you can stop me?¡± Yan Que cried as he flung his cape behind him. A shockwave tore through the skies and traveled through the two chains to slam heavily into Shang Xi and Ji Min. Ji Min was still alright. He was at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, and he had the help of several lower leveled cultivators to tank the hit. He forcefully took on the blow with the help of the protection formation and everyone else. Shang Xi wasn¡¯t so lucky. Moreover, her cultivation was weaker than Ji Min''s! Her face flushed red when the shockwave came, and she spat out a mouthful of blood. Her face went completely pale and she could no longer grip the chains. She was almost sent flying through the air when a palm pressed against her back, suppressing her rampaging inner qi. Turning around suddenly, Shang Xi gasped in shock, ¡°You?!¡± ¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s see how long you can hold out for?¡± Yan Que could feel the weakening resistance and he attacked again. This time, he was sure that he would injure, if not kill, one of the defenders. All of a sudden, the chain controlled by Shang Xi returned to life and whipped towards him. ¡°Another one?! So what if someone else came?¡± Yan Que roared. He didn¡¯t plan to avoid the chain this time and he chose to meet it head-on. He didn¡¯t notice that the attack was slightly different from before. The chain that shot towards him was surrounded by a soft red glow. ¡°Pa!¡± Yan Que grabbed the chain confidently, but his expression changed drastically when he felt the power the chain contained. It wasn¡¯t extremely powerful, and he could tell that the person using it was a Martial Intent Realm cultivator at best. However, the power suppressed his extermination qi! That wasn¡¯t any type of suppression! It was a suppression of bloodlines! He wasn¡¯t foreign to the feeling. Instead, he deeply feared and hated it. Even so, his heart trembled slightly. ¡°Who! Who is this?! How can the Tongyou Peak possess a pureblood of the Wind Swallow Race?!¡± CH 86 ¡°How can there be a pureblood of the Wind Swallow Race on the Tongyou Peak?! Yan Que¡¯s voice rang in everyone¡¯s ears. They heard the trace of surprise in Yan Que¡¯s voice, and he failed to hide the fear he felt! Strictly speaking, the mysterious cultivator on their side was a mere Martial Intent Realm cultivator. They could cause Yan Que to feel like his bloodline was suppressed, but there was no way they could harm him! Of course, it was still good news to the members of the Tongyou Peak. Not only did they possess another Martial Intent Realm expert, but the expert could also suppress Yan Que¡¯s bloodline power! If the expert controlled one of the protection formations, it would make Yan Que¡¯s job of destroying the protection formation much harder! That wasn¡¯t all. After Yan Que yelled, the Kaiyuan Peak also experienced some changes. The broken formation on the Kaiyuan Peak started to recover. A soft hum filled the skies. There was no doubt about it. Someone else went over to control the protection formation on the Kaiyuan Peak. That might be a good thing, but that also signified that something bad really happened to Yuan Zilu! Even so, the protection formation around the Kaiyuan Peak, Qiling Peak, and the main peak returned to normal. When Yan Que was hovering in mid air trying to probe out the strength of the person who controlled the formation, another rattling sound came from behind him. The chain that was free on the Kaiyuan Peak shot towards him. He summoned his extermination qi to cover his body and it managed to stop the chain from hitting his back. Even so, the impact caused him to waver slightly in mid air. The extermination qi around him dissipated and another chain came out of nowhere to grab his cape. The cape he was wearing was a mid-grade weapon, and it was the only treasure he possessed! He was unwilling to give it up and he could only choose to take the incoming hit that the Kaiyuan Peak unleashed again. Even though the three peaks only contained cultivators at the Martial Intent Realm, they had the assistance of the protection formation! Both sides fell into a stalemate just like that. Shang Xi stared at the person beside her with a strange expression on her face. ¡°When did you enter the Martial Intent Realm? Can you finally explain what¡¯s going on?¡± Yan Qi chuckled in amusement and explained, ¡°Not too long ago, the young master came back with a Blood Essence Crystal. Do you remember?¡± Shang Xi nodded. ¡°Yeah. Fifth Uncle said that he had a use for it and brought it away.¡± Yan Qi scratched his head slowly and muttered, ¡°That¡¯s right. He used it on me. Fifth Uncle and Brother Quan suppressed the sign of my breakthrough on the Pinxin Peak.¡± ¡°What?! What¡¯s the point of that if you¡¯re going to expose yourself now? Oh right, what¡¯s with you anyway? Do you really have the bloodline of the Wind Swallow Race?¡± Shang Xi snapped exasperatedly. ¡°I don¡¯t know?¡± A trace of sadness flashed in Yan Qi¡¯s eyes and he ruffled his hair helplessly, ¡°Looks like it¡¯s true. Moreover, my bloodline has been changed to a pureblood Swallow Bloodline now¡­ The only people who know about my birth matters are Fifth Uncle and my foster father. Fifth Uncle refuses to say anything about it. He asked me to go ask my foster father¡­¡± Shang Xi could feel the change in Yan Qi¡¯s emotions and she placed her hand on his shoulder to comfort him, ¡°Seventh Brother, we grew up together! You¡¯ll forever be my brother!¡± Yan Qi laughed softly, but a trace of tenderness appeared in his eyes. He knew that he was different from the members of the Shang Clan since a long time ago. That was why he chose to live away from the family. Shang Bo accepted him as a foster son a long time ago and his fellow siblings treated him extremely well. Even so, he felt that he wasn¡¯t a part of the family. Even though there was something Shang Xi didn¡¯t say explicitly, the two of them were in silent agreement. The Shang Clan would always stand on Yan Qi¡¯s side regardless of what happened! Yan Qi might have revealed his bloodline and assisted the Tongyou Peak to repel the Martial Extermination Realm Yan Que, but there might be repercussions in the future! Despite knowing that the Tongyou Peak would most likely pick on him after everything blew over, Shang Xi made her stand exceptionally clear. The killing around the Tongyou Peak continued. However, the protection formation returned to normal and the deaths of the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak were significantly lesser than that of the Four Spiritual Peak. ¡°Yan Que, hurry up and do something!¡± Even though the other Martial Extermination Realm experts were fighting outside, they kept a close eye on the battle. The longer the battle dragged on, the more they would have to sacrifice. Lang Xiaoyun couldn¡¯t help but yell when he saw Yan Que stuck in a deadlock with several Martial Intent Realm cultivators. The other Martial Extermination Realm cultivators on his side cursed him for having low bloodline purity and their rage extended to Yan Su¡¯er who was hiding back at the Four Spiritual Peak to recover. If the person who came was Yan Su¡¯er, the protection formation would have long since been broken! In their eyes, Yan Que was nothing more than a failure! As the battle dragged on, the giant palm that saved Murong Yuntian reappeared! ¡°Yuwen Shengjie, I know it¡¯s you! Does the Rose Party really plan to offend the Tongyou Institution?¡± Ji Wenlong¡¯s voice boomed through the air the moment he appeared. ¡°Hahahaha¡­ This old man didn¡¯t plan on joining this farce. Too bad your disciples killed the core members of my Rose Party. Now, there¡¯s only one left and he¡¯s seriously injured! If I don¡¯t show my face and teach you guys a lesson you¡¯ll never forget, no one will respect my Rose Party!¡± The moment he spoke, a massive palm descended from the skies. ¡°Boom!¡± The protection formation shook, but it eventually held out. ¡°Since you killed four core members of my Rose Party, I¡¯ll give you four strikes in return! That was the first one!¡± At that time, Yuan Zhen was already deathly pale at the core of the Kaiyuan Peak¡¯s formation. ¡°Ignore the bastard from the Four Spiritual Peak! We¡¯ll deal with this guy!¡± Yun Yifei nodded solemnly and she descended on the formation to join forces with Yuan Zhen. ¡°The second palm!¡± The heaven and earth qi around the peak gathered in the air before smashing down once again. The structures around the Kaiyuan Peak turned to dust as the tall peak started to shake violently. Yan Que, who was no longer annoyed by Yuan Zhen¡¯s attacks, finally struggled free and retrieved his cape. Shang Xi, Yan Qi, and Ji Min could only increase the intensity of their attack to stop Yan Que. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. A loud voice boomed through the air all of a sudden, distracting everyone. ¡°Sigh¡­ This old man won¡¯t be able to hold on for much longer!¡± ¡°Elder Dong!¡± Ji Wenlong cried out in shock. ¡°That¡¯s what I said! The old freak forcefully increased his cultivation using some sort of forbidden art. His cultivation isn¡¯t really at the Fourth Order of the Primary Realm!¡± Lang Jingyun¡¯s voice rang through the air. ¡°Everyone, work harder! Once this old bastard dies, we¡¯ll kill Ji Wenlong together! Today, we¡¯ll flatten the Tongyou Peak!¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Dong Qianzui¡¯s weary laughter filled the air once again. ¡°This old man has been wasting my time in the Scripture Depository for the past twenty years. For all the good alcohol and food Kou Chongxue has given me, I¡¯ll take one of them down with me!¡± ¡°Elder Dong, no!¡± The words barely left Ji Wenlong¡¯s lips when a deafening blast rang through the air. A massive red mushroom cloud appeared in the skies and a red gourd that was made entirely out of heaven and earth qi appeared. As the dense aroma of Dong Qianzui¡¯s best wine diffused through the air, a respectable elder left the world forever. At the same time, a blood-red snake appeared in the distance. It desperately tried to swallow the runes around it but the speed of its destruction was much faster than its recovery. It released a miserable cry as the members of the Four Spiritual Peak howled, ¡°Elder Yu!¡± ¡°Elder Yu, no!¡± Since the start of the battle, no Martial Extermination Realm cultivator had fallen. Now, two of them died at once! Dong Qianzui might have forced his cultivation to increase with some sort of secret skill, but right before the effects faded, he ignited his martial intent to drag his enemy to death. Yu Zhiqing was a second layer Fourth Order Primary Realm expert! He was leagues ahead of Dong Qianzui, but even so, Dong Qianzui sacrificed his life to close the gap between the two sides. Even in death, he managed to achieve an absolute victory over his opponent! Now, Ji Wenlong only needed to deal with Lang Xiaoyun and Lu Zhanyi. Above the Kaiyuan Peak, the third palm print appeared. Yan Que struggled desperately and caused Shang Xi and Ji Min to vomit multiple mouthfuls of blood. Yan Qi who had barely stepped through the gates of the Martial Intent Realm didn¡¯t possess the ability to properly suppress the opponent. On the Kaiyuan Peak, Shang Xia tossed the Scarlet Crystal into his mouth and the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian operated at full power. It converted all the energy contained in the Scarlet Crystal into energy he could use and he pumped it straight into the chain around the Kaiyuan Peak. It shot upwards towards the giant palm! ¡°Bang!¡± The palm trembled slightly, but it continued to fall. Shang Xia spat out a mouthful of blood as he watched the palm land heavily on the barrier. Cracks started to form around the light screen as a long whistle came from the distance. Shang Xia heard it, but he dismissed it quickly. Yan Que, who had gained the upper hand, roared with laughter, ¡°The protection formation will shatter today!¡± The whistling sound came closer, but no one paid any attention. Struggling to his feet, Shang Xia once again poured everything he had into the chain. ¡°Pa!¡± The power contained in his desperate strike was nowhere close to his previous attack, but the palm trembled slightly before disappearing. He heard the whistling sound come closer and closer, and he finally realized that he wasn¡¯t hearing things! He was curious about the sudden disappearance of the giant palm and wondered if his final attack was the one that did it. The rest of the experts fighting around the Tongyou Peak also managed to pick up on the whistling sound. ¡°Hey, you dumbshit Retreat right now! Shang Bo is here! Are you deaf?!¡± Ran Biluo¡¯s voice came from the distance. ¡°Who?! Shang Bo?! The weakest of the four deputy patriarchs?!¡± Yan Que frowned slightly. He was regretful as he was an inch away from destroying the protection formation. Also, my cape¡­¡± A loud whistle rang through the skies. ¡°Retreat!¡± Ran Biluo screamed. Using all his strength, Yan Que tugged at his cape, freeing it from all the restraints around him. He wasn¡¯t able to celebrate as a pillar of light fell from the heavens. The pillar was made up of three different colored lights, and it resembled a long lance as it shot through the protection formation without resistance. It pierced straight into his body. ¡°This¡­¡± Yan Que gasped as his consciousness turned dark. ¡°Shang Clan Spear!¡± Ran Biluo¡¯s ear piercing cry echoed through the air and there was a trace of hatred and reluctance hidden in it. ¡°Nine Firefly Lance!¡± Xiao Jingyun forcefully pushed away Shang Lubing and retreated. ¡°Three colored extermination qi?¡± Lang Xiaoyun frowned in disbelief. CH 87 ¡°You¡¯re finally here!¡± Liu Qinglan looked into the distance and revealed an envious gaze. Blood leaked out from the corner of her lips after she forced Ran Biluo back. The latter wasn¡¯t in a rush to continue fighting as she retreated over to Lang Xiaoyun¡¯s side. Liu Qinglan had been running on empty for a long time. Even with the help of the protection formation, she was no match for Ran Biluo. All she was doing was holding out desperately. Seeing as the situation had stabilized with the arrival of Shang Bo, she started to calm down her rampaging inner qi. Of course, she didn¡¯t let her guard down at all. Ran Biluo did the same. However, even if she got over her fear of the defeat she received from Shang Bo, his appearance was too damn shocking! He one shotted a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator as soon as he arrived! No matter how much they looked down on Yan Que for being a mixed blood, a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator was a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator! His strength had reached a certain standard! Even so, Shang Bo killed him without the slightest bit of resistance! That was a terrifying feat! The Four Spiritual Peak might seem to possess the advantage, but even Lang Xiaoyun, who possessed a high-grade weapon, knew that he couldn¡¯t kill Yan Que like that! Even in the same situation, he would be able to heavily injure Yan Que at best! ¡°This kid¡­ He became even stronger!¡± Shang Lubing took the chance to catch his breath after Lang Jingyun retreated. The pressure he felt was comparable to what Liu Qinglan felt. Lang Jingyun was stronger than Ran Biluo, and he focused on offensive skills! Shang Lubing could only force himself to hang on with the extra knowledge and experience he had as a cultivator who had been in the Martial Extermination Realm for longer. ¡°Chief Kou is really impressive. I wonder if this kid can cut off his connection to his clan in the future¡­ After all, they¡¯re already part of the four great clans in Tongyou City.¡± Shang Lubing¡¯s eyes flashed and he tossed the thought to the back of his mind. He retreated slowly, keeping Liu Qinglan and the three peaks behind him. ¡°Third layer of the Martial Extermination Realm!¡± Ji Wenlong glanced at the three colored lights surrounding Shang Bo and his expression turned serious. ¡°Ten years ago, Kou Chongxue heavily supported him and helped him to step into the Martial Extermination Realm. That was how the fourth great clan was born.¡± ¡°Five years ago, he entered the battlefield between two worlds and defeated Ran Biluo with a long lance in hand. He obtained his second extermination origin and entered the second layer of the Martial Extermination Realm. After that, Ran Biluo requested Yu Zhiqing¡¯s support and fought him at the foot of the Tongyou Peak. Even though Shang Bo fell to a disadvantage and suffered some slight injuries, he managed to scar Ran Biluo¡¯s face with his extermination origin. She had been disfigured since, using heavy makeup to cover up the scars.¡± ¡°Now that five years had passed, he managed to form a third extermination origin. He killed Yan Que in the blink of an eye¡­ Looks like he has already surpassed Liu Jitang¡­¡± Ji Wenlong concluded. Yan Que¡¯s body fell slowly to the ground. In the place he once stood, a long lance hovered in the air, emitting a soft glow. From afar, it looked exactly like a firefly dancing in the air. An elder who looked pretty similar to Shang Xia appeared in his place. He was the fourth Deputy Patriarch of the Tongyou Institution, and he was the head of the Training Division! He was the patriarch of the Shang Clan, Shang Bo!¡± ¡°Hah¡­ I finally arrived.¡± Shang Bo had clearly just arrived and he was different from those who had been hiding on the Tongyou Peak the whole time. Shang Bo swept his gaze across the battlefield, taking everything in. All of a sudden, Ji Wenlong¡¯s cry rang in his mind. ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry up and counter attack! The members of the Rose Party are still hiding at the side waiting for a chance to strike!¡± ¡°Chief Ji, calm down. Let me catch my breath.¡± Shang Bo waved his hand to retrieve the Nine Firefly Lance. The humming disappeared instantly. ¡°Elder Dong is dead and our Tongyou Peak is on the brink of destruction. Do you think I can remain calm and wait for you to catch your breath?!¡± Ji Wenlong growled. Since the start, Ji Wenlong had always been the pillar of strength for the Tongyou Peak. He held off two Martial Extermination Realm cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak alone, and one of them was the strongest expert on the other side! ¡°Alright! Today, all of them will leave their pitiful lives behind!¡± Shang Bo¡¯s rage was ignited when he saw Shang Xia¡¯s sorry appearance down below. ¡°Hand your life over!¡± Shang Bo¡¯s lance stabbed forward, leaping through a huge distance in space as it stabbed straight towards Ran Biluo. ¡°Ah!¡± Crying out in shock, Ran Biluo escaped without fighting. The fear she had for Shang Bo had exceeded common sense. However, Xiao Jingyun, who was standing beside her, revealed an excited expression. ¡°Are you the Soul Tearing Spear, Shang Bo? I am Lang Jingyun of the Four Spiritual Peak. Let¡¯s exchange pointers!¡± As soon as he spoke, he appeared to stop the Nine Firefly Lance. He soon realized his mistake. A glow covered the tip of the lance and Shang Bo¡¯s three colored extermination origin surrounded it. Lang Jingyun was unable to determine where the lance was headed! Lang Xiaoyun¡¯s reminder appeared in his mind while he was panicking. ¡°... Shang Bo isn¡¯t scary because of his cultivation. Everyone is wary of his spear art! No one in the same cultivation realm as him can take him on in terms of technique. Ran Biluo¡¯s fear of him is the greatest example¡­¡± Even though the excitement for battle bubbled in him, Lang Jingyun turned extraordinarily calm. Releasing a huge roar, he sent his whip flying downwards. ¡°Bang!¡± The sound of metal against metal rang through the air as the light around the tip of Shang Bo¡¯s lance dimmed slightly. A blinding light filled the skies and it swallowed everything in its path. Lang Jingyun¡¯s body shook violently and he was thrown back several dozen feet. His four-segmented whip was sent flying through the air. Even though Lang Jingyun looked like a battle maniac, he wasn¡¯t a fool. From the blow he exchanged with Shang Bo, he knew that he wasn¡¯t a match for the man. He wanted to retreat slightly to join hands with Ran Biluo to deal with the madman. His face which was flushed red turned black when he saw what happened next. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°I¡¯ll stop the two of them! You can fight him!¡± Ran Biluo said before rushing over to Shang Lubing and Liu Qinglan. Rage filled Lang Jingyun¡¯s heart. Even though he knew that she was running away, he couldn¡¯t do a thing about it! After all, she was volunteering to hold off two of the enemy¡¯s Martial Extermination Realm cultivators. Shang Bo wasn¡¯t going to wait for him to find assistance. After that lance, his extermination origin started to gather around his spear again as a massive lance formed in the air. Lang Jingyun wasn¡¯t stupid enough to take it head-on. After all, he experienced Shang Bo¡¯s strength earlier. ¡°Crap¡­ This guy is only using a lance¡­ If he were to get his hands on a spear¡­¡± Lang Jingyun¡¯s thoughts didn¡¯t hamper his escape. He turned tail and ran instantly. The further he got, the better. Shang Bo¡¯s divine sense locked onto Lang Jingyun silently. No matter how far he ran, he was going to have to take the strike! That was also why Shang Bo was known as the Tyrannical Spear King. It wasn¡¯t because of the way he used his spear technique. Instead, it was because he was going to hit you with it whether you liked it or not! Lang Jingyun, realizing that he wasn¡¯t going to avoid it no matter how far he ran, started to circulate his inner qi in an attempt to meet the strike. No one expected an accident to happen at the last second! When Shang Bo mustered his power to attack Lang Jingyun, a sneaky palm came from behind. What better time to hit Shang Bo than when he was charging up his attack? With Shang Bo¡¯s attitude to never hold back, he couldn¡¯t stop his attack now. It seemed as though the person who unleashed the sneak attack had a great understanding of the Shang Clan! ¡°Haha! I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time now!¡± Shang Bo roared with laughter before separating himself from the giant lance that was charging up in mid air. A shocked expression appeared on both Lang Jingyun¡¯s face and the attacker from the Rose Party as Shang Bo not only avoided the attack, but he also managed to pull the Nine Firefly Lance away! Even so, the giant lance that was formed from heaven and earth qi and Shang Bo¡¯s extermination origin continued to shoot out towards Lang Jingyun. ¡°Yuwen Shengjie, got to hell!¡± The three colored extermination origin that surrounded the Nine Firefly Lance increased to a four colored extermination origin but the fourth color fluctuated unsteadily around it. The palm that was created from heaven and earth qi was torn to shreds with Shang Bo¡¯s aura alone. At the same time, the lance stabbed into the void behind him. ¡°You little rat¡­ Come out here!¡± Along with Shang Bo¡¯s yell, the void was torn open. A pale middle aged man with a face full of fear was pulled out of the void as blood poured from his lips. ¡°Four colored extermination origin!¡± Yuwen Shengjie cried out in disbelief. In the next moment, he turned into a streak of crimson light as he tried to make his escape. On the other side, The giant lance that stabbed towards Lang Jingyun mercilessly. It was too bad the power contained in it wasn¡¯t enough to kill a second layer Martial Extermination Realm expert. Even though the title of the Tyrannical Spear King implied that he could only focus on the target he locked on, Shang Bo did the impossible and used it as a diversion to attack someone else! CH 88 In order to attack the Tongyou Peak, the Four Spiritual Peak mobilized six experts at the Martial Extermination Realm. Adding on Yuwen Shengjie from the Rose Party, that would mean a total of seven Martial Extermination Realm experts were on their side! If the Tongyou Peak included Dong Qianzui who forcefully increased his cultivation realm with some sort of secret technique and Shang Bo who just arrived, they would have five Martial Extermination Realm cultivators on their side. Even so, the party standing at an advantage was the Tongyou Peak! Even after Yan Que was instakilled by Shang Bo, the members of the Four Spiritual Peak still held hopes of winning. However, when Shang Bo turned around to heavily injure Yuwen Shengjie and revealed his cultivation to be close to the fourth layer of the Martial Extermination Realm, the Four Spiritual Peak finally realized that they might actually lose the battle! ¡°The only reason he came so late was probably because he was on the verge of breaking through! From the looks of it, he wanted to charge straight through to the fourth layer¡­ However, he had to leave seclusion early because of this¡­¡± Liu Qinglan sighed. As she had joined hands with Shang Lubing to fight Ran Biluo, the two of them had quite an easy time. She was even able to think about other things during the fight. ¡°Where did he find another extermination origin? Moreover, he discovered two of them!¡± Liu Qinglan seemed to have thought of something and she muttered under her breath, ¡°Could it be?¡± Liu Qinglan¡¯s thoughts were quickly noticed by Shang Lubing. ¡°Hey, are you really sure getting distracted now is a good idea?¡± Liu Qinglan chuckled softly before turning her attention to the battle. They quickly suppressed Ran Biluo again. The difference between Shang Bo and Shang Lubing when they displayed their strength was obvious. From a certain perspective, Shang Lubing¡¯s revelation of his strength wasn¡¯t as shocking as his true identity. The triple frost of the You Continent was really too damn famous! Kou Chongxue took on the position as the patriarch of the Tongyou Institution and his fame shook the battlefield between two worlds. However, his sworn brother hid his identity and became the head of one of the divisions in the Tongyou Institution. In twenty years, Kou Chongxue built the Tongyou Institution from nothing. His courage, wittiness, and methods have been put on display for all to see. Everyone in the higher ups of the Tongyou Institution greatly respected him. No one thought that they would be kept in the dark about Shang Lubing¡¯s actions. They only thought that everything was a part of his plan. Liu Qinglan turned serious, and Ran Biluo¡¯s situation took a turn for the worst. ¡­ On the Kaiyuan Peak, Shang Bo¡¯s appearance gave all of them a huge boost. Shang Xia fell to his butt as he tried to stabilize the inner qi running wild in his body. As the method he used to enter the Martial Extremity Realm was extremely special, his ingestion of the Scarlet Crystal wouldn¡¯t affect him much. All he had to do was to circulate his inner qi naturally. Despite him using up everything he could to stop Yan Que, he wasn¡¯t able to fully utilize the energy contained in the crystal. When he unleashed the second strike, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to wait for all the energy in his body to be balanced. Luckily, Shang Bo¡¯s appearance allowed him to finally adjust his inner qi. As the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian rotated quickly, a wave of comfort washed over him. After this incident, his cultivation was bound to increase. That was also taking into account the energy he wasted after ingesting the Scarlet Crystal. If he hadn¡¯t wasted so much, his improvement would be even more! Soft footsteps sounded behind him and Shang Xia turned to see Yun Yifei slowly approached. ¡°Little Xia, how are you feeling?¡± Perhaps it was because the most dangerous part of the battle had ended, or maybe it was because of his performance earlier. Yun Yifei¡¯s tone softened a lot when she spoke to him. ¡°Aunt Yun, I¡¯m fine!¡± Shang Xia wasn¡¯t lying. After he took the chance to regulate his inner qi, he was back to normal. Yun Yifei was stunned, but a smile soon formed on her face. ¡°That¡¯s good. Let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll head down the mountain and crush our enemies. We have to get even with them for what they have done!¡± A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. As Shang Xia hurried behind her, he asked, ¡°Aunt Yun, is Senior Yuan Zhen not coming with us?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t leave our territory empty even when chasing down the enemies. He has to control the protection formation on the Kaiyuan Peak.¡± Yun Yifei explained. Since Yan Que¡¯s appearance, there was only a single chain left connecting the bridge from the Kaiyuan Peak to the main peak. Even so, it couldn¡¯t stop the two of them from crossing over. Yun Yifei displayed the Yun Family¡¯s Delicate Cloud Steps and she stepped lightly across the bridge. Shang Xia¡¯s Irregular Steps might be a little lacking, but it wasn¡¯t a problem for him to cross. Shang Xi and Yan Qi also had intentions to kill the enemy below, and they were waiting for those on the Kaiyuan Peak to arrive. When Yun Yifei stepped onto the main peak, she glanced at Yan Qi before turning to Shang Xi. ¡°Shall we go?¡± Shang Xi looked at the foot of the mountain and muttered, ¡°It will be better if we find a few horses.¡± The four of them went down the mountain slowly, and Shang Xi asked, ¡°What happened to Instructor Yuan Zilu?¡± Yun Yifei sighed, ¡°He exhausted his life force. We can¡¯t save him¡­¡± Shang Xi¡¯s body trembled slightly and she sighed. Yuan Zilu could be considered to be Shang Bo¡¯s disciple in-name. His achievements in the art of the spear had been approved by Shang Bo. When he started training, Shang Bo even guided him a little, causing Yuan Zilu to keep the elder¡¯s grace in his heart. By the time they descended the mountain, they saw countless cultivators rushing down with the same intention as them. The reason they only appeared now was that they were in charge of controlling the protection formation on their respective peaks. Now that they were going to launch a full-scale counter attack, all these disciples with pent-up frustration in their hearts could finally release it. Shang Xia was running behind Shang Xi and Yun Yifei when he caught sight of a familiar figure. ¡°Teacher Sun?¡± Sun Haiwei was planning to rush down the mountain, but she paused when someone called her name. She turned to the source of the voice and she noticed Shang Xia. Before she could say anything, he asked, ¡°How is Senior Brother Tian?¡± ¡°He managed to keep his life with the help of your Stimulation Talisman. However, his injuries are severe and no one knows when he will recover. Even if he did, he might not be able to advance as quickly as before.¡± Sun Haiwei sighed. Even though he was a little sad, Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°No matter what, it¡¯s good to be alive.¡± Sun Haiwei nodded. Her expression eased up a whole lot. Shang Xi was part of the group that knew that Sun Haiwei had comprehended martial intent and she suggested, ¡°Teacher Sun, since you¡¯re alone, why don¡¯t you join us to head into battle? We¡¯re missing one man anyway.¡± Yun Yifei smiled and nodded at the side. Sun Haiwei bowed quickly. ¡°Many thanks to Senior Sister Shang and Senior Sister Yun. You can call me Haiwei¡­¡± Shang Xi giggled in response, ¡°Alright, Junior Sister Haiwei, the five of us can form one squad. Since your student here has no idea how to fight in the patrol squad¡¯s formation, you can teach him a thing or two.¡± Sun Haiwei nodded. ¡°Of course.¡± As the five of them descended the mountain, the disciples of the Four Spiritual Peak finally realized that something was wrong. With several Martial Intent Realm cultivators leading the way, they started to retreat. Obviously, the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak wouldn¡¯t let them off easy. For the enemy to come knocking on their doorsteps and kill their comrades, the disciples of the Tongyou Peak were boiling with rage. They wanted nothing more than to tear their enemies to shreds. In order to hurry down to join the battle, some of them even started fighting for mounts. When Shang Xi and the others arrived, no one dared to fight them over the horses. There were even some who offered up their mounts. The reason was simple. With so many Martial Intent Realm cultivators in Shang Xi¡¯s squad, they would be unstoppable! Even if they were surrounded by several Martial Intent Realm cultivators, they would be able to escape unscathed. The five of them rushed down the mountain on their Scarlet Cloud Horses. Due to the raging battle going on around, there were many corpses lining the ground. Shang Xia even saw the corpses of two people he knew. Even though they weren¡¯t familiar with each other, at least they knew of each other¡¯s existence. After Shang Xia and the others descended the mountain, they barely caught sight of the cultivators from the Four Spiritual Peak. ¡°Deputy Patriarch Shang appeared right above us. A lot of cultivators were gathered here, and they should have been the ones to retreat first.¡± Yun Yifei spoke casually, but she sounded extremely respectful when she talked about Shang Bo. Yan Qi rode at the back while Sun Haiwei and Shang Xia rode in the middle. She started explaining the intricacies of the five man formation used by the patrol squads. All of a sudden, Shang Xi yelled, ¡°look at that!¡± All of them turned in unison, and they saw some weirdly packed ground in the distance. It was filled with tiny little holes like a beehive, and there were eight cultivators of the Four Spiritual World lying on the ground. The remnant energy of Shang Bo¡¯s attack rained down on the land after he killed Yan Que and there were probably a lot of cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak present. All of them were killed instantly. Yun Yifei sighed, ¡°Too bad none of them were Martial Intent Realm cultivators. The stronger ones probably ran away in time. They should be able to defend themselves too¡­¡± Shang Xi muttered, ¡°There¡¯s no way those at the Martial Intent Realm will die so easily¡­¡± The five of them rushed out of the valley under the Qiling and Kaiyuan Peaks and something interesting caught Shang Xia¡¯s eye. ¡°Look! That¡¯s the black cape!¡± CH 89 The cape was stuck on a branch of a tree that extended out from halfway up the mountain. Yun Yifei turned to look, and a long strand of silk emerged from her sleeves. She pulled it down and tossed it over to Shang Xia. ¡°You can use it to protect yourself for now. After this is over, you¡¯ll have to return it to the institution.¡± Shang Xia chuckled, ¡°I understand. Many thanks, martial aunt¡± Yun Yifei smiled. ¡°There¡¯s no need for formality¡­ Just call me Aunt Yun or Aunt Yifei from now on.¡± ¡°Alright, Aunt Yun!¡± Shang Xia continued, ¡°About the items we obtained after killing the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak¡­ Do we need to hand those over to the institution?¡± A mischievous smile appeared on Yun Yifei¡¯s face. ¡°Of course not. Why else do you think so many people are charging into battle? Especially those wandering cultivators.¡± As she spoke, the five of them left the range of the protection formation. Because of the battle between the Martial Extermination Realm cultivators, the entire area around had been reduced to a wasteland. There were countless figures running in the direction of the Four Spiritual Peak and even though the battlefield between the two worlds wasn¡¯t that large, it was almost impossible to locate a few hundred cultivators if they managed to leave their line of sight. Shang Xi and Yun Yifei exchanged a gaze and they charged into the distance. Shang Xia and the others could only keep up. The five of them killed four cultivators under the Martial Intent Realm the moment they joined the battle. Shang Xi and Yun Yifei basically killed the opponents themselves. In order to increase their speed, the five of them didn¡¯t even bother stopping to collect their spoils of war. The items those weak cultivators had couldn¡¯t catch their eye anyway. As the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak made their escape, several Martial Intent Realm cultivators took the initiative to cover their comrades¡¯ retreat. ¡°The real battle is about to start!¡± Shang Xi yelled and those behind her changed their formation. Even Shang Xia who had just learned how to use the five man formation managed to meld perfectly into it. In the next second, Shang Xia saw their opponent. There were four cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak standing before them, forming the Four Spiritual Formation. The patrol squads of the Tongyou Peak had their own battle formation, and those of the Four Spiritual Peak naturally had their own. The four cultivators stood at the corners of an imaginary square and got ready to fight. ¡°There are two Martial Intent Realm cultivators! Be careful! Don¡¯t allow them to pull you off your horse!¡± Yun Yifei reminded as she got into position behind Shang Xi. Shang Xia discovered that in their group, Yun Yifei was the strongest among them. However, the person leading the charge was Shang Xi whose cultivation came second among them. When they arrived ten feet away from their opponent, Shang Xi¡¯s knives flew out towards them. The other side reacted immediately to deflect the attack. ¡°Suppress it!¡± A Martial Intent Realm cultivator in the Four Spiritual Formation yelled. His hand turned into a claw and grabbed at the knives that were coming his way. At the same time, a long strand of silk emerged from another side of the square. Shang Xia felt the heaven and earth qi around the group moving in unison, and he understood that was the principle behind their formation. A strand of silk emerged from behind Shang Xi, and it attempted to grab her knives before the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak got their hands on it. Shang Xi didn¡¯t slow down in the slightest. Instead, she rode faster and faster and she ignored her weapons completely. It was as though she was confident that Yun Yifei would be able to grab them for her! She was right. As the knives landed back in her hands, two massive blade lights shot towards the enemy closest to her. ¡°Quickly! Defend against it! ¡°The Martial Intent Realm cultivators realized something was wrong and he quickly reminded the others. The adaptive ability of the Four Spiritual Formation was strong and the heaven and qi earth gathered on one of his claws. When Shang Xi attacked, Yun Yifei¡¯s silk strand disrupted the heaven and earth qi in the air. The blade light flashed deep into the opponent¡¯s formation and sliced off both claws. In their first exchange, the Four Spiritual Formation was partially destroyed! As the squad advanced, they sent the first person in the opposing formation flying into the air. The other three tried to retrieve their comrade but to no avail. Yun Yifei¡¯s silk strand caused the positions of the other three to change once again. This time, Sun Haiwei and Shang Xia came into play. Sun Haiwei sealed off one of the opponents in a ball of ice and Shang Xia followed closely behind. His Delicate Jade River Sword flashed and sliced the ball of ice into countless pieces, killing the cultivator within. When the third cultivator of the Four Spiritual Peak tried to save his friends, Yan Qi was there to stop him. Among the three, there was a cultivator with the sparrow bloodline of the Wind Swallow Race who was suppressed instantly by Yan Qi. He nearly died in a single blow! Just like that, the Four Spiritual Formation was broken by Shang Xi¡¯s party. The moment one of their corners fell, the formation would be broken! The two Martial Intent Realm cultivators who were still alive decided to run when they saw the outcome of the exchange. ¡°Wait for me!¡± The cultivator from the Wind Swallow Race screamed. He was at the Martial Extremity Realm and without their assistance, he was no match for Shang Xi, Yun Yifei, and the others. The moment the words left his lips, a long strand of silk appeared from nowhere and bound his neck. Shang Xi¡¯s knives arrived the next moment to behead him. ¡°Go!¡± The five of them didn¡¯t stop at all as they chased one of the two escaping Martial Intent Realm cultivators. Even though there were two of them, Shang Xi¡¯s group didn¡¯t split up and chase. They quickly caught up to one of the enemies who were at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. The cultivator knew that there was no escaping, and he counterattacked with his life on the line. Even so, he was trapped in the five man formation. Very quickly, they ground him down until his strength was spent. The phantom of a giant wolf he summoned with his last bits of strength started to fade. ¡°Moon Wolf Bloodline? Could he have some sort of relationship with Lang Xiaoyun?¡± Yun Yifei leaped off her horse. Shang Xi moved a little quicker and already found several broken remnants on his corpse. ¡°This guy uses some sort of bronze truncheon. Too bad it¡¯s broken. Looks like it¡¯s a low-grade weapon too¡­¡± A look of pity could be seen on Shang Xi¡¯s face. Even so, she ordered Shang Xia to retrieve the bronze truncheons. After refining it, they might be able to obtain some useful materials. Yun Yifei found a wolf tooth necklace from the body all of a sudden and saw countless cracks on it. If she pressed it slightly, it would probably crumble to dust. Yun Yifei crushed it, and she sighed, ¡°Since he went all out, he would have to use all the life saving items he had. Unless we have the ability to insta kill them like Uncle Shang, they won¡¯t be stupid enough to leave their treasures for us.¡± A low-grade weapon and a protective artifact were naturally the most valuable things he owned. Since they were already broken, no one held high hopes for the rest of the things he had. ¡°That might not be the case¡­¡± Yun Yifei looked over to Shang Xi who just spoke. She held an oval-shaped bronze item in her hand. ¡°No way¡­ Rank three Jade Green Alloy? This is a treasure from the Azure Spiritual World! Why would it be on him?¡± Yun Yifei revealed an envious look. Ordinarily, rank two treasures would be enough to make a low-grade weapon. Rank three treasures could make mid-grade ones! Of course, just the Jade Green Alloy alone wasn¡¯t enough. They had to gather many more materials! It was a different story to upgrade a low-grade weapon to a mid-grade one. The requirements and materials needed were much lower. It wasn¡¯t difficult to think that the cultivator who had it planned to upgrade his weapon. His actions benefited Shang Xi in the end. As the pair of knives in her hands were close to a mid-grade weapon, they were the easiest to upgrade! Previously, Yun Yifei was shocked to see Shang Xi¡¯s weapons. It was only to become stronger in the future and she couldn¡¯t help but look on in envy. After obtaining the Jade Green Alloy, Shang Xi¡¯s mood was fantastic. She called for the rest to hurry up. ¡°Let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll kill some other Martial Intent Realm cultivators before they all run away!¡± As the words came out of her mouth, a burst of light appeared behind her. When everyone turned to look, they saw a moon falling heavily into the ground. The next moment, violent shaking ensued. When the dust settled, everyone saw a giant crater in the ground. Shang Xi and the others could only start running back to the Tongyou Peak in case anything unexpected happened. Behind them, a ray of sword light slashed downwards and cleaved a massive ravine into the ground. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. CH 90 The moment Yan Que was killed and Yuwen Shengjie retreated, the fate of the Four Spiritual Peak was sealed. The only reason the battle dragged on was because the Martial Extermination Realm cultivators on the Four Spiritual Peak¡¯s side had to hold Ji Wenlong and the others back to allow their disciples to escape! Disciples of the Tongyou Peak weren''t fools. They started their counter attack the moment the Four Spiritual Peak showed signs of losing. Without mercy, they hunted down their enemies. In the skies, Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo led the charge. The Fourth Order Primary Realm cultivators on the institution¡¯s side attacked without a care in the world as Lang Xiaoyun and the others were beaten black and blue. They were helpless and could only choose to give up on the cultivators running on foot. Lang Xiaoyun summoned a massive moon before sending it crashing down into the ground to scare the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak off. On the other side, Lu Zhanyi and Ran Biluo did the same. They used a supremely strong attack to try to stop the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak. Ran Biluo, who finally gathered all the courage she had, sent a sword light flying towards Shang Bo. Even though it was easily nullified by Shang Bo, Lang Jingyun took the opportunity to destroy a mountain beside him as he made his escape. The avalanche of rocks that came blocked off several disciples of the Tongyou Peak. Their actions indeed affected the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak. However, the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak that were trapped had their fates completely sealed. Liu Qinglan yelled from the skies above, ¡°How dare you massacre cultivators in the Martial Intent Realm and below?!¡± ¡°Bullshit! Which one of you saw us killing them intentionally? Those who died can only blame their bad luck for getting in the way of our attacks!¡± Lu Zhanyi roared as the wings behind him flapped steadily. His nimble movements in the air allowed him to avoid many attacks from Ji Wenlong and the rest. He was the one who assisted Ran Biluo in holding Liu Qinglan and Shang Lubing back. ¡°Humph. Great excuses!¡± Shang Bo growled before stabbing straight towards Ran Biluo. His lance tore through the air and trails of flame could be seen where his weapon went. All of a sudden, he twisted it slightly and the lance went straight for Lang Jingyun. Gasped in fright, Lang Jingyun could only raise his weapon to defend himself. ¡°Clang!¡± A loud blast rang through the air and Lang Jingyun¡¯s face turned completely pale. The inner qi in his body ran wild. A sickly sweet taste appeared in his mouth and his body sank. He seemed to have realized what Shang Bo was doing and he desperately tried to stabilize himself. Even so, his body sank close to a hundred feet. Shang Bo didn¡¯t stop there. The shockwave from the blast traveled into the earth and formed a crater dozens of feet wide. There were four cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak there and they were crushed into the ground. Two of them were at the Martial Extremity Realm and they were turned into meat paste instantly. A Martial Intent Realm cultivator was squished deep into the ground. From the looks of it, he shouldn¡¯t be alive. The only one who survived was another Martial Intent Realm cultivator who managed to avoid the center of the impact. Even so, his divine sense crumbled under the pressure. No one knew how much he would recover in the future. One had to know that the Martial Extermination Realm cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak were covering the escape of their own clansmen! As such, they were flying where their clansmen were most concentrated! ¡°Oh? This is a good idea¡­¡± Liu Qinglan and Shang Lubing smiled. Lu Zhanyi could freely soar between the two of them earlier and managed to gain the upper hand in the small skirmishes. The two of them changed their tactic all of a sudden. They released their strongest skill without a care in the world, and they didn¡¯t even bother aiming directly for Lu Zhanyi most of the time. The shockwave and energy waves brought by their attacks killed god knew how many cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak trying to run away. Even if they didn¡¯t die, they had to pay a great price to take on those ''random bombardments¡¯ by the Martial Extermination Realm cultivators. Lu Zhanyi had to retreat helplessly. When he took a single hit from the two of them, he vomited a mouthful of blood. He could only run over to Ran Biluo for help. The Martial Extermination Realm cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak could only cry out with rage. The tactic they used only served to smash them in the foot, especially when they were outgunned by those from the Tongyou Institution. ¡­ After running for four miles without stopping, Shang Xi and the others heaved a sigh of relief. They looked at the craters and ravines that formed in the distance, dumbfounded. Shang Xia pouted, ¡°Is the difference between Martial Intent Realm cultivators and Martial Extermination Realm cultivators that big?!¡± Shang Xi snapped at him, ¡°Brat, why do you sound like you¡¯re looking down on those in the Martial Intent Realm? Huh?¡± Shang Xia quickly stared at his toes and kept silent. Knowing that the two of them were playing around with each other, Yun Yifei interrupted them with a more serious question. ¡°What are we going to do now? The way forward is blocked, and we wouldn¡¯t be able to chase them down in a short period of time. Those around us would be killed by others soon¡­¡± After their path of escape was sealed, the Martial Intent Realm cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak turned to fight for their lives. Most of those left were under the Martial Intent Realm anyway, and Shang Xi and the rest wouldn¡¯t be needed to kill them all. ¡°Why don¡¯t we go across the obstruction? We¡¯ll take two hours at best¡­¡± Shang Xi suggested out of the blue. ¡°Two hours is more than enough for them to run away. Even with our horses, we might not be able to catch up. Moreover, they might start laying down traps for us given time. If we continue to chase, we might fall for an ambush.¡± Shang Xia chuckled at the side. ¡°Well, I have a way for us to avoid all of their traps¡­¡± Yun Yifei and Sun Haiwei looked at the kid, wondering where he got his confidence from. The only person who fell into contemplation was Shang Xi, and she eventually asked, ¡°Are you sure you can do it?¡± Shang Xia nodded solemnly. Turning to Yun Yifei and Sun Haiwei, Shang Xi declared, ¡°We can give it a shot.¡± Without waiting for their replies, she turned to Yan Qi and said, ¡°Seventh Brother, return to the Tongyou Peak and take care of Brother Quan. I heard that he¡¯s injured. He could use your help.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Yan Qi nodded and dismounted. ¡°In case you need it. I¡¯ll return on foot!¡± Shang Xia exclaimed behind him, ¡°Seventh Uncle, be careful!¡± Yan Qi turned around and grinned at Shang Xia before running for the Tongyou Peak. After he left, Shang Xi looked at Yun Yifei and asked, ¡°Sister Fei, are there any of your clan members around us?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll look for them.¡± Since Yan Qi revealed his identity of having a pure Swallow Bloodline, it would be extremely unsafe for him to leave the vicinity of the Tongyou Peak. It didn¡¯t take long for Yun Yifei to find a clansman. She was a young lady who was slightly above twenty in age! ¡°This is Yun Zhidai. She¡¯s the daughter of my fourth brother. Her cultivation is at the small completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm and she¡¯s close to the large completion stage. She should enter the upper division in half a year or so¡­¡± Yun Yifei introduced. Shang Xia looked at her and discovered that she was staring at him. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not waste any more time! Head out!¡± Shang Xi ordered. Even though Yan Qi left and Yun Zhidai joined their squad, the difference in offensive power wasn¡¯t evident. She might not be at the Martial Intent Realm like Yan Qi, but she was able to work better with the four of them. It was so much so that Shang Xi and Yun Yifei were confident of taking on anyone weaker than the Martial Extermination Realm! The five of them quickly discovered the direction they were going to take. Turning to Shang Xia, Yun Yifei laughed, ¡°Little Xia, it¡¯s time for you to show your stuff!¡± Shang Xia nodded and whistled loudly. No one knew what was going on, but they continued to advance. All of a sudden, Shang Xia whistled once again. Yun Yifei raised an eyebrow and asked, ¡°Are you trying to summon someone?¡± Shang Xia nodded before whistling once again. Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. All of a sudden, his cries were met with a reply. A loud cry came from the nearby woods. When everyone turned to look in the direction of the woods, a streak of silver shot towards them. Shang Xi and Yun Yifei were about to get into battle formation when Shang Xia raised his forearm and smiled, ¡°It¡¯s here!¡± When the lightning flash stopped on Shang Xia¡¯s hand, Sun Haiwei and Yun Zhidai were too confused to react. A fatter and taller Mutated Rain Swallow could be seen resting on Shang Xia¡¯s hand. ¡°Is this a Lightning Bird?¡± Sun Haiwei asked. She stared at the bird cautiously and continued, ¡°I¡¯ve seen one in the past, but this looks a lot bigger!¡± CH 91 The speed of a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator couldn¡¯t be compared to those under them. As the two groups fought, they soon approached the Four Spiritual Peak. Under Shang Bo¡¯s constant suppression, Lang Jingyun spat out too many mouthfuls of blood to count. However, his tenacity was astounding. He held on all the way. Both sides could see that he was forcefully holding on in order to make his way back. The Four Spiritual Peak wasn¡¯t too far away, and all he needed to do was to retreat in one piece. The moment he did, the protection formation around the Four Spiritual Peak would assist him and he wouldn¡¯t lose to Shang Bo! Ji Wenlong and the others naturally saw through their intentions and knew that it was impossible for them to stop the other party¡¯s retreat! However, they could whittle away at the other party¡¯s strength before they returned. They could cause the strongest combatants of the Four Spiritual Peak to suffer from hidden injuries, and in the best case scenario, they might even be able to kill one! Lang Jingyun turned into the easiest target! Now that there were only four Martial Extermination Realm cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak, the weakest of them all was Lu Zhanyi. However, he was the hardest to kill due to his wings. He could move nimbly through the air while avoiding their attacks. Lang Jingyun came next, and he might be at the second layer of the Martial Extermination Realm, but he was young and inexperienced! His age was a weakness now, but that proved that he possessed extreme potential. If they allowed him to mature and grow, who knew what would happen in the future? As such, he became their target. Lang Xiaoyun noticed the point too, and he ignored Ji Wenlong¡¯s presence to assist the others¡¯ escape. If not for Lu Zhanyi¡¯s help to distract the enemies, Lang Jingyun wouldn¡¯t have lasted so long. When Lu Zhenyi tried to help Lang Jingyun again, Shang Bo saw an opportunity and chopped off one of his wings! Lu Zhanyi, who was relying solely on his wings to outrun the enemy, fell into a terrible state. The pressure on Lang Jingyun also increased exponentially. The weaker Lang Jingyun became, the stronger Shang Bo¡¯s killing intent! The most terrifying part about that was that Shang Bo was using the opportunity to improve himself! After he revealed his cultivation and severely injured Yuwen Shengjie, everyone knew that he was close to entering the fourth layer of the Martial Extermination Realm. With Lang Jingyun as his whetting stone, he was able to improve himself through battle and reach a whole new level! When that happened, his cultivation would reach the same level as Ji Wenlong and he would stand at the edge of the Fifth Order of the Primary Realm! Lang Jingyun was evidently too weak to put up any more resistance, but the Four Spiritual Peak was just up ahead! A massive Rain Swallow appeared in the distance and Yan Su¡¯er¡¯s weary voice rang through the skies, ¡°Why do you have to behave so overbearingly and force us to the point of no return? ¡­Cough, cough¡­¡± She didn¡¯t forget to cough a few times at the end to show that her injuries were still serious. Even though she spoke slowly, the phantom of the rain swallow that appeared moved at a terrifying speed. A blur could be seen in the air and the sound of whistling tore through the skies. Just that point alone proved how much stronger she was than Yan Que. Shang Bo turned serious, but not a trace of fear could be seen on his face. There wasn¡¯t any intention of backing down either. The Nine Firefly Lance in his hand started to shine and the glow would increase with every breath he took. Stabbing it forward, it clashed with the phantom of the rain swallow. With a loud cry, the bird exploded. The enormous shockwave also pushed Shang Bo back slightly. Lang Jingyun took the chance to retreat. Even so, Shang Bo didn¡¯t let up. ¡°I heard that Grandma Yan is injured, but from the looks of it, you¡¯re completely alright! Since you chose to join the battle, why don¡¯t you go all out and let me work my muscles a bit? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re intentionally avoiding the battle by pretending to be hurt?¡± ¡°Cough, cough¡­ I might be injured by that old freak¡¯s sneak attack, but now that you brought the battle over to my Four Spiritual Peak, I¡¯ll stop you even if it costs me my life!¡± Yan Su¡¯er growled. She didn¡¯t stop there. ¡°Brat from the Lang clan, hurry up and retreat! What are you waiting for?¡± Lang Jingyun no longer hesitated and he increased his speed. ¡°Many thanks for Elder Yan¡¯s help!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be able to hold on for long¡­¡± Yan Su¡¯er gasped for air, as she looked at Shang Bo. Even though he was stopped for a mere second, it was more than enough for Lang Jingyun to run far away. Just a little more and he would enter the range of the protection formation. In his final desperate attempt, Shang Bo raised his NIne Firefly Lance and stabbed it towards the fleeing Lang Jingyun. His fourth strand of extermination origin that was flickering before finally turned solid and fused with the other three. At the critical moment, Shang Bo finally managed to refine his fourth extermination origin and enter the peak of the Martial Extermination Realm. Even so, his lance came a little too late as Lang Jingyun ran into the area covered with the protection formation. Unlike the Tongyou Peak¡¯s protection formation, the moment Shang Bo¡¯s attack landed on it, an explosion of lights could be seen. Even with the protection of the barrier, a portion of the energy seeped through and slammed heavily into Lang Jingyun¡¯s back. ¡°Ah!¡± Lang Jingyun yelled before spitting out a mouthful of blood. His face turned ashen gray and an expression of defeat hung on his face. After Lang Jingyun escaped, Lang Xiaoyun, Ran Biluo, and Lu Zhanyi forced their opponents away before rushing back into the Four Spiritual Peak. To not reciprocate in kind wasn¡¯t something Ji Wenlong and the others would do. Even though they knew that the chance to kill the opponent¡¯s Martial Extermination Realm cultivator had slipped through their fingers, Ji Wenlong and the others wanted to vent their anger on the Four Extermination Peak. Of course, breaking through with them alone would be a tall order. Even so, messing with them was something Ji Wenlong and the others were more than capable of. They bombarded the protection formation with everything they got, causing huge explosions of light. It was a rare sight to behold as not many great wars would take place. As they vented their anger on the protection barrier, the Four Spiritual Peak trembled violently. The only person capable of holding the formation steady was the ¡®injured¡¯ Yan Su¡¯er as the cultivators who just returned were completely worn out. After Lang Xiaoyun and the others returned, they felt that there was no way the protection formation would fall from their attacks and they chose to return to their cultivation caves to recover. They conveniently forgot that they were the ones who started the war. When they killed their way over to the Tongyou Peak, there was no such thing as going too far and forcing the other party into a corner. Now, they finally managed to return to safety. Since there was no threat of destruction, they knew that Ji Wenlong and the others would leave eventually after getting rid of their frustrations. As for the disciples of the Four Spiritual Peak, none of them dared to return when they witnessed the scene around the mountains. That was to say that the Four Spiritual Peak was an empty shell at that moment! Now that they were lacking in manpower, Yan Su¡¯er had to power all four protection formations on the four peaks on her own! It was definitely beyond her ability to do so! Originally, Ji Wenlong and the others thought that they wouldn¡¯t be able to achieve much. Who would have thought that the protection formation of the Four Spiritual Peak was about to crumble after several rounds of bombardment?! The four of them who were planning to retreat changed their minds. Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo stared at each other and circulated their inner qi. It seemed as though they wouldn''t stop till they destroyed the barrier! All of a sudden, a loud whistle came from the distance. The sound filled the entire battlefield between the two worlds. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. The whistling caused the heaven and earth qi to fluctuate wildly. It was as though they were cheering and paying respect to something. The protection formation around the Four Spiritual Peak became stable all of a sudden. Ji Wenlong and the others felt their inner qi trembling uncontrollably and there were signs that it was going out of control. Stabilizing their inner qi, Ji Wenlong frowned, ¡°Is the Azure Spiritual World going to allow the divine weapon to descend?!¡± The words barely left Ji Wenlong¡¯s lips when the whistling sound stopped abruptly. It sounded a little offended, but it soon became even sharper. Ji Wenlong and the others felt a trace of pain shooting through their bodies. A second whistling sound came from behind Ji Wenlong and the others all of a sudden, soothing the pain they felt. ¡°Is the Azure Origin World also going to allow the divine weapon to descend?¡± Yan Su¡¯er¡¯s voice rang from deep within the mountains. Ji Wenlong looked at Shang Bo and they nodded in unison. They chose to retreat back to the Tongyou Peak. ¡­ In one of the hidden valleys, a cultivator of the Four Spiritual Peak escaped frantically as he didn¡¯t know how his movements were revealed. A squad from the Tongyou Peak arrived to cut off his escape. With nowhere to run, the cultivator of the Four Spiritual Peak could only give up his life. ¡°This should be the third Martial Intent Realm cultivator we killed¡­¡± Yun Yifei looked at Shang Xia who was happily looting the body and continued, ¡°Little Xia, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s weird? Most of the cultivators we killed were from the Wind Swallow Race. The three Martial Intent Realm cultivators who died in our hands were also from the Wind Swallow Race!¡± CH 92 When Shang Xia called for the Lightning Bird, he used the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows to look for traces of the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak who were completely disoriented from their escape. He found something weird too. Many of the cultivators from the Four Spiritual Peak didn¡¯t choose to head back to their territory. Instead, they started to scatter all over the place. Even though he had no idea what was going on, it was great news for Shang Xia and the others. Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. With the Mutated Rain Swallows guiding them, they were able to accurately pick off those who were out of place. They could also accurately estimate the strength of those who were running off in groups to decide whether or not to make a move on them. As such, their efficiency was great! The number of cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm who died in their hands numbered close to ten. They even managed to kill three cultivators at the Martial Intent Realm! One had to know that even during the battle, the number of Martial Intent Realm cultivators on the Tongyou Peak who died numbered less than ten! The casualties of Martial Intent Realm cultivators on the side of the Four Spiritual Peak were a little more than theirs, but they wouldn¡¯t go so far as to say that twenty of them died. No matter which side it was, the Martial Intent Realm cultivators were the true backbone of their fighting strength. Every one of them that died would drastically reduce the fighting strength of their faction. The only weird thing that Shang Xia and gang experienced was that those who they killed along the way were cultivators of the Wind Swallow Race. After Yun Yifei noticed it, Shang Xi did too. ¡°Yeah¡­ All of them are cultivators of the Wind Swallow Race with the Sparrow Bloodline!¡± Yun Zhidai thought for a second and continued, ¡°No wonder they¡¯re so easy to kill. I heard that cultivators with the Swallow Bloodline are comparable to those who had comprehended a martial intent. At the same cultivation level, they would be able to suppress us in a one-on-one fight!¡± Sun Haiwei raised an eyebrow in surprise. ¡°That might not be the case. Maybe we managed to kill more of them because they sent more members to the battlefield?¡± Thinking about it, it was indeed easier for cultivators in the Azure Spiritual World to cultivate compared to those in the Azure Origin World. Yun Yifei turned to Shang Xia and a smirk formed on her face. ¡°Alright, alright, let¡¯s hear it from the kid himself. Little Xia, explain what¡¯s going on.¡± Sun Haiwei and Yun Zhidai turned to look at him. The two of them were seriously shocked when they saw how the Lightning Bird landed on his arm before they set off. After learning that the Lightning Bird controlled a giant flock of Mutated Rain Swallows and that Shang Xia could communicate with them, envy filled their hearts. Shang Xia thought for a second and shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on either. I can only make a guess.¡± ¡°Maybe, the bloodlines of those in the Wind Swallow Race resonate with the Mutated Rain Swallows and they¡¯re easier to find! Of course, it¡¯s also possible that they¡¯re taking revenge on those of the Wind Swallow Race!¡± Shang Xia explained. Soon, Shang Xia told them about the fact that the members of the Wind Swallow Race raided the nest of the Mutated Rain Swallows. Yun Yifei chuckled in amusement, ¡°I heard that the conflict between those with the Swallow Bloodline and the Sparrow Bloodline became extremely intense right before the battle. The number of cultivators who had the Swallow Bloodline and joined in the battle was few and far between. A Martial Extermination Realm expert with the Sparrow Bloodline was killed. Now, we killed another three of them at the Martial Intent Realm. Adding on those killed by other people, those with the Sparrow Bloodline would decline greatly! Wouldn¡¯t this mean that we¡¯re helping those with the Swallow Bloodline?¡± Shang Xi snorted, ¡°Perhaps those with the Swallow Bloodline have been using us to plot against the rest.¡± Since Shang Xia was completely responsible for what was going on in the Wind Swallow Race, he knew better than any one of them. Of course, he couldn¡¯t say a thing about it. He laughed it off, ¡°Whatever the case, those who died are from the Four Spiritual Peak. Our opponent will become weaker no matter what.¡± Yun Yifei added, ¡°Yeah! They are experts in the Martial Intent Realm anyway. We get to keep their treasures after killing them. We can also gain some merits in the institution. Why shouldn¡¯t we kill them?¡± Realizing that Sun Haiwei and Yun Zhidai were starting to believe his nonsense, he chuckled, ¡°Shall we continue?¡± The group continued on their way, but suddenly, a loud whistle tore through the battlefield between two worlds. The moment they heard it, Shang Xia felt the inner qi in his body going out of control. His consciousness turned fuzzy. Instinctively, Shang Xia rotated the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian. The inner qi that was rampaging around his body started to calm down. At the same time, he heard a yell from Yun Yifei. ¡°It¡¯s a divine weapon! Quick, focus your attention on your inner qi and control it properly!¡± Shang Xia looked at the others, including Shang Xi, who had closed her eyes to focus on circulating her inner qi. After thinking about it for a second, he closed his eyes too and pretended to circulate his inner qi with much difficulty. It didn¡¯t take long for another screeching to pierce through the air. It countered the whistling that came earlier. Shang Xia could feel a wave of comfort washing through his body when the second sound came. He seemed to become much more alert too. Opening his eyes slowly he saw Yun Yifei and Shang Xi heaving a sigh of relief. ¡°Luckily, our Tongyou Institution also has the protection of the divine weapons!¡± Shang Xi got to her feet, and Yun Yifei did the same. By that time, Sun Haiwei and Yun Zhidai also managed to suppress their inner qi. Shang Xi muttered, ¡°If Patriarch Kou is recovering from his injuries, Deputy Patriarch Yun should be the one who used the Hidden Snow Sword to threaten the passage between the battlefield¡­¡± Yun Yifei shook her head and sighed, ¡°This isn¡¯t something we¡¯re qualified to know about.¡± Weapons were split into two different tiers. Graded weapons were of the lower tier and they were split into high, mid, and low grades. Divine weapons were shrouded in mystery. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know too much about it, and all he knew was that they were split up into four different levels. They were the Heaven, Earth, Xuan, and Yellow grades respectively. Of course, there were some differences at each level. That was about all he knew. Shang Xia believed that even Yun Yifei and Shang Xi wouldn¡¯t know much about them. Thinking of something, Shang Xi added, ¡°That¡¯s probably the reason why they didn¡¯t return to the Four Spiritual Peak!¡± Shang Xi continued, ¡°The Four Spiritual Peak probably brought out their divine weapon in order to scare Deputy Patriarch Ji and the others away! The cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak who were retreating should be afraid that they would be killed by the backlash of the exchange between the Martial Extermination Realm cultivators.¡± One had to admit that she was extremely sharp. She managed to understand what was going on immediately. Yun Yifei nodded in acknowledgment. ¡°That has to be it. The Four Spiritual Peaks wouldn¡¯t bring out their divine weapon otherwise. Despite our institution reacting quickly, the exchange between the Martial Extermination Realm cultivators won¡¯t last for long¡­¡± Yun Zhidai added, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean that the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak would be returning soon?¡± Sun Haiwei jumped to her feet, ¡°What are we waiting for? We¡¯ll take advantage of this and kill them before they return!¡± The four ladies turned to look at Shang Xia, but all they heard was a loud screech coming from above. The four of them looked up, only to see a silver light falling straight towards Shang Xia¡¯s shoulders. The Lightning Bird started to chirp urgently. No one knew why, but they seemed to hear a sense of urgency in its chirps. Shang Xia rubbed its ears slowly to calm it down, but his expression started to turn serious. ¡°Danger? There¡¯s danger everywhere?! Even you guys were affected?¡± Shang Xia tried to understand what it was saying exactly, but due to the difference in breed, it was hard for them to communicate. Now, the Lightning Bird seemed to have lost control of itself. The killing intent that was ingrained deep in its bones started to show itself once more. Shang Xia could tell the general message the Lightning Bird was trying to tell him. The sense of danger seemed to have taken over the entire flock of Mutated Rain Swallows. Turning to Yun Yifei and Shang Xi, Shang Xia muttered, ¡°Something seems to be wrong. We gained quite a lot this time and I suggest that we play safe and return to the Tongyou Peak.¡± Yun Zhidai hesitated for a second. ¡°Are you sure? Is it possible that the news isn¡¯t accurate?¡± Shang Xia ruffled the feathers of the Lightning Bird and said seriously, ¡°I trust the little creature!¡± Even though he said that, Shang Xia sighed softly in his heart. If only he brought Yan Ni¡¯er with him. He would be able to understand it a lot better than the Lightning Bird! However, the bird seemed to be wholly focused on its egg. No one knew if any one of the eggs would hatch into a little Yan Ni¡¯er. Shang Xi and Yun Yifei exchanged glances and Yun Yifei eventually broke the silence, ¡°Little Xia is right. However, we don¡¯t need to return immediately. We can take the other route back. We might run into several cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak that way!¡± Thinking that it was a good idea, Shang Xia was about to agree. However, dozens of Mutated Rain Swallows rushed out of the forestry and chirped violently. Shang Xia was stunned for a second and he yelled, ¡°There¡¯s a lot of dangerous creatures running over in our direction right now!¡± Yun Yifei was stunned for a second, but Shang Xi seemed to have thought of something. ¡°Beast tide?¡± The blood drained from Yun Yifei¡¯s face and her voice trembled weakly, ¡°Quick! Report this to Deputy Patriarch Ji and the others! We have to warn the Tongyou Peak immediately!¡± CH 93 Yun Yifei tore a talisman in her hand and a streak of light tore through the space and shot in the direction of the Tongyou Peak. At almost the same time, a talisman in Shang Xi¡¯s hand was torn apart and it turned into a little golden spear that flew in the direction of the Four Spiritual Peak. ¡°We notified both Deputy Patriarch Ji and Deputy Patriarch Shang! I also sent a report to the Tongyou Peak! We should find a way to notify the others!¡± Yun Yifei patted the head of her horse and signaled to Shang Xia. Shang Xi sighed, ¡°We did what we could. We shall leave the rest up to fate! Xia¡¯er, lead us back to the Tongyou Peak!¡± In order to arrive back at the quickest speed possible, they needed the Lightning Bird¡¯s help to avoid all the dangers they could. As such, Shang Xia had to take the lead again. ¡°No¡­ This might be a good chance for us!¡± Shang Xia raced forward and killed a creature that looked like a cat that pounced towards him. ¡°If the cultivators of our Tongyou Peak manage to retreat with as few casualties as possible, won¡¯t the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak be in deep trouble?¡± ¡°Hey, that¡¯s a Spiritual Roosting Cat! Its fur is a rank one ingredient! Don¡¯t waste it!¡± Shang Xi yelled and she twisted her body to throw the body of the cat into the pouch on the Scarlet Cloud Horse. By the time the beast tide came, their pouches were bulging, showing how much they gained from their journey. Yun Yifei¡¯s expression became a little solemn and she muttered, ¡°A Spiritual Roosting Cat is extremely sensitive to its surroundings. Even though it¡¯s not that strong, Martial Intent Realm cultivators won¡¯t be able to capture it easily. Now, it attacked us on its own accord! Looks like the beast tide is real¡­¡± Yun Zhidai yelled from the back, ¡°Shang Xia, will your birds be affected by the beast tide?¡± Her words stabbed right into the fears of those present. That was exactly what Shang Xi and Yun Yifei were afraid of too. If the little birds were affected by the beast tide and went crazy, it wouldn¡¯t matter much if they were to attack the squad. If they led the squad into an encirclement of other beasts, they would really be in trouble! ¡°Nope!¡± Shang Xia declared confidently without even turning around. As soon as he spoke, a Mutated Rain Swallow flew over and perched on his shoulders. Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Shang Xia ruffled its feathers to check for any injuries, and he was met with a happy cry from the little bird. It didn¡¯t take long before they returned to the air. ¡°What are you doing? So many birds came over to you since the beast tide started. Are you really able to talk to them?¡± Sun Haiwei asked. ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s because they really like me.¡± Shang Xia dismissed their questions with some random reason. In fact, Shang Xia found it weird when it just happened. Everything started from the time the Lightning Bird landed on him. When the Lightning Bird discovered the abnormalities in its body and ran over to Shang Xia, it was extremely flustered and terrified. It seemed to be losing control of its body entirely! Shang Xia tried to calm it down by petting it, but the Lightning Bird wasn¡¯t having any of it at first. He thought of using his inner qi to suppress the rampaging inner qi in the little creature¡¯s body, and the moment he did, the Lightning Bird started to calm down. It didn¡¯t just calm the fluctuating inner qi in the Lightning Bird¡¯s body. The killing intent and fear it felt dissipated slowly. Shang Xia even started to understand the bird better! Soon after, the Lightning Bird pointed out the way to safety and the Mutated Rain Swallows in the air started to land on Shang Xia. Every time they did, he used his inner qi to calm them down. Luckily for him, he possessed extremely dense inner qi. Otherwise, he would have exhausted himself trying to calm down more than two hundred Mutated Rain Swallows! ¡­ Shang Bo received a tiny golden spear and he showed the report to the other three. Liu Qinglan was the most anxious of the group, and Shang Bo had already expected her to lose her composure. His extermination origins flashed and he formed a barrier around the four of them. ¡°We need to return right now!¡± She yelled. Shang Lubing hesitated for a second before asking, ¡°Beast tide? Is the news reliable? How did they discover the appearance of a beast tide?¡± It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t believe the report. However, it was true that things were a little suspicious. They were merely a ragtag group of Martial Intent Realm cultivators. How could they accurately report on a beast tide? Ji Wenlong growled in response, ¡°Old Shang, let¡¯s return and talk about the matter of your true identity!¡± Turning to Shang Bo, he continued, ¡°Did the report state that Shang Xia discovered the beast tide? If it¡¯s him, I¡¯ll believe it.¡± Liu Qinglan and Shang Lubing stared at him in shock. Shang Bo was equally surprised by Ji Wenlong¡¯s trust in his grandson. Everyone there knew that the relationship between the Ji Family and the Shang Family wasn¡¯t great. Strictly speaking, it was because of Ji Wenlong¡¯s disdain for Shang Bo. That was something everyone in the upper echelon of the institution knew. Shang Bo¡¯s expression turned gloomy and he muttered, ¡°So¡­ This beast tide is real then?¡± Liu Qinglan continued, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, we should return! It¡¯s not like we can break the protection formation around the Four Spiritual Peaks now.¡± Shang Bo glanced at Ji Wenlong and muttered, ¡°Yeah, we have to return, but¡­¡± ¡°Go back to the Tongyou Peak. Instructor Liu, sound the Tongyou Bell when you return and gather all the disciples who are out.¡± Ji Wenlong sighed. ¡­ A giant flame beacon was lit on the Tongyou Peak, and it was a signal for the disciples to return as quickly as they could. Slightly more than a hundred miles away, Shang Xia gathered more than 20 cultivators of the Tongyou Peak as they rushed back. Most of them were on the way back, and when they ran into Shang Xia, they joined his group. There were also some who refused to believe the news of the beast tide and chose not to return with Shang Xia. They continued to hunt down the experts of the Azure Spiritual World. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help everybody, and he could only bring those who wanted to return. With the Lightning Bird leading the way, they managed to avoid a lot of dangers on their way back. That served to boost the confidence of the cultivators on his side and the group became larger and larger. Of course, the larger their group grew, the more they stood out. Their movement attracted a lot of attention and trouble came knocking. Luckily for them, the beasts that approached weren¡¯t in packs. They ran into individual beasts and Shang Xia managed to warn the rest before the beast attacked! When they ran into a horde of mice, one of the cultivators who was bitten on the leg growled, ¡°How dare these freaks attack us? They would avoid us normally and prey on weaker creatures! Looks like they¡¯re going crazy from the upcoming beast tide¡­¡± Because of that, those who held doubts about the authenticity of Shang Xia¡¯s report placed down their suspicion. Shang Xi stared at Yun Yifei and the two of them leaped off their horses in unison. ¡°Those who are injured, get on the horse! Do not affect our speed when returning! If we fail to return to the Tongyou Peak before the beast tide comes, we¡¯ll be in a lot of trouble!¡± There were other riders who handed over their horses as well. No one knew when, but Wu Tinghai appeared beside Shang Xi and Yun Yifei. ¡°It¡¯s a pity there are no Martial Extermination Realm cultivators at the Tongyou Peak now to ring the Tongyou Bell! Otherwise, we¡¯ll be able to warn the others!¡± Shang Xi and Yun Yifei retreated to Shang Xia¡¯s side without another word and protected him from the beasts. Shang Xi didn¡¯t turn her head when she heard Wu Tinghai¡¯s concern. ¡°We can¡¯t do anything about it. We sent out the reports of what had happened. They should have received the report. Even though the Tongyou Bell hasn¡¯t rung, the beacon has been lit. Those within a ten-mile radius should be able to receive the warning.¡± ¡°Looks like we can only leave it up to fate.¡± Yun Yifei sighed. Wu Tinghai sucked in a cold breath, but his gaze was soon attracted to the Mutated Rain Swallows that landed on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulders ever so often. ¡°Looks like our leader of the outer divisions will be gaining huge credit this time!¡± ¡­ Outside the Four Spiritual Peak¡­ The experts of the Tongyou Peak took their leave, and calm returned to their territory. No one knew how long it had been but Yan Su¡¯er¡¯s figure appeared outside the barrier to check if Ji Wenlong and the others had really returned. She barely left ten feet from the barrier when her expression changed. The staff in her hand swung outwards as she flew back into the barrier with the quickest speed she could muster. The moment she did, a four-colored blade light appeared from the clouds hundreds of feet away. That wasn¡¯t all. A long lance fell from the skies and shot towards Yan Su¡¯er¡¯s skull. She might have entered the barrier, but facing two attacks from fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm cultivators, the barrier was far from enough! At the critical moment, she could no longer care that she was pretending to be injured! With a weird cry, a giant Rain Swallow made from heaven and earth qi appeared behind her. She seemed to have turned into a weird creature with the body of a bird and a human¡¯s head! ¡°Rip!¡± The protection screen around the Four Spiritual Peak seemed to be ripped apart by the blade light. Even though it restored itself as quickly as it could, the lance went through. ¡°Boom!¡± The Rain Swallow phantom behind her shattered completely and she spat out a mouthful of blood. She nearly fell to the ground. The protection formation seemed to have sensed the threat all of a sudden and it started operating at full power! The shockwaves were completely suppressed. ¡°Lang Xiaoyun, Ran Biluo, the two of you allowed me to be hit on purpose!¡± Yan Su¡¯er¡¯s voice rang through the Four Spiritual Peak. CH 94 ¡°Yan Su¡¯er was hiding her strength!¡± Shang Bo roared after his attack connected. ¡°Oh?¡± Ji Wenlong frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me she reached the fourth layer¡­¡± Shang Bo thought about it for a second before shaking his head. ¡°Not yet. She should be like me. She condensed her fourth extermination origin, but she hasn¡¯t refined it completely.¡± Ji Wenlong snorted in contempt, ¡°That old fox¡­ if not for the fact that we worked together, we might be the ones suffering from her plot! Who would have thought that she hid her true strength previously?¡± He thought for a moment before continuing, ¡°So¡­ Her injuries aren''t as heavy as it seems, right?¡± Shang Bo thought about it again and explained, ¡°We were only planning to scare them so that they won¡¯t leave the mountain for some time. We can delay their response to the beast tide. We managed to accomplish our goal either way. It doesn''t matter if her injuries are serious or not.¡± Ji Wenlong nodded slowly. However, he sighed regretfully the next moment, ¡°Too bad the one to come out was her. If it was anyone else, we would have been able to deal them a heavy blow! Even Lang Xiaoyun wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid being seriously injured! With the arrival of the beast tide, their defenses might be torn right open! What a pity!¡± Another sigh left his lips. Shang Bo chuckled in response, ¡°The effects of the beast tide won¡¯t be too excessive. After all, we¡¯ll be affected by it too. Don¡¯t forget, Old Liu is stuck at the Coral Forest thanks to the Rose Party. Unless we choose not to do anything about it, the Four Spiritual Peak would be able to catch their breath.¡± Ji Wenlong snorted angrily, ¡°He¡¯s only capable of messing things up for us!¡± Shang Bo naturally wouldn¡¯t take his words seriously. Ji Wenlong and Liu Jitang could be said to be true brothers in arms. Their friendship was real. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t rush over to the Tongyou Peak the moment Liu Jitang went missing. ¡°However¡­¡± Shang Bo hesitated slightly. ¡°?¡± Clearing his throat, Shang Bo continued, ¡°Chief Ji, have you thought that Yan Su¡¯er¡¯s reaction was too exaggerated? She revealed her strength to us the moment my attack connected. I definitely know how strong she is. There was no need for her to act like her injury was so serious¡­¡± A light flashed in Ji Wenlong¡¯s eyes. ¡°Do you mean¡­ She was putting on a show for Lang Xiaoyun and the rest?¡± ¡°Haha, if I¡¯m not wrong, the conflict in the Four Spiritual Peak is much more serious than we thought. Yan Su¡¯er can¡¯t fool us now. Instead, she used us to put on a show for the other members of the Four Spiritual Peak. We can sit back and watch the show unfold!¡± Shang Bo grinned. Ji Wenlong muttered softly, ¡°Now that we know her true strength and the other Martial Extermination Realm cultivator of her race is dead, she should have consolidated all her power. I¡¯m afraid only the three other races will be able to¡­¡± Ji Wenlong sighed once again and he turned to Shang Bo. He turned serious all of a sudden, ¡°Little Shang, Oh, I¡¯ll call you fourth brother from now on. Our four clans will finally be united from now on.¡± Shang Bo chuckled softly and remained silent. He could guess what Ji Wenlong wanted to say, and it wasn¡¯t the first time he had heard it. He was slightly taken aback when he heard the words that came out of Ji Wenlong¡¯s mouth next. ¡°Shang Bing is actually Shang Lubing of the triple frost of our You Continent. What do you think of that?¡± Shang Bo laughed casually. ¡°Isn¡¯t it great that we managed to get another Martial Extermination Realm cultivator?¡± ¡°You know that¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about!¡± Ji Wenlong interrupted him rudely. ¡°As that guy¡¯s sworn brother, he definitely has some motive for hiding in the institution! Why would he arrange for his sworn brother to hide in the institution for twenty years?! What is he planning to do?! Who is he plotting against?! Don¡¯t tell me you can¡¯t see his plot!¡± Shang Bo pressed his lips together and increased his speed as he returned to the Tongyou Peak. ¡°At the end of the day, he doesn¡¯t trust us at all! When he gathered the power of the clans in the continent to create the institution, his grand scheme started! He plans to use this chance to weaken all our clans! In the past twenty years, other than our so-called ¡®great clans¡¯, there are not many great families left! Those bloodline cultivators in our You Continent are barely surviving, and the inheritances of the other smaller families have all been integrated into the Scripture Depository!¡± Ji Wenlong wasn¡¯t done. ¡°Speaking of the Scripture Depository, there¡¯s Dong Qianzui too! Who would have thought that the undying monster had a way of forcefully increasing his strength to the fourth order at the very last moment?! He probably held on all the way till this day!¡± Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Hearing everything, Shang Bo knew that he couldn¡¯t remain silent anymore. Coughing slightly, he started, ¡°Chief Ji, since that¡¯s the case, why did you agree to help him create the institution?¡± ¡°In the past, we were weak. We had to create the institution.¡± Ji Wenlong grunted. ¡°All of it was because of the threat the Azure Spiritual World posed. Those of us who survived had to huddle together to survive.¡± Shang Bo continued. Ji Wenlong glowered silently. ¡°Today, we might have managed to force them back after revealing all our cards, but the threat of the Azure Spiritual World remains. If our four great clans start to tear the institution apart, won¡¯t we be doing the same thing as the Four Spiritual Peak?¡± Shang Bo explained. Ji Wenlong sighed, ¡°I¡¯m afraid that in a few years, our four great clans would be wiped out from the Tongyou City. The only power that would be left would be the Tongyou Institution!¡± ¡°That might not be the case. Our clans have been growing stronger with the institution in the past 20 years¡­¡± Shang Bo muttered. ¡°Look at the other clans! How many of them are left? Look at the number of broken inheritances! Look at the number of powers that have disappeared forever! The only reason our four great clans remain is because the institution requires us to prop them up! What if one day, the institution grows so strong that it no longer requires us? When the day comes for us old men to leave the world, our clans will no longer have a say in the institution¡­¡± Ji Wenlong frowned. His arguments silenced Shang Bo. After a short moment of contemplation, Ji Wenlong changed his tone. ¡°I understand the importance the Tongyou Institution has on the city and our You Continent! We don¡¯t have to fight among ourselves and pit the four clans against Kou Chongxue. As long as my Ji Family receives what we deserve for our contribution all these years, it¡¯s not impossible for us to live on as an equal existence with the institution.¡± Shang Bo stared at Ji Wenlong in shock. Ever since the Tongyou Institution established its foundations in the battlefield between the two worlds, it was the first time he heard Ji Wenlong changing his tone. Even though it was only a slight change, it was a good start! However, Shang Bo shook his head eventually. ¡°Chief Ji, now is not the time¡­¡± A cold snort interrupted him. ¡°I know that you¡¯re thankful for Kou Chongxue¡¯s favor for promoting you that year. However, this old man needs to remind you that you¡¯re part of the four great clans! Even though your Shang Clan wasn¡¯t part of the five great families of the past, you guys were close. Don¡¯t you want to rebuild the glory of your Shang Clan? Are you unwilling to grow even stronger?!¡± Ji Wenlong sighed and no longer spoke on their way back to the institution. Shang Bo looked at Ji Wenlong¡¯s figure who flew slightly faster than him and fell deep into his thoughts. However, he snapped back to reality soon enough and he chuckled in amusement before increasing his speed even more. ¡­ When Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo were discussing the matters of the great clans, Shang Xia and the rest arrived in the ten mile radius around the Tongyou Peak. They could see the dense smoke that filled the skies from the beacon lit on the Tongyou Peak. Their squad had increased to a small army of 50, much larger than their original gang! The signs of the beast tide were growing ever more obvious, and they ran into countless attacks on their way back. Luckily for them, they didn¡¯t run into huge packs of beasts! The group was more than capable of taking on the enemies. Even so, there were still several unfortunate cultivators who lost their lives during the battles that took place. When they were close to ten miles away from the Tongyou Peak, they ran into another attack! This time was different from the rest! The ones who ran into trouble weren¡¯t the disciples of the Tongyou Peak! Instead, it was the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows that had been protecting them all this while! A group of Wolf Eagles appeared from nowhere and started to massacre the Rain Swallows! CH 95 The speed of the Mutated Rain Sparrows was fast, but the Wolf Eagles weren¡¯t that slow. The eagles were large and they knew how to work together to hunt down rain swallows that had split from the group. From what Shang Xia could see, the Wolf Eagles seemed like the Mutated Rain Swallows¡¯ mortal enemy! Leaping off his horse, the Delicate Jade River Sword slashed upwards and killed a Wolf Eagle that was flying low in the air. Shang Xi and the cultivators following behind Shang Xia acted in unison and started to take out the threat that was the Wolf Eagles. Soon, the wretched cries of the eagles could be heard as the stench of blood filled the air. Even though Shang Xia and the others reacted quickly, more than a dozen Mutated Rain Swallows had been killed since the appearance of the Wolf Eagles. The feathers of the swallows filled the skies. When they saw that more than a dozen Mutated Rain Swallows were killed, Shang Xi was so angry that her eyes turned bloodshot! The Mutated Rain Swallow had the ability to purify the bloodline of those from the Wind Swallow Race! Of course, they really couldn¡¯t care about that. Instead, they cared about the fact that the fur of those little critters could be used to make Embroidered Cloud Cases! It was also a key ingredient if they ever planned to create a spatial pouch! Every single Mutated Rain Swallow was a precious resource! Cultivating and raising a single Mutated Rain Swallow was a tough process. No one knew how long it would take to gather enough fur from the Mutated Rain Swallows for them to create a single spatial pouch, but now, there were more than a dozen of them who died! The cultivators who were trying to stop the eagles from hurting the swallows couldn¡¯t be too weak either! The weaker ones who weren¡¯t at the Martial Extremity Realm could only try their luck when hitting the Wolf Eagles, and even if they were to try, they might hit a Mutated Rain Swallow by accident. Those who could actually threaten the Wolf Eagles were experts at the Martial Extremity Realm or higher. There were six Martial Intent Realm experts in the group, but it wasn¡¯t possible for them to kill all the Wolf Eagles threatening the swallows. Luckily, the Lightning Bird didn¡¯t remain idle. Every time an enraged chirp left its lips, a streak of silver would tear through the air and slice one to two Wolf Eagles into two. The eagles couldn¡¯t even cry out in pain before they were killed. The Lightning Bird who went through its second transformation was obviously much stronger than before! Its speed experienced a massive boost too. According to the ranking of creatures by the Tongyou Peak, the Lightning Bird could be considered a rank three spiritual beast! Too bad it couldn¡¯t change the situation alone! ¡°Snake! There are snakes behind us!¡± Someone in the group yelled suddenly. ¡°Don¡¯t panic! Ten of you, come with me! We¡¯ll deal with the situation at the back!¡± Wu Tinghai suppressed the commotion that was breaking out in the team. As several cultivators met up with him, they ran towards the back of the group. All of a sudden, someone in the middle of the party cried, ¡°Hold up! The eagles in the skies should be here for the snakes! Why are they working together now? Why did the eagles go for the Rain Swallows?¡± ¡°Fuck! The eagles in the skies are there for the swallows. They didn¡¯t target us! Why should we give a shit about them? Are our lives more important or are the lives of those little birds?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to reach the Tongyou Peak soon! We have to return at all costs!¡± The quarrels caused several dozen cultivators to break away from the group and charge towards the Tongyou Peak, leaving Shang Xia and the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows behind. ¡°Hey! You stupid fools! Without the Mutated Rain Swallows leading the way, do you think you would arrive here safely? Hurry up and come back!¡± Yun Zhidai screamed at those who left. ¡°Enough! There¡¯s no need to yell anymore! They have already escaped!¡± Shang Xi¡¯s expression was nasty and a chilly light flashed in her eyes when she looked at those who ran. ¡°Swish, swish!¡± Two soft whistles tore through the air and two Wolf Eagles that were soaring above were shot dead. Shang Xi turned to look at the person who shot the arrows and was met with a soft chuckle, ¡°Those bastards are most likely scattered cultivators from the Azure Origin World. They have no alliance to our Tongyou Institution. All the disciples of the institution are here.¡± Shang Xia nodded at the side and thanked, ¡°Many thanks, Brother Deng!¡± Shooting out another arrow, it pierced accurately into a Wolf Eagle in the air. As it released a loud cry, it faltered in the air. However, it managed to maintain its flight. ¡°They are too damn fast! Moreover, their bodies are massive and they have an impressive life force! I might not be able to kill them unless I hit a vital spot!¡± Senior Brother Deng wanted to shoot it down, but two other eagles assisted their wounded comrade and brought it to the side. ¡°Shit! They¡¯re too damn smart!¡± Senior Brother Deng cursed before turning to Shang Xi, ¡°Junior Sister Shang, can you get the kid to call the Mutated Rain Swallows down? The Wolf Eagles are killing them left and right in the air! However, they won¡¯t dare to do a thing if the swallows perch on us!¡± Shang Xi didn¡¯t need to pass on the message as Shang Xia heard what he said. A light flashed in his eyes and he whistled loudly to call for the Lightning Bird. The Lightning Bird had already lost its mind in slaughter. Instead of responding to Shang Xia, it tried calling out to the Wolf Eagles. However, they couldn¡¯t be bothered with it. It couldn¡¯t save the entire flock alone anyway. Only after Shang Xia whistled three times did it finally fly down to sit on his shoulders. Shang Xia tried to calm down its rampaging emotions while trying to communicate with the Lightning Bird. He wanted to tell the Lightning Bird his idea, but he wasn¡¯t confident it could understand him. The Lightning Bird cried out in fright. If it agreed to Shang Xia¡¯s idea, wouldn¡¯t it be leaving the lives of the Mutated Rain Swallows in the hands of those from the Tongyou Peak?! The Lightning Bird started flapping its wings furiously on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulders. Releasing a piercing cry, it turned into a silver streak and shot back up into the skies. Shang Xia sighed and he thought that their friendship had ended when he saw two Mutated Rain Swallows diving towards him! ¡°Wow! It understood what you said!¡± Yun Yifei gasped at the side. She was a little skeptical about Shang Xia¡¯s ability to communicate with the Rain Swallows, especially the rank three Lightning Bird, but she was finally convinced. The Wolf Eagles noticed the two Mutated Rain Swallows flying towards Shang Xia, and they noticed the injuries on the two little birds too. Without hesitation, the Wolf Eagles started to soar towards the two injured birds. This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Shang Xia hadn¡¯t made his move when Deng Gua, the senior disciple with the bow, shot one of them dead. Yun Yifei leaped into the air and strands of threads wrapped around the Wolf Eagle. It seemed as though she wanted to capture it alive! Whatever the case, the two injured Mutated Rain Swallows reached their limits. They desperately changed positions in the air and fell into Shang Xia¡¯s waiting arms. The moment they did, another two started to dive towards his position. Shang Xi, Yun Yifei, Deng Gua, and the rest started to form a protective layer around him. He quickly discovered that the Mutated Rain Swallows would only rush towards him. It was clear as day they didn¡¯t trust the other disciples of the Tongyou Peak. Of course, he was soon placed in an awkward situation. There was a limited amount of space on his shoulders! After eight of them came down, there was no longer space for them to perch! Shang Xia decisively jumped off his horse. He wanted to place the birds on the back of the horse, but he was met with fierce resistance from the Mutated Rain Swallows. He eventually convinced them to get on the back of the horse, and he heaved a sigh of relief when they did. A Scarlet Cloud Horse could support a lot more Mutated Rain Swallows than Shang Xia! It didn¡¯t take long for the back of his horse to be filled. Sun Haiwei leaped off her horse and sent it over to Shang Xia to assist his efforts. Soon, the second horse¡¯s back was filled with Mutated Rain Swallows. There were a total of twenty standing on a single horse. Shang Xia wanted to look for another horse, but he noticed that they were carrying wounded members of the Tongyou Peak. He couldn¡¯t exactly force them to get off¡­ However, there weren''t any other Mutated Rain Swallows who came after. The battle in the air continued. ¡°The Mutated Rain Swallows are extremely proud! They wouldn¡¯t allow themselves to be captured alive. It¡¯s amazing that you managed to gain their trust for them to hand over the injured to you. However, it¡¯s clear they don¡¯t wish to rely completely on us. They plan to fight the Wolf Eagles with everything they have!¡± Shang Xi explained at the side. Deng Gua shot down another Wolf Eagle and sighed, ¡°We should speed up. We¡¯re close to the Tongyou Peak. The moment we return, the eagles will retreat. Brother Wu sent a report about the snakes behind us and they''re getting stronger and stronger. There are Martial Intent Realm beasts starting to appear!¡± The hearts of everyone who heard him turned a little colder. Shang Xia released a long whistle to try to communicate with the Lightning Bird before speeding up once more. The sky was filled with angry and miserable chirps as birds fell one by one. Even though the Mutated Rain Swallows weren¡¯t an opponent for the Wolf Eagles, they managed to fight their enemies on even grounds with the help of the disciples of the Tongyou Peak. Every time a Mutated Rain Swallow fell, Shang Xia would feel as though a knife was stabbed deep into his heart. They closed in on the Tongyou Peak when they heard a loud cry from behind. ¡°Be careful! A rank four snake appeared!¡± Everyone turned to stare in the direction of his voice and they noticed a massive snake with a head the size of a house. It was several hundred feet tall, and it stretched its head up into the skies before anyone could react. Opening its mouth, it took a deep breath and sucked all the creatures flying in the air towards it. In one move, more than a third of the flying creatures were sucked into its belly! Violent cries filled the skies and the two species of birds started to disperse immediately. Obviously, the giant snake wasn¡¯t content with such a small meal as it turned to look at the cultivators desperately running away. When they felt the snake¡¯s gaze on them, they felt goosebumps growing all over their bodies. The giant snake hissed as it rushed towards them. Swallowing its saliva greedily, it got ready for a great meal! CH 96 Shang Xia circulated his inner qi and he cleared his mind from the threat that was the rank four snake. ¡°Stop being distracted! Hurry up and run!¡± Shang Xia pushed his inner qi into his throat and yelled. He felt a sickly sweet feeling in his mouth as his larynx nearly tore apart. However, his yell was extremely effective. The cultivators who were stuck in a trance due to the aura of the rank four giant snake snapped back to reality. All of them continued to run for the Tongyou Peak. The giant snake gathered a phantom made from the heaven and earth qi and pushed it high into the skies. Even though it looked close, its true body was pretty far away. It was possible for the phantom of the giant snake to attack, but it just swallowed several Mutated Rain Swallows and Wolf Eagles. It wouldn¡¯t be able to attack any time soon. Shang Xia snapping them out of their daze earned them precious time to escape from the threat! Along the way, Shang Xi and Yun Yifei had already left Shang Xia¡¯s side. By the time he noticed, he saw that the two of them joined Deng Gua and went to the back of the group! They met up with Wu Tinghai and another Martial Intent Realm cultivator and firmly held the rear. They were ready to sacrifice themselves to buy a little more time for the others to escape! Shang Xia wasn¡¯t the only one who noticed their actions. However, no one called out to stop them, and words of thanks couldn¡¯t be heard. There was an unwritten rule set by Kou Chongxue when he established the Tongyou Institution. Whenever danger arrived, the strongest cultivators would step out to buy more time for the rest to escape! Those who were running only had one job, and that was the escape to the best of their abilities! They couldn¡¯t allow the sacrifices of the other disciples to go wasted! Shang Xia turned back from time to time and saw the five of them getting into position. As their inner qi slowly linked up according to the five man formation taught by the Tongyou Institution, they brought out their weapons¡­ The phantom of the giant snake released a heaven-shaking roar and it opened its mouth yet again. It rushed towards the group of escaping disciples. The five Martial Intent Realm cultivators moved at once! A giant fist made from their inner qi emerged. The palm was formed from thin silk, and the thumb was made up of a short hammer. Its index and middle fingers came from Shang Xi¡¯s twin blades, and a bronze staff made up its fourth finger. A bow made from bone created the pinkie of the fist. Boom! A massive blast was heard and the fist smashed heavily into the phantom snake that was crashing down on them. Upon impact, the phantom snake raised its head in pain and recoiled in pain. Three figures appeared around the five Martial Intent Realm cultivators who had fallen to the ground from the impact. They dragged the five in the direction of those from the Tongyou Institution. Two of the three who appeared were Martial Intent Realm cultivators. Because the formation only required five experts, two of them didn¡¯t join Shang Xi and the rest. Instead, they stood nearby in order to provide support if needed. Of course, it wasn¡¯t feasible for the two of them to evacuate five cultivators. They didn¡¯t expect another cultivator to rush over with them. Even though his speed was slightly slower, it wasn¡¯t by too much! Staring at the third figure who appeared, one of the cultivators roared with rage, ¡°Why are you here?! Stop messing about!¡± The third person who came was none other than Shang Xia, and he didn¡¯t plan on arguing with them with a rank four giant snake on their tails. Grabbing Shang Xi, he started to run. After learning the Irregular Steps, his speed received a massive boost. Adding on his martial intent, his burst speed was comparable to Martial Intent Realm cultivators! Of course, he could only keep up for a short period of time. His endurance was nowhere near a cultivator in the Martial Intent Realm. The two other cultivators were in no position to blame him and they grabbed the other four before making a beeline for the Tongyou Peak. When that happened, the group was closing in on the Tongyou Peak. They cheered happily when they saw what happened. All of a sudden, the phantom snake in the air rose once again. A frosty light flashed in its eyes and it hissed violently. It was clearly enraged by their earlier actions. Now, there was no one to stop it! ¡°Quick! Run! It won¡¯t be able to eat all of us at once! The protection formation will be able to cover us when we enter a five mile radius from the Tongyou Peak!¡± One of the Martial Intent Realm cultivators who was carrying Wu Tinghai yelled. As the snake charged towards them, they could only leave their lives up to fate. Even though Shang Xia was only carrying Shang Xi on his back, the two other Martial Intent Realm cultivators overtook him with two bodies slung over their backs. Shang Xia might have moved as quickly as them when he saved Shang Xi earlier, but it seemed as though his stamina was lacking. Shang Xi, whose inner qi was completely exhausted, was still extremely alert. She couldn¡¯t help but chuckle softly when they passed. ¡°Brat, I didn¡¯t expect you to do such a stupid thing. I bet you¡¯re regretting your actions now¡­ The two of us will turn into snake food today!¡± As the phantom snake drew closer, the pressure pushing down on Shang Xia grew stronger. However, he didn¡¯t say a word as he continued to rush towards the Tongyou Peak. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. At the final moment, a ray of sword light tore through the air and stabbed straight into the back of the phantom snake. The phantom snake opened its mouth, but no sound came out. A crisp cry rang in the ears of everyone present. ¡°What a huge snake! I¡¯ll use its tendons to turn my Seven Segmented Whip into an Eight Segmented Whip!¡± ¡°Instructor Liu!¡± ¡°Instructor Liu and the rest have returned! We¡¯re saved!¡± The cultivators who were running for their lives felt a huge weight lifted off their shoulders. Many of them even stopped to look behind them. ¡°Look! There¡¯s an ice sword in the snake¡¯s back!¡± ¡°That¡¯s Master Shang Bing¡¯s attack! He used it against the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak previously!¡± ¡°He seems to have another identity¡­¡± ¡°Who cares about that! It¡¯s not something for us to worry about!¡± Shang Xia turned back and saw the phantom snake dissipating into thin air. Not too far away, Liu Qinglan waved her whip and Shang Lubing wielded his sword. The heaven and earth qi was swept up once again. A heaven-shaking roar rang through the air and the two seemed to be locked into a tough battle. The phantom of the giant snake started to condense in mid air once again as it confronted the two Martial Extermination Realm experts. ¡°What are you looking at?! Hurry up and return to the Tongyou Peak!¡± Liu Qinglan¡¯s voice boomed in the minds of the experts who had stopped. Snapping awake, they started to run for the Tongyou Peak. This time, they were much more relaxed. After they entered the area protected by the protection formation, many of them fell to the ground and gasped for breath. They had been running all the way since the beast tide started, and their lives were almost threatened at every turn. A huge portion of them had reached their limits and was barely holding on. Now that the threat was gone, they fell to the ground, powerless. Shang Xia entered the range of the protection formation and placed Shang Xi down. After taking a short break, Shang Xi might not have gathered much of her inner qi, but she regained the ability to walk. ¡°Don¡¯t bother about me. Hurry up and look for the horses with the Rain Swallows! They¡¯re extremely important! Let¡¯s see if we can bring them to Tongyou Peak this time.¡± Shang Xi couldn¡¯t be bothered with her weak body. The most important thing they needed to do was to locate the Mutated Rain Swallows! Shang Xia chuckled at the side, ¡°Aunt, relax¡­ The Lightning Bird came back to me when the snake appeared!¡± ¡°You must think of a way to make them nest in our Tongyou Peak! No! Make them nest on the Pinxin Peak!¡± Shang Xi declared triumphantly. However, the words barely left her lips when the skies lit up behind her. Colorful lights lit up the air and the giant phantom snake was sliced in two. CH 97 We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. On the Pinxin Peak¡­ In the days that passed, the Pinxin Peak turned into the focal point. The nesting of the Mutated Rain Swallows even overshadowed the commotion brought on by the beast tide! ¡°They made a nest! They actually made a nest on the Pinxin Peak!¡± Shang Quan stood on the peak of the Pinxin Peak and stared at the cliff below where the Mutated Rain Swallows were making their nest. The grin on his face hadn¡¯t faded in a long time. Shang Xia rubbed one of the Rain Swallows in his hand and sent a strand of his inner qi into its body before chuckling, ¡°Uncle Quan, you came here almost every day¡­ They started building their nest a few days ago! Why are you acting so surprised?¡± ¡°No! For the past few days, they¡¯ve been flying around aimlessly around the peak! I can¡¯t relax till they actually settle down!¡± Shang Quan snorted. The next moment, he saw Shang Xia raising his hand slightly and the Mutated Rain Swallow that was on his arm chirped happily before flying down to the nest on the cliff face. He continued, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that the other peaks have been trying their best to lure the birds over? Even the main peak pulled out all the stops. They brought out all sorts of spiritual herbs, and all sorts of worm-like creatures they caught outside. There was so much good stuff that I wasn¡¯t confident that we would be able to keep the rain swallows! Hah! All of them are shameless bastards!¡± Shang Xia smiled and waved his hand once as another Mutated Rain Swallow came down to perch on his forearms. ¡°Of course they would. The fur of the Mutated Rain Swallows is used to make Embroidered Cloud Cases and Spatial Pouches. Everyone would wish that the birds would nest at their stronghold.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t all! The usefulness of the flock displayed itself when they discovered the beast tide! They managed to lead so many disciples back to the Tongyou Peak and allowed us to preserve most of our fighting power to deal with the incoming attack.¡± Shang Quan added. Sending a strand of his inner qi into the bird in his hand, Shang Xia sighed, ¡°There are many species of birds in the battlefield between the two worlds¡­ Many of them are even stronger than the Mutated Rain Swallows! Why don¡¯t they head out and catch some themselves?¡± ¡°Heh¡­ Capturing the birds alive is another matter altogether. Do you think they¡¯ve been wasting their lives away for the past twenty years? If it¡¯s so easy to capture those creatures, why do you think the Wind Swallow Race is experiencing such troubles now?¡± Shang Quan snorted. ¡°It¡¯s too bad the Mutated Rain Swallows were hunted down by the Wolf Eagles and eaten by the giant snake¡­ Many of them died¡­ Even after so long, the Lightning Bird only gathered close to 120 of them. Looks like that¡¯s all the survivors out there¡­¡± Shang Xia sighed when he thought about what happened. ¡°Yeah¡­ It¡¯s a pity! It''s difficult to gather the swallow fur even with 200 of them¡­ Now, it¡¯s only going to get slower¡­¡± Shang Quan shook his head slightly. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know what to say in response, but he suddenly thought about the Wolf Eagle Yun Yifei caught during their escape. ¡°Didn¡¯t Senior Yun capture one of the Wolf Eagles when we were on our way back?¡± ¡°It¡¯s dead.¡± Shang Quan chuckled with a hint of mockery in his tone. ¡°Their intentions were clear as day. Too bad the Wolf Eagle refused to eat anything and died of hunger yesterday.¡± A frown formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°What a pity.¡± All of a sudden, he thought of something. ¡°Uncle Quan, there should be many people who came over to our Pinxin Peak, right?¡± Shang Quan snorted slightly. ¡°Yeah! Did you already hear about it?¡± Tapping the back of the Mutated Rain Swallow on his arm and indicating for it to leave, Shang Xia raised an eyebrow slightly. ¡°I might have been taking care of the swallows and assisting the Lightning Bird in his search for the rest of the Mutated Rain Swallows, but I¡¯m not stupid. They¡¯re being too obvious with their actions.¡± ¡°Well, they can¡¯t be considered spies, All they¡¯re doing is looking at you from afar! They don¡¯t dare to interrupt you from bringing more Mutated Rain Swallow back to the Pinxin Peak.¡± Shang Quan explained. ¡°After the matter of the Swallow Fur got out, almost all the craftsmen on the Tongyou Peak went crazy. All of them wanted to look at the rain swallows that have nested here. Of course, the appearance of the Lightning Bird is equally noteworthy. There are some who came here to obtain a feather of the Lightning Bird! Don¡¯t forget, you were the one who provided the cultivation method of the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm to the institution¡­¡± Shang Xia sneered in contempt. ¡°Are they really so bored? Don¡¯t they have anything else to do? It¡¯s not like the beast tide is over. Why aren¡¯t they going out to deal with the invading beasts?¡± ¡°Relax¡­ Our clan will definitely do something about it. They won¡¯t be able to bother you.¡± Even so, Shang Xia continued, ¡°Heh, they¡¯re probably still trying to find out how I managed to tame the Mutated Rain Swallows!¡± Shang Quan sighed silently in his heart. In the past few days, the Shang Clan received quite a lot of pressure regarding the Mutated Rain Swallows. If Shang Xia only brought back Yan Ni¡¯er, they could explain that it was a coincidence. However, he could communicate with the Lightning Bird and control the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows! It wasn¡¯t as simple as taming a single Mutated Rain Swallow anymore! The most important part of it was the fact that the flock remained calm and followed Shang Xia obediently during the beast tide! It was known to the world that whenever a beast tide happened, every single creature would go into a frenzy and attack anything in its way! No¡­ To put it more accurately, everyone realized that Shang Xia managed to calm them down to avoid the effects of the beast tide! That was too unusual! After they returned, Shang Xia retreated to the Pinxin Peak and refused to speak about the matter regarding the beast tide. From their observations, the other members of the Tongyou Peak could tell that he was using his inner qi to reduce the impact of the beast tide on the little birds. Wouldn¡¯t that mean that there was something special about his inner qi? How was it able to produce such miraculous effects? Was his inner qi only effective in calming down the Mutated Rain Swallows or could it affect the killing intent of other beasts?! Was he able to subdue the entire flock of Mutated Rain Swallows because of his special inner qi? Could he do the same to other species? Was there a way to extend the use of his inner qi? One had to know that the beasts in the battlefield between the two worlds posed just as much of a threat as the cultivators from the Four Spiritual Peak! If Shang Xia¡¯s inner qi was effective in reducing the threat, even just by a little bit, the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak would be able to avoid a lot more unnecessary deaths! In the past 20 years, the creatures that roamed the battlefield between two worlds would attack any cultivators regardless of the world they came from! The Outreach Division managed to get their hands on a mixed-blooded pigeon in the battlefield between the two worlds and that enabled them to transmit information from the Tongyou Peak to the Tongyou Institution! As such, many people became extremely curious about Shang Xia¡¯s ability! If not for the fact that the higher ups of the Tongyou Institution were adamant about protecting him and his contributions to the great war that passed, the pressure on the Pinxin Peak would be much stronger than it was! Other people were wondering what Shang Xia¡¯s special ability was, but he was also extremely curious! Initially, he thought that it was because of his cultivation method, the Triple Mystery Polarity Art! But now, it doesn''t seem so! The technique might be hard to learn, but there were some cultivators in the institution who had succeeded learning it in the past! At the very least, Shang Xia knew that Jia Yuntian who turned out to be a spy for the Rose Party had successfully cultivated it! There was another possibility that his ability to tame the creature was due to the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian. However, there was no way to verify it! It was also probable that it had something to do with the way he advanced! How many people could advance in the face of an Origin Tide? During the process, his inner qi might have transformed to gain additional properties. Even if those reasons were true, other cultivators wouldn¡¯t be able to replicate it! ¡°Even if you bring these reasons out, they might not believe it!¡± Shang Quan shook his head in response. However, he quickly broke out into laughter. ¡°It¡¯s alright¡­ Everyone has their own secrets. No one will try to force you to reveal all your cards. At least, they won¡¯t do so on the surface.¡± Shang Xia understood the meaning behind his uncle¡¯s words. He had to defend himself against the hidden threats that were about to come his way! ¡°Enough of this! All this talk is getting annoying¡­¡± Shang Xia switched the topic all of a sudden. ¡°Uncle Quan, I brought back the entire flock of Mutated Rain Swallows¡­ Shouldn¡¯t the clan be rewarding me?¡± ¡°I knew it!¡± Shang Quan chided before revealing a jade talisman in his hand. He tossed it over to Shang Xia. Catching it, Shang Xia felt the energy contained within and whistled, ¡°Another rank three talisman?!¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®again¡¯?! Do you think rank three talismans grow on trees?! This is a rank three talisman called the ¡®Suspended Spear¡¯! Your Grandpa Ke left a trace of his divine sense inside and it contained the full-powered strike of a Martial Intent Realm cultivator at the peak of the cultivation level. It¡¯s a useful life saving tool!¡± Shang Xia knew the power of a rank three talisman. After all, his aunt gave him one previously, allowing him to escape Sang Youqi¡¯s repeated attacks. One had to know that Shang Xi¡¯s cultivation was far from Shang Ke! Shang Ke reached the third layer of the Martial Intent Realm, and Shang Xi was barely at the first layer! In fact, Shang Ke had half a foot in the Martial Extermination Realm! Shang Xia kept the talisman and a grin formed on his face. ¡°I heard that grandpa killed the giant snake the other day and brought its body back. I heard that by refining the extermination origin, one would be able to create another Martial Extermination Realm cultivator! Do you think Fifth Grandpa will get the chance to¡­¡± Shang Quan shook his head helplessly. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s possible? No one will allow a second Martial Extermination Realm cultivator to appear in our Shang Clan so quickly! Moreover, the extermination origin from the snake contains deadly poison! Your Grandpa Ke wouldn¡¯t want to risk his life on something like that!¡± CH 98 Shang Xia¡¯s idea of the beast tide was obviously wrong. He thought that the Tongyou Peak was about to start another bloody battle after the one they just experienced with the Four Spiritual Peak. He didn¡¯t think that the beast tide wouldn¡¯t affect the Tongyou Peak much. It was such a ¡®peaceful¡¯ scene. The beast tide didn¡¯t rush towards the Tongyou Peak entirely. Also, the members of the Tongyou Peak were exhausted from the previous war and didn¡¯t choose to mess with the beast tide. ¡°Why is the beast tide rushing towards us anyway?¡± Shang Xia asked. Shang Xi, who hadn¡¯t recovered fully, laid casually on a mat in her courtyard and replied with an eyebrow raised. ¡°Even if the beasts all go crazy, they won¡¯t rush up the Tongyou Peak for fun. In their eyes, the Tongyou Peak is just a massive mountain. Are they going to smash their heads into a mountain for fun? If they really attacked the Tongyou Peak, things would be different. They would have to be controlled by a certain power or super creature for that to happen.¡± ¡°Why are they gathering around our Tongyou Peak without any signs of leaving then?¡± Shang Xia asked. Yawning softly, Shang Xi explained, ¡°That¡¯s because of the heaven and earth qi in the air. Due to the operation of our protection formation, we drew in a huge amount of heaven and earth qi! The only place with an equally dense amount of heaven and earth qi would be the Four Spiritual Peak. The beasts might have lost their mind, but their instincts would lead them to the place with the most amount of heaven and earth qi¡­¡± Shang Xia could tell that his aunt was growing tired, but he still wanted to get to the bottom of things. ¡°How¡­ How does a beast tide start?¡± Shang Xi pressed her lips together and explained helplessly, ¡°It¡¯s probably because of the appearance of the divine weapons¡­ No one really knows¡­¡± ¡°One last question!¡± Shang Xia quipped. ¡°Are we planning to do nothing and wait for the beasts to leave on their own?¡± Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. He could tell that Shang Xi was too tired to entertain his questions, but he was truly curious. Shang Xi rolled her eyes and snapped, ¡°How do you know we¡¯re not doing anything?¡± ¡°What¡­¡± ¡°Alright, alright, enough of this. I¡¯m going back to sleep. You¡¯re really annoying! You could have asked anyone else, but you came over to annoy me¡­¡± Shang Xi chased him out before he could continue. When he emerged from her courtyard, he ran into Yan Qi. ¡°Young¡­ Young master, actually, the Tongyou Peak would open a tiny hole in the protection formation to allow some beasts to charge into our territory. They would take the chance to hunt down all the beasts to obtain precious ingredients and treasures¡­¡± Yan Qi explained. A frown formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I hear of it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because the bridges connecting the Qiling, Kaiyuan, Luohui, Minxiu, and Pinxin peaks have been weakened. To prevent anything unexpected from happening, the gap is opened between the Yuxi and Qiling Peaks. Every time it¡¯s open, two Martial Extermination Realm experts would be paying attention to the region to prevent anything from going wrong.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s the case¡­¡± Shang Xia gasped. Due to the interference of the Rose Party and Ran Biluo¡¯s attacks, the chains between the few peaks were damaged or cut! Liu Qinglan wasn¡¯t able to completely prevent Ran Biluo from affecting the protection formation, and if Shang Bo came a little later, things would get ugly. The damage to the protection formation would likely be greater than it already is! As Shang Xia was taking care of matters on the Kaiyuan Peak when the war went on, he didn¡¯t know what happened to the other regions. Returning to his room in the Shang Pavilion, Shang Xia saw Yan Ni¡¯er resting comfortably in the nest she made. Seeing as nothing was wrong, he left for the training field. Picking a random steel sword on the weapon rack, Shang Xia circulated his inner qi. He transformed them into qi that possessed the attribute of softness and strength and started to practice his sword art. He moved gracefully as he practiced every individual move in the Formless Sword Art. Before the war started, Shang Xia managed to complete the third stroke of the Formless Sword Art. Due to the battles he had been through both in the war and when escaping from the beast tide, Shang Xia¡¯s comprehension of the Formless Sword Art reached a whole new level. In just several short days, he comprehended up to the seventh move! The day before, when he was treating the injured Mutated Rain Swallows on the Pinxin Peak, he gained a sudden inspiration on the eighth move of the Formless Sword Art! That was the reason he ran all the way back to the Shang Pavilion to train himself! Strictly speaking, the Formess Sword Manual was more like a theory-based sword technique. The only principle behind it was that the moves flowed with the current. One would wield the sword as they pleased and avoid being restricted by the traditional ways of using a sword. To put it simply, the theory behind it was to focus more on the pair of qi that made up the sword art than the sword itself! After comprehending it, Shang Xia¡¯s movements didn¡¯t stop when he completed the seventh stroke. In one smooth motion, he completed the eighth move! When he did, he realized that the power he wielded increased, instead of being diminished by the execution of the eighth move! Shang Xia reached a new understanding. The Formless Sword Manual flashed through his mind, and he felt like he finally understood the meaning behind it! The first eight moves were all for the sake of gathering energy. On the ninth move, all the energy he built up would be released in the form of a formless sword qi! Hence the name, Formless Sword Art! He thought about the Vigorous Sword Art he completed earlier and recalled the sword qi it produced at the end. It destroyed the entire weapon rack beside the training ground! In order not to cause the scene to replay itself, he sealed off the strand of sword qi he was supposed to send out in the ninth move of the Formless Sword Art! He sealed it off in the sword he was using, but he clearly underestimated its power. Cracks started to appear on the surface of the blade, and it eventually shattered into countless pieces. Hearing the sound of the shards clattering to the ground, Shang Xia¡¯s expression changed. The blood-red tablet sealed in his sea of consciousness suddenly reappeared and a red glow appeared on its surface. Faint words were starting to form on the surface of the tablet, but they faded away like nothing happened in the first place. Eventually, the blood-red tablet sank into the depths of his sea of consciousness. ¡°Young master, congratulations on reaching the large completion stage of your sword technique!¡± Yan Qi¡¯s voice caused Shang Xia to awaken from his daze. ¡°Oh? Seventh Uncle, when did you come?¡± Shang Xia tossed the hilt of the sword away and chuckled softly, ¡°I¡¯ll destroy a weapon every time I complete my training in a sword manual¡­ The cost of training is pretty high indeed!¡± Yan Qi grinned at the side, ¡°I just arrived! I arranged something for the young lady earlier before heading over to the Mingxiu Peak. Before I returned, I saw someone you might be interested in!¡± ¡°Who?¡± Shang Xia dried his perspiration with the towel Yan Qi handed him and asked. ¡°Young master, do you remember Dou Zhong?¡± A mischievous look could be seen in Yan Qi¡¯s eyes. CH 99 ¡°Dou Zhong?¡± Shang Xia raised an eyebrow in surprise. The face of a stubborn youngster flashed across his mind. Together with it came an unpleasant memory. ¡°I remember telling you to take note of him¡­ What¡¯s wrong? Did you discover something wrong with him?¡± Shang Xia tossed the tower to the pool beside the practice ground before walking towards the Shang Pavilion. Yan Qi followed closely behind and muttered, ¡°The brat has already advanced to the large completion stage of the Martial Realm!¡± Raising his voice slightly, Shang Xia gasped, ¡°That quickly?!¡± Yan Qi¡¯s expression turned serious and he nodded slowly. ¡°From what I learned, the little brat managed to gain the favor of Chief Shang Bing after coming to the Tongyou Peak for the first time. He probably impressed Chief Shang Bing with his speech on loyalty¡­ After that, he mysteriously broke through to the Martial Realm.¡± ¡°What about him now? He probably hasn¡¯t been here for more than two months, right?¡± Shang Xia asked. Pressing his lips together, Yan Qi continued, ¡°Young master, you might not know, but the kid went out with a squad to hunt down the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak. His squad was separated by the beast tide and he went to hide in a mountain cave he could. There, he found a piece of essence jade¡­ When Chief Shang Bing brought him back, he had already entered his current stage of cultivation!¡± ¡°Essence jade? Chief Shang Bing? Do you mean Shang Lubing of the Contribution Division?¡± The corner of Shang Xia¡¯s lips trembled. ¡°This brat is too damn lucky¡­ He managed to find a treasure like the Essence Jade when hiding from the beast tide! Moreover, Shang Lubing picked him up on the way back to the Tongyou Peak. A Martial Extermination Realm cultivator actually took a liking to him!¡± Yan Qi sighed as a trace of irritation filled Shang Xia¡¯s heart. ¡°Heh, is the world really going to come up with some bullshit and make him into a main character-like existence! Too bad¡­ This young master here isn¡¯t someone he can step on however he likes!¡± Shang Xia snorted in his heart. He was planning to return to his room to check out the blood-red tablet in his sea of consciousness. After all, that was the only thing he couldn¡¯t wrap his head around! However, he noticed that Yan Qi was still following behind him and he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Seventh Uncle, is there something you need?¡± ¡°Hehe, Your Fifth Grandpa passed down the order for you to head over to the main hall on the main peak.¡± Yan Qi reported. ¡°Me? Main hall?!¡± Shang Xia was slightly taken aback. ¡°Did he set his eyes on the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows or something?¡± Yan Qi¡¯s expression turned a little weird when he heard the words ¡®Mutated Rain Swallow¡¯. Raising an eyebrow in surprise, Shang Xia asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°The birds seem to hate me¡­¡± Yan Qi sighed. A look of surprise appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face, but he soon understood what was happening. ¡°Is it because of your bloodline?¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible¡­ The Swallow Bloodline should be the reason behind their hostility.¡± Yan Qi explained. ¡°Is it due to the Bloodline Crystal?¡± Yan Qi nodded slowly. ¡°That should be it. When I first stepped onto the Pinxin Peak, the birds stopped building their nest and started chirping angrily. The Lightning Bird landed not too far away from me, and I could feel the hostility in its eyes¡­¡± ¡°Did they attack you?¡± Shang Xia frowned. ¡°Nope. I could feel their anger and hostility, but they didn¡¯t show any signs of attacking me.¡± Yan Qi explained. Shang Xia fell deep into contemplation and felt like the interaction between the Lightning Bird and Yan Qi was pretty interesting. Soon, he laughed, ¡°Seventh Uncle, didn¡¯t you enter the Martial Intent Realm? I wonder why you were acting like a messenger the past few days¡­ As it turns out, you were feeling unwelcome on the Pinxin Peak by a bunch of birds.¡± A bitter smile appeared on Yan Qi¡¯s face. ¡°That¡¯s not it¡­ Every time I went back, the birds would stop everything and start chirping violently. The peace of the Pinxin Peak would be broken! I could only choose to leave¡­¡± ¡°Well, did anyone else start talking nonsense?¡± Shang Xia asked. Yan Qi knew that he was referring to the fact that he was of the Swallow Bloodline and he muttered helplessly, ¡°It¡¯s alright. There are even some who congratulated me on entering the Martial Intent Realm. As for the rest¡­ It¡¯s alright! I¡¯m used to it anyway.¡± Shang Xia nodded and sighed. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that some dumbasses would attack you regardless of your identity¡­¡± ¡°Young master, you¡¯re underestimating the influence of the Shang Clan on the Tongyou Peak! Especially after Old Master Shang Bo showed off his strength! With his cultivation at the fourth layer of the Martial Extermination Realm, the position of the Shang Clan took a huge step forward! There are even some who think that the positions of the four great clans would change now that Old Master Shang Bo reached his current level! Our position would only be lower than the Ji Clan!¡± ¡­ The main hall of the Tongyou Peak was located on the main peak, and it was where the upper echelons of the institution met. When Shang Xia entered the main hall, he noticed that all four Martial Extermination Realm cultivators were already waiting for him. Other than the four, no one else was present. ¡°I greet the deputy patriarchs, Chief Shang, and Instructor Liu!¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t show any sign of disrespect. Even with Shang Bo present, he knew that he had to act appropriately. ¡°Hehe, leader of the outer division¡­ I haven¡¯t stopped hearing about your deeds!¡± Liu Qinglan laughed. Shang Xia turned to look at the middle-aged instructor of the upper division and he saw the subtle smile in her eyes. It was as though she was looking at a member of her own clan. ¡°Instructor Liu is exaggerating! I¡¯m merely mucking my way about¡­ Please give me more pointers in the future!¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t know why they called him over, but from the looks of it, there wasn¡¯t anything for him to be afraid of! ¡°Alright, alright, time to talk about the serious stuff!¡± Liu Qinglan chuckled and continued, ¡°Kid, all of us heard about what you did. Your achievements were pretty extraordinary. With Chief Shang¡¯s recommendation, we plan to open the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool for you.¡± ¡°Polarity Essence Gathering Pool? Is there one on the Tongyou Peak too?¡± Shang Xia looked at the four Martial Extermination Realm cultivators in shock. ¡°Preposterous!¡± Shang Bo¡¯s expression sank. He was clearly unamused with Shang Xia¡¯s actions of doubting them. Shang Xia lowered his head hastily, as though he was terrified of his grandfather¡¯s roar. ¡°Alright, there¡¯s no need to scare the kid.¡± Liu Qinglan dispersed Shang Bo¡¯s scary aura with a single sentence. ¡°Even though the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool in the Tongyou Peak is newly built, the essence qi there is dense. We¡¯ll give you the opportunity to be the first to enter. Everything you gain from there depends on yourself. Go make your preparations. Look for Sun Haiwei and she will take you there when you¡¯re ready.¡± ¡°Now?¡± Shang Xia gasped in shock. ¡°What? Do you have a lot of things to do? What do you need to prepare? You¡¯re going there right now!¡± Shang Bo snorted at the side. No matter how mischievous Shang Xia was, he wouldn¡¯t dare to joke around when his grandfather seemed to be in such a bad mood. He ran out of the main hall as quickly as he could. After he left, Liu Qinglan looked at the three of them and asked, ¡°So¡­ What do you think?¡± Shang Bo remained silent and Ji Wenlong chuckled softly. Shang Lubing analyzed, ¡°The little brat¡¯s inner qi is extremely active. It doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s going out of control either. It even seems to have its own intelligence! It¡¯s like¡­¡± Shang Lubing thought of an appropriate comparison but failed to think of one. ¡°Intelligence? That is something that should only happen when one fully condenses their martial intent! When he steps into the Martial Intent Realm, he would be able to fully control his inner qi, allowing it to act like it possesses intelligence! However, how can outsiders tell?¡± Liu Qinglan frowned. ¡°Yeah¡­ Those at the Martial Intent Realm can control it perfectly, but the kid is at the Martial Extremity Realm¡­¡± Shang Lubing continued, ¡°Unless¡­ That¡¯s the reason behind the kid¡¯s ability to tame the Mutated Rain Swallows?¡± Ji Wenlong grunted at the side, ¡°That¡¯s not likely. In the years that passed, many people tried to tame the creatures in the battlefield between two worlds. Not even Martial Intent Realm cultivators succeeded.¡± In that case, things are getting interesting. His inner qi is definitely different from the rest¡­¡± A look of astonishment appeared on Liu Qinglan¡¯s face. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it mean that others won¡¯t be able to replicate what he did?¡± Shang Lubing shook his head wistfully. ¡°Well, he cultivated the Chaos Essence Manual and the Triple Mystery Polarity Art. His path of cultivation is no mystery to us.¡± Shang Bo, who had remained silent all this while, finally spoke, ¡°The brat is really daring¡­ He¡¯s cultivating both types of qi at once.¡± Liu Qinglan and Shang Lubing gasped in fright. The only person who didn¡¯t react was Ji Wenlong as he had long since noticed the abnormality with Shang Xia. A look of worry could be seen on Liu Qinglan¡¯s face. ¡°But¡­ That¡¯s really dangerous!¡± A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. Shang Bo grunted softly as the sides of his lips curled upwards. ¡°Nevermind¡­ I¡¯ll personally head over to the pool to ensure nothing goes wrong!¡± Liu Qinglan declared all of a sudden. ¡­ Shang Xia didn¡¯t know about the conversation that happened inside the hall after he left and met up with Sun Haiwei outside the hall. The envious look on her face couldn¡¯t be hidden at all. ¡°Teacher Sun, did you already hear about it?¡± Shang Xia grinned. ¡°You¡¯re going to enter the inner division soon! With the identity of an inner disciple of the Tongyou Institution, you can walk unhindered in the world! There¡¯s no need to call me your teacher anymore!¡± Sun Haiwei smiled. ¡°Do you know how much merit you have to gain in order to enter the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool? Even if people manage to exchange for the chance to enter, they would have to gather several other disciples to split the cost! Now, the institution opened the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool for you alone! From what I know, it¡¯s the first time in history that this has happened!¡± Shang Xia had long since heard about the famed Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, but it was the first time he heard about the requirements to enter. He was slightly flustered. ¡°Is that so?! They¡¯re really taking good care of me then¡­¡± Sun Haiwei giggled uncontrollably when she saw the shit-eating grin on his face. ¡°Just keep gloating¡­ The energy there belongs to you! No one will fight you for it, unlike¡­¡± Shang Xia raised an eyebrow in surprise. ¡°Teacher¡­ Senior Sister Sun, have you been to the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool?¡± Sun Haiwei glanced at him from the corner of her eye and snorted, ¡°Of course! I went there with Senior Brother Tian and Senior¡­ Jin Guanchao¡­ The three of us only managed to exchange for a chance to open the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool after gathering all our contributions!¡± Her expression visibly darkened after she spoke. Shang Xia nodded and remained silent. Quickly gathering her feelings. Sun Haiwei instructed, ¡°The Polarity Essence Gathering Pool will only be effective for one day and one night. Even though no one will fight with you for the energy contained within, you need to make full use of your time to increase your cultivation! It¡¯s the best chance for a cultivator at the Martial Extremity Realm to cultivate both types of qi in their bodies!¡± Best chance? Shang Xia laughed silently in his heart. Sun Haiwei had no idea that he had been doing so the whole time! CH 100 It was extremely difficult for cultivators to cultivate both types of qi at once. It was a giant obstruction to their cultivation, and it posed a significant risk! However, that didn¡¯t mean that it was impossible. It just meant that the price one had to pay to cultivate both types of qi at once was great! Everyone knew how beneficial it was to increase both types of qi while maintaining a balance. The Polarity Essence Gathering Pool was one great way to do it! What made it even more special was that the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool could assist cultivators who had only cultivated one type of qi to improve the other such that they achieved a miraculous balance. ¡°The Polarity Essence Gathering Pool can allow cultivators to raise their strength in the shortest amount of time possible!¡± Sun Haiwei explained as they made their way over. ¡°Of course, the prerequisite is that you need to have a high level of control over both types of qi in your body. The better the control, the more essence qi you can absorb from the pool. That would mean that you would improve even quicker! The opposite is true. Make sure to know your limits. If you absorb more essence qi than you can handle, it¡¯s easy to lose control. When that happens, your body will explode and you will die.¡± It didn¡¯t take long before the two of them arrived at a structure located behind the main hall of the Tongyou Peak. There, Shang Xia met Liu Qinglan again. It seemed as though she had been waiting for some time now. ¡°This disciple apologizes for making instructor wait.¡± Shang Xia might not know why she had came, but there wasn¡¯t a need to think so much. She was a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator, and she seemed a little more authority than the other three in the hall previously. She could go wherever she wanted. ¡­ There was a rule in the Tongyou Institution that Shang Xia heard from his aunt. It was something that was established when she was still a disciple of the Tongyou Institution! When the rule was put in place, everyone felt that it was unbelievable. When Shang Xia heard it from his aunt, he even thought that she was playing a prank on him. However, that was precisely what happened in the hall earlier. Just several moments ago, Liu Qinglan had been speaking on behalf of all four Martial Extermination Realm cultivators in the hall. Regardless of cultivation or seniority, Ji Wenlong, Shang Bo, and Shang Lubing were much higher than her! Even so, she was the one who spoke for all of them. She rose through the ranks in the institution, and the three other experts could even be said to be her teachers! Even so, none of them spoke against her in the hall earlier. The rule was set by Patriarch Kou Chongxue in the past. Whenever there was more than a single figure of authority present, those of the four great clans would have to give up their speaking rights and stand on the sidelines. The rule was laid down after the four great clans gave their consent! That was what Shang Xia learned from Shang Xi. The reason was to ensure that none of the four great clans interfered with the institution¡¯s authority when making decisions! According to the rule, Shang Lubing should have been doing the talking earlier. However, Liu Qinglan seemed to be the one in control of the situation. Of course, the matter had something to do with Shang Lubing¡¯s identity as Kou Chongxue¡¯s sworn brother. If he stepped out now, he might just infuriate Ji Wenlong even further! ¡­ Liu Qinglan gently tapped the structure beside her and her fingers danced about its surface. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t even see what she did, and he was naturally unable to memorize the pattern of her fingers. The structure started to open up and a stairwell leading downwards revealed itself. ¡°Follow me.¡± Liu Qinglan said and she took the lead. Shang Xia wanted to follow behind, but she paused for a second and turned to Sun Haiwei. ¡°You should come and take a look too¡­¡± Liu Qinglan¡¯s voice drifted into her ears. A look of joy appeared on Sun Haiwei¡¯s face, and she hurried behind Shang Xia. After descending several tens of feet, the passage started to open up and a stone hall appeared in their sight. Fluorescent stones lined the walls and emitted a soft glow that illuminated the area. Shang Xia¡¯s gaze was locked on to the middle of the hall where a giant crater stood. It resembled a dried up pool. There were rings around the crater, and every single ring was crafted with some sort of transparent jade-like stone. They were essence qi stones, and Shang Xia gasped in shock, ¡°Is this the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool?! There seems to be more than a hundred essence qi stones here!¡± Essence qi stones might not be comparable to essence jade, but they were still precious treasures that contained extremely dense energy in them. An essence qi stone contained much lesser heaven and earth qi in it than essence jade, but it was a common treasure used to lay down formations. The heaven and earth qi contained within would also be amplified when that happened. Of course, laying down a formation with a single essence qi stone wasn¡¯t useful at all! The cost of the other materials would make it absolutely outrageous. The Polarity Essence Gathering Pool contained a ton of essence qi stones, and it was much more effective that way. ¡°There¡¯s a total of 285 essence qi stones!¡± Sun Haiwei gasped at the side. ¡°Go on down. Cultivate at the bottom of the pool. I will activate the formation once you arrive and how much you gain from this will depend on the effort you put in.¡± Liu Qinglan explained. Shang Xia nodded and walked over to the side of the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool. He slid down the side of the crater. The lower he got, the narrower it became. It was nine feet deep and every foot formed a new layer. Essence qi stones filled each layer. At the lowest layer, there was only enough space for a single person. Standing at the bottom, he raised his head and asked Sun Haiwei, ¡°Senior Sister Sun, didn¡¯t you say that the three of you came together?¡± Sun Haiwei poked her head over the side of the crater and yelled, ¡°Yeah! When the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool opens, the type of essence qi can change at will! The three of us took turns to cultivate within!¡± Shang Xia nodded. Sitting down, he started to circulate his Triple Mystery Polarity Art. A smile could be seen on Liu Qinglan¡¯s face as she asked, ¡°Since you learned the Triple Mystery Polarity Art, what type of qi are you the most familiar with?¡± Shang Xia stared at her with a raised eyebrow. Once again, Sun Haiwei¡¯s head popped out from the side of the crater again. ¡°You actually cultivated the Triple Mystery Polarity Art?! I know a little about it! It¡¯s extremely difficult to learn, and although you can switch between the different types of qi, it¡¯s not easy to do so. Those who cultivate the Triple Mystery Polarity Art would excel in one of the three pairs of qi! Which are you the most proficient in using? This concerns the benefits you will gain in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool¡± Extremely difficult to learn? Which was he the most proficient at? Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Shang Xia had to carefully consider his reply. He had been too outstanding recently, and he wouldn¡¯t allow himself to reveal all his cards in a moment of happiness. Ever since he infused the Triple Mystery Polarity Art into his Yin Yang Diagram, he created a new way of cultivation! He could absorb all types of qi, not just those listed in the Triple Mystery Polarity Art! ¡°This¡­ It¡¯s probably the fire and ice qi!¡± Shang Xia casually spoke. Sun Haiwei¡¯s voice came from above. ¡°That¡¯s great! The two types of qi are the most common out there. It¡¯s extremely abundant on our Tongyou Peak. The effects of the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool will be maximized if you absorb fire and ice qi!¡± ¡°Alright, enough talking. I¡¯m going to activate the formation soon. Dense heaven and earth qi will gather in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool soon. Shang Xia, don¡¯t be in a rush to absorb all you can. Wait till the two types of qi reach an equilibrium before starting anything!¡± Liu Qinglan¡¯s voice rang in his mind. ¡°I am ready!¡± Shang Xia yelled from the foot of the crater. As soon as the words left his lips, he felt the ground below him trembling slightly. Soon after, the essence qi stones around the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool started to light up. The heaven and earth qi in the room they were in started to move. It didn¡¯t take long for the final layer of essence qi stones where Shang Xia was to light up. A total of 285 essence qi stones gathered the heaven and earth qi in the surrounding. Due to the formations around the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, the gathered qi was unable to escape. They started to pool together where Shang Xia was, and it became extremely dense! Those standing at the side of the crater could see that the heaven and earth qi became so dense that it had a liquid-like consistency! Shang Xia was swallowed by the curtain of dense qi. Liu Qinglan walked across the hall all of a sudden and brought out two artifacts. She had a red bowl in one hand and a gourd caked in a layer of frost in the other. Pouring the liquid held in both vessels into the crater, a stream of fiery red liquid and a waterfall of frosty mist entered the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool. CH 101 The two different types of qi formed a clear separation in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool. One side shone a brilliant red, like smoldering hot coals. The fiery qi caused the air on one side of the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool to distort. On the other side, the air was frigid as the icy qi did its magic. It was so cold that a layer of frost covered half the stone hall Liu Qinglan and Sun Haiwei were in. The heaven and earth qi in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool started to transform into fire and ice qi. In the middle of the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, a vortex formed due to the vastly different types of qi. There, the two different types of qi fused to form a mysterious stream of energy that slowly descended into the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool¡­ Throughout the process, a strange diagram was formed on the surface of the crater as the two types of qi swirled around each other. They seemed to resemble two fishes that were chasing each other¡¯s tails in the eyes of Sun Haiwei and Liu Qinglan. ¡°Junior Brother Shang adapted really quickly¡­ He managed to find the equilibrium point between the two extremities instantly! He has even started to absorb them!¡± Sun Haiwei gasped as a smile slowly formed on her face. She might have changed the way she addressed Shang Xia from her student to her junior brother, but in her eyes, he would always be her student! In fact, he was like a little brother to her. She was truly happy to see that he was able to adjust his state so quickly! ¡°Hmm¡­ There¡¯s something interesting about this diagram.¡± Liu Qinglan muttered as she studied the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool. She was a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator after all. Her cultivation level and insights had reached an extremely high level! Because of the difference between the Azure Origin World and the world Shang Xia came from, she might not know the meaning behind the Yin and Yang Diagram, but she might be able to learn the principle behind it if she received a stroke of inspiration! It was clear that she had realized something the moment Shang Xia started cultivating. Of course, she was merely shocked by the discovery. Her interest in it quickly waned. That was because her cultivation had long since surpassed the Martial Extremity Realm. Shang Xia¡¯s experience was like a breath of fresh air, but that was it. She wouldn¡¯t change her entire cultivation process because of it. She wasn¡¯t the only one who noticed something different. Sun Haiwei managed to discover that there was something special about it. As it turned out, Sun Haiwei hasn''t broken through to the Martial Intent Realm! Instead, the martial intent she comprehended had reached the grand completion stage. Her combat strength was comparable to a cultivator in the Martial Intent Realm, and that was the power she displayed in the war that went down previously. Now, Liu Qinglan gave her the opportunity to stay by the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, hoping she could gain some benefits or insights. If she could use the chance to step into the Martial Intent Realm, that would be perfect! Any Martial Intent Realm cultivator was a huge asset to the Tongyou Institution. They were a source of huge fighting strength and the institution wouldn¡¯t hesitate to pour resources into cultivating them. ¡­ As the heaven and earth qi became denser and denser in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, Shang Xia found the pressure on his body increasing. This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. The heaven and earth qi might not be something tangible, but it was like a mysterious stream of energy that streamed into his being. One had to say that Shang Xia¡¯s physique was much better than cultivators his level. Facing the torrent of energy pouring into him, he could direct it smoothly to every part of his body before refining it effectively. If anyone else was in his position, they would panic when met with the sudden influx of energy. Shang Xia recalled Liu Qinglan¡¯s warning and paused after he got a general feel of the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool. He had to wait for the density of both qis to reach equilibrium before starting his cultivation! Even so, with the short burst of qi he took in, he felt a huge increase in his strength. He could tell that cultivating in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool was at least twice as effective as cultivating on the Tongyou Peak. That was because the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool specifically produced the type of heaven and earth qi the cultivator within required! Just as the thought formed in Shang Xia¡¯s mind, he discovered that the heaven and earth qi around him started to transform. The change that happened at the top of the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool when Liu Qinglan poured both liquids in started to happen at the bottom of the crater. The heaven and earth qi around Shang Xia slowly separated, and he soon experienced extreme temperatures on both sides of his body. A searing pain shot through one side of his body and he felt as though he was turning into a human barbeque. Despite the sharp pain, his skin and clothes didn¡¯t show any signs of burning up. On the other half of his body, the opposite happened. He felt a bone-chilling pain stabbing straight into his bones, but his body showed no signs of freezing. At that moment, a soft ripple traveled through the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool and rang in his mind. ¡°Focus on circulating your energy and absorbing the fire and ice qi! Do not be distracted by anything else!¡± Even without her reminder, Shang Xia would have done the same. He started to circulate his inner qi. Every time it made a cycle around his body, he would absorb a portion of the qi around him. The pain that he felt would be slightly alleviated. After the short moment of respite, the searing pain returned. This time, with greater intensity. Shang Xia had to circulate his inner qi as quickly as he could in order to avoid the suffering. The cycle continued on and on, and the inner qi in Shang Xia¡¯s body started to move at an increasingly fast rate. Every time the density of fire and ice qi around his body increased, the more he would absorb. His cultivation seemed to advance with the speed of a rocket zooming into space. ¡­ The faster he refined the fire and ice qi around him, the greater the effects on his body. He was like a black hole that sucked up heaven and earth qi endlessly. Above the crater, Liu Qinglan and Sun Haiwei could feel that the circulation of the fire and earth qi in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool was growing faster and faster. The vortex that formed on the surface seemed to extend even deeper as the strange phenomenon of the rotating fishes at the surface became even clearer. Liu Qinglan turned to Sun Haiwei and asked, ¡°When the three of you entered the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, how long did each of you manage to last in there? How much essence qi stones did you guys use up?¡± Sun Haiwei thought for a second and replied, ¡°I managed to stay there for six hours and I used one-third of the essence qi stones. The two of them stayed for five hours and used up the remainder of the essence qi stones. However, the heaven and earth qi produced by the formation wasn¡¯t fully absorbed by us. A portion of it remained after we were done.¡± ¡°Take a guess. How much do you think he would use?¡± Liu Qinglan smirked. ¡°Junior Brother Shang is a genius and his foundations are incredibly solid. He might be able to stay down there for a much longer time than me, and he should use up a lot more of the essence qi stones. My guess is that he would be able to stay there for eight hours and he would use close to forty percent of the heaven and earth qi alone.¡± Liu Qinglan smiled and nodded slowly. ¡°That might be a little exaggerated, but I think it¡¯s close. The brat is pretty strong. However, he might not be strong enough to outdo all of you.¡± As the two of them spoke, the essence qi in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool dropped by an entire level. The essence qi stones on the second layer were revealed. The essence qi stones at the very top started to fade and cracks formed on their surface. The sudden change caused the faces of Liu Qinglan and Sun Haiwei to change dramatically. ¡°What?! That¡¯s too fast! Not even two hours had passed since he started, and the heaven and earth qi in the first layer had already been used up!¡± Sun Haiwei gasped. She turned her head to look at Liu Qinglan, only to be met with a look of amazement on the instructor¡¯s face. Muttering to herself, Liu Qinglan tried to reason it out with herself. ¡°It probably has something to do with his cultivation method. He might be able to absorb heaven and earth qi quicker than other people¡­ Yep, that¡¯s an effect of the Triple Mystery Polarity Art¡­¡± Confident that her guess was right, Liu Qinglan continued, ¡°Everyone¡¯s dantian has a limit. They can only contain so much inner qi! From the looks of it, his dantian would be filled soon. He might emerge from the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool in less than six hours.¡± Sun Haiwei thought about it and felt that Liu Qinglan¡¯s reason made sense. CH 102 Liu Qinglan felt that Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation method could allow him to increase the speed at which he absorbed the heaven and earth qi around him. Regardless, there was a limit to how much inner qi one could contain in their body. It had to be something the cultivator could control too. Otherwise, they might experience cultivation deviation and die! A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. Close to two hours passed, and the surface of the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool was the same as before. There was a massive vortex leading to the bottom. From the looks of it, Shang Xia¡¯s refining speed had reached a stable state. ¡°This is weird¡­ He¡¯s absorbing it so quickly! Can he actually transform it into his inner qi so quickly? Isn¡¯t he afraid that he would absorb too much?¡± Sun Haiwei frowned. Liu Qinglan had an unnatural expression on her face as she muttered, ¡°Did I make a mistake in my estimations previously?¡± It didn¡¯t take long for the third layer of essence qi stones to be revealed. The essence qi stones in the first layer completely crumbled and turned into dust. There were 64 essence qi stones in the second layer, and they dimmed tremendously. ¡°Has he¡­ Has he refined 30 percent of the energy already?!¡± Sun Haiwei cried. When she entered the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, it took her six hours to refine 30 percent of the energy contained within. Even though the essence qi stones at the top were of the lowest grade, there were lots of them! There were 81 in the first layer and 64 in the second. Now that the essence qi stones in the first layer had turned to dust, it signified that Shang Xia had refined close to 30 percent of the energy. ¡°Teacher, do we operate the formation as usual?¡± Sun Haiwei muttered softly. A trace of hesitation flashed through Liu Qinglan¡¯s eyes. ¡°We should be able to¡­ It¡¯s not likely for him to absorb more than 40 percent of the energy in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool himself!¡± The corners of Sun Haiwei¡¯s lips twitched, but she remained silent. According to the usual operation, they would reverse the flow of the energy after Shang Xia completed his absorption. The energy released by the essence qi stones would return to where they came from, and that would prevent excessive leakage of heaven and earth qi. Of course, they would still experience some wastage. In order to reverse the flow of the heaven and earth qi, the fire and ice qi would have to be completely absorbed or removed from the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool. Otherwise, more energy would dissipate. That was the rule set by the institution. Every time the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool was opened, there would be an enforcer to reverse the flow of the energy before they could all go to waste. After all, the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool was an extremely precious resource. Even Sun Haiwei, an expert who was heavily nurtured by the institution, wasn¡¯t able to enter the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool whenever she pleased! There was no way the institution would allow the energy contained in the pool to be wasted! Liu Qinglan did her a great favor by bringing her down to the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool. She could utilize the dissipating energy after Shang Xia was done to cultivate, and that could be considered a reward for her great service to the institution. When they looked at the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, a seed of doubt formed in their minds. After he was done, there might not be much energy left! One had to know that reversing the flow of the heaven and earth qi would waste some of the energy contained within. The lesser the energy left after Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation, the less they would waste. Whatever¡­ Letting him absorb more might not be a bad thing either As another hour passed, Liu Qinglan heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that the vortex wasn¡¯t as strong as before. ¡°It¡¯s finally slowing down!¡± It was true that Shang Xia slowed down slightly, but from what Sun Haiwei knew, the deeper they were in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, the denser the energy contained. Shang Xia might have slowed down in his absorption, but the quality of the fire and ice qi he absorbed was still of extremely high purity! Sun Haiwei felt a sense of defeat coursing through her. Shang Xia had absorbed more than 30 percent of the energy contained within! He would be able to surpass 40 percent soon! All of a sudden, Liu Qinglan¡¯s voice rang in her mind. ¡°How strong were you when you entered?¡± ¡°I was at the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm!¡± Sun Haiwei felt the corners of her lips twitching. ¡°Shang Xia should probably still be at the small completion stage, right?¡± Liu Qinglan frowned. How long had it been since he entered the Martial Extremity Realm?! Even if he directly absorbed energy from the essence qi stones, his cultivation couldn¡¯t have reached the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm, right?! Instructor Liu, can¡¯t you think about my feelings before asking that question?! I was still his teacher a month ago! Sun Haiwei felt her confidence crumbling. What do you mean still at the small completion stage? I¡¯ve been at the Martial Extremity Realm for so long now! She couldn¡¯t find it in herself to answer the question. ¡­ The cultivation method Shang Xia used was completely different from the rest of the cultivators! Not only could he increase his mastery over both types of opposing qi, but he could also transform them into any type he liked! It was true that cultivators who practiced the Triple Mystery Polarity Art would be able to absorb energy much faster than everyone else, but Liu Qinglan didn¡¯t know that Shang Xia had already fused the cultivation method into his own! As the fire and ice qi poured into his body, they were instantly refined by the Yin Yang Diagram. ¡°When cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm cultivate, they are unable to maintain a perfect balance between the two opposing types of qi¡­ In order to increase their cultivation level, they would choose to only train in one. When they reached the large completion stage in one type, they would seal away the qi in their body and try to increase their mastery of the other one, finally reaching an equilibrium¡­¡± ¡°Cultivators who had reached the large completion stage in one type of qi would be considered small completion stage cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm. Those who reached the large completion stage in both types of qi would be considered to have reached the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm!¡± ¡°Now, neither type of qi in my dantian has yet to reach the large completion stage. With the sudden influx of so much energy, controlling my inner qi is getting a little difficult! I should be reaching my limit soon!¡± ¡°Well¡­ Haste makes waste. It¡¯s true that I can increase my cultivation by a lot through the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, but I should consolidate my foundations. If I absorb too much and lose control of my inner qi, the risk of experiencing cultivation deviation would increase by several times!¡± Shang Xia thought to himself before slowing down considerably. All of a sudden, an idea crossed his mind. His Yin Yang Essence Qi started to transform to that of the yang attribute as the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian sped up. In that instant, the amount of yang attributed qi in his body reached an incredible level! He discovered that his mastery over the yang attributed qi in his body reached the large completion stage, and according to the definition of cultivators in the Azure Origin World, he reached the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm! CH 103 With the help of the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation took a huge leap forward. Naturally, there were drawbacks to his sudden increase in strength. As the amount of inner qi in his dantian grew larger, the control he had over it decreased proportionately. He even had the Yin Yang Diagram to keep his inner qi in check, but even so, it was getting tough to keep it under control. If that wasn¡¯t the case, his inner qi would have shown signs of going out of control way earlier! Right before he concluded his cultivation session in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, he got a sudden hit of inspiration. He transformed all his inner qi into yang attributed qi and officially reached the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm! From the amount of time he had been in the battlefield between the two worlds, Shang Xia could tell that it hadn¡¯t been a month since he entered the Martial Extremity Realm! In one month, he progressed to the Martial Extremity Realm and the large completion stage at that! If anyone claimed to be able to do what he did, they would be laughed out of existence. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. However, that was the truth! With the use of the Tongyou Peak¡¯s Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, he managed to achieve the impossible! Shang Xia smiled as he transformed the yang attributed qi to the yin attributed qi. After reaching the large completion stage, he could freely transform his qi with the help of the Yin Yang Diagram! Not only was he much more flexible when it came to his use of qi. At the critical moment, he would be able to transform his qi to scare his opponents away! A loud blast rang through his mind, and the excitement he felt faded instantly. The blood-red tablet in his sea of consciousness reappeared and he couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything else. He focused completely on it. Light flashed across the surface of the tablet as rows of words started to appear on its surface. Martial Intent: Yin Yang Sword Formation (Can be advanced) Prerequisite Cultivation Technique: Yin Yang Mysterious Art Prerequisite Martial Art: Vigorous Sword Art, Formless Sword Art, Flexible Sword Art Subsequent Martial Art: None Requirement: Yin Yang Diagram Medicine Required: Meridian Tempering Powder, Meridian Replenishing Powder Required Item: Yin Yang Sword Talisman Success Rate: 75%-80% Shang Xia¡¯s expression turned a little weird when he read the words on the tablet. The way the technique appeared this time was completely different from when the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm was displayed! Shang Xia was cultivating sword techniques after entering the Martial Extremity Realm, but the technique that appeared on the tablet was a sword formation! It was the first time he had heard of a sword-based martial intent being referred to as a formation! Moreover, what did ¡®can be advanced¡¯ mean?! It was the first time Shang Xia had seen something like that! ¡°...¡± As he continued to read the words on the tablet, Shang Xia discovered that it was teaching him a way to advance. The Yin Yang Mysterious Art was something he created after fusing the Triple Mystery Polarity Art into his cultivation method. As for the prerequisite martial arts, he reached the large completion stage of both the Vigorous Sword Art and the Formless Sword Art. Since the Flexible Sword Art was a combination of the two, he was somewhat confident that he could comprehend it in a short period of time. Well, other than that, there was nothing noteworthy other than the Yin Yang Diagram. The medicines were things he could obtain after spending a little bit of time, and he had a basic understanding of what the two medicines were. The Meridian Tempering Powder was able to strengthen his meridians such that it could withstand a greater amount of inner qi surging through them, and the Meridian Replenishing Powder could allow him to quickly restore himself to his peak state. With the requirements of the two medicines, Shang Xia could tell that his journey to the next cultivation level was fraught with dangers. Turning his eyes to the Essential Secret Art, Shang Xia had no idea what it was. However, it was clear that the Yin Yang Sword Art was extremely critical to his advancement. When Shang Xia completed his cultivation of the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm previously, he managed to obtain a secret art called the Lightning Collection Blood Art He eventually managed to comprehend the technique, but it wasn¡¯t without any risks. He used the power of the heavenly lightning that struck him during the tribulation as the basis of his understanding! After his successful cultivation of the technique, his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm became much stronger than before! From the looks of it, that was what comprehending the Yin Yang Sword Art would do! Without the essential technique, one would be able to comprehend the martial intent. However, the success rate would be abysmal, and the might produced by the martial intent would be much weaker! There was even a chance for cultivators to experience a severe backlash if they tried to comprehend the martial intent without the essential technique! With all the techniques and medicine out of the way, Shang Xia looked at the success rate. Even so, he wasn¡¯t too concerned about that. He knew that the tablet would optimize the way to advance! Shang Xia looked at the prerequisite techniques again and frowned. He was clearly improving through his cultivation of yin and yang. Why in the world did it require the softness and strength attribute of the Flexible Sword Art? That made no sense to him! However, he forgot to think about the part where the martial intent could be advanced! Since the attributes of softness and strength were only a minor path of the yin and yang, Shang Xia felt that it could be a foundation of the Yin Yang Sword Art! As soon as he thought about it, the words on the tablet changed. Martial Intent: Sword River Prerequisite Cultivation Technique: Triple Mystery Polarity Art Prerequisite Martial Art: Vigorous Sword Art, Formless Sword Art, Flexible Sword Art, Flexible Twin Sword Art, Flexible Dual Sword Formation Requirement: River Sword Seal Medicine Required: Meridian Tempering Powder, Meridian Replenishing Powder Success Rate: 40%-50% With the River Sword Policy as the base, that was another martial intent he could comprehend! He learned that the martial intent followed the way of the sword and that it was called the Sword River intent from one of the instructors of the institution, and once he comprehended it, the strength he could display was phenomenal! Throughout the process of comprehending the River Sword Policy, Shang Xia learned that there was an inheritance called the Sword Seal! It was a crucial part of the manual, and it could bring the sword policy to a whole new level! The missing Sword Seal was why the technique was reduced to the River Sword Policy. If it wasn¡¯t, the River Sword Policy would be renamed to the River Sword Scripture! Shang Xia looked at the blood-red tablet in his sea of consciousness and sighed. It seemed as though he had revealed the complete cultivation method for the River Sword Scripture! Through the assessment of the tablet, Shang Xia would only possess a 40%-50% chance of comprehending the Sword River intent. Of course, in the cultivation world, the success rate was considered pretty damn high. The cultivation method of the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm he gave to the institution before didn¡¯t even boast a 50% success rate! Even so, they were more than happy to accept it! Now, he received the complete inheritance of the River Sword Scripture. ¡°Hehe, after I comprehend the Yin Yang Sword Formation, I can bring out the River Sword Scripture and pass it over to the clan or the institution. The rewards from both sides would be astounding!¡± Shang Xia chuckled in his heart. Well, there was no way he would pass on his Yin Yang Sword Formation. From the name and prerequisites, Shang Xia could tell that it was much stronger than the Sword River intent! The technique contained a secret that he couldn¡¯t afford to pass on to the members of the institution! If he did, the Yin Yang Diagram wouldn¡¯t even be his biggest problem. It was difficult for him to explain his comprehension of the Yin Yang Diagram, but it would be a bigger pain in the ass to explain where his knowledge came from! A wave of relief swept through his heart when he finally gathered his thoughts. His path of cultivation was clear now. There was nothing stopping him from charging to the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm! In his excitement, Shang Xia felt his control over his inner qi improving slightly. His dantian that had reached the limit seemed to expand once more, allowing him to absorb even more heaven and earth qi. The Yin Yang Diagram continued to spin and the energy that surrounded him was forcefully absorbed. Once again, the vortex of heaven and earth qi formed above him. ¡­ Liu Qinglan and Sun Haiwei stood at the side of the crater and saw that the energy had returned to normal and heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed as though Shang Xia had reached his limit and was about to end his cultivation session. ¡°45 percent¡­ That should be all¡­¡± Liu Qinglan heaved a sigh of relief. Even though she expected Shang Xia to absorb more heaven and earth qi than cultivators his level, the amount he sucked in had already exceeded her expectations! ¡°Junior Brother Shang is only at the small completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. If he manages to refine two more pairs of qi, his foundations would surpass us completely!¡± Sun Haiwei said in an extremely envious tone. There was even a slight trace of jealousy behind her words. Liu Qinglan naturally heard her unhappiness and she chuckled in response, ¡°That might not be the case. Shang Xia¡¯s foundations are solid, but that would cause his cultivation speed to fall far behind. Moreover, you have already comprehended your martial intent and you¡¯re about to charge into the Martial Intent Realm. You¡¯re pretty impressive too!¡± Sun Haiwei laughed, ¡°Teacher, there¡¯s no need to comfort me¡­ I can control my emotions¡­¡± ¡°That would be for the best.¡± Liu Qinglan smiled before turning back to the pool. ¡°Let¡¯s wake him up soon. He should be at his limit. No matter how long he stays, he won¡¯t be able to take in any more energy.¡± As soon as the words left her lips, the energy contained in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool sank. Sun Haiwei gasped in fright, ¡°50¡­ 50 percent!¡± CH 104 When Shang Xia finally emerged from the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool¡­ ¡°Did your cultivation reach the large completion stage?¡± Sun Haiwei asked when she felt the energy fluctuations around his body. Liu Qinglan glanced at Shang Xia and snorted softly, ¡°Hmph! Of course he managed to enter the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. He absorbed half the energy in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool alone! Anyone else who did the same would probably be close to breaking through to the Martial Intent Realm!¡± Sun Haiwei giggled at the side. ¡°Teacher Liu, other people wouldn¡¯t be able to absorb as much energy as he did!¡± He thought of a proper excuse for his rapid increase in cultivation before emerging. He wanted to blame it on the Scarlet Crystal he ingested during the war, but from what they were saying, it seemed as though they thought his increase in strength was too little! Turning to look at the remnant energy in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, he thought of something. ¡°Did I¡­ Did I absorb a lot of energy?¡± In Sun Haiwei¡¯s eyes, Shang Xia was obviously bragging. Liu Qinglan snapped at the side before Sun Haiwei could say anything. ¡°Brat, stop acting like you don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on! Scram! Stay away from our Polarity Essence Gathering Pool! Didn¡¯t you experience a rapid increase in strength? Go back to the Shang Pavilion and consolidate your foundations! Get as far away from our Polarity Essence Gathering Pool as you can!¡± Shang Xia examined himself and discovered that the control he had over his inner qi was indeed lacking. He only managed to forcefully keep them under control with the Yin Yang Diagram. Otherwise, he would have exploded a long time ago! Liu Qinglan reversed the energy flow in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool while Shang Xia fell deep into thought. There was no way she was going to allow any energy contained within to go to waste. As the heaven and earth qi contained in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool started to return to the essence qi stones, those stones that dimmed considerably started to glow brightly once again. Of course, there was no saving those stones that turned into dust. Shang Xia was in no rush to leave the room. He just entered the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm and managed to get a reaction from the blood-red tablet! Countless doubts remained in his heart. There was a great expert at the Martial Extermination Realm standing right in front of him! If he didn¡¯t make full use of the chance to get some pointers from her, wouldn¡¯t he be wasting the heaven-sent chance? He turned to look at the energy contained in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool before turning to Liu Qinglan, ¡°Instructor Liu, I cultivated the Triple Mystery Polarity Art and learned that the three types of qi can be transformed into each other. After learning the River Sword Policy to complement the soft and strength attributed qi, I have a question. I wish to train in another sword technique to deepen my understanding of ice and fire attributed qi. I hope Instructor Liu can point me in the right direction¡­¡± Liu Qinglan didn¡¯t bother turning to look at him and she muttered, ¡°You should head over to the Scripture Depository for this¡­¡± Shang Xia sighed helplessly, ¡°I won¡¯t be able to return to the Scripture Depository in the institution anytime soon. Moreover, the Scripture Depository in our Tongyou Peak doesn¡¯t contain the full inheritances¡­¡± Finally turning her head, Liu Qinglan glanced at Shang Xia from the corner of her eye. ¡°Even if there¡¯s someone who managed to learn what you wish to know, they wouldn¡¯t be able to teach it to you without the institution¡¯s permission. If you wish to look for a suitable sword technique, you have to return to the institution¡­¡± Because of his desire to start comprehending the Yin Yang Sword Formation as soon as possible, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t afford to wait for his return to the institution. He could only bite the bullet and continue to pester Liu Qinglan. ¡°Is there no other way?¡± Liu Qinglan raised an eyebrow and stared at the kid. ¡°You seem to be in a rush. Even so, you came to look for the wrong person. Your Shang Clan has deep foundations and there should be something for you there. From what I know, there was once a swordmaster who hailed from your Shang Clan. Shouldn¡¯t he have left some inheritance behind?¡± ¡°What?! A swordmaster from our Shang Clan? Why didn¡¯t I learn of it?!¡± Shang Xia gasped in shock as he looked at Liu Qinglan. For Liu Qinglan to classify him as a swordmaster, the expert¡¯s cultivation was definitely in the Martial Intent Realm or higher. How could he remain an unknown figure in the Shang Clan? Shang Xia¡¯s mind moved quickly. If such a famous figure was hidden in the history of the Shang Clan and remained unknown to someone like him, there had to be some complications. Things might not be as simple as they seemed. Noticing the impatient look on Liu Qinglan¡¯s face, Shang Xia quickly bade his farewell before she flew into a rage. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Before he left, Sun Haiwei spoke to him, ¡°There¡¯s another expert who uses the sword on the Tongyou Peak!¡± ¡°Is he Chief Shang of the Contribution Division? I don¡¯t think anyone wants to be dragged into the mess and be associated with him now¡­¡± Shang Xia muttered. However, Sun Haiwei rolled her eyes in response, ¡°Not him! I¡¯m talking about Mu Jianyin of the Outreach Division! After you left to chase after Jin Guanchao, she joined forces with your aunt to kill another spy in the Martial Intent Realm!¡± A look of surprise appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Mu Jianyin?¡± ¡°I think she has some weird connection with your aunt¡­ You can try looking for her!¡± Sun Haiwei nodded seriously. Understanding that Sun Haiwei had good intentions for telling him that, Shang Xia thanked her before leaving. As for the relationship between Mu Jianyin and Mu Qingyu¡­ Well, he¡¯ll deal with it when the time comes. ¡­ As he left the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, an uneasy feeling crept into his heart. He felt as though the appearance of the beast tide was too coincidental! There had to be something strange about it. The beast tide was insanely large, and there were several weird beasts among the ranks. Even so, they didn¡¯t charge at the Tongyou Peak en masse. In fact, they didn¡¯t even start fighting with each other like what happened during an ordinary beast tide! As time passed, there were even signs that the beasts were forming different factions. ¡°These beasts seem to be split into several different ranks. Beasts that had a strong bloodline controlled beasts of weaker bloodlines. With their instructions, the lower-tiered beasts didn¡¯t form an all-out offensive against the Tongyou Peak!¡± Shang Xi brought Shang Xia around the frontline and explained everything to him. The protection formation in the region was strong. It was why they had the confidence to open the formation from time to time to let in some beasts. ¡°Do the stronger beasts all possess high intelligence?¡± Shang Xia seemed to have caught the crux of the problem. Shang Xi nodded, ¡°Indeed. After the beasts reach a level equivalent to our Martial Intent Realm, they would start to develop their own intelligence. Beasts at the level of a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator has the ability to rally weaker beasts. The beasts are split into several factions, and they are led by several Martial Extermination Realm beasts.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t add up¡­ Since the beasts at the Martial Extermination Realm developed a high level of intelligence, why would they join their subordinates in the beast tide?¡± ¡°Maybe because of the appearance of our divine weapons, or there might be other factors at play. The entire population of beasts might be affected by something and they lost all sense of reasoning, creating a beast tide. The Martial Extermination Realm beasts would definitely recover quickly, but the creatures under them are still going crazy. They might have been dragged into it by accident, or something¡­¡± ¡°They are most likely trying to protect their most trusted subordinates from running into trouble by charging alongside their faction in the beast tide¡­¡± Shang Xi guessed. Shang Xia came to a sudden realization and he exclaimed, ¡°Oh! That¡¯s why the giant snake joined the battle the other day! It probably lost control of its emotions at the last second!¡± Shang Xi nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s one unlucky snake¡­ It ran too far into our territory and it was killed by your grandpa and a few of the others. If it was in a perfect state of mind, we wouldn''t be able to kill it! Killing a Martial Extermination Realm beast is too freaking difficult! Of course, the super experts on our side aren¡¯t to be messed with as well. That should be the reason why we¡¯re not besieged by the beasts¡­¡± ¡°Then¡­ Are we supposed to wait for the beasts to leave on their own?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°Yeah. The beasts at the Martial Extermination Realm are all hiding among their respective factions. They wouldn¡¯t dare to try anything funny right now. They should leave the moment the creatures under their control regain their sanity.¡± Shang Xi sighed. As they spoke, the two of them arrived at the foot of the two mountains. ¡°Junior Sister Shang!¡± Someone ran over happily when he spotted the two of them. ¡°Senior Brother Gu!¡± Shang Xi grinned. ¡°Why are you here? Are you in charge of the frontlines today?¡± Waving the bow in his hand, he laughed, ¡°It¡¯s easy for me to take care of the beasts. Especially with my fighting style.¡± He turned to look at Shang Xia and continued, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Are you planning to join the battle today to work your muscles?¡± Shang Xia recognized Senior Brother Gu instantly. He was another expert in the Tongyou Institution who used the bow and arrow! After Shang Xi¡¯s introduction, he learned that Senior Brother Gu¡¯s name was Gu Yi, and he was at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm! His cultivation was slightly above Shang Xi! ¡°Hehe, I increased my cultivation a little and my control of inner qi is falling behind. I plan to train myself through combat! I can earn some silver essence in the meantime¡­¡± Gu Yi roared with laughter. ¡°Earn some silver essence? Why would you care about that little bit of money? Of course, training yourself is a must. Say no more! I¡¯ll ensure your safety with this bow in my hand!¡± ¡°Many thanks, Senior Brother Gu!¡± Shang Xia cupped his fists before leaving for the front lines. There were already eight cultivators who were waiting for the protection formation to open up slightly when he arrived. Shang Xia heard Shang Xi¡¯s voice faintly in the background as he left. ¡°What about the snake tendon? Is Instructor Liu willing to give it to us? What did they say?¡± ¡°According to some sources, Instructor Liu only requires one tendon to¡­¡± ¡°Even if she completes creating the eighth segment of her whip, it won¡¯t become a high-grade weapon!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no point in taking two snake tendons to make it a nine-segmented whip! Instructor Liu¡¯s ambitions are clear. She definitely planned to craft the nine segments with the tendons of nine different beasts! When that happens, her weapon would rank among the top few even among the high-grade weapons!¡± ¡°She¡¯s definitely ambitious¡­ However, this is your chance! That¡¯s the tendon of a rank four snake! You only need some leftovers to make a bowstring! When that happens, you¡¯ll be able to craft a low-grade weapon¡­ Did she come up with any conditions for giving you a piece of tendon?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ She wants me to return to the institution to become an instructor¡­¡± ¡°Hah¡­ You expected as much¡­ It¡¯s not too much actually.¡± ¡°If I manage to gain Deputy Patriarch Shang¡¯s support when I return¡­¡± ¡°Heh! That¡¯s what you were planning all along!¡± ¡°...¡± CH 105 The protection formation around the Tongyou Peak was starting to recover, and the repair works were already underway. However, they wouldn¡¯t be able to restore it to the peak in a short amount of time! The Martial Extermination Realm cultivators on the Tongyou Peak seemed to have reached a silent agreement with the rank four beasts in the beast tide. Both sides wouldn¡¯t interfere with the battle. Of course, that only stopped the higher ups from taking part in the battle. The Tongyou Peak wasn¡¯t going to let the beast tide surround the mountain without doing anything. In their eyes, the beast tide was a walking treasury! Every so often, they would open up the formation to let a bunch of beasts enter. They could also use the chance to temper the students of the institution! The beasts that entered would usually be below rank three. They had close to no intelligence, and after the beast tide, they might not even return to the control of the rank four beasts. Rank four beasts hiding in the tide were waiting for the bulk of the lower ranked creatures to calm down before leaving. In order to prevent anything from going wrong, there were Martial Intent Realm cultivators guarding the entrance ready to strike. The Martial Extermination Realm experts on standby were paying attention, but they wouldn¡¯t take action unless something went really wrong. Martial Intent Realm cultivators like Gu Yi would join in the battle eventually to train themselves. ¡­ After the beasts advanced to the third rank, they would be comparable to Martial Intent Realm cultivators and they would be classified as Rare Beasts. Their intelligence would start to develop. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that they were comparable to old monsters like Yuan Zhen at the Martial Intent Realm. At the best, their intelligence was comparable to young kids. ¡­ Naturally, the rank four beasts noticed the Tongyou Peak¡¯s actions. The disciples of the Tongyou Peak would hunt only within the protection formation of Tongyou Peak, and they would kill several dozen ordinary low-leveled beasts at best. The rank four beasts couldn¡¯t be bothered with them in the least. When Shang Xia finally arrived, he noticed several familiar faces among them. ¡°Shang Xia, why don¡¯t we compete on how many beasts we kill?¡± Ju Hang called out to Shang Xia the moment he appeared. Shang Xia waved his hand casually and snorted, ¡°There¡¯s no point!¡± ¡°Are you afraid?¡± Another voice came from the side and Shang Xia noticed Zhang Jianfei standing nearby. The two of them were once his greatest opponents in the outer division, and they managed to comprehend their respective martial intents. If there wasn¡¯t an existence as perverted as Shang Xia, the two of them would have been the shining stars of their batch! Of course, the two of them were still held in high regard by the institution. However, no one liked to be overshadowed by their peer. Because of the attention the institution placed on Shang Xia, the two of them were extremely displeased. How mature were teens who were barely eighteen?! It was natural for them to compete with each other for glory and recognition. Shang Xia snorted in contempt. ¡°Are the two of you stupid or something? The difference between our cultivation is huge! What¡¯s there to compete? Are you telling me to bully you guys? I couldn¡¯t tell in the past, but the two of you have really weird preferences!¡± Ju Hang sneered softly, ¡°Hah¡­ You definitely won us in terms of cultivation and combat strength. However, you might not be able to kill the beasts as quickly and efficiently as us!¡± Zhang Jianfei added, ¡°We¡¯ll make it fair for the both of us! We¡¯ll team up to compete with you. It¡¯ll be a two against one. We can also change the targets¡­ You can hunt rank two beasts and we¡¯ll kill rank one ones! Let¡¯s see which side does better in an hour!¡± Shang Xia stared at Zhang Jianfei and laughed, ¡°Joining forces with someone again? Did you forget how you were betrayed in the past?¡± The smile on Zhang Jianfei¡¯s face froze but Ju Hang interrupted the two. ¡°Just tell us if you dare to compete! What are you going on about?¡± Shang Xia sighed in response, ¡°Alright, alright, since the two of you are so adamant, I¡¯ll play with you. You can choose however you want the competition to be. Since this is now a competition, there has to be a prize¡­¡± Ju Hang saw the look in Zhang Jianfei¡¯s eyes and he realized that there was no way they could join forces anymore¡­ ¡°Fine! We won¡¯t team up¡­ We¡¯ll hunt rank one beasts and you can kill rank two ones. As for the prize¡­¡± ¡°Hold up. There¡¯s no need to take out anything that will embarrass yourself. Bring out the good stuff!¡± Shang Xia stopped him mid-sentence. The sides of Ju Hang¡¯s lips twitched, and he turned to look at Zheng Jianfei. ¡°You can start¡­¡± Tossing a cloth bag from his sleeves, Zhang Jianfei snapped, ¡°I don''t have any good stuff. Let¡¯s just use fifty silver essence as the bet.¡± The cloth bag burst open all of a sudden, and a dazzling light threatened to blind the other disciples present. ¡°You¡­¡± Ju Hang didn¡¯t expect Zhang Jianfei to toss out a bag of silver essence. He could only smile helplessly. A single piece of silver essence was obviously not good enough to be taken seriously by Shang Xia. However, the amount he took out was definitely substantial! Fifty silver essence could buy half the ingredients required for a cultivator at the Martial Realm to break through. It was half of Zhang Jianfei¡¯s annual salary! If he were to live on that alone without using it to purchase ingredients to create medicine, he could live for close to three years! Shang Xia glanced at Ju Hang from the corner of his eye and laughed, ¡°Are you planning to bring out fifty silver essence too?¡± Ju Hang shook his head and tossed over a scroll that seemed to be made out of beast skin. He said softly, ¡°This is a blank talisman scroll I obtained after killing a cultivator of the Four Spiritual Peak. It¡¯s made from some sort of beast hide¡­¡± A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. Pausing for a second, he continued, ¡°This is a scroll capable of inscribing rank three talismans!¡± Like the talismans he obtained from Shang Xi and Shang Ke, the scroll had the ability to contain the divine sense of a cultivator of their level! Just the scroll itself was definitely worth fifty pieces of silver essence. Narrowing his eyes slightly, Shang Xia wanted to raise an eyebrow in suspicion. Was it really a coincidence that Ju Hang brought out a scroll capable of withstanding divine sense? Since he was practicing the art of talismans, he didn¡¯t even have enough raw materials to create rank two talismans. There was no way the institution or the Shang Clan would give him rank three ingredients to play with. Was it truly a coincidence? Seeing the hesitation on Shang Xia¡¯s face, Ju Hang snorted softly, ¡°With everyone as our witness, these will be our stake! Senior Brother Shang, please.¡± Shang Xia gave Ju Hang a deep stare before making a piece of feather appear in his hands. ¡°A feather from the Lightning Bird!¡± Gasps of shock came from the crowd around them. Many people felt their breaths getting heavier when they saw the silvery feather in his hand. To be absolutely fair, the feather of a Lightning Bird was merely a rank one ingredient. However, it was nearly impossible for cultivators below the Martial Intent Realm to obtain a feather from the Lightning Bird as it flew extremely quickly! The price of the feather would easily reach a hundred pieces of silver essence, and one might not be able to buy it due to its scarcity! Naturally, that only applied to people other than Shang Xia. Everyone knew that he could control a flock of Mutated Rain Swallows now, and their leader, the Lightning Bird, was somewhat obedient towards Shang Xia! It wasn¡¯t too difficult for him to obtain one of its feathers. He didn¡¯t even have to pluck the feathers off its body! He could just use those that fell naturally. ¡°If you win, you can split this among yourselves.¡± Shang Xia yawned. Ju Hang and Zhang Jianfei looked at each other and noticed the fire of desire burning in each other¡¯s eyes. No matter what, they had to obtain the feather! They cried out in unison, ¡°Deal!¡± ¡°The protection formation is about to open¡­¡± Someone in the crowd said, and everyone¡¯s attention turned to the barrier. Before long, a portion of the barrier started to tremble as a hole appeared in it. One of the cultivators had long since placed a bucket of fresh blood near the entrance, and the stench quickly drifted into the nose of the wild beasts waiting outside. As howls filled the air, the ground under their feet started to rumble. ¡°The beasts are about to come! Everyone, prepare yourselves!¡± Other than Shang Xi and Gu Yi, there were two other Martial Intent Realm cultivators standing behind the disciples. One of them was Wu TInghai of the Protection Division, and the other had a foreign face. He should be a lone cultivator of the Azure Origin World and Shang Xia didn¡¯t really have an impression of the man. There were close to twenty disciples on the frontline ready to battle, not counting the Martial Intent Realm experts. No one knew how many beasts would charge in, or if the twenty-odd disciples would be enough to hold them back. A loud cry filled the skies as a black figure was the first to rush through the gap in the barrier. In the blink of an eye, it arrived. Shang Xia frowned. ¡°Wolf Eagle¡­ Heh, looks like it¡¯s destined for enemies to cross paths!¡± Just as he was about to leap into action, a frosty light flashed above his head and the bird released a wretched cry before falling to the ground. Shang Xia saw a flying dagger stuck in the body of the Wolf Eagle, and he raised an eyebrow in shock. ¡°Hehe, your wager might be interesting, but looks like I¡¯m going to be taking the first kill of the battle!¡± Shang Xia turned to look at the person who spoke and a strange light flashed in his eyes. He had some impression of the person who moved, and it was Tang Youqian! His cultivation had reached the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. Shang Xia heard Shang Quan mention him before. Tang Youqian was a pretty interesting cultivator. He seemed to be able to see things other cultivators couldn¡¯t! CH 106 ¡°Who do you think will win?¡± Shang Xi asked Gu Yi with a mischievous smile on her face. In contrast, Gu Yi frowned. ¡°He was tricked by them. Ju Hang and Zhang Jianfei only have to hunt down rank one beasts. The two of them are close to breaking through to the Martial Extremity Realm! Shang Xia has to take on rank two beasts! How long has it been since he broke through? The competition isn¡¯t fair at all¡­¡± A chuckle left Shang Xi¡¯s lips. ¡°So¡­ Do you think the little brat is going to lose?¡± Gu Yi thought about it for a second before replying, ¡°Of course I hope he wins¡­ However, his chances of winning seem pretty low now. Don¡¯t forget, Ju Hang and Zhang Jianfei entered the Protection Division for quite some time now. They tempered themselves through battle and their abilities are slightly higher compared to cultivators with the same level of cultivation.¡± However, Gu Yi quickly changed his tone. ¡°Right¡­ Your nephew might possess some sort of special technique I don¡¯t know about!¡± Shang Xi giggled in amusement, ¡°Well¡­ You¡¯re not taking anyone¡¯s side¡­¡± The battle started all of a sudden, and Tang Youqian grabbed the first kill when they were still talking. ¡°Oh shit.¡± Gu Yi gasped. A helpless look appeared on his face as he turned to Shang Xi. ¡°I forgot that there were still other strong members of the Protection Division taking part in the battle¡­¡± Shang Xi¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t too good either. It was clear she also overlooked them. ¡°Hah¡­ Are they really going to interfere with the competition?¡± ¡°Of course it won¡¯t be possible for them to cheat openly. None of us here are blind¡­ However, they can always block off the stronger beasts. If they stopped rank two beasts from entering and held back the stronger rank one beasts, things would be much easier for Ju Hang and Zhang Jianfei. No one can say anything about their behavior¡­¡± ¡­ When the two of them were conversing, a full-scale battle broke out. Shang Xia made a half-foot gash in the body of a rank two Spotted Scarlet Eyed Beast, but a rank one Mud Blaster Rat appeared beneath him and tried biting at his ankles. Having no choice but to retreat, the rank two Spotted Scarlet Eyed Beast managed to run away quickly. Two cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm appeared out of nowhere and killed the beast easily. Shang Xia stabbed his sword straight into the ground, and a fountain of blood sprayed up into the skies. He might not be able to count the Mud Blaster Rat into his battle records, but he wouldn¡¯t allow them to get the kill either. After Shang Xia finished off the rat, Ju Hang¡¯s halberd stabbed deep into the skull of a Lone Horned Bull while Zhang Jianfei¡¯s sword pierced through the brains of a Four Eared Monkey. ¡°Shang Xia, you¡¯re falling behind!¡± Ju Hang roared with laughter as the halberd in his hand stabbed towards a Stone Pig that was running his way. ¡°Huh? They¡¯re both wielding low-grade weapons!¡± Gu Yi noticed all of a sudden. ¡°When did the Protection Division grow so rich? Two ordinary cultivators who had yet to reach the Martial Extremity Realm managed to get their hands on graded weapons! Wait a minute¡­ Even I feel like joining them now!¡± Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Shang Xi also managed to feel the uniqueness of their weapons, but it was too late to say anything. She rolled her eyes at Gu Yi. ¡°Yeah¡­ Your way of thinking is probably why the Protection Division started to hand out graded weapons to their disciples¡­¡± ¡°What are you walking about?¡± Gu Yi chuckled, but when he saw the serious look on her face, he frowned, ¡°Wait¡­ There¡¯s no way, right?¡± Shang Xi snorted in contempt. ¡°Don¡¯t forget¡­ Tang Yuan is dead. Yuan Zilu gave up his life to control the protection formation during the war and Sang Youqi turned out to be a traitor. The number of Martial Intent Realm cultivators of the Protection Division decreased by a whole lot¡­ Now that Liu Qinglan asked you to become an instructor of the institution, do you think Deputy Patriarch Ji is going to leave you alone? He¡¯s probably trying to tempt you to join the Protection Division instead!¡± ¡°No way! According to the rules, Instructor Liu Qinglan is holding the fort down at the Tongyou Peak. The deputy patriarchs shouldn¡¯t be butting in, right?¡± Gu Yi gasped. ¡°Heh¡­ The rumor of Patriarch Kou¡¯s injury hasn¡¯t even been verified. The undercurrents in the Tongyou Institution might be hidden, but it¡¯s raging on as strong as ever¡­¡± Shang Xi sneered softly. With his jaws dropping in shock, Gu Yi nodded his head mutely. Since the establishment of the institution, the battle between the patriarch and the deputy patriarchs hadn¡¯t stopped. The patriarch represented the interest of the institution as an independent organization, while the deputy patriarchs represented the authority of the four great clans! Shang Xi¡¯s deduction caused his mind to spin. If Ji Wenlong was trying to suppress Liu Qinglan and replenish the strength of the Protection Division, where did Deputy Patriarch Shang Bo stand? Well, of course he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to ask Shang Xi about it at that moment. By the time they were done, Shang Xia managed to corner a rank two beast. Even though the Delicate Jade River Sword was a soft sword, Shang Xia¡¯s use of the Vigorous Sword Art had reached a high level! With his inner qi transforming into strength attributed qi, a terrifying power emerged from the tip of the sword! As a ray of light shot out towards the rank two beast, deep cuts formed on its body and blood filled the air. Taking advantage of its misery, Shang Xia¡¯s sword stabbed straight through its heart and a burst of qi shredded its organs. Pulling his sword out, Zhang Jianfei¡¯s voice came from the side. ¡°Chief Shang, it¡¯s 2 to 1 now!¡± Shang Xia looked over and saw another rank one beast lying by their feet. They had already started to fight the third rank one beast they found! He finally noticed something off. There were several other disciples at the Martial Extremity Realm standing in a formation around the two. Every time a rank two beast or a stronger rank one beast appeared, they would be directed away! ¡°Hey¡­ That¡¯s a little too obvious¡­ Shang Xia needs to look for rank two beasts to kill, but they¡¯re diverting them away. The two in the middle are being fed with weak rank one beasts constantly¡­¡± As there were many people observing the battle, the actions of those from the Protection Division were quickly seen through. Gu Yi looked at Shang Xi and muttered, ¡°Should I help him out a bit?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the point?¡± Shang Xi snorted. ¡°Oh¡­ Looks like the little brat still has something up his sleeves if you¡¯re so calm about it¡­¡± Gu Yi raised an eyebrow in shock. Shang Xi sneered in contempt. ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much¡­ That little brat has too many feathers from the Lightning Bird anyway. Giving away a single feather doesn¡¯t mean anything.¡± ¡°...¡± What the f¡­ All of a sudden, dozens of beasts rushed through the protection formation at the same time. Out of those that appeared, two of them were rank two beasts and they ran straight towards Shang Xia. ¡°Nice!¡± Shang Xia yelped happily before rushing towards the incoming beasts. When he was several feet away from the beasts, he leaped into the air and stabbed towards one of them. A ray of red lightning emerged from the tip and one of the rank two beasts fell to the ground. Its body twitched uncontrollably. He stepped lightly on the ground as his body shot outwards once again. His figure started to blur and his movements became unpredictable. The other rank two beast was unable to follow his actions! Before it could react, he appeared beside it and his sword shot through its mouth. The tip of the blade emerged from the top of its skull. Pulling it out abruptly, he slashed at the other beast that had been incapacitated earlier. A ray of sword light tore through the air. However, it was stopped by a flying arrow that had been shot from another direction. Shang Xia¡¯s sword didn¡¯t stop there. It made a beautiful arc through the sky and skewered the beast he failed to slay with the sword light. Staring in the direction of Tang Youqian, he sneered, ¡°Captain Tang, I¡¯m afraid your interference is a little inappropriate¡­¡± An awkward smile hung on his face as he replied, ¡°I was afraid that Junior Disciple Shang wouldn¡¯t be able to handle both of them at once. I had good intentions when I shot out that arrow! Looks like I was worried for nothing¡­¡± A snort left Shang Xia¡¯s lips. ¡°Looks like I have to thank Senior Brother Tang for the good intentions!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need¡­¡± The awkward expression on his face didn¡¯t fade. ¡°Junior Brother Shang¡¯s sword qi is really powerful! I didn¡¯t think that you would have already broken through to the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm¡­¡± Tang Youqian¡¯s words struck deep in the hearts of Ju Hang and Zhang Jianfei. Chuckling under his breath, Shang Xia ran off to the other side of the battlefield. When he first started attacking, he was afraid to go all out as he couldn¡¯t exactly control his strength. Now that he understood how strong a rank two beast really was, he planned to go on the offensive and hunt them down. The moment he showed his strength, he killed two of them, raising his kill count to three! He easily reached the same number of kills as the other two. When they killed their third beast and watched Shang Xia running off to the other side of the battlefield, they stared at each other in shock. Roaring loudly, they rushed out of the protective encirclement of the few captains. ¡°Shattering Light Halberd!¡± Ju Hang slashed downwards, directly slashing a bear-like creature into two. The light on the halberd didn¡¯t dim in the slightest. He slashed out again, cutting off the limbs of another creature beside him. He followed up with a kick, causing the beast to fall on its back, exposing its weak belly. Stabbing into it, he killed another rank one beast. Zhang Jianfei kept up with him. His sword drew several arcs in the air. Sword light bloomed around him and they swallowed a rank one beast nearby. When the sword light faded, all that was left were the bones on its body. It was his sword intent, Blooming Flower Sword Qi! After killing the beast, he continued to behead another one nearby. ¡°Shattering Light Halberd, Blooming Flower Sword Qi¡­ The two of them comprehended a martial intent and managed to fuse them into their attacks! It¡¯s no wonder they¡¯re confident enough to issue him the challenge! CH 107 Seeing how Shang Xia killed two beasts at once to close the distance between them and revealed his cultivation level at the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm, the two of them were unwilling to fall behind. They revealed both their martial intents and killed two more rank one beasts in an instant. In a split second, the number of beasts they killed increased to five, once again opening up the distance between themselves and Shang Xia. At that moment, the two of them had already left the funnel provided by the disciples of the Protection Division. They revealed their strength, receiving some acknowledgment in the process. ¡°The second form of their martial intent¡­ Who would have thought that they would learn to fuse their martial intents into their technique so quickly? No wonder they had the confidence to challenge him¡­ They probably wish to take the chance to show their value to the institution and outshine Shang Xia!¡± Gu Yi sighed. ¡°If we kept the protection formation open for longer, we might actually bring in some stronger beasts and enrage the rank four Rare Beasts¡­ If their anger causes them to lay siege on our Tongyou Peak, we would lose a lot more than we gain! Too bad we had to close the protection formation after luring in a few creatures¡­ It won¡¯t be easy for him to win against those two with the conditions they set¡­¡± ¡­ Even though they seemed to kill the beasts really quickly, it wasn¡¯t the case for every other cultivator. Ordinary cultivators would take a long time to defeat beasts of the same cultivation level. After all, the life force of the beasts was extremely powerful. Also, cultivators of the Tongyou Peak had the chance to temper themselves in the safety of the protection formation. They would drag the battle out as long as they could in order to practice their techniques! If Shang Xia didn¡¯t bet with Ju Hang and Zhang Jianfei, the battle between the beasts and cultivators would take a much longer time! ¡­ ¡°Maybe not¡­ Don¡¯t you see that Shang Xia¡¯s martial intent is much stronger than the other two? He uses it so much more naturally too¡­¡± A voice came from behind. When Shang Xi and Gu Yi turned to look, they saw Mu Jianyin walking towards them. ¡°Oh? Senior Sister Mu¡­ Long time no see! I didn¡¯t think that you would also be on the Tongyou Peak¡­¡± Gu Yi laughed. Unlike Gu Yi, Shang Xi had a weird expression on her face and she asked, ¡°Why are you here?¡± Mu Jianyin greeted Gu Yi with a laugh, but her expression returned to normal when she spoke to Shang Xi. ¡°I came to let you know that there¡¯s something off with the beast tide. The stronger beasts might be making their retreat soon. The moment the rank four beasts leave, the lower-leveled beasts that lost their mind wouldn¡¯t have a leader. They might start an all-out attack on us. We should make our preparations.¡± Shang Xi frowned, but she didn¡¯t say anything in response. Gu Yi sighed softly, ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s end this battle soon¡­ Wait¡­ Senior Sister Mu, do you think that Shang Xia will come out on top?¡± ¡°The power displayed by his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm has already exceeded the level of martial intents comprehended in the Martial Realm. He might not lose to the two of them!¡± Mu Jianyin muttered. ¡°Well¡­ The power displayed by one¡¯s martial intent will increase with their cultivation level. Shang Xia has already entered the Martial Extremity Realm. The martial intent he comprehended in the Martial Realm will definitely grow stronger! If the martial intent one comprehended in weaker levels failed to grow stronger, what¡¯s the point of training?¡± Mu Jianyin shook her head and sighed, ¡°You don¡¯t understand what I mean¡­ Of course one¡¯s martial intent will grow stronger with their cultivation. However, the martial intents they comprehended are from the time when their cultivation was still at the Martial Realm! The three of them might have instakilled their targets, but Shang Xia killed rank two beasts while the other two killed rank one beasts. According to our logic, a martial intent comprehended at the Martial Realm should be enough to kill a rank one beast. Martial intents comprehended at the Martial Extremity Realm would be enough to kill rank two beasts! Shang Xia¡¯s Chaos Essence Lightning Palm was comprehended when he was in the Martial Realm, but he wields it with extraordinary power!¡± Gu Yi finally realized the problem. ¡°Wait¡­ Even if one grows stronger, their martial intent won¡¯t grow that much stronger! How is his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm so powerful?!¡± He continued, ¡°Right¡­ I heard that the kid provided the institution with the way to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. Do you think he hid some parts of it?¡± Shang Xi sneered in contempt. ¡°Of course he did! Training the Lighting Collection Art alone requires a piece of a five hundred year old Lightning Tree. If you¡¯re feeling it, you can always go look for a thousand year old piece. In fact, go find a ten thousand year old piece! The martial intent comprehended will definitely possess a terrifying amount of power. As long as you can find it and withstand the lighting power contained within, you can even go look for heavenly lightning if you¡¯re up for it.¡± Gu Yi snickered softly at the side as Mu Jianyin replied, ¡°I heard about the time when Shang Xia was struck by lightning when he was in seclusion. Do you think that¡¯s the reason behind this? Also, do you think it was caused by the spies of the Rose Party?¡± ¡°Heh¡­ We won¡¯t be able to know for sure. The spies of the Rose Party were killed when they revealed themselves during the war. The only one left is Jia Yuntian¡­ Oh, I mean, Murong Yuntian¡­¡± The change in the battlefield happened all of a sudden. The attention of the three was drawn towards Shang Xia in an instant. At that moment, he was close to the border of the protection formation and he would leave the protection radius if he took a few more steps. The sudden burst from Ju Hang and Zhang Jianfei caused him to be slightly uneasy even though he had already expected it. Before Shang Xia comprehended his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm, his cultivation level and strength barely surpassed the two of them. Strictly speaking, the three of them were in a state of constant competition. There were even some who said that Shang Xia only managed to maintain his lead because of the Shang Clan¡¯s support. The rumors only started to die down after Shang Xia comprehended his martial intent. When he advanced into the Martial Extremity Realm, the rumors were finally quashed. With their talent comparable to his when they were still in the Martial Realm, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t surprised that they managed to comprehend a martial intent too. After rushing close to the border of the protection formation, Shang Xia managed to kill another rank two beast. He took care of several rank one beasts along the way but that did nothing for him. As for Ju Hang and Zhang Jianfei, they didn¡¯t need to copy what Shang Xia did. Even without rushing all the way to the edge of the formation, they ran into several rank one beasts. Killing one, they maintained their lead of two beasts. A group of close to a hundred beasts charged their way through the gap between the barrier all of a sudden, and the beasts who led the charge were at the third rank! There were three of them in total ¡°Shit! Hurry up and retreat!¡± Several yells came from the experts of the Martial Intent Realm who were responsible for defending the frontlines. ¡°Didn¡¯t they say that the rank three beasts wouldn¡¯t barge into our Tongyou Peak?¡± Shang Xia cursed in his heart. With the ferocity of the beasts charging into the Tongyou Peak, retreating was easier said than done. Of course, it was still possible. But for Shang Xia, retreating at that moment would mean that he would have lost! A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. With the Delicate Jade River Sword stabbing into the ground before him, a ball of lightning started forming between his palms as he pressed them together. His inner qi started to circulate and the ball of lightning in his hand soon turned into a pulsating mass. ¡°Shang Xia, what are you doing?!¡± Shang Xi¡¯s cries rang through the skies, but it was ignored by Shang Xia. ¡°Everyone under the Martial Intent Realm is to leave right now! Retreat!¡± Gu Yi roared. With his accumulated power reaching the maximum amount he could contain, the pack of beasts arrived. ¡°Go!¡± Tossing out the massive ball of lightning in his hand, it detonated instantly. Arcs of lightning tore through the skies and broke through the void. The lightning web quickly extended to contain the first thirty beasts in the pack. The orderly formation they came in was quickly shattered by Shang Xia¡¯s lightning blast. They started to scatter in panic. Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to deal with a rank three beast. Charging out of the lightning web, the rank three beasts were barely injured. However, the same couldn¡¯t be said for the other creatures. The rank two beasts that followed behind their leader suffered great casualties. Four of them were heavily injured. Rank one beasts had it the worst. Four of them died instantly and countless more were injured. Their injuries weren¡¯t the worst part. The destruction of the formation was the main effect of Shang Xia¡¯s attack. Beasts at the back who were charging with all their might crushed those affected by Shang Xia under their feet, killing a few of their comrades in the process. Out of the four injured rank two beasts, two of them were crushed to paste by the rampaging beasts behind them. Shang Xia¡¯s sudden attack wasn¡¯t deadly, but the effects it brought about to stall the charge of the beasts bought the Martial Intent Realm experts of the Tongyou Peak a lot of time. Mu Jianyin, Shang Xi, Gu Yi, and the other cultivators quickly joined the battle. Seeing as things were brought under control with the addition of the Martial Intent Realm cultivators, Shang Xia retrieved his sword and charged into the fray. CH 108 As long as one was a living creature, there would be an inherent fear of lightning somewhere hidden in them. Shang Xia¡¯s Chaos Essence Lightning Palm was strong, but after he used it as a wide area attack, a lot of the power was lost. Even so, it managed to achieve a magnificent effect. Not only did it affect the rank three beasts, but it also caused the beasts at the forefront to fall into chaos! Raising his sword, he rushed into battle. ¡°What the fuck?¡± Ju Hang cursed instantly. He turned to look at Zhang Jianfei and muttered, ¡°Do you dare¡­¡± ¡°Fuck you! Would you dare to charge into that?!¡± Zhang Jianfei snapped at him instantly. Ju Hang shook his head instantly. ¡°Nope. Not unless it¡¯s a matter of life and death¡­¡± ¡°Obviously! Even then, you need to survive before you can do anything else!¡± Zhang Jianfei mocked. Ju Hang quickly added, ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s completely unnecessary! There are so many Martial Intent Realm cultivators here. It¡¯s not worth it to risk our lives for fifty pieces of silver essence and a rank three talisman scroll¡­¡± Zhang Jianfei nodded in agreement. Turning to look at Shang Xia whose figure was flittering about the battlefield, a trace of dejection appeared in their hearts. He believed that Ju Hang felt the same way. They were unable to do what he did and they could only look for excuses to explain their lack of action. Of course, Shang Xia didn¡¯t charge into the pack of beasts without a plan. He was definitely confident of his ability to survive. Piercing into the heart of the beast pack, Shang Xia changed his method of fighting. He no longer fought with brute force. Instead, he turned into a slippery loach that swam around the battlefield. He was always able to look for gaps in their attacks while running circles around them. The more they tried to kill the annoying human that was Shang Xia, the greater the chaos their pack fell into. Displaying his understanding of the Shang Clan¡¯s Irregular Steps to the best of his abilities, the Delicate Jade River Sword in his hand drew beautiful arcs through the sky. At times, it would slash out with unrelenting force and the next instant, it turned into a soft flowing river that claimed the lives of the beasts in its way. As Shang Xia¡¯s figure flashed through the pack, countless wounds appeared on the bodies of the beasts. With the cover of chaos, Shang Xia transformed his inner qi at will. The Vigorous Sword Art and the Formless Sword Art were used interchangeably to the deadliest effect. In his hand, the River Sword Policy showed its strength. According to the theory stated in the manual, one would have to be at the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm with both their qi at a high level and in equilibrium before one could bring out the true power of the sword art. The techniques recorded there assisted one in training both softness and strength attributed qi, but they were useless to Shang Xia who had the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian. He could change his qi at will, skipping most of the requirements of the River Sword Policy. ¡°Is your nephew really training both types of qi simultaneously?¡± Mu Jianyin asked Shang Xi while they were fighting one of the rank three beasts. They couldn¡¯t help but take note of Shang Xia¡¯s terrific performance. None of them heard of any cultivator who managed to change their qi at will before reaching the late stages of the Martial Extremity Realm. ¡°Is the Triple Mystery Polarity Art really as strong as the rumors say? I heard that the technique came from the Murong Clan and it¡¯s extremely difficult to successfully cultivate it. If I knew that it was so powerful, I would have chosen this technique when I entered the Martial Extremity Realm¡­¡± Wu Tinghai chuckled at the side. The cultivator who wasn¡¯t a disciple of the Tongyou Institution was pretty close to Wu Tinghai and the two of them took on a single rank three beast together. He added sullenly, ¡°Was I the only one who thought that he had reached the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm when he arrived?!¡± Roaring laughter greeted him from those who already knew Shang Xia. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty deceiving at first glance. Not many people can change their inner qi at will.¡± Wu Tinghai chuckled. Gu Yi released an arrow and it pierced deep into the body of a rank two beast that was about to sneak attack Shang Xia from behind. ¡°No matter what we say, he¡¯s acting too recklessly.¡± Gu Yi didn¡¯t join in the battle. Instead, he stood on one of the vantage points and supported the rest of the disciples with his bow in hand. The beast pack was starting to fall under control and the three rank three beasts were suppressed by Shang Xi and the rest. The best pack behind them was in complete chaos due to Shang Xia¡¯s actions. ¡°What are you waiting for? Hurry up and kill them all!¡± Gu Yi yelled at the rest of the disciples who were watching the battle unfold before their eyes. The moment he yelled, Ju Hang and Zhang Jianfei rushed towards the beast pack. ¡°We can¡¯t admit defeat so easily! Shattering Light Halberd!¡± ¡°Yeah! Even if we can¡¯t win, we can¡¯t give up! Blooming Flower Sword Qi!¡± The two of them were of the same mind. They used their strongest techniques to charge into the heart of the pack. Of course, they were quickly overtaken by the rest of the disciples who were at the Martial Extremity Realm. Tang Youqian, Ji Sheng, and several other captains weren¡¯t to be messed with. In the blink of an eye, they unleashed their techniques and cleared eight beasts. The rest of the disciples soon arrived and the pressure on Shang Xia was greatly reduced. At his current position, Shang Xia was standing right in front of the gap between the protection formation. A thought crossed his mind. He stood his ground, planning to stop any more beasts from flooding in. His actions immediately threw him into a dangerous situation. Luckily for him, several arrows tore through the air and took care of the beasts planning to attack him. Not even rank two beasts had the ability to dodge the arrows, showing how powerful they actually were. Ji Sheng and the rest charged through the pack to arrive at Shang Xia¡¯s position. Very quickly, the group of disciples stopped the advancing beasts and saw the gap between the protection formation close up. With no new beasts to back them up, the fate of the beast pack that rushed into the Tongyou Peak was decided. Shang Xia hid his strength the moment the others arrived. Even so, his ability to transform his inner qi at will caught their attention. ¡°Even though the transformation might take some time, it¡¯s still extremely effective when it comes to real combat. I heard that you cultivated both types of qi at once¡­ Wouldn¡¯t that slow down your cultivation speed?¡± Ji Sheng asked while striking a beast beside him. Tang Youqian coughed once and sneered at Ji Sheng, ¡°Look at him. Does it look like his cultivation speed has slowed down?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡­ The beast pack was eventually killed. Those who took part in the battle started to split up the parts of the beasts that were worth something. Shang Xia didn¡¯t bother participating, and he quickly found a place to rest. With the comfortable sunlight beating down on his body, he dozed off. A loud slap beside his ear eventually woke him up. He turned to stare at a sack that was tossed beside him. Tang Youqian tutted softly at the side, ¡°There¡¯s your prize¡­ Fifty silver essence and the rank three talisman scroll.¡± A grin formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Where¡¯s the two of them? The situation was so chaotic earlier that I failed to keep track of how many rank two beasts I killed¡­ Was there someone counting for all of us?¡± Tang Youqian pressed his lips together and snorted, ¡°The competition lost its meaning the moment you rushed into the beast pack. It was clear who the victor was. Anyway, the two of them might have lost the competition, but they gained quite a bit during the battle. They might be able to step into the Martial Extremity Realm soon. Since you¡¯re cultivating both types of qi at once, your training speed might not be as fast as the both of them! Let¡¯s see how long you manage to keep your lead for¡­¡± Shang Xia chuckled softly and grabbed the sack. ¡°I¡¯ll have to thank you for bringing this over then.¡± CH 109 ¡°That pack of beasts was probably used to draw our attention as they make their leave¡­¡± Shang Bo stared at the retreating beast tide from the peak of the mountain. There were several large factions contained in the beast tide, and every one of them was led by a rank four rare beast. ¡°Do these animals actually know the art of war?¡± Liu Qinglan frowned slightly. She didn¡¯t believe that the beasts were intelligent enough to send out a squad to occupy the members of the Tongyou Peak while they made their retreat. ¡°They¡¯re a lot smarter than we think¡­¡± Shang Bo muttered. ¡°They might have left because of the thinning heaven and earth qi around our Tongyou Peak, or they might have sensed that our protection formation has finally recovered. Seeing as there was no chance of doing anything else, they chose to retreat. After all, they¡¯re afraid that we might rush into the beast tide and start killing to our heart''s content now that the protection formation is fully restored.¡± Shang Lubing analyzed. Shang Bo and Ji Wenlong nodded slightly, acknowledging his deduction. From the look of it, the relationship between Shang Lubing and the other three became a lot more friendly than when he just revealed his identity. ¡°So¡­ What are your thoughts? Should we head out there and hunt them down?¡± Liu Qinglan might be the one to call the shots on the Tongyou Peak because of the rule laid down by the institution, but her cultivation was the weakest among the four Martial Extermination Realm cultivators. In terms of seniority and experience, she was also ranked dead last. However, her question was met with silence. The three of them would still adhere to the rules of the institution. They could give her their analysis of the situation, but they wouldn¡¯t make a decision on her behalf. Shang Bo eventually broke the silence. ¡°It¡¯s incredibly hard to kill Rare Beasts at the fourth rank. Moreover, all of them control a huge army of beasts. Our Tongyou Peak will need to pay a huge price if we wish to hunt one of the packs down. If we fail to kill the rank four beast in a short amount of time, they might call for reinforcements from other factions, stalling our attempt and increasing the number of casualties.¡± Liu Qinglan sighed softly, ¡°Looks like we lucked out when we killed the giant snake¡­¡± Ji Wenlong¡¯s sneer rang in their ears suddenly. ¡°Heh¡­ I¡¯m more interested in the situation on the Four Spiritual Peak!¡± ¡°Chief Ji, even if they react slowly, there are still several Martial Extermination Realm cultivators holding down the fort. The Four Spiritual Heaven Locking Formation is still active¡­ It won¡¯t be easy for them to be attacked. If the beasts really go crazy and attack them, the Azure Spiritual World will definitely send down their reinforcements!¡± Liu Qinglan muttered. Shang Bo heard the conversation and he knew that Ji Wenlong was referring to something else. ¡°Chief Ji, are you walking about¡­ The Coral Forest?¡± A deep chuckle left Ji Wenlong¡¯s lips. ¡°Let¡¯s see how deep the relationship between the Evil Remnants and the Four Spiritual Peak is¡­¡± A frown formed on Shang Lubing¡¯s face. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be a little too hasty for us to move now?¡± ¡°No¡­ Since Brother Kou isn¡¯t able to show his face right now, we are unable to bring over any more experts from the institution. The Four Spiritual Peak might be able to call upon more reinforcements from the Azure Spiritual World, and when they come, things might get worse. This is the best time for us to strike!¡± Shang Bo sighed. Shang Lubing didn¡¯t seem too convinced, and he continued, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we wait for him to¡­¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you discovered what has happened? The distance between our Tongyou Peak and the Four Spiritual Peak became even closer!¡± Ji Wenlong interrupted him before he could complete his sentence. The faces of Shang Lubing and Liu Qinglan changed as soon as he spoke. ¡°...¡± ¡­ ¡°I heard that your nephew is searching for a sword art for cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm?¡± Mu Jianyin¡¯s sudden question caused Shang Xi to stare at her in stunned silence for a moment. ¡°How did you find out?¡± Shang Xi frowned. It was true that Shang Xia asked his aunt to keep a look out for suitable sword arts. However, she hadn¡¯t even started to ask around when Mu Jianyin mentioned it to her! Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. A chuckle left Mu Jianyin¡¯s lips. ¡°I heard it from Instructor Liu¡­ He practiced the Triple Mystery Polarity Art and if our estimations are right, he should be looking for a sword art to complement his void and reality qi training.¡± ¡°What about it? Are you planning to impart your Nine Peach Blossom Sword Art?¡± ¡°Hah... I obtained it from the Scripture Depository. Without permission from the institution, I won¡¯t dare to teach it to anyone else. After so many years of working for the Outreach Division, I ran into several fortunes out there. I obtained an inheritance that had the Cloud Drizzle Sword Art. I tried to practice it along with my Nine Peach Blossom Sword Art but failed miserably. It requires a specific type of martial intent, and I don¡¯t think the brat in my family will be able to learn the sword art.¡± Shang Xi turned to Mu Jianyin and sighed, ¡°Alright. What do you want in exchange.¡± ¡°About my niece¡­¡± ¡°Nope.¡± Shang Xi interrupted her before she could finish. ¡°The two of them can make their own decisions on matters regarding their relationship. You shouldn¡¯t think of butting into their business. Change your condition.¡± A flash of annoyance flashed across Mu Jianyin¡¯s face, but she sighed in exasperation, ¡°My niece is currently trapped in the Coral Forest! I hope that you can help me out when the time comes!¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Shang Xi raised an eyebrow slightly. ¡°Who would have thought that she would go along with them? It¡¯s no wonder you came over to the battlefield between the two worlds¡­ I thought that our institution was running out of experts to be recalling you people of the Outreach Division¡­¡± A snort left Mu Jianyin¡¯s lips. ¡°Qingyu¡¯s talent surpasses even mine. She¡¯s extremely important to my Mu Clan! We¡¯re placing all our hope on her!¡± Shang Xi giggled softly in response. ¡°Hehe, do you really think that I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on in your mind? When she put on the show of breaking off the engagement in the city, you definitely had something to do with it. I bet your niece considered Shang Xia in her schemes. Don¡¯t tell me your plan was to drag him into your Mu Family¡­¡± Mu Jianyin¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change in the slightest as she continued, ¡°If the two of them really managed to get together, our Mu Clan will be able to grow stronger with the Shang Clan standing behind us. It doesn¡¯t matter if he enters my Mu Clan or if my niece enters your Shang Clan¡­¡± ¡°Heh. Instead of finding a strong clan to support me, I''d much rather become the pillar that supports my family!¡± Shang Xi growled. An unnatural laugh escaped Mu Jianyin¡¯s lips, but she didn¡¯t seem to be laughing at what Shang Xi said. Instead, she seemed to be laughing at herself. ¡°What are you going on about?¡± Shang Xi frowned. Shaking her head, Mu Jianyin snapped back to reality and tossed over a manual. ¡°This is the Cloud Drizzle Sword Art I told you about. I added some things I comprehended when practicing the sword art. You can pass it to your nephew. Remember our deal. You have to help me save my niece.¡± After she spoke, she turned to leave. ¡°What if she doesn¡¯t need me to save her? Or what if she already ran into trouble?!¡± Shang Xi couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°Well too bad. Take it as compensation for the grace the kid¡¯s father showed me.¡± Mu Jianyin said while walking away. A cold snort left Shang Xi¡¯s lips. ¡°It¡¯s easy for you to say! Do you think a single sword manual is enough compensation for his life?!¡± ¡­ ¡°What?! Only twenty silver essence for a rank two beast?! It¡¯s too little!¡± Shang Xia frowned as he spoke to the disciple from the Warehouse Division. ¡°Outer disciple, is this your first time here?¡± Shang Xia stared at him in shock before nodding slightly. The disciple smiled and explained, ¡°No wonder you¡¯re shocked. Killing beasts in the special region maintained by the Tongyou Peak is meant for you to get used to your strength and for you to practice your techniques against real living enemies. Obtaining the bodies of the beasts is just a little extra fortune you get.¡± Shang Xia muttered, ¡°But you can¡¯t pay me a third of its worth!¡± Snorting in his face, the disciple of the Warehouse Division continued, ¡°Do you think the use of the protection formation is free? We need to maintain the protection formation too! Moreover, there were Martial Intent Realm cultivators out there to ensure your safety, right? Have you heard of anyone dying when killing beasts within the confines of the protection formation? We need to pay those Martial Intent Realm cultivators too! Do you want to get the full amount for the beasts you killed? Go out of our Tongyou Peak and hunt the beasts yourself!¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I didn¡¯t think so much about it¡­¡± Shang Xia chuckled. He wasn¡¯t someone who refused to listen to logic. He might have gained a lot of credit back during the battle, but it was true that he received a ton of help from Gu Yi and the others. He killed six rank two beasts on his own, but with their help, he managed to gain credit for killing ten of them. ¡°Ten?!¡± The disciple of the Warehouse Division stared at Shang Xia in shock. He didn¡¯t quite believe his eyes when Shang Xia tossed his battle records out. Too bad the record was made by a Martial Intent Realm disciple at the scene of the battle. He had to believe it even if he didn¡¯t want to. Seeing as Shang Xia wasn¡¯t planning to explain himself, the disciple quickly followed up, ¡°Would you like silver essence or rare ingredients?¡± ¡°Exchange everything for the equivalent amount of rank two talisman paper¡­¡± Shang Xia said after thinking about it. Once again, the jaws of the disciple dropped. He turned around to bring out a stack of rank two talisman paper and counted them one by one. ¡°Ten silver essence per talisman paper of the second rank. Here. Twenty sheets of rank two talisman paper!¡± ¡°It¡¯s so expensive!¡± The corners of Shang Xia¡¯s lips twitched and he kept the talisman paper before turning to leave. The moment he left the Warehouse Division, he saw Shang Xi walking towards him. ¡°Heh. Here. A sword art for cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm. It¡¯s useful for cultivators comprehending the qi of void and reality, just like you asked.¡± Shang Xi tossed a book towards him before adding, ¡°There are several tips regarding void and reality qi. Take a look at them.¡± Shang Xia grabbed the book and a massive smile appeared on his face. Looking at the title ¡®Cloud Drizzle Sword Art¡¯, he exclaimed, ¡°Wow! Where did you find it?¡± Shang Xi chuckled softly. ¡°You don¡¯t need to care about that¡­ Just practice hard.¡± CH 110 ¡°These¡­ These are ordinary rank two talisman paper¡­¡± Shang Quan frowned after grabbing the stack of it from Shang Xia. A bitter smile formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Uncle Quan, I didn¡¯t know previously that talisman paper was so expensive! I used the high grade ones you provided, but today I learned that even the ordinary ones cost ten silver essence each!¡± Shang Quan chuckled in amusement. ¡°Now that you¡¯re trying to advance to a rank two talisman master, you have to try your best in order to create the runes of a rank two talisman. You can keep the ordinary talisman paper for when you actually advance. For now, use the ones I gave you. Our Shang Clan is more than capable of supporting the growth of a rank two talisman master.¡± Shang Xia thought about it for a second and shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s alright! Now that I know how expensive they are, it¡¯s better for me to use the ordinary talisman paper I traded with the institution.¡± ¡°Sure. Do whatever you like. You managed to create a rank one talisman before, and learning how to make a rank two talisman is a matter of time and practice.¡± Shang Quan laughed. ¡°Well¡­ I still need rank two talisman ink in order to create rank two talismans¡­¡± Shang Xia pressed his lips together and said sheepishly. Shang Quan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s easy. You might not know, but I¡¯m capable of creating rank two talisman ink myself.¡± ¡­ Shang Xia crushed up the ordinary talisman paper after his failed attempt at creating a rank two talisman and he tossed it into a specialized waste paper basket beside him. Looking at the basket, there were more than ten balls of failed crushed talismans contained in them. Thinking about the cost of each raw material contained within the basket, it would far surpass the amount required to create a medicine for a cultivator at the Martial Realm to advance into the Martial Extremity Realm! If Shang Xia included the time, effort, and inner qi he drew upon during his attempts, the cost was extraordinarily large! ¡°You won¡¯t know how expensive it is until you pay for it yourself¡­ In the past, I used the ingredients without worry as Uncle Quan provided them all. He never brought up how much it cost, and I used as many resources as I wanted without a care in the world¡­¡± Shang Xia sighed as he gathered up his lost inner qi in his previous attempt. ¡°I was so happy when I created the Stimulation Talisman previously, thinking that I was close to reaching a rank two talisman master¡­ From the looks of it, I¡¯m nowhere near! The difference between a rank one talisman master and a rank two talisman master is truly huge¡­¡± After so many attempts at creating a rank two talisman master, Shang Xia gained a better understanding of his own abilities. He might have failed more than a dozen times recently, but his confidence didn¡¯t wane in the slightest. Instead, he could feel that he was getting closer to becoming a rank two talisman master. With the recovery of his inner qi, his mind moved a lot more quickly. Taking out another piece of talisman paper, Shang Xia¡¯s Thorny Brush was dipped into the ink provided by Shang Quan. The ink was made from a rank two material called the Blood Pine, and it was a great material to craft rank two talismans. The moment his brush touched the paper, Shang Xia¡¯s mental state reached its peak. He felt a wondrous rush of adrenalin and a thought formed in his mind. ¡°This is the time to succeed.¡± Suppressing the thought, Shang Xia¡¯s mind focused completely on the talisman paper before him. The only thing in his mind was the brush and rank two talisman paper. Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. The Thorny Brush flowed like water, and several complete runes were formed. Even though the brush was still dancing about the piece of talisman paper, the complete talisman had already appeared in Shang Xia¡¯s mind. He didn¡¯t know what state he was in, but his soul seemed to have escaped his body. He watched on as the runes appeared on the paper one by one. With the final stroke, the ink on the Thorny Brush was used up and a complete rank two talisman was formed! On the table before him laid a Piercing Golden Sword Talisman Also known as the Golden Sword Talisman, a golden ray of sword qi would appear when it was used. The offensive ability was pretty strong, and it was a fairly common talisman of the second rank. It contained the qi of softness and strength, something Shang Xia was familiar with. As there were countless types of talismans, one wouldn¡¯t be able to learn all the different types of rank two talismans even if they were rank two talisman masters. Moreover, talismans masters might not be able to craft talismans that required different types of qi. The type they could create was greatly impacted by the type of qi they trained in. The Golden Sword Talisman might be difficult for other rank two talisman masters to create, but Shang Xia created it in order to step through the ranks. ¡°With my Yin Yang Essence Qi as the foundation, I should be able to create any type of talisman. However, it would take too long to learn all the different types of talismans. It won¡¯t be possible for me to learn how to make them all.¡± ¡°Whatever the case, the number of talismans I can craft will be much more than an ordinary rank two talisman master!¡± ¡°With the large number of talismans I can craft, I should be able to quickly make a ton of money to purchase other ingredients. The speed of my mastery should be much quicker than usual too! This way, my cultivation speed won¡¯t be affected much even when practicing the art of talisman refining!¡± Shang Xia smiled. Taking advantage of the fact that the remnant qi after creating the talisman, Shang Xia familiarized himself with the feeling of creating the talisman. Pulling out another talisman paper beside him, he realized that he only had seven pieces left! Even the ink given to him by Shang Quan was depleted by half! Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but sigh. It seemed as though he would have to go bother his Uncle Quan yet again. A basic rank two Golden Sword Talisman could be sold for thirty silver essence, and Shang Xia hoped that he would be able to create a few more of them in order to make back whatever he spent. Of course, he was thinking too highly of himself. After becoming a rank two talisman master, Shang Xia was too excited to think straight. The moment he started creating his second Golden Sword Talisman, the runes shattered due to the uneven fluctuations in qi. A shockwave emerged from the talisman paper, blowing it to bits. Luckily for him, he quickly raised his pen and protected the tip of the Thorny Brush with his inner qi. Otherwise, the tip might be completely damaged from the impact. His next attempt wasn¡¯t too successful either. Because of a moment of folly at the end, the runes shattered and the materials were wasted. After failing twice, Shang Xia was no fool. He tried again, and this time, he didn¡¯t make the same mistake as before. Even though it wasn¡¯t as successful as the time he finished the talisman in one smooth motion, he managed to create his second completed Golden Sword Talisman after taking a short break. When he was done, Shang Xia took a short rest to recover his inner qi before taking out another piece of talisman paper. Failing two more times, he eventually managed to create another Golden Sword Talisman on his third try. Since he had one last talisman paper, Shang Xia decided to use it to make his final Golden Sword Talisman of the day. With his mind much more at ease, a flash of inspiration crossed his mind. He no longer focused on creating the talisman with one type of qi at a time. Transforming his Yin Yang Essence Qi to possess both softness and strength attributes, he made his final attempt with his last talisman paper. Even though he failed, a trace of excitement filled his heart. He could tell that his actions were on the right path. It was possible to create the talisman that way. The reason he failed was because it was the first time he tried anything like it. He wasn¡¯t able to perfectly control the two types of qi. The moment he created the Golden Sword Talisman with the fusion qi, the power contained in the strike released would be a lot stronger than ordinary Golden Sword Talismans. No one other than him would be able to create the strengthened version of the Golden Sword Talisman! CH 111 Shang Xia¡¯s inner qi was unique and had the ability to transform and separate at will. Even so, it was still considered a single entity. Compared to other cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm, Shang Xia was probably the only one who could convert his inner qi freely. It was an obvious advantage he had above the rest. Realizing that fact allowed him to come to a realization. Not only could he create rank two talismans of other attributes, but he could also create a new type of talisman! Even though he used up all the talisman paper he exchanged with the Tongyou Peak, he still had 36 rank two talisman jades! Those talisman jades were of much higher quality than ordinary talisman paper and they were able to boost the success rate of creating a rank two talisman! The energy that could be contained in a talisman jade was much more than a talisman paper, allowing it to release a much stronger effect! Of course, the cost of a single piece of talisman jade was much higher than a piece of talisman paper. A single piece of talisman jade cost twenty silver essence, double that of a piece of talisman paper! There was no way he could use them to verify his guesses and use them in his experiment. It would be a godly waste of resources, and not even the Shang Clan would be able to sustain his training if he were to squander away resources like that. Then again, when Shang Xia first obtained the box of talisman jade pendants, he didn¡¯t expect them to be so expensive. If he traded them for herbs, he might be able to get a complete set to make his advancement medicine! After leaving his quarters at the Shang Pavilion, he went over to look for Yan Ni¡¯er who was taking care of the four eggs. Even though so many things went down in recent days, the little Mutated Rain Swallow remained faithfully in its little nest. Naturally, it looked a little downcast due to the absence of Shang Xia and the fact that it had to remain obediently in its nest. Luckily, it didn¡¯t seem long before the eggs would hatch. When Shang Xia saw the eggs moving about slightly, a trace of anticipation filled his heart. Making his way over to the window after saying hello to Yan Ni¡¯er, Shang Xia opened it and a streak of silver lightning tore through the skies. The Lightning Bird had been waiting for Shang Xia¡¯s permission to enter the Shang Pavilion and it finally got the chance to visit the little rain swallow! In an instant, the room turned extremely lively. Shang Xia didn¡¯t bother the two birds as he went to the training grounds behind the pavilion. Grabbing a sword as per usual, he started to practice his sword art. This time, he was training in the Cloud Drizzle Sword Art he obtained not too long ago. The Cloud Drizzle Sword Art focused on the qi of void and reality, and the technique had the reputation of being extremely annoying to their opponent. The complete technique had sixteen moves, and the first eight moves were known as the Cloud Sword Manual. They could also be named the Void Sword. The final eight techniques made up the Drizzle Sword Manual, and those were known as the Reality Sword. Strictly speaking, the sword art was extremely profound and had the effect of assisting the cultivator in gaining a better understanding of void and reality qi. However, the strength displayed by a cultivator who trained in it was pretty ordinary. After reading through the sword manual after obtaining it from his aunt, Shang Xia realized that there were many insights written on the various pages of the manual. Other than that, the author of the Cloud Drizzle Manual also left behind a huge chunk of knowledge debating void and reality qi. It was clear that the creator of the manual not only possessed deep knowledge of the two types of qi¡­ The sword technique they practiced was also not limited to the Cloud Drizzle Sword Art! With the insights and pointers left in the manual, Shang Xia managed to progress at a terrifying pace! His understanding of the void and reality qi also deepened immensely! His gains were extremely valuable as they allowed him to understand more about the Yin Yang Mysterious Art he was cultivating! His foundations became a lot more solid! To explain it properly, Shang Xia¡¯s Yin Yang Mysterious Art was a frighteningly high-level technique! However, that didn¡¯t mean that his knowledge of the dao was at the same degree. He had to learn a lot more in order to fully comprehend the Yin Yang Mysterious Art. To put it into perspective, the Yin Yang Mysterious Art was like a lofty castle. Shang Xia knew what it looked like, but he had no idea how to actually build the castle. All he could do was to experiment with the knowledge he had to obtain some results. Luckily for him, he had the Triple Mystery Polarity Art as the foundation of his Yin Yang Mysterious Art. He understood the principles behind changing his inner qi at will and with the River Sword Policy to supplement his knowledge, it became a lot more smooth sailing. Now that he had the Cloud Drizzle Sword Art, his technique was slowly taking shape. Finishing the final move of the Cloud Drizzle Sword Art, Shang Xia leaped tens of feet into the air and stabbed his sword out. Void qi and reality qi fused into a single entity and dozens of sword lights rained down from the skies above. Holes were stabbed deep into the ground. Even though the final strike was supposed to be part of the Drizzle Sword Manual, Shang Xia combined both types of qi when unleashing it. Some of the sword lights that fell were fake, and some were real. His opponents would be hard-pressed to determine which one of them they had to defend against. His achievements were terrifying. Not even experts at the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm would be able to do what he did. When he finally landed on the ground, he took a deep breath and his attention turned to the blood-red tablet in his sea of consciousness. As streaks of crimson light flashed across its surface, the words on it started to change. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Martial Intent: Yin Yang Sword Formation (Can be advanced) Prerequisite Cultivation Technique: Yin Yang Mysterious Art (In Progress, Yet To Reach The Large Completion Stage) Prerequisite Martial Art: Vigorous Sword Art, Formless Sword Art, Flexible Sword Art Subsequent Martial Art: Cloud Drizzle Sword Art Requirement: Yin Yang Diagram Medicine Required: Meridian Tempering Powder, Meridian Replenishing Powder Required Item: Yin Yang Sword Talisman Success Rate: 70%-85% After he deepened his understanding of void and reality qi, it seemed as though his Yin Yang Mysterious Art improved a little. However, according to the tablet, it hadn¡¯t reached the large completion stage. Shang Xia guessed that his understanding was too low for the tablet to make proper recommendations and evaluations. A bold guess also entered his mind. Was it possible that he had to reach the large completion stage of his current cultivation technique before a recommended martial intent would be produced? Maybe it was because of the Yin Yang Diagram in Shang Xia¡¯s dantian that allowed him to convert all his inner qi into one of the two attributes to make it seem as though it reached the large completion stage. Even though it was a mere facade, it seemed as though it was enough to activate the tablet. After Shang Xia circulated his inner qi normally and transformed it back into a state of balance, it naturally fell back down below the threshold of qi required to reach the large completion stage. Other than that, there was a new addition to the tablet, the Cloud Drizzle Sword Art. Shang Xia felt that after cultivating the Cloud Drizzle Sword Art, the power of his Yin Yang Sword Formation would be increased. The slight change in the success rate was in line with Shang Xia¡¯s expectations. After all, he started to learn a new sword art in order to comprehend his martial intent. It certainly added some complications to his understanding. ¡°Clap, clap, clap¡­¡± The applause interrupted his train of thought and caused him to snap awake. Turning to the entrance of the practice field, Shang Xia saw Shang Quan walking towards him slowly. He exclaimed in admiration, ¡°Is this the sword art that contains the use of void and reality qi? You managed to comprehend so much in such a short amount of time¡­ It¡¯s incredible! No wonder the Murong Family took the Triple Mystery Polarity Art as their inheritance treasure. Changing qi as they please¡­ Impressive!¡± ¡°Murong Family?¡± Shang Xia was slightly shocked. ¡°Is that the Murong Family that is part of the Evil Remnants? They were the ones who created the Triple Mystery Polarity Art?!¡± Murong Yuntian was the first person he thought of. It was no wonder he was able to use the secret art so smoothly! The technique was produced by his family! Shang Quan nodded and chuckled, ¡®You haven¡¯t told me the name of the sword art you¡¯re practicing!¡± A strange look appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he muttered, ¡°Wait¡­ You don¡¯t know about it either? Isn¡¯t this an inheritance from our Shang Clan?¡± Shang Quan roared with laughter. ¡°Of course not! Our Shang Clan has some sword manuals for cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm, but they don¡¯t contain the use of void and reality qi.¡± ¡°Something doesn¡¯t seem right! I heard from Instructor Liu that our Shang Clan had a swordmaster and I asked Aunt Shang Xi to look for a suitable sword art for myself. She gave me this Cloud Drizzle Sword Art a while ago! Isn¡¯t it from our Shang Clan? Anyway, who is the swordmaster Instructor Liu told me about?¡± Shang Quan stared at Shang Xia in stunned silence for a moment and a trace of hesitation flashed across his eyes. ¡°I heard that you¡¯ve been in seclusion to practice the art of talisman creation the past few days¡­ Even though you¡¯re already close to becoming a rank two talisman master, it won¡¯t be easy for you to take the final step! You need to practice more in order to advance! Don¡¯t worry about wasting resources, I¡­¡± Before he could finish, Shang Xia retrieved the Golden Sword Talisman from his sleeve, forcing Shang Quan to swallow his words. ¡°You¡­ You¡­ Is this a Golden Sword Talisman?!¡± Shang Quan stuttered. A look of excitement flashed in his eyes. ¡°This is great! No! This is amazing!¡± Shang Xia revealed a bitter smile in response, ¡°What do you mean? I used twenty talisman papers to make three of these. It¡¯s such a waste!¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not! It¡¯s not a waste!¡± Shang Quan was jumping in joy. ¡°You became a rank two talisman master at such a young age! Just practice a little more in the future and your success rate will definitely increase!¡± After he spoke, he seemed to have thought of something and reached into his sleeves. He brought out a stack of rank two talisman paper and cried, ¡°Here¡¯s twenty sheets of rank two talisman paper! Use it to your heart¡¯s content! Now that you have become a rank two talisman master, you need to practice as much as you can. There¡¯s no need to worry about the cost! I¡¯ll bring you as many resources as you need!¡± CH 112 Shang Xia was no longer the ignorant young master he once was. He learned about the true worth of all the cultivation resources he took for granted in the past. The stack of twenty sheets of rank two talisman paper Shang Quan passed him cost two hundred silver essence in total, and it might not be worth anything to a superpower like the Shang Clan. However, the amount was astronomical for a single cultivator! Even if Shang Quan was the manager of the Shang Clan¡¯s businesses on the Tongyou Peak, he couldn¡¯t use the clan¡¯s resources as he pleased. Shang Xia was a third generation member of the Shang Clan, and he might be able to obtain several hundred silver essence worth of cultivation resources, but any more and tongues might start to wag. Shang Quan couldn¡¯t possibly allocate Shang Xia more resources just because of his identity! Not even Shang Bo who was the patriarch of the Shang Clan could do as he pleased! Shang Xia knew how important it was, and he wasn¡¯t willing to accept so many resources from his uncle! He wanted to use his achievements and resources to exchange for the materials he required. ¡°I can¡¯t accept this! Uncle Quan, these cost a considerable amount of money!¡± Shang Xia tried to reject Shang Quan¡¯s goodwill. He received a nonchalant response from Shang Quan. ¡°Haha, I¡¯m not giving these to you for free. Don¡¯t forget, we still have an agreement between us. All the talismans you have over to the clan will be sold and we¡¯ll split the profits 80-20. You can consider this an early investment.¡± Even so, Shang Xia continued to refuse them. ¡°I will definitely take them if they¡¯re rank one material. After all, I would be able to create rank one talismans with no problem. However, I barely started to create rank two talismans and I managed to complete most of them by luck. Uncle Quan, you should wait for a little more for me to consolidate my foundations. We¡¯ll still split the profits 80-20 as per our original agreement!¡± ¡°Even so, you¡¯ll still have to keep these.¡± Shang Quan chuckled. Before Shang Xia could say anything, he continued, ¡°Did you forget about the treasures you gave me previously?¡± ¡°You managed to sell them away?¡± Shang Xia was pleasantly surprised. A grin appeared on Shang Quan¡¯s face and he explained, ¡°Yeah. We got lucky. The protection formation of the Tongyou Peak was damaged and we required a huge amount of resources to fix it. The Blue Clay you handed over was one of the ingredients required, and I sold it to the institution for seventy silver essence. The gloves might not be a graded weapon, but they¡¯re extremely powerful. I bought it on behalf of our Shang Clan for seventy silver essence.¡± Shang Xia took out two of the three Golden Sword Talismans he created and handed them over to his uncle, ¡°The talisman paper costs sixty silver essence more than what they sold for¡­ Here. Two of these talismans should be able to sell for that price to make up for the difference.¡± Receiving the Golden Sword Talisman, Shang Quan shook his head slightly and sighed, ¡°Alright, alright!¡± After keeping the twenty sheets of talisman paper, Shang Xia finally changed the topic. ¡°Uncle Quan, our Tongyou Peak seems a lot quieter these days.¡± ¡°Yes, it is. After the beast tide retreated, the Contribution Division created a lot of tasks. Many cultivators have already left the mountain to complete their missions. There were also several scattered cultivators who left the Tongyou Peak after the battle ended.¡± Shang Quan explained. ? Shang Xia raised an eyebrow and continued, ¡°Even if the beast tide retreated, the surrounding area might not be safe! Are the missions related to the Four Spiritual Peak? Also, Deputy Patriarch Liu and the disciples of our Tongyou Peak are trapped somewhere by the members of the Rose Party. Shouldn¡¯t we be focusing our resources on rescuing them?¡± Shang Quan nearly burst out laughing after hearing what he said. ¡°Brat, do you think it¡¯s easy to carry out a rescue mission?! Do you know where the inheritance of the Zhu Family is?!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it in the Coral Forest?¡± Shang Xia heard about it from Shang Xi in the past. A snort left Shang Quan¡¯s lips suddenly. ¡°Yeah. But you don¡¯t seem to know what the Coral Forest actually is¡­ It¡¯s a natural maze formed in the battlefield between two worlds!¡± ¡°Maze?¡± Confusion filled Shang Xia¡¯s mind. ¡°Not only is the Coral Forest massive, but there are also countless natural formations guarding the area! It¡¯s an extremely bizarre region and it¡¯s said that the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance might have something to do with the strange happenings going on there. We¡¯re not sure that it¡¯s true, but what we do know is that even Martial Extermination Realm cultivators won¡¯t be able to fly in there. Many people got lost in the Coral Forest and failed to return!¡± Shang Quan introduced the strange region to Shang Xia. ¡°This¡­ Looks like it¡¯s not a problem we can solve by sending more men over¡­¡± Shang Xia sighed. Nodding, Shang Quan continued, ¡°Yeah. Even if we choose to rescue Liu Jitang and the rest, only the Martial Extermination Realm experts and several stronger Martial Intent Realm experts of our Tongyou Peak would be involved. We won¡¯t be dragged into it.¡± ¡°However, Deputy Patriarch Liu brought a huge group of disciples to look for the inheritance! Aren¡¯t there a ton of disciples at the Martial Realm and the Martial Extremity Realm?¡± Shang Xia frowned. ¡°Haha¡­ No matter how many people he brings, he won¡¯t be able to enter the inheritance lands of the Zhu Family easily. Even if they had members with the Zhu Family bloodline, it won¡¯t change a thing!¡± Shang Xia understood what his uncle was saying instantly. He snorted in amusement before changing the topic yet again. ¡°What are the missions issued by the institution anyway? I¡¯ve been on the Tongyou Peak for so long, but other than cultivating in seclusion, practicing the sword, and creating talismans, I have not done anything else. I wish to take a look around¡­¡± ¡°The changes in the battlefield between the two worlds take place extremely quickly. There might be places that contain resources and previous herbs. The missions should include mining for precious minerals, collecting herbs, looking for spiritual springs, or other resources. There are all sorts of missions!¡± Shang Quan introduced. ¡°If you bring back intelligence on places that can be used in the long run, the institution will probably send people out to protect those regions!¡± ¡°Of course, the situation changed due to the beast tide that passed. We need to look for everything all over again. Otherwise, we¡¯ll lose a lot in the long run!¡± Shang Quan sighed. Seeing as Shang Xia understood what he said, Shang Quan continued, ¡°That¡¯s not all. We¡¯re extremely lucky to receive an early warning from your flock of Mutated Rain Swallows that the beast tide has arrived. The Four Spiritual Peak isn¡¯t so lucky!¡± A light flashed in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes and he completed what his uncle was trying to say. ¡°Since the Four Spiritual Peak will also be protecting some regions of precious resources, the beast tide destroyed everything they worked hard for! Now that all of their Martial Extermination Realm experts are injured, it¡¯s a great chance for us to take over those regions!¡± ¡°A huge portion of the missions issued by the Contribution Division involves protection. We need to guard the regions that produce precious resources, and you didn¡¯t manage to see the usual distribution of missions due to the sudden war that broke out.¡± Shang Quan chuckled. Turning to head for the Contribution Division, Shang Xia asked one last question. ¡°Uncle Quan, do our Shang Clan possess any special regions in the battlefield between two worlds?¡± ¡°Of course we do. The experts of our clan have already been sent out. Your Grandpa Ke took care of everything as soon as the beast tide subsided.¡± ¡°What about me?¡± Shang Xia frowned. Shaking his head, Shang Quan already knew what Shang Xia wanted to say. ¡°You¡¯re different. You¡¯re still a disciple of the institution and you should focus on the missions issued by the Tongyou Peak. You can worry about matters regarding the clan later. Remember, the institution should come first.¡± A sudden realization hit Shang Xia. It seemed as though that was the real reason why his uncle came looking for him. Despite the understanding, he found it a little weird. He was just an outer disciple of the institution. No matter how talented he was, he was merely a disciple at the Martial Extremity Realm. Moreover, he had been staying quietly in the Shang Pavilion throughout his time there! How could he have offended an old monster of the institution causing his uncle to remind him about his identity? Did someone high up there find him an eyesore? Anything that warranted Shang Quan giving him an explicit warning like that definitely had something to do with the higher-ups of the institution. The Shang Clan was powerful enough to shield him against any ill intent or annoyance of Martial Intent Realm cultivators¡­ Even if a few of them joined hands to cause trouble for the Shang Clan¡­ We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. There was only one reason¡­ A Martial Extermination Realm expert was acting behind the scenes! CH 113 The Contribution Division didn¡¯t possess their own hall on the Tongyou Peak and they were allocated a region somewhere near the top of the Tongyou Peak. It wasn¡¯t too far from the main hall! When Shang Xia arrived at the entrance of the Contribution Division, he discovered that it wasn¡¯t like what Shang Quan had said. There were several disciples picking out their missions, but it wasn¡¯t as bustling as he had thought. ¡°A lot of them have already accepted their missions and left the Tongyou Peak.¡± A voice rang from behind him and Shang Xia¡¯s head snapped around. Noticing the lady standing behind him, a look of joy appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Senior Sister Sun, have you left seclusion? Did you actually enter the Martial Intent Realm this time?¡± A bitter smile appeared on her face and she sighed, ¡°It¡¯s not that easy! Even though the remnant energy around the pool allowed me to take another step towards the Martial Intent Realm, it wasn¡¯t enough for me to cross the threshold!¡± A look of shock flashed across Shang Xia¡¯s eyes. ¡°Senior Sister, did you refine the medicine you need to break through? Wouldn¡¯t that mean¡­¡± ¡°Of course not. I plan to eat it only when I have accumulated enough inner qi to break through.¡± Sun Haiwei explained. A self-defeating smile soon appeared on her face. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that breaking through would be so difficult! At least I know the way to break through now. I need to look for several regions with thick heaven and earth qi to strengthen my inner qi. It¡¯s a matter of time before I finally enter the Martial Intent Realm¡­¡± Shang Xia nodded solemnly before talking about something else. ¡°Senior Sister Sun, did you come to accept a mission for the institution?¡± She was just about to reply when she felt something coming from outside. Shang Xia was able to feel the disturbance too, and he looked in the direction she was staring at. In the air above the main hall of the Tongyou Peak, a pillar of light pierced high into the heavens. Many disciples noticed the abnormality and turned to look up at the sky. Soon after, the rattling of chains that couldn¡¯t be more familiar in the ears of those who took part in the war rang through the skies. A formless barrier seemed to form around them, surrounding the entire Tongyou Peak. When the formless barrier took shape, the pillar of light that came from the top of the Tongyou Peak disappeared. ¡°What¡¯s going on?! Did someone attack us again?!¡± One of the weaker disciples cried in panic. ¡°No. This is a sign that the protection formation of our Tongyou Peak has been completely restored!¡± Sun Haiwei yelled to calm the crowd down. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Audible sighs of relief could be heard through the land. Even though the disturbance only lasted for a short period of time, it caused such a huge commotion that not only did those from the Tongyou Peak notice it. Those who were situated extremely far away from them could probably also notice the change! A mighty voice rang in the minds of everyone who was within a ten-mile radius of the peak. ¡°Everyone please refrain from panicking. This is a sign that our protection formation has been fully restored!¡± Shang Xia could tell that the voice belonged to Liu Qinglan, and the commotion soon died down. A look of confusion could be seen on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he turned to Sun Haiwei, ¡°Senior Sister Sun, this¡­¡± ¡°I have no idea what¡¯s going on. However, I am sure that the protection formation is completely restored now.¡± Nodding slowly, Shang Xia continued to walk into the hall. ¡°Junior Brother Shang, what mission do you plan to accept?¡± Sun Haiwei looked at the huge board before asking. Shang Xia was examining the missions on the jade board and he sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t know much about the battlefield between two worlds and I can¡¯t make my decision easily. I¡¯ll take a look before making my decision. Sun Haiwei¡¯s eyes brightened up all of a sudden and she tilted her head to look at Shang Xia, ¡°Why don¡¯t we join hands and take on a mission together?¡± Shang Xia raised an eyebrow in suspicion when he saw the look of expectation on her face. ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± Sun Haiwei giggled and chose one of the missions on the board before passing them to Shang Xia. ¡°Essence stone mine?¡± He started to look through the information on it. A moment later, he seemed to have reached an understanding. ¡°Hahaha! Are you planning to make preparations for your advancement?!¡± Sun Haiwei didn¡¯t bother hiding her intentions either. ¡°Of course! The mine might be a little barren, but the heaven and earth qi in there should be dense enough. We might not be able to extract the ores as we please, but I should be able to cultivate there for quite some time!¡± Shang Xia sighed in response, ¡°Things might get dangerous there though¡­¡± ¡°The beast tide just passed, and the disciples of the Four Spiritual Peak suffered greatly in the war that passed! It¡¯s extremely unlikely for them to appear at this time and the worst we should face should be some random beasts that chose to nest there. However, the mine I chose seems pretty barren and higher leveled rare beasts shouldn¡¯t bother taking it as their territory. We should face some rank two beasts and it¡¯s nothing we can¡¯t handle.¡± ¡°What if we really run into a rank three rare beast?¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°I know the reason behind choosing this particular mine. Other mines would be populated with Martial Intent Realm cultivators and we won¡¯t be able to gain much from being there. That¡¯s the reason we get to accept this mission! However, we should plan for the worst in case anything happens.¡± Sun Haiwei wasn¡¯t annoyed by his comment in the slightest. Instead, a trace of admiration flashed across her eyes. ¡°Relax. I¡¯m more than confident in our ability to retreat unharmed.¡± Shang Xia nodded and chose to remain silent. He didn¡¯t think that she was overestimating herself either. After all, her talent was extraordinary. The institution wouldn¡¯t allow her to die easily! The two of them received the mission and obtained a piece of directional talisman from the disciple of the Contribution Division. However, they had to pay twenty silver essence in order to accept the mission. The locations in the battlefield between the two worlds changed all the time. No one knew if the location of the mine had changed. That was why a disciple left behind a guiding talisman, allowing them to look for its approximate location. The twenty silver essence was to pay for the guiding talisman that made their mission easier. When the duo left the region protected by the formation on the Tongyou Peak, Shang Xia whistled loudly. A clear chirp came from the skies and a ray of cold light flashed through the air, landing accurately on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulders. Sun Haiwei looked at the large bird that was close to the size of his head and gasped, ¡°Oh right, I forgot that you are able to call the Lightning Bird for help. This way, our journey to the mine should be much smoother than I thought!¡± Shang Xia chuckled before whispering into the Lightning Bird¡¯s ears. Chirping loudly, it soon shot back up into the clouds. Sun Haiwei activated the guiding talisman at the same time, and a streak of golden light flew in a certain direction, sending them on their way. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Retrieving the talisman, she spoke to Shang Xia. ¡°How many times can we use this talisman?¡± Shang Xia asked. Since becoming a rank two talisman master, Shang Xia was able to understand the principle behind the talisman with a glance. Every time it was activated, it could point them in a certain direction. Of course, it couldn¡¯t be used unlimited times. After the energy contained in it was exhausted, it would shatter. As such, they couldn¡¯t use it repeatedly. Otherwise, they would exhaust the talisman completely before finding the mine, causing them to waste all their time looking for it. ¡°We can use it seven more times!¡± Sun Haiwei replied. ¡°However, it would give us a proper sign when we arrive within ten miles of the mine and we might not need to use all seven chances.¡± The two of them weren¡¯t weak, and they traveled quickly. Since the beast tide had subsided, the region around the Tongyou Peak was pretty peaceful. After leaving three hundred miles from the Tongyou Peak, the two of them finally ran into some trouble. Several tiny beasts came to attack them. Luckily, they had the Lightning Bird to warn them. They managed to deal with the threat easily. ¡­ Resting at the side of a tiny stream, Sun Haiwei activated the talisman for a second time. All of a sudden, loud chirps came from above them. Looking at the Lightning Bird circling the skies above, Shang Xia frowned. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are we in danger?¡± Sun Haiwei asked. Sighing softly, Shang Xia replied, ¡°Nope. The Lightning Bird probably discovered something wrong up ahead. There seem to be some people fighting in the region. Should we head over to take a look?¡± CH 114 ¡°There seem to be some people fighting in the region. Should we head over to take a look?¡± After the Lightning Bird managed to advance thanks to Shang Xia¡¯s Chaos Essence Lightning Palm that contained a trace of heavenly lightning, it seemed to have become more intelligent. The communication between the two became a lot smoother than before. Sun Haiwei frowned and muttered, ¡°Those around here can only belong to our Tongyou Peak! Let¡¯s hurry up and head over!¡± The two of them used their movement arts and appeared outside the entrance to a valley. They heard the sound of battle echoing within. Looking at each other, they tactfully hid themselves before making their way in. ¡°This¡­¡± Shang Xia looked at the vegetation that grew at the entrance to the valley. He might not be extremely knowledgeable in the field of herbs, but he could tell that many of them had faint wisps of heaven and earth qi swirling about the petals. They seemed to be undergoing some sort of transformation into precious herbs! If that was happening at the entrance of the valley, what would be contained in it?! Even someone like Shang Xia who had seen a lot of treasures felt his hands getting itchy. Greed threatened to fill his heart. At the same time, he cursed at the bastards fighting in there. Do you know how many resources you¡¯re wasting by messing up the place?! ¡°This¡­ This is a medicine valley!¡± Sun Haiwei exclaimed all of a sudden. Even without her reminder, Shang Xia could have guessed as much. All he wanted to do was to hurry up and enter the valley to stop those who were fighting. The faster the battle ended, the fewer herbs they would damage! A medicine valley was a unique existence that existed in the battlefield between two worlds. There were countless herbs growing in the valley, and among them were even several precious herbs that couldn¡¯t be found in the outside world! Regardless of whether it was the Four Spiritual Peak or the Tongyou Peak, they tried endlessly to replicate a medicine valley in the battlefield between two worlds, but never once had they succeeded. The only way to obtain one was to find a naturally born medicine valley! The appearance of a medicine valley was naturally a heaven-sent miracle. As such, the appearance of one would be a closely guarded secret by either party. As long as the medicine valley occupied by the other power was found, a bloody battle was bound to occur. ¡°There aren¡¯t any beast cries and the only explanation is that the battle is between cultivators of our Tongyou Peak and the Azure Spiritual World!¡± Shang Xia exclaimed. The two of them revealed their weapons and got ready to jump into the battle. ¡°Azure Spiritual World? Is the Four Spiritual Peak crazy? Why would they send their cultivators out now?¡± Sun Haiwei found it weird, but she didn¡¯t slow down as they advanced towards the scene of the battle. When they arrived, they watched the chaos from afar. They could see that there were two groups fighting relentlessly in the middle of the valley, and there were several figures already lying motionless on the ground. Indeed¡­ It was a battle between cultivators of the Tongyou Peak and the Four Spiritual Peak! Even though the number of cultivators from the Tongyou Peak easily outnumbered that of the Four Spiritual Peak, they weren¡¯t able to gain an advantage. There were more than a dozen cultivators at the Martial Realm on the Tongyou Peak¡¯s side, and there were only three from the Four Spiritual Peak! However, all three of them were cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm! The strongest of the three had already started to use both types of qi he practiced! Shang Xia could tell that he had already reached the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. If not for the fact that there were disciples from the Tongyou Peak who knew how to use the five man formation used by the patrol squads to forcefully hold their opponents back, they would have lost a long time ago! The Martial Realm cultivators could only try their best to encircle their opponents. Luckily for them, the two weaker cultivators from the Azure Spiritual World weren¡¯t too strong. They were barely stuck in a deadlock. However, Martial Realm cultivators were, after all, weaker than those at the Martial Extremity Realm. They were clearly out of steam. ¡°Hah¡­ They¡¯re pretty lucky¡­¡± Shang Xia snorted. A chuckle left Sun Haiwei¡¯s lips and she replied, ¡°I¡¯ll deal with the strongest of the three. You can sneak attack any of the other two.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Shang Xia laughed. With their strength, killing the three cultivators from the Azure Spiritual World would be as easy as flipping their palms. With the addition of the Martial Realm disciples of the Tongyou Peak, the fates of their opponents were practically sealed! Regardless of whether it was Shang Xia or Sun Haiwei, they were terrifying existences in the Martial Extremity Realm. They would be able to kill any of the three in a single strike! Since they still had a mission to complete after this, they decided to deal with the problem as quickly as they could while wasting the least amount of energy. Sun Haiwei appeared from behind a tree and dropped like a hawk on her target. A pair of sharp spikes appeared in her palm as a trace of orange flame surrounded one of them. On the other, a chilling frost created a layer of ice on its surface. Her target noticed her at the last moment and released an enraged cry. Shang Xia smiled and made his move. The disciples who were surrounding the two other cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World felt a breeze brush against them and before they could tell what happened, a massive blast rang through the air. One of the cultivators from the Azure Spiritual World was struck by the sudden explosion and he slammed into the ground with his skin burnt and his body twitching. ¡°Chaos Essence Lightning Palm! It¡¯s Senior Brother Shang!¡± Someone exclaimed in shock. Before anyone could react, the sound of metal scraping against metal rang through the air, causing the skulls of the Martial Realm cultivators to go numb. A miserable shriek filled the air before the sound stopped. Everyone turned to stare at the other cultivator and saw Shang Xia standing there with his arms hanging casually by his side. The cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World was propping himself up with his weapon as he stared at Shang Xia with a gaze full of fear. ¡°Good¡­ Good sword technique¡­¡± After the words left his lips, he crumpled to the ground in defeat. Blood started pouring out of his wounds all of a sudden, and his body withered in an instant. When the disciples of the Tongyou Peak were staring at Shang Xia incredulously, he was equally as shocked. Clearly, he didn¡¯t know the effects of his sword art. ¡°What technique is this?¡± The question caused the group of disciples to move away, and Sun Haiwei could be seen approaching with a frown on her face. Examining the corpse, she muttered, ¡°Looks like some sort of mysterious energy entered his body before igniting suddenly, pushing all the blood out of his body.¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t respond immediately. Instead, he turned to look at the frozen statue that was the third cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World in the distance. It was clear that Sun Haiwei managed to deal with her opponent when Shang Xia was busy with the two of them. ¡°Cloud Drizzle Sword Art¡­ It¡¯s my first time using it and I didn¡¯t think that it would turn out this way.¡± Shang Xia smiled. Nodding slowly, Sun Haiwei evaluated, ¡°Yeah¡­ You put too much into it.¡± A bitter smile formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Indeed¡­ I didn¡¯t know how strong he actually was. I could only give it my all¡­ Who knew, he couldn¡¯t even take a few hits! Hehe.¡± Only then did the disciples recognize Sun Haiwei. ¡°Teacher Sun!¡± ¡°Many thanks to Teacher Sun for lending a helping hand!¡± Many disciples started to send their greetings. This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. After all, the number of disciples who were from the third outer division among them was numerous. ¡°Senior Brother Shang!¡± ¡°Chief Shang!¡± The disciples also greeted Shang Xia to express their gratitude. ¡°All of you are pretty lucky to locate a medicine valley!¡± Shang Xia laughed. ¡°How did you run into cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World here?¡± ¡°When we found this medicine valley, they were already stationed here. They probably hid in here when the beast tide broke out and we were ambushed by them! Several fellow disciples died! Luckily some of us here knew how to use the five man formation and stopped the strongest one among them. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t have lasted till now!¡± ¡°Dou Zhong?¡± Shang Xia was surprised when he recognized one of the disciples in the crowd. He no longer bothered about the explanation and he stared at the youngster with unwavering determination on his face. The instant their gazes met, Shang Xia chuckled. A deep light flashed in Dou Zhong''s eyes, and Shang Xia noticed it right before Dou Zhong could turn away. CH 115 Even though Shang Xia¡¯s actions in the institution were slightly over the top, there was nothing actually bad about what he did. Other than the fact that he liked to show off a little, he wasn¡¯t as rash as young masters of large families tend to be. He wasn¡¯t extremely unfriendly either. After he entered the battlefield between two worlds, Shang Xia¡¯s actions were indeed impressive. It was especially so when he saved the disciples of the third outer division and helped them to break through to the Martial Realm! After that, he had numerous contributions in the war, and he even discovered the beast tide just before it started! The various outer disciples had a great impression of him, and there were even some who were extremely grateful. If they had to use something as an example, Shang Xia and Sun Haiwei killed three cultivators of the Azure Spiritual Race, saving several disciples! They received a ton of thanks. It was especially so for the disciples who were injured during the battle. Their lives were saved by the duo¡¯s actions! Even if they had to force themselves to their feet, they wanted to thank Shang Xia for his grace! After all, if not for them, the injured cultivators would definitely die! They wouldn¡¯t be able to run away from the cultivators on the other side! The disciples might be a little hesitant to talk to Sun Haiwei due to her status as a teacher in the institution, but they were extremely familiar with Shang Xia. It didn¡¯t take long before they were joking around with him. ¡°All of you were too damn lucky. You even managed to find a place like this! When you report this to the institution, you¡¯ll be able to obtain a lot of herbs!¡± Shang Xia laughed. ¡°Haha! If not for you rushing over in time, our good fortune would have ended in the hands of the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World!¡± One of the disciples who barely stepped into the Martial Realm sighed with displeasure. Shang Xia didn¡¯t respond to his comment and continued, ¡°How did all of you form such a huge group to go adventuring anyway? You¡¯re not from the same class¡­¡± ¡°All the other teachers disappeared after we arrived at the Tongyou Peak. All of us were left out to dry. After the beast tide, someone said that there are cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak who are weak and injured left out in the wild and we chose to take a chance. We joined forces and left to look for an opportunity outside, but this happened¡­¡± The person who spoke seemed pretty familiar with Shang Xia from the way he spoke. Shang Xia chuckled in response, ¡°Xu Xindi, weren¡¯t there many fellow disciples of our third division who broke through to the Martial Realm? Why are you the only one in this group?¡± Xu Xindi was indeed a disciple of the third outer division. He was also one of the ones who broke through when Shang Xia saved them from the hidden valley from the cultivators of the Wind Swallow Race. A helpless sigh left his lips. ¡°Senior Brother Shang, Teacher Sun sent them out to the Warehouse Division to take on various tasks. Not only will they be able to learn something there, but they will also be able to earn silver essence! I missed the chance because I was in seclusion. When I wanted to look for Teacher Sun after emerging, I found out she entered seclusion. That¡¯s why I came out here with them.¡± ¡­ On one of the massive planes not too far from the valley¡­ Five disciples with Dou Zhong at the lead stood silently as they looked at the larger group chatting happily around Shang Xia. One of the youths snorted coldly beside Dou Zhong, ¡°Hmph. Look at him showing off¡­ When did he learn to make a good reputation for himself?¡± Dou Zhong turned around and glanced at him. Before he could say anything, two of his companions got to their feet. ¡°Second brother, we¡¯ll head over to take a look. We¡¯ll be back soon!¡± The disciple who was grumbling earlier felt his expression hardening. ¡°Didn¡¯t we already greet Teacher Sun? What are you going there for? Are you trying to kiss up to Shang Xia?¡± An awkward smile appeared on the faces of those who stood up, but the last of the five spoke suddenly. ¡°Brother Yong, you can¡¯t say that. The only reason we managed to enter the Martial Realm is because of the help we received from the disciples of the third outer division. We should definitely show our gratitude¡­¡± Before he could retort, he was pulled aside by Dou Zhong. ¡°Second brother¡­¡± Dou Zhong didn¡¯t care about his reaction at all and he smiled at the two who wished to head over. ¡°Of course. Go ahead but be back soon¡­¡± The two of them ran over to Shang Xia as soon as they heard what he said. Looking at their backs, the disciple who was called ¡®Brother Yong¡¯, growled, ¡°Useless freaks!¡± Dou Zhong shook his head and sighed, ¡°That¡¯s how the world works¡­ Your method seems a little too offputting¡­¡± ¡°I hate the way he does things! He¡¯s only able to gain all his achievements because he was born into a good family!¡± Staring at Shang Xia, the look in Dou Zhong¡¯s eyes grew even deeper. No one knew what he was thinking about. ¡­ After chatting with almost everyone around him, Shang Xia smiled, ¡°Alright, alright. This medicine valley is a valuable resource. Even though high level herbs might be hard to find, there should be a ton of low level herbs. It¡¯s extremely useful for your cultivation. All of you should look around and look for them. You should grab it before the institution sends a team down here to guard the resources. When that happens, you won¡¯t be able to pick them freely anymore.¡± Xu Xindi raised an eyebrow in shock. ¡°Brother Shang, aren¡¯t you going to join us in our search?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that easy. Even though the valley possesses remarkable abilities, rank two herbs are extremely difficult to find. I might not be able to find one I can use either. All of you can go ahead.¡± Shang Xia sighed. As the group dispersed amidst laughter, the valley became boisterous again. When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°You¡¯re pretty good at building relations¡­¡± Sun Haiwei¡¯s voice rang in his ears. He chuckled in response, ¡°All of us are fellow disciples. I¡¯m doing all I can to help them¡­¡± His tone changed all of a sudden and he asked a question of his own. ¡°How was it? Did you find any treasures on them?¡± Sun Haiwei tossed over a bag of silver essence before dropping the rest of the items onto the ground. A helpless smile formed on her face. ¡°You¡¯re going to be disappointed this time. The three of them have nothing of value. Looks like they hadn¡¯t been here for a long time too. They didn¡¯t collect any herbs¡­¡± ¡°What a pity¡­¡± Shang Xia looked through the items on the ground and discovered that there were several empty bottles. It was clear that they had used everything in there. Seeing as there was nothing noteworthy on the ground, he turned to look at the spikes in Sun Haiwei¡¯s hands. The signs of wear were clear. ¡°Senior Sister Sun, your martial intent is too wasteful¡­ You can¡¯t possibly waste a pair of weapons after using your martial intent, right? You should look for a pair of graded weapons¡­¡± Sun Haiwei rolled her eyes at him in annoyance. ¡°Do you think graded weapons grow on trees?!¡± Shang Xia chuckled in amusement, ¡°Well¡­ You¡¯ll definitely be able to find it¡­¡± Since the two of them were still on a mission, they decided to take their leave now that they had dealt with the danger. Just as they were about to leave, a strange cry rang through the air. ¡°Hey! Looks! It¡¯s a Wind Manipulation Zoysia! This is a rank two herb! It¡¯s one of the ingredients to create the Meridian Tempering Powder!¡± Shang Xia turned to stare in the direction of the voice instantly. Sun Haiwei raised her eyebrows in shock, but he had already disappeared by the time she turned to look at him. ¡°You know about the Meridian Tempering Powder?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s voice rang in his ears just as he carefully plucked the zoysia from one of the cliff faces. He was startled and nearly tossed the herb away. ¡°Huh? Senior Brother Shang?¡± Chen Hanyang gasped when he noticed Shang Xia standing behind him. He quickly came back to his senses. ¡°Oh? Are you talking about the Meridian Tempering Powder? Of course I don¡¯t know much about it! It¡¯s one of the most expensive medicines a disciple in the Martial Extremity Realm can use! I only heard about it in passing!¡± Not too far from them, Dou Zhong and several other disciples also heard the commotion. They rushed over quickly but stopped when they saw that Shang Xia had already arrived. Chen Hanyang saw the solemn expression on Shang Xia¡¯s face and guessed that his senior brother really needed the medicine. A helpless chuckle escaped his lips. ¡°Senior Brother Shang, I¡¯m a student who studies herbs¡­ That¡¯s how I learned about the Wind Manipulation Zoysia! Also, none of the recipes on the Tongyou Peak can be used for medicine for cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm. If you wish to learn about the Meridian Tempering Powder, you need to return to the institution. The medicine is extremely difficult to create, and not even rank two chemists would dare to take on the task of making it.¡± Shang Xia thought about it for a moment and asked, ¡°So¡­ The institution does have the recipe to make the Meridian Tempering Powder¡­¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ Of course! However, they will never teach it to outsiders.¡± Shang Xia nodded slowly and looked at the herb in his hand. ¡°Junior Brother Chen, let¡¯s do a trade for this herb.¡± Chen Hanyang handed the herb over to Shang Xia without even thinking about it. ¡°What do you mean a trade? All of us here cannot even begin to thank you for the help you gave us. If you need it, you can have it!¡± ¡°No. I can¡¯t accept this without giving you something in return¡­¡± Shang Xia paused for a second. ¡°I admit. This Wind Manipulation Zoysia is extremely useful to me. Alright¡­ The Meridian Tempering Powder should be priced close to three hundred silver essence¡­ As one of the main ingredients of the medicine, let¡¯s price the Wind Manipulation Zoysia at eighty silver essence¡­¡± ¡°That¡­ That¡¯s too much!¡± Chen Hanyang waved his hands and cried. ¡°I¡¯ll take fifty silver essence at most! I can¡¯t accept any more than that!¡± ¡°That¡¯s close enough¡­¡± Sun Haiwei appeared at the side and spoke up. ¡°Alright. Fifty silver essence it is then.¡± Shang Xia nodded his head before turning to look at Sun Haiwei, ¡°Hehe, Senior Sister Sun, can you lend me some money right now? I¡¯ll pay you back when we return¡­¡± ¡°...¡± ¡­ Zhou Yong started to panic when he saw Shang Xia keeping the herb. ¡°Second brother, you need the Wind Manipulation Zoysia to advance too! Are we really letting him keep it?¡± Dou Zhong stared at Shang Xia before sighing, ¡°It¡¯s true that the five of us would have been able to retreat from the battle eventually if things got ugly. However, they saved all of us. Since he got there first, it won¡¯t be appropriate for us to fight him for it.¡± ¡°Hmph¡­ Second brother, you¡¯re too honest for your own good! Do you think he cares about your feelings when he takes away the Wind Manipulation Zoysia? You might have already obtained one of the main ingredients to create your medicine, the Compelling Ningpo Wigfort, you still need the zoysia to perfect it!¡± Dou Zhong chuckled. ¡°There¡¯s no need to rush¡­ There¡¯s still time! After all, it¡¯s better to take the final step before trying to break through to the Martial Extremity Realm¡­¡± A light flashed in Zhou Yong¡¯s eyes. ¡°This¡­ Are you really going to comprehend your martial intent before stepping into the Martial Extremity Realm?¡± Dou Zhong revealed a deep smile and replied, ¡°I managed to gain some insights into it¡­¡± CH 116 A ray of golden light shot through the sky before slowly dissipating. ¡°Senior Sister Sun, how many times have we used the talisman?¡± Shang Xia stood on a giant rock and asked while he stared into the distance. ¡°Five¡­¡± Sun Haiwei slowly kept the guidance talisman in her hands and looked all around her. She seemed to be looking for something. ¡°That means that we still have two more chances!¡± Shang Xia jumped off the rock and continued, ¡°Looks like the mine was really affected by the changes in the battlefield between two worlds. We traveled for close to three thousand miles and we don¡¯t even seem close!¡± Shang Xia sighed, but when he turned to look at Sun Haiwei, he discovered a worried look on her face. ¡°Senior Sister Sun? Teacher Sun?¡± He only managed to catch her attention after calling her twice. ¡°We¡­ We¡¯re getting closer to the Coral Forest!¡± Sun Haiwei looked around as if to confirm something. ¡°Coral Forest?¡± It wasn¡¯t the first time Shang Xia heard the name and he continued, ¡°Senior Sister Sun, how can you be sure that we¡¯re close to the Coral Forest?¡± The changes happened quickly in the battlefield between two worlds. One would hardly be able to determine their location from their surroundings. Sighing, Sun Haiwei muttered, ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s true. We should be close to the Coral Forest.¡± Understanding the confusion Shang Xia was feeling, Sun Haiwei explained, ¡°It¡¯s true that the geography here changes regularly. However, that¡¯s not the case for every region. For example, the Tongyou Peak and Four Spiritual Peak. They¡¯ve existed since the creation of the battlefield between two worlds.¡± ¡°Do you mean¡­ Is the Coral Forest also a region like that?¡± Shang Xia asked. Sun Haiwei nodded. ¡°Regions where Martial Extermination Realm cultivators are will rarely experience a shift. It¡¯s the same for regions that contain formations.¡± Shang Xia seemed to have reached an understanding. ¡°Our Tongyou Peak and the Four Spiritual Peak contain our respective grand formations¡­ That¡¯s why they won¡¯t be affected! We also have several Martial Extermination Realm experts stationed there!¡± ¡°That is why we can be certain that we¡¯re close to the Coral Forest!¡± ¡°Senior Sister Sun, do you mean that the Coral Forest is like our Tongyou Peak and Four Spiritual Peak? Is that because of the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance?¡± Shang Xia gasped. Sun Haiwei muttered, ¡°We guessed as much previously, but now, it seems as though it¡¯s true!¡± Shang Xia no longer needed a reminder as he quickly raised his guard. Sun Haiwei¡¯s caution rang in his mind once again. ¡°In the future, you need to be careful when you roam the battlefield between two worlds. If a region remains the same for a really long time, you might have entered the territory of a Martial Extermination Realm expert¡­¡± As the two of them proceeded cautiously, they were about to climb over a mountain when Sun Haiwei tugged on his sleeves. Taking a step back in shock, Shang Xia turned to look at the plains below. There were countless strange stone formations and it looked like corals that grew at the bottom of the sea. The strange formations extended as far as the eyes could see. ¡°That¡­ Is that the Coral Forest?¡± Shang Xia gasped. ¡°Swish, swish!¡± Sun Haiwei used the guidance talisman in her hands again, sending out another beam of golden light. It seemed to draw out all the power left in the talisman before making a beautiful arc through the skies to land on a certain region. When it did, it exploded into a burst of golden light. Shang Xia estimated the general position where the light had landed, and he found it to be pretty close to the Coral Forest. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Sun Haiwei sighed as if she had already expected it and started making her way towards the location. ¡°We¡¯re finally going to complete the mission¡­ Let¡¯s hope that everything goes smoothly!¡± Shang Xia followed behind her. The closer they got to the location marked by the talisman, the more careful they became. The region they were in was too far away from the Tongyou Peak. They had practically no influence there! There might be various beasts that were roaming about, and seeing as it was where Deputy Patriarch Liu was trapped, there might even be cultivators of the Rose Party nearby! It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Luckily for the two of them, their final leg of the journey became pretty peaceful. Very quickly, they noticed a hole that extended into the ground below. The Essence Qi Stone Mine was close to thirty feet deep in the ground and its radius was similar. It extended downwards in a spiral shape. When Shang Xia looked into the deep hole, he could see that it was completely flooded. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°Let¡¯s go down and take a look. There¡¯s something strange about the water.¡± Sun Haiwei replied before leaping down. Shang Xia could only follow behind obediently. As the two of them descended, Shang Xia could feel the density of the heaven and earth qi increasing as he descended. Along the way, he noticed the spots of light flashing on the walls. Those should be the remnants of the essence qi stones left behind. The two of them quickly arrived close to the water surface and Shang Xia took the lead. ¡°There¡¯s no need to rush. I¡¯ll check it out!¡± Drawing his sword, he pointed it at the surface of the water. A streak of lightning flew in the direction he pointed and a massive blast shattered the still water surface. As arcs of lightning danced across the water surface, nothing weird happened. ¡°Looks like we got lucky.¡± Shang Xia laughed. Suin Haiwei stared at him before snorting, ¡°Yeah. Now, we have to drain the water out of the mine.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Shang Xia cried. ¡°Wasn¡¯t our mission just to look for the mine and activate the location formation within?¡± ¡°Yeah. The location formation is at the bottom of the mine. Are you planning to dive down and activate it?¡± Sun Haiwei sneered in response. She seemed to be laughing at him silently. Staring at the giant body of water before him, Shang Xia scratched his head. Right before he could agree, he saw Sun Haiwei¡¯s pupils shrinking and she seemed to be staring at something behind him. ¡°Be careful!¡± She yelled before pushing him away. He fell straight into the water and right before he did, he saw a corpse rushing towards Sun Haiwei. ¡°Shit! It¡¯s an undead corpse of the third rank!¡± CH 117 ¡°Plop!¡± Shang Xia was quickly swallowed by the muddy water. Other than the ripples that formed on the surface, Shang Xia was nowhere to be seen! Sun Haiwei glanced at the water that swallowed Shang Xia up, but she was quickly forced to retreat by the undead corpse. It was actually a rank three creature! How unlucky were they to run into it?! However, that begged another question. How did the rank three undead corpse enter the mine?! This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Sun Haiwei could see that the clothes on the undead corpse was slightly damp, but it could be considered overall neat. It wasn¡¯t a surprise that his clothes seemed completely outdated. ¡°How can it look so unaffected by the sands of time?¡± Sun Haiwei gasped. Her thoughts turned to a rumor they had on the Tongyou Peak and recalled that they were close to the Coral Forest. ¡°Could it be?! A member of the Zhu Family?! How did they run out of the Coral Forest?¡± She waved the spikes in her hands and a wall of orange flames and thick blue ice formed around her. However, a strong shockwave caused the ice wall to shatter to bits, forcing her several feet back. Even so, she failed to nullify the effects of the shockwave. Slamming into the wall behind her, she felt a sickly sweet sensation welling up in her mouth. Although she took a huge loss in the exchange, she managed to tear a layer of skin off the palm of the undead corpse. Jet-black rotten flesh was revealed under the layer of skin. ¡°Crap! It has overwhelming strength and extremely thick defenses!¡± Sun Haiwei yelled right before the undead corpse made its next move. Roaring loudly, the corpse rotated its wrists towards Sun Haiwei. Instinctively, she leaped to the side. The wall behind her converged as it tried to trap her within. If she moved a little slower, she would have been sealed within! The undead corpse didn¡¯t wait for her to catch her breath. It continued its relentless assault. Raising its leg, it stomped downwards. Giant cracks formed in the ground below and huge boulders started to fall from the ceiling. As her body twisted and turned to avoid the falling debris, a sharp spike emerged from the wall beside her, stabbing into her shoulders. ¡°Damn it! Why hasn¡¯t he emerged from the water?! Could there also be danger beneath the surface?!¡± Sun Haiwei grumbled. Her thoughts didn¡¯t stop her from counterattacking. Her spikes glowed orange and blue as she lunged at the undead corpse. She was greeted with a shriek from the creature, and the rocks that had fallen onto the ground started to rise. They flew towards Sun Haiwei like iron to a magnet. When that was happening, a figure broke through the surface of the water and soared through the air. Thick strands of crimson-red lightning tore through the void and created a lightning web that trapped the undead corpse. ¡°Crackle!¡± As the lightning lashed against its body, a wretched cry left the corpse¡¯s dried-up lips. Shang Xia, who just appeared, looked extremely haggard. Mud was stuck in his hair and it stained his clothes a dirty brown. Truth be told, that was the worst state he had been in. Not even when he had been hunted down by Yan Ming did he feel so haggard. It was one of the reasons behind the anger in Shang Xia¡¯s heart. Of course, he couldn¡¯t vent his frustration on Sun Haiwei as she saved him from the attacks of the undead corpse. All his rage was channeled to the undead corpse. As the corpse lost control of the mud and rocks it threw at Sun Haiwei, she managed to make use of them and transform it into a frozen bridge with her icy qi. Stepping onto the frozen bridge, one of the spikes in her hand blazed with an orange flame. She approached the rank three undead corpse that was trapped in Shang Xia¡¯s lightning web and the moment the lightning subsided, she stabbed the spike deep into the frozen bridge beneath her feet. The ice and fire qi in the air clashed against each other, causing a massive explosion. At the same time, the strand of destructive qi shot towards the undead corpse, causing great damage. ¡°Senior Sister Sun, are you alright?¡± Shang Xia yelled from the side. With her face slightly pale, anyone present could see that she wasn¡¯t in her best shape. She seemed to have suffered some injuries, but she gritted her teeth in reply, ¡°I won¡¯t die so easily!¡± She didn¡¯t forget to remind Shang Xia, ¡°Be careful! A rank three undead corpse won¡¯t be killed so easily!¡± After the dust settled, Sun Haiwei and Shang Xia approached the location where the undead corpse was blown to. However, they discovered that nothing was left other than several fragments of bones and rotted flesh. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me we destroyed its body completely with our attacks¡­¡± Shang Xia gasped. Right as he completed his sentence, Sun Haiwei cried, ¡°Be careful! It¡¯s underground!¡± The ground beneath their feet caved in as soon as she spoke and a hand that was missing three fingers grabbed onto Sun Haiwei¡¯s ankles. With her expression changing drastically, her inner qi circulated violently throughout her body. The arm of the undead corpse started to emit smoke as the smell of charred flesh filled the air. Soon, a layer of ice covered the smoking arm. Despite that, the undead corpse¡¯s grasp remained firmly on her ankles. It tightened its grip as Sun Haiwei¡¯s face scrunched up in pain. Shang Xia leaped into the air as soon as the ground started to shatter, and he grunted slightly before slashing his Delicate Jade River Sword towards the undead corpse¡¯s arm. As his blade came slicing downwards, the debris in the surroundings gathered around the creature¡¯s wrists to form a protective layer. A loud clang echoed through the air and his attack failed to cause a single scratch to the creature. When that happened, Sun Haiwei¡¯s body started to sink. It was clear that the undead corpse wanted to drag her down to prevent Shang Xia from joining the fight. Sun Haiwei didn¡¯t let it do as it pleased. Her spikes stabbed straight into the wall beside her to stop her descent. Realizing that there was no time to waste, Shang Xia¡¯s sword shot out again as lightning flashed about the blade. Landing on the layer of rocks around the undead corpse¡¯s arm, the impact blew away a huge chunk. Unlike the previous time, Shang Xia¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t completely useless. The lightning surrounding the blade tore into its arm. It released Sun Haiwei while howling in pain. Sun Haiwei didn¡¯t manage to escape unscathed either. The lighting numbed her legs, and the undead corpse managed to recover quickly to grab her other leg. A frown appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. The inner qi in his body started to transform, and the lightning around his blade disappeared. He used the Vigorous Sword Art to attack the undead corpse, but the effects were abysmal. Changing his sword style once again, his sword turned soft and wrapped around the wrist of the annoying creature. It cut deep into the undead corpse¡¯s skin, but it quickly used the surrounding rocks to block itself from receiving further damage from Shang Xia¡¯s sword. ¡°It¡¯s no use! This is a rank three undead corpse that specializes in manipulating the dirt and stone around us! It¡¯s pretty impressive for you to manage to cut through a layer of its skin!¡± Sun Haiwei cried. ¡°It¡¯s alright! There¡¯s definitely a way to deal with it!¡± Shang Xia continued to use his sword to slash at the creature. ¡°It¡¯s useless to waste our energy like this! Hurry up and cut off my leg!¡± Sun Haiwei exclaimed. Raising his head in shock, he saw an ugly smile plastered on her face. Her arms trembled violently, and it was clear she wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on for long. ¡°At the very least, I¡¯ll be able to stay alive¡­¡± Sun Haiwei muttered. Shang Xia¡¯s sword chopped downwards again. His strike was even more terrifying than before and it destroyed the layer of rocks around the arm. His inner qi transformed in the instant he destroyed the layer of protection on the undead corpse¡¯s arm and he flowed perfectly into the next sword strike. A bone-chilling scraping sound echoed through the air and Shang Xia successfully unleashed the most difficult move of the Flexible Sword Art. It was one of the most profound techniques recorded in the River Sword Policy as it required the cultivator to transform their qi instantaneously to catch their opponent off guard! Even though the River Sword Policy in the Tongyou Peak¡¯s Scripture Depository wasn¡¯t complete, Shang Xia had already understood the theory behind it. It wasn¡¯t difficult for him to extrapolate the moves to complete the inheritance. The sword managed to injure the creature, but it failed to rescue Sun Haiwei. ¡°Good technique!¡± Forcing a smile, Sun Haiwei tried to hide the pain in her legs. A trace of hesitation flashed across Shang Xia¡¯s face and he paused for a second. ¡°Flexible Sword Art¡­ The principle behind it requires one to perfectly fuse softness and strength qi, making up for each other¡¯s weaknesses. Even though he managed to hurt the undead corpse earlier, Shang Xia¡¯s technique involved two strikes in total. It wasn¡¯t a true fusion of both types of qi!¡± Shang Xia nearly slapped himself when he thought about it, Equilibrium! That was what Shang Xia learned ever since he entered the Martial Extremity Realm! Why didn¡¯t he think of it earlier?! Fusion of both softness and strength qi to unleash a single strike¡­ That was the pinnacle of the Flexible Sword Art! Watching the hesitation flash across Shang Xia¡¯s face, Sun Haiwei thought that he was reluctant to chop off her legs for real and she forced a smile, ¡°Hurry up! I can¡¯t hold on much longer!¡± Shang Xia raised his head to stare into her eyes all of a sudden, and she noticed the confidence and joy contained in them. His gaze caused her to lose all focus all of a sudden and she forgot about the existence of the rank three undead corpse. The sword in his hand slashed out towards the arm clutching her ankles, and the sword strike seemed as ordinary as could be. ¡°Clang!¡± Before she could react, she felt the grip loosening around her ankles. She lost her balance all of a sudden, and she tumbled onto the solid ground nearby. A heaven-shaking roar came from under the ground, and despite the many layers of earth between them and the undead corpse, its cries echoed clearly in their ears. CH 118 A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. ¡°Ring¡­¡± A sharp cry came from Shang Xia¡¯s Delicate River Jade Sword. If not for the fact that the sword was a mid-grade weapon and was sturdy enough to withstand the power he used, Shang Xia might have lost control of it completely. Even so, a nasty expression lingered on his face. The strike that looked as ordinary as could be returned a huge backlash when it accurately stabbed into the undead corpse¡¯s hand. It was a terrifying backlash that nearly caused his inner qi to flow in the opposite direction! When Shang Xia realized that he could combine the two types of qi to achieve the pinnacle strike of the Flexible Sword Art, he didn¡¯t hesitate to try it out. Succeeding on his first try, the frightening strike sundered the rank three undead corpse¡¯s arm! Despite unleashing the fearsome strike, it was his first time performing the move and he barely understood the principle behind fusing the different types of qi. The two types of qi didn¡¯t dissipate after cleaving the corpse¡¯s arm into two. Instead, it remained in the sword. The two differing types of qi clashed with each other, forming a horrifying backlash. Luckily for Shang Xia, he had great control over his inner qi. With the additional help from the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian, he managed to quickly quell the fluctuations. As for the remaining qi that remained in the Delicate River Jade Sword, it wasn¡¯t powerful enough to damage the weapons itself. However, the ringing sounds it caused reverberated through the cavern they were in and made their skulls go numb. Suppressing the rampaging qi in the sword, it quickly returned to normal. Even though everything happened in a split second and Shang Xia managed to regain control over his sword, he still felt a sharp pain shooting through his body. With the experience he gained, Shang Xia seemed to deepen his understanding of his qi controlling methods. ¡°This¡­ What type of sword technique is that?!¡± Sun Haiwei finally reacted. The surprise caused her to temporarily forget that they were still trapped in the cavern with a rank three undead corpse, and she turned to ask Shang Xia. ¡°It¡¯s the proper way to use the Flexible Sword Art!¡± Shang Xia muttered as the glow around his Delicate River Jade Sword started to dim. When the undead corpse reached out of the ground once again to try grabbing one of them, Shang Xia unleashed his move a second time. In a flash, the second arm of the undead corpse fell to the ground beside him. This time, he was prepared. He quickly scattered the remaining qi in the sword to reduce the negative effects it brought about. Even so, he felt a throbbing pain running through his body. Now that he used the technique for a second time, he realized that even after scattering his qi, it would affect his sword slightly. In the long run, the Delicate River Jade Sword would definitely be damaged if he did nothing about it. ¡°I need to continue to improve¡­ I can¡¯t possibly change my weapon often! This is a mid-grade weapon we¡¯re talking about!¡± Shang Xia cursed in his heart before looking towards Sun Haiwei. He could see dark puddles of blood forming under her feet when she stumbled away. ¡°It¡¯s poisoned!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression sank. ¡°It¡¯s ordinary corpse poison. I can suppress it easily. We need to kill the undead corpse as quickly as possible. Otherwise, it¡¯s going to regenerate after some time.¡± Sun Haiwei spat. She was exhausted after struggling against a rank three corpse. Without her efforts, Shang Xia would never have been able to slice off the corpse¡¯s arms. Even though that was what she said, Shang Xia understood that even if she was affected by ordinary corpse poison, it came from a rank three undead corpse! It was definitely a lot more potent than the poison from ordinary undead corpses. He didn¡¯t know how long she could last, but he knew that killing the undead corpse as quickly as possible was a must. It was either that or he had to abandon Sun Haiwei and escape alone. There was no third option. Since Shang Xia cut off both its arms, the undead corpse vanished without a trace. He was unable to find any signs of it. ¡°It has to appear soon¡­ No matter how strong it is, it can¡¯t stay underground forever.¡± Sun Haiwei explained. She was much more experienced than Shang Xia with regard to matters regarding the battlefield between two worlds. She stood a dozen feet away from Shang Xia and held the wall while panting. She looked extremely frail but there was a deep gaze in her eyes. Shang Xia understood what she was doing. She wanted to act as bait to lure the undead corpse out. All of a sudden, she slapped her palms against the wall beside her while twisting away. The entire wall collapsed, and a sorry figure of a corpse lunged towards her. Her palms slapped against the undead corpse¡¯s chest, and a loud cracking sound could be heard as its ribs were shattered beyond belief. Even so, it didn¡¯t avoid Sun Haiwei. Instead, it pressed whatever was left of its arm into Sun Haiwei¡¯s shoulders, forcing her into the wall behind. Opening its smelly mouth, it tried sinking its teeth into her neck. ¡°Shang Xia!¡± Sun Haiwei screamed, and she tried pushing it away with all her might. Her martial intent had already destroyed half of the undead corpse¡¯s body in her attempt to avoid its attack. Even so, it ignored all the damage it sustained in an attempt to chomp down on Sun Haiwei¡¯s neck. Despair filled her heart when she realized that she couldn¡¯t stop the corpse no matter how hard she tried. Closing her eyes in defeat, the pain she expected didn¡¯t come. Opening her eyes slightly, she saw a soft sword wrapped around the undead corpse¡¯s head. Yanking backwards, he pulled the corpse off her body instantly. Without its hands to grab Sun Haiwei, she was thrown towards the pool of water in the middle of the cavern. ¡°Shang Xia!¡± She screamed as she fell into the pool of water. She created a huge splash. However, she managed to see Shang Xia decapitating the undead corpse before her head sank beneath the water. When she finally crawled out of the water, Shang Xia stared at her messy appearance and he chuckled in amusement. ¡°We fell into the water once each. Now we¡¯re even!¡± CH 119 The sound of water dripping from her wet clothes echoed through the cavern as she dragged herself out of the pool. ¡°Shang Xia, did you do that on purpose?!¡± She growled while stepping out of the water. Shang Xia calmly sliced the nails off the rank three corpse and cried out indignantly, ¡°Of course not! Senior Sister, you knew how urgent the situation was previously. That¡¯s a rank three undead corpse we¡¯re talking about! How was I supposed to know where to throw you while cutting off its head?¡± Sun Haiwei stared at him suspiciously before looking for a sunny spot to dry herself off. Taking out a pill that was the size of her thumbnail, she swallowed it quickly. ¡°Senior Sister Sun, is that an antidote? Can it cure the poison of rank three undead corpses?¡± Shang Xia asked in concern. Glancing at him from the corner of his eye, she muttered, ¡°Relax¡­ Just protect me while I try to force the poison out of my body. During this time, I cannot be disturbed!¡± Shang Xia retrieved the final nail off the corpse¡¯s body before smiling happily, ¡°Of course! I¡¯ll do everything you say!¡± When he spoke, Sun Haiwei had already closed her eyes and started circulating her inner qi. Faint fluctuations of heaven and earth qi appeared around her body. The part of her face that was revealed to Shang Xia seemed to flush a gentle pink and she seemed a lot more ladylike than before. The headstrong teacher in the institution was nowhere to be seen at the moment. Her actions showed how much she trusted Shang Xia. She was confident that he would protect her while she was recovering. As Shang Xia admired her looks from the side, she seemed to have felt his gaze as she snapped, ¡°The rank three undead corpse is full of treasures. Its nails aren¡¯t the only thing of value. Its bones should be comparable to rank two treasures after absorbing so much heaven and earth qi¡­¡± It was true. After all, Shang Xia failed to cut through the corpse¡¯s arms when he used his mid-grade weapon initially. That alone proved how strong its body was. Turning to look at the messy and tattered corpse lying against the wall, Shang Xia was too lazy to dig out its bones right away. He went to the side and started to recover his inner qi before trying anything new. Sitting down, he continued to pay attention to his surroundings as Sun Haiwei was still expunging the poison from her body. He played with a piece of vermillion-colored plaque in his hand. The material it was made from was pretty unique as it was something between gold and jade. He obtained the plaque after killing the undead corpse, and it seemed as though it was the only thing of value the body carried. There were four words carved into the face of the plaque, ¡®You Continent Zhu Family¡¯, and there was a single word carved into the back, ¡®Kuang¡¯. ¡°Zhu Kuang of the Zhu Family?¡± Shang Xia muttered under his breath. ¡°If this is truly the identity plaque of the undead corpse, this might actually be the famed Vermillion Plaque of the You Continent¡¯s Zhu Family!¡± Shang Xia tried his best to recall everything about the Zhu Family and all sorts of guesses formed in his mind. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. Before the two worlds collided, the Zhu Family was the strongest among the five great families that ruled the You Continent! In that period of time, the Shang Clan was a second-rate power. They weren¡¯t as strong as the five great families, but they were close. If the records in the institution and the Shang Clan were true, only direct descendants of the Zhu Family would be able to obtain a Vermillion Plaque! Seeing as the battlefield between the two worlds had already existed for twenty years, the undead corpse that was called Zhu Kuang should be of the same seniority as his grandfather! During the collisions of the worlds, no one knew why, but the Zhu Family was completely destroyed! The only ones who managed to escape were the peripheral members of the Zhu Family. They could barely be considered descendants of the Zhu Family due to their faint bloodline. In the twenty years that passed, the only person who could barely be called a member of the Zhu Family was Zhu Ying! The only reason he managed to survive peacefully all those years was because of the Liu Clan¡¯s assistance! ¡°What¡¯s that in your hand?¡± Sun Haiwei¡¯s voice rang in his ear. ¡°Huh? Did you already deal with the poison?¡± Shang Xia tossed the plaque over to her as he spoke. He saw her pale face and couldn¡¯t help but worry. ¡°Why do you look so bad?¡± Looking at the plaque in her hands, she explained helplessly, ¡°The poison isn''t the problem. My internal injuries are more serious than I thought. I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ll have to remain in seclusion for some time to recover. ¡°Here?¡± Shang Xia looked around and continued, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll open up a place for you to enter seclusion¡­¡± Sun Haiwei didn¡¯t respond immediately. When Shang Xia turned to look at her, he saw her frowning at the plaque in her hands. ¡°Is this¡­ Is this the Vermillion Plaque?¡± Sun Haiwei wasn¡¯t as knowledgeable as Shang Xia on these matters. She could only read through the history and records in the institution once in a while, unlike Shang Xia. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s probably it. Looks like our luck isn¡¯t too bad¡­¡± Shang Xia chuckled. It was already a blessing that they managed to kill a rank three undead corpse as two cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm. The number of treasures on the rank three undead corpse was pitiful. The gains of killing it were far from killing a rank three rare beast! Sun Haiwei tossed the plaque back to Shang Xia and muttered, ¡°The number of people who managed to obtain a Vermillion Plaque in the Zhu Family is extremely few in number. It¡¯s said that anyone with the Vermillion Plaque had the ability to enter the Zhu Family Manor as they pleased. They could also browse the inheritance of the family and enter the forbidden regions whenever they liked¡­ I wonder how true it is¡­¡± Shang Xia laughed in response, ¡°Would you like to take a look?¡± Sun Haiwei snapped at him immediately. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m in any state to go looking for treasures right now? Moreover, we only have a single Vermillion Plaque! Even if the rumors are true, only one person will be allowed to enter the inheritance of the Zhu Family!¡± In the battle that passed, it was an undeniable fact that Sun Haiwei had it the worst. She was targeted by the rank three undead corpse and she fought it head-on. Shang Xia attacked it from the side and even though he expanded a lot of inner qi, it was mostly recovered already. Sun Haiwei glanced at Shang Xia from the corner of her eye and muttered, ¡°I¡¯ll remind you again¡­ There are countless dangers in the Coral Forest. Even a deputy patriarch of our Tongyou Institution is trapped there. The members of the Rose Party are probably hiding somewhere inside too. Even up till now, the Martial Extermination Realm cultivators on our Tongyou Peak remained completely quiet¡­ Don¡¯t you think that there¡¯s something weird about all this?¡± Shang Xia guessed. ¡°Senior sister, do you think that Deputy Patriarch Ji and the others will come?¡± ¡°They might already be here! After all, none of us will be able to keep track of their movements. Since Deputy Patriarch Liu is trapped, they can¡¯t possibly leave him to die!¡± Sun Haiwei struggled to get to her feet. It was obvious how frail she was at that moment. ¡°The best thing we can do is to hand this plaque over to Deputy Patriarch Shang. In fact, any other Martial Extermination Realm expert will do. We can do that after we¡¯re done here. Now, we need to activate the location formation in this mine. When that happens, we¡¯ll be able to lock down this location and the essence qi stone mine will belong to our Tongyou Peak!¡± That was their original mission anyway. Shang Xia walked around the cavern and looked for the location where the heaven and earth qi was the densest before carving out a cultivation cave in the wall beside him. No matter what, she had to recover before they could complete their mission. When she entered seclusion, Shang Xia looked for a massive piece of rock to carve out a stone door for her cultivation cave. After he was done, he seemed to have realized that he had forgotten something. Rushing out of the cavern, Shang Xia whistled loudly into the air. Despite waiting a long time, he failed to receive a reply from the Lightning Bird. CH 120 ¡°This damn bird¡­ Where did it go now?¡± Shang XIa cursed. Since he didn¡¯t wish to disturb Sun Haiwei who was recovering in seclusion, he decided to head out before calling for the Lightning Bird. Despite calling out several times, he failed to receive a reply. The sense of unease in his heart grew stronger. After it bathed in the heavenly lightning back then, Shang Xia believed that the Lightning Bird had already entered the third rank! With its speed, not even Martial Extermination Realm cultivators had the ability to threaten its life. ¡°Well¡­ It¡¯s not likely that it ran into trouble¡­ Did it discover something interesting?¡± Guesses formed in his mind. ¡°I wonder when that damn bird left¡­ I was too careless¡­ I should have thought of it when the Lightning Bird didn¡¯t come to our assistance when we faced the rank three undead corpse. With its help, the battle would be much easier. Senior Sister Sun¡¯s injuries wouldn¡¯t be so serious either¡­¡± Shang Xia thought about what might have happened to the Lightning Bird while concealing himself in his surroundings to look for clues. Without the Lightning Bird to warn him of any dangers he might be in, he could only rely on himself and proceed cautiously. With the essence qi stone mine in the center, Shang Xia first secured the area around them. It seemed that the battlefield between two worlds became a lot calmer after the beast tide that passed. That also allowed Shang Xia to relax slightly. He stared all around, but he noticed the Coral Forest not too far away. Shang Xia¡¯s heart trembled slightly. Could the Lightning Bird have entered the forbidden region? According to what Sun Haiwei said, the Coral Forest was a giant maze made from natural formations. If the Lightning Bird really went in, there was no way for it to hear Shang Xia¡¯s cries anymore. The only question in Shang Xia¡¯s mind was if the Lightning Bird entered the Coral Forest on its own¡­ Moreover, it was said that nothing could fly in the Coral Forest. Not even Martial Extermination Realm cultivation were able to do so. If that was really the case, the Lightning Bird shouldn¡¯t be drawn to the Coral Forest. Unless, the restriction only stopped creatures who used their cultivation to soar through the air. It was possible that birds and other beasts that had the ability to fly weren¡¯t affected. The disappearance of the Lightning Bird wasn¡¯t the only thing troubling him. He also wanted to find out how the rank three undead corpse entered the mine. Even though they were pretty close to the Coral Forest, it didn¡¯t make sense for a rank three undead corpse to appear! For a very long time, there hadn¡¯t been an appearance of an undead corpse in the Coral Forest. Why did one appear at such a weird time? That was also one of the reasons Deputy Patriarch Liu had the ability to deploy so many people from the Tongyou Peak to join his mission. After all, the number of casualties would be much lower without the interference of undead corpses! Shang Xia turned to look in the direction of the Coral Forest once again. There was no doubt that the corpse belonged to someone of the Zhu Family. With the changes that were going on, he knew that the situation in the Coral Forest had changed. It was too bad he wasn¡¯t strong enough to enter the Coral Forest alone to look for clues. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Sun Haiwei was recovering slowly in the mine, and he could only wait for her before they set off. Even though he walked around the mine to ensure its safety, it seemed as though he returned with a belly full of questions instead. When he finally returned to the entrance of the mine, the look in his eyes changed as panic threatened to take over his mind. The water that existed at the bottom of the mine when they first arrived was gone! In its place was a pile of sludge, and the water was nowhere to be seen! Shang Xia examined the place again but failed to notice anything wrong. Rushing down to where Sun Haiwei was in seclusion, he noticed that the entrance to the cave he made for her hadn¡¯t been touched. Pausing for a second outside her cultivation cave, he only heaved a sigh of relief when he felt that the heaven and earth qi in the surroundings was moving normally. As the two of them were attacked the moment they arrived at the essence qi stone mine, they didn¡¯t have time to think too much about things that happened. There was something off about the mine! If it was used to mine essence qi stones, why would there be water in the mine? Even if it¡¯s a pool of accumulated rain water, there shouldn¡¯t be so much! If the explanation was that the mine shifted locations in the battlefield between two worlds and that a vein of water just happened to be in the mine, how could he explain the disappearance of the water?! With question marks filling his mind, he started his investigation without caring about the sludge in his way. When he finally arrived at the center of the crater where the water used to be, he discovered that it was where the location formation laid down by the institution was. They estimated that something went wrong with the location formation due to the beast tide, but now, it didn¡¯t seem so. Shang Xia kicked away the sludge around his feet and revealed several broken stones filled with endless markings of some sort of runes. The essence qi stones that lined the stones were completely dim. Shang Xia¡¯s gaze followed the largest crack on the stone slab and after some careful examination, he discovered a small hole enough for a human to pass through. That''s it! Sighing in his heart, Shang Xia could tell that although the walls of the hole had eroded a little, it hadn¡¯t been long since it appeared! The only creature or person that could have dug out a hole like that was the rank three undead corpse! That begged the next question. Where did the hole lead? A trace of hesitation flashed across Shang Xia¡¯s face. Turning back to glance at Sun Haiwei¡¯s cultivation cave for a split second, he decided to scout it out. Without another word, he jumped in. The rank three undead corpse was obviously extraordinarily strong. Not only was it able to carve out a hole into the essence qi mine, but it also disguised the hole as an ordinary well in the eyes of outsiders! After he entered the opening, he appeared in a tunnel that stretched on for as long as the eye could see. From the looks of it, the tunnel seemed incomplete and the reason behind the undead corpse¡¯s appearance in the mine was because its path was blocked by a sturdy stone wall. Initially, Shang Xia thought that the tunnel was created due to the presence of an underground river. However, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. Touching the sides of the walls, Shang Xia understood that no matter how strong the undead corpse was, it didn¡¯t possess the ability to dig out such a massive tunnel while maintaining its structural integrity. The tunnel was obviously a massive project that had existed for god knew how long! The rank three undead corpse probably created the opening to the mine after realizing that there was nowhere else to go after reaching the end of the tunnel. Without hesitation, Shang Xia drew his Delicate Jade River Sword. He started his exploration carefully. He realized that he had severely underestimated the length of the tunnel. He walked close to five miles in a single go, but he was nowhere near the end. Even though the tunnel consisted of some twists and turns, causing Shang Xia to not know his current location, there was one thing he was sure of. If he continued down the tunnel, he would end up in the Coral Forest. A trace of suspicion filled his heart. Was it really possible to enter the Coral Forest from under the ground?! There was no way he was the first person to think of it. Other people would definitely be able to come up with the same idea! There had to be something off! As he cursed in his heart, he discovered some flickering dots of light ahead. Carefully approaching, he discovered that it was a screen of multi-colored light blinking somewhere in front of him. CH 121 The screen of light seemed to break the tunnel in two. With amazement filling his heart, he double-checked to make sure that the area was safe before approaching the light screen. Gasping softly to himself, he reached out his hand to flick the light screen softly. A tiny ray of energy emerged from the tip of his finger and struck the light screen, causing soft ripples across its surface. The ripples disappeared in an instant. ¡°This looks more like a protection screen instead of some sort of restriction! There¡¯s no way the Coral Forest contains its own protection formation, right? Even though they say that the Coral Forest is a giant maze, there are no records of it containing a protection screen to restrict entry¡­¡± When Shang Xia tried to think of the implications, his Delicate Jade River Sword slashed towards the screen. A ray of sword light emerged. The sword light created a deep gash in the barrier, but it recovered in the blink of an eye. As his attack this time was much stronger, the ripples across the screen expanded much more than before. Rays of light twisted around each other to quickly restore the barrier. Shang Xia knew that it was practically impossible for him to break the protection screen through brute force. At the very least, not with his current cultivation realm. His thoughts turned to the water that disappeared from the bottom of the mine previously. With its sudden disappearance, it could only mean one thing. It was possible that the protection screen would open after some time. That was how the water either drained or entered the mine. When that happened, he would be able to cross the screen easily! Well, that was what he thought. He didn¡¯t know how long it would take for the barrier to disappear. The only thing he knew for sure was that the rank three undead corpse came from inside the barrier. Right before he returned, a flash of inspiration struck. He retrieved the Vermillion Plaque he obtained from the corpse and started to play around it with it in his hand. After hesitating for some time, he sliced the barrier open with the plaque. The protection screen that he failed to open with his Delicate Jade River Sword was ripped open easily. His expression changed slightly, but before he could congratulate himself on his genius idea, water burst forth from the gap in the protection screen. Fortunately for him, he had been on guard the whole time. He twisted his body to the side to avoid the stream of water that was gushing out of the barrier and he retrieved the Vermillion Plaque. It didn¡¯t take long for the protection screen to repair itself, stopping the flow of water completely. ¡°Looks like there¡¯s a reservoir of water located behind the protection screen¡­ From the looks of it, it isn¡¯t small either!¡± Shang Xia thought about it before tearing a larger hole in the barrier with the Vermillion Plaque. As the water poured out of the protection screen, Shang Xia forced his way through. The vortex created by the water spilling out of the protection screen threatened to pull him back towards the tunnel, but he stabbed his sword into the wall, preventing him from being pulled back. As the protection screen slowly restored itself, the area of the tunnel outside the protection screen was flooded completely. Since the tunnel consisted of a gentle incline towards the mine, a giant reservoir of water formed on the other side of the barrier without any signs of flowing away. Shang Xia held his breath as he waited for the current to die down while the barrier restored itself. Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. When everything finally settled, Shang Xia started to look around him. The water was extremely clear, and there wasn¡¯t much sediment at the bottom. Looking around again, Shang Xia noticed that he was currently under a massive rock in the underground reservoir. From the size of the rock, it seemed as though the tip had already broken through the surface of the giant reservoir he was in. Shang Xia suddenly thought about the origin of the Coral Forest¡¯s name. Retrieving his Jade River Sword, he followed the side of the rock as he slowly ascended. It didn¡¯t take long for him to feel something different. It seemed as though there was a giant spiral flight of stairs leading upwards, and despite its rough appearance and uneven steps, it was clear someone planned to connect the stairs to the tunnel. Due to his cultivation level, he was able to hold his breath for a long time. Instead of rising all the way to the top as quickly as possible, he decided to follow the steps to see where they led. He moved quickly along the steps of the sunken staircase, and he rose tens of feet in a few seconds. Raising his head to look at the faint glow that came from the surface, it seemed as though he had quite a distance to go. After rising several more feet, Shang Xia noticed that the stairs were leading to a hole in the structure beside. Glancing at the light coming from the surface, Shang Xia made a bold decision. He chose to enter the dark hole that the stairs led to, and after swimming for close to twenty feet, he finally emerged. Shang Xia looked cautiously around him only to discover that he had entered a stone chamber. There were fluorescent stones inlaid in the walls, providing a trace of light in the otherwise pitch-black chamber. Stepping out of the small pool in the middle of the chamber, Shang Xia circulated his inner qi immediately. The heat produced by his inner qi dried him off completely. In the time it took for him to dry off, Shang Xia had already looked around the room. The room he was in didn¡¯t seem like a high-level cultivator¡¯s chamber. It didn¡¯t contain much either. There were only several pieces of digging equipment laid at the corner, and most of them were broken. Secret tunnel! That was exactly it! The people who used the digging equipment there were definitely trying to create a secret tunnel! However, that created even more doubts about the appearance of the undead corpse. There was no way it had been hiding in the stone chamber all along. There were endless possibilities. Did the undead corpse fall into the giant body of water and cross the protection screen unknowingly with the Vermillion Plaque in its possession? That was one possibility¡­ After flipping through all the tools laid in the corner of the stone chamber, Shang Xia got to his feet in disappointment and tried looking for an exit to the stone chamber. As the air in the chamber wasn¡¯t exactly damp, Shang Xia knew that there had to be another way to leave the chamber. Scouring the walls of the chamber, Shang Xia¡¯s gaze eventually landed on a sculpture of a beast that could be seen on one of the walls. Dusting off the sculpture, its sparking eyes were revealed and they resemble brilliant jewels. As soon as he pressed his hands on the sculpture, a sharp cry came from behind the wall. ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± Shang Xia froze instantly. The sound of several weapons soaring through the air could be heard, followed by the clash of metal against metal. ¡°Not good¡­ It¡¯s the members of the Rose Party! Hurry up and leave!¡± A miserable cry echoed through the chamber, and it was clear that the person who yelled had met his fate. ¡°Martial Brother Lao!¡± Another scream tore through the air. ¡°Rumble¡­¡± As the battle continued, the sounds of fighting entered the stone chamber Shang Xia was in. ¡°Run!¡± ¡°Hehehe, None of you will escape today!¡± The person who spoke seemed a lot stronger than the others. Another cry rang through the air. It was obvious someone else had died. ¡°Don¡¯t kill them all! Leave a few of them for interrogation. We need to know where the Zhu Family¡¯s mansion is!¡± Yet another different voice sounded. Even through the stone wall, the voice rang clear in his mind. Shang Xia¡¯s heart sank and he quickly lowered his hand. ¡°There''s three of them¡­ Two of them died. Perfect. There¡¯s one left!¡± A pained shriek could be heard as the sound of a body hitting the floor filled the stone cavern. ¡°Alright. Ask him whatever we need. I¡¯ll go take a look somewhere else. Catch up after cleaning everything up. I received news that the beast tide outside the Coral Forest had already subsided. The experts of the Tongyou Peak might show up any minute now.¡± His voice grew softer and softer and Shang Xia could tell that he had left the area. ¡°Brother Yu Wen told us to leave one of them alive, but he doesn''t seem to care what we do to him now¡­¡± ¡°The disciples of the Tongyou Peak are really weird. Why did they send so many Martial Realm disciples into the Coral Forest?¡± ¡°Hehe, they¡¯re just chess pieces that have been abandoned. They¡¯re probably here to disrupt our senses. Otherwise, why would Brother Yu Wen leave without saying anything?¡± ¡°Since this brat doesn¡¯t know anything, why should we keep him alive?!¡± A sinister laughter rang through the skies. ¡°What if he actually knows something? Hehehe, brat, you definitely heard what I said. You¡¯ve been abandoned by Liu Jitang. Do you really wish to help your precious Tongyou Institution that ditched you without a second thought? Tell me everything you know. Your granddaddy Ouyang here will give you a quick death.¡± ¡°I¡­ Don¡¯t know anything!¡± As soon as the words left his lips, another miserable cry rang through the air. ¡°Huh? This brat is pretty resilient. Brother Dongfang, step back a little. My ice and poison dao reached the large completion stage and I¡¯ll give him a taste of my Soul Cruising Needle!¡± Shang Xia could no longer sit still. Pressing the eyes of the beast sculpture on the wall, he revealed the passage to the room behind. The cultivator whose back was facing Shang Xia barely turned his head when he was swallowed by an endless amount of sword light. CH 122 ¡°Who?!¡± The other cultivator yelled. It was obvious they didn¡¯t expect anything to appear from behind them. As Shang Xia didn¡¯t know how strong they were, he went all out immediately. One had to know that their leader had barely left earlier. If Shang Xia used his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm, the disturbance would be too large! He might alarm the one who left. In order to ensure the kill as silently as possible, Shang Xia chose to use his Cloud Drizzle Sword Art. ¡°Be careful!¡± The cultivator at the side wanted to rush over to help, but it was too late. No matter how hard his companion tried to struggle, he was swallowed by the torrent of sword lights. His blood painted the air a dull red. The figure that wanted to help realized his mistake, and he jerked his body back as soon as possible. He ran towards the disciple of the Tongyou Institution who was lying on the ground. ¡°Too late.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s voice rang in Ouyang Fengxuan¡¯s ear. The tip of his sword appeared in front of Ouyang Fengxuan all of a sudden and it started to tremble violently. There was no way for him to guess where Shang Xia¡¯s sword would strike. Circulating his inner qi desperately, a wall of ice started to form around his body. That was the first time he managed to achieve such great control over his inner qi to create a barrier so quickly. A smirk appeared on his face. Not even experts who were at the Martial Extremity Realm who had reached the grand completion stage in their cultivation of qi would be able to kill him through the barrier! As long as he could stall the opponent for a single second¡­ ¡°Yu Wen¡­¡± As he yelled, a needle appeared between his fingers as he got ready to counterattack. It was too bad Shang Xia¡¯s sword pierced through his wall of ice directly. It stabbed straight towards the space between his eyebrows. Ouyang Fengxuan panicked and the words became stuck in his throat. He couldn¡¯t believe that his defenses were broken apart so easily! The other party was clearly only at the Martial Extremity Realm. Moreover, his cultivation was a little lacking compared to his own! How?! Even though he knew that there was no avoiding death, the needle in his hand shot towards his target. Shang Xia¡¯s Delicate Jade River Sword tapped lightning in the air as a trace of softness and strength qi pierced into Ouyang Fengxuan¡¯s mind. With his eyes widening in shock, the spot between his glabella started to enlarge, slowly swallowing his head. The needle he released flew through the hole pierced in his wall of ice, towards the set of eyes that appeared on the other side. It was too bad Shang Xia¡¯s sword curved at the very last moment, blocking off the approaching needle. ¡°Clang!¡± As the needle struck his sword, it was deflected away. Ouyang Fengxuan¡¯s eyes slowly lost their color as he fell to the ground. Before he completely lost consciousness, he managed to force himself to utter the words, ¡°Weird¡­¡± Without his support, the wall of ice started to crumble and it splashed all over the floor. Shang Xia retrieved his blade and ran over to the disciple who was struggling to get up. ¡°Shang¡­ Xia?!¡± Shang Xia quickly assisted the struggling disciple and he asked, ¡°Do you recognize me?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think that you also entered¡­¡± From the disciple¡¯s robes, Shang Xia could tell that he was an inner disciple of the institution. ¡°Brother, you can rest assured that the experts of the institution are coming to back us up. Hold on! You can¡¯t give up now!¡± Shang Xia tried to reassure the disciple while examining his injuries. From the looks of it, the disciple suffered serious injuries. There was nearly no chance of survival. A flash of light crossed the disciple¡¯s eyes, but it dimmed as quickly as it came. ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡­ I know that I won¡¯t be able to make it out of here¡­ Leave quickly! This place isn¡¯t safe!¡± Shang Xia continued, ¡°Where are the rest? Where¡¯s Deputy Patriarch Liu?¡± As soon as the name of the deputy patriarch left his lips, a flash of hatred appeared on the disciple¡¯s face. ¡°He¡­ He gave up on us! All disciples in the Martial Realm have been sent out as cannon fodder to waste their time!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression sank and he continued to ask, ¡°Where are they now?¡± The disciple¡¯s eyes dimmed even more and he muttered softly, ¡°Deep in the willows¡­ Zhu Family Manor¡­ Enter¡­ Vermillion¡­ Plaque¡­¡± ¡°What is your name? Is there anything I can do for you?¡± Shang Xia hurried. ¡°Guan¡­ Guan Shangyue¡­ Kill¡­ Help me take revenge¡­¡± As soon as the last word left his lips, his head tilted to the side powerlessly. Shang Xia slowly placed Guan Shangyue¡¯s body on the ground before declaring softly, ¡°Fellow Brother Guan, rest assured. I¡¯ll take revenge for you!¡± Turning around, he examined his surroundings once again. Even though he took care of the two of them in a split second, the other experts of the Rose Party might rush over after hearing the commotion. There was no way he could remain in the area! When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. He quickly dragged the corpses of the two disciples of the Rose Party back into the stone chamber he came from and tossed them into the pool of water. Next, he brought the corpse of Guan Shangyue over. He looted the bodies of the members of the Rose Party, but he kept the items on his fellow martial brother intact. He wasn¡¯t going to rob the corpse of someone who came from the Tongyou Institution. Finding the mechanism to close the entrance to the stone chamber on the other side where the battle took place, Shang Xia activated it immediately. As the mechanisms consisted of several rocks, no one would glance at them a second time unless they knew that it activated the entrance to a secret chamber. Shang Xia decided to leave them as they were. Next, he released a wave of energy that melted the ice shards on the ground. He cleaned up the battlefield as immaculately as he could as there was no way he could allow anyone else to discover his presence. When he was done, he left hastily. Only then did he manage to calm himself down and observe the situation around him. The first thing he discovered was the density of heaven and earth qi around him. It was even denser than on the Tongyou Peak! Next was the bottomless reservoir beneath him. There were countless huge mountainous rock-like structures on the surface of the water, and countless stone formations under the surface. Shang Xia stood on one of the massive stone structures, but he didn¡¯t know where it came from nor where it led to. Luckily for him, his only objective now was to leave the area. Spying another interesting rock formation beside him, Shang Xia¡¯s jerked to a stop. He discovered two pieces of rocks placed in a weird location, and he thought about how he activated the entrance to the hidden room earlier. Carefully pressing down on the rock formation, it started to sink slowly. Shang Xia gasped in his heart. Holy crap I¡¯m actually right! Shang Xia leaped to the side quickly as a hidden entrance appeared in front of him. A gust of moist and turbid wind hit him in the face. After ensuring that the room was safe, he quickly entered. A soft rumbling behind him signaled that the entrance had shut. The chamber he entered had the same size and layout as the one before. The fluorescent stones on the wall allowed him to see everything clearly. However, he noticed that there wasn¡¯t a pool of water in the middle of the room unlike the one previously. There were also no stairs to the hidden underground tunnel. Disappointed, he could only look for other things. He soon noticed that there were many other things contained in the chamber. On one of the wall faces, there were tiny little shelves in the wall that contained various items. Walking over, Shang Xia opened one of the scrolls. The scroll was obviously something special to be able to survive for such a long time. When he opened it, he discovered that the scroll was merely damp and the color had faded a little. ¡°Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes lit up slightly before dimming again. It was possible that he was standing in an area contained in the great formation, but it was too bad the formation wasn¡¯t working any longer. The Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram was a powerful formation. However, without anyone to activate and maintain the formation, it stopped working a long time ago. The Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram wasn¡¯t merely an introduction to the great Mountain and Sea formation! It was its core! In the event that the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram was reactivated, Shang Xia would have complete control over it! What a waste¡­ Even though he couldn¡¯t use it now, he still kept it in his sleeves after rolling it up carefully. Before Shang Xia could reach for the second item, he heard voices coming from outside. Walking towards the hidden entrance, Shang Xia strained his ears to hear what they were saying. ¡°Brother Murong, did you find anything?¡± The voice was extremely familiar. It seemed as though it was the person who commanded the two he killed earlier. ¡°Nope. There¡¯s nothing here at all. Brother Changtian, are you sure Dongfang Mingrui and Ouyang Fengxuan ran into trouble?¡± Yuwen Changtian sighed, ¡°They might have run into some enemies¡­ Didn¡¯t they say that the outer regions of the Coral Forest only had abandoned cultivators of the Tongyou Institution? Who would have thought that they would leave an expert behind?¡± ¡°Could it be an undead corpse? Brother Changtian, don¡¯t forget how we discovered this place¡­¡± As the voice grew louder and louder, Shang Xia could tell that they were approaching his location. Yuwen Changtian¡¯s voice rang through the air. ¡°Are you referring to the rank three undead corpse that has the Vermillion Plaque on him? It¡¯s not possible.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because an undead corpse wouldn¡¯t know how to hide its tracks after the battle!¡± Bang! After he spoke, Yuwen Changtian slammed his fist angrily into the wall beside him. CH 123 Bang! The enraged Yuwen Changtian slammed his fist against the wall beside him, and two cries rang through the skies. ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°Be careful!¡± The other person seemed to have pulled Yuwen Changtian away, and they fell into silence all of a sudden. In the instant his fist hit the wall, Shang Xia felt a trace of light illuminating his sleeves. Shang Xia couldn''t be bothered with the flash of light at all. When Yuwen Changtian hit the wall, his heart leaped into his throat. He didn¡¯t know what was happening outside, and neither did he know why Yuwen Changtian hit the wall. He could only pray that they didn¡¯t discover his presence. ¡°Brother Danran, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Murong Danran, the other person who pulled Yuwen Changtian away earlier, explained, ¡°This is the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. It¡¯s a region located in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Formation. It¡¯s said that it¡¯s one of the four spiritual lands in the Zhu Family Mysterious Coral World! As the grand formation had weakened, the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World was revealed and it¡¯s where we are right now.¡± ¡°Mysterious Coral World? The Zhu Family possessed their own mysterious world?¡± Murong Danran hadn¡¯t completed what he wanted to say when he was interrupted by Yuwen Changtian. He continued his explanation, ¡°That¡¯s right. The Zhu Family wasn¡¯t hailed as the strongest power in the You Continent for nothing! It''s not surprising for them to possess their own mysterious world¡­¡± Yuwen Changtian was too stunned to speak. As Murong Danran continued, ¡°In fact, the entire Coral Forest came from the Zhu Family¡¯s Mysterious Coral World. In the past, the Zhu Family still had control over their territory and the Coral Forest was hidden from the world. Today, all of them are dead and there¡¯s no one capable of maintaining their formations. The Coral Forest was revealed to the world. Even though the formations are no longer working, the Coral Forest still contains a lot of mysteries hidden by the Zhu Family. Not even Fourth Order Primary Realm experts can enter as they wish. ¡°Brother Murong, how did you learn all these?¡± Yuwen Changtian asked suddenly. Murong Danran chuckled in response, ¡°Relax. I heard all these from the various elders. Because of my talent in formations, the ancestor of my family taught me about the Coral Forest.¡± Yuwen Changtian praised, ¡°Brother Murong, I really admire you¡­ It¡¯s no wonder you would receive more information from the elders in your clan. You are knowledgeable indeed!¡± ¡°Brother Changtian exaggerates!¡± Murong Danran waved his hands in response before adding, ¡°We cannot underestimate the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Formation. Even though it lost its power for quite some time now, the foundation of the formation is still active. It might counterattack when faced with a threat. That¡¯s why we shouldn¡¯t go around hitting things.¡± Yuwen Changtian finally realized how rash he was and he quickly heaved a sigh of relief, ¡°The light that appeared when I hit the wall¡­¡± Shang Xia might not be able to see their expressions, but he could estimate what was going on outside. ¡°That¡¯s right. Luckily, the formation on this wall only stopped you from damaging it. It didn¡¯t actually counterattack. Brother Changtian, please be careful around here. No¡­ In fact, please be cautious when dealing with anything in the Coral Forest. The Zhu Family controlled this region for countless years, and there might be a lot of hidden dangers lying around.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll heed Brother Danran¡¯s advice then! Many thanks!¡± Yuwen Changtian thanked Murong Danran before asking, ¡°Then¡­ What is our current goal? Are we here to hunt down the rank three undead corpse?¡± We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. ¡°I can¡¯t hide anything from Brother Changtian!¡± Murong Danran chuckled. ¡°Even though the Vermillion Plaque rarely appeared in the past, it''s the key to opening the manor. We¡¯ve been here for so long, and other than killing the disciples Liu Jitang abandoned, we managed to obtain three of them.¡± ¡°This¡­ Brother Danran, is your real goal the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World?¡± Yuwen Changtian guessed. Murong Danran chuckled in response, ¡°Since Brother Changtian managed to guess my true goal, I won¡¯t hide it anymore. My real goal isn¡¯t the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World either. It¡¯s the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl!¡± ¡°Fantasy Spiritual Pearl?¡± Another voice appeared all of a sudden. ¡°What''s the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s heart trembled slightly. It seemed as though a change happened outside. ¡°Young Lady Like of the Sima Family¡­ Hahaha, We¡¯ve been waiting for quite some time now.¡± Yuwen Changtian said. Shang Xia¡¯s heart sank as Murong Danran repeated everything to the newcomer. ¡°The moment we find the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl, we should be able to find the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram! Then, we¡¯ll be able to control the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World!¡± Murong Danran declared confidently. In the hidden room, Shang Xia¡¯s heart thumped in his chest. He brought out the scroll from his sleeves slowly. He finally discovered that there was a spot on the scroll that lit up. However, the glow quickly died. Shang Xia gasped. Did the spot on the map show the location where Yuwen Changtian struck the wall? If that was really the case, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult for him to leave the area! Murong Danran¡¯s explanation had been happily taken in by Shang Xia while he hid in the hidden room beside them. After he was done explaining the second time, he discovered an unnatural expression on Yuwen Changtian¡¯s face. ¡°Brother Changtian, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Waving his hand slightly, Yuwen Changtian asked, ¡°I¡¯m not questioning your ability, but why would the elders entrust such a large task to us cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm? This seems a little out of our abilities.¡± Sima Like spoke before Murong Danran could say anything. ¡°They have no choice. Brother Changtian, you should know that the beast tide around the Coral Forest had already subsided. The cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World and the Azure Origin World should be making their way here as we speak. We don¡¯t have enough manpower in the battlefield between the two worlds to do much. The real experts on our side have to suppress Liu Jitang and consider many other things. It¡¯s no wonder they left us with such a huge task.¡± Murong Danran smiled. ¡°Young Lady Like is right. The pearl might be special, but we can suppress it with moonlight. The disciples of the Tongyou Institution at the Martial Extremity Realm have already been dragged to the Zhu Family Manor by Liu Jitang. We won¡¯t have to worry about the rest.¡± Yuwen Changtian sighed, ¡°Brother Murong, did you forget what happened to the two of them? We can¡¯t even find their corpse at the moment¡­¡± ¡°What happened to the two of them?¡± Sima Like asked. CH 124 ¡°So that¡¯s what it shows¡­¡± Shang Xia thought in his heart and heaved a sigh of relief. Just a moment ago, he didn¡¯t dare to breathe loudly in the hidden chamber for fear of being found. Of course, he didn¡¯t dare to move recklessly now, but he felt much more at ease. The three members of the Rose Party continued to discuss their next actions outside the hidden room, not knowing that everything they said had been heard by Shang Xia, a disciple of the Tongyou Institution. Through their conversation, he heard a lot of secrets regarding the Coral Forest and the mysteries behind the Zhu Family. For example, the Zhu Family really deserved its reputation as the strongest cultivation family in the You Continent! It had the power to hold the fate of the continent in its hands. None of the other clans or powers even came close! Also, he learned of one of the most important goals of the Rose Party. They wanted to gain control of the forbidden region owned by the Zhu Family, currently known as the Coral Forest! Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. Even though a forbidden region was called a mysterious world, it wasn¡¯t a naturally formed cosmos. It was a space that had been enlarged several times and contained its own grand formation! That was one of the reasons behind the Coral Forest''s appearance in the battlefield between the two worlds. Even so, the Coral Forest contained many dangerous regions. There were many undead corpses roaming the lands. Even though twenty years had passed since the formation of the battlefield between the two worlds, the Four Spiritual Peak and the Tongyou Peak didn¡¯t understand much about it. They only managed to cover the outer regions of the Coral Forest all that while. Twenty years ago when the worlds collided, every single great family or power banded together to deal with their enemies. However, they also left a route of retreat for themselves. The only difference was the Zhu Family. They felt that they had the protection of their forbidden region, along with their deep accumulations. As such, they chose to remain where they were. They had the confidence to survive. Most of the members of the Zhu Family chose not to leave, staying in their territory to face the threat. Only several cultivators left because of their reasons. Who would have thought that the two worlds would collide, leading to the current state of things? The chaos that ensued along with the various origin tides tore through the battlefield between the two worlds, trapping and killing every single member of the Zhu Family in the Coral Forest. That wasn¡¯t all. Shang Xia learned that there were three other special regions in the Coral Forest. They were the Willow Forest, Dual Season Land, and the Unstable Floating Region. Every single one of them contained their respective protection formation. With the addition of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, they formed semi-independent spaces around the Zhu Family Manor. Due to the destruction, the core to control the Zhu Family Manor landed in the Willow Forest. Out of the four regions in the Coral Forest, the Dual Season Land and the Unstable Floating Region had already fallen under the Rose Party¡¯s control. As for Liu Jitang, he rushed straight for the Zhu Family Manor and the Willow Forest. ¡°As long as we obtain the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, we¡¯ll control three of the four special regions of the Zhu Family! Even if Liu Jitang manages to locate and control the core of the Willow Forest, we¡¯ll still be able to suppress him! He won¡¯t be able to do anything against us!¡± Murong Danran seemed to have explained their entire plan. Sima Like frowned slightly and continued, ¡°The Tongyou Peak won¡¯t sit by and abandon Liu Jitang. Didn¡¯t Shang Bo heavily injure Elder Yuwen earlier? The Tongyou Institution¡¯s strength is growing too quickly these days!¡± ¡°If the Tongyou Peak won¡¯t remain quietly in their territory, what about the Four Spiritual Peak?¡± Murong Danran sneered and he continued, ¡°The Tongyou Institution¡¯s increase in strength is exactly the reason behind our elders making the decision to forcefully enter the battlefield between two worlds!¡± Yuwen Changtian nodded, ¡°That¡¯s right, their rapid increase in strength probably has to do with their gains in the battlefield between the two worlds¡­ We can¡¯t allow them to keep everything for themselves!¡± ¡°I¡­ I get it!¡± Sima Like¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Yuwen Changtian seemed to also have reached a whole new level of understanding after listening to what Murong Danran said. ¡°So that¡¯s the real reason¡­ I thought that the elders were only interested in the advancement formula to the Martial Dipper Realm that might be hidden in the Zhu Family!¡± Murong Danran chuckled, ¡°Don¡¯t forget, the Coral Forest itself might be a mysterious world that contains spatial formations¡­¡± What the fuck does that even mean? Shang Xia thought to himself as he played with the items on the stone shelf in the hidden room. He had been paying attention to their conversation the whole time, but he had no idea what some of what they said meant. It was obvious that they had much more information than Shang Xia. ¡°Alright. Tell us how to find the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl!¡± Sima Like asked all of a sudden. ¡°This is easy. The pearl is suppressed by moonlight, and we just have to wait for the moon to be overhead and it will appear by itself.¡± ¡°Please¡­ This is the battlefield between two worlds we¡¯re talking about. Who knows when the moon will appear? Even if it does, what happens if the moon belongs to the Azure Spiritual World? Will it work too?¡± Sima Like interrupted him all of a sudden. Slightly taken aback, Murong Danran muttered, ¡°This¡­ Well, we¡¯ll never know till we try. Anyway, it¡¯s like you said. We won¡¯t know when the moon will appear. It might take a long time, but it might also appear the next second.¡± ¡°Will the pearl really appear when the moon rises?¡± Sima Like continued. ¡°That¡¯s right! As long as we obtain the pearl, we¡¯ll be able to locate the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram! Then, we¡¯ll gain control over the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World!¡± Yuwen Changtian sighed at the side, ¡°I think¡­ I think we should deal with the disappearance of our fellow brothers before looking for the pearl¡­¡± ¡°What happened?!¡± Sima Like frowned. Yuwen Changtian and Murong Danran told her what happened earlier when they ran into the disciples of the Tongyou Institution. ¡°The two of them might have already met their end¡­ I agree with Brother Changtian¡¯s evaluation. There¡¯s no way the rank three undead corpse did it. Either the last disciple hid his cultivation and dealt with the two of them after you left, or other people arrived. Since they managed to kill Dongfang Mingrui and Ouyang Fengxuan in an instant, there are two possibilities¡­ One. More than one expert arrived. Two¡­ The person who came has pretty impressive cultivation. At the very least, he¡¯s as strong as Brother Changtian!¡± Yuwen Changtian couldn¡¯t help but frown. ¡°Brother Changtian is at the grand completion stage! His cultivation has touched on the Martial Intent Realm! Don¡¯t tell me that the Tongyou Institution allowed their stronger disciples to roam about outside the Zhu Family Manor¡­¡± Murong Danran gasped. ¡°There¡¯s definitely a possibility of that happening¡­¡± Sima Like tutted. However, Yuwen Changtian brought a new suggestion to the table. ¡°What if¡­ What if someone entered from the outside?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not possible. The outer regions of the Coral Forest are filled with our men. No one can possibly enter the Coral Forest without alerting us.¡± Murong Danran stopped him immediately. Sima Like analyzed, ¡°The three of us are more than capable of dealing with a Martial Intent Realm cultivator. Even if someone managed to get in without our sentries noticing, they shouldn¡¯t be stronger than the Martial Intent Realm if they chose to remain hidden for so long. Even so, we should still act more cautiously from now on.¡± Yuwen Changtian continued, ¡°Their goal might also be the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl. The moment the moon rises, they¡¯ll definitely appear to fight us for it!¡± ¡°Relax. I¡¯ll think of a way to call over a Martial Intent Realm expert to assist us.¡± Murong Danran reassured them. After Yuwen Changtian grunted, he continued with another question, ¡°Sister Sima obtained a rank three spiritual treasure in the Dual Season Land, and Brother Dongfang Mingrui managed to get an advancement formula in the Unstable Floating Region. However, we don¡¯t know if it''s for the second or third order of the Primary Realm. Wonder which bastard managed to benefit from that after killing Brother Dongfang Mingrui¡­¡± Once again, their words made no sense to Shang Xia. Initially, he wanted to fight with them for the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl. However, thoughts of retreating formed in his mind after he heard their plan. Shang Xia might be confident in himself, but he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to think that he could fight a Martial Intent Realm expert. In fact, there wasn¡¯t even a need for a Martial Intent Realm expert to arrive. The three of them outside were more than enough to kill him. No matter how big the urge he had to retreat, he knew that it wasn¡¯t really possible. He had the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram, and unless he threw it away right there and then, they would be able to find him the moment they obtained the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl! The only problem was that the three of them were still standing outside the damn hidden chamber! Shang Xia couldn¡¯t leave even if he wanted to! If they remained there to wait for the appearance of the pearl, he would be trapped like a turtle in a jar! Now, all he wanted was for the three of them to leave! Suppressing the uneasy feeling in his heart, Shang Xia turned his attention to the two other objects on the stone shelf. After all, he couldn¡¯t possibly go out and scream for them to leave. He turned to a giant egg-sized pearl in his hand. Thinking that he lucked out by finding the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl along with the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram, he was about to jump in joy. However, he soon discovered that it was nothing more than an ordinary Water Repulsion Pearl. Well, at the very least, his clothes wouldn¡¯t get wet when he dove back down into the tunnel¡­ The second item was a little more refined. From the looks of it, it was an ordinary stone! Other than a few tiny holes on its surface, there was nothing special about it! However, Shang Xia discovered something special about it as soon as he held it in his hand. It could speed up the circulation of his inner qi! He tried injecting some yang qi into the rock in his hand, but the moment he did, the stone became as light as a feather. In fact, it seemed to float in the air before him. Removing his hand, he was shocked to see that the rock remained in mid air. Putting some yin qi into the stone after grabbing it for the second time, it became denser than before! It became so heavy that Shang Xia¡¯s hand sank downwards. ¡°Oh! Hey! It¡¯s actually an Unstable Rock!¡± Shang Xia heard about it from his grandfather, Shang Bo, when asking for pointers in the past. Shang Bo felt that Shang Xia only had two medicines to choose from when he advanced into the Martial Extremity Realm. He could use either the Powder of Purification or the Unstable Powder! He could remember the expression on his grandfather¡¯s face in the past. ¡°Ever since the Zhu Family was exterminated, Unstable Rocks hardly appeared in our You Continent. The recipe for the Unstable Powder is available in the Tongyou Institution, but it¡¯s not as optimal as the one in the Zhu Family¡¯s collection. Don¡¯t bother thinking about the Unstable Powder anymore. Focus on getting your hands on the Powder of Purification.¡± That was what Shang Bo told him! Who would have thought that he would obtain a piece of Unstable Rock? Even though he had no use for it now, he could easily sell it away in the outside world! With how rare it was, it would easily reach a price of five hundred silver essence! One had to know that a complete set of medicine to advance into the Martial Extremity Realm was worth close to eight hundred silver essence! That was how precious a piece of Unstable Rock was! Shang Xia suddenly thought about what Yuwen Changtian said! Wasn¡¯t Dongfang Mingrui one of the disciples he killed? There was an advancement formula on him! CH 125 Earlier, Shang Xia grabbed everything that seemed to be of value from the two corpses before leaving in a hurry. Then, he arrived at the hidden chamber that contained the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram. Distracted by the appearance of Yuwen Changtian and the others outside the hidden chamber, he completely forgot to check what he obtained from the two! Now that he thought about it, he realized that he should look through what he obtained. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. When he laid out everything on the ground before him, he thought that he should really start looking for a spatial artifact. Of course, he could stop dreaming about a spatial pouch. He might have enough Swallow Fur to create one, but no one could create one with absolute certainty! Shang Xia sighed silently. Well, he didn¡¯t really care at that moment. It would be great even if he had an Embroidered Cloud Case! There were three cloth bags that jingled when he placed them down on the ground. Even without opening them, Shang Xia knew what was inside. Piling all the silver essence and bronze boards in the cloth bags together, he created a small stack. He decided to keep them in the hidden chamber for now. No one would be able to find it in a short amount of time anyway, and bringing so much silver essence with him would only hinder his movements. Initially, only the Tongyou Peak used silver essence and bronze boards as currency. No one knew when, but the Four Spiritual Peak did the same, causing an unspoken unified currency in the battlefield between the two worlds. That made the silver essence mines possessed by the Tongyou Peak even more valuable. Next, Shang Xia turned to a rank three ingredient he laid out. The fellow called Ouyang Fengxuan actually had quite a few valuables on him! Not only did he possess the rank three ingredient, he also had two rank two ingredients! One of them was the Black Jade Whisker, the other was called the Silver Scale Sand. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t unfamiliar with the Black Jade Whisker. He heard his uncle, Shang Quan, bring it up once. The Black Jade Whisker wasn¡¯t extremely valuable, but it was a great ingredient to use to create rank two ink! The body of the Black Jade Whisker was completely black as the name suggested, but the surface shone like jade. Even though there wasn¡¯t a lot of it, it was more than enough to create rank two ink for Shang Xia to be used for a long time. As for the Silver Scale Sand, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t too familiar with it. However, he heard that it was something that could only be obtained in the battlefield between two worlds and it was used in some medicine for cultivators to advance to the Martial Extremity Realm. It could also be used when creating graded weapons! It was worth quite a bit! Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t mind obtaining a few more of these precious ingredients. However, the two rank two ingredients dimmed in comparison when he placed them beside the rank three one. That was a rank three ingredient they were talking about! Even Shang Xia hadn¡¯t seen many of them! Of course, he couldn¡¯t recognize the ingredient in front of him. There were too many treasures in the world, and his knowledge was limited. He only managed to tell that it was a rank three ingredient from the heaven and earth qi it emitted. Of course, the talisman pasted on its surface helped a lot with his evaluation. He once heard from his uncle that herbs that reached the third rank would develop their own consciousness or spirituality. If they wanted to maintain the effectiveness of the herb, they would have to suppress and store the spirituality of the herb with a suppression talisman. Otherwise, the spirituality of the herb would start to dissipate after being dug out from its original position and it would start to degrade! Keeping the three treasures on himself, Shang Xia¡¯s gaze landed on a piece of beast skin he obtained from Dongfang Mingrui. His eyes lit up again. There was a complete advancement recipe into the Martial Extremity Realm. It was the exact formula Shang Bo told him to forget about, the Unstable Powder! How coincidental was that?! Even though he already guessed as much, he was still pretty surprised when he obtained the complete formula. He might have already advanced to the Martial Extremity Realm and had no use for the formula, it was still a complete formula produced by the Zhu Family after countless years of research! Of course, the Powder of Purification he used during his advancement might not be worse than the Unstable Powder¡­ If he brought the formula out and handed it over to the Shang Clan or the institution, it would bring about a whole new level of benefits! It would collectively benefit all future cultivators! Moreover, both sides would be extremely interested in an inheritance from the Zhu Family. Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t have to worry about getting ripped off by either side! After looking through the formula, he noticed that the Unstable Rock was the only main ingredient used in it. Unlike the Powder of Purification which required several main ingredients, the Unstable Powder only had one main ingredient, the Unstable Rock! That would mean that the Unstable Rock itself possessed the qualities of being both light and heavy! That was what really interested Shang Xia After entering his current cultivation realm, Shang Xia gained a better understanding of cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm. Training both types of qi was an incredible feat in the eyes of many cultivators, much less transforming his qi at will. However, the Unstable Rock was an existence that contained both light and heavy qi! Shang Xia didn¡¯t know if the Zhu Family had already learned about the true fusion of both types of qi, but the moment he released the formula, there would definitely be cultivators who managed to gain a better level of understanding behind training both types of qi. Keeping the formula well, a flash of inspiration appeared in his mind. Even though his Yin Yang Essence Qi could change to fit different attributes, what if he tried to use the properties of the Unstable Rock to learn a new type of transformation? At the moment, he could only transform his Yin Yang Essence Qi to possess the attributes of fire and ice, softness and strength, and void and reality! After his experiment with the Unstable Rock earlier, he felt that it was actually possible. The moment he poured his Yin Yang Essence Qi into the rock, he managed to feel the properties of both lightness and heaviness. He managed to transform his Yin Yang Essence Qi to replicate both properties easily. Well. it seemed as though other than looking for a sword technique to fit his cultivation in fire and ice qi, he would have to look for another cultivation method! The more he progressed down the path of cultivation, the more Shang Xia felt he didn¡¯t know. After discovering lightness and heaviness qi, his journey towards the Yin Yang Sword Formation seemed to become even longer. Whatever the case, he managed to progress a little on his path of cultivation! He was pretty pleased with himself. All of a sudden, he discovered that the movements outside the hidden chamber had disappeared. He could no longer hear their conversations. Pressing his ears against the hidden wall, he failed to hear their presence. However, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t in a hurry to leave. Their silence might just be a trap! He remained patiently in the hidden chamber. The only thing he was afraid of was the appearance of the moon. If the moon were to rise, his location would definitely be exposed once they obtained the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl! Wait a second¡­ The moment they managed to obtain the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl, they would be able to obtain the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram¡­ Wouldn¡¯t that mean¡­ Retrieving the scroll, he started to pour his Yin Yang Essence Qi into it. CH 126 Since the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram controlled the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, there was no way it was as simple as it seemed! Shang Xia¡¯s thoughts returned to the time when it glowed when Yuwen Changtian struck the wall protected by the formation. He poured his inner qi into it quickly. It wasn¡¯t long before he discovered that there was something stopping him from pushing his qi into the scroll. Raising an eyebrow slightly, Shang Xia transformed his qi into lightness and heaviness qi before trying again. Even though the dao of lightness and heaviness didn¡¯t belong to the Zhu Family, it was the key to creating one of the most perfect advancement formulas produced by them! Moreover, the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram was placed beside the Unstable Rock. Shang Xia believed that there was some sort of connection between the two. The only thing he didn¡¯t know was if the Water Repulsion Pearl had anything to do with it. As his inner qi entered the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram, different colored lights started to emerge. The Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram started to pulsate, and it started to come to life. Shang Xia reached towards the surface of the scroll, and he discovered that the scroll could show him different regions of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World as long as he willed it. It could even enlarge or shrink the image of the region he was looking at as he pleased! With it, he could observe many small details others might have missed. As he played with the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram in his hand, he quickly noticed several flashing dots on the diagram. There was one bright yellow dot and four other smaller red dots. One of the red specks was right beside the bright yellow one, and Shang Xia wasn¡¯t too surprised. He guessed that the yellow dot represented the location of the hidden chamber he was in. The red dot that coincided with the yellow one might represent his current location, or it might be more accurate to say that it showed the location of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram he was holding. What could the other three dots mean?! Looking at the diagram closely, it seemed as though the other three dots represented three other rock formations in the Coral Forest. There were countless rock formations in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram, and Shang Xia didn¡¯t understand why the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram would mark out several specific ones! Were those where the formations were active? However, Shang Xia quickly rejected the idea. After all, Murong Danran said that the formation covered quite a large area. There was no way it only covered four rock formations. Soon, he noticed something strange about the location marked by the four dots. One of them represented the location of the hidden chamber he entered when he first appeared in the Coral Forest. Could it be?! The red dots on the diagram represented hidden chambers in the Coral Forest! A burning idea came to his mind, but Shang Xia managed to remain calm. He didn¡¯t rush out of the hidden chamber because of a moment¡¯s greed to locate the other hidden chambers. He started to analyze the situation. They were currently in the Coral Forest, and his presence hadn¡¯t been discovered. The Rose Party was the one who had sent out their disciples to comb the area, and he was merely a weakling at the Martial Extremity Realm. ¡°It¡¯s a pity I¡¯m no formation master. I have no idea what this diagram actually holds. It might have other uses, but I have no idea how to figure them out!¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but think of other ideas. Perhaps, the best thing he could do was to leave the Coral Forest as soon as possible and report back to the higher-ups of the Tongyou Institution. They could bring several experts into the Coral Forest through the underground tunnel, and they would definitely be able to gain the upper hand. After all, the moment he brought in one of the Martial Extermination Realm experts through the tunnel, the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World would definitely fall into their hands. The only problem was that he had no idea how many people he could bring with a single Vermillion Plaque. He knew that if he continued to move around alone, he would be able to gain a lot more treasures. However, the risk he was taking would increase by several folds. After all, he was a mere disciple at the Martial Extremity Realm! When he was still thinking of what he should do next, a massive blast brought him back to reality. No one knew where the giant explosion came from, but the hidden chamber started to shake. Even with the protection of the stone wall, he could feel the violent waves of heaven and earth qi. There were people fighting out there! With the commotion going on, it had to be experts at the Martial Extermination Realm! Shang Xia¡¯s heart trembled slightly. He pressed his hand against the mechanism to open the hidden room before leaving his position. The entrance closed up quickly, as if it never existed in the first place. The huge disturbance was bound to draw a lot of attention. Shang Xia¡¯s actions wouldn¡¯t be too eye-catching with everything that was going on. The Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World might be a giant maze, but with the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram in his hand, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t afraid that he would lose his way. Luckily for him, he didn¡¯t meet anyone after he left. However, he could feel that the battle in the distance was getting more and more intense. Clearly, there were more than two experts at the Martial Examination Realm fighting! Shang Xia also discovered something weird. He could tell that the battle was happening quite a distance away. But when he tried to determine the direction of the battle, he couldn¡¯t! Well, he didn¡¯t have the luxury to think about all that now. When he arrived back at the hidden chamber he was once at, he grabbed the Water Repulsion Pearl and dove instantly. Even though he could have entered the water from anywhere, he chose to return to his original location as he didn¡¯t wish to get lost. As he went down the submerged stairs, he moved a lot quicker than before due to the effects of the pearl. After diving for quite some time, he discovered the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram glowing in his sleeves. The light was growing ever more brilliant, and the area around him lit up like a giant lightbulb. Opening the scroll, he discovered a dot of light moving quickly across the diagram. ¡°This¡­¡± From the looks of it, the dot of light just shot past him. Looking all around, he noticed a streak of light moving quickly across the water. It was so quick that Shang Xia couldn¡¯t react in time. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ Is that the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl?!¡± Shang Xia looked at the position of the flashing dot again and he seemed to realize a pattern. The dot would only move about within the confines of the four red specks of light, and a bold guess emerged in Shang Xia¡¯s mind. ¡°Are the four rock structures really used to trap the pearl?!¡± Sweeping his gaze around, he continued to descend. He looked around him before slashing the protection screen with the Vermillion Plaque. Unlike before when it tore easily, this time, the protection screen didn¡¯t show signs of budging! Shang Xia couldn¡¯t believe his eyes and he continued to strike the barrier a few times. No matter how hard he tried, he failed to open the barrier. Shit! Can I enter but not leave?! Well, that was one of the uses of a protection formation¡­ If cultivators ran into trouble outside, they would be able to enter the protection formation easily. However, leaving was a whole other matter. They would have to wait for the protection formation to lift naturally. It was the same for the protection formation around the Tongyou Peak. Wait¡­ How was he supposed to explain the appearance of the water in the essence qi stone mine then?! Was he supposed to wait for the barrier to open up by itself before he could leave?! When he was thinking of what to do, another change occurred. The light that came from the surface of the water seemed to intensify by quite a bit! Raising his head to take a look, he saw a giant moon rising slowly into the air! Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. CH 127 Just as he was about to execute his flawless plan of bringing in backup from the Tongyou Peak, the appearance of the moon disrupted his scheme. Shang Xia quickly made his way back up as he saw the ball of colorful light frozen in place. The light that covered it started to fade, revealing a translucent sphere that was the size of a fist. Was that the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl? Shang Xia rushed towards the item as quickly as he could. Who would have thought that the pearl would disappear all of a sudden? It seemed to have teleported away from its location, causing Shang Xia to grab at air. Raising his head, he could see the pearl floating slowly into the air. It seemed to resonate with the moon hanging high above their heads. ¡°Quick! The moon has appeared! Find it!¡± Murong Danran exclaimed. It seemed as though he was in a hurry to find it! In order to look for the pearl, the three of them decided to split up to search. ¡°This way! Quick!¡± Sima Like¡¯s voice rang through the air to gather the rest. At the same time, she leaped into the air to grab at the ball of light that was rising up from the water surface. ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t grab it now! You have to wait for the white glow to fade before it will reveal its true body!¡± Murong Danran¡¯s anxious cry came from the side. Like Shang Xia, Sima Like ended up with a handful of air. ¡°Brother Danran, why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?!¡± Sima Like rebuked immediately. Murong Danran walked to the closest platform he could find and his expression finally loosened up a little after seeing the pearl. Heaving a sigh of relief, he turned to Sima Like and revealed an awkward smile, ¡°I¡­ I forgot¡­¡± By that time, Yuwen Changtian had also arrived. He glanced at Murong Danran and muttered, ¡°Brother Murong, we¡¯re all working together now. I don¡¯t care what selfish motives you have, you better tell us everything you know. Otherwise, you can¡¯t blame us for the misunderstanding.¡± A bitter smile formed on Murong Danran¡¯s face. As Yuwen Changtian turned to look at the ball of light that was slowly dimming, he frowned, ¡°Brother Danran, what is your plan exactly? Are you still unwilling to tell us now?¡± A light flashed in his eyes, and he seemed to struggle with himself for a moment. Finally, he sighed, ¡°Indeed¡­ Other than controlling the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, I require the pearl to deepen my understanding on void and reality qi. I hope to comprehend an illusion-type marital intent to reach the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm.¡± Sima Like sneered, ¡°I might not know much about formation, but I know that the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl is an illusion-type treasure. If you really plan to comprehend void and reality qi, you will have to wait for the pearl to appear. Not only would we have to wait for you to complete your comprehension before using the pearl to look for the diagram, but we also have to protect you when you¡¯re deep in comprehension. Am I wrong?¡± Murong Danran could only chuckle awkwardly, ¡°I hope you can help me out¡­¡± Sima Like sneered softly without speaking. Yuwen Changtian sighed at the side, ¡°It makes sense for the elders back in the organization to want to support people of our generation. He probably taught you about the illusionary martial intent too. However, why did you hide it from us?¡± Murong Danran¡¯s expression twisted unnaturally. A snort left Sima Like¡¯s lips and she explained in his stead, ¡°Of course it¡¯s because his cultivation will damage the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl¡­ He might need to draw on its origin power, causing the pearl to shatter!¡± It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Yuwen Changtian¡¯s expression sank and a cold light flashed through his eyes when he looked at Murong Danran. ¡°It will not! At worst, the pearl will be weakened slightly. I won¡¯t destroy it!¡± Murong Danran saw the smirk on Sima Like¡¯s face and he couldn¡¯t help but grumble silently in his heart. Yuwen Changtian thought about it for a moment and he continued, ¡°What about the core diagram for the formation? You said that after the pearl appears, we¡¯ll be able to follow it to obtain the core diagram.¡± ¡°The moment it appears, the two of you can go ahead and retrieve it. Even if I fail my comprehension or if the moon starts to set, the pearl won¡¯t disappear immediately.¡± Murong Danran explained. ¡°So¡­ The diagram can also restrain the pearl?¡± Yuwen Changtian asked. Murong Danran continued his explanation, ¡°It doesn¡¯t restrain the pearl. Instead, the two items attract each other. The reason the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl managed to run about itself is because the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Grand Formation stopped working. Once you find the core diagram, you will be able to obtain the pearl with its assistance.¡± Yuwen Changtian and Sima Like looked at each other silently for a second. Finally, Sima Like broke the silence with a cold snort. ¡°Murong Danran, you owe us for this!¡± Murong Danran could only nod helplessly. ¡°Alright. It¡¯s decided. You can see if the pearl is still as useful after so many years of the formation¡¯s deactivation¡­¡± A smile finally appeared on Murong Danran¡¯s face. When the three of them were negotiating with each other, the glow around the pearl had almost fully faded. Its true form was revealed to the world. There seemed to be rainbow-colored lights swirling within. ¡°Please!¡± Murong Danran Tried his best to hide his excitement and a jade pendant appeared in his hand. Crushing it, it seemed to summon a ball of smog that dragged his body over to the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl. ¡°Floating Talisman! Hah¡­ He planned for this a long time ago!¡± Sima Like sneered in contempt. After Yuwen Changtian looked at the thick mist under Murong Danran¡¯s feet, he swept his gaze across the surroundings. ¡°We need to find the core diagram right now!¡± As the words left his lips, a white pulse of light emerged from the pear. They felt their souls trembling slightly before returning to their body. The effects were weirdly satisfying. ¡°Relax. This is an effect of the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl. It¡¯s trying to call out to the core diagram.¡± Murong Danran¡¯s voice echoed through the air. ¡°There!¡± Sima Like pointed towards the pool of water beneath them. Yuwen Changtian¡¯s gaze followed her and saw a giant scroll flickering under the surface. ¡°It¡¯s actually down below!¡± An unsightly expression appeared on Yuwen Changtian¡¯s face. All of a sudden, Murong Danran¡¯s voice rang in their minds again. ¡°You need to obtain the core diagram as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the pearl will disappear once the moon sets and we¡¯ll have to wait for it to appear again!¡± Yuwen Changtian looked at Sima Like helplessly. ¡°I¡¯m really bad with water¡­ Even though I can forcefully hold my breath and travel underwater, my actions will be slow and clumsy¡­¡± A chuckle left Sima Like¡¯s lips. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll head down then!¡± Yuwen Changtian heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Be careful. I¡¯ll be here in case anything happens.¡± ¡°I have a Water Walking Talisman on me¡­¡± Murong Danran¡¯s voice came again. ¡°It¡¯s alright. The talisman won¡¯t be of much use to this young lady over here.¡± As soon as she spoke, she tossed down some clothes before diving deep into the water below. Yuwen Changtian looked at her graceful figure swimming through the water and couldn¡¯t help but admire her curves. Watching her approach the diagram quickly, Yuwen Changtian heaved a sigh of relief. His gaze returned to the land as he started to inspect his surroundings. He didn¡¯t forget that there was a hidden expert out there who killed two of their fellow disciples. With this much disturbance, the killer would definitely appear! ¡°Are you still wary of the killer?¡± Murong Danran¡¯s voice rang in his mind. A wisp of inner qi emerged from his finger and wrapped around the pearl. Noticing the cautious expression on Yuwen Changtian¡¯s face, he continued, ¡°Do you want me to summon a Martial Intent Realm expert over?¡± Ever since Sima Like entered the water, an uneasy feeling gathered in his heart. His gaze jumped from one rock structure to another, but he failed to catch anyone. Murong Danran couldn¡¯t help but continue, ¡°Even though he was extremely strong previously, he suffered some injuries. He hid somewhere in the Coral Forest all this time to treat his injuries. Nothing can go wrong here. He¡¯s the only one who can reach us in time if I call him now.¡± Yuwen Changtian could no longer take his incessant chatter. ¡°Can you shut up? Did the elders in your clan teach you how to be distracted when cultivating?¡± Murong Danran¡¯s expression sank and he couldn¡¯t be bothered with Yuwen Changtian anymore. He focused all his energy on comprehending his martial intent. All of a sudden, faint ripples came from under the surface. The fluctuations became stronger and stronger, and the waves crashed against the structures around them. The commotion drew the attention of both cultivators on the surface. ¡°Did Young Lady Sima obtain the core diagram?¡± Yuwen Changtian glanced at Murong Danran before turning his gaze into the water down below. ¡°Do you think¡­ Do you think it¡¯s possible for the killer to be hiding underwater?¡± Murong Danran asked. No longer able to bear with his nonsense, Yuwen Changtian raised his head to snap at Murong Danran. He held his tongue when he saw Murong Danran¡¯s shocked expression. His heart sank as he quickly tilted his head downwards. He saw a giant explosion coming from below as crimson-colored water filled the air. CH 128 Murong Danran was no fool. Other than the fact that he didn¡¯t know when to shut up, his understanding of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World far surpassed the other two. His excuse of comprehension was fake. It was yet another layer of lie to cover his true motive from the other two. The Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World contains much more mysteries than what they can see. None of the Martial Extermination Realm elders in the Rose Party believed that Murong Danran could see through the mysteries, allowing him to enter as he wished. Now, the chance of a lifetime landed directly on his lap. Even though everyone in the Rose Party seemed to have underestimated him, he wasn¡¯t willing to work so hard just to let the Rose Party reap the gains. Initially, he could have accomplished everything without anyone noticing. Who would have thought that things would change so suddenly? ¡­ Shang Xia was originally shocked that the scroll would open up on its own. However, that didn¡¯t mean that he wasn¡¯t prepared for it. When the scroll lit up and unrolled itself, he felt that a chance had arrived! He saw a figure diving into the water before rapidly approaching the scroll. An idea formed in his mind. Using the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram as cover, he hid right under it. As Shang Xia poured his qi into the scroll earlier, he could still gain a faint idea of what it was doing despite it resonating with the pearl. Once Sima Like entered the water, she dove straight for the scroll. She wasn¡¯t brainless either. There was no way a scroll would appear tens of feet under the water. She knew that the glow of the scroll covered too large an area. She had to locate the actual item in the light. The closer she got, the clearer her vision became. She quickly noticed the scroll and swam desperately towards it. As she approached, joy filled her heart and she swam faster and faster. She threw caution to the wind as the item she was looking for was right in front of her! The instant she reached out to grab the scroll, brilliant rays of sword light filled her vision and swallowed her whole. Ever since Shang Xia learned the Cloud Drizzle Sword Art, he became more and more adept at using it. If he were to evaluate it based on strength, the sword art might not be better than the Vigorous Sword Art and the Formless Sword Art. There was obviously no need to mention the Flexible Sword Art that was stronger than both of those! However, there was one property the Cloud Drizzle Sword Art possessed, and that was to drain his opponent¡¯s blood! Each individual sword strike didn¡¯t possess too much power, but who would care about it if they attacked multiple times? If one strike doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯ll use two! If two isn¡¯t enough, four should do the trick. Still not enough? Just increase the number of attacks till you kill the opponent! No matter what, his opponent wouldn¡¯t be able to block all of them! After all, they had close to the same cultivation level¡­ The moment a single ray of sword light made a wound on his opponent¡¯s body, a weird strand of qi would prevent the wound from closing up, causing the blood to flow constantly. Of course, the requirement to use the technique was harsh too. The user would need to exhaust a great deal of inner qi. Shang Xia was able to withstand the usage of inner qi due to his extraordinarily large dantian. The amount of inner qi he had was much higher than cultivators of the same level! Even though Sima Like was at the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm, facing so many sword lights, she panicked and nearly forgot to defend herself. Well¡­ By the time she realized she was being ambushed, no amount of defense from someone at her level would be enough. The sword light flashed past her body, giving her close to thirty new wounds. At the very last second, she managed to shatter her protective bracelet to protect her heart from being pierced through. Her pretty little body was mutilated in a split second. As blood gushed out of her body, she tried screaming. It was too bad all she released was a giant water bubble. She wanted to struggle to the surface, but her movements only caused more blood to escape her body. Her face turned as white as a sheet due to the loss of blood and her inability to breathe. All of a sudden, the water in her surroundings was blown away and she managed to suck in that sweet gasp of air. As relief washed over her body after she took in her first breath of air, her body froze all of a sudden. After that¡­ Well, there was no after that for her anymore. ¡­ As the bloodied water sprayed up into the air, something looked like it was about to burst out of the surface. ¡°Be careful! It¡¯s about to appear!¡± Yuwen Changtian yelled. Murong Danran who had been floating in the air gasped in fright, ¡°That¡­ Young Lady Like, she¡­?¡± This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Yuwen Changtian¡¯s gaze was fixed on the surface of the water, and he growled at Murong Danran without turning his head. ¡°You should take care of yourself. Can you leave with the pearl?¡± Murong Danran¡¯s expression sank. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. Now that the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl is calling out to the core diagram, the moment I cut off the connection, I¡¯ll waste all my effort. The loss of my inner qi isn¡¯t the problem here. The moment I sever the connection, the pearl will disappear!¡± ¡°...¡± With a loud grunt, three short sticks appeared from behind Yuwen Changtian. He grabbed them in his hand before joining them to form one long silvery white staff. His body started to turn illusory in mid air, and it was clear he didn¡¯t choose to give up. He tore up a talisman in his hand and a flame soared through the air. ¡°I notified my martial uncle! He should be here soon!¡± After he spoke, he added a piece of news to stop Yuwen Changtian from interrupting him, ¡°Anyway, I have news on the Exquisite Grass!¡± Yuwen Changtian¡¯s body trembled and he raised his head in shock. He forgot about the commotion happening underwater. Murong Danran heaved a sigh of relief when he noticed Yuwen Changtian¡¯s response. ¡°Brother Changtian, you already reached the peak of your current realm. Your clan might have prepared all sorts of medicine for you, but rank three herbs are incredibly difficult to find. Your Yuwen Clan might be strong, but they won¡¯t be able to gather all the required herbs! I¡¯m sure Brother Changtian has been looking for the Exquisite Grass for some time now.¡± Yuwen Changtian growled in response. ¡°Looks like you know quite a lot¡­¡± The feeling of having one¡¯s secrets known to others wasn¡¯t nice. Forcing a smile, Murong Danran explained, ¡°Haha¡­ Our families are greatly interconnected. It¡¯s normal for us to exchange information for the things we need. Even though our inheritances are strictly confidential, we won¡¯t hide other things from each other. I learned a lot just by paying attention¡­¡± Pausing for a second, he continued, ¡°So¡­ Brother Changtian, do you agree with my plan?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll agree on one condition. As long as my life isn¡¯t threatened, I¡¯ll do my best to stop the person under the water until Senior Yuntian arrives. However, you need to tell me the news of the Exquisite Grass now.¡± ¡°Looks like Brother Changtian¡¯s information sources aren¡¯t bad either. You already knew that Martial Uncle Yuntian will be the one to come¡­¡± Murong Danran continued to talk about random things and he started to drag the time out. It was evident he was having second thoughts about revealing the news. The Exquisite Grass was really something special. It was rarely seen, and it was said that the herb was used even in rank four medicine! If not for the fact that they were in such a critical situation, he would never have chosen to share the news. ¡°Senior Yuntian remained as a spy in the Tongyou Institution for so long¡­ His actions are worthy of our respect. However, you best remember who brought him back from the Tongyou Peak!¡± Yuwen Changtian growled as he continued to look below. Noticing the abnormal fluctuations below the surface, he warned, ¡°You better hurry up. The person should be coming up now.¡± An explosion seemed to occur underwater as a black figure charged up at them. ¡°It¡¯s on a cultivator at the Martial Extremity Realm of the Tongyou Institution!¡± Murong Danran continued in a haste. ¡°In the Dual Season Lands, I saw him retrieving a stalk of Exquisite Grass with my very own eyes! However, there were Martial Intent Realm cultivators by his side and I didn¡¯t dare to fight him for it!¡± ¡°Martial Intent Realm bodyguards¡­ Who is he? Is he Kou Chongxue¡¯s illegitimate son?¡± Yuwen Changtian spun his staff around, storing up his energy. ¡°It¡¯s possible that he has a Vermillion Plaque on him!¡± Afraid that Yuwen Changtian would think that he was lying, he continued, ¡°I told you everything I know! I swear on my family that everything I said is true! Brother Changtian, you have to believe me!¡± Yuwen Changtrian might be dissatisfied, but he could only swallow his grievances. ¡°Crash!¡± As water sprayed into the air, a figure broke through the surface of the water. ¡°Die!¡± Yuwen Changtian roared and his staff came crashing downwards. The powerful strike caused a huge crater to form on the water surface. ¡°Be careful! That¡¯s Young Lady Sima!¡± Murong Danran yelled in midair. Yuwen Changtian harrumphed as he pulled his staff back immediately. He made a graceful leap through the air as though he had been expecting it. He displayed his amazing movement art in that instant. At the same time, another figure emerged from another side. ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you for a long time!¡± Yuwen Changtian grunted as a ray of silver light shot out from his staff towards the figure who just appeared. The dao of length! He could extend and shorten his staff at will! In that instant, he displayed his full strength. ¡°Bang!¡± The figure that appeared was blown apart in an instant! CH 129 Actually, Shang Xia had half a mind to leave after killing Sima Like. He gained an understanding of their strength after hearing their conversation outside his hidden chamber earlier. Sima Like and Murong Danran were at the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. In other words, they were infinitely close to reaching the large completion stage. As for Yuwen Changtian, he was already at the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm! He had comprehended his martial intent! Even though Shang Xia was confident in his strength, he estimated that he would be able to take one of them on at best. If he had to fight Yuwen Changtian, he would still be able to ensure that he could retreat unscathed. However, if the two of them joined hands, he would definitely lose. He managed to kill Sima Like due to her carelessness, but the other two seemed to be extremely on guard. It wouldn¡¯t really be smart of him to show himself at that moment. Moreover, he had the Water Repulsion Pearl on him and if he chose to leave from under the water, neither of them could do a thing. However, he realized that he had no way of secretly bringing the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram away when he tried to leave! Due to the resonance with the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl, there was some sort of formless connection between the two. No matter how far he got, his location would be revealed like a shining beacon! The only other way was to leave the diagram behind and escape! However, he recalled the conversation they had. The Mountain and Sea Fantasy Grand Formation was what controlled the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. The Rose Party had already controlled two of the four special regions in the Zhu Family Territory, and the moment they obtained the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram, they would control three of the four regions! If that happened, the Tongyou Institution wouldn¡¯t be able to do a thing to them anymore! There was no way he could allow the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram to fall into their hands! Since he couldn¡¯t leave the scroll, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape alone! Well, there was only one thing left to do! He had to risk it all! Even though he wasn¡¯t well versed in the art of formations, he would still be able to make the Rose Party suffer a great loss if he grabbed the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl. With the pearl to open the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World and the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram to control the grand formation, he would basically control the entire region alone! There was no need to think about it anymore. Pulling his sword out of Sima Like¡¯s body, he pressed his palm against her waist. His Yin Yang Essence Qi released a frightening blast, sending her body towards the surface with the speed of a rocket. At the same time, he took several steps in the water and found a large boulder that was the size of a small human. He wrapped a set of clothes around it before sending it up the same way he sent Sima Like¡¯s body. The turbid water stained red with blood managed to obstruct the vision of those at the top. When Sima Like¡¯s body flew out of the water, Yuwen Changtian was able to display his proficient control over his inner qi and change his target to strike at the second object that emerged not too far away. Shattering the second figure that shot out from under the water, a smile nearly formed on his face. However, he was wrong once again! The shards that exploded outwards destroyed the set of robes Shang Xia wrapped around it. In an instant, dirt and pieces of cloth filled the air. Shang Xia emerged finally, and his position was right under Sima Like¡¯s body! Was it a coincidence for them to appear right under the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl? Probably not. ¡°Die!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s sword stabbed towards Murong Danran who was in midair as he tossed out a talisman in the next second. A ray of golden light surrounded the talisman before turning into a sword that shot at Yuwen Changtian. That was the rank two Golden Sword Talisman! His timing was perfect. Shang Xia unleashed the talisman the instant Yuwen Changtian retrieved his weapon, causing him to be unable to react swiftly. ¡°Outrageous!¡± Yuwen Changtian yelled, but that was about all he could do. He raised his staff hastily to protect himself from the incoming golden sword. Shang Xia knew that his Golden Sword Talisman was far from enough to injure a cultivator at Yuwen Changtian¡¯s level. As such, his only goal the entire time was to distract the man for a moment. As long as Yuwen Changtian couldn¡¯t assist Murong Danran in time, that was enough! Everything happened as he expected. In mid air, the Yin Yang Diagram in Shang Xia¡¯s dantian started to spin as he transformed his inner qi to possess the attribute of strength. He unleashed the Unstoppable Strike, a move that was part of the Vigorous Sword Manual, and a ray of sword qi emerged from the top of the Delicate Jade River Sword. Murong Danran¡¯s expression changed slightly, but he wasn¡¯t overly alarmed. He reached out to gently tap the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl that was in front of him! As the pearl trembled slightly in mid air, Shang Xia felt his surroundings shaking. His vision was clouded by multicolored lights and he lost sight of his target. The change happened too quickly, but Shang Xia wasn¡¯t flustered in the slightest. The sword in his hand continued to stab forward as a ray of red lightning flashed in his eyes. The veil of light before him was ripped apart instantly. Murong Danran who thought that he managed to avoid the strike panicked when he noticed the tip of the sword advancing towards him. Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°You¡­¡± A trace of rage and worry flashed past his eyes. There was nothing else he could do and he finally chose to scatter the cloud he was standing on as he fell to the ground below. The connection he built with the pearl disappeared completely, and his plan went up in smoke. ¡°How dare you! You disrupted all my plans!¡± ¡°Yuwen Changtian!¡± Murong Danran roared in anger. He chose to reveal the news of the Exquisite Grass to Yuwen Changtian in hopes that he would be able to stall the attacker for some time. Everything was so that he could control the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl! In the end, he was attacked by the mysterious attacker, and Yuwen Changtian seemed completely useless! Even though he was held back by the enemy, it didn¡¯t change the fact that he failed to protect Murong Danran! Yuwen Changtian snorted angrily in response. He wasn¡¯t in a great mood either. It seemed as though the agreement with Murong Danran had gone up in smoke. He was afraid that Murong Danran would fight with him over the Exquisite Grass when he went to obtain it. If the two of them were to fight over it, Yuwen Changtian¡¯s chances of obtaining the treasure would be greatly reduced! Luckily for them, the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl didn''t disappear. Murong Danran still had a chance to obtain it. Yuwen Changtian struck out with his staff once again, and it created a dense web of shadow staffs that covered the entire surface of the water. This time, he unleashed his martial intent! Heaven Concealment Staff! Shang Xia, who was stuck in the air, had nowhere to run! ¡°Don¡¯t hit the pearl!¡± Murong Danran¡¯s voice boomed through the air. Shang Xia never planned to obtain the pearl when he attacked Murong Danran. It would be much better for him if the pearl disappeared. Hearing Murong Danran¡¯s yell, Shang Xia thought of something. He grabbed the corner of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram and unfurled the scroll. When the scroll appeared under the pearl, the pearl vanished. Curling his wrist, Shang Xia retrieved the scroll. At the same time, the staff light appeared. They came crashing down towards Shang Xia¡¯s back, but he was prepared for it. He crushed the protection pendant Shang Quan handed him before he left. Despite the frightening power contained in Yuwen Changtian¡¯s Heaven Concealment Staff, it wasn¡¯t enough to shatter the protection barrier produced by the pendant. Since Yuwen Changtian¡¯s attack covered a wide area, many rock formations and structures at the side were struck, and they were destroyed in an instant. Huge waves were swept up from the impact. Yuwen Changtian didn¡¯t stop there. His attack continued as the protective barrier around Shang Xia started to dim. When the barrier seemed to have used up all of its energy, several staff shadows superimposed on each other and slammed heavily into his back. ¡°Bang!¡± Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Shang Xia was sent flying. Amidst the chaos, an enraged cry rang through the air. ¡°Fantasy Spiritual Pearl! Where¡¯s my pearl?!¡± Shang Xia was sent flying into the distance and he took several deep breaths to recover. He circulated his Yin Yang Essence Qi around his body and he reached out to stop himself from flying further. He clung on to one of the rock formations and turned to stare at the two. ¡°It¡¯s you! You stole my Fantasy Spiritual Pearl!¡± Murong Danran roared. He thought about Shang Xia¡¯s actions earlier and he realized what had happened. ¡°You actually managed to cultivate the Zhu Family¡¯s special technique! That¡¯s how you managed to control the core diagram and steal my pearl! Speak! Are you one of the remnants of the Zhu Family?¡± Murong Danran yelled as he ran over. The dispirited look in his eyes from losing the pearl had long disappeared. Instead, he looked at Shang Xia with a burning gaze. He couldn¡¯t hide the greed in his eyes! Not far behind him was Yuwen Changtian. All of a sudden, Shang Xia waved his hand towards the two of them before loosening his grip. He fell directly into the water. ¡°You can¡¯t escape!¡± Murong Danran tossed out an item and a ray of light shot towards Shang Xia. Too bad for him, Shang Xia had already determined the trajectory of whatever he threw out the moment it left his hand. He didn¡¯t bother dodging in the slightest. As the ray of light brushed past him, it stabbed deep into one of the rock formations under the surface. A layer of frost covered the surface and a thick layer of ice was formed. Realizing that he wouldn¡¯t be able to break through the sheet of ice beneath him, he made a perfect tumble when he landed. The air around him seemed to distort when he rolled to his feet, and his figure disappeared completely. CH 130 ¡°You damn clown! How dare you show off your pitiful illusion skills in front of your granddaddy here?¡± Murong Danran¡¯s figure arrived close to the place Shang Xia disappeared and a jade bottle appeared in his hand. Opening the bottle, he poured some of the liquid onto his finger before dabbing it lightly in the space between his eyebrows. ¡°Break!¡± The illusion in front of him shattered as Shang Xia¡¯s figure started to become clear once again. Pointing towards one of the regions on the ice sheet, he yelled, ¡°There!¡± Yuwen Changtian, who wasn¡¯t too far away from him, didn''t say a word. His staff swept towards the place Murong Danran pointed at, and the resulting staff light shattered one of the rock formations nearby. ¡°Plop!¡± The sound of something dropping into the water told Yuwen Changtian that he missed. The thing that infuriated Murong Danran the most was that the kid waved to him again before jumping into the water! ¡°Who is that brat?!¡± Murong Danran was truly distressed this time. He panicked when he saw that they had lost him. ¡°Could he have entered from the outside?¡± Yuwen Changtian guessed. Both of them seemed to reach a tacit agreement to not chase Shang Xia underwater. After all, Sima Like¡¯s ugly end was still fresh in their minds. The two of them were much worse than her when it came to moving in the water. They would only be sending themselves to death if they tried. ¡°Impossible. He¡¯s not even at the Martial Intent Realm. He won¡¯t be able to get past our guards at the border!¡± Murong Dantian snapped. ¡°He might be someone who came in with Liu Jitang¡­¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that all of them entered the Zhu Family Manor in the Willow Forest?!¡± Yuwen Changtian frowned. ¡°Well, we can¡¯t rule out the possibility that he broke off from their group! He might even be sent out by Liu Jitang to complete some sort of secret mission¡­ Everything is possible.¡± Murong Danran sighed. The frown on Yuwen Changtian¡¯s face only deepened. ¡°What do we do next?! Are we going to report the matter that happened here?¡± Murong Danran shook his head and sneered. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that. Martial Uncle Yuntian will arrive soon. Even if he hides underwater, we¡¯ll fish him out and kill him!¡± ¡°That kid grabbed the core diagram and the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl! Is it possible for him to use it against us?!¡± Yuwen Changtian threw out another possibility. After thinking about it for a moment, Murong Danran grunted, ¡°Unless he¡¯s a formation master¡­ Even if he manages to use the core diagram, you should be fine if you stay by my side. He can¡¯t deal with us together. The longer we drag this out for, the higher our chances of victory. After all, my martial uncle is coming over.¡± Noticing Yuwen Changtian looking around as he spoke, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Brother Changtian?¡± Yuwen Changtian snapped out of his daze for a second and a bitter smile formed on his face. ¡°Previously, Brother Ouyang and Brother Dongfang met their ends here. I didn¡¯t think we would find him here again!¡± Raising an eyebrow slightly, Murong Danran gasped in shock. ¡°Is this the place? Wouldn¡¯t this mean that he was the one who killed them?¡± Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°This might be where he¡¯s hiding!¡± ¡­ The moment he dove into the water, he went straight for the bottom. In order not to let the two of them notice anything suspicious, he didn¡¯t use the Water Repulsion Pearl immediately. He only used it when he was sure no one could see him. With the help of the pearl, he quickly located the sunken stairs. Grabbing several items he obtained from Sima Like earlier, he went straight towards the first hidden chamber he found. He heaved a sigh of relief when he finally arrived. Feeling the throbbing pain from the strike he took earlier, aches filled his body. Luckily for him, Shang Xia¡¯s inner qi had extraordinary properties. While it could suppress the injuries in his body, it also allowed him to heal a lot faster than others. Pulling out a Dry Rain Talisman that he saved previously, he tore it apart. Even though it was a rank one talisman, the effects were pretty good. A ball of mist entered his body and assisted his recovery. Even though it didn¡¯t allow him to recover completely, it was better than nothing! Shang Xia started to sort out everything he obtained from Sima Like while he was healing. Looking at a round jade bottle in his hand, his eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets! He knew that the disciples of the Rose Party had been roaming around the Coral Forest for some time now and they definitely reaped a lot of rewards. That was why he didn¡¯t forget to search through her belongings after killing her earlier. It seemed as though his luck was pretty good this time. She actually had medicine to treat his wounds! ¡°Spring Rain Powder!¡± Shang Xia exclaimed after smelling it. He immediately recognized the rank two medicine that was great at treating injuries! Without hesitation, he swallowed the powder. He felt a refreshing feeling washing across his entire body. Life force poured out of his body and he felt much better than before. He could tell that his injuries were healing at a frightening speed. Heaving a sigh of relief, he felt that he would be able to continue fighting! To his surprise, that wasn¡¯t all she had! He quickly found an interesting wooden box on her. ¡°This seems like something from the Zhu Family¡­ I wonder what¡¯s in here!¡± As the insignia of the Zhu Family was imprinted on the box, Shang Xia recognized it right away. There were signs of broken restrictions around the box. From the looks of it, Sima Like broke the seals forcefully to look at the contents. That only proved that the items contained within were pretty valuable. The instant he opened the box, a wave of essence qi hit him in the face. There was an irregularly shaped object within, and it glowed milky white. ¡°This¡­ This is an essence jade!¡± Shang Xia gasped in shock. He took the item out to confirm its authenticity. Even though it was his first time looking at one, it didn¡¯t seem unfamiliar to him. Essence jades were formed from the coagulation of the heaven and earth qi. It fell under the classification of third rank treasures! However, it could be used everywhere! Regardless of weapon creation, medicine making, or increasing one¡¯s cultivation directly. They could even create talismans, and create formations! Back when Shang Xia was on the Tongyou Peak, he heard that someone managed to obtain a grape-sized essence jade while hiding from the beast tide. He managed to raise his cultivation from the beginning stages of the Martial Realm all the way to the large completion stage! The essence jade in Shang Xia¡¯s hand was undoubtedly larger than that! It was half the size of an egg! He wondered if he could reach the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm after using it. All of a sudden, he heard voices coming from outside the hidden chamber. ¡°... Martial Uncle Yuntian will arrive soon. When that happens, it¡¯s useless even if he hides under the water!¡± CH 131 Shang Xia had a feeling that the essence jade in his hand was capable of bringing him straight up to the large completion stage. However, it was no time to enter seclusion! Perhaps, he could fool the two of them with his Water Repulsion Pearl and the hidden chambers, but once a Martial Intent Realm cultivator arrives, they would be able to sense everything with their divine sense! Nothing could hide from that! Unless¡­ Unless Shang Xia could learn how to use the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Grand Formation! Even a little bit would be more than enough! He might have no idea how to utilize formations as complicated as the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Grand Formation, but he obtained the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl and the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram! After playing with them for some time, he discovered some interesting uses. Of course, he only managed to discover them after the pearl fused with the diagram. For example, when Shang Xia fully opened the diagram the pearl would hover above it! Shang Xia quickly discovered something new on the diagram. Previously, he could only see the four red dots and a large yellow dot. Now, there were two other green specks blinking on the diagram. Those two specks were extremely close to him, and they were basically superimposed on each other. Without a doubt, those two green flashes represented Murong Danran and Yuwen Changtian. ¡°Oh shit! This is a livestream!¡± Shang Xia gasped. However, there wasn¡¯t a volume function to this. He had to listen to their conversation across the wall. Well, that felt better anyway. After listening to them for some time, Shang Xia started to twist the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl around. Indeed. He discovered that he could change the angle on the diagram! He could even zoom in and out as he wished! Next, he tried tapping various spots on the diagram. He discovered that as long as he sent some of his inner qi into the diagram, he could view different locations in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World! With the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram, there was no such thing as a fog of war to Shang Xia any longer! If only he could reactivate the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Grand Formation. If that happened, wouldn¡¯t that mean that he would be able to use it to attack his enemies? Too bad he could only dream about it for the time being. He had no ability to reactivate the formation. In fact, not even Murong Danran, a formation master, could activate the formation. At least, not alone. The formation had been deactivated for more than ten years. It was practically impossible for anyone at their level to revive the formation alone! They would require a ton of help! Shang Xia pointed at another location on the diagram, and it was where he entered the Coral Forest. It was extremely peaceful and there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary there, causing a wave of disappointment to wash over him. If the formation underwater doesn¡¯t open up, he wouldn¡¯t be able to leave! There was no way to get outside help, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to call for backup from the Tongyou Institution! It seemed as though he would have to face everything alone! One of the ideas he had was to leave before the Martial Intent Realm expert arrived. After all, the Coral Forest was massive! The Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World was merely one of the four spiritual lands possessed by the Zhu Family! Despite that, leaving the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World now would mean that Shang Xia would be placed in great danger. Remaining in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World meant that he could use the diagram to observe his surroundings and prepare for any dangers that might arise. All of a sudden, Yuwen Changtian¡¯s voice caught Shang Xia¡¯s attention. ¡°... I was thinking¡­ Brother Ouyang and Brother Dongfang ran into trouble here too¡­ For him to disappear in this area again¡­ Could he be hiding nearby?¡± Murong Danran muttered, ¡°That makes sense. But you don¡¯t need to worry. He¡¯s only at the Martial Extremity Realm. He won¡¯t be much stronger than me based on the battle earlier. He only managed to surprise us by hiding underwater. For him to move so easily underwater, he definitely has some sort of treasure that allows him to do so! However, he seems to be injured by Brother Changtian¡¯s earlier attack. Otherwise, he would have tried to ambush us already!¡± ¡°That is true too. We don¡¯t have to stay here to try to look for him. We can search for him elsewhere and when Senior Yuntian comes, we¡¯ll dig him out of the ground!¡± Yuwen Changtian sighed. Murong Danran shook his head and responded, ¡°That¡¯s not a good idea. We¡¯re currently in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. Even though the restrictions here have been deactivated, it¡¯s still a massive maze. It might not be easy for us to return here after we leave. Let¡¯s just remain here and wait for my martial uncle¡­¡± Since Murong Danran had a way to contact members of his clan, Yuwen Changtian didn¡¯t doubt that they would be able to locate him too. Listening to him wasn¡¯t such a bad idea. ¡­ ¡°Murong Yuntian?!¡± Shang Xia was no stranger to the name. He used to be known as Jia Yuntian back in the Tongyou Peak, and he was a spy for the Rose Party! ¡°Hmph¡­ Enemies will inevitably cross paths¡­¡± Shang Xia growled. ¡­ ¡°... I¡¯m afraid that Senior Yuntian is still injured! I heard that he was attacked and cornered on the Tongyou Peak. When they saved him, he entered seclusion right away! Not that much time has passed and no one knows how much he recovered.¡± Yuwen Changtian said. However, Murong Danran seemed extremely confident. ¡°Brother Changtian, rest assured. After Martial Uncle Yuntian was brought over to us, the elders in our clan got him a portion of Meridian Replenishing Powder!¡± ¡°Meridian Replenishing Powder?!¡± Yuwen Changtian was slightly taken aback by the revelation. Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°Meridian Replenishing Powder!¡± Shang Xia gasped in shock. ¡°That¡¯s right. Even though the Meridian Replenishing Powder is a rank two medicine and isn¡¯t too useful when it comes to treating injuries, it¡¯s especially useful when it comes to healing his meridians. It¡¯s exceptionally helpful to allow a heavily injured fighter to recover a portion of their strength.¡± Murong Danran went deeper into the details in order to reassure Yuwen Changtian. He didn¡¯t know that everything he said had been heard by the spy next door. ¡°Martial Uncle Yuntian¡¯s cultivation was at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm! Even with a portion of his strength, ordinary cultivators who had barely entered the Martial Intent Realm won¡¯t be his match! How is that now? Brother Changtian, do you feel better about the situation now?¡± Murong Danran continued. Yuwen Changtian chuckled softly. No longer bringing up the idea of going elsewhere to search for the hidden assassin, he continued to look around him cautiously. All of a sudden, the feeling of death crept up in his mind as everything in his surroundings started to turn blurry. ¡°Be careful! He¡¯s about to appear soon! Hurry up and break the illusion!¡± Yuwen Changtian roared. ¡°Mother fucker! He dares to attack us when we¡¯re together?¡± Murong Danran cursed. He took out the liquid he used earlier and dabbed it onto the space between his eyebrows. He didn¡¯t forget to remind Yuwen Changtian, ¡°Stick your back against the wall! Don¡¯t allow anyone to sneak up behind you! Watch me break this shitty illusion¡­!¡± Before he could complete his sentence, a rumbling sound came from behind Murong Danran. His expression twisted immediately. Even Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect them to react that way! After learning that their backup was about to arrive, Shang Xia could only choose to carry out another round of sneak attacks. Forcefully using the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl by sending in some void and reality qi, he managed to send out illusions to the two standing on the other side of the wall. He knew that Murong Danran would be able to shatter the illusion quickly, and he launched his stronger attack the moment he opened the secret door. Who would have thought that Murong Danran would convince his companion to stick his back against the wall? If he still failed to carry out his sneak attack, he would be insulting the great luck the heavens blessed upon him! With their backs right in front of him, Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate. His Chaos Essence Lightning Palm appeared instantly as their bodies started to shiver from the electric shock they were given. CH 132 One couldn¡¯t forget that Shang Xia¡¯s Chaos Essence Lightning Palm was comprehended with the heavenly lightning as its foundation. With life and death at stake, Shang Xia burst forth with a whole new level of power. It exceeded anything he used previously! Those who had seen how strong his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm was once said that it was comparable to a martial intent comprehended at the Martial Extremity Realm level. Such an evaluation might have seemed exaggerated previously, but when Shang Xia entered the Martial Extremity Realm, his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm increased in power once again! It might possess enough power to be compared to martial intents comprehended at the Martial Intent Realm! Who else to better describe the feeling that Yuwen Changtian who was Shang Xia¡¯s primary target? Since the two of them were standing alongside each other, the effects of his strike affected both of them! However, they were both star disciples of their various clans. They definitely had some life-saving treasures they could put to use! After screaming in pain, Murong Danran¡¯s body turned rigid. His body no longer twitched no matter how hard the lightning struck him. As for Yuwen Changtian, he grunted softly when the lightning hit him. His clothes turned to ash from the powerful lightning bolts and the layer of armor he wore inside was revealed. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t surprised in the slightest. From the moment he made his move, he already took into account their life-saving treasures. He knew that killing them in one strike wouldn¡¯t be easy. Even so, Murong Danran surprised him yet again. It seemed as though that bastard really had a lot of life-saving treasures on him! Shang Xia¡¯s movements didn¡¯t stop there. As the lightning bolts started to fade, his sword had already been drawn. His primary target this time changed to Murong Danran! As he slashed out, a tiny voice in his head caused him to change his mind. He turned his blade towards the frozen Yuwen Changtian! The inner armor could protect his vital organs, but it couldn¡¯t cover his body completely! The lightning web that appeared from his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm struck every inch of his body! Even though his injuries didn¡¯t look too bad, his body was as stiff as a rock after being shocked by so much electricity. Despite that, Yuwen Changtian was an expert who was about to step into the Martial Intent Realm. He forced himself with the last of his strength to tilt his staff downwards in an attempt to stop Shang Xia¡¯s sword. However, the Delicate Jade River Sword twisted in the air and avoided the staff. It shot straight towards his chest. ¡°Hah¡­ Your¡­ Sword¡­ Isn¡¯t capable of¡­ Piercing through¡­¡± Even though he missed, he was confident in the protective abilities of his armor. His armor might only be a low-grade weapon, but it could absorb his inner qi as it always stuck to his body. He was confident in it blocking a single strike from a mid-grade weapon. A loud squelch rang through the air as Shang Xia¡¯s sword stabbed through the breastplate of the armor, through his chest. It was eventually stopped by the back of his armor, and a huge protrusion could be seen from behind. When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°Hmm¡­ It¡¯s amazing indeed. I didn¡¯t pierce through it completely. Well, it¡¯s enough¡­¡± Shang Xia retrieved his sword under Yuwen Changtian¡¯s complicated gaze. He couldn¡¯t help but cough twice when the blood sprayed onto his face. ¡°This¡­ You¡­ The fusion of two different qi¡­¡± Yuwen Changtian fell powerlessly to the ground. However, his strong life force as a cultivator who almost reached the Martial Intent Realm allowed him to live for several more breaths of time. ¡°Who¡­ Who the hell are you¡­ How did you do it?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s face was slightly pale after he used everything in his last strike, and he chuckled softly, ¡°Why should I tell you?¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Finally breathing his last, Yuwen Changtian stared at Shang Xia with an unresigned look in his eyes. It seemed as though he wouldn¡¯t be getting his answer even in death! When his inner qi was finally expelled from the blade, a sharp pain shot through his body. Since he had yet to comprehend the Yin Yang Sword Formation, he could only fuse the qi of strength and softness together to utilize the final strike of the Flexible Sword Art! Every time he did it, he would have to endure the backlash that came from the stored power in the blade! ¡­ If that one strike alone caused so much damage to himself, one could only imagine how terrifying the backlash would be after he comprehended the Yin Yang Sword Formation! Luckily for him, his Yin Yang Essence Qi tempered his body throughout his entire journey of cultivation. If anyone else were to unleash the move he just did, their meridians would be torn to shreds! Even though fusing the different types of qi would cause such a huge kickback effect on him, he knew that it was the key to comprehending his Yin Yang Sword Formation! Now, he could only fuse softness and strength qi. Even so, it was enough to cut through low-grade weapons! Shang Xia could hardly imagine how powerful his sword intent would be after he successfully comprehended it! ¡­ In the split second that passed, so many thoughts ran through Shang Xia¡¯s mind. He forced himself to focus on the battle at hand as there was one more person besides the slain Yuwen Changtian! Since Murong Danran used his life saving method, he became a frozen statue. Shang Xia kept an eye on him as he grabbed everything of value from Yuwen Changtian¡¯s corpse. Raising his head to look at Murong Danran¡¯s frozen figure, he didn¡¯t dare to venture too close. Waving Yuwen Changtian¡¯s silver staff, he summoned a ray of lightning that shot straight towards Murong Danran¡¯s chest. A loud explosion was heard as his figure exploded into a mist of icy qi. Shang Xia waved his Delicate Jade River Sword in his other hand and blocked off several rays of icy light that emerged after he shattered Murong Danran¡¯s ¡®body¡¯, Picking up several shards that remained where the body once stood, he realized that it was something similar to a bronze mirror. ¡°Heh¡­ What an insidious bastard¡­¡± Shang Xia cursed. The bronze mirror seemed to be some sort of treasure that could replace the carrier to protect them from all sorts of danger. Murong Danran used it when his body was shaking from the effects of the lightning bolts created by Shang Xia¡¯s Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. The mirror also had another mechanism to shatter into pieces after it was used. It could increase the chances of injuring his enemy after catching them off guard. Too bad for him, Shang Xia was too careful. If Shang Xia didn¡¯t guess wrongly, Murong Danran couldn¡¯t have escaped far. He might be watching everything from the side. He might jump out as soon as Shang Xia was injured by the shards of icy qi to deal a finishing blow. ¡°What a pity. His petty tricks are useless against me¡­¡± Shang Xia snorted. He leaped into the air and slashed at one of the surrounding rock formations. A ray of sword qi emerged, blowing it up! As rocks and debris flew into the air, a shadowy figure leaped out from behind it. Tapping lightly on the water surface below him, he started to run in the other direction. Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate to give chase. In the blink of an eye, the two of them ran for over ten feet. All of a sudden, Murong Danran¡¯s figure flashed and he hid behind another rock formation. When Shang Xia was about to approach, the rock formation seemed to come alive. It turned into a giant that tossed a giant boulder at Shang Xia. Gasping in shock, he was about to dodge when a thought flashed through his mind. He flung his sleeves and the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl appeared above him. Multi-colored lights illuminated the area around him and destroyed the illusion Murong Danran laid down. The giant disappeared in an instant. Of course, the boulder was real as it was something Murong Danran chucked at him. Dodging the boulder, Shang Xia ran straight through the ¡®giant¡¯. Murong Danran turned to run and he yelled in fright, ¡°How¡­ How can you see through my illusion?!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s chuckle echoed in his ears. ¡°You actually know quite a lot about the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World! You actually managed to use the illusions within!¡± Without even turning back, Murong Danran yelled, ¡°Would you like to work together with me?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a giant waste for you to obtain the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl and the core diagram! However, it¡¯s different if I use it! As long as you¡¯re willing to work with me, I¡¯m sure to dig out all the resources here! When that happens, we can split it equally! How¡¯s that?¡± Seeing as he wouldn¡¯t be able to shake off Shang Xia in a short amount of time, he decided to change his strategy. He hoped that Shang Xia would be greedy enough to accept his offer. ¡°I knew you were playing for time!¡± Shang Xia exclaimed when Murong Danran dodged behind another rock formation. He tried to run away from Shang Xia¡¯s pursuit, but with a wave of his hand, Shang Xia unfurled the scroll. He took one glance and discovered Murong Danran¡¯s location. ¡°Today, you won¡¯t be able to escape!¡± Shang Xia pointed casually at one of the rock formations with his Delicate Jade River Sword. Leaping away, Murong Danran summoned a ball of inner qi to protect himself from the sword strike. However, he didn¡¯t expect a bolt of lightning to strike down on him. ¡°You bastard!¡± Murong Danran¡¯s ball of inner qi managed to lessen the damage slightly. He still crashed into the ground, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered with anything else as he turned to run. All of a sudden, a loud whistle tore through the air. Someone approached them at high speed, and Murong Danran¡¯s figure froze all of a sudden. Turning back, a sinister grin appeared on his face. ¡°It¡¯s your turn to run now!¡± Staring deeply at Murong Danran, Shang Xia knew there was not enough time to deal with that slippery cockroach. In the next second, he turned around and ran. Their roles changed as Murong Danran started to chase after him. However, Murong Danran seemed a lot more relaxed than before. As long as Shang Xia didn¡¯t leave his line of sight, he wouldn¡¯t speed up. ¡°Hahaha! It¡¯s my turn now! This time, you won¡¯t get away!¡± Murong Danran gloated happily as he raced after Shang Xia. CH 133 The reason behind Shang Xia¡¯s insistence to kill Murong Danran was simple. He didn¡¯t need anyone to learn that he obtained both the core diagram and the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl. However, the reason behind his escape was simpler. With Muirong Danran¡¯s cultivation, there was no way to kill him in a short period of time! Once Murong Yuntian arrived, he would be doomed! He was absolutely certain that he couldn¡¯t kill Murong Danran before that. Even if Murong Yuntian was seriously injured, his cultivation base was still at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm! He could kill Shang Xia with a light slap! The difference between their base cultivation realms wasn¡¯t something that could be ignored even if Murong Yuntian was injured! Much less when there was an annoying cockroach-like Murong Danran at the side! Luckily, Murong Danran was still harboring some selfish thoughts to obtain the core diagram and the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl. His thought was to control the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World to obtain all the cultivation resources within! That was also the reason he called his martial uncle instead of other experts! Even though Murong Yuntian was severely injured back on the Tongyou Peak, Murong Danran called him over! Otherwise, the moment the news of the core diagram was leaked to the outside world, not only Martial Intent Realm experts would vie over it. Martial Extermination Realm experts might get involved too! When that happened, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t be able to do a thing. Of course, that would also mean that Murong Danran¡¯s plan would go up in smoke! ¡­ As Shang Xia escaped with all his might, Murong Danran chased him without letting up. Behind Shang Xia, Murong Danran constantly provoked the man. He wanted to affect Shang Xia¡¯s speed while sending signals to Murong Yuntian. Murong Yuntian¡¯s laughter that came from further behind grew louder and louder, and from the looks of it, Shang Xia had no hope of escaping. ¡°Hahaha, just stop running now. You won¡¯t be able to escape anyway. I¡¯ll plead with my uncle to let you live since you killed the four of them! There¡¯s no need for unnecessary struggles!¡± Murong Danran¡¯s voice boomed through the air again. Shang Xia ignored him as he continued to escape. However, a bone-chilling laughter soon rang in his ears. ¡°Shang Xia, it¡¯s you! I don¡¯t care what you do today! You¡¯re going to die!¡± Even without seeing Shang Xia¡¯s face, Murong Yuntian could recognize him. After all, he was the little b*stard who messed with him on the Kaiyuan Peak the other day! ¡°Oh no! You actually offended Martial Uncle Yuntian before? Well, too bad for you then! Who would have thought that you would be someone of the four great clans¡­ What a shame! Anway¡­ How did you get in here?¡± Murong Danran sneered. ¡°Our experts locked down the surrounding region. Not even your Martial Extermination Realm experts would be able to barge in here! How can a disciple like you enter our encirclement?¡± ¡°Unless¡­ There¡¯s a secret path into the Coral Forest!¡± Murong Danran came to his own conclusion. Without replying, Shang Xia increased his speed as he rushed away from the both of them. Using his martial intent to boost his speed, he utilized the Irregular Steps to the limit. ¡°Hehe! Looks like I¡¯m right!¡± Murong Danran cackled happily. A trace of excitement could also be heard in his voice. ¡°Let me guess again. Is the tunnel under the water?¡± ¡°Hey, what a coincidence! You¡¯re running back to where you started! You¡¯re not planning to run away from us! You¡¯re planning to leave the Coral Forest!¡± Murong Danran roared with laughter at his own intelligence. ¡°Looks like the secret path is not just under the water¡­ It¡¯s close to where you first appeared! What a pity you won¡¯t be able to escape. You even exposed your secret tunnel into the Coral Forest! Hah! Since you¡¯re the only one who appeared, you probably haven¡¯t told the other members of the Tongyou Institution about it!¡± Shang Xia tried ignoring Murong Danran as much as he could, but he would be lying if he said that he wasn¡¯t shocked by the guy¡¯s deduction abilities. There was only one thing Murong Danran got wrong, and that was Shang Xia¡¯s motive! He wasn¡¯t trying to escape! Even if he was, the damn protection screen wouldn¡¯t open for him! ¡°There¡¯s no need to waste your breath on that little b*stard anymore. He¡¯s behind the deaths of Guanchao and the others. Even if they¡¯re not part of our clans, they made a lot of contributions to the attack on the Tongyou Peak! If I don¡¯t kill this little b*stard today, I won¡¯t be able to calm the rage in my heart!¡± By the time his voice rang in Murong Danran¡¯s ears, he had already overtaken him. Murong Yuntian closed the distance between him and Shang Xia with one giant leap. His abilities made him much faster than a cultivator at the Martial Extremity Realm. ¡°Martial Uncle, be careful! That guy is extremely cunning!¡± Murong Danran reminded his uncle, but he was met with a dismissive chuckle. The difference between an expert at the Martial Intent Realm and the Martial Extremity Realm was like the difference between heaven and earth. How could some petty tricks close the gap? Realizing that he was in extreme danger, Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate to dive into the water below. ¡°He wants to run¡­¡± Murong Danran yelled. ¡°Run? Not with me here!¡± Murong Yuntian roared and a long halberd appeared in his hand. It stabbed violently towards the water below. Boom! A giant halberd formed with heaven and earth qi smashed into the water below, creating a massive crater. It created a path to the bottom! Shang Xia¡¯s figure was instantly revealed, and both of them saw a bubble-like screen bursting around him. As the energy contained in Murong Yuntian¡¯s halberd disappeared, water flooded back to fill the path back up. Discovering where Shang Xia was, Murong Yuntian didn¡¯t hesitate to jump in after him. His inner qi created a barrier around him to push the water away and he sped towards Shang Xia. ¡­ When Shang Xia entered the water earlier, he immediately used the Water Repulsion Pearl to escape. Murong Yuntian¡¯s random strike brushed past his body, narrowly missing him. Even so, the protection screen around him popped, and he was immediately pushed down towards the bottom with the huge wave that slammed into him. He crashed heavily into a rock face nearby. That wasn¡¯t all. Murong Yuntian¡¯s strike caused a giant hole to form in the protection screen connecting the Coral Forest to the essence qi stone mine Shang Xia came from! The resulting current almost forced him out! He was jolted awake from his shock when he heard the noise coming from above. Twisting his body to stabilize himself, he raised his head to lock his gaze with Murong Yuntian who was preparing to dive down. Using the wall beside him as support, he started to swim towards the sunken stairs that led to the hidden chamber. Without hesitation, he entered the hidden chamber. ¡­ When Murong Yuntian dove into the water, he quickly noticed the black hole in the protection screen where water was gushing out. The resulting current failed to affect him in the slightest. He quickly turned his attention back to Shang Xia who had entered some weird hole beside a sunken staircase. He followed closely behind, and he entered a tunnel with a lot of twists and turns. Not too long after he entered, he noticed a large opening above his head that emitted some sort of faint light. He could faintly make out the figure of a human up there, and it was none other than Shang Xia. Shang Xia never intended to run away! As soon as he caught sight of Murong Yuntian, a ray of cold light flashed through his eyes and he crushed the jade pendant in his hand. Crack! Murong Yuntian felt a surge of heaven and earth qi as a massive spear appeared above Shang Xia. The body of the spear was thick, and the tip of the spear pointed straight towards Murong Yuntian. There was nowhere he could run! That was the rank three talisman Shang Ke sealed his divine sense in for him, the Suspended Spear Talisman! Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. A trace of Shang Ke¡¯s divine sense was contained in the jade talisman, and the martial intent of the second strongest expert of the Shang Clan wasn¡¯t to be taken lightly! CH 134 In the essence qi stone mine several miles away from the Coral Forest, a figure emerged from a cultivation cave in one of the walls and the sound of a gushing river could be heard getting closer and closer. As the sound got louder, the ground below started to shake. All of a sudden, a massive geyser broke through from the ground below, quickly filling up the essence qi stone mine. Very quickly, it flooded more than a third of it. Sun Haiwei stared at the sudden change with her pale face. From the looks of it, she had yet to recover to her peak state. Staring at the water pouring out from the ground below, a deep frown formed on her face. She felt that it definitely had something to do with Shang Xia, but she just emerged from her cultivation cave and had no idea what was going on. She didn¡¯t know where Shang Xia went either. All of a sudden, a familiar chirp came from the entrance of the mine. Staring up into the sky, she saw the figure of a bird circling slowly. Raising an eyebrow in surprise, she realized that even the Lightning Bird had no idea where Shang Xia went. Pausing for a moment, she felt that she had to notify the Shang Clan about what happened. Retrieving a jade green talisman in her hand, she sent her inner qi into it before ripping it. The talisman turned into a streak of light and shot into the horizon. ¡­ After Murong Yuntian was severely injured on the Tongyou Peak, he was saved by the elder of the Yuntian Clan and he entered seclusion in the Coral Forest. He managed to regain a bit of his fighting strength. Despite that, it was as easy as pie if he wished to kill Shang Xia! However, he was facing the martial intent of Shang Ke! Someone who was stronger than him even if he was at his peak! If Shang Xia pulled out any other rank three talisman, Murong Yuntian would have scoffed in his face. He might have faced a little difficulty in getting rid of it, but this was Shang Ke¡¯s martial intent they were talking about! It contained a full-powered strike from the man himself! Stuck in the underwater tunnel, there was nowhere for him to run! The moment the giant spear appeared, Murong Yuntian¡¯s first reaction wasn¡¯t to run. It wasn¡¯t to retreat either! Instead, he wanted to smash the wall beside him to create a small hole to hide! He wanted to avoid the spear by hiding in the crevice he made! His thoughts were apparently too simple. Along with the crisp pop that rang when he smacked the wall beside him, a soft buzz filled his ear. A shallow dent was all he could make and the underwater path remained completely intact. It was too late for him to do anything as the spear came crashing down! The water had long since been forced away by the aura of the spear, and Murong Yuntian desperately tried to raise his defenses! He was too late! Roaring with all his might, he halberd shot out. It managed to scrape away a little bit of power contained in the Suspended Spear, but the heaven and earth qi it shaved off returned to the body of the spear, making it sturdier than before. As the spear arrived before him, he screamed manically and raised his hand to stop it. Releasing his inner qi without holding anything back, he managed to weaken the blow. However, his hands were turned to dust from the backlash. In his last-ditch attempt to survive, he forced out all his inner qi to form a bloodied shield in front of his chest. Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. As the spear collided with the shield, he was forced into the wall behind from the impact. Vomiting mouthfuls of blood, he stared at the spear that ate away at his inner qi shield. The tip of the spear stabbed deep into his chest. ¡°Ah!¡± Murong Yuntian stared at Shang Xia with his bloodshot eyes, unresigned to his fate. He was an expert at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm! He had a frighteningly strong life force, and even though he was stabbed straight through the chest, he wouldn¡¯t die right away! Even if he had to die, he wanted to drag the little bastard with him! However, he noticed Shang Xia staring at him cautiously as his life force drained from him. As his consciousness slowly left his body, Shang Xia finally approached. Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate to stab his sword straight through Murong Yuntian¡¯s open mouth. It emerged from the back of his brain, pinning his head on the wall. He shattered all of Murong Yuntian¡¯s hopes of dragging him into the afterlife! With an unresigned expression on his face, Murong Yuntian finally died! Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief. After ensuring his opponent was dead, he slowly retrieved his sword. A line of blood flowed down the wall where Shang Xia¡¯s sword pierced his brain. The death of a cultivator at the Martial Intent Realm would definitely cause the heaven and earth qi in the surrounding to fluctuate. That was because a huge amount of inner qi would be released from the body all at once. Their dantian would be destroyed too, forming the weird phenomenon around them. Dense heaven and earth qi gathered around him. Along with his death, a huge amount of inner qi emerged from his body. It was too bad the water returned at just the right moment. Washing away the heaven and earth qi in the surroundings, the phenomenon that was supposed to occur when a Martial Intent Realm expert died failed to appear! Something caught Shang Xia¡¯s attention and he turned to look at the imprint on the wall made by Murong Yuntian when he tried to avoid the Suspended Spear. Faint runes appeared in the tiny dent on the wall. That wasn¡¯t all. Faint lines appeared along the stone walls of the hidden chamber. Shang Xia finally realized what was going on. The rock formation and the chamber he was in were absorbing all the inner qi released during Murong Yuntian¡¯s death! Retrieving Murong Yuntian¡¯s body, Shang Xia brought it back up to the hidden stone chamber. He could see faint runes starting to light up along the walls. With no idea what was going on, he opened the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram once again. He discovered that the four red dots were starting to glow brighter. At the same time, Shang Xia realized that there seemed to be some sort of faint connection between the four chambers. The area surrounded by the four chambers looked to be the core of the formation! Could the formation be awakening?! The Fantasy Spiritual Pearl appeared again, and it looked a lot more solid than before. Shang Xia was quickly attracted to the seven-colored mist swirling inside the pearl. The mist seemed to grow a lot stronger and it seemed to gain some spirituality of its own. Swirling faster and faster in the pearl, it looked as though it was excited about something. All of a sudden, Shang Xia heard some weird noise coming from outside the hidden chamber. Lightly blowing on the pearl, the diagram changed once again to show the exact scene outside the hidden chamber at that moment. ¡°Hehe, this guy is really smart. He even found the way to open the hidden chamber in such a short amount of time!¡± ¡­ Outside the hidden chamber, Murong Danran carefully inspected the area around him. He muttered to himself, ¡°This doesn¡¯t make sense. There has to be a hidden chamber somewhere! However, there¡¯s nothing I can use to open it up from the outside!¡± As he circled the rock formation Shang Xia ambushed them three times, he felt some heaven and earth qi fluctuations coming from under the water and he sighed, ¡°Looks like something big is going down!¡± Murong Danran never thought that Murong Yuntian would run into any mishap when chasing a cultivator at the Martial Extremity Realm, and he continued to inspect the area around him. His instincts told him that there was something off about the place. It should be extremely important, and it might be the key to the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Grand Formation! A huge change occurred suddenly. Heaven and earth qi started to leak out from the huge rock formation that contained the hidden chamber as runes started to appear on its surface. ¡°So that¡¯s it! It¡¯s here!¡± Murong Danran quickly traced the runes back to the mechanism used to open the hidden entrance to the chamber. Since it was extremely well hidden, he didn¡¯t discover it previously. Tapping lightly on the walls, he eventually discovered where the hidden chamber was. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to move the two rocks to open the entrance. I wonder if I have to push them or pull them¡­ Maybe I¡¯ll have to do both!¡± Murong Danran started to test his guess. When he pressed down on the two rocks, a soft rumble could be heard as the entrance to the hidden chamber. started to open. ¡°Hah! I was right!¡± Murong Danran roared with laughter. However, it stopped abruptly when he discovered the figure at the entrance staring back at him. ¡°You¡­¡± A ray of light flashed past his eyes, and Murong Danran¡¯s expression froze. ¡°Dumbass¡­¡± A soft grunt could be heard leaving Shang Xia¡¯s lips as he followed up with another palm strike. When it landed on Murong Danran¡¯s chest, a soft pop could be heard. Grabbing the corpse, Shang Xia dragged it back into the hidden chamber. When the entrance closed behind him, it was as though nothing ever happened in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World! CH 135 Out of the many corpses in the hidden chamber, Shang Xia carefully placed Guan Shanyue¡¯s body before tossing Yuwen Changtian, Murong Danran, and Murong Yuntian to the side. After dealing with the bodies, Shang Xia also tossed Yuwen Changtian¡¯s silver staff on the ground. When he saw Yuwen Changtian using it earlier, Shang Xia felt that it was a low-grade weapon at the very least! Upon closer inspection, he discovered that it was an ordinary staff that had some special material mixed into it. It couldn¡¯t be considered a graded weapon! He had to admit that Yuwen Changtian really approached weapons creation with a new approach. Other than coating the outside with some better materials, the actual staff itself was crafted out of steel. From the outside, it looks pretty impressive. It could also withstand Shang Xia¡¯s energy when he transmitted some of it into the weapon. As such, it wasn¡¯t completely useless. However, he suddenly recalled the scene he saw underwater when Yuwen Changtian first brought it out. When he fiddled with it earlier, he discovered the mechanism to separate it into three short sticks. He couldn¡¯t help but laugh when he thought about Yuwen Changtian, a man who always maintained a calm and stern expression, playing with his short sticks. He chose to deal with the weapon after looking through the spoils. Shang Xia took out a set of staff techniques he obtained from Yuwen Changtian¡¯s body. It was called the Combined Staff Art, and it was a technique meant for cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm. Skimming through its contents, Shang Xia realized that it was too different from the technique Yuwen Changtian used. The manual should be something he obtained in passing and he barely used it for reference. A frown formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. Was that it?! Excuse me? You¡¯re a cultivator at the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm! Why are you so poor? From Murong Danran and Yuwen Changtian¡¯s conversation earlier, Shang Xia could tell that Yuwen Changtian was on the verge of advancing! He was already starting to collect herbs for his advancement medicine! Shang Xia¡¯s thoughts turned to Yuwen Changtian¡¯s advancement recipe. For him to start collecting ingredients for his advancement medicine, he definitely had a complete recipe! Of course, no clan would be dumb enough to let anyone bring the recipe around. All they had to do was to memorize the herbs and ingredients required. There was no point in letting their disciples bring a copy of the recipe everywhere they went! After their disciples memorized the ingredients they needed, their clan would definitely make them swear an oath never to leak it to outsiders. Whatever the case, Yuwen Changtian seemed like an extremely unlucky fool in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes. Not only was his death caused by his teammate, as a cultivator who was about to step into the Martial Extremity Realm, he was as poor as a pauper! Even disciples like Dongfang Mingrui and Ouyang Fengxuan carried around items that caught his eye! Shang Xia didn¡¯t know whether he should pity himself for only obtaining a rank two technique or Yuwen Changtian for possessing it. Disregarding all the treasures he should have, at the very least, he had a huge wallet. Estimating the amount contained in Yuwen Changtian¡¯s money pouch, Shang Xia felt that he would have a little more than a hundred pieces of silver essence. Now, he didn¡¯t need to worry about paying Sun Haiwei back! Wait a second¡­ Why on earth would a member of the Rose Party need so much money? Was he planning on going shopping on the Tongyou Peak for his juniors or something?! Where the hell was he going to spend it? My man! A little more than a hundred silver essence is a boatload of money for cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm, but you won¡¯t be able to buy rank three herbs required for your advancement! Shang Xia sighed before looking at the items he obtained from Murong Danran. He expected much more from this slippery cockroach. Out of the five disciples of the Rose Party he killed, Murong Danran¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t the highest. However, he was the hardest to deal with! The man had too many life-saving tactics and he was extremely cunning! Not only was he well versed in the art of formations, but he also seemed to be pretty familiar with Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World! That raised a few red flags in Shang Xia¡¯s heart. There seemed to be something off about how much he knew! Anyway, it was a pity most of his treasures were used up when Shang Xia chased him earlier. The bronze mirror that saved his life when Shang Xia ambushed him from behind was the thing Shang Xia wanted the most! After all, it could save his life at a crucial moment! It was a pity the bronze mirror shattered. From the shards, Shang Xia could tell that it wasn¡¯t made from some precious treasure. In that case, there could only be one other explanation. It was crafted from some sort of secret art! Tossing away several other items that didn¡¯t catch his eye, Shang Xia locked onto a flying knife that was three inches long. Playing with it, Shang Xia recalled what happened when he came out to snatch the pearl. Murong Danran threw the knife into the water, it caused a layer of frost to form on the surface! If Shang Xia moved a little faster, he wouldn¡¯t have to take Yuwen Changtian¡¯s strike! Well, whatever. It was over now and all of his enemies were dead anyway. Shang Xia dug around more and discovered that the flying knife was called ¡®Fleeing Wind¡¯, and it was a low-grade weapon! Hah! Finally! Something good! Even if Shang Xia knew nothing about how to use hidden weapons like that, it was a graded weapon nonetheless. One had to know that even Martial Intent Realm experts might not be able to get their hands on a graded weapon! A smile formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. Indeed¡­ Murong Danran didn¡¯t let him down! He had quite a few presents on him! Unfortunately, Shang Xia didn¡¯t find any precious herbs on him. Next came a book he found on Murong Danran. It was completely handwritten, and it was called the Mountain and Sea Recollection. Shang Xia initially thought that it would contain some poems or stuff like that, and he laughed at Murong Danran for being a pretentious bastard. However, his expression turned solemn when he discovered that it contained knowledge regarding the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. From the knowledge contained within, Shang Xia felt that it was written by someone who entered the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World before. Shang Xia quickly looked through the contents within. The book was written in a first-person perspective and it wrote about the happenings before the collision between the two worlds. Shang Xia learned that the person entered the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World after entering the Zhu Family. Many of the things recorded were true life experiences and stuff the author learned from the conversation of other Zhu Family members. Nothing much was recorded about the other special regions though. There was no way the author wasn¡¯t related to the Zhu Family. Even if they weren¡¯t a direct descendant, they had to be someone of a branch family in order to know so much. Shang Xia learned that the author of the book had been sent to assist in the reconstruction of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Grand Formation several years before the Zhu Family¡¯s destruction, and that''s how they learned many intricate secrets about it. When the author of the book left the Zhu Family for whatever reason, they probably swore an oath to keep the secret! However, the Zhu Family was destroyed and the oath naturally lost its effect. After so many years, the author recorded the last of their knowledge before death. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know how, but the book eventually landed in Murong Danran¡¯s hands. Even without knowledge of the art of formations, Shang Xia could tell that the book he was holding was of extremely high value to any formation master. Moreover, the Coral Forest was the focus of the Azure Origin World at that moment, and the price of a book that contained the inner workings of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Grand Formation was priceless! Everything finally clicked. Shang Xia finally knew why Murong Danran was so familiar with the place even though it was his first time there! That was why he still tried to convince Shang Xia to work with him even after the death of all his fellow disciples! He wasn¡¯t willing to notify the higher-ups of the Rose Party, and he called upon the heavily injured Murong Yuntian to assist him! As it turned out, the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World hid such a huge secret! Shang Xia took out the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram and he stared at the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl. The look in his eyes changed several times. Reluctantly tearing his gaze away, he decided to look at Murong Yuntian¡¯s items. Now comes the climax. The belongings of an expert at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. Even though he was injured, that wouldn¡¯t affect the wealth he accumulated! Previously, Shang Xia expected his treasures to surpass everyone present! However, his expectations died a little when he obtained the Mountain and Sea Recollection. Shang Xia stared at Murong Yuntian¡¯s low-grade weapon, the Waning Moon Halberd, with the expression of a dead fish. If anyone else was here, they would probably beat him to death! A great portion of Martial Intent Realm cultivators would be more than happy to get their hands on a graded weapon. There were even some Martial Extermination Realm experts who were using low-grade weapons! Now, this little prick at the Martial Extremity Realm was looking down on one! Of course, none of them would be able to understand Shang Xia¡¯s thoughts. After all, Murong Yuntian revealed a high-grade weapon when he was sabotaging the Tongyou Peak¡¯s protection formation. Shang Xia expected it to appear among his loot, but reality disappointed him. The difference between a low-grade weapon and a high-grade weapon was enormous! Naturally, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be happy with Murong Yuntian¡¯s Waning Moon Halberd! In reality, Shang Xia guessed as much. There was no way the Rose Party would allow him to hold on to a high-grade weapon now that his mission was over and he was exposed! They probably lent him the treasure to destroy the formation, and they collected it now that their attempt failed. The Rose Party had thrown all their marbles into their conquest of the Coral Forest. A high-grade weapon would be passed on to a powerful member to fight back against the pressure of the Tongyou Peak¡¯s experts when they came! Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Placing the halberd beside Yuwen Changtian¡¯s staff, Shang Xia continued to look through his loot. His eyes widened in shock when a tiny little case that was three inches long fell onto the ground before him. Embroidered Cloud Case! CH 136 Staring at the case, Shang Xia felt his eyeballs popping out of their sockets. He might not have his own Embroidered Cloud Case, but his aunt, Shang Xi, had one! He had the experience of using one! Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be more familiar with what possessing an Embroidered Cloud Case represented! If he managed to get his hands on Shang Xi¡¯s Embroidered Cloud Case, he would be able to store a lot more items on him! Today, his dream finally came true! Shang Xia found too much good stuff in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. It was so much he didn¡¯t know how to bring it out, and he even thought of hiding a portion of them in the hidden chamber so that he could return for them in the future. Now, there was no need for all that trouble! Shang Xia picked the Embroidered Cloud Case up from the ground carefully and he started pouring in his inner qi. Shang Xi might not have given him her Embroidered Cloud Case, but she taught him all its uses a long time ago! He had to leave his own spiritual imprint on it before he could open the case! If anyone stole the treasure, he would be able to follow the trail to search for it! Even if the thief left his detection range and tried to open the Embroidered Cloud Case forcefully, the original owner¡¯s spiritual imprint would go berserk and destroy the case! The items inside would definitely be destroyed, and the thief would be injured by the spatial fluctuations. When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Murong Yuntian¡¯s spiritual imprint might be strong, but he was dead! Without anyone to supplement it with energy, Shang Xia¡¯s Yin Yang Essence Qi quickly eroded it. Next, Shang Xia placed his own spiritual imprint on the case. Once he did, he opened it impatiently. His qi entered the case and retrieved the first thing it came into contact with. Before Shang Xia entered the Martial Intent Realm, he would have to use his inner qi to take out the items. Only when he developed his divine sense would he be able to take out anything with a single thought. First things first, he looked at the space the case could contain. It could actually contain two cubic feet! That meant that the Embroidered Cloud Case was at the mid grade! The smile on Shang Xia¡¯s face didn¡¯t fade even after a long time. He was even thinking about how he would celebrate in front of Shang Xi¡¯s face. However, his attention eventually turned to the item he brought out. The shit-eating grin on his face only grew wider. He wasn¡¯t unfamiliar with the jade board he took out. He had seen jade boards like that used to pass down inheritances in the Scripture Depository of the Tongyou Peak. Of course, inheritances varied greatly. It might be something good, or it might be absolute garbage. Looking at the Twisting Twin Blades, Shang Xia raised an eyebrow in surprise. After reading through the technique, a strange look appeared on his face. Wasn¡¯t it a technique for the high-grade scissors he used back on the Tongyou Peak? Shang Xia had seen the power the Golden Devouring Scissors contained! Even though the thick chains connecting the bridges on the Tongyou Peak were protected by restrictions, Murong Yuntian was still able to sever them with the weapon! A frown appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. Was he supposed to go look for a pair of giant scissors before he was qualified to learn the technique? Reading through it a second time, a lightbulb lit up in his mind. What a fool he was for thinking that he could only learn the technique when he used scissors?! It was clearly a set of techniques for dual wielders of the sword! Using two swords was the basis of the manual. Murong Yuntian only used it as inspiration to use his Golden Devouring Scissors! The key point was that the technique was suitable for cultivators who cultivated the dao of fire and ice! Cultivators who hadn¡¯t comprehended their martial intent were also eligible to learn the technique, and at the highest level, one could comprehend the martial intent ¡®Severing Ice and Fire¡¯. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know why Murong Yuntian carried around the jade board with him, but he had his guesses. It might be difficult for Murong Yuntian to meet up with the members of the Rose Party when he was acting as a spy in the Tongyou Institution! However, it could also be because Murong Yuntian was overconfident! As Shang Xia was lacking a technique for his cultivation in the dao of ice and fire, Murong Yuntian¡¯s death came extremely timely! A trace of fulfillment entered Shang Xia¡¯s heart. He managed to obtain two great treasures so far from Murong Yuntian! The Embroidered Cloud Case was definitely the best thing he could have gotten, and the sword manual came a close second. Of course, there were much more items in the Embroidered Cloud Case. He took everything out, and he discovered that there were several different medicines along with some talismans. He couldn¡¯t recognize most of it, and he didn¡¯t dare to try any of them. The last item that caught his attention was a lacquered wooden box. There were three jade bottles in the box, and one of them was empty! It was evident that Murong Yuntian had used up one of its contents. ¡°This¡­ This is the Meridian Replenishing Powder?!¡± Shang Xia gasped in shock. The Meridian Replenishing Powder could allow a cultivator to recover a little bit of their fighting strength in a short amount of time, and in order to prevent themselves from growing resistant to the medicinal effects, one would only use a set of Meridian Replenishing Powder after a long time. ¡°Two bottles of Meridian Replenishing Powder! Hahaha! These should be the medicine they prepared for him to recover! Perfect! I probably need one set to advance, and the last set¡­¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate and poured them into his mouth. A warm current washed over his body, and he felt his inner qi churning rapidly. It started to recover all the hidden injuries he suffered when he used the final move of the Flexible Sword Art when he fused both types of qi together. He also managed to recover slightly. ¡°... I¡¯ll keep the last set for when I cultivate the Yin Yang Sword Formation! I¡¯ll use it with the Tempering Meridian Powder, and the effects will be great!¡± Shang Xia also discovered a half-written report inside an exquisite wooden box that he placed on the ground earlier. He could tell that the contents were probably written by Murong Yuntian, and it contained all his experience as a spy in the Tongyou Institution. There were secrets of many higher-ups of the institution, and there was a clear description of everyone¡¯s relationship with each other. He also wrote about some happenings among the four great clans. As Shang Xia read through the entire thing, a sentence caught his eye. ¡°... On the fifteenth day of the sixth month, Kou Chongxue returned to the institution. He entered seclusion due to his injuries, and Shang Bo broke through to the Fourth Layer Martial Extermination Realm after some time! Kou Chongxue¡¯s injury might have something to do with Shang Bo¡¯s breakthrough!¡± Other than that, Murong Yuntian had more reports on the institution. He analyzed many things regarding cultivators in the Azure Origin World. Shang Xia might not understand a huge portion of what Murong Yuntian wrote, but he knew that it contained the secrets of many important people. However, the report similarly contained many secrets of the Rose Party! ¡°Lucky for us, this sneaky freak is dead and I got my hands on this report. I can¡¯t let this land into the hands of the Rose Party! There are too many secrets contained in this report! Hmm¡­ I shouldn¡¯t keep it either. I should hand it over to the institution to maximize my gains! I might even be rewarded heavily again for this!¡± Since he obtained the Embroidered Cloud Case, other than several items that he used often, everything else was thrown into the spatial artifact! ¡°This feels much lighter!¡± Shang Xia exclaimed while sweeping his gaze across the various corpses again. Sighing softly, he dove down into the hidden passage towards the sunken staircase. Alas, his Water Repulsion Pearl had been destroyed by Murong Yuntian earlier! He couldn¡¯t keep himself dry underwater anymore. If he thought about it earlier, he would have gone to look for the third hidden chamber by land! There was no need to get his clothes wet for nothing! Since he had the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram, he didn¡¯t have to worry about getting lost! The only thing he was afraid of was that Murong Yuntian¡¯s death might have alerted a Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Rose Party. Also, he didn¡¯t know when the protection screen would open again since it had already recovered from Murong Yuntian¡¯s strike. Shang Xia sighed helplessly, ¡°It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t want to bring you guys in! You can only blame it on your luck¡­¡± Naturally, he was referring to the experts on the Tongyou Peak. ¡°Oh right. The sudden flooding after the protection screen was broken might have alarmed Senior Sister Sun¡­ I wonder how she¡¯s doing¡­¡± As his thoughts ran wild, he quickly navigated towards the third hidden chamber. His speed was much slower than before since he didn¡¯t have the Water Repulsion Pearl. After some time, he approached the location marked by the third red dot on the diagram. Luckily for him, the third room was similar to the first. There was an underwater passage leading into it and he didn¡¯t need to look for hidden mechanisms outside. Shang Xia emerged from the pool in the middle of the third stone chamber and he quickly looked at everything around him. He could see faint glows on the wall that resonated with the pulsing light from the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl. In fact, the stone chamber seemed like a slumbering beast. Each of the four hidden chambers contained a part of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Grand Formation, and the part contained in the third hidden chamber was called the Mountain and Sea Qi Convergence Formation. The Zhu Family would reward disciples with a chance to cultivate in the room and the effects were similar to the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool on the Tongyou Peak! CH 137 All the members of the Rose Party in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World had already been killed by Shang Xia. However, he felt that he couldn¡¯t remain complacent. He knew that the Rose Party would definitely send more people over if they couldn¡¯t get any response from those who had been sent there. ¡°I need to quicken my pace¡­ I killed Murong Yuntian through pure luck. If another Martial Intent Realm expert comes, I won¡¯t be able to deal with them! They might even send more than one!¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself. Shang Xia reactivated the formation according to the records in the Mountain and Sea Recollection. Even though the formation hadn¡¯t been activated for a long time, it wasn¡¯t broken! Especially after Murong Yuntian¡¯s death. His inner qi seemed to be devoured by the formation, allowing it to restore itself to some degree. As the lines along the wall became brighter, the Mountain and Sea Qi Gathering Formation started to work again. It had the ability to gather heaven and earth qi into the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World! Shang Xia could feel the density of the heaven and earth qi in the room growing quickly. However, he wasn¡¯t in a rush to start his cultivation as he continued to observe the walls. A moment later, the stone walls started to glow to resemble polished jade. According to the book, Shang Xia took out the Unstable Rock and tossed it into the water where he came from. ¡°Plop¡­¡± The instant it hit the water, strange runes started to appear all around it. Space seemed to twist and the spatial fluctuations expanded to fill the chamber. The heaven and earth qi that filled the chamber was affected by the sudden change. Shang Xia felt a strange sensation pulling, pushing, and dragging him in all directions. He felt his body grow lighter all of a sudden, but he would turn as heavy as a rock in the next instant. The change happened extremely quickly, and the stone chamber seemed to have fallen into chaos. Thinking back to the time when Liu Qinglan released the liquid that contained the properties of fire and ice, Shang Xia realized that the Unstable Rock he used as a catalyst earlier should be the key to the type of qi in the chamber! The heaven and earth qi in the chamber was probably transformed into light and heavy qi! His Yin Yang Essence Qi started to transform quickly to complement the type of qi around him. As he circulated his Yin Yang Mysterious Art, his body turned into a bottomless hole that started to devour the energy around him. Shang Xia, who was concentrating on the circulation of his Yin Yang Mysterious Art, didn¡¯t notice that his body was starting to float in the air. It would sink at times, but it would quickly bounce back up. ¡­ In the essence qi stone mine outside the Coral Forest¡­ After receiving Sun Haiwei¡¯s report, the higher-ups of the institution immediately sent over several experts, along with members of the Shang Clan. Looking at the pool of water that flooded the mine, Inner Division Instructor Gu Shou asked Sun Haiwei, ¡°Did you go down to take a look?¡± Sun Haiwei nodded. ¡°Yeah! The hole in the ground was dug by a rank three undead corpse and we killed it to secure the mine. The hole seems to connect to a tunnel, but it stretches a long way! It seems to be in the direction of the Coral Forest, and I located a protection screen at the very end of the tunnel! I am unable to cross the protection screen, and I have no idea what lies behind it.¡± With his stern expression and facial features that made him look a bit older than he actually was, Gu Shou turned to look at the actual elder standing beside him. He asked Shang Ke, ¡°I¡¯m not too familiar with whatever happened here. Senior Shang, do you have any ideas?¡± Shang Ke chuckled in amusement, ¡°Whatever the case, we need to head down for ourselves. If she¡¯s right and the Coral Forest lies past the protection screen, Instructor Gu should understand what the implications are.¡± Gu Shou nodded and turned to a young lady standing beside him who looked a little distracted. ¡°Lass, it¡¯s up to you!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Snapping back to attention, a reluctant expression appeared on her face as she looked at the body of water in the mine. ¡°Oh¡­ Alright then¡­ Let¡¯s go take a look!¡± ¡­ In the stone chamber, everything looked to be really peaceful as Shang Xia hovered in mid air. He had no idea what happened outside the Coral Forest, and if anyone were to watch him cultivating, they would see that the space around his body was slightly twisted. Something definitely looked off around him, but he gave off a strangely harmonic feeling with the world around him. It was difficult to describe the feeling in words. The strange energy that surrounded him was precisely what allowed him to remain floating in mid air. As Shang Xia turned his attention to his dantian, he discovered that the amount of light and heavy qi contained within was starting to reach the saturation point. In other words, Shang Xia had truly entered the large completion stage of a Martial Extremity Realm cultivator! Since he cultivated both extremities simultaneously, his speed of cultivation couldn¡¯t be compared to other cultivators! Back in the Polarity Essence Gathering Pool, Shang Xia confirmed that he had already surpassed the small completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm but didn''t quite reach the large completion stage. Now that he found himself unable to take in any more heaven and earth qi, he knew that he had successfully stepped into the large completion stage! The Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian turned a lot more solid than before. ¡°Hah¡­ I didn¡¯t think that I would progress so quickly¡­¡± Thinking back to the time before he entered the battlefield between two worlds where his cultivation was at the grand completion stage of the Martial Realm, a sense of accomplishment filled his heart. How long has it been since then? Even though the frequent changes in the battlefield between the two worlds caused timekeeping to be a huge problem, Shang Xia was sure that not much time had passed. At the very least, the two month holiday given by the institution wasn¡¯t over. Otherwise, they would already have received news on the Tongyou Peak. ¡°Well, whatever.¡± Shang Xia rotated his Yin Yang Diagram and started to transform the light and heavy qi back into his Yin Yang Essence Qi. All of a sudden, the blood-red tablet in his sea of consciousness experienced some changes. Looking at the words on the tablet, he noticed the difference instantly. Martial Intent: Yin Yang Sword Formation (Can be advanced) Prerequisite Cultivation Technique: Yin Yang Mysterious Transformation (Large Completion Stage) (Ice and Fire, Softness and Strength, Void and Reality, Light and Heavy) Prerequisite Martial Art: Flexible Sword Art, Cloud Drizzle Sword Art Subsequent Martial Art: None Requirement: Yin Yang Diagram A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. Medicine Required: Meridian Tempering Powder, Meridian Replenishing Powder Required Item: Yin Yang Sword Talisman Success Rate: 75%-85% Compared to when he just obtained the Cloud Drizzle Sword Art, the name of his prerequisite cultivation technique changed from the Yin Yang Mysterious Art to the Yin Yang Mysterious Transformation! Shang Xia was visibly surprised. He realized that the change might not have anything to do with the tablet! He thought about it during his cultivation process about how his inner qi transformed to possess different attributes, and now it seemed as though it had been reflected in the name of his technique! ¡°Perhaps¡­ Perhaps the tablet can change based on my thoughts!¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself before looking at the other changes. The Vigorous Sword Art and Formless Sword Art were gone. In their place was the Flexible Sword Art. The Cloud Drizzle Sword Art was a new addition. Shang Xia thought about the reason behind the change, and it might be because he fused strength and softness qi and unleashed the final move of the Flexible Sword Art. After getting his inspiration from the fusion, he managed to incorporate it into every stroke. That would provide an explanation for why he no longer needed two sword techniques for softness and strength qi respectively. As for the Cloud Drizzle Art, Shang Xia also fused void and reality qi together when he sneak attacked Sima Like under the water. The final test he could use to prove his guess was the Twisting Twin Blades. Enough of sword techniques. Shang Xia looked at the success rate and it returned to its original value. Since he obtained the Meridian Replenishing Powder from Murong Yuntian, the only medicine left was the Tempering Meridian Powder! Once he was ready with all his preparations, he would create the Yin Yang Sword Talisman and try to comprehend his Martial Extremity Intent, the Yin Yang Sword Formation! Shang Xia opened his eyes and nearly yelled out loud. However, he discovered he was floating in the air and his eyes widened in shock. With his mental state disturbed, he fell butt-first into the ground below. Luckily for him, he was pretty close to the ground. Crawling to his feet, Shang Xia tried to transform his inner qi into light and heavy qi. He tried to float in the air but to no avail. It¡¯s probably related to the Mountain and Sea Qi Convergence Formation¡­ Shang Xia quickly came to a conclusion. He only managed to do what he did because he absorbed the qi around him. He formed a miraculous balance with the surrounding qi, allowing him to float in the air. Since he completed his cultivation, he could no longer achieve the state of equilibrium! Light and heavy qi¡­ Perhaps my movement technique will receive a huge boost thanks to my comprehension this time! CH 138 ¡°Splash!¡± Shang Xia burst out from the surface before drying himself off by circulating his inner qi. ¡°The protection screen is still active¡­¡± As he grumbled softly, Shang Xia retrieved the Twisting Twin Blades from his Embroidered Cloud Case and started to read through it. After reaching the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm thanks to the Mountain and Sea Qi Convergence Formation, Shang Xia remained in the stone chamber to comprehend the sword art. It didn¡¯t take long for him to gain some insights. From time to time, he would dive under to see if the protection screen had opened up so he could leave. Every time he went down, he would return disappointed. After so many repetitions, he even started practicing the Twisted Twin Blades in the hidden chamber. The only thing that troubled him was the fact that he needed two swords in order to practice the technique. He only had the Delicate Jade River Sword! Luckily, he managed to find a sword among the loot he obtained from the members of the Rose Party. It wasn¡¯t a graded weapon and neither did its length match the Delicate Jade River Sword, but it was enough for him to make do for now. After all, he was only trying out some of the moves in the manual. He hadn¡¯t started seriously practicing, and the blood-red tablet in his sea of consciousness hadn¡¯t changed to signify his comprehension of the Twisting Twin Blades. ¡­ As one of the rank three formation masters of the Ouyang Family, Bai Luming was extremely displeased with his treatment after they entered the Coral Forest. ¡°Brother Zhaiyuan, the little brat from the Murong Family is a mere rank two formation master. Why should I be sent to be his assistant? He brought several disciples over to explore the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, but I¡¯m not allowed to bring anyone. Hmph¡­ He clearly doesn¡¯t trust me!¡± Ouyang Zhaiyuan stared at his old friend who was about to explode. He could only try his best to comfort him. ¡°Brother Luming, calm down. There¡¯s no need to bicker with a member of the younger generation.¡± Bai Luming knew he went too far when he said that Murong Danran didn¡¯t trust him. He quickly adjusted his words. ¡°Brother Zhaiyuan, please don¡¯t misunderstand. I¡¯m not referring to you and I have nothing against your Ouyang Family¡­ The Ouyang Family has never mistreated me. You even allowed me to browse through the formation collection of your family. I am truly thankful for that¡­ Your Ouyang Family might have accepted me, but the other families might not¡­ The Rose Party is made up of five strong families, and I didn¡¯t come from any one of them!¡± Ouyang Zhaiyuan couldn¡¯t hide the awkward expression on his face. Everything Bai Luming said was true, but he didn¡¯t wish to see his old friend ostracized by the members of the Rose Party. He sighed, ¡°Brother Luming, no matter what, my Ouyang Family will always have a place for you. However, you should understand that we don¡¯t call the shots in the organization¡­¡± ¡°I understand, but we¡¯re currently in the Coral Forest! Every single formation here represents the peak level of knowledge in our You Continent! The Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World contains the most complex formations of them all, but a damn brat whose rank is lower than mine got the chance to explore it first! What a joke!¡± Bai Luming grumbled softly. ¡°They still chose to send you over eventually to take charge of the situation!¡± Ouyang Zhaiyuan shook his head helplessly. It was true that the higher-ups have given their orders. Bai Luming was to enter the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World due to the lack of response from those who entered. A grunt left Bai Luming¡¯s lips, and a smile finally started to form on his face. However, his grumblings didn¡¯t stop. ¡°I wonder what happened to the brat after he entered the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World¡­ The grand formation has already been abandoned for a long time. Even if it isn¡¯t completely destroyed, what would a rank two formation master know about it?! He¡¯s purely messing about! If he fucked it up, wouldn¡¯t I have to bear the responsibility eventually?¡± Ouyang Zhaiyuan chose to remain silent at his comment. After so much grumbling, the two of them finally arrived at the entrance to the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. ¡°We¡¯re finally here¡­¡± Ouyang Zhaiyuan was slightly taken aback at the scene before him. He looked at the giant body of water where countless rock formations were sticking into the air and sucked in a cold breath. The rock formations were connected with wooden bridges, and from the looks of it, the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World was a giant maze! Thinking about it for a second, Ouyang Zhaiyuan muttered, ¡°Brother Luming, if the kids ran into trouble, please try your best to save them¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s no if. They definitely ran into trouble¡­¡± Bai Luming muttered as a frown formed on his face. He stared directly at one of the rock formations in the distance. ¡°How do you know?¡± Ouyang Zhaiyuan raised his guard instantly. ¡°Someone did something there. A portion of the formation has already been reactivated. We need to be careful when traveling around the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World!¡± Bai Luming explained as he handed Ouyang Zhaiyuan an array flag. A compass appeared in his hand and he said softly, ¡°Don¡¯t lose me!¡± Ouyang Zhaiyuan looked at the array flag in his hand and followed closely behind. He didn¡¯t forget to ask, ¡°How can you be sure that it¡¯s an enemy? What if it¡¯s them?¡± ¡°Think about it. If they were our guys, they would have appeared the moment we arrived.¡± Ouyang Zhaiyuan finally realized the problem. His thoughts couldn¡¯t help but wander. ¡°Do you think they discovered us yet?¡± A complicated expression appeared on Bai Luming¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t know why Ouyang Zhaiyuan asked so many questions. What were they going to do if the enemy hadn''t noticed their presence? Lower their defenses and walk around announcing their presence?! Of course they had to act as if their movements were already compromised! However, Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s simplemindedness was the reason the two of them could become friends in the first place. With Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s continuous recommendation and reassurance to his family, Bai Luming managed to obtain a lot of benefits! He reminded softly, ¡°It¡¯s better to be careful. After all, the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World is guarded by its grand formation. There has to be some sort of protection mechanism here. I can feel that we¡¯re being watched by something the moment we arrived. The person observing us is too clumsy! There¡¯s no way our enemy is a formation master¡­¡± ¡°Why would you say that?¡± Ouyang Zhaiyuan caught no ball and he continued his line of questioning. Bai Luming explained defeatedly, ¡°That¡¯s because any proper formation master would ensure that I would be unable to detect their observation!¡± Lowering his head all of a sudden, a sinister smile appeared on his face. The needle on his compass pointed straight towards one of the rock formations. ¡°Buzz!¡± As the rock formation it pointed to started to tremble, a trace of heaven and earth qi emerged. It extended down into the water and strange fluctuations appeared on the surface. It started to expand slowly. ¡­ In the third hidden chamber, Shang Xia stared into the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl. He looked at the two figures who just arrived. However, he soon saw a strange smile on one of the newcomer¡¯s faces and the image in the pearl started to turn blurry. ¡°Too bad. I still have the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram!¡± Shang Xia opened the scroll and saw two yellow dots moving across the diagram. Without thinking too much, he dove into the water again. He went towards the fourth hidden chamber and according to the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram, it should be in the center of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. ¡°They probably haven¡¯t discovered me yet. However, I have to play safe. They¡¯re experts at the Martial Intent Realm, and the person leading the way is definitely a formation master. Since he was able to disrupt my spying, his skill is definitely above Murong Danran!¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself. All of a sudden, both yellow dots disappeared from the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram. Shang Xia¡¯s heart thumped loudly and he realized that things were going south real fast. He tried to keep the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram in his Embroidered Cloud Case, but he discovered that the scroll wouldn¡¯t enter his spatial artifact! Helpless, he could only roll it up with the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl before stuffing them into his sleeves. Shang Xia didn¡¯t enter the fourth hidden chamber as planned. Instead, he dove all the way down to check on the protection screen. If it was still shut, he would have to think of another way to leave. After all, the formation master who just entered the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World gave Shang Xia a sense of danger. Even with the core diagram and the key to the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World in his hands, he knew he wouldn¡¯t be a match for the opponent! Moreover, there was another expert following closely behind the formation master. They might be able to discover his presence very soon! Using his newly transformed heavy qi to increase the weight of his body, he sank quickly towards the bottom. We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. Just as he traveled tens of feet, a strong wave of qi tore through the body of water and struck heavily at the bottom. A huge empty passage of air was formed through the water body. Shang Xia stumbled before finally stabilizing his body. Raising his head, his gaze clashed with the two newcomers who were standing on a bridge nearby. Bai Luming chuckled happily. ¡°Look. I told you he would escape underwater. Looks like there are a lot of secrets down there!¡± Realizing that there was no way of escaping undetected now, Shang Xia increased his speed and dove straight down. Bai Luming seemed to have anticipated his actions. He signaled to Ouyang Zhaiyuan who sent another column of energy down to obstruct Shang Xia¡¯s movements. ¡°Brat, you better come up and explain what happened to Ouyang Fengxuan. If I¡¯m satisfied with your explanation, I¡¯ll spare your life!¡± Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s voice rang in Shang Xia¡¯s ears. Shang Xia¡¯s mind started to work in overdrive. There were two Martial Intent Realm experts at the surface waiting for him! How was he going to survive?! However, his train of thought was disturbed by a tiny burst of light that came from underneath him. Thinking back to how Murong Yuntian¡¯s strike tore a hole through the barrier, he realized that the same thing must have happened when the expert up there tried to stop him. Without a second thought, he continued to head down. ¡°Hmph. Since you¡¯re still delusional and think you can escape from us, go to hell!¡± Bai Luming sneered and pointed at Shang Xia. Ouyang Zhaiyuan released a cold snort and he sent a punch in Shang Xia¡¯s direction. Two massive energy currents cleaved a clear passage through the water before slamming heavily into the bottom. Cracks started to form on the protection screen separating the Coral Forest from the essence qi stone mine, and a tiny gap formed. As water gushed out of the opening, Shang Xia used the opportunity to squirm his way out! CH 139 Staring at the protection screen at the end of the tunnel, Shang Ke and Gu Shou forced the water away with their inner qi. They cleared out a path for one of the rank three formation masters of the Tongyou Institution, Chu Jia. ¡°Are we really going to lay down a formation here?!¡± Chu Jia grumbled, ¡°There¡¯s no need to rush things. From what I see, the protection formation probably ran into some problems. It should open after some time. We can enter when that happens. If I lay down a formation here, I¡¯ll waste a lot of resources!¡± Gu Yuan looked at the expressionless Shang Ke and chuckled. ¡°Just do it. Since we already discovered this place, we should go in and take a look. This might be the key to breaking the stalemate in the Coral Forest!¡± ¡°Alright¡­¡± Chu Jia sighed dispiritedly and took out an Embroidered Cloud Case. She walked over to the protection screen and observed it carefully. When she looked at the pretty lights flowing on its surface, a trace of obsession appeared in her eyes. Shang Ke coughed once at the side. ¡°Instructor Chu can rest assured. My Shang Clan will reimburse you for a portion of the materials used!¡± However, his words were met with silence, and an awkward atmosphere started building up in the underground tunnel. ¡°Ahem¡­ Lass Chu¡­ Oi!¡± Gu Shou smiled apologetically at Shang Ke. ¡°Huh?! What?! What do you want?¡± Chu Jia eventually recovered and a look of confusion could be seen on her face. It was clear she didn¡¯t hear anything Shang Ke said. Gu Shou chuckled dryly. He reminded her softly, ¡°Lay down the formation¡­¡± ¡°Oh right! Yeah! That was what I was doing!¡± Finally recalling what she had to do, she looked at the protection screen again. ¡°It¡¯s so pretty¡­ The runes along it are so mysterious! It¡¯s definitely created by a super expert!¡± Even though she was enthralled by the protection screen again, she didn¡¯t forget what she had to do. Despite her laziness and unwilling attitude, she took out several materials from her Embroidered Cloud Case. She tossed them to several locations on the protection screen while admiring its beauty. Gu Shou revealed a bitter smile. ¡°Senior Shang, please forgive her. She might be a little clumsy, but her abilities are real.¡± As though she was replying to Gu Shou¡¯s words, she yawned loudly. Her gaze started to turn blurry again. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. Gu Shou didn¡¯t need to say anything this time. Shang Ke chuckled in amusement, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Instructor Chu¡¯s talent in the way of formations is matchless in the city! It''d be better if she moved quicker, but¡­¡± ¡°Of course, of course¡­¡± As the one with the lowest seniority among the four, Sun Haiwei didn¡¯t say a word since they entered the tunnel. She was waiting obediently for their orders. However, she felt that she could understand Instructor Gu¡¯s helplessness when faced with a subordinate like Chu Jia. All of a sudden, a loud thud came from the other side of the protection screen. It trembled slightly, and the rays of light on its surface became a little brighter. ¡°Hey! Someone is striking the barrier!¡± Chu Jia exclaimed. Stepping forward, Shang Ke couldn¡¯t act relaxed any longer. ¡°Hurry up and lay down the formation! My grandson might be facing great danger behind the barrier!¡± ¡°Oh! It¡¯s done! It¡¯s done! Don¡¯t rush me!¡± Chu Jia snapped while maintaining her speed. It was as though she didn¡¯t hear the anxiety in Shang Ke¡¯s voice. Even though he had heard of Chu Jia¡¯s personality, Shang Ke couldn¡¯t help but feel a trace of irritation rising in his heart. Gu Shou quickly stepped between the two of them and muttered, ¡°Senior Shang, please calm down¡­¡± As soon as the words left his lips, Chu Jia¡¯s lazy voice rang through the air. ¡°Alright. It¡¯s done!¡± The other three quickly turned to stare at the protection screen. Chu Jia walked slowly towards the barrier and explained, ¡°Hmph¡­ this barrier is just several layers of protection formation weaved together. We just have to take apart these layers one by one and the protection screen would be gone. When the protection screen weakens, those inside might be able to break their way out even before the barrier is completely gone!¡± Gu Shou¡¯s expression turned solemn when he looked at Shang Ke. When their gazes met, they understood what they had to do. The both of them got ready for battle. Chu Jia didn¡¯t notice the three of them behind her as she continued to ramble on about the workings of the formation. She took out a tiny banner from her Embroidered Cloud Case and approached the protection screen. Slapping it on, several streaks of light started to appear where she laid her formation and struck the barrier. As the light grew brighter and brighter, Sun Haiwei had to squint her eyes slightly. Of course, that was because of her lack of cultivation. Gu Shou and Shang Ke were able to see everything that was going on. Like what she said, the protection screen separating them from the Coral Forest was made up of several layers of restrictions. As long as she separated them, she would be able to control the protection screen however she liked. Of course, separating the layers wasn¡¯t easy. Everything was left up to Chu Jia¡¯s abilities. Another loud thud came from the other side of the protection screen before she could try anything. ¡°Hey! They¡¯re getting closer and closer! Oh shit!¡± Chu Jia seemed to have realized something and she turned around with a panicked expression. A loud blast echoed through the tunnel all of a sudden and the light that the protection screen emitted disappeared. Her formation sucked up the last of the power, saving her the trouble of chipping away at the protection screen¡¯s power. Cracks started to form on the screen¡¯s surface and a hole soon appeared. As water poured out of the opening, Chu Jia screamed as she was swept away by the torrential current. Soon after, Shang Xia¡¯s sorry figure was washed out of the Coral Forest. Luckily for him, he knew what was on the other side. As soon as he crossed the protection screen, he stabilized himself. Getting to his feet, he looked around cautiously. The instant he saw Shang Ke, he heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°There are two Martial Intent Realm cultivators up there! One of them is a formation master!¡± That was all he got to say before he was interrupted by sounds of violent coughing. ¡°Senior Sister Chu!¡± Sun Haiwei yelled as she held Chu Jia in her arms. She nearly burst out laughing. ¡°You¡¯re also at the Martial Intent Realm! If you drown to death, you¡¯ll become the joke of the century!¡± Chu Jia finally regained consciousness after some time and she circulated her inner qi to expel all the water in her body. She coughed awkwardly, ¡°This¡­ I didn¡¯t think the current would be so strong! I was so afraid that I nearly forgot to circulate my inner qi!¡± ¡°What do you mean you nearly forgot?! You clearly forgot!¡± Sun Haiwei was struck speechless. All of a sudden, voices came from behind the protection screen. ¡°It¡¯s the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl! The brat doesn''t know how to use formations! He¡¯s the one spying on us! Hurry up! The pearl and core diagram has to be on him!¡± A surge of energy tore through the water and it smashed into the ground behind Shang Xia. Even though he wasn¡¯t injured by the sudden attack, his expression changed greatly when he heard their voices. He touched his sleeves and heaved a sigh of relief when he felt that the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram was still there. However, he didn¡¯t understand how the formation master managed to see that he was in possession of the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl. ¡°Ouyang¡¯s Third Fist!¡± ¡°The other person has to be Bai Luming!¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to be a difficult battle. Screw it! Let¡¯s give them hell!¡± Gu Shou and Shang Ke recognized the two of them immediately. Turning to glance at Sun Haiwei and Chu Jia, Gu Shou frowned slightly. He knew that Ouyang Zhaiyuan wasn¡¯t someone easy to deal with and he wanted them to stay behind. Since it was going to be a difficult battle, their victory would lay in the hands of Chu Jia! Sun Haiwei wasn¡¯t a rookie either. She understood what Gu Shou meant when he looked over. She nodded quickly and dragged Chu Jia towards the location where she laid down the formation earlier. Shang Ke and Gu Shou started moving quickly. Shang Ke approached the gap in the protection screen while Gu Shou hid close by. As for Shang Xia, he knew what to do. Stumbling about, he ran towards the hidden Gu Shou. Two figures appeared from the gap in the protection screen and the instant they landed, the two Martial Intent Realm experts from the Tongyou Institution leaped into action. A black spear with intricate carvings stabbed towards the chest of the first person who emerged. At the same time, a melon-sized mace appeared in Gu Shou¡¯s hand and he smashed it down at the same person. Ouyang Zhaiyuan never expected that he would be faced with two sneak attacks from Martial Intent Realm experts the moment he emerged. Roaring with all his might, the entire tunnel trembled. His body twisted to the side as he punched both weapons! Brute force! That was how he planned to survive the ambush! He used his hands to block the weapons coming his way! Boom! A huge explosion ensued. CH 140 Ouyang Zhaiyuan didn¡¯t back down at all! He chose to meet them head-on! His sudden burst seemed to overwhelm both Shang Ke and Gu Shou. Shang Xia, who witnessed what happened, gasped in fright. The battle between Martial Intent Realm experts wasn¡¯t something Shang Xia could join! As the blast rang through the tunnel, a huge shockwave swept through every inch. Heaven and earth qi rampaged through the narrow tunnel and it seemed to have gotten a little larger than before. Shang Xia, who had already retreated several dozen feet, couldn''t help but take a few more steps backwards. He turned to look at where he came from and he noticed that a layer of seven-colored lights was in its place. Its appearance was slightly different from the original protection screen, but it managed to block off the water flowing in from the Coral Forest. Under his shocked gaze, Gu Shou¡¯s mace returned to his hand. He stood in the middle of the tunnel as another mace appeared in his other hand. Shang Xia was hiding right behind him, and he couldn¡¯t see the expression on Gu Shou¡¯s face. However, he managed to notice that Gu Shou¡¯s hand was trembling slightly after catching his mace. Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s burly figure stood on the other side, and a chilly gaze flashed in his eyes. When Ouyang Zhaiyuan slowly lowered his hand, Shang Xia noticed that one of his hands had a giant gash and fresh blood was dripping all over the ground below. The muscles in his hand squirmed around to stop the bleeding. The other hand looked a little worse. A chunk could be seen missing from it! Shang Xia looked around and saw Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s severed middle finger lying not too far away! ¡°Suspended Spear, Shang Ke! Twin Hammer, Gu Shou!¡± Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s gaze landed on the two and he chuckled in amusement. ¡°It¡¯s the two of you! No wonder¡­¡± Before he could complete his sentence, he started vomiting blood. His face turned deathly pale and the imposing aura he had started to fade. However, the chilly look in his eyes remained as he glared at the two of them. He growled, ¡°The two of you are indeed capable of killing me. However, have you thought of who you should bury with me?¡± In that instant, Shang Xia really believed that he would be able to do as he said! Shang Ke and Gu Shou didn¡¯t reply, and they started to approach him slowly. There was no doubt about it. They wanted him dead! If Shang Xia didn¡¯t know Shang Ke and Gu Shou¡¯s cultivation level, he would have thought that the two of them were at a serious disadvantage from how they were treating the situation! Hey, wait a second. Shang Xia realized that they had forgotten something and he started to look around him! The third rank formation master who charged out with Ouyang Zhaiyuan earlier was nowhere to be seen! It was understandable that Shang Ke and Gu Shou didn¡¯t see him. But it didn¡¯t make sense for Sun Haiwei and Chu Jia to not discover his presence! It was as though the person never existed in the first place! Hiding his presence and getting ignored by those around him. Shang Xia thought of a familiar example. Jin Guanchao! That was another one of the spies the Rose Party placed in the Tongyou Institution! A light flashed in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes, and he endured the piercing pain in his eyes to inspect the area around him. He seemed to have caught sight of a blurry figure that was doing something weird at the corner. Shang Xia no longer tried to look directly at the figure. Now that he knew where the person was, he threw his flying knife towards the position. The dagger he obtained from Murong Danran previously was covered in red arcs of lightning and it brushed past Gu Shou¡¯s ear as it headed straight for the blurry figure at the corner. No one expected the Martial Extremity Realm disciple to be the one to break the standoff! What shocked Shang Ke and Gu Shou more was that Ouyang Zhaiyuan turned his back to the both of them in order to stop the flying dagger thrown by a junior! How could the two old experts miss such a great chance? The two of them moved in unison and Shang Ke¡¯s black spear tore through the air. He aimed for Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s ribs, and Gu Shou¡¯s figure appeared beside his target in a flash. He planned to fight Ouyang Zhaiyuan in close combat! ¡°Clang!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s dagger was struck by Ouyang Zhaiyuan and it clattered to the ground. The power of lightning contained in it had been shattered by Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s fist, and Shang Xia gasped softly. One had to know that his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm was comparable to a Martial Extremity Intent! Even so, it was shattered in an instant! Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect Ouyang Zhaiyuan to be so strong even after his injury! Even though Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s actions were out of the ordinary, none of them had the ability to consider anything else Ouyang Zhaiyuan also paid the price for stopping the dagger. He was completely suppressed by the two of them, and he could only use his bare hands to take on their attacks. ¡°Be careful! There¡¯s someone hiding there! It¡¯s their rank three formation master!¡± Shang Xia reminded. A loud blast rang in his ears when Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s fist slammed into their weapons again. Sun Haiwei heard Shang Xia saying something, and she suddenly realized the problem. ¡°There¡¯s one more! Don¡¯t you remember? Two of them came out of the protection screen! Where¡¯s the other one?!¡± Sun Haiwei asked Chu Jia. ¡°Of course I do. He¡¯s over there!¡± Chu Jia seemed to have seen the hidden person a long time ago. She pointed casually at him. ¡°He¡¯s trying to neutralize my formation!¡± Sun Haiwei nearly fainted as anger filled her mind. Even though Chu Jia was her senior, she couldn¡¯t help but snap at her, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?!¡± Chu Jia didn¡¯t seem to have noticed Sun Haiwei¡¯s rage and she muttered to herself. ¡°He¡¯s really incredible. He seems to have found a way to break it! He¡¯s trying right now, but too bad he¡¯s too slow. He doesn¡¯t know that I already discovered him!¡± ¡°What are you waiting for?! Are you going to watch him break your formation without doing anything?¡± Sun Haiwei wanted to tear her hair out when she talked to Chu Jia. ¡°We¡¯re fighting right now!¡± Chu Jia hushed Sun Haiwei while she explained, ¡°When he tries to break my formation, I¡¯m getting a good understanding of how strong he really is. He¡¯s not as good as me, and when he¡¯s about to break through the formation, I¡¯ll add another layer. His face will be a sight to behold¡­ Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s funny?¡± Funny¡­ Your shitty sense of humor puts you in a new category, Chu Jia! Are you really the slightly silly instructor that everyone in the institution liked?! Well, whatever. As long as she had everything under control. Sun Haiwei glanced at Chu Jia from the corner of her eye and felt a headache coming. She felt that Chu Jia¡¯s way of thinking was really different from the rest! Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. She suppressed the urge to slap Chu Jia and warned her seriously, ¡°You better not be messing around. The expert from the Rose Party is really strong. If you don¡¯t help them, Instructor Gu and Senior Shang might be seriously injured even if they take him down! We might even alarm other experts of the Rose Party if the battle drags on.¡± Sun Haiwei continued, ¡°Oh right. There should be a super formation behind the protection screen waiting for you to analyze. If someone else beats you to it¡­¡± ¡°Oh right!¡± Chu Jia snapped back to attention all of a sudden and she said seriously, ¡°The runes on the protection screen earlier are really amazing!¡± After she spoke, she waved the short banner in her hand. Multi-colored lights emerged from the surrounding wall and it revealed a hidden person in the corner of the tunnel. The rays of light wrapped tightly around him, trapping him within. Yelps of shock escaped Bai Luming¡¯s lips. He didn¡¯t expect to be captured so easily! It seemed like the formation master on the other side was much stronger than him. However, he was a Martial Intent Realm expert nonetheless. His inner qi started to move, and he shattered a ring on his finger. A layer of white light emerged from his body, shattering the binds. He didn¡¯t even get to heave a sigh of relief when two silent streaks of light wrapped around his legs. When he lowered his head to take a look, he discovered a layer of frost growing over his lower body. There was an orange flame that danced gracefully within the ice. CH 141 Sun Haiwei¡¯s attempt to trap him was commendable, but he was still a Martial Intent Realm cultivator. He might have lost the initiative to Chu Jia, but Sun Haiwei was far from enough to be able to stop him! He circulated his inner qi and destroyed the layer of ice around his body. His compass returned to his hand before anyone could react, and he looked in the direction of the needle as he advanced. He took steps forward, backward, left, and right. He would avoid the traps in Chu Jia¡¯s formation every time he moved. Sun Haiwei wanted to assist at the side, but she was unable to lock on to his figure to cause any effective damage. All of a sudden, a loud blast filled the tunnel once again. No one noticed when Shang Xia arrived beside Chu Jia¡¯s formation, and his Delicate Jade River Sword pointed at Bai Luming¡¯s approximate location. Bolts of lightning emerged from the tip of his blade and formed a net around Bai Luming. Now, he had nowhere to run! Luckily for him, Shang Xia had to increase the area his martial intent affected and the power contained in each bolt of lightning was weakened. Bai Luming retrieved his array flag in his other hand. Shang Xia saw that he passed it to Ouyang Zhaiyuan before losing sight of Bai Luming in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, but he didn¡¯t know when he retrieved it. Bai Luming waved the array flag above his head and it seemed to transform into an umbrella that shielded him from the lightning. Wherever he passed, the lightning would avoid him. He wanted to sneer at Shang Xia¡¯s attempt, but before he could do so, Shang Xia stepped into the range of the formation laid down by Chu Jia. The lightning web converged on Bai Luming¡¯s location and when it finally faded, the tip of a blade greeted him! The kid¡¯s movement might seem slow, but Shang Xia¡¯s actions seemed to have released the floodgates! A torrent of white sword light rained down on Bai Luming! Now that he unleashed the Cloud Drizzle Rain Art again, it was different from the last time! He fused void and reality qi to unleash the strike, and every sword light seemed both illusory and real at the same time. It covered such a large area that his opponent would find it impossible to dodge! Right before he was swallowed by the sword light, Bai Luming snorted loudly. A powerful gust appeared from the side, blowing apart the rain of sword light. Ouyang Zhaiyuan! Why was it you again?! Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but turn to look at the Martial Intent Realm expert who was attacked by both Shang Ke and Gu Shou. Due to the distraction, Shang Ke managed to take the chance to stab his spear deep into Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s back. Ouyang Zhaiyuan vomited another mouthful of blood. However, his attacks became even crazier the next moment. As an explosion rang through the skies, Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s fist smashed into Gu Shou¡¯s mace again. He forced Gu Shou to take three steps back, and his footprints were imprinted firmly into the ground. Unfortunately, Shang Ke and Gu Shou had worked together too many times to count. The moment Gu Shou was forced back, Shang Ke stepped in to relieve the pressure. Gu Shou flipped the mace in his hands about and roared before rejoining the battle. Shang Xia could tell that even if the two of them managed to kill Ouyang Zhaiyuan, they would have to exhaust a huge amount of their inner qi. They might even suffer from hidden injuries! They definitely required outside help if they wanted to achieve a safe victory. However, the three of them were at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm. The shockwaves of the battle alone ensured that Shang Xia and Sun Haiwei would never be able to join the battle. The only person who could affect the outcome of the battle was Chu Jia, the rank three formation master! Shang Xia wasn¡¯t the only one who realized that point. Sun Haiwei could also tell that Chu Jia was the key to the battle. The two of them seemed to reach an agreement. They yelled in unison and charged towards Bai Luming. As long as they dealt with him, Chu Jia would be able to join the battle on the other side. The two of them might not be able to deal with someone as terrifying as Ouyang Zhaiyuan. However, they were confident they could at least do something about Bai Luming who was at the small completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. At that very instant, Chu Jia made a massive blunder. When Shang Xia and Sun Haiwei went all in on Bai Luming to end the battle as quickly as they could, she directed the energy in her formation to interfere with the battle on the other side. In that split second, the suppression on Bai Luming weakened. Despite his sorry appearance, Bai Luming was a rank three formation master! His talent might not be as high as Chu Jia, but he was still a formidable expert! Previously, Chu Jia managed to suppress him continuously because she caught him off guard. Now that she directed some energy to interfere with the battle, Bai Luming immediately caught on to the opportunity. He dodged whatever sword light Shang Xia summoned and broke Sun Haiwei¡¯s attempt to restrict him. He ran straight for the protection screen separating them from the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. Slapping the compass in his hand, several jade shards stuck themselves onto the weakest points of the protection screen. Pushing himself to the limit, Bai Luming circulated his inner qi to the extreme as he poured all his energy into those jade shards. The gap that appeared previously when Shang Xia escaped was opened up once again. ¡°Ouyang, we have to go!¡± Bai Luming knew how strong this fellow was. Now that he managed to open up a route of escape, he felt that Ouyang Zhaiyuan would definitely be able to push his enemies back and make his escape. That was the confidence he had in his friend after so many years of working together! As such, he jumped through the hole after giving the reminder. He no longer bothered with Shang Xia and Sun Haiwei who were cursing under their breaths. Who would have thought that the protection screen would restore itself after half his body went through the hole? Once the protection screen was restored, Bai Luming was stuck in mid air. The upper half of his body was stuck on the side of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, and the lower half was stuck in the tunnel! The sudden change in the situation caught Shang Xia and the others off guard, but Shang Xia could imagine the flustered expression on Bai Luming¡¯s face. ¡°Hahahaha! I caught him! He actually fell for it! This is really fun!¡± Chu Jia¡¯s laughter rang through the air all of a sudden, and it sounded a little jarring to the ears. She actually treated it as a game! The gap that allowed Bai Luming to escape her suppression was actually a trap, and the man jumped into it without any hesitation! Even though Bai Luming was also a rank three formation master, he couldn¡¯t discover anything wrong with the protection screen! Chu Jia created another layer outside it! That showed that Chu Jia was a much better formation master than him! How long has it been since Chu Jia analyzed the protection screen? Even so, she managed to create another layer such that another rank three formation master wouldn¡¯t be able to tell the difference! That was how terrifying the most talented formation master of the Tongyou Institution was! She could even treat the entire battle as a game! ¡°Brother Luming!¡± Bai Luming¡¯s mistake caused Ouyang Zhaiyuan to feel a sense of danger rapidly closing on him. Now, he would have to take everyone on himself! ¡°All of you deserve to die!¡± The genius cultivator of the Ouyang Family of the Rose Party unleashed everything he had. ¡°Crushing Mountain!¡± Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s first punch arrived. A soft glow covered his fist as it crashed against Gu Shou¡¯s mace. Gu Shou¡¯s mace was flung out of his hands and a clear fist imprint could be seen on the low-grade weapon. Blood dripped from Gu Shou¡¯s hand. ¡°Bang!¡± Shang Ke took the chance to sweep his spear into Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s chest, and the resulting crackling told him that he managed to break another two ribs. ¡°You should go to hell too!¡± Ouyang Zhaiyuan turned to Shang Ke and unleashed his second fist. ¡°Breaking Current!¡± Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s fist intent surrounded Shang Ke. ¡°Suspended Spear!¡± Shang Ke¡¯s expression was grave as he took on Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s second fist. The spear in his hand shot out and he seemed to become one with it. The instant the spear stabbed out, heaven and earth qi formed a giant spear that encased the actual spear body before the two strikes clashed. A resounding blast ensued, and the giant spear formed from heaven and earth qi shattered. The actual body of the spear was revealed and it started to buzz softly. ¡°Hahaha! What do you think? Your Suspended Spear is no match for my techniques!¡± Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s laughter filled the air. Shang Xia noticed a layer of seven-colored light surrounding him, but it seemed as though he didn¡¯t see it! Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s gaze was locked on to Shang Ke. Shang Ke sighed softly, ¡°Indeed¡­ My Suspended Spear is not your match. However¡­¡± Shang Ke tapped lightly at the fist light suspended in mid air and it popped like a bubble. ¡°... Looks like you still lost!¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I definitely lost this time¡­¡± A soft sigh left his lips. Chu Jia was still using her formation to surround Ouyang Zhaiyuan. However, he didn¡¯t seem to care in the slightest as a smile lit up his face. ¡°In that case, I hope the two of you can experience my last strike!¡± ¡°Ahem¡­¡± Gu Shou spat out a mouthful of blood and snorted, ¡°Can you still unleash it?¡± ¡°Without my last move, how can I be called Ouyang¡¯s Third Fist?¡± After he spoke, Chu Jia exclaimed in shock. ¡°He¡­ He¡¯s struggling free! How is he so strong?!¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t say a word as he summoned a bolt of red lightning to help Chu Jia. Even so, Ouyang Zhaiyuan destroyed both the layer of seven-colored light and red lightning with a wave of his hand. ¡°Ha¡­ My third fist! Killing God!¡± A terrifying pressure descended and threatened to crush everyone present. Shang Xia felt his thoughts stagnating, and time stopped around him. ¡°Stop him!¡± Shang Ke yelled, but his voice failed to make it into anyone¡¯s ears. As one of the only ones who could still move under Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s martial intent, a massive spear was condensed from the surrounding heaven and earth qi as it shot towards Ouyang Zhaiyuan. After sending out the spear, Shang Ke staggered and he nearly fell to the ground. Gu Shou flicked his wrist and his other mace shot out towards Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s head. When the two desperate strikes flew to meet their target, Shang Xia felt the suppression around him loosen. Everything returned to normal. That was also the instant Shang Ke¡¯s spear stabbed straight through Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s chest. His brain was also turned into mush when Gu Shou¡¯s mace struck him. Even though the danger had passed, a frown formed on Shang Ke¡¯s face. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. CH 142 ¡°We didn¡¯t kill him¡­¡± Gu Shou took several steps back and leaned against the wall to steady himself. ¡°That¡¯s right. His divine sense disappeared before our attacks hit¡­¡± Shang Ke¡¯s countenance wasn¡¯t much better than Gu Shou¡¯s. He stabbed his spear into the ground to support himself and he looked utterly exhausted. Their gazes landed on Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s corpse that had collapsed at the side and sighed softly. In fact, Shang Xia had his guesses as to what happened even without an explanation from the two experts. The scene where Ouyang Zhaiyuan released his martial intent was still fresh in Shang Xia¡¯s heart, but it dissipated before his third punch was released. That could only mean one thing. Ouyang Zhaiyuan died before he could complete his move! ¡°Senior Shang and Instructor Gu called him Ouyang¡¯s Third Fist¡­ However, nothing happened when he tried to unleash it. Could his life force have been depleted before he completed the move?¡± Sun Haiwei was equally as surprised as she asked. She experienced the same thing as Shang Xia when Ouyang Zhaiyuan released his martial intent previously. The feeling of desperation was still fresh in her heart. Gu Shou shook his head and remained silent. He stuffed some medicine he had on him into his mouth before circulating his inner qi. It was clear he didn¡¯t wish to say anymore. Shang Ke could only take over the explanation. Forcing a smile, he started, ¡°That¡¯s right. Anyway, that wasn¡¯t supposed to be his third punch. You should have seen that it was difficult for both of us to take on his first two punches. His third punch shouldn¡¯t be too much stronger than the first two, but the one he tried to release earlier was far more terrifying!¡± ¡°Fifth Grandpa, what exactly happened?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°Crushing Mountain, Breaking Current, Splitting Space. Those three moves made up his fist technique.¡± Shang Ke continued his explanation. ¡°He¡¯s extremely ambitious. He planned to use the three moves as the foundation to comprehend his martial intent before stepping into the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. It would be one that had never been seen before!¡± Sun Haiwei and Shang Xia gasped in fright. ¡°That¡­ That was him trying to fuse all three techniques together?¡± ¡°Luckily for us, he didn¡¯t succeed¡­¡± Sun Haiwei heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°A Martial Intent Realm expert¡¯s ultimate technique is so strong! If he actually succeeded¡­¡± ¡°If he did, none of us would be walking out of here alive.¡± Gu Shou interrupted. ¡°You can¡¯t look down on any Martial Intent Realm cultivator¡¯s special technique. Although they can be split into different tiers, not everyone can comprehend a tyrannical secret art like him. Also, when you choose a technique to train in when you step into the Martial Intent Realm, you need to comprehend one that fits you.¡± Pausing for a second to catch his breath, he continued, ¡°That fellow reached the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm a long time ago. It was said that he could reach the grand completion stage anytime he wished. He was also supposed to become the youngest elder of the Rose Party when the time came! Many people even thought that he possessed better talent than Deputy Patriarch Shang Bo!¡± Shang Xia was shocked and so was Sun Haiwei. Gu Shou ignored the look in their eyes and continued, ¡°Too bad many years passed and despite his fame, he failed to take the final step. Even so, his fighting abilities are more than comparable to someone at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm.¡± Even though Instructor Gu had just completed his explanation, Shang Xia suddenly felt the urge to ask him about matters of cultivation instead. ¡°Instructor Gu, How does one condense their divine sense anyway? Do they also need an advancement medicine? And How does one improve their divine sense? Also, about the martial intent used by Martial Intent Realm experts¡­¡± ¡°Hey, are you done? It¡¯s really tiring to maintain this formation! Are you planning to get buried alive here or something?¡± A voice interrupted them all of a sudden. Chu Jia pouted at the side while stopping Shang Xia¡¯s questioning. Gu Shou chuckled in amusement before replying to Shang Xia, ¡°You¡¯re going to enter the inner division soon. You¡¯ll learn all these things when the time comes. Moreover, your Shang Clan has a lot of resources too. You can ask the seniors of your clan for pointers. Even though I¡¯m considered your teacher, this isn¡¯t the best place for learning to take place, don¡¯t you think?¡± The tunnel they were in was pretty narrow. Even though the battle between the three experts widened the place a little, it was still pretty nasty. Moreover, the shockwaves of the battle had already destroyed the structural integrity of the tunnel. It was long overdue for collapse. During the battle, the inner qi of the three Martial Intent Realm experts managed to hold the tunnel up. Now that Ouyang Zhaiyuan was dead, Gu Shou and Shang Ke were drained of energy, Chu Jia was the only one stopping the tunnel from collapsing! With her lazy personality, she was starting to get annoyed that everyone else was talking among themselves and not dealing with the situation. Other than Shang Xia, everyone else interacted with her before. They didn¡¯t dare to anger this womanchild and started to make preparations to leave. Even though they could easily punch out a hole to leave immediately, they didn¡¯t know what lay above them. There might even be enemies waiting for them to emerge! Instead of taking the risk, it would be much better to enter the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. At the very least, there should be no danger waiting for them in there. ¡°What do we do about this guy?¡± Shang Ke raised his spear and poked Bai Luming¡¯s butt as he spoke. The legs that were suspended in mid air started kicking about wildly. It was too bad the upper half of his body was stuck on the other side. They couldn¡¯t hear his curses no matter how loud he screamed. ¡°Hey. Didn¡¯t you say that water filled the other side? Why hasn¡¯t he drowned?¡± Gu Shou picked up his mace from the ground before asking Shang Xia. He kept them safely in his own spatial artifact before turning to look at the flailing legs. None of them could be bothered with Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s possessions for now and Sun Haiwei took on the task of searching the body. Since the institution sent out Gu Shou, Shang Ke, and Chu Jia, there was no way Sun Haiwei and Shang Xia would be able to lay their hands on Ouyang Zhaiyuan¡¯s possessions. Well, whatever. It wasn¡¯t as though Ouyang Zhaiyuan would have a lot of treasures on him either. At the very least, his inheritance for his famed Triple Fist wouldn¡¯t be on him. He was an important member of the Rose Party and a genius cultivator of the Ouyang Family! He had a giant power standing behind him and there was no need for him to bring all his possessions around like those wandering cultivators. ¡°Hey, let¡¯s just kill him. This bastard is pretty good at laying down formations. He might not be someone from the Rose Party, but he¡¯s close to the Ouyang Family! We cannot leave him alive in case he grows stronger to become a threat to us later.¡± The conflict between the Rose Party and the Tongyou Institution had long since grown to the point of no return. Neither party would stop unless the other was completely eradicated. ¡°Wait! I have a use for him!¡± Chu Jia raised her hand to stop them, as though she was a student in class. A frown formed on Gu Shou¡¯s face. ¡°What do you need him for?¡± Chu Jia didn¡¯t reply immediately. Instead, she turned to look at Shang Xia. ¡°Is the core diagram of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World with you?¡± Staring at her in stunned silence for a while, Shang Xia didn¡¯t know how to react. It was his first time speaking to the number one formation genius in the Tongyou Institution. Hesitating slightly, he forced the words out of his mouth, ¡°What¡­ What are you talking about?¡± Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. Chu Jia wasn¡¯t happy with Shang Xia¡¯s reply and a pout formed on her face. ¡°Hmph! There¡¯s no need to hide it anymore. The two of them mentioned the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl when they emerged, and they chased you all the way out here. You definitely have the core diagram!¡± An embarrassed chuckle left Shang Xia¡¯s lips. ¡°Umm¡­ Can you open the protection screen with the core diagram?¡± Chu Jia paused for a second as she never expected Shang Xia to question her abilities. ¡°Hah! Even though I can¡¯t use the core diagram outside the formation, I can open the protection screen nonetheless!¡± Shang Xia thought for a second and pointed at the rocks starting to crumble around them. ¡°Instructor Chu, you might be able to open it, but how long do you need? Can you hold the tunnel up long enough for you to create another hole in the protection screen?¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t wait for her to respond as he took out a familiar-looking plaque. He slashed at the protection screen not too far away from where Bai Luming was stuck. Water poured out of the hole he created as he gestured for the rest. ¡°Vermillion Plaque! When did you get a Vermillion Plaque?¡± Chu Jia gasped. Sun Haiwei mentioned that Shang Xia managed to get his hands on a Vermillion Plaque when they arrived, but it was evident that Chu Jia wasn¡¯t paying attention. Shang Ke stared at Gu Shou and the two of them took the lead to enter the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. Sun Haiwei smiled and entered right after them. Finally, Chu Jia approached Shang Xia and she wriggled her nose slightly. ¡°Even though I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re planning to do, the Rose Party will definitely learn of what happened as long as they have another formation master on their side. I won¡¯t snatch the diagram from you today, but I¡¯ll get it one day! Hmph!¡± Shang Xia knew that there was no use arguing with her and a smile promptly appeared on his face. ¡°Looks like I can¡¯t hide it from you anyway! Actually, I do need your help¡­¡± Chu Jia¡¯s expression quickly softened and she gloated happily, ¡°It¡¯s good that you know!¡± After speaking, she entered the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. The instant she did, the tunnel started to tremble and shake. Shang Xia quickly went through the gap he created as huge chunks of earth fell behind him. It buried any signs that a battle took place. CH 143 After he crossed the protection screen, Shang Xia noticed that there wasn¡¯t any water around him. He even thought that he had entered the wrong place. However, his gaze quickly landed on a simple restriction Chu Jia placed down. It pushed the water away from them, creating a small pocket of air. Shang Xia was impressed by her efficiency. Even though it was most likely done using some sort of artifact, he couldn¡¯t deny that it was impressive. ¡°What did he say?¡± Shang Xia stared at Bai Luming who was still trapped and asked. ¡°He agreed to help the lass. I placed the Triple Intent Lock on him and Lass Chu will keep an eye on him. No accidents will happen!¡± Shang Ke replied. Initially, Gu Shou was supposed to be the leader of the group. Due to his injuries, the responsibility fell onto Shang Ke. The Triple Intent Lock was a commonly used technique by Martial Intent Realm cultivators to restrain their prisoners. It was made by imprinting one¡¯s divine sense onto the other party. Since every individual¡¯s divine sense was unique, the lock could only be undone by the person who created it! The Triple Intent Lock was split into three different layers, and cultivators at the small completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm would only be able to create the first intent lock! Since Shang Ke was the one who used the technique, he could bring out the full restrictive abilities of the Triple Intent Lock! ¡°Oh really? Did he accept it obediently? He might be pulling some tricks again¡­ Don¡¯t forget. He¡¯s a rank three formation master! If he creates trouble at some critical moment¡­¡± Shang Xia refused to believe that Bai Luming would give up just like that! He was extremely wary of the other party. However, Chu Jia declared confidently, ¡°Don¡¯t worry! He won¡¯t be able to play any tricks when I¡¯m watching him!¡± The corners of Shang Xia¡¯s lips twitched slightly and he continued, ¡°I mean¡­ He¡¯s been stuck here for some time now. How can we be sure that he hadn¡¯t done anything to the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World?¡± Chu Jia was at a loss for words and she rolled her eyes at Shang Xia. Bai Luming, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up. ¡°The Rose Party is extremely exclusive! The five families make up the core of the organization, and no matter how hard I work, they refuse to trust me! Also, the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl can allow you to see what happened several minutes into the past. You can see that I didn¡¯t do anything!¡± ¡°Oh right! I forgot!¡± Shang Xia seemed to have recalled something and he retrieved the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram from his sleeves. When he opened the scroll, he discovered that the pearl was missing! Bai Luming¡¯s voice rang through the air again. ¡°You can bring the core diagram out, but the pearl can¡¯t leave the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World! The moment you left, you dropped the pearl.¡± Shang Xia turned to stare at him. ¡°Do you know how to get it back?¡± Bai Luming chuckled softly but refused to say anything. All of a sudden, a slender white hand reached towards Shang Xia and gestured for him to hand the diagram over impatiently. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with Chu Jia and continued to stare at Bai Luming. Coughing dryly at the side, Shang Ke spoke up, ¡°Xia¡¯er, give it to her.¡± A look of delight could be seen on Chu Jia¡¯s face and Shang Xia couldn¡¯t bring himself to look at her. He rolled up the scroll before tossing it at her. With her head bobbing up and down happily, she laughed at Shang Xia, ¡°See, I told you I¡¯ll get the core diagram! Although, I didn¡¯t think that I''d get it so quickly¡­¡± After she spoke, she ignored the anger slowly appearing on Shang Xia¡¯s face while opening the scroll. Her inner qi quickly entered the core diagram. Shang Xia felt something in his body throbbing, and he turned to stare at Chu Jia. At the same moment, she turned to look at him. Anger flashed in her eyes. ¡°You tricked me! You left behind an imprint in the diagram!¡± Chu Jia snapped at him immediately. ¡°Huh? What imprint?¡± Shang Xia was actually confused this time. Gu Shou, who had remained silent all this while, frowned and yelled at her impatiently, ¡°He probably left it behind unintentionally. Just wipe it off with your own inner qi! Why are you screaming at the kid?¡± Her face flushed red after he spoke and she squeaked, ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t get rid of it¡­¡± ¡°What?! You¡¯re a Martial Intent Realm cultivator!¡± Gu Shou was stunned. How could a Martial Intent Realm cultivator be unable to wipe away the imprint of a Martial Extremity Realm cultivator? That didn¡¯t make sense! Shang Ke was equally as surprised. However, a wide smile appeared on his face the next instant. ¡°Kid, remove the imprint you left on the diagram.¡± With a grin threatening to break out on his face, Shang Xia casually reached his hand out to ask for the diagram like Chu Jia did previously. In a fit of anger, she flung the scroll at his face. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t surprised at all, and he caught it before sending some of his inner qi into it. Bai Luming spoke up all of a sudden. ¡°Hey, you do know that you can retrieve the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl too, right? Other than the fact that you¡¯re not a formation master, you¡¯re actually the best person to control the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes narrowed and he stopped what he was doing. A cold light flashed through them and he turned to stare at Bai Luming, ¡°Looks like you know quite a lot. Do you want me to give you one last chance to tell me everything you know?¡± Shang Xia hated people who deliberately hid the information they knew. Killing intent was rising in his heart, and if they were in an ordinary situation, he would have gotten rid of people like that. Bai Luming quickly spilled everything he knew. ¡°You could see the situation around the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World through the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl when I entered. Either you know the art of formations, or you have some sort of special technique of the Zhu Family on you! Since you¡¯re not a formation master, you have to possess the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance technique!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Shang Xia wasn¡¯t the only one who was confused. Everyone turned to look at him with a raised eyebrows. Sun Haiwei was the first to ask. ¡°You managed to obtain the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance technique?¡± ¡°No? We¡¯ll talk about this later.¡± Shang Xia thought about the Unstable Rock and seemed to have thought of something. Regardless, he didn¡¯t obtain the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance technique. He ignored the weird gazes on him and he growled at Bai Luming, ¡°So what do I do now? Am I supposed to wait for the moon to rise again?¡± ¡°Since you imprinted the core diagram with your inner qi, you definitely did the same to the pearl. The diagram and the pearl are connected. You should be able to retrieve it with a thought¡­¡± Bai Luming shot Shang Xia a strange stare as though he was looking at a fool. Too lazy to care about Bai Luming, Shang Xia sent his inner qi into the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram to locate the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl. A strange feeling came over him and when he raised his head again, he saw a fist-sized pearl floating towards him. With a thought, the pearl turned blurry and reappeared above the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram. Seven colored lights emerged from inside the pearl and the scene where Bai Luming just got stuck started to play out. Indeed, he didn¡¯t do anything. Shang Xia nodded at the rest. Chu Jia snorted softly before releasing Bai Luming. When he finally crawled to his feet, he cupped his fist towards Shang Xia. ¡°I am willing to listen to the young master¡¯s orders.¡± Staring deeply at Bai Luming, Shang Xia seemed to have seen through his thoughts. Only when Bai Luming became a little uncomfortable from Shang Xia¡¯s gaze did the latter start to speak again. He handed the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram and the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl over to Chu Jia and said, ¡°Alright, you can go ahead and be Instructor Chu¡¯s assistant. That way, you can show off your strengths! You¡¯ll be wasting your talent under me!¡± The smile on Bai Luming¡¯s face froze, but he didn¡¯t dare to reject. Gu Shou and Shang Ke looked at each other and saw the look of satisfaction in each other¡¯s eyes. This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. They could see that Bai Luming was brewing a scheme when he urged Shang Xia to retain control over the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. However, Shang Xia was clearly able to resist the temptation to do so as he handed the diagram and pearl over to Chu Jia. Bai Luming¡¯s scheme failed before it even started. That wasn¡¯t all. Shang Xia dispersed the imprint he placed on both items and handed over his authority to Chu Jia obediently. Chu Jia revealed a shocked expression, but Shang Xia turned to Bai Luming and asked, ¡°How long more do we have?¡± Bai Luming naturally knew what Shang Xia referred to and he muttered, ¡°Since the battle took place outside the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, they probably don¡¯t know that the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World has already been compromised. We still have some time. However¡­¡± Watching Shang Xia¡¯s expression darkening, he continued, ¡°... However, the Rose Party will definitely send more people over! This time, a Martial Extermination Realm expert might come over!¡± Gu Shou chuckled in response. ¡°Great. I really hope that happens. There are only three Martial Extermination Realm cultivators of the Rose Party who entered the Coral Forest. Yuwen Shengjie was heavily injured by Deputy Patriarch Shang. If any one of them dares to come over, the stalemate in the Coral Forest will be instantly broken!¡± Bai Luming continued, ¡°Well¡­ Three Martial Extermination Realm experts took the lead in bringing us to the battlefield between two worlds, but now, there are more than three of them! In fact, there may be five in total!¡± A frown formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°What do you mean by that? Did the members of the Four Spiritual Peak come? All you shameless bastards colluding with outsiders against your own world!¡± Shang Ke interrupted him suddenly. ¡°No¡­ Your Grandpa Shang Bo is stationed there and there are too many injured experts on the Four Spiritual Peak. They might not be able to send anyone over.¡± ¡°No¡­ Sima Zhanxing crossed the barrier to become a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator in the Dual Season Land. Murong Gaofeng, who had been in seclusion all this while, might also have broken through!¡± Bai Luming explained. Turning to Gu Shou, Shang Xia asked, ¡°Instructor Gu, are we able to contact the outside world now?¡± They had to report critical intelligence like that! Otherwise, the Tongyou Institution would suffer huge losses if they entered the Coral Forest! Gu Shou shook his head and his expression turned solemn. He pointed back at the protection screen they entered from. ¡°Not unless we dig our way out of here.¡± Shang Xia shook his head and looked at Chu Jia who was looking at the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram as though it was her baby and yelled, ¡°Is it possible for us to hold off a Martial Extermination Realm expert?!¡± ¡°Only a portion of the formation recovered. We won¡¯t be able to hold them off for too long!¡± Chu Jia rubbed her ears and grumbled, ¡°What are you screaming at me for? I¡¯m not deaf¡­¡± Shang Xia sighed helplessly and took out an item from his Embroidered Cloud Case. ¡°Whatever. We don''t have a choice. We can only make a Martial Extermination Realm expert appear¡­¡± CH 144 Outside the Four Spiritual Peak, a huge moon rose into the air and a frosty light illuminated the lands. A huge cloud flashed with three brilliant streaks of red, orange, and green light, and there seemed to be a trace of yellow mixed in between. The occasional flash of yellow looked weak, but it was extremely eye-catching. All of a sudden, the cloud exploded and the moonlight disappeared. The darkness of night returned, but there were faint specks of light that fluttered through the sky. The specks of light resembled fireflies in the night sky, and every time it moved, it would edge closer to the giant moon hanging in the air. In the blink of an eye, the specks of light flashed seven times and right before they came into contact with the moon, all the specks of light fused back into one. It transformed into a massive lance. Even though the moon in the sky trembled violently, the lance didn¡¯t pull back. A loud cry rang through the skies above the Four Spiritual Peak as the exchange went on. A huge Rain Swallow appeared from nowhere and soared towards the giant moon. Hiding in the shadow of the moon, the giant Rain Swallow¡¯s claws reached towards the long lance. In that instant, a snort boomed through the air. The cloud that dissipated earlier condensed to form a giant fist that punched straight towards the rain swallow. ¡°Ah!¡± A loud cry came after the blast that happened after the fist collided with its claws. Even though the fist was dispersed yet again, the rain swallow was sent tumbling through the air. At the same time, the lance stabbed mercilessly into the huge moon. Bang! A visible shockwave tore through the lands and the cloud that dispersed earlier scattered even further. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. The lance returned to the hands of the wielder, and the moon started to fall. It eventually disappeared beneath the Four Spiritual Peak. The Rain Swallow that finally steadied itself released an angry chirp before returning to the safety of the protection formation of the Four Spiritual Peak. Even though both sides seemed even in that exchange, the experts of the Four Spiritual Peak were forced to return to the protection of their grand formation! The scene wasn¡¯t new to cultivators there. It has been happening for quite some time now. Ever since the beast tide receded, the Shang Bo went over to stand guard outside the Four Spiritual Peak alone. He stopped any Martial Extermination Realm cultivator who tried to leave their protection formation. Yu Zhiqing and Yan Que died during the war, Lang Xiaoyun was seriously injured, and Lu Zhanyi suffered some light injuries. Four of the seven Martial Extermination Realm cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak were basically out of commission. Even Yan Su¡¯er, the crafty old grandma, suffered serious injuries due to the trap Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo set. Ran Biluo was hiding in whatever hole she made, and Lu Zhanyi was a hired gun. Both were unwilling to deal with Shang Bo sitting at their doorstep. The only ones who had the ability to fight were Lang Xiaoyun and Yan Su¡¯er. Otherwise, how could Shang Bo hold them off alone?! His tactic of sitting in front of their doorstep was too damn insulting. Lang Xiaoyun and Yan Su¡¯er were helpless. If they didn¡¯t keep him in check, all their disciples would probably flee from the mountain. Even though Yan Su¡¯er had her own plans to dissociate herself with the other races on the Four Spiritual Peak, she had to put on a convincing show now that Shang Bo was there. Both sides knew each other¡¯s intentions. Shang Bo¡¯s true goal was to obstruct them from meeting up with the members of the Rose Party, and he had to fight for more time for the Tongyou Institution to deal with the enemies! The Four Spiritual Peak wouldn¡¯t give up on the Coral Forest anyway! They needed to mess with the Tongyou Peak every step of the way! If they could use the Rose Party to cause the Tongyou Peak to suffer huge losses, they would be more than happy! ¡°Shang Bo, if we really choose to leave the Four Spiritual Peak, you can¡¯t stop us!¡± Lang Xiaoyun appeared close to the edge of the protection barrier as he yelled. He stared at the void where a cloud was starting to reform itself and he seemed to be sure that that was where Shang Bo was hiding. ¡°Old wolf, I never thought of stopping you! You¡¯re thinking too much! I¡¯m here to train myself and gain some pointers from you! I need to consolidate my strength as soon as I can!¡± Shang Bo¡¯s voice rang through the air. Another figure appeared beside Lang Xiaoyun all of a sudden and Yan Su¡¯er pointed her cane into the air. ¡°There¡¯s no need to hide it from us! Tell us what you plan to do in the Coral Forest!¡± Shang Bo didn¡¯t respond immediately. After some time, he finally spoke up. ¡°Hahaha, you have always gotten straight to the point. It won¡¯t be polite for me to beat about the bush then!¡± ¡°Hurry up and speak. Do you plan to fight or do you want an alliance? Stop making us guess!¡± Yan Su¡¯er had always been used to holding onto the initiative. When she spoke, Lang Xiaoyun stood silently at the side. ¡°So¡­ You¡¯re willing to help us kill the cultivators of the Rose Party?¡± Shang Bo¡¯s clone appeared as the cloud around him condensed even more. ¡°Help? Hehe. Since we¡¯re negotiating now, let¡¯s take out some sincerity. Otherwise, you can screw off now!¡± Even though Yan Su¡¯er was starting to look old and senile, her words proved otherwise. Shang Bo chuckled in amusement. ¡°I¡¯m not the one who plots against others every chance I get. I¡¯m not the one who allied with the Rose Party to sabotage my Tongyou Peak either. You guys colluded together and Yuwen Shengjie¡¯s appearance in my Tongyou Peak was the greatest proof. Why are you talking to me about sincerity now?¡± After thinking about it, Yan Su¡¯er turned to Lang Yunxiao. ¡°You tell him!¡± Lang Xiaoyun¡¯s expression sank and he growled, ¡°We cannot allow a third power to appear in the battlefield between two worlds.¡± Shang Bo nodded lightly in acknowledgment. ¡°Yeah. The battlefield between two worlds belongs to us. The moment a new power appears, we¡¯ll have to split the resources here again¡­¡± ¡°What do we do with the Coral Forest then?¡± Yan Su¡¯er asked. ¡°It¡¯s come down to a fair competition between us.¡± Shang Bo replied. Yan Su¡¯er sneered under her breath, however, Lang Xiaoyun replied in her stead. ¡°Alright! It;¡¯s settled then!¡± Shang Bo and Yan Su¡¯er were clearly shocked and they turned to look at Lang Xiaoyun who had an expressionless face. Shang Bo seemed to have thought of something and he chuckled in response, ¡°Brother Lang is really thoughtful¡­ Aren¡¯t you afraid that the Rose Party will hold a grudge against you for breaking their arrangement?¡± ¡°So what? Do you think they¡¯ll come over to pester us before they take their revenge on you?¡± Lang Xiaoyun sneered. ¡°Brother Lang, you¡¯re really something else!¡± ¡°Alright, it¡¯s settled then!¡± The two figures above the Four Spiritual Peak disappeared. A teasing smile appeared on Shang Bo¡¯s face before his clone disappeared in a gust of wind. ¡­ In the Four Spiritual Hall of the Four Spiritual Peak. Several Martial Extermination Realm experts of the four great races sat around the main hall and Martial Intent Realm cultivators gathered behind them. Lang Xiaoyun and Yan Su¡¯er walked through the main entrance and were immediately bombarded with questions. ¡°Brother Lang, are we really going to work with them?¡± An expert from his race yelled. Lang Xiaoyun swept his gaze across those present and growled, ¡°All of you heard our conversation earlier. We cannot allow a third power to appear in the battlefield between the two worlds! This is our bottom line!¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t we working with the Rose Party instead to get rid of the Tongyou Peak?¡± One of the Martial Intent Realm experts stood up and asked. Glancing at the member from the corner of his eye, Lang Xiaoyun¡¯s tone became a lot softer. ¡°I understand the rage you have after Brother Yu died in battle. However, we need to take things one step at a time. We cannot send more people of our races to die! We need to be one hundred percent sure we can wipe out the Tongyou Peak if we try again!¡± The cultivator who spoke sat down after receiving his reply. He might be unhappy about it, but he couldn¡¯t do anything! Lang Xiaoyun no longer bothered with him and he glanced at several others. ¡°When will our reinforcements arrive?¡± Looking at each other, one of them finally stood up to answer, ¡°They¡¯ll be coming soon. Senior She Zhihong will be bringing them here.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Lang Xiaoyun nodded before giving his order, ¡°There¡¯s no need for them to come to our Four Spiritual Peak. Tell them to go hide around the Tongyou Peak.¡± Everyone in the hall stared at him in shock. A smile slowly appeared on Lang Xiaoyun¡¯s face. ¡°We need to deal with the Rose Party, but if we can take the opportunity to destroy the Tongyou Peak, they can only blame themselves for their carelessness. I didn¡¯t say that we won¡¯t move against them.¡± A commotion broke out in the hall. When discussions broke out in the hall, someone brought up an actual concern. ¡°What if they already made preparations? They¡¯ve been controlling the Tongyou Peak for a long time. It¡¯s not easy for us to chase them out of their territory! Moreover, they definitely suffered less losses than us when the beast tide broke out! They have the Tongyou Institution behind them too¡­ Reinforcements might also be coming their way¡­¡± Lang Xiaoyun seemed to have thought about it a long time ago and he interrupted the speaker, ¡°That is why Brother She Zhihong cannot be the only one going. My brother, Lang Jingyun, will also be part of the operation! I will also ask Brother Lu Zhanyi to make his move. With the three of them, we¡¯ll definitely be able to cripple the Tongyou Institution!¡± One of the Martial Intent Realm cultivators behind Lang Xiaoyun asked all of a sudden, ¡°That¡­ About Jingyun¡¯s injuries¡­¡± ¡°Relax. I won¡¯t play around with the life of our Martial Extermination Realm experts!¡± ¡°As for the reinforcements from the Tongyou Institution¡­ They will definitely send some people over! Kou Chongxue is injured and Yun Jing will have to remain in the institution. Even if they have hidden Martial Extermination Realm experts, I believe the three on our side will be more than enough to suppress them!¡± Lang Xiaoyun declared confidently. ¡°As for the experts we¡¯re sending to the Coral Forest¡­¡± Yan Su¡¯er interrupted. ¡°There¡¯s no need to say any more. I¡¯ll be heading there personally!¡± Lang Xiaoyun nodded slightly before turning to Ran Biluo. ¡°Lass, what about you?¡± Ran Biluo was the only one on the Four Spiritual Peak who maintained most of her fighting strength after the war with the Tongyou Peak. However, she seemed to be extremely worn out after the battle and she hadn¡¯t appeared in public since then. Even though everyone was discussing their future plans, she didn¡¯t say a word. Hearing Lang Xiaoyun¡¯s question, she finally raised her head. ¡°I was thinking if we should request for reinforcements from outside the Liao Continent¡­ This will allow us to¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Lang Xiaoyun roared at her before she could complete her sentence, shocking everyone in the hall. Yan Su¡¯er¡¯s voice rang through the hall soon after. ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re talking about right now? How much blood and sweat did our four races shed in the battlefield for us to reach our current height? With victory right in front of us, you¡¯re asking us to split it up even more? Did you come up with the idea of inviting experts from the other continents yourself or is this the intention of your race?¡± Ran Biluo felt stares converging on her body and her body trembled involuntarily. She realized her mistake and she quickly tried to correct herself, ¡°It was merely a passing comment. You don¡¯t have to take me seriously. Anyway, I¡¯ll head over to the Coral Forest too!¡± Lang Xiaoyun and Yan Su¡¯er¡¯s gazes met and they saw the doubt in each other¡¯s eyes. However, Lang Xiaoyun couldn¡¯t deal with the problem immediately and he nodded slowly, ¡°Alright. It shall be decided then!¡± CH 145 ¡°The members of the Four Spiritual Peak cannot be trusted.¡± Ji Wenlong sighed after hearing what Shang Bo said. Shang Bo chuckled in response, ¡°Chief Ji, of course I know that! However, all of us know that we cannot allow a third power to appear in the battlefield between the two worlds! They know that we have to work together to get rid of the hidden threat.¡± Pausing for a second, he added, ¡°Of course, the benefits we obtain will depend on how well we play this.¡± Ji Wenlong nodded slightly and turned to the side. ¡°Brother Shang, what do you think?¡± Shang Lubing smiled silently. ¡°You two can decide. I¡¯ll make an appropriate strategy depending on our choice of action.¡± ¡°Brother Shang, you¡¯re acting too humble. You¡¯re much more experienced than me, and I hope you can give me some pointers.¡± Shang Bo replied. To that, he only received Shang Lubing¡¯s humble denial. ¡°Alright alright, enough of the pleasantries.¡± Ji Wenlong snapped. ¡°Has there been news from the Tongyou Institution? Is the Third Young Lady of the Yun Family coming over?¡± A bitter smile appeared on Shang Bo¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. The patriarch¡¯s injuries are worse than we thought. Sister Yun is unable to leave the institution for the time being.¡± Ji Wenlong¡¯s expression changed slightly and a sigh left his lips. ¡°Looks like we can only rely on ourselves¡­¡± ¡°What do you think the situation is inside the Coral Forest? Which one of the elders of the Rose Party led them this time?¡± Shang Bo asked. Ji Wenlong¡¯s expression turned solemn and he thought about it for a moment. A name flashed through his mind and he gnashed his teeth in irritation, ¡°Murong Tianlan!¡± ¡­ ¡°We can¡¯t rely on those bastards on the Four Spiritual Peak!¡± Yuwen Shengjie growled and his complexion didn¡¯t look too good. He was injured by Shang Bo during the war on the Tongyou Peak, and even though his injuries couldn¡¯t be considered absolutely life-threatening, it was serious enough to affect his fighting abilities. ¡°The Four Spiritual Peak has been at odds with the Tongyou Peak for twenty years. They killed an uncountable number of people from the other side, and their hatred cannot be resolved till the other party is dead. Now that they have the chance to rid themselves of their enemy once and for all, they should be willing to work with us. Moreover, they can also get some benefits from the Coral Forest.¡± One of the younger cultivators of the Rose Party spoke up, but unlike the other two around him, he didn¡¯t seem to be able to control his aura. ¡°It¡¯s hard for us to say. Their battle raged on for twenty years, and they understand each other¡¯s bottom line. They can even guess each other¡¯s thoughts. Moreover, we don¡¯t really have too much intelligence on either side.¡± The younger expert continued, ¡°Martial Uncle Yuwen, do you think that they will work together against us? I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible! They can¡¯t wait to kill each other!¡± Yuwen Shengjie chuckled in response, ¡°Who said that mortal enemies cannot form an alliance?¡± ¡°Uncle Daying, what do you think?¡± The younger cultivator turned to the other old expert and asked. Dongfang Daying looked at the two of them before speaking, ¡°We can give up anything but the control over the special regions! Only then will we be able to establish ourselves in the battlefield between the two worlds! Only then will we be able to stand at the same height as either one of the two powers!¡± The young cultivator thought about it for a second before asking cautiously, ¡°So¡­ We should be cautious of them even if we work together?¡± Dongfang Daying slapped the young expert on the shoulder and chuckled, ¡°Zhanxing, my intention is for you to go hide yourself. Do not reveal your identity as a Martial Extermination Realm expert. As for Murong Gaofeng, let¡¯s hope that he manages to cross the bottleneck and break through! When that happens, we¡¯ll possess five Martial Extermination Realm experts! When the time comes, the two of you will become the key to our victory!¡± Yuwen Shengjie spoke up too. ¡°Too bad Ouyang Zhaiyuan is adamant about comprehending his ultimate technique. Otherwise, he would have been able to break through a long time ago! With his strength, we¡¯ll be able to gain an absolute advantage!¡± Dongfang Daying smiled, ¡°It¡¯s up to him. Didn¡¯t we send him and that formation master to the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World? Let¡¯s see if he can grasp the opportunity he¡¯s been given. He¡¯s been stuck at his current level for such a long time now and the amount of resources he has wasted has already touched on the bottom line of the Ouyang Family. Let¡¯s hope he makes the right choice this time.¡± Yuwen Shengjie sighed, ¡°Let¡¯s hope so. The Coral Forest has been untouched for twenty years and we¡¯re squeezing its resources dry right now. All we hope for is a few more experts to be born!¡± The young Sima Zhanxing sighed at the side, ¡°Martial uncles, didn¡¯t we hand the task of controlling the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World over to the kids? If I recall correctly, their leader should be a talented formation master from the Murong Family¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Yuwen Shengjia sighed, ¡°Some of the kids have been brainwashed by him and all of them chose to head over to grab some benefits. They haven¡¯t responded in a long time and they might have run into trouble. We can assume that all of them have already sacrificed their life in order to control the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World¡­ Senior Murong is really too lenient with the members of the younger generation¡­¡± Dongfang Daying muttered at the side, ¡°That¡¯s right. Even if he wishes to train them, there¡¯s a limit to what they can do! Luckily, Murong Gaofeng is about to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm. The Murong Family will have another expert! Martial Uncle Murong can finally heave a sigh of relief¡­¡± Sima Zhanxing seemed to have realized something and he quickly responded, ¡°Yeah¡­ Although it''s a pity¡­¡± His response seemed to please the other two, but he followed up with another question. ¡°By the way, why hasn¡¯t Ancestor Murong appeared even though the Tongyou Peak is breathing down our necks?¡± Yuwen Shengjie released a meaningful chuckle. ¡°Uncle Tianlan is focused on the Zhu Family Manor at the moment. He¡¯s suppressing Liu Jitang who is hiding in there. I¡¯m afraid he doesn¡¯t have time to help us.¡± Dongfang Daying interrupted suddenly, ¡°You can¡¯t say that. The Zhu Family Manor is the most important region of the Coral Forest. It¡¯s the key to our Rose Party forming a base of operation here in the battlefield between two worlds.¡± Yuwen Shengjie sneered softly, ¡°Brother Dongfang, you¡¯re right. However, I think you missed an important point¡­¡± ¡°Enough. Brother Shengjie, we shouldn¡¯t air our dirty laundry in front of the juniors. Martial Uncle Tianlan is our senior after all¡­¡± Dongfang Daying glared at Yuwen Shengjie and growled. Sima Zhanxing brought up an interesting idea all of a sudden. ¡°Martial uncles, why don¡¯t I head over to the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World to take a look? That place seems a little strange. After all, we haven¡¯t received any reports from those within. I heard that once the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World opens, illusions will fill the area. Brother Zhaiyuan gave up the chance to enter the Unstable Region and Murong Gaofeng went in his stead. Could he have planned to comprehend his marital intent in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World since the start?¡± Dongfang Daying roared with laughter. ¡°It will be great if that¡¯s true! Anyway, you better not reveal yourself.¡± ¡°Yeah. You shouldn¡¯t head over now. If Ouyang Zhaiyuan really manages to comprehend his martial intent, you¡¯ll find out either way. Moreover, he cannot be disturbed during his comprehension. If you head over now and affect his breakthrough, things will get complicated.¡± Yuwen Shengjie added. Sima Zhanxing smiled in response, ¡°Alright! I understand! I thank martial uncles for the tip!¡± Waving goodbye to the both of them, he took his leave. Dongfang Daying looked at his leaving figure and whispered, ¡°Brother Shengjie, the Sima Family has always maintained their neutrality in the Rose Party. However, from what he said earlier, he seems to be leaning towards us¡­ We need to hold back a little. If we push him too much, he might lean the other way instead¡­¡± ¡°I just think the Murong Family went too far! Didn¡¯t I just say a little more¡­¡± Yuwen Shengjie muttered. Dongfang Daying could only chuckle softly, ¡°Alright, alright. The enemy is upon us. We have to look at the bigger picture. Martial Uncle Tianlan is our leader and we need to restrain ourselves.¡± Yuwen Shengtian snorted once in acknowledgment. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. However, Dongfang Daying seemed to have thought of something. ¡°Oh yeah, what¡¯s the name of Zhanxing¡¯s extermination origin that he refined in the Dual Season Land?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called the Changqing Extermination. Even though it¡¯s not very strong, it allows one to live for a long time. It¡¯s also called the Longevity Extermination¡­¡± ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t longevity the opposite of extermination? Those freaks of the Zhu Family¡­ I wonder if their fate now has anything to do with the weird techniques they produced¡­¡± ¡­ ¡°The seven-colored smoke in the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl should contain an extermination origin!¡± Shang Xia looked at the pearl carefully and pointed towards the pretty mist within. When everyone stared at him in fright, he continued, ¡°This should be the Fantasy Spiritual Extermination. Well, at least that explains the name of the pearl!¡± ¡°Extermination origin¡­ Is this the key to entering the Martial Extermination Realm?!¡± Sun Haiwei gasped. She was mesmerized by the beautiful mist contained in the pearl and she reached out unconsciously to touch it. However, her hands passed right through it and she retracted her hand quickly. Shang Xia nodded and opened the Mountain and Sea Recollection. ¡°According to the records, the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World was designed by the Zhu Family to collect extermination origins! The Fantasy Spiritual Pearl is the key to their plan! This book also contains the way to retrieve the extermination origin from the pearl for refinement.¡± Shang Xia paused for a second, expecting the rest to be unable to digest what he just said. Shang Ke broke the silence after a long time. ¡°I heard that the Zhu Family has been able to produce a lot of experts during their peak. A Martial Extermination Realm expert would appear every dozen years or so. Before our worlds collided, the Zhu Family actually produced four Martial Extermination Realm cultivators on their own! Their patriarch was at the peak of the Martial Extermination Realm, and it¡¯s said that he would be the first person in our You Continent to break through to the next realm!¡± Shang Ke shook his head slowly after speaking up to that point. If they were talking about knowledge regarding the You Continent, Shang Ke knew a lot more than those present. Shang Xia changed the topic suddenly. ¡°Now that we¡¯re in the Coral Forest and have lost contact with the outside world, we can only rely on ourselves! We only have one option left! We need to produce a Martial Extermination Realm expert right here and now!¡± He handed the pearl over to Shang Ke after he spoke. ¡°Fifth Grandpa, we can only pray that you succeed¡­¡± CH 146 Shang Xia didn¡¯t hide his intentions at all. Of course, there was no point in hiding it. When Shang Xia told them about the existence of the extermination origin, everyone was shocked. However, they also accepted his suggestion silently. If they looked at it another way, he was the one who discovered the extermination origin! He had the authority to use it as he saw fit. The most important point was that all of them had already lost contact with the Tongyou Peak. They would face the wrath of a Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Rose Party any time, and they had to do all they could to survive. Even though Gu Shou had a profound cultivation, he was still quite a distance away from breaking through. Ensuring that Shang Ke was ready to break through, the group eventually split up as they had to get ready to take on a Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Rose Party. Shang Xia followed Shang Ke to the fourth hidden chamber as the rest split up to complete their preparations, they saw detailed instructions on how a cultivator was supposed to extract the extermination origin from the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl for their breakthrough inscribed on the walls. It was clear that the room had been specially made for breaking through to the Martial Extermination Realm. Shang Xia looked at Shang Ke and chuckled, ¡°Fifth Grandpa, you won¡¯t blame me for taking over the situation and forcing you to break through without enough preparations, right?¡± ¡°Damn brat. You¡¯re pretty capable! You¡¯re really lucky too! Do you know how many people failed to locate an extermination origin even after so many years?! They were trapped in the Martial Intent Realm despite their deep accumulations! Only you would be able to give it away like that! Hahaha! Am I supposed to blame you if I¡¯m not ready to break through?¡± Shang Ke suppressed his laughter. Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief when he realized that his grandfather had no intention of blaming him. ¡°Even so, I¡¯m really regretful that you have to attempt to break through. You haven¡¯t comprehended your martial intent to break through to the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. Your foundations would be stronger if you managed to¡­ It¡¯s just too bad we¡¯re in such a bad situation now!¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ve been stuck at my current level for some time now. I realized that I might not be able to comprehend my martial intent even if I tried. However, I have been missing an extermination origin in order to start my breakthrough. Even though your Grandpa Bo tried searching high and low, he failed to locate any!¡± Shang Xia knew that everything he was saying was true. However, he would never know what Shang Ke actually thought. Whatever the case, he heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that Shang Ke had given up on comprehending his martial intent. ¡°About the medicine¡­¡± That was the other thing Shang Xia was worried about. Patting his chest, he slowly revealed an intricately carved bronze gourd. ¡°I made my preparations a long time ago. I was only missing the extermination origin. With the help of your Grandpa Bo, I prepared my advancement medicine three years ago! I bring it everywhere I go in case I run into an opportunity to break through!¡± ¡°However, it¡¯s difficult to maintain the effects of a fully refined advancement medicine. A semi-finished product is contained in this gourd and I need to complete a few simple steps before turning it into my advancement medicine.¡± Shang Ke explained. Shang Xia gasped in shock. ¡°Is that even possible?¡± ¡°It¡¯s difficult to create a high level advancement medicine. However, it¡¯s harder to find a chance to break through! I have to always be ready!¡± Shang Xia nodded slowly in acknowledgement. When he followed Shang Ke to the fourth hidden chamber earlier, he wanted to express his apology. However, it seemed as though Shang Ke had considered everything! Since there was nothing else left to do, he turned to leave. He didn¡¯t want to waste Shang Ke¡¯s precious time to break through. However, his departure was interrupted by a question from Shang Ke. ¡°Xia¡¯er, what do you think about the relationship our clan has with the institution?¡± Shang Xia thought for a second before replying, ¡°Both sides depend on each other. We flourish together, but if anything happens to one side, the other will also be affected!¡± Shang Ke nodded slowly and maintained a passive expression. He continued, ¡°You¡¯re right. Right now, the Tongyou Institution is the foundation of strength for our You Continent. Patriarch Kou is indeed a genius, but I still think that our Shang Clan shouldn¡¯t be shackled down by the institution. We have to keep our power and remain independent.¡± Shang Xia stared at his grandfather in shock. He didn¡¯t know why Shang Ke would talk about stuff like that now. He asked cautiously, ¡°Fifth Grandpa, why are you telling me this?¡± Shang Ke turned to look at Shang Xia deeply before explaining, ¡°Shang Bo sank too deep into the Tongyou Institution. Of course, this isn¡¯t a bad thing. It cannot be denied that his position allowed us to rise quickly in the You Continent. However, looking at things from another perspective, our Shang Clan¡¯s rise was supported by Patriarch Kou.¡± A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. Shang Xia didn¡¯t understand what he was getting at, but he could tell that Kou Chongxue definitely had some sort of plan for supporting the Shang Clan¡¯s rise. Moreover, it made sense for them to repay the institution for the help they received. Shang Xia didn¡¯t interrupt his grandfather with his thoughts. Instead, he remained silent to wait for Shang Ke to continue. Shang Ke knew that Shang Xia would understand where he was coming from eventually. He sighed and continued, ¡°We cannot deny that Patriarch Kou did us a huge favor. It¡¯s something we have to return eventually, but that¡¯s a job for elders of the clan like me and your Grandpa Bo. We¡¯ll return the favor as much as we can, but our Shang Clan will forever belong to us. We can be allies, partners, and even friends of the institution, but we can never turn into a vassal! Do you understand my intentions?¡± Shang Xiao hesitated slightly before nodding slowly. A smile returned to Shang Ke¡¯s face. As though he was afraid that Shang Xia would overthink things, he added, ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not telling you to become an enemy of the institution¡­¡± ¡°I know!¡± Shang Xia grinned. ¡°I know what you mean. I¡¯ll do what I have to¡­¡± Shang Ke revealed a satisfied expression, but he had to remind Shang Xia. ¡°It¡¯s not as easy as you think¡­¡± As he spoke, he took out a jade goblet and poured some of the medicine contained in the gourd out. The dense fragrance filled the chamber in an instant. Shang Ke took out two other bags and poured different colored powder into the goblet. When he was done, he tossed two candle-like items into it. Shang Ke raised the goblet with one hand and his body started to sway from side to side. He released a soft sigh, ¡°Multi Illusion Wine. When your Grandpa Bo advanced, this was also the medicine he used! The recipe was provided by Patriarch Kou!¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Shang Xia nodded absentmindedly. However, he tilted his head to the side violently and asked, ¡°Fifth Grandpa, don¡¯t we have our own recipe to make advancement medicines for the Martial Extermination Realm?¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­ Everyone says that our Shang Clan is the fourth great clan. Shang Bo¡¯s cultivation is good enough to challenge Ji Wenlong today and if I manage to enter the Martial Extermination Realm today, no one will doubt our status as a great clan any more. Who will expect us to not possess our own medicine recipe?¡± Shang Xia raised an eyebrow in shock. ¡°Do the other three clans have their own?¡± Shang Ke nodded dejectedly, ¡°Yeah. The Ji, Liu, and Yun Clans were part of the five great families! They definitely have their own inheritances¡­¡± Shang Xia continued to ask, ¡°Did you and Grandpa Bo swear never to leak the recipe of the Multi Illusion Wine?¡± ¡°Of course we did. Anyway, this is the most compatible medicine with our Shang Clan¡¯s techniques. It¡¯s part of the institution¡¯s collection, and we can¡¯t pass it down to others. Without a proper inheritance for our clan, it¡¯s over once anything happens to me or your Grandpa Bo. We¡¯ll immediately fall from our position, and it¡¯s very likely we¡¯ll be completely exterminated by our enemies!¡± Shang Bo sighed. ¡°That is why we need to find a recipe to create advancement medicine for our experts to enter the Martial Extermination Realm! Our Shang Clan needs to obtain complete control over it!¡± Shang Xia added on his grandfather¡¯s behalf. Shang Ke paused for a second after hearing Shang Xia. ¡°That¡¯s right. It would be best if we can obtain one that complements our spear technique. It doesn¡¯t really matter what medicine you use to enter the Martial Realm and Martial Extremity Realm, but you can¡¯t enter the Martial Intent Realm any way you want! When you enter the Martial Intent Realm, I hope that you can choose to practice our Shang Clan¡¯s spear technique. Even though we don¡¯t have an inheritance for you to reach the Martial Extermination Realm right now, our spear technique is extremely powerful. I¡¯m not as talented and as strong as your Grandpa Bo back when he was at the Martial Intent Realm. If he was in my place, he wouldn¡¯t have lost to Ouyang Zhaiyuan!¡± Shang Xia replied confidently. ¡°I will!¡± That had been his plan all along. As the fragrance of the wine got denser and denser, Shang Xia felt a little lightheaded after taking a whiff. ¡°Since this is the first time we went all out to explore the Coral Forest, it¡¯s the best chance we have to obtain an advancement formula!¡± Shang Ke said all of a sudden. ¡°The Zhu Family¡¯s advancement formula?¡± Shang Xia gasped. ¡°Is this the true goal of the Rose Party and every other power?¡± Shang Ke didn¡¯t reply, and he asked a question of his own. ¡°Do you know how many advancement formulas the Zhu Family possess?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± Shang Ke raised four fingers in the air and said slowly, ¡°They have four different formulas!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes slowly widened in shock. ¡°No wonder they were the strongest family in the You Continent! Do the formulas have anything to do with the four spiritual lands?¡± ¡°In the past, we wouldn¡¯t know. Now that I entered the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, I can confirm that there is definitely some sort of connection!¡± Shang Ke muttered. ¡°The foundation of the Zhu Family is deep indeed¡­¡± Shang Xia praised. ¡°However, these formulas aren¡¯t the reason the Rose Party and the Tongyou Institution are going crazy.¡± Shang Ke threw out another bomb. ¡°What can it possibly be?¡± Shang Xia was instantly taken aback. ¡°Breakthrough to the next level. To the Fifth Order of the Primary Realm!¡± Shang Ke¡¯s gaze turned sharp. He stared up at the ceiling and whispered, ¡°There has been a rumor going around in the You Continent that the patriarch of the Zhu Family obtained a complete guide to break through to the Martial Dipper Realm!¡± CH 147 After Shang Xia left the chamber, the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl hovered in front of Shang Ke. The instant the entrance to the chamber closed, the rock formation started to light up. ¡°I hope Grandpa Ke can successfully enter the Martial Extermination Realm¡­¡± Shang Xia whispered in his heart. According to his grandfather, there were only six known advancement formulas to the Martial Extermination Realm. Three of them came from the Ji, Liu, and Yun Clans. The Multi Illusion Wine was the most suitable medicine for members who practiced the Shang Clan¡¯s Spear Art. That didn¡¯t mean that it was the best advancement formula available out there. Shang Bo and Shang Ke could only choose the one that suited them the most¡­ Not too long after Shang Xia exited the chamber, a misty figure started to condense in front of him. It quickly took the shape of Chu Jia. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s pretty good!¡± Shang Xia gasped. ¡°It hasn¡¯t been long since I gave you the core diagram! Instructor Chu, you¡¯re really impressive!¡± Well, he couldn¡¯t go wrong leaving things up to the professional. Not to mention the fact that Chu Jia wasn¡¯t just a professional. She was an absolute beast in the field of formations. Shang Xia sighed in defeat. When he held the diagram, he could only observe the situation passively through the blinking lights. His use was elementary compared to what Chu Jia could do! The image of Chu Jia sniggered happily after she heard Shang Xia¡¯s praise. However, she quickly suppressed the joy on her face and she turned her head to the side. Pretending that she didn¡¯t care too much about his compliment. ¡°Hey, the four hidden chambers are the source of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Grand Formation. It''s good to be hiding in one of them.¡± ¡°Are there any dangers lying about?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. ¡°I discovered that the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World would transform from time to time. It¡¯s part of a bigger structure.¡± ¡°What do you mean? Can you simplify it for a normal human to understand?¡± Shang Xia muttered grumpily. Rolling her eyes at him, she continued, ¡°In the Coral Forest, the positions of the four spiritual lands can change! If you¡¯re not hiding in one of the four chambers or a location that won¡¯t move, you might be tossed to some other region when the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World teleports!¡± ¡°Shit! You should have said so earlier!¡± Shang Xia snorted. ¡°However, the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World is massive¡­ Even if it¡¯s possible for it to change positions with the other regions, it won¡¯t be easy, right?!¡± ¡°I told you what I learned! I don¡¯t care if you believe me or not!¡± Chu Jia snapped. ¡°Relax! Which one of the four chambers is empty right now?¡± Shang Xia followed up. ¡°Why do you care? It¡¯s not like you believe me.¡± Chu Jia pouted in annoyance. Chuckling softly, Shang Xia responded, ¡°I¡¯m just being careful!¡± As Chu Jia¡¯s figure started to fade, her voice rang in his ears. ¡°Senior Shang closed off one of the chambers and Instructor Gu chose one to treat his injuries. Junior Sister Sun is currently cultivating in the qi condensation formation and I¡¯m in the last one. Hmph. There¡¯s none left for you!¡± Before Shang Xia could start complaining, Chu Jia¡¯s voice rang through the air. ¡°I¡¯m able to control the region contained between the four chambers. As long as you don¡¯t leave this region, you won¡¯t be thrown out of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World when it teleports¡­¡± After speaking, she disappeared completely without giving Shang Xia the chance to complain to her. ¡°Oi! Shit! This daddy over here brought you guys into the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World! Now, all of you kicked me out of the stone chambers¡­ Fine! I¡¯ll just take the time to train my sword techniques!¡± Shang Xia cursed loudly as he walked around one of the stone formations contained within the boundary described by Chu Jia. He didn¡¯t walk too far when he turned around to stare at one of the rock formations. ¡°Crap¡­ Everything looks similar here. I didn¡¯t lose my way in the past because of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram¡­ Now that I don¡¯t have it anymore, I better not venture too far. If I leave the region by accident and the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World really teleports¡­ I¡¯m screwed¡­¡± Shang Xia looked for a suitable region to train but he quickly recalled that Shang Ke was in seclusion not too far away. ¡°Oh well¡­ I¡¯ll walk a little more in case I disturb Grandpa Ke¡­¡± As he had been reading through the Twisting Twin Blades before Ouyang Zhaiyuan and Bai Luming arrived, he gained a basic understanding of it. As long as he practiced it slightly, he would be able to familiarize himself with the sword art. After trying it out in battle a few times, he was confident that he could reach the large completion stage of the sword art. Not too long after he found the perfect spot to practice his sword art, he heard a dull buzzing sound all around him. A terrifying wave of heaven and earth qi came from all directions and formed a massive whirlwind. It swept through the rock formations around Shang Xia and a loud whistling sound filled his ears. Ever since Shang Xia and the others entered the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, the sounds of conflict in the outside world got louder and louder. The only thing that could lead to a disturbance at that level was an exchange between experts at the Martial Extermination Realm, but there was something different about it this time. The entire Coral Forest seemed to be breaking out into combat and the commotion seemed to flip the region upside down! ¡°This¡­ The Martial Extermination Realm experts on our side started to fight with the Rose Party?¡± Shang Xia guessed as a chilly light flashed through his eyes. Every time his blades crossed, streaks of frosty light would fill the air. ¡°No¡­ The disturbance is too large this time! Could the experts of the Four Spiritual Peak be here too?¡± Shang Xia guessed. His thoughts started to run wild as he practiced. The Rose Party had a deal with the Four Spiritual Peak! Moreover, both sides were enemies of the Tongyou Peak! The Tongyou Peak was superior to either party no matter how they looked at it. In that case, Shang Xia felt that there was no way the Four Spiritual Peak would refuse to work with the Rose Party! Now that the disturbance was getting larger and larger, not even the restrictions around the Coral Forest could block off the signs of battle. The sky had been dyed a multitude of colors. Shang Xia even felt that the rock formation below him was trembling from the impact. Waves were starting to rise from the once-calm surface, and the bridges connecting the rock formations shook slightly. ¡°This can¡¯t be happening¡­ How will Fifth Grandpa cultivate and breakthrough?! Won¡¯t he experience cultivation deviation?!¡± Shang Xia tried to suppress his worries. His hands had already stopped moving as it was obvious he wasn¡¯t in the right state of mind to continue practicing his sword. Keeping his blades, he returned to where Shang Ke was. However, he paused after taking a single step. Didn¡¯t Chu Jia say that she could control everything within the four chambers? She could stop any energy fluctuations from affecting their cultivation! One had to know that in the four chambers, four cultivators were doing everything they could to grow stronger. One of them was trying to advance, and another one was treating his injuries. There was one more strengthening her foundations, and the last was studying the art of formations. None of them could be disturbed! That was also the reason Shang Xia was left outside like an abandoned child. A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. Looking all around him, a frown formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. If Chu Jia could block off all the energy fluctuations in the region, why was he affected by it? How were the rest supposed to cultivate in peace? Unless¡­ He had already left the region controlled by Chu Jia! There was no way¡­ Shang Xia¡¯s eyes widened as he observed the area around him. Where did he come from?! Where was the rock formation with the hidden chamber his Grandpa Ke was cultivating in?! Which bridge did he come from?! Shang Xia turned around abruptly and ran in the direction he thought he came from. However, the huge energy fluctuations caused the rock formations to quake around him. The waves that crashed against the rock formations rose to become giant tsunamis, and Shang Xia realized that something was horribly wrong. A howl came from the depths of the Coral Forest in that instant, and his mind went completely blank. Hearing the howl, the heaven and earth qi in his surroundings quietened down instantly. The sky around the Coral Forest that was filled with multi-colored lights from the battle between the Martial Extermination Realm cultivators returned to normal. The battle between the experts seemed to be suppressed too. Only the howl remained. Shang Xia suddenly saw the rock formations around him distort as some grew taller and some shrank in size. The water around him rose and fell, and the world spun around him. However, everything returned to normal in the next instant and he staggered about, trying to stabilize himself. When he finally caught his footing, he felt his soul returning to his body and his mind finally started to work again. Wait a second¡­ If I moved around so much, I would have already fallen into the water below! Shang Xia looked at his surroundings, and he realized that everything he was familiar with had disappeared! He appeared in a whole new area! ¡°Hiss¡­¡± A whistle came from behind him and Shang Xia¡¯s scalp started to tingle. He could feel something stabbing him from behind. Reacting instinctively, his sword shot out to block the sneak attack. ¡°Hey! What sword technique is that?! It¡¯s really weird!¡± CH 148 In the core region of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. Bai Luming was trembling nonstop on the ground as his body curled up into a ball. His clothes were completely wet, and his hair was caked with mud. If no one knew that he was a reputable rank three formation master, they would mistake him as a sad beggar at the side of the road! From his appearance, it was clear he suffered a lot. As he gasped for air, his disheveled hair hid his awkward expression. ¡°Hah¡­ Bai Luming, I really underestimated you! It has only been a few moments since I reminded him and he disappeared!¡± Chu Jia¡¯s lips were pressed tightly together and she started to activate the Triple Intent Lock on his body. Sun Haiwei, who rushed over from the other stone chamber, glared at Bai Luming with killing intent leaking from her eyes. ¡°I¡­ I told you! This has nothing to do with me! He ran around himself and left the core region!¡± Bai Luming gnashed his teeth in pain as he tried to explain. ¡°So you knew he left the core area¡­¡± Sun Haiwei caught on to his words instantly. ¡°Yes¡­¡± Bai Luming didn¡¯t dare to hide the fact. After all, Chu Jia could easily see through his lies. After all, the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl had the ability to replay what happened earlier. As long as they check through the footage after Shang Ke was done with the pearl, she would discover exactly what he had done! Even without the pearl, she could still see his position in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World when Shang Xia disappeared. That was exactly what she did the moment she discovered his disappearance. She also activated the Triple Intent Lock then, bringing him to the state he was in. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop him?¡± Sun Haiwei growled at Bai Luming. Sweeping his hair to the side, he stared directly into Sun Haiwei¡¯s eyes and snapped, ¡°Why should I? Didn¡¯t Young Lady Chu remind him after he stepped out of Shang Ke¡¯s cultivation chamber?¡± ¡°So you saw him leaving the core region with your own eyes! Even though you didn¡¯t harm him directly, you chose to watch as he ran into trouble!¡± Sun Haiwei didn¡¯t plan to let him off easy. ¡°Danger?¡± An odd expression appeared on Bai Luming¡¯s face and a trace of mockery was contained in the smile that formed on his face. He didn¡¯t bother with Sun Haiwei any longer and he turned to address Chu Jia. ¡°Who would have thought that the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World would shift at that moment? Young Lady Chu, would you have expected it to happen?¡± Chu Jia remained silent as Bai Luming¡¯s gaze returned to Sun Haiwei. ¡°The reason Young Lady Chu reminded him about the possible shifting of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World was because I told her everything I knew about the Coral Forest. With her talent and knowledge in formations, she couldn¡¯t tell that it was about to shift! How was I supposed to know? Don¡¯t you know that she¡¯s better than me at these things?¡± Sun Haiwei was at a loss for words, but Chu Jia sneered at the side, ¡°Even if this has nothing to do with you, all of us know that you¡¯re plotting something behind our backs¡­¡± It was Bai Luming¡¯s turn to be silenced. It was true that he had bad intentions, but he hadn¡¯t started putting his plan into motion! ¡°Do you know why I got Instructor Gu to leave you alive?¡± Chu Jia asked. When he looked at Chu Jia again, he noticed a bright smile lighting up her face. A bad premonition filled his heart. He couldn¡¯t be more familiar with the smile. It was the same one he saw before he was trapped in the protection screen separating the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World from the outside world! Sun Haiwei was also shocked by her sudden question. When she recalled what happened in the tunnel when Chu Jia revealed a smile like that, she took a few steps back hastily. ¡°Isn¡¯t¡­ Isn¡¯t it because you need someone to help you?¡± Bai Luming guessed. Giggling happily, Chu Jia explained, ¡°You can definitely be my helper if you¡¯re obedient. In fact, I can even give you a recommendation to teach at the Tongyou Institution! After all, you¡¯re pretty good at the art of formations. As long as you swear an oath never to betray us, everything is possible! You will no longer be part of the Rose Party and the Ouyang Family! Our Tongyou Institution will offer you our protection!¡± ¡°Many thanks?¡± Bai Luming was a little confused by her revelation, but he knew that she wasn¡¯t done. ¡°But if you still harbor evil thoughts¡­¡± Chu Jia continued. The grin on her face became wider and the gaze in her eyes changed. She looked at Bai Luming as though she was looking at a toy. ¡°Have you heard of a Formation Spirit?¡± Bai Luming¡¯s expression changed drastically. ¡°Isn¡¯t that¡­ Isn¡¯t that a forbidden art?! You¡¯ll be despised by every single cultivator for sacrificing a life to create a Formation Spirit! You wouldn¡¯t dare! The moment the news gets out, the Azure Origin World will go crazy! Not even Kou Chongxue will be able to protect you when that happens!¡± ¡°Forbidden art?¡± Chu Jia giggled as though she had heard the greatest joke of her life. ¡°Do you know what I plan to do? Do you really think I¡¯ll turn you into a Formation Spirit?¡± Chu Jia found Bai Luming¡¯s expression slightly amusing and she continued, ¡°What are you thinking about? Of course I know that this is a forbidden technique. It¡¯s frowned upon to create a Formation Spirit!¡± Before Bai Luming could heave a sigh of relief, Chu Jia¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°As long as I don¡¯t let anyone find out, no one will be able to crucify me. Hmph¡­ Do you think the grand formations of the various superpowers in the many continents of the Azure Origin World are made for decoration? How many formation masters lost their lives in order to become Formation Spirits to protect their faction¡­ Even if anyone discovered the secret, they would say that those who died were enemies who came to pester them! After all, it¡¯s not wrong to kill those who plot against you¡­¡± Bai Luming instantly understood her intentions. Sighing helplessly, he finally surrendered. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t turn me into a Formation Spirit, I¡¯ll agree to anything! I¡¯ll tell you anything you wish to know! Young Master Shang¡¯s disappearance was an accident, and it¡¯s not like he¡¯s dead¡­¡± ¡°Exactly. That¡¯s why you¡¯re still alive! If he¡¯s dead, you would have been dead too. Senior Shang is about to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm¡­ You know¡­ Once I tell them that you were behind it, they won¡¯t let you die easily! Even if I turned you into a Formation Spirit, they might think that it¡¯s too easy on you!¡± Chu Jia tutted. Bai Luming, who had barely recovered after being terrorized by the Triple Intent Lock by Chu Jia earlier, fell to his knees. ¡°Do you need me to tell you what to do? Hahahaha¡­ Alright. Junior Sister Sun, let¡¯s go!¡± She turned around to signal to Sun Haiwei, but she realized that her junior sister was completely out of it. ¡°Junior Sister Sun? What are you thinking about? Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Sun Haiwei jumped slightly and she forced a smile. ¡°Oh¡­ Alright, let¡¯s go¡­¡± ¡­ ¡°Huh? What sword technique is this?! It¡¯s so weird!¡± A voice came from behind Shang Xia. Turning around, he held his Delicate Jade River Sword in front of him before retreating slightly to open the distance between himself and the person who sneak attacked him. ¡°Martial Intent Realm!¡± Shang Xia revealed a bitter smile when he noticed the cultivation level of the person standing behind him. He was facing a young cultivator who looked to be in his twenties, and his clothes were somewhat similar to what Shang Xia wore. However, Shang Xia¡¯s clothes had been soaked and dried countless times in the past few days, and it was already starting to get a little nasty. Shang Xia¡¯s appearance wasn¡¯t too good either. Facing the Martial Intent Realm expert who had two other bodyguards beside him, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t run if he wanted to! However, the Martial Intent Realm expert raised his hands to stop his companions from turning Shang Xia into human bbq. ¡°Relax. He won¡¯t be able to escape. I just obtained a sword technique from the Zhu Family and I lack a training partner. This person¡¯s sword technique is pretty unique, and he sent himself to me.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s first thought was to escape, but after looking around, he realized that it wouldn¡¯t be possible. He was trapped in the middle of a wasteland! Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Seeing several rock formations in the distance, he felt that it was possible to use them as cover to run away. However, the young man saw through his plan instantly. He gestured for the two cultivators to stand down before releasing a twenty feet long sword light towards Shang Xia. ¡°There¡¯s no need to rush to leave. Your sword technique is really unique. Why don¡¯t we exchange pointers?¡± Shang Xia blocked the sword light with a slash, and the two of them suddenly leaped at one another. They exchanged several blows, and Shang Xia was constantly forced back. Even though the exchange between them looked tough, the young man was still able to speak casually while suppressing Shang Xia. ¡°You must be a student from the Tongyou Institution. With your cultivation, you should probably be in the upper division. You¡¯re definitely not a nobody. I am Dongfang Mingyu. How should I address you?¡± Shang Xia remained silent and he released his strongest sword strike from the Flexible Sword Art. From the short exchange, they managed to understand each other¡¯s sword technique. The young man¡¯s sword technique was forceful, and even though it wasn¡¯t at the level of the Vigorous Sword Art, it managed to suppress Shang Xia. All of a sudden, his sword techniques would change. It became fast and soft, and even though it wasn¡¯t as smooth as Shang Xia¡¯s Formless Sword Art, it gave off a sense of danger that he had never felt before. CH 149 As Dongfang Mingyu suppressed his cultivation to the peak of the Martial Extremity Realm and he wasn¡¯t too adept with the sword art he was using, he failed to suppress Shang Xia immediately. Even so, Shang Xia retreated repeatedly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Aren¡¯t you willing to reveal your name? Are you a coward?¡± Dongfang Mingyu snorted. He suppressed Shang Xia easily, and he even held one hand behind his back! Shang Xia tried his best to defend himself and anguish filled his heart. He tried to gasp helplessly while retreating. Staring at the space behind Shang Xia, Dongfang Mingyu chuckled. ¡°Stop acting. You¡¯re still hiding your strength. Are you still planning to escape?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression changed as the two cultivators beside Dongfang Mingyu moved to surround him. Even though they didn¡¯t take part in the battle, they prevented him from escaping. ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. We have all the time in the world. After all, we¡¯re going to be sparring for quite a bit. I¡¯ll dig out all of your moves sooner or later. You¡¯ll eventually reveal your identity!¡± Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s sword technique switched up once again. He slashed out several times in succession. The pressure Shang Xia experienced increased instantly. All of a sudden, he stopped pretending. Even though it still looked like he was at a disadvantage, his defense became perfect and he no longer showed flaws in his movements. Dongfang Mingyu raised an eyebrow in surprise. However, he expected as much and he simply chuckled in response. ¡°You have already broken through to the Martial Intent Realm. Why are you still learning the techniques of those in the Martial Extremity Realm?¡± Shang Xia asked all of a sudden. ¡°One can always strive to be better! The Dual Interference Manual is one of the Zhu Family¡¯s core techniques!¡± Dongfang Mingyu laughed in response. ¡°Dual Interference Manual?¡± Shang Xia was surprised. ¡°You¡¯re clearly using light and heavy qi. What has that got to do with interference?¡± Dongfang Mingyu was clearly happy to be sharing his experience and he replied, ¡°The essence of the Dual Interference Manual is actually a grade higher than light and heavy qi!¡± Glancing at Shang Xia, he continued, ¡°Like the strike you used earlier. You used both strength and softness qi earlier in your strike, and you can think of my sword manual as the fusion of both heavy and light qi!¡± Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s explanation was simple, but it raised giant waves in Shang Xia¡¯s heart. Ever since his transmigration, he thought that the cultivators of that world were really backward. That had always been his source of pride. However, the creator of the River Sword Policy realized that the proper way of cultivation was to fuse both strength and softness qi and he created the Flexible Sword Art in the process. The only problem was that the creator of the manual was unable to describe the process clearly, affecting the cultivation process of those who tried to cultivate the River Sword Policy. That also allowed Shang Xia to learn that everyone was slowly improving their way of cultivation through various trials and errors. They might be amateurs in the eyes of Shang Xia, but it wouldn¡¯t be that way forever. One had to know that the world he transmigrated to only had 800 years of history! Hearing Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s answer, Shang Xia felt something click in his mind. ¡°So¡­ You¡¯re curious about the sword strike I used earlier?¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Dongfang Mingyu nodded seriously. ¡°The price of my teaching won¡¯t be cheap¡­¡± Shang Xia said. ¡°Of course. Name your price.¡± Dongfang Mingyu seemed to have already expected as much. Shang Xia didn¡¯t think twice before naming his condition. ¡°A set of Tempering Meridian Powder!¡± Dongfang Mingyu threw his head back and laughed. A heavy slash sent Shang Xia retreating several feet and he sneered. ¡°You seem to have gotten something wrong. Your life is on the line right now! Do you think you still have the ability to negotiate with me?¡± However, Shang Xia took the chance to take out another long sword in his other hand. Scraping the blades together, a ray of fire and ice clashed in mid air. It severed Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s sword light the moment it appeared. ¡°What sword technique is that?! It looks so familiar!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s new move stunned Dongfang Mingyu. Not only did he reveal a new sword technique, he also transformed his qi into two completely different types. ¡°Is this the Triple Mystery Polarity Art of the Murong Family? Ah¡­ No wonder your sword technique looks familiar! It¡¯s the Ouyang Family¡¯s Twisting Twin Blades! Who the hell are you? Why do you have their inheritances?¡± Dongfang Mingyu wasn¡¯t a fool. With his experience, he discovered Shang Xia¡¯s techniques right away. Oh¡­ The Twisting Twin Blades belong to the Ouyang Family! Shang Xia finally learned of its origins. However, he obviously wasn¡¯t going to tell Dongfang Mingyu. ¡°Hehe, you can guess¡­¡± Shang Xia chuckled as he swung his blades around. Under his control, the fire and ice qi that condensed on his blade moved in perfect harmony. They didn¡¯t show signs of going out of control, and they seemed to possess much stronger power. Even though fire and ice qi was the most common pair of qi that most cultivators used, it didn¡¯t mean that it was weak! Due to the fact that most people trained in fire and ice qi, its utilization had been the most studied and corrected. Their understanding of fire and ice qi was deep, and the experts who used them possessed frightening strength! From the Twisting Twin Blades, it was clear that the creator of the manual was an expert at using fire and ice qi! Shang Xia¡¯s sudden change caught Dongfang Mingyu off guard. His counterattack came swiftly. Even though he was unable to suppress Dongfang Mingyu, he was able to put up quite a good fight! Dongfang Mingyu couldn¡¯t accept the fact that he lost to Shang Xia in terms of sword techniques! He no longer restricted his cultivation and started to regain some ground. Unbeknownst to him, Shang Xia was also using him to practice his Twisting Twin Blades! Shang Xia didn¡¯t want to let Dongfang Mingyu see through his intentions and he continued his act. ¡°So how about it? A set of Tempering Meridian Powder and I¡¯ll accept your conditions!¡± A cold snort left Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s lips and his attacks became even more intense. He circulated his inner qi and the amount of power he used could be compared to a Martial Intent Realm expert. Seeing as things were getting out of hand, Shang Xia continued to bargain. ¡°Young Master Dongfang, your sword techniques are really impressive. As a fellow sword cultivator, you should know that the strike I unleashed earlier placed some stress on my meridians. Without the Tempering Meridian Powder, I wouldn¡¯t dare to use it again!¡± Noticing the hesitant expression on Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s face, Shang Xia felt that pressing on was the best choice. ¡°Young Master Dongfang, you¡¯ve been awfully quiet. Don¡¯t tell me you actually have a set of Tempering Meridian Powder on you!¡± ¡°Do you want it? Come get it!¡± Dongfang Mingyu roared in anger. He thought that he would be able to suppress anyone below the Martial Intent Realm despite training in a sword art meant for cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm. However, Shang Xia¡¯s ever-changing technique caught him off guard. He didn¡¯t lack behind either as the sword in his hand danced about in mid air. He had already reached the large completion stage of his Dual Interference Manual! Although he was unable to fuse the two different types of qi, he was able to switch between the two types of qi freely. As one of the geniuses of the Dongfang Family, the number of sword techniques he had access to when he was in the Martial Extremity Realm was numerous! He chose a technique that focused on heavy and light qi, and after reaching the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm, he comprehended his martial extremity intent to enter the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm before stepping into the Martial Intent Realm! A genius like that was obviously extremely confident in himself! Even after suppressing his cultivation, he felt that he would be unbeatable by someone of Shang Xia¡¯s level! ¡°Oh? You actually do have it!¡± Shang Xia yelled. A light lit up in his eyes, but he was quickly suppressed by Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s use of brute force! ¡°This is bad¡­ If this keeps up, I won¡¯t be able to escape!¡± Shang Xia could tell that the two cultivators who were Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s bodyguards had started to close in on him. After blocking one of Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s strikes, he twisted his blades and fireballs appeared on their edge. A sharp whistling sound pierced through the air. ¡°Heh¡­ the fusion of ice and fire¡­ At least I managed to reach the large completion stage¡­¡± That was the third sword art he trained to the large completion stage! The corners of Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s lips twitched, and a terrifying power emerged from the body of his sword. It shattered the ungraded weapon in Shang Xia¡¯s hand instantly. Of course, the Delicate Jade River Sword remained completely intact. After such a long battle, Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s sword was scratched in many places. Even though it didn¡¯t affect the strength of the weapon, it was an insult to Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s status as a genius of the Dongfang Family! ¡°Hah¡­ You¡¯re no longer suppressing your strength!¡± Shang Xia sneered sarcastically. In order to stop Shang Xia¡¯s assault, Dongfang Mingyu no longer held back. ¡°Again!¡± It had been so long since he found an opponent like Shang Xia. ¡°Eat this!¡± Shang Xia roared, and his Delicate Jade River Sword released a myriad of sword lights. It rained down on Dongfang Mingyu. ¡°Sword intent!¡± Dongfang Mingyu released a weird cry and pushed his inner qi to the limit. He no longer held back and his divine sense descended. Several rays of sword light appeared to protect him. ¡°Illusion? No¡­ This is void and reality qi!¡± Dongfang Mingyu realized that he fell for Shang Xia¡¯s tricks. When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. When he finally dealt with the rain of sword light, Shang Xia had already retreated dozens of feet. He went straight towards one of the Martial Extremity Realm cultivators and released the final strike of the Flexible Sword Art. ¡°Brother Dongfang, look closely! This time, I¡¯ll show you for free!¡± Dongfang Mingyu was able to suppress Shang Xia due to his cultivation level, but a part of it was because Shang Xia was intentionally hiding his strength. Otherwise, it would have been much harder for Dongfang Mingyu to gain the upper hand! However, the two other cultivators were no Dongfang Mingyu! The unlucky soul who stood in Shang Xia¡¯s way suffered critical inner injuries from the strike! Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate. After his slash landed, he turned into a streak of light and ran into the distance. CH 150 ¡°Preposterous!¡± Dongfang Mingyu roared with rage when he saw how Shang Xia killed one of his guards under his very eyes. Pushing himself off the ground, he chased after Shang Xia. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Dongfang Mingyu yelled as his divine sense covered his body. As his body turned a lot lighter, he shot after Shang Xia. Covered by his divine sense, the rocks on the ground beside him rose into the air. He thought that he would be able to catch up to Shang Xia instantly, but he couldn¡¯t be more wrong. Shang Xia¡¯s body seemed to turn weightless as his speed became even faster! In the blink of an eye, he ran several dozen feet! He left the area controlled by Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s divine sense instantly! ¡°You¡­ You actually managed to counter my qi!¡± Dongfang Mingyu gasped in fright and yelled, ¡°The Triple Mystery Polarity Art doesn¡¯t contain a way to transform heavy and light qi! How did you do it?!¡± Shang Xia might not know how to utilize heavy and light qi in battle, but he was able to nullify it with his Yin Yang Diagram. As long as he transformed it into another type of qi, he wouldn¡¯t be restricted! Naturally, he wasn¡¯t going to tell Dongfang Mingyu how he did it. Ignoring the question, he increased the distance between them again. He ran towards a location where the rock formations were the most concentrated and he made use of them to hide his tracks. ¡°I said it before, and I¡¯ll say it again! You can¡¯t escape!¡± Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s voice rang through the air. Tapping lightly on the ground, he closed the distance again. However, he was unable to lock on to Shang Xia because of the obstructions. ¡°I¡¯m getting more and more interested in the secrets you¡¯re hiding!¡± Dongfang Mingyu yelled and he signaled for his other subordinate to assist him in surrounding Shang Xia. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with the man and he pushed himself to the limit. The Irregular Steps was perfect for moving quickly in close range, and Shang Xia¡¯s body flashed from side to side as he took cover behind the various rock formations. Despite that, the distance between them was closing fast. No matter how good his movement technique was, it was difficult for him to sustain the speed against a Martial Intent Realm expert! A sense of foreboding filled Shang Xia¡¯s heart when he realized that he had run into a dead end. A bottomless cliff stood in his way, and a dense layer of mist filled the abyss. Shang Xia stared at the opposing side and gasped silently. As if the appearance of a bottomless abyss wasn¡¯t shocking enough, there was a huge platform on the opposite side of the cliff! The shocking part was that the platform wasn¡¯t connected to anything else! It was a sole island that stood in the middle of nothingness! Turning to look behind him, Shang Xia realized that the two of them had already arrived. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°This is the Unstable Region. We¡¯re also standing on another huge platform right now. Do you really think you can leave?¡± Dongfang Mingyu sneered. ¡°You can try¡­ Go ahead, jump!¡± Of course Shang Xia wasn¡¯t going to jump off. Since he wasn¡¯t willing to jump, he could only risk his life and go all out against Dongfang Mingyu! A sudden whistle that rang through the air interrupted him. ¡°Who?!¡± An enraged cry rang through the air, and Shang Xia felt the entire platform shaking under his feet. Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s expression changed too. He turned his head in a certain direction as if he was able to see what was going on. The only remaining bodyguard approached Dongfang Mingyu and whispered, ¡°Young master, we need to hurry over! There seems to be some disturbance going on where the old man of the Murong Family is breaking through¡­¡± Dongfang Mingyu snorted in response, ¡°Isn¡¯t this bastard here also one of those who intend to disrupt Murong Gaofeng?¡± ¡°Exactly¡­ The Tongyou Institution probably has some sort of sinister plan¡­¡± Before he could finish, a giant explosion ripped through the air. Shang Xia, Dongfang Mingyu, and Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s bodyguard turned to stare in the direction of the blast. They saw one of the floating islands crumbling to bits. At the same time, two streaks of light tore through the air. One of them was clearly chasing the other, and they disappeared into the horizon. ¡°Not good! It¡¯s a Martial Extermination Realm expert! How did they enter this place?!¡± Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s subordinate exclaimed in shock. Shang Xia¡¯s attention returned to the bottomless abyss when he saw rays of light emerging from the darkness below. Different scenes appeared in the abyss, and Shang Xia swore he saw something that resembled the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. ¡°The Coral Forest is starting to move! We have to capture him right now before returning to the Unstable Island!¡± Dongfang Mingyu released his divine sense to the limit as he raised his sword towards Shang Xia. With his scalp going numb from the pressure emitted by Dongfang Mingyu, he knew that he was in deep shit. He could tell that Dongfang Mingyu was about to release his sword intent! Deciding to risk it all, Shang Xia leaped off the cliff. As the winds whistled in his ears, Shang Xia turned around only to see his original location surrounded by rays of light. The edge of the cliff was sliced into countless pieces. Shit! That was a sword formation! Something clicked in his mind, and he realized that Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s sword intent was also a type of sword formation! Moreover, it was one that was used to trap and kill his opponents! It was no wonder Dongfang Mingyu was so confident that he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape! His thoughts suddenly turned to the Tempering Meridian Powder Dongfang Mingyu had on him. Did the medicine have something to do with his sword formation? As the thought flashed across Shang Xia¡¯s mind, he was swallowed by rainbow-colored lights. His vision went dark for a second, and when the light finally returned, he saw endless plains stretching as far as he could see. This doesn¡¯t make sense¡­ I fell backwards! Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered to reason with the strange happenings that he experienced in the Coral Forest anymore. He reached his hand out to stop his fall as he transformed his inner qi into light and heavy qi. Sending out a palm strike, a giant imprint appeared on the grasslands below. The opposing force allowed him to slow his descent and he twisted his body gracefully to land safely on the ground below. ¡­ Outside the Zhu Family Manor that was situated in the Willow Forest¡­ Two huge bronze doors stood tall as they resisted the attacks of those outside. Giant palm prints and fist marks were all over the bronze gate. A rock that seemed to be shrunk several times hovered in the air before the majestic gates. Under the rock sat a giant formation that seemed to cover the entire Willow Forest. On both sides of the rock stood an old man with a head full of white hair. Despite facing the giant bronze gate, they seemed extremely cautious of the other party. ¡°Roar!¡± A deep howl came from behind the gates, causing it to tremble unceasingly. The gates weren''t the only thing that shook. The Willow Forest quaked slightly when the howl was released. The expressions of the two old experts sank and they turned their focus back on the bronze gate. ¡°Rumble¡­¡± a formless palm came from behind the gates and two distinct palm prints appeared on it. The massive gates showed signs of opening and even though only a tiny gap opened, a gust of cold wind tore through the lands. The floating rock in front of the gates shook when it was blasted by the cold air, and rays of light emerged from the formation underneath. The entire region turned into a giant rainbow-colored lightbulb. When the light eventually faded, the formation seemed to shift a little and a portion of it seemed to intertwine with each other. The two old experts glanced at each other before grunting loudly. They reached out to push against the massive bronze gate. Three colored lights surrounded one of the doors while four colored lights flashed on the other. The gates that started to open up were slammed shut. ¡°Ahem¡­ Heheh, Old Man Liu, your cultivation isn¡¯t as high as mine¡­ I don¡¯t think you will be able to hold out much longer¡­¡± One of the old experts who was clad in exquisite-looking robes muttered. There was a scholarly air around him, but when he spoke, his voice was raspy and hoarse. ¡°Heh. Old Freak Murong, we¡¯re both trapped in the same situation now. Once I die, your end will come soon enough.¡± The other old expert snapped. He seemed pretty haughty despite being stuck in such a bad situation. ¡°Who would have thought that we¡¯ll end up like this? Greed truly came to bite us in the ass.¡± As perspiration soaked their clothes, they looked utterly worn out. ¡°Who would have thought that he would use that method to take the final step?!¡± ¡°He¡¯s no longer the person he once was!¡± CH 151 ¡­ Wait a minute. I was just in the Unstable Region¡­ Where am I now?! Shang Xia looked all around him and noticed a sea of green as far as his eyes could see. A powerful gust of wind brushed against him, and it seemed to contain the gift of life. Regardless of how experienced Shang Xia was at adventuring, he was stunned for a good second. He didn¡¯t know where to go! In the next instant, the warm breeze disappeared. A chilly wind took its place. Even though it wasn¡¯t bone-biting cold, it still made Shang Xia pretty uncomfortable. The grass that was swaying happily in the breeze earlier started to wither at a speed visible to the naked eye. The flourishing greenery turned a sad yellow, and Shang Xia stomped on them as he traversed the land. That wasn¡¯t all. As he walked across the endless plains, he felt his life force draining from his body. He became a lot more lethargic than before. Could this weird region steal other people¡¯s life force?! Shang Xia felt a chill running down his spine. Examining himself, he heaved a sigh of relief when he noticed that nothing was wrong. ¡°This is clearly not the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. It¡¯s not the Unstable Region either. That left only the Willow Forest or the Dual Season Land. Well, there are no willows around¡­ This has to be the Dual Season Land!¡± Shang Xia could only make the deduction based on the knowledge he had of the Coral Forest so far. If he was really in the Dual Season Land, that would be great! It was where the Zhu Family grew their herbs, and precious herbs should be lying all about. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. ¡°This¡­¡± Staring at the endless grasslands, Shang Xia muttered to himself, ¡°I can¡¯t see anything of value here¡­ It¡¯s all ordinary grass!¡± Even after walking for the time it took an incense to burn out, he was still stuck in the endless grassland. At least there was a change. The ground was no longer flat and he seemed to be climbing uphill. The chilly wind blew directly against him, but the sound of metal scraping against metal rang in his ears. Shang Xia¡¯s expression brightened up suddenly and he started to move towards the source of the sound. After climbing over a tiny hill, the sound became even clearer. Lying belly to the ground, Shang Xia carefully hid in the grass before observing the commotion. When he saw what happened, he was promptly taken aback! There were two groups of experts exchanging blows in the naturally formed pit in front of him. There were hills surrounding the pit, and it formed an isolated region. The pit was different from everything he experienced earlier. Not a single blade of grass grew on it, and Shang Xia started to make his deductions in his mind. Could the region be a dried-up lake? Hmm¡­ As he continued to observe the surrounding, he noticed that the weaker group was starting to gather to form a fighting formation while being surrounded. Shang Xia could recognize their formation from afar. It was the Tongyou Peak¡¯s five man protection squad formation! He didn¡¯t hesitate to run downhill as soon as he recognized it. The moment he revealed himself, two experts from the opposing side broke off to stop him. ¡°Shang Xia?! Be careful!¡± A voice rang through the air and the owner of the voice was clearly worried for him. Shang Xia didn¡¯t have the luxury of thinking about who it was, and his sword slashed out the moment the two enemy cultivators arrived. Sword light rained down on the two as he leaped into the air. The two of them were shocked by his sudden assault, and they stopped dead in their tracks. They waved their weapons in the air in an attempt to shatter the sword lights. However, Shang Xia¡¯s body shot out the moment he touched the ground again. He charged towards them and disregarded the rain of sword light. The two of them didn¡¯t expect Shang Xia to rush towards them when they were still in the midst of defending themselves. Before they could react, Shang Xia¡¯s sword stabbed into one of their chests. Even though his sword didn¡¯t poke too deep, the strand of strength and softness fusion qi caused every single organ in his body to rupture. Spitting out a mouthful of blood that also contained pieces of his innards, he was as good as dead. The other cultivator clearly didn¡¯t expect his companion to die so quickly and in such a gruesome fashion. He quickly retreated. Shang Xia obviously wouldn¡¯t make the rookie mistake of letting his opponents retreat unscathed. He took out another sword from his Embroidered Cloud Case and stabbed it towards the other cultivator. As the other cultivator retreated, he smashed his weapon downwards in a desperate attempt to defend himself. A loud clang rang through the air as Shang Xia¡¯s sword was deflected. However, a chilly qi invaded the cultivator¡¯s body and he shivered involuntarily. ¡°What pure ice qi¡­¡± As the thought flashed through the cultivator¡¯s mind, Shang Xia¡¯s Delicate Jade River Sword arrived. With only one weapon in his hand, the cultivator tried to stab it between both blades to stop himself from getting skewered. Shang Xia perfectly predicted his actions and his blades started to glow as fire and ice qi entered them. He unleashed the Twisting Twin Blades perfectly. Even though the cultivator¡¯s weapon contained a lot of precious materials, it was still an ungraded weapon. Shang Xia¡¯s technique allowed him to slice through the cultivator¡¯s weapon like a hot knife through butter. After cutting through his weapon, Shang Xia¡¯s blades continued towards the cultivator¡¯s body. Staring death in the eye, the cultivator managed to overcome his limit and he retreated at a speed faster than he had ever moved before. Even so, he failed to dodge the strike. As Shang Xia¡¯s sword sliced through his belly, his intestines threatened to fall out. Screaming in pain and fright, the cultivator retreated desperately. He even tried to push his innards back to where they were supposed to be while circulating his inner qi to close the wound. Well, his reaction was correct. However, he forgot one very important point. The person who injured him was still hot on his trail! Shang Xia¡¯s figure flashed, and he closed in once again. His Delicate Jade River Sword shot through the air, and the cultivator clutched his neck with his eyes wide open. Blood sprayed out from the wound on his neck as his guts leaked onto the ground. From the time he appeared to the time he slayed both cultivators, he only used four moves. Even though his opponents were cultivators in the same realm, they were unable to put up the slightest bit of resistance! Shang Xia was taken aback too! He was shocked that he could suppress them so easily! However, that wasn¡¯t the time to celebrate. He didn¡¯t stop as he continued to run towards the two groups of cultivators. ¡°How dare you kill our friends?! Have a taste of my blade!¡± One of the cultivators left the battle and brandished his short knife while charging towards Shang Xia. He greeted Shang Xia with a slash of his blade. ¡°Be careful! He¡¯s at the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm! He already comprehended blade intent!¡± Another yell came from the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak. This time, Shang Xia caught sight of the person who spoke. He was Ma Xiaofeng, a custodian of one of the outer divisions! He wasn¡¯t the only one Shang Xia recognized. There was also Ye Mingyuan, another custodian of the outer divisions! The three others looked slightly older than Shang Xia but younger than the two. Even though Shang Xia didn¡¯t know who they were, he could guess that they were inner disciples or disciples of the upper division. Watching the blade fall towards him, Shang Xia could tell that the person was at the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. Compared to the two he killed earlier, it was going to be a tougher battle! Shang Xia circulated his inner qi and stabbed out three times. They landed accurately on the incoming blade. The cultivator who attacked felt all his qi being sucked out of the blade every time Shang Xia¡¯s sword tapped on it. Shang Xia counterattacked swiftly after stopping the blade. His opponent didn¡¯t expect Shang Xia to react so quickly, but he wasn¡¯t flustered. He raised his blade again and when Shang Xia¡¯s sword light arrived, he twisted his body and drew a crescent in the space before him. Three arcs appeared to block off Shang Xia¡¯s movements. That was his martial intent, the Triple Blade. Every strike he made would possess triple the strength, and it was considered one of the most elementary martial extremity intents. Even though it wasn¡¯t that strong, Shang Xia revealed a solemn expression when facing his attack. With a calm heart, his options flashed through his mind. He didn¡¯t choose to unleash his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. Instead, he chopped out with his second sword. Softness and strength qi covered the Delicate Jade River Sword and it shattered the first blade light that was above the other two. Void and reality qi filled the other sword, and it released countless rays of sword light that eroded the bottommost blade light. By the time Shang Xia¡¯s sword light disappeared, he managed to destroy his target. As for the third blade light¡­ He transformed his qi once again and severed it right before it could touch him! With the Twisting Twin Blade, he managed to slice away the final threat! Looking at his weapons, the Delicate Jade River Sword was undamaged. However, the same couldn¡¯t be said for the other sword. Not only was its tip shaved off, but there was also a giant dent in the middle of the blade. It was basically ruined. ¡°You¡­ How did you shatter my martial intent?!¡± The expert standing opposite Shang Xia cried. Ever since he had stepped into the Martial Extremity Realm, his willpower was extremely solid! Now, it started to tremble at the thought of Shang Xia¡¯s feat of destroying his martial intent! CH 152 A martial intent was a clear indication that a cultivator had stepped into the grand completion stage of their cultivation level! Those with martial intent didn¡¯t just mean that they were a step away from entering the next cultivation realm! It also meant that they were unbeatable existences among those in the same cultivation realm! That was an unspoken fact in the cultivation world! However, the scene before them shattered that belief! With two swords in hand, Shang Xia used three different sword arts to destroy his enemy¡¯s Triple Blade martial intent! That wasn¡¯t the most unbelievable part. They were more surprised by the fact that Shang Xia was merely at the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm! What he did basically shattered their worldview on the difference between cultivation realms! The cultivator started to panic when his martial intent was shattered, but Shang Xia wasn¡¯t planning to let him off easy. The sword in his hand that showed signs of breaking slashed out towards his enemy. ¡°Sima, retreat!¡± One of the disciples yelled. A reminder was all they could do. They couldn¡¯t send anyone else to assist him. After three of their cultivators broke off from their formation, those that were left were unable to suppress the members of the Tongyou Peak anymore! As the cultivators of the Tongyou Peak counterattacked, those from the Rose Party resisted desperately. The tables were slowly starting to turn. The cultivator who was attacking Shang Xia snapped awake, and he twisted his wrists violently to block Shang Xia¡¯s sword. Painting Finger! Shang Xia heard of the move from Shang Xi previously during the war on the Tongyou Peak. Well, so what if it was? Shang Xia unleashed his Irregular Steps and his figure turned blurry. A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. Since his confidence took a big hit after his martial intent was broken by Shang Xia, he became even more flustered when Shang Xia¡¯s figure pressed closer to him. Since he couldn¡¯t lock on to Shang Xia, he waved his blade around recklessly. A piercing pain ripped through his body and it originated from his ribs. Even without lowering his head, he could tell that Shang Xia¡¯s sword had found its mark. Softness and strength qi exploded inside his body, turning his innards to mush! As he fell backwards, blood mixed with his crushed up organs leaked from his lips. With countless battles under his belt, Shang Xia had already familiarized himself with fusing softness and strength qi into his attacks. He could unleash a lot more power than before. That was also the reason he dared to take on his enemy¡¯s martial intent head-on. Now that he killed the opponent¡¯s grand completion stage Martial Extremity Realm expert, he had to stop to catch his breath. Even though his foundations were solid and he had a deep reserve of inner qi, the battle exhausted him. He had to dissipate the qi left in his meridians after releasing the strike. Back in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, Shang Xia used the Meridian Replenishing Powder to strengthen his meridians. That was the reason he could release repeated strikes. Of course, that was a basic fusion of qi. When he really comprehended his Yin Yang Sword Formation, his meridians would be in for a world of torture. As such, he definitely had to obtain some Tempering Meridian Powder. ¡°Retreat!¡± The members of the Rose Party who surrounded the disciples of the Tongyou Institution yelled. They might outnumber the disciples of the Tongyou Institution, but numbers meant nothing when faced with a monster like Shang Xia who killed one of their strongest members in the blink of an eye! They chose to make a decisive retreat. All of them acted with tacit understanding. When they left, they covered each other¡¯s back to stop Shang Xia from taking advantage of the situation to kill a few more of them. Watching them disappear into the distance, the cultivators of the Tongyou Institution finally relaxed. They sat down where they stood and started to recover their inner qi. When Shang Xia approached, Ma Xiaofeng struggled to get to his feet to address him. The look in his eyes was complicated as he spoke, ¡°Brat, weren¡¯t you at the grand completion stage of the Martial Realm before you entered the battlefield between two worlds? Even though you were about to step into the Martial Extremity Realm, you progressed a little too quickly¡­ Your improvement really puts all of us to shame¡­¡± Shang Xia chuckled softly in response, ¡°Teacher Ma exaggerates¡­ This disciple only managed to meet with some good fortune after escaping death narrowly several times!¡± Ma Xiaofeng sighed, ¡°Yeah¡­ Nothing comes free in this world. Everyone can only see the opportunities others obtained. They will never see the dangers one experienced¡­¡± Sucking in a long breath, Ma Xiaofeng seemed to have recalled something and he continued, ¡°With your current strength, you won¡¯t be able to learn anything in the inner division! No¡­ You might even be too good for the upper division now! Right¡­ All of us here are fellow disciples from the inner and upper divisions. Let me introduce you¡­ Oh right. There¡¯s no need to address me as your teacher anymore. With your strength and achievements, your place in the Tongyou Institution is already solidified! Just call me Martial Brother Ma from now on¡­¡± Shang Xia barely managed to nod before Ma Xiaofeng started with the introductions. ¡°I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t need to introduce Brother Ye to you. Next is Senior Sister Lu Lijing of the upper division, and that¡¯s Brother Hao Yuanfang from the inner division. Lastly, meet Brother Yu Yifeng. He is also from the inner division.¡± Shang Xia greeted all of them one by one. Lu Lijing, who was clad in skintight green robes smiled, ¡°Leader of the outer divisions, I¡¯ve long since heard about you. Senior Sister Sun mentioned your accomplishments, but I refused to believe her. Looks like she wasn¡¯t lying. In fact, she seems to have underestimated your abilities¡­¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t dare to accept her praise. After all of them exchanged some form of greeting, Ma Xiaofeng asked, ¡°Junior Brother Shang, how did you enter the Coral Forest?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the only one¡­ I¡¯m afraid the Martial Extermination Realm experts of our Tongyou Institution and even those from the Four Spiritual Peak have entered! The three powers are going all out against each other and the situation is extremely chaotic¡­¡± After introducing the current state of things, Shang Xia realized that those who entered with Liu Jitang earlier had no idea what was going on in the outside world. He quickly summarized the situation. ¡°If the Tongyou Peak was really invaded, our hard work for the last 20 years would go down the drain! All of us will be sinners!¡± Ye Mingyuan muttered. Their expression turned somber and nodded in unison. However, Shang Xia broke the serious atmosphere with a chuckle. ¡°Luckily for us, we managed to hold the enemies off. We even made them suffer huge losses! There¡¯s no need to worry about it anymore¡­¡± Ma Xiaofeng asked, ¡°In that case, is SeniorSister Chu Jia really in control of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World?¡± Shang Xia nodded. ¡°Yes. She¡¯s not the only one there. There¡¯s another formation master under her command. Instructor Gu, my Grandpa Ke, and Senior Sister Sun are stationed there too.¡± Li Lijing finally smiled. ¡°That¡¯s great! The Rose Party controls two of the four special regions of the Coral Forest. We control a portion of the Willow Forest, but we¡¯re currently being suppressed by the Rose Party. The others can¡¯t take a single step out of the Willow Forest at all! We thought that the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World would also fall to them, and Deputy Patriarch Liu risked it all to charge into the Zhu Family¡¯s Manor. He wished to obtain the Coral Command to control the Zhu Family¡¯s territory to turn the tables on them. Who would have thought that the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World would also be controlled by us¡­ Now, we control two special regions each. At least we have something to rely on¡­¡± ¡°Since Deputy Patriarch Liu entered the Zhu Family Manor, who¡¯s in charge of the Willow Forest?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°Instructor Peng and Ma Mingzheng¡­¡± Ye Mingyuan replied. Instructor Peng was called Peng Lanqing, and he was one of the instructors in the outer division. Ma Mingzheng was a rank three formation master from the Hundred Professions Pavilion, and he had a lot more experience than Chu Jia. Nodding slowly, Shang Xia asked another question. ¡°Do you know what happened to the Coral Forest recently? Why did we appear in other regions?¡± Shang Xia also learned that his guess was correct. He was currently situated in the Dual Season Land. Ma Xiaofeng and Ye Mingyuan looked at each other and after communicating with their eyes, Ma Xiaofeng sighed. ¡°After Deputy Patriarch Liu entered the Zhu Family Manor, a Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Rose Party barged in behind him¡­¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. ¡°So¡­ All this happened because Deputy Patriarch Liu and the expert from the Rose Party started fighting over the Coral Command?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what we think¡­¡± Ma Xiaofeng sighed. Shang Xia quickly fell into thought. Shang Ke mentioned that Liu Jitang was after the formula to break through to the Martial Dipper Realm, and for the two of them to be fighting over the Coral Command¡­ One could only say that the accumulation of the number one family was unfathomable. ¡°As for us¡­¡± Ye Mingyuan revealed a bitter smile. ¡°Even though we occupied the Willow Forest, we only controlled a part of it. We were suppressed by the members of the Rose Party and our group was sent out to deal with the enemies¡­ Hah¡­ Because of the sudden shift, we ended up here. Luckily all five of us gathered together. We even managed to run into you! Otherwise¡­¡± Shang Xia could hear the implied meaning behind Yu Mingyuan¡¯s words. Since Liu Jitang mobilized a huge portion of the Tongyou Peak¡¯s strength, a portion of them had to be his trusted aides! The others were probably brought in to be used as cannon fodder! Those who were dragged into the mess might not even know what they were going to do! Shang Xia had seen the core diagram of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World previously. He knew how small the core region was! The core regions of the Willow Forest and other special regions wouldn¡¯t be too big either! Since the Tongyou Peak brought out so many disciples, they were definitely unable to all stay in the same area. As such, a group of them were abandoned! Even though Ma Xiaofeng and the others were also in the Martial Extremity Realm, they were probably not part of Liu Jitang¡¯s faction. That''s why they were sent out to fight members of the Rose Party. Naturally, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered to think if the entire operation was Liu Jitang¡¯s plan to get rid of those who weren¡¯t part of his faction. All these things weren''t for him to worry about anyway. ¡°What do you plan to do next?¡± Shang Xia asked. As the five of them looked at each other, silence ensued. After some time, Ma Xiaofeng broke the silence. ¡°Junior Brother Shang, look at this!¡± Ma Xiaofeng and Ye Mingyuan moved to the side, revealing something cool to Shang Xia. There was a region of earth that seemed a little twisted, and Shang Xia saw three strands of grass growing what looked like a screen of twisted space. Shang Xia looked at Yu Yifeng and laughed, ¡°I didn¡¯t think Senior Brother Yu would also be a formation master!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not that good at it. This is just something I put together haphazardly¡­¡± Yu Yifeng smiled. Ma Xiaofeng quickly explained, ¡°The reason we chose to fight them was because of these herbs. We found three strands of Spiritual Thread Grass! CH 153 The Spiritual Thread Grass was an extremely precious herb that changed its color according to how many years it had grown! Rank one Spiritual Thread Grass was gray in color, and cultivators referred to them as Iron Thread Grass. Those that reached the second rank would turn slightly bronze in color and they were called Bronze Thread Grass. When the grass turned completely silver in color, it would have reached the third rank. That was when it was called the Silver Thread Grass. As for the fourth rank¡­ Shang Xia¡¯s vision was filled with a strand of grass in the earth that was completely gold in color. Gold Thread Grass! ¡°Gold Thread Grass? Silver Thread Grass? Wow, you guys are really lucky¡­¡± Shang Xia whistled. A trace of envy flashed across his face. According to what he knew, the Spiritual Thread Grass had a lot of uses! The only problem was that it was extremely rarely seen. It was so versatile and had so many uses that it could even take the place of many other herbs during the refinement process! As such, there was another name for the Spiritual Thread Grass. It was also called the Thousand Gold Reserve! Most importantly, Shang Xia knew that it was one of the two main herbs used to make Tempering Meridian Powder. One of them was the Wind Manipulation Zoysia that he obtained previously, and the other was Amethyst Whiskers which could be replaced with the Spiritual Thread Grass. That was the true reason he envied their discovery. Ma Xiaofeng chuckled in response, ¡°You¡¯re equally as lucky! If not for the fact that you killed three of them and caused them to retreat hastily, we won¡¯t be able to keep the herbs! The five of us might even be killed by them! I believe that this strand of Gold Thread Grass belongs to you.¡± After he spoke, none of the five rejected his decision. After all, their lives were countless times more valuable than the treasure. ¡°I can¡¯t accept it!¡± Shang Xia rejected immediately. The five of them were nearly killed because they wanted to protect the treasure. Now, they were giving him the most valuable of the three Spiritual Thread Grass the moment he arrived. He felt that even if he saved their lives, the Gold Thread Grass was too valuable! The five of them might be willing to give him the treasure, but he wouldn¡¯t feel good taking it! ¡°Nonsense! Why not?¡± Ma Xiaofeng looked at his fellow companions. Their faces were filled with smiles and not a shred of insincerity could be seen. Even though everyone wanted him to keep the Gold Thread Grass, Shang Xia was still unwilling to accept it. ¡°I still can¡¯t accept it! Fellow senior brothers and sisters, all of us are from the Tongyou Institution¡­ Even if you don¡¯t give me the Gold Thread Grass, I would still have saved you!¡± Now that he said that, things started to become awkward. If they still insisted that he kept the Gold Thread Grass, they would be questioning his character. Ye Mingyuan chuckled to break the silence. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll keep the Gold Thread Grass. However, the two Silver Thread Grass must belong to Junior Brother Shang. Otherwise, we won¡¯t be able to answer to our conscience.¡± Ma Xiaofeng and the others quickly added, ¡°That¡¯s right! Junior Brother Shang, you need to take the Silver Thread Grass. Otherwise, we¡¯ll be too embarrassed to show our faces in the institution!¡± Shang Xia nodded helplessly. ¡°Alright, your junior brother here will accept your goodwill. However, I¡¯ll only take one of them!¡± Ye Mingyuan and the rest tried to convince him to take the other, but Shang Xia was adamant about only keeping one of the two Silver Thread Grass. Seeing as he had already made up his mind, all of them could only thank him profusely before getting Hao Yuanfang to retrieve the herbs from the soil. Shang Xia finally realized why the entire valley-like area was barren. The growth of the rank four Gold Thread Grass and rank three Silver Thread Grass probably sapped up all the nutrients from the ground! When he mentioned his deduction to Ma Xiaofeng, his guess was somewhat verified. ¡°Junior Brother Shang, you¡¯re on the right track, but¡­¡± Ma Xiaofeng looked all around him before continuing, ¡°... Even if all the heaven and earth qi in this area and the nutrients in the ground were channeled to the growth of these herbs, it should never have been able to reach the rank four level!¡± Seeing the look of confusion on Shang Xia¡¯s face, Ma Xiaofeng continued, ¡°Do you know the true meaning of the Dual Season Land?¡± ¡°It was said that the Dual Season Land was used by the Zhu Family to grow spiritual herbs in the past, could it be¡­¡± Shang Xia frowned. ¡°Everything in the world is balanced. Even though they used this region to grow precious herbs, did you notice the endless grass plains in the surroundings? The life force of ordinary greenery would be channeled into the precious herbs with the help of the grand formation, shortening the time needed for the herbs to mature!¡± Shang Xia recalled the chilly wind he felt when he first arrived and how the lush greenery withered before his eyes. After hearing their explanation, Shang Xia asked, ¡°Does this mean that every time a huge patch of grass withers, a precious herb would be growing nearby?¡± ¡°Probably. That was how the five of us located this place.¡± Ye Mingyuan added from the side. Shang Xia¡¯s heart trembled slightly and he continued his line of questioning. ¡°Senior Brothers, do you know about the Resplendent Grass?¡± Ma Xiaofeng raised his eyebrows slightly, and Ye Mingyuan chuckled. ¡°Of course I do. It¡¯s a rank three herb. Junior Brother Shang, are you starting to collect herbs to prepare for your breakthrough?¡± Shang Xia shook his head and sighed bitterly, ¡°Not yet¡­ I haven¡¯t obtained the medicine formula to enter the Martial Intent Realm, and I have no idea which herbs I need. I heard that many medicine formulas require Resplendent Grass. I wonder if it¡¯s possible to find any in this region!¡± ¡°Junior Brother Shang, you¡¯re progressing too quickly! Hahaha, it¡¯s no wonder you haven¡¯t found a medicine formula to advance!¡± Ye Mingyuan chuckled in amusement and envy before turning serious again. ¡°The Resplendent Grass is similar to the Spiritual Thread Grass in a sense that it can be used to replace many precious herbs when refining rank three advancement medicine! Obtaining it early isn¡¯t a bad choice¡­¡± As Ye Mingyuan introduced everything he knew about the Resplendent Grass, Ma Xiaofeng remained unnaturally silent. In fact, he had quite an unusual expression on his face. Turning his attention away from the conversation, Shang Xia looked at the corpses of those he killed as Hao Yuanfang was still extracting the herbs. He was disappointed after looking through their belongings. Even though he found quite a few items, none of them managed to catch his eye. These people are so much poorer than those in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World¡­ Shang Xia looked at the knife lying on the ground. When the cultivator unleashed his martial intent with the blade, Shang Xia thought that it was a graded weapon. However, that wasn¡¯t the case after he examined it closely. Even though it was forged using some precious materials, it was far from reaching the standard of a graded weapon. ¡°Well¡­ If I manage to find some suitable materials in the future, it might be possible to turn it into a low-grade weapon!¡± Shang Xia comforted himself before tossing the blade into his Embroidered Cloud Case. After sorting out the rest of the items, all that was left before him were rank one and rank two herbs. Even though they weren¡¯t too valuable, Shang Xia estimated that some of them could be used when he refined the Tempering Meridian Powder in the future. ¡°Wind Manipulation Zoysia, Silver Thread Grass¡­ With all these herbs, my preparation to create the Temperting Meridian Powder is more or less complete. All that¡¯s left to do is to find a proper chemist. Once that¡¯s done, I can start to comprehend my martial intent, the Yin Yang Sword Formation!¡± After thinking about how he was one step away from completing his preparation, excitement started to boil in his heart. Hold up¡­ However, the excitement that was rising in his heart was quickly doused when he thought about how many sword arts he would have to fuse into his Yin Yang Sword Formation. With so many sword arts, the amount of Tempering Meridian Powder required might be more than one portion! From the current looks of it, one portion was far from enough! His hands crept towards his Embroidered Cloud Case and he thought about the Meridian Replenishing Powder. He obtained it after killing Murong Yuntian back in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. He had one final portion left, but from what he knew, the Rose Party gave Murong Yuntian three portions because that was how many portions it took for the Meridian Replenishing Powder to display its full effects. A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. Falling deep into thought, Shang Xia also recalled that he needed three portions of Tempering Meridian Powder for it to reach its optimal effects. Looking at all the herbs he had, all the excitement he felt started to disappear. It seemed as though he had to get his hands on several more sets of herbs! Shang Xia suddenly recalled Dongfang Mingyu. That guy seemed to have a portion of Tempering Meridian Powder on him¡­ He also practiced the Dual Interference Sword Manual, a sword art that combined both light and heavy qi. If he carried the manual with him¡­ It seemed as though he had a lot of items Shang Xia coveted! Due to the difference in cultivation level, Shang Xia was far from matching up to Dongfang Mingyu. As several sinister ideas flashed through Shang Xia¡¯s mind, his train of thought was suddenly broken by a wave of cheers that came from behind him. Turning around, he saw that the Spiritual Thread Grass had already been extracted from the ground. Hao Yuanfang placed them in cases that he prepared earlier. Ma Xiaofeng brought a case containing a strand of Silver Thread Grass over to Shang Xia. CH 154 Receiving the box from Ma Xiaofeng, he kept it in his sleeves. That was where his Embroidered Cloud Case was hidden and he dumped it directly within. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. It was something he had done out of habit. Since they were all fellow disciples of the Tongyou Institution, he found no need to hide it from them. When he made the knife disappear earlier, they should already have expected him to possess some sort of spatial artifact. ¡°Junior Brother Shang, what other plans do you have? If you¡¯re willing, we can travel together. That way, we can look out for each other.¡± Ma Xiaofeng smiled. Shang Xia chuckled in response, ¡°That would be great. Since the Coral Forest is going crazy at the moment, we have no idea what will happen in the future.¡± Ye Mingyuan and the others were happy to hear that he would be joining them. After all, the strength he displayed earlier showed the rest that he was the strongest one present. Ye Mingyuan chuckled, ¡°Since we¡¯re all going to stick together, the dangers we will face will be much less. Even if we¡¯re transported again, we can gather together quickly. That''s how we found each other in the first place.¡± Due to the sudden changes happening in the Coral Forest, no one could be sure what would happen next. Since there was strength in numbers, it would be in everyone¡¯s best interest for them to stick together. Shang Xia had no reason to refuse. ¡°Then¡­ Senior brothers and sisters, what do you plan to do next?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°This¡­ Haha, what other plan can we have? We need to travel as far away from the core area of the Dual Season Land as possible!¡± Ma Xiaofeng laughed bitterly. The Dual Season Land and Unstable Region were controlled by experts of the Rose Party. No matter what happened to the Coral Forest, the core region would remain unaffected! The experts of the Rose Party definitely set up camp there, and even with the strength of Shang Xia¡¯s newfound party, rushing towards the core region meant certain death! Shang Xia nodded slowly, but questions started to form in his mind. ¡°In that case, which direction should we head towards? Senior Brother Ma, do you know where the core region is?¡± ¡°Junior Brother Shang, did you forget where those people ran towards when they made their retreat?¡± Ye Mingyuan laughed. Realizing his mistake, Shang Xia was about to snort in amusement when he suddenly recalled another pressing problem. ¡°Wait¡­ If that¡¯s the case, wouldn¡¯t they bring Martial Intent Realm experts back here to look for us?¡± The Silver Thread Grass was more than enough to attract Martial Intent Realm experts over. Since the two parties came to blows, it was clear that the opponents had already seen the treasures Ma Xiaofeng and the others were protecting! They definitely noticed the even more precious Gold Thread Grass, and there was no way they would give up on it. That was a rank four herb they were talking about! Even if they flipped the Dual Season Land upside down, how many rank four herbs would they be able to find? ¡°Yeah! That is why we have to leave right now!¡± Smiling at each other, they came to a common understanding. They started to run in the opposite direction of where their opponents left! In order to retrieve the herbs, the group wasted no small amount of time. As they ran in the opposite direction, it didn¡¯t take long before they felt a trace of divine sense stretching slowly towards them. ¡°It¡¯s a Martial Intent Realm expert! Feeling this level of divine sense, he should have reached the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm!¡± Ma Xiaofeng and the rest stopped dead in their tracks while looking over their shoulders. ¡°Since they locked on to us, we won¡¯t be able to escape!¡± Ye Mingyuan muttered. ¡°We have no choice. We have to fight!¡± Ma Xiaofeng growled. The moment the words left his lips, Lu Lijing, Hao Yuanfang, and Yu Yifeng got into position behind the two of them. Shang Xia had to admit that the five of them worked pretty well together. Forming the five man patrol squad formation was like second nature to them! However, they quickly realized that they had a problem. There were six of them, and Shang Xia would be left alone outside the formation. In their eyes, he was as good as dead. The situation turned awkward instantly. Once he was left out of the formation, he would be attacked by the enemy mercilessly! The cultivators who followed the Martial Intent Realm expert of the Rose Party were definitely in the Martial Extremity Realm, and Shang Xia would have to face a few of them alone! Ma Xiaofeng quickly left the formation. ¡°Junior Brother Shang, take my place!¡± Before Shang Xia could say anything, Ye Mingyuan also left the formation with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s alright. He can take my place. My movement art is a lot better than yours¡­ Even without the formation, I have the highest chance of staying alive.¡± Ma Xiaofeng shook his head in response. ¡°Even though you have good movement arts, your cultivation isn¡¯t as good as mine. Junior Brother Shang can take my place!¡± ¡°Are you joking?! What do you mean my cultivation isn¡¯t as good as yours? I¡¯m the custodian of the second outer division! Which division are you in charge of? You¡¯re in charge of the fourth! Don¡¯t you know that four comes after two?! You¡¯re ranked behind me¡­¡± Ye Mingyuan snapped. ¡°Senior brothers¡­¡± Lu Lijing¡¯s voice came from behind them. ¡°Be quiet!¡± The two of them yelled in unison. ¡°Can¡¯t you see that we¡¯re having a conversation here?¡± Shang Xia was extremely touched that both of them were fighting to give up their position in the formation so that he had a higher chance of survival! There was no way he could allow that to happen. After all, they would be giving up their lives for him and he couldn¡¯t accept that! ¡°Senior brothers¡­¡± Shang Xia interrupted them all of a sudden. ¡°I am thankful that you¡¯re giving me the chance to stay in the formation, but¡­ You didn¡¯t ask if I knew how to work with the rest in the formation!¡± Ma Xiaofeng and Ye Mingyuan¡¯s expressions changed. They finally recalled that Shang Xia was still a student in the outer division and had no idea how the patrol squad formation worked! After all, the Tongyou Institution had a rule that stated that disciples could only learn the formation after stepping into the inner division and after their completion of training with the Protection Division. Naturally, Ma Xiaofeng and Ye Mingyuan had no idea that Shang Xia already learned how to fight in formation during the war on Tongyou Peak. Shang Xia took the chance to distance himself from the formation to force Ma Xiaofeng and Ye Mingyuan back into formation. Standing several dozen feet away, his voice rang through the air. ¡°Senior Brother Ma, you might be a little stronger than Senior Brother Ye, but you¡¯re not stronger than me. Senior Brother Ye, your movement art might be good, but is it better than my Shang Clan¡¯s Irregular Steps?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s figure disappeared in the distance, but his voice rang clearly in their minds. There was even a trace of smugness contained in it. ¡°Haiz¡­ Senior brothers, neither of you are qualified to leave the formation¡­ I¡¯ll take my leave!¡± Lu Lijing whispered behind the two of them, ¡°Did¡­ Did he just look down on the both of you?¡± Ye Mingyuan quietly walked back to his original position and so did Ma Xiaofeng. Both of them snapped at the same time, ¡°Let¡¯s just focus on fighting the enemy¡­¡± Yu Yifeng frowned suddenly. ¡°Wait, he¡¯s not running in the right direction¡­ He should be heading in our original direction! From the way he¡¯s moving now, their Martial Intent Realm expert might detect him!¡± Ye Mingyuan sighed softly. ¡°He¡¯s not running away¡­ He plans to intercept the rest of the Martial Extremity Realm disciples after our battle with the Martial Intent Realm cultivator begins¡­¡± Yu Yifeng widened his eyes in surprise. Shang Xia¡¯s idea was correct. The five of them were enough to stop a Martial Intent Realm cultivator, but if they added a few more Martial Extremity Realm disciples to the mix, their formation would be overwhelmed. As such, he chose to stop all the Martial Extremity Realm disciples by himself! His actions were extremely dangerous. The moment the Martial Intent Realm expert turned around to focus on Shang Xia, he would be in terrible danger. However, now that they were in such a desperate situation, he could only risk it all. He was relying on the fact that his actions wouldn¡¯t be discovered by the Martial Intent Realm expert, and that Ma Xiaofeng and the rest would be able to hold him off for a long time! Moreover, from the looks of it, the random changes in the Coral Forest would continue for the foreseeable future. As long as the battle lasted till their locations shifted again, it would be extremely likely for them to be able to escape the precarious situation they were in! Shang Xia transformed his inner qi into light and heavy qi as he moved. When he unleashed his Irregular Steps, his speed increased by quite a bit. From afar, he looked like he was zooming across the lands. After traveling out several miles, he felt a massive eruption of heaven and earth qi behind him. The battle between the Martial Intent Realm expert and those of the Tongyou Institution began. Changing his direction immediately, he ran towards where the Martial Intent Realm expert came from. ¡­ Out of the eleven cultivators of the Rose Party who surrounded Ma Xiaofeng and the rest, three of them died in Shang Xia¡¯s hands when he appeared. The remaining eight were traveling slowly towards their Martial Intent Realm expert. They seemed to be in no hurry at all. ¡°Those bastards of the Tongyou Institution are really tough! Not even Brother Sima Lixin will be able to take them down in a short amount of time! In the end, he has to call us to back him up!¡± The person leading them this time was the one who called for them to retreat last time. He took over the position of team leader after their original boss was killed by Shang Xia previously. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we be heading there as quickly as possible?¡± Someone asked. ¡°Nope!¡± Their leader explained, ¡°Not only should we not hurry, we need to head over as slow as possible. It would be great if we arrived right after both sides severely injure each other. We¡¯ll head over there and wrap the battle up, securing the victory!¡± ¡°Why would we do that?¡± Another person in the group asked. The person in the lead snapped, ¡°Are you stupid? If we head over and help Sima Lixin end the battle quickly, we can¡¯t obtain any benefits¡­ Do you think you¡¯re stronger than him or something? Don¡¯t forget, those bastards of the Tongyou Institution obtained one Gold Thread Grass and two Silver Thread Grass. Even though all we ask for are the lower-ranked Silver Thread Grass, do you think Sima Lixin would share the treasures with us? He¡¯s a Martial Intent Realm expert! We¡¯re nothing but cannon fodder to him!¡± Everyone in the group slowed down as the battle became more intense. The fluctuations of heaven and earth qi grew wilder and wilder. ¡°Right. You¡¯re absolute geniuses! In fact, why don¡¯t you slow down even more?¡± All of a sudden, a voice disrupted their beautiful daydream of swooping in at the last minute to ¡®save¡¯ the exhausted Sima Lixin from the members of the Tongyou Institution. ¡°You?!¡± The person leading the group of eight gasped after recognizing Shang Xia¡¯s voice. Those standing around him stopped dead in their tracks. They couldn¡¯t forget the scene where Shang Xia killed three of their companions in the blink of an eye. ¡°Wait! He¡¯s the only one here! There¡¯s nothing for us to be afraid of! You must be crazy to think that you can stop all eight of us alone¡­¡± The leader among them quickly discovered Shang Xia¡¯s lone presence. On the hill where Shang Xia stood, he drew his Delicate Jade River Sword. After thinking about it, he pulled out another ordinary-looking sword from his Embroidered Cloud Case. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve been meaning to test out my limits for a long time now. Come! I hope you won¡¯t disappoint me!¡± After he spoke, Shang Xia leaped towards the eight of them. CH 159 ¡°Hundred Days Longevity Intoxication!¡± That was an advancement formula for Marital Intent Realm experts to reach the Martial Extermination Realm! Shang Xia released another sword light and weakened Zhu Ying¡¯s strike several times over. When it landed, he only managed to destroy some words that had been carved into the chamber. Originally, Zhu Ying wanted to shatter the entire wall with his strike! Now that he failed, he tried again. Shang Xia was prepared for his nonsense this time. Several rays of sword light slashed outwards and destroyed Zhu Ying¡¯s palm strike. By the time their attacks collided, Shang Xia had already forcefully memorized the formula on the wall. ¡°Hundred Days Longevity Intoxication, Main herb:... Assistive Herb¡­¡± Even though stopping Zhu Ying¡¯s strikes with his sword light was something he had done casually while trying to burn the formula into his memories, it was nothing short of disrespect in Zhu Ying¡¯s eyes. The more nonchalant Shang Xia was, the angrier Zhu Ying became. The hatred in his heart became even deeper. ¡°Shang Xia, you¡¯re going too far!¡± Zhu Ying raised Mu Qingyu into the air by her head and tossed her at Shang Xia. Retrieving his sword, he released a strand of qi to dissolve Zhu Ying¡¯s inner qi. Without injuring her, he placed her softly against the wall behind him. Find the original at "pawread dot com". ¡°Hah, I knew it! You¡¯re a pair of adulterous scumbags!¡± Zhu Ying sneered. However, Shang Xia was unable to stop his strike this time and cracks started appearing in the wall. It crumbled to dust in front of his eyes. Shang Xia¡¯s expression turned frosty as a streak of lightning surrounded his Delicate Jade River Sword. He stabbed it towards Zhu Ying yet again. Lightning surrounded the tip of his sword and Zhu Ying felt his body going numb long before the sword arrived. As someone who had already experienced Shang Xia¡¯s Chaos Essence Lightning Palm and was scarred from his previous encounter, Zhu Ying didn¡¯t hesitate to tear another rank three talisman. The heaven and earth qi in the stone chamber condensed to form a deep green tortoise shell-like shield before Zhu Ying. A ray of condensed lightning slammed into the shield, causing it to dim significantly. However, it failed to shatter the shield. Of course, it didn¡¯t end there. Shang Xia¡¯s Delicate Jade River Sword arrived soon after, and with a soft knell, it stabbed deep into the shield. The moment it did, a strand of softness and strength fusion qi caused the rank three talisman to reach its limit. ¡°Luckily it¡¯s another rank three talisman with no divine sense. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be able to destroy it so easily¡­¡± Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief in his heart. In stark contrast to Shang Xia¡¯s pleased expression, Zhu Ying¡¯s eyes were so wide his eyeballs were threatening to pop out of their sockets. ¡°You¡­ You¡­ How do you know about the fusion of qi?! This isn¡¯t a martial intent¡­ How is this possible?¡± Zhu Ying stuttered. A sneer from Shang Xia was all he received in response. Another sword appeared out of nowhere, and Shang Xia held it right above his Delicate Jade River Sword. Snipping both swords inwards, he used one of the techniques recorded in the Twisting Twin Blades! In one smooth motion, the shield shattered completely! ¡°Who told you that only martial intents can achieve fusion of qis? Haha, my knowledge runs a lot deeper than you think!¡± Shang Xia chuckled in amusement as he transformed his qi yet again. Instead of softness and strength qi, a soft fiery glow and a thin layer of ice covered both swords. He didn¡¯t stop after he destroyed Zhu Ying¡¯s shield. Fire and ice qi fused together as it pincered Zhu Ying. Screaming in fright, Zhu Ying brought out a huge machete and waved it towards the intersection between Shang Xia¡¯s swords. As the sound of scraping metal rang through the air, Zhu Ying was sent flying through the air. When he slammed into the wall behind, he felt a sickly sweet sensation on the tip of his tongue. His lips parted uncontrollably and he spat out a mouthful of blood. The machete he brought out at the last second was of really high quality. Even though Shang Xia fused fire and ice qi in his last attack, he noticed a huge chip in the ungraded sword he took out. From the looks of it, the sword had to be scrapped after the battle. A cold light flashed in Zhu Ying¡¯s palm and a tiny knife appeared in them. Tossing it out with incredible accuracy, it shot past Shang Xia towards Mu Qingyu who was lying defenseless on the other side of the stone chamber. Displaying the might of his Irregular Steps to the maximum, Shang Xia¡¯s body appeared before Mu Qingyu as he swung his Delicate Jade River Sword to block the throwing knife. Even though he deflected the throwing knife, it drew an arc in the air and returned to stab towards Mu Qingyu. ¡°Sword talisman¡­¡± Shang Xia snorted lightly as he summoned hundreds of sword lights to destroy the throwing knife. The rain of sword light swallowed the throwing knife and shrill ringing rang through the chamber. Shang Xia¡¯s sword light eventually exhausted all the energy contained in Zhu Ying¡¯s sword talisman and the throwing knife fell to the ground powerlessly. When Shang Xia finally turned his attention to Zhu Ying, he realized that the man was standing before a newly opened passage. Holding the Vermillion Plaque in hand, a sneer could be seen on Zhu Ying¡¯s face. ¡°Roar! Roar!¡± The sound came from deep within the passage that opened behind Zhu Ying, and three undead corpses soon appeared. They brushed past Zhu Ying, and they lunged at Shang Xia. Why didn¡¯t they attack him? Even though the thought ran through Shang Xia¡¯s mind, he didn¡¯t have the luxury to think of the reason. The last thing he saw was Zhu Ying disappearing into the passage behind him. The doors of the passage disappeared suddenly, and Shang Xia¡¯s vision was quickly filled with the three undead corpses. At the same time, another passage opened in the stone chamber. Two more undead corpses appeared. They were like fatties who smelled the greatest delicacy in the world as they rushed towards Shang Xia. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with them if they were all rank two undead corpses, but there was a rank three undead corpse among them! They managed to surround and suppress Shang Xia the instant they appeared. Luckily for him, they were stuck in a confined space. The undead corpses might be fast, but they couldn¡¯t move nimbly in the stone chamber! His Irregular Steps allowed him to bring out his greatest fighting strength in the confined area. Since the undead corpses had limited thinking ability, Shang Xia could remain relatively safe under their relentless assault. The question quickly resurfaced in his mind. Why did Zhu Ying not get attacked by the undead corpses? The corpses had no ability to think for themselves. How did they recognize him as one of their own? Shang Xia¡¯s thoughts turned to the Vermillion Plaque in Zhu Ying¡¯s hands before he disappeared. Did the Vermillion Plaque have something to do with it? With a flick of his wrist, Shang Xia took out his own Vermillion Plaque. However, the undead corpses still didn¡¯t leave him alone. Shang Xia twisted his body to avoid a rank two undead corpse and his Jade River Sword stabbed outwards. A deep gash appeared in the corpse¡¯s rib, but it was evidently not enough to damage an undead creature like that. Shang Xia circulated his Yin Yang Essence Qi and sent some of it into the Vermillion Plaque in his hands. Even though faint red light appeared on its surface, it didn¡¯t stop the undead corpses from attacking him. An idea quickly surfaced in Shang Xia¡¯s mind. His inner qi started to transform to become light and heavy qi. Even though nothing seemed to change in the plaque, the undead corpses seemed to be slightly affected. Something seemed to cloud their judgment. The sword in Shang Xia¡¯s hand stabbed straight into one of the undead corpses¡¯ temples. A deep howl came from the rank three corpse all of a sudden, rallying all the rank two undead corpses. They started to attack Shang Xia together. Helpless, Shang Xia could only dodge with all his might. He tried to send his inner qi into the Vermillion Plaque again, but it didn¡¯t do anything this time. Shang Xia suddenly recalled that Mu Qingyu entered the Coral Forest with Zhu Ying. He turned to look at her unconscious figure in the corner and thought to himself, Why are they attacking me when she¡¯s lying there defenseless? Could Zhu Ying possess the ability to control the undead corpses in the Zhu Family Manor? However, he quickly got rid of that thought. If Zhu Ying had the ability to do that, he wouldn¡¯t have killed all of them while making his way over to where they were right now. Shang Xia¡¯s attention turned to Mu Qingyu when he realized that she was struggling to open her eyes. ¡°If you keep wearing those clothes that have been stained with Zhu Ying¡¯s blood, they won¡¯t stop!¡± A hoarse voice left Mu Qingyu¡¯s lips. Only then did Shang Xia realize that his clothes were stained with Zhu Ying¡¯s blood. Earlier, Zhu Ying spat out a mouthful of blood. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know if it was intentional or not, but it didn¡¯t matter anymore. Is his blood the reason behind those undead corpses going crazy? Or will any blood from the members of the Zhu Family do? Whatever it was, Shang Xia quickly removed his outerwear. He tossed the cloth over one of the undead corpses that were running at him. When his clothes landed on the undead corpse, the creature tore at it mercilessly. That wasn¡¯t the only undead corpse that was affected. The other rank two undead corpses joined their companion in the relentless attack on the ownerless clothes. The only undead corpse that hesitated slightly was the rank three undead corpse, and it seemed a little confused. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t going to give it the luxury of time. His sword beheaded the rank three undead corpse when it was still disorientated. Taking another step forward, his sword stabbed through the skull of another undead corpse. In the next instant, he stabbed in another direction, skewering another skull. CH 160 ¡°Why?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s chest heaved up and down. Ever since he arrived, he destroyed two rank three talismans, and dealt with the attack of five undead corpses where one of them was a rank three monster. He finally settled all the troublesome matters, and he had to take a break to catch his breath. He was too lazy to walk over to Mu Qingyu to undo the restrictions on her body. ¡°What are you referring to?¡± Mu Qingyu twisted her body slightly to put herself in a more comfortable position before replying. ¡°Since he won¡¯t be attacked once he holds the Vermillion Plaque, why did Zhu Ying kill those in the Zhu Family Manor?¡± Shang Xia asked Mu Qingyu. He was clearly vigilant of her since she came in with Zhu Ying. Even though her inner qi was sealed and her movements were restricted, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t let his guard down. ¡°Because of me. The undead corpses won¡¯t attack him, but I turned into their target!¡± Mu Qingyu snorted as if it was a stupid question. ¡°Of course, I was merely bait. He would abandon me the moment I became useless!¡± Shang Xia frowned in confusion. ¡°If you know that, why would you follow him to the Coral Forest? With the relationship you two share¡­ Especially after you broke off your engagement with him¡­ Why would you still choose to work together? Wouldn¡¯t you find it awkward?¡± Mu Qingyu fell silent for a second and she seemed to have noticed the trace of mockery in Shang Xia¡¯s voice. She chuckled softly, ¡°It''s simple. He promised to give me a complete advancement formula for those in the Martial Extremity Realm to enter the Martial Intent Realm.¡± ¡°Hah¡­ Is that it?¡± Shang Xia snorted. ¡°Aren¡¯t you selling yourself short? Moreover, you¡¯re not even close to the grand completion stage of the Martial Realm¡­ You have no use for it.¡± Mu Qingyu raised her head in a fit of rage and she yelled in agitation, ¡°What do you know? You know nothing!¡± A sneer formed on her face and she continued, ¡°Of course you don¡¯t. You¡¯re the direct descendant of the mighty Shang Clan in the Tongyou City. The genius of the Tongyou Institution¡­ Why would you care about a mere advancement formula for the Martial Intent Realm? Hah¡­ The moment you reach the requirement to break through, your Shang Clan and the institution will probably bring out all their advancement formulas for you to choose from. You won¡¯t even need to worry about how compatible you are with the formula! How can you ever understand how precious an advancement formula is? You will never understand the worth of an advancement formula not controlled by the institution!¡± Mu Qingyu¡¯s words made sense. It was true that he was never worried about not being able to find a suitable advancement formula. However, his mood wouldn¡¯t be affected just because of her agitated emotions. After thinking about it for a second, not a trace of emotion could be seen on his face and he asked, ¡°The Mu Family wishes to obtain your own inheritance not controlled by anyone. However, your aunt has already entered the Martial Intent Realm. Doesn¡¯t she possess an advancement formula?¡± Mu Qingyu snorted in disdain. ¡°Looks like you really don¡¯t know anything. Ever since your Shang Clan rose to power, Patriarch Kou increased the requirement to learn rank three advancement formulas! It isn¡¯t too difficult for disciples of the institution to advance, but none of us are allowed to leak the formulas. It¡¯s nearly impossible for anyone to enter the Martial Intent Realm without the help of the institution! Unless we find an advancement formula on our own, our family will forever be controlled by the institution!¡± Shang Xia snorted under her breath. ¡°So¡­ The institution only allows contributions but it doesn¡¯t allow its secrets to leak¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Mu Qingyu muttered. Shang Xia obviously knew the reason behind Kou Chongxue¡¯s actions. Not only would their possession of advancement formulas increase the prestige of the Tongyou Institution, but it would also strengthen their control over the various families under their banner. Mu Qingyu looked at Shang Xia¡¯s expression and she couldn¡¯t help but break the silence after some time. ¡°Are you really unable to break the restrictions on my body?¡± Without hesitation, Shang Xia replied, ¡°Zhu Ying wishes nothing but death upon me. You¡¯re someone who colluded with him. Hah¡­ Even if his original plan was to use you as a cultivation furnace, I¡¯m not planning to let you run loose here¡­ Who knows what your plan is¡­ Anyway, you can rest assured that I won¡¯t use you as my cultivation furnace!¡± ¡°If Zhu Ying wishes to comprehend his martial extremity intent, he has to look for me. Are you planning to use me as bait?¡± A trace of anguish flashed through Mu Qingyu¡¯s eyes. However, her body was restrained by the restrictions laid down by Zhu Ying. She couldn¡¯t do anything! Shang Xia glanced at her from the corner of his eye. ¡°You¡¯re thinking too much into it. I might not be able to undo what Zhu Ying did anyway.¡± After his explanation, he placed her back on the stone bed. At the very least, she would be more comfortable than when she curled up against the wall. ¡°What are in these?¡± Shang Xia asked as he pointed at the bottles Zhu Ying brought out earlier. All of these were prepared by Zhu Ying when he planned to use her as his cultivation furnace earlier. When Shang Xia emerged and caught him by surprise, Zhu Ying escaped frantically and failed to collect his stuff. ¡°He prepared those medicines for him to comprehend his martial intent¡­¡± Mu Qingyu muttered. ¡°Oh? What medicine are they?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes lit up and he opened the jade bottles and wooden boxes without waiting for her to answer. Mu Qingyu could tell that he didn¡¯t trust her from his actions and she replied casually, ¡°He told me that he was planning to comprehend the Burning Blood Ice Sealing Art¡­¡± ¡°I know what he plans to comprehend.¡± Shang Xia interrupted her before she could finish. He closed the lid on the wooden case before opening the jade bottle beside it. Pausing slightly Mu Qingyu continued, ¡°According to him, the Burning Blood Ice Sealing Art possesses huge explosive strength. Cultivators will need to ensure that their meridians can withstand the violent flow of their inner qi. All of these items are used to strengthen and expand one¡¯s meridians. From what I know there are some Meridian Replenishing Powder, Life Blood Powder, and Expanding Meridian Powder in there.¡± Shang Xia sniffed the bottle while listening to her. He grunted once after she completed her explanation. ¡°At least you¡¯re not lying. There¡¯s actually some Expanding Meridian Powder in here.¡± Looking at Shang Xia¡¯s suspicious expression, Mu Qingyu thought that he was testing to see if she would lie. As such, she revealed everything she knew. ¡°There¡¯s some Life Blood Powder in the wooden case, and it¡¯s one of the most important medicines for him to comprehend the Burning Blood Ice Sealing Art. The most valuable medicine he prepared, the Expanding Meridian Powder, is contained in the other jade box.¡± A smile eventually appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Looks like you know quite a lot. I bet you obtained a lot of good stuff from him too.¡± Mu Qingyu remained impassive. ¡°All of these are merely a small part of what he obtained. Some of the stuff he brought into the Coral Forest was given to him by the Liu Clan, but he obtained most of his treasures after entering this place. Weirdly enough, Liu Jitang and the others didn¡¯t discover all the treasures when passing through the place.¡± Shang Xia wasn¡¯t surprised at all. After all, Liu Jitang¡¯s objective wasn¡¯t those low leveled talismans or medicine. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. His only goal was the inheritance of the Zhu Family! Before obtaining the inheritance, he could overlook Zhu Ying getting some benefits. The reason behind Zhu Ying¡¯s huge leap in cultivation was naturally Liu Jitang¡¯s assistance. To Zhu Ying, those were the least they could do since they coveted his Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance! It was even possible that he thought he was the one gracing them with the help they needed to enter the Coral Forest¡­ After thinking about it, Shang Xia realized what Liu Jitang was doing by allowing Zhu Ying to obtain so many treasures after entering the Coral Forest. By letting so, everyone who came in with them would start to detest Zhu Ying, causing Zhu Ying to seek protection from Liu Jitang. After writing out the entire story in his mind, Shang Xia continued to look through the other containers. When he popped open the lid to a violet-colored jade bottle, his heart trembled slightly. ¡°Tempering Meridian Powder! He actually has Tempering Meridian Powder!¡± Sucking in a cold breath, Shang Xia stopped his hands from trembling and he thought to himself, Yeah, that¡¯s about right. In order to comprehend his martial intent, he definitely needs some Tempering Meridian Powder¡­ Now that he had a portion of Tempering Meridian Powder, he could start comprehending his Yin Yang Sword Formation! It was no wonder he was so agitated. Regardless, his loss of composure nearly destroyed his cool image in front of Mu Qingyu. There were six containers in front of the stone bed, and Shang Xia verified those that contained Meridian Replenishing Powder, Life Blood Powder, Tempering Meridian Powder, and Expanding Meridian Powder. Those were the four he knew about. As for the other two, Mu Qingyu said that they were suitable for strengthening his physical body. After examining them several times, Shang Xia had to admit that he had no idea what they were. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t use any medicine he couldn¡¯t recognize. ¡°These medicines are pretty good¡­ Guess I earned big this time.¡± Shang Xia chuckled to himself before sweeping everything into his Embroidered Cloud Case. His gaze soon turned to the other items in the chamber and he asked Mu Qingyu, ¡°What are these?¡± ¡°He gathered those along his way. Since his Embroidered Cloud Case was full, he can¡¯t keep any of these within.¡± Mu Qingyu muttered softly. Casually looking through the items on the ground, he discovered that all of them were items or herbs that were of the second rank or lower. Even so, the sheer quantity of it caused Shang Xia to be dumbstruck. It was too bad Shang Xia¡¯s Embroidered Cloud Case was also pretty limited in space¡­ ¡°So¡­ The treasures in that fellow¡¯s possession are rank three or higher?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes lit up suddenly. CH 161 ¡°So¡­ That fellow kept all the good stuff on him!¡± Shang Xia grinned, but it was soon replaced by an expression of irritation. ¡°Too bad he managed to get away.¡± Seeing the fluctuating expression on Shang Xia¡¯s face, Mu Qingyu felt panic starting to set in. ¡°You¡­ What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°How did he open the passage when he left?¡± Shang Xia turned to look in the direction where Zhu Ying escaped to and asked without replying her question. Mu Qingyu paused for a second and shook her head. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Finally turning to look at her, Shang Xia asked extremely seriously, ¡°Do you think he¡¯ll let his cultivation furnace die?¡± A smirk slowly appeared on Mu Qingyu¡¯s face. ¡°Do you think he has the guts to return?¡± ¡°Exactly. That¡¯s why this place will definitely be safe!¡± Shang Xia grinned. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Mu Qingyu was starting to get confused with everything he was saying. ¡°Not much. I¡¯m also done with my preparations to comprehend my martial extremity intent. The things he left here will be really useful for my cultivation!¡± Shang Xia chuckled. Mu Qingyu was dumbstruck after hearing what he said. Watching him open the bottle of Tempering Meridian Powder, she snapped, ¡°Are you crazy? Do you think you can comprehend it anytime you wish? Won¡¯t you have to try several times before you succeed¡­¡± Mu Qingyu stopped abruptly. That was indeed the case. Zhu Ying¡¯s Burning Blood Ice Sealing Art was the same. He wouldn¡¯t be able to comprehend it in one shot! Wouldn¡¯t that mean that she would have to be repeatedly violated by him? Seeing the smile on Shang Xia¡¯s face, she didn¡¯t know if he had also thought of the point. Whatever the case, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t be dwelling on it for long. After all, his attention had turned to his inner qi that was rapidly transforming in his body. She was right. It was difficult for anyone to comprehend their martial intent on the first try. They would have to go through several trials and experiments before finally finding the correct path. That might be true for ordinary cultivators, but it was a completely different case for Shang Xia! In his sea of consciousness, the blood red tablet showed the success rate as long as he obtained the required ingredients and cultivated the correct techniques. Now that he obtained all the medicine he required, it was time! In fact, obtaining the Expanding Meridian Powder was a bonus that he hadn¡¯t expected! Turning to look at the blood red tablet in his sea of consciousness, Shang Xia added the Expanding Meridian Powder to the required medicine and the success rate increased by 5 percent instantly! He wanted to try adding the Life Blood Powder too, but he realized that the blood red tablet wasn¡¯t responding at all. As for the other two types of medicine, Shang Xia chose not to add them to the formula. After all, he had no idea what to call them in the first place. Swallowing the Expanding Meridian Powder, he circulated his inner qi as the medicinal effects quickly filled his body. Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ]. It didn¡¯t take long before Shang Xia felt the changes in his body. His meridians were starting to expand, and his flow of inner qi became much smoother than before. The time required for his inner qi to make one full circulation also shortened! Shang Xia discovered that his inner qi was like a tiny stream flowing through his now enlarged meridians. There was a lot of empty space! Even though the expansion of his meridians didn¡¯t mean that they became stronger, it allowed Shang Xia to circulate even more inner qi around his body! It lowered the difficulty of him comprehending his martial intent! With a single thought, more inner qi started to gush out from his dantian. The stream of inner qi flowing in his meridians became a lot thicker than before, and Shang Xia realized the amount of heaven and earth qi he could absorb became a lot larger than before. Just that point alone would ensure that he would be able to cultivate a lot faster than before. Medicine like the Expanding Meridian Powder were basically one-time-use treasures. His body would become extremely resistant to its effects if he tried to use it a second time, and it would be completely useless if he took it a third time. As he circulated his inner qi, a frown formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. The Expanding Meridian Powder was really crucial to his comprehension of his Yin Yang Sword Formation! Why didn¡¯t the blood red tablet tell him about it previously? Even though he couldn¡¯t wrap his head around how the tablet worked, it didn¡¯t affect his cultivation plan. He quickly took out the bottle of Tempering Meridian Powder and poured it into his mouth. The effects of the medicine were obviously different from the Expanding Meridian Powder he used previously. If his meridians were like rivers and the Expanding Meridian Powder made them wider and deeper, the Tempering Meridian Powder would reinforce the edges of the river, strengthening it to an incredible degree! Now that Shang Xia¡¯s meridians were stronger and wider, they could withstand the stress brought about by the fusion of qis. Mu Qingyu watched as Shang Xia ingested both powders before sitting down cross-legged on the ground. She was surprised to discover that he was really doing as he said. The heaven and earth qi in the chamber started fluctuating wildly. ¡°Hey!¡± Even though she was unable to move, she yelled loudly at Shang Xia. However, he was too engrossed in his cultivation to hear her cries. Pausing for a second, she noticed that Shang Xia was still sitting motionless on the ground. A trace of hesitation flashed in her eyes and her body that was supposed to be paralyzed with the restrictions Zhu Ying set twitched slightly. Shang Xia didn¡¯t notice it due to his cultivation, but her expression became a lot more relaxed. Her hands trembled slightly before she propped her body up on the bed. As his breathing became a little more hurried, his inner qi transformed several times and he seemed too distracted to care about what was around him. Mu Qingyu clearly noticed that point. She straightened her body and slowly placed her legs on the ground. Getting to her feet, she stared at Shang Xia in the middle of the chamber. She only needed to take another step to enter her attack range. Taking the chance, she could even¡­ Looking at Shang Xia who was diligently cultivating, he wouldn¡¯t know what had happened even after she had done it! Once that happened, all of his secrets and treasures would fall into her hands! As the third-generation young master of the Shang Clan, the items he had were definitely on par with Zhu Ying! In fact, he might even possess a rank three advancement formula! Mu Qingyu¡¯s expression changed several times as an unsteady light flashed in her eyes. Her morality was struggling with her desire, and one of them was clearly winning. Just as she was about to make up her mind, a cold snort escaped Shang Xia¡¯s lips. Ripples appeared in the space around her and several rays of sword light condensed around those ripples. That wasn¡¯t all. Shang Xia¡¯s expression twisted slightly in pain, and the sword light started to turn solid. They became strands of sword qi! Those strands of sword qi that remained in the air showed no signs of dissipating. They were like actual swords that hovered in the sky. As if ridiculing Mu Qingyu, the sword qi returned to Shang Xia and started spinning around him. They formed an impregnable screen that protected him from harm. Even if Mu Qingyu wanted to try something, she would probably be killed before she could make her move. After all, her cultivation was far too weak compared to Shang Xia! Even if she gave it her all and unleashed all her trump cards, she might not be able to do a thing! With one of the options out of the picture, Mu Qingyu heaved a sigh of relief. Since she couldn¡¯t kill him, there was only one thing left to do. Give up and act obediently. As time slowly passed, the sword qi around Shang Xia started to increase. Every single one of them seemed to be sentient, and they hid great power within them. Mu Qingyu realized that many of the sword qi around Shang Xia looked different. After careful observation, she realized that there were three types in total. ¡°What type of martial intent is that?! It looks like the hardest type of martial intent to comprehend, a sword formation! His sword qi looked different from each other too¡­ Looks really weird!¡± Mu Qingyu muttered softly. Since there was no way she could harm him, Mu Qingyu started to analyze his technique. Out of nowhere, she discovered that not only was the number of sword qi growing in number, they were also expanding slightly. More than half the chamber was filled with his sword qi! How in the world did he form so many strands of sword qi anyway? Mu Qingyu tried to inspect the strand that was closest to her, but the instant her inner qi came into contact with it, a burst of light emerged from Shang Xia¡¯s sword qi. It sundered her strand of inner qi without expending much energy. That wasn¡¯t all. The moment she agitated the strand of sword qi, several other strands seemed to have felt it. They turned in unison and pointed at the source of the disturbance, Mu Qingyu! CH 162 The instant Shang Xia¡¯s sword qi moved, Mu Qingyu felt as though she had reached the end of her life. Terror filled her heart. She knew that she would be helpless if the sword qi released its energy and attacked her, and a helpless expression appeared on her face. All of a sudden, the sword qi that were ready to turn her into meat cubes quietened down. They returned to normal. Only then did Mu Qingyu realize that her clothes were completely drenched in her own perspiration. ¡­ Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect his comprehension of his Yin Yang Sword Formation to go so smoothly. Turning to look at the tablet again, Shang Xia realized that a slight modification had been made. Martial Intent: Yin Yang Sword Formation (Can be advanced) Prerequisite Cultivation Technique: Yin Yang Mysterious Transformation (Large Completion Stage) (Ice and Fire, Softness and Strength, Void and Reality, Light and Heavy) Prerequisite Martial Art: Flexible Sword Art, Cloud Drizzle Sword Art, Twisting Twin Blade Requirement: Yin Yang Diagram Medicine Required: Meridian Tempering Powder, Meridian Replenishing Powder, Expanding Meridian Powder Required Item: Yin Yang Sword Talisman Success Rate: 80%-90% Shang Xia was ready to comprehend his martial intent. All he needed was to create the Yin Yang Sword Talisman in his dantian! Even before he tried comprehending his martial intent, he had been practicing diligently. He was more than familiar with how he should proceed. Moreover, Shang Xia could borrow the blood red tablet¡¯s strength when creating his Yin Yang Sword Talisman! It wasn¡¯t the first time he had drawn on the strength of the tablet anyway! When he comprehended his first martial intent in the Martial Realm, he dug out the Lightning Collection Blood Art using the tablet¡¯s abilities. Because of the nature of the lightning that struck him the Lightning Collection Blood Art also transformed into the Heavenly Lightning Collection Blood Art. When he first transmigrated, he was in so much confusion that he couldn¡¯t think of anything else. He comprehended his martial intent with the help of the blood red tablet. With the experience he gained so far, Shang Xia started to think about the problem from another angle. The crack on the tablet might not be caused by the optimization of the medicine he used to advance. It might have been damaged when he was struck by heavenly lightning when he just transmigrated. Well, since he was also trying to comprehend his martial intent now that he was at the Martial Extremity Realm, things shouldn''t be too much different. The Yin Yang Essence Qi in his dantian started to transform. We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. After comprehending the secret art he developed himself, he didn¡¯t have to wait passively for the blood red tablet to do its thing. Instead, he started the comprehension process himself. The Yin Yang Sword Talisman¡¯s formation wasn¡¯t hindered by anything. With his Yin Yang Essence Qi transforming to fire and ice qi, he controlled them along the path required when he unleashed the Twisting Twin Blades. When he completed one cycle, the outline of a rune would start to form. Eventually, two vague swords created by those runes appeared in his dantian. One of them was icy blue, and the other was fiery red. Eventually, they entered the spinning Yin Yang Diagram. The instant it happened, Shang Xia felt as though his understanding of the Twisting Twin Blade reached a whole new level. In fact, the evolution made Shang Xia understand that it had already turned into true sword intent! Looking at the blood red tablet in his sea of consciousness, Shang Xia could see that his comprehension of the Yin Yang Sword Formation was already completed! However, if he stopped right there, he would only be able to use the sword intent containing fire and ice qi in his martial intent! Of course, just that alone caused Shang Xia to feel several times stronger than before! He could tell that his strength took a huge leap forward! With a single intention, two corporeal swords appeared above the Yin Yang Diagram. Sword intent that contained the element of fire and ice emerged from his body, causing the space around him to fluctuate. Strands of fire and ice sword intent spun around him. They protected him carefully and could be deployed at any time to form his sword formation. Throughout the process, fire and ice qi would flow through his veins simultaneously, they would bring about some pressure when flowing through them. If his meridians hadn¡¯t been expanded and strengthened by the medicine he ingested earlier, they might have exploded under the pressure! One had to know that when Shang Xia fused both types of qi when unleashing the final attack of his sword arts in the past, he would have to dissipate the energy contained in his meridians after every strike. His improvements were impressive. Even though fire and ice qi were flowing simultaneously in his meridians, it was far from what Shang Xia could ensure! When he was done with the transformation of fire and ice qi, he felt a pair of eyes watching him intently. The feeling was extremely subtle, but Shang Xia had entered a miraculous state. His eyes were closed, but fusing his senses with the sword qi around him, he noticed the anomaly. Mu Qingyu! She had already shattered the restrictions Zhu Ying placed on her body! For a cultivator at the Martial Realm to break through Zhu Ying¡¯s restrictions¡­ It seemed as though she was still hiding a lot of secrets! Even so, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t really be bothered with her. Now that he had successfully comprehended his martial intent, albeit with only fire and ice qi, he would still be more than capable of defending himself against the little girl. Mu Qingyu could try with all her might and not hurt Shang Xia in the slightest! Naturally, Shang Xia didn¡¯t forget that he had a long way to go. There were still several types of qi he had to fuse into his sword formation! Since he was done with fire and ice qi, his Yin Yang Essence Qi started to transform again. This time, it became softness and strength qi. Like before, it experienced a fundamental change before turning into sword runes that flew into his Yin Yang Diagram. Two more swords appeared above his Yin Yang Diagram, and the type of qi flowing through his meridians increased to four. Even more sword qi formed around him. This time, they weren¡¯t made of fire and ice. Instead, sword qis with tyrannical might and supple properties emerged. With the addition of a second pair of sword qi, the might of his Yin Yang Sword Formation more than doubled! After that was done, the amount of qi flowing in his meridians started to approach the limit of what his meridians could contain. A smile subconsciously appeared on his face. There was still room for another pair of qi! Once again, his Yin Yang Essence Qi in his dantian started to transform. It became slightly illusory, and eventually, sword runes made from void and reality qi sank into the Yin Yang Diagram. Two more swords appeared above his Yin Yang Diagram! Even though Shang Xia could transform his inner qi to light and heavy qi too, he didn¡¯t possess the corresponding technique to create the sword runes required! He lacked a technique to control light and heavy qi and he could only settle for the three pairs he already mastered. Since comprehending the Yin Yang Sword Formation, Shang Xia could freely transform the three pairs of qi freely among each other. He finally understood the strength of his Yin Yang Essence Qi. Of course, the miraculous properties of his Yin Yang Essence Qi didn¡¯t stop there. He might only be able to transform it to three different pairs of qi at the moment, but that wasn¡¯t the limit of his Yin Yang Essence Qi! There was no way Shang Xia would stop there. He planned on looking for more techniques to increase the types of qi he could control! That itself spoke volumes of Shang Xia¡¯s ambitions! In his imagination, the Yin Yang Sword Formation hadn¡¯t reached its limits! He would push it to the extreme! As the different types of qi gushed through his meridians, Shang Xia started to feel a little bloated. That was all it was. He didn¡¯t feel overwhelmed in the slightest! The effects of the Expanding Meridian Powder and Tempering Meridian Powder were astonishing indeed! He could withstand the stress the three different pairs of qi were putting on his meridians! There would be no problems unleashing his martial intent as long as he willed it! Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation broke through to the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm at that instant, and it wasn¡¯t a stretch to say that he was one step away from entering the Martial Intent Realm! CH 163 When Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation arrived at the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm, the heaven and earth qi in his dantian that he had been slowly converting to his own qi became refined all at once. Not a single speck of unrefined remnant qi was left. He had truly entered the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm! If Shang Xia prepared his medicine to advance into the Martial Intent Realm, he would have an extremely high chance of successfully breaking through if he took it then! However, Shang Xia knew that it wouldn¡¯t be a good choice to advance immediately! There was still a lot of room for his Yin Yang Sword Formation to improve. Even though he ate the Tempering Meridian Powder and Expanding Meridian Powder, he still had a set of Meridian Replenishing Powder he had yet to use! He planned to use it during his comprehension of the Yin Yang Sword Formation as he felt that it would come in handy if his meridians were to come under too much stress. However, he didn¡¯t need to use it in the end. According to what he knew, there wasn¡¯t much use in using the same type of medicine more than thrice. In theory, he could use the Tempering Meridian Powder and Expanding Meridian Powder twice more if he disregarded their diminished effects. No matter how weak the effects, it would strengthen his foundation nonetheless. Also, since the Yin Yang Sword Formation was named as such, three pairs of qi were far from enough for his sword formation to display its peak abilities! Yin and yang was the origin of everything! Almost all the elements were born from yin and yang! If three pairs of qi were the limit, the Yin Yang Sword Formation would fail to live up to its name! As long as Shang Xia learned how to transform his inner qi into other types, he would be able to improve his martial intent! Even Shang Xia himself didn¡¯t expect the extent of his martial intent. Regardless, he decided to push his martial intent to its full capabilities. ¡­ In the stone chamber, Mu Qingyu noticed the increasing number of sword qi and found the space a little cramped. It wouldn¡¯t take long before the entire chamber was filled up! Despite that, Shang Xia showed no signs of slowing down. The sword qi that gathered started to encroach on the last remaining gap towards the walls. When the first strand of sword qi finally came into contact with the surrounding wall, several layers of runes appeared in an attempt to stop the sword qi from destroying the chamber. It was too bad none of it lasted for more than a second before they were torn to shreds by Shang Xia¡¯s sword qi. After most of the runes forming the restriction were destroyed, cracks started to appear all over the walls. The ballooning sword qi seemed to expand the room into a giant ball. All of a sudden, a sharp cry broke the silence. The expanding sword qi started to retreat. In the blink of an eye, the sword qi that lingered in the air disappeared. When they did, Shang Xia¡¯s hovering figure could be seen in the middle of the chamber. That was right, he was hovering in mid air! Mu Qingyu, who still had traces of shock due to the strength of the sword qi, felt her expression freezing when she looked at Shang Xia. Staying in flight with the help of their inner qi was something only Martial Extermination Realm experts were capable of! There were some stronger Martial Intent Realm experts who could use their divine sense to stay in the air for a short period of time, but that was it! However, Shang Xia was in the Martial Extremity Realm! How in the world was he able to keep himself from falling?! Was it possible that he entered the Martial Intent Realm right after stepping into the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm?! Those were the thoughts running through Mu Qingyu¡¯s head. Even though she was struck dumb, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with her. He was still exploring the marvels of the Yin Yang Sword Formation. The sword qi that he created was able to appear anywhere, including under his feet! Naturally, it only served to push him upwards. He couldn¡¯t control it to send him flying through the air! After realizing what he was capable of, he dissipated the sword qi under his feet and jumped onto the ground below. His indifferent gaze turned towards Mu Qingyu. Finally snapping awake from her shock, Mu Qingyu yelled, ¡°That¡­ That¡­ You nearly destroyed that wall!¡± She pointed towards one of the wall faces behind Shang Xia. Even though the scene on the walls disappeared along with Zhu Ying, no one knew why, but the image reappeared! The walls contained deep scratches and markings from Shang Xia¡¯s sword qi, but they didn¡¯t affect the image playing out on the walls. Perhaps his reckless bombardment with his sword qi managed to activate some sort of mechanism in the room¡­ Staring at the scene on the wall, the bronze gate appeared in his sights once again. However, this time, a huge gap could be seen between the doors. The tiny mountain that hovered outside the gate had fallen to the ground, and the two old men were nowhere to be seen. ¡°They¡¯re already dead!¡± Mu Qingyu¡¯s voice trembled as she already knew what Shang Xia wanted to ask. In fact, she screamed earlier after witnessing Liu Jitang¡¯s death. The only reason Shang Xia missed it was because the image on the wall contained no sound. He was unable to notice the sudden change in the situation. However, Mu Qingyu clearly saw how both of them died. When the bronze gate was forced open by the weird creature within, a godlike figure appeared and tore both of the old experts to shreds! Liu Jitang and Murong Tianlan were killed without the slightest resistance! They died instantly! Even after Shang Xia pressed her for an answer, she couldn¡¯t describe anything to him. She saw that they had died, but she had no idea how it happened! The only thing she could be sure of was that Liu Jitang and the expert beside him were torn to shreds. Two Martial Extermination Realm experts were killed in the blink of an eye! No matter how strong Shang Xia¡¯s will was, he still felt chills traveling down his spine. He might have guessed what was behind the bronze gates, but he couldn¡¯t believe what had happened. ¡°What do you plan to do now?¡± Shang Xia asked Mu Qingyu casually. A helpless expression appeared on her face. When Shang Xia¡¯s sword qi went on a rampage earlier, he destroyed the path leading to the hidden tunnel where he came from. Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. The next second, Shang Xia¡¯s gaze turned to stare in the direction where Zhu Ying made his escape. ¡°You wish to hunt him down? Are you not afraid of death? Even if you¡¯re stronger than him, this is the Zhu Family Manor! His bloodline allows him to run around unhindered!¡± Mu Qingyu easily guessed Shang Xia¡¯s intentions. A sudden change soon occurred. The ground rumbled violently and the walls along the chamber cracked beyond belief. The images on the wall finally disappeared. A round of laughter tore through the awkward silence in the chamber and it rang through the entire Zhu Family Manor. ¡°Hahaha! Who would have thought that we would step into the Zhu Family Manor again?! It¡¯s been twenty long years! Brother Ji, you¡¯ve been here before too. Do you know which way to go?¡± ¡°Be careful. Something seems wrong here. Don¡¯t blame me if you run into any trouble¡­¡± Ji Wenlong¡¯s voice replied. ¡°Hah¡­ Do you think there¡¯s anything in here that can threaten us?¡± Another voice emerged. Shang Xia found the last voice pretty familiar, and he seemed to have heard it during the great war on the Tongyou Peak. If his memory served him right, it belonged to Lang Xiaoyun. Shang Xia was shocked to hear that Ji Wenlong had entered the Zhu Family Manor with other Martial Extermination Realm experts, and they even formed an alliance! The first person who spoke exclaimed all of a sudden, ¡°Wait¡­ Brother Zhu Ye? No¡­ What the hell is this?!¡± A heaven-shaking roar tore through the skies and the soundwave rocked countless structures in the Zhu Family Manor. Shang Xia and Mu Qingyu could feel rock shards raining down on them as the already semi-destroyed stone chamber suffered even more damage. ¡°Hehe¡­ Brother Dongfang, welcome to the battlefield between two worlds¡­ Have a taste of our special product¡­ Undead corpses!¡± Lang Xiaoyun roared with laughter and continued, ¡°Rank four undead corpses are really rare here! I haven¡¯t seen a lot of them even in my many years of experience roaming the battlefield¡­ You¡¯re pretty lucky to run into one on your first trip here¡­¡± Ji Wenlong interrupted him, ¡°It¡¯s just an undead corpse. It might be physically stronger than ordinary cultivators at the same level as it, but it¡¯s not too bright. Brother Dongfang, it won¡¯t be able to do anything to you.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s the case¡­ Many thanks to Brother Ji! However, are you really unwilling to help me take down this weird creature?¡± Dongfang Daying yelled before unleashing his attack. A huge blast rang through the skies and even Shang Xia, who was hiding in the stone chamber, could tell that the battle had begun. Once again, Ji Wenlong¡¯s voice rang through the air. ¡°How do you know that there¡¯s only one rank four undead corpse in the Zhu Family Manor?¡± CH 164 ¡°This¡­ What¡¯s going on outside?¡± Mu Qingyu asked in confusion. She was the princess of the Mu Family back in the Tongyou City, and she hadn¡¯t seen much of the world outside. She had barely any experience and because she chose to work with Zhu Ying, she didn¡¯t attend the war back on the Tongyou Peak. The knowledge of Martial Extermination Realm experts she had were from those in the institution. She had no idea who the other two were. Ignoring her, Shang Xia¡¯s expression turned sullen and he remained in his spot. No one knew what he was thinking about. ¡°Should we leave this place?¡± Mu Qingyu asked. The battle outside the stone chamber was heaven-shaking. Mu Qingyu had never seen or heard anything like that in her life. Even though she followed Liu Jitang and the others into the Coral Forest, they were on the weaker side compared to the Rose Party. They would avoid any battles they could. Resounding blasts caused the stone chamber they were in to tremble violently, and Mu Qingyu¡¯s heart palpitated in fear. She was afraid that a random shockwave would send the both of them to the underworld before they knew what happened. A sneer formed on Shang Xia¡¯s lips. ¡°Weren¡¯t you really smart and resourceful? Can¡¯t you see that the passage we came from has collapsed? Even if it hasn¡¯t, are you planning to head out that way? Do you really think that the Martial Extermination Realm experts fighting outside will care about ants like us?!¡± Mu Qingyu¡¯s face turned as pale as a sheet after hearing Shang Xia. She didn¡¯t know what to say. Only after some time did she regain her senses. The moment she did, she snapped at Shang Xia, ¡°Hmph, since you¡¯re so smart, what do you think we should do?¡± ¡°Either we die here, or we leave through the same passage Zhu Ying did!¡± Shang Xia sighed. When he comprehended his martial intent earlier, he ensured that the sword qi avoided Mu Qingyu when it rampaged about. The only wall left intact was behind her. Turning to look behind her, she muttered, ¡°I didn¡¯t know that there were mechanisms in this room! I didn¡¯t know how he left either¡­¡± Pausing for a second, she muttered, ¡°We can try to look around¡­ The Vermillion Plaque should also be a key to opening the passage.¡± As soon as the words left her mouth, a sharp howl filled the skies above the Zhu Family Manor. It echoed loudly in their ears. Lang Xiaoyun¡¯s voice came soon after. ¡°Heh¡­ Old Bastard Ji you were right. There¡¯s more¡­¡± Ji Wenlong sighed, ¡°It¡¯s Zhu Liang and Zhu Kuang!¡± Even though they had already lost their minds, undead corpses still preserved their facial features. Dongfang Daying and Ji Wenlong were both elite cultivators of their respective families. They were familiar with the experts of the Zhu Family. Zhu Ye, Zhu Liang, and Zhu Kuang¡­ The three of them were Martial Extermination Realm experts before the Zhu Family was destroyed twenty years ago. How terrifying would it be when six Martial Extermination Realm experts fought? When the shockwaves swept through the stone chamber they were in, it became dangerously close to collapsing. Shang Xia and Mu Qingyu had been inspecting the wall where Zhu Ying made his escape, but they failed to find anything. Mu Qingyu yelled in desperation, ¡°What are we going to do now?! Are we really going to be crushed in this chamber?!¡± ¡°Move to the side!¡± Shang Xia casually shooed her away before drawing his sword. A soft buzzing could be heard from the tip of the blade as Shang Xia stared at the wall. ¡°Are you planning to smash through the wall? Can¡¯t you see how unstable this place is already? What if it collapses when you strike it?¡± Mu Qingyu yelped yet again. There were restrictions along the walls of the stone chamber to hold the structure in place. Even if Shang Xia destroyed some of it earlier, most of the restrictions were still intact. If he really tried to smash through the wall forcefully, the chamber might collapse before they located the tunnel. ¡°Heh¡­ There¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t split apart with my sword. I¡¯ll find the tunnel straight away¡­.¡± As soon as he spoke, his slash landed on the wall. Countless sword lights emerged from the tip of the sword and crashed heavily into the wall face. A dull ringing could be heard as the thick stone wall was torn apart like tofu. A tiny tunnel that could barely fit two people appeared. ¡°What are you waiting for?! Hurry up and get out!¡± Shang Xia yelled before rushing out of the stone chamber. Mu Qingyu snapped back to reality and realized that rocks were already starting to fall on her. She didn¡¯t delay anymore as she quickly followed behind Shang Xia. Well, Shang Xia had already given her a chance at life after opening the tunnel. He wasn¡¯t crazy enough to wait for her before running out himself. By the time she entered the tunnel, Shang Xia was nowhere to be seen! Biting her lips, she rushed forward as quickly as she could. As Shang Xia continued to run, a trace of anxiety filled his heart. He suddenly realized the problem that had been at the back of his mind since he learned that Liu Jitang was killed! For them to die so quickly¡­ There could only be one possibility. Martial Dipper! No matter what type of existence it was, a Martial Dipper Realm expert could suppress everything in their way! The scarier thing was that no one knew where the Martial Dipper Realm expert was now that it had escaped from those bronze gates! What in the world did a Martial Dipper Realm existence entail? One would understand once they looked at Kou Chongxue! He could control an entire region by himself! In the past twenty years, he practically held up the entire You Continent alone! Even with the other continents¡¯ plots and schemes, the existence of Kou Chongxue alone was more than enough to stop them from achieving their goals! With his strength, he established the Tongyou Institution that controlled the only access to the battlefield between two worlds! Even though the Tongyou Institution boasted considerable power in the Coral Forest at that moment with Ji Wenlong, Shang Bo, Shang Ke, and the other geniuses of the younger generation, none of that would mean a thing in the face of a Martial Dipper Realm expert! In fact, they might face extermination! The accumulations of the Tongyou Institution would be wiped out if the Martial Dipper Realm existence moved against them. The most important thing Shang Xia needed to do was to inform everyone of their existence immediately! However, the way to do it was a whole other problem. It was possible for him to run out there and start screaming at the top of his lungs. Ji Wenlong and the other experts might hear him, but it was also more than likely he would be killed with a single slap right after he did it. After all, six Martial Extermination Realm experts were fighting. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t even be considered a speck of dust before their combined strength. ¡°Alas¡­ This entire place is sealed off by restrictions. I can¡¯t use any sort of method to communicate with others¡­ If only I was able to use some transmission talismans¡­ Even if the report or message was shattered by the shockwaves of their battle, I won¡¯t be in any danger at all!¡± Shang Xia ran towards the end of the tunnel, but thoughts filled his mind. An idea appeared in his head suddenly. ¡°Right! The tiny mountain hovering in front of the gates¡­¡± Shang Xia recalled what he had seen in the image earlier. Even though Liu Jitang and the other expert were dead, the tiny mountain was still located outside the bronze gates! Perhaps, that was the key to the entire Coral Forest! As long as he found the tiny mountain, Shang Xia might be able to control the entire region. He might be able to broadcast the existence of a Martial Dipper Realm expert from the Zhu Family! Of course, he knew that it wouldn¡¯t be easy. Shang Xia was starting to hesitate. He didn¡¯t know if he would choose to sacrifice himself in order to save everyone else. After all, he would be risking his life if he tried to obtain the key to the Coral Forest. When he was still stuck in a state of contemplation, an undead corpse pounced towards him. He failed to notice its presence due to his occupied mind! Instinctively, he waved his sword and released his strongest strike! In the narrow tunnel, his Yin Yang Sword Formation made its debut! The frightening power formed a sword formation that completely destroyed the rank three undead corpse! Fire and ice, softness and hardness, void and reality. Three pairs of opposing qi tore the rank three undead corpse to shreds! It couldn¡¯t be more dead if it tried! Shang Xia gasped in shock at his newfound strength. He didn¡¯t expect his martial intent to be so strong right after he comprehended it. After all, he hadn¡¯t familiarized himself with it. According to his estimations, it might even be stronger than Sun Haiwei¡¯s martial intent! Who would have thought that it would display such tyrannical might?! One had to know that the undead corpse he killed was already at the third rank! Not too long ago, he and Sun Haiwei had to risk their lives in order to kill the rank three undead corpse in the essence qi stone mine. Now, a creature at that level couldn¡¯t even take a single hit from Shang Xia! One even had to take into account that Shang Xia¡¯s Yin Yang Sword Formation had the ability to be advanced! In the future, how strong would it be?! Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°Damn¡­ The Yin Yang Sword Formation uses too damn much inner qi! If not for the fact that I possess a greater reserve of inner qi, I would have been sucked dry! If anyone at the same level tried to use the Yin Yang Sword Formation, they¡¯ll probably become a withered corpse if they use it twice in a row¡­¡± Shang Xia celebrated silently. All of a sudden, he felt that something was wrong. CH 165 ¡°Wait a minute. Why am I wasting time with these undead corpses?¡± Shang Xia recalled that the Vermillion Plaque had the miraculous effect of getting the undead corpses to ignore him. Of course, he had to use the same type of qi they used in order to activate the plaque. If Shang Xia had the blood of the Zhu Family flowing in his veins, it would bring about even greater effects. Too bad it wasn¡¯t possible. Changing his Yin Yang Essence Qi to light and heavy qi, the Vermillion Plaque started to glow a strange red. Shang Xia increased his speed once again and ran into another undead corpse. Raising his guard, he slowed down as he approached. As the undead corpse heard his footsteps, it turned to stare at Shang Xia. However, it didn¡¯t show any signs of aggression. Heaving a sigh of relief, Shang Xia ran around the undead corpse before running towards the exit. With the Vermillion Plaque in hand, he didn¡¯t seem to run into any more trouble. However, the same couldn¡¯t be said for Mu Qingyu. She didn¡¯t own a Vermillion Plaque, and she thought that following behind Shang Xia would ensure her safety, but she couldn¡¯t be more wrong. She wasn¡¯t as strong as Shang Xia, and she didn¡¯t possess as many life-saving methods as him. With her cultivation base, there wasn''t a need to talk about rank three undead corpses. Even rank two undead corpses would pose a massive problem. The tunnel was extremely narrow, and she couldn¡¯t avoid them completely. She couldn¡¯t scream and shout either for fear of catching their attention. She was eventually stuck in the tunnel. Shang Xia had long since tossed Mu Qingyu to the back of his mind. As he charged forward at full speed, it didn¡¯t take long before he saw the light at the end. He eventually slowed down to approach the exit cautiously. The inner qi in his body circulated endlessly as he got ready for any surprises that might happen. ¡­ Ji Wenlong could also feel that something was terribly off. He wasn¡¯t the only one. Dongfang Daying could also tell that something was wrong. His gaze shifted constantly as he looked in every direction. They had been fighting for some time, and the shockwaves should have swept through the lands. The huge commotion should have alerted Liu Jitang and Murong Tianlan no matter how occupied they were! Even so, the two of them were nowhere to be seen! Were they hiding in some corner or were they actually held back by something?! There were four extremely powerful Martial Extermination Realm experts in the Zhu Family. Other than the three undead corpses Ji Wenlong and the others were fighting, there was an even more terrifying Zhu Tong! Zhu Tong was the patriarch of the Zhu Family, and his cultivation was one step away from reaching the Martial Dipper Realm. It didn¡¯t make sense that Zhu Tong would be missing after the other three showed up. There had been rumors that Zhu Tong had entered the Martial Dipper Realm, but those were merely rumors. If that were true¡­ ¡­ Shang Xia left the tunnel and arrived at a courtyard that had long since been leveled to the ground. There were burnt marks on the ground and a layer of frost close by. Even if Shang Xia used his buttocks to think, he knew that it was done by Zhu Ying. There were several burnt herbs on the ground, and even though Shang Xia couldn¡¯t recognize most of them, he could tell that they were once treasures. Herbs grown in the Zhu Family Manor were naturally much more precious than those outside! After twenty years of growth and nurturing from the heaven and earth qi in the surrounding, they might have already reached the third or even fourth rank! Shang Xia made a conservative estimate and felt that he would at least be able to gather enough herbs for three advancement formulas at the third rank! ¡°This bastard would rather destroy everything than let any power get their hands on it¡­¡± Shang Xia sneered. He thought that he would face Zhu Ying¡¯s sneak attack when he emerged, but he was wrong. Not a soul could be seen! Looking at the ruined herbs, Shang Xia felt his heart aching. There were several tablets placed around the courtyard, but most of the words on them had already been scraped off. Even though there were some remnant marks, it was nearly impossible for anyone to read what had been written on the tablets. It seemed as though the information recorded on them were quite important! Could they be records of the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance? However, Shang Xia thought about the advancement formula he saw on the wall back in the stone chamber and realized that it wasn¡¯t really possible. The inheritance couldn¡¯t possibly be recorded on the tablets as there was not enough space! An inheritance contained a lot of things! From advancement formulas to martial arts¡­There could also be secret arts that supplemented the inheritance! Even so, it was highly possible that those tablets contained some sort of martial arts not related to the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance. With their long and powerful history, it wouldn¡¯t be weird if those tablets recorded martial arts suitable for cultivators of different levels. There might even be manuals for weapon crafting, medicine refining, and talisman drawing! Well, whatever. It was too late for him to do anything now. All that was left were empty tablets. Shang Xia examined everything in the courtyard before coming to a conclusion about where Zhu Ying escaped to. He didn¡¯t hesitate to give chase. When he took his first step, Ji Wenlong¡¯s voice rang through the Zhu Family Manor yet again. ¡°There¡¯s no need to hold back anymore! Finish the battle immediately! Something is wrong! We can¡¯t drag things out any further.¡± As soon as he spoke, four pillars of light tore through the skies as he attacked Zhu Kuang, the strongest of the three. Dongfang Daying no longer held back. He summoned his extermination origins as three colored light filled the air. They turned into a giant eagle in the skies and it swooped downwards at his opponent. The resulting shockwave filled the manor. Even though Lang Xiaoyun didn¡¯t know much about the Zhu Family, he could tell that something was up from the way the other two were acting. He no longer held back as a giant moon appeared above his head. It glowed with three different colors as it swallowed the undead corpse below. Shang Xia¡¯s expression changed when he heard Ji Wenlong¡¯s voice. He could tell that the voice came from inside the Zhu Family Manor, but it was extremely muffled. Could there be a separate space somewhere?! If that were true, Shang Xia realized one extremely important fact. He might be the one in a separate space! In fact, he should be somewhere close to the bronze gate! Even though he had already prepared himself, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t shake the fear he felt. When he thought about how he might run into the rank five undead corpse¡­ His legs threatened to give way. It was too late to turn back now. He could only grit his teeth and proceed onward. He realized that after he left the tunnel, he didn¡¯t run into any undead corpses. A trace of unease filled his heart. Was it possible that the rank five undead corpse had the ability to rally all the other undead corpses? If that were true¡­ Shang Xia threw himself on the ground suddenly and he felt a gust of wind blowing against his face. Two rank three corpses threw themselves at him. With the sudden change in situation, Shang Xia was unable to use his martial intent in time. He drew his swords in order to make a desperate counterattack. His martial intent might be powerful, but at the end of the day, he was only a mere Martial Extremity Realm cultivator. Like a ragged doll, he was thrown about by the undead corpses. He managed to block off most of the critical attacks thrown his way, but he still felt a dull ache deep in his body. ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Laughter rang through the air as a figure appeared several dozen feet behind the undead corpses. Zhu Ying had a haughty expression as he sneered at Shang Xia, ¡°I knew you would follow me. It¡¯s too late now.¡± After he spoke, a sinister glint flashed through his eyes and he pointed at Shang Xia, ¡°Kill him!¡± The two rank three undead corpses weren¡¯t the only ones present. Eight other undead corpses appeared to surround Shang Xia. Zhu Ying actually had the ability to control the undead corpse! The situation just turned even worse! Shang Xia tried to suppress his shock as he avoided the attacks of the two rank three corpses that appeared initially. However, he was completely surrounded. This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. A cold smile could be seen on Zhu Ying¡¯s face before he disappeared yet again. Back in the stone chamber, Zhu Ying spat out a mouthful of blood on Shang Xia to attract the undead corpses. He already knew that he had the bloodline of the Zhu Family and could influence the behavior of the undead corpses. Shang Xia managed to comprehend his martial extremity intent back in the stone chamber, but Zhu Ying also managed to run into some fortunate encounters. He learned the way to control the undead corpses! What in the world happened to the Zhu Family in the past? Were they already expecting their family members to turn into undead corpses?! Why in the world would they develop a way to control undead corpses otherwise?! A thought flashed through Shang Xia¡¯s mind but he was too occupied with dealing with those undead corpses. There were four rank three corpses among them and Shang Xia was instantly thrown into a dangerous situation. The only reason he could hold out was because he reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm! Otherwise, he would have died several times over! Stabbing his Delicate Jade River Sword towards the group of undead corpses, he managed to push them back slightly. The other sword in his other hand crumbled after enduring Shang Xia¡¯s Yin Yang Essence Qi. As the shards fell to the ground, they were surrounded by Shang Xia¡¯s sword intent as they rose into the air once again. Spinning around him, every single shard emitted a soft glow. Rotating faster and faster, the sword qi that enveloped those shards started to expand. Eventually, a cage of sword qi surrounded the undead corpses that were attacking Shang Xia. CH 166 His sword formation was finally deployed. It was like a tiny world filled with sword qi, and that seemed to be the essence of his Yin Yang Sword Formation! It was Shang Xia¡¯s third time using the Yin Yang Sword Formation. Every time he used it, he would gain a deeper understanding of his martial intent. In his desperation, he gained an extremely important insight. One sword, one world! That was the key to his Yin Yang Sword Formation! The only problem was that his martial intent sucked up too much inner qi! It hadn¡¯t been long since he comprehended his martial intent in the stone chamber. Since he hadn¡¯t taken a break to recover after releasing his martial intent thrice, the amount of Yin Yang Essence Qi left in his dantian was sparse! At best, he had 30 percent of inner qi left! Even with his deep reserves, he estimated that he would only be able to use the Yin Yang Sword Formation four times when he was at his peak state before exhausting himself! If anyone else were to train in the Yin Yang Sword Formation, things would get awkward when they realized that they couldn¡¯t last more than twice! Was there a need to mention that the Yin Yang Sword Formation could still advance? Once Shang Xia comprehended how to increase the types of qi in the sword formation, the amount of inner qi needed to sustain the technique would be incredibly high! Moreover, if he used the full strength of the formation every time, there would be a lot of energy wasted if the sword qi dissipated without striking the opponent. As such, Shang Xia decided that he had to control his martial intent to the greatest degree possible. He would ensure that no energy was wasted, and he could greatly reduce the strain on his meridians. What was done was done. Shang Xia felt a dull aching in his heart when he noticed the undead corpses around him getting torn to shreds. The power contained in his Yin Yang Sword Formation was so tyrannical that it destroyed everything! Even if the undead corpses had anything valuable on them, everything would have been turned to dust. Of course, it was more likely that Zhu Ying had already taken everything of value from their bodies. Not only did the guy possess a Vermillion Plaque, but he could also even control the undead corpses! If not for the annoying bastard, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t have been attacked! Sucking in a cold breath, Shang Xia circulated his inner qi once again. He needed to replenish all the energy he could in case anything else happened. His pale face started to regain some color. Staring at the shards that had fallen to the ground, Shang Xia sighed. He wasted a perfectly good weapon yet again. Even though the sword wasn¡¯t a graded weapon, it was still made from valuable materials! It was worth quite a bit! Whatever the case, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with a mere weapon at the moment. His gaze landed on the pavilion where Zhu Ying disappeared. What secrets did it hold? When Shang Xia was thinking of whether he should enter, the pillars holding the pavilion exploded as a black shadow soared into the skies. It moved so quickly that Shang Xia could only see a blur. Even though he couldn¡¯t see its facial features, Shang Xia felt a chill running down his spine. From what Mu Qingyu said earlier, a black shadow appeared and tore Liu Jitang and the other expert beside him to shreds. The black figure¡­ When Shang Xia felt that his life was about to come to an end, he saw the black figure tearing a hole through space. He could see several surprised expressions on the other side of the hole, and that included Ji Wenlong¡¯s shocked face! By the time the spatial hole closed, the black figure was nowhere to be seen. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t believe he just escaped death, but before he could heave a sigh of relief, he saw another stone wall standing tall in the pavilion that exploded earlier. There was a bronze gate that was slightly open sitting in the middle of the wall, and a gloomy chamber sat behind it. Intricate runes filled the ground inside the gate, and there was a tiny mountain that hovered in mid air. Shang Xia noticed Zhu Ying standing beside the tiny mountain as he reached towards it carefully. Zhu Ying clearly didn¡¯t expect Shang Xia to escape the assault of the undead corpses so quickly. He was so shocked that he forgot what he was doing in the first place. With his mouth wide open, he stared at Shang Xia in shock. He controlled so many undead corpses to attack the man! There were even four of them at the third rank! Even a Martial Intent Realm expert would have been torn to shreds by the combined might of the undead corpses, much less Shang Xia who was only at the Martial Extremity Realm! However, reality proved him wrong¡­ The undead corpses were nowhere to be seen! Zhu Ying withdrew his hand and his eyelids twitched violently. He muttered to himself, ¡°Damn it. I shouldn¡¯t have trusted the undead corpse-controlling technique¡­ How can it fail at the last second?!¡± He obviously didn¡¯t believe that Shang Xia was able to deal with so many undead corpses without suffering many injuries. He would rather believe that the undead corpses left his control. If a few of them ran off by themselves, he felt that Shang Xia still had the ability to deal with the stragglers that were left. After all, Shang Xia also had a Vermillion Plaque. His cultivation was profound, and from what Zhu Ying saw previously in the stone chamber, Shang Xia also had the method to make undead corpses avoid him. Everything could be blamed on the fact that Shang Xia¡¯s Yin Yang Sword Formation was too damn powerful. It destroyed everything in his path, and not a speck of those undead corpses was left. No one could blame Zhu Ying for thinking that way. ¡°I thought that my Zhu Family and the Tongyou Institution were the only ones who possessed the unique way to control the Vermillion Plaque. Who would have thought that your Shang Clan had also been scheming against us¡­ They even taught you how to use light and heavy qi!¡± Zhu Ying revealed a sinister smile. His brain had already started to malfunction since god knew how long ago, and he started to walk towards Shang Xia slowly. Shang Xia¡¯s expression sank. Even though Zhu Ying had been beaten up badly in the stone chamber, he looked extremely confident now. He seemed to have gotten some sort of trump card that could allow him to defeat Shang Xia. ¡°Are you not afraid that I¡¯ll kill you?¡± Shang Xia asked. Pausing for a second, a snort escaped Zhu Ying¡¯s lips. ¡°You can try¡­¡± Even though he had spoken so confidently, he stopped moving entirely. He didn¡¯t dare to close in on Shang Xia any longer. No longer looking at Zhu Ying, Shang Xia¡¯s gaze turned to the tiny mountain hovering in mid air before asking casually, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± A trace of anger flashed in Zhu Ying¡¯s eyes, and he snapped in irritation, ¡°Why should I tell you?!¡± Shang Xia seemed to have expected the answer already. He followed up with several questions, ¡°Did you release the black figure earlier?¡± ¡°Hahaha, are you afraid now?! Do you know who that was?¡± Zhu Ying sneered. He stared at Shang Xia like he was staring at a dead man. However, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with him. Instead, he asked even more questions of his own. ¡°How can you consider yourself a disciple of the Tongyou Institution?¡± A flustered expression appeared on Zhu Ying¡¯s face for a moment, but he quickly suppressed his feelings. ¡°Why should I care about the Tongyou Institution?! It only accepted me and treated me as a disciple because they wanted to use me to obtain the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance! I¡­¡± Before he could finish, Shang Xia asked yet another question. ¡°What¡¯s behind those gates?¡± ¡°Shang¡­ Xia¡­¡± Zhu Ying spat his name out word by word and snapped, ¡°You¡¯re going too far!¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t even have to do anything as Zhu Ying pointed at him and started running his mouth. ¡°Do you even know who left earlier?! It¡¯s the patriarch of my Zhu Family, Zhu Tong! All of you¡­ All of you will die here today!¡± Shang Xia sneered in contempt. ¡°Isn¡¯t it just an undead corpse?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand anything! The old patriarch managed to break through to the fifth level¡­ The Martial Dipper Realm! Do you even know what that means?!¡± Zhu Ying roared. ¡°A rank five undead corpse?¡± Shang Xia raised a single eyebrow. Even though he looked calm on the surface, waves were crashing against his fragile heart. That was a true rank five undead corpse! His worst fears came true! It was an extremely terrifying existence! If it managed to escape from the Coral Forest, it would be able to sweep through the battlefield between two worlds unhindered! No¡­ I have to stop it. At the very least, I need to inform the members of the institution! We have to avoid the rank five undead corpse at all cost! Even though Shang Xia was burning with anxiety, he forced himself to maintain his calm expression. He was trying to buy enough time to recover some inner qi. After all, he exhausted a huge portion of it several moments ago! A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. ¡°Hehehe¡­¡± Zhu Ying, who looked a little out of it, cackled violently. ¡°I know¡­ You¡­ You''re afraid! Hahaha! You¡¯re trying to provoke me in order to look for my weakness! You¡¯re afraid that I¡¯ll be able to control Zhu Tong with my technique to control undead corpses. You think you¡¯ll be able to deal with the rank five undead corpse as long as you deal with me! Hahaha! You¡¯re probably gathering energy in order to deal with me! Hahaha¡­ You¡¯re too naive!¡± Shang Xia sneered in his heart, but a frown formed on his face as he responded to Zhu Ying. ¡°You¡­ How did you know?! If you can¡¯t control the rank five undead corpse, it would have already torn you to shreds the moment it emerged! How¡­ How are you still alive?¡± ¡°Hah¡­ You¡¯re truly hopeless. How can you be so ignorant?¡± Zhu Ying snorted. Shang Xia¡¯s expression sank and he growled, ¡°Ignorant or not¡­ Wouldn¡¯t I learn everything once I kill you?¡± Zhu Ying couldn¡¯t help but roar with laughter after hearing what he said. A mocking smile appeared on his face. ¡°Do you really think you can kill me?¡± After speaking, a terrifying wave of energy emerged from his body. His divine sense became a formless pressure that pressed down on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulders! He managed to enter the Martial Intent Realm! CH 167 The aura Zhu Ying radiated reached another level. Shang Xia felt as though the weight of a mountain was pressing down on his shoulders as the space around him became slightly more viscous. He was no longer able to move about as easily as before. For someone like Shang Xia who wasn¡¯t foreign to Martial Intent Realm experts, he knew that he was currently locked on by a Martial Intent Realm¡¯s divine sense! It hadn¡¯t been long since the battle in the stone chamber. Even though Zhu Ying was in the Martial Extremity Realm back then, he managed to enter the Martial Intent Realm after escaping from Shang Xia! This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Even though Shang Xia was taken aback, he didn¡¯t feel excessively shocked by Zhu Ying¡¯s improvement. After all, Shang Xia managed to comprehend his Yin Yang Sword Formation! If he was able to do something like that, it wouldn¡¯t come as a surprise that Zhu Ying could advance to the Martial Intent Realm. The only thing Shang Xia had to admit was that Zhu Ying¡¯s luck was indeed extraordinary. After all, cultivators would have a higher success rate of entering the Martial Intent Realm if they comprehended their martial intent at the Martial Extremity Realm and entered the grand completion stage. Zhu Ying¡¯s plan to comprehend his martial intent was thwarted by Shang Xia when he appeared in the stone chamber. Yet, Zhu Ying was able to step into the Martial Intent Realm smoothly. It was the same when he entered the Martial Extremity Realm. He didn¡¯t comprehend his martial intent in the Martial Realm, but he was still successful in breaking through to the Martial Extremity Realm. It seemed as though the Liu Clan gave him quite a bit of help. That was probably the reason behind Zhu Ying¡¯s decision to bring Mu Qingyu with him into the Coral Forest. He planned to use her as his cultivation furnace to comprehend his martial extremity intent, but his plot was shattered by the sudden appearance of Shang Xia. Due to his failure to comprehend his martial intents before breaking through, his strength suffered somewhat of a great hit. Unlike Shang Xia who received a comprehensive increase in strength, Zhu Ying¡¯s improvement was barely acceptable. Of course, no one could deny that a Martial Intent Realm expert was a true powerhouse. His divine sense was frighteningly powerful. Staring at Shang Xia¡¯s fluctuating expression, Zhu Ying felt extremely proud in his heart. He couldn¡¯t conceal the joy he felt and he sneered, ¡°Are you afraid now? It¡¯s too late! If you kneel and kowtow right now, I might be generous enough to leave you alive!¡± Shang Xia sighed softly while shaking his head. Happiness blossomed in Zhu Ying¡¯s heart as he felt that Shang Xia was finally accepting his fate. ¡°Hah. I bet you regret everything you did! Kneel and repent! If you beg me hard enough, I¡¯ll allow you to live!¡± Shang Xia raised an eyebrow and stared at the delusional man. ¡°Hey, hey, hey, where did you get your confidence from? Do you really think that you¡¯re stronger than me now that you entered the Martial Intent Realm? I haven''t said a word and you¡¯re running your mouth off. Hah. Did you forget what happened when you challenged me in the past?¡± In the Tongyou Institution, Shang Xia managed to defeat Zhu Ying even though Zhu Ying was one realm ahead of him. Zhu Ying¡¯s defeat in the battle had been his greatest humiliation. Not even Mu Qingyu¡¯s breaking of their engagement came close to the shame he felt! After the battle, Zhu Ying decisively entered the battlefield between the two worlds to look for his own opportunities. He even disdained traveling with the rest of the disciples. His appearance allowed Liu Jitang to bring forward his plans of entering the Coral Forest. Liu Jitang¡¯s desire for the Zhu Family Inheritance was clear for all to see. Zhu Ying¡¯s appearance allowed him to accelerate his actions. Everything would be alright if Shang Xia didn¡¯t bring up the humiliating battle, but how could he allow Zhu Ying to blabber on as he wished? A flash of hatred crossed Zhu Ying¡¯s eyes and he roared, ¡°Since you wish to die, I¡¯ll grant your wish!¡± A short blade appeared in Zhu Ying¡¯s hand as soon as he spoke. It was the mid¨Cgrade weapon he wanted to use in the battle back at the institution. As soon as his blade emerged, his divine sense started to gather around him. A large knife formed from heaven and earth qi gathered in the air above Shang Xia as it threatened to destroy the space around him. ¡°Do you really think that the same thing will happen again? Hah! The gap between cultivation levels will only increase as we grow stronger! The ability to use divine sense is a fundamental transformation for cultivators who reached the Martial Intent Realm! I can suppress anyone at a lower cultivation level! Hah! Now, you won¡¯t be able to avoid my strike! Have a taste of a Martial Intent Realm expert¡¯s divine sense!¡± Zhu Ying roared. Ever since entering the Martial Intent Realm, everything he did became faster, including speaking! In the short span of time it took the blade to fall, he managed to spout so much bullshit! The power of the strike wasn¡¯t bad at all! It contained the power of fire and ice, and it was comparable to the Triple Strike Shang Xia experienced in the past! With his divine sense to supplement his strike, it became even more powerful than a martial intent comprehended by ordinary Martial Extremity Realm experts! Shang Xia was no fool. He wouldn¡¯t take on an attack like that head-on! He wanted to use his Irregular Steps to avoid it. However, Zhu Ying¡¯s divine sense did a great job at restricting his movements. The blade in the air chopped accurately towards him. ¡°Go to hell!¡± Zhu Ying roared as he released all the pent-up anger he had in his heart. A sneer appeared on his face as he thought about how Shang Xia would die a horrible death. In fact, he seemed to have already seen Shang Xia¡¯s mutilated corpse after his blade had fallen. When his blade finally fell, Zhu Ying stared at Shang Xia with a trace of anticipation in his eyes. The person who had humiliated him was finally going to die! Oh, how wrong was he¡­ The look of desperation he wanted to see on Shang Xia¡¯s face was nowhere in sight. Instead, a look of ridicule was plastered on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Is that it?¡± His voice rang indifferently in Zhu Ying¡¯s mind as flames of rage rampaged in the depths of his heart. ¡°How dare he¡­ How dare he act like this?! He should be begging me to let him live!¡± Zhu Ying¡¯s face twisted in anger. However, a look of terror soon replaced it. His giant blade formed from heaven and earth qi seemed to be devoured by a massive ball of sword light. Even after absorbing the giant blade, the ball of light didn¡¯t seem contented. A ray of sword light emerged and dragged Zhu Ying into it. ¡°How is this possible¡­¡± Zhu Ying stammered. When the sword light finally dissipated, an extra corpse could be seen under Shang Xia¡¯s feet. Blood could be seen flowing out from the back of the corpse¡¯s head. ¡°Nice. At least I didn¡¯t turn him into mush this time¡­¡± Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief. The sound of clattering could be heard as Zhu Ying¡¯s blade fell to the ground. It stabbed pretty deep and Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°Hmm, this brat wasn¡¯t wrong. It wasn¡¯t easy for me to jump ranks and defeat him. The gap between higher cultivation realms gets larger indeed¡­ When I was in the Martial Realm and he was at the Martial Extremity Realm, it took me one move to get rid of him. Now that I¡¯m at the Martial Extremity Realm and he¡¯s at the Martial Intent Realm, it took me a move and a half!¡± Shang Xia casually stepped forward to pull the blade out from the ground. ¡°Rumble¡­¡± Even after getting his hands on a mid-grade weapon, not a shred of joy could be seen on Shang Xia¡¯s face. Instead, he stared at the ground that had been sliced open by the blade intently. He saw that the runes that had been part of a large formation had already been severed. The moment he pulled the knife out earlier, the flow of heaven and earth qi in the surrounding changed. The tiny mountain that was hovering in mid air trembled violently. A wisp of heaven and earth qi emerged from the formation, forming a spatial door. The instant it formed, a massive roar caused Shang Xia¡¯s heart to shake. Looking through it, Shang Xia saw a figure clad in black robes with a sunken face. That was Dongfang Daying of the Rose Party, and he spat out a mouthful of blood as a punch landed on him. The rank five undead corpse that used to be the patriarch of the Zhu Family, Zhu Tong, was fighting the mighty Martial Extermination Realm cultivators! On the other side, Shang Xia saw Ji Wenlong¡¯s blade cutting down towards the freakish creature. Every time his blade fell, a giant blade formed from heaven and earth qi would fall with it. It would increase in strength ever so often, and by the time Ji Wenlong¡¯s blade reached its target, the power contained in the giant blade had already increased by four times! Ji Wenlong wanted to make a decisive strike on the rank five corpse, but he didn¡¯t expect it to injure Dongfang Daying so quickly! Everything happened in the blink of an eye. By the time Dongfang Daying fell, Shang Xia could see that the rank five undead corpse was moving towards Ji Wenlong. However, the figure of the undead corpse paused for a second. It ignored the blade falling towards it and it turned around to stare straight into Shang Xia¡¯s eyes through the spatial door. Ji Wenlong saw the bewildered expression on Shang Xia¡¯s face too. ¡°Run!¡± That was the only word he could say before his voice was drowned out by a heaven-shaking roar from the undead corpse. The rank five undead corpse¡¯s withered arms reached towards Shang Xia. The distance between them seemed nonexistent as the undead corpse threatened to grab Shang Xia through the spatial gate. Jumping in fright, Shang Xia realized that he had no idea what to do! He wasn¡¯t affected by divine sense, and he wasn¡¯t suppressed by any sort of aura. However, he felt as though the world was collapsing before him. Shang Xia¡¯s body froze as he stared at the arm reaching towards him. His awe-inspiring behavior when he killed Zhu Ying earlier was nowhere to be seen! Just as he was about to close his eyes and wait for death, Ji Wenlong¡¯s blade struck the undead corpse¡¯s back. Rumble¡­ Shang Xia didn¡¯t know how much damage Ji Wenlong¡¯s strike would do to the undead corpse, but he noticed that the arm had paused for one second. He seemed to regain some sort of ability to move and a ray of divine light flashed through his mind. Shang Xia released the blade in his hand and it stabbed into the ground below. ¡°Buzz¡­¡± The space around him started to shift again as the heaven and earth qi returned to their original flow. The spatial door disappeared immediately, and the killing intent Shang Xia felt dissipated. The only disturbance left was the ripples in space created by the rank five undead corpse when it reached towards Shang Xia earlier. Shang Xia fell butt-first into the ground, and he gasped for breath. His clothes were completely drenched with his perspiration, and he forced himself to raise his head to look at the tiny mountain hovering in mid air. Now that the blade had returned to the ground, it seemed as though everything had returned to normal. CH 168 Shang Xia had been through countless tribulations. However, that was the first time he felt so helpless. If not for Ji Wenlong stopping the rank five undead corpse for a second, Shang Xia would have already been dead. Slowly regaining his wit, Shang Xia propped himself up from the ground. His gaze landed on the blade that was stabbed into the ground. The blade had already severed part of the formation, but the strange thing was, it would only malfunction when he pulled out the blade! When he finally regained some of his energy, Shang Xia started to inspect the region around the blade. He could tell that the grand formation was still working as the heaven and earth qi in the air could still flow through the blade as its medium. In other words, the material that made up the blade was extremely special. It could guide the flow of heaven and earth qi! What a damn coincidence¡­ When Shang Xia was still stuck in a state of shock, he started to regret his actions. He shouldn¡¯t have retrieved the blade previously. Now, everyone knew of his existence! Whatever was done was done. He couldn¡¯t forget the purpose of his trip. However, before doing anything, Shang Xia decided to search Zhu Ying¡¯s corpse. Grabbing the dead man¡¯s Embroidered Cloud Case, Shang Xia realized that it was even better than his own! Zhu Ying¡¯s Embroidered Cloud Case could contain three cubic feet worth of space! Looking through everything inside, Shang Xia realized that it was packed to the brim with goodies. However, a look of disappointment soon appeared on his face. He didn¡¯t find any of the treasures belonging to either Liu Jitang or the other Martial Extermination Realm expert in Zhu Ying¡¯s spatial artifact! The two of them were clearly beaten to death by the rank five undead corpse, and Zhu Ying was the first to arrive. How could he not have searched through their bodies? Shang Xia looked around carefully, but there wasn¡¯t a need to mention their remaining treasures. Even their corpses were nowhere to be seen! ¡°Did their items turn into dust after they were killed by the undead corpse? Did it eat their bodies too? Is that why everything is gone?!¡± Shang XIa muttered to himself. A chill ran down Shang Xia¡¯s spine when he thought about their gruesome end. However, when he recalled that all the treasures they brought with them were gone too, the discomfort he felt when thinking about their gruesome fate disappeared. One had to know that Liu Jitang and the other Martial Extermination Realm expert were at the peak of the power pyramid when they entered the Coral Forest. They were also the first to enter the Zhu Family Manor. Even if he used his buttocks to think, he would realize that they gained the most during their trip! Zhu Ying might be able to sneak in some benefits for himself with his advantage of being a member of the Zhu Family, but there was no way he would have gathered more treasures than the two of them. After all, the disparity in strength was too large! A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. Even after he entered the Martial Intent Realm, he was still far from their match! Anyway, they already died when he entered the Martial Intent Realm¡­ Everything he obtained previously were things Liu Jitang couldn¡¯t be bothered with. However, judging from Zhu Ying¡¯s intelligence, he probably didn¡¯t realize it. He was probably congratulating himself for being smarter than Liu Jitang! Alas, everything he did fell into Shang Xia¡¯s hands. ¡°Why didn¡¯t the undead corpse attack Zhu Ying anyway? Hmm, it probably has something to do with his bloodline and his Vermillion Plaque¡­¡± Shang Xia thought out loud. ¡°From his actions, he probably has a way to control the undead corpses. However, it probably has some pretty serious limitations. If I didn¡¯t guess wrongly, he should be able to control undead corpses whose cultivation level doesn¡¯t exceed his own!¡± ¡°Is there another possibility that the rank five undead corpse managed to retain some of its own memory?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression turned solemn. He recalled the expression on the undead corpse¡¯s face when the spatial door opened earlier. It ignored Ji Wenlong completely in order to grab a mere Martial Extermination Realm cultivator like Shang Xia! How could an undead corpse reveal an expression like that? Moreover, why would an undead corpse be angry if it hadn¡¯t regained some sort of consciousness? Was it angry that Shang Xia managed to sneak deep into his territory? Shang Xia stared at the bronze gate in the distance and saw the blood leaking out from Zhu Ying¡¯s brain. Could that be the reason? If his guesses were true, things weren¡¯t looking good for Shang Xia. After all, that would mean that he was a target for a rank five undead corpse! He was struck speechless for a long time. Only when he realized that scaring himself wasn¡¯t the best plan did he wake up from his shock. An idea flashed through his mind all of a sudden. He placed all of Zhu Ying¡¯s treasures into his own Embroidered Cloud Case before stuffing Zhu Ying¡¯s body into his own Embroidered Cloud Case. Next, he finally cleaned away any signs of battle and Zhu Ying¡¯s bloodstains. When he was done, his gaze turned to the tiny mountain not too far away from him. From the looks of it, the Coral Forest would shift when the tiny mountain was affected. Also, Shang Xia saw Zhu Ying carefully reaching for it when he arrived, and he knew that the tiny mountain was definitely some sort of important object. It might be the key to controlling the entire region! Walking over slowly, a trace of suspicion could be seen on Shang Xia¡¯s face. He eventually chose to reach for it. The instant he touched it, a frighteningly strong suction power came from within. Shang Xia¡¯s expression changed and he forced himself to remain calm. He transformed his Yin Yang Essence Qi to light and heavy qi before allowing it to be sucked into the tiny mountain. The tyrannical suction power was reduced by a whole lot, and the tiny mountain started to rotate slightly faster. At the same time, the formation on the ground lit up as the surrounding heaven and earth qi started to gather around the item. They formed four giant screens. Each screen displayed the scene in one of the four special regions of the Coral Forest. CH 169 Shang Xia¡¯s face turned extremely pale as his inner qi gushed out of his dantian like water out a broken dam. Luckily, Shang Xia could react quickly. When he noticed that he was the one supplying the energy to maintain the four screens, he caused three of them to crumble with a single thought. The only one that remained showed the region he was the most familiar with, the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. The strain on his inner qi instantly lessened. He realized that he could see everything in the special region as long as he willed it. Since he knew the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World pretty well, he quickly changed the view to look at the core region. A scene of devastation greeted him. Shang Xia gasped in shock. He tried to find the cause of the destruction, and he quickly locked on to a female expert who seemed to have gone crazy. She held a long sword in her hand as she smashed anything that was intact. He recognized her eventually. In fact, she was someone Shang Xia had seen before. Ran Biluo, one of the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Four Spiritual Peak! Even though he couldn¡¯t see the battle between the Martial Extermination Realm experts during the war on the Tongyou Peak, he saw her when she first appeared. The Ran Biluo he saw now as a walking disaster. She was thrashing wildly in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, and everywhere her sword light passed, destruction followed. From what he could tell, she was trying to vent her anger on something. At the rate she was going, even if Chu Jia was there to hold the fort, the protection formation would be shattered in a matter of time. When Shang Xia left, Shang Ke had only started his breakthrough. As such, he had no idea if his grandfather had already entered the Martial Extermination Realm. From the looks of things in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, Shang Xia estimated that his grandfather hadn¡¯t broken through. How could he know that Shang Ke managed to seriously injure Sima Luxing with a sneak attack before being injured by Ran Biluo? Just as Shang Xia was wondering how he could help, Ran Biluo turned to stare into the air above her. ¡°Which sneaky asshole is spying on your grandma over here?!¡± Ran Biluo yelled and her sword sliced towards the space she found fishy. The instant she attacked, Shang Xia felt her gaze on him and thought that he had been discovered. When he was about to release the screen, the image inside turned blurry. Shang Xia only managed to recover from his fright after some time. He discovered that Martial Extermination Realm experts were able to notice his spying, but their attacks were unable to break through space to arrive at the place he was in. After thinking about it, Shang Xia changed the angle of the screen to look at the core region in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. Very quickly, the blurry image disappeared. As the angle got closer to the protection formation, Shang Xia no longer hesitated. He screamed, ¡°There¡¯s a rank five undead corpse out there!¡± As soon as the words left his lips, the image turned blurry again. He wasn¡¯t shocked this time as he already expected Ran Biluo to discover his presence. Since he had done whatever he could, he decided to leave it at that for now. Another screen appeared beside him and it showed the situation in the Unstable Region. Shang Xia started to search desperately for his target now that he had a god-like wall hack system in front of him. He didn¡¯t forget about Dongfang Mingyu. The man¡¯s sword technique was something Shang Xia coveted, and since they had already formed a grudge against each other, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t going to let him off easy. Looking for someone in such a massive region wasn¡¯t easy. He quickly discovered a massive disturbance in the distance while looking for Dongfang Mingyu. It was a battle between two Martial Extermination Realm experts, and they were destroying giant islands one after another around the core region. Shang Lubing was fighting another Martial Extermination Realm expert, and even though the two of them possessed similar cultivation levels, Shang Lubing was much more experienced. His opponent only managed to fight evenly with him with the help of many lower leveled cultivators. The two of them were clearly not as strong as Ran Biluo as they didn¡¯t notice his spying. Shang Xia wanted to remind both of them of the existence of a rank five undead corpse, but Shang Xia discovered that there wasn¡¯t much of a point doing so as that might be what the Rose Party was after. He couldn¡¯t possibly transmit the information to Shang Lubing without being discovered by the other side. Whatever. If things get ugly, Shang Lubing can just make his escape. He¡¯s the only expert from the Tongyou Institution there, and if the rank five undead corpse really goes on a rampage, he could leave the members of the Rose Party behind as a distraction. Shang Xia could only focus on other regions. Realizing that there was no time for him to look for Dongfang Mingyu, Shang Xia decided to achieve his goal of reminding those of the Tongyou Institution about the rank five undead corpse before anything else. The screen showing the situation in the Unstable Region disappeared and another appeared in its place. The moment the image appeared on the screen, all Shang Xia could see was a flash of bright light before everything became blurry. A trace of joy appeared in his heart when he realized that the flash of light seemed to resemble the glow of fireflies. He changed an angle and was greeted by a sight worse than that in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. That was the core region of the Willow Forest, and it had already been turned into a wasteland. Three Martial Intent Realm experts clashed with each other violently, and the skies were filled with different colored lights. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t even see who were the ones exchanging blows. However, he knew one thing. One of the three was his grandfather, Shang Bo! Just as he was thinking about how he should reach Shang Bo, a grunt escaped Shang Bo¡¯s lips. A ray of light emerged from his Nine Firefly Lance and struck the space where Shang Xia was observing them. Shang Bo¡¯s actions were too quick and Shang Xia couldn¡¯t even react in time. He could only yell loudly, ¡°Grandpa!¡± Right before the image was destroyed, Shang Xia saw the ray of light trembling slightly. It seemed as though Shang Bo was able to hear him! Unfettered joy blossomed in Shang Xia¡¯s heart! If Shang Bo was able to hear him, he wouldn¡¯t have to bear everything alone! He quickly looked for another angle to stare at the battle between the three experts. Indeed. The moment a new image appeared on the screen, Shang Bo released a wave of energy to push the other two back. A frown formed on his face as he stared at the space Shang Xia was looking at them from. Through the screen, Shang Xia could tell that Shang Bo was staring right at him. ¡°Grandpa, it¡¯s me!¡± This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Shang Bo remained indifferent and he muttered, ¡°Are you in the manor? Is there anyone with you?¡± Shang Xia was taken aback slightly, but he quickly regained his composure. As a higher-up of the Tongyou Institution, Shang Bo probably had a lot more information on the Coral Forest. Like what Zhu Ying said previously, the Tongyou Institution had their eyes on the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance for a long time. Without Liu Jitang¡¯s hasty actions, they might have started their mission to take over the Coral Forest. Under such circumstances, for Shang Xia to be able to contact him through space, there were only two possibilities. Either he had some super expert helping him to tear through space to reach another core region in the Coral Forest, or he was currently at the core region of the Zhu Family Manor. He might even have obtained the key to the entire region! Shang Xia replied hastily, ¡°I¡¯m in the manor right now and there¡¯s no one with me¡­¡± Pausing for a second, Shang Xia moved his point of view on the battle and noticed the two other Martial Extermination Realm experts were nowhere to be seen. ¡°Grandpa, can you come over quickly? I¡¯ll give you directions¡­¡± Shang Bo seemed to have felt Shang Xia¡¯s anxiety, but he remained calm all the same. ¡°Brat, didn¡¯t I receive news that you managed to get your hands on a Vermillion Plaque?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Shang Xia raised an eyebrow in surprise. ¡°It¡¯s extremely difficult for you to control the key to the entire Coral Forest with your cultivation. Since you¡¯re able to communicate with me, you should be able to send me your Vermillion Plaque.¡± Shang Bo analyzed. With no idea how to do it, Shang Xia did the only logical thing any cultivator would do. He poured his inner qi crazily into the tiny mountain in front of him. A sudden stroke of inspiration struck him when he did that. He tossed his Vermillion Plaque towards the screen. Turning into a flash of light, the Vermillion Plaque entered the screen easily. The next thing he knew, Shang Bo reached out his hand to grab the Vermillion Plaque he tossed over. What the f¡­? Before Shang Xia could truly express his surprise, he saw two streaks of light appearing behind Shang Bo. They charged at the old man from two different directions. Shang Bo didn¡¯t seem surprised at all. After holding the plaque, he casually slashed the air before him. A spatial door was revealed and he casually stepped through it. A smile could be seen on his face. ¡°Grandpa, be careful! Behind you!¡± Shang Xia yelled in fright. However, his worries were unfounded. Shang Bo stepped directly through the spatial door and arrived before the bronze gates. He waved his hand to close the spatial door behind him and the rays of light aimed at him were nowhere to be seen. When the attacks struck the space Shang Bo was standing in previously, the image on the screen turned blurry again. A frightening amount of power tried to cross the space to attack the person on the opposite side of the screen, but Shang Bo erased any trace of their power with a flick of his sleeves. Shang Xia finally relaxed. Shang Bo swept his gaze across his surroundings before finally staring at the tiny mountain hovering beside Shang Xia. A sharp light flashed through his eyes and a look of joy was barely concealed within. ¡°Hahaha! It really is the Coral Command!¡± CH 170 ¡°Coral Command?¡± Shang Xia gasped in fright. ¡°Is this¡­ Is this the key to controlling the Coral Forest?!¡± The smile on Shang Bo¡¯s face grew wider. ¡°Looks like you know quite a lot¡­ Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that you little brat would get your hands on the Coral Command after so many Martial Extermination Realm experts arrived.¡± While he spoke, the sense of satisfaction he felt in his heart started to leak out through the arrogant smirk his smile was transforming to. It was an expression Shang Xia had hardly seen on his grandfather¡¯s face. When thoughts were still running wild in his mind, Shang Bo had already started to walk towards him with large steps. Stepping away from the tiny mountain, Shang Xia made way for his grandfather. Shang Bo reached for the Coral Command the moment he came in range. His extermination origins appeared to surround his palm as he reached over, and Shang Bo¡¯s inner qi entered the Coral Command at a terrifying speed. Shang Xia¡¯s previous attempt to control the Coral Command with his inner qi was barely acceptable when compared to his grandfather. In the blink of an eye, the Coral Command started to glow with three different colors. A fourth color would flicker from time to time as Shang Bo continued to pour his inner qi into the object. The formation under their feet shone with indescribable radiance all of a sudden as the heaven and earth qi around them started to fluctuate wildly. They turned into the four screens that appeared originally, and the situation in all four special regions played out simultaneously. The angle at which they were observing the situation was much higher than before, and their position was much more stealthy. Shang Xia turned to look at the screen that displayed the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, and he saw Ran Biluo once again. Unlike before, she was unable to detect anyone spying on her. The Coral Command clearly wasn¡¯t only used to spy on the situation in the special regions. However, that was the best Shang Xia could do with his limited cultivation level! Now that Shang Bo was there, those who had malicious plans against the Tongyou Institution were in for a world of pain. There might be more uses for the Coral Command, but it wasn¡¯t time for them to look into all of them. Shang Bo was only interested in using it to gain the largest amount of advantage over the others. However, his plans were destroyed by Shang Xia. ¡°Grandpa, there are many undead corpses in the manor. One of them even reached the fifth rank!¡± ¡°Fifth rank?¡± Shang Bo¡¯s expression turned serious and he growled, ¡°Explain everything in detail!¡± Shang Xia thought about the roar released by the rank five undead corpse and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva uneasily. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s the patriarch of the Zhu Family, Zhu Tong. He apparently turned into a rank five undead corpse and he¡¯s currently attacking Ji Wenlong, Lang Xiaoyun, and some other Martial Extermination Realm expert somewhere in the Zhu Family Manor. I accidentally opened a spatial door close to them when the battle was raging on, and Deputy Patriarch Ji saved my life¡­¡± After he spoke, he explained what happened when he pulled the blade out from the ground. He was extremely confused, but Shang Bo was even more befuddled by what was going on. Basically, everything that Shang Xia said made almost no sense to him. However, his suspicions were reduced by a whole lot after examining the blade on the ground and the formation around it. Shang Bo didn¡¯t hesitate for a second. After refining the Coral Command, he pointed at the blade in the ground. The blade shot through the air and landed in Shang Xia¡¯s hands with a single intention from Shang Bo. Fumbling to grab the blade, Shang Xia yelled in fright, ¡°Grandpa, the spatial door will open once you remove the blade! The rank five undead corpse will be able to charge its way back here!¡± The words barely left his lips when a spatial door started to form. ¡°Hurry up and keep the blade properly¡­¡± Shang Bo muttered without even looking at him. Realizing the importance of the blade, Shang Xia kept it securely into his own Embroidered Cloud Case. It seemed as though everyone in the upper echelons of the Tongyou Institution knew about Zhu Ying¡¯s plan. Shang Bo didn¡¯t wish for anyone to know that his grandson was the one who killed Zhu Ying and disrupted everyone¡¯s schemes. As such, he needed to get rid of any evidence that might lead him back to Zhu Ying! The moment the spatial door was created, the shockwaves of the battle ripped through the air. A headless undead corpse appeared all of a sudden and tried to charge through the gate. ¡°Zhu Liang?¡± Shang Bo snorted softly and his Nine Firefly Lance appeared in his hand. It stabbed straight towards the undead corpse. With its limited intelligence, the undead corpse surprisingly discovered that it had no way of escaping. It roared loudly and charged towards Shang Bo with everything it had. The specks of light floating in the air gathered together, and Shang Bo¡¯s extermination origin appeared. His Nine Firefly Lance made a beautiful arc through the skies and crushed the undead corpse directly. The withered corpse exploded with a massive bang. When that happened, an enraged cry filled the skies and a powerful energy wave swept towards them. ¡°The rank five undead corpse is here!¡± Shang Xia reminded. Ignoring Shang Xia for the time being, Shang Bo yelled, ¡°Chief Ji, over here!¡± A black shadow shook Lang Xiaoyun off before rushing straight towards the spatial door. Even though Shang Bo knew that it was the rank five undead corpse, he didn¡¯t waver in the slightest. All of a sudden, another wave of energy filled the air as Ji Wenlong¡¯s sorry figure charged over. Shang Bo and Ji Wenlong came to a tacit understanding as they moved at the same time, unleashing their full strength. Shang Xia stood behind his grandfather as he craned his neck to the side to see what was going on. A burst of light was all he could see and he was nearly blinded by the resplendent glow. He failed to catch a glimpse of what the two super experts did, and all he knew was that Shang Bo¡¯s unwavering figure stood tall before the spatial door. Shang Xia¡¯s palpitating heart calmed down slightly. Twisting his body to the side, a figure flew past Shang Bo. As soon as that happened, Shang Bo swung his Nine Firefly Lance to shatter the spatial door once again. His voice tore through the air, ¡°Hurry and shatter the restriction in case the spatial door reappears!¡± The shadow that flew past Shang Bo finally revealed himself. Shang Xia finally saw Ji Wenlong¡¯s disastrous appearance for himself. This novel is available on "pawread dot com". ¡°Hiss¡­¡± Shang Bo spat out a mouthful of blood all of a sudden. Before the blood could hit the floor, Shang Bo grabbed them in his hands before imbuing some of his inner qi into them. Waving his hands, he scattered them around the formation to fix it completely. The spatial door that was starting to reform itself dissipated in a gust of wind. Ji Wenlong crawled to his feet slowly and looked at the grandfather-grandson duo. His beard was stained with blood and his clothes weren¡¯t spared either. However, his eyes sparkled with joy as he addressed Shang Xia. ¡°Brat, you did good this time!¡± CH 171 ¡°Brat, you did good this time!¡± Ji Wenlong¡¯s gaze was full of appreciation when he looked at Shang Xia. Shang Xia nodded humbly after receiving his praise from Ji Wenlong. ¡°If not for Deputy Patriarch Ji¡¯s assistance earlier, I would have lost my life.¡± Ji Wenlong nodded and turned to the Coral Command that Shang Bo had already refined. ¡°Brother Shang, what¡¯s the plan?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going on a killing spree¡­ I mean, we¡¯re gonna kill them with a borrowed blade¡­¡± Shang Bo didn¡¯t hesitate to speak. Ji Wenlong wasn¡¯t surprised by his plan either. Instead, he nodded approvingly, ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I thought. What do you think the four spiritual lands look like now?¡± ¡°I entered the Dual Season Land and it¡¯s a complete mess now¡­¡± Shang Bo replied. ¡°How so?¡± Ji Wenlong raised an eyebrow in surprise. ¡°I found Yan Su¡¯er and she worked solely on destroying the place¡­¡± Ji Wenlong sniggered under his breath, ¡°Yeah¡­ I met Lang Xiaoyun earlier. If not for the sudden appearance of the rank four undead corpses and Zhu Tong, he would have been going on a rampage to destroy anything he could find. Looks like the Four Spiritual Peak has their own plan for the Coral Forest¡­¡± Shang Bo chuckled in response, ¡°Of course they do. Even if they manage to occupy the Coral Forest, they won¡¯t be able to do a thing with it. However, things will be different if we manage to obtain it. They would rather destroy it than allow us to benefit.¡± ¡°What about the other regions?¡± Ji Wenlong asked again. Shang Xia replied before Shang Bo could say anything. ¡°Our side controls the core region of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. However, Ran Biluo is going crazy inside it and she should be trashing the place as we speak. As for the Unstable Region, the core region seems pretty intact. Shang Lubing and a Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Rose Party started fighting in there. As for the Willow Forest¡­¡± ¡°... We managed to control the core region of the Willow Forest and Liu Zhiyuan entered the Martial Extermination Realm. Oh, right, where¡¯s Jitang? Why isn¡¯t he here?¡± Shang Bo was slightly taken aback. When Shang Xia brought him over earlier, he only managed to gain a rough understanding of the situation. Due to the existence of the rank five undead corpse, he decided to drag Ji Wenlong over before doing anything else. As such, he forgot about Liu Jitang completely. Now that Ji Wenlong brought him up, Shang Bo realized that something wasn¡¯t right. Since things had progressed up to that point, it didn¡¯t make sense for Liu Jitang to remain hidden. Shang Bo turned to look at Shang Xia after thinking about it. After all, the little kid was the first person to arrive. When Ji Wenlong saw Shang Bo¡¯s gaze, he seemed to have reached a conclusion too. He turned to look at Shang Xia with a strange gaze in his eyes. Even though Shang Xia knew that he wasn¡¯t in any danger, his heart thumped wildly after attracting the attention of two Martial Extermination Realm monsters. He explained quickly, ¡°Deputy Patriarch Liu and another expert of the Rose Party were trying to stop Zhu Tong from breaking out from behind those bronze gates¡­ Now that Zhu Tong has emerged¡­¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t dare to continue. However, the two old men pretty much guessed what happened. Their expressions sank instantly. Ji Wenlong swept his gaze across the bronze gate and he saw the imprints on the surface and his eyelids twitched slightly. His voice became several notches lower and he growled, ¡°Did you see it yourself? Why isn¡¯t his corpse here?¡± Shang Bo frowned too, but he didn¡¯t say anything. Shang Xia shook his head and sighed, ¡°When I got here, I didn¡¯t see either body. They might have been eaten by Zhu Tong when he escaped or something.¡± There were many holes in Shang Xia¡¯s words but Ji Wenlong chose not to dive deeper into his questioning. ¡°The person with Brother Liu should be Murong Tianlan¡­¡± Ji Wenlong explained. Shang Bo nodded. It was clear he agreed with Ji Wenlong. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, we lost Liu Jitang and the Rose Party sacrificed Murong Tianlan¡­ That old freak isn¡¯t one whit weaker than you¡­¡± The two Martial Extermination Realm experts fell silent for a moment. In the past twenty years, the two of them had experienced a lot of things. They were no strangers to death, but Liu Jitang¡¯s demise definitely affected them. After all, the three had been through many battles together and formed a good sense of comradery. Now that Liu Jitang had died, one of the five strongest experts of the Tongyou Institution had left the world forever. It was a feeling they would need time to get used to. All of a sudden, Shang Bo¡¯s body trembled slightly and the Coral Command emitted dense rays of light. ¡°You started to refine the Coral Command?¡± Ji Wenlong asked. Nodding slowly, Shang Bo drew over some heaven and earth qi to create another screen. ¡°It might get a little dangerous over at Shang Lubing¡¯s side. I¡¯m preparing to drag him over here forcefully. You can get ready to get rid of his opponents!¡± ¡°Now that we managed to get our hands on the Coral Command, we can take the initiative in dealing with the other parties. Now, we need to use Zhu Tong to get rid of those from the Four Spiritual Peak and the Rose Party. At the same time, we need to reduce the amount of damage dealt to the Coral Forest.¡± Ji Wenlong agreed. Shang Bo added, ¡°No matter what, we need to be careful. We don¡¯t know what the rank five undead corpse is capable of¡­¡± When the two of them started to come up with their plan, Shang Xia knew that he was no longer needed and he chose to stroll about aimlessly in the area. The entire area had clearly been swept clean by Liu Jitang, Murong Tianlan, and Zhu Ying. Shang Xia failed to locate anything after combing through the place twice, and his gaze landed on the stone chamber inside those bronze gates. Arriving several feet away from the gate, Shang Xia felt a wave of cold air blasting against him and he shivered controllably. He circulated his inner qi to dispel the frost encroaching on his bones. When he was done, he stepped closer towards the bronze gate. Reaching out to touch them, he was shocked to discover that the massive gate contained quite a huge amount of Furnace Core Copper. Furnace Core Copper was a rank four material, and it was used to create high-grade weapons! It was no wonder the bronze gate could hold the rank five undead corpse back! From the looks of it, Furnace Core Copper made up the bulk of the material used to create the doors. If Shang Xia was able to extract them, god knew how many high-grade weapons he would be able to make¡­ It was even possible for the Shang Clan to craft a high-grade spear for Shang Bo! After all, Shang Bo was using a lance at the moment. The Nine Firefly Lance was a high-grade weapon, but it wasn¡¯t the most suited for Shang Bo¡¯s martial arts! What made it worse was that the Nine Firefly Lance belonged to the institution anyway! If Shang Xia managed to extract the Furnace Core Copper and create a high-grade spear, Shang Bo¡¯s cultivation and strength would take a huge leap forward! As a multitude of thoughts ran through Shang Xia¡¯s mind, he stepped into the stone chamber behind those doors. The square chamber was thirty feet in length, and twenty feet tall. In the center of the room was a giant stone coffin that had its lid popped open. Shang Xia could imagine what happened when Liu Jitang and Murong Tianlan arrived initially. They opened the coffin in a state of excitement when they arrived, hoping to get their hands on some supreme treasure owned by the Zhu Family. By doing so, they caused Zhu Tong to regain consciousness. Realizing that they messed up, they ran out of the chamber before using everything they had to stop the rank five undead corpse from charging its way out. They might have thought that they would be able to hold out until other experts came, and they chose to work together. Who would have thought that their greed would come back to bite them in the ass? They ran in too deep, too quickly. No one was able to catch up to them after they entered the Zhu Family Manor! Recalling how the rank four advancement formula he saw previously was engraved onto the walls of the stone chamber, Shang Xia looked around him hastily. However, he failed to see a thing. Twenty years had passed since the destruction of the Zhu Family, and Zhu Tong was currently an undead corpse! He might be at the fifth rank, but who knew if he managed to make his breakthrough when he was still alive? The advancement formula Shang Xia saw previously might not be fully safe, but regardless, it allowed Zhu Tong to reach the next level! There had to be an advancement formula created by the Zhu Family! However, it was almost certain that it was on the body of the undead corpse. That was the Martial Dipper Realm they were talking about! Unless Kou Chongxue personally arrived in the battlefield between two worlds, no one else would dare to try retrieving the rank five advancement formula from Zhu Tong¡¯s body! Of course, there was a tiny chance the advancement formula would be inscribed on the walls where Zhu Tong¡¯s body was held. Question marks started appearing in Shang Xia¡¯s mind. He wondered if Zhu Tong already knew that he would die when he tried advancing to the Martial Dipper Realm, and he prepared the stone coffin for himself. Could he have expected himself to transform into an undead corpse?! One final guess flashed through Shang Xia¡¯s mind suddenly. Was the coffin a part of the requirements to step into the Martial Dipper Realm?! Approaching the stone coffin slowly, Shang Xia pressed down on its surface. A dense wave of heaven and earth qi containing some sort of antiquity swallowed him. Shang Xia leaped backward hastily, and he gasped desperately for air while suspiciously staring at the coffin. At that moment, a soft yellow glow enveloped the entire coffin. The yellow light started to flicker, and rows of words started to appear on the surface of the coffin. Every single world seemed to contain boundless power. Search "pawread dot com" for the original. ¡°Could this be¡­ Could this be an advancement formula for the fifth rank?!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s heartbeat accelerated in an instant. Gathering all his attention, he tried memorizing the formula, only to realize that he forgot it the next moment. Every time he read through the words on the surface of the coffin, he would forget what he read the very next instant! CH 172 After looking at the words on the coffin for some time, Shang Xia felt his head throbbing in pain. His chest tightened, and a feeling of nausea washed over him. That wasn¡¯t all. He also felt that his inner qi was draining at a rapid pace. Realizing that the stone coffin held some weird shit, he chose to leave the stone chamber as quickly as he could. Not too long after he emerged, the ground under his feet started to shake violently. Turning to stare at the direction where the trembling came from, Shang Xia saw Ji Wenlong¡¯s figure disappearing through a spatial door. Shang Bo sat cross-legged on the ground as his extermination origin surrounded the Coral Command hovering before him. Not too far away, another person could be seen meditating. That person wasn¡¯t foreign to Shang Xia. After all, he had seen Shang Lubing multiple times already. The moment Shang Xia emerged from the bronze gate, Shang Bo and Shang Lubing opened their eyes simultaneously. ¡°Did you find anything inside?¡± Shang Bo teased. There were traces of a smile on Shang Lubing¡¯s face too. After cultivators entered the Martial Intent Realm, they would be able to use their divine sense to observe their surroundings. There wasn¡¯t a need to mention experts at the level of Shang Bo and the rest. They were in the Martial Extermination Realm and their divine sense was much stronger than Martial Intent Realm cultivators. The moment either of them arrived, they swept their divine sense through the entire region. That included the stone chamber behind those bronze gates. They concluded that there was nothing in there, but they didn¡¯t stop Shang Xia from snooping around. That was the reason they didn¡¯t bother looking around after they arrived. They were able to fully focus on the rank five undead corpse running amok in the Zhu Family Manor. After hearing what he said, Shang Xia realized that the two of them couldn¡¯t see what was on the coffin! A pout formed on his lips as he knew that they were laughing at him for underestimating their abilities. However, a snort quickly escaped his lips. ¡°Humph! What do you old men know?! The coffin inside the stone chamber is pretty impressive! There might be a rank five advancement formula within!¡± Shang Bo and Shang Lubing nearly burst out laughing. According to the two of them, Shang Xia was merely trying to mess with them. With their abilities, they were more than capable of inspecting the stone coffin with their divine sense! If there really was a rank five advancement formula on the coffin, they would have discovered it and leaped into action a long time ago! Ji Wenlong wouldn¡¯t head out immediately like he just did. Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Shang Xia frowned when he saw their reactions. ¡°Do you not believe me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true that the stone coffin is a little special. It¡¯s made up entirely of an Earth Source Rock, and Zhu Tong had been cultivating inside it. It is definitely a key to advancing to the Martial Dipper Realm, but that¡¯s about it. It was too bad the collision between the two worlds was too terrifying. It killed him despite his impressive cultivation, turning him into an undead corpse.¡± Shang Bo sighed. ¡°What is an Earth Source Rock?¡± Shang Xia asked suddenly. ¡°Is it some high leveled material used to craft high-grade weapons?¡± Shang Lubing couldn¡¯t control his laughter any longer. He chortled in amusement, ¡°High-grade weapons? Earth Source Rock is used to make divine weapons!¡± ¡°What?! It¡¯s a rank five material?!¡± Shang Xia exclaimed in shock as he turned to head back into the stone chamber. How large did the Earth Source Rock have to be if Zhu Tong managed to craft the entire thing into a stone coffin? If he managed to chip off a small piece¡­ However, Shang Lubing¡¯s voice rang in his ears the moment he turned. ¡°Too bad the energy in the ore had been sapped dry by Zhu Tong when he advanced. It¡¯s a useless pile of rock now¡­¡± Shang Xia stopped dead in his tracks and he turned to look at Shang Lubing with an ugly expression stuck on his face. ¡°Boss Shang¡­ You¡¯re messing with me¡­¡± Shang Lubing roared with laughter. ¡°Brat, you gained a huge merit this time! Why would I mess with you? Haha, I¡¯m just happy that our Tongyou Institution would be able to gain a footing in the Coral Forest! The cultivation of our disciples will definitely take a huge step forward. In the future, our Tongyou Institution will transform into a mysterious world of its own!¡± ¡°Wait¡­ What do you mean by that? How will we be able to transform into a mysterious world?¡± Shang Xia revealed a shocked expression. Explaining patiently, Shang Lubing started from the very top. ¡°Our Tongyou Institution of today can be considered a spiritual land at the peak of its power. I am sure all of you have noticed, but the space contained within our institution is a lot larger than the space we actually occupy in the You Continent.¡± Shang Xia nodded. It was true that he felt that way before. ¡°It¡¯s not easy for one to transform from a spiritual land to a mysterious world. In the past, only the Zhu Family had the qualifications to turn their entire territory into a mysterious world. Once we do the same, our institution will gain an even stronger foundation¡­¡± Shang Lubing paused for a second before looking at Shang Bo subconsciously. ¡°... We¡¯ll also become a lot stronger than before!¡± Shang Xia agreed with what Shang Lubing said yet again. The four special regions in the Coral Forest were part of the Zhu Family¡¯s territory, and all of them could be regarded as a spiritual land themselves. Moreover, all of them corresponded to a part of the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance. The core regions of each region would be able to nurture an extermination origin from time to time, solving the greatest issue faced by Martial Intent Realm experts when they wished to break through. As for the last sentence mentioned by Shang Lubing, he was clearly directing it towards Shang Bo! Right at that moment, several rays of light emerged from the Coral Command. This time, Shang Xia could tell that his grandfather¡¯s extermination origin had completely stained the Coral Command. ¡°This is the third cycle¡­ He should have gained control over the entire mysterious world owned by the Zhu Family¡­¡± Shang Lubing muttered. He rose to his feet, ignoring all the slight injuries that had yet to recover and stared at Shang Bo. Grunting once, Shang Bo confirmed his suspicions. ¡°Take a step back. Liu Jitang and Murong Tianlan¡¯s corpse might still be around!¡± After he spoke, he pointed at the Coral Command. The ting mountain that had been hovering in the air flew into his hands. The instant it did, several layers of space peeled away and two withered corpses fell to the ground. Shang Xia recognized the two of them instantly as he had seen them before on the screen in the stone chamber. However, his eyes landed on a small pouch hanging from each of their waists. Could it be? Could it actually be a spatial pouch?! CH 173 Seeing the two corpses that were falling from the skies, Shang Xia gasped in fright. He had his guesses on what happened to their corpses after he arrived. They could either be hidden somewhere by Zhu Ying, or they would have been turned to dust by the rank five undead corpse. Of course, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t shake the disgusting idea that their corpses had been eaten by the rank five undead corpse. From what he knew, the two of them were the ones who gained the most during their trip to the Coral Forest. Zhu Ying might seem extremely familiar with the place, but with his meager cultivation, he could only receive scraps Liu Jitang didn¡¯t want. Who would have thought that the two of them would be sent into some random pocket of space by Zhu Tong when he escaped? Looking at the pouches on their bodies, Shang Xia¡¯s heated gaze was quickly quelled by his rational thinking. Since things had progressed to that point, their treasures would no longer belong to him. It wasn¡¯t because of the two Martial Extermination Realm experts present, and neither was it because he wasn¡¯t the first to locate their corpses. Even if he managed to find them before Shang Bo and the others arrived, he wouldn¡¯t be able to open their spatial pouches regardless! A spatial pouch was different from an Embroidered Cloud Case. As long as one had enough inner qi, one would be able to open an Embroidered Cloud Case regardless of its level. However, a spatial pouch was on a whole new level. There were many layers of restrictions protecting it from outside forces, and if one failed to use a proper method to open it, even Ji Wenlong and the others wouldn¡¯t be able to force it open in a short amount of time. Shang Bo reached out casually and dragged the two spatial pouches to himself. Glancing at Shang Lubing, Shang Bo sighed, ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll have to hand this over to the patriarch after we return. All of us will have to work together to open this¡­¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Shang Lubing replied happily. However, Shang Xia had to interrupt him at that moment. ¡°Grandpa, did Zhu Tong send them into that pocket of space intentionally? Is a rank five undead corpse actually smart enough to do it? Does that also mean that it awakened its memories before he died?¡± Shang Lubing stared at Shang Bo with a serious expression too, waiting for an answer. ¡°It¡¯s likely¡­ However, even if it did remember what happened before, it¡¯s no longer the Zhu Tong of before.¡± Shang Bo muttered. Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief and he wanted to continue asking. Before he could say anything, Shang Bo waved his hand and summoned a screen to look at the situation in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. Ripples formed on the screen and Shang Bo drew a line in the space before him with the Vermillion Plaque. Ji Wenlong¡¯s arm reached out from the broken space. ¡°Wha¡­¡± The moment the newcomer appeared, a look of shock could be seen on her face. ¡°Is this the forbidden ground in the Zhu Family Manor used to control the four spiritual lands? Chief Shang, is that the Coral Command?¡± The person who appeared was surprisingly Chu Jia who specialized in formations. Another figure appeared behind her, and his face turned as pale as a sheet when he saw Murong Tianlan¡¯s corpse lying not too far away. He was Bai Luming who had been convinced by Chu Jia to join their side, but seeing the corpse of his former leader was pretty disheartening. Shang Bo chuckled in response, ¡°Little lass, you¡¯re pretty smart. I¡¯m afraid that your instinct in the way of formations is better than Old Ma¡­¡± Shang Bo didn¡¯t take long to continue. ¡°Initially, we should have handed this place over to your or Old Ma¡­ However, the situation was too dire and I had no choice but to refine the Coral Command myself.¡± It didn¡¯t take a genius to realize that the higher-ups of the Tongyou Institution had high hopes for Chu Jia after hearing what he said. A giggle escaped Chu Jia¡¯s lips in response. ¡°Chief Shang, there¡¯s no need for explanations. Even though controlling the grand formation here requires some insights in the way of formations, strength is most important. Without a suitable cultivation base, one will be unable to control the grand formation.¡± After she replied Shang Bo, she turned to greet Shang Lubing. Her gaze quickly traveled to Shang Xia and she waved happily before bringing Bai Luming to go inspect the formation lining the ground. Even though Shang Bo had already refined the Coral Command once, he only gained the most primitive way to control the Coral Forest. He would have to repeat the process several times before he could control the Coral Forest better. The formation drawn on the ground was extensive and there were many intricacies that could only be discovered by powerful formation masters. Shang Lubing spoke up suddenly, ¡°Should I head over to the core region of the Willow Forest to get Ma Mingzheng?¡± Since the grand formation lost effectiveness a long time ago, Martial Extermination Realm experts could fly and they were able to somewhat manipulate space in the Coral Forest. Due to the battle with the rank five undead corpse, Ji Wenlong received quite a few injuries. He took a trip over to the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World and used up quite a bit of inner qi. Even though Shang Lubing¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t as high as Ji Wenlong, he was in a much better condition than the deputy patriarch. He felt that he should take Ji Wenlong¡¯s place in dealing with some matters. However, his suggestion was quickly rejected by both Shang Bo and Ji Wenlong. Looking at Shang Lubing¡¯s shocked expression, Shang Bo explained, ¡°Brother Shang, please don¡¯t misunderstand. The reason we can travel freely through the Coral Forest is because Chief Ji and I both have Vermillion Plaques. Otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to arrive at your desired destination and might drop yourself in some hot mess.¡± ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, Chief Ji can lend me his Vermillion Plaque for the time being. Are you afraid that I¡¯ll plot against our Tongyou Institution?¡± Shang Lubing frowned and looked at Ji Wenelong. A trace of hurt could be seen on his face. Shang Lubing chuckled slightly to mask his feelings, but everyone realized that his voice was getting a little hoarse. ¡°Of course not. Brother Shang, even if you get the Vermillion Plaque, you won¡¯t be able to use it effectively. This isn¡¯t just a matter of cultivation. Chief Ji and I cultivated techniques similar to those in the Zhu Family Inheritance. The Vermillion Plaque is much more useful to us. Do you understand? If we wish to start sending others through the Coral Forest, we will have to reactivate the grand formation and go from there.¡± Shang Bo continued his explanation. ¡°So that¡¯s the case¡­¡± Shang Lubing nodded in realization. Shang Bo smiled before turned to ask Ji Wenlong, ¡°Chief Ji, did you manage to locate Ran Biluo in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World?¡± ¡°Nope¡­ I was planning to use the formation to catch her off guard. Even if she doesn¡¯t die, she¡¯ll be seriously injured. However, she seemed to have smelled that danger was coming and left before I could arrive.¡± Ji Wenlong sighed. ¡°Yeah, she was probably too scared to remain. The kid told me that he went around to spread the news of the rank five undead corpse¡¯s appearance around the Coral Forest. She might have heard it and ran.¡± Shang Bo nodded. Shang Xia looked at the three Martial Extermination Realm experts and he realized that he was of no use there and he decided to return to the stone chamber behind those bronze gates. He wanted to look at the spoils of war after killing Zhu Ying. As he made his way over, Shang Xia heard Ji Wenlong¡¯s voice coming from behind. ¡°Luckily for us, Liu Zhiyuan managed to refine an extermination origin in the Willow Forest and enter the Martial Extermination Realm. Jitang¡¯s legacy wouldn¡¯t be lost after his death¡­ Otherwise, only three great clans would be left¡­¡± Chu Jia¡¯s laughter filled the air after she heard what he said. ¡°Oh? Did Liu Zhiyuan also enter the Martial Extermination Realm? Senior Shang Ke also managed to refine an extermination origin to enter the Martial Extermination Realm¡­¡± Shang Xia chuckled silently as he knew that chaos was about to break out outside with the revelation of Shang Ke¡¯s breakthrough. However, he quickly returned to his task and focused on the items he gained from Zhu Ying. Like what Mu Qingyu said earlier, there was practically no herb lower than the second rank in Zhu Ying¡¯s Embroidered Cloud Case. Shang Xia scanned through every inch of it, but he discovered that the amount of things inside wasn¡¯t as much as he had thought. When Zhu Ying cleared this inventory of all the herbs below the second rank in the chamber, he was probably making room for new treasures he was about to find. Too bad his plans were messed up by Shang Xia¡¯s sudden appearance. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. He had to break through to the Martial Intent Realm as quickly as possible, wasting yet another batch of resources. As such, the amount left on him was somewhat pitiful. Whatever the case, they were worth a tidy sum to Shang Xia. The items that caught Shang Xia¡¯s eye were three rank three talismans. They were placed in special cases, but they seemed to be losing their effect with the passage of time. There were also several other empty cases and Shang Xia knew that those were the talismans Zhu Ying tossed out earlier when they fought. Even though those talismans were rare, Shang Xia didn¡¯t understand why they had to be kept in their individual cases. However, he quickly realized the problem. ¡°All these talismans used to contain divine sense¡­ However, they slowly dissipated after so many years. They became ordinary rank three talismans, and there were even some that were less effective than rank three talismans! It was no wonder they were easily destroyed¡­ A trace of fear lingered in Shang Xia¡¯s heart after he realized the problem. If those talismans were at their full power, he would have died several times over! Tossing out the empty cases, Shang Xia kept the remaining talismans even though they might not be of great use to him. Looking at another book contained in Zhu Ying¡¯s Embroidered Cloud Case, Shang Xia immediately recognized the words, ¡®Zhu Family Talisman Scripture¡¯. There were 23 types of rank one talisman recorded within, 14 types of rank two talismans, and 6 types of rank three talismans. There were even 3 rank four talismans recorded! Detailed instructions to create each talisman was contained in the scripture, along with their uses. It went without saying that the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture was an inheritance treasure that contained the life work of countless talisman masters of the Zhu Family! The amount of knowledge contained within was too valuable! No matter what treasure Shang Xia could find in the institution or his Shang Clan, there was no way of comparing it to the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture! CH 174 As a matter of fact, any sort of inheritance in the dao of talismans was all over the place. In different parts of the world, the same talisman could have different names. Talismans made by different masters were also different. Ordinary cultivators only cared about the effects, and they didn¡¯t know too much about the details. That only served to disrupt the many inheritances out there. The situation was pretty much the same as cultivators trying to raise their level. Cultivators at the Martial Realm would only bother getting their hands on an advancement formula to break through to the Martial Extremity Realm. They wouldn¡¯t care about the compatibility they had with the medicine! They didn¡¯t know how important a sense of compatibility was! If the medicine they used wasn¡¯t effective and they forced themselves to break through, they would be much weaker than those of the same level! They would also find it extremely difficult to advance in the future. Since obtaining an advancement formula itself was an amazing feat of its own, no one would care about the intricacies! Back to the issue with the talisman inheritance from the Zhu Family. It was completely different from the others out there! Out of the 23 rank one talismans, 18 of them were created with the same principle as 10 of the rank two ones. One could say that they were the basis of many rank two talismans contained in the inheritance. As long as one mastered how to create those 18 rank one talismans, they would be able to smoothly break through to a rank two talisman master as their cultivation and comprehension progressed. They would be able to save a lot of time and resources compared to others without the inheritance! After becoming a rank two talisman master, 12 of the 14 talismans contained within formed the basis of some rank three talismans. The same theory applied. For rank three talismans. Looking at the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture, Shang Xia¡¯s path to becoming a rank four talisman master became clear! He no longer needed to collect a ton of formulas to increase his comprehension in a certain aspect. As long as he followed the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture, it was a matter of time before he became a rank four talisman master! Of course¡­ It wouldn¡¯t be as easy as he thought. When Shang Xia flipped through the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture, he discovered that the records for rank four talismans were gone! It wasn¡¯t because someone destroyed them on purpose. Instead, it was as though they weren¡¯t recorded in the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture at all! Instead, the inheritance for the 3 rank four talismans was located in the Coral Forest. Even direct disciples of the Zhu Family would have to obtain the approval of the higher-ups of the Zhu Family if they wanted to obtain the inheritance for the fourth rank! Shang Xia suddenly thought about the several stone tablets that were wiped away in the courtyard previously. Could those contain the instructions to create rank four talismans?! Ache filled Shang Xia¡¯s heart as he cursed Zhu Ying silently. From what Shang Xia experienced so far, Zhu Ying was only someone who would mess things up. Thinking deeper into it, Shang Xia sighed eventually. He realized that Zhu Ying wouldn¡¯t have cared about those inscriptions as he didn¡¯t know that Shang Xia was a talisman master. Since Zhu Ying wasn¡¯t a talisman master either, he probably had no idea what was written on those stone tablets. The only thing Zhu Ying cared about destroying was the formula for the Hundred Days Longevity Intoxication. Since it wasn¡¯t Zhu Ying, Shang Xia could only guess that the destruction of the stone tablets was done by the members of the Zhu Family. Liu Jitang and Murong Tianlan were suspects too! In fact, Shang Xia felt that the two of them were more likely to be the culprits! If he wasn¡¯t wrong, they erased the words on the tablet after copying them somewhere! The copies should be in their spatial pouch! Slapping his forehead in a fit of anger, Shang Xia realized that getting his hands on those wouldn¡¯t be as easy as he thought. After all, Shang Bo planned to hand the spatial pouches over to Kou Chongxue in order to open them without destroying their contents. The inheritance was sure to fall in the hands of the institution, and if he wanted to learn it, he would have to pay some sort of price. That wasn¡¯t the worst part. The moment those rank four talisman formulas were revealed, he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep the entire scripture for himself! Whatever the case, the pain was temporary, it wouldn¡¯t affect Shang Xia¡¯s state of mind. The most important thing he had to do was to keep the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture safe. After sucking it back into his Embroidered Cloud Case, Shang Xia continued to look through his spoils. He quickly discovered several rare herbs, and it was more than enough for him to create another portion of Tempering Meridian Powder. Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ]. He also managed to find several rank three herbs and one of them was the Resplendent Grass he had been hearing about for some time now! He didn¡¯t know if he could use it when creating the medicine he needed to advance, but no one would complain about having more treasures. A thought flashed through Shang Xia¡¯s mind all of a sudden. His Yin Yang Sword Formation might have a lot of space to improve, but his current cultivation was already at the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm! He could easily try to advance by creating any random advancement medicine he knew. Looking through the rest of the herbs, Shang Xia didn¡¯t recognize a few of them. He decided to just toss them into his Embroidered Cloud Case and deal with them when he got back. Next, a short sword appeared in his hand. It was a low-grade weapon, and it was called Jade Creek. The sword was slightly less than two feet long, and it was shorter than Shang Xia¡¯s Delicate River Jade Sword. Even so, he was still extremely pleased with his discovery. The two swords might not be of the same length, but Jade Creek was at least a graded weapon! With it in hand, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t have to worry about wasting even more swords when he used those sword arts that required him to dual wield. Other than the sword, he eventually discovered two sword manuals contained in Zhu Ying¡¯s belongings. It didn¡¯t take long for him to immerse himself in the manuals. One of them was called the Quandary Manual, and the other was called the Hidden Needle Manual. Both of them were part of the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance. CH 175 The ambition of the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Tongyou Institution was finally clear for all to see! After all, they managed to get their hands on the Coral Command and obtained the absolute initiative in the Coral Forest! Shang Bo and the others wouldn¡¯t be satisfied with just obtaining the Zhu Family Inheritance now that things had progressed to this stage. The Rose Party and Four Spiritual Peak had been plotting against them for the longest time and now, it was time for revenge. They had to take the chance to cause great damage to their enemies! Normally, Shang Bo and Ji Wenlong wouldn¡¯t expect much as their strength was pretty similar. If the Rose Party chose to work with the members of the Four Spiritual Peak, there was nothing much the Tongyou Institution could do against them. Things were different now. There was a rank five undead corpse running around and a sinister idea entered their minds. They weren¡¯t able to kill their enemies before, but with the help of the undead corpse, things would be much easier. With the help of the Coral Command, Shang Bo could basically locate the experts of the Rose Party and Four Spiritual Peak. Working with Ji Wenlong, they would open a spatial door near the other party¡¯s location and start their massacre. Since Shang Ke and Liu Zhuyuan had broken through to the Martial Extermination Realm, Shang Bo and Ji Wenlong brought them over. However, the two of them didn¡¯t stay for long as they soon left with Shang Lubing. Since all the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Tongyou Institution had basically met, - Other than the one who died earlier - they knew what everyone had to do. Using the grand formation to assist them, Shang Bo controlled the Coral Command as the others combined their strength to activate the spatial gates to the various regions in the Coral Forest. They started to eliminate the straggling experts of the other two factions. Ever since Shang Xia brought Shang Bo over, he didn¡¯t have much left to do. The Martial Extermination Realm experts entered and left as they wished, but none of that had anything to do with Shang Xia! He was immersed in his cultivation, and no one could be bothered with him. Shang Xia poured all his attention onto the new sword manuals he obtained. Even though the sword manuals were only a small part of the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance, they were extremely formidable! Training in any one of them would allow a cultivator of the Martial Extremity Realm to eventually comprehend a martial intent! The Quandary Manual focused on life and death qi, and it was what Zhu Ying was starting to train in. When Shang Xia delved deeper into the Quandary Manual, he realized how impressive it was. The issue of life and death was extremely complex. It wasn¡¯t something someone could learn in a short period of time, much less a Martial Extremity Realm cultivator! After examining the manual, Shang Xia finally understood that the core of the manual was much more elementary than he had thought. Instead of the dao of life and death, the manual allowed one to train in such a way that the user would cause their opponent to border on the edge of life and death. If that was really true, Shang Xia felt that the Quandary Manual in his hands was an extremely insidious sword art. Even so, he decided to try training in it. Shang Xia¡¯s intention was to improve on his Yin Yang Sword Formation, and the user of the sword art would determine what type of destruction it would bring. Even though the Quandary Manual was extremely insidious, the effects depended on the user. After training in so many different types of sword arts, Shang Xia was quickly able to grasp the essence of the Quandary Manual. His Yin Yang Essence Qi was able to transform at will, and the moment he started training, his inner qi quickly transformed. The deeper he went into the manual, the more he understood. The Quandary Manual seemed to contain more intricacies than what he could see¡­ As for the Hidden Needle Manual, it contained the dao of offense and defense. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. At the very peak of the Hidden Needle Manual, one would be able to attack and defend at the same time. However, the start of the manual focused on defense. Offense only came after, and Shang Xia would have to focus more energy on learning how to optimize his defense. Shang Xia remained in the stone chamber as he immersed himself in those two sword manuals. No one knew how long had passed, but he quickly managed to reach the small completion stage in both manuals. If he wanted to fuse them into his Yin Yang Sword Formation, it would take a little more time. As Shang Xia immersed himself in his cultivation, he would only be distracted from time to time when Shang Bo opened op spatial gates for cultivators of the institution to move around. Clearly, things weren¡¯t going as smoothly as they had thought. Even though the Tongyou Institution held an absolute advantage and could sneak attack anyone they wished, a Martial Extermination Realm expert wouldn¡¯t die so easily! Even though they were separated by several regions in the Coral Forest, the experts of each faction were able to communicate with each other. Their mode of communication might not be as effective as Shang Bo¡¯s Coral Command, but it was enough to tell each other that the Tongyou Institution was messing with them. There was no more hiding the fact that the Tongyou Institution managed to obtain the Coral Command and control the entire territory. The news started to spread among the experts of the other factions, and the fact that a rank five undead corpse was running around also quickly arrived in the ears of other cultivators. When Ji Wenlong made his first sneak attack, he managed to injure Ran Biluo. However, the damn woman was too alert. When she destroyed the space Shang Xia was using to spy on her earlier, she had already raised her guard. The moment Ji Wenlong appeared, she started to make her escape. The only reason she was injured was because she was far too weak compared to Ji Wenlong. If she was truly caught off guard, she would have died several times over. Ji Wenlong could only bring Shang Ke away after failing to assassinate Ran Biluo. As Shang Bo¡¯s control over the Coral Command improved, he enlisted the help of Chu Jia and Bai Luming to open another gate to the Unstable Region. This time, Ji Wenlong, Shang Ke, and Shang Lubing moved in unison. They attacked the core region of the Unstable Region together, killing Murong Gaofeng who had just advanced. It was too bad the destruction to the Unstable Region during that battle was massive. It would be extremely difficult to restore it to its original state. Soon after, the three of them moved to the core region of the Willow Forest. That was where the rank five undead corpse was running around unchecked. After Ji Wenlong left, Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying had a massive battle with the rank five undead corpse. They destroyed half the manor before changing the place of battle to the Willow Forest. Liu Zhiyuan who was the only Martial Extermination Realm expert stationed there was desperate for help when Ji Wenlong and the others arrived. The three of them formed a protection squad as they whisked him away. CH 176 Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying thought of luring the rank five undead corpse to the core region of the Willow Forest to cause maximum destruction there, and to drag Shang Bo and Ji Wenlong into the battle. It was too bad Shang Bo and the rest were in the separate space that contained the bronze gate. No matter how hard Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying tried, they were unable to locate anyone else. Even if they did manage to detect Shang Bo and Ji Wenlong¡¯s presence, they wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the separate space anyway. Ever since Shang Bo obtained the Coral Command, his control over the Coral Forest grew stronger the more he refined it. With Chu Jia and Bai Luming¡¯s assistance, they were able to block off anyone they didn¡¯t wish to enter. As Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying were chased around by the rank five undead corpse, they were gradually losing their strength. They were lucky that Ji Wenlong slayed a rank four undead corpse and sliced off another rank four undead corpse¡¯s arm before leaving. Otherwise, the two of them would have died a long time ago. Since they were unable to locate Ji Wenlong or Shang Bo, the two of them could only lead the corpses away from the manor. They ran through the Willow Forest in an attempt to escape, but they were also trying to locate the core region while doing so. They were unable to drag Ji Wenlong out for him to suffer with them, and they thought of attacking the members of the Tongyou Institution hiding in the core region of the Willow Forest. No matter how despicable Ji Wenlong was to leave them to fight the rank five undead corpse, he would have to appear once the members of the institution were under threat. Even though Shang Bo wasn¡¯t able to control the Coral Forest however he wished, he was able to keep track of the situation. Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying¡¯s movements were unable to be hidden from Shang Bo¡¯s all-seeing eye. Since Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo weren¡¯t willing to fight the rank five undead corpse head-on yet, they could only bring the experts in the core region away. Shang Bo placed some inner qi into the coral command, causing the space in the four special regions to shift. Several dozen low leveled cultivators were sent into the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World to meet with Sun Haiwei. Liu Zhuyuan and Ji Wenlong returned to the Bluestone Hidden Space which was the name of the separate space containing the bronze doors. Not too long after Liu Zhiyuan left, Dongfang Daying and Lang Xiaoyun arrived. They brought the three undead corpses with them, and they flattened the core region directly only to discover that everyone had escaped. ¡°They¡¯re doing this on purpose!¡± Shang Lubing growled as they observed the situation from inside the Bluestone Hidden Space. ¡°The Dual Season Land and the Unstable Region is basically a bunch of ruins now! They destroyed the Willow Forest as much as they could, and the only recognizable region is the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World!¡± Shang Ke¡¯s face turned pale and it was clear he wasn¡¯t fully recovered after fighting with Ran Biluo. ¡°Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying definitely know about our plan. Since they¡¯re unable to drag us out, they decided to destroy everything they could.¡± Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. Shang Bo chuckled in amusement and his gaze returned to the Coral Command. ¡°Hah. The Coral Command is powerful indeed. This was our objective anyway. We managed to obtain what we came here for, and everything else is a bonus. Even if they destroy the entire region, it¡¯s fine.¡± His words allowed everyone to heave a sigh of relief. Ji Wenlong laughed at the side, ¡°Well, we at least managed to retain a huge part of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. Ran Biluo didn¡¯t do that much damage to it. All four spiritual lands of the Zhu Family were used to cultivate extermination origins. Retaining a single one is still a win!¡± Shang Lubing and Shang Ke nodded silently. Shang Ke managed to experience first hand the benefits of the four special regions. After all, he only broke through because of the extermination origin gathered in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. The Illusory Extermination Origin gathered by the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl was extremely compatible with the Shang Clan¡¯s martial arts. In the future, if any member of the Shang Clan wanted to break through, they would definitely know where to obtain an extermination origin that suited them. ¡°What should we do about the rank five undead corpse?¡± Shang Ke asked. After thinking for some time, Shang Bo muttered, ¡°Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying will definitely die if this keeps up. The two of them might not be able to injure the rank five undead corpse even if they tried. Looks like we should give them a ray of hope¡­¡± ¡°Are you thinking of sending the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Rose Party and the Four Spiritual Peak over to assist them?¡± Ji Wenlong asked. ¡°... That might not be a good idea¡­ We¡¯ll only be able to sneak attack them if they¡¯re spread out. If they all gather together and launch an all-out offensive, even the rank five undead corpse might not be able to hold on. It will be extremely difficult to deal with all of them then.¡± Shang Lubing analyzed. Shang Bo muttered softly, ¡°Well, they¡¯re part of two different factions anyway. Let¡¯s just deal with them one at a time.¡± After speaking, he pointed casually into the air. Two separate screens formed. ¡°Ran Biluo had already met up with Yan Su¡¯er. On the other side, Yuwen Shengjie and a newly ascended Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Rose Party met up. They clearly received news of the rank five undead corpse.¡± ¡°Which side should we deal with first?¡± Shang Ke frowned. To the Tongyou Institution, both factions had to be destroyed. Shang Lubing thought for a second and muttered, ¡°Let¡¯s deal with the two from the Four Spiritual Peak. Yan Su¡¯er is a step away from reaching the fourth layer of the Martial Extermination Realm and Ran Biluo is stronger than the newly ascended Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Rose Party!¡± Ji Wenlong and Shang Ke nodded in unison. However, Shang Bo had another idea. ¡°No. Let''s deal with those from the Rose Party.¡± Before anyone else could ask him the reason behind his decision, he pointed at one of the screens and sighed, ¡°Those virtueless bastards from the Rose Party are already gathering up their members. They don¡¯t plan to save Dongfang Daying at all! They wish to escape from the Coral Forest as soon as possible!¡± ¡°What are we waiting for then?!¡± Shang Ke widened his eyes in shock and cried. Ji Wenlong immediately changed his tune when he realized what they were trying to do. ¡°They won¡¯t be able to leave the battlefield between the two worlds without a proper command from the institution. If they leave the Coral Forest now, they will definitely run over to the Four Spiritual Peak to seek shelter. When our world was invaded previously, the Rose Party definitely had something to do with it. We cannot allow them to run over to the Four Spiritual Peak this time. They might be plotting something even worse¡­¡± ¡°Alright! We can¡¯t waste any more time!¡± Shang Lubing rose to his feet and stared at Liu Zhiyuan. ¡°Kid of the Liu Family, let¡¯s go!¡± A trace of worry filled Liu Zhiyuan¡¯s face when he looked at the various seniors around him. ¡°Seniors, where¡­ Where is my father?¡± Shang Bo and Ji Wenlong looked at each other. Eventually, Shang Bo coughed lightly before pointing at the void. Two corpses fell to the ground and Liu Zhiyuan¡¯s body froze. Ji Wenlong sighed, but considering his relationship with Liu Jitang, he had to be the one to explain. ¡°Brother Jitang and Murong Tianlan released Zhu Tong, who had turned into a rank five undead corpse. They tried to stop him from escaping by sealing those bronze gates, but they exhausted their life force eventually. Zhu Tong killed them when he escaped. Zhiyuan, you¡¯re the only Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Liu Clan left. You have to pull yourself together!¡± Shang Lubing added, ¡°Brother Liu, you need to compose yourself.¡± Liu Zhiyuan¡¯s body trembled slightly, but his expression remained indifferent. No one could tell what he was thinking. Ji Wenlong didn¡¯t know if Liu Zhiyuan understood the meaning behind his words, but there was no time to waste. They couldn¡¯t jeopardize the mission and he turned to speak to Shang Bo, ¡°He should stay here. The three of us should be enough to stop Yuwen Shengjie and the other one. Please take care of him!¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Shang Bo smiled and he pointed at the Coral Command. A spatial door opened up and Ji Wenlong, Shang Ke, and Shang Lubing disappeared through it. All of a sudden, Liu Zhiyuan raised his head to ask Shang Bo, ¡°Fourth uncle, where is my father¡¯s spatial pouch?¡± CH 177 ¡°Fourth uncle, where is my father¡¯s spatial pouch?¡± Liu Zhiyuan stared directly at Shang Bo. Raising an eyebrow, he chuckled in amusement. ¡°How do you know that I¡¯m the one holding his spatial pouch?¡± Liu Zhiyuan didn¡¯t say a word as his gaze remained on Shang Bo. Glancing at the stone chamber behind the bronze gate, Shang Bo¡¯s gaze eventually returned to Liu Zhiyuan. ¡°Your timing is really impeccable. The moment the other three left, you decided to ask me for the pouch. Looks like your father made enough preparations and allowed you to detect his spatial pouch¡­¡± After he spoke, Shang Bo retrieved a tiny pouch from his sleeves. A flash of light crossed Liu Zhiyuan¡¯s eyes as he stepped forward subconsciously. Shang Bo didn¡¯t really bother with his reaction and he waved the pouch slightly in his hands. ¡°Do you know how to open it?¡± Liu Zhiyuan didn¡¯t reply directly. Instead, he asked another question of his own. ¡°Fourth uncle, will you return it to me? It¡¯s something that belongs to my Liu Clan.¡± The smile on Shang Bo¡¯s face didn¡¯t fade. ¡°Are you sure the items contained within are from your Liu Family?¡± ¡°Naturally! Everything has been collected by my father through painstaking efforts. He even paid with his life! Uncle Shang, do you think that my Liu Clan doesn¡¯t deserve what he obtained after exchanging his life for it?¡± Shang Bo chuckled softly and tossed the pouch over. Liu Zhiyuan didn¡¯t hesitate to receive it. He wanted to open it immediately to see if anyone touched the items within. At that time, Shang Bo¡¯s sigh reached Liu Zhiyuan¡¯s ears. ¡°Kid, you need to think this through. If I keep the pouch, the institution will be the one to bear the pressure the moment it¡¯s open. If you insist on keeping it, your Liu Clan will have to take it on your own¡­¡± Shang Bo¡¯s tone changed all of a sudden. ¡°Naturally, since you¡¯re a Martial Extermination Realm expert, you will have some capabilities to hold up against what comes next.¡± Looking at Liu Zhiyuan who had sunk into contemplation, the smile on Shang Bo¡¯s face disappeared. He sighed softly, ¡°You can only blame your father for being too greedy.¡± Liu Zhiyuan¡¯s expression changed, but he maintained his tight grip on the spatial pouch. ¡°I hope Shang¡­ I hope fourth uncle can enlighten me!¡± The smile returned to Shang Bo¡¯s face and he shook his head slightly. ¡°You¡¯re a smart kid. You definitely understand what I meant. All of us can remain silent and let you bring the spatial pouch away with your identity as someone from the Liu Clan. Our four great clans will also hold a proper funeral for second brother. As someone from the older generation, I can only give you some advice. Since Liu Jitang had fallen, you¡¯re going to take on the role as the Liu Clan¡¯s patriarch!¡± He paused for a second before continuing, ¡°Naturally, Chief Ji thinks the same way!¡± Seeing how Liu Zhiyuan was calming down, he added, ¡°Of course, Third Sister Yun will also support that notion.¡± Liu Zhiyuan looked at the spatial pouch in his hand and eventually decided to hand it back to Shang Bo. ¡°Many thanks for fourth uncle¡¯s advice. Everyone should see what is inside my father¡¯s spatial pouch after we return to the institution.¡± Shang Bo nodded and kept the pouch. ¡°Relax. Everything that belongs to the Liu Clan will not be taken away. That was what Chief Ji and I planned to do anyway.¡± Liu Zhiyuan cupped his fists and bowed. ¡°I understand! Fourth uncle, please open the spatial door! No matter what, I managed to advance into the Martial Extermination Realm. I should do my part for the institution too!¡± Shang Bo nodded in satisfaction. ¡°It¡¯s great that you think this way. However, you don¡¯t have to join in the battle this time. Instead, you should go and mess with Yan Su¡¯er and Ran Biluo.¡± Liu Zhiyuan¡¯s expression froze. ¡°I¡­ I just stepped into the Martial Extermination Realm! How am I their opponent?¡± Shang Bo wasn¡¯t shocked by his reaction at all. Instead, he tapped lightly on the Coral Command. Trembling slightly, the Coral Command emitted several rays of light. Shang Bo closed his palm and the tiny mountain disappeared. He completed his refinement on the Coral Command, and he managed to unlock all of its abilities. As such, he could move the Coral Command as he pleased, and his control over the Coral Forest wouldn¡¯t be affected in the slightest. He could bring it everywhere he went! That was the goal of the institution to begin with! They wanted to remove the Coral Command from the Coral Forest entirely! However, the Coral Command wasn¡¯t what Liu Zhiyuan was paying attention to. Instead, it was the extermination origin that came from it. The fourth color that was flickering when Shang Bo first started to refine the Coral Command had started to solidify, and Liu Zhiyuan knew what it entailed! ¡°Fourth uncle, did you manage to enter the fourth layer of the Martial Extermination Realm?!¡± Liu Zhiyuan didn¡¯t notice it, but his voice was quivering slightly. Shang Bo nodded in satisfaction. ¡°That¡¯s right. I managed to strengthen my last extermination origin when I refined the Coral Command. I finally managed to cross the last barrier!¡± Liu Zhiyuan gulped unconsciously. Actually, he wasn¡¯t really focused on the fact that Shang Bo had already reached the fourth layer. Instead, he wanted to know how Shang Bo advanced so quickly. One had to know that the last time Liu Zhiyuan saw him, Shang Bo was only a second layer Martial Extermination Realm expert! Out of all the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the four great clans, Shang Bo was the last to step into the level! His cultivation was the lowest, and that was why he was ranked the fourth among them. All of a sudden, the weakest of the four patriarchs reached the fourth layer! One had to know that the strongest of the four, Ji Wenlong, was also at that level! In a single step, Shang Bo¡¯s cultivation reached the same level as him! It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". Moreover, Shang Ke also managed to enter the Martial Extermination Realm in the Coral Forest. That would mean that the Shang Clan possessed two Martial Extermination Realm experts! Liu Zhiyuan finally realized that the situation in the Tongyou Institution was about to shift! Initially, his Liu Clan was the one who was supposed to possess two Martial Extermination Realm experts! Now that Liu Jitang had died, he was the only one left! Moreover, his cultivation was the lowest among them! He was barely comparable to Shang Ke who also stepped into the Martial Extermination Realm! Forcing a smile, Liu Zhuyuan muttered, ¡°I¡¯ll have to congratulate fourth uncle for the advancement¡­ Your Shang Clan actually managed to birth two Martial Extermination Realm experts. It¡¯s amazing!¡± ¡°After we settle everything in the Coral Forest, this old man is going to pass on my position in the Shang Clan. I¡¯ll focus my attention on the institution once I¡¯m done.¡± After he spoke, the spatial door opened. ¡°Go on, I¡¯ll be right behind you!¡± CH 178 Two Martial Extermination Realm experts in the same clan! That was what Liu Jitang was scheming to achieve. He wanted to replace the Ji Clan as the number one clan in the Tongyou City. Taking the chance, he would wipe out the evil remnants and leave his name in history! Too bad for him, anything that could go wrong, would go wrong¡­ His son managed to step into the Martial Extermination Realm, but he died in the hands of the rank five undead corpse. Luckily he made arrangements for Liu Zhiyuan to refine a strand of extermination origin and enter the Martial Extermination Realm. With Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo¡¯s assistance, the Liu Clan would at least be able to keep their status as one of the four great clans! ¡°Grandpa, are you really planning on giving up your position as the head of the family?¡± The moment Liu Zhiyuan left, Shang Xia appeared. A smile appeared on Shang Bo¡¯s face and his gaze swept across Chu Jia and Bai Luming who were maintaining the formation. ¡°That¡¯s right. Actually, your fifth grandpa and your aunt have been taking care of the family for the past few years. My position as the patriarch doesn¡¯t really matter anymore.¡± ¡°Is that it? Is there no other reason?¡± Shang Xia pressed. ¡°All these years, the support of the institution and Patriarch Kou allowed our Shang Clan to rise up in the Tongyou City. It¡¯s time for me to make my contributions too. Moreover, I¡¯m considered to be one of the creators of the institution. It¡¯s good for the institution to grow stronger. Your fifth grandpa entered the Martial Extermination Realm, and he¡¯s qualified to lead the family.¡± Shang Bo explained. Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" His explanation had been more than clear. Since he didn¡¯t stop Chu Jia or Bai Luming from listening in, Shang Xia pretty much could confirm Shang Bo¡¯s intentions. Also, Ma Mingfeng had already arrived in the Bluestone Hidden Space. He followed Ji Wenlong back when they cleared out the Willow Forest, and he went to group up with Chu Jia to look through the formation. Shang Bo not blocking them from hearing his explanation to Shang Xia was also part of his plan. He wanted them to help spread the news around. Turning to stare directly at Chu Jia and Ma Mingfeng, Shang Bo chuckled, ¡°Well, the three of you are more than enough to keep this place running. Now that I can bring the Coral Command around, I¡¯ll start wandering around the place. Please let me know if anything comes up.¡± Even though Chu Jia was the most talented of the three, talent couldn¡¯t replace experience and Ma Mingfeng was appointed as their leader. Hearing what Shang Bo said, Ma Mingfeng smiled in response, ¡°Deputy Patriarch can rest assured and go. The three of us will definitely look through every nook and cranny to uncover the workings behind the grand formation. Seeing his grandfather nodding his head, Shang Xia knew that Shang Bo was about to leave. He quickly asked, ¡°Grandpa, I wish to look for someone. Can you send me to where the lower leveled members of the Rose Party are most concentrated? He should be there.¡± ¡°What a coincidence. Do you know why I sent Liu Zhiyuan to stall Ran Biluo and Yan Su¡¯er?¡± Shang Bo grinned. Shang Xia heard their previous conversation and knew that Ji Wenlong¡¯s primary targets were Yuwen Shengjie and Sima Zhanxing. They wanted Yan Su¡¯er and Ran Biluo to assist Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying in fighting the rank five undead corpse, hopefully injuring themselves in the process. When that happened, the Tongyou Institution would swoop in and reap all the benefits. However, Shang Bo clearly changed the plan when he sent Liu Zhiyuan after Ran Biluo and Yan Su¡¯er. Shang Bo laughed softly when he saw Shang Xia shaking his head. ¡°We miscalculated. The members of the Rose Party had already agreed to work with the Four Spiritual Peak. They knew what was going on. Ran Biluo and Yan Su¡¯er have no intentions of helping Lang Xiaoyun or Dongfang Daying! They plan to escape from the Coral Forest like Yuwen Shengjie and Sima Zhanxing!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Shang Xia gasped. ¡°They gave up on Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying?! Why would they do that?!¡± ¡°At this point, Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying are as good as dead. Yuwen Shengjie planned to work with Yan Su¡¯er to bring the members of the Rose Party out. The two of them came to an understanding pretty quickly¡­ This old man truly admires the two of them¡­¡± Shang Bo sighed. ¡°Grandpa, your plan is to¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re not letting a single one of them leave!¡± Shang Bo interrupted Shang Xia. ¡°This is the best chance we¡¯ll get to weaken both the Rose Party and the Four Spiritual Peak! I¡¯ll deal with Yan Su¡¯er, and you can work together with the rest of the members in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World to kill as many members of the Rose Party as possible. You can look for your target while you¡¯re at it!¡± ¡­ Things were exactly as Shang Bo had described. After the rank five undead corpse started running around, Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying wasted no time in notifying the others. Without hesitation, Yan Su¡¯er and Yuwen Shengjie chose to give up on any rescue attempt. They immediately gathered the members of the Rose Party to break out of the Coral Forest. Naturally, the two of them made the decision after realizing that those from the Tongyou Institution had already gotten their hands on the Coral Command! After some simple communication with each other, the two sides decided to work together. They started to gather towards the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World to find a way to break out of the place. Since Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying were kicking up a storm in the Willow Forest, the other region controlled by the Tongyou Institution was the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. As such, Yan Su¡¯er and the rest decided to break out from three! Moreover, the lower leveled cultivators of the Tongyou Institution were all gathered there. When the four Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Four Spiritual Peak and the Rose Party gathered there, they would be able to create a sort of pincer attack on the weaker disciples of the Tongyou Institution, forcing Shang Bo and Ji Wenlong to take a step back! Their plans were intricate, but they didn¡¯t take into account that Shang Bo would be able to stabilize his foundations and truly enter the fourth layer of the Martial Extermination Realm. His control over the Coral Forest became absolute! That was also how he managed to discover their movements at the very last second. Well, the problem with Martial Extermination Realm experts would be solved by Martial Extermination Realm experts. None of that was a problem for Shang Xia as he stepped through the spatial door created by Shang Bo to bring him to the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. Even though he hadn¡¯t left the place for long, a sense of nostalgia filled his mind when he entered. However, it didn¡¯t last for long as his state of mind was immediately destroyed by the sound of fighting nearby. After completing his comprehension of the Yin Yang Sword Formation, Shang Xia was extremely confident even if he had to face experts at the Martial Intent Realm. Since the Martial Extermination Realm experts were restraining each other, there was not much left for Shang Xia to be wary of. Turning his attention to the battle, Shang Xia unleashed his movement art and moved towards the location. Yang Zigong was one of the deacons of the Protection Division too, and his authority was second only to Tang Yuan. His strength was impressive and his reputation in the Protection Division was huge. Close to half the elite patrol squads were under his command. If not for Ji Wenlong standing behind Tang Yuan, Yang Zigong would have long since taken over as the head of the Patrol Division. That was also the reason behind the two of them never seeing eye to eye. With Liu Jitang fanning the flames behind the scenes, Yang Zigong moved a huge part of the patrol squads away from the Tongyou Peak and brought them to the Coral Forest, leading to the war on the Tongyou Peak. He was partly responsible for everything that happened after, and the moment the Tongyou Institution gained control of the Coral Command, Yang Zigong was stuck in a dilemma. He heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that he was safe, but he also knew that he would be in deep shit the moment they returned to the institution. That was also the reason he chose to volunteer to hold the fort in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World with Peng Lanqing, hoping that it would lessen his crimes. CH 179 Yang Zigong was holding two Martial Intent Realm experts of the Rose Party back alone at the moment. Even though he was risking his life and giving it his all, he was at a clear disadvantage. Even though he had been trying to stall for time, he found it getting unbearable. ¡°This should be enough, right?! It should be time for me to retreat¡­ If I still remain here to stall them, I¡¯ll be leaving my life behind!¡± Yang Zigong growled helplessly. Even so, he didn¡¯t dare to retreat by himself. Peng Lanqing was giving it his all not too far away. As an instructor of the outer division, Peng Lanqing¡¯s cultivation had already reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. He was holding back four enemies at the Martial Intent Realm by himself! Even though he was also being suppressed, his fighting spirit and vigor weren¡¯t weakening in the slightest. In fact, he was getting more and more aggressive! At that instant, Yang Zigong realized why he had never been able to gain an upper hand against Tang Yuan. Regardless of character, connections, or prestige, he was more than comparable to Tang Yuan! Even when they compared their strength, they were almost on par! Of course, he didn¡¯t know that Tang Yuan had already broken through to the grand completion stage. Previously, he felt that the only reason Tang Yuan managed to obtain his position was because of Ji Wenlong¡¯s support. Now, he finally realized the largest difference between them. Like what happened with Peng Lanqing, Tang Yuan¡¯s personality wouldn¡¯t allow him to escape from a battle like that! The thought of retreating wouldn¡¯t even cross his mind! Even if they had to face death, they would give it their all and cause the greatest amount of damage to their enemy before they died! The battlefield between the two worlds wasn¡¯t a place where weaklings could thrive. The patrol squads needed terrifying resolve in order to strike fear in the hearts of their enemies! Yang Zigong would never possess the resolve to die in battle with his enemies! That was where he lost to Tang Yuan! Even if their strengths were similar, in a battle to the death, Tang Yuan would win without a shred of doubt! As the battle raged on, Yang Zigong and Peng Lanqing knew that they were merely stalling for time. Yang Zigong had already made his preparations to escape. He had never thought of leaving his life behind during the battle! Since Peng Lanqing was still fighting, he would feel a little guilty if he were to escape on his own. Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" I¡­ I¡¯ll hold on for a little bit longer! Just a little more¡­ Hey, wait a second¡­ Why is there a student of the institution running towards us?! What the hell? Yang Zigong gasped in his heart. He might not have recognized the youngster who came over suddenly, but he could tell that the newcomer wasn¡¯t even in the Martial Intent Realm. In his eyes, the kid was nothing more than a fool. The battlefield was filled with Martial Intent Realm experts, and a mere Martial Extremity Realm disciple dared to intrude on them. Wasn¡¯t he just asking for it? ¡°Hey, brat, are you tired of living? Hurry up and leave!¡± Yang Zigong yelled. Disciples of the Protection Division were all massive brutes. There was hardly anyone who could speak amicably, much less when they were in such a dangerous situation. The youngster who just appeared stared at him as if he was scared silly by the frightening battle that was going on as he wandered into the battlefield. In an instant, the divine sense of the Martial Intent Realm experts descended on him and the kid was nearly pressed flat into the ground. A small completion stage cultivator of the Martial Intent who was tangled up with Yang Zigong sneered in response and sent a palm flying towards the youngster¡¯s chest. After sending out the attack, he no longer paid attention to the kid. In his eyes, the kid was as good as dead. When he turned back to the battle with Yang Zigong, he saw a look of shock on his opponent¡¯s face. ¡°Hmph, petty tricks. Do you think I¡¯m so stupid?¡± He sneered and he wanted to continue attacking Yang Zigong. Before he could do anything, a yell came from one of his teammates. ¡°Be careful! Behind you!¡± Behind?! The cultivator turned around instinctively and placed both hands before his chest. He circulated his inner qi to form a barrier around him. ¡°What the f¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t even complete his sentence before he was swallowed by a sea of sword lights. By the time the light faded, not even his bones were left. There wasn¡¯t a need to mention the companion of the Martial Intent Realm expert who was killed, but even Yang Zigong was shocked beyond words. The battle between him and his opponent paused in that second. Even though the youngster completed his quick kill, he didn¡¯t continue to assist Yang Zigong. Instead, he went towards Peng Lanqing without even saying a word. Yang Zigong and his opponent stared at each other and saw the shock in each other¡¯s eyes. ¡°That¡­ That movement technique¡­ It looks like the Shang Clan¡¯s Irregular Steps!¡± Yang Zigong eventually snapped back to reality as his spear stabbed towards his opponent. Hah¡­ Do you think I¡¯ll be afraid of you now that we¡¯re fighting one on one? Shang Xia didn¡¯t realize the damage he caused to their fragile little hearts, but he couldn¡¯t be bothered anyway. He could only think of saving Peng Lanqing from his predicament. He could tell that under the attack of three Martial Intent Realm experts, the instructor of the outer division was in deep trouble despite his cultivation at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. Unlike Yang Zigong who Shang Xia hadn¡¯t the faintest clue about, he recognized Peng Lanqing right away! Naturally, his appearance shocked the instructor to the core! Peng Lanqing gasped in his heart. If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, before entering the battlefield between two worlds, Shang Xia barely managed to escape death after being struck by lightning. He also barely managed to comprehend his first martial intent in the Martial Realm. If he wasn¡¯t hallucinating just a second ago, Shang Xia had used his martial intent at the Martial Extremity Realm! He killed a Martial Intent Realm expert before anyone could react! There was no mistake about it! However, wouldn¡¯t that mean that in two short months, Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation jumped from the large completion stage of the Martial Realm to the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm?! How was that even possible?! That wasn¡¯t all. After settling things on Yang Zigong¡¯s side, he didn¡¯t seem tired at all. He was even running straight towards Peng Lanqing! The experts surrounding Peng Lanqing immediately broke their formation. Two of them lunged at Shang Xia from both directions, trapping him in the middle. One of them was at the small completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, and the other was at the large completion stage. The two of them joined hands when dealing with a mere disciple of the Tongyou Institution at the Martial Extremity Realm! CH 180 As two of them went to intercept Shang Xia, none of their teammates found it off. After all, Shang Xia¡¯s attack when he just appeared was too terrifying! Killing a Martial Intent Realm expert at the Martial Extremity Realm was terrifying enough! However, he did it in one strike! Of course, everything they saw was on the surface. Shang Xia knew that his situation wasn¡¯t as good as they were thinking. The experts of the Rose Party weren¡¯t some third-rate trash like Zhu Ying. Moreover, he was suppressed by too many divine senses when he first appeared. Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" If he wanted to attack, he needed to break through the suppression of those Martial Intent Realm experts. He had to use quite a bit of energy to do so. The previous exchange allowed him to confirm his guess. His sword formation was able to counter the effects of their divine sense! Of course, he had to deploy it in order for it to work! As long as he remained in the radius of his sword formation, he would be protected fully! In fact, he wouldn¡¯t even feel the slightest bit of pressure coming from their divine sense. Naturally, doing that came at a massive cost. His inner qi consumption became a huge issue. When he activated the Yin Yang Sword Formation, he was able to kill Martial Intent Realm experts with no problem. Since the time taken for him to unleash the strike was short, his consumption of inner qi shouldn¡¯t be something he couldn¡¯t withstand. However, resisting their divine sense was a whole other issue. Even with his huge reserves, resisting two different divine senses from two experts drained him quite a bit! Now that he was under attack by two Martial Intent Realm experts, he had to unleash his sword formation once again! Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to exert half of his fighting abilities with the suppression of their divine sense. That was the true reason behind the terror of Martial Intent Realm cultivators! They could easily defeat lower leveled cultivators with their divine sense alone! That was also why Shang Xia didn¡¯t bother playing tricks or dodging their pincer attack. Instead, he increased his speed and charged straight towards them. He was afraid that if he had to sustain his sword formation for a longer time, he would die without them doing anything! The faster he ended the battle, the better! ¡°Kill him!¡± The two experts of the Rose Party yelled in unison and revealed a sinister smile. They felt that their companion only died because he was caught off guard. Well, they weren¡¯t wrong. At the very least, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t kill them as easily as he killed the other. Anyway, Shang Xia¡¯s target wasn¡¯t to kill them with his sword formation. Without caring about the waste of resources, three rank three talismans flew out at the two of them. Those were the treasures he picked out from Zhu Ying¡¯s corpse, and the divine sense that was supposed to be in them had long dissipated. They were merely ordinary rank three talismans now. Even though the talismans weren¡¯t very effective in dealing with the Martial Intent Realm cultivators, they couldn¡¯t really ignore them either! Choosing to defend themselves while still continuing their assault on Shang Xia, they released a burst of inner qi. To the two of them, defending against those weak talismans wasn''t hard. They barely had to waste any time. However, that was the opening Shang Xia was looking for. Rushing past them, he charged straight at the Martial Intent Realm expert who was fighting Peng Lanqing. Shang Xia was clear that the two of them had already raised their guards against him. Even if his sword formation was strong, he wouldn¡¯t be able to kill both at once! In that case, he chose to confuse them with a distraction! With Peng Lanqing already holding the other two of them down, making a sneak attack would be enough to send those opponents to the depths of hell! No matter what, the members of the Rose Party would die. Peng Lanqing was extremely deserving of his status as an instructor of the outer division. He might have exhausted a lot of energy, but he was still holding on strong. He was in no way weaker than Shang Ke before he entered the Martial Extermination Realm. The only reason he hadn¡¯t defeated his enemies was because there were too damn many of them! Now that two of them had left to intercept someone else, the last two had to bear an extraordinary amount of pressure. Peng Lanqing immediately gained the upper hand, but killing the enemy instantly was next to impossible. Shang Xia¡¯s appearance changed that! Rushing at Peng Lanqing¡¯s opponents, another sword appeared in Shang Xia¡¯s hand. A loud blast tore through the air as two streaks of reddish-gold lightning bolts tore through the air and struck both of Peng Lanqing¡¯s opponents. Shang Xia¡¯s Chaos Essence Lightning Palm might be strong, but it wasn¡¯t enough to critically injure an expert of the Martial Intent Realm yet. Despite that, his attack was extraordinarily fast! Before anyone could react, the two lightning bolts struck them! In a state of shock, the two of them fumbled. That was what Shang Xia was aiming for too. Peng Lanqing was an experienced cultivator. He wouldn¡¯t miss the chance Shang Xia created for him. Unleashing all his energy at once, he attacked his opponents without hesitation. In fact, he seemed to want to drag his opponent to hell with him from the intensity of his offensive. The situation changed once again. Peng Lanqing¡¯s opponents also released everything they had to defend themselves desperately. His sudden movements revealed a weakness that Shang Xia was all too happy to capitalize on. With the Yin Yang Sword Formation doing its thing, a shrill ringing tore through the air. Shang Xia revealed his true plan. His targets were the ones held down by Peng Lanqing! Shang Xia¡¯s inner qi gushed out from his body. Ignoring his consumption, a sea of sword light swallowed one of them. As a grunt echoed in Shang Xia¡¯s ears, the cultivator who was focus fired by Shang Xia detonated his weapon. Shang Xia¡¯s expression changed slightly. Even though his target managed to escape, he paid a heavy price. His right hand was chopped in half. Thinking that he had already escaped, the cultivator wanted to heave a sigh of relief when a palm came crashing down on his head. He failed to react and he crumbled to the ground instantly. He was deader than dead¡­ A roar rang in the distance as Peng Lanqing¡¯s opponent spat out several mouthfuls of blood. It seemed as though Shang Xia¡¯s tactic was extremely successful as he allowed Peng Lanqing to obtain an upper hand against the last one! All of a sudden, Peng Lanqing stared at Shang Xia and yelled, ¡°Be careful!¡± Instinctively, Shang Xia leaped forward and flew tens of feet away. By the time he crawled to his feet, he saw two shadows behind him and waves of heaven and earth qi brushed against him. He nearly fell face-first inyo the ground again. Looking back, he saw Peng Lanqing standing in his original spot. The two Martial Intent Realm cultivators who were left behind earlier finally reacted, and they wanted to chase Shang Xia down. However, Peng Lanqing was terrifyingly strong. Without their companions to assist them, they were no match for Peng Lanqing! One of them flew through the air while vomiting blood while the other grabbed his broken hand while retreating slowly. CH 181 Shang Xia coordinated flawlessly with Peng Lanqing, killing one of the latter¡¯s enemies and heavily injuring the other. As for the two Shang Xia avoided earlier, they attacked him from behind after flying into a fit of rage. With Peng Lanqing¡¯s timely reminder and Shang Xia¡¯s experience in dodging sneak attacks from behind, he managed to avoid getting struck from behind. After dealing with his enemy, Peng Lanqing leaped over to Shang Xia¡¯s original position and forced the two of them back instantly. As Shang Xia got to his feet, he noticed that something was wrong and he quickly ran over to Peng Lanqing¡¯s side. A grunt entered Shang Xia¡¯s ears and the cultivator who was forced back by Peng Lanqing just a second ago was killed by Yang Zigong who had already forced his original opponent to escape. ¡°How is the situation here?¡± Yang Zigong asked. By the time he approached, Shang Xia had already arrived beside Peng Lanqing and he could feel violent fluctuations of heaven and earth qi coming from the instructor¡¯s body. He didn¡¯t know what he could do to salvage the situation. ¡°Instructor Peng, this¡­¡± Yang Zigong couldn¡¯t complete his sentence when Peng Lanqing spat out a mouthful of blood and fell backwards. Of the six Martial Intent Realm experts of the Rose Party who were attacking Yang Zigong and Peng Lanqing, three of them were dead and one of them was seriously injured. In exchange, Peng Lanqing was also on the verge of death. Peng Lanqing¡¯s gaze was empty as he stared into the void above. He had chosen to side with Liu Jitang, and he led a huge part of the Tongyou Peak¡¯s strength over for the expedition to the Coral Forest. Not only did he have to suffer attacks from the members of the Rose Party the moment they entered, they were nearly wiped out completely! Moreover, he learned about what happened to the Tongyou Peak after they left and realized his actions nearly led to the fall of the Tongyou Peak! If Liu Jitang was the person who should be held accountable for everything that happened, he would be next in line when the time came to pursue responsibilities. Now that Liu Jitang had died, he would have to take the blame for everything! Like Yang Zigong, he chose to hold the enemies back in order to atone for his sins! In fact, he had no desire to live. He was planning to drag down the enemies by exhausting his life force completely. His intentions were clear for all to see. Yang Zigong understood what was going on in his mind too. ¡°Brother Peng¡­ He¡¯s planning to leave his life behind¡­¡± Yang Zigong sighed. He was clearly saying that for Shang Xia to hear. Those experts who entered the Coral Forest with Liu Jitang wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid punishment after they returned to the institution. Yang Zigong might have chosen to stay behind to hold the enemies off, but he never thought of dying! He only wished to atone for his mistakes! Previously, he had no idea who Shang Xia was. However, he racked his brains and dug out every memory he could only to discover that Shang Xia was Shang Bo¡¯s grandson! He had to try his best to put in some good words for himself! In that situation, speaking up for Peng Lanqing was the same as explaining himself. ¡°Deacon Yang, can we do anything about his injuries?¡± Shang Xia asked after disregarding everything he said earlier. ¡°Do you have any sort of medicine on you? I used up everything a long time ago. Brother Peng¡¯s medicine had long since been split among the rest.¡± Yang Zigong replied. After thinking about it, Shang Xia retrieved four cases from his Embroidered Cloud Case. ¡°I obtained these medicines in the Coral Forest, but I don¡¯t recognize any of them. Deacon Yang, can you see if any of them can be used to treat Instructor Peng¡¯s injuries?¡± Yang Zigong opened a case after Shang Xia spoke and gasped. ¡°Life Blood Powder? Even though it¡¯s only a rank two medicine, it should be useful.¡± He opened the jade box beside it after speaking. Looking at the inky green powder within, he raised an eyebrow in shock. ¡°Icy Flesh Jade Bones Powder! This is good stuff! Even though cultivators possess stronger bodies than mortals, it¡¯s difficult to strengthen them any further! This medicine can be used to temper the bodies of lower leveled cultivators! It¡¯s used in many types of assistive medication and can even assist in cultivating some martial intents!¡± Zhu Ying only focused on his escape when he was attacked by Shang Xia in the hidden chamber. He left behind all the medicines, and since Peng Lanqing couldn¡¯t use most of them, Shang Xia kept them for himself. Yang Zigong¡¯s gaze was heated as he watched those cases disappear into Shang Xia¡¯s sleeves. However, the appearance of another jade bottle stunned him. When Shang Xia popped open the cork on the bottle, he saw the look of anticipation on Yang Zigong¡¯s face. That was also something Zhu Ying left behind, but as the smell filled the air, a sneaky smile formed on Yang Zigong¡¯s face. Shang Xia didn¡¯t notice the abrupt change on the deacon¡¯s face, and he asked eagerly, ¡°What about this? Do you know how to use this medicine?¡± A strange smile hung on Yang Zigong¡¯s face. ¡°This¡­ Hehe¡­ Have you heard of the Spring Unity Powder?¡± ¡°Spring¡­¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t understand it at first, but realization dawned on him and an awkward smile soon appeared on his face. A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. Yang Zigong chuckled in his heart when he saw Shang Xia¡¯s reaction and he wanted to tease the kid a little more. However, Peng Lanqing¡¯s injuries were too serious and it didn¡¯t seem appropriate to joke around. He could only mutter softly, ¡°This¡­ Just throw it away when you leave this place.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I definitely will¡­¡± Shang Xia forced himself to maintain his serious expression. Never in his wildest imagination would he have expected Zhu Ying to possess such nonsense! Zhu Ying was barely a year older than him, but he required medicine like that to maintain his ¡®power¡¯... His situation was pretty bad in Shang Xia¡¯s opinion. Shang Xia could only bank his hope on the final case he obtained from Zhu Ying. When Yang Zigong opened the last case, a flash of joy crossed his face. He didn¡¯t wait for Shang Xia¡¯s approval before grabbing the item within. Shang Xia looked at the six needles sitting in Yang Zigong¡¯s hand and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Rank three medicines¡­ These are Essence Extracting Needles!¡± Yang Zigong explained. He immediately poked them into several points in Peng Lanqing¡¯s chest, before continuing his explanation, ¡°Many rank three medicines are administered through the use of needles like this. As long as we send enough inner qi through them, Instructor Peng will be able to absorb their medicinal properties. The effectiveness is a lot higher than powders and pastes!¡± ¡°The Essence Extracting Needle can allow a cultivator to quickly recover their inner injuries. At least, Peng Lanqing¡¯s life won¡¯t be in danger for the time being.¡± Shang Xia saw beads of perspiration dripping down Yang Zigong¡¯s forehead after he was done with the treatment. Clearly, it wasn¡¯t easy to use the Essence Extracting Needles. However, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t contain his curiosity. ¡°Deacon Yang, are medicines for advancement to the Martial Intent Realm also administered using needles?¡± Yang Zigong nodded slowly. ¡°Most of them are¡­¡± After he was done, Yang Zigong pointed at his head. Even though Shang Xia had some guesses in his heart, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Do you have to poke it into your head?¡± Yang Zigong nodded yet again. Sighing softly, Shang Xia turned his attention to Peng Lanqing who was lying on the ground. His complexion was much better than before, and his injuries had stabilized slightly. After some discussion, the two of them decided that it was safer to bring him to the core region of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. When they were discussing their plan in case they ran into cultivators of the Rose Party, two figures approached them at high speeds. ¡°It¡¯s Wang Shihai and Qian Sitong! They¡¯re here to help us! Looks like the others had already entered the core region¡­¡± Yang Zigong heaved a sigh of relief. CH 182 Out of the Martial Intent Realm cultivators of the Tongyou Institution, other than Ma Mingfeng, the only ones left on the outside were Peng Lanqing, Yang Zigong, Qian Sitong, and Wang Shihai. Peng Lanqing was an instructor of the outer division, Yang Zigong was a deacon of the Protection Division, Qian Sitong was an officer of the Outreach Division. Wang Shihai was a teacher for one of the various subjects in the institution. Qian Sitong was the most innocent of them all. After all, Liu Jitang forced him to follow their expedition in order to avoid leaking the news to other parties. When Wang Shihai and Qian Sitong saw Peng Lanqing¡¯s sorry figure in the distance, their expression sank. They only heaved a sigh of relief after hearing Yang Zigong¡¯s explanation. The two of them shot a look of amazement towards Shang Xia. Divine senses surrounded him as they wanted to verify their guesses. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Even though Shang Xia hadn¡¯t congealed his divine sense and was unable to stop them from inspecting him, he could feel a sense of discomfort as they probed him with their divine sense. ¡°Teacher Wang, Senior Qian, please ask me anything you wish to know.¡± Shang Xia revealed a bitter smile. ¡°Kid, did you really kill Murong Gaosheng? How did you do it?¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you at the grand completion stage of the Martial Realm when you stepped into the battlefield between two worlds? It hasn¡¯t been two months yet! How did you reach the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm?¡± Qian Sitong and Wang Shihai seemed to speak in unison. However, the two of them were focused on different things. Shang Xia was too lazy to explain himself and he quickly brushed them off with a random explanation. ¡°This disciple was lucky to take Murong Gaofeng by surprise. Also, I raised my cultivation through several fortuitous encounters in the battlefield between two worlds!¡± Yang Zigong could pretty much hear that Shang Xia didn¡¯t wish to be troubled any further and he quickly stopped their questioning. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about this for now. How are the rest?¡± ¡°They have already entered the core region of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. That is why we left to help you guys.¡± Wang Shihai replied. A frown slowly formed on Yang Zigong¡¯s face. ¡°Wait. If the two of you are here, who¡¯s controlling the protection formation?!¡± Of the Martial Intent Realm experts who entered the Coral Forest with Liu Jitang, they only belonged to powers loyal to the Liu Clan with Qian Sitong as the only exception. After Liu Jitang sent several Martial Realm disciples of the Tongyou Institution to their deaths, two different groups started to form among them. Without Martial Intent Realm experts to control the situation, those loyal to the Liu Clan and those who had the institution¡¯s interests at heart would have broken out into a massive brawl. Qian Sitong knew what Yang Zigong was concerned about and he chuckled, ¡°Relax. Teacher Sun managed to condense her divine sense and step into the Martial Intent Realm.¡± ¡°Teacher Sun managed to advance?¡± A flash of joy could be seen on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he gasped lightly. All of them relaxed visibly after hearing the news. Yang Zigong didn¡¯t continue to harp on the matter and he muttered, ¡°As long as the situation in the core region is stable, we¡¯ll be able to maintain the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World¡­¡± ¡°What should we do next?¡± Wang Shihai asked. His question was directed to Qian Sitong. Peng Lanqing was supposed to be their leader. Now that he was seriously injured and unresponsive, Qian Sitong would be next in line to take over as the leader of the operation. After all, his cultivation was the next highest. Qian Sitong thought for a second and replied, ¡°Let¡¯s think about it after bringing him back to the core region!¡± Everyone agreed with his suggestion and made their leave. To their surprise, Shang Xia didn¡¯t wish to follow them. Facing the weird gazes he was getting, Shang Xia explained, ¡°This disciple is very familiar with the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. I wish to take the chance to kill more disciples of the Rose Party. Wang Shihai snapped at him the moment the words left his lips. ¡°Nonsense! Even though they¡¯re a scattered bunch now, they still have some Martial Intent Realm experts among them! Even if you manage to kill Murong Gaosheng, do you think you can deal with the rest?¡± Yang Zigong understood where Shang Xia¡¯s confidence came from. However, he had to consider his position when he gave his advice. ¡°Martial Nephew Shang, you cannot act rashly. Even though we managed to gain the upper hand, we cannot move about rashly! We only need to protect the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World now and wait for the battle to blow over! There¡¯s no need to rush things!¡± Shang Xia thought about the situation Shang Bo described to him earlier before he arrived and he shook his head resolutely. ¡°Since we managed to obtain the absolute advantage in the Coral Forest, shouldn¡¯t this be the best time for us to head out and kill the enemy? We can deal a heavy blow to the Rose Party as long as we move now!¡± Wang Shihai smiled. ¡°Once we gain full control over the Coral Forest, the life and death of these people will still be controlled by us. There¡¯s no need to waste our energy taking unnecessary risks!¡± ¡°Control?¡± Shang Xia shook his head. After listening to his grandfather, he knew that the institution¡¯s main goal wasn¡¯t to control the Coral Forest. More than half the region was destroyed beyond recognition anyway! Not to mention the fact that there was a rank five undead corpse running around unchecked in the area. Qian Sitong was much more insightful than the other two and he seemed to have picked up something from Shang Xia¡¯s words. He sighed, ¡°Martial Nephew Shang, do you know something that we don¡¯t?¡± ¡°The Four Spiritual Peak have already chosen to work with the Rose Party. We might not be able to stop them from leaving if we remain idle. Also, there is a giant anomaly running rampant in here¡­¡± Shang Xia explained. Pausing for a second, his tone changed. ¡°... Also, don¡¯t you think this is a great opportunity?¡± After he spoke, he waved casually before disappearing into the various rock formations in the distance. Scrunching his face together, Wang Shihai sighed, ¡°This brat¡­¡± A bitter smile appeared on Yang Zigong¡¯s face. ¡°Looks like we won¡¯t be able to take things easy. Luckily, there aren¡¯t many Martial Intent Realm experts left in the Rose Party. We won¡¯t be in much danger as long as we take a little precaution. We can¡¯t possibly let him do all the work!¡± Qian Sitong muttered softly, ¡°Let¡¯s send Instructor Peng back before deciding on our next course of action¡­¡± Compared to the other Martial Intent Realm experts, the pressure Qian Sitong was feeling was a lot less. After all, he was brought to the Coral Forest against his will! The institution wouldn¡¯t punish him as heavily as the rest! ¡­ After the battle that just happened, the number of Martial Intent Realm experts on the other side reduced by a whole lot. That was the reason Shang Xia had the confidence to venture out by himself. He wanted to use the members of the Rose Party to train himself! He needed to comprehend his Quandary Manual and Hidden Needle Manual as soon as possible so that he could fuse them into his Yin Yang Sword Formation! When that happened, his Yin Yang Sword Formation would experience a massive increase in strength! Other than that, Shang Xia still had one last objective, He wanted to look for Dongfang Mingyu! Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s sword art caught Shang Xia¡¯s eye and he knew he had to obtain it no matter the cost! Well, before starting his grand plan, Shang Xia decided to raise his strength as much as he could. Taking out the Icy Flesh Jade Bones Powder, he planned to refine it as soon as possible. CH 183 Shang Xia¡¯s inner qi started to circulate quickly as he absorbed the medicinal effects of the Icy Flesh Jade Bones Powder. A look of disappointment flashed across his face when that happened. Cultivators would hardly use medicine to temper their bodies as that was usually done during the course of cultivation. As such, the effects of the Icy Flesh Jade Bones Powder were minuscule after Shang Xia refined it. Regardless, any type of increase was an improvement. As Shang Xia¡¯s understanding of his Yin Yang Sword Formation grew deeper, he discovered that not only would he require sturdy meridians to unleash a powerful sword formation, but he also needed a robust body! As such, he didn¡¯t hesitate to refine the Icy Flesh Jade Bones Powder. However, the effects of the medicine were far from his expectations. Throughout the refinement process, Shang Xia could feel the effects of the medicine flowing through his body. As such, he concluded that the lacking effects had nothing to do with the medicine! There could only be one reason left. Shang Xia¡¯s physical body was too damn strong! The medicine was unable to strengthen it by much! Thinking about it, Shang Xia felt that it wasn¡¯t that much of a surprise. After all, his body had been transformed greatly after training in so many different types of qi. Every time he mastered one, the qi would cleanse his body, making it stronger! His body was several times stronger than cultivators of the same level! Even though the effects would diminish every time he mastered a different pair of qi, the increase wasn¡¯t negligible! It seemed as though he had underestimated himself! ¡­ Emerging from his cultivation, the first thing Shang Xia needed to do was to locate several cultivators of the Rose Party. Holding two swords in his hand, he was currently raining down attacks on a disciple of the Rose Party at the Martial Extremity Realm. The disciple of the Rose Party might not be at the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm, but he was close! The nine-segmented whip in his hand wasn¡¯t weak either. Even so, the cultivator¡¯s attacks seemed to have landed on cotton as Shang Xia defended himself with his newfound Hidden Needle Manual. Realizing he was no match for Shang Xia, he decided to beat a hasty retreat. However, the sudden change instantly caught Shang Xia¡¯s reaction. Countless rays of sword light appeared and formed a net around him. With his route of retreat sealed, the cultivator of the Rose Party only had one choice left. He had to fight for his life! The nine-segmented whip in his hand started to dance through the air and he went crazy. Without a care in the world, he attacked Shang Xia with everything he had. He used his deadliest attack against the net of sword light surrounding him. Only then did the cultivator discover the difference between them. He couldn¡¯t cause a single scratch to the other party, much less drag his opponent to death with him! From the looks of it, his opponent wasn¡¯t deliberately messing with him. Instead, he felt like his opponent was using him to train his sword skills! A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. The moment he saw though Shang Xia¡¯s intentions, he stopped attacking altogether. Not realizing what happened, Shang Xia discovered the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian speeding up and his inner qi started to speed up. Offensive and defensive qi poured through his meridians. He clearly reached a new level of understanding of his Hidden Needle Manual. Along with the pairs of qi he fused into his Yin Yang Sword Formation, a new pair was added! The Yin Yang Sword Formation became even more perfect, and Shang Xia¡¯s understanding of different extremities deepened. A flash of inspiration struck Shang Xia and he pointed the Delicate Jade River Sword in his hand forward casually. Just that one move was enough. A sword light emerged and shot through the dense net of sword light. Even though the cultivator from the Rose Party could see the ray shooting towards him, he couldn¡¯t avoid it no matter how hard he tried. It was as though he was a magnet, and the sword was like a piece of steel pike that was drawn towards him no matter where he went. The sword light pierced through his body, but a trace of freedom filled the cultivator¡¯s mind. Not a trace of anger could be seen on his face as he fell to the ground. At the last moment, Shang Xia comprehended the key to the Hidden Needle Manual. Simplicity was the essence! He could conceal his killing intent through the simple stab, hiding the tyrannical might behind the purest of strikes! As his opponent fell, Shang Xia¡¯s qi transformation was complete. At the same time, a new sword appeared above the Yin Yang Diagram. Keeping his sword, Shang Xia¡¯s gaze shifted from the fallen cultivator and it landed on a rock formation nearby. ¡°Since you¡¯re already here, why don¡¯t you show yourself?¡± Shang Xia yelled. As soon as he spoke, a familiar figure appeared from behind the rock formation. It was precisely Dongfang Mingyu who had used Shang Xia as a training partner not too long ago. Dongfang Mingyu looked at the body before Shang Xia and he growled, ¡°Do you think it¡¯s appropriate to use him as your grindstone?¡± CH 184 ¡°You were playing with his life! What shameful behavior!¡± Dongfang Mingyu chided. However, Shang Xia seemed completely unaffected by his accusation. ¡°Wow, great master Dongfang, did you forget how I nearly died in your hands too?¡± Raising an eyebrow in shock, Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s expression changed slightly and he snapped, ¡°That¡¯s a different case. We were sparing fair and square! I even withheld my divine sense from the battle and I suppressed my cultivation to the Martial Extremity Realm¡­¡± ¡°Oh, since you¡¯re so great, tell me if my cultivation is higher than the guy I just killed.¡± Shang Xia was too lazy to mention the fact that Dongfang Mingyu unsealed his cultivation base and forced him to the edge of death with his divine sense. When it was a battle to the death, it didn¡¯t matter how other people viewed it. As long as one could deal with their conscience, they could fight however they liked. Dongfang Mingyu fell silent, but his battle intent was starting to boil. ¡°That¡¯s right! The two of us are enemies who won¡¯t stop till the other party is dead anyway! There¡¯s no need to talk about morality between us! We¡¯ll just end it with a huge battle!¡± Shang Xia raised his swords and gestured towards Dongfang Mingyu. Even though his cultivation was lower, he seemed evenly matched with the man. Dongfang Mingyu pulled out his sword and it seemed to light up the surroundings. Shang Xia¡¯s gaze remained on Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s sword for a second longer before turning to look at the man himself. A strange look formed in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m still a little curious. How did someone like you wander all the way out here? Shouldn¡¯t you be well protected by the members of the Rose Party while you make your escape? Who gave you the courage to show your face here? Aren¡¯t you afraid that you¡¯ll be surrounded and killed?¡± A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. A soft chuckle left Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s lips. ¡°Hah¡­ Aren¡¯t you also someone who refuses to stick with your faction? Outer disciple of the Tongyou Institution, descendant of the Shang Clan¡­ Shouldn¡¯t you be hiding in fear of assassination?¡± Clearly, Dongfang Mingyu did his research. ¡°Haha! Our Tongyou Institution is different from the Rose Party!¡± Shang Xia smiled. ¡°How so?¡± Dongfang Mingyu paused for a second before he continued, ¡°Don¡¯t think that you¡¯re the only ones who know what sacrificing yourself means¡­¡± Shang Xia wanted to continue to mock the other party, but he discovered something off. The Jade Creek Sword in his hand created a dense layer of sword light as the Delicate Jade River Sword in his other hand carefully waited for an opportunity to strike. A huge ray slammed into the dense sword light surrounding Shang Xia suddenly, and it threatened to tear it to pieces. Forcing Shang Xia back slightly, the Jade Creek Sword bent at a scary angle. However, his other sword wasn¡¯t there for decoration. Like a sharp needle ready to strike, it stabbed out from behind the curtain of sword lights. A clear hum rang through the skies as he struck Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s Autumn Water Sword! The giant sword light dissipated instantly as a shrill ringing filled the air. Retreating slightly, Shang Xia stabilized himself before dissipating the strange energy that invaded his sword. ¡°Twisting Twin Swords, light and heavy¡­¡± Dongfang Mingyu sighed. ¡°Too bad I already comprehended my martial intent. Even if I obtain your sword art, I will only be able to extract a little bit for my own technique.¡± His hands didn¡¯t remain idle as he was speaking. After forcing Shang Xia to take a few steps back, his sword continued to slash at Shang Xia¡¯s blind spots. Sword light filled the air and turned the air white. A solemn expression appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face as the qi in his sword transformed again. Rainbow-colored lights appeared on the blade¡¯s surface and it threatened to tear the white sky apart. At the same time, his Jade River Sword disappeared into the shadow of the other sword. In that instant, a ray of darkness tore through the skies as it shot towards Shang Xia with incredible speed. The moment it appeared, a bent sword light appeared from an amazing angle and sliced the black light in two. ¡°Clang!¡± Shang Xia took another two steps back after that clash. However, the pure white sky shattered like panes of broken glass and Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s surprised expression was quickly revealed behind it. ¡°It¡¯s shocking how you managed to transform the Murong Family¡¯s Triple Polarity Mystery Art¡­ What¡¯s more surprising is that you managed to cultivate it for real! Offense and defense, softness and strength. With the other pair of qi you displayed when fighting me for the first time, you should have already comprehended how to use three pairs of qi, right?¡± Dongfang Mingyu gasped and his gaze turned a little strange when he looked at Shang Xia. ¡°Who would have thought that you would be able to comprehend the path of light and darkness¡­ I¡¯m really interested in your martial intent now¡­¡± Shang Xia replied with his own evaluation. ¡°You¡¯ll get the chance¡­¡± Dongfang Mingyu roared with laughter and he swung his sword at Shang Xia. ¡°Now that I had a taste of your sword intents, you can go to hell now! They¡¯re surprising, but there¡¯s an end to every game¡­¡± As soon as the words left his lips, the world around them became dark. He turned into a solitary figure that stood in mid air as a terrifying pressure descended on everything around him. That was the divine sense of a Martial Intent Realm expert! Shang Xia tried his best to suppress the fear in his heart from the difference in cultivation and he realized that he was in danger. In the blink of an eye, several rays of white light fused with the darkness. It seemed to symbolize hope in a desperate situation, but there was a deadly intent hidden behind it. There was a small voice in Shang Xia¡¯s heart that was hurrying him towards the streaks of white light. Hurry up! Let¡¯s head for the light at the end of the tunnel! We¡¯ll be free! Shang Xia took a step forward unconsciously. As though the curtain of darkness was resonating with Shang Xia, it moved towards him too. Watching the curtain of black drawing closer and closer, the streaks of white became extremely glaring. It started to speed up slightly as if it couldn¡¯t wait to touch Shang Xia. Just before both sides touched each other, several specks of light emerged from Shang Xia¡¯s body. Those lights were pretty unique and each of them brought its own radiance. They spun quickly around Shang Xia and separated him from the veil of darkness. The voices in his mind also stopped. Cracking sounds filled the air as the specks of light around Shang Xia were destroyed. However, they reformed quickly. The ray of white was stopped firmly away from him, but it ground against Shang Xia¡¯s defense desperately. When the exchange went on, the darkness around him started to crumble. Rays of warm sunlight entered, restoring the world to its original form. A massive sword formation was deployed in an instant, firmly wrapping itself around Shang Xia. The rays of black and white sword lights were blocked off completely. Outside the sword formation, a trace of fright formed on the originally confident Dongfang Mingyu. CH 185 It wasn¡¯t Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s first time experiencing the chaotic flow of qi from Shang Xia. That was the other sign that a cultivator had reached the grand completion stage of their current cultivation realm! After experiencing Shang Xia¡¯s strength, Dongfang Mingyu didn¡¯t find it weird at all. The only thing that he found hard to accept was that Shang Xia wasn¡¯t affected by his divine sense at all! The weird sword formation even managed to neutralize his Black and White Sword Boundary! Even though experts at the peak of the Martial Extremity Realm who had the ability to withstand a Martial Intent Realm expert¡¯s divine sense were extremely rare, it was still possible to find one if they looked hard enough. However, he had never seen a Martial Extremity Realm cultivator nullifying his Black and White Sword Boundary! In his eyes, it was completely ridiculous for Shang Xia to block off a Martial Intent Realm expert¡¯s all-out attack! Dongfang Mingyu comprehended his Black and White Sword Boundary when he was in the Martial Extremity Realm! His advancement should have increased the power contained in his martial intent, but it was easily blocked by Shang Xia! From the quality of martial intents, his Black and White Sword Boundary wasn¡¯t too far off Shang Xia¡¯s Yin Yang Sword Formation! No matter what, he couldn¡¯t understand how the both of them were evenly matched. His arrogant self could never accept it! Even if they were only evenly matched on the surface and he was still reserving his strength, his poor little heart couldn¡¯t take the insult! The first time they fought, Dongfang Mingyu discovered that the moment he used his divine sense, he would be able to suppress the other party to the point where he couldn¡¯t raise his head! Now, even when he gave it his all, his opponent didn¡¯t seem weakened in the slightest! The sword formation protecting Shang Xia didn¡¯t look too grand, nor did it exude a terrifying aura. Despite its weak appearance, Dongfang Mingyu couldn¡¯t break his way into it no matter how hard he tried! Of course, if he was given enough time, he would be able to wear Shang Xia down with his cultivation base at the Martial Intent Realm. The only problem he had was exactly that! Time wasn¡¯t on his side. When Shang Xia was hunting down the members of the Rose Party in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, Yang Zigong, Wang Shihai, and Qian Sitong seemed to have reached the same understanding. They controlled the protection formation flawlessly and would hunt down disciples of the Rose Party from time to time. Their actions caused a huge amount of casualties on the side of the Rose Party. The two of them might not have fought for long, but when Dongfang Mingyu thought that someone could have noticed his actions, he realized that it wouldn¡¯t be long before the Tongyou Institution started to send some backup over. He had to leave before that! Since the notion of retreating appeared in his mind, his Black and White Sword Boundary started to fade. Feeling the changes in the situation, Shang Xia¡¯s Yin Yang Sword Formation which was at a slight disadvantage started to transform once again! Initially, Shang Xia was surrounded by a dense layer of sword light. They seemed to have received some sort of summoning as they returned to the Jade River Sword with a single thought from Shang Xia. They slowly turned into a giant ray of sword qi that contained four colors. The moment it formed, the Black and White Sword Boundary was unable to suppress it in the slightest! Tearing through the skies, the four-colored sword qi ripped the Black and White Sword Boundary apart. Suppressing the shock in his heart, Dongfang Mingyu decided to escape with all his might. Controlling his remaining sword qi to form tiny little rays, they rained down on Shang Xia in an attempt to stall him a second longer. Shang Xia was helpless and he couldn¡¯t deal with Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s shameless behavior even if he wanted to. He chose to transform his Yin Yang Sword Formation once more. A terrifying wave of energy wiped out the countless strands of sword qi rushing towards him. Dongfang Mingyu ran as quickly as he could while that was happening. Even though Shang Xia could freely transform his qi into any of the four pairs he mastered, it took up a lot of inner qi. His previous attack to shatter the sword qi raining down on him used up a huge portion of his remaining strength. Seeing as Dongfang Mingyu had already escaped tens of feet away, he knew that he couldn¡¯t catch up even if he tried. Trying his best to force Dongfang Mingyu to remain behind, Shang Xia controlled his sword qi to charge at the man. ¡°Do you really think you can run?! Eat my sword!¡± The condensed sword qis charged at Dongfang Mingyu. They seemed to speed up suddenly as they stabbed towards his back. Seeing as he was about to be struck, a hairpin appeared above Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s head. It hovered in the air for a second before emitting a ray of bluish-red sword light. It sliced down behind Dongfang Mingyu as it covered his escape. The moment it came into contact with Shang Xia¡¯s sword qi, a huge explosion filled the air. The hairpin was clearly a treasure that contained an expert¡¯s divine sense, and it was obviously Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s life-saving treasure. Even though the sword qi that emerged couldn¡¯t be compared to Shang Ke¡¯s Suspended Spear when Shang Xia slayed Murong Yuntian, it was powerful enough! As long as it wasn¡¯t broken completely, Dongfang Mingyu could still use the remaining power stored within! From that point alone, one could see how much better Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s treasure was. Well, it didn¡¯t really matter as the hairpin exploded into countless shards after the sword qi came into contact with Shang Xia¡¯s attack. Dongfang Mingyu turned to look behind him, and he could no longer contain his horror. His life-saving treasure was completely destroyed! Even though he expected it to suffer some damages, he felt that he would still be able to use it once more in a desperate situation. However, the attack from a kid at the Martial Extremity Realm shattered it completely! Shang Xia was extremely confused too. He released that attack in a state of desperation. He hastily combined the four types of sword qi into a single sword made from heaven and earth qi, giving it the strength to destroy anything that stood in its way! He was dumbfounded by the power contained in the strike! Only then did he suddenly realize something. The sword was the origin of everything. It was no wonder the power increased by so many times when he fused them back into a single sword! Circulating his Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian, four tiny swords appeared above them again. At the same time, a huge sword made from four different extremities started to form. It seemed to contain unrivaled might! Not even Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s lifesaving treasure could stop him! Dongfang Mingyu might have been taken aback by the sudden change in the situation and stopped attacking, but Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t play fair. Especially when their enmity and previous battle had reached a point where one side had to die! Whatever. It wasn¡¯t as though Shang Xia was really honorable to begin with. Attacking when his opponents were distracted was one of his special moves. Jade Creek tore through the air and another sword qi containing four extremities emerged. This time, it was much smaller than the sword that sundered Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s life-saving treasure. Despite the difference in size, Dongfang Mingyu yelped in shock before retreating as far away as possible. His Autumn Water Sword slashed at the incoming sword qi in a desperate attempt to block it. His Black and White Sword Boundary appeared once again, but Shang Xia¡¯s Four Intents Sword Qi was even more ferocious this time! In an instant, the Black and White Sword Boundary was turned to nothingness. Find the original at "pawread dot com". That wasn¡¯t all. His Four Intents Sword Qi arrived before Dongfang Mingyu and started to wreak havoc. It managed to slice his sleeves right off, and the destructive energy shattered Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s Embroidered Cloud Case that was contained within. An assortment of treasures rained down on the lands. CH 186 It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Even though he managed to make contact, Shang Xia still underestimated the other party¡¯s strength! His Yin Yang Sword Formation made a breakthrough at the last moment, and he managed to defeat Dongfang Mingyu head-on. However, he was still unable to force Dongfang Mingyu to leave his life behind. However, it might be a good thing that Dongfang Mingyu ran away as quickly as he could. Shang Xia had exhausted his entire reserve of inner qi. Not too long after Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s figure disappeared, Shang Xia staggered to the side and spat out a mouthful of blood. ¡°Damn! His Black and White Sword Boundary is really powerful!¡± Shang Xia even thought that he was going to die under Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s sword earlier! During the exchange, a small portion of black and white qi entered Shang Xia¡¯s body. It was formless and nearly undetectable. Without the Yin Yang Diagram to neutralize it for the time being, Shang Xia might be ridden with hidden injuries! It was something he couldn¡¯t defend himself against! The strand of black and white qi followed his flow of inner qi back into his dantian now that the battle was over. He only managed to detect it when he rotated his Yin Yang Diagram earlier. If it was anyone else, they wouldn¡¯t be able to notice the anomaly! The strand of black and white qi would probably detonate in their bodies at an opportune moment for Dongfang Mingyu to strike. Dongfang Mingyu could only blame his bad luck for attacking Shang Xia. That was the reason he turned tail to run. He noticed that his strand of qi wasn¡¯t working like it normally would. To Shang Xia, this hidden attack was a massive treasure trove. The stand of black and white qi contained Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s divine sense! Once Shang Xia destroyed the divine sense contained in the strand of qi, he would be able to convert it into his Yin Yang Essence Qi! Shang Xia¡¯s injuries mainly came from the divine sense anyway, once he spent some time shattering it, he would recover too. Throughout the process of the conversion, Shang Xia would be able to inspect the source of black and white qi. Like when he refined the Unstable Rock and comprehended the use of light and heavy qi, he might be able to do the same for the strand of black and white qi! If that happened, he could freely transform his qi into it when the time came! Moreover, the strand of black and white qi would be a whole lot more effective than the Unsteady Rock when he tried to understand the meaning behind the pair of qi. Since he couldn¡¯t really go after Dongfang Mingyu or enter seclusion that very second to study the strand of black and white qi, he could only treat his injuries the best he could. He picked up the items that fell from Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s Embroidered Cloud Case and tossed them into his own. He barely glanced through them as though he was in a race against time. He quickly left the region. Shang Xia also had a feeling that he would run into Dongfang Mingyu again. When that happened, the exchange between the two would only grow more violent. In the core region of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World... The moment he appeared, a huge ruckus was kicked up. He didn¡¯t mind it too much and decided to do his own thing. Healing his injuries was of the highest priority. Even though he saw a few familiar faces in the core region, he only made a quick report to Sun Haiwei and Ma Xiaofeng before entering a random cultivation cave to cultivate. ¡­ In a place that couldn¡¯t be accessed by anyone under the Martial Extermination Realm, several experts were exchanging blows. Shang Bo sealed off the space with the Coral Command, and whatever happened there wouldn¡¯t affect the Coral Forest at all. Of course, he only managed to do that after controlling the Coral Command entirely. Other than several plots of land, everywhere else was turned into a pile of ruins. ¡­ Not too far away from the Tongyou Peak¡­ Two teams of cultivators from the Azure Spiritual World and Azure Origin World gathered together, and there were close to a hundred experts ready to strike. One of the teams consisted of experts from the Four Spiritual Peak, led by Lang Jingyun and Lu Zhanyi. The other was led by She Zhihong, and he was the brother of She Zhiqing who lost his life in the battle on the Tongyou Peak. The only thing that made him stand out from the rest was that his age was a lot higher than the rest. His experiences were rich and his cultivation was strong. Even Lang Jingyun and Lu Zhanyi could only address him as their elder. ¡°Uncle Hong, the Tongyou Peak is right up ahead!¡± Lang Jingyun bowed respectfully. She Zhihong¡¯s appearance was pretty scary. His face was large, and his ears were like huge fans. He wore a strict expression all the time. ¡°Can you ascertain the situation on the mountain right now?¡± She Zhihong continued, ¡°I just arrived here and I¡¯m not overly familiar with the situation. Everything I know comes from you guys. Look at the mess you caused! You even caused Zhiqing to die during the previous battle!¡± Lang Jingyun¡¯s expression froze and a dry cough escaped his lips. ¡°Of course. We are sure that Ji Wenlong, Shang Bo, and Shang Lubing have entered the Coral Forest. The only Martial Extermination Realm expert from the institution left on the mountain is Liu Qinglan. No one else is strong enough for us to take note of them! The only thing we need to be careful of is the protection formation! If Uncle Hong makes a move, it will fall for sure!¡± She Zhihong didn¡¯t fully believe what he said earlier. Instead, he continued his line of questioning. ¡°Is there really only Liu Qinglan left? Are you sure they didn¡¯t send any experts over secretly?¡± ¡°Uncle Hong, you might not know this, but there are only so few Martial Extermination Realm experts in the Tongyou Institution! That¡¯s how we managed to keep the balance up till now! Kou Chongxue only managed to step into the Martial Dipper Realm with his dogshit luck. However, he¡¯s seriously injured right now and Yun Jing has to oversee matters in the institution. She can¡¯t leave even if she wanted to. The Tongyou Institution cannot possibly bring out any more experts!¡± ¡°Is that so¡­¡± She Zhihong looked at Lang Jingyun with a faint smile on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, you guys were extremely confident when attacking the Tongyou Peak the last time. Three completely unexpected variables appeared during the war! If another one appears this time, this old man won¡¯t be surprised at all¡­¡± Lang Jingyun¡¯s face flushed red and Lu Zhanyi could only jump in to help mitigate the awkward situation. ¡°Elder Hong, you''re more experienced than all of us here. If you lead us into battle later, nothing unexpected can happen. Even if an additional expert at the Martial Extermination Realm appears, we¡¯ll be able to deal with it.¡± After he spoke, he didn¡¯t forget to signal towards Lang Jingyun with his eyes. Hesitating for a second, Lang Jingyun eventually nodded his head to pander to the old man¡¯s ego. ¡°Brother Lu is right! Uncle Hong, we¡¯ll definitely achieve our goal today!¡± ¡­ In one of the secret chambers, Shang Xia completed the transformation of the strand of black and white qi in his dantian. He managed to learn how to transform his Yin Yang Essence Qi into it and he couldn¡¯t hide his smile. The accumulation of different types of qi might not increase his cultivation level, but it strengthened his foundations quite a bit! He would grow stronger than before! Moreover, he could feel that the more pairs of qi he comprehended, the stronger his Yin Yang Essence Qi would become. His inner qi became purer every time he comprehended a new type. There was no doubt about it that he took another step closer to breaking through to the Martial Intent Realm. If he had an advancement formula, he was sure that the blood red tablet would be able to optimize it immediately. In actuality, there was an advancement formula of the Zhu Family when he obtained Zhu Ying¡¯s Embroidered Cloud Case. However, he was trying to avoid using it. There was no need to think more about it. Shang Xia brought out another sword manual, and it was the Dual Interference Sword Manual Dongfang Mingyu dropped! CH 187 The injuries Shang Xia sustained weren¡¯t too serious. Especially after he transformed the strand of black and white qi into his own, more than half his injuries healed. With the Icy Flesh Jade Bones Powder he refined earlier, his body became even more resistant. Moreover, there were tons of medicine residue left in his body in the past and all of them helped him to reduce the extent of his injuries. He no longer planned to head out to kill cultivators from the Rose Party as he had achieved his goal. The fate of those from the Rose Party was held in the hands of the Martial Extermination Realm experts anyway. Shang Xia heading out made no difference. The most likely outcome would be that several Martial Extermination Realm experts from the Rose Party and Four Spiritual Peak would leave their lives behind. Whatever the case, Shang Xia had no control over any of it. Retrieving the Dual Interference Sword Manual, Shang Xia planned to train in it. He had read through the entire inheritance, and he knew the essence of it. Even though he hadn¡¯t started training in it, he pretty much gained a general understanding of how it worked. After ignoring the rest of the injuries he sustained that weren¡¯t so serious, Shang Xia¡¯s newest problem was that he had to continue tempering his body. Planing the manual down on the ground, another different type of powder appeared in his hand. It also belonged to Dongfang Mingyu. One could say that Shang Xia¡¯s luck was pretty good this time. The Dual Interference Sword Manual and the medicine were both things he could use immediately to increase his strength. The only problem was that Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s Embroidered Cloud Case was shattered by Shang Xia¡¯s sword qi earlier. No one knew how much good stuff was destroyed with it. Shang Xia¡¯s heart started to ache slightly when he thought about them. As an elite cultivator from the Dongfang Family, Dongfang Mingyu was sure to possess quite a few treasures. Moreover, he was pretty strong compared to the rest of the cultivators who entered. The number of goodies he obtained ever since entering the Coral Forest was bound to be plentiful. Even though some of them were destroyed, those Shang Xia picked up piled up in his spatial treasure. After tossing another portion of Tempering Meridian Powder into his mouth, Shang Xia started to concentrate on absorbing its medicinal properties. Since he had experience of eating the Tempering Meridian Powder before, he decided to eat a portion of Meridian Expanding Powder along with it. When he was done refining all his medicine, he started to consolidate his foundations. Training his qi of softness and strength, void and reality, fire and ice, he was ready to fight at any moment. It could also allow him to display a greater amount of strength! Even though he didn¡¯t suffer any injuries when fusing the Hidden Needle Manual into his Yin Yang Sword Formation, it was because of the little extra boost he got when he refined the Icy Flesh Jade Bones Powder. When he reached enlightenment during his final strike on Dongfang Mingyu and fused all four different pairs of qi into a single sword, his martial intent, the Yin Yang Sword Formation, reached its second form! Too bad it drained all his energy. In that state, he was unable to unleash a second strike! If he did it forcefully, he would only injure himself in the process! If Dongfang Mingyu knew what had happened, he would realize why Shang Xia didn¡¯t give chase immediately. As for the medicine Shang Xia just consumed, the effects would be much less than before since it wasn¡¯t his first time eating them. If the effects of the second portion of medicine reached half of the first, he could thank the gods. Shang Xia planned out his path directly. After consuming the medicine, he would continue to comprehend the Quandary Manual and the Dual Interference Sword Manual. Once he managed to form the two other swords in his Yin Yang Diagram, the Yin Yang Formation would take a huge step forward. With his cultivation base as a guide, Shang Xia knew that he had to start preparing to enter the Martial Intent Realm soon. He was thinking of remaining in the stone chamber for a period of time to digest his gains from the Coral Forest, but a sudden change in situation caused him to emerge. It was as though doomsday had arrived as a giant hole was torn through the skies. Massive hurricanes swept the land. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t foreign to the disturbance at all. When the Four Spiritual Peak attacked the Tongyou Peak in the past, the battle between the Martial Extermination Realm experts was at that scale. ¡°Who died this time?¡± Shang Xia located Sun Haiwei immediately after emerging and asked. ¡°Lang Xiaoyun and another Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Rose Party!¡± ¡°They died together?¡± Shang Xia frowned. Shaking her head, Sun Haiwei replied, ¡°Pretty much¡­ Lang Xiaoyun died first and Dongfang Daying followed soon after.¡± ¡°What about the hole in the sky? Did Zhu Tong run away?¡± Shang Xia continued. ¡°Zhu Tong?¡± Sun Haiwei was slightly taken aback. ¡°The hole appeared when the two of them died. It seemed as though a giant palm tore through the skies and slapped them both into meat paste. They couldn¡¯t resist at all! In fact, they didn¡¯t look like they were planning to fight back!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes widened in shock and his heart sank slightly. He suddenly recalled what Dongfang Mingyu said, ''The members of the Tongyou Institution aren¡¯t the only ones who know what sacrificing themselves''. ¡°What about Zhu Tong? I mean, the rank five undead corpse! Did it get away?¡± Shang Xia asked hurriedly. Sun Haiwei¡¯s expression was solemn as she shook her head. She knew how serious it was. Dongfang Daying and Lang Xiaoyun were powerful experts at the Martial Extermination Realm! Even so, they were killed without the slightest resistance! However, their deaths weren''t in vain. They managed to blow a passage through the Coral Forest during their deaths, opening a path for the members of the Rose Party and the remaining experts. Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo had to make a choice. They could either stop the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Four Spiritual Peak from leaving, or they could focus their energy to trap Zhu Tong in the Coral Forest! Since they decided to sacrifice their lives, the two Martial Extermination Realm experts were able to shatter the stalemate and advantage the Tongyou Peak had over them! A heaven-shattering roar rocked the space around them, and another layer in the space above them seemed to rip apart. Shang Xia and Sun Haiwei¡¯s expressions changed instantly. From the looks of it, Zhu Tong had entered the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World! Huge fluctuations appeared in the skies and tiny sparks of light condensed to form a huge lance that crashed into the land below. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. When that happened, Yan Su¡¯er grabbed Ran Biluo as they charged towards the hole created during the deaths of Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying. CH 188 In the air above the Tongyou Peak¡­ She Zhihong, Lang Jingyun, and Lu Zhanyi revealed themselves at the same time. When they released their attacks in unison, the protection formation of the Tongyou Institution trembled violently. It seemed as though it would shatter at any moment. Dense fog appeared all of a sudden to surround their forces, causing a shift in the battlefield immediately. Even though they were close to achieving their goals, She Zhihong¡¯s expression was far from happy. Instead, a look of irritation flashed across it. ¡°Is this what your Four Spiritual Peak means by only having a single Martial Extermination Realm expert holding the fort?! How do you explain that extermination origin?!¡± A look of shock appeared on Lang Jingyun¡¯s face when he was faced with the old expert¡¯s questioning. Lu Zhanyi cleverly moved to the side the moment She Zhihong started. He started saving those trapped in the poisonous fog, and he chose to ignore the other two completely. Even though he was roped in by the Four Spiritual Peak, he didn¡¯t belong to any power! He didn¡¯t wish to be dragged into the meaningless power struggles! The only reason he accepted the mission to begin with was because of the benefits they promised him. He was willing to assist them, but he would never risk his life! After all, there was no use holding all the riches in the world when one was dead! He also swore never to take part in the power struggle or enmity between the four races of the Tongyou Peak. In return, they wouldn¡¯t be allowed to command him as they wished either. The poison fog covered a huge area under the foot of the Tongyou Peak, but even though it was powerful, the potency of the poison would dissipate as the fog dispersed even more. Experts at the Martial Extermination Realm would be able to move around as they pleased once they were ready for it. However, the same couldn¡¯t be said for the forces they brought along! More than ten disciples had already fallen into the poison fog. Of course, most of them were merely at the Martial Extermination Realm. There were several others who managed to escape the region surrounded by the fog. Even though their lives were no longer in danger, they had to restore their strengths with various medicines. They wouldn¡¯t be able to fight for the foreseeable future. In an instant, the assailants on the Tongyou Peak suffered a huge blow to their strength. They lost some fighting strength before the war even started! ¡°Who?!¡± She Zhihong roared and the spear in his hand shot outwards, tearing a hole through the protection formation. His extermination origin swept through the air like a snake and huge explosions rang through the skies as they smashed into the body of the Qiling Peak. When he retrieved his spear, another wave of poisonous fog emerged from the hole he created in the protection formation. Even with his cultivation, he could only retreat hastily. He didn¡¯t wish to be polluted by the unknown poison. ¡°This junior is Kang Ci of the Tongyou Institution. I wonder how I should address senior?¡± A blurry figure appeared in the air. Lang Jingyun quickly explained, ¡°This person is one of the four great masters of the Outreach Division of the Tongyou Institution. He serves under Yun Jing. He took part in the war previously, but he was only a Martial Intent Realm expert then. I have no idea how he managed to break through in such a short period of time¡­¡± She Zhihong shot a glare towards Lang Jingyun but he eventually turned to the blurry figure. ¡°This old man is She Zhihong. I am She Zhiqing¡¯s brother!¡± Kang Ci¡¯s phantom nodded lightly and sighed, ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°You made a move against lower leveled cultivators, violating the promise all Martial Extermination Realm cultivators made in the past¡­ Are you planning on going against the oath?¡± She Zhihong growled. Kang Ci chuckled, ¡°What do you mean? You guys started an attack on our Tongyou Peak all of a sudden. I only reacted instinctively. Those who were affected by the poison fog were merely collateral damage when you attacked us!¡± A snort left She Zhihong¡¯s lips. ¡°You¡¯re being unreasonable¡­¡± Kang Ci¡¯s expression turned frosty all of a sudden. ¡°Humph, if not for your sneak attack, why would they be injured? Am I supposed to let you guys destroy the Tongyou Peak as you wish? Are you stupid? If I let you run wild, I won¡¯t be able to explain my actions to the others!¡± ¡°Nonsense!¡± She Zhihong snapped. Before he could continue, soft laughter rang through the air. ¡°How laughable! You took the chance when the deputy patriarchs left to launch a sneak attack on our Tongyou Peak and you¡¯re claiming to be the victims here. Are your actions really glorious? Should I prepare a medal for you? Both of us are enemies and we¡¯re going to fight to the death anyway. Stop wasting time trying to gain the moral high ground on us.¡± The figure of a pretty lady appeared above the protection formation after the words rang in their ears and Liu Qinglan¡¯s projection appeared. ¡°With the two of us here and so many of your disciples incapacitated, I suggest you scram. It¡¯s your choice if you wish to risk it all, our Tongyou Peak will never yield to despicable scum like you!¡± Liu Qinglan snorted before her projection disappeared alongside Kang Ci. A look of hesitation appeared in She Zhihong¡¯s eyes. Lang Jingyun felt his heart thumping in his chest, both from anger and fear. He eventually asked, ¡°Uncle Hong, what do we do now?¡± The entire group had fallen into an extremely awkward situation now that they were exposed. The opponent had another Martial Extermination Realm expert on their side, and they also had a fully functioning protection formation. The three of them were definitely unable to shatter the protection formation for real. They might be able to poke holes in it, but the formation would recover quickly. If they really wanted to shatter the protection formation, they would have to send out the entirety of their forces to assault the periphery of the barrier in all directions. If they were able to do that, they might be able to wear the barrier down eventually. It was too bad the lower leveled cultivators of their assault group were affected by the poison. They wouldn¡¯t dare to venture near the barrier anyway. Under such circumstances, they wouldn¡¯t be able to shatter it! However, if they chose to retreat at that moment, all their preparations would have been for naught. Regardless of whether it was She Zhihong or Lang Jingyun, they were confident of shattering the protection formation of the Tongyou Peak before they came. They dreamed of shattering the stalemate in the battlefield between two worlds, but their plan was destroyed in the blink of an eye. Their faces stung from the shame and humiliation! Faced with such a difficult choice, the two of them were at a loss of what to do when the awkward situation was shattered by a loud blast. A strong shockwave tore through the lands. She Zhihong, Lang Jingyun, and Lu Zhanyi turned to stare towards the direction of the disturbance and stared at each other in fright. The three of them weren¡¯t the only ones who were shocked. Liu Qinglan and Kang Ci who were on the Tongyou Peak appeared near the edge of the barrier before staring in the same direction. ¡°This¡­ This disturbance is larger than when someone enters the Martial Extermination Realm! Either a Martial Extermination Realm expert fell, or a monster is achieving a breakthrough to the Martial Dipper Realm!¡± She Zhihong muttered. Of course, he didn¡¯t think it was possible for someone to advance into the Martial Dipper Realm at all. ¡°Which direction did that come from?¡± He asked Lang Jingyun. ¡°It¡¯s the Coral Forest!¡± A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. CH 189 ¡­ Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" Regardless of Lang Xiaoyun or Dongfang Daying, neither of them intended to sacrifice themselves. They had been looking for chances to escape the whole time, but it was too bad the Coral Forest was made up of multiple regions of space. There were barriers stopping them from breaking through regions as they pleased, and it formed a massive hindrance to their escape. With their cultivation at the Martial Extermination Realm, they could break through the barriers forcefully, but they needed to expand a bit of energy and time. Both were things they couldn¡¯t afford to waste with Zhu Tong on their tail! There was no way the rank five undead corpse would give them the luxury to do whatever they wanted. If they risked their lives and gave it their all while waiting for their backup to arrive, it was definitely possible to escape! They quickly made secret transmissions to those from their faction. When Yan Su¡¯er, Ran Biluo, Yuwen Shengjie, and Sima Zhanxing received their reports, they started to move. Both sides might be suspicious of each other, but they had to cooperate in that critical moment! They couldn¡¯t watch as the strongest experts from their factions died in the hand of an undead corpse. After all, Martial Extermination Realm cultivators were extremely valuable! It was too bad their actions were discovered by Shang Bo the moment they moved. The moment Ji Wenlong and Shang Lubing moved out, the fates of Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying were sealed! With no other alternatives, Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying could only harden their resolve. Rather than waiting to be eaten by Zhu Tong after exhausting themselves, they would use the last of their strength to tear open an avenue of hope for the others! When they discovered that the members of the Tongyou Peak were the ones who refined the Coral Command, they already expected as much. The Tongyou Peak¡¯s plan of dealing with all of them in one fell swoop was obvious! If they tried to come up with a plan to snatch the Coral Command from Shang Bo, they would probably drown in the spit of everyone in their respective worlds. Since that was impossible, they could only sacrifice themselves for the others to fight another day. They could even leave the rank five undead corpse to trouble the members of the Tongyou Institution. Things played out exactly as they thought. When they blew a hole in the Coral Forest, Zhu Tong turned to head towards the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World where the others were hiding. Feeling the life force of so many disciples was one thing, but Zhu Tong could feel a special resonance with a bloodline there! Shang Bo didn¡¯t know if Zhu Tong was attracted by the bloodline of someone from the Zhu Family, but with so many lower leveled disciples of the institution gathered there, Shang Bo couldn¡¯t ignore them! His Nine Firefly Lance tore through the skies to obstruct Zhu Tong who was rushing over. Even though Shang Bo had just entered the fourth layer of the Martial Extermination Realm, his strength wasn¡¯t too far off from Ji Wenlong. With the Coral Command and ability to control the space around the Coral Forest, the strength he could unleash was terrifying! Despite that, Zhu Tong managed to send his lance flying away with a single punch. Shang Bo¡¯s heart sank instantly. When he grabbed his lance again, his hands trembled violently. His meridians felt like they were about to shatter. Even so, he could only continue to chase after Zhu Tong in an attempt to stop him. In mid air, Yan Su¡¯er dragged a heavily injured Ran Biluo towards the hole the two experts blew open. The staff in her hands swept backwards desperately, forcing Shang Lubing to retreat. The shockwaves produced by Yan Su¡¯er were too large and Sima Zhanxing fell back towards the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. ¡°Leave this place to me, you should go bring the others away!¡± Yuwen Shengjie yelled at Sima Zhanxing, but before he could fully complete his sentence, a giant blade tore through the air. He was slammed into the ground ruthlessly. Ji Wenlong appeared in the next instant as his blade drew several beautiful arcs through the skies. Behind him was Shang Lubing and a pale Liu Zhuyuan. Even though Yan Su¡¯er and Ran Biluo managed to escape through the hole earlier, they were forced back by Shang Lubing and Liu Zhiyuan. They stood opposite the Tongyou Institution¡¯s trio as their chests heaved up and down. Yuwen Shengjie wasn¡¯t looking too good either. He was alright on the surface, but he was forcefully pushing himself with the use of various secret techniques. His situation was terrible, causing Yan Su¡¯er¡¯s heart to sink slightly. ¡°Shang Bo won¡¯t be able to hold the rank five undead corpse back alone¡­¡± Yan Su¡¯er muttered. She was clearly speaking to Ji Wenlong about the matter. However, her ¡®warning¡¯ was met with a hearty chuckle. Shang Lubing revealed a gratified smile too, and so did Liu Zhiyuan. ¡°You guys¡­¡± Sima Zhanxing¡¯s voice came from behind Yan Su¡¯er. A sense of foreboding filled Yan Su¡¯er¡¯s heart and she quickly turned around to see the hole created with Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying¡¯s lives in exchange rapidly closing up. That wasn¡¯t all. When Yan Su¡¯er was forcefully holding them back earlier, she couldn¡¯t feel a thing. Now that she had time to breathe, she discovered that even the space around them was turning more solid. The Coral Command could only be rapidly refined in the hands of a Martial Extermination Realm expert, and there were only two super experts of the institution who could hold on to it. Yan Su¡¯er and the rest knew that either Shang Bo or Ji Wenlong would be holding on to it. However, neither of them would be able to restore the space while fighting, and Yan Su¡¯er expression changed drastically. ¡°It¡¯s a formation master! You have a formation master in the core region, stabilizing the grand formation!¡± Yan Su¡¯er gasped. Ji Wenlong¡¯s laughter tore through the skies and so did his blade. Shang Lubing and Liu Zhiyuan didn¡¯t hold back as they launched their attacks in tandem. Swinging her staff, Yan Su¡¯er pushed herself to the limit. A faint trace of a fourth extermination origin appeared, slicing apart Ji Wenlong¡¯s blade intent. Under such stressful circumstances, Yan Su¡¯er finally broke through the bottleneck! She started to step into the fourth layer of the Martial Extermination Realm! Yuwen Shengjie wasn¡¯t as lucky as her. Ji Wenlong¡¯s blade intent had been split in two to attack both of them simultaneously anyway. His blade intent arrived, along with Shang Lubing and Liu Zhiyuan¡¯s attack. Clearly, the members of the Tongyou Institution wanted to deal with the weakling that was Yuwen Shengjie first. Forcefully destroying Ji Wenlong¡¯s blade intent, Yuwen Shengjie expended most of his energy. He was no longer able to stop the other two, and his secret art that maintained his outward appearance crumbled. He spat out mouthfuls of blood as he was sent crashing into the ground below. Ji Wenlong took the chance to press the advantage. However, he paused before he could arrive. Turning in the direction of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, he growled, ¡°I¡¯ll leave you two to deal with this mess¡­¡± As soon as he spoke, he rushed in the other direction. Shang Lubing looked at the members of the Rose Party who had partially escaped through the closing hole and turned to the vigilant Yan Su¡¯er as a sigh escaped his lips. ¡°Alas¡­ We didn¡¯t manage to deal with them completely¡­¡± CH 190 In mid air, the heavily injured Ran Biluo joined hands with Sima Zhanxing as they evacuated all the members of the Rose Party they could. Yan Su¡¯er was stopping the gap from closing as Yuwen Shengjie was dying beside her. She wasn¡¯t willing to let an ally die right in front of her and she stood tall before him. Liu Zhiyuan wanted to make a move, but he was stopped by Shang Lubing. When Liu Zhiyuan was staring at the senior Martial Extermination Realm expert in confusion, the disciples of the Rose Party were evacuating as quickly as they could. The moment Liu Zhiyuan or Shang Lubing interrupted them and allowed the gap in the Coral Forest to seal up, the juniors of the Rose Party would definitely die. However, that would also mean that Yan Su¡¯er and the rest had nothing to lose. They would go all out and risk their lives to fight Liu Zhiyuan and Shang Lubing. With Shang Bo and Ji Wenlong fighting Zhu Tong, the two of them wouldn¡¯t be able to stop Yan Su¡¯er themselves regardless of her state of injury! When that happened, the Tongyou Institution was probably going to be the ones in trouble. ¡°So¡­ Are we going to watch them leave?!¡± Liu Zhiyuan wasn¡¯t willing to accept it. Shang Lubing thought for a second before laughing, ¡°We¡¯re concerned about the Coral Forest. Once they leave, we won¡¯t have to worry anymore.¡± Liu Zhiyuan eventually nodded his head. When he turned to stare behind him where Shang Bo and Ji Wenlong were battling the rank five undead corpse, a look of viciousness appeared in his eyes. ¡­ The instant the Nine Firefly Lance appeared in the air, Shang Xia¡¯s expression changed. Sun Haiwei could see Shang Xia¡¯s sleeves trembling and she tried to comfort him, ¡°Calm down¡­ Deputy Patriarch Shang is really strong. He has the Coral Command too. Even if it''s a rank five undead corpse, it won¡¯t be able to do anything to him. Don¡¯t forget, even Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying managed to survive for a long time against the undead corpse.¡± Shang Xia forced a smile in response. When their exchange went down, the sky was filled with multicolored lights. A ray of extermination origin formed a giant blade that slashed into the chaotic battle. Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" ¡°Look! Deputy Patriarch Ji entered the battle too! The two of them are definitely strong enough to deal with the problem!¡± Sun Haiwei continued. After she spoke, the two of them turned to look in the direction of the hole that was blown through the Coral Forest. They discovered that the battle had already ended, and they finally heaved a sigh of relief. Turning back to Shang Xia, Sun Haiwei noticed that was wearing an ugly expression and she couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Junior Brother Shang, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°My injuries are acting up again¡­ Senior Sister Sun, I¡¯ll have to enter seclusion again to ensure nothing is wrong.¡± Shang Xia revealed a bitter smile and said. ¡°Go quickly!¡± Returning to his secret chamber, Shang Xia retrieved an Embroidered Cloud Case carefully. When Shang Bo tried to stop Zhu Tong earlier, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t too terrified. He was merely shocked. That was because the moment Zhu Tong tore through the spatial barrier to enter the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, Shang Xia felt the case shaking slightly. It was something he obtained from Zhu Ying¡¯s body, and it was where he stored the dude''s corpse. It had been some time since he obtained the case, but there seemed to be nothing wrong with it. Shang Xia would rather be beaten to death than believe that Zhu Tong had nothing to do with the case¡¯s reaction. He felt that it had something to do with Zhu Tong¡¯s appearance in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. Perhaps the resonance had something to do with the bloodline in Zhu Ying¡¯s body. That was the reason Shang Xia kept Zhu Ying¡¯s body in the case in the first place. However, the Embroidered Cloud Case was a spatial artifact. Shouldn¡¯t it have some kind of isolation properties?! Curiosity got the better of Shang Xia and he decided to bring out Zhu Ying¡¯s body to take a closer look. Due to the preservation effects of the spatial artifact, Zhu Ying¡¯s corpse was exactly the way it was when he died. The stench of blood filled the chamber the instant Shang Xia brought the corpse out. In the same instant he pulled out the body, an enraged cry ripped through the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. Even in the secret chamber, Shang Xia could feel his eardrums hurting. A strange scene soon played out. The blood on Zhu Ying¡¯s body started to bubble, and it turned into a faint mist that rose into the air. It started to drift towards the exit of the chamber. Jumping in fright, Shang Xia would understand what was going on even if he used his buttocks to think. The blood mist was definitely trying to flow towards Zhu Tong! If he were to allow the bloodmist to escape from the room, Zhu Tong might just be able to locate him! No! Zhu Tong might have already locked on to Shang Xia¡¯s location! However, Shang Xia didn¡¯t know why the rank five undead corpse was so drawn to Zhu Ying¡¯s blood, but he felt that the reason wouldn¡¯t be so simple! Could the blood possess some sort of special use to Zhu Tong? Was it so important that the rank five undead corpse had to get his hands on it?! Looking at the mist that was gathering around the exit, a thought flashed through Shang Xia¡¯s mind. I have to destroy the corpse! If Zhu Tong needed to absorb the blood mist produced from Zhu Ying¡¯s body, Shang Xia would never let him achieve his goals! Traces of lightning danced around Shang Xia¡¯s fingertips. The moment he willed it, he would be able to summon a destructive bolt that tore Zhu Ying¡¯s body to shreds! Even though he could do that, a trace of hesitation flashed across his face. The sword qi that was starting to gather around his body disappeared, but he scattered the bloodmist regardless. When the bloodmist was gone, he stored Zhu Ying¡¯s body into the Embroidered Cloud Case and emerged. Seeing Sun Haiwei again, Shang Xia discovered that Yang Zigong, Qian Sitong, and Wang Shihai had already returned. They were fathered around each other, discussing something. Liu Zhifei was also with them. Seeing Shang Xia appear, Sun Haiwei smiled at him, ¡°Junior Brother Shang, are you alright now?¡± The rest turned to look at him in unison. Other than Liu Zhifei who had an empty look in his eyes, everyone else smiled at him. Shang Xia¡¯s expression was a little panicky, and he quickly nodded at the others before saying, ¡°Senior Sister Sun, I have to leave the Coral Forest!¡± ¡°Now?¡± A frown appeared on Sun Haiwei¡¯s face. However, she quickly realized something. The members of the Rose Party had barely left, and there were several Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Rose Party and Four Spiritual Peak outside¡­ ¡°If you leave now, wouldn¡¯t you be sending yourself to death?¡± Sun Haiwei snapped. Qian Sitong added, ¡°Also, there¡¯s no way for anyone to leave now. The hole is starting to close! You can only leave if the person controlling the Coral Forest opens a passage! Otherwise, you need a Martial Extermination Realm expert to forcefully tear open the barrier to the outside world! None of us have the ability to do so¡­¡± ¡°Are you planning on going out in the underwater route? Didn¡¯t it already crumble?¡± Sun Haiwei raised an eyebrow and asked. CH 191 Shang Xia¡¯s sudden desire to leave the Coral Forest piqued everyone¡¯s interest. Sun Haiwei could guess where he wanted to leave from, but at that moment, the passage had already collapsed. ¡°We¡¯ll open it back up again!¡± Shang Xia muttered. ¡°Do you intend for us to help you open up the passage? Even if it¡¯s possible, aren¡¯t you in too much of a rush right now? Will we make it in time?¡± Yang Zigong raised an eyebrow curiously. Shang Xia stared at him silently and his expression started to fluctuate. A strange voice rang out from the side, ¡°Why don¡¯t you leave from there?¡± Turning to look at the person who spoke, they saw Liu Zhifei pointing towards the hole created by Lang Xiaoyun and Dongfang Daying. He continued, ¡°The members of the Rose Party are almost done evacuating. Those Martial Extermination Realm experts are starting to take their leave. If you¡¯re not afraid of being surrounded and hunted down by the enemy, that¡¯s the easiest way to leave.¡± ¡°Many thanks for Teacher Liu¡¯s pointers!¡± Shang Xia cupped his hands towards Liu Zhifei and ran off in the direction of the hole. ¡°Oi! Are you really going?! What the hell?!¡± Liu Zhifei¡¯s voice came from behind him. Yang Zigong and the rest stared at each other in shock. They were too stunned by Shang Xia¡¯s urge to leave and forgot to ask him the reason behind his rush. ¡°Hey! Why are you trying to leave?¡± Shang Lubing yelled from mid air when he heard what Shang Xia said. Liu Zhiyuan and himself were hovering in the air above, watching the actions of the Rose Party and Four Spiritual Peak. They were there to prevent the rest from charging back inside. ¡°I have a way to lure the rank five undead corpse out!¡± Shang Xia yelled. ¡°What?¡± Before Shang Xia could reply, Liu Zhiyuan¡¯s voice rang in the distance. ¡°Why do we want to lure it out?!¡± The two of them looked at the hole that was slowly closing and Liu Zhiyuan continued, ¡°The moment the hole recovers, Senior Shang Lubing and I will join in the battle. With the help of the grand formation, we should be able to exterminate Zhu Tong!¡± ¡°Even if we manage to kill it, how many people will we lose in the process? We¡¯ll pay a huge price to exterminate the rank five undead corpse! The Coral Forest is already in such a battered state, how much more do we want to destroy it? All of us only managed to reach an advantageous position after such great difficulty. We can¡¯t lose it all like that!¡± Shang Xia yelled. With anger surging in his heart, Liu Zhiyuan snapped at him, ¡°Brat! Do you even know who you¡¯re talking to? Even your father¡­¡± ¡°My father?¡± A trace of confusion appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face suddenly and a blurry memory flashed across his mind. A cold snort escaped Liu Zhiyuan¡¯s lips. However, his tone changed when speaking to Shang Xia. ¡°Kid, have you thought about it? It¡¯s our best chance to kill the rank five undead corpse now that it¡¯s stuck here! The moment it leaves, disaster will sweep through the battlefield between two worlds. Unless Patriarch Kou personally enters to deal with Zhu Tong, no one will be able to deal with the threat! Well¡­ Even if Patriarch Kou takes action personally, we might not be able to kill it necessarily¡­¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Shang Lubing asked before Shang Xia could say anything. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, the undead corpses can escape through the earth. Every single undead corpse of the Zhu Family we discovered in the battlefield between the two worlds had the ability to move through the earth. Zhu Tong specialized in using earth qi when he was alive. Now that he has become an undead corpse, the moment he runs into the earth, Patriarch Kou won¡¯t be able to do a thing!¡± Shang Lubing turned to look at Shang Xia and sighed, ¡°This¡­ This¡­ Patriarch Liu¡¯s concern is actually very legitimate¡­¡± Since Liu Jitang had already died, Liu Zhiyuan was the only Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Liu Clan. He was naturally going to be named the patriarch after they returned. Shang Lubing¡¯s way of addressing him was correct. Shang Xia threw out a massive bomb at that very instant. ¡°I can lead it to the Four Spiritual Peak!¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± Shang Lubing and Liu Zhiyuan roared in unison. They couldn¡¯t believe their ears. In an instant, both of them became dead serious. Even though Liu Zhiyuan¡¯s lips were twitching, he chose to remain silent. ¡°I am 80 percent sure that I will be able to lead it there. When that happens, you can¡¯t forcefully keep the undead corpse here. Just delay it the best you can until I arrive at the Four Spiritual Peak. You can¡¯t let it catch up to me¡­¡± Shang Xia muttered. Shang Lubing stared at Shang Xia and sank deep into his thoughts, ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­¡± ¡°Hurry up! The gap is closing!¡± Shang Xia pointed to the sky and snapped. Reaching to grab Shang Xia with one hand, Shang Lubing no longer hesitated. He tossed Shang Xia towards the gap, sending him out of the Coral Forest. ¡°How can we let you do something as dangerous as this? Brat, your fifth grandpa will take it from here!¡± Shang Ke¡¯s voice rang in Shang Xia¡¯s mind the moment he landed on the ground. Turning around in shock, he saw Shang Ke rushing out of the Coral Forest too. Once he did, the gap closed completely. ¡°Fifth grandpa, why didn¡¯t I see you earlier?¡± Shang Ke shook his head in disappointment. ¡°I was planning to take a look at the rank five undead corpse alongside your Grandpa Bo. However, I didn¡¯t even get the chance to join the battle with my strength. I was too weak and held all of them back! When I left the battle, I ran into you.¡± ¡°Is Grandpa Bo alright?¡± Shang Xia asked in concern. A chuckle finally left Shang Ke¡¯s lips. ¡°Of course he is. He¡¯ll be able to hold on for quite some time. With the old fellow, Ji Wenlong, to help him, the two of them won¡¯t be defeated easily. They even have the help of the grand formation.¡± Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief after hearing Shang Ke¡¯s explanation. As the two of them started to chat with each other, they charged towards the Four Spiritual Peak. Shang Ke asked suddenly, ¡°Brat, why don¡¯t you tell me how confident you are in luring the undead corpse over? Looking at your shady behavior earlier, you seem to be hiding a lot of secrets. Now that there¡¯s no one else left, why don¡¯t you tell me?¡± ¡°Hehe, Of course I can¡¯t hide it from Fifth Grandpa. I just didn¡¯t want too many people to know that I killed Zhu Ying and obtained his corpse.¡± Shang Xia giggled. ¡°Oh?¡± Shang Ke¡¯s eyes lit up in response. ¡°Zhu Ying was merely a pawn. No matter if it was the institution or the Liu Clan, they were only planning to use him to unlock the Zhu Family Manor. They thought that a Martial Extremity Realm cultivator like that wouldn¡¯t be able to raise any waves, but who would have thought that the little fellow would be able to run around unhindered? Looks like he managed to gain quite a lot.¡± Shang Ke naturally hoped that Zhu Ying would be able to gather quite a lot of treasures now that Shang Xia revealed that he killed Zhu Ying. When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. A mischievous smile appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face all of a sudden. ¡°Hundred Days Longevity Intoxication!¡± Staring at Shang Xia in confusion, the look in Shang Ke¡¯s eyes eventually changed. ¡°Is that¡­ Is that a rank four advancement formula?!¡± The smile on Shang Xia¡¯s face didn¡¯t fade. Shang Ke¡¯s voice started to tremble and he continued, ¡°Is it¡­ Is it complete?!¡± Shang Xia could understand the desire Shang Ke had for a complete rank four advancement formula. He wanted to show off a little more, but he decided against it after noticing Shang Ke¡¯s fervent desire for it. ¡°Fifth Grandpa, relax. It¡¯s a complete advancement formula. Now, our Shang Clan will possess a real foundation to become a superpower in the world!¡± ¡°Great, great, great!¡± Shang Ke roared with laughter. ¡°Kid, you still haven¡¯t explained if there¡¯s a connection between Zhu Ying¡¯s corpse and the rank five undead corpse.¡± ¡°Fifth Grandpa, the undead corpse seems to be able to track Zhu Ying¡¯s body. It seems to be lusting over Zhu Ying¡¯s blood essence.¡± Shang Xia explained. A look of realization crossed Shang Ke¡¯s face. ¡°Is that how you plan to lead it to the Four Spiritual Peak? Aren¡¯t you just messing around?! You don¡¯t even know if the corpse can detect Zhu Ying''s corpse from so far away!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression froze for a second. ¡°Um, yes I do¡­ Wait. Do you think Zhu Tong will be able to experience rebirth if he absorbs Zhu Ying¡¯s blood essence?¡± Shang Ke¡¯s expression changed yet again. ¡°Give me that. You¡¯re too slow. This old man will personally make a trip over to the Four Spiritual Peak.¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate to hand the Embroidered Cloud Case over to Shang Ke. Once he obtained the case, Shang Ke¡¯s figure tore through the skies. A flash of inspiration entered Shang Xia¡¯s mind all of a sudden and he yelled, ¡°Grandpa, you should crush his body and scatter all the bones around the Four Spiritual Peak!¡± Despite his reminder, Shang Ke¡¯s figure disappeared into the horizon. No one knew if he heard what Shang Xia said. CH 192 After Shang Ke disappeared, Shang Xia realized that he had no idea what he should do next. Was he going to return to the Tongyou Peak in preparation of entering the Martial Intent Realm? He had to look for a rank three advancement formula if he wanted to advance. He still had Zhu Ying¡¯s rank three advancement formula with him after killing the man, but he wouldn¡¯t even need to look at it to know that it wouldn¡¯t be suitable for him. He was so doubtful about it that he wouldn¡¯t even bother optimizing it with the blood red tablet. Shang Xia didn¡¯t forget how the tablet cracked when he changed the advancement formula for him to enter the Martial Extremity Realm. No matter how he looked at it, a rank three advancement formula was several times stronger than a rank two one! If he chose one that wasn¡¯t compatible with himself and optimized it with the tablet, he was afraid that things wouldn¡¯t simply end with another crack on the tablet. As such, he made up his mind to look for an advancement formula after returning to the institution. He wasn¡¯t too worried about the ingredients required to create the medicine. After all, he gained quite a lot in the Coral Forest. Regardless of whether it was the gains he obtained with his abilities, or those he got after he killed Zhu Ying, those amounted to a terrifying amount! There were many ingredients he could use to create his advancement medicine too. There was also no need to mention that Shang Xia¡¯s performance in the Coral Forest. Disregarding everything else, he allowed the institution to obtain the Coral Command. He was basically the reason the institution was able to turn the situation around. When he first entered the Coral Forest, he also gained a solid grasp on the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, allowing the institution to expand their influence greatly. Those two points alone called for massive rewards from the institution. However, Shang Xia didn¡¯t plan to advance quickly. He would rather take the chance to perfect his Yin Yang Sword Formation, allowing him to reach greater heights in the future. He thought of training in his sword arts next, but a problem quickly popped up. There were no suitable opponents. If he tried training alone, he wouldn¡¯t be able to achieve the desired effects. Shang Xia¡¯s gaze traveled across the endless plains before him. He didn¡¯t feel any different in the Coral Forest, but now that he was alone, he felt that something was missing. His thoughts were in disarray, but a shadow that shot past his head jolted his senses. He finally recalled that the Lightning Bird went missing after he entered the tunnel. Whistling loudly, he wanted to see if he could reach the little critter. It didn¡¯t take long before a sharp chirp responded to him. Raising his head with pleasant surprise, he discovered a silver streak in the skies closing in rapidly. It didn¡¯t take long before it started to circle above him. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°Heh! Little thieving bird, where did you run off to?¡± Shang Xia chuckled happily. All he got was a chirp in response as the little creature flew down to perch on his shoulders. He quickly discovered something new. The little bird was much heavier than before! A series of chirping rang in his ears, and Shang Xia seemed to understand what the bird was saying. ¡°Did you find a strange place that would benefit you greatly?¡± Shang Xia continued, ¡°You became stronger (fatter) because of it?¡± A short cry left the Lightning Bird¡¯s lips and it nodded once, confirming what Shang Xia said. ¡°You wish to bring me there too?¡± Shang Xia asked. The Lightning Bird soared into the air, but a familiar howl brought it back down towards Shang Xia¡¯s shoulders. The rank five undead corpse slammed against the barrier around the Coral Forest. A thought flashed through Shang Xia¡¯s mind suddenly. ¡°Let¡¯s hide for now¡­ It won¡¯t be too late to head over later!¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t even need to explain further. The Lightning Bird could feel the threat coming from the rank five undead corpse. The human and bird duo traveled carefully in the direction where the rank five undead corpse rushed towards. Shang Xia also took note of what was happening around him. In an instant, he felt the aura of the undead corpse growing closer and closer. His heart thumped violently. Even though he had already gotten rid of Zhu Ying¡¯s body, he was afraid that the rank five undead corpse would just get rid of him along the way. Against an existence like that, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t be able to put up the slightest resistance. When his thoughts were running wild, a terrifying aura descended on the lands. He was suffocated for a second, but the aura soon disappeared. He didn¡¯t even manage to catch a glimpse of the undead corpse¡¯s figure! It seemed as though they were too weak for Zhu Tong to even bother about them. Chuckling bitterly at himself, Shang Xia¡¯s worry disappeared completely. ¡°Huh? Why are you here?¡± Shang Xia jumped in fright when he heard the voice. He didn¡¯t even discover their presence! However, he quickly noticed two figures. ¡°Grandpa, you¡­ Grandpa Ji is here too!¡± Shang Xia turned to look at Shang Bo and Ji Wenlong who popped out of nowhere. ¡°I heard from Chief Lubing that you plan to lure Zhu Tong out of the Coral Forest. Your Fifth Grandpa followed you out too. After coming to a common understanding, we released the seal on the Coral Forest. Zhu Tong escaped immediately, but where¡¯s your Fifth Grandpa?¡± Shang Bo asked. His divine sense spread all over the land, but he failed to locate Shang Ke! A deep frown appeared on his face. Shang Xia quickly followed up with an explanation. ¡°Fifth Grandpa went to the Four Spiritual Peak. He has something that attracts Zhu Tong.¡± The two old experts immediately realized what Shang Xia¡¯s plan was. ¡°Don¡¯t you know that this will put your Fifth Grandpa in danger?¡± Shang Bo growled at Shang Xia suddenly. ¡°Well, all he has to do is to scatter the stuff around the Four Spiritual Peak before running away. He should be able to escape if he doesn¡¯t run into anyone.¡± Shang Xia explained. Nodding once, Shang Bo turned to speak to Ji Wenlong. ¡°We can¡¯t waste any more time. Let¡¯s head over too!¡± Ji Wenlong was also extremely curious about the item that could attract the rank five undead corpse. Seeing as Shang Bo had already made his move, he could only follow behind. Watching the two old experts disappearing into the horizon, Shang Xia yelled, ¡°Hey! Zhu Tong might be able to shatter the protection formation around the Four Spiritual Peak! You should take advantage of the situation to mess with them!¡± Before he completed his sentence, the two old men had already disappeared. He didn¡¯t know if they heard him or not. Regardless, a sense of relief washed over him. With the two peak-leveled experts leaving, he became a lot more at ease. The way he spoke became a lot less respectful too. ¡°Hey, should we¡­ Should we head over and take a look?¡± Shang Xia asked. The Lightning Bird chirped in excitement, mirroring his thoughts. ¡°No, no. no! This can¡¯t do. I¡¯ll go to the Four Spiritual Peak myself. You have to relay the message back to the Tongyou Peak!¡± A mischievous smile appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Since we¡¯re going to take advantage of the situation, we¡¯ll go all the way! Go big or go home!¡± CH 193 In the air above the Tongyou Peak¡­ She Zhihong vented his anger by slamming a four colored spear light on the protection formation. A huge portion of the power contained in it was dissipated by the protection formation, and Liu Qinglan personally dealt with the remnant power. Since their plan to sneak attack the Tongyou Peak was destroyed with the appearance of the newly ascended Kang Ci, Lang Jingyun and Lu Zhanyi were already making preparations to leave. She Zhihong¡¯s bombardment of the protection formation allowed him to release his anger at the situation, but it also provided a perfect cover for them to withdraw. At the very least, no one would dare to chase after them with a crazy fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm expert blasting the region outside. All of a sudden, a huge explosion swept through the battlefield between two worlds. She Zhihong rose into the air, but he quickly turned to leave. Liu Qinglan and Kang Ci¡¯s figure appeared above the protection formation too. Deep frowns could be seen on their faces as they stared in the direction of the blast. ¡°Senior Sister Liu, do you think our plan for the Coral Forest will succeed?¡± Kang Ci asked. He managed to learn about the Tongyou Institution¡¯s scheme after entering the Martial Extermination Realm, and he needed someone more experienced to clear his doubts. Liu Qinglan¡¯s expression changed slightly, but a resolute look eventually appeared in her eyes. ¡°Of course we will! We used close to twenty years to prepare for this moment! We should be a lot more ready than the Rose Party or the Four Spiritual Peak!¡± ¡°But Deputy Patriarch Liu¡­¡± Kang Ci frowned. A flash of worry crossed Liu Qinglan¡¯s eyes but her gaze quickly turned cold. ¡°The seal around the Coral Forest was broken twice¡­ All we can do is to wait for news to return¡­¡± Kang Ci nodded his head but sighed softly, ¡°I wonder if any Martial Extermination Realm experts fell during the battle¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to speculate. Regardless of any sacrifices, our Tongyou Institution should stand victorious! We should receive news soon!¡± Kang Ci nodded. He wanted to say something else, but a ray of bright light shot towards the two of them. ¡°It¡¯s here!¡± Liu Qinglan muttered. Her voice trembled slightly, and Kang Ci realized that she had been putting up a strong front the whole time! Sighing softly in his heart, Kang Ci saw how Liu Qinglan poked at the ray of light. It transformed into several words in mid air. ¡°Completed the mission, Jitang is lost!¡± The words lingered in the air for a second before dissipating in the air. The two Martial Extermination Realm experts holding the fort didn¡¯t know what expression they should show. ¡°Deputy Patriarch Liu is dead?!¡± Kang Ci muttered. Liu Qinglan sucked in a cold breath in response. ¡°Regardless, the Coral Command should have fallen into our hands. All we need to do now is to transform the Tongyou Institution into a mysterious world! Our institution will finally be a standalone power!¡± Kang Ci nodded before raising his own concerns. ¡°I¡¯m afraid the Liu Clan won¡¯t be able to keep their position as part of the four great clans any longer¡­¡± Liu Jitang was part of those who created the institution! He held the position of the deputy patriarch for close to 20 years! Now that he died, the institution wouldn¡¯t allow the Liu Clan to do as they wished! Moreover, the sudden change in situation only happened because of Liu Jitang¡¯s greed to monopolize the inheritance of the Zhu Family! He barged into the Coral Forest before the institution even shifted a portion of their strength to do so, putting the entire Tongyou Peak at risk! There were already many experts of the institution unhappy with them! Luckily, the institution managed to retain control of the Coral Command eventually. They couldn¡¯t make things difficult for Liu Jitang who sacrificed his life in the process, but they would definitely hold the Liu Clan accountable for some of his actions. No matter what, Kang Ci could finally relax. He planned to return to the main hall to prepare to spread the good news and to make preparations to welcome the heroes back to the Tongyou Peak when he was interrupted by a gasp from Liu Qinglan. ¡°How are there more transmission talismans?!¡± Turning around hastily, he noticed a streak of light flying straight for the Tongyou Peak. When he extended his divine sense to take a closer look, he discovered that the streak of light wasn¡¯t actually a transmission talisman. ¡°Oh? Wait, that¡¯s the Lightning Bird!¡± Liu Qinglan¡¯s voice barely left her lips when a loud chirp tore through the air. The Lightning Bird seemed to have discovered their presence as well, and it didn¡¯t dare to advance deeper into the Tongyou Peak. Instead, it started to circle around. ¡°Do you have something you need to relay?¡± Liu Qinglan asked gently. Replying with a curt chirp, the Lightning Bird released a strip of cloth from its claws. Liu Qinglan reached forward as the strip of cloth slowly drifted towards her. Kang Ci revealed a smile and praised, ¡°This little bird is pretty smart!¡± ¡°WHAT?! This¡­ This is great!¡± Liu Qinglan roared with excitement after reading the words scribbled on the cloth strip. Her yells caused Kang Ci to jump in fright. Before he could ask, she passed him the strip of cloth. ¡°Junior Brother Kang, remain here! I¡¯ll bring our disciples to attack the Four Spiritual Peak! If the message here is true, it¡¯s our best chance to severely damage the Four Spiritual Peak¡¯s foundations!¡± She disappeared after speaking. Reading through the information on the cloth, Kang Ci muttered to himself, ¡°Rank five undead corpse?! Rushing over to the Four Spiritual Peak?! Senior Sister Liu, you can¡¯t leave me here, I want to join in the fun too!¡± ¡­ Not too far from the Coral Forest. The members of the Rose Party who entered the battlefield between the two worlds suffered varying degrees of injury. There were only 21 of them who managed to escape from the Coral Forest, and it was barely a third of the number they came in with! Luckily for them, the desperate situation caused a lot of them to grow stronger. All of them had already congealed their divine sense. With the protection of Yan Su¡¯er and Sima Zhanxing, they escaped desperately towards the Four Spiritual Peak. Ran Biluo had already fallen into a comatose state after escaping the Coral Forest after receiving a devastating blow from Shang Bo. Yuwen Shengjie¡¯s situation was even worse. He sustained himself with the use of several secret techniques, and he received Ji Wenlong¡¯s ¡®personal care¡¯. He was close to taking his last breath. As they made their way towards the Four Spiritual Peak, Yan Su¡¯er suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. Sima Zhanxing was no fool. His expression changed immediately. ¡°Senior Yan, are they hunting us down?¡± Nodding slightly, Yan Su¡¯er handed him a jade pendant in the shape of a swallow. ¡°Bring the rest to the Four Spiritual Peak. With my pendant, the Spiritual Swallow Peak will allow all of you to enter.¡± ¡°Senior Yan, take care!¡± Sima Zhanxing knew that there was no time to lose. Grabbing Ran Biluo and ordering several Martial Intent Realm disciples to carry Yuwen Shengjie, they left hastily. ¡­ We are "pawread dot com", find us on google. When Shang Ke heard the massive explosion coming from the Coral Forest, he knew that Zhu Tong had escaped. Shang Xia¡¯s conjecture was quickly proven to be right. A terrifying aura was headed straight for him! No matter how quickly he traveled towards the Four Spiritual Peak, he could feel the crushing aura growing closer and closer! Luckily, he wasn¡¯t too far from the Four Spiritual Peak! Heaving a sigh of relief, he could feel a familiar aura coming between him and the Four Spiritual Peak. ¡°Oh shit! I can¡¯t let this old hag notice the rank five undead corpse¡­ I have to lead her away!¡± The thought flashed in Shang Ke¡¯s mind and he increased his speed again. He planned on circling around Yan Su¡¯er before making his way over! CH 194 It wasn¡¯t easy to hide the aura of a Martial Dipper Realm expert. In order to distract Yan Su¡¯er, Shang Ke would have to use his divine sense to cover the entire area. Hopefully, Yan Su¡¯er would discover his aura and follow behind him. His hope came through. However, it wasn¡¯t because his plan was legit. Instead, Yan Su¡¯er became curious after discovering his aura and discovered that he was flying in the direction of the Four Spiritual Peak. She might not know what his plot was, but she decided to stop him. Shang Ke didn¡¯t dare to delay at all. After exchanging a blow or two with her, he pushed himself to the limit to continue his journey. He knew that he wasn¡¯t her opponent and he focused on running. Before she could react, he managed to rush past her. Even though he managed to successfully run past her, he knew that it was an extremely dangerous gamble. The moment the ones in front turned around to stop him, he would be pincered and placed in a precarious situation. Well, whatever. Being stuck between the Martial Extermination Realm experts was less scary than facing the rank five undead corpse head on. He sneered angrily in his heart, ¡°Humph. If you dare to try messing with this old man today, I¡¯ll splash some of this blood on you! You¡¯ll have to face Zhu Tong¡¯s wrath when he arrives!¡± Shang Ke might be afraid that they would stop him, but he already had a backup plan. Even though Yan Su¡¯er found it weird that Shang Ke was rushing towards the Four Spiritual Peak, she didn¡¯t chase after him. She could deal with it when she returned anyway. It didn¡¯t take long for the Four Spiritual Peak to appear in Shang Ke¡¯s sights. He was even catching up to Sima Zhanxing and the rest! Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. Sima Zhanxing wasn¡¯t prepared for Shang Ke¡¯s appearance either. He thought that the Tongyou Institution had sent someone out to kill them all, and Yan Su¡¯er was held back trying to stop the rest. He handed Ran Biluo over to a female cultivator of the Rose Party before rushing in the direction of the approaching Shang Ke. Luckily for him, the Four Spiritual Peak seemed to have discovered the disturbance in the area. With Yan Su¡¯er¡¯s pendant, he believed that he would be able to take cover in the Four Spiritual Peak soon. Once he entered the radius of the protection formation of the Four Spiritual Peak, he believed that Shang Ke wouldn¡¯t be able to attack them. Seeing Sima Zhanxing in the distance, Shang Ke didn¡¯t choose to avoid him this time. One of the reasons was that there wasn¡¯t much time left. The Four Spiritual Peak was in sight, and he had to get rid of the ticking time bomb that was Zhu Ying¡¯s corpse! Another reason was that Sima Zhanxing was like him. Both of them barely broke through to the Martial Extermination Realm. He wouldn¡¯t be able to stop Shang Ke anyway! A long spear tore through the air and Shang Ke acted as though he was about to risk his life to bring Sima Zhanxing down with him. Long black lines appeared on Sima Zhanxing¡¯s forehead. He didn¡¯t know what medicine Shang Ke ate for him to act so aggressively off the bat, but he didn¡¯t dare to take the attack head-on. The disciples of the Rose Party were already entering the protection formation of the Four Spiritual Peak. Sima Zhanxing didn¡¯t know why, but the protection formation around the Four Spiritual Peak was already activated! He might be confused, but those on the Four Spiritual Peak weren¡¯t! Their protection formation had been active since the time Lang Jingyun left with Lu Zhanyi! The moment they left to carry out the sneak attack on the Tongyou Peak, they left the Four Spiritual Peak completely defenseless! Not a single Martial Extermination Realm was left to hold the fort! Whatever the case, Sima Zhanxing didn¡¯t see a need to go into an all out brawl with Shang Ke since the protection formation was already active. A burst of joy filled Shang Ke¡¯s heart when he saw the hesitation in Sima Zhanxing¡¯s eyes. Since the other party was already planning to retreat into the formation, there was no one to stop him! Pressing closer and closer into the Four Spiritual Peak, a thought crossed Shang Ke¡¯s mind. From the looks of it, the Rose Party was already starting to collaborate with the Four Spiritual Peak. That was something the institution was standing strongly against. If Shang Ke played his card right and allowed the Four Spiritual Peak to think that Zhu Tong only came after them because of the Rose Party, he would be able to deal both sides a massive blow! His idea was great, but the situation didn¡¯t allow him to do as he wished! The moment Shang Ke drew close to the protection barrier, several huge phantoms appeared in the air above. They started to repel this foreign presence with all their might. Even though there wasn¡¯t a Martial Extermination Realm expert to protect them, the Four Spiritual Peak¡¯s protection formation wasn¡¯t there for decoration. They released brilliant rays of light as they tried to stop Shang Ke. Naturally, the control over the protection formation wouldn¡¯t be as nimble as a Martial Extermination Realm expert. Shang Ke found an opportunity to arrive directly above the Four Spiritual Peak. In hindsight, that didn¡¯t seem like a great idea. He was immediately surrounded by the attacks of the various phantoms. At the same moment, Sima Zhanxing entered the protection barrier. As an outsider, he wouldn¡¯t risk his life and take the initiative to attack Shang Ke. Seeing as Sima Zhanxing wasn¡¯t going to square up, a flash of disappointment crossed Shang Ke¡¯s face. Regardless, he achieved his goal. All he needed to do was to scatter Zhu Ying¡¯s corpse. After that, all he needed to do was to run! When he retrieved Zhu Ying¡¯s body, a familiar voice rang through the air. ¡°Asshole! Do you think you can take advantage of us when no one is around?!¡± The voice seemed pretty foreign, and the direction it came from was weird. It seemed to come from the direction of the Tongyou Peak! Shang Ke raised his head abruptly and a bad feeling filled his heart. Shit! The Four Spiritual Peak received reinforcements and they went towards the Tongyou Peak! When he was trying to get over his shock, a long spear shot through the air. A four colored extermination origin emerged to form a passage back to the Four Spiritual Peak. That was a fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm expert! Shang Ke¡¯s heart trembled slightly and he saw an old expert comparable to Ji Wenlong in age. The spear shot straight towards Shang Ke. ¡°Leave your life behind!¡± She Zhihong, who was helpless against the protection formation of the Tongyou Peak, felt rage boiling in his heart when he realized that his opponent had delivered himself to their doorstep. His spear was like a massive snake that shot straight for Shang Ke! Without any time to think, Shang Ke tossed the body out from the Embroidered Cloud Case before circulating all his energy to resist the strike! He circulated all his energy and wrapped his extermination origin around Zhu Ying¡¯s corpse before sending it towards She Zhihong¡¯s spear. It came as no surprise when the body was blown apart and scattered around the Tongyou Peak. When that happened, Yan Su¡¯er¡¯s voice boomed through the air. ¡°There¡¯s a rank five undead corpse after him! Be careful of traps!¡± CH 195 Back in the Tongyou Institution¡­ News of Kou Chongxue¡¯s injuries had spread through the lands. Undercurrents were surging through the city but the four great clans slammed their doors shut, refusing to receive any guests. The only expert left in the institution was Yun Jing. Since she was the only one who couldn¡¯t hole up somewhere and hide from everyone, she received many requests to see her. Since the incident where the information was leaked, it was Song You¡¯s third time reporting to her. Yun Jing seemed to be deep in thought as she wore a blank stare on her face. ¡°Is it them again?¡± A soft sigh left her lips before Song You could say anything. Raising his head slightly, he saw Yun Jing turning to look at him. Her appearance was pretty ordinary, and she dressed simply. Those who didn¡¯t know would think that she was an ordinary middle aged lady. However, the poise of a Martial Extermination Realm expert could never be hidden from the world. There was an exquisite air around her. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Song You lowered his head instinctively. ¡°Yes¡­ Other than Wei Zhongwen from the Ji Continent and Chang Huaiwu from the Bing Continent, You Haibiao of the Qing Continent has also arrived. Many experts from the various families have arrived. Even though it seems calm on the surface, some of them have already begun to move secretly.¡± A sneer left Yun Jing¡¯s lips and she glanced at Song You from the corner of her eye. ¡°Do you have any idea how we should deal with it?¡± ¡°The key lies with Patriarch Kou. If Patriarch Kou makes an appearance¡­¡± He hadn¡¯t completed his sentence when he felt Yun Jing¡¯s death stare on him. His throat bobbed slightly and his lips twitched slightly. ¡°Now that everyone has set their sights on our Institution, we might cause more panic if we refuse to give an explanation. If Patriarch Kou can make an appearance, we should be able to quell all their thoughts of defiance.¡± After he spoke, he raised his head carefully to look at Yun Jing. He heaved a sigh of relief after noticing how she was deep in contemplation. Right before she could say anything, her gaze shifted to the entrance of the main hall. Song You swallowed a mouthful of saliva when he saw her action, but the sound of hurried footsteps gave him the explanation he needed. More than half the strength of the Tongyou Institution were sent to the battlefield between two worlds. The number of Martial Intent Realm experts who remained were few and far between. There were only a select few who could enter the main hall as they wished. It didn¡¯t take long for Song You to guess the identity of the newcomer. Yu Duhe, one of the heads of the Outreach Division, scurried into the hall. He held a report in his hand that had been delivered by a mutated fowl they tamed in the battlefield between two worlds. ¡°Urgent report from the Tongyou Peak!¡± Yu Duhe handed a bamboo pipe that was the size of a thumb to Yun Jing the moment he entered. There were countless restrictions around it, stopping anyone unauthorized from reading its contents. Receiving the bamboo pipe, A soft glow enveloped the object as the restrictions were broken by Yun Jing. She quickly scanned through the contents. Song You whispered softly to Yu Duhe. ¡°What is the report about?¡± Yu Duhe shook his head and sighed, ¡°It¡¯s surrounded by a rank four restriction. Neither of us is qualified to open it.¡± Right after he spoke, the two of them noticed a smile appearing on Yun Jing¡¯s face. ¡°Song You, since they wish to meet me, bring them in!¡± Yun Jing¡¯s indifferent voice rang through the hall. Even so, Song You seemed to hear the unwavering confidence in her voice. It was as though they held the absolute advantage. A huge weight seemed to be lifted off his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯ll bring them over right now!¡± The moment he turned around, Yun Jing¡¯s voice rang in his mind again. ¡°Oh right. Lift the martial law imposed on the city. They can move about in the morning, but the night curfew will remain!¡± Song You nearly tripped over himself when he heard the order. Even Yu Duhe didn¡¯t understand what was going on. ¡°Instructor Yun, shouldn¡¯t we lift the martial law after the other deputy patriarchs return?¡± The smile on Yun Jing¡¯s face grew even wider. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that anymore.¡± ¡­ ¡°There¡¯s a rank five undead corpse after him! Be careful of traps!¡± Yan Su¡¯er¡¯s warning came a little too late. When Shang Xia killed Zhu Ying previously, his body had been preserved perfectly. Only when Shang Ke retrieved it earlier and used it to block She Zhihong¡¯s attack did the body explode into a rain of blood that fell on the Four Spiritual Peak. The moment it did, a huge path formed with yellow-colored clouds appeared in the skies above the Four Spiritual Peak. A withered corpse appeared in the blink of an eye. Even though it was several miles away earlier, it arrived after taking three huge steps! A ferocious glare landed on She Zhihong. The fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm expert felt his limbs going cold instantly. He was so surprised by the sudden change in the situation that he didn¡¯t pull his spear back in time. ¡°Fate¡­ Fate Dipper! Martial Dipper Realm!¡± She Zhihong¡¯s voice trembled violently as he choked out the few words. A loud howl left the withered corpse¡¯s lips, and the resulting soundwave tore open the clouds that gathered above the Four Spiritual Peak. Everyone could hear the desperation and maniacal intent in its voice. Shang Ke¡¯s body was frozen in mid air. He was afraid that any movements he made would attract a round of abuse from the rank five undead corpse. She Zhihong was utterly confused at the moment. Even though he had no idea what was going on, he could tell that the undead corpse was full of killing intent! And he was its target! Instinctively, he dove into the protection barrier around the Four Spiritual Peak! His actions became the prologue for whatever came next. Following She Zhihong¡¯s figure, the rank five undead corpse dove downwards too. Noticing that the corpse was no longer paying attention to himself, a single thought formed in Shang Ke¡¯s mind. ¡°Run!¡± He had to make his escape immediately! Sima Zhanxing looked at the undead corpse that was chasing behind She Zhihong and quickly turned to stare at the fleeing Shang Ke. A bad premonition filled his mind. ¡°That¡­ That corpse that exploded earlier! Shit!¡± Gritting his teeth, Sima Zhanxing flew into the air. Even though he had already guessed what had happened, he realized that he had no choice but to assist the Four Spiritual Peak in stopping the rank five undead corpse! ¡°Do not enter the Four Spiritual Peak!¡± Yan Su¡¯er¡¯s voice rang in the distance, but she sped towards the Four Spiritual Peak at the fastest speed possible. Too bad she wasn¡¯t fast enough. Even though her speed was comparable to She Zhihong, one of them was a lot closer to the barrier than the other. Moreover, She Zhihong was running desperately and it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to change directions even if he wanted to. ¡°It¡¯s over!¡± Yan Su¡¯er¡¯s face turned as white a sheet and a feeling of powerlessness filled her body. With no other choice, she could only return to the Four Spiritual Peak. As the protection formation was only controlled by Martial Intent Realm disciples, they would never be able to hold out against the frenzied attacks of the rank five undead corpse. Yan Su¡¯er had to return to take charge of the situation! CH 196 In the main hall of the Tongyou Institution. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". An expert left in a huff, followed by two others whose expressions didn¡¯t look too good. Even though they were experts at the Martial Extermination Realm, their faces didn¡¯t look too good. Behind the three of them stood Song You who watched them leave with his head bowed. The moment they left the institution, the leader of the three roared with rage, ¡°This is bullshit! I came all the way here to assist the institution in defending against our foreign enemy but they¡¯re treating me as though I harbor some malicious intentions against their organization! Preposterous!¡± ¡°Brother Wei, please calm down.¡± One of the experts behind him stepped out and tried to mediate the situation. ¡°You should be familiar with how those bastards of the You Continent work. They¡¯re always on guard against others and they have a nasty temper. Even though Yun Jing¡¯s words were curt, we already expected as much.¡± Wei Zhongwen snorted angrily, ¡°Hah, can¡¯t they see what situation they¡¯re in right now? How many of them are left after so many years?! They refuse to let anyone help them¡­ In a few years, all of them will be dead!¡± The other Martial Extermination Realm expert stepped out too. He maintained a friendly smile on his face as he explained, ¡°Brother Wei, that¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. You crossed the line by saying that. No matter what, the Tongyou Institution lifted the martial law they imposed on the city. We can walk around openly now. Even though Deputy Patriarch Yun¡¯s words were a little sharp, she made some concessions. Our priority is to resist the invasion of outsiders anyway, there¡¯s no need to be so worked up!¡± Wei Zhongwen¡¯s rage dissipated by a huge half after he vented his frustrations and he sneered softly, ¡°Let¡¯s see how long she can remain stubborn. Humph, does she really think that Kou Chongxue can control the situation alone through the use of brute force?¡± You Haibiao chuckled, ¡°No matter what, things won¡¯t be up to Yun Jing the moment our men enter the Tongyou City.¡± Chang Huaiwu maintained his gentle smile as he addressed the rest, ¡°Fellow cultivators, should we start talking about the rules we should lay down before carrying out our plan? No matter what, we¡¯re stationed in the Tongyou City. It won¡¯t be good to fight among ourselves with the enemy before us. Patriarch Kou is injured and things might go south any moment. We don¡¯t really know the details of either. Let¡¯s control ourselves¡­¡± ¡°Hah, what are we afraid of?¡± Wei Zhongwen snorted in response. The sword in his hand started to tremble as the words left his lips. He pulled his sword out of its sheath, but it shook violently as though it was afraid of something. ¡°Look up there!¡± You Haibiao yelled. The three of them raised their heads in unison only to see a long sword hovering high above the institution. Thick strands of heaven and earth qi swirled around it and it emitted a resplendent glow. It started to soar around the city. ¡°Hidden Frost Sword!¡± Chang Huaiwu gasped in admiration. ¡°The divine weapon appeared!¡± You Haibiao¡¯s expression showed the envy he was feeling in his heart. ¡°Oh no! Pass down the order. Tell those under you to behave themselves. If they¡¯re slain by the Hidden Frost Sword, their deaths will be in vain¡­¡± ¡­ To be honest, She Zhihong¡¯s actions of diving towards the Four Spiritual Peak wasn¡¯t wrong. He might be at the fourth layer of the Martial Extermination Realm, but he was far from being a match for the rank five undead corpse! He planned on leveraging the protection formation¡¯s power to fight the rank five undead corpse evenly. He never would have expected that there wouldn¡¯t be a single Martial Extermination Realm expert holding the barrier! Neither would he have thought that the rank five undead corpse would be hell bent on attacking him! His mistakes didn¡¯t stop there. He failed to account for the speed of the rank five undead corpse! It was much faster than he imagined! When She Zhihong approached the barrier, Zhu Tong¡¯s fist had already arrived! It tore through space as it went straight for She Zhihong¡¯s back. Realizing his mistake at the last second, She Zhihong twisted his body to receive the punch. At the end of the day, he was at the fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm. He managed to use the force of Zhu Tong¡¯s punch to push himself into the protection barrier. As an ally of the Four Spiritual Peak, they didn¡¯t stop him from entering the barrier. However, the same couldn¡¯t be said for Zhu Tong. He crashed into the barrier mercilessly. A massive explosion ensued, and the protection barrier shook violently. Luckily for them, the barrier held out. Soon after, Yan Su¡¯er arrived and rushed towards the key locations of the protection formation. ¡°Out of the frying pan, into the fire¡­¡± Sima Zhanxing sighed. A look of helplessness and self-mockery could be seen on his face as he followed behind Yan Su¡¯er. Since he had already chosen to work together with the Four Spiritual Peak, he had no choice but to defend against the rank five undead corpse! ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± Lang Jingyun and Lu Zhanyi appeared where She Zhihong once stood and yelled as they protected the lower leveled disciples they brought with them to sneak attack the Tongyou Peak. A bad premonition filled their hearts when they heard the loud explosion earlier. They weren¡¯t as fast as She Zhihong, and they failed to see what happened earlier. The only thing they noticed was a streak of light flying in their direction. ¡°It¡¯s someone from the Tongyou Peak!¡± Lu Zhanyi yelled and he got ready to fight. ¡°Shang Ke? What?! He actually entered the Martial Extermination Realm?!¡± Compared to the surprise Lu Zhanyi felt, Lang Jingyun nearly jumped in fright. ¡°Did he cause the huge disturbance earlier?! Why didn¡¯t Uncle Hong stop him?¡± It was at that moment Shang Ke noticed the two of them. He immediately changed directions. ¡°Whatever! We¡¯ll talk after we stop him!¡± Lang Jingyun and Lu Zhanyi naturally wouldn¡¯t allow Shang Ke to do as he wished. They started to spread out to intercept him. Lu Zhanyi moved a lot faster with his natural gift, and he managed to shorten the distance between himself and Shang Ke in an instant. Helpless, Shang Ke could only circulate his inner qi to get ready for a tough battle. Shang Ke cursed his bad luck. First, he was chased by the rank five undead corpse. Along the way, he was intercepted by Yan Su¡¯er and Sima Zhanxing. Now, two other Martial Extermination Realm experts appeared. He thought that his troubles were over after escaping from the Four Spiritual Peak. Who would have thought that he would run into Lang Jingyun and Lu Zhanyi? Now, he wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat them even if he fought, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to run away facing the two either. Shang Ke was no coward. Seeing as there was no way to escape unscathed, he made his preparations for the huge battle up ahead. If he stepped the two of them, the rank five undead corpse would have an easier time bashing the barrier around the Four Spiritual Peak anyway. His spear danced in the air as the battle broke out immediately. Lu Zhanyi¡¯s figure jumped around in the air and his wings destroyed a spear light created by Shang Ke. As someone who had just entered the Martial Extermination Realm, how could he possibly fight against Lang Jingyun and Lu Zhanyi at the same time? In several short rounds, Lu Zhanyi managed to find an opening and sliced open a huge gash on Shang Ke¡¯s left shoulder. Lang Jingyun¡¯s whip slammed heavily into Shang Ke¡¯s spear, jolting his organs. The huge commotion around the Four Spiritual Peak caused a trace of suspicion to be born in Lang Jingyun¡¯s heart. He felt that there was no way for a newly ascended Martial Extermination Realm expert like Shang Ke to be behind it. However, everything remained quiet after Shang Ke appeared, and Lang Jingyun heaved a sigh of relief in his heart. He thought that the peak was safe now that Shang Ke had left, and all they had to do was to stop him. ¡°Hah! We left the Tongyou Peak empty handed earlier. Who would have thought that they would send us a present like that! If we allow you to leave today, we¡¯ll be disrespecting the Tongyou Institution¡¯s intentions!¡± Lang Jingyun roared haughtily as his whip came slashing out again. Feeling the threatening aura coming from Lang Jingyun¡¯s whip, Shang Ke knew that he would be dead the moment he was struck! CH 197 ¡°Pa!¡± A crisp slap rang through the air and it sent Lang Jingyun¡¯s four segmented whip flying in the other direction. At the critical moment, Liu Qinglan arrived. Her timely appearance saved Shang Ke from certain death. Retrieving his whip, Lang Jingyun felt a stinging sensation in his arms and he frowned in disbelief. The war ended not too long ago, but it seemed as though Liu Qinglan¡¯s strength improved significantly! Lang Jingyun could only curse in his heart about the speed at which those freaks from the Tongyou Institution cultivated. Liu Qinglan didn¡¯t know the complex thoughts flowing through Lang Jingyun¡¯s head and her whip flew through the air towards him. After killing the rank four snake and obtaining its tendon, she managed to upgrade her seven segmented whip to an eight segmented whip! Even though it wasn¡¯t a high-grade weapon, the power it possessed was phenomenal! Moreover, she became a lot stronger with the weapon in hand. As their weapons tangled together, Lang Jingyun realized that killing Shang Ke would be impossible with Liu Qinglan present. He also managed to discover a queer disturbance near the Four Spiritual Peak. Deciding to return, he made a signal towards Lu Zhanyi and the two of them disengaged immediately. They retreated in the direction of the Four Spiritual Peak. Having crawled back from the gates of hell, Shang Ke didn¡¯t even have time to thank Liu Qinglan as he retrieved a bottle of medicine to treat his injuries. If there was any delay, he might be sent straight back to the netherworld he barely escaped from. ¡°Who would have thought that you would be able to refine an extermination origin. Looks like the Shang Clan will turn into the strongest clan in the Tongyou City¡­¡± Liu Qinglan¡¯s expression was complicated as she stared at the recovering Shang Ke. We are "pawread dot com", find us on google. With his pale face, Shang Ke felt a lot better after consuming the medicine. After thanking her, he sighed softly, ¡°Without my third brother, our Shang Clan will still only possess one Martial Extermination Realm expert. Our strength would remain the same! There¡¯s no way we would become the strongest clan in the city.¡± Liu Qinglan¡¯s expression changed instantly. A look of fright appeared on her face. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me¡­ No¡­ The report sent to the Tongyou Peak was stamped with Shang Bo¡¯s insignia, he can¡¯t be dead!¡± Shang Ke suppressed his injuries and explained, ¡°Shang Bo withdrew as the patriarch of our Shang Clan. He¡¯s planning to focus on being the deputy patriarch of the Tongyou Institution and give it his all!¡± Pausing for a second, he turned to look at Liu Qinglan. ¡°This¡­ Nevermind¡­ Let¡¯s not talk about this for now!¡± Liu Qinglan gasped in shock, but a smile soon appeared on her face. ¡°That¡¯s great! It¡¯s something worthy of celebration for our institution! Also, I think congratulations are in order for your ascension as the Shang Clan Patriarch!¡± ¡°You should know that I am greatly against the idea of Shang Bo doing that¡­¡± Shang Ke sighed and waved his hands to dismiss her blessings. Pausing for a second, he continued, ¡°Even though Liu Jitang is dead, his son, Liu Zhiyuan, has entered the Martial Extermination Realm. The four great clans will remain as such, but our institution will lose a deputy patriarch.¡± Nodding solemnly, Liu Qinglan replied, ¡°I knew about Deputy Patriarch Jitang¡¯s death. I thought that the Liu Clan would decline because of it. Now that Liu Zhuyuan has broken through, things should be alright.¡± ¡°Looks like you received news about the rank five undead corpse. Let¡¯s circle back to the Four Spiritual Peak and see how much destruction it can cause!¡± Shang Ke muttered. A smile appeared on Liu Qinglan¡¯s face. ¡°Of course we have to return. It¡¯s the best chance we¡¯re going to get! Now that they¡¯re the ones in danger, it¡¯s time for us to profit from their misfortune! As for your injuries¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine! If the undead corpse can really shatter the barrier around the Four Spiritual Peak, I wouldn¡¯t mind sacrificing half my life for it!¡± The two of them quickly rushed towards the Four Spiritual Peak. A strange look appeared on Shang Ke¡¯s face when he noticed several cultivators following behind Liu Qinglan. ¡°You brought our disciples here too?¡± ¡°Once the barrier breaks, we need some experts to clear up the trash¡­¡± ¡­ Shang Xia was pretty regretful that he didn¡¯t pester Shang Ke to bring him along, but he trudged on towards the Four Spiritual Peak nonetheless. Along the way, the Lightning Bird that returned to relay the news met up with him! He didn¡¯t know if he would be able to make it in time for the battle that was bound to happen on the Four Spiritual Peak! For them to be able to stand against the Tongyou Institution for the past twenty years, no one knew how deep their foundations went. Both sides experienced countless casualties after so many years of fighting, but neither could suppress the other. With a chance to destroy the stalemate, the members of the Tongyou Institution wouldn¡¯t miss out on the great show! Once the Four Spiritual Peak was decimated, the four great races that made up the Four Spiritual Peak¡¯s strength would receive a huge blow! Their accumulations would be plundered mercilessly, and the Tongyou Institution would secure their advantage in the battlefield between two worlds with no problems at all! The Lightning Bird circled around Shang Xia as it chirped angrily. It seemed to be scolding Shang Xia for not moving fast enough. With its speed, it could have made two round trips to the Four Spiritual Peak in the time it took Shang Xia to travel. ¡°Damn bird, shut up!¡± Shang Xia snapped in irritation. ¡°Look at you! You¡¯re a tiny little shit! When you grow bigger, this granddaddy here will ride on you as we soar to the skies.¡± An angry chirp rang in Shang Xia¡¯s ears as a lightning bolt fell from the skies. ¡°Hah! You dare to strike me with lightning? Don¡¯t you know that you got your abilities from me?!¡± Shang Xia leaped into the air and boosted himself on a tree nearby. Rising high, he pointed at the lightning bird and a thick bolt of lightning flew at it. Releasing a clear cry, the Lightning Bird flapped its wings slightly. It seemed to be taunting Shang Xia to make him send more lightning bolts its way. Scolding it jokingly, the two of them messed about all the way until they caught sight of the Four Spiritual Peak in the distance. After so long, Shang Xia finally arrived! He stared at the Martial Extermination Realm experts hovering in mid air as they stared down the Four Spiritual Peak. He really wanted to know what was happening in there, but from afar, everything looked as peaceful as could be. That was what he could see on the surface. With so many Martial Extermination Realm experts surrounding the Four Spiritual Peak, it was naturally easy to infer that things weren¡¯t going too well inside. The thing that Shang Xia found incredulous was that the rank five undead corpse had clearly entered the barrier. However, the protection formation didn¡¯t seem to be destroyed! He wondered if the members of the Four Spiritual Peak had water in their brains. Why would they allow Zhu Tong to enter the barrier?! As he stood there in confusion, the peaceful situation started to change. In an instant, the world before his eyes experienced a heaven-shaking transformation. The protection barrier around the Four Spiritual Peak fluctuated violently and it popped like a bubble! An earth-shattering explosion rang through the skies and the four mountains that made up the Four Spiritual Peak shook violently. One of the peaks crumbled completely, and one of them was on the verge of destruction. Another looked as though someone cleaved a giant chopper through the body of the mountain, and only one of the peaks remained relatively safe. CH 198 ¡°Shit! The undead corpse is still standing strong! Is the Martial Dipper Realm actually so terrifying?!¡± Shang Ke gasped in fright when he saw the scene of destruction on the Four Spiritual Peak. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. Shang Bo raised an eyebrow and chuckled in response, ¡°The body of a Martial Dipper Realm expert is terrifying to the extreme. It won¡¯t be easy even if he wants to die! Moreover, Zhu Tong¡¯s fate dipper is of the earth element. His defenses are much stronger than others of the same level! It won¡¯t be easy for anyone to kill him!¡± Liu Qinglan couldn¡¯t help but furrow her brows. ¡°What if they fail to kill the undead corpse? Won¡¯t it be able to threaten our Tongyou Peak?¡± ¡°The appearance of a rank five undead corpse is the greatest anomaly in the battlefield between two worlds. Neither us nor the Four Spiritual Peak will allow an existence like that to remain unchecked. Today, we borrowed the power of the rank five undead corpse to weaken the Four Spiritual Peak as much as possible. It¡¯s impossible to destroy them completely. Also¡­¡± Liu Qinglan seemed to understand whatever he was saying and she heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Does that mean that we have a way of dealing with the undead corpse if it runs free after this?¡± A chuckle left Shang Bo¡¯s lips. ¡°Since the moment the undead corpse was released, it had been pestered by several Martial Extermination Realm experts. Even with its immense strength, it won¡¯t be able to last forever. Moreover, the Four Spiritual Peak forms the battlefront of the Azure Spiritual World. No matter what happens, the undead corpse will die today.¡± ¡°Then¡­ When should we make our move? The longer we drag this out, the greater the chance for the Azure Spiritual World to interfere!¡± Shang Ke asked. ¡°Too late. They¡¯re going to interfere for sure. All we can do now is to cause the greatest amount of destruction.¡± Ji Wenlong snorted coldly. Shang Ke stared at Liu Qinglan and their hearts trembled slightly. Shang Bo soon followed up with an explanation. ¡°It won¡¯t be over even after we clear the Four Spiritual Peak out. We don¡¯t have the power to exterminate the four great races completely. They will be able to regain their strength in the battlefield between the two worlds before long. Building up our foundations and growing stronger is how we will remain victorious in the end. After this battle, our Tongyou Institution will gain an absolute upper hand in the battlefield between two worlds! This is great news for our future development!¡± Even though everyone knew that Shang Bo wasn¡¯t revealing everything he knew, all of them knew better than to ask. All of a sudden, Shang Bo turned to Shang Ke and said, ¡°Fifth brother, your injuries are serious. You already helped out a lot by luring Zhu Tong over to the Four Spiritual Peak. You don¡¯t have to take part in the upcoming battle.¡± ¡°Alright. That brat came all the way here too. I¡¯ll stick around him and see what benefits we can find in this mess.¡± Shang Ke laughed in response. A helpless smile formed on Shang Bo¡¯s face and he turned to address Liu Qinglan. ¡°Since you brought our disciples here, please take care of them. I hope they will be able to remain relatively intact. If it¡¯s possible, avoid sending them into battle.¡± Liu Qinglan nodded slightly. Finally, Shang Bo turned to Ji Wenlong and muttered, ¡°It¡¯s about time we make our move.¡± ¡°Hehe, do you think that old hag will beg us for help?¡± A crafty smile appeared on Ji Wenlong¡¯s face suddenly. The words barely left his lips when a soft sigh swept through the battlefield between two worlds. It came from the only peak left standing, the Spiritual Swallow Peak. A burst of four colored lights filled the air as the heaven and earth qi formed a giant hurricane that tore through the air. ¡°She Zhihong is dead!¡± ¡­ ¡°What!? Grandpa, are you serious?! You¡¯re going to follow me into the Four Spiritual Peak?!¡± Shang Xia stared at Shang Ke who had a shit-eating grin on his face and roared. Shrugging nonchalantly, Shang Ke explained, ¡°Well, I can¡¯t help it. Your Grandpa Bo noticed the injuries I sustained and told me to stay out of the battle. No matter what, I¡¯m the patriarch of our Shang Clan now. If I run around unchecked in the Four Spiritual Peak and harvest all the gains alone, the other clans will definitely have something to say. If I assist you¡­ Hehehe, they can¡¯t possibly find fault with a junior of the younger generation!¡± ¡°What the fuck is the difference?!¡± Shang Xia widened his eyes in shock. With a serious face, Shang Ke started to berate Shang Xia. ¡°Of course there¡¯s a difference, you brat! I¡¯ll prevent you from going overboard!¡± Shang Xia understood that his grandfather¡¯s real intention was to protect him from any harm and his heart trembled slightly. He maintained a smile on his face as he continued, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you give me all the rank three advancement formulas in our clan¡¯s treasury? I won¡¯t go overboard looting them after I get what I want! Anyway, I¡¯m about to break through to the Martial Intent Realm. I should start making my preparations.¡± Shang Xia thought that his grandfather would agree happily, but he was met with the complete opposite. ¡°I¡¯m afraid we can only talk about this after we return to the institution¡­¡± ¡°What? Why? Grandpa Ke, don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t remember the advancement formulas¡­¡± Shang Xia frowned. ¡°This is our clan¡¯s rule! It¡¯s also the way we protect our inheritance from leaking out of the clan!¡± Shang Ke snapped at him impatiently. Thinking about it for a second, Shang Xia continued, ¡°Then¡­ If I run into any ingredients that can be used for my advancement medicine and can¡¯t recognize it, what should I do?¡± ¡°Huh? Do you think you won¡¯t be tempted by rank three herbs even if you don¡¯t recognize them? I can¡¯t tell you the formulas now, but it doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t know them! I know what herbs you will need to make your medicine so just go wherever you want and grab whatever you can!¡± Shang Ke clicked his tongue in annoyance. Seeing the stupid look on Shang Xia¡¯s face, Shang Ke tossed the Embroidered Cloud Case used to store Zhu Ying¡¯s corpse previously. Naturally, Shang Xia recognized it immediately. ¡°Who would have thought that Grandpa Ke wouldn¡¯t be interested in this? It¡¯s a top grade Embroidered Cloud Case with three cubic feet of space!¡± Shang Xia chuckled. After all, there was only a single Embroidered Cloud Case in the Shang Clan at the same level. Shang Ke¡¯s lips twitched in irritation and he nearly swore at the brat. ¡°I¡¯m going to become the patriarch of our Shang Clan soon. Your Grandpa Bo will hand his Embroidered Cloud Case to me. You can keep this treasure for yourself.¡± ¡°What about Grandpa Bo?¡± Shang Xia frowned. ¡°He¡¯s gonna sell himself to the institution. Don¡¯t you think that they should show some sincerity?¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Why did Grandpa Bo do that anyway? Can¡¯t he remain as our patriarch and be the deputy patriarch of the institution at the same time? He has been doing it for the past few years anyway!¡± Shang Xia asked. Shaking his head, Shang Ke decided to reveal everything to Shang Xia. ¡°I don¡¯t know the situation exactly, and your Grandpa Bo is unwilling to say anything about it. However, it definitely has something to do with Kou Chongxue¡¯s support for us to become one of the four great clans. In the past, your Grandpa Bo and I were only Martial Intent Realm experts. He probably promised Patriarch Kou something in order to be promoted to a Martial Extermination Realm expert.¡± Shang Xia finally gained a better understanding of what happened in the past. However, Shang Ke wasn¡¯t done. ¡°Naturally, there might also be some other reason behind his action. Regardless, we should only talk about it after returning to the city.¡± Shang Xia swallowed his remaining questions after hearing what Shang Ke said. A loud-pitched voice tore through the skies after some time. ¡°Ji Wenlong, Shang Bo, if you choose to remain idle, don¡¯t blame this old lady for tearing off all pretense with your Tongyou Peak! All of us will go down together!¡± Shang Xia raised his head only to see two four colored meteors shooting towards the Four Spiritual Peak. A sneer formed on Shang Ke¡¯s lips. ¡°That old lady is really scheming. She has so much strength left but she allowed She Zhihong to die. What a dumbass¡­¡± Turning to Shang Xia, his expression loosened up. ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go sweep up the rest of the treasures left on the Four Spiritual Peak!¡± CH 199 When the protection formation shattered, more than half the Four Spiritual Peak was already in ruins. When Shang Xia and Shang Ke entered the radius of the protection formation, they could barely find another living soul under all the destruction. A Martial Extremity Realm disciple managed to crawl his way out from the ground, but he was killed with a wave of Shang Xia¡¯s hand. A sigh left Shang Xia¡¯s lips along with it. ¡°Are they all dead? Oh right, that makes sense. That¡¯s a rank five undead corpse we¡¯re talking about. It won¡¯t show mercy to those stained with Zhu Ying¡¯s blood.¡± His conjecture was met with a shake of the head from Shang Ke. ¡°You¡¯re wrong there. Actually, a huge portion of those from the Four Spiritual Peak had already left. They¡¯re no fools. The moment Zhu Tong entered the protection barrier, they had already started to prepare for the worst. They knew that they wouldn¡¯t be able to stop Zhu Tong.¡± ¡°How¡­¡± Shang Xia gasped in shock. ¡°Hah. They probably expected as much the moment your Grandpa Bo and Ji Wenlong arrived. The Four Spiritual Peak looked peaceful earlier, but that is because they used their Martial Extermination Realm experts to stall for time. That was probably why She Zhihong sacrificed himself too.¡± Shang Ke explained. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t understand it fully and he continued to ask, ¡°Then¡­ Grandpa Bo and Grandpa Ji should have discovered that the disciples of the Four Spiritual Peak are making their escape. Why didn¡¯t they stop them?¡± ¡°How were they supposed to do that? Were they going to massacre all the lower leveled disciples on their own? Or do you think that they should have sent you to stop hundreds of disciples from escaping?¡± Shang Ke growled in annoyance. Shang Xia seemed to have recalled something and he frowned slightly. ¡°If Instructor Liu came earlier, the disciples of our Tongyou Peak would be able to stop them!¡± ¡°Haha. Liu Qinglan is already looking highly upon you by leading an army of disciples based on your haphazard report. Naturally, the disciples of the Four Spiritual Peak wouldn¡¯t be able to leave unscathed. Hundreds of them should be buried under the collapsed peak. Don¡¯t forget, they lost a huge number of cultivators during the war on our Tongyou Peak. I strongly suspect that the number of cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak who managed to escape wouldn¡¯t number more than two hundred! After this battle, the strength of the four races in the Azure Spiritual World would drop by more than a third! That¡¯s including the loss of Martial Extermination Realm cultivators!¡± It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". Shang Xia¡¯s heart trembled slightly as he stared at Shang Ke. It seemed as though the four great clans¡¯ intelligence on the four races that populated the Four Spiritual Peak wasn¡¯t as bad as he thought! Could they already have planted spies in the enemy¡¯s rank? Seeing the look on Shang Xia¡¯s face, Shang Ke smiled. ¡°Alright. You don¡¯t have to think too much about it. This is the best chance for you to sweep up all the benefits here. If you wait around and let the members of the Tongyou Peak arrive, you won¡¯t be able to grab all the good stuff in time!¡± They didn¡¯t remain idle as they continued to walk deeper into the Four Spiritual Peak. It didn¡¯t take long for them to arrive before a half-destroyed building. ¡°This is the Music Pavilion on the Tide Peak. This is where Ran Biluo and several important figures of her race would enter seclusion. The building is extremely sturdy and there might be several restrictions around it. That¡¯s how it managed to survive the destruction.¡± Even though neither the Tongyou Peak nor the Four Spiritual Peak managed to destroy each other in the past twenty years, they managed to gain a thorough understanding of each other. Shang Xia¡¯s earlier guess seemed to be confirmed at the moment. Even if he was beaten to death, he wouldn¡¯t believe that the Tongyou Institution didn¡¯t plant spies among the four races! Whatever the case, grabbing the leftover treasures was more important to him. With a single slash, Shang Xia¡¯s Jade River Sword sliced the roof of the pavilion in half. ¡°Oi! Don¡¯t act recklessly! If the restrictions were activated¡­¡± Shang Ke yelled at him. Before he could complete his sentence, he saw a myriad of lights emerging from the opening Shang Xia created. However, they were quickly shattered with another swing of Shang Xia¡¯s sword. ¡°Grandpa, I¡¯ll head in first. Please deal with the rest.¡± Shang Xia jumped through the gap before Shang Ke could say anything. A trace of contemplation flashed through Shang Ke¡¯s mind and he muttered to himself, ¡°This¡­ This is weird. How many different types of martial intent did the brat just use?! Even if he cultivated the Triple Polarity Mystery Art, he should only be able to transform his qi among the three different types. He can only use one pair at a time¡­ How the hell did this brat use so many martial intents in one strike?! Did this old man go blind or something?!¡± At his level, he obviously noticed the abnormality when Shang Xia unleashed his previous attack to shatter the restriction that emerged from the opening he created! Even Martial Intent Realm experts would find it hard to replicate what he just did, much less disciples at the Martial Extremity Realm! When Shang Ke was still suspecting if the restriction around the Music Pavilion had degenerated due to the destruction, several popping sounds came from within. In a flash, Shang Xia emerged with a wooden case that was half a feet long and a conch that was the size of a fist. ¡°Is that it?¡± Shang Ke frowned. Nodding his head, he handed both items over to his grandfather. ¡°Looks like everything inside has already been swept clean. They definitely took whatever they could before running away. These are the only things left inside. They were hidden in a secret chamber and I only managed to get to them after unleashing seven slashes! Take a look and tell me what you think of them!¡± ¡°The secret chamber should be where Ran Biluo entered seclusion. For items to be kept in there¡­ Haha, this should be some pretty good stuff!¡± Shang Ke chuckled while examining the conch in his hand. ¡°Ran Biluo¡¯s Seven Conch Sword can be considered a high-grade weapon. The soundwaves it emits can mess with her opponent in battle. It causes one¡¯s inner qi to flow chaotically, and it can even affect their thoughts. It¡¯s extremely difficult to defend against it. I heard that she only managed to refine the Seven Conch Sword after extracting all the essence spirit of various conches in the sea¡­¡± Halfway through his explanation, Shang Ke flicked his finger on the surface of the shell, causing a clear ringing sound. He clicked his tongue and sighed, ¡°This conch is studier than some metal out there! It¡¯s definitely a rank three treasure or higher! If we refine it into some sort of musical instrument, the weakest it can turn out to be will be a low-grade weapon!¡± Shang Xia was elated to hear the evaluation, but there was still a trace of confusion in his mind. ¡°No matter what, she¡¯s a Martial Extermination Realm expert. Rank three treasures might be rare, but it¡¯s a little lacking for her to keep it so close to her! There has to be some other use for this conch!¡± ¡°Ran Biluo¡¯s cultivation method is related to how tides form in the ocean¡­ If you place your ears at the opening of the conch, you¡¯ll be able to hear the sloshing of waves! Could that be the key to her cultivation?!¡± Shang Ke widened his eyes in shock. ¡°Maybe?¡± Shang Xia chuckled in amusement before keeping the conch into his Embroidered Cloud Case. ¡°You should take a look at the wooden case too.¡± Looking at the restriction around the wooden case, a trace of extermination origin appeared on Shang Ke¡¯s palm and he forcefully destroyed whatever protection remained around the case. He sucked in a cold breath the moment he examined its contents. ¡°Damn kid, you lucked out! How the hell did you manage to find something like this? Well, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for you to congeal your divine sense after all!¡± CH 200 ¡°What?! Spirit Initiation Stone? This doesn¡¯t look that impressive¡­¡± Shang Xia sneered in contempt after hearing a short explanation from his grandfather about the item in the wooden case. ¡°What do you know?!¡± With his temper rising slightly, Shang Ke resisted the urge to slap Shang Xia. ¡°A Spirit Initiation Stone can¡¯t be created naturally! Only experts at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm can leave something like this behind! When they achieve enlightenment, a Spirit Initiation Stone will be created!¡± ¡°Huh? Doesn¡¯t that mean it¡¯s artificial?¡± Shang Xia snorted slightly. ¡°Oi! Don¡¯t you know what achieving enlightenment means?! One can only achieve it through luck! Even the person who created the Spirit Initiation Stone wouldn¡¯t know how it happened!¡± Shang Ke roared with rage. A helpless look eventually replaced his angry expression as he explained patiently, ¡°Every single piece contains its own spiritual nature. You need to remember that it doesn¡¯t contain the cultivator¡¯s divine sense directly. When a cultivator uses it, it serves as a guide for one to condense their individual divine sense.¡± Taking the piece of rock out of the wooden box, Shang Xia tossed it around and muttered, ¡°This looks like something someone played with for a long time. Could the spirituality inside have faded?¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± Shang Ke shook his head. ¡°The moment the spirituality in the rock disappears, it will crumble to dust. From the looks of it, it should be perfect. You can only rely on luck if you wish to receive the approval of the spirituality within.¡± ¡°So¡­ Doesn¡¯t that mean that absorbing it will come down to luck too?¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± Shang Ke nodded in affirmation. Putting the rock back into the wooden case before tossing the entire thing into his Embroidered Cloud Case, Shang Xia asked, ¡°Oh right, isn¡¯t this something created by a cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World? Bloodline cultivators are different from us to begin with. Can I really use the Spirit Initiation Rock?¡± ¡°Relax. Many people tried it before and succeeded in refining the treasure. You¡¯re not the first person to obtain something like this anyway.¡± After hearing the explanation, Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief. Shang Ke added, ¡°Just obtaining this piece of Spirit Initiation Rock made our trip to the Four Spiritual Peak worthwhile!¡± The two of them continued to hunt for treasures in the Four Spiritual Peak after he had plundered the Music Pavilion. Shang Ke might be injured and unable to take part in the battle on the Spiritual Swallow Peak, he was more than capable of blocking the shockwaves of the battle. The two of them ran into some fortunate members of the Four Spiritual Peak who survived along the way, causing those who were thanking their lucky stars for being able to survive to curse their fates. Their fortunes were turned into misfortune as all of them ended up being practice targets for Shang Xia¡¯s sword techniques. At that moment, Shang Xia had learned six different sword arts. He understood the essence behind four of them, fusing them into his Yin Yang Sword Formation. He had to train in the other two the best he could! He was practicing the Quandary Sword Art at the moment, and he was trying to comprehend the martial intent after reaching the highest achievement in the technique. The Quandary Sword Art seemed a little unorthodox as it made the victims of the technique live with a pain worse than death. When Shang Ke saw the state of those disciples of the Four Spiritual Peak after they were struck by the technique, he knew he had to speak up about it. ¡°Your sword technique is a little too evil. You look like you¡¯re torturing your opponents on purpose! In the future, stop using it.¡± He berated. Falling deep into contemplation, Shang Xia didn¡¯t seem to hear what his grandfather said. When Shang Ke saw the look on Shang Xia¡¯s face, he thought that the kid wasn¡¯t taking his words seriously. He wanted to add several more warnings, but he discovered that Shang Xia wasn¡¯t as stupid as he looked. The kid looked like he was comprehending something and Shang Ke decided to let the matter go. However, a sudden change in the situation caused Shang Ke to raise an eyebrow in shock. Three feet away, a massive boulder exploded. Tiny shards flew through the air and a black figure shot straight towards Shang Xia. He held a long sword in his hand as a weird hissing sound filled the air. There was a faint indication of a martial intent behind his attack. The figure who appeared was a Martial Extremity Realm disciple of the Four Spiritual Peak and he was also well-versed in the way of the sword! Afraid that the sudden disturbance would affect Shang Xia¡¯s comprehension, Shang Ke decided to step in. However, he hadn¡¯t even moved when a resplendent ray of sword light emerged from Shang Xia¡¯s Jade River Sword. A tyrannical sword light slashed towards the opponent, giving him no chance to dodge. The appearance of the sword light caused the swordsman who just arrived to feel extremely pressured. He knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to stop the sword light even if he gave it his all, but he had no way out! He could only risk everything and take the strike head-on. He never would have thought that the sword light would twist in the last second, avoiding his desperate counterattack. Avoiding the swordsman¡¯s defenses, Shang Xia¡¯s sword light drew a distinct line across one of his arms, causing a spurt of blood to spray into the skies. Shang Xia could have easily taken his opponent¡¯s life. However, he chose to avoid the vitals, showing a shred of mercy. The sword light was merely meant as a warning. However, things were different in Shang Ke¡¯s eyes. He was much more insightful than a disciple at the Martial Extremity Realm. He could tell that Shang Xia was using the same sword technique as before, but the sword light that emerged possessed a grand and imposing aura compared to the dark and sinister one it had before! Anyone who saw how Shang Xia dealt with his previous opponents would think that he was humiliating them and toying with their lives. However, this particular strike gave Shang Ke the impression that Shang Xia was sincerely sparing his opponent¡¯s life! The change was too abrupt! A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. It was too bad the Four Spiritual Peak and the Tongyou Peak were mortal enemies. Shang Xia¡¯s actions of sparing his opponent¡¯s life would never be appreciated by the other party. Grabbing his sword firmly with his other hand which was unaffected, the swordsman continued to press closer to Shang Xia. At that moment, Shang Xia was stuck in a peculiar state. His mind was blank but his senses were sharp. It was as though he was looking at himself from a third party point of view. If Shang Xia¡¯s earlier strike transformed the sinister intent into a glorious one, his next move would knock the socks off everyone''s feet. His understanding of the Quandary Sword Art broke through a particular bottleneck and he managed to convert the core of the entire technique! He might have shocked himself by the sudden flash of inspiration, but Shang Ke was truly on the verge of fainting in fright. ¡°Ethereal Mind! That¡­ That¡­ That¡¯s the sign of him forming his divine sense!¡± Shang Ke gasped. A complicated expression appeared in his eyes as he stared at the kid in front of him. ¡°I thought that he progressed a little too quickly from the Martial Realm to the Martial Extremity Realm. According to our estimations, he would need a little more time and accumulation to advance! Shang Bo probably sent me out to protect him while giving him some advice, but from the looks of it, our actions were unnecessary! Looks like I have to give him the advancement formula for the Triple Loop Coalescence Needle.¡± As the battle between Shang Xia and the swordsman of the Four Spiritual Peak reached its climax, Shang Xia broke through the defenses of his opponent multiple times. However, he would withdraw at the very last moment, allowing his opponent to survive. The swordsman who had been spared multiple times not only failed to discover Shang Xia¡¯s mercy, he even tried to push his luck! ¡°Enough!¡± The swordsman yelled while retreating slightly. Snapping back to reality, Shang Xia awakened from the mythical state and stared blankly at his opponent. ¡°I¡¯m not your opponent, and there¡¯s no point in dragging his battle out any longer. Now that the Four Spiritual Peak is destroyed, I have no way of escaping. I hope that you can experience my final attack!¡± Turning serious, Shang Xia growled, ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± CH 201 In the Shang Clan Manor in the Tongyou City¡­ A middle-aged man who had a headful of short hair stood before the giant doors of the Shang Clan Manor. He had a long sword in his hand and he was dressed simply. Even so, his plain clothing couldn¡¯t hide the unique aura he emitted. He had a melancholic look in his eyes as he looked at the structure before him. ¡°Second brother?¡± Behind the middle-aged man, a youngster called out anxiously. The two of them looked pretty similar, but he couldn¡¯t help but call out to the middle-aged man after some time. The youngster resembled Shang Xia slightly, but there was a trace of mischief in his eyes. From time to time, his gaze would turn sharp, revealing his true self. From the looks of it, he wasn¡¯t a simple character. He carried a long cloth bag behind him and no one knew what it contained. The middle-aged man turned around with a complicated expression on his face. ¡°I haven¡¯t been back for the past ten years¡­ The manor looks even more imposing than before.¡± Swallowing his words, the youngster forced a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s talk when we¡¯re back inside¡­¡± Stepping past the middle-aged man, the youngster smacked his palm on the gate impatiently. ¡°Open the door! Hurry up! Why did you guys close the main gate in the day anyway?!¡± The middle-aged man behind him couldn¡¯t help but burst into laughter after hearing what he said. As the entrance creaked open, an aged voice rang in their ears. ¡°Stop knocking. Damn it, even the sturdiest of doors would be destroyed by all the heavy banging from you cultivators.¡± Yelping in fright, the youngster retracted his hand instantly. He muttered softly, ¡°Uncle Xiang, why are you opening the door personally? Where¡¯s the rest?!¡± A white-haired old man whose back hunched a little poked his head out. Sizing the youngster up, his eyebrows shot upwards and he cried out in shock, ¡°Ninth Young Master?! Didn¡¯t you go to the Ji Continent? Why are you back so early?¡± ¡°How can I remain in the Ji Continent after such a huge matter happened in the Tongyou City? Also, I didn¡¯t come back alone! I dragged this guy along with me!¡± A wide grin appeared on the youngster¡¯s face and he stepped to the side. The figure of the middle-aged man appeared and the youngster yelled happily, ¡°Uncle Xiang, do you recognize him?¡± The middle-aged man took a step forward and smiled. ¡°Uncle Xiang, it¡¯s been a while. How are you doing?¡± A trace of confusion could be seen on Uncle Xiang¡¯s face, but it was soon replaced by an agitated expression. ¡°Second¡­ Second Young Master! Second Young Master, you came back!¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± The middle-aged man exhaled a long breath in response. Seemingly having thought of something, Uncle Xiang pushed the doors open and sighed, ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re back. No one from the older generation is watching over the clan right now. The disciples of the clan are getting nervous about the situation brewing in the city. Second Young Master, Ninth Young Master, now that you¡¯re back, we finally have someone to make the decisions!¡± The middle-aged man and the youngster stared at each other for a second and their hearts sank. ¡°Where¡¯s third uncle? Shouldn¡¯t he be in charge of matters in the clan? What about my dad? Don¡¯t tell me Seventh Sister isn¡¯t here too¡­ Where did all of them go?¡± The youngster asked. Leading the two of them into the manor, Uncle Xiang sighed, ¡°We¡¯ll talk when we¡¯re back¡­¡± The two of them hastened their footsteps and the door closed behind them. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. ... Back in the institution, it was business as usual as Yun Jing held the fort alone. Yu Duhe entered the main hall to give his report for the day. ¡°We just received news from those in the city that Shang Jian, the second young master of the Shang Clan, and Shang Yang, the ninth young master of the Shang Clan had returned.¡± Opening her eyes slowly, the corners of Yun Jing¡¯s lips curled upwards. ¡°How many families does this make?¡± ¡°They¡¯re the eleventh family to recall their members so far. However, not everyone from the Shang Clan is back. Their fifth young lady has yet to return.¡± Yu Duhe explained. Seeing Yun Jing¡¯s expressionless face, Yu Duhe continued, ¡°Ever since the news of Patriarch Kou¡¯s injury and the Rose Party¡¯s entry to the battlefield between the two words were revealed, we imposed martial law on the city. A total of sixteen families in the city started to recall their members. Other than that, several wandering experts have entered the city.¡± Yun Jing nodded slightly and her expression lightened up. ¡°Looks like they still care about the You Continent. Let¡¯s hope that everything proceeds smoothly.¡± ¡­ In the Four Spiritual Peak¡­ Shang Ke looked at the staggering swordsman facing Shang Xia and he raised an eyebrow in surprise. ¡°You didn¡¯t kill him?¡± Shang Xia kept Jade Creek on his back before focusing on the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian. The fifth tiny sword was forming, and he explained simply, ¡°I broke his dantian earlier. He''s no threat to us anymore.¡± ¡°Hold up. That doesn¡¯t seem right. If you broke his dantian, that would mean that his cultivation is crippled. To cultivators, it¡¯s a fate worse than death! Why was he thanking you when he left?¡± Shang Ke frowned. Shang Xia replied nonchalantly, ¡°How would I know? Not every cultivator treats cultivation as their life. He might have some family members back at home. Why would he choose to die here if he can return to their side?¡± ¡°Wait a second. That¡¯s not the main point. What type of sword technique are you using anyway? It looked like you used an ordinary strike to shatter his sword intent¡­¡± Shang Ke frowned. His question was met with a burst of laughter from Shang Xia. ¡°Grandpa, who said that I had to use my martial intent to break his?¡± ¡°What? Oh right, whatever. What is your martial intent anyway? Stinking brat, come back here when I¡¯m talking to you!¡± Shang Ke yelled when he saw that Shang Xia was wandering up ahead without him. However, a smile soon formed on his face. ¡°Damn brat, why are you acting all mysterious with this old man? Don¡¯t you know that there¡¯s a Martial Intent Realm expert waiting up ahead to ambush you?¡± He quickly followed behind Shang Xia after muttering to himself. Even though he was trailing behind Shang Xia, he didn¡¯t look anxious at all. It was as though he didn¡¯t even care that Shang Xia was about to walk into an ambush. When the disciple of the Four Spiritual Peak leaped at him, Shang Xia was actually surprised. Even though the man before him was a Martial Intent Realm expert, he refused to believe that Shang Ke would be unable to detect his presence. There was only a single explanation¡­ His Fifth Grandpa had been waiting for him to walk into a trap! Looking at the dirty appearance of the cultivator who just popped up, Shang Xia realized that his opponent had probably been buried in the dirt below after one of the mountains collapsed. ¡°Damn it! He did it on purpose! He probably wants to verify my strength after hearing that I killed a Martial Intent Realm expert back in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World.¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself. However, he didn¡¯t know if Shang Ke was doing it to satisfy his own curiosity or if it was because of Shang Bo¡¯s orders. ¡°Hmph! Since all of you want to see my martial intent so badly¡­ I won¡¯t use it!¡± Shang Xia made up his mind and laughed silently. A trace of sword qi emerged from his Jade Creek Sword hanging from his back and it sliced towards the Martial Intent Realm cultivator in front of him. Facing the sword qi of a Martial Extremity Realm cultivator, a look of disdain appeared on his face. However, he quickly regretted his decision. He circulated his inner qi desperately when he felt a sense of danger filling his mind, but it was too late! He was sliced in two by the ray of sword qi before he could wrap his head around the matter. The sword qi Shang Xia unleashed was named the Yin Yang Sword, and it was something he comprehended not too long ago. Even without unleashing his martial intent, the Yin Yang Sword Formation, the sword qi alone contained a fusion of five different sword intents! CH 202 Shang Ke had been extremely curious about Shang Xia¡¯s abilities since hearing about them in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. Shang Xia¡¯s increase in strength was too damn fast! Moreover, his battle achievements were terrifyingly high too! A trace of mystery and glory surrounded Shang Xia and it caught the attention of both Shang Ke and Shang Bo. In order to check out Shang Xia¡¯s true strength, Shang Ke didn¡¯t remind him about the ambush he was about to walk into earlier. He wanted to force out every bit of Shang Xia¡¯s strength and watch how he dealt with the cultivator from the Four Spiritual Peak who was one whole realm stronger than himself! According to him, Shang Xia would be forced to his limit in order to deal with his opponent. He couldn¡¯t be more wrong. Just when he got ready to watch the huge battle unfold before his very eyes, the Martial Intent Realm expert was sliced in two! One strike, that was all it took! With his divine sense covering the area long before the battle started, he discovered that his eyes weren¡¯t playing tricks on him! Shang Xia only used a single strike to kill his enemy! Not only did Shang Xia¡¯s sword qi cut through his enemy¡¯s inner qi defenses, but it also sliced through Shang Ke¡¯s divine sense that wrapped around it! Shang Ke felt that if he forcefully increased his control over his divine sense to peer into the intricacies of the sword qi, it was very likely for his divine sense to be injured! Was that something a Martial Extremity Realm cultivator was capable of?! Shang Ke¡¯s imagination started running wild. There had to be something special about Shang Xia¡¯s technique! He even suspected that Shang Xia had used some sort of talisman to kill his opponent so easily. Otherwise, the opponent had to be seriously injured before they arrived¡­ Even though Shang Xia hadn¡¯t been in the Coral Forest for long, his journey was rich! Shang Ke had no idea how much the kid actually gained! After analyzing the situation, Shang Ke realized that the possibility of the opponent suffering from injuries could be eliminated. As a Martial Extermination Realm expert, he was extremely clear about the other party¡¯s condition! Taking a giant step, he appeared right above the corpse before Shang Xia could even react. By the time he arrived, Shang Xia had barely searched the corpse. From the look of disdain on his face, it wasn¡¯t hard to tell that the cultivator of the Four Spiritual Peak barely had anything on him. Shang Ke had a complicated look in his eyes as he turned to Shang Xia. He snorted jokingly, ¡°Brat, what exactly is your martial intent? What are you trying to hide?!¡± ¡°This opponent is too damn weak! I can¡¯t even find the chance to use my martial intent!¡± Shang Xia jested. With the side of his lips twitching uncontrollably, Shang Ke nearly broke out with a torrent of curses at him. When he saw the ¡®innocent¡¯ look on Shang Xia¡¯s face, he snorted in anger, ¡°Whatever. Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t remind you. He probably appeared from below because he was trying to retrieve something. Otherwise, he would have left immediately once he sensed danger. With your cultivation level, you won¡¯t be able to eat his dust if he ran away earlier.¡± Shang Xia nodded slowly as he felt that Shang Ke¡¯s reminder made sense. He could only sigh about the dead cultivator¡¯s bad luck. Even though the other party wasn¡¯t very fortunate, Shang Xia lucked out. A grin eventually formed on his face as he dug into the ground happily. Shang Ke wasn¡¯t as carefree as him. A deep frown could be seen on his face as he examined the corpse carefully. The originally intact corpse finally experienced some changes. A drop of blood started to flow from the space between his eyebrows as his body finally separated in two. ¡°One, two, three¡­ No¡­ Fire qi? That should form a pair with the ice qi. Light and heavy? No, seems like void and reality qi. What the hell? There are at least four pairs of qi here!¡± Shang Ke¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Even at his level, it wasn¡¯t easy to distinguish between the different types of qi. ¡°What martial intent did this brat actually comprehend? There are so many different types of qi in his body, how has his dantian not exploded yet? He¡¯s definitely hiding something that can fuse so many types of qi at once. That has to be it. He definitely learned some especially high-ranking techniques for him to accomplish all this!¡± Shang Ke rubbed his chin slowly and continued, ¡°Hah, even if you beat me to death, this granddaddy here won¡¯t believe that the Triple Mystery Polarity Art can allow him to achieve something like this! He probably ran into some special opportunity or obtained a secret cultivation manual! Damn brat, if he really trained in some secret cultivation manual, he¡¯s seeking death! Who the hell trains in something he has no idea about? Oh right, the brat didn¡¯t even die when he was struck by lightning while cultivating in the institution. No wonder he had the balls to try something like that.¡± A voice interrupted his thoughts. ¡°I found it!¡± Walking over to the voice, Shang Ke turned to stare at the corpse behind him suddenly. ¡°Hmm, his sword skills aren''t good enough yet. Otherwise, the corpse wouldn¡¯t split into two so quickly.¡± Even though he didn¡¯t speak loudly, his voice rang clearly in Shang Xia¡¯s ears. He might have criticized Shang Xia¡¯s sword technique, but his face started to burn slightly in embarrassment. He thought about the time he was still a Martial Extremity Realm cultivator and cursed himself silently. ¡°Bah, who cares! This old man is already in the Martial Extermination Realm. I won¡¯t compare myself with an annoying brat!¡± It didn¡¯t take long for him to arrive beside Shang Xia. ¡°Hey! That¡¯s Thousand Layer Steel Cloud! It¡¯s extremely precious even among rank four treasures! How did the Four Spiritual Peak get their hands on this? Why didn¡¯t they send this back to the Azure Spiritual World the moment they discovered it?¡± Shang Ke gasped. ¡°Rank four treasure?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°What can it be used for?¡± ¡°If we use this in combination with a few other resources from our clan, we can invite an expert from the institution to create a graded weapon! In fact, we can probably create a high-grade spear for your Grandpa Bo! When the time comes, he can return the Nine Firefly Lance to the institution.¡± Shang Ke explained. Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. ¡°Oh! Is there a blacksmith in the institution that can create high-grade weapons?¡± Shang Xia widened his eyes in shock. Shang Ke was just about to reply when their conversation was interrupted by a loud cry from the skies. Raising his head, Shang Xia looked at the Lightning Bird circling above and yelled, ¡°The members of the Tongyou Peak have arrived!¡± ¡°Haha, Liu Qinglan is something else alright. She dared to take the gamble after receiving a report from a Martial Extremity Realm disciple. Luckily, she¡¯s right! Now, all we have to do is to see how long the rank five undead corpse can last.¡± Shang Ke chuckled. Noticing the strange tone in Shang Ke¡¯s voice, Shang Xia frowned. ¡°Grandpa Ke, will there be any more surprises?¡± ¡°It depends on how far the four races are willing to go¡­¡± Shang Ke smiled but stopped his explanation there. Shang Xia could only stare at him in confusion. CH 203 The Zeng Family in the Tongyou City was one of the twelve families that had at least a Martial Intent Realm expert at the helm. Ever since Wei Zhongwen of the Ji Continent arrived in the city, he took up residence there. The patriarch of the Zeng Family behaved extremely cautiously around him and explained the customs of the You Continent patiently. Halfway through his explanation, he noticed the change in Wei Zhongwen¡¯s expression and the next thing he knew, the Martial Extermination Realm expert had disappeared. Wei Zhongwen¡¯s actions quickly drew the attention of other experts. Those Martial Intent Realm cultivators who came with him stared at each other and quickly leaped onto the roof of the building around them to stare into the skies above the city. The Zeng Patriarch¡¯s expression fluctuated slightly as he stood quietly in the hall. ¡°Second Uncle, they¡­ What¡¯s going on?¡± One of the members of the younger generation of the Zeng Family asked cautiously. Shaking his head, Zeng Li, the patriarch of the Zeng Family, sighed, ¡°No idea. Tell everyone in the family not to make a huge fuss about this matter.¡± A bitter smile appeared on Zeng Li¡¯s face after the descendant of the Zeng Family left. He muttered to himself, ¡°I wonder if we made the right choice this time¡­¡± Not too long after Wei Zhongwen emerged, You Haibiao and Chang Huaiwu arrived. You Haibiao was the last to arrive, but he seemed the most anxious. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Did the Hidden Frost Sword really disappear?¡± Chang Huaiwu glanced at him from the corner of his eye and sneered. ¡°No shit. If it¡¯s still here, do you think we¡¯ll dare to soar in the skies like this?¡± Wei Zhongwen closed his eyes and tried to extend his senses over the city. Opening his eyes once again, he looked at the two of them. ¡°The Hidden Frost Sword isn¡¯t the only thing that is gone. Lady Yun¡¯s aura disappeared too.¡± Chang Huaiwu and You Haibiao looked at each other and frowned. ¡°Something is wrong. Why would she enter the battlefield between the two worlds now? Isn¡¯t she afraid of leaving the city undefended?¡± Chang Huaiwu asked softly. ¡°There is only one possible explanation for this. The situation in the battlefield between the two worlds required their immediate presence!¡± You Haibiao analyzed. However, his explanation failed to convince Chang Huaiwu in the slightest. ¡°Do you think there¡¯s some sort of scheme behind her actions? We can¡¯t forget about his presence. There¡¯s one person who hadn¡¯t appeared since the start of this. None of us know anything about his actual condition.¡± You Haibiao¡¯s expression changed instantly. ¡°Are you talking about Kou Chongxue? Isn¡¯t he seriously injured?¡± ¡°Hah. Did anyone actually see him injured? I heard that the news was spread by the Rose Party! The institution had never admitted anything about their patriarch¡¯s injuries. Even if he is actually injured, the fact that his cultivation realm is at the Martial Dipper Realm won¡¯t change! It won¡¯t be a problem if he wanted to deal with the three of us!¡± Chang Huaiwu sneered. Before he could continue, Wei Zhongwen interrupted. ¡°Kou Chongxue¡¯s injuries are real. This is something the manor lord verified himself.¡± A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. Chang Huaiwu and You Haibiao fell silent instantly. Wei Zhongwen continued, ¡°Even so, Brother Chang is right. Kou Chongxue is a Martial Dipper Realm expert at the end of the day. It won¡¯t be good if we try anything funny while in their territory. Why don¡¯t I enter the institution to ask about the current situation? After all, all of us came with the intention to give them our assistance. They can¡¯t possibly repay our kindness with enmity, right?¡± The three of them quickly reached an agreement and they rushed towards the Tongyou Institution to request for an audience with Yun Jing despite already noticing her departure. When they arrived at the entrance of the institution, they were stopped by the head of the Protection Division, Song You. ¡°I know what you¡¯re here for. I would have to ask you to return for now. Deputy Patriarch Yun has already prepared a message for all of you. She will return in two days at most. She hopes the three of you can understand her difficulties in giving you an immediate reply.¡± Even though he was speaking to three Martial Extermination Realm experts, Song You wasn¡¯t flustered in the slightest. Hai Youbiao couldn¡¯t help but snort in anger. ¡°You¡¯re just the head of a division of the institution. What rights do you have to speak on the institution¡¯s behalf to the three of us? If you don¡¯t want to waste your patriarch¡¯s efforts of keeping the institution alive, you should open the path to the battlefield right now for us to render our assistance! We¡¯ll start an unstoppable offensive against the Azure Spiritual World!¡± Song You maintained the smile on his face but remained firm on his stance. ¡°Everything is under our control. Please rest assured that we¡¯ll deal with any problems happening in the battlefield between the two worlds promptly. We thank fellow seniors for their concern, but we have everything under control.¡± Chang Huaiwu added from the side, ¡°Your patriarch is currently injured and all your Martial Extermination Realm experts have entered the battlefield between two worlds. The evil remnants are lying in wait to strike. Your institution is besieged from both inside and outside. Why are you so adamant about dealing with this on your own? We¡¯re fully prepared to work with you to deal with the members of the Azure Spiritual World!¡± ¡°Even though you guys might have to concede some benefits by opening the passage to the battlefield between the two words to us, you''ll be able to reduce a lot of casualties on the side of your institution! Isn¡¯t that something you should be aiming for? Let¡¯s not talk about other matters. In the past twenty years, how many lives have you sacrificed in the battlefield between the two worlds? Do you think the number of cultivators in your You Continent increased after so many years of fighting?!¡± Song You remained impassive. ¡°This junior understands and accepts your goodwill. However, all of us have our own considerations. There¡¯s no need to say anymore.¡± Song You¡¯s words might have taken a roundabout way of telling them to fuck off, but they understood his intentions. Their expressions turned ugly really quickly. Wei Zhongwen who had been silent all this while finally spoke up. ¡°Alright. Let me ask you a question. If anyone tried to attack the Tongyou Institution right now, what are you going to do about it?¡± For the first time, Song You¡¯s attitude changed when he addressed the three of them. The smile on his face remained, but a chilly light flashed through his eyes. ¡°Everyone in the institution, our Tongyou City, and everyone under our command will defend our territory with our lives!¡± Instructors, custodians, deacons, and even disciples of the institution appeared in all key areas of the institution as soon as the words left his lips. Even though they were situated in various important positions, they seemed to stand directly behind Song You. Not a single sound could be heard as their unwavering gaze landed on the three Martial Extermination Realm cultivators. In that instant, the three of them felt a formless pressure descending on them. Chang Huaiwu nudged You Haibiao slightly and indicated for him to look behind him. Even though their divine senses had been spread out the whole time, they failed to discover that the streets behind them were filled with countless cultivators. From the entrances of manors to the doors of shops, cultivators who had anything to do with the institution lined every single step. They stared unwaveringly at the backs of the three Martial Extermination Realm experts and not a shred of fear could be seen in their eyes. All of them wore a tranquil expressions on their face, ready to face whatever would come their way. Ever since the You Continent took the brunt of the collision against the Azure Spiritual World, many native cultivators had left their homeland in search of a more stable life. Under the threat of external forces, the Tongyou Institution sent out a call to arms the moment the Tongyou Peak came under siege. Even though they withstood the enemy attack, they were immediately thrown into another precarious situation. The institution¡¯s cry for assistance remained and now, the cultivators of the You Continent who had scattered elsewhere in the past have returned! All of them were prepared to deal with any threat against the institution! CH 204 ¡­ At the foot of the once glorious Four Spiritual Peak. The Heaven Swallowing Peak was the first to fall under Zhu Tong¡¯s assault. As the home of the She Race, it wouldn¡¯t take a genius to know that they suffered catastrophic damage. When She Zhihong noticed Zhu Tong following him into the barrier earlier, he ran straight for the Heaven Swallowing Peak to take control of the protection formation there. He wanted to use it to resist the rank five undead corpse¡¯s assault. With Zhu Tong right behind him, She Zhihong didn¡¯t even have enough time to prepare himself before the battle began. It didn¡¯t take long for them to destroy the Heaven Swallowing Peak, causing the entire mountain to collapse. The battle then spread to the Tide Peak, but due to Ran Biluo¡¯s heavy injuries, she was unable to protect it for long. When she was brought away by the members of the Rose Party after being injured in the Coral Forest, the members of the Ran Race whisked her off to the Tide Peak immediately. When the battle between She Zhihong, Zhu Tong, Yan Su¡¯er and Sima Zhanxing reached the Tide Peak, she couldn¡¯t even circulate her inner qi before she was killed. The battle raged across the Four Spiritual Peak and after the tide peak, the battlefield shifted to the home of the Lang Race. Luckily Lang Jingyun and Lu Zhanyi returned at that moment. With them to control the protection formation, the Four Spiritual Peak was finally able to hold Zhu Tong back. Of course, fighting to a standstill didn¡¯t mean that the destruction would stop. In the blink of an eye, the Whistling Moon Peak started to crumble. When She Zhihong¡¯s attack tore Zhu Ying¡¯s corpse to shreds earlier - despite it being Shang Ke¡¯s ploy - Zhu Tong had already set his eyes on the old expert. After all, Zhu Tong¡¯s only hope of resurrection had disappeared. In order to vent all his frustration, Zhu Tong focused his attack on She Zhihong. She Zhihong¡¯s fate was sealed the moment his attack shattered Zhu Ying¡¯s corpse. When he died, the protection barrier around the Four Spiritual Peak popped, leading to the scene Shang Xia saw before they started their mission to sweep up the remains on the mountain. Once he died, the situation on the Four Spiritual Peak was revealed to both Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo who had been lying in wait outside. Even without Yan Su¡¯er¡¯s threat, they would have joined in the battle. After all, the rank five undead corpse was too dangerous to be left alone. They had to deal with it immediately to prevent any unpredictable situations from rising in the future. Now that the Four Spiritual Peak was close to being destroyed, the Tongyou Peak held the absolute advantage. Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo didn¡¯t wish for Zhu Tong to cause any more destruction. They would be wasting precious resources otherwise. With the rank five undead corpse on its last breath, the two of them would obviously have to make the decisive move. Since Zhu Tong had entered the Martial Dipper Realm, he had to possess a fate dipper! In the core region of the Zhu Family Manor, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t the only one who went to take a look at the stone coffin. Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo naturally went to examine the stone coffin after the kid! The two of them knew exactly what type of fate dipper it was! It was something even Kou Chongxue would have to admit is a treasure. There was no doubt that the rank five undead corpse would die. However, the Four Spiritual Peak would fight desperately to obtain his fate dipper! When Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo entered the battlefield to fight for Zhu Tong¡¯s fate dipper, the disciples of the Tongyou Institution finally arrived. Under Liu Qinglan¡¯s order, they started to form five man groups to scour the ruins. Their job was to kill any survivors and retrieve anything of value from the Four Spiritual Peak. ¡°See! I told you to hurry up earlier. Now that they¡¯re here, you won¡¯t be able to obtain much.¡± Shang Ke sneered at Shang Xia. He called several disciples who were either from the Shang Clan or had relations with them over and organized them himself. Watching the excited disciples digging through the ground, Shang Xia sneered in his heart. ¡°Hah! Old man, if you personally go dig for treasures, we¡¯ll be able to get a lot more!¡± ¡°Damn brat! You¡¯re getting more and more impudent! If I can personally search for treasures here, why would I be following you around?¡± Shang Ke snorted angrily. Shang Xia sighed in response, ¡°Oh. About your injuries¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to enter seclusion for half a year after I return. My foundations were too weak when I fought with Lang Jingyun and Lu Zhanyi. I¡¯ll try to refrain from exerting myself if possible.¡± Shang Ke explained. Nodding in acknowledgment, Shang Xia continued to dig around with his Jade Creek Sword. However, Shang Ke¡¯s sigh came from behind him once again. ¡°If this old man isn¡¯t wrong, there¡¯s a hidden warehouse where you¡¯re digging. Too bad this old man¡¯s spatial tool is full.¡± Shang Xia felt a lightbulb lighting up in his mind. He felt that his grandfather wasn¡¯t willing to get his hands dirty because he wouldn¡¯t get any benefits out of it anyway! ¡°Even though the treasures and herbs gathered by the Four Spiritual Peak in the battlefield between two worlds would be shipped off to the Azure Spiritual World as soon as possible, they would have to store it somewhere safe. The Four Spiritual Peak would distribute the gains for each race before sending them off for safekeeping in their individual warehouses. Every race would send a convoy back from time to time, but they wouldn¡¯t empty their warehouses completely. The treasury on the Heaven Swallowing Peak should be located right where your sword is.¡± Shang Xia asked in a strange tone, ¡°Weren¡¯t we at the Tide Peak when we entered the Four Spiritual Peak? Why didn¡¯t we look for their treasury?¡± A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. Pressing his lips together, Shang Ke sneered, ¡°The Tide Peak sent off their convoy recently. There wouldn¡¯t be much left in their treasury!¡± The intelligence the Tongyou Institution had on the Four Spiritual Peak once again shocked Shang Xia. However, it made sense after he thought about it. The Four Spiritual Peak likely knew about the Tongyou Institution¡¯s plan as well. That was how their convoy was attacked when they just entered the battlefield between the two worlds. As his sword casually slashed open a boulder on the ground, he accidentally activated a hidden restriction. Rays of light shot into the skies and Shang Ke barely managed to yell a warning when his voice was drowned by the sound of an explosion. Shang Xia waved his second sword in the air and strands of sword qi quickly surrounded him. They formed a giant net that shattered everything flying Shang Xia¡¯s way. ¡°This¡­ This can¡¯t be called a Sword Formation anymore¡­ It seems more like a Sword World!¡± Liu Qinglan gasped as she appeared beside Shang Ke. The explosion earlier sent rocks flying everywhere and those approaching Shang Xia were ground to dust by his sword qi. The other shards seemed to be controlled by a formless power that caused them to fall to the ground after traveling several feet. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Shang Ke sneered when he noticed her presence. ¡°The Four Races take turns to transport their supplies out of the battlefield. The state of their treasuries isn¡¯t a secret to any of us.¡± Liu Qinglan smiled in response. ¡°I found this place with the kid¡­¡± Shang Ke snorted softly. The smile on Liu Qinglan¡¯s face grew wider. ¡°Since I discovered you guys, I get half of whatever is inside!¡± The two of them were about to start quarreling when Shang Xia¡¯s voice interrupted them. ¡°Hey! This is Ebony Lingzhi! Wow! It should be several hundred years old!¡± CH 205 When Shang Xia was splitting the loot he obtained from the remnants of the Heaven Swallowing Peak and the Tide Peak, the battle on the Spiritual Swallow Peak had reached its climax. Ever since Zhu Tong emerged from his coffin, he had been fighting with the experts of the Rose Party, Tongyou Peak, and Four Spiritual Peak non-stop. After exerting a huge amount of energy to slay She Zhihong, Zhu Tong was an arrow at the end of his flight. The four experts of the Four Spiritual Peak might outnumber Shang Bo and Ji Wenlong, but none of them were able to exert their full strength against the enemy. Yan Su¡¯er and Sima Zhanxing sustained a ton of injuries in the Coral Forest. Lang Jingyun¡¯s injuries from the war against the Tongyou Peak hadn¡¯t fully recovered either. As for Lu Zhanyi, he never had any intention of risking his life. Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo were outnumbered, but they were experienced generals at the fourth layer of the Martial Extermination Realm. When they worked together, they were leagues ahead of those from the Four Spiritual Peak. If one were to seriously consider the strength the Tongyou Peak invested in the operation, they would also note that Liu Qinglan was on the ruined Heaven Swallowing Peak. She was no rookie Martial Extermination Realm expert! Both sides looked like they were working together to contain Zhu Tong, but their cooperation was merely temporary. Everyone knew that a huge fight to obtain Zhu Tong¡¯s fate dipper would break out the moment his fate was sealed. Neither side wanted to charge into the battle recklessly. Everyone was wary of their enemies from the other faction as they tried to exhaust the rank five undead corpse rampaging about the Four Spiritual Peak. When everyone was holding themselves back for fear of exposing a moment of weakness to the other side, Yan Su¡¯er found an opportunity to smash her staff accurately against Zhu Tong¡¯s skull. The sudden change in situation shocked all the Martial Extermination Realm experts present. Zhu Tong¡¯s skull exploded instantly, and all the life force left his body. He fell straight down towards the Spiritual Swallow Peak. Her attack was like a signal. Shang Bo was the first to react as his Nine Firefly Lance stabbed at the chest of the undead corpse in an attempt to protect the corpse from further damage. Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Unfortunately for him, Yan Su¡¯er followed up with another strike to shatter the resulting spear light. Ji Wenlong¡¯s blade drew a beautiful arc in the skies and a mighty blade light emerged. The space around it shattered as it went straight for Sima Zhanxing and Lang Jingyun. As their cultivation was a little lacking compared to Ji Wenlong, along with their injuries, they could only choose to retreat. Looking at Lu Zhanyi, everyone understood his intentions as he stood clear of the battle. He would only assist them under the premise that his life wasn¡¯t under threat. Shang Bo flicked his wrist and four massive lances created from his extermination origin appeared in the air above. Nine flashes of light emerged from each lance, forming thirty six beams of light that trapped Yan Su¡¯er. ¡°Matriarch Yan, since things have already progressed to this point, there¡¯s no need for pointless resistance.¡± Shang Bo was easily able to suppress the injured Yan Su¡¯er with his extermination origin. When the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak were suppressed by Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo, Liu Qinglan finally made her move! Her eight segmented whip extended towards Zhu Tong¡¯s body that was about to hit the ground. Since the experts of the Four Spiritual Peak were unable to lift a finger to stop her, she managed to easily grab hold of Zhu Tong¡¯s body. Even though the corpse was about to be taken away by Liu Qinglan, Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo¡¯s expressions changed in unison. ¡°Be careful!¡± ¡°Dodge!¡± Liu Qinglan might not know what was going on, but she decided to trust the two of them as she released the corpse. At almost the same instant, a strange ringing sound filled the battlefield between two worlds. A weirdly shaped claw descended from the void and stabbed straight into Zhu Tong¡¯s chest. As a hole was torn open, a heart that glowed a dull yellow was revealed to the world. The claw wasted no time to grab the dull yellow heart along with Liu Qinglan¡¯s whip! With a slight tremble, the claw started to drag Liu Qinglan towards itself. Even though she tried to release her grip on her whip earlier, she was powerless to stop herself from being drawn over! ¡°Divine weapon! It¡¯s the Bloodline Divine Weapon of the four races, the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw!¡± Liu Qinglan felt her heart going cold as she flew towards the claw. In that instant, despair filled her heart as she knew that her fate was sealed once the divine weapon set its eyes on her. She saw Shang Bo¡¯s Nine Firefly Lance and Ji Wenlong¡¯s Lithe Blade slashing towards the claw, but it was useless! Yan Su¡¯er and the other Martial Extermination Realm experts risked their lives to interrupt their attacks! Shang Ke leaped into action as he disregarded his injuries. But from the looks of it, he wouldn¡¯t be able to change the situation either. ¡­ After the hidden treasury on the Heaven Swallowing Peak was raided by Shang Xia, he managed to find close to fifty treasures, There were three of them protected by layers of restrictions, and it wasn¡¯t hard to tell that they were of the fourth rank. There were also eleven rank three treasures, but by the time he brought them out of the treasury, Liu Qinglan had already disappeared. Several disciples of the Warehouse Division of the institution took her place as they negotiated the split with Shang Xia. Halfway through their discussion, a weird ringing sound tore through the battlefield between the two worlds. Many weaker cultivators spat out a mouthful of blood and some of them fainted on the spot. With the experience he had when he was hunting down the cultivators of the Four Spiritual Peak after the war, Shang Xia knew what was going on. He hastily circulated his inner qi and the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian started to spin rapidly. It suppressed his inner qi that was threatening to go berserk. Turning to look at Shang Ke, he realized that he had been left alone. The skies lit up above him before he could react. By the time he raised his head, he saw ripples coming from the direction of the Tongyou Peak. A frigid light sundered the space as it appeared right above the Four Spiritual Peak. The disciples of the Tongyou Peak finally felt their inner qi returning to normal after the arrival of the second divine weapon. With the appearance of the Hidden Frost Blade, everyone felt as though they were thrown into an icy lake. Snowflakes drifted down from above as a metallic clash echoed in their ears. Instinctively, everyone turned to stare in the direction of the Spiritual Swallow Peak. The only intact peak left crumbled to dust. The destruction was on a whole new level compared to the three peaks that fell earlier. After the clash, pieces of dull yellow crystal flew into the skies, scattering all over the Four Spiritual Peak. A piece that was the size of a pebble shot towards Shang Xia and the disciples of the Warehouse Division. CH 206 The Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw was the divine weapon that represented the prestige of the four great races of the Liao Continent of the Azure Spiritual World! It was said that the divine weapon was only created after the joint effort of the supreme experts of all four races! In order to refine the divine weapon, the four races had to use the bones that their Martial Dipper Realm ancestors left behind! The moment it appeared, the claw went for Zhu Tong¡¯s heart. Once it grabbed Zhu Tong¡¯s fate dipper, it set its sights on Liu Qinglan. She was unable to struggle free from the grasp of the divine weapon. When she saw how Shang Bo and Ji Wenlong¡¯s attempt to help her was stopped by the experts of the Four Spiritual Peak, despair filled her heart. She readied herself to meet her death when a flurry of snow descended from the heavens. A horrifying killing intent filled the lands as a ray of frosty light slammed into the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw. When the burst of light from the explosion died down, an ancient-looking sword that was surrounded by a swirling mist could be seen hovering in mid air. Without warning, it slashed down once again, landing accurately on the fingertips of the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw. A loud clash filled the skies and everyone around felt an explosion going off in their minds. The disciples of the Tongyou Peak who came with Liu Qinglan to deal with the remnants of the Four Spiritual Peak had the weakest cultivation of those present and most of them fainted instantly. The only person in the Martial Extremity Realm who managed to keep their consciousness was Shang Xia! Due to the appearance of the Hidden Frost Sword, Liu Qinglan¡¯s newly upgraded eight segmented whip lost one whole segment as it was sliced off cleanly from the exchange. However, she considered herself lucky as that was the only price she had to pay to escape her predicament. The shockwave that ensued from the clash of the two divine weapons forced the Martial Extermination Realm experts to take several steps back and the small skirmishes that went on earlier stopped. The Whistling Moon Peak that had been cleaved in two earlier was finally unable to avoid the fate that befell the other mountains. It crumbled to dust, signaling the end of the Four Spiritual Peak¡¯s dominance. That wasn¡¯t all. When the Hidden Frost Sword clashed with the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw, Zhu Tong¡¯s fate dipper exploded under the impact. It turned into several pieces that scattered around the land. Only a quarter of it remained in the claw. Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo reacted quickly. The moment they felt the presence of the Hidden Frost Sword, the two of them changed their strategy. No longer focusing on the members of the Four Spiritual Peak, they got ready to grab the shattered remains. Liu Qinglan didn¡¯t remain idle either. After being freed from the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw, she leaped into the fray to grab the shards. The three of them managed to grab shards nearly making up half the heart. As the expert who had the highest fighting strength in the Four Spiritual Peak at the moment, Yan Su¡¯er gathered her extermination origin to summon a pair of wings behind her. She managed to grab two tiny shards while Lang Jingyun and Sima Zhanxing managed to catch one each. Lu Zhanyi managed to get his hands on a piece too. Because he didn¡¯t exert himself too much earlier, he was in better shape than Lang Jingyun and Sima Zhanxing. As his wings flapped behind him, he reached for the second shard. Who would have thought that Ji Wenlong, Shang Bo, and Liu Qinglan would move against him in unison? Out of the three, two of them were terrifyingly strong existences even among fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm experts. That wasn¡¯t all. The two of them fought side by side in the past and their cooperation was flawless! Even if Liu Qinglan was added to the mix, their battle formation wouldn¡¯t be hindered in the slightest! In an instant, their attacks rained down on him. Feeling the killing intent coming from the three, Lu Zhanyi turned to the members of the Four Spiritual Peak and screamed in terror, ¡°Save me!¡± The Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw was about to move when the Hidden Frost Blade moved yet again. A curtain of sword light fell from the heavens, forming a clear line between Lu Zhanyi, the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw, and the experts of the Four Spiritual Peak. ¡°Hidden Frost Sword! Yun Jing!¡± A roar emerged from the void and there was a trace of embarrassment hidden within. The laughter of a woman rang through the air, but unlike the previous roar, Shang Xia could tell that it came from the direction of the Tongyou Peak. ¡°Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw¡­ Haha, I wonder which one of the four patriarchs I am dealing with today?¡± Yun Jing¡¯s question was genuine as she really didn¡¯t know who her opponent was. As the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw was jointly owned by the four great races, one had to obtain the approval of three out of four races before they were allowed to bring the weapon out for battle. As for the experts of the Azure Spiritual World, they knew exactly who their opponent was. In the Tongyou Institution, there was only a single high level sword user other than Kou Chongxue. Shang Bo used a lance while Ji Wenlong used a blade. The only other people with enough authority to use the Hidden Frost Sword were Yun Jing, Liu Jitang, and Kou Chongxue. Since Liu Jitang was dead and Yun Jing was an expert in the way of the sword, it came as no surprise that she was the one wielding the divine weapon. No one even guessed that Kou Chongxue had arrived personally. If he was the one using the Hidden Frost Sword, Zhu Tong¡¯s fate dipper wouldn¡¯t be shattered during the exchange. The Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw would probably be blown away the moment he struck. When it came to the wielder of the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw, the members of the institution were really confused. It could be any one of the three patriarchs other than Yan Su¡¯er! ¡°I, Ran Kongqing of the Ran Race, am here! Yun Jing, are you really planning to fight us to the death today?! Do you really think my claw cannot shatter your sword curtain?¡± His voice betrayed his frustrations and fear of the other side. However, he didn¡¯t intend to back down. Yun Jing¡¯s voice resounded from behind the curtain of sword light. ¡°Greetings, Patriarch Ran! If we really go all out against each other, we will only make the other party vulnerable to outsiders! Since Patriarch Ran made a move, we¡¯ll definitely show some restraint! However, Lu Zhanyi doesn''t seem to be someone from your four great races. Is Patriarch Ran planning on starting a war against our institution for an outsider?¡± Yun Jing might have been acting deferential, but her tone was unwavering. Silence descended on the lands. Since the divine weapons had appeared, the next decision either side made would be the deciding factor to see if both sides would start a fight to the death. It became so quiet that everyone could hear the thumping of hearts in their chests. The fact that Yun Jing gave Ran Kongqing a chance to make his choice was already commendable. After all, the Tongyou Institution held a massive advantage over the Four Spiritual Peak at that moment. Recalling how annoying Lu Zhanyi had been since the start of the battle where he avoided any difficult battles against the members of the Tongyou Institution only to run away when Lang Jingyun and Sima Zhanxing were attacked by Ji Wenlong earlier, one could say that he brought everything upon himself. Shattering the curtain of sword light was completely doable for Ran Kongqing. Even if he did that, the four great races might be able to defend against the assault of the Tongyou Institution eventually. However, those of the four races who were present in the battlefield between two worlds would definitely be unable to live to see that day. There was no way they could disregard the lives of Martial Extermination Realm experts! The losses had already crossed their bottom line and they couldn¡¯t risk the lives of any more experts! Not to mention the fact that Yun Jing¡¯s words made sense. Lu Zhanyi wasn¡¯t a member of their four great races! Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. At that instant, an unspeakable shame washed over the members of the Azure Spiritual World. They had been scheming against the Tongyou Peak countless times in the past twenty years. They fought several wars against the other party and even managed to nearly destroy the other side¡¯s grand formation in the previous war! Unlike them, the Tongyou Peak had never caused much damage to the Four Spiritual Peak. However, they carried out a destructive assault the moment they chose to attack! It might not be the first time the Tongyou Peak launched an offensive on the Four Spiritual Peak, but they would retreat every time after fighting some small battles. Things were different this time! Chasing their lead in the Coral Forest, the two monstrous deputy patriarchs caused the grand formation of the Four Spiritual Peak to shatter for the first time! As if that wasn¡¯t enough, they would have wiped out the Four Spiritual Peak if not for the appearance of the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw! The lack of response sounded louder than any warcry in the ears of those from the Tongyou Institution. A chuckle left Yun Jing¡¯s lips and the curtain of sword light dissipated. Lu Zhanyi¡¯s desperate howl was cut short and an explosion of heaven and earth qi filled the skies. ¡°We¡¯re leaving!¡± Liu Qinglan¡¯s voice rang in the ears of those from the institution. As the disciples of the institution started to awaken, they started to make their leave. As for Shang Xia, he grabbed the shard in front of him before following behind them. A pretty sunset seemed to signify the fall of the Four Spiritual Peak in the battlefield between the two worlds as the curtains of the monumental battle finally drew to a close. Turning around abruptly, Shang Xia saw the magnificent sight of Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo standing side by side above the destroyed Four Spiritual Peak as a long sword hovered above their heads. CH 207 Due to the appearance of the divine weapons, the battle had to end abruptly. Even so, the Tongyou Institution¡¯s gains were frightening enough. Not only did they obtain a part of Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance, but they also managed to turn the Four Spiritual Peak into a pile of rubble! The Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Four Spiritual Peak and the Rose Party were slain, and even though they lost Liu Jitang in the process, the opponents suffered a lot more! It could be said that they achieved an unprecedented victory! The twenty year long stalemate in the battlefield between the two worlds had been broken but that wasn¡¯t all. The Rose Party that had been a hidden threat to the institution also received a huge blow to their strength! Despite achieving an overwhelming victory, the Tongyou Institution wouldn¡¯t be able to rest easy. They would probably be thrown into even more chaos. From the time Liu Qinglan dispatched the disciples of the Tongyou Peak out to clean up the loose ends on the Four Spiritual Peak, the defenses on the Tongyou Peak were reduced to a state lower than when Liu Jitang deployed a huge group of disciples to the Coral Forest. Luckily for them, they managed to complete their mission. As long as the beasts in the battlefield between the two worlds didn¡¯t go crazy, the Tongyou Peak would probably be fine for the time being. Liu Qinglan would have to rush back to take charge of the situation along with Shang Bo and Ji Wenlong. The various disciples of the institution would probably be in for a hard time as they digested the spoils of the Four Spiritual Peak. As for Shang Lubing and Liu Zhiyuan, they were assisting the formation masters in the Coral Forest to tie up the loose ends there. From the highest ranking members of the Tongyou Institution to the disciples of the various divisions, everyone was working on overdrive¡­ Well, other than one person. Shang Xia found a rare chance to rest! No one came over to distribute missions to him, and neither did anyone disturb him. It was as though the entire world forgot about his existence. Naturally, he couldn¡¯t be happier about the situation. He was the one who gained the most from the Coral Forest and the Four Spiritual Peak. He needed a period of time to digest everything he obtained. Taking the chance to consolidate his foundations, Shang Xia wanted to turn everything he obtained into actual strength. Of course, his time of peace wouldn¡¯t last for long. ¡°Where¡¯s the shard you obtained on the Four Spiritual Peak?¡± Shang Ke¡¯s arrival quickly brought him back to reality. Completing his final move of the Dual Interference Sword Manual, Shang Xia kept his sword before reaching over to retrieve the shard of fate dipper. A smile could be seen on his face as he handed it over to Shang Ke. ¡°Grandpa Ke, what¡¯s the rush? I was planning to play with this for a few more days. No matter what, this is a rank five treasure! It¡¯s not every day I get to hold one!¡± Weighing the shard in his hand, Shang Ke chortled, ¡°Hah, even I haven¡¯t seen many rank five treasures in my life! I¡¯ve seen three of them in total and one of them is Kou Chongxue¡¯s Hidden Frost Sword!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the other?¡± Shang Xia raised an eyebrow in confusion. ¡°Well, you¡¯ve seen that one too, It¡¯s the Coral Command your Grandpa Bo refined. Actually, it should be called the Mysterious World Command.¡± Shang Xia frowned. ¡°Wait a second, didn¡¯t you enter the stone chamber behind those bronze gates in the Zhu Family Manor? The stone coffin there should also be a rank five treasure.¡± ¡°Yeah, it used to be. However, Zhu Tong sucked up too much of their essence to form his fate dipper. The coffin might have been a precious treasure in the past, but it¡¯s a rank three treasure at best right now.¡± ¡°Rank three?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s heart trembled slightly but he remained expressionless. ¡°What a pity. But from what you say, a rank three treasure is worthless in your eyes! If it¡¯s so useless, why doesn¡¯t every Martial Intent Realm expert of the institution possess a graded weapon?¡± Chuckling softly, Shang Ke replied, ¡°Oh right. A rank three treasure is really precious. My standards just became a lot higher after the stuff we obtained in the Coral Forest and the Four Spiritual Peak.¡± This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Shang Xia could see how excited his fifth grandfather was and a mischievous smile appeared on his face. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t this mean that our clan received a lot of benefits after the expedition this time?¡± ¡°Of course! We received a ton! Well... Most of the benefits went to the institution.¡± Shang Ke roared with laughter. Nodding slightly, Shang Xia chose to remain silent. However, he quickly heard a sigh escaping Shang Ke¡¯s lips. ¡°Brat, you managed to gain a lot of credit this time! The institution will definitely reward you heavily! You better not let them off easily. When the time comes, raise your requests boldly! The more you ask for the better!¡± ¡°Request? What am I supposed to ask for? Am I supposed to get the advancement formula for the Multi Illusion Wine?¡± Shang Xia sniggered playfully in response. The smile on Shang Ke¡¯s face dulled slightly and he muttered, ¡°Do you know what condition your Grandpa Bo raised when he stepped down as the patriarch of the clan to focus on his role as the deputy patriarch?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression sank immediately. ¡°Did he ask for the formula for the Multi Illusion Wine?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°But we already obtained a rank four advancement formula! Don¡¯t we have the Hundred Days Longevity Intoxication?¡± Shang Xia asked. Shaking his head slowly, Shang Ke explained, ¡°That¡¯s a promise your Grandpa Bo made to Kou Chongxue in the past. Moreover, one rank four advancement formula isn¡¯t enough for a clan to truly grow strong.¡± ¡°Why is Patriarch Kou so adamant about keeping Grandpa Bo as a deputy patriarch of the institution?!¡± Shang Xia frowned slightly. He didn¡¯t understand what was going on. ¡°I don¡¯t know what your Grandpa Bo discussed with Kou Chongxue that year, but because of their negotiations, Kou Chongxue supported our clan greatly, pushing us up to rank alongside the three other great clans.¡± Shang Xia sighed softly in response, ¡°Even if Grandpa Bo isn¡¯t the patriarch of our Shang Clan anymore, he will always be my grandpa!¡± He paused for a moment before changing the topic. ¡°Grandpa Ke, the institution will definitely reward me when the time comes. Is our clan not planning to do so?¡± ¡°Damn brat! I knew you were up to no good!¡± Shang Ke chuckled before tossing out two jade bottles. ¡°The red one contains Tempering Meridian Powder. You have to go get enough herbs for your own advancement medicine. As for the yellow bottle, it contains a portion of Expanding Meridian Powder. Take them as your reward from the clan!¡± Pouting slightly, Shang Xia complained, ¡°Is that it?¡± ¡°Heh. Have you decided if you want to inherit our Shang Clan¡¯s spear art?¡± Shang Ke sneered softly. A grin appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he made his reply. ¡°Of course. Our Shang Clan Spear Art is extremely famous. Why would I not obtain the inheritance when it¡¯s dangled right in front of my face?¡± ¡°Crazy brat! You learned so many different types of sword art and I thought you were planning to train in sword techniques your whole life.¡± Shang Ke roared with laughter. Shang Xia shook his head slowly in response. ¡°Of course not.¡± Eventually, Shang Ke nodded his head and spoke solemnly, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll gather some resources we received and craft a low-grade spear for you!¡± ¡°Many thanks, Grandpa Ke¡­ No. Many thanks, Patriarch Shang!¡± However, a sigh eventually left Shang Ke¡¯s lips. ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited yet. I plan to have Duan Hong give it a shot. He might not be a blacksmith capable of crafting graded weapons in the past, but he¡¯s our greatest hope.¡± ¡°It¡¯s time for our Shang Clan to nurture a rank three blacksmith. He will have to try to craft one sooner or later.¡± Shang Xia raised an eyebrow slowly. Even though rank three treasures could be made into low-grade weapons, every single weapon had different requirements. They would need a lot of rank two ingredients too, and the chances of crafting a low-grade weapon were kind of slim. The Shang Clan might have twenty years of accumulation, but it wouldn¡¯t be enough if the blacksmith wasted several batches of ingredients used to create graded weapons. Suddenly thinking of something, Shang Xia retrieved an item from his spatial artifact. Staring at the black lump in Shang Xia¡¯s hand, Shang Ke gasped in shock, ¡°How do you have so many treasures on you?!¡± CH 208 Any treasure that reached the third rank or higher would birth their own spirituality. Most of the time, treasures at that level would be contained with a type of sealing talisman to prevent their spirituality from leaking. ¡°This is definitely something good. It¡¯ll be a waste to give this to Duan Hong¡­¡± Shang Ke shook his head and suggested, ¡°You should keep this for now. Once Duan Hong manages to craft his first low-grade weapon, you can use this to upgrade it to a mid-grade one.¡± After speaking, he decided to take his leave. Since the Four Spiritual Peak was destroyed, the Tongyou Peak wasn¡¯t just busy trying to expand their territory. They had to digest all their gains and send resources back to the institution. The four great clans of the Tongyou City were swamped with post-battle work. Since the Shang Clan¡¯s contributions to the recovery of the Coral Forest and the destruction of the Four Spiritual Peak was the largest, they obviously got the largest share. However, the long standing patriarch of the Shang Clan, Shang Bo, chose to renounce his position as the patriarch of the clan, leaving all the work to the newly ascended Shang Ke. For the past few days, Shang Ke had been so busy he hadn¡¯t taken a single break! Shang Xia stood at the top of the Shang Pavilion as he looked all around. He didn¡¯t know if he was mistaken, but there seemed to be a fundamental change in the six surrounding peaks. Staring intently to look for the reason behind his feeling, he couldn¡¯t notice anything different. As the skies were filled with a soft mist originating from the battlefield between the two worlds, he couldn¡¯t see too far past the surrounding peaks either. Taking in the illusory view, Shang Xia sighed before returning to his chamber. This time, he didn¡¯t train in the Dual Interference Sword Manual any longer. Instead, he turned his attention to a piece of half-finished talisman jade. Ever since returning from the Coral Forest, Shang Xia only had three things on his mind. The first was to train in his Yin Yang Mysterious Art, the second was to deepen his understanding of the Dual Interference Sword Manual. The last was to research the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture. Ever since entering the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm, Shang Xia¡¯s mastery of the Yin Yang Mysterious Art seemed to have reached the peak of what it could have been. However, he strengthened his foundations even further after using so many portions of Expanding Meridian Powder and Tempering Meridian Powder. He had some room for improvement and he decided to continue circulating his Yin Yang Mysterious Art to increase his strength even further. As for the Dual Interference Sword Manual, Shang Xia wanted to delve a little deeper into it even though he had already comprehended the martial intent behind it. He was close to forming his sixth sword intent, but he noticed that there was still room for improvement! He hadn¡¯t reached his limits yet! At that moment, his Yin Yang Sword Formation contained five different types of martial intent. His strength had far surpassed anything a Martial Extremity Realm cultivator could reach, but that wasn¡¯t enough. He wanted to see how far he could push it! This novel is available on "pawread dot com". Next came the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture. Even before obtaining it, Shang Xia had become a second rank talisman master. Even though the number of talismans contained in the scripture was barely a drop in the ocean compared to those out there, they contained extremely detailed descriptions and creation methods. During his seclusion, Shang Xia placed most of his attention on his Yin Yang Mysterious Art and the Dual Interference Sword Manual. His research on the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture had always been secondary. Even so, he managed to create 13 of the 23 rank one talismans recorded within. Of the 14 rank two talismans recorded, he also managed to create 5 of them. He discovered that creating the rank two talismans recorded in the scripture was countless times easier than when he created the Golden Sword Talisman. Previously, he had no guide at all. However, the talismans recorded in the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture were basically a step-by-step guide for dummies. As long as he grasped the key to several rank one talismans, he could easily extend the knowledge to craft the rank two ones! Throughout the process, Shang Xia discovered something interesting. Out of all the talismans he made, most of them were sword talismans! He had no idea why, but he seemed to be drawn to sword talismans over the others. In fact, that was also the reason he chose to craft a rank two Golden Sword Talisman previously! Of the 13 rank one talismans he made, six of them were sword talismans. 2 of the 5 rank two talismans also contained principles similar to those behind sword talismans. Because of his discovery, a bold idea was born in his mind. He wanted to try creating a sword talisman containing sword intent! One had to admit that Shang Xia was slightly overestimating himself. There were countless rank two talismans in existence, and he hadn¡¯t been a rank two talisman master for long. Hell, he hadn¡¯t even made a substantial number of rank two sword talismans! Now, he wanted to create a new type of talisman containing sword intent¡­ According to his plan, he could split off a little bit of his sword intent from one of the five tiny swords surrounding his Yin Yang Diagram and seal them into the talisman. However, things were easier said than done. Every time he tried it, he failed miserably. Even so, Shang Xia didn¡¯t plan to give up. After repeated tries and wasting 20 pieces of rank two talisman paper, Shang Xia finally managed to create two half-talismans containing sword intent. Each half contained his ice and fire sword intent respectively, but whenever he tried to fuse them together, the resulting power would create a mini explosion. After wasting so many pieces of rank two talisman paper, Shang Xia finally realized that the reason behind his failure might be because of the quality of talisman paper. Ordinary talisman paper might not be able to contain his sword intent and he decided to test it out using talisman jade. During his first try, the clash of the opposing qi caused a massive explosion that wiped out the rest of the rank two talisman paper he had on his table. The frosty qi that emerged also froze the ink he was using. Reflecting on what he could have done better, Shang Xia realized that he didn¡¯t need to fuse both fire and ice qi! Like the situation in his dantian, fire and ice qi could remain separate until the time came to fuse them together! Putting the theory to the test, Shang Xia decided to seal his fire sword intent into one side of the talisman and his ice sword intent into the other. The talisman jade would still remain one solid piece but it would contain an invisible barrier between the opposing types of sword intent! Only when it was activated would the power on both sides fuse together! As Shang Xia¡¯s Yin Yang Essence Qi started to transform, his Thorny Brush danced on the surface of the jade. As runes were slowly carved out on its surface, he finally completed half his talisman! Even though only half of it was completed, the runes on the talisman jade didn¡¯t dissipate immediately. Instead, it seemed extremely stable as one type of sword intent had already been sealed within. Shang Xia felt a burst of joy after seeing the product. Even though it was only half complete, he knew that his idea was feasible! A type of rank two talisman that he came up with was starting to take shape! CH 209 It could be said that Shang Xia somewhat had experience creating talismans like that. When he successfully comprehended his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm, he created several Lightning Charms with the use of Lightning Wood Boards. Those lightning charms could be considered rank one talismans, and even though the power contained in each couldn¡¯t match up to the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm if he executed the technique personally, it was impressive nonetheless. If he managed to catch Martial Extremity Realm cultivators off guard, he would be able to seriously injure them! ¡­ After taking a break, he managed to complete the other half of the talisman. He might have created a new type of rank two talisman, but his instincts told him that it would definitely be several times stronger than any of the rank two talismans he made previously. Successfully creating the Ice and Fire Twin Intent Sword Talisman, Shang Xia felt really good about himself. Recovering to his peak state, Shang Xia decided to create sword talismans out of the other pairs of sword qi. Once again, he overestimated his abilities. He didn¡¯t succeed on his first try, or the second try for that matter. Destroying his third piece of talisman jade, Shang Xia finally discovered that creating talismans like that wouldn¡¯t be as easy as he thought. He only succeeded on his fourth try. This time, he sealed softness and strength qi into the second talisman. After he was done, he felt a wave of weakness hitting his body. He might be exhausted, but he had proven that his idea was feasible. With the creation of a second talisman like that, Shang Xia discovered that the first one he made wasn¡¯t a fluke. Luckily, he gained an insane amount of money during his trip too. He had enough silver essence to support his crazy spending on his talisman experiments. In the past few days, Shang Xia didn¡¯t waste a single second. Even when he slept, he did so in a seated position while circulating his inner qi. Now that he exhausted himself after completing the talisman, taking a proper nap didn¡¯t sound too bad. Crawling onto a stone bed nearby, he started to drift off into sleep. However, an idea flashed through his mind right before he fell asleep. He could just seal a single type of sword qi into one talisman and used them however he liked! Well, too bad he was overwhelmed by his fatigue and the world around him turned dark. He had no idea how long he slept for. Feeling extremely energized when he woke up, a knocking soon appeared at his door. Shang Quan came over to deliver a batch of rank two talisman paper and rank two ink. ¡°Uncle Quan, about the thing in the past¡­¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°Are you talking about the eighty silver essence you owe Sun Haiwei? Relax. I gave it to her a long time ago. It¡¯s your money anyway. I sold off some lower leveled treasures and herbs you handed me and gave her a part of the proceeds.¡± Shang Quan chuckled before tossing a bag over. From the rattling of the bag, Shang Xia could tell that a substantial amount of silver essence was contained within. Shang Quan continued, ¡°Other than the money used to purchase your talisman paper and ingredients to make rank two ink, everything is in there. There should be around three hundred silver essence.¡± Weighing the bag in his hand, a grin appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Hah! Looks like Uncle Quan is really looking out for me. I only gave you the rank one and two items to sell but there¡¯s so much money leftover¡­¡± Waving his hand slightly, Shang Quan explained, ¡°Not really. I didn¡¯t give you any special treatment here. After so many great battles, the surviving disciples managed to gain a whole lot. Many of their cultivation improved, and many of their weapons were damaged in the wars. All of them were trying to get their hands on the stuff you gave me. The demand for rank one and two treasures went through the roof! I managed to sell all of them for a good price. Oh right, the situation in the Tongyou City seems pretty interesting too.¡± ¡°Tongyou City? Oh right, what happened back in the institution?¡± Shang Xia asked. He had been in seclusion the whole time and he didn¡¯t know what was going on on the Tongyou Peak itself, much less the city. ¡°I heard that many native cultivators of the Tongyou City have returned. Cultivators from other continents have also streamed into the city, resulting in a three-way standoff. Our Tongyou City isn¡¯t the only one affected either. The surrounding cities have also turned slightly chaotic. Deputy Patriarch Ji left several days ago to suppress the disorder in the city. According to our sources, Instructor Liu Qinglan and Kang Ci will be returning to the city too.¡± Shang Quan explained. Shang Xia frowned. ¡°Why didn¡¯t Deputy Patriarch Yun return? She¡¯s holding the Hidden Frost Sword and she should be enough to stop all the chaos back in the city!¡± ¡°Ever since the battle on the Four Spiritual Peak, Deputy Patriarch Yun stationed herself there. She shouldn¡¯t be returning to the city anytime soon.¡± Shang Xia quickly understood what his uncle implied and his expression sank. ¡°Are the four great races starting to move again so quickly?¡± Shaking his head, Shang Quan sighed, ¡°I¡¯m not too sure. She might also be protecting the Coral Forest to prevent any unexpected situation from arising when it¡¯s being shifted.¡± As the two of them were speaking, the ground under their feet started to shake. Thinking it was a slight tremor, the two of them ignored it. Find the original at "pawread dot com". As the shaking became more and more violent, the two of them could no longer sit still. There was even a deep rumbling coming from down under. Glancing at each other, the two of them decided to step out from the cultivation chamber. They discovered that the main peak wasn¡¯t the only thing that was shaking. The six auxiliary peaks around them were also quaking violently. Even the skies above weren''t spared. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Shang Quan muttered softly. Shang Xia realized that he wasn¡¯t wrong when he thought that something was different about the Tongyou Peak. ¡°The entire region is moving.¡± A voice interrupted their thoughts and Shang Xi appeared behind them. ¡°Wait. We¡¯re rising into the air and moving?¡± Shang Xia widened his eyes in surprise. ¡°Isn¡¯t our Tongyou Peak and the Four Spiritual Peak supposed to be locations in the battlefield between two worlds that will remain where they stand? Why are we moving all of a sudden?¡± Shang Xi explained, ¡°You¡¯re right. When our Tongyou Peak and the Four Spiritual Peak were established, we chose a location close to the entrance to our world. However, the distance between our territories has been inching closer and closer ever so slightly. Now that twenty years have passed, the distance between us has been shortened to less than a thousand miles! Actually, we have been preparing for a huge battle that would lead to one of the two sides being wiped out for several years now! We estimated that in three to five years, the distance between the two mountain ranges would become so close that we would have no choice but to fight! Luckily for us, the Four Spiritual Peak has been destroyed.¡± ¡°Why would our Tongyou Peak and the Four Spiritual Peak inch forward anyway? Is there a reason behind it?¡± Shang Xia asked. After thinking about it for a moment, Shang Xi frowned. ¡°This entire thing might be a contest to see which world is stronger. I don¡¯t know much of the details, but all I know is that any side that manages to wipe out the other world from the battlefield between two worlds would receive a lot of benefits. Patriarch Kou should be the clearest about the situation. He might have shared the reason with the deputy patriarchs but other than that, nobody really knows. Even the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the institution don¡¯t know the full story. Everything I told you came from your Grandpa Ke.¡± Nodding slightly, Shang Xia followed up with another question. ¡°Oh right, why are we rising into the air anyway?¡± ¡°I heard that they brought back some sort of broken rank five treasure the other day. They¡¯re probably using it alongside some sort of formation to do this.¡± Shang Xi replied. A light flashed through Shang Xia¡¯s eyes. A broken rank five treasure seemed familiar. It might be the broken fate dipper he handed over to Shang Ke. Turning to stare at Shang Xia, Shang Xi asked, ¡°The institution will be sending a convoy back to the city soon. Fifth Uncle plans on leading the members of our clan back personally. Do you wish to return with them?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Shang Xia replied after thinking for a second. CH 210 On the 27th of the 8th month of the 843rd year of the Divine Martial Calendar, Shang Xia finally left the battlefield between two worlds after three months of danger-fraught adventures. The holiday given by the institution had already ended. Out of the disciples of the outer division, a third of them had been eliminated while half of the rest had been retained. The remaining disciples had been promoted to the inner division, becoming proper members of the Tongyou Institution. Originally, the number of students who should have been promoted to the inner division should number a little more than 110. However, due to various accidents and the war on the Tongyou Peak, more than twenty of them died. 90 students were left. There were 30 students in the inner division who were made to stay for another year and after everyone gathered, there were exactly 120 of them in the inner division! Twenty disciples would share a room. Things were different from the past. Previously, 30 to 40 students would share a single room. It seemed as though things had changed in the Tongyou Institution. ¡°The twenty years of accumulation of our Tongyou Peak finally bore fruits!¡± Shang Xi sighed softly. In the past, there were too few unusable talents in the Tongyou Institution. The battlefield between the two worlds had also sucked up a huge part of their strength. After so many years, the institution finally nurtured enough experts to become instructors in the institution. With the temporary disappearance of the experts from the Azure Spiritual World from the battlefield between the two worlds, the Tongyou Peak could also deploy a batch of experienced seniors back to the institution. ¡°The more classes there are, the greater the amount of resources required. Since the number of students in each class has decreased, everyone will be able to obtain more resources. Instructors and teachers will also be able to focus more on each student.¡± Shang Xi analyzed. Shang Xia¡¯s expression fell slightly. ¡°I missed the first month of class¡­ Won¡¯t I be ineligible to obtain the training resources allocated previously?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pretend like you care about that little bit of resources.¡± Shang Xi snapped at him in annoyance. A pitiful look appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he cried, ¡°Of course I care about it! It¡¯s better than receiving nothing!¡± ¡°Hah! You can try applying with the institution and request for them to make it up to you.¡± Shang Xi sneered in his face. Chuckling loudly, Shang Xia changed his line of questioning. ¡°I wonder if the outer division will experience any changes this year¡­¡± ¡°Of course there will be.¡± Peng Lanqing, an instructor of the outer division appeared out of nowhere and laughed softly, ¡°We were planning to expand the outer division to contain eight divisions in total, but we decided to increase it to ten divisions after what happened. We¡¯ll be able to take in five hundred students in the outer division!¡± When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°What?! That¡¯s a lot of students!¡± Shang Xia gasped. Peng Lanqing¡¯s laughter continued. ¡°Haha. There might be a lot of them, but less than one hundred and fifty will be able to enter the inner division after a year.¡± ¡°Are you guys planning on raising the bar to enter the inner division too?¡± Peng Qinglan smiled in response. ¡°Naturally. We have to increase the quality of our students¡­¡± Shang Xi added at the side, ¡°Won¡¯t our institution expand our influence and start recruiting from other regions too?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. We plan to allow the disciples of native families of our Tongyou City, who left for other continents in the past, to enroll in the institution.¡± Peng Lanqing muttered. Exchanging some pleasantries, Peng Lanqing and Kang Ci soon left. The newly ascended patriarch of the Shang Clan, Shang Ke, led the disciples of the Shang Clan back to the city along with the supply convoy returning to the institution. The moment they entered the city and split from those from the institution, they sauntered back to the Shang Clan Manor in a majestic manner. At the same time, they attracted the attention of many people on the streets. Perhaps it was because he had been away for too long, Shang Xia raced home the moment he returned to the city. He didn¡¯t even bother checking which class he had been allocated to. In the three short months that he had been away, a lot of changes happened to the Tongyou City. The number of people along the streets had also increased quite significantly. From the way they dressed, many of them seemed to be wandering cultivators or people of other regions. Even though the increase in population made the Tongyou City look a lot more prosperous on the surface, the city seemed to have lost some of its original characteristics. In fact, there seemed to be some chaos hidden in the bustle. Shang Xia saw three destroyed shop fronts on his way back to the Shang Clan Manor, and it was obvious that a huge fight happened. Marks could be seen on the walls and Shang Xia sighed softly, ¡°Looks like the city isn¡¯t as peaceful as before¡­¡± ¡°Young master!¡± Raising an eyebrow slightly, Shang Xia recognized the voice immediately. Turning around, he saw Yan Qi rushing over to this side. Ever since the war on the Tongyou Peak, Shang Xia hadn¡¯t seen Yan Qi. His uncle had been busy handling matters of the clan. ¡°Seventh Uncle, is something the matter?¡± Shang Xia chuckled happily. A serious look could be seen on Yan Qi¡¯s face when he spoke. ¡°Young master, Fifth Master disappeared¡­¡± As his eyes widened in shock, he turned to stare at the back of the convoy only to discover that Shang Ke was gone. ¡°Hmm¡­ Martial Extermination Realm cultivators come and go as they please. Could he have already returned to the manor?¡± Shang Xia laughed nonchalantly. His response was met with a shake of the head from Yan Qi. ¡°Even if Fifth Master wanted to leave, he wouldn''t do it so quietly. He would definitely tell some of us his plans. Now, other than Young Lady Xi, no one managed to discover his disappearance. She looks a little uneasy too.¡± Shang Xia turned to look at his aunt and their gazes met. The two of them could tell that a seed of anxiety was starting to form in each other¡¯s hearts. However, Shang Xia maintained his nonchalant expression and he chuckled loudly, ¡°Hah! There¡¯s nothing to worry about! Do you really think someone will be bold enough to rob us in broad daylight?¡± Shang Xia signaled to one of the members of the Shang Clan manning a carriage at the back of the convoy secretly while he was speaking. Acknowledging Shang Xia¡¯s intention, he took off the black cloth covering a cage and a black shadow shot into the skies. Soft chirping sounds could be heard as the black shadow disappeared from everyone¡¯s sight. ¡°How many Martial Intent Realm experts do we have here?¡± Shang Xia whispered softly. ¡°Other than one of them who remained in the Tongyou Peak to take over Fifth Master¡¯s place, there¡¯s only Young Lady Xi and me.¡± Yan Qi responded softly. A sigh left Shang Xia¡¯s lips. ¡°Too bad that annoying Lightning Bird refuses to leave the battlefield between two worlds. If only it came with us¡­ With its current strength, it can basically be considered a Martial Intent Realm cultivator.¡± As the words left his lips, a loud cry came from the skies above. Shang Xia¡¯s expression changed immediately and he yelled. ¡°Stop the carriages! Prepare for battle!¡± He urged his horse forward and Yan Qi followed beside him. A cultivator clad in clothes belonging to native cultivators of the Tongyou City pulled out a short trident and stabbed it towards Shang Xia¡¯s horse as he rode by. The sneak attack didn¡¯t end there. Rope extended out from the second floor of a nearby shophouse and shot directly towards Shang Xia. A peddler on the opposite side of the road flipped over a giant pot of boiling soup before grabbing the long pole beside him. With the pole in hand, he leaped at Shang Xia. It went without saying that the Shang Clan¡¯s convoy had walked into an elaborate trap! The moment his horse was stabbed by the trident, he could only leap off the creature¡¯s back. When that happened, he would be trapped by the rope coming for him and the pole-carrying peddler would take the chance to deal the decisive blow when he was distracted! CH 211 With things progressing up to that point, anyone could tell that the entire situation had been a meticulous scheme! They even calculated the reactions of a Martial Extremity Realm cultivator! Unfortunately for them, they failed to account for Yan Qi! That was a true cultivator at the Martial Intent Realm! However, Yan Qi¡¯s presence didn¡¯t seem to matter as Shang Xia charged onwards regardless. The body of the cultivator who was stabbing the trident towards Shang Xia¡¯s horse froze all of a sudden. With his cultivation, he was able to regain control of his movements in the next instant. However, it was too late. Shang Xia¡¯s body brushed past him when he was still paralyzed. Yan Qi followed closely behind Shang Xia but when he arrived beside the cultivator, he noticed something off about the man. Reaching out in surprise, he pulled something out of the man¡¯s body. With the trident clattering to the ground, the cultivator held his neck with both his hands as his eyes widened in shock. Gurgling sounds escaped his lips and terror filled his mind. He wanted to warn his comrades about the frightening enemy but the blood seeping through his fingers stopped him. The rope that was supposed to trap Shang Xia descended on Yan Qi instead. At the same time, the pole-wielding peddler smashed his weapon down on Yan Qi¡¯s head. With a cold snort, a surge of qi surrounded Yan Qi. He waved his right hand in front of him and a faint silhouette flashed in his palms. It disappeared in the next moment, causing everyone to think that they were seeing things. The rope falling over Yan Qi was sliced in two before anyone could react. With nothing left to restrain him, Yan Qi roared in anger and his divine sense surrounded the area. Two illusory wings seemed to emerge from his back as he sent a fearsome punch flying towards the falling pole. ¡°Crack!¡± The wooden pole that seemed to be made from precious materials shattered in two and the peddler was flung backward from the impact. Vomiting mouthfuls of blood, he crashed into one of the surrounding shops. The miserable neigh of a horse filled the air, attracting everyone¡¯s attention. Yan Qi quickly turned to look at the source of the sound and saw several arrows sticking out of Shang Xia¡¯s Scarlet Cloud Horse. However, the rider was nowhere to be seen. Slapping the horse he was riding violently, Yan Qi released an enraged cry as his mount surged forward. His reckless advance was met with a loud roar from the side of the street. ¡°I¡¯ll hold him back! You guys deal with Shang Xia!¡± A well-built figure emerged from the shadow and he looked more like a lumberjack than a cultivator. He strolled over to the middle of the street and stopped Yan Qi from moving any further. Facing the charging Yan Qi, he released a cold snort before sending a powerful punch forward. Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. ¡°Martial Intent Realm!¡± Yan Qi¡¯s expression changed and he leaped off his mount. His hands formed the shape of claws as he reached for the buff cultivator standing in his way. Facing Yan Qi¡¯s claws, the buff cultivator punched out with both his fists. A huge explosion filled the street and the shockwaves blew a few nearby carriages apart. The items contained within were scattered everywhere. The ground beneath the buff cultivator broke apart and Yan Qi staggered slightly when he landed across him. ¡°Hmph. Why the hell do you look like a lumberjack? Don¡¯t tell me being a cultivator isn¡¯t tiring enough for you. You¡¯re not someone from our Tongyou City.¡± Yan Qi growled. ¡°Hehe, what about you?? You¡¯re not even from our Azure Origin World!¡± The only reason behind their exchange of words was to catch their breath. The battle broke out again after the buff cultivator spoke. As the battle between them got more and more heated, the stalls at the side of the street quickly turned to dust. When the two of them were fighting, Shang Xi was also ambushed. Her opponent was holding a long silver fishing pole and he looked like some weird fisherman. With his divine sense descending suddenly, a sharp whistle broke through the air as his fishing pole stabbed at Shang Xi. ¡°Grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm¡­ You guys really think highly of me!¡± Shang Xi snorted in contempt as her blades drew two beautiful arcs through the air. Crisp ringing sounds rang through the air as a tiny hook attached to the end of a transparent line was sent flying away. Seeing as his attacks had been deflected by Shang Xi, his expression turned serious. ¡°Large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? You look surprised. Did you guys not make a proper plan before coming or were you fed with some shitty information?¡± Shang Xi sneered in contempt. With his eyelids jumping, the old expert who used the fishing pole snapped at her, ¡°Preposterous! Eat this!¡± He swung his weapon at her after yelling. With a burst of mocking laughter leaving her lips, blade intent emerged from Shang Xi¡¯s blades. They slowly gathered together to form a giant illusory blade that hovered beside her, blocking off all attacks thrown her way. ¡­ From how two Martial Intent Realm opponents appeared to stall Yan Qi and Shang Xi, along with the disappearance of Shang Ke, the target of the attack couldn¡¯t be more clear. It seemed to be a huge conspiracy to capture Shang Xia! After Yan Qi dealt with the pole-wielding peddler and the rope that aimed to capture Shang Xia, the plan seemed to have changed. Heaven and earth qi started to fluctuate as arrows flew towards Shang Xia¡¯s horse. From the amount of power contained in those arrows, Shang Xia could tell that they were far from ordinary. A burst of lightning surrounded him as he appeared several feet away from his horse. Its miserable neigh rang in his ears as the arrows stabbed accurately into its body. Shang Miao, a member of the Shang Clan who had reached the Martial Extremity Realm, was supposed to be the leader of the convoy. As Shang Ke was present, Shang Miao¡¯s only job was to follow the old man¡¯s instructions. Now that Shang Ke had disappeared, the responsibility of leading the convoy was thrown back to him. After hearing Shang Xia¡¯s yell earlier, he had already stopped the entire convoy to prepare for battle. His timely decision proved to be invaluable as several dozen masked cultivators charged out from the alleyways towards them. Even though they were prepared, one couldn¡¯t say that they were confident in the upcoming battle. As they had chosen to travel with the institution, they didn¡¯t bring many members of the Shang Clan along with them. After splitting up, there were only six cultivators protecting the Shang Clan¡¯s convoy! None of them expected anything to happen as they still had the Martial Extermination Realm expert, Shang Ke, traveling with them. Now that the worst-case scenario had happened, all of them could only brace themselves for what was about to come next. Out of the six of them, Shang Miao¡¯s cultivation was the highest at the peak of the Martial Extermination Realm. However, that was far from enough to deal with their enemies! More than half of those charging over were in the Martial Extremity Realm! ¡°To the death.¡± Realizing that there was no way out, turning to run would be the stupidest move he could make. The moment he turned to flee, their defensive line would collapse and everyone would be thrown into chaos. Since they were going to die anyway, they might as well drag a few of their enemies with them! That was how cultivators of the Tongyou Institution acted anyway! The disciples behind him revealed faces of despair, but an incomparable resolution filled their hearts. They got into formation immediately. Right before the pack of masked cultivators could charge into the Shang Clan¡¯s convoy, another shadow appeared from behind Shang Miao. Before anyone could react, a frightening amount of sword qi tore through the streets. As it rampaged about, clattering sounds rang through the skies. After the chaos finally died down, Shang Miao and the disciples behind him realized that none of the enemies rushing towards them could take another step! CH 212 In a sealed space above the Tongyou City, Shang Ke stood cautiously in mid air as his nerves were taut. His spear hovered around him as he got ready to take on any surprise attacks. Despite his preparations, the ambush he was preparing for didn¡¯t happen. The space around him started to twist all of a sudden as cracks appeared all around. The illusory space around Shang Ke was torn open forcefully. With Ji Wenlong in the lead, Liu Qinglan and Kang Ci followed closely behind. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about anymore. They¡¯re too crafty. They might have noticed that the few of us were prepared to take action and they should have already left.¡±Ji Wenlong sighed as he signaled Liu Qinglan with his eyes. With her whip, she drew a secret mark only revealed to the higher-ups of the Tongyou Institution and Shang Ke finally relaxed. ¡°How did they notice you? Did I reveal something through my actions?¡± Shang Ke asked after keeping his spear. Ji Wenlong¡¯s expression turned serious and he shook his head slowly. ¡°There can only be one other possibility. The Rose Party has already infiltrated the upper echelons of the other four institutions!¡± ¡°Even them¡­¡± Shang ke muttered softly as his eyebrows furrowed together. ¡°Why did we even tell them our plan?¡± Liu Qinglan interrupted, ¡°The plan was suggested by You Haibiao of the Beihai Institution in the Qing Continent. The plan was approved by the other four institutions too. After all, the Rose Party chose to work with the Four Spiritual Peak and destroyed the stability in the battlefield between the two worlds. They betrayed the Azure Origin World and that was something none of them could accept. If they were able to infiltrate our institution and place us in such a dangerous spot, how far would their influence in the other institutions stretch?¡± An unhappy expression remained in Shang Ke¡¯s face as he grumbled, ¡°Why did we choose my Shang Clan to bear the brunt of the blow anyway?¡± ¡°Senior Shang, who told you guys to take the lead to leave the Tongyou Peak? You made such a huge show of it too.¡± Kang Ci laughed. Ji Wenlong followed up with another explanation. ¡°We made a lot of preparations for this. Regardless of which clan chose to lead the convoy back, we wouldn¡¯t allow them to suffer too many losses.¡± Shang Ke stared at the three of them before snorting coldly. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like we failed completely. At the very least, we can confirm that Yu Wugou and Qiao Han are part of the conspiracy. They seem to be quite adamant about catching Shang Xia. As for those masked cultivators, a huge part of them are there to create a smokescreen about their actual goals. There might even be members of the Rose Party among them.¡± ¡°Capturing Shang Xia? Looks like their plan isn¡¯t as simple as we had thought. They probably plan to threaten us to release members of the Rose Party we captured.¡± Shang Ke sneered when he saw the group of masked cultivators down below. All of them had been stopped by Shang Xia¡¯s sword qi and his tone turned chilly. ¡°In that case, all of them deserve to die.¡± ¡°Brother Shang, that¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong.¡± Another person appeared in mid air, and Shang Ke immediately recognized him as Chang Huaiwu of the Yanmen Institution of the Bing Continent. ¡°Those masked cultivators are disciples of the other institutions.¡± Glancing at Chang Huaiwu from the corner of his eye, Shang Ke sneered, ¡°Instructor Chang, looks like the members of your institution aren¡¯t here.¡± ¡°Their plan had been leaked out a long time ago. Some members of my Yanmen Institution were starting to get restless but all of them managed to suppress their urges. Seeing so many of you here, it looks like they won¡¯t be able to return safely today.¡± A bitter smile formed on Chang Huaiwu¡¯s face. Ji Wenlong ignored whatever he said and continued to question, ¡°What about the Weiwu Institution of the Liang Continent and the Jianmen Institution of the Shu Continent?¡± Chang Huaiwu shook his head and sighed, ¡°None of their experts moved. Looks like the plan to kill the true experts of the Rose Party failed. There might be spies hidden among their higher-ups¡­¡± His guess aligned perfectly with what Liu Qinglan, Ji Wenlong, and Kang Ci spoke about previously. ¡°How many Martial Extermination Realm experts of our institutions were able to take part in this plan? There are only a few of you who entered the Tongyou City. Who could it be?¡± Kang Ci threw out the final question. ¡°No matter who it is, they were definitely not a core part of our ambush team. They probably discovered the trap at the very last second and fled. If they made the plan with us, they would have called off the sneak attack on the Shang Clan¡¯s convoy a long time ago. Patriarch Shang wouldn¡¯t be dragged here by an illusion formation too.¡± A voice traveled over as a middle-aged man carrying a large sword on his back approached. He was clad in white robes, and he nodded towards Ji Wenlong and Chang Huaiwu slightly. He cupped his fists towards Shang Ke and gave his greetings. ¡°Yu Chengjin of the Jianmen Institution greets Patriarch Shang. Congratulations on breaking through to the Martial Extermination Realm!¡± ¡°It¡¯s an honor to meet Deputy Patriarch Yu!¡± Shang Ke returned his greetings. ¡°Elder Yu, why would you think that they only discovered our trap at the very last moment?¡± Liu Qinglan asked. Clicking his tongue, Kang Ci interrupted, ¡°What if there really is another spy at the highest level? They might have revealed the plan to their subordinate after it was conceived, causing them to be unable to recall the ambush in time. This would mean that there are at least two Martial Extermination Realm traitors¡­¡± Chang Huaiwu¡¯s frosty voice added, ¡°The person planning to ambush Patriarch Shang should be a powerful expert too. They¡¯re expecting Shang Bo to follow the convoy anyway and anyone who was confident of ambushing him had to be a supreme expert. After all, it won¡¯t be easy to deal with a second layer Martial Extremity Realm expert in a short amount of time¡­¡± The more they analyzed, the worse they felt. Kang Ci had no choice but to shift the topic with a forced laughter, ¡°No matter what, we managed to profit a little from this misadventure. Yu Wugou and Qiao Han are experienced experts in the Martial Intent Realm. Now that they exposed themselves, we can take the chance to weed out the other members of the Evil Remnants!¡± ¡°Did the thought of them being abandoned chess pieces not cross your mind? They might be using this as a distraction to draw all of us here anyway. If their spies are truly part of the upper echelons of the institutions, they might use this chance to set another trap for us!¡± The words barely left Shang Ke¡¯s lips when a massive explosion rang through the skies. Search "pawread dot com" for the original. Waves of heaven and earth qi filled the skies and they managed to feel the disturbance even through the protection formation around the city. ¡°Not good!¡± Chang Huaiwu¡¯s expression changed as he flew towards the source of the explosion outside the city. Ji Wenlong followed closely behind him. However, Kang Ci was stopped by Liu Qinglan right before he could rush towards the disturbance. Her intentions were clear. He was to stay in the institution to take control of things when the rest of them dealt with the sudden change in the situation. Shang Ke remained where he stood as he looked at Yu Chengjin. The expert of the Jianmen Institution glanced around cautiously and the two of them chose to remain in the city. They were afraid that they would fall for another layer of the enemy¡¯s traps. CH 213 Li Xi, an inner disciple of the Beihai Institution had been instructed by You Haibiao to mix in with the scattered cultivators in the Tongyou City to carry out detailed investigations on all of them. You Haibiao wanted to see if the evil faction was manipulating those cultivators in the dark. When the news of the institution¡¯s victory started to spread, there were also rumors going around that the Tongyou Institution only managed to obtain a bitter victory after sacrificing a lot of their strength. Even more rumors popped up after that, stating how the Tongyou Institution was in bad shape. As one knew, rumors only got more and more exaggerated the more they spread. Soon, it was said that the Tongyou Institution was on the verge of collapse in the battlefield between two worlds and they had to send the resources they plundered out as soon as they could. From what they said, the Zhu Family¡¯s Inheritance was split evenly among the four great clans. Among the inheritance were dozens of advancement formulas, extermination origins, and even the most valuable treasure everyone pined for, the rank five advancement formula, had been obtained by the four great clans! There were also precious martial arts, scriptures, talismans, and even medicine among the loot. Adding on the fact that the Tongyou Peak managed to crush the Four Spiritual Peak, the number of treasures possessed by the former would reach a terrifying amount! As Li Xi mixed around with the scattered cultivators, he could vaguely feel that something was off. He could even feel that some of them were forming alliances in the dark. ¡°We might not dare to touch the Tongyou Institution, but why shouldn¡¯t we try to mess with one of the four clans?¡± ¡°We are only able to chance upon better techniques out in the wild. A great opportunity has presented itself! As the sayings went, the bold will prosper and the timid will starve! Let¡¯s see who has the guts to go through with this!¡± ¡°...¡± Realizing that things were going south, Li Xi quickly made a report to You Haibiao. He had been instructed to infiltrate their ranks to look for the person behind the scenes. That was the reason he joined the bunch of masked cultivators to assault the Shang Clan¡¯s convoy. Otherwise, why would an inner disciple of the Beihai Institution choose to join that ragtag bunch? They managed to receive intelligence that the weakest of the four clans, the Shang Clan, was making their way back from the battlefield between the two worlds that day. Li Xi knew that those scattered cultivators would definitely take the chance to carry out a raid. Things happened exactly as expected. The experts leading the way made the first move and the backup team shot Shang Xia¡¯s horse down. He appeared along with the rest of the cultivators to create some trouble. They wanted to create as much chaos as they could so that those involved would be able to hide in the crowd and run away when the time came. When Li Xi was still thinking about whether he should change sides to help the Shang Clan, the situation changed! A young cultivator wielding two swords charged out of the fray and summoned dozens of sword lights, forcing everyone to stop where they were. The distance between the masked cultivators and the convoy spanned several steps, but not a single person dared to move. At that moment, Shang Xia was only using the moves recorded in the Dual Interference Sword Manual. With his current mastery, he could easily switch between the different types of qi and he was a step away from forming his sixth sword intent. Waving both swords in the air, he managed to display the properties of both swords according to the essence of the Dual Interference Sword Manual. Light and heavy sword qi filled the air around him. His swords were like the wind as they danced in the air. His fantastic display of the sword art caused everyone to stop dead in their tracks. If they truly wanted to break through, charging towards Shang Xia in unison would do the trick. He wouldn¡¯t be able to stop everyone anyway! However, all of them were too afraid to take the next step. They hoped that someone would take the lead only to realize that everyone else thought the same way. Seeing as no one dared to square up, Shang Xia¡¯s actions became more and more unbridled. He displayed his sword art to the best of his abilities. When everyone thought that he was done, Shang Xia snorted coldly and a strange sight occurred. His movement changed and the feeling both swords gave off became completely unfathomable. As he stepped closer to the group of masked cultivators, they finally understood how terrifying their opponent was. The weapons they had raised were either sent flying or it was sliced cleanly in two! Facing such a freak, they could only retreat! This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered by their reaction at that moment as he was fully focused on his final phase of comprehension. With the threat of being overrun by the enemy, he managed to break through the final bottleneck! He finally achieved the final stage of the Dual Interference Sword Manual! Every time his sword slashed out, the person standing in his way would definitely take a step back. It didn¡¯t take long before he forced the entire group of scattered cultivators further away from the convoy. With the increased distance between the mob and his clan¡¯s convoy, Shang Xia decided to focus on the changes that were starting to happen in his dantian. Two tiny swords appeared above his Yin Yang Diagram when he reached enlightenment in the Dual Interference Sword Manual and they entered the eye of Yin and Yang respectively. At long last, he comprehended his sixth sword intent! His Yin Yang Sword Formation would also experience a solid increase in strength! As he was stuck in his trance, he didn¡¯t notice anything other than the dozens of cultivators before him. However, his actions caused a storm to batter against the hearts of the Shang Clan disciples. They stared at him like they were looking at a monster. Even the group of masked disciples couldn¡¯t believe their eyes. Finally, when Shang Xia¡¯s Jade Creek Sword flew towards one of their Martial Extremity Realm cultivators in the crowd to expose his identity, a blue sword light appeared to stop him. A loud clash rang in the ears of everyone present as someone finally managed to counter Shang Xia¡¯s sword. ¡°Good technique!¡± Shang Xia lowered his swords and he stared at the black clothed figure three feet away. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re not some random nobody.¡± The black clothed man waved the blue sword in his hand and growled at Shang Xia, ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble you to give me some pointers!¡± CH 214 You Haibiao¡¯s plan for Li Xi to mix around with the scattered cultivators didn¡¯t stop there. Li Xi received explicit orders to help out the Shang Clan when the situation called for it. However, the current situation caused him to realize that his help wasn¡¯t needed at all. The Shang Clan was more than capable of taking care of themselves. Even though they were both technically on the same side, Li Xi, who was also a fanatic with the sword, couldn¡¯t hold himself back! Shang Xia¡¯s sword technique was too amazing and he had to experience it for himself. After all, Shang Xia¡¯s actions were too reckless! In Li Xi¡¯s eyes, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t taking this whole thing seriously! They ran into a trap laid down by their enemies and they had to face more than thirty masked cultivators! If anything went wrong, people were going to die. However, Shang Xia still had the mood to train in his sword techniques! That wasn¡¯t the most ridiculous part. The scariest part of all of it was that Shang Xia¡¯s training was actually that it was working! He managed to stop every single opponent standing against him! It didn¡¯t end there. He even managed to successfully comprehend his sword intent! Everyone present felt a wave of humiliation wash over them. Li Xi was no exception! One had to know that in the Beihai Institution, he was a genius in the way of the sword! Other people were his stepping stones to grow stronger! How could he accept it when Shang Xia was using him to train his sword art? In Li Xi¡¯s eyes, Shang Xia was going too far! When he saw how Shang Xia¡¯s sword was about to reveal the faces of one of those around him, he finally interfered. Shang Xia noticed that the person who stopped him possessed impressive sword techniques right away! The moment their swords clashed, a sword intent charged into Shang Xia¡¯s sea of consciousness in an endless tide. One single strike like that was stronger than all the half-assed defenses he faced earlier. Luckily for him, Shang Xia¡¯s senses had been tuned by the many battles he had been through. After realizing that there was someone who was able to match up to him, he became a lot more cautious. Li Xi didn¡¯t wish to expose his identity so early on, and what better chance to ¡®oppose¡¯ the Shang Clan as per the wishes of those controlling the situation behind the scenes than to fight with Shang Xia? At the same time, he could also exchange pointers with an expert in the way of the sword! Li Xi was burning with battle intent, but so was Shang Xia! He managed to comprehend the sword intent behind the Dual Interference Sword Manual and an opponent appeared at that exact moment! He wouldn¡¯t miss the chance to refine his techniques in battle! ¡°Watch my sword!¡± Shang Xia yelled and started his offensive. His sword intent was released immediately. This novel is available on "pawread dot com". Unwilling to show any weakness, Li Xi displayed his mastery over his Dusk Tide Sword Manual. Sword lights surged towards Shang Xia in an endless tide, threatening to overwhelm him. Shang Xia¡¯s mastery over the Dual Interference Sword Manual was impressive, but his opponent was no weakling! They were evenly matched for the time being! True to its name, Li Xi¡¯s sword qi rose and sank like the tide. It would rush towards Shang Xia ferociously in one moment and recede the next. As the sword lights returned to his side, they would form a powerful defense against the outside world! One had to say that the Dusk Tide Sword Manual was really well balanced in terms of offense and defense. In Li Xi¡¯s hands, the tempo of the battle slowly swayed his way. Even if some weaknesses were revealed, he would quickly amend his technique to prevent his opponent from capitalizing on it. In a flash, the two of them exchanged close to a hundred moves. Their swords danced in mid air as sword light clashed against each other. In the distance, the two of them resembled two giant balls of light that were contesting to see whose glow was stronger. Their battle wrecked the street around them as many structures started to collapse. It was clear that Li Xi¡¯s mastery over his Dusk Tide Sword Manual allowed him to gain a small advantage over Shang Xia in the beginning stages of the battle. However, that was all he could do. As the battle dragged on, Shang Xia¡¯s momentum became stronger and he showed faint signs of suppressing Li Xi. The light around Shang Xia grew larger and larger while forcing Li Xi back. With a balanced offensive and defensive might, Li Xi¡¯s Dusk Tide Sword Art could allow him to last for a long time in battle. However, Shang Xia¡¯s Yin Yang Essence Qi was like a massive cheat code. His foundations were a lot stronger than Li Xi, and his reserves were larger too. Shang Xia might not be able to contest against Li Xi in terms of technique alone but he made up for it in terms of inner qi. As the battle raged on, it became clear that Li Xi was losing steam a lot faster than Shang Xia. Even though Li Xi was annoyed, he couldn¡¯t do a thing about it! Unwilling to take the L, Li Xi chose to risk it all. Leaping into the air, his low-grade weapon, the Blue Waves Sword, released a huge wave of energy. The space around them seemed to distort as a frightening power weighed down on Shang Xia. That was his martial intent, the Sword Tide! With the ever-changing ebb and flow of the tide of sword qi, it seemed to possess enough power to swallow the heavens and devour the earth! Facing the sudden change, Shang Xia seemed completely at ease. He wasn¡¯t surprised at all. Circulating his inner qi, Shang Xia released the two swords formed by the sword intent he comprehended after mastering the Dual Interference Sword Manual. The Jade River Sword disappeared in his hand as sword lights surrounded him. With one sword to hold up the heavens and one sword to anchor the earth, Shang Xia gathered the sword lights to release a single strike! The one move seemed to contain immeasurable power! Both strikes met in mid air and in the face of Shang Xia¡¯s sword intent emerged as the victor. Li Xi¡¯s Sword Tide was shattered into countless pieces. When his broken sword intent caused sword qi to scatter chaotically, another change happened! Li Xi changed his approach and shocked everyone present. The sword tide that was planning to swallow everything in its path transformed. Gathering back together, the sword lights pulsated a little more gently. That was the true meaning behind his martial intent, the Sword Tide! Dusk would never remain forever. Dawn would break eventually no matter how dark the night and the tides would rise again! At that instant, Shang Xia raised his eyebrow in shock. A secondary sword intent! In front of everyone present, a secondary sword intent appeared! It was the first time in the history of the Azure Origin World that anyone other than Shang Xia had seen a secondary sword intent! According to the knowledge of everyone in the Azure Origin World, it was not possible to possess more than one sword intent! That was also the reason Shang Ke was confused about Shang Xia¡¯s sword art previously! Li Xi¡¯s secondary sword intent, Twilight, was revealed! A thought flashed in Shang Xia¡¯s mind at that instant. The dao coincides with nature! Ever since he gained some inspiration when sparring with Dongfang Mingyu the first time they met, he had never experienced anything like this. Now, Shang Xia¡¯s view of the Azure Origin World changed once again. They might not know about Yin and Yang and how the dao was contained in everything around them, but they were definitely smart enough to make inferences. They could experiment slowly and uncover all the secrets behind the dao! No matter what, the era of cultivation barely started in the world. The history of cultivating didn¡¯t even go back a thousand years! If they took Shang Xia out of the equation, they would eventually be able to connect the dots and understand the theory behind yin and yang. Li Xi¡¯s sword art might cause Shang Xia to raise his eyebrows in shock, but it wouldn¡¯t be able to change the course of the battle! CH 215 The moment Twilight was unleashed, Li Xi felt that he had a chance to turn the tides of the battle. He didn¡¯t expect Shang Xia to shatter his sword intent right after recovering from his shock. The Jade Creek Sword that was still in Shang Xia¡¯s hand edged forward slightly. A thin stream of sword qi emerged as the two opposing types of qi merged, poking a small hole in Li Xi¡¯s Twilight. It might just be an incomparably small prick, but the effects were terrifying. The second wave of sword qi that wanted to swallow Shang Xia whole dissipated in an instant! Li Xi quickly discovered that while his sword qi was gone, his opponent¡¯s wasn¡¯t! He could tell that there was something strange about his opponent¡¯s sword qi but he was unable to get rid of it no matter how he tried! Shang Xia¡¯s sword qi started to transform once again. A trace of white and a stream of black separated from the thin strand of sword qi as it turned into two slender fishes that swam in a perfect circle, chasing each other¡¯s tail. Even though Li Xi summoned more sword qi to defend himself, he discovered that they were on the verge of collapse! A surge of darkness threatened to overwhelm him. When he finally forced his sword qi to come under control, the darkness receded and a piercing white glow took over. It broke through his defenses like it was paper! Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" Never in his wildest dreams did he think that his secondary sword intent would be destroyed so easily! Even though his sword qi was still in the air, he had lost control of them completely. Li Xi knew that he had lost. He was baffled by the way he lost, but he couldn¡¯t do a thing about it! Retrieving his sword, he discovered that the threat surrounding him had also disappeared. His opponent was standing opposite him with his sword behind his back. ¡°How?¡± Li Xi couldn¡¯t help but ask. Instead of replying immediately, Shang Xia thought about it for a second. ¡°Twilight is the moment before dawn, and it represents both darkness and light. I only needed to reverse the flow of qi and everything came crumbling down.¡± ¡°Darkness and light¡­¡± Li Xi muttered to himself. Raising his head to stare at the enemy who defeated him, he sighed, ¡°Interesting. Not anyone can integrate the properties of darkness and light into my Twilight sword intent. I guess there¡¯s no point hiding anymore. You can call me Li Xu, and I¡¯m the leader of the inner division of the Beihai Institution. You¡¯re an admirable opponent!¡± ¡°It was a good battle, Brother Li! The five institutions defending the border stand on the same side. As it turns out, I was lucky enough to meet a comrade of the Beihai Institution today.¡± A smile formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. Even though a thousand questions were forming in his mind, his expression remained cheery. He wasn¡¯t planning on digging deeper into the matter if the other party wasn¡¯t planning to explain. ¡°I am ashamed of what happened today. In the future, I will definitely pay you a visit! I bid my farewell for now.¡± Li Xi cupped his fists towards Shang Xia before disappearing from the mob. ¡°Hehe¡­ Impressive¡­ he has two sword intents!¡± Shang Xia overheard someone muttering to himself but was unable to pinpoint the source of the voice. When he started to fight Li Xi, Shang Xia definitely had the intention of tempering his sword art through battle. However, he recalled the situation they were in and chose to end the battle as soon as he could. Shang Xia might not know much about the darkness and light sword intent, but he could replicate both types of qi after fighting with Dongfang Mingyu twice. In the past, Shang Xia was also able to transform his qi into light and heavy qi after obtaining the Unstable Rock. After refining Dongfang Mingyu¡¯s sword qi back in the battlefield between two worlds, transforming his Yin Yang Essence Qi to darkness and light qi was a piece of cake. When Li Xi revealed his secondary sword intent, Shang Xia was struck with a flash of inspiration. Darkness and light made up the foundations of Twilight and tempering with them would cause his opponent¡¯s technique to crumble! Shang Xia¡¯s guess was on point. Li Xi was strong, but he wasn¡¯t strong enough! Naturally, Shang Xia was comparing Li Xi to himself. Against others at the same level, Li Xi would be a force to be reckoned with. By the time Li Xi gathered his inner qi to release his secondary martial intent earlier, he was on the verge of exhaustion. His inner qi was running dry. It was no wonder Shang Xia could defeat him so easily. At the end of the day, Li Xi only lost because of his weaker reserves. Shang Xia¡¯s final act of reversing darkness and light only served to ensure his defeat. Then again, the Beihai Institution was located in the Qing Continent. Coincidentally, the Dongfang Family of the Evil Remnants was based there! Shang Xia gasped silently when he thought about the sword art used by Li Xi and Dongfang Mingyu. Was it possible that Li Xi¡¯s sword art had some sort of connection with the Dongfang Family? Regardless, it wasn¡¯t time to think about all that. The battle between Shang Xia and Li Xi earlier had exceeded the scope of a battle between Martial Extremity Realm disciples. Their battle completely shocked the mob who came to attack the Shang Clan¡¯s convoy. Moreover, Li Xi revealed his identity before he left. Anyone with half a brain in the crowd would realize that something was very wrong. No one would dare to jump out and cause trouble anymore. Regardless if they were spies from the other institutions like Li Xi or they were truly there to cause trouble, all of them had half a mind to escape. Even though they outnumbered Shang Xia countless times, they didn¡¯t dare to take a step forward. The battle between the Martial Intent Realm experts reached a new high as Shang Miao and the rest huddled closer around the carriages. As the thought of assisting Yan Qi and Shang Xi entered his mind, a sharp whistle came from a pavilion a hundred feet away. Shang Xia turned to stare at the source of the sound and he met the gaze of a patron in the pavilion. ¡°I am Ma Qi of the Weiwu Institution. I hope Brother Shang will be kind enough to give me some pointers.¡± A soft voice entered Shang Xia¡¯s mind. Before he could react, a white-robed figure leaped out of the third-story window. His feet lightly tapped against the roofs of buildings separating them and it didn¡¯t take long for him to approach Shang Xia. His sleeves trembled slightly and a sword that was as thin as could be shot at Shang Xia while emitting frosty light. ¡°Flying Sword!¡± Gasps came from the crowd as Shang Xia narrowed his eyes. He seemed as though he was trying to lock on to the flying sword. Against the sword art that awed those present, Shang Xia looked incomparably calm. CH 216 Flying Sword? In Shang Xia¡¯s eyes, it was nothing but a flashy technique. He had long since learned how to do something like that. Due to his insistence to train in multiple sword manuals, he gained a strong insight into the way of the sword. He couldn¡¯t be bothered with a sword technique that only focused on outward appearances. It might look cool to shoot a sword at their opponent, but it had no practical use! For a sword cultivator who hasn¡¯t congealed their divine sense or reached the realm of becoming one with their sword, throwing out a sword like that was basically giving their weapon away. Unless the opponent was a lot weaker than them, they could forget about dealing any sort of substantial damage. At that point, even if one managed to send out the sword containing their divine sense, it would be kind of useless too! The further the sword traveled, the weaker the cultivator¡¯s divine sense would be! Since the sword would be traveling extremely quickly, it wouldn¡¯t take long for it to leave the radius of a cultivator¡¯s divine sense. Even with precise control over their sword, sending their weapon away from them wouldn¡¯t be the chest choice either. If anyone carried out a sneak attack or got close to them, they would be defenseless! If everything that was said earlier applied to Martial Intent Realm experts, there was nothing much to say for those at the Martial Extremity Realm. Ma Qi looked really cool as he charged over, but Shang Xia was confident of shattering his technique with a single strike before the flying sword could arrive. However, his rationality got the better of him. Ma Qi dared to attack Shang Xia even after witnessing the battle between Li Xi and himself. There had to be something backing his confidence if he still tried to exchange pointers with Shang Xia! As such, Shang Xia was fairly certain that Ma Qi¡¯s fighting style would quickly transform. That was also the reason why he hadn¡¯t moved to intercept the flying sword yet. Indeed. When it was nearly thirty feet away from Shang Xia, the frosty light surrounding the sword separated to form hundreds of rays of sword light. They rained down on Shang Xia like a summer¡¯s drizzle. ¡°Void and reality qi? Or is it something else?¡± Shang Xia questioned in his heart. Even though he didn¡¯t know what type of qi his opponent was using, the attack was already on him! He had to react. It took a mere thought for him to transform his qi again. Instead of the Jade Creek Sword, the Jade River Sword returned to his hand. A flurry of sword light emerged from Jade River as they scattered like petals in a flower field. They landed accurately on the sword light sent by the other side. Seeing as their attacks were about to clash, the white-robed cultivator increased his speed. He raced behind his sword light and reached out his hand to casually tap at the void before him. The hundreds of rays of sword light converged in an instant. A sword light measuring a hundred feet in length surged forward. ¡°Fusion and separation¡­¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself as he recognized it right away. He was no stranger to the dao of fusion and separation. After all, he had witnessed Liu Qinglan using it against Ran Biluo during the war on the Tongyou Peak. Even a powerful expert like Liu Qinglan who was at the Martial Extermination Realm only dared to separate her senses into seven parts to control her seven segmented whip previously. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but sneer when he saw how many parts Ma Qi separated his senses to. While the thoughts ran through his head, Ma Qi¡¯s sword light was still flying towards him at a terrifying pace. Everyone present thought that Shang Xia would be helpless when faced with the sudden change when his scattered sword qi gathered to form a screen between Ma Qi and the sword qi he controlled! When Ma Qi gathered his sword qi to form the giant sword, he managed to shatter some of the sword light coming his way. However, his actions were completely useless as the sword light possessed the properties of void and reality! With the formation of the screen, Ma Qi could no longer effectively command his sword light! The connection between them seemed to be broken as the giant sword light started to tremble in mid air. Without his weapon, Ma Qi¡¯s attempt to break through the screen of sword qi became an uphill battle. The sudden shift in the battlefield truly caught him off guard. As a somewhat experienced cultivator, he knew that the most important thing he had to do was to recall his weapon! However, his flying sword was surrounded by the hundreds of sword lights he summoned earlier. How was he supposed to call it back? The screen that separated them didn¡¯t stop his flying sword from advancing towards Shang Xia. In the split second that he realized the connection was broken, his flying sword had already reached the limit at which he could control it! The trembling of the blade became even more obvious. With a slight wave of his sword, Shang Xia scattered Ma Qi¡¯s sword qi. Jade River wrapped itself around the sword mercilessly as Shang Xia dragged it towards himself. By the time the screen of sword qi disappeared, Ma Qi discovered that his connection with his weapon had already been broken. He saw Shang Xia holding two swords in his hand, along with a toothy grin plastered on his face. It went without saying that allowing one¡¯s opponent to obtain your weapon was utterly humiliating. As the blood drained from Ma Qi¡¯s face, Shang Xia casually flicked his wrist to send the man¡¯s sword flying back to him. Even though the battle had just concluded, another youth in the crowd stood out and pointed the tip of his sword at Shang Xia. ¡°It¡¯s easy for you to obtain victory against Brother Ma. Why did you humiliate him that way? Hmph. I am Yang Chao of the Yanmen Institution. I hope to receive your pointers too!¡± What the fuck is going on today?! Shang Xia sighed inwardly. Disciples of three institutions had already appeared and all of them were sword cultivators at the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm! How could things be so coincidental? Weren¡¯t the five institutions supposed to be on the same side? Couldn¡¯t they see that the Shang Clan¡¯s convoy was in a precarious situation at the moment with enemies all around? Why the hell were they trying to exchange pointers with him? It was fine if they didn¡¯t step out to help the Shang Clan out of the dangerous situation. With so many of them challenging him, they were basically hitting the Shang Clan when they were down! Were they trying to declare war on the Shang Clan or something? Shang Xia might be extremely suspicious about their motives, but he didn¡¯t dare to be careless when facing the incoming sword intent. The feeling he got from his new opponent, Yang Chao, told him that the man was probably at the same level as Li Xi. Shang Xia drew an imaginary circle in front of him with his Jade River Sword and it quickly split into twelve formless rings that rose into the air. Facing Shang Xia¡¯s interesting defense, Yang Chao stepped slightly in the air and his body traveled several feet forward. In the same instant he moved, the twelve formless rings summoned by Shang Xia locked down the space around them and the void became a little more solid than before. As long as he took a single wrong step, he would be trapped in a quagmire of softness and strength qi. Shang Xia unleashed the sword intent he comprehended after fusing both softness and strength qi together in one of the earliest sword arts he practiced. The martial intent was called Sword River, similar to the name of the sword policy he practiced. This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Unfortunately for him, his opponent dodged in time. Yang Chao clearly wasn¡¯t a weakling. The moment he avoided being trapped by Shang Xia¡¯s Sword River, he launched his counterattack. When his feet touched the ground below, he twisted his body in a strange fashion before stabbing his sword forward to dissipate his momentum. His body froze unnaturally in mid air as though he was waiting for something to happen! Shang Xia¡¯s expression changed drastically when he noticed Yang Chao¡¯s actions. In the instant Yang Chao¡¯s body froze, the twelve rings that were converging towards where Yang Chao was supposed to be missed! CH 217 Ever since he started training in the way of the sword, the River Sword Policy was the first set of sword manuals he practiced! It could even be said that the Flexible Sword Art that allowed him to comprehend the sword intent behind softness and strength qi was the one was the most familiar with! Out of the six different sword intents he comprehended, he was most comfortable with River Sword. It was also the technique that possessed the strongest offensive ability! He didn¡¯t notice anything off when Yang Chao dodged his first strike, but his curiosity was piqued when Yang Chao avoided his second move! There were several explanations for the matter, and one of them was that Yang Chao had already grasped the way to break Shang Xia¡¯s technique! Another was that Yang Chao had some sort of special method to predict where Shang Xia¡¯s strike would go! Shang Xia was naturally more inclined to believe the latter. After all, Yang Chao would probably have launched a fierce counterattack if he understood how to break Shang Xia¡¯s technique. With the opponent avoiding two of his strikes, Shang Xia felt a sense of danger slowly encroaching on him. He didn¡¯t dare to attack recklessly anymore and he changed his focus to defense. The moment the intention to defend crossed his mind, Yang Chao attacked! It seemed as though Yang Chao was a special type of person. He would remain still when required, but he would strike like lightning the moment the opponent showed signs of wavering! We are "pawread dot com", find us on google. With his sword back in hand, Yang Chao stabbed at Shang Xia with frightening speed. His strike was even faster than when he threw the sword out earlier, and the power contained behind the strike was countless times stronger. When Shang Xia unleashed his martial intent comprehended from the Flexible Sword Manual, the River Sword, his strike was unhurried and it contained an astounding amount of power. Somewhat similar to Shang Xia, Yang Chao¡¯s stab contained a frightening amount of power. However, it was a lot faster, and it arrived when his opponent was retreating. If he was facing any other ordinary opponent, he would probably have been the victor right then and there. Even if the opponent wasn¡¯t defeated immediately, they would have to retreat heavily in order to survive. Too bad for him, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t an ordinary opponent! Not flustered in the slightest, Shang Xia no longer cared about the consumption of his inner qi. He transformed his Yin Yang Essence Qi in a torrential fashion and a dense layer of sword light appeared in front of him. Yang Chao¡¯s strike was unable to penetrate the web of sword light that was formed around Shang Xia and the closest it got was three inches away from his target. Those three inches were like an insurmountable gap that mocked Yang Chao unceasingly. Trapped in the web of sword qi, Yang Chao¡¯s strike finally lost all the energy contained in it. Seeing as it was time to counterattack, Shang Xia launched his offensive immediately. Long strands of sword light emerged from the web of sword qi. They extended quickly towards Yang Chao, but when they were three inches away from the man, they were shattered by Yang Chao¡¯s sudden withdrawal of his sword. Once again, Shang Xia failed to triumph over his enemy! It was the third time that happened, and that was after Shang Xia had used a different technique! He was using the moves contained in the Hidden Needle Manual, and he was defending and attacking at the same time! He wanted to draw Yang Chao closer to end the battle quickly, but to his surprise, the man avoided it at the last second! Yang Chao might have dodged the third round of Shang Xia¡¯s attack, but unfortunately for him, they were too close to each other at that moment. Shang Xia finally caught on to the weakness behind his technique! When Yang Chao retreated tens of feet away, he felt Shang Xia¡¯s playful gaze landing on him. ¡°Haha, as it turns out, you¡¯re training in the dao of movement and stillness!¡± A frosty light flashed through Yang Chao¡¯s eyes suddenly as killing intent threatened to leak out of his body. His expression sank as he glared at Shang Xia. His vaguely concealed anger was met with a chuckle from Shang Xia. ¡°Your sword technique is truly profound. You seem to be able to see through your opponent. You act decisively by striking the moment your opponent shows the slightest weakness. I wonder what sword art you train in?¡± ¡°This¡­ I train in the Agile Sword Manual!¡± Yang Chao growled. ¡°I thought that I would be able to see through your moves, allowing me to seize the initiative during our battle. Who would have thought that I would still be defeated in the end¡­¡± Shaking his head, Yang Chao continued, ¡°Your technique has touched on the realm of perfection. It¡¯s nearly impossible to predict your move and even though I managed to see through them at the last moment, I had to react accordingly. It was fortunate for me to be able to keep my life, but defeating you should be impossible¡­¡± ¡°Agile Sword Manual? The dao of movement and stillness¡­¡± Shang Xia muttered under his breath. After a second of contemplation, a smile appeared on his face and he chuckled, ¡°A second of stillness might be better than charging forth recklessly. Counter aggression with passiveness, strike when you have grasped the enemy¡¯s intentions. Brother Yang, you have reached a high level of achievement in your sword art. You stood immobile when required but you struck like lightning the moment you noticed an opportunity.¡± Shang Xia wasn¡¯t messing around with him. Instead, he spoke about his comprehension of the battle. He recalled a saying from his original world and he casually spoke of it. Yang Chao, who was standing opposite him, was unable to maintain his calm appearance after hearing what Shang Xia said. Those words were like massive bombs exploding in his head. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Brother Shang, did you also train in the Agile Sword Manual?¡± He quickly realized that his question was rather foolish. If Shang Xia had trained in the Agile Sword Manual, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to last three moves against Shang Xia. Watching how Shang Xia was trying to control his laughter, he quickly suppressed the raging waves battering against his heart. ¡°I wonder how Brother Shang came up with the theory. Moreover, the techniques you used when fighting against Li Xi and Ma Qi were completely different. I heard rumors of the Murong Family¡¯s Triple Mystery Polarity Art and I wonder if that¡¯s how you managed to display so many different skills?¡± Chuckling slightly, Shang Xia replied, ¡°You¡¯re not far off from the truth. I drew on the experience of cultivating the Triple Mystery Polarity Art and made a few changes!¡± From the time Ma Qi appeared, Shang Xia knew that some of his secrets would be seen through by those present. Revealing some information to Yang Chao might not be a bad thing. Sating their curiosity could allow him to avoid many troublesome matters in the long run. Yang Chao nodded slowly and muttered to himself, ¡°Brother Shang is really a genius. You definitely used several sword intents earlier¡­¡± Shang Xia nodded politely but remained silent about the matter. Seeing Shang Xia¡¯s reaction, Yang Chao decided to end things there. ¡°Brother Shang definitely received a lot of insights after the multiple battles today. Let¡¯s call it a draw, shall we?¡± Despite Yang Chao¡¯s attempt to end the battle, a playful grin returned to Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Brother Yang, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re looking down on me.¡± Yang Chao¡¯s expression sank instantly. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Do you wish to continue? If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll definitely play along!¡± Yang Chao had high achievements in his Agile Sword Manual. Even though he wasn¡¯t able to defeat Shang Xia, he felt that it was impossible for him to be defeated by the other party! At worst, they would fight till both sides were exhausted, resulting in a draw! That was the reason he made the suggestion. Who would have thought that Shang Xia would be unwilling to reciprocate his goodwill? ¡°Sure. I don¡¯t plan on embarrassing myself on my own territory anyway. If you¡¯re able to remain unscathed after taking on my next attack, I¡¯ll renounce the draw and you can be the ultimate victor. How about it?¡± Shang Xia smiled. Turning deadly serious, Yang Chao raised his sword and pointed it at Shang Xia, showing off his intentions. Keeping the smile on his face, the Jade River Sword stabbed forward unhurriedly as a sword domain descended. CH 218 Above the Tongyou City, three Martial Extermination Realm experts were watching the battle closely. They were the three who remained after Ji Wenlong and the rest left to deal with the source of disturbance outside the city. Kang Ci of the Tongyou Institution, Shang Ke, the new patriarch of the Shang Clan, and the deputy patriarch of the Jianmen Institution, Elder Yu Chengjin, stared unblinkingly at the battle below. In fact, watching the battle closely seemed a little inappropriate to describe their actions. To put it more accurately, the three of them were completely focused on Shang Xia. ¡°Light and heavy, void and reality, offense and defense, softness and strength¡­ This kid is something else alright! How was he able to comprehend four different pairs of qi?¡± Yu Chengjin gasped. ¡°The only thing that makes it more terrifying is that the kid actually comprehended sword intents at the ¡®Two Opposing Realm¡¯ for each of them!¡± The Azure Origin World only started to use their unified method of cultivation realm classification in recent years. That was why Yu Chengjin still called Shang Xia a cultivator at the ¡®Two Opposing Realm¡¯. Chuckling lightly, Shang Ke spoke up, ¡°Elder Yu, you¡¯re praising the boy too much. The little brat has always been really pompous about his own actions. He¡¯s always running around saying how he came up with something new. Hah. All he did was to add a little extra to the Triple Mystery Polarity Art.¡± A smile that didn¡¯t seem like a smile appeared on Yu Changjin¡¯s face as he snapped, ¡°Pompous? What the hell! All I saw was him being humble out there. The Triple Mystery Polarity Art has been the pride of the Murong Family for hundreds of years! How can someone casually make improvements to it?!¡± After he spoke, Yu Changjin¡¯s gaze returned to the two below. He muttered to himself, ¡°Even if he made some improvements, shouldn¡¯t it only be to the type of qi? Three pairs of qi seem to be the maximum when cultivating the Triple Mystery Polarity Art.¡± With the way Shang Ke put it earlier, it was clear he was trying to protect little Shang Xia. He didn¡¯t wish for the kid¡¯s talent and skills to be exposed to the world so soon. He quickly added, ¡°He might be a little smart, but he¡¯s still a Martial Extremity Realm cultivator. He has a long way to go¡­ Elder Yu, you¡¯re thinking too highly of him.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ The road of cultivation is a long one¡­¡± Yu Chengjin sighed, but he changed the topic the next moment. ¡°We definitely can¡¯t behave like a frog in a well. There¡¯s always a higher mountain out there. How can we miss such a good opportunity?¡± Looking at each other, Shang Ke and Kang Ci saw the confusion in each other¡¯s eyes. They didn¡¯t know what the hell Yu Chengjin was referring to, but they quickly noticed him tossing out a transmission signal. ¡­ Martial intents were split into different levels. Ordinary martial intents were no different from skills created from the fusion of several techniques. An example of such would be the martial intent of one of the disciples of the Rose Party. Back in the battlefield between two worlds, the disciple of the Rose Party used a martial intent, Triple Blade, against him! It was a simple attack that involved three strikes. Martial intents that were a little better would be able to trigger slight changes in their surroundings. An example would be Shang Xia¡¯s Chaos Essence Lightning Palm! He could trigger the appearance of lightning and use it to attack his opponents. The power contained in his attacks was much stronger than usual. Of course, that only referred to the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm the original Shang Xia planned to comprehend. After he was struck by heavenly lightning which also caused the current Shang Xia to transmigrate over, a shocking change happened. The massive increase in power couldn¡¯t be measured in ordinary terms! In fact, it could probably be classified under the next type of martial intent. The third type of martial intent triumphed over the previous. It could create a boundary of its own as long as the user maintained his control over it. Even though it wasn¡¯t a comprehensive upgrade in power, it was a lot more versatile and useful. Against cultivators who were at the same level or weaker, it gave the user a lot of advantages. As for Shang Xia¡¯s Yin Yang Sword Formation, it could probably be considered to be of the third type. However, it was leagues ahead of any other martial intent as it made him an invincible existence in the Martial Extremity Realm. Even if he were to use each of his six sword intents separately, they would be classified under the second type of martial intent. Yang Chao¡¯s martial intent behind his Agile Sword Art could allow him to capitalize on gaps in his opponent¡¯s technique, but Shang Xia¡¯s moves changed too quickly for it to have any effect. Shang Xia¡¯s sword qi might seem to be in disarray as it transformed to many different types, but they would form an impeccable protection net at the critical moment. As long as Shang Xia wasn¡¯t defeated immediately, he just had to wait for his opponent to burn off all their energy before pressing for the win. That was also the reason Yang Chao thought that both of them would be evenly matched. He felt that there was no need to drag the battle out to make things worse. In his eyes, his actions were noble and allowed Shang Xia to conserve his energy. However, Shang Xia not only rejected his goodwill, he even added a challenge on top of it! With rage filling his heart, Yang Chao swore that he would definitely teach Shang Xia a lesson no matter the cost. He never would have expected that Shang Xia had been hiding his strength the whole time! Even when he fought the other two earlier, he only used one type of sword intent at a time. He was using less than one-sixth of his true battle capabilities! Since he challenged Yang Chao, Shang Xia felt that he should bring out a little bit of his true strength. No longer disrespecting his opponent, the Yin Yang Diagram in his dantian started to rotate a little bit faster. Fire and ice qi, along with softness and strength qi appeared at the same time. He unleashed his Yin Yang Sword Formation with two of his six sword intents! Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. Yang Chao felt a sense of danger approaching the moment Shang Xia moved. He tried to overestimate Shang Xia¡¯s ability as much as he could, and he was even prepared to face a sword boundary. However, being cautious was the most he would allow himself to be. He wasn¡¯t afraid as he felt that utilizing his martial intent would allow him to avoid the strike for sure. The moment he did, he would be the victor of the battle! The perfect scenario came crashing down in his mind the moment the sword boundary descended. Yang Chao¡¯s expression changed, as shock threatened to overwhelm the fear he was feeling. Shang Xia was too fast and the sword boundary descended before he could react. In fact, even if he managed to respond in time, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to leave the region affected by the sword boundary. Despite his fright and surprise, he decided to go all the way. He might be trapped in his opponent¡¯s sword boundary, but that didn¡¯t mean that he had lost yet! At worst, he would suffer some inner injuries while keeping his outward appearance! As long as he looked unaffected, he would be declared the victor anyway. One couldn¡¯t forget that the longer a cultivator maintained their sword boundary, the larger the energy consumption. Alas, Yang Chao was wrong again! Why would Shang Xia care about energy consumption when he was only using two of the six sword intents that made up the sword formation? He had lots of energy to spare. As the sword qi descended on him, fire and ice qi mingled with softness and strength qi as they struck heavily against Yang Chao¡¯s body. The blood drained from his face as it turned into a stream that exited from his nose. He discovered that his martial intent was completely useless in the face of absolute strength! CH 219 Shang Xia¡¯s sword boundary disappeared as quickly as it appeared. A casual smile could be seen on his face when he withdrew his sword formation. It was in stark contrast to the sorry look on Yang Chao¡¯s face which still had blood trickling down it. The victor was clear. This novel is available on "pawread dot com". ¡°You¡­¡± Yang Chao had an unresigned expression on his face, but his reluctance to accept the situation was accompanied by confusion and fear. Everyone could see how flustered he was. ¡°Many thanks for the lesson.¡± Shang Xia cupped his fists towards Yang Chao to declare the end of the battle. ¡°Much obliged. In the future, I will definitely look for Brother Shang to practice my sword art in the future.¡± After experiencing what just happened, Yang Chao understood clearly that he would never be Shang Xia¡¯s opponent as long as they were both in the Martial Extremity Realm. The only way he could attain victory would be to enter the Martial Intent Realm before challenging Shang Xia again. ¡°Well said.¡± Shang Xia praised sincerely. Regardless, he managed to gain quite a bit of insight after fighting Yang Chao. As Yang Chao turned to walk away, he was received by a group of young disciples from the Yanmen Institution. There was a complicated look in their eyes when they looked at Shang Xia, but there were traces of admiration hidden in there. Shang Xia swept his gaze across the crowd at the same time and discovered that all of them had subconsciously taken a step back. Ma Qi who was jumping around a moment ago was nowhere to be seen. His amazing sword art scared away everyone who was harboring evil thoughts in their mind, but the battle between the Martial Intent Realm experts was still raging on behind him. Just as he was about to throw himself into the fray, an arrogant laughter tore through the skies as a figure started to approach them. ¡°I heard that there¡¯s a showdown between powerful swordsmen here and found it slightly interesting. My elder specifically instructed me to head over for some practice, saying something about how we can all learn from each other. Well, I don¡¯t really believe him but I can¡¯t really ignore my elders now, can I?¡± As the voice rang through the skies, a youngster clad in light green robes appeared at the end of the street, behind the mob of masked cultivators. He held a sword sheath in one hand while resting the blade of the sword on his shoulders. He was pretty handsome, but the impatient look in his eyes diminished his otherwise perfect appearance. The corners of his lips were slightly raised upwards and he managed to portray a perfect expression fitting of someone who was asking to be beaten up. Swinging his sword around, he sneered with disdain, ¡°... What the hell¡­ I was still in the middle of a pai gow match.¡± Looking at every single cultivator in front of him, he discovered that all those in masks had lowered their heads in fright to avoid meeting his gaze. ¡°Well, who the hell is called Shang Xia? Get out here and fight with me. Let¡¯s end this quickly.¡± With the corners of his lips trembling slightly, his expression became even more wretched. However, his tone became all the more sincere, forming a disgusting contrast. ¡°Relax. We¡¯re just exchanging pointers. I¡¯ll stop before I actually hurt you. There¡¯s no need to be afraid. No lives will be lost today.¡± Facing the sudden assault on the Shang Clan¡¯s convoy the moment they returned from the battlefield between two worlds, Shang Xia could be said to be more surprised than angry. After all, why would anyone attack the Shang Clan in the Tongyou City? Did they think that the Tongyou Institution was there for show? However, the repeated challenges caused his emotions to shift yet again. The shock he felt was starting to diminish as a sense of irritation was starting to overwhelm him. He had originally dealt with the threat that was the group of masked cultivators who wanted to raid the Shang Clan convoy. Just as he was about to return to help Shang Xi and Yan Qi, Li Xi appeared to stop him. If that was all, Shang Xia might have let it be, but right after Li Xi¡¯s departure, Ma Qi jumped out of nowhere to cause trouble. Next came Yang Chao of the Yanmen Institution. All of them wanted to exchange pointers with Shang Xia, seemingly inspired by the person before them. Moreover, all of them acted as extremely arrogantly as though they were better than Shang Xia. Shang Xia was extremely annoyed by the entire situation. It didn¡¯t matter if the members of the other institutions didn¡¯t come out to help earlier when they were in danger. Now, they were popping up one by one to challenge him. If they weren¡¯t students of the other institutions and they were back in the battlefield between two worlds, Shang Xia would have already unleashed his Yin Yang Sword Formation to kill them all. Now, he had to keep the relationship between the five institutions in mind and allow them to leave with their prides relatively intact. At the very least, he couldn¡¯t critically wound them! Never in his wildest imagination would he expect someone to appear out of nowhere saying that they were there to challenge him after receiving orders from their elder. Hou Yuchun, the newly arrived disciple, didn¡¯t see the previous battles. However, his wealth of experience made him feel as though his elder¡¯s instructions to fight with some random bumpkin whose name he hadn¡¯t heard of before was extremely degrading. He felt that with his mastery over his sword art and his battle experience, taking care of anyone at the same cultivation level would be a piece of cake. That explained his pretentious entrance. Shang Xia¡¯s heart was burning with anxiety with the battle between Martial Intent Realm experts raging behind him. Since some random asshole appeared while spouting a whole bunch of bullshit, Shang Xia¡¯s anger reached its peak. However, Hou Yuchun was apparently not done. He continued, ¡°Fuck! Are you a mute or something?! This daddy here left three hundred pieces of silver essence back at my game! If I fail to return in the time it takes a stick of incense to burn, that piece of shit dealer will take my money away!¡± ¡°The time it takes a stick of incense to burn is too long!¡± A voice interrupted Hou Yuchun as Shang Xia turned to face him. ¡°I¡¯m the person you[¡®re looking for. Right now, I promise you that you¡¯ll definitely make it back in time for your game! In fact, this won¡¯t take long at all.¡± ¡°Hah. Many thanks then. It would be great if you would admit defeat right now¡­¡± Hou Yuchun revealed a toothy grin and released a burst of inner qi the moment he confirmed his opponent¡¯s identity. The ground around him shattered as the crack extended several feet away. He didn¡¯t think that it was inappropriate at all. After all, he wanted to end the battle as soon as he could. He didn¡¯t think that Shang Xia would admit defeat without a fight anyway. As such, he released his inner qi and lunged at Shang Xia without warning. Unfortunately for him, he was bound to be disappointed this time. His opponent was no ordinary cultivator. As he approached, he was stopped by an even more frightening sword qi. In the face of Shang Xia¡¯s sword qi, he felt that he became weaker than a baby! Even though they were still separated by a distance of a few feet, Shang Xia¡¯s sword qi had already arrived. The structures at the side of the road were turned to dust in the face of overwhelming power. ¡°Please spare my life!¡± Hou Yuchun¡¯s body froze in mid air as he faced the terrifying sword qi released by Shang Xia. The sword qi had already exceeded his scope of understanding and he lost all courage to fight. His previous arrogance was nowhere to be seen as he forced the four words out of his mouth. ¡°Stay your sword!¡± A familiar voice rang through the air but even though Hou Yuchun recognized the person who spoke, despair still filled his heart. He knew that even with the appearance of the newcomer, it won¡¯t be enough to save his life. His fate was held in the hands of the opponent he challenged earlier. Regardless, dying under the blade of someone who comprehended such a powerful sword qi wasn¡¯t such a bad thing. Just as he was about to accept his fate, the sword qi that was about to send him to the depths of hell dissipated. Staring at Shang Xia in confusion, he soon found himself tumbling through the air. He flew several hundred feet away from his original location. ¡°I told you. Our battle won¡¯t take long. You¡¯ll definitely make it back before the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s voice rang through the air. Hou Yuchun cut a sorry figure as he was sprawled out on the ground like a dead dog and a sword stabbed deep into the ground three inches away from his nose. CH 220 In a small alleyway several feet away, Li Xi stood silently as he watched the entire thing play out. His expression fluctuated uneasily as he stared at the crossroads where Hou Yuchun was sent flying and he looked at his sword with a weird expression on his face. He eventually sighed before turning around to leave. ¡­ Somewhere nearby, Ma Qi was standing respectfully behind a young man who emitted a deep and profound aura. ¡°Senior Brother Yue, that¡¯s where it happened! Shang Xia went too far! Look, he¡¯s right there. Do you think¡­¡± Before he could finish, the young man interrupted him. ¡°Yes. I do see him.¡± After he spoke, he turned around to leave. ¡°Huh? Senior Brother Yue, you¡­¡± Ma Qi didn¡¯t know why the backup he bought was leaving, and he couldn¡¯t help but question., Pausing suddenly, the young man sighed without even turning his head. ¡°Before you enter the Martial Intent Realm, no¡­ Don¡¯t offend this guy. Even when you enter the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm in the future, he¡¯s not someone you can afford to offend!¡± He left right after he was done speaking. He didn¡¯t even care if Ma Qi followed behind him as he disappeared into the city. ¡­ Hou Yuchun tumbled through the air and brushed past the members of the Yanmen Institution. One of the disciples turned to Yang Chao and asked cautiously, ¡°Senior Brother Yang, that¡­ Was that Hou Yuchun of the Jianmen Institution?¡± Yang Chao nodded like a wooden chicken. The disciple followed up with another question, ¡°Were they lying about how powerful Hou Yuchun was? Maybe his achievements were exaggerated!¡± Yang Chao¡¯s glare instantly landed on the person who spoke. Realizing that he had spoken wrongly, the disciple quickly lowered his head. Someone else sighed, ¡°Hou Yuchun isn¡¯t weak at all. It¡¯s just that Shang Xia is too damn strong! This¡­ Brother Yang Chao, can you please explain what just happened? We didn¡¯t manage to catch it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no point. All of you just need to remember one thing from now on. If you see that freak in the future, do not offend him.¡± Sighing after he spoke, Yang Chao shook his head softly. The disciples behind him gasped in shock as they looked at each other in confusion. The smile slowly returned to Yang Chao¡¯s face as he addressed the rest. ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll return to the courtyard the Tongyou Institution prepared for us. I¡¯m afraid the city won¡¯t be able to keep its calm for long.¡± Seeing how Yang Chao left, the others followed him quickly. However, there was still someone who couldn¡¯t contain his curiosity. ¡°Senior Brother Yang, what sword intent did Hou Yuchun comprehend anyway?¡± ¡°High and low.¡± Yang Chao gave a short reply without even turning his head. ¡°What¡­ What about Shang Xia?¡± A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. Yang Chao¡¯s figure paused slightly and he shook his head in defeat. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The disciples following behind stared at each other silently after hearing his reply. ¡­ Even though Shang Xia was extremely annoyed by their actions, he kept his last shred of rationality and dissipated his sword qi before anyone died. Of course, Hou Yuchun was unable to avoid his fate of being blown away by the resulting sword qi. When he finally stopped, he was a hundred feet away from his original location. As Shang Xia lowered his sword, everyone in the surroundings fell silent. Even the battle between the Martial Intent Realm experts behind him came to a pause. Even though the original threats had disappeared, Shang Xia was on full alert as he stared at the space before him. It was as though a great enemy had descended. Beside Hou Yuchun stood a well-built middle-aged man who was carrying a sword on his back. The moment he arrived, Shang Xia felt as though the tip of a sword was pointed at his chest. However, the feeling disappeared as quickly as it arrived. ¡°Returning to one¡­¡± The middle-aged man¡¯s lips quivered slightly and Shang Xia could make out a few words. When the middle-aged man was done speaking, he grabbed Hou Yuchun before disappearing from where he stood. ¡°Returning to one?¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself. ¡°Hah. I thought you were going to kill him!¡± Shang Ke¡¯s voice boomed in Shang Xia¡¯s mind. Recognizing Shang Ke¡¯s voice, Shang Xia was finally able to relax. He heaved a sigh of relief as he turned to look at his Fifth Grandfather. ¡°Who was that?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°The deputy patriarch of the Jianmen Institution, Elder Yu Chengjin.¡± Shang Ke didn¡¯t plan on hiding the other party¡¯s identity anyway. Snorting softly, Shang Xia raised an eyebrow in surprise. ¡°Did you scare him away?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not capable of that. He left on his own accord.¡± Shang Ke revealed a bitter smile of his own. ¡°What is going on today?¡± Shang Xia muttered softly before turning to look at the situation. The originally tense scene had regained its calm as the members of the Shang Clan cleaned up the street behind them. There were several corpses lining the street as those were the cultivators who tried to take advantage of the time when Shang Xia was occupied with Li Xi, Ma Qi, and Yang Chao to raid the convoy. They were slain by the remaining members of the Shang Clan. The reinforcements of the Shang Clan also arrived as they searched through the dead bodies to look for clues. Of the twenty-ish members of the Shang Clan who arrived stood a swordsman who was at the Martial Intent Realm. Even though he was clearly clad in the robes of their clan, Shang Xia didn¡¯t recognize him at all. He couldn''t help but wonder when the Shang Clan managed to nurture another Martial Intent Realm expert. A helpless sigh escaped Shang Ke¡¯s lips. ¡°We¡¯re the unfortunate ones who got caught up in this mess. There¡¯s nothing more to it. What a farce¡­¡± He quickly explained the situation to Shang Xia who was staring at him as though he was speaking gibberish. After all, no one knew what he was talking about. When he was done with his explanation, Shang Xia¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°The other institutions felt threatened by the appearance of the Rose Party and decided to come up with such a plan to draw them out from hiding?¡± ¡°Who would have thought that they would see through our scheme? We thought that they planned to give up on Yu Wugou and Qiao Han. Now, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on¡­¡± Shang Ke sighed. Shang Xia sneered slightly in response. ¡°Looks like they were supposed to be the bait for the Rose Party to draw your attention away¡­¡± However, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t done. ¡°From the looks of it, there should be several Martial Intent Realm experts among the five institutions who are spies of the Rose Party. I believe that everyone recognizes this as a fact after this incident¡­¡± ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s most likely the case.¡± Shang Ke could only laugh helplessly. ¡°I wonder who schemed against who this time¡­¡± A sneer returned to Shang Xia¡¯s lips as a beam of light shot towards Shang Ke from the direction of the institution. Receiving the transmission symbol sent from the institution, Shang Ke quickly scanned through it. His expression changed instantly, ¡°You Haibiao of the Beihai Institution is dead!¡± Shang Ke couldn¡¯t believe his eyes as he gasped, ¡°His cultivation is higher than mine. Why aren''t there any signs of his death? Shouldn¡¯t there be a wave of heaven and earth qi signaling the death of a Martia Extermination Realm expert? CH 221 The death of a Martial Extermination Ream expert outside the city was a massive event. However, Shang Ke had to suppress his curiosity as the convoy of the Shang Clan had yet to return. Tossing the matter to the back of his mind, he ordered, ¡°We can deal with it later. Let¡¯s return to the manor before deciding on anything else!¡± Even though many battles had taken place, the entire series of events didn¡¯t take a long time. The attack caught the members of the Shang Clan off guard initially, but they quickly managed to stabilize the situation. When the convoy finally started to move again, the middle-aged man that was clad in clothes belonging to the Shang Clan approached. His gaze landed on Shang Xia before turning to Shang Ke. ¡°Fifth Uncle, how should we deal with Yu Wugou and Qiao Han?¡± Waving his hand impatiently, Shang Ke snapped, ¡°If they¡¯re alive, send them to the institution. You can deal with the rest however you see fit.¡± A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. Cupping his fists, the middle-aged man turned to leave. However, he was stopped suddenly by a yell from Shang Ke. ¡°Oh wait. Come back for a bit.¡± Turning to look at Shang Xia, Shang Ke continued, ¡°This is your second uncle, Shang Jian. He¡¯s the son of your First Grandpa.¡± Shang Xia was slightly surprised when the man called Shang Ke ¡®Fifth Uncle¡¯, and guesses started forming in his mind. All of his thoughts were confirmed then. After the introductions were made, Shang Xia¡¯s expression was a little rigid. However, he still greeted Shang Jian appropriately. As for Shang Jian, the smile on his face was even more unnatural when he returned the greetings. The only reason Shang Xia greeted the man was just to be polite. Both of them seemed extremely distant from each other and it was their first time meeting. Shang Xia dug through the memories of the Original Shang Xia and discovered that he had barely any memory of the man at all! ¡°Your second uncle has always been away from the clan. He received news of the war on the Tongyou Peak and Patriarch Kou¡¯s injury and decided to return. He rushed back as quickly as he could from the Ji Continent.¡± Shang Ke gave a simple explanation. ¡°Many thanks for your concern, Second Uncle!¡± Shang Xia added. Nodding lightly, Shang Jian looked at Shang Ke and muttered, ¡°I¡¯ll go deal with the two of them.¡± As soon as he spoke, he turned to leave. Seeing how Shang Jian was walking away, Shang Ke couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious? Don¡¯t you have something you want to ask?¡± Shang Ke wasn¡¯t too used to Shang Xia keeping silent. After all, the little brat had the balls to cut in when he, Shang Bo, and Ji Wenlong were talking. ¡°If you guys plan on telling me, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll mention what I need to know. It¡¯s the same with the situation about my father.¡± Shang Xia chuckled. Taken by surprise, Shang Ke didn¡¯t know how to respond. He fell silent instantly. As the two of them followed behind the convoy, the gates of the Shang Clan Manor were eventually revealed in the distance. Shang Ke finally broke the silence. ¡°You¡¯re a smart kid. Even though you didn¡¯t go around asking us about what happened, you should have guessed it. You know that we might not tell you even if you asked anyway¡­¡± ¡°Naturally¡­ I know that my knowledge is limited by my lack of cultivation.¡± Shang Xia chucked lightly In response. A bitter smile appeared on Shang Ke¡¯s face as he shook his head. ¡°After everything that has happened, we seem to have taken absolute advantage of the situation in the battlefield between the two worlds. However, all we managed to do was to push ourselves into an even more precarious situation. In the following years, regardless if it¡¯s the Tongyou Institution or our clan, we have to raise our strengths as much as possible in order to cope! We need to consolidate the strength of our Shang Clan as soon as possible. The other three great clans are doing the same. Your guess previously was also right. The Tongyou Institution will start a mass intake of students the moment the recruitment season starts!¡± Shang Xia looked at Shang Jian who was standing some distance away and he asked, ¡°Fifth Grandpa, did Grandpa Bo step down from his position because of them?¡± With his jaws dropping slightly, Shang Ke only managed to respond after a short pause. ¡°Not exactly. Well, at least, that¡¯s not the main reason.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Shang Xia nodded before urging his horse to travel faster towards the Shang Clan Manor. Watching Shang Xia leave, Shang Ke sighed softly as he revealed an expression of distress. Before Shang Xia even arrived at the entrance, he heard Shang Xi¡¯s voice ringing angrily from the front of the convoy. ¡°Shang Yang, I guessed as much! Damn brat, you really came back! Why didn¡¯t you come to help us when we were ambushed earlier?¡± Shang Xia saw a youngster that wasn¡¯t too much older than him who was waiting at the entrance of the Shang Clan Manor snap his fan shut. There was an imploring expression on his face as he jogged over to Shang Xi to help her off her horse. ¡°You can¡¯t blame me for this! No harm will befall our Shang Clan since we¡¯re still in the Tongyou City. Didn¡¯t Second Brother lead the troops over to help you out? I have to stay here to control the situation in case it¡¯s part of the enemy¡¯s plot to lure us all away.¡± ¡°You slippery brat¡­¡± Shang Xi slapped his hand away as he tried to help her dismount. Instead, she grabbed his shoulder and pressed down mercilessly as she leaped off her mount. Gritting his teeth in pain, he pouted to show his dissatisfaction at Shang Xi¡¯s actions. However, he chose to remain quiet like an obedient child. After landing on the ground, she turned to stare at Shang Yang with a look of shock on her face. He quickly swapped out his pained expression for a fawning smile. ¡°Hehe, I was planning to give you a surprise. Oh right, I haven¡¯t congratulated you for advancing. You should have already condensed your divine sense, right?¡± She snorted in response. ¡°Damn brat, you¡¯re full of shit as per usual. What do you mean surprise? You were planning to show off to me. Hmph. If I didn¡¯t break through in the battlefield between the two worlds, won¡¯t you be laughing your head off now?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± Shang Yang¡¯s expression betrayed his true thoughts. ¡°Ninth Uncle!¡± Shang Xia leaped off his mount and ran over with a look of joy on his face. Even though Shang Yang returned with Shang Jian, it was Shang Xia¡¯s first time meeting his second uncle earlier. He wasn¡¯t too familiar with Shang Jian, but it was a different story for Shang Yang. His ninth uncle left the Tongyou Institution ten years ago, and Shang Xia used to hang out with him all the time. In the past, Shang Yang was sent out to the White Deer Paradise to learn the arts and he would return to the Tongyou City from time to time to visit them. Perhaps it was due to their similarity in age, the two of them got along really well. ¡°Haha! Little Xia, you grew so much in two short years! Hey! You¡¯re going to be as handsome as me at this rate!¡± Shang Yang smiled when he saw Shang Xia running over. Just as they were about to continue joking with each other, Shang Jian arrived at the entrance of the Shang Clan Manor. The harmonious air disappeared in an instant and it became slightly awkward. Coughing lightly, Shang Yang was about to break the silence but Shang Jian beat him to it. A smile appeared on Shang Jian¡¯s face and he turned to Shang Xi. ¡°Seventh Sister, it¡¯s been so many years¡­ Do you still remember me?¡± CH 222 In a courtyard inside the Silver Hook Casino outside the Tongyou City¡­ Yu Changjin held his finger over Hou Yuchun¡¯s dantian and only kept it after several moments. His expression was extremely sullen as he sighed softly to himself. When one of the disciples standing nearby saw the elder¡¯s attitude, a look of fury could be seen on his face. ¡°I knew it! Shang Xia is extremely evil. They were merely exchanging pointers but he chose to cripple Senior Brother Hou¡¯s cultivation!¡± A light flashed through Yu Changjin¡¯s eyes and he snapped at the disciple who spoke, ¡°Nonsense! Who told you that his cultivation was crippled?¡± The disciple who was clad in green robes stared at the elder in fright and he didn¡¯t know what to say. Another disciple of the Jianmen Institution who was a little short in stature spoke up at the side, ¡°Elder Yu, Senior Brother Hou isn¡¯t able to feel the situation in his dantian. How can he not be crippled? He can¡¯t even move his inner qi! All of us think that Shang Xia definitely caused some hidden damage to Senior Brother Hou on purpose!¡± Despite all the commotion going on around him, Hou Yuchun was still staring blankly at the space before him. He clearly hadn¡¯t gotten over Shang Xia¡¯s final strike. Yu Chengjin glanced at the despondent Hou Yuchun and sighed, ¡°His inner essence is alright. His inner qi doesn¡¯t look damaged at all. Instead, there seems to be a strange force lingering in his dantian, causing his inner qi to be sealed. That¡¯s the reason behind his current state.¡± The short disciple piped up yet again. ¡°Elder Yu, can¡¯t you try to undo the seal caused by the strange force?¡± Yu Chengjin shook his head silently. The green-robed disciple gasped in fright, ¡°How is that possible? Elder Yu, you¡¯re at the Martial Extermination Realm! Shang Xia is merely a Martial Extremity Realm disciple. How are you unable to undo the seal caused by a weakling like that?¡± ¡°Senior Brother Lu, don¡¯t be rude!¡± The short disciple snapped. Waving his hands, Yu Chengjin sighed, ¡°It¡¯s alright. This old man is indeed incapable of undoing the seal. In fact, even other Martial Extermination Realm experts might not be able to do it.¡± The short disciple widened his eyes in shock. ¡°How can that be? Is Shang Xia really that terrifying?!¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t think too much about it. Even I am surprised by the strength the kid possesses. As the saying goes, there¡¯s always a taller mountain. His martial intent is extremely weird. He managed to fuse six different types of sword qi into that final strike, and Hou Yuchun¡¯s dantian should be sealed by the weird power contained in the fusion sword qi.¡± Yu Chengjin continued, ¡°There are only two ways to undo the seal. One is to gather six experts who comprehended the same pairs of qi contained in Shang Xia¡¯s strike to shatter the seal. Even though it¡¯s a little difficult for us to do that, it¡¯s still possible. Since we¡¯re in the Tongyou City right now, I will have to request a lot of favors to make that happen.¡± A deep frown appeared on Yu Chengjin¡¯s face and he seemed to be deep in thought about something. ¡°What about the second method?¡± The green-robed disciple asked. Sighing softly, Yu Chengjin continued, ¡°The other method is to beg a Martial Dipper Realm expert for help. They can use their fate dipper to get rid of the seal on his dantian. That would be the most straightforward way to deal with the problem.¡± ¡°Martial Dipper Realm? Wouldn¡¯t that mean that we would need Kou Chongxue to personally make his move? Didn¡¯t they say that he went into hiding due to his injuries? There are countless parties with their eyes on him right now. The moment he appears, he would most likely be surrounded by his enemies. The Tongyou Institution won¡¯t agree to our request!¡± The green-robed disciple muttered. The short disciple couldn¡¯t help but snap at him again. ¡°Senior Brother Lu, just keep your mouth shut!¡± The green-robed disciple didn¡¯t seem to hear him and he got more agitated the more he analyzed. ¡°Hmph, the Tongyou Institution is such a bully! It¡¯s the first time we came over and our intention was to help them deal with the threat! Who would have thought that they would deal with it all on their own and keep all the benefits? That wasn¡¯t all, they even crippled Senior Brother Hou! If it was up to me, we should just smash their institution right here and now! We¡¯ll crush their inner division to get revenge for Senior Brother Hou. I refuse to believe that there will be another Shang Xia in their inner division!¡± Even though he yelled so loudly, none of the disciples around him backed him up. His solitary appearance looked a little lonely and disappointed after he looked around him. After watching the disrespectful scene play out in front of him, Yu Changjin hesitated for a second before muttering, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s a third way.¡± Before anyone could ask him what the third method was, his figure disappeared from his original location after leaving behind a single sentence. ¡°Wait for me here. I¡¯ll be back soon!¡± The disciples stared at each other in confusion, but the short disciple seemed to have connected the dots. One of the disciples in the group turned to ask him, ¡°Senior Brother Ai, what do you think the third way is?¡± ¡°Elder Yu definitely went to look for Shang Xia. Since he was the one who created the seal, he should be able to undo it.¡± Hou Yuchun raised his head abruptly when he heard the name. However, the green-robed disciple interrupted everyone with an exaggerated gasp. ¡°That¡¯s it! That was his plan all along! Shang Xia definitely expected Elder Yu to look for him to undo the seal! Hmph, he made our deputy patriarch, a mighty Martial Extermination Realm expert, beg him, a mere Martial Extremity Realm disciple, to undo a seal! He¡¯s planning on humiliating us! Hah. I bet he¡¯s gloating happily right now with his disgustingly arrogant expression.¡± His words managed to rouse the anger of the other disciples present. Instead of questioning the reason behind the green-robed disciple''s reason for defaming Shang Xia, all of them felt that it was indeed possible. Rage burned in their hearts when they thought about how their deputy patriarch was about to be humiliated by a weakling disciple. Even the short disciple who was the most rational among all of them was feeling a sense of anger rising in his chest. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. Hou Yuchun, who had barely opened his mouth to speak, was interrupted by the green-robed disciple yet again. Smashing his teacup on the ground, the green-robed disciple yelled, ¡°Fuck it! I can¡¯t take this anymore! Disciples of the Jianmen Institution, listen to me. We¡¯ll head over to the Tongyou Institution right now and smash their inner division to the ground. We can¡¯t allow anyone to humiliate us like this.¡± Rousing the fighting spirit of every disciple present, they charged towards the Tongyou Institution immediately. The short disciple wanted to hold them back to discuss battle strategies, but seeing as everyone was already streaming out the door, he could only arrange for a few servants to take care of Hou Yuchun before running out behind them. ¡­ The moment Shang Xia returned to the Shang Clan manor, he requested permission to obtain a rank three advancement formula. Looking at a stone tablet surrounded by thick web-like runes, Shang Xia saw the majestic words carved on it. ¡°Triple Loop Coalescence Needle.¡± CH 223 As one of the great clans, the Shang Clan had complete formulas for their disciples up to the Martial Intent Realm. Advancement formulas were just the beginning. With the foundations of their clan, they had techniques, secret arts, and all the recipes required for a cultivator to train all the way up to the Martial Intent Realm. Moreover, they weren¡¯t just random techniques or medicines. They were related in such a way that they could complement one another. In fact, the inheritance of the Shang Clan was partially related to those in the institution. That was the reason Shang Xia could train in the Chaos Essence Manual provided by the Tongyou Institution when he was at the Martial Realm. Now that Shang Xia had reached the peak of the Martial Extremity Realm, he decided to return to the clan to look for a way to break through. After Shang Ke brought out the formula for the clan¡¯s Triple Loop Coalescence Needle, he asked Shang Xia again, ¡°Are you sure you wish to use our advancement medicine? You need to know that the moment you go through with this, you won¡¯t be able to cultivate any other techniques in the Martial Intent Realm. You have to cultivate our clan¡¯s Triple Providence Chapter and your main fighting technique will need to be the Providence Spear. Without any of the three, you won¡¯t be able to reach your highest potential in the Martial Intent Realm. Think carefully. The moment you make your decision to advance with our Triple Loop Coalescence Needle, your path will be decided.¡± A chuckle left Shang Xia¡¯s lips. ¡°Fifth Grandpa, you said this three times already! Since I already made my choice, I definitely understand what using the Triple Loop Coalescence Needle entails.¡± Staring deeply into Shang Xia¡¯s eyes, Shang Ke eventually sighed, ¡°It¡¯s good that you understand. I¡¯m just afraid that you¡¯re making a hasty decision. After all, everyone is saying that you have an exceptional talent in the way of the sword and you should be cultivating sword techniques in the Martial Intent Realm. If you forcefully change your fighting style to our Shang Clan Spear Art, you will be affecting your future potential.¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but laugh in response, ¡°Fifth Grandpa, it¡¯s not about the technique, it¡¯s the cultivator!¡± Seeing as Shang Xia was adamant about using the Triple Loop Coalescence Needle, Shang Ke decided to let him do as he wished. He handed over the stone tablet before leaving. Only after Shang Ke left did Shang Xia get the chance to concentrate on the stone tablet. He started to memorize its contents. As the knowledge poured into his mind, the blood red tablet reappeared once again and words started to appear all over it. Advancement Medicine: Triple Loop Coalescence Needle Prerequisite: Grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm (Grand completion stage of the Yin Yang Realm) Main Herbs: 1x Hundred Year Old Exquisite Grass, 1 inch of Heart Essence Tree Core, 1x Earth Magnetism Essence Light Auxiliary Herbs: 1x Ebony Lingzhi, 1x Silver Thread Grass, 3x Cleansing Heaven Sand Remarks: Use the three needles at the Guanyuan, Shanzhong, and Yintang acupoints. Effects will be enhanced if the needles are stained with the essence blood of a Martial Intent Realm expert. Compatibility Rate: 70% Success Rate: 65% As Shang Xia studied the advancement formula, he tried to recall if he had prepared all the ingredients required. As the most important advancement formula belonging to the Shang Clan, the herbs required to create the advancement medicine would definitely be collected. Most of them could be found in the Shang Clan¡¯s treasury. However, Shang Xia¡¯s speed of advancement was too damn quick. He took less than three months to reach the peak of the Martial Extremity Realm from the Martial Realm! Even if the clan started to make their preparations earlier, they might not have been able to gather everything. In fact, even if they did, Shang Xia was unwilling to let the clan provide everything for free. Instead, his sights turned to the Tongyou Institution. Shang Xia might have gained a lot in the battlefield between the two worlds, but he knew who the ultimate winner was. The Tongyou Institution made it out like a bandit! Their gains could be said to be heaven-defying! Of course, Shang Xia¡¯s shadow could be said to be hidden behind most of it. When he presented his guide to comprehending the Chaos Essence Lightning Art to the institution, he earned quite a bit. He managed to obtain an entire set of cultivation techniques and some treasures along the way. However, that was a mere speck of dust if they were to compare it with the merits he gained this time. After making up his mind to mercilessly extort the institution, Shang Xia¡¯s attention turned to perfecting his advancement medicine. The words around the blood-red tablet started to change once again. ¡°Crack!¡± The soft sound produced by the fissure sounded deafening in Shang Xia¡¯s mind. He felt as though his bones were shattering. A tiny crack appeared on another face of the tablet as it extended all the way down to the base. When the crack finally reached the bottom, the words on its surface started to move once again. The optimal version of his advancement formula was created. Advancement Medicine: Triple Loop Coalescence Needle Prerequisite: Grand completion stage of the Yin Yang Realm Main Herbs: 1x Hundred Year Old Exquisite Grass, 1 inch of Heart Essence Tree Core, 1x Earth Magnetism Essence Light Auxiliary Herbs: 1x Ebony Lingzhi, 1x Silver Thread Grass, 3x Cleansing Heaven Sand Assistive Treasure: 1x Intent Guarding Incense, 1x Essence Separation Liquid, A special bath containing Intent Gathering Powder dissolved in water. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. Additional Treasure: Spirit Initiation Stone Remarks: Burn Intent Guarding Incense, soak the needles in Essence Separation Liquid before applying them to the Guanyuan, Shanzhong, and Yintang acupoints. Soak in the special bath containing dissolved Intent Gathering Powder. Compatibility Rate: 90% Success Rate: 85% Even though the formula was clearly described on the tablet, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with it. Instead, his attention was on the second crack. It was several times more serious than when the tablet cracked previously. From the looks of it, neither crack affected the functionality of the tablet. After doing it twice, Shang Xia had pretty much confirmed the guesses he had. Every time he used it to optimize an advancement formula, a crack would form! There was also a tiny voice in his mind telling him that the tablet would crumble completely the moment cracks filled its surfaces. When that happened, his soul would shatter and he would die. Yet, the burning question remained unsolved. He was unable to find a way to repair the tablet! Only a single thought remained in Shang Xia¡¯s mind. No matter what, raising his strength was the way to go. The only way he could look for a way to fix the tablet was to grow stronger! Finally snapping back to reality, he turned his attention to the formula produced by the tablet. He noticed that there were a lot of changes this time! ¡°Intent Guarding Incense? Essence Separation Liquid? Intent Gathering Powder?! What the hell are those?!¡± CH 224 ¡°Intent Guarding Incense? What is that?¡± ¡°Essence Separation Liquid¡­ Even with my experience, I never heard anything like it.¡± ¡°Oh? The Intent Gathering Powder sounds familiar. Several bottles would appear in the institution from time to time. Master Ge Muchen took it for some experiments and managed to use it to replace an ingredient in a rank two advancement formula. As a result, it¡¯s even harder to find a portion now¡­¡± Shang Xi explained the situation to Shang Xia. ¡°Where did you hear about these weird medicines? Are you sure it¡¯s useful for your advancement?¡± ¡°I heard about them back in the Coral Forest! They seem to be from the Zhu Family¡¯s inheritance and they seem to be extremely beneficial for a cultivator who¡¯s trying to form their divine sense.¡± Shang Xia started his bullshit show. Hearing that it hailed from the Zhu Family, Shang Xi quickly left her doubts behind. All of a sudden, a voice rang in their ears. ¡°I heard of the Essence Separation Liquid before.¡± Turning to stare at the source of the voice, Shang Xia¡¯s expression turned a little disappointed. However, Shang Xi quickly soothed the situation. ¡°Second brother, this is your first time seeing your nephew, right?¡± Turning to Shang Xia, she explained, ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, I called him over.¡± Nodding slightly, Shang Xia¡¯s expression eased up slightly. As Shang Jian approached them, they noticed how the aura he emitted was slightly diminished. This novel is available on "pawread dot com". A greeting escaped Shang Xia¡¯s lips after some time. ¡°Second brother, how did you hear of the Essence Separation Liquid?¡± Shang Xi asked. Nodding slowly, Shang Jian explained, ¡°I didn¡¯t remain in the Ji Continent the whole time I was away. I also toured the Qing Continent, Bing Continent, and Yan Continent. The Essence Separation Liquid is something I heard of when I was in the Yan Continent. According to them, it can allow a cultivator to accelerate the circulation of their inner qi.¡± Shang Jian turned to Shang Xi and continued, ¡°You should know that when a cultivator enters the Martial Intent Realm, condensing their divine sense is key. If they focus too much on their circulation of inner qi, their first attempt at forming their divine sense would be a lot weaker.¡± ¡°Do you know where to get some?¡± Shang Xi asked. Shaking his head in defeat, Shang Jian sighed, ¡°You should know that any medicine used to increase the success rate of a breakthrough is guarded closely by the various superpowers. The cultivator who revealed the uses of the Essence Separation Liquid was killed and his body was found in some random tavern.¡± Shang Xi¡¯s expression sank slightly when she looked at Shang Xia. However, a single sentence from him caused everyone to jump in fright. ¡°I have the recipe for the Essence Separation Liquid. Anyway, it¡¯s a rank three medicine.¡± ¡°What?! How do you have the recipe?¡± Shang Xi yelled. She wasn¡¯t the only one who was surprised. Shang Jian was equally as shocked. However, they quickly suppressed their emotions and Shang Xi reached her hand out towards Shang Xia. ¡°Hand it over!¡± A mischievous smile already appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he chuckled softly, ¡°Not only do I have the recipe for the Essence Separation Liquid, but I also know how to make the Intent Gathering Powder and Intent Guarding Incense. I don¡¯t mind handing the recipe over, but my rewards¡­¡± ¡°Rewards¡­ Damn brat, do I look like a thief who will shortchange you? Hand the recipe over! Once we make them successfully, you can use them for free. How¡¯s that?!¡± Shang Xi snapped playfully at Shang Xia. A pained expression appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he complained, ¡°You¡¯re scamming me! I can use a single portion of those medicines at most. Only the incense can be considered slightly useful after breaking through¡­¡± Gnashing her teeth, Shang Xi growled, ¡°Damn brat, you¡¯re becoming a real money grubber¡­¡± ¡­ After receiving the recipe for the three medicines written by Shang Xia, Shang Xi scanned through them before tutting slowly. ¡°Hmph, it¡¯s going to take some time to gather all the ingredients required to make the liquid and the powder¡­¡± Keeping the recipes carefully in her sleeves, Shang Xi finally returned to the main topic of the day. She started to explain the true reason she called Shang Jian over. ¡°Kid, remember how I promised to look for a suitable sword inheritance for you in the battlefield between two worlds?¡± ¡°Who would have thought that you would touch on the Martial Intent Realm in three short months?! Your martial intent also reached an unbelievable level¡­¡± Several days ago, Shang Xia¡¯s revelation of his fusion sword intent shocked everyone who witnessed it. Even Martial Extermination Realm monsters like Yu Changjin had high praises for it. A self-mocking smile appeared on Shang Xi¡¯s face as she continued, ¡°Even though you probably don¡¯t need any more help, I have to fulfill my promise. In fact, our Shang Clan obtained a sword inheritance years ago. Your second uncle was the one who learned it.¡± Laughing softly, Shang Xia changed the topic suddenly. ¡°Aunt, didn¡¯t I also ask you to get a portion of Tempering Meridian Powder?¡± Staring at him in stunned silence, a jade bottle appeared in her hand. She tossed it over and muttered, ¡°Oh yeah. That was another reason I was looking for you. I forgot about it after hearing about the medicines you brought up earlier.¡± Grabbing the bottle, Shang Xia laughed happily. He kept it in his Embroidered Cloud Case and continued, ¡°Actually, I do require another sword technique. Once I practice the last one, my martial intent will reach its limit.¡± Shang Jian spoke before Shang Xi had the chance to say anything. He couldn¡¯t contain his curiosity after hearing about Shang Xia¡¯s sword intents from Shang Ke. ¡°What martial intent did you comprehend exactly?¡± Realizing his mistake, Shang Jian quickly added, ¡° ¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I stepped out of line. It¡¯s your secret¡­¡± However, Shang Xia laughed in response and looked towards Shang Xi. ¡°So¡­ What are you going to use to trade for information on my martial intent?¡± Naturally, Shang Xia was providing valuable information to the clan. The Shang Clan might own some sword manuals, but it didn¡¯t possess a guide for disciples to comprehend sword intent at all. As such, his revelation would also bring him a ton of merit from the clan. It wouldn¡¯t be fair for him to reveal it for nothing as the clan wouldn¡¯t give him cultivation resources for free either. Of course, Shang Xi wasn¡¯t in the best of mood after negotiating with the little money grubber for his medicine recipes. She snapped in irritation, ¡°Hah¡­ You took everything of value I can offer! I¡¯m broke you damn brat! I have nothing left!¡± ¡°Fine, fine¡­¡± With no other choice, Shang Xi could only turn to Shang Jian. ¡°I would have to trouble second brother this time¡­¡± Nodding slightly, Shang Jian turned to Shang Xia. ¡°Our Shang Clan possesses a few sword manuals, but they¡¯re nowhere near as complete as our spear manuals. From the time I left the clan, the Irregular Sword Manual seemed to have disappeared from our Shang Clan¡¯s memory. I¡¯ll teach you all I know about the Irregular Sword Manual. Cultivators at the Martial Extremity Realm who reached enlightenment in the sword manual might be able to comprehend a sword intent.¡± After he spoke, he brought out a simple book and handed it over to Shang Xia. ¡°This is the inheritance of the Irregular Sword Manual I recorded. I only managed to comprehend so much and everything is recorded within. You need to rely on yourself to peer deeper into the technique.¡± Drawing his sword after handing the sword manual over, he decided to give Shang Xia a practical demonstration. A chilly sword light emerged from the tip of his blade as it shot to the skies above the Shang Clan Manor. CH 225 After displaying all the moves in the Irregular Sword Manual, Shang Jian took his leave. Even though Shang Xia closed his eyes halfway through the demonstration, he was able to detect everything going on around him. He carved the memory of Shang Jian¡¯s movements and the feeling of how the energy flowed deep into his mind. Carefully running through the entire sequence in his mind, he finally opened his eyes. ¡°What an amazing sword art!¡± Shang Xi sighed at the side, ¡°Hah¡­ He actually chose to impart the technique to you through his divine sense. Even with his cultivation at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, he will only be able to recover after a few months.¡± Shang Xia stared at her with his eyes wide open. He didn¡¯t expect his second uncle he hadn¡¯t seen since his birth to assist him in such a way. However, he quickly changed the topic. ¡°Our Shang Clan actually had an inheritance for Martial Extremity Realm cultivators. Why didn¡¯t I know about this? Does that mean that we also have an inheritance for Martial Intent Realm experts?¡± Shang Xi shook her head and sighed, ¡°Of course not! Well, that was probably the reason behind his departure¡­ He left the city to search for better techniques. After he returned, he seemed to have reached the limits of whatever technique he learned. He¡¯s currently stuck at a bottleneck and the moment he breaks through, he should be able to leave behind a complete Martial Intent Realm sword inheritance.¡± ¡°Aunt, are the both of you on good terms?¡± Nodding her head slightly, she sighed, ¡°Our relationship was great when we were kids. Anyway, the grudges of those in our generation shouldn¡¯t affect the next¡­¡± Even though Shang Xia maintained a smile on his face, his expression remained somber. He chose to remain silent about the matter. Seeing as the situation wouldn¡¯t change in a short period of time, Shang Xi decided to talk about something else instead. ¡°You should be able to feel the similarity between the Irregular Sword Manual and our Shang Clan¡¯s famous Irregular Steps. Both of them are part of the same technique. When Shang Jian left, no one in the clan was able to attain the same achievements in the Irregular Sword Manual anymore. However, the Irregular Steps became a part of our clan¡¯s core technique.¡± Shang Xia nodded in response. ¡°Of course I realized¡­¡± He noticed the similarities when he comprehended the technique, and he wouldn¡¯t dig into the details of how Shang Xi got Shang Jian to come over to teach him. He would only silently note down the grace Shang Xi had shown him. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. In the following days, Shang Xia returned to his original routine of training. Since his cultivation had reached the peak of the Martial Extremity Realm, the amount of inner qi in his body wouldn¡¯t increase anymore. He could only practice his sword arts and continue to create talismans. No matter what, Shang Xia would find some time to practice creating talismans in his free time every day. He could basically craft rank one talismans without mistakes every time now. As long as he put his mind to it, he would be able to make three of them a day! The problem only started when he tried to craft rank two talismans. If he gave it his all, he might be able to create one a day. Of course, that was assuming he didn¡¯t fail at any step. As long as he made a mistake, he wouldn¡¯t be able to gather enough inner qi to make a new rank two talisman from scratch. Regardless, talisman crafting was only a complementary art he used to increase his strength. He wouldn¡¯t pour all his attention into it. He would only make a few inscriptions on the talisman he was working on every day, only completing a rank two talisman every week or so. Even though that was the case, pausing his attempts every day and picking up where he left off perfectly allowed him to hone his techniques even more. It didn¡¯t come as a surprise when he noticed his success rate of crafting talismans increasing significantly. Most of his time was spent on the Irregular Sword Manual. After Shang Xia refined the third portion of Tempering Meridian Powder, his meridians could be said to have reached the limit of their durability. With his increased ability to circulate a larger amount of inner qi, sealing his sword intent into his newly invented talismans back in the battlefield between two worlds shouldn¡¯t be a problem. ¡­ As he trained in the Irregular Sword Manual, he discovered that once he used it in conjunction with the Irregular Steps, it would display its full might. Out of the seven sword manuals Shang Xia trained in, the Dual Interference Sword Manual could be ranked number one in terms of raw power. His River Sword Policy would come in at a close second, and the Irregular Sword Manual would be ranked third. If he took the intricacies of each technique into consideration, the River Sword Policy would take the first spot while the Irregular Sword Manual would come next. After talking about the raw strength and intricacies of all his techniques, one had to mention the type of sword intent Shang Xia could comprehend behind each sword art. Surprisingly, the Quandary Manual that hadn¡¯t been ranked among them stood the highest with the dao of life and death. However, the Irregular Sword Manual would maintain its second spot. Of all the sword arts he trained in, the Irregular Sword Manual would consistently rank in the top three in any aspect! Like the Irregular Steps, the sword dao contained in the Irregular Sword Manual focused on distance. It seemed as though Shang Jian was an impressive swordsman indeed. He not only displayed the moves in the sword manual, he also left Shang Xia with the insights he gained. He extrapolated his knowledge and touched on the basis of manipulating the distance between the user and his target. Just that fact alone touched on the dao of space. As such, the Irregular Steps far surpassed the Dual Interference Sword Manual and the River Sword Policy. Back when the Shang Clan¡¯s convoy was ambushed in the city, Shang Xia fought several promising cultivators in succession. Li Xi¡¯s Tide Sword Manual was far from ordinary as it allowed him to comprehend a secondary sword intent, Twilight. Hou Yuchun was also a formidable opponent. He was able to touch on the theory behind crests and throughs, eventually comprehending the dao of elevation. It was a pity he chose to appear when Shang Xia had already lost his patience. No matter how intricate his sword intent was, it was but a speck of dust compared to Shang Xia¡¯s fusion of six different sword intents. He didn¡¯t manage to show off a single move before he was defeated. To speak truthfully, out of the four cultivators, Li Xi, Ma Qi, Yang Chao, and Hou Yuchun, Hou Yuchun was the strongest of the four. It couldn¡¯t be denied that his fighting abilities were much higher than any of the three before him. However, if Shang Xia were to give a proper evaluation, he felt that Yang Chao was the one with the highest potential. Yang Chao¡¯s Agile Sword Art allowed him to walk down the path of movement and stillness. Seeing the potential behind the sword art, Shang Xia even gave him some tips from his original world. If Yang Chao understood his advice and broke through his bottleneck, Shang Xia was afraid that he would have to use his full strength when facing the man. Coming back to the Irregular Sword Manual, Shang Xia had to say that Shang Jian¡¯s insights were really useful. It allowed Shang Xia to cultivate with half the effort to achieve twice the effects. The more he trained in the Irregular Sword Manual, the deeper his understanding of the dao. He recalled the insights he gained during his battle with the four cultivators of the other institutions and in a few short days, he managed to reach the large completion stage of the Irregular Sword Manual. The seventh sword in his dantian was starting to form. The moment it was completed, Shang Xia¡¯s Yin Yang Sword Formation would experience a huge increase in strength! That would also signify that he had reached the true limits of his cultivation realm. Even though the dao of Yin and Yang was supposed to be limitless, Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation was the one that stopped him from gathering more sword intents! With his Yin Yang Essence Qi¡¯s ability to transform into seven different pairs of qi, other Martial Extremity Realm cultivators could only be left behind in the dust. ¡°The Yin Yang Sword Formation doesn¡¯t describe my martial intent well¡­ With the formation of seven sword intents, I¡¯ll formally change the name of my martial intent to the Seven Laceration Sword! The name implies everything. Seven sword intents are contained in one attack.¡± CH 226 Ever since the battle along the street the other day, You Haibiao¡¯s death was confirmed and the city was thrown into a slight flurry. Even though there were many rumors about the reason behind You Haibiao¡¯s death, the higher-ups of the various institutions chose to remain silent about it. Under the guise of their indifference, more than half a month passed. The news of You Haibiao¡¯s death also started to fade. In the half a month, the convoys of the Ji, Liu, and Yun clans returned to the city in succession. Every time one of them returned, a huge commotion would break out in the city. It was especially so when the Liu Family returned. Liu Jitang¡¯s death spread through the city, bringing a huge amount of attention to the Liu Clan. If not for the fact that Liu Zhiyuan¡¯s advancement to the Martial Extermination Realm was also revealed to the city, the Liu Clan might have already been flattened by their enemies. That wasn¡¯t the only effect Liu Zhiyuan brought to the city. With the attention the Liu Clan was getting, the topic of Martial Extermination Realm experts quickly became all the rage. It didn¡¯t take long before the details of the war on the Tongyou Peak were dug up. The cultivators in the city finally learned about the true experts hidden in the Tongyou Institution. The upper division instructor, Liu Qinglan, Shang Lubing (Shang Bing) of the Contributions Division, and Dong Qianzui of the Scripture Depository were actually hidden experts in the Tongyou Institution! After the events that happened in the battlefield between two worlds, Dong Qianzui and Liu Jitang sacrificed their lives. But it didn¡¯t end there. Liu Zhiyuan, Shang Ke, and Kang Ci broke through to the Martial Extermination Realm! Because of that, the Institution became even stronger than before! After hearing the news, many cultivators finally realized an extremely important point. Shang Ke of the Shang Clan also broke through to the Martial Extermination Realm! That would mean that they possessed two peak-level experts in their ranks! How could that not surprise the various powers in the city? Was the ranking of the four great clans about to change? One had to know that the Shang Clan was only able to rise because of Kou Chongxue¡¯s strong support. That reason alone caused many second rate families to develop a sense of hatred and jealousy for the Shang Clan. Many people thought that the Shang Clan lucked out to be chosen by Kou Chongxue. They felt that if their clans were chosen instead, they would be able to achieve the same! However, Shang Ke¡¯s ascension shut them all up. Now, the Shang Clan was really about to soar into the heavens. With two Martial Extermination Realm experts at their helm, along with Shang Bo being said to have reached the fourth layer of the Martial Extermination Realm, they could do as they wished in the Tongyou City. When speculations were going around, another piece of news shocked the public. In fact, it was so sudden that even the higher-ups of the other institutions were caught off guard. Shang Bo resigned as the patriarch of the Shang Clan and formally took on the role of the institution¡¯s deputy patriarch. Unlike before when he was holding both positions in the clan and the institution, he was solely focused on the institution now. Shang Ke would take his place as the patriarch of the clan, freeing him from his original responsibilities. ¡°What the hell! Did the original patriarch of the Shang Clan kick himself out of his clan?!¡± ¡°Hah. It¡¯s just for show. If the Shang Clan really runs into trouble, there¡¯s no way he will sit back and watch!¡± ¡°Are you stupid? There¡¯s practically no difference between the Tongyou Institution and the four great clans at this point! So what if Shang Bo isn¡¯t the patriarch?¡± ¡°If we don¡¯t count Shang Bo as part of the Shang Clan¡¯s strength anymore, wouldn¡¯t that mean that the Shang Clan would still rank last out of the four clans?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget about the allocation of resources in the battlefield between two worlds. The Shang Clan gained the most this time! The institution cleared out the Coral Forest and dominated the Four Spiritual Peaks and split some of the profits among the four great clans. From the number of carriages in each clan¡¯s convoy, we can easily tell that the Shang Clan obtained close to three times the resources allocated to the other clans! If there¡¯s no mistake, the Shang Clan¡¯s strength will experience a sharp rise in a bit.¡± ¡°...¡± As the city broke out into a flurry of discussion, Yu Chengjin appeared at the gates of the Shang Clan after speaking to the higher-ups of the institution and strategizing his approach. ¡°It¡¯s our honor to host Elder Yu! Please come in!¡± Shang Ke welcomed Yu Changjin personally. Even though he was a little flabbergasted by his arrival, he still acted politely. After the tea was served and the two exchanged several words of pleasantries, Yu Changjin revealed his actual intentions. ¡°I wonder if Young Master Shang Xia is currently at home? I have something I wish to request from him.¡± Yu Changjin asked. Shang Ke¡¯s eyebrows shot upwards and he couldn¡¯t be more confused. What the hell did a Martial Extermination Realm expert want with a brat that was at the Martial Extremity Realm? It even sounded like he needed something from the kid! A thought flashed through Shang Ke¡¯s mind suddenly but he wouldn¡¯t be dumb enough to speak of it out loud. He seemed to realize what Yu Changjin was there for. He could guess that it had something to do with the battle back then. Without asking for any more details, he yelled for someone to bring Shang Xia over. When Shang Xia completed the last rune on his talisman, he heard a report coming from outside the door. Placing his brush down, he gently blew on his newly refined talisman and watched as the ink dried. He chuckled to himself. ¡°Hehe, he¡¯s finally here. Mister three hundred silver essence¡­ Hehe¡­¡± ¡­ When Shang Xia entered the hall where Shang Ke and Yu Changjin were waiting, Yu Changjin¡¯s expression turned serious. He was unable to see through Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation at all. Turning to Shang Ke, he chuckled softly, ¡°Your clan is about to welcome another Martial Intent Realm expert. Haha. This kid isn¡¯t even twenty yet! When we were his age, our achievements were far from his!¡± A tinge of admiration could be heard in his voice. ¡°Senior, you¡¯re too kind. I don¡¯t deserve your praise.¡± Chuckling softly, Shang Xia continued, ¡°I wonder why you have summoned me? Is there something you require?¡± Clearing his throat, Yu Changjin explained, ¡°I won¡¯t hide it from you. After watching you fight Li Xi and Yang Chao, I planned to let a disciple in my charge broaden his horizons. I summoned him over to challenge you but he acted too arrogantly and you taught him a lesson. He finally understood what it meant for there to be a taller mountain out there. Your great achievements in the way of the sword really impressed me. However, that little brat was too useless. Ever since he was defeated the other day, he can¡¯t get over his defeat. He might not have suffered any external injuries but there seems to be a weird seal in his dantian. I had no choice but to come and look for you. Little friend, do you have any ideas on what I can do?¡± Just the way Yu Changjin spoke to Shang Xia was shocking enough. For him to put down his pride as a Martial Extermination Realm expert to speak to Shang Xia so cordially, Shang Xia didn¡¯t dare to reject the man at all! In fact, he might even start a massive feud between the Shang Clan and Yu Changjin if he dared to spout any bullshit like he was used to doing. Without bothering with Shang Ke who was signaling him with his eyes, Shang Xia brought out the talisman he just created and handed it over to Yu Changjin. ¡°Elder Yu, there¡¯s no need for such formalities. This only happened because I was unable to control my strength properly. I injured fellow brother Hou on accident, and I hope that he doesn¡¯t hold a grudge against me. Please take this sword talisman as a sign of my apology. Apply it to his Guan acupoint and he should be cured.¡± Yu Changjin received the talisman with a strange look on his face. Seeing the sincere look on Shang Xia¡¯s face, he felt that there was no way the kid would mess with him. However, he gasped in shock when he studied the runes on the talisman. ¡°This¡­ This is a new type of talisman!¡± It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Shang Xia nodded his head while ignoring Shang Ke who was gasping audibly at the side. ¡°Indeed.¡± Keeping the talisman hastily, a smile returned to Yu Changjin¡¯s face and he asked, ¡°How much would it cost to make a talisman like this?¡± Chuckling out loud, Shang Xia replied, ¡°I wonder if Brother Hou won his pai gow game the other day? Didn¡¯t he bet 300 silver essence on it?¡± CH 227 The talisman Shang Xia created could barely be considered a rank two talisman, and it cost him 10 silver essence at best. However, he merely valued it at 300 silver essence when asked by Yu Changjin. Even though he had already multiplied the value of the talisman by tens of times, he was still doing Yu Changjin a great favor. After Yu Changjin had left, Shang Ke finally couldn¡¯t hold himself back. ¡°Is that really a new type of talisman?!¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°I heard from Shang Quan that you managed to create rank two talismans. How did you manage to create a new type of talisman so quickly? How are their effects anyway?¡± Shang Ke continued to ask. A bitter smile formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he explained, ¡°Well, the new talisman isn¡¯t easily refined. If I stick to my original training schedule, I can make one in about ten days. Anyway, the most important thing right now is not about how fast I can make it. I can increase the speed slightly, but I¡¯m lacking the resources required to make them.¡± A sigh escaped Shang Ke¡¯s lips when he heard what the kid said. ¡°Indeed. The Yun Clan is the main distributor of ingredients used to craft talismans in our Tongyou City. It¡¯s especially so for talisman paper. Even the institution has to request a portion of talisman paper from the Yun Clan each year. Even though it¡¯s possible for us to make our own talisman paper, the process is slow and our craftsmen can only make those up to the second rank. We can¡¯t match the Yun Clan in either quantity or quality¡­¡± That was the difference between a clan with solid foundations and an upstart great clan like the Shang Clan. The Shang Clan¡¯s ascension might look mighty in the eyes of the commoners, but their accumulations and foundations were pretty tragic. Even though they obtained a huge amount of resources based on their contributions in the battlefield between the two worlds, they wouldn¡¯t be able to fully make use of them to create high leveled items. After all, the craftsmen of the Shang Clan were much less accomplished than those in the other great clans or the institution. Taking Duan Hong for example¡­ At that moment, he could only repair graded weapons. He wasn¡¯t good enough to create them yet, but the entire clan was betting on him to achieve a breakthrough the moment he crafted Shang Xia¡¯s spear. As for their chemist, they could only create medicine lower than the second rank. Their in-house talisman master was barely as accomplished as Shang Xia! The major barrier in terms of weapons refinement was to create graded weapons, while the rank three level proved to be a huge bottleneck for the other arts. If they overlooked the fact that they had two Martial Extermination Realm experts, the Shang Clan was basically a castle of sand. Shang Xia hesitated for a moment before avoiding any more questions on the topic of talismans. ¡°Fifth Grandpa, did you guys manage to uncover the mastermind behind the raid on our convoy?¡± ¡°Everything is confusing. Every great clan and power seems to be suspicious, but all of them could provide an alibi. It¡¯s going to be difficult to make any real progress in our investigation.¡± Shang Ke shook his head in defeat. ¡°Right. What are the members of the other institutions doing in our Tongyou City anyway?¡± Shang Xia finally broached the topic. ¡°Hmph. They¡¯re just here to fish for benefits.¡± Shang Ke chuckled before continuing, ¡°The most important thing you need to do is to focus on breaking through to the Martial Intent Realm. Let us worry about the rest.¡± ¡­ Even after so much time in seclusion, Shang Xia could tell that the situation among the institutions wasn¡¯t as calm as it seemed. Shang Ke could hide all he wanted, but Shang Xia knew that the undercurrents were brewing. In order to arrive back at his courtyard, he had to cross a training plaza that was surrounded by lush greenery. It was where disciples of the Shang Clan who hadn¡¯t stepped into the Martial Realm would train. The moment one was ready to step on the path of cultivation at the tenth year of age, they would train tirelessly in the training plaza, accumulating fighting experience while improving their cultivation. That was also where Shang Xia trained in the past. ¡°Sixth Young Master!¡± Many disciples of the Shang Clan greeted him the moment he appeared. Ordinarily, he would return their greetings with a smile on his face. However, he had a lot on his mind at the moment and he merely nodded before quickening his steps. Among the direct disciples of the Shang Clan, Shang Xia was the sixth to be born, and thus his title. He hardly saw his cousins, and there were even some he hadn¡¯t seen before in his life. Just as he was about to leave, a frosty light flashed in the corner of his eye and he raised his guard instantly. He heard a panicky voice ringing through the skies, ¡°Third Sister, wait!¡± A snort left Shang Xia¡¯s lips as he flicked his wrists to toss out a talisman. As soon as it appeared, it burned with a bright yellow flame before turning into a golden screen that hovered in the air beside him. It was one of the rank two talismans he learned in the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture, and it was the only proper defensive talisman he managed to craft! It was called the Golden Lantern! The moment it appeared, a frosty beam smashed heavily into it. A dent several inches deep formed on the surface of the golden screen, but it was unable to penetrate any further. As the light dissipated, the figure of a short sword was revealed. Shang Xia¡¯s gaze followed the trajectory the sword came from and his gaze rested on a lady who looked around twenty years old. She gnashed her teeth as she tried to push the sword in further to destroy the golden screen. No matter how hard she tried, the golden screen around Shang Xia remained firm. It didn¡¯t tremble in the slightest. Beside her stood a young man who possessed strikingly similar facial features. Unlike her, he had an awkward expression plastered on his face. Clearly, he was the one who yelled earlier as he tried to stop her. Shang Xia¡¯s gaze shifted yet again and he looked at a youngster who just arrived at the training plaza. The kid looked extremely anxious. The two of them hadn¡¯t met in a long time but Shang Xia recognized him instantly. He was Shang Fu, Shang Ke¡¯s grandson! Well, Shang Ke was Shang Yang¡¯s father, and Shang Fu was Shang Yang¡¯s descendant! He was born later than Shang Xia, and everyone called him the seventh young master of the Shang Clan! After glancing at Shang Fu, his gaze was drawn away by a mature-looking woman who exuded a dignified aura. She was standing behind the young lady who attacked him and the young man When their gazes met, Shang Xia felt a trace of danger. ¡°Martial Intent Realm!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s pupils constricted and his gaze landed on the long sword in the mature-looking woman¡¯s hand. It looked slightly familiar, but he had no idea where he had seen it before. From the time Shang Xia was sneak attacked to the time he noticed the mature-looking lady, not much time had passed. The disciples in the plaza finally reacted. ¡°Hey! What are you doing?!¡± It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°Assassin! There¡¯s an assassin in our Shang Clan Manor!¡± ¡°Sixth Young Master, be careful!¡± ¡°...¡± There were many courageous young kids who rushed towards the young lady in a fit of anger. However, Shang Xia stopped them with a simple wave of his hand. ¡°Who are you?¡± Shang Xia knew that intruders were unlikely to appear in the training plaza in the heart of the Shang Clan Manor. He had an idea of who they were, but he needed to hear it from them. Naturally, his expression wasn¡¯t friendly when he spoke to them. After all, they just sneak attacked him. They should be thanking the gods that he hadn¡¯t counterattacked. ¡°Sixth¡­ Sixth brother, let me do the introductions¡­¡± Shang Fu approached and stuttered. CH 228 ¡°Sixth¡­ Sixth brother, let me do the introductions¡­¡± Shang Fu caught his breath before looking at the mature-looking lady behind the siblings. ¡°This is your Second Aunt. She¡¯s called Xu Huizhu.¡± Pointing at the two in front of her, he continued, ¡°They¡¯re her children, and they¡¯re fraternal twins. This is your second brother Shang Bei, and your third sister, Shang Dong. Second Uncle might have started his family when he traveled around the world, but they would return to the Tongyou City from time to time¡­ We¡¯re all family here!¡± A forced smile hung on Shang Xia¡¯s face when he heard Shang Fu¡¯s explanation. Because of his response, Shang Fu became even more awkward. Shang Bei and Shang Dong instantly felt that he was looking down on them when they saw his expression. ¡°This is a misunderstanding!¡± Shang Fu yelled loudly when he noticed the situation growing tenser and tenser. He quickly waved to the disciples who were gathering around them. ¡°Go away, go away! We¡¯re all part of the same family here! There¡¯s nothing to look at here!¡± Even though Shang Xia hardly came back to the Shang Clan Manor, many disciples recognized him. When they heard that there were two more direct members of the clan, a look of suspicion could be seen in their eyes. However, they knew that it wasn¡¯t time to speak up then. Naturally, they weren¡¯t the only ones who were confused. Shang Xia was equally clueless. In fact, he had no idea why he was called the sixth young master. Now, he finally saw two more members of the clan from the same generation. He might have heard of them in the past, but this was their first time meeting. Well, since his uncle had appeared, it made sense for there to also be an aunt¡­ His second uncle couldn¡¯t possibly remain a bachelor all his life, could he? By extension, the appearance of Shang Bei and Shang Dong started to make sense too. Even though he was still irritated that Shang Dong sneakily attacked him, the initial sense of anger had already disappeared. After all, the sneak attack didn¡¯t succeed. He was also unwilling to start a feud with members of the same clan because of a small incident like that. The smile slowly returned to his face and he withdrew the golden screen. The short sword clattered to the ground. The more casual Shang Xia¡¯s actions were, the more Shang Dong felt that he was looking down on them. After all, he didn¡¯t even bother addressing them after withdrawing his defenses. She felt that he wasn¡¯t giving them the respect they deserve! ¡°Hold it right there!¡± Shang Dong¡¯s sharp yell rang in his ears and a frown formed on his face. ¡°Forget it! You shouldn¡¯t have attacked him in the first place.¡± Shang Bei quickly interrupted. Shang Fu added, ¡°Third sister, all of you just came back and you¡¯re not familiar with the manor. Why don¡¯t I bring you over to Uncle Jian¡¯s place for now?¡± As Shang Xia turned around, a chilly expression could be seen on his face. He didn¡¯t harp on the matter of her sneak attacking him earlier, but it didn¡¯t mean she could shout and yell at him however she liked. ¡°What do you mean by that? Are you looking down on us?¡± Shang Dong grabbed the sword that had fallen to the ground and pointed it at Shang Xia. ¡°Hehe. It really is the Fortification Sword Art.¡± Shang Xia snorted lightly. He might not wish to form a grudge against the other members of the Shang Clan the first time they met, but he couldn¡¯t hide the slight sneer on his face. ¡°What¡¯s the problem? Do you think you¡¯re very impressive because you¡¯re from the Shang Clan? Do you think that we really wanted to come back here?¡± Shang Dong snapped. She didn¡¯t know why, but anger filled her heart when she saw the look on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Third sister, enough!¡± Shang Fu¡¯s expression turned serious, but none of them were paying him any more attention. Hearing the disrespect she had for the clan, Shang Xia¡¯s expression finally changed. A snort left his lips. ¡°Our Shang Clan might not be impressive, but we¡¯re not begging anyone to come back and act like they own the place. We don¡¯t need people coming around to spout their bullshit and look down on us either.¡± ¡°Sixth brother, just¡­ Just let it be¡­¡± Shang Fu chimed in weakly at the side. ¡°Spouting bullshit? Are you insulting me right now?¡± Shang Dong flew into a fit of rage before turning around. ¡°Mother, look at this! I told you the Shang Clan doesn¡¯t welcome us back! The moment we came back, people started looking down on us! Hmph!¡± She conveniently forgot that she was the one who sneak attacked the other party in his own home as she complained incessantly towards her mother. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but shake his head in response. ¡°I didn¡¯t look down on you initially, but now, you¡¯re asking for it.¡± As soon as the words left his mouth, Shang Dong leaped towards him. ¡°Asshole, eat my sword!¡± A frosty light returned to surround her blade as it chopped straight towards Shang Xia¡¯s chest, If her sneak attack previously was considered half-serious, this time, she looked like she wouldn¡¯t stop until he was dead. Facing such a weak attack, Shang Xia didn¡¯t bother moving even when the sword was about to reach him. ¡°Hmph! Who cares about your Shang Clan¡¯s technique? I heard that he¡¯s the leader of the outer division of the Tongyou Institution. What a disgrace!¡± Shang Dong sneered in her heart. Even if I don¡¯t kill him, I have to scare him so that he stays out of my way in the future! Hmph. I¡¯ll just give him some rank two medicine in the future to get rid of his scars if I accidentally wound him¡­ A triumphant scene played out in her mind. After suppressing Shang Xia, they would be able to raise their heads high in the family! She would prove to her father that she was better than someone of Shang Bo¡¯s direct bloodline! After all, her father couldn¡¯t stop talking about him! It was an amazing feat for her to think so far before she even landed a successful blow. It was as though she had forgotten that her sneak attack failed miserably earlier. A yell from her mother caused her to snap back to reality. ¡°Be careful!¡± ¡°Hmph. Mother is still too kind. She¡¯s afraid that I¡¯ll make a mess of things and reminded him to be careful.¡± Shang Dong chuckled to herself. However, she soon realized that she had lost control of her sword. The world started spinning around her and the next thing she knew, her sword was flying back at her. ¡°Be careful!¡± Shang Bei yelled at the side as he drew his sword to protect her. ¡°Sixth brother, please go easy on her!¡± Shang Fu¡¯s yell came from the side too. Shang Dong finally realized¡­ ¡°They were reminding me!¡± Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" ¡°Clang!¡± The sound of metal scraping against metal rang in her ears and several swords flew through the air. ¡°Ah!¡± Shang Bei yelled as his palm was sliced open. Blood dripped to the ground below. ¡°Buzz¡­¡± The swords belonging to the two of them clattered to the ground while trembling violently. ¡°Preposterous!¡± A yell came from behind the two as Xu Huizhu drew her sword. CH 229 Even when Shang Xia counter-attacked earlier, he had his mind on something else. Only when he flung their weapons away did he realize that she was trying to establish her dominance in the Shang Clan by using him as an example. He didn¡¯t know what happened twenty years ago, and the elders in the clan were reluctant to reveal anything to him. As time slowly passed, Shang Xia no longer bothered to press for an answer. Even though he had heard the names of his various uncles before, it was the first time he was learning of Shang Jian¡¯s existence! He wasn¡¯t the only one. Among the later generation disciples of the Shang Clan, many of them didn¡¯t know they had an elder called Shang Jian. That was also why his relationship with the rest of the members of the clan was pretty estranged. Regardless, his sense of belonging towards the Shang Clan still remained. That was also why the older generation of the Shang Clan was more accepting towards him compared to those in Shang Xia¡¯s generation. It was a pity the sense of belonging died with him. His children didn¡¯t feel the same way towards the Shang Clan. The feelings were mutual as the members of the Shang Clan found them a little foreign too. Tossing their sense of belonging to one side, Xu Huizhu and her children¡¯s desire to be accepted into the clan was real. They had been wandering cultivators for as long as they could remember, and the feeling of joining a family was something they yearned for. It was too bad their sense of pride caused them to act in such a way towards Shang Xia. They felt that in order to be accepted and respected in the family, they would have to show off their strength! One could argue that their method was correct, but the fact was that they had chosen the wrong target to establish their prestige! Shang Bei and Shang Dong were both in the Martial Extremity Realm. As twins, they had a special set of techniques that would allow them to borrow each other¡¯s strength to display frightening combat abilities. It was a shame they couldn¡¯t even display it in front of Shang Xia. They were defeated in a flash! Seeing as their plan was destroyed by the other party and her children had suffered some grievances at the hands of Shang Xia, Xu Huizhu couldn¡¯t hold herself back anymore. The moment she drew her sword, Shang Xia realized why he had found it familiar before. It was similar to Shang Jian¡¯s sword! The only difference was that it was a little shorter. As the blade left its sheath, the air around Shang Xia solidified. He knew that no matter where he ran, he wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid the sword. From the feeling he was getting, Shang Xia felt that she was at least at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. Even so, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t bothered by her superior cultivation. It wasn¡¯t the first time he fought a Martial Intent Realm cultivator at the large completion stage. To put it bluntly, he even killed a few of them. Her cultivation was higher than Shang Xia, but when it came to sword techniques, she was far from Shang Xia who had comprehended seven sword intents! After she drew her sword, Shang Xia noticed that there was a serious flaw in her technique despite the power contained in it. He started to hesitate. He didn¡¯t know if he should straight up defeat her, or if he should show her the flaw in her technique. Even though he didn¡¯t like the way she and her children were acting, she was still an elder in the clan. Shang Xia was able to act as he pleased against Shang Dong as they were both from the same generation. If he defeated Xu Huizhu, people might perceive his actions as disrespectful regardless of the reasons behind them. He was probably the only Martial Extremity Realm cultivator who could be thinking about so many things when up against a Martial Intent Realm cultivator. Just as he was about to draw his Jade Creek Sword, a light flashed through his eyes. He closed the Embroidered Cloud Case that contained the sword. We are "pawread dot com", find us on google. ¡°Hold it right here!¡± A commanding roar came from the skies and a frosty light descended to suppress the sword light surrounding Xu Huizhu¡¯s blade. ¡°Old man, your son and daughter just got bullied by him and you¡¯re stopping me?!¡± Xu Huizhu glared at the newcomer as she tried to break free from his restraint. ¡°Enough! Do you think we haven¡¯t embarrassed ourselves enough? You¡¯re threatening to bully someone of the younger generation with your superior cultivation!¡± Shang Jian was clearly enraged. He, who had always been a man of few words, said so much this time. He increased the pressure on Xu Huizhu and forcefully suppressed her sword light. No matter what, they had been together for quite some time now. She could feel that there was a reason behind his action and she quickly regained her calm. However, she didn¡¯t forget to shoot him a glare before calling for Shang Dong and Shang Bei to leave. From the time she drew her sword, Shang Xia hadn¡¯t been flustered at all. He merely stared at them calmly as the events unfolded. Only after watching his wife and children leave did Shang Jian turn to face Shang Xia. He didn¡¯t know what to say. Luckily, or unluckily for him, Shang Xia was too lazy to hear it even if he did have an explanation for what happened. Unwilling to make the situation more awkward than it already was, Shang Xia nodded to indicate his understanding before turning to leave. Shang Jian watched as Shang Xia got further away and he opened his mouth several times but no words came out. He eventually chose to remain silent. ¡°This kid might not know what happened in the past, and he doesn¡¯t seem to care at all. Haha. From a certain perspective, his attitude reflects most of what the younger generation of our Shang Clan thinks.¡± Shang Ke appeared out of nowhere and approached Shang Jian. Staying silent for a moment, Shang Jian muttered softly, ¡°I understand.¡± Surprisingly, Shang Ke shook his head in response. ¡°You might not fully understand. You left for more than 20 years! Our clan awaited your return for so long, and your third uncle¡¯s lack of insistence to pursue the matter of you running away from home gave you a proper reason to return. However, that can only provide you with a reason to return. It cannot change how the other members of our Shang Clan look at you. In their eyes, Shang Bo had to lower his head for a youth who didn¡¯t know better. How do you think they feel after learning that? Shouldn¡¯t you know better who was wrong?¡± After speaking, Shang Ke chose to leave. Only Shang Jian remained where he was standing motionless as thoughts ran through his mind. Compared to the flurry of emotions rushing through Shang Jian¡¯s mind, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be more at ease. To him, everything that happened earlier was akin to a joke. He seemed to have taken the role of a spectator as he watched everything unfold around him earlier calmly. He didn¡¯t feel a trace of rage when Xu Huizhu drew her blade against him earlier, and it seemed as though something about him changed. ¡°Can this actually be considered a breakthrough in the state of mind?!¡± Shang Xia muttered. Ever since he entered the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity (Yin Yang) Realm, he discovered the state of having an Ethereal Mind. He discovered that entering that state was commonplace for him now. Shang Ke once told him that being in that state would be beneficial for him to congeal his divine sense, and it seemed as though he was starting to be able to control when he entered such a state. When he finally returned to his courtyard, he decided to craft another rank two talisman when he heard hurried banging outside his door. ¡°Sixth brother, open the door! I¡¯m Shang Fu! Let me in!¡± CH 230 When Shang Fu came to visit Shang Xia earlier, his hasty knocks made Shang Xia think that someone was out to beat the kid. After opening the door, he saw Shang Fu¡¯s mischievous smile. According to Shang Fu, he actually had nothing important when he came to look for Shang Xia. His main intention was to reminisce with Shang Xia. As the two joked about, Shang Fu casually brought up someone else in the Shang Clan. They were the third oldest among those of the second generation. Shang Fu was a little disappointed when Shang Xia brushed over the topic. After all, Shang Xia didn¡¯t feel too much for people he hadn¡¯t seen before. After the time it took for them to finish a cup of tea, Shang Fu decided to take his leave. Watching Shang Fu walk away from his courtyard, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but smile. He was truly amused by the kid¡¯s antics. Finally closing the door, he decided to change his plan. Instead of crafting his talisman, he chose to practice his sword art. Thinking back to Shang Dong and the others, Shang Xia sighed inwardly. The larger the family became, the more complicated the relationship between each other. The way people think would differ greatly too. Shang Xia didn¡¯t think too much about it. Moreover, in a world of cultivation, the way others think doesn''t matter. They would have to submit to the will of the strong anyway. Shang Xia understood why Shang Fu brought up the other member of the Shang Clan, but he wasn¡¯t really affected by it. Their thinking was on two completely different levels. Things that Shang Fu found important could barely pique Shang Xia¡¯s interest. Stuff that Shang Xia strove for couldn¡¯t even be comprehended by Shang Fu in his current state! ¡­ Returning to his task at hand, Shang Xia continued to practice his Irregular Sword Art. It was a sword art that made use of two swords, and Shang Xia¡¯s swords differed in length, easing his comprehension on the dao of distance. According to the sword manual, one could choose to give up on dual wielding after they reached a certain achievement in the sword art. With only one sword, they could touch upon the essence of the dao of distance. To go one step further would mean that the cultivator would comprehend the sword intent behind the Irregular Sword Art. That was also what Shang Xia was aiming for. When he comprehended his seventh sword art, he would master the Seven Laceration Sword! It was too bad he was stuck at the final bottleneck of the Irregular Sword Art. Initially, he thought that he would have to practice for some time before he caught the essence behind the Irregular Sword Art. Who would have thought that he would reach enlightenment when Xu Huizhu drew her sword earlier? Strictly speaking, she wasn¡¯t the sole reason behind his understanding. Shang Jian¡¯s arrival also had something to do with his flash of inspiration. After thinking deeper into their actions, Shang Xia could confirm that they didn¡¯t act that way on purpose. However, it also allowed him to notice a key point when Shang Jian appeared. Before the enemy could react, one would strike. With the ability to manipulate distance, nothing is too far away! Holding the Jade River Sword in one hand, Shang Xia stabbed it outwards slightly as a ray of sword light emerged. A hole was pierced in the wall on the other side of the courtyard! Retrieving his sword, he couldn¡¯t help his smile. In his dantian, the Yin Yang Diagram was rotating about lazily as per usual. However, with Shang Xia¡¯s final strike, he broke through the bottleneck. His inner qi transformed rapidly around the Yin Yang Diagram, forming the seventh sword above the Yin Yang Diagram. At that instant, Shang Xia finally mastered his martial intent, the Seven Laceration Sword! ¡­ When Shang Xi entered Shang Xia¡¯s courtyard after kicking down the doors herself, she quickly discovered the lingering sword qi. We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. ¡°Huh? This kid actually covered his entire courtyard in his sword boundary. This is weird¡­ Didn¡¯t he reach the peak of the Martial Extremity Realm? How the hell is he improving so quickly? It¡¯s not like he had broken through¡­¡± Shang Xi muttered to herself. The moment he showed himself, Shang Xi got to the point. ¡°I heard you got into a scuffle with your second uncle¡¯s family. Is that true?¡± Nodding his head, Shang Xia chuckled in amusement, ¡°Did he look for you to mediate the situation?¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± Shang Xi stared at him in shock. However, her tone quickly changed. ¡°Well¡­ I just hope you can see the bigger picture and came here to make sure you don¡¯t harbor any grudges against them.¡± ¡°I understand. Actually, they should be really worried about the situation right now, right? It¡¯s not like they can actually affect me anyway¡­¡± Shang Xia chuckled softly. Snorting softly, Shang Xi snapped at him, ¡°Brat, can¡¯t you put it in a nicer way?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t know what I mean¡­¡± As the two of them joked around, Shang Xi seemed to have thought of something and she retrieved a jade box and placed it carefully in front of Shang Xia. ¡°Triple Loop Coalescence Needle. Here, your advancement medicine has already been prepared.¡± ¡°What?! How did you guys complete it so quickly?¡± Shang Xia gasped. Opening the case, he saw three silver needles that were nearly five inches long. They were arranged neatly in the case and they were the key to Shang Xia¡¯s promotion to a Martial Intent Realm expert. Even though the needles looked metallic, they were crafted from many different types of rare ingredients. The moment he stabbed it into his acupoints, the entire needle would melt, releasing all the medicinal properties into his body. ¡°Of course we completed it quickly. Master Ge Muchen personally made it for us!¡± ¡°Why would he do it?¡± Shang Xia raised his eyebrows in shock. As the only rank four chemist in the Tongyou Institution, Ge Muchen was extremely well respected. The Triple Loop Coalescence Needle was only a rank three advancement medicine, and rank three chemists were more than enough to craft a portion of it! There were many rank three chemists in the Tongyou Institution and Shang Xia was surprised that the clan chose to hire none of them. Instead, they went for the only rank four chemist. Shang Xi shook her head and teased, ¡°Grand swordsmaster Shang, your performance was too eye-catching the other day. Have you thought that it was the great chemist that wanted to form a closer relationship with you?¡± A bitter smile appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s lips. However, Shang Xi wasn¡¯t done. Retrieving another item from her Embroidered Cloud Case, she handed it over to Shang Xia. ¡°This is a bottle of Intent Gathering Powder. I got it from the institution too. Luckily, they kept a portion of it in the treasury.¡± Pausing for a second, she continued, ¡°The Triple Loop Coalescence Needle and the Intent Gathering Powder are provided by the institution. It¡¯s your reward for your contributions in the battlefield between two worlds. Haha, the clan managed to save a lot of money this time! Oh right, that¡¯s not all. The institution promised to upgrade any low-grade weapon you bring to them as long as you provide the necessary ingredients. Their craftsmen are more than capable of improving a low-grade weapon.¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°That¡¯s generous of them¡­ However, those are the rewards bestowed by the institution! What about our clan? Shouldn¡¯t I be getting some sort of reward too? Hehe.¡± ¡°Due to our abrupt rise, our resources have been allocated to all deserving members of the Shang Clan. In order to get any rewards, you have to make a suitable amount of contribution.¡± Taking out a jade bottle, she placed it before Shang Xia. ¡°Didn¡¯t your Grandpa Ke already give you your reward? You get to choose any martial art or secret art after breaking through! Oh right, there¡¯s this too.¡± Shang Xia sniffed the bottle after popping the cork and a look of surprise flashed across his face. ¡°Essence Separation Liquid! We actually succeeded in creating it?¡± CH 231 ¡°How did they succeed so quickly?¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t contain his shock. A chuckle left Shang Xi¡¯s lips as she explained, ¡°The Essence Separation Liquid isn¡¯t exceptionally hard to create. The only problem lies in locating the herbs used in it.¡± Shang Xia stared at Shang Xi with a look of shock on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me our clan actually had all the herbs required to make the liquid¡­ What the hell! Isn¡¯t our You Continent some barren land? That¡¯s the reason we had to monopolize the battlefield between the two worlds!¡± ¡°Your second uncle and aunt¡­¡± Shang Xi revealed a guilty smile and explained. A look of revelation appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he didn¡¯t know what to feel. Naturally, Shang Xi understood what he was thinking at the moment and she explained, ¡°Your second aunt, Xu Huizhu, is from the Yan Continent. She had all the ingredients required to make the liquid and she provided them to the clan when she heard that we were looking for it.¡± ¡°Alright, alright, what do they wish for in return?¡± Shang Xia sighed softly. He always had a feeling that his second uncle had a favor he wished to obtain from Shang Xia. From the time he imparted the Irregular Sword Art to the time he stopped Xu Huizhu, to the discovery that all the herbs required to make the Essence Separation Liquid were provided by them, Shang Xia could tell that Shang Jian had something to ask of him. In fact, he seemed to have felt it when he first saw Shang Jian. ¡°Hah, little brat, since you already knew that he wanted something from you, why don¡¯t you make a guess?¡± Shang Xi chortled in amusement. Pressing his lips against each other, Shang Xia sighed, ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious? They¡¯re both in the Martial Intent Realm and they shouldn¡¯t need me for anything. However, their children aren¡¯t experts in the Martial Intent Realm! The favor he wants definitely has something to do with them.¡± Seeing as Shang Xi hadn¡¯t said anything, he continued, ¡°He probably saw my sword art the other day when I was fighting on the streets. When Shang Dong sneak attacked me the other day, I noticed that their sword technique differs greatly from their parents¡­¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t even need to hear her confirmation. He could tell from her expression. ¡°You actually discovered it¡­ Are you planning to help them out?¡± Shang Xi tried to keep herself as calm as possible, but Shang Xia still managed to hear the trace of anticipation she had for his response. A grin quickly found its way onto his face. ¡°Aunt, I¡¯m not a narrow-minded person. Of course I don¡¯t mind teaching them. However, I can¡¯t possibly run over there and beg them to let me teach them some skills, can I?¡± Shang Xi giggled in amusement and Shang Xia could tell that she understood what his intentions were. Since that was done, he quickly changed the topic. ¡°About the Intent Guarding Incense¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah¡­ It¡¯s probably going to be done in a few days. Hmph, I bet this isn¡¯t some assistive medicine that can be used exclusively for your breakthrough. It¡¯s beneficial for cultivators at the Martial Intent Realm too. Looks like we¡¯re going to strike it rich this time! Of course, we need to actually craft the incense before we can say for sure¡­¡± Shang Xi nodded her head in response. Thinking about it for a second, Shang Xia muttered softly, ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll start my breakthrough soon¡­¡± ¡°Hah. I didn¡¯t think that you would break through so quickly! I thought that you would require a lot of time to consolidate your foundations, especially since you only entered the Martial Extremity Realm not too long ago. Looks like I was wrong. Anyway, the situation is different now. You haven¡¯t returned to the institution ever since you came back from the battlefield between the two worlds. The complaints against you are getting louder and louder¡­¡± When Shang Xia wanted to ask her what she meant, she turned to leave. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". Realizing he wasn¡¯t going to get an answer, he simply tossed away all the random thoughts in his mind as he focused on circulating his inner qi. He got ready to start his breakthrough to the Martial Intent Realm. The next evening, the first portion of the Intent Guarding Incense was successfully created by the Shang Clan. Even though there were only three sticks, Shang Xi chose to deliver all of them to Shang Xia. ¡°Are you really not planning to return to the institution to break through? The secret chamber there is much better than those in our clan. The heaven and earth qi there is much denser too.¡± Shang Xi asked. Shaking his head, Shang Xia replied, ¡°Everything I need to break through has been prepared. Moreover, I don¡¯t wish to go back to the institution only to be struck by heavenly lightning again¡­¡± Turning to Shang Xi, he said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I need to trouble you to protect me while I break through this time.¡± A snort left Shang Xi¡¯s lips, ¡°Damn brat. Once you advance this time, even I won¡¯t be your opponent.¡± ¡­ After one entire day of preparations, Shang Xia was finally ready to break through. Shang Xi mobilized the power of the clan to protect the manor while she took on the role of his personal guard. His courtyard was completely isolated from the rest of the manor and no one could approach the region. In the secret chamber within his courtyard, Shang Xia felt that he had finally reached his peak state. With the items he needed placed orderly in front of him, he began. The Intent Gathering Powder, Essence Separation Liquid, and Intent Guarding Incense were placed beside the case containing the three needles. A tub of steaming water could be seen behind him, and there were several medicines at the side in case his breakthrough failed. In case he truly failed, they could be used to stabilize his condition as soon as possible. Clearing his mind, Shang Xia took out the first of the three needles in the jade case after lighting the Intent Gathering Incense. It was made from countless precious herbs and treasures, and it emitted a soft glow as Shang Xia held it in his hand. According to the instructions on the blood red tablet in his sea of consciousness, Shang Xia dipped the needle in the bottle containing Essence Separation Liquid. Nothing happened to the needle, but Shang Xia could feel that the liquid in the bottle had decreased slightly. After a third of the liquid was absorbed by the needle, it seemed to have reached its saturation point. Taking off his shirt, Shang Xia inserted the first needle three inches below his abdomen. The Guanyuan Acupoint was first, and the moment the needle entered his body, Shang Xia¡¯s expression turned solemn. A sharp pain shot through his body and Shang Xia was nearly unable to bear the suffering. His hands trembled and he released the needle. Luckily for him, the effects of the Intent Gathering Incense worked its magic at that moment. It kept his mind clear despite the pain. Enduring the pain shooting through his body, he continued to push it inwards. When it reached a certain depth in his body, the pain disappeared abruptly. Is it done? The needle that was five inches long seemed to have disappeared completely into the Guanyuan Acupoint. CH 232 According to Shang Xia¡¯s limited knowledge of the traditional way of his old world, he felt that the Martial Intent Realm in the Azure Origin World should be named the Triple Command Realm. That was also the name scribbled on the blood red tablet in his sea of consciousness but he simply skimmed through it previously. He didn¡¯t know what the triple command stood for anyway. Extending his limited knowledge, it was possible that the triple command was represented by the Heavens, Earth, and Man. Slightly extrapolating it, he thought of the three sources of light, the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars. It might also have some connections to the Spirit, the Soul, and the Qi. Well, even if he could guess as much, he had no idea how it actually worked. His thoughts returned to his breakthrough. The key seemed to lie in the three acupoints. When Shang Xia learned about the location of his Guanyuan Acupoint, he suspected that it was somewhere on his lower dantian. That would mean that the Shanzhong Acupoint was located at his middle dantian, and the Yintang Acupoint was located at his upper dantian! That would also mean that when he entered the Martial Extremity Ream, the key lay in his lower dantian. From the records kept by the Shang Clan, the ascension to a Martial Intent Realm expert had something to do with the other two parts of his dantian. Since a Martial Intent Realm cultivator would be able to gather their divine sense, advancing higher in their level would mean that their divine sense would experience a substantial improvement. If his hypothesis was true, Shang Xia could fuse his knowledge of the Shang Clan¡¯s insight with his own. The triple command might have something to do with the lower, middle, and upper dantian. There might be even more secrets hidden behind it! Shang Xia shook his head slightly. Everything was a conjecture at the moment. He was unable to actually make sense of what was going on until he stabilized his cultivation in the Martial Intent Realm. Observing the situation in his body, Shang Xia¡¯s expression changed once again. There used to be a giant Yin Yang Diagram controlling all the inner qi in his dantian. When he entered the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm, the giant Yin Yang Diagram gathered all the scattered inner qi in his body. Now, the Yin Yang Diagram is gone. In its place was a formless mass. Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" Shang Xia was clearly frightened by the sudden change. He thought that something had gone wrong during his breakthrough, crippling his cultivation completely. Luckily for him, the Intent Gathering Incense allowed him to remain focused despite his desire to crumble into panic at the moment. Desperately circulating his inner qi, he heaved a sigh of relief when he realized that it was still there. Even though the Yin Yang Diagram had transformed into a ball of chaos, his cultivation was still there. He also discovered an alarming fact. He was barely able to use 30 percent of his strength at the moment. If anyone were to attack him then, the results would be disastrous. It was no wonder cultivators would search for a secret location when breaking through. They would also look for their trusted allies to protect them throughout the process. With his attention finally turning back to the ball of chaos in his dantian, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of disappointment after realizing that it wasn¡¯t changing anymore. Picking up the second needle, he slowly stabbed it into his Shanzhong Acupoint after dipping it into the Essence Separation Liquid. This time, he was prepared for the pain. Like the time he pierced it into his Guanyuan Acupoint, it sank into his body and the needle disappeared. The same process applied to the third needle. The only difference this time was that it went for his Yintang Acupoint at the space between his eyebrows. When the third needle sank into his body and disappeared, Shang Xia¡¯s vision turned completely black. He felt his body descending suddenly into an endless abyss. No one knew how long had passed, but Shang Xia finally regained consciousness thanks to the Intent Guarding Incense. When he opened his eyes, his mind slowly started to clear. He discovered that his entire body was surrounded by a region of chaos. This¡­ Am I currently in the space in my dantian? With his eyes widening in fright, the space around him seemed to shift once again and he saw his surroundings in the secret chamber again. Did I really enter the space contained in my dantian earlier? Shang Xia used to be able to observe the situation in his dantian in the past. However, that seemed more like some sort of ¡®inner vision¡¯. A moment ago, the feeling he had was completely different. He seemed to have physically entered the space contained in his dantian! The feeling was miraculous indeed. As he thought about the feeling he had earlier, Shang Xia tried to do it again. The miraculous feeling returned and his surroundings was filled with chaotic air. At that moment,Shang Xia discovered that even though the Yin Yang Diagram had disappeared, his abilities that made use of it didn¡¯t. The chaotic qi contained in the formless mass in his dantian had the ability to transform at will. He was still able to use the techniques he comprehended in the past whenever he felt like it. Perhaps it was because of the transformation to his dantian, his techniques would experience a fundamental transformation when he used them in the future. After observing the transformation in his dantian, Shang Xia had a feeling he had finally entered the Martial Intent Realm! He truly entered the ¡®Triple Command Realm¡¯. Now, he had to make sense of what the difference was between the lower, middle, and upper dantian. Even though he stabbed the three needles into the three acupoints respectively, a human could only possess one dantian! Was it possible that the three acupoints were merely different entrances from which qi would enter his dantian? From the lower path, middle path, and upper path? Perhaps that was what it really meant. Even though he was confused, it seemed to make sense. Since half the process was done, he decided to follow the instructions recorded on the tablet. With a single thought, he returned back to the secret chamber. When he reappeared, he extended his divine sense to observe his surroundings. He was able to ¡®see¡¯ the entire area around him with his senses. Shang Xia found the feeling slightly weird but pretty amazing at the same time. Extending his divine sense even further, he tried to look at the situation outside the secret chamber. CH 233 Shang Xia¡¯s breakthrough was a terrific event for the Shang Clan. Ever since the collision between the two worlds, the heaven and earth qi contained in the You Continent was greatly affected. The Shang Clan, which was a mere second-rate clan, experienced a huge boost. They took twenty years to gather their strength and eventually became a huge faction with hundreds of people. Even so, there were only two Martial Extermination Realm experts born in the family. The number of Martial Intent Realm experts they had wasn¡¯t something they could boast about too. Even with the addition of Yan Qi, an adopted member of the clan, along with Xu Huizhu who married into the Shang Clan, they could barely gather seven Martial Intent Realm experts across the older generations. The moment Shang Xia broke through, the Shang Clan would welcome their eighth Martial Intent Realm expert. More importantly, he was the first among the third-generation disciples to break through! That alone was a significant event to show that the Shang Clan possessed a worthy successor! Everyone knew the importance of Shang Xia¡¯s breakthrough. The moment his divine sense extended beyond his room, Shang Xi was the first to react. ¡°He did it!¡± Yelling loudly, she couldn¡¯t hide the joyful expression on her face. A feeling of gratification filled her heart at the same time. ¡°Brother, do you see this? Little Xia entered the Martial Intent Realm! Your descendant broke through the bottleneck. He¡¯s ready to pick up where you left off¡­¡± (Shang Xia¡¯s dad) Even though Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense extended out of the room, signaling his successful breakthrough, Shang Xi didn¡¯t let her guard down. Instead, she became even more alert in case anything happened at the last second. When Shang Xia extended his divine sense outside his room, he was naturally able to notice Shang Xi¡¯s flurry of feelings too. He was also able to sense that she became a lot tenser than before. ¡°Damn brat.¡± Shang Xi snorted before glancing in the direction of his secret chamber. ¡°He barely completed his breakthrough but he could extend the area covered by his divine sense by so many times. It¡¯s basically comparable to mine. I wonder how terrifying it would be after he advances to the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm... Hmph, I was right back then. He¡¯s probably stronger than me now that he has broken through.¡± ¡°Oh, maybe not. He has to start practicing martial arts made for Martial Intent Realm cultivators before he can be a match for me¡­¡± Shang Xi thought to herself. She wasn¡¯t the only one whose mind was filled with a multitude of thoughts. Shang Xia was deepening his understanding of the Martial Intent Realm. ¡°If condensing my divine sense is considered the first transformation, it¡¯s a little too weak. It¡¯s able to pressure my opponents slightly, and it seems to be able to affect the heaven and earth qi in the surroundings to a certain extent. However, it¡¯s just too damn weak! Well, at least I know what to expect for future transformations to my divine sense¡­¡± Shang Xia grumbled to himself. With his current experience and strength, he felt that the ability his divine sense had to affect his surroundings was really too weak! If anyone else were to learn of his evaluation, they wouldn¡¯t be able to resist the urge to beat him up! When Shang Xi felt the fluctuations in heaven and earth qi earlier, she experienced incomparable shock. Any other Martial Intent Realm expert of the Shang Clan would feel the same if they were in their place. Earlier, when Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense overlapped with Shang Xi¡¯s, he managed to gain a better understanding of how divine senses were used. ¡°Aunt Xi seemed to have successfully gone through her second divine sense transformation. Even though the area she can cover is barely larger than mine, she should be able to form a barrier with her divine sense.¡± ¡°It might not be able to physically stop attacks from coming through, but she will be able to feel anything that enters its range! There will be no blind spots left in the region around her!¡± Gaining a primary understanding on the uses of his divine sense and grasping the way to control it, he decided to test it out one more time. When he tried to extend his divine sense again, he was assaulted with a wave of nausea. The world started to spin around him and he felt weakness in his limbs. ¡°Not good¡­ I overexerted myself! I should have consolidated my foundations before playing around with my divine sense!¡± Shang Xia gasped in fright before crumbling to the ground. Forcing himself to get up with the last of his strength, he dumped the Intent Gathering Powder into the tub of water behind him before jumping in himself. The weakness he felt finally started to fade and he finally managed to clear his mind. After taking a long breath, he no longer tried to play around with his divine sense. Instead, he inspected the ball of chaos in his dantian. A smile slowly returned to his face. He finally stepped through the gates of the Martial Intent Realm! There was only one thing he couldn¡¯t wrap his head around. If the Triple Loop Coalescence Needle allowed him to form an origin core in his body, what did the blood red tablet mean by the ¡®Triple Command Realm¡¯? ¡­ The way Shang Xia entered the Martial Intent Realm was too highkey. Even with Shang Xi forming a barrier around his courtyard, she didn¡¯t manage to prevent the divine sense of other Martial Intent Realm experts in the Shang Clan Manor from detecting the change. In fact, the Martial Intent Realm experts of the Shang Clan weren¡¯t the only ones paying attention to his breakthrough. There were countless other disciples taking note of it. In the eastern courtyard of the Shang Clan Manor, Shang Jian and Xu Huizhu noticed his breakthrough almost instantly. ¡°He¡­ He actually succeeded?¡± Xu Huizhi mumbled. Nodding slowly, Shang Jian turned to look in the direction of Shang Xia¡¯s courtyard. He seemed to be able to peer through the void as he silently observed the changes to the heaven and earth qi in the air. An awkward expression hung on Xu Huizhu¡¯s face as she muttered sheepishly, ¡°I was too rash the other day, causing trouble for you in the clan again. I should have done more careful research on the situation so that Shang Dong could choose the correct opponent¡­¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Shang Jian shook his head and sighed, ¡°Do you still not understand? It wasn¡¯t about choosing the wrong opponent. Your method was wrong in the first place. Our Shang Clan has an established set of rules. Regardless of your identity and strength, the Shang Clan won¡¯t bother offending you even if they don¡¯t accept us completely. You had to come up with a plan to establish our strength¡­ Your actions would only serve to alienate us further from the clan¡­¡± This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. A deep frown remained on Xu Huizhu¡¯s face. ¡°What was I supposed to do? If this really doesn¡¯t work out, we can always leave! With our strength, we can definitely look for a suitable sword technique for our kids.¡± ¡°Nonsense! If it was so easy to look for a suitable technique for the two of them, we would have found it a long time ago! They¡¯re about to enter their twenties soon and we still can¡¯t find a sword art for the two of them! Are they supposed to wait around their whole life? Look! Even my fourth brother¡¯s child has condensed his divine sense. Are we going to make them wait forever?! Now is not the time to throw a tantrum and make hasty decisions.¡± Shang Jian snapped. ¡°Then what are we going to do now? Are we supposed to look for him to offer our apologies? Hmph, regardless, we¡¯re his elders! How can we lower ourselves to apologize to someone of the younger generation?¡± Xu Huizhu grumbled. ¡°Oh? Did you just realize that you¡¯re his elder?¡± Shang Jian revealed a bitter smile and sighed, ¡°Enough. You don¡¯t have to interfere with this anymore. I¡¯ll think of a way.¡± CH 234 The Third Order of the Primary Realm was a huge milestone for cultivators. ¡°After stepping into the Martial Intent Realm, the clan, and the institution will severely limit the amount of resources provided to you. You can only rely on yourself from now on.¡± That was what Shang Ke said to him the moment he emerged from his seclusion. Even though Shang Ke knew that Shang Xia was clear about the situation after he entered the Martial Intent Realm, it was a formality he had to mention to anyone who entered the Martial Intent Realm in the clan. In the past, Shang Bo was the one who would give the speech. Now that Shang Ke had ascended to the position of the Shang Clan Patriarch, it was his first time saying it. Shang Xia was brought over to the inheritance land in the clan manor and Shang Ke handed him the Triple Providence Chapter and the manual for the Providence Spear. As the core inheritance of the Shang Clan, those two items were never allowed out of the inheritance land. Without Shang Ke leading the way, even Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t be allowed into the inheritance land! In order to learn the Triple Providence Chapter and the Providence Spear, Shang Xia would have to memorize the manuals before he left. As a senior member of the clan and the current clan patriarch, Shang Ke trained in the Triple Providence Chapter and the Providence Spear when he entered the Martial Intent Realm in the past. He could have imparted some of his knowledge and insight to Shang Xia, but he chose not to do so. He only spoke about several more important obstacles he ran into when training in the Triple Providence Chapter. As for the Providence Spear, he pointed out some insights when Shang Xia ran into parts he didn¡¯t understand in the manual before allowing the kid to think about it himself. His only piece of advice for Shang Xia was for him not to rush through the training process. Even though Shang Xia was confused, he could only memorize the two manuals before going back to think through them. Flipping through them a few more times, he had to ensure that he didn¡¯t miss a thing. When he was done, Shang Ke asked, ¡°Do you know the origins of the Triple Providence Chapter and the Providence Spear?¡± Shang Xia shook his head slowly. Thinking back to what Shang Ke said before, he tried reading deeper into what Shang Ke meant. However, Shang Ke quickly added, ¡°We didn¡¯t possess the Triple Providence Chapter and the Providence Spear since the creation of the clan. Instead, our founding ancestor obtained it almost a hundred years ago from beyond the heavens.¡± ¡°Beyond the heavens?¡± Shang Xia frowned. There was an incredulous look on his face when he stared at Shang Ke. Nodding seriously, Shang Ke started his explanation. ¡°Even though it sounds absurd, that is the truth. A shooting star shot through the skies a long time ago and our ancestor located the place the star landed. Shards of the shooting star were strewn around the land. He located two more intact shards and discovered that they contained the Triple Providence Chapter and the Providence Spear.¡± A sigh also left Shang Ke¡¯s lips. ¡°Close to a hundred years ago, our Shang Clan was barely considered a small clan. However, we slowly grew stronger with these two inheritances. Before the Azure Spiritual World smashed into us, our Shang Clan grew to a level that was only second to the five great families.¡± ¡°What¡­ What is contained beyond the heavens?¡± Shang Xia asked. Other than the origin of the Triple Providence Chapter and the Providence Spear, Shang Xia was well-versed in the history of the Shang Clan. The only thing that caught his attention was where the inheritances came from. Shang Ke wasn¡¯t surprised by Shang Xia¡¯s question at all. After all, anyone who learned of the origin of the Triple Providence Chapter and the Providence Spear would be intrigued by what lies beyond the heavens. Shang Ke shook his head in response. ¡°I have no idea.¡± Seeing the look of disappointment on Shang Xia¡¯s face, Shang Ke continued, ¡°Kou Chongxue once mentioned that our Azure Origin World and the Azure Spiritual World might only be a small drop in the ocean¡­ The Triple Providence Chapter is too intricate and everyone who trained in it managed to comprehend something different. One will never be able to get the most out of it if one receives pointers from those before them. Our clan tested it over so many years and those who comprehended the Triple Providence Chapter on their own were less prone to cultivation deviation.¡± Gasping in fright, Shang Xia asked, ¡°Is that also the case for the Providence Spear?¡± ¡°Nope. However, anyone who tries comprehending the Providence Spear will reach their own understanding and achievement in it. Shang Bo managed to reach his current height in the technique and received the title of Soul Tearing Spear. Unlike him, the way I use the spear is different and I received the title of Suspended Spear.¡± Even though everything relied on how much a cultivator could comprehend on their own, Shang Ke was still willing to point out some obvious traps. From the way Shang Ke explained everything to him in detail, he could tell that his Fifth Grandpa really had high hopes for him. After receiving the clan¡¯s inheritance, Shang Xia wanted to return to his courtyard when he was called back by Shang Ke. ¡°Hey, now that you managed to receive the inheritance, you should go back to the institution.¡± ¡°Is there anything urgent going on right now? Why is everyone telling me to go back?¡± Shang Xia asked casually. ¡°Kou Chongxue might summon you.¡± A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. ¡­ After leaving the land of inheritance, Shang Xia quickly noticed Yan Qi who came over to look for him. ¡°Young master, congratulations!¡± Yan Qi yelled the moment Shang Xia appeared. ¡°Seventh Uncle, how are things in the city right now?¡± Ever since Shang Xia returned to the city, he cooped himself up in seclusion the whole time. He didn¡¯t really know what was going on outside. He had a feeling that Shang Ke and Shang Xi were hiding something from him. ¡°Young Master, you should just call me Yan Qi from now on. You can also call me Old Seventh. It might be a little weird for you to call me Seventh Uncle¡­¡± Yan Qi muttered softly. Stopping dead in his tracks, Shang Xia growled softly, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did something say something to you?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Yan Qi whispered. ¡°I just feel that it¡¯s not too appropriate for you to call me that now. The Ninth Master has returned, and a new Second Master popped up too¡­ You call them Ninth Uncle and Second Uncle too. People might find it weird when you call me your seventh uncle¡­¡± Shang Xia definitely didn¡¯t find anything wrong with it, but from Yan Qi¡¯s perspective, it would really inconvenience him in the clan if Shang Xia continued to address him as Seventh Uncle. Nodding slightly, Shang Xia seemingly thought of the considerations. He smiled, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll call you Uncle Yan from now on.¡± As soon as he spoke, he continued walking. Hurrying behind him, Yan Qi gave his report, ¡°The Tongyou City is a little strange right now.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Shang Xia raised an eyebrow in surprise. ¡°Tell me about it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s about the matter of You Haibiao¡¯s death. Even though a Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Beihai Institution died here, the institution remained strangely peaceful. Every single expert seemed to have forgotten about his death, including the members of the Beihai Institution!¡± Yan Qi reported. ¡°Huh? This is strange indeed. What about the attitudes of the elders of the clan? Is our clan doing anything about it?¡± Shang Xia asked again. After thinking for a second, Yan Qi summarized, ¡°Ever since returning to the clan, Patriarch Shang rarely appeared. He would only show himself when someone came to visit us. Oh, on the third day we returned from the battlefield between the two worlds, the 29th of the 8th month, Patriarch Shang went to the institution to take a look. When he returned, he sent every single member of the clan adept in the art of formations over.¡± Shang Xia nodded his head slightly subconsciously as he processed the information. However, Yan Qi was unable to keep his silence. After pausing for a short while, he decided to add an important point. ¡°Young master, as of today, the disciples of our Tongyou Institution are being seriously suppressed and bullied by the disciples of the other four institutions¡­¡± CH 235 Shang Xia wasn¡¯t surprised by Shang Ke¡¯s low-key behavior after returning. After all, he hadn¡¯t entered the Martial Extermination Realm for long, and the higher one¡¯s cultivation realm got, the longer it would take to stabilize his foundation. Moreover, Shang Ke attempted his breakthrough when he was only at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. His foundations were extremely shaky and he barely succeeded with the help of his advancement medicine and the extermination origin contained in the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl. He required a lot more time than Martial Extermination Realm experts who attempted their breakthrough after reaching the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. If Shang Xia wasn¡¯t mistaken, The new patriarch of the Liu Clan, Liu Zhiyuan, was doing the same thing as Shang Ke. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. When Shang Xia thought about the reason behind sending those proficient in the art of formations to the Tongyou Institution, Yan Qi dropped another bomb on him. Raising his eyebrows slightly, Shang Xia questioned, ¡°What was that again?¡± A helpless smile appeared on Yan Qi¡¯s face and he told him that the actions of those from the other institutions were because of him. During the battle that happened when the Shang Clan¡¯s Convoy was attacked when they returned, Shang Xia achieved the unthinkable by defeating the strongest sword cultivators in the Martial Extermination Realm of the other four institutions. Even the weakest of the four, Ma Qi, was an elite cultivator in the Wuwei Institution. His position was comparable to inner disciples of the Tongyou Institution! There was even less need to mention Li Xi and Yang Chao who were basically peak-tier existences in the Martial Extremity Realm in their respective institutions. Despite their strength, they were defeated by Shang Xia easily. Hou Yuchun, the strongest of the four, suffered an even more terrifying fate! His luck was too damn bad as he had to arrive last to face an annoyed Shang Xia. His attitude was even worse, causing Shang Xia to deal with him harshly. Before he could even unleash his first move, he was defeated by Shang Xia¡¯s six sword intents! His mentality suffered greatly after the battle and his dantian was sealed by some sort of strange qi! Shang Xia might have single-handedly defeated everyone, earning his prestige as the ¡°Thousand Illusion Sword¡±, but he unknowingly trampled on the reputation of the other four institutions! Because he had to prepare for his breakthrough to the Martial Intent Realm, he returned to the clan and remained in seclusion ever since. Since the members of the other four institutions couldn¡¯t find him and even if they did, they wouldn¡¯t be his match, they could only vent their frustrations on the other members of the Tongyou Institutions. The disciples who came to the Tongyou City weren¡¯t weaklings. The elders of their institutions had the intention to train them up when they brought them over anyway, and they were practically all elite disciples. Because of the situation in the battlefield between the two worlds, the strength of the Tongyou Institution was spread too thin. Most of the stronger disciples weren¡¯t present in the institution at that moment. That didn¡¯t stop the four institutions from challenging the disciples of the Tongyou Institution. The disciples of the Upper and Inner Divisions were challenged by the elite disciples of the other institutions all day long, and they were badly defeated. ¡°So¡­ I caused this?¡± Shang Xia chuckled to himself. Whatever the case, he wasn¡¯t too bothered by it. He wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about it anyway. Even if he interfered, they would come up with some bullshit reason and say that he was bullying the weak. Yan Qi quickly reminded, ¡°Young master, you can¡¯t ignore this. You need to be careful. After all, you never know what they¡¯re thinking.¡± As the two of them conversed, they arrived at the Yifeng Pavilion in the Shang Clan Manor. Shang Xia recently learned that his father was the person who named the courtyard. When they arrived, they saw a pretty buff-looking man pacing around anxiously at the entrance. Not too far away were two young disciples of the Shang Clan. ¡°Master Duan Hong, the best blacksmith in our Shang Clan! He¡¯s an important craftsman in our Shang Clan. He followed the next convoy back from the battlefield between two worlds, and it¡¯s said that our clan hopes to nurture him into a master blacksmith who can craft low-grade weapons.¡± Yan Qi introduced at the side. Shang Xia had seen Duan Hong back on the Tongyou Peak. He also knew that the clan was hoping he could craft a low-grade spear for Shang Xia. The low-grade spear was a reward for Shang Xia¡¯s great contributions back in the battlefield between the two worlds. When Duan Hong saw the two of them approach, a look of joy appeared on his face. ¡°Sixth Young Master, I received orders to come look for you.¡± ¡°What do you need me for?¡± Shang Xia nodded slightly. Rubbing his hands together, his face flushed red in excitement. ¡°I need to know how large your palm is. I also need to measure your height in order to create the most suitable spear for you.¡± ¡°Master Duan Hong, when do you plan to start the crafting?¡± Chuckling happily, Duan Hong responded, ¡°Probably in the following weeks. All the materials and preparations are basically complete. However, I need to refine a few ordinary spears in order to adjust my condition. If everything goes according to plan, your weapon will be complete in three months.¡± Shang Xia invited Duan Hong into his courtyard before giving him everything he needed. However, he seemed to have thought of something and he mentioned, ¡°Master Duan Hong, did you say that you were going to practice refining a few ordinary spears in order to adjust your condition?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Duan Hong replied with slight confusion. It didn¡¯t take long for Shang Xia to rummage through his belongings. He tossed out a somewhat broken-looking halberd. With his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, Duan Hong was at a loss for words. That didn¡¯t matter as Shang Xia quickly spoke up, ¡°Why don¡¯t you repair and modify this low-grade weapon first? That should prove to be a better warm up activity before refining my spear.¡± Three months was too damn long! Moreover, no one was sure that Duan Hong could succeed on his first try. With the undercurrents brewing in the Tongyou City, Shang Xia needed to raise his strength as soon as possible. If Duan Hong could do something to the halberd, Shang Xia could use it as a replacement for the time being. Shang Xia might have comprehended the Seven Laceration Sword before ascending to the Martial Intent Realm, but he knew that he would find it a little lacking now that his opponents would all be Martial Intent Realm experts. No matter how strong it was, the Seven Laceration Sword was a martial extremity intent. If he wanted to bring out the true strength of someone at the Martial Intent Realm, he needed to quickly comprehend the Triple Providence Chapter and the Providence Spear! CH 236 Shang Xia knew that Duan Hong had the ability to repair graded weapons. He was also skilled enough to modify one! After all, Duan Hong repaired Shang Xi¡¯s pair of knives in the past. Repairing a weapon was much easier than making one from scratch anyway. Since Duan Hong was going to attempt to create a low-grade spear anyway, giving him the low-grade halberd to practice on didn¡¯t seem too bad. If Duan Hong managed to modify his halberd and successfully create the low-grade spear, Shang Xia would have struck it big. However, Shang Xia was obviously the only one who was rich enough at the moment to give Duan Hong a graded weapon to play around with. Ignoring the cost of modifying the Waning Moon Halberd to turn it into the Waning Moon Spear, Shang Xia knew that changing the base of a weapon from a halberd to a spear would definitely affect its quality. Even if it remained as a low-grade weapon, it could barely be considered one. However, all he wanted was to use it as a placeholder before his actual spear was completed! He couldn¡¯t be bothered that he would destroy the halberd. After all, he had three other graded weapons in his possession. Rather than keeping it in his Embroidered Cloud Case as decoration, he might as well bring out the halberd and increase his strength as much as possible. After Duan Hong left and brought away the two younger disciples of the Shang Clan who he introduced as his disciples, he still felt his head spinning. From what he knew, the Shang Clan only had so many graded weapons. He didn¡¯t expect Shang Xia to bring out one for him to play with. Watching Duan Hong¡¯s leaving figure, Yan Qi chuckled in amusement, ¡°Young master, you definitely scared Master Duan Hong this time.¡± After he spoke, he discovered that Shang Xia was playing with another short blade in his hand. With his pupils widening in fright, Yan Qi shuttered, ¡°This¡­ This¡­ Isn¡¯t this¡­¡± A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. When Zhu Ying challenged Shang Xia in the past, he wanted to use the exact same short blade. Many people had seen it before. Shang Xia sniggered softly in response, ¡°Yeah, this is the blade you¡¯re thinking about. It¡¯s mine now. However, I¡¯m not good at using short blades. Uncle Yan, you can have it. I know that the dagger Aunt Xi gave you in the war is too short and you¡¯re not used to it.¡± Yan Qi¡¯s gaze couldn¡¯t leave the short blade, but he shook his head resolutely. ¡°No. I cannot accept it. This is a mid-grade weapon! It¡¯s too valuable.¡± He knew that the Shang Clan was severely lacking in mid-grade weapons. He couldn¡¯t accept such a huge gift from Shang Xia. However, the blade came flying over before he could say anything else. Grabbing it hastily, he tried to return it to Shang Xia. ¡°Young Master, this¡­¡± Pushing his hand away, Shang Xia said in all seriousness, ¡°Uncle Yan, you have been taking care of me all this while. You can even be considered half my father! Don¡¯t tell me our relationship isn¡¯t worth as much as this sword.¡± A trace of gratefulness flashed in Yan Qi¡¯s eyes and he muttered softly, ¡°I¡¯ll accept Young Master¡¯s favor! I will definitely remember your grace!¡± When he spoke, a short dagger appeared in his palm. ¡°Since I obtained the short blade, I shall return this dagger to you.¡± The Origin Light Dagger didn¡¯t really suit Yan Qi in the first place. As such, Shang Xia didn¡¯t reject it. Instead, he jokingly reminded Yan Qi after retrieving the dagger. ¡°Uncle Yan, don¡¯t forget to disguise the blade a little. Even though Zhu Ying¡¯s death might have wiped everything clean, it¡¯s not a good idea to wave it openly.¡± Yan Qi nodded solemnly. He seemed to have thought of something as he played with the dagger in his hand and he continued, ¡°I forgot to say this earlier, but Young Lady Mu Qingyu returned with the Yun Family¡¯s convoy.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°Oh? Is she still alive? Alright then. It¡¯s good to be alive.¡± Shang Xia felt a little guilty in his heart. After all, he left her behind when he chased after Zhu Ying back then. ¡°Young Lady Mu¡¯s condition isn¡¯t too bad. I heard that she ran into quite a few fortunate encounters in the Coral Forest and experienced a huge increase in cultivation strength.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s thoughts immediately returned to the stack of herbs Zhu Ying left behind and his heart started to ache slightly. ¡­ After instructing Yan Qi to continue taking note of the situation in the city, Shang Xia returned to his Yifeng Pavilion. A loud cry came from the skies and several chirps could be heard in succession. Raising his head, Shang Xia saw four tiny little birds raising their heads to the skies above with their small beaks wide open. A gray shadow descended from the skies as Yan Ni¡¯er made a graceful twist in the air before returning to her nest. The next thing he knew, she released the foot-long fish in her mouth and the four little Rain Swallows rushed towards it. Several sparks of lightning flashed through the nest, causing the three other rain swallows to jump in fright. In the next moment, they started twittering away as they went over to complain to Yan Ni¡¯er. Shang Xia stared intently at the little bird who was emitting a soft silver glow and was a little larger than the other three. The little bird was tearing away at the flesh of the fish Yan Ni¡¯er brought back. A smile found its way onto Shang Xia¡¯s face as it wasn¡¯t the first time that happened. It was basically a daily occurrence that brought Shang Xia a little joy in his otherwise dull life. Shang Xia named the little swallow when it just hatched, and it was called Yan Lei. It was precisely the descendant of the Lightning Bird and Yan Ni¡¯er. Perhaps it was because Shang Xia gave the Lightning Bird and Yan Ni¡¯er an overall boost with his constant provision of the ball of lightning, their descendant seemed a lot stronger the moment it was born. That also allowed it to become the fastest among its three other siblings when it came to fighting for food. Clearly, its actions were unacceptable in Yan Ni¡¯er¡¯s eyes. She wouldn¡¯t allow one of her children to behave so impolitely and she chirped angrily at Yan Lei. Yan Lei seemed to understand its mother well and it lowered its head before moving slightly to the side. The soft silver glow around it also disappeared. The three other little swallows quickly rushed over and started their feast. Unfortunately for them, the most delicious part of the fish had already been eaten by Yan Lei. After watching her kids eat for a little while, Yan Ni¡¯er emerged from her nest and landed on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulders. With his inner qi slowly circulating around his body, several bolts of lightning appeared around Yan Ni¡¯er. She flapped her wings in joy while letting out happy chirps as she bathed in the web of lightning Shang Xia summoned. All of a sudden, another figure emerged from the nest and charged towards Shang Xia. Sadly, Yan Lei wasn¡¯t able to fly properly yet and it tumbled about in the air unsteadily. Reaching out to hold Yan Lei, a chuckle left Shang Xia¡¯s lips. Before he could do anything, Yan Lei struggled violently out of his palm and hopped over to his shoulders. Evidently, it wanted to bathe in the web of lightning too. CH 237 Even though Shang Xia received an inheritance for the Martial Intent Realm, both the Triple Providence Chapter and the Providence Spear were extremely profound. Before he started to cultivate either of them, he would have to analyze them carefully in order not to walk down the wrong path. Shang Xia recalled the Triple Providence Chapter and when he was confident he didn¡¯t miss anything out, he pulled several sheets of paper over and wrote down everything he remembered. As he wrote down what he remembered, he also penned down his insights. When he was done, Shang Xia realized that he had filled more than a hundred sheets of paper and it filled the entire room. As the contents on the paper were not allowed to be leaked to the outside world, Shang Xia flicked his wrist once and all the scattered sheets turned into ash. Even though they were clearly burned, not a trace of smoke could be seen in the room. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Waving again, the ashes flew out the window. After getting rid of his insights for the Triple Providence Chapter and its contents, he pulled over another stack of paper. He started from scratch and started from the first chapter. Every time he came to a conclusion, he would write it down before striking it through with his brush. After completing his second round, he stood up to stretch his body. Feeling the popping from all his joints, he discovered that three days had passed! Only then did he finally understand how to start training in the Triple Providence Chapter. It seemed as though the way of cultivation was filled with solitude. One had to be able to endure loneliness in order to be a good cultivator! After emerging from his room, Shang Xia went to mess with the little birds in the nest before giving Yan Ni¡¯er another bath of lightning. The little monster bird, Yan Lei, also ran over to leech some benefits. When Shang Xia was done and he chose to enter seclusion, Yan Ni¡¯er chirped to stop him. Staring at her in surprise, he asked, ¡°You found it?¡± Two short chirps left her lips to show her confirmation. A trace of hesitation appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he fell silent for a second before muttering, ¡°Alright. Don¡¯t alert them. Just keep a lookout. You definitely cannot be discovered by the other party. We have to think this through before we make any moves.¡± Tilting her head to the side, she seemed to understand what he was talking about as two short chirps left her lips. After she left, Shang Xia took out a voice transmission symbol and spoke several short sentences into it before returning to his secret chamber. This time, he was planning to truly start training in the Triple Providence Chapter. Previously, all he did was theorize everything about the first chapter of the Triple Providence Chapter. Now, the true test was about to begin. ¡­ After Shang Ke took over as the patriarch of the Shang Clan, he didn¡¯t take over Shang Bo¡¯s cultivation chamber. Instead, he remained in his own courtyard which slightly resembled Shang Xia¡¯s. Of course, it was slightly bigger than the kid¡¯s courtyard, and there were countless types of plants growing around. Shang Ke remained in a half-secluded state ever since he returned from the battlefield between the two worlds. He would only appear when there was no other choice, and he left the day-to-day activities to Shang Xi, Shang Jian, and Shang Yang. At that moment, he was leisurely trimming his plants in his courtyard and he resembled an old farmer who worked in the fields. Raising his head suddenly, he tossed away the trimmings in his hand and dusted the soil away before grabbing a ray of light that shot his way. ¡°Oh? It really is him¡­¡± Waving his hand to destroy the report he just received, he continued, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, we might actually be able to set up a proper scheme¡­¡± ¡­ In the training grounds of the Tongyou Institution. A ray of sword light sliced through a flurry of flashes as a groan filled the air. Ye Yimei, a disciple of the Jianmen Institution, retrieved her sword. ¡°Your technique is flashy, nothing more! It doesn¡¯t even suit you.¡± Ye Yimei looked at the lady standing before her who looked younger than she actually was and muttered with the intention of giving her some pointers. Beads of perspiration dripped down Mu Qingyu¡¯s forehead and her right hand trembled violently. She was unable to keep her grip on her weapon, but she didn¡¯t back down. ¡°Many thanks to Senior Sister Ye for the guidance. I hope to be able to practice my sword techniques with you in the future.¡± The corners of Ye Yimei¡¯s lips curled upwards in response, ¡°Anytime.¡± As the two ladies left the plaza, the disciples who were gathered around broke into a flurry of discussion. ¡°Damn, Senior Sister Mu lost!¡± ¡°We lost more than we won when up against the disciples of the other institutions¡­¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m afraid the only one who managed to defeat his opponent was Senior Brother Dou Zhong.¡± ¡°Hah¡­ Most of our senior brothers and sisters of the Inner and Upper Divisions are stuck in the battlefield between two worlds. Otherwise, we won¡¯t be suppressed by the other four institutions!¡± ¡°Hmph, everything happened because of that bastard, Shang Xia. They even gave him the title of ¡®Thousand Illusion Sword¡¯. They¡¯re even calling him the ¡®Thousand Illusion Young Master¡¯. He doesn¡¯t even dare to show his face around here! He¡¯s leaving us to clear up all his mess. ¡°I heard that he¡¯s preparing to break through to the Martial Intent Realm and is unable to return to the institution at the moment. Maybe that¡¯s why he didn¡¯t show up?¡± ¡°Bah, that¡¯s all bullshit. He¡¯s definitely using it as an excuse. Even if he does break through, it¡¯s not like the other institutions don¡¯t have Martial Intent Realm disciples. He won¡¯t be able to take them on even if he succeeds!¡± ¡°Enough. No matter what, he¡¯s a member of the Shang Clan. We¡¯re in no position to spread rumors about him.¡± ¡°Hah, what are you afraid of? The rumors of his strength are definitely exaggerated. Every capable disciple of the institution was called over to the battlefield between the two worlds. Why would he return to the city? He might not even be Senior Brother Dou Zhong¡¯s match. At the very least, the other institutions hold high praise for Senior Brother Dou Zhong. Yet none of them said anything about that bastard.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡­ Shang Xia didn¡¯t know how seriously his reputation had suffered during the time he was away. He also didn¡¯t know that the higher-ups of the other institutions gave a strict command to their disciples to not reveal Shang Xia¡¯s strength ever since the battle that day. Even if he knew, he might not care. At the very moment, he was focused on his training in the Triple Providence Chapter. As he trained according to the insights he wrote out on the sheets of paper earlier, a slight transformation happened in his dantian. The Triple Providence Chapter was clearly different from the other secret arts meant for Martial Intent Realm cultivators. Shang Xia felt that it was somewhat different from the strongest techniques he had seen. Speaking of the strongest secret arts, Shang Xia had to admit that no one even came close to Ouyang Zhaiyuan. His title as Ouyang¡¯s Third Fist wasn¡¯t wasted on him. The only pity was that fusing his three punches into his ultimate technique, ¡®Killing God¡¯ was too damn difficult. Even at the point of his death, he was unable to complete it. In the end, he was killed by Shang Ke and Gu Shou. The Triple Providence Chapter seemed vastly different from the tyrannical art that was Killing God. It progressed step by step, and the increments in strength were slow but steady. It didn¡¯t seem too difficult to reach the highest level if one took things gradually. CH 238 In terms of cultivation in the Azure Origin World, the cultivation system had two main paths when one entered the Martial Intent Realm. One was to fuse three different techniques into their third martial intent, stepping into the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. That was the route Ouyang Zhaifeng was taking. The other was to progress step by step, developing one technique to the extreme. They would experience an increase in strength every time their divine sense was upgraded. Improving gradually, they would also step into the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. Those were two completely different ways of training, and neither could be said to be better than the other. It was easy for cultivators to follow the first method of training as training in three different techniques was much easier. It was much more flexible in the short term. However, the problem came when they had to fuse their techniques to form their third martial intent. It was a bottleneck that stumped many Martial Intent Realm experts. The second method of training was slightly more difficult in the initial stages. Every small breakthrough was a challenge, and the speed of cultivation was hardly comparable to the first. However, their final bottleneck to the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm was a lot easier to get through than those who used the first method of training. That was also the reason many cultivators chose the first way of training. One could risk it all and try breaking through to the Martial Extermination Realm when they were at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. Those who chose the second way were the minority, but their chances of entering the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm were higher. Comparing the number of cultivators in the Martial Extermination Realm who used either the first or second method, one would discover that they were almost the same in number. Even though those who chose the second method had a much higher chance of breaking through, there were too many who chose the first. Choosing the second method also didn¡¯t ensure that one would definitely enter the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. A great example would be Shang Ke who failed to break past the final bottleneck before attempting his advance. That also played a huge factor for those who decided to choose the first method of training. The disparity between those who chose the first and second methods of training was also evident in the Shang Clan. Not many disciples chose to train in the Triple Providence Chapter and the Providence Spear. Instead, they chose to take their own path into the Martial Extermination Realm. Some of the higher-ups of the Shang Clan also chose to take their own path. Shang Jian chose to train in the way of the sword, pioneering a sword inheritance for the Shang Clan. Shang Xi chose to comprehend the Triple Providence Chapter, but she didn¡¯t train in the Providence Spear. After all, she was more accomplished in the way of the blade. If she forcefully learned how to use the spear, she would greatly affect her training speed. Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ]. Out of the three second-generation members of the Shang Clan present in the clan manor at the moment, only Shang Yang trained in both the Triple Providence Chapter and the Providence Spear. However, he was also a beginner who barely started. Like Shang Xia, Shang Yang also stepped into the Martial Intent Realm recently. He received the news of the institution running into trouble in the battlefield between the two worlds when he was out, and he rushed back as soon as he could to provide his assistance. Since he was back, he could also receive the clan¡¯s inheritance. With the teachings of so many seniors, Shang Xia tried to fuse them with his limited knowledge of cultivation in his previous world to gain a better understanding of the ¡®Triple Command Realm¡¯ (Martial Intent Realm but in another term) ¡°What the hell does ¡®Heaven, Earth, and Man¡¯ represent? Hmmm, whatever, It sounds like something I heard in the past about transforming essence to qi, training qi to achieve the divine, and returning from the divine to the void¡­¡± ¡°Ahhh, fuck it, It makes sense and I¡¯ll just understand it this way!¡± Shang Xia tried to circulate his qi in accordance with his understanding and he quickly found a way to start. His inner qi started to circulate through his meridians. Due to the transformation in his dantian, the formless ball of chaos seemed to have formed some sort of obstruction where his inner qi was unable to flow through. His inner qi and the formless ball of chaos seemed to be two different entities that didn¡¯t interfere with each other. As his inner qi ran through his meridians, Shang Xia could feel heaven and earth qi pouring into his body at a terrifying rate. In several breaths of time, the heaven and earth qi around his courtyard had been sucked dry. Compared to the time he was in the Martial Extremity Realm, he absorbed heaven and earth qi several times faster! His way of absorbing heaven and earth qi could even be considered tyrannical! That was even considering the fact that the grand formation around the Shang Clan Manor was actively absorbing heaven and earth qi from the surroundings to increase the density of heaven and earth qi in the manor. Even then, he managed to create a space void of any with his absorption speed. With the absence of heaven and earth qi in his surroundings and the slow rate of recovery, Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation speed was naturally affected According to his estimation, he should be able to complete one full circulation in two hours. Due to the lack of heaven and earth qi, he was only able to complete it after three long hours. When he was done with the first round of circulation, he could feel his origin core growing a lot stronger. At the same time, it also gained some spirituality. The only thing that confused him was the requirement to train in a Martial Intent Realm martial art in order to transform the inner qi already stored in his dantian. Ever since entering the Martial Intent Realm, the large amount of Yin Yang Essence Qi left in his dantian would only transform when he trained in the Providence Spear! Even though training in the Providence Spear was easier than the Triple Providence Chapter, he would need to fully comprehend techniques that suited him after understanding the theory behind the Providence Spear! Luckily for him, his understanding of the Triple Providence Chapter provided him with a direction to pursue when he tried to comprehend his own spear art in the future. CH 239 ¡°Refining the essence to qi¡­¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself as he played with a long spear in his hand. If that was truly the case, the medicine and way for him to enter the Martial Intent Realm that had been modified by the blood red tablet in his sea of consciousness was only a guide for him to form an origin core in his body. Only when his inner qi completed its transformation would it finally be considered his ¡®Triple Command Origin True Qi¡¯. He would have to circulate the Triple Command Origin True Qi in his body in order to start training in the Triple Providence Chapter. The Triple Command Origin True Qi had nothing to do with the ball of chaos that appeared in his dantian during his promotion to the Martial Intent Realm. Instead, he had to transform his Yin Yang Essence Qi that he had gathered when he was in the Martial Extremity Realm completely into Triple Command Origin True Qi. In order to do that, he would need to practice the Providence Spear! He discovered that the process of cultivation was long and difficult indeed. Every time he broke through, he would have to start from scratch by transforming his inner qi! Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that it was all bad. When he trained in the Providence Spear Art, he would slowly transform his inner qi in the Triple Command Origin True Qi. It worked almost exactly like when he entered the Martial Extremity Realm where he had to transform his inner qi into Yin Yang Essence Qi. When the transformation was complete, his cultivation speed would rise rapidly! After all, the amount of Yin Yang Essence Qi he gathered in the Martial Extremity Realm was abundant. He was so strong that no one in the same realm was his match! We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. The metal spear trembled in his hand as it barely managed to contain his inner qi. Even though it looked like it was about to break apart, Shang Xia hadn¡¯t injected a lot of power into it. In fact, he was afraid to put too much energy into it in case it became a pile of scrap metal. At the moment, the spear in his hand was made purely from iron. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t wish to use a spear made from precious materials. If he had a proper spear, it would be much easier to train in the Providence Spear Art! It was too bad his Triple Command Origin True Qi was extremely high level. It possessed destructive properties that could destroy pseudo-graded weapons that were made from precious materials. Although it would last longer than the current spear in his hand, it would still shatter after a few rounds of training. The Shang Clan didn¡¯t possess that many good spears to begin with, and they couldn¡¯t ensure Shang Xia¡¯s expenditure. After he destroyed three pseudo-graded spears after nine days of training, Shang Xi personally came to look for him to forbid him from using any more. Helpless and desperate to use a spear to continue comprehending his spear art, Shang Xia could only look for those made from ordinary iron white waiting for Duan Hong to complete the modification of his Waning Moon Spear. While that was happening, he continued to explore the properties of his Triple Command Origin True Qi. Deep down in his heart, he knew why his qi destroyed the spears he was using. The Providence Spear Art wasn¡¯t just a technique. It contained several profound principles that one had to figure out for themselves. Shang Xia was also unable to prevent his inner qi that would leak from time to time. It contained many different properties. Due to his cultivation, his inner qi would transform instinctively between the powers of lightning and the seven pairs of qi he mastered in the Martial Extremity Realm. When it entered the weapon he was holding, it would bring about extremely destructive behavior, weakening the weapon severely. That was also the reason why Shang Xia hadn¡¯t made any actual progress in the half month he was training in it. One fine day, he was thinking of leaving seclusion and returning to the institution when Duan Hong rushed towards his courtyard with an elated expression plastered to his face. ¡°Sixth Young Master, I did it! I succeeded!¡± His voice arrived long before he did. ¡°Really? Where is it? Let me have a look!¡± Shang Xia rushed out into his courtyard in excitement. He was already starting to get disappointed by his inability to practice his spear art. Now that Duan Hong had arrived, it seemed as though a huge part of his problems would be solved! Seeing the look of joy on Shang Xia¡¯s face, Duan Hong waved his hand and yelled to his apprentices, ¡°Bring it in!¡± The two of them carried a long spear on their shoulders as they stumbled into the courtyard. Without a second word from Duan Hong, Shang Xia went over to grab the body of the spear. Twisting his wrist, he drew a perfect arc before him. A strong breeze swept against the two apprentices and they stumbled backward slightly. Duan Hong reached out to hold their shoulders and he muttered softly, ¡°Watch carefully. This is a good opportunity for the two of you.¡± His apprentices were disciples of the Shang Clan to begin with. They were sent over to Duan Hong to learn the ropes due to their superior talent, and they were the hope of the Shang Clan. Duan Hong knew that they would eventually take his place once they grew up, but he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. He required the support of a giant power like the Shang Clan if he wished to improve his skills. They were basically making use of each other, and he wasn¡¯t reserved when imparting his skills to the two of them. With their teacher¡¯s tip, the two of them opened their eyes wide to watch Shang Xia swinging his spear around the courtyard. The sharp wind that slammed against them caused them a little pain, but they couldn¡¯t be bothered with it at that moment. Strictly speaking, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t too adept with using the modified halberd due to the fundamental difference between the two weapons. Regardless, a graded weapon was a graded weapon. It was capable of holding Shang Xia¡¯s Triple Command Origin True Qi. When he was ¡®training¡¯ in the Providence Spear Art previously, he could only visualize the moves. Now, he was finally able to test them out! With Duan Hong and his apprentices as witnesses, he started his formal training in the spear art! As he swung the spear, he vented all the frustrations he had built up when the various spears he used previously shattered, rendering him unable to train properly. The faster he swung his spear, the clearer his mind became. The large amount of inner qi in his dantian started to transform, and the Triple Command Origin True Qi that was stored in the formless mass of chaos in his dantian increased by one-fold. Stabbing his spear into the skies, a loud whistle tore through the air. CH 240 If Shang Xia had to mention his deepest impression of a Martial Intent Realm cultivator, he would have to say that it had something to do with their ability to control the heaven and earth qi around them. The number of Martial Intent Realm cultivators he fought with wasn¡¯t few. He suffered greatly in their hands because of that specific ability. As such, his greatest desire after stepping into the Martial Intent Realm was to learn how to do the same. With the Waning Moon Spear in his hand, he executed several moves he comprehended in the Providence Spear Art and finally obtained a Martial Intent Realm martial art of his own. That wasn¡¯t all. After completing the moves, the Yin Yang Essence Qi in his dantian was starting to transform. The origin core that contained his Triple Command Origin True Qi expanded by more than one time, making him more powerful than before. That was great proof that he managed to gain an initial grasp of his martial art. With excitement flowing through his veins, Shang Xia sent a trace of his Origin True Qi into the spear. Heaven and earth qi started gathering around the tip with his Origin True Qi as its origin, and it turned into a giant spear light tens of feet long that shot towards the heavens. Controlling heaven and earth qi at will! When he obtained a slight accomplishment in his Martial Intent Realm martial art, he finally managed to achieve his goal! In his excitement, Shang Xia failed to control his Origin True Qi in his dantian and he raised his head to roar loudly at the skies. Half the Tongyou City was alarmed by his sudden scream. After a short moment, Shang Xia regained his calm. If he managed to disturb half the city, the Shang Clan Manor was definitely going to be affected. Nearly the entire population in the manor saw the spear light piercing high into the heavens before disappearing. When his Origin True Qi finally calmed down, Shang Xia remembered that there were still people in the courtyard. ¡°Congratulations to the Sixth Young Master for succeeding! With a spear in hand, your future is limitless!¡± Duan Hong cupped his fists towards Shang Xia and smiled. Ever since Shang Jian and Shang Yang returned, people had stopped addressing Shang Xia as ¡®Young Master Shang¡¯. Instead, all of them changed his address to ¡®Sixth Young Master¡¯. Shang Xia knew that it was pretty much a formality in the clan and he didn¡¯t really care either. The only people who could affect how people addressed each other in the Shang Clan were Shang Bo and Shang Ke. Regardless, the naming convention didn¡¯t affect him much. Stabbing the Waning Moon Spear into the ground, Shang Xia chuckled, ¡°Master Duan Hong is too kind. I only succeeded because you modified the halberd well.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sixth Young Master, but you exaggerate!¡± Other people might not know where the weapon came from, but Duan Hong clearly knew that Shang Xia provided the low-grade weapon himself! The reason he succeeded was because of Shang Xia! As long as Duan Hong provided him with a spear that could withstand his Origin True Qi, he would succeed regardless. We are "pawread dot com", find us on google. Seeing the look on Duan Hong¡¯s face, Shang Xia changed the topic. ¡°Master Duan Hong, when do you plan to start refining the low-grade spear? The Waning Moon Spear might be good, but it¡¯s not perfectly suited to my needs.¡± Duan Hong snapped back to reality the moment Shang Xia brought up the topic. ¡°Before anything else, I need to thank the Sixth Young Master for allowing me to practice with the Waning Moon Halberd. With the experience of modifying the weapon into a spear, I am much more confident in making a brand new low-grade spear. Today, I came with good news. Three days later, I will start the refinement process to create your spear.¡± Shang Xia immediately turned serious. ¡°I hope Master Duan Hong will be successful! When that happens, our Shang Clan will welcome our very own master blacksmith!¡± ¡°I will definitely do my best. After all, it¡¯s time to repay the clan for the grace they have shown me all these years.¡± Duan Hong bowed sincerely and gestured to his apprentices, ¡°Little brats, why haven¡¯t you thanked the Sixth Young Master for giving you the opportunity to watch him train? Don¡¯t be rude!¡± His apprentices looked younger than Shang Xia, and their appearances were a little haggard after what they just went through. Earlier, Shang Xia drew over a ton of heaven and earth qi and covered his courtyard with his divine sense. Even with Duan Hong¡¯s protection, the two of them were severely suppressed. However, that didn¡¯t stop them from revealing excited expressions as they went up to thank Shang Xia. They had looks of adoration and worship on their faces as they spoke to Shang Xia. ¡°Many thanks, Sixth Uncle!¡± As they spoke, they gave him a deep bow. ¡°There¡¯s no need for formalities! We¡¯re all family here!¡± Shang Xia raised an eyebrow in surprise at Duan Hong. Even though they looked barely younger than him, it seemed as though they were from the fourth generation of the Shang Clan! A chuckle left Duan Hong¡¯s lips as he explained, ¡°Sixth Young Master, when you covered the entire courtyard with your divine sense earlier, you managed to help temper their willpower. You also placed a shadow of the spear dao in their minds. They barely entered the gateway of cultivation and they¡¯re currently at the Martial Realm. Thanks to you they will be able to train in spear arts and achieve twice the results with half the effort.¡± Widening his eyes in shock, Shang Xia gasped, ¡°That works too?¡± Nodding slightly, Duan Hong decided that it was time to leave. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, we¡¯ll not disturb you any longer.¡± Shang Xia felt that Duan Hong wanted to say more, but since he chose not to, Shang Xia didn¡¯t press into the matter. He thought that it would be inconvenient for the two apprentices to hear him, and Shang Xia quickly bade his farewell. ¡°Master Duan Hong, take care! When you start the refinement process, I¡¯ll be sure to show up.¡± After Duan Hong left, Shang Xia pulled his spear out from the ground and held it steadily in one hand. Sending some of his Origin True Qi into the weapon, the spear started to buzz. Formless spear light emerged from its tip from time to time. A flash of inspiration filled Shang Xia¡¯s mind and he withdrew his Origin True Qi all of a sudden. Instead, he sent a wisp of the purest energy contained in the formless ball of chaos in his dantian into his spear. Resplendent rays of light emerged from the tip of the spear. There were even faint arcs of lightning flashing around it. Indeed. Shang Xia was still able to use his first and second martial intents he comprehended in the Martial Realm and the Martial Extremity Realm respectively. Even if he used the spear, it didn¡¯t affect his ability to utilize his qi. The power contained in the multicolored spear light was terrifying. In fact, it seemed even more powerful than the formless spear light that he sent into the air when he comprehended his Providence Spear Art earlier. The only problem he found was that the multicolored spear light wasn¡¯t as pure as the other attack. It seemed all over the place and he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on it. CH 241 On the western side of the Shang Clan Manor, Shang Jian and Xu Huizhu stared into the skies and watched as the giant spear slowly dissipated. Even though it was gone, their gazes were still stuck in the air. The two of them were experts who had entered the Martial Intent Realm for a long time and they were well aware of the power contained in the strike. ¡°How long has it been?! Not only did he learn how to manipulate the heaven and earth qi in the air, his inner qi seems extremely pure! Is the inheritance of your Shang Clan really so terrifying?¡± Xu Huizhu asked with a trace of trepidation in her voice. Still looking in the direction of the giant spear, a complicated emotion flashed across Shang Jian¡¯s face. ¡°Everyone has their secrets. Maybe he¡¯s extremely suited to cultivate our Shang Clan¡¯s secret art.¡± Turning to look at Shang Jian, Xu Huizhu whispered, ¡°Are you regretting what you did?¡± ¡°In the past, I had the chance to accept our clan¡¯s inheritance too. However, I felt that it didn¡¯t suit me as I excel in the dao of the sword.¡± Shang Jian sighed. ¡°Moreover, the path of cultivation of the Providence Chapter of our clan is too narrow. I will never be able to train in the art of the sword ever again. As such, I chose to take my own path. I might be able to create a sword inheritance, opening another path for disciples of the Shang Clan in the future.¡± A resolute look could be seen in Xu Huizhu¡¯s eyes and she muttered gently, ¡°I¡¯ll support you no matter what happens!¡± Shang Jian chuckled softly in response, ¡°Soon. I¡¯m at the very last step. Once I step through this bottleneck and enter the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, I¡¯ll be able to leave behind my inheritance for the clan. It might not be as good as the Providence Inheritance, but it will be a lot easier to train in. In order to become a truly great clan, we need several inheritances. The Providence Inheritance might be powerful, but it¡¯s too difficult to train in. It might become some sort of restriction for our clan instead.¡± Xu Huizhu nodded, however, she soon whispered, ¡°What about¡­ What about Dong¡¯er and Bei¡¯er?¡± ¡°Relax.¡± Shang Jian watched on as another ray of spear light shot into the skies. This time, it was multi-colored. ¡°Duan Hong will start crafting his low-grade spear soon¡­¡± ¡­ Not too far away from their courtyard, Shang Yang had similarly been attracted by the spear light shooting into the skies. However, he managed to address one of the attendants who had been following him all that while. ¡°Where¡¯s my wife and kids?¡± ¡°This¡­ Madam and the two young masters have already arrived at the border connecting the Ji and You Continents. They¡¯ll only be able to arrive in a few more days. After all¡­¡± ¡°Hmph.¡± Shang Yang¡¯s expression sank and he growled, ¡°They¡¯re probably not too willing to come over and are doing everything in their power to drag their journey out.¡± His attendant replied cautiously, ¡°Madam is from the Ji Continent originally and the two young masters lived in the Ji Continent all their lives¡­ it¡¯s understandable that they don¡¯t wish to leave¡­¡± ¡°Hah, do they think the You Continent is some sort of garbage land compared to the Ji Continent?¡± Shang Yang snapped in irritation and continued, ¡°Go tell them to hurry up. The longer they take, the more dangerous their journey will become¡­¡± His attendant acknowledged before taking his leave. Watching another multi-colored spear light shoot into the skies, Shang Yang called over another attendant and asked, ¡°Did Duan Hong visit the Yifeng Pavilion earlier?¡± ¡°Ninth Master, Master Duan Hong did indeed head over to the Yifeng Pavilion. However, he had already taken his leave.¡± Shang Yang nodded before adding another question, ¡°Did Duan Hong say when he plans on starting the refinement of the spear?¡± His attendant replied promptly, ¡°Most of the attendants and disciples in the clan have been busy getting things ready. He should start in a few days¡­¡± Waving his hand in the air, Shang Yang grunted in acknowledgment. ¡°Hm. Alright, you can leave.¡± Watching the multi-colored spear light dissipating, Shang Yang revealed a bitter smile while shaking his head. ¡°Hehe, It¡¯s getting difficult to be this brat¡¯s uncle. How can I even think of obtaining benefits from that brat at this point in time?¡± ¡­ Shang Xia naturally didn¡¯t realize that his actions were well-evaluated by his two uncles. Finally deciding to return to the institution after more than a month since his return from the battlefield between the two worlds, Shang Xia left the Shang Clan Manor. ¡°So¡­ The training plaza in the Tongyou Institution would turn into a competition venue every afternoon with the disciples of other institutions challenging our members?¡± Shang Xia asked Yan Qi as he made his way over to the training plaza. Following behind Shang Xia, Yan Qi quickly explained, ¡°Yeah. The situation here took a turn for the better a while ago. They no longer targeted the students of the Tongyou Institution. Now, the plaza is a place where the disciples of the five institutions can exchange pointers freely. Sixth Young Master, now that you entered the Martial Intent Realm, you shouldn¡¯t lower yourself to those weaklings who are plotting against you.¡± Stopping dead in his tracks, he turned to stare at Yan Qi. ¡°Seventh Uncle, when did you change the way you address me too?¡± ¡°Oh, sorry, Young Master!¡± Yan Qi gasped. Nodding slowly, Shang Xia continued on his way. ¡°Even though they can only blame themselves for being weak when they lose to their opponents, I don¡¯t mind helping them out a little. Their behavior of blaming me is a little disgusting, but it¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not petty enough to hold it against them. However, the disciples of the other institutions seemed to have gone overboard.¡± Yan Qi saw that Shang Xia had already made up his mind and knew that dissuading him to do whatever he was about to do wouldn''t work. In the end, he could only remind Shang Xia softly at the side, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, Young Master, you should hold back a little in case you trouble Patriarch Shang and the higher-ups of the institution.¡± Chuckling softly, Shang Xia didn¡¯t say a word in response. Yan Qi was also unable to tell anything from his expression. As the most famous student in the institution, the news of Shang Xia¡¯s return spread to every corner of the institution the moment he stepped through the gates. When he arrived at the training plaza, every single student in the Outer and Inner Divisions had arrived. A portion of students from the upper division also made their appearance. The news spread further and further, and the disciples of the other institutions made their way over as well. Many of them had different intentions in mind, but it didn¡¯t stop them from gathering at the training plaza in the Tongyou Institution. By the time Shang Xia arrived, there was a brilliant battle going on in the middle of the plaza. As an inner disciple whose fame had risen sharply since his return from the battlefield between the two worlds, Dou Zhong became even more well-known as he was one of the one few who managed to defeat the geniuses of the other institutions. The members of the institution would even argue that he was the source of their pride in the month that passed! It was especially so for disciples of the outer division who were promoted with him. He received endless praise and support from his peers. In the middle of the plaza, Dou Zhong sent out 21 consecutive stabs and every one contained a piercing chill that would jab deep into the bones of his opponent. When he sent out his 22nd attack, his opponent was finally unable to withstand the effects of his sword art. As a disciple of the Yanmen Institution who was in the Martial Extremity Realm, he failed to hold his own against Dou Zhong, a disciple of the Tongyou Institution who had barely broken through to the Martial Extremity Realm. His forearms were frozen and he found it hard to keep his grip on his sword. The 23rd sword was the one that ended it all. With a clatter, Dou Zhong¡¯s opponent¡¯s short sword fell to the ground. ¡°Great!¡± The cheers came from all directions in the plaza, but the atmosphere quickly changed. The cheers died down almost instantly as a formless pressure pressed down on everyone present. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. ¡°Many thanks for the pointers.¡± Even though Dou Zhong could feel the suffocating tension in the air, he had to say something to his opponent. His tone became gentle and he tried to give his opponent some tips for his recovery. ¡°I apologize for the frosty qi that invaded your body. Due to the nature of my secret art, the icy qi might be a little too heavy for regular sparring. When you return, take three days to expel the icy qi in your body. Otherwise, you might be left with hidden injuries.¡± The disciple who was defeated responded kindly when he saw that Dou Zhong had no intentions of insulting him after the battle and was even giving him advice on how to recover. ¡°Dark Icy Sword, Dou Zhong. You really deserve your title. I accept my loss.¡± After he left the plaza, Dou Zhong turned around only to realize that the entire plaza was flooded with people. ¡°What¡¯s going on?! Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡± Dou Zhong knew that his progress was rapid, and he made a name for himself in the institution. However, he also knew that he didn¡¯t possess the reputation to gather so many disciples of all five institutions in the training plaza. There was only one person who had the ability to do that currently! ¡°He¡¯s here!¡± A voice rang through the air and the crowded plaza quickly made a path. A familiar figure stepped into the plaza under the multitude of gazes from those present. CH 242 Basically, every single genius of the five institutions who had come to the Tongyou City was gathered in the training plaza by the time Shang Xia arrived. If anyone else were to take Shang Xia¡¯s place, they would probably be paralyzed with fear. Unfortunately, that was Shang Xia they were talking about! He managed to keep his calm in front of so many geniuses. When he returned with the convoy of the Shang Clan more than a month ago, he defeated the star sword cultivators of the other four institutions in one go. The most terrifying part was that even the most talented inner disciple of the Jianmen Institution, Hou Yuchun, was defeated in a single blow! The battle might have ended, but the effects it brought about still lingered in the minds of those present. In the time that passed, many of the disciples of the other institutions who challenged the disciples of the Tongyou Institution did so because they felt that Shang Xia was too arrogant the other day. Due to his actions, he humiliated the other institutions. Conveniently forgetting that they were the ones who threatened the safety of the Shang Clan¡¯s convoy in the first place, they decided to take their anger out on the members of the Tongyou Institution. Naturally, none of them had the guts to go knocking at the Shang Clan Manor to challenge Shang Xia personally. With the news of Shang Xia preparing to attack the bottleneck of the Martial Intent Realm spreading like wildfire. No one would dare to challenge the bottom line of the Shang Clan and the Tongyou Institution by interrupting his training at the crucial moment. Of course, even if they did try to mess with his cultivation, none of them had the confidence to defeat him! Under the gazes of those present, Shang Xia casually walked into the heart of the training plaza. The path would get wider everywhere he passed, and other than the shuffling of feet, nothing else could be heard in the plaza. At that moment, it was as though an invisible spotlight was directed straight on Shang Xia! The aura around him, along with the dignified air that surrounded his entire being, seemed to create a formless pressure that descended on those present. The weaker ones even felt a sense of inferiority filling their heart. Dou Zhong, who had just won his battle realized that he had subconsciously retreated to the corner to join the crowd. The central region of the training plaza had been given entirely to Shang Xia, the glory that was supposed to belong to him was gone! Even though Dou Zhong¡¯s expression was considerably calm, reluctance filled his heart. He clenched his fists so hard that his nails dug into his skin. Arriving at the center of the training plaza, Shang Xia snapped his fan shut. He swept his gaze across those present and saw a multitude of gazes staring right back at him. His voice transmitted perfectly through the air. ¡°Come.¡± Other than the sounds of breathing, nothing else could be heard. ¡­ ¡°If this keeps us, there¡¯s no need to battle! They¡¯re going to lose before it even starts¡­¡± Wei Zhongwen muttered. The training plaza was built in the middle of various structures to begin with. In the higher floors of a building beside the plaza, several elders watched the scene of Shang Xia¡¯s entry. After Wei Zhongwen spoke, he sighed deeply. A trace of worry could be heard in his voice. ¡°Suppressing the entire field¡­ The divine sense of this newly advanced leader of his division can actually be so strong! He already surpassed whatever we were capable of when we were young.¡± Yu Chengjin added. The praise was truly genuine. Wei Zhongwen raised an eyebrow in surprise, ¡°Elder Yu and the rest of you, aren¡¯t you afraid that their dao heart will be affected if no one dares to step out against him?¡± Yu Chengjin glanced at him from the corner of his eye and the smirk on his face told everyone that he wasn¡¯t afraid about the progression of the disciples of the Jianmen Institution at all. Only a white-browed, black-bearded old man clad in feathered robes beside Wei Zhongwen chuckled at the side in explanation, ¡°Mister Wei, you can rest assured. Many of our disciples went through life-or-death training. Even though he¡¯s able to suppress them right now, I believe none of our disciples will suffer a roadblock in their path of cultivation. They might be waiting for someone to take the lead before they try anything.¡± Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. The elder who just spoke was called An Baimei. He was also a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator and he rushed over to take You Haibiao¡¯s place from the Beihai Institution. Wei Zhongwen frowned in response as he didn¡¯t really believe what he said. He couldn¡¯t help but speak up again when he saw the calm look on their faces. ¡°Even if they¡¯ve been through some tough training, they have never been into the battlefield between the two worlds. Their mentality hasn¡¯t transformed under desperate circumstances against enemies of the other world. Now, their cultivation can¡¯t even match up to the kid! Look, Brother Ji, aren¡¯t you afraid that the other disciples of the institution will be affected?¡± Without even looking at him, Ji Wenlong muttered, ¡°If they can¡¯t even endure something like this, they should just back down now. They¡¯ll only be cannon fodder if they fight against the outsiders with their weak mental strength.¡± ¡°This¡­¡± Wei Zhongwen was still hesitant, but he couldn''t say anymore after seeing everyone else¡¯s attitude. He cursed at all of them in his heart. The way the institutions trained their disciples was cruel indeed. The number of casualties reported by the Tongyou Institution in the battlefield between the two worlds was no secret. Compared to that hellhole, the various continents in the Azure Origin World seemed like paradise. The White Deer Paradise he came from was truly considered a holy land of cultivation. After all, the conditions where they trained were much better than the five institutions who guarded the border regions. The experts who came from the White Deer Paradise were spread all over the world to extend their influence. ¡­ The disciples in the plaza naturally had no idea that they were being watched by several Martial Extermination Realm experts. As Shang Xia stood in the middle of the plaza, he was completely unperturbed by the various gazes thrown his way. Finally, someone in the crowd lost their patience. Naturally, they couldn¡¯t stand Shang Xia¡¯s high and mighty stance. ¡°I¡¯ll go first!¡± A roar came from the back and shattered the silence. When everyone turned to look at the source of the voice, they saw a tall and sturdy figure clad in a sheepskin coat striding out. He had a straightforward appearance, and he looked rather weathered. Holding a broadsword in his hand, he went straight for Shang Xia. Before he could reach the center, his information had already spread through the audience. ¡°That¡¯s the Far Reaching Sword, Huang Xing. He¡¯s an inner disciple of the Weiwu Institution. When Ma Qi¡¯s sword was grabbed by Shang Xia during the battle, he suffered endless humiliation. Now, Huang Xing is going to take revenge for him!¡± As he dragged his broadsword across the plaza, a deep trail could be seen behind him. ¡°I am Huang Xing of the Weiwu Institution. Please advise me.¡± Seeing the fellow who was half a head taller than him, Shang Xia muttered with an expressionless face. ¡°Do you know that I have already entered the Martial Intent Realm?¡± ¡°Of course. Even though I¡¯m only at the Martial Extremity Realm, I had to get a taste of your sword.¡± Huang Xing replied. Seeing his forthright attitude, Shang Xia nodded seriously in response, ¡°Alright. I have heard of your sword skills too. I¡¯ll seal my cultivation to the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. I hope Brother Huang will give it his all.¡± Staring at Shang Xia in shock, Huang Xing gasped, ¡°How¡­ How can you tell that my cultivation is at the large completion stage?¡± With a smile finding its way onto Shang Xia¡¯s face, he casually stuck a talisman onto his body and his aura started to fade. ¡°That¡¯s not all I can tell. I also know that you¡¯re a mere step away from entering the grand completion stage! I¡¯m afraid your true motive is to use me as a grindstone for you to comprehend your martial extremity intent, right?¡± CH 243 ¡°Hah¡­ This crafty bastard actually hid his true level!¡± Some cultivators in the crowd who had crossed paths with him in the past yelled. The anger in their voice was apparent. Huang Xing¡¯s ¡®innocent¡¯ and ¡®straightforward¡¯ expression fell slightly as he waved his broadsword before him. ¡°Please!¡± Shang Xia twisted his wrist and a long sword appeared in his hand. Those who noticed what happened gasped in shock. Spatial artifacts were still extremely rare objects. Even among Martial Intent Realm experts, it was really rarely seen, much less the disciples of the various institutions. Seeing as a sword had already been in Shang Xia¡¯s hand, Huang Xing didn¡¯t say anymore. He started his assault. Twirling his sword, a formless sword light slashed towards Shang Xia. Holding Jade Creek in his hand, Shang Xia turned most of his attention to his dantian. Due to the presence of the restraining talisman, Shang Xia discovered that the small ball of chaos in his dantian had been sealed up for the time being. However, the seal was paper thin. With a single thought, Shang Xia could shatter the seal instantly. The nature of the seal wasn¡¯t the problem. Instead, he was more interested to see if the ball of formless chaos in his dantian would transform back into the Yin Yang Diagram. It was a shame he was bound to be disappointed. The Yin Yang Diagram was nowhere to be seen. Instead, he discovered that every strand of his inner qi seemed to contain traces of yin and yang. It could transform into any attribute he wanted! Ever since his breakthrough, the Yin Yang Diagram and the tiny swords that symbolized his comprehension of the various sword intents transformed and fused together! He could use them anytime he wished. That was what happened when he entered the Martial Intent Realm previously. As Huang Xing swung his broadsword, he unleashed seven slashes in the blink of an eye. Every successive slash was stronger than the other, and as the sword light tore through the air, deep cuts could be seen in the ground below. As the sword lights approached, Shang Xia finally moved! Waving his Jade Creek Sword lightly, each of the seven sword lights were shattered completely. That wasn¡¯t all. His sword seemed to cross space and it tapped directly on the body of Huang Xing¡¯s broadsword. ¡°Clang!¡± A deafening blast rocked through the air and Huang Xing¡¯s body trembled uncontrollably from the recoil. Withdrawing his sword, Shang Xia also retreated slightly. When he finally stopped, he was several dozen feet away. Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°You¡­¡± Huang Xing hadn¡¯t lost his grip on his sword, but there was a trace of unease in his eyes. ¡°A broadsword is fundamentally different from an epee. There¡¯s no need to play such games with me. Hurry up and show me your true strength.¡± Shang Xia said indifferently. However, Huang Xing felt as though Shang Xia¡¯s words were a huge sledgehammer that slammed into his heart. At the same time, the crowd around them went wild. Huang Xing was one of the most outstanding disciples from the Weiwu Institution during the ¡®exchange¡¯ with the disciples of the Tongyou Institution. In fact, he was ranked among the top even among the other institutions. With his strength, many people couldn¡¯t block several strikes from him before they were defeated. There were even disciples who had reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm who had lost to him due to a moment of carelessness! Practically everyone felt that he was training in light and heavy qi due to his technique. Not to mention the fact that he was waving a giant sword around. From what Shang Xia mentioned, it seemed as though Huang Xing wasn¡¯t training in light and heavy qi at all! There were many people who doubted his judgment, but their suspicion quickly disappeared when they witnessed the following scene. Huang Xing¡¯s expression sank as he changed his stance. How deep was this fellow actually hiding?! That was probably the thought that ran through the minds of those present. When they looked at his ¡®honest¡¯ and ¡®silly¡¯ appearance, many people realized that he had been hiding his true cultivation and martial arts all along! Holding his boardsword in a reverse grip, his other hand held onto the blade of the sword, making it look more like a giant shield. Releasing a loud roar, Huang Xing held the boardsword before him and charged towards Shang Xia. Standing his ground, Shang Xia¡¯s inaction caused many people to feel slightly worried for him. If he was really hit by Huang Xing¡¯s reckless charge, he would really turn into meat paste. When Huang Xing was barely three feet away from him, Shang Xia stabbed his sword forward. Not a trace of sword light was released, and there weren¡¯t any signs that he had released any sword qi. It was a stab that couldn¡¯t be more ordinary! The Jade Creek Sword which was barely longer than Shang Xia¡¯s forearm seemed to ignore all distance as the tip of the sword appeared directly in front of Huang Xing¡¯s forehead! Huang Xing wasn¡¯t able to raise his sword to defend himself when Shang Xia¡¯s strike arrived. It was at that moment Shang Xia realized how tyrannical the Shang Clan¡¯s Irregular Sword Art was. It was too damn amazing! Even though a portion of the disciples currently watching the battle had reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm, and some of them had even entered the Martial Intent Realm, they couldn¡¯t help but gasp in admiration at Shang Xia¡¯s strike. Shang Xia knew how frightening his sword art was, but he also knew that it wasn¡¯t enough to fully secure the victory. A loud cry rang through the air and the sound of metal scraping followed. His sword was eventually deflected. Sword light filled the air like fireworks as Huang Xing released 27 strikes in succession. Every slash was stronger and faster than the last. His right hand was still holding on to his broadsword, but a second thinner sword could be seen in his left hand. Slashing through the air quickly, he managed to force Shang Xia to take several steps back. ¡°This guy isn¡¯t training in the dao of light and heavy. He¡¯s training in the dao of speed! He¡¯s using fast and slow qi!¡± ¡°He can actually wield a sword with his left hand!¡± ¡°When did someone like him appear in the Weiwu Institution?!¡± Gasps of shock filled the plaza as many people imagined themselves to be in Shang Xia¡¯s position. Realizing that they would have lost instantly, they couldn¡¯t help but sigh. In the training plaza, Huang Xing looked as though he had finally gained the upper hand. However, those who knew what was actually going on could tell that Huang Xing¡¯s attacks were flashy at best. It was extremely messy and there wasn¡¯t much substance behind it. Shang Xia might look to be at a disadvantage, but he was able to move leisurely across the battlefield. He could attack and retreat as he wished. The scene even reminded some of them when their teachers were holding classes. ¡°Something is wrong. Huang Xing is following the dao of speed, but why isn¡¯t he releasing his broadsword? Won¡¯t the large blade hamper his speed?¡± Several disciples quickly pointed out the abnormality. Shang Xia, who seemed to be suppressed by Huang Xing, brought out another sword all of a sudden. He shattered the array of sword lights around him in the blink of an eye before rushing straight towards Huang Xing. Once again, he simply stabbed straight ahead. Like before, there was nothing flashy about it. Instinctively, Huang Xing raised his broadsword to protect himself. ¡°Clang!¡± Once again, a clear ringing sound filled the air. This time, Huang Xing¡¯s back was drenched in sweat. Everyone could tell that Shang Xia didn¡¯t put much effort into his last strike. Only the person facing him, Huang Xing, could tell that Shang Xia was showing mercy. If Shang Xia chose to release his inner qi and send a sword light out towards Huang Xing, he would be dead before his sword could hit the floor. Naturally, not many people in the plaza would be able to see Shang Xia¡¯s intention. The same couldn¡¯t be said when talking about Huang Xing¡¯s secret. ¡°Offense and defense! This fellow wants to use the dao of speed to comprehend the dao of offense and defense!¡± Someone yelled. Shang Xia finally broke his silence and reminded, ¡°Do you still not understand? What¡¯s the point in using your broadsword to defend yourself? The best defense is a strong offense!¡± ¡°So that¡¯s it¡­ That¡¯s it!¡± Tossing his broadsword away, the glow around his thin sword became all the more resplendent. The dao of speed and a sword boundary that consisted of offense and defense. Huang Xing finally understood the essence behind his sword intent! At that moment, he truly stepped into the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm! CH 244 Since the battle started, Shang Xia only used two strikes. One of them forced Huang Xing to reveal his true strength, and the other allowed Huang Xing to comprehend his sword intent. The battle between the two was intense, but it barely took any time at all. Those who were watching couldn¡¯t believe that the battle was over. Many of them even hesitated and wondered if they should be cheering or not. Shang Xia¡¯s two strikes were executed perfectly. He didn¡¯t utilize any sort of sword light, but they were more eye-catching than any type of sword light summoned by any of those present. That was how it assisted Huang Xing in taking the final step. The perfected stabs found the weakness in his attacks, allowing him to find a way to patch up his weakness. In order for something like that to happen, the difference between the two of them wasn¡¯t simply large. It was comparable to the distance between the heavens and the earth! The moment Huang Xing stepped into the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm, he understood the difference between the two of them. Admitting defeat immediately, he thanked Shang Xia before taking his leave. The disciples who were gathered in the plaza stared at Shang Xia with a burning gaze after watching how Huang Xing broke through with several pointers. The moment Huang Xing took his leave, countless disciples swarmed Shang Xia. ¡°I am Liao Qingfeng of the Beihai Institution. I hope to receive Chief Shang¡¯s pointers.¡± A challenge rang through the air and the disciple who spoke leaped into the air. A pair of familiar-looking copper truncheons slammed down towards Shang Xia¡¯s skull. Shang Xia clearly didn¡¯t expect his simple actions of pointing out some flaws in Huang Xing¡¯s cultivation technique to cause so many people to challenge him. Out of the five institutions, the Tongyou Institution was the only one with a 3-6 years education period. The other four institutions had different ways of nurturing their students. Unlike the Tongyou Institution with outer, inner, and upper divisions, the other institutions focused more on their disciple¡¯s cultivation level. They might be split into ordinary, elite, and even direct disciples of various teachers. Whatever it was, the greatest difference between their methods and those of the Tongyou Institution was that the Tongyou Institution could churn out many more experts every year. Now that they experienced a huge victory in the battlefield between the two worlds, they would expand their intake of students immediately while lowering the barrier of advancing into the inner and upper decisions respectively. The other institutions were more focused on the quality of their disciples. They poured resources into promising disciples despite their already huge disciple base. Disciples would face a huge barrier when they tried to be promoted to the next level. That was also the reason disciples of the other institutions would become desperate after staying at their current level for a long time. They wanted nothing more than to improve themselves! That was the reason behind their enthusiasm after they saw how Shang Xia assisted Huang Xing in breaking through his bottleneck. Liao Qingfeng was clearly someone who thought he was smarter than the rest by attacking without any warning. He felt that Shang Xia would have to fight him now that he struck first. He was clearly stupid. His actions only caused Shang Xia to feel unhappy. Willingness to point Huang Xing in the correct direction was one thing, but becoming a stepping stone for others to challenge as they like in order to break through was another. Without any intention to give Liao Qingfeng any pointers at all, he simply sent out a ray of sword light in response. As Liao Qingfeng slammed his truncheons downwards, the world around him started spinning. Before he knew it, his weapon was flying through the air. In his state of shock, he felt another wave of energy slamming into him and he was soaring through the air before he knew it. It took barely a breath of time before he was sent flying. There were many people who didn¡¯t even know what happened. However, Liao Qingfeng¡¯s actions started a chain reaction. A second cultivator soon jumped out at Shang Xia. Find the original at "pawread dot com". ¡°Zheng Huaiwen of the Yanmen Institution requests your teachings, Chief Shang!¡± His attack was slightly more insidious than Liao Qingfeng. In the air, two flying needles shot out at Shang Xia. With his palm trembling slightly, Shang Xia drew a circle in the air with his Jade Creek Sword. A ball of energy surrounded the needles. When that happened, the space around them seemed to turn solid and the needles found it hard to advance. In the next instant, they were sent flying back. Zheng Huaiwen, who was in mid air, found it impossible to dodge. He could only throw two more needles out to deflect the ones he threw earlier. Sparks flew through the air when the needles collided. Even then, Zheng Huaiwen¡¯s expression changed drastically and he forcefully circulated his inner qi. Risking inner injuries, he twisted his body to the side. Two soft hisses passed his ear and two tiny holes appeared in his clothes. Flailing unsteadily through the air, he crashed into the ground below. Just like that, he dealt with Zheng Huaiwen with one move. Now, even more people came. The instant Zheng Huaiwen hit the ground, the third person appeared. ¡°Su Yufei of the Jianmen Institution¡­¡± ¡°Jia Junle of the Wuwei Institution¡­¡± ¡°Junior Brother Shang, take my blade!¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with the first two. However, the last one really ticked him off. A trace of irritation filled Shang Xia¡¯s heart. ¡°What¡¯s this?! Do you think this granddaddy here is opening some charity breakthrough center?! You guys are stuck in your own bottleneck, what the fuck do I have to do with it?!¡± He didn¡¯t wish to be bothered by everyone the entire time, and a strange rage filled his heart. A silver light emerged from his Jade Creek Sword and it spun once around him. In the next instant, countless sword lights and strands of sword qi erupted with Shang Xia as the center and flooded outwards. It filled the space around him. The three of them who leaped out at him felt the blood draining from their faces as they closed their eyes to await death. Due to the shock they felt, they completely forgot to dodge. As the torrent of sword lights closed in on them, they turned illusory and dissipated before causing any real harm. Only then did most people in the plaza discover the changes in the battlefield. Only a few blind souls decided to continue charging towards Shang Xia. With the frustration in his heart reaching its peak, the restriction talisman Shang Xia placed on himself finally fell off. His strength reached the peak instantly as bolts of lightning emerged from the tip of his sword. It formed a giant web that enclosed the area thirty feet around him, forcing everyone back. CH 245 Seeing as everyone was trying to get him to assist them, Shang Xia decided to deal with everyone with one simple move. After forcing them back, they no longer dared to make a rash move. As the lightning slowly dissipated, the Jade Creek Sword in his hand disappeared. Shang Xia swept his gaze across the entire plaza and those who dared to meet his eyes were Martial Intent Realm cultivators. Silence returned to the plaza once again. ¡°Everyone.¡± Shang Xia spoke, drawing everyone¡¯s attention once again. ¡°I¡¯ve been in seclusion this whole time and I heard that led to many misunderstandings between the disciples of the other institutions and students of our Tongyou Institution. Now that I have emerged from my seclusion, I am here to clear up these misunderstandings. I can¡¯t do this alone. I hope you are also willing to cooperate with me, and those who hope to break through by challenging me can refrain from stepping out. I don¡¯t have time to play around with you guys. Why don¡¯t the various senior brothers and sisters here who have entered the Martial Intent Realm step out instead?¡± The moment he spoke, the expressions of many disciples of the Tongyou Institution turned complicated. In the days that passed, Shang Xia had been getting ready for his breakthrough. The most talented disciples of the Tongyou Institution were mostly stationed in the battlefield between the two worlds and were unable to return on short notice. As such, most of the disciples left in the institution had been mercilessly suppressed by the disciples of the other institutions. They were in a miserable state indeed. One had to know that they were currently in the Tongyou Institution! Being suppressed in their home turf wasn¡¯t exactly a glorious matter. That was precisely the reason why they had a really bad impression of Shang Xia. They felt that he wasn¡¯t taking responsibility for the trouble he had caused. Even though he had been preparing to enter the Martial Intent Realm, many disciples still felt that he was using it as an excuse to avoid taking responsibility for the situation. Despite their feelings, many of them subconsciously anticipated the scene where he suppressed the disciples of the other institutions when he arrived. Even though their gazes were filled with disgust, they were silently hoping for him to deal with the injustice they were facing. They wanted nothing more than for him to teach them a serious lesson. The contradiction caused many of their expressions to change now that he was challenging the Martial Intent Realm experts of the other institutions. When he appeared, he suppressed his cultivation to the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm and managed to defeat Huang Xing in two strikes. That wasn¡¯t the end. Not only did he defeat the other party, but his moves also allowed Huang Xing to be enlightened, stepping into the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. Next, he easily dealt with several disciples of the other institutions jumping out at him. With his strength, he suppressed the entire plaza singlehandedly, venting the frustrations the disciples of the Tongyou Institutions had been festering in their bellies for the past month or so. Cheers for him eventually emerged from the lips of several disciples of the Tongyou Institution. They only fell short of calling him their invincible leader. ¡­ When Shang Xia challenged the Martial Intent Realm disciples of the other institutions, the Martial Extermination Realm experts who were observing the situation silently in the building beside the plaza started their discussion again. ¡°This kid seems to be a little cocky now that he defeated several Martial Extremity Realm disciples in succession. Hmph, didn¡¯t he break through not long ago?¡± Elder An Baimei of the Beihai Institution frowned. He didn¡¯t like disciples who liked to show off. In fact, he preferred those who progressed steadily while maintaining their humble attitude. In his eyes, Shang Xia¡¯s actions were a little too presumptuous. Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ]. Speaking of breaking through not too long ago, Han Chongwei of the Weiwu Institution from the Liang Continent also entered the Martial Extermination Realm not too long ago. He had a fierce and mighty appearance, but in reality, he was the most junior member among those present. When he heard what Elder An said, he chose to express his displeasure too. ¡°Hah, when he kid sealed his cultivation earlier, not even Martial Intent Realm disciples will be able to match up to him. Now that he released the seal on his cultivation, he¡¯s even stronger than before.¡± Glancing at Han Chongwei from the corner of his eye, An Baimei muttered indifferently, ¡°Elder Han, do you not have confidence in your own disciples? The difference between cultivators in the Martial Extremity Realm and the Martial Realm is huge, much less the distance between a Martial Extremity Realm cultivator and one in the Martial Intent Realm. He might be an outstanding disciple at the Martial Extremity Realm, but after entering the Martial Intent Realm, he might not be stronger than those who had consolidated their foundations and reached higher accomplishments. Which one of our disciples here isn¡¯t geniuses? Do you think ordinary Martial Intent Realm cultivators can compare to them? Much less some kid who barely broke through.¡± Chuckling in response, Han Chongwei decided not to argue with An Baimei. Deputy Patriarch Yu Chengjin of the Jianmen Institution of the Shu Continent spoke up at that moment to address Ji Wenlong. ¡°Brother Ji, what do you think?¡± A smile appeared on Ji Wenlong¡¯s face as he laughed in amusement, ¡°They¡¯re just kids playing around, why do we care so much about who¡¯s going to come out on top?¡± Chang Huaiwu of the Yanmen Institution from the Bing Continent turned to Ji Wenlong with a crafty smile and suggested, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t we make a few friendly wagers?¡± ¡­ Due to the lack of bountiful resources, the Tongyou Institution focused on letting their students fend for themselves. The other institutions had a different way of education. When the disciples of the other institutions reached a certain level, the path of advancement would become fairly narrow. The method the other institutions adopted was to focus on inheritances. Elite disciples would accept a teacher and receive their inheritance. Even though the higher leveled disciples of the other four institutions took a huge hit in numbers, those who remained were able to experience a rapid increase in strength once they received their teacher¡¯s inheritance. They would also be specially nurtured by the institution, allowing them to maintain a high level of combat strength. When Shang Xia challenged the Martial Intent Realm disciples of the four institutions, four individuals stepped out. One had to know that they were currently in the Tongyou City. There was no way the other institutions brought everyone they had. With four of them present, the difference between the institutions was clear. The number of disciples in the upper division of the Tongyou Institution who had reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm was high. However, Shang Xia only knew one of those who had broken through to the Martial Intent Realm recently, Sun Haiwei. Before he returned from the battlefield between the two worlds, he heard that Tian Mengzi was preparing to attack the bottleneck of the Martial Intent Realm too. However, he hadn¡¯t heard anything since. He wondered if Tian Mengzi succeeded. Despite the difference in teaching styles between the Tongyou Institution and the other four institutions, one couldn¡¯t say that the Tongyou Institution was worse. After all, the institution had a rule to state the longest one could remain as a student was six years. There were many who completed their education in the Tongyou Institution in three short years, and they would leave to begin their own adventures. The disciples of the other institutions were clearly receiving different treatment. Elite disciples who found a master in the institution could remain for a long time. As long as their master didn¡¯t recognize their ability and strength, they wouldn¡¯t be allowed to graduate. That was the reason behind the lack of Martial Intent Realm disciples in the Tongyou Institution. In contrast, Martial Intent Realm disciples were easily seen in the other institutions. Seeing the four disciples who came from their respective institutions, Shang Xia raised an eyebrow in surprise. ¡°How may I address senior brothers and sisters?¡± ¡°Disciple of the Jianmen Institution, Song Yuzhi.¡± ¡°Yanmen Institution, Qin Daxing.¡± ¡°I am Tan Xinya of the Beihai Institution.¡± ¡°Ma Jianfan of the Weiwu Institution.¡± CH 246 With Shang Xia in the mix, there was a Martial Intent Realm disciple from each institution present. ¡°Why would Chief Shang call all of them out at the same time? Don¡¯t tell me he plans to challenge them all on his own?¡± ¡°Hmph, this guy is getting too cocky. Does he think that he¡¯s unbeatable in the Martial Intent Realm? There¡¯s always someone stronger out there! It¡¯s time for someone to put him in his place.¡± ¡°He¡¯s strong in the Martial Extremity Realm, but that doesn¡¯t make him unbeatable in the Martial Intent Realm. The strength of their divine sense has nothing to do with their previous cultivation anyway.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. There were too many previous cases of cultivators who dominated their peers at the Martial Extremity Realm but failed to adapt when they entered the Martial Intent Realm. They couldn¡¯t take the sudden change and turned into wastrels. Comparatively, there were unknown Martial Extremity Realm cultivators who condensed a powerful divine sense after breaking through.¡± ¡°Hah, for someone like Shang Xia who¡¯s backed by the Shang Clan, his journey of cultivation has been smooth sailing. There are countless experts helping him out in the open and in the dark. He hasn¡¯t been through any dangerous situations¡­ He won¡¯t be able to form a powerful divine sense!¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget, the Martial Intent Realm disciples of the other institutions are definitely geniuses if they were sent to represent their institution in our Tongyou City. They can¡¯t be weak.¡± ¡°Exactly! Not to mention that Shang Xia is the youngest of the five. The others are at least several years older than him. Even though cultivation isn¡¯t really about age, they definitely experienced more than him. Hah, it has barely been half a month since Shang Xia entered the Martial Intent Realm. That¡¯s not enough time to consolidate his foundations. There¡¯s no way he had time to practice a martial art fit for cultivators at the Martial Intent Realm.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡­ As those standing around whispered under their breath about Shang Xia, the five Martial Intent Realm disciples standing in the middle of the training plaza started their exchange in the dark. Shang Xia stood in the very center, with the four disciples from the other institutions surrounding him in all four directions. Their positions gave Shang Xia a huge disadvantage as he wouldn¡¯t be able to focus the entirety of his divine sense on any one person but they could easily pressure him in unison. However, he was able to remain unperturbed even in the face of the four of them. That alone shocked them. Even though the four of them looked calm, the impression of Shang Xia they had in their heart increased by several times. Testing each other out with their divine senses was only an initial probe. At the very best, it allowed them to gauge each other¡¯s strengths. If they truly wanted to decide upon a victor, they could only do so through battle. A casual light flashed through Shang Xia¡¯s eyes. Even though he looked relaxed, his nerves were taut. Of course, he had to maintain his appearance. ¡°Since senior brothers and sisters have taken the chance to show themselves, let¡¯s decide on how we should do this. Why don¡¯t we establish who goes first?¡± Tan Xinya of the Beibai Institution was known for her straightforward attitude. She was naturally the first to speak. ¡°We¡¯ll follow the intentions of the host here. After all, you called us out here. You should decide on how to proceed.¡± ¡°I only entered the Martial Intent Realm recently and I¡¯ve been wanting to receive pointers from all of you here. Since Senior Sister Tan said so¡­¡± Shang Xia muttered. However, someone interrupted him before he could finish his sentence. ¡°Junior Brother Shang, don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re planning to challenge us one by one?¡± A frown formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. He turned to look at the person who spoke. ¡°Senior Brother Qin, I wonder what advice you have for me?¡± Cupping his hands together, Qin Daxing laughed, ¡°Junior Brother Shang, you exaggerate. Regardless, it¡¯s difficult for all of us to be gathered together. If we fight you one by one, you¡¯ll achieve your goals. However, we won¡¯t get anything in return. Why don¡¯t we fight a free for all instead? Last man standing wins!¡± Song Yushu of the Jianmen Institution ran his fingers through his hair and said indifferently, ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± However, Ma Jianfan didn¡¯t look so good. His eyebrows were furrowed tightly together and he asked, ¡°The idea sounds good, but it¡¯s a little inappropriate, isn¡¯t it? It might sound like a good idea, and I¡¯m sure we would really get a kick out of a battle royale like that, but there are only five of us. If anyone forms an alliance to get rid of any party, won¡¯t that be unfair for the person eliminated?¡± Taking a second to think about it, Tan Xinya continued, ¡°It¡¯s easy! If it ever becomes a two-on-one, they can only exchange three moves at best! If it''s a three-on-one, they can only exchange two moves! If it ever becomes a four-on-one, the victorious side will be decided in one move. The side that breaks the rule will be eliminated.¡± Tan Xinya¡¯s explanation was simple, but everyone was able to understand how the battle would be carried out. Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ]. When exchanging pointers, no one dictated that only one on one battles could be fought. A messy and chaotic battle was also one of the ways cultivators used to train themselves. Naturally, there would be rules set by earlier cultivators who adopted the tactic. The rules that Tan Xinya set were actually rules that were adopted by Martial Intent Realm cultivators whenever they chose such a chaotic mode of battle. Since that was settled, Tan Xinya flashed a toothy smile at Shang Xia. ¡°I wonder if Junior Brother Shang finds it acceptable?¡± Seeing as everyone had already come to a conclusion without him getting an input until that very moment, he knew that there was no way of rejecting it. He chuckled in response, ¡°Sure.¡± Song Yushu of the Jianmen Institution spoke up yet again. ¡°Wait. There¡¯s another problem. This place isn¡¯t suitable for the five of us to spar.¡± The training plaza might be several hundred feet long and reinforced with some type of formation, but it could only withstand the might of cultivators in the Martial Extremity Realm and below. Once Martial Intent Realm cultivators started manipulating the heaven and earth qi, the power contained in their blows would become a lot more terrifying. There was no way the training plaza could withstand the shockwaves of their battle, much less the lower-leveled cultivators in the crowd. As the words left his lips, several runes appeared in the air around them. Gasps of fright could be heard, but the runes that filled the air didn¡¯t stop. As the runes slowly linked with one another, the heaven and earth qi started to gather around the plaza. It formed a giant screen that surrounded the five Martial Intent Realm cultivators. ¡°Our Tongyou Institution might not possess a strong foundation, but we can at least create a space for Martial Intent Realm cultivators to spar.¡± A voice came from afar and students who recognized it could tell that it belonged to Ji Wenlong. As soon as he spoke, the space within the formation started to expand. The distance between the five people in the formation increased greatly. The crowd in the plaza quickly quietened down and the five Martial Intent Realm cultivators got ready for battle. Retrieving his low-grade Waning Moon Spear from his Embroidered Cloud Case, Shang Xia grasped it firmly in his hands. Tan Xinya¡¯s weapon was a pair of foldable hooks. Song Yushu pulled out his sword that he slung on his back, and the body of the blade resembled the finest of jade. As for Song Daxing, his weapon was a nine segmented metal mace that he held on his right shoulder. Ma Jianfan, the last of the four, pulled out a hatchet that had a weirdly exaggerated bit. The battle between the five Martial Intent Realm disciples of the various institutions was about to begin! CH 247 When the spatial formation was complete, Shang Xia and the other four Martial Intent Realm disciples moved at the same time. The moment they did, the only thing Shang Xia wanted to do was to curse out loud. All four of them chose him as their first target! Shang Xia would rather beat himself to death than to believe that the four of them didn¡¯t plan it in advance. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t the only one who was surprised by the sudden assault. The disciples crowding the plaza broke out into clamor. It was especially so for the disciples of the Tongyou Institution. Even those who didn¡¯t like Shang Xia to begin with, couldn¡¯t help but curse out loud. The four of them attacked Shang Xia together the moment it started. Didn¡¯t that show that they wanted to kick him out immediately? Naturally, there was a reason behind their actions. His position was too sensitive. He stood in the middle of the four before the battle started. If all of them chose to attack the closest target, he would be the best choice. Luckily for Shang Xia, he would only have to take a single strike due to the rules of the duel. The four of them wouldn¡¯t be able to continue their joint assault on Shang Xia if he managed to hold on. Well, at the very least they couldn¡¯t do so in the short term. The key to the entire thing was whether Shang Xia could take on the combined strike of the four. Unlike most of the Martial Intent Realm cultivators Shang Xia ran into in the past, those four were the elites of the other institutions. They were nurtured using a lot of effort and resources. Almost all of them could leap ranks and defeat those with cultivation bases slightly higher than themselves. At the very least, they were comparable to Dongfang Mingyu of the Rose Party. In such a critical situation, Shang Xia forced himself to remain calm. His divine sense that had spread in all four directions earlier returned to him. With his divine sense concentrated in one place, he quickly regained his mobility. The four of them felt as though he became as slippery as a fish in the water. Even with their divine sense operating at full power, they couldn¡¯t lock on to him. ¡°He is extremely adept with his inner qi and the use of his divine sense. How can someone who just entered the Martial Intent Realm do that?¡± The same thought flashed in the minds of the four. It was the exact same moment Shang Xia made his move. Stabbing Tan Xinya with his Waning Moon Spear, he released his divine sense to lock on to her at the same time. His inner qi raced through his body and he quickly entered a miraculous state. He became one with his spear, and he ignored the others. With the way he was acting, it seemed as though he was going to drag one of them down with him no matter what happened. At that instant, the battle became less about pure strength. It became one of willpower! It would be difficult for him to fight all four of them alone. However, it was certain that he could take any one of them down if it was just them alone. With his complete focus on her, Tan Xinya eventually decided to retreat. Because of that short hesitation from her, the cooperation among the four broke down instantly. That was what he had been aiming for in the first place. Tan Xinya wasn¡¯t willing to be sent out of the battle by Shang Xia immediately, but the same went for Shang Xia. There was no way he could accept being defeated the moment the battle started. Shang Xia finally comprehended the first move in his Providence Spear Art! Piercing the void, a ray of light was left behind. The strike he just unleashed had reached the peak level! It also traveled extremely quickly. With a trace of hesitation from Tan Xinya, the sword light forcefully tore a void through their fighting formation. The heaven and earth qi contained in their spatial battlefield trembled violently as ripples appeared on the surface of the barrier separating them from the outside world. In the eyes of those in the plaza, the five figures contained within started to distort. However, no one dared to chuckle. Instead, they were feeling a little resentful about the fragility of the barrier. They weren¡¯t the only ones as the Martial Extermination Realm experts were also feeling a little annoyed due to the lack of visibility. With the Martial Extermination Realm elders stepping in to stabilize the protection screen, it quickly regained its calm. No matter how much the heaven and earth qi fluctuate, the protection screen didn¡¯t waver in the slightest. The battle between the five unfolded clearly in front of everyone¡¯s eyes. Inside, Shang Xia seemingly managed to take advantage of the gap to escape. However, the truth was that he only avoided Tan Xinya¡¯s hooks. The three other weapons were still flying his way. With his previous actions, he only managed to change the situation from a four-on-one to a three-on-one! There was no hiding or running away, he had to take the three of them on at the same time. Waving his spear, another ray of spear light emerged. It was the second move he comprehended, but it hadn¡¯t been perfected yet. His attack was fast, but it was different from his first. His first attack was called Rift Crossing, and he was able to find any weakness in his opponent¡¯s stance. His second move was called the Lightning Stonefire. The principle behind it was brute force. It allowed him to use his Origin True Qi to its greatest strength. This time, he was going to meet their attacks head-on! A massive spear light bloomed in front of him like a flower, forming three separate offensives. Three loud blasts rang through the air as the spear light slammed heavily into Song Yushu¡¯s sword, Qin Daxing¡¯s mace, and Ma Jianfan¡¯s axe. All three spear lights he summoned were real. Moreover, all of them contained a strand of his Origin True Qi! It was terrifying enough that he managed to repel all their attacks! With the three of them being flung through the air from the recoil, an uneasy look appeared in their eyes when they looked at Shang Xia again. Stopping all three of them at the same time proved how powerful he was. His tyrannical strength caused them to look at him in a different light. Naturally, Shang Xia exerted a lot of energy in order to release his second strike. When he took several steps back, he turned deathly pale. However, he quickly recovered. ¡­ The spectators surrounding them released several cries in shock, and chaotic discussions broke through the crowd. A portion of them was shocked that Shang Xia could hold the three of them back alone. After all, the three of them were elite cultivators at the Martial Intent Realm! They wondered how powerful Shang Xia truly was. If the strength he displayed was something he could unleash at will, his chances of winning just skyrocketed! The other portion was extremely suspicious. In fact, they were also starting to panic. The bulk of disciples who made up that group were the disciples of the other four institutions. However, they rejoiced when they saw his reaction after taking on the three¡¯s combined strike. They felt that he was an arrow at the end of his flight. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". ¡­ ¡°Damn, that¡¯s an amazing strike!¡± Several Martial Extermination Realm experts managed to see through the intricacies of his previous strike. CH 248 ¡°What martial art is he using? He just summoned a spear light that blossomed into three different attacks that struck the sword, mace, and axe! Han Chongwei of the Wuwei Institution gasped in admiration when he saw the intricacies behind Shang Xia¡¯s attack. ¡°Providence Spaer¡­ It¡¯s the Shang Clan¡¯s inheritance. Everyone in the Shang Clan who trained in it would be able to comprehend a technique unique to themselves.¡± Chang Huaiwu said. Chang Huaiwu of the Yanmen Institution had a great relationship with those from the Weiwu Institution due to the cooperative relationship between the two institutions. His personality was pretty easygoing, and he looked like a kind old man. ¡°Oh? Is there really such a miraculous spear inheritance?¡± Han Chongwei raised his eyebrows in shock. ¡°Becoming one with the spear¡­ Did he really just enter the Martial Intent Realm? Not even seasoned cultivators in the Martial Intent Realm will be able to reach such a level.¡¯ An Baimei added from the side. He was clearly impressed. Wei Zhongwen who came from the White Deer Paradise nodded and evaluated in a serious tone, ¡°This kid¡¯s divine sense is extremely solid. He seems to have a huge reserve of inner qi too. He could withstand the consumption of inner qi to send out three of those spears at the same time. If no one told us, we wouldn¡¯t believe that he just entered the Martial Intent Realm.¡± Ji Wenlong who had been quiet all that while finally spoke up, ¡°That brat¡¯s using this chance to transform his residual inner qi that he gathered in the Martial Extremity Realm. ¡°Brother Ji, don¡¯t tell me his inner qi hasn¡¯t been fully transformed?! He could summon three spears like that while converting his Martial Extremity Realm inner qi to his Martial Intent Realm inner qi¡­ How terrifying is that?¡± Chang Huaiwu asked. ¡°Well, he¡¯s transforming it very quickly.¡± Ji Wenlong muttered. ¡°Indeed. It¡¯s hard to believe he can do something like that!¡± Yu Chengjin shook his head and whispered softly. Returning to his usual serious self, Ji Wenlong continued, ¡°When he was in the Martial Extremity Realm, the quality of his inner qi was exceptionally pure¡­¡± ¡°Brother Ji, do you mean that the kid¡¯s inner qi already possessed the properties of a Martial Intent Realm cultivator¡¯s inner qi when he was only at the Martial Extremity Realm? Is that how he¡¯s able to transform it so quickly?¡± Yu Chengjin followed up with a question. Hesitating slightly, Ji Wenlong nodded his head. A sigh escaped An Baimei¡¯s lips. ¡°This kid isn¡¯t simple¡­ I¡¯m afraid his true intention isn¡¯t to decide a victor among the five of them. He¡¯s probably using them as his grindstone to accelerate the conversion of his inner qi!¡± Everyone¡¯s expression changed when they heard what An Baimei said. ¡­ Forcing the three of them to retreat with one spear, Shang Xia felt a sense of weakness. The amount of Origin True Qi in his body nearly couldn¡¯t keep up with his consumption. After all, he used two moves in a row! With the void in his dantian due to the expenditure of his Origin True Qi, the remnant Yin Yang Essence Qi started to transform. Traces of Origin True Qi started to gather in his dantian as they completed their transformation. After pushing himself to the limit, the transformation of his inner qi accelerated. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but sigh. Actual combat was truly the best way to stabilize one¡¯s foundations. When he tried converting his inner qi in secluded cultivation, the efficiency was nowhere near comparable to what he was doing now. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. Of course, that wasn¡¯t the time to think about how quickly he was improving. The battle at hand was the more pressing matter. After Shang Xia pushed the three of them back, Tan Xinya, who he had dealt with earlier, came back into the action. However, her target this time wasn¡¯t Shang Xia. Instead, she leaped towards Song Yushu who was the closest to her. With her hooks carving strange lines in the air, two rays of frosty light turned into a giant pair of phantom hooks in the air that slashed towards Song Yushu. When the giant hook in the air formed by the surrounding heaven and earth qi did their thing, her actual weapon went for Song Yushu¡¯s sword. The moment his sword was bogged down by her relentless assault, his combat strength would decrease by a huge half! In actuality, she could easily rally the other three and launch another attack on Shang Xia. After all, he broke up their cooperation earlier by separating Tan Xinya. He only took on three of them at once and joining hands again to attack Shang Xia was within the rules. However, none of them were shameless enough to do that. As elite disciples of their respective institutions, they could somewhat explain the fact that they joined hands to attack Shang Xia the moment the battle started. They could chalk it off as an attempt to intimidate him, but if they tried it again after their previous failure, everyone could tell that they were targeting him specifically. When that happened, they would be the ones embarrassing themselves and their institutions. No matter how much they wanted to defeat Shang Xia, they couldn¡¯t make their move at that moment! Their pride wouldn¡¯t allow it! That was why Tan Xinya went for Song Yushu instead. Song Yushu wasn¡¯t surprised by Tan Xinya¡¯s sudden attack. In fact, he was ready for it. As a disciple of the Jianmen Institution, he was an accomplished sword cultivator. There was no way he would allow anyone to restrict the movement of his sword. Responding with a horizontal slash, a giant ray of sword light slammed against the giant hooks in the air. The resulting blast forced Tan Xinya back, but Song Yushu couldn¡¯t escape unscathed either. He took several steps back unsteadily. When that happened, Qin Daxing and Ma Jianfan continued their assault on Shang Xia. Who would have thought that instead of taking their attacks passively this time, Shang Xia would take the initiative? As he twirled the Waning Moon Spear in his hand, two streaks of spear light shot at them. Ma Jianfan was in mid air when a lightning bolt fell towards his face. Unfortunately, it was sliced in two by a second axe that appeared in his hand. Qin Daxing¡¯s nine segmented metal mace trembled and smashed apart the spear light before wrapping itself tightly around Shang Xia¡¯s Waning Moon Spear. A burst of joy filled his heart and Qin Daxing yanked hard as he tried to pull Shang Xia¡¯s spear away. Even if he failed to force Shang Xia to release his weapon, he had to hinder his movements. Tightening his grip on the Waning Moon Spear, Shang Xia sent a tyrannical surge of energy through the mace. Seven different types of energy wrapped themselves around the mace. All Qin Daxing felt was a horrifying backlash and he didn¡¯t know how to neutralize Shang Xia¡¯s energy at all. He could only watch as his mace was sent flying. Reacting quickly, he locked onto his weapon and dragged it back towards him. If not for his quick reaction to release his control over the whip to allow it to disengage from Shang Xia¡¯s spear, it might have been destroyed entirely! Even though Shang Xia had changed the usage of his Seven Laceration Sword earlier to transform them into strands of qi that wrapped around Qin Daxing¡¯s mace, the power contained behind it was even stronger now that he was using Origin True Qi. Shang Xia was surprised to discover that the seven different types of qi possessed some destructive capabilities to his opponent¡¯s weapons! CH 249 After Shang Xia comprehended his martial extremity intent, the Seven Laceration Sword, he discovered that he didn¡¯t need to use a sword to use his martial intent. With the Waning Moon Spear in hand, Shang Xia could still unleash his martial extremity intent. Of course, using the seven different types of qi was all he could do. There was no way to unleash a sword formation with his spear. Forced to retreat, a trace of fear lingered in Qin Daxing¡¯s heart. Using the momentum of the backlash, he distanced himself from Shang Xia. At the same time, his mace whipped towards Song Yushu¡¯s back. Despite being focused on Tan Xinya, Song Yushu wasn¡¯t oblivious to his surroundings. He felt a strange feeling coming from behind and he quickly leaped forward. Sending out 27 consecutive slashes. It stopped both Tan Xinya¡¯s hooks and Qin Daxing¡¯s mace. Rolling on the ground after repelling their attacks, he cut a sorry figure. Without Qin Daxing¡¯s assistance, Ma Jianfan was thrown into a sticky situation. He leaped backward in a state of panic as he tried to widen the distance between himself and Shang Xia while tossing out his axes as distraction. As the five of them battled, less than three moves had been exchanged per person when Song Yushu, Ma Jianfan, and Qin Daxing felt a mighty sense of oppression. Before the battle, they were extremely confident in their strength. Now, they had no choice but to admit that none of them was a match for Shang Xia if they fought him alone! No matter how reluctant they were to accept the fact, that was the truth of the matter. Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. When they tried to imagine themselves in Shang Xia¡¯s place, they discovered that they wouldn¡¯t be able to escape without a scratch when facing the attack of three experts at their level. They knew that Shang Xia was spent after so many consecutive exchanges, and one more attack would be all it took to defeat him. They might be able to continue attacking him under the rules they had set, but they would destroy their reputation in the process. More importantly, the aim of their battle was to exchange pointers! It wasn¡¯t a life-or-death struggle. As a result, Shang Xia was able to gain precious time to catch his breath. The inner qi in his body continued to transform into Origin True Qi. Due to the fact that Shang Xia¡¯s Yin Yang Essence Qi was of extremely high quality, the transformation process became a lot smoother. With Qin Daxing joining the skirmish between Tan Xinya and Song Yushu and Ma Jianfan retreating, no one bothered Shang Xia for now. Casually picking up the axes that Ma Jianfan threw away, Shang Xia saw how Ma Jianfan drew two more axes from his sleeves. Instead of attacking Song Yushu who was currently being attacked by two other people, he went for Tan Xinya. She could only choose to give up on her assault as she turned to face her new opponent. According to the runes, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t remain idle. He had to attack someone. No longer hesitating, his Waning Moon Spear swept outwards and a giant spear formed from heaven and earth qi shot outwards. It went towards the four of them and those watching couldn¡¯t help but gasp in shock. Was he planning to attack them at the same time? Stopping their fight instantly, Qin Daxing and Song Yushu turned around to meet Shang Xia¡¯s spear. Qin Daxing swung his mace and the segments separated slightly. They stabbed into different parts of Shang Xia¡¯s summoned spear. Grunting loudly, Qin Daxing sent some of his inner qi into his mace and shattered Shang Xia¡¯s spear light. Qin Daxing¡¯s move seemed to be something he comprehended when he was in the Martial Extremity Realm, and it somewhat resembled Liu Qinglan¡¯s style. The instant Shang Xia¡¯s spear light was broken, Song Yushu followed up. His sword stabbed towards Shang Xia and borrowed the heaven and earth qi that scattered due to the destruction of his spear light. A huge illusory sword appeared in the air before it chopped down towards Shang Xia. Before the sword could land, Song Yushu saw Shang Xia twisting his wrist slightly. A cold light emerged from his sleeves and clashed against the sword light in the air. A soft ring could be heard and a ray of frosty light in the air stopped momentarily. The appearance of Shang Xia¡¯s Jade River Sword was revealed and it drew a beautiful arc through the skies. It seemed to possess a mind of its own as it sent a streak of qi towards Song Yushu without anyone¡¯s control. ¡°Defensive Sword Art?!¡± Song Yushu revealed a look of shock. As a disciple of the institution that specialized in the way of the sword, Song Yushu was clear about what a defensive sword art was. That was also the reason he was shocked by Shang Xia¡¯s sudden revelation. It was extremely difficult to practice a sword art like that, and in order to bring out its full potential, one had to be in the Martial Extermination Realm. When Song Yushu was about to unleash his own technique to break Shang Xia¡¯s sword art, the glow around the Jade River Sword expanded yet again. When he slashed horizontally to block Shang Xia¡¯s incoming strike, the Jade River Sword seemed to teleport and it appeared in front of his face, forcing him into a dangerous situation. Luckily for him, he was a seasoned cultivator. He didn¡¯t panic and at the last second, he released his grip on his sword. A strand of sword qi emerged from his fingers and landed directly on the Jade River Sword. A loud blast rang through the air as Shang Xia¡¯s sword was sent flying. With the threat dealt with, Song Yushu managed to retrieve his sword. Naturally, Shang Xia¡¯s Jade River Sword wasn¡¯t done there. In the blink of an eye, it recovered and shot towards Song Yushu. As the man and sword exchanged close to twenty blows in a few breaths of time, sword qi filled the battlefield and the crowd outside the barrier gasped in shock. After several more moves, Song Yushu finally managed to suppress the Jade River Sword. He was about to strike it down when a voice rang in his ears. ¡°Song Yushu, what do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡± Raising his head in fright, he discovered Shang Xia smashing his spear heavily into Qin Daxing¡¯s mace. The powerful blow sent Qin Daxing flying out of the barrier. Without anyone¡¯s assistance, Qin Daxing was easily defeated by Shang Xia. To summarize what happened earlier, Shang Xia used three moves to send Qin Daxing flying. His first move shattered Qin Daxing¡¯s martial extremity intent, his second move overpowered Qin Daxing¡¯s martial art he practiced in the Martial Intent Realm. His third move was the one witnessed by Song Yushu. It seemed as though Qin Daxing of the Yanmen Institution was the first to be eliminated in the battle royale among the Martial Intent Realm disciples! CH 250 According to the rules, when it was a four against one, the party that outnumbered the other could only make one move. Two moves when it was a three against one and three moves when it was a two against one. Once the attack failed, they would have to change their target immediately. Shang Xia fought one against two and suppressed Qin Daxing with his spear while sending out his Jade River Sword to keep Song Yushu busy. However, their exchange had already broken the three moves rule. No one expected the two of them to be the ones suppressed instead! The rule was there to prevent anyone from intentionally suppressing an individual, but it no longer mattered when the individual was able to take down the two of them! If they wanted to take technicalities into account, Shang Xia only used three moves to kick Qin Daxing out of the arena. Song Yushu was fighting with a sword so that technically didn¡¯t count. Naturally, neither of them would be thick skinned enough to complain about him breaking the rules. They might find it hard to accept the loss, but being a sore loser would affect their reputation much more negatively. That was precisely the reason why Qin Daxing stood silently outside the area for a full minute before chuckling to himself under his breath. Turning around, he left without saying a word. He didn¡¯t even bother staying behind to watch the ongoing battle. Since his ally had been kicked out of the arena, Song Yushu knew that he wouldn¡¯t be Shang Xia¡¯s opponent. He immediately turned to join the chaotic battle between Tan Xinya and Ma Jianfan. Similarly, the two who were embroiled in a tough battle intentionally moved closer to where Song Yushu and Shang Xia were. At the start of the battle, they wanted to knock Shang Xia down a peg because of his supposed arrogance when he defeated the elite sword cultivators of the five institutions. That was the reason they worked together previously. Now, they finally realized that Shang Xia¡¯s strength was enough to threaten anyone present. Due to the expanded space in the arena, the three of them weren¡¯t able to carry out their plan right away. However, their subtle actions caught the attention of many. Watching the ¡®despicable¡¯ actions of the Martial Intent Realm disciples from the other institutions, the disciples of the Tongyou Institution had already forgotten their anger towards Shang Xia. Shang Xia¡¯s display of strength helped them to vent their pent-up frustrations. Now, they were cheering for their chief as he fought for the prestige of the Tongyou Institution. Since Tan Xinya, Ma Jianfan, and Song Yushu¡¯s plan to work together had been noticed by the spectators, the disciples of the Tongyou Institution couldn¡¯t help but snort in contempt. Some of the more hot-tempered ones even unleashed a barrage of expletives on the three. The feelings of the disciples from the other institutions took a huge hit. Their original excitement became a lot more subdued. Their expression turned all the more somber when the three started to close in on each other and became the target of curses by the disciples of the Tongyou Institution. Anger smoldered in their heart when they heard how the disciples of the Tongyou Institution were insulting their esteemed senior brothers and sister, but no one dared to say anything. Their faces flushed red in anger and they wanted nothing more than to bury their heads into the ground. There were even some who chose to leave the plaza completely. Due to the barrier around the arena, Shang Xia had no idea what happened outside. Regardless, he wasn¡¯t surprised by their decision to work together. He didn¡¯t bother with the Jade River Sword that Song Yushu had sent flying earlier. Instead, his spear came crashing down towards Song Yushu who was running away. ¡°Rumble¡­¡± A dense web of lightning appeared and formed a domain thirty feet wide. When Shang Xia was in the Martial Realm, he comprehended his first martial intent, the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. The power contained in it only increased with his cultivation. Currently, he unleashed it with his Waning Moon Spear. ¡°Does he not need to recover from his true qi expenditure? How can his meridians withstand so much pressure constantly?¡± Song Yushu grumbled silently. However, he was pretty jealous of Shang Xia¡¯s strength too. His thinking didn¡¯t slow him down in any way as rays of sword light emerged to fill the space around him. It sliced open the web of lightning that was attempting to stop him from regrouping with the otter two. He continued to accelerate towards Tan Xinya and Ma Jianfan. On the other hand, the two of them took the chance to stop the fight between each other as they moved to resist the web of lightning summoned by Shang Xia. Even though Shang Xia¡¯s attack didn¡¯t injure any of the three, he managed to slightly restrict their movements. At that moment, the third strike he comprehended from the Providence Spear Art was unleashed. Flashing Meteor! Like the first move, it emphasized on speed. However, it was fundamentally different from the two strikes before it. Rift Crossing, the first move, was focused on breaking through the weak points in his enemy¡¯s technique. His second move, Lightning Stonefire, was a tyrannical strike that blew apart everything in his way. Flashing Meteor seemed to be a combination of the two moves. It was especially powerful, and it could be considered his ultimate strike. In a certain sense, it had the ability to decide the outcome of the battle. In fact, Flashing Meteor closed in on the ranks of a martial intent! After Shang Xia unleashed the move, he felt his residual Yin Yang Essence Qi transforming rapidly into Origin True Qi. A feeling of having entered the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm filled Shang Xia¡¯s mind. That wasn¡¯t the most surprising thing. Instead, his spear art seemed to have broken through in that instant. It shot out at an even quicker speed and the power contained in it increased slightly. His spear shot out like a meteor. This time, Shang Xia took the initiative to attack. When Song Yushu gathered together with the other two, the three of them felt their heart pounding strangely. Staring in Shang Xia¡¯s direction, they were greeted with the sight of a shooting star flying right at them. That attack contained Shang Xia¡¯s full-powered divine sense, and with so little time to react, none of them could try to avoid it. With a huge blast resounding through the air, a burst of white light filled the arena. The soundwave was so powerful that it managed to emerge from the protection screen, deafening those outside. Other than the blast, no sounds remained. As the light faded, a figure was sent flying out of the arena. When the dust settled, everyone saw Tan Xinya¡¯s sorry figure. Beads of sweat dripped down her forehead as a look of fear remained in her eyes. All of a sudden, her hooks came flying out of the arena. Reaching out to grab them, she snorted softly before turning to leave. The crowd parted to let her through, but no one bothered to look at her retreating figure. Everyone¡¯s eyes were glued onto the arena that was filled with tiny arcs of lightning. Before anyone could react, Song Yushu and Ma Jianfan were sent flying out one after the other. Stabilizing their bodies, Ma Jianfan was the first to speak. ¡°That fellow is too demonic!¡± ¡°Brother Ma, forget it. His strength is truly terrifying. All we can do is accept our defeat.¡± Song Yushu interrupted. Search "pawread dot com" for the original. As the words left his lips, a thunderous cheer broke out in the crowd. Even those who were partially deafened from the blast earlier seemed to regain their hearing that instant. Their cheers filled the plaza and this time, Shang Xia truly achieved complete domination. With his strength alone, he suppressed everyone! The barrier that surrounded the arena started to dissipate, but the scene that greeted the cheering disciples was kind of disturbing. In the heart of the plaza, Shang Xia¡¯s Waning Moon Spear was stabbed deeply into the ground. His buttocks were stuck firmly to the ground as he leaned his body back. He stretched his legs out in front of him and a weary expression was plastered on his face. CH 251 In the building beside the plaza, Ji Wenlong was collecting his winnings from the other four with a serious expression on his face. Chang Huaiwu passed an empty rank three talisman paper over to Ji Wenlong while sighing, ¡°Are our juniors really so terrifying now? Man and spear as one, he managed to make huge progress towards comprehending a martial intent at the Martial Intent Realm. Are you sure he only entered the Martial Intent Realm a while ago?¡± The corners of Ji Wenlong¡¯s lips curled upwards as a wide grin slowly formed. ¡°The newer generation will have to replace us one day. I can¡¯t wait for the day those little brats manage to defeat us. Why are you so worked up about it?¡± Shaking his head, Chang Huaiwu revealed a bitter smile. Ji Wenlong continued after seeing his reaction, ¡°Those below might not know how the kid won, but we do. If he didn¡¯t pull out such dirty tricks during the last few seconds, he would have been kicked out by the three of them.¡± An Baimei added at the side, ¡°No matter what, the rules didn¡¯t say that he can¡¯t use multiple weapons, right. After his display of strength, Brother Ji, you¡¯ll definitely be rushing to shower him with rewards, am I right?¡± ¡°Rewards? What the hell can I reward him with?! That little brat has more graded weapons than me! Do you think he lacks anything right now?¡± A helpless smile appeared on Ji Wenlong¡¯s face. An Baimei continued, ¡°Hah, don¡¯t act like you¡¯re blind over here. Can¡¯t you see that his spear is about to shatter?¡± ¡°The little kid¡¯s inner qi is too strange. Half the reason his weapon is about to be destroyed came from him!¡± Ji Wenlong explained. ¡°Moreover, our patriarch had already heard of his name. Even if we wish to reward him, I won¡¯t have anything to do with it. The patriarch can do as he sees fit.¡± A trace of light flashed across Yu Chengjin¡¯s face. ¡°Is Patriarch Kou planning to pull the kid over to his side?¡± ¡°Maybe?¡± Chuckling slightly, Ji Wenlong shifted the attention to the wagers they made. He stretched his hand out and his gentlemanly appearance was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Little Han, hand over the piece of Heart Jadeite.¡± Reluctantly tossing it over, Han Chongwei grumbled, ¡°Patriarch Kou has always been biased towards the Shang Clan. Shang Ke managed to enter the Martial Extermination Realm so quickly. Not to mention the fact that Shang Bo had already broken through to the fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm¡­ If Patriarch Kou really chooses to nurture the kid, won¡¯t the Shang Clan tower over everyone else?¡± The chuckle that left Ji Wenlong¡¯s lips turned weird and he didn¡¯t bother with Han Chongwei any longer. He turned to Wei Zhongwen. ¡°Old Man Wei, don¡¯t think that I forgot about you. Hand it over.¡± ¡­ Shang Xia remained seated in his unsightly manor under the eyes of everyone present. Even though the protection barrier had already scattered and the plaza had returned to normal, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t bothered by the gazes he was getting. In fact, no one would dare to laugh at him because of his weird appearance. Instead, their eyes were filled with worship and respect when they looked at him. Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Even Dou Zhong, who didn¡¯t like Shang Xia and even had some enmity with him, couldn¡¯t help but admit Shang Xia managed to regain the reputation of the Tongyou Institution with the battle that just passed. Unbothered with anything else, Shang Xia¡¯s attention was on his dantian and the huge amount of Origin True Qi that had just transformed. Deep down, he knew that he only won because his remnant qi transformed into Origin True Qi at the critical moment. Otherwise, he would have exhausted himself and retired from the battle. Taking a closer look now that the battle was over, Shang Xia was surprised to see that close to half of his Yin Yang Essence Qi had completed its transformation. As his Origin True Qi slowly started to recover, Shang Xia discovered that it nearly doubled. However, he also discovered that transforming more of his Yin Yang Essence Qi became more difficult. Only if he experienced an improvement in his spear art would he be able to complete a higher level of conversion of his qi. At the same time, the urge to sink his entire consciousness into his dantian filled his mind. He wasn¡¯t foreign to the feeling as he felt it once during his breakthrough. He also knew that it was the sign that his divine sense was about to reach new heights. He was clearly taken aback by the sudden changes. He had barely broken through to the Martial Intent Realm. However, the signs of breakthrough came again, and it signified that he had already reached the requirements to enter the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. That was where the problem was. According to the rules of cultivation, a Martial Intent Realm cultivator who was about to break into the large completion stage would have completed more than 80 percent conversion of their remnant inner qi from the Martial Extremity Realm. Currently, Shang Xia had only converted close to half of his inner qi. ¡°This might have something to do with the properties of my Yin Yang Essence Qi¡­ It¡¯s the only explanation.¡± Shang Xia sighed softly as he got to his feet slowly. He recovered some energy after sitting there for some time, and when he pulled the spear out of the ground, he saw several chips in the tip. His expression sank instantly. The Waning Moon Spear wasn¡¯t the only weapon that was damaged. The other graded weapons on him had also suffered varying degrees of damage. The silver staff he obtained from Yuwen Changtian back in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World was shattered into countless pieces that scattered around the battlefield. It was close to a graded weapon, but it was still somewhat lacking. It failed to withstand Shang Xia¡¯s Origin True Qi. At the very last second, he threw out every single weapon he had towards the three of them after filling them with his Origin True Qi. Along with his final move, Flashing Meteor, he defeated Song Yushu, Ma Jianfan, and Tan Xinya. The three elite disciples from their respective institutions were suppressed just like that and Shang Xia felt a trace of smugness filling his heart. Before falling to his butt earlier, he retrieved all the weapons while the flashes of lightning obstructed the view of the disciples outside. Naturally, his little actions couldn¡¯t be hidden from Ji Wenlong and the rest. Even so, the situation was exactly as they had said. The rules didn¡¯t forbid him from using multiple weapons. ¡°Waning Moon Spear¡­ Damn it! This low-grade weapon was just completed by Master Duan Hong. Now, it¡¯s close to being destroyed!¡± Shang Xia howled in his heart after the joy of defeating the others died down. That was a low-grade weapon they were talking about. However, it was about to be scrapped after enduring the battle he just went through. Shang Xia¡¯s initial thought was that Duan Hong made a mistake when converting the Waning Moon Halberd to the Waning Moon Spear. However, that didn¡¯t really make sense. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t a noob. When he received the spear from Duan Hong and his apprentices the other day, he could tell that the spear was somewhat in an acceptable condition. It was still a low-grade weapon at the end of the day, but seeing as it couldn¡¯t withstand his qi like the rest of his weapons, he came to a serious conclusion. Despite being a graded weapon, the Waning Moon Spear could be considered a garbage tier low-grade weapon! CH 252 ¡­ Kou Chongxue¡¯s injury was no longer a secret. The news had already spread through the Azure Origin World. The various powers were concerned with where exactly Kou Chongxue was hiding in seclusion. The most likey and suitable place would be the secret region in the Tongyou Institution. However, that crafty old fellow behaved unpredictably. As such, many experts who harbored their own thoughts tried breaking into the Tongyou Institution in order to verify the news. In response, they were met with strong retaliation from the Tongyou Institution. Regardless of where they came from, most of them were pretty much killed. Their bodies were thrown outside the city to serve as a warning for those harboring evil thoughts. That happened during the intense battle on the Tongyou Peak. It was also the reason why Yun Jing had to remain back in the institution to control the situation in order to avoid any displays of weakness. The four other institutions came over on their own accord to provide reinforcements soon after that, but Yun Jing stopped them with the assistance of the Hidden Frost Sword and native cultivators of the Tongyou City. There was no other reason than to protect any news of Kou Chongxue from leaking. He was the hope of the Tongyou City. With his presence alone, he intimidated both the Azure Spiritual World and those in the Azure Origin World with nefarious intentions. The prestige of a Martial Dipper Realm expert and a divine weapon¡­ ¡­ ¡°What?! Patriarch Kou really wishes to see me?¡± Shang Xia stared at the person in front of him incredulously and a trace of suspicion was heard in his voice, ¡°Right now?!¡± Not too long after he left the training plaza, he was stopped by a terrifying figure who brought him the news. No one knew when Shang Lubing returned to the institution, but he was precisely the one who stopped Shang Xia. He couldn¡¯t be bothered with Shang Xia¡¯s suspicions and he chuckled in response, ¡°Looks like you were already ready to meet him though?¡± Realizing that his words were a little disrespectful, Shang Xia quickly apologized. ¡°Instructor, please do not misunderstand. Aren¡¯t there many people who are trying to find out where Patriarch Kou is hiding in seclusion right now? If I visit him now¡­¡± The reason why Shang Xia was still entertaining Shang Lubing was because he was Kou Chongxue¡¯s sworn brother. If it was anyone else, Shang Xia might even suspect that it was a weird plot from the Rose Party in order to lure him into a trap. The smile remained on Shang Lubing¡¯s lips as he continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Those losers won¡¯t dare to show their face. They can try to track us or make an attempt on your life. But when that happens, we¡¯ll be able to capture them in one fell swoop.¡± The f¡­? A look of surprise appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face, but a trace of reluctance filled his heart all of a sudden. ¡°What the hell? Aren¡¯t you just using me as bait to catch all of them? Why am I supposed to do something like that? Those who dare to scheme against Patriarch Kou are definitely in the Martial Extermination Realm. Those weaker won¡¯t have the guts to do anything like that! I just entered the Martial Intent Realm! I might be strong, but I¡¯m nothing more than a worm in the eyes of those Martial Extermination Realm freaks¡­¡± Shang Xia thought to himself. After all, Shang Ke said something about it to him previously. In fact, the Shang Clan was also taking part in the plan. However, Shang Xia heard Shang Lubing¡¯s explanation soon enough. ¡°Actually, you¡¯re not the only one who received an invite from the patriarch¡­¡± We are "pawread dot com", find us on google. Widening his eyes in shock, he asked, ¡°Who else?¡± ¡°Dou Zhong, Mu Qingyu, Zhang Jianfei, and Meng Tianzi. Including you, that¡¯s five people.¡± Shang Lubing maintained the smile on his face. Shang Xia nodded as several thoughts flashed through his mind. Even though he had been in seclusion since he came back, he learned about some matters going on in the institution from Yan Qi. The people Shang Lubing mentioned were those who came up mostly victorious when up against the elite cultivators of the other institutions. Moreover, Shang Xia was pretty well-acquainted with most of them. As he followed behind Shang Lubing, they walked towards the depths of the institution. From the looks of it, they were heading towards the secret region where the cultivation chambers were built for disciples to break through. That was also where Shang Xia comprehended his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm in the past. Due to a series of fortunate, or unfortunate, events, heavenly lightning was drawn over to his location. Well, everything that happened after was pretty well summarized. The only problem was the suspicion that lingered in Shang Xia¡¯s mind. The heavenly lightning that struck him didn¡¯t seem to be the work of nature. It seemed like someone had drawn it over intentionally. In the past, the incident drew a lot of attention, especially from the Shang Clan. However, no proper evidence was found and they could only conclude it as an act of nature eventually. Soon after, the battle on the Tongyou Peak happened. The spies the Rose Party placed in the Tongyou Institution were revealed¡­ With the little history lesson playing out in his mind, he eventually arrived before the entrance of the secret region. He saw the four of them already waiting for him. One of them stood out slightly and Shang Xia noticed the trace of vigor flashing through his eyes from time to time. It seemed as though he wasn¡¯t someone to be looked down on, and he was none other than Dou Zhong. Seeing Shang Lubing, Dou Zhong greeted in excitement, ¡°Teacher!¡± A smile appeared on Shang Lubing¡¯s face and he nodded slightly. When the rest heard the way he addressed Shang Lubing, looks of envy could be seen on their faces. It seemed slightly different from the way anyone else would address the custodians and instructors in the institution. It seemed as though Shang Lubing had really taken Dou Zhong in as his disciple. (Gonna change the way Dou Zhong calls Shang Lubing to ¡®Master¡¯ after this. Keeping this here for accuracy¡¯s sake) Such a situation couldn¡¯t be said to be common in the Tongyou Institution, but it wasn¡¯t exactly rare either. There were instances of it happening sometimes. Once their master-student relationship was formed, it was much more solid than the ordinary teacher student relationship between those in the institution. That wasn¡¯t all. Shang Lubing was a Martial Extermination Realm expert. There wasn¡¯t a need to mention his strength and authority among the five institutions. Even in the Azure Origin World, he could be considered one of the top tier existences. Being taken in as a student of such an expert was a fortunate thing alright. Just based on that fact alone, anyone could tell how talented Dou Zhong was. Otherwise, he would never be able to catch Shang Lubing¡¯s eye anyway. His achievements when battling against the disciples of the other institutions only served to back him up even further. He even caught Kou Chongxue¡¯s interest! Compared to the shock experienced by Mu Qingyu and the rest, Shang Xia looked a lot more calm than expected. Shang Xia had his suspicions back in the Tongyou Peak. After all, Dou Zhong¡¯s rise was too abrupt. After greeting his master, Dou Zhong turned to look at Shang Xia before nodding slightly to indicate his greetings. As the corners of Shang Xia¡¯s lips curled upwards, he felt a trace of amusement in his heart. ¡°Large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. I heard that you were only in the small completion stage several days ago. Looks like you broke through recently. You haven¡¯t consolidated your foundations and your inner qi is leaking out of your body unconsciously.¡± ¡°Senior Brother Tian, Junior Brother Zhang! You came back from the battlefield between the two worlds!¡± Shang Xia turned to greet the other two after addressing Dou Zhong. CH 253 ¡°Senior Brother Tian, Junior Brother Zhang! You came back from the battlefield between the two worlds!¡± Shang Xia chuckled softly. Zhang Jianfei was Shang Xia¡¯s competitor for the position of the leader of the outer division in the past. He was a genius in his own right, and now, he had entered the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. He was on the cusp of comprehending his martial extremity intent. However, his confidence took a huge hit when he thought about how Shang Xia had already entered the Martial Intent Realm. Hearing Shang Xia¡¯s greeting, he couldn¡¯t help but sneer in response, ¡°Hah, we had to clean your ass after you caused all that trouble back then. Do you know how unreasonable that was?¡± Zhang Jianfei¡¯s main purpose in returning was to comprehend his martial extremity intent in peace. He didn¡¯t expect for so many challengers to come knocking on the Tongyou Institution¡¯s door. Because of the constant battles, he managed to advance his cultivation to a huge degree. He benefited greatly from it, but he still wanted to mess with Shang Xia a little. Regardless, they had been rivals in the outer division and a small bicker like that was nothing out of the ordinary. Compared to Zhang Jianfei who communicated with Shang Xia in his own unique way, Tian Mengzi acted a little more differently. A bitter smile appeared on his face. ¡°Junior Brother Shang, your cultivation speed really leaves me in awe.¡± ¡°Senior Brother Tian, if not for the fact that you took some time off to recuperate, you would have already stepped through the gates of the Martial Intent Realm!¡± Shang Xia smiled in response. Tian Mengzi chuckled bitterly in response. ¡°Senior Brother Shang.¡± Compared to the rest, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but feel a little awkward when facing Mu Qingyu. Back in the Zhu Family Manor, he ditched her in the hidden chamber and forgot about her completely. Only when the Tongyou Institution attained victory did someone rescue her from her precarious predicament. She spent countless nights trapped in the secret chamber, unable to take even a step outside. ¡°Junior Sister Mu, I am truly sorry about the incident in the Coral Forest. I should not have left you there alone.¡± Shang Xia said. Mu Qingyu replied with a soft chuckle. ¡°Senior Brother Shang, there¡¯s no need to apologize. If not for your help, I would have suffered a fate worse than death. It¡¯s nothing more than spending a few more days trapped in a room. Moreover, you left so many resources back there for me to enter the Martial Extremity Realm. It can be considered some sort of fortunate encounter for me.¡± It was true that the resources belonged to him. Zhu Ying didn¡¯t keep all of them due to the lack of space in his Embroidered Cloud Case, and Shang Xia gained ownership of them after chasing the man away. It was too bad his spatial artifact was also limited in space and after taking a few herbs and treasures that caught his eye, he left everything else in the room. After that, Shang Xia went out to hunt down Zhu Ying and left Mu Qingyu behind. Due to her limited strength, she couldn¡¯t leave due to the presence of the undead corpses. Helpless, she could only choose a few resources to continue her cultivation. Eventually, she broke through. Shang Lubing finally interrupted their pleasant conversation. ¡°Since all of you know each other, things will become much easier! Let us proceed!¡± After he spoke, he led the way into the secret region as the five disciples followed closely behind. Shang Xia looked at all of them and saw the looks of confusion on their faces as well, but no one dared to ask Shang Lubing anything. He chose to take one for the team and asked, ¡°Instructor, has Patriarch Kou always been in the institution?¡± That was a question many people wanted to know the answer to. Turning around to look at everyone, the smile on Shang Lubing¡¯s face remained, ¡°You¡¯ll know when we arrive.¡± After hearing his reply, no one dared to continue with their questions. They could only follow obediently behind Shang Lubing deeper into the secret region. Along the way, they saw lush greenery and several creatures roaming around freely. It seemed like paradise compared to the outside world. ¡°This is a good place to enter seclusion indeed¡­¡± Shang Xia gasped softly in his heart. When he looked around, he could even see several birds flying from tree to tree. ¡°I haven¡¯t been here all my life. Seems like only the true upper echelon members of the institution will be allowed to enter this place. The heaven and earth qi here is definitely comparable to the Coral Forest¡­¡± Shang Xia continued. However, he felt that something was off the deeper they went. As they traveled deeper into the secret region, the trees in the surrounding got taller and thicker. From the looks of it, they were at least hundreds of years old. The ground beneath their feet also turned rugged, and their pathways became more and more narrow. It was clear that not many people came and went. Shang Xia noticed several structures cultivators used for seclusion when he first entered the secret region, but there was nothing since. The dense forestry blocked out most of the sunlight as they ventured deeper, and only spots of light could be seen. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. The six of them traveled more than a dozen miles since they entered, and there was no way the institution was so huge. Even if they had a space expanding formation around the area, Shang Xia felt that there was no way they could expand it to such an extent. Even the four spiritual lands in the Coral Forest weren¡¯t as large as that! There were only two possibilities left. One, the Tongyou Institution was like a mysterious world comparable to the Coral Forest. Two, the group of them had already left the Tongyou Institution at an unknown time. It wasn¡¯t exactly possible for the first option to be true. That left the second. They left the Tongyou Institution at an unknown time and arrived in a foreign land! After realizing what had happened, Shang Xia turned to look around him. Dou Zhong, Mu Qingyu, and Zhang Jianfei were equally as surprised. The only person who seemed to have grasped an understanding of the situation was Tian Mengzi. Noticing the species of the wood around them, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Instructor Shang, have we entered the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range?¡± Shang Lubing didn¡¯t bother turning his head, but he hesitated for a second before replying, ¡°What makes you think so?¡± ¡°Instructor Shang might have forgotten. I entered the Coral Forest previously. Don¡¯t tell me our institution had the ability to contain a mysterious world?¡± Shang Xia smiled in response. Without slowing down, Shang Lubing continued, ¡°Alright, since you already figured it out, there¡¯s no point in hiding it. We are currently in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range.¡± Dou Zhong gasped in shock, ¡°Has Patriarch Kou always been away from the institution?¡± Shang Lubing snickered in response, but he didn¡¯t give an exact reply. However, the silence was all they needed. At that moment, the faces of the others changed drastically. The Tongyou Institution had always been putting up an act! As thoughts swirled around in their minds, Shang Lubing stopped and whispered softly, ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± His words were like a giant sledgehammer that slammed into their minds to bring them back to reality. The elusive figure that no disciple of the institution had ever met before was finally about to appear! CH 254 ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± Shang Lubing¡¯s voice came from the front as the five behind him snapped back to reality. They got ready to meet the legendary Patriarch Kou Chongxue of the Tongyou Institution they heard so much about. Among the five, Shang Xia felt the most at ease. It wasn¡¯t just because of his status. Instead, his cultivation had more to do with it. After all, not even Shang Lubing¡¯s disciple, Dou Zhong, could hold his composure like that. When Shang Xia saw how Shang Lubing took two steps forward, he did the same and he couldn¡¯t help but gasp in shock. When the others heard him, they ran over in unison. Noticing the beautiful scenery, they were completely taken aback. Since it was already late autumn, dried up leaves were falling from trees and they made up most of the foliage as the group of six made their way deeper into the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. However, the region before them was nothing like that. They were greeted with a sigh of lush greenery and the region was full of life! ¡°Is this really the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range we know?¡± Zhang Jianfei asked. He wasn¡¯t the only one who was confused. There were others who found it inconceivable. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. Regardless, Meng Tianzi found it unbelievable. Kou Chongxue¡¯s act of hiding in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range might be surprising, but there had to be someone who guessed as much. It didn¡¯t make sense for no one to check the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range when they were looking for him. The region before them might seem special, but it wasn¡¯t exactly a separate space. It didn¡¯t make sense for no one to locate it. Naturally, that was only applicable if they were truly in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. Earlier, they left the institution without even knowing it. The same situation might be happening right now. Unlike the others, Shang Xia¡¯s thoughts weren''t focused on the region in front of them. Instead, he was thinking about how the institution managed to create a spatial tunnel to the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. He knew that the institution¡¯s foundations were sufficient for them to do something like that. Otherwise, the institution wouldn¡¯t have started their conquest for the Coral Forest after twenty long years. It was obvious they were focused on something else before. Regardless, that couldn¡¯t explain how Kou Chongxue¡¯s hiding spot was undetectable by the outsiders. Like what Meng Tianzi thought, the various powers would definitely send their experts to scour every inch of the lands. It didn¡¯t make sense for them to miss the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. A possibility flashed through Shang Xia¡¯s mind all of a sudden. He couldn¡¯t resist the urge to speak up, ¡°Is this¡­ Is this another entrance to the battlefield between the two worlds?¡± Zhang Jianfei snapped at him the moment the words left his lips. ¡°How is that possible? The only entrance to the battlefield is located at the main entrance of our institution!¡± Shaking his head slowly, Shang Xia muttered, ¡°Did you forget how the Rose Party entered the battlefield between the two worlds?¡± ¡°Could there be more than one path into the battlefield between the two worlds?¡± Tian Mengzi muttered to himself. Mu Qingyu, Zhang Jianfei, and Dou Zhong turned to look at Shang Lubing as they anticipated his reply. A gentle voice rang in their ears before Shang Lubing could say anything. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that you would be able to think of this. Impressive. You¡¯re not exactly correct, but you¡¯re close.¡± Creaks came from a small wooden hut nearby as a middle aged mad clad in loose white robes emerged. His appearance was pretty clean, but there was a weary look in his eyes. A short stubble remained on his chin and the roots of his hair were starting to turn gray. His appearance was unassuming, but from the moment they laid eyes on him, he seemed to turn into the heavens and the earth. Nothing else mattered other than that middle aged man. Zhang Jianfei nudged Shang Xia slightly and he muttered in a soft voice, ¡°Did you¡­ Did you see that wooden hut earlier?¡± Shang Xia whispered in response, ¡°Nope. But I can confirm that the wooden hut has been there all along. It¡¯s not covered by any sort of camouflage formation. Seems like we didn¡¯t notice it.¡± Perhaps that was the reason no one was able to locate Kou Chongxue¡¯s tracks? ¡°Haven¡¯t you kids been thinking about meeting your patriarch? Why are you acting like fools now that he¡¯s standing right in front of you?¡± Shang Lubing chuckled after nodding towards the middle aged man that just appeared. Shang Xia and the others felt their bodies trembling violently as they snapped back to reality. They greeted Kou Chongxue hastily. From the look on Kou Chongxue¡¯s face, it seemed like he had just woken up from his afternoon nap. He led the group into the courtyard and towards a small table carved from an entire chunk of wood. Gesturing for everyone to sit, he poured out a cup of tea for everyone. The several disciples were naturally too awkward to respond. Only Shang Lubing downed the entire cup of tea the moment Kou Chongxue was done pouring his tea. Narrowing his eyes, he smacked his lips before muttering, ¡°What great tea! If not for the fact that I¡¯ll get to drink this, I wouldn¡¯t bother bringing these kids all the way here.¡± When he was done, he ignored the bitter smile that was forming on Kou Chongxue¡¯s lips. Turning to the five disciples, he continued, ¡°There¡¯s no need to stand on ceremony with him. Your patriarch¡¯s Illusory Tea is good stuff. It¡¯s really famous outside the You Continent too. You have to drink it while it''s hot. Otherwise, it will lose all its effects.¡± Hearing what he said, the five disciples quickly raised their cups to their lips. Even though they drank it like Shang Lubing, their reactions were different. They didn¡¯t narrow their eyes to savor the taste like the old expert. Instead, their gazes turned hazy and they seemed to fall into some sort of illusory world. Kou Chongxue addressed Shang Lubing when he saw their reactions. ¡°How was it? Did anyone follow you here?¡± Shang Lubing shook his head in response. ¡°We might have thought about things too simply. The members of the Rose Party and the other powers wouldn¡¯t choose to follow me at this time.¡± Kou Chongxue wasn¡¯t surprised by that at all. Instead, he laughed softly in amusement. ¡°Of course they won¡¯t. However, that doesn¡¯t mean that they won¡¯t make a move on the kids when you return. It won¡¯t take long for them to figure out where I¡¯m hiding after this too.¡± ¡°Are you really planning to leak this location out?¡± Shang Lubing frowned. The smile on Kou Chongxue¡¯s face remained, but he didn¡¯t give a proper answer. A trace of irritation appeared in Shang Lubing¡¯s heart. ¡°You can¡¯t! Your injuries¡­¡± The smile on Kou Chongxue¡¯s face faded and he turned serious. ¡°There¡¯s no time. If we don¡¯t do this, how can we merge the Coral Command into the Tongyou Institution?¡± Shang Lubing wanted to continue his persuasion, but Kou Chongxue raised his eyebrows slightly and gasped in shock before turning to look at the five disciples. ¡°Wow, these kids are really talented. Practically every one of them managed to gain some enlightenment from my tea.¡± The words barely left his lips when Shang Xia¡¯s consciousness trembled. His eyes snapped open and he glanced all around him. It was a force of habit after encountering so many dangerous situations in the past, and when he was sure that it was safe, his taut nerves finally relaxed. ¡°I embarrassed myself in front of Patriarch Kou and Instructor Shang¡­¡± Shang Lubing spoke before Kou Chongxue could say anything. ¡°It¡¯s alright. You should think about what you just comprehended. Otherwise, you¡¯ll waste the effects of the tea.¡± Shang Xia nodded before closing his eyes once again to think about what he just experienced. Soon after, the other four disciples also started to awaken. CH 255 Shang Lubing¡¯s tip for Shang Xia to continue pondering over his gains earlier was perfectly in line with his intentions. Previously Shang Xia downed the whole cup of tea and felt a trace of fire running down his throat. Next, he seemed to have sunken into a dream. Even though it took less time to boil a cup of tea for Shang Xia to awaken, he felt that a long time had already passed in his dream. In the time that passed, he spent a lot of time thinking about the battles that passed and his cultivation in the Triple Providence Chapter and the Providence Spear. When he first woke up, it was because of his habit after experiencing so many dangerous situations in the battlefield between the two worlds. After closing his eyes again, he continued his contemplation. When he woke up for real, the experiences, comprehension, and insights he obtained remained in his mind. If he could absorb all of them in time to come, his cultivation would take a huge leap forward yet again. He could save at least a year or two worth of time. At the very least, his path of cultivation all the way to the peak of the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm would be smooth sailing. The others also eventually regained consciousness, and they gathered their thoughts after a quick reminder from Shang Lubing. The air around Shang Xia transformed slightly due to the insights he digested. Tian Mengzi and the others were unable to notice the subtle change as they were focusing on their own gains, but Shang Lubing was different. He glanced at Shang Xia as a soundless chuckle left his lips. With their minds finally clear, they noticed that only Shang Lubing was left in the courtyard. Kou Chongxue had already left at an unknown time. ¡°Instructor Shang, where is the patriarch?¡± Tian Mengzi asked. He was at the verge of a breakthrough and all he needed was a little push to start consolidating his divine sense. He had been looking forward to receiving Patriarch Kou¡¯s pointers. Shang Lubing pointed at the wooden hut they had neglected when they first arrived and said, ¡°Actually, he was planning to give general pointers to all of you. However, he eventually decided to respect your paths of cultivation. Due to the difference in your cultivation levels and secret arts you cultivate, everyone will have to walk down their own path. He decided to teach you guys one by one. Anyone who is ready can go ahead and enter the wooden hut.¡± As soon as he spoke, Tian Mengzi was the first to rush towards the wooden hut. Taking a deep breath, he greeted, ¡°Upper Division Disciple, Tian Mengzi, greets the patriarch!¡± He seemed to have received some sort of instruction as he opened the doors of the hut to enter. The moment the doors closed, the wooden hut seemed to be separated from the rest of the world. Seeing as the situation had quietened down, Shang Xia chose to sit down cross legged in the courtyard as he continued his cultivation. Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. When he tried to circulate the inner qi in his body, he felt the heaven and earth qi in the surroundings gush towards him. He felt slightly suffocated in that instant and nearly jumped in fright. Circulating the Triple Providence Chapter hastily, Shang Xia tried his best to absorb them into his body. Only then did he realize that the ball of formless chaos in his body had grown even more. The amount of Yin Yang Essence Qi that remained in his dantian decreased yet again. The feeling of his divine sense¡¯s second transformation approaching overwhelmed him. So did traces of uncertainties. He also felt that even though the principles of the Triple Providence Chapter were placed in front of him, he was unable to see them clearly. ¡°These things feel familiar, and they seem to originate from my comprehension in my dream after I drank the Illusory Tea. Once I fully digest it, I will truly enter the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. From the looks of it, I should be comprehending the second chapter of the Triple Providence Chapter. Understanding the first chapter gave me a sense of familiarity towards the second, but it¡¯s not enough to fully catch the meaning behind it.¡± Shang Xia started to feel a sense of anticipation towards the future after realizing the fact. ¡°If I manage to transform my divine sense a second time in such a short amount of time, the sense of familiarity might actually disappear. Rushing into it won¡¯t seem smart. When that happens, I might forget my insights completely and would have to start comprehending the second chapter from scratch¡­¡± As his thoughts spun, it became clearer and clearer. However, they were eventually disrupted by the creaking sound of Tian Mengzi leaving the wooden hut. A look of unbridled joy could be seen on his face. He was muttering something to himself as he approached the group. Stopping all of a sudden, he raised his head to stare at all of them in confusion and a trace of hesitation flashed in his eyes. Eventually, he turned to leave from where they came from without addressing any of the other four. When everyone was confused by his actions, Shang Lubing¡¯s voice rang in their minds. ¡°Who¡¯s next?¡± Zhang Jianfei had been waiting for his chance earlier, but Tian Mengzi was a step faster than him. This time, he got to his feet and bowed towards Shang Lubing before heading towards the wooden hut. It didn¡¯t take long before his ecstatic figure emerged. He also returned without speaking to the rest. After Zhang Jianfei went Mu Qingyu, and Dou Zhong went next. The two of them received their pointers from Kou Chongxue and left happily towards the institution. Shang Xia was the only one left. By that time, more than four hours had passed. Shang Lubing glanced at Shang Xia from the corner of his eye and muttered in amusement, ¡°Kid, you¡¯re something else alright. You took the chance to cultivate while waiting¡­¡± Exhaling a breath of turbid qi, Shang Xia replied, ¡°The heaven and earth qi in this place is extremely dense. It might be due to Patriarch Kou¡¯s presence, but the heaven and earth qi in this place is a little different from other places. I realized that cultivating here will be extremely beneficial, and I didn¡¯t dare to waste my chance.¡± Shang Lubing roared with laughter. ¡°Kid, you¡¯re really lucky alright! Too bad they haven''t formed their divine sense and are unable to receive any additional benefits.¡± Shang Lubing¡¯s response basically solidified Shang Xia¡¯s guess that the heaven and earth qi in the surroundings was beneficial to the development of his divine sense, and that was enough. ¡°What are you standing around here for? Do you think that your patriarch is really free? Hurry up and enter.¡± CH 256 ¡°Enter.¡± Kou Chongxue¡¯s gentle voice rang in Shang Xia¡¯s mind and he opened the door to the hut. From the outside, the wooden hut wasn¡¯t large at all. It was several feet wide at best, but everything changed the moment he entered. It was several times larger on the inside! Shang Xia obviously knew that Kou Chongxue used some sort of space expansion ability on the hut, but he didn¡¯t know if it was through the use of a formation or Kou Chongxue¡¯s personal abilities. At that moment, Kou Chongxue was sitting cross-legged on a straw mat while smiling at Shang Xia. Due to his oversized robe, Kou Chongxue looked a little fat when he sat cross-legged on the mat. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know if he was mistaken, but he thought he saw a trace of weariness cross Kou Chongxue¡¯s face when he looked at the man. ¡°Patriarch.¡± Shang Xia greeted. ¡°There¡¯s no need for such formalities.¡± Kou Chongxue chuckled softly. ¡°I saw you many times when you were still a wee little brat. You were too young then, and you probably don¡¯t remember. In the past few years, this old man had been cultivating in seclusion here. I rarely showed my face in the institution and not just you, many instructors and custodians might not be able to recognize me.¡± Shang Xia quickly spoke up. ¡°Patriarch, even if you don¡¯t show your face outside, your prestige can suppress everyone inside and outside the You Continent.¡± Kou Chongxue laughed twice before pointing at Shang Xia. ¡°Your grandfather and your father arent¡¯s as glib tongued as you.¡± Pausing for a second, he continued, ¡°Anyway, with my relationship with your elders, you should be calling me granduncle.¡± ¡°Shang Xia greets Granduncle Kou!¡± Chuckling softly, Kou Chongxue nodded his head before saying, ¡°How did you manage to guess that this was the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range and that it had something to do with the battlefield between the two worlds?¡± Thinking for a second, Shang Xia arranged his thoughts before replying, ¡°Disciple took part in the battle for the Coral Forest and I became familiar with spatial formations and passages then. From the looks of it, this place is completely different from the outside world. It somewhat resembles the four spiritual lands of the Coral Forest.¡± ¡°Just that?¡± Kou Chongxue raised an eyebrow in response. ¡°Well¡­ Our Tongyou Institution borders the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range and the battlefield between the two worlds. A portion of it seemed to also have disappeared into the battlefield between the two worlds after the collision of the worlds. If Patriarch Kou has been recovering in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range all this while without being discovered, it can only be located in the battlefield between the two worlds.¡± Kou Chongxue nodded slowly as Shang Xia continued, ¡°This disciple thinks that there are some people who have already thought of this point. However, none of them possess the ability to tear open the spatial barrier between our Azure Origin World and the battlefield between the two worlds to verify their guesses.¡± Kou Chongxue roared with laughter after hearing his conjecture but sighed the next moment. ¡°They might not have been able to do it previously, but the Rose Party managed to force their way into the battlefield between the two worlds in order to carry out their schemes on the Coral Forest. It¡¯s just a matter of time before someone locates this place.¡± ¡°Patriarch, do you mean¡­¡± Shang Xia seemed to have heard the meaning behind Kou Chongxue¡¯s words and he asked. However, he was uninterrupted before he could finish his sentence. ¡°The spatial barrier between our world and the battlefield between the two worlds is growing thinner and thinner. This can only mean that the fusion between our worlds cannot be stopped. We don¡¯t have much time left!¡± A thousand thoughts ran through Shang Xia¡¯s mind and he realized that Kou Chongxue just revealed a massive secret to him. Before he could allow his thoughts to go wild, Kou Chongxue¡¯s voice brought him back to reality. ¡°How have you progressed on comprehending your Triple Providence Chapter and your Providence Spear?¡± Seeing the look on Kou Chongxue¡¯s face, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t surprised at all that the patriarch knew about his inheritance. He replied quickly, ¡°I comprehended the first chapter of the Triple Providence Chapter, and I managed to develop three moves from the Providence Spear.¡± ¡°Not bad, not bad at all. This old man can tell that your foundations are solid despite your quick progress in your cultivation level. That¡¯s the real benefits of your Shang Clan¡¯s Triple Providence Chapter. As long as you have a strong foundation, your cultivation can increase extremely quickly. It doesn¡¯t disgrace itself as a technique that originated from the upper worlds¡­¡± Kou Chongxue chuckled. Giant waves battered against Shang Xia¡¯s heart. ¡°Patriarch, what do you mean by the ¡®upper worlds¡¯?¡± ¡°Haha, you¡¯ve been to the battlefield between the two worlds. You should know that our Azure Origin World isn¡¯t the only world out there. Our Azure Origin World, and even the Azure Spiritual World, are merely two tiny worlds in the vast universe. There are greater worlds that have already progressed further down the path of cultivation. Those are what we call the ¡®upper worlds¡¯.¡± Kou Chongxue completed his explanation. Shang Xia quickly followed up with another question. ¡°Are we¡­ Are we able to travel to those upper worlds?¡± His idea was simple. Since the upper worlds were more advanced, he thought that they could easily ask them for help. Once they receive inheritances and assistance from the upper worlds, their path of cultivation would become much smoother. His question was met with a shake of the head from Kou Chongxue. ¡°Heh. It¡¯s not that easy to travel to the upper worlds. Even if we do, we have to hide our identities. If we¡¯re not careful, we might even draw a massive disaster on our world.¡± Shang Xia gasped in shock. He wanted to continue his line of questioning, but it seemed Kou Chongxue wasn¡¯t planning on speaking more about it. The patriarch eventually closed off the topic with a final statement. ¡°In the future, you definitely have a chance to head out there to take a look. Of course, that will only happen after you enter the Martial Extermination Realm.¡± Was entering the Martial Extermination Realm the lowest requirement to explore the world outside? Shang Xia fell deep into thought. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. Kou Chongxue eventually changed the topic. ¡°Do you know how many different moves your grandfathers came up with when they tried to comprehend the Providence Spear?¡± ¡°How many?¡± That was also a question that had been bugging Shang Xia since he stepped into the Martial Intent Realm. ¡°Shang Bo developed seven moves while Shang Ke came up with five.¡± Realizing that Kou Chongxue wouldn¡¯t bring up a topic like that for fun, Shang Xia decided to dive deeper into it. ¡°What are the differences between the two of them?¡± ¡°You should look for them for a better explanation. It¡¯s not appropriate for me to divulge too much, but I have to say something now that you have drunk the Illusory Tea. Otherwise, the effects might be wasted.¡± Pausing for a second, Kou Chongxue continued, ¡°I heard Shang Bo say that anyone who manages to develop six moves after comprehending the Providence Spear would have achieved a high level of understanding. The moment one manages to develop six moves or more, their chances of comprehending a martial intent in the Martial Intent Realm would increase greatly. For Shang Bo to develop seven moves of his own, his strength could be said to have reached a terrifying level. His attacks have the ability to damage other cultivator¡¯s soul, hence the name, Soul Tearing Spear. Shang Ke¡¯s talent might not be as great as Shang Bo, but he is also a force to be reckoned with. Due to his fighting style, he was named the Suspended Spear.¡± CH 257 Shang Xia clearly didn¡¯t know the details of the cultivation path of those in the older generation of his clan. Now that Kou Chongxue was willing to speak openly about it, he quickly gained interest in it. ¡°The reason I¡¯m telling you this is for you to take note. You have to focus more attention on your Providence Spear. It¡¯s great that you managed to develop three moves from what you already comprehended. You need to come up with three more by the time you enter the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. Only then will you have hopes of comprehending your third martial intent.¡± Kou Chongxue advised. He only continued when he saw Shang Xia nodding his head. ¡°In your Shang Clan, it doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s the Triple Providence Chapter or the Providence Spear. Both possess limitless talent. If you enter the upper worlds in the future, you should look for the origin of these techniques. The moment you find the source of your inheritance, your future will be limitless!¡± Shang Xia thanked Kou Chongxue for his guidance, but the patriarch wasn¡¯t done. Waving his hand to stop Shang Xia, he continued, ¡°There¡¯s no need more for me to talk about your ¡®Providence¡¯ inheritance series. However, you¡¯re at the edge of your second divine sense transformation. I wonder if it¡¯s possible for me to assist you in the last part for you to break through the bottleneck¡­¡± A look of joy appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Patriarch, please give me your guidance.¡± However, Kou Chongxue waved his hand again to stop Shang Xia. ¡°There¡¯s no need to rush things. Before this, I have some questions I wish to ask you.¡± ¡°I was rude, please forgive me¡­¡± Shang Xia muttered in response. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. Chuckling slightly, Kou Chongxue didn¡¯t bother with his polite act any longer. Instead, he asked, ¡°What are your views of the Martial Intent Realm?¡± Widening his eyes in shock, Shang Xia didn¡¯t know how to answer the question. Kou Chongxue seemed to have expected his reaction and a smile appeared on his lips. ¡°There¡¯s no need to answer me right away. After all, you barely entered the Martial Intent Realm. Your cultivation rose like a rocket, and now, you¡¯re close to reaching the next level once again. Even though most of it can be explained with your comprehension of the Triple Providence Chapter, your solid foundations in the Martial Extremity Realm should also play a part. If I have to guess, you¡¯re slightly lacking when it comes to understanding the essence behind the true meaning of training at the Martial Intent Realm.¡± Stunned, Shang Xia didn¡¯t know what reaction to give. He could only remain silent to wait for Kou Chongxue to continue. ¡°Training steadily is definitely the way to go. However, knowing the outcome without knowing how to get there is a whole other problem. You won¡¯t be able to get far that way. That is what I learned in all my years of cultivation.¡± ¡°Patriarch, please guide me.¡± Shang Xia said in response. Grunting once, Kou Chongxue added, ¡°After a cultivator refines his advancement medicine in the Martial Extremity Realm, they would be able to condense their divine sense. It¡¯s considered the first transformation of one¡¯s divine sense. Do you know what that means for the cultivator who just entered the Martial Intent Realm?¡± A puzzled look appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he guessed, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean that they would experience an increase in strength?¡± Kou Chongxue shook his head in response. ¡°No. That¡¯s too vague. In fact, a cultivator who enters the Martial Intent Realm would gain the ability to influence the heaven and earth qi around themselves to a certain degree.¡± Shang Xia seemed to have thought of something similar and he asked, ¡°Does that mean that we can use our divine sense to affect the heaven and earth qi around us?¡± ¡°You can think of it that way. What happens after the second transformation?¡± Kou Chongxue nodded and continued his line of questioning. Shang Xia didn¡¯t bother hiding his ignorance anymore. He simply shook his head. ¡°The divine sense of a Martial Intent Realm cultivator will start fusing with their inner qi. It allows them to become more connected to the world. That isn¡¯t all. It¡¯s something like the interaction between the heavens and the cultivator.¡± Kou Chongxue continued speaking as he explained all his insights in his years of cultivation to Shang Xia. From the formation of divine sense, to the second and third transformation. Finally, entering the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm by comprehending one¡¯s third martial intent. He went into great detail and even used his personal experience to back his explanation up. When he spoke about more complex points, he took his time and even went through it several times up to the point where Shang Xia finally understood what he was talking about. All of a sudden, Kou Chongxue added, ¡°Originally, you would be able to comprehend all of this from your Triple Providence Chapter. However, what I said should be able to save you some time. I hope you don¡¯t find me too naggy¡­¡± ¡°Patriarch, you must be kidding. This disciple cannot be happier to receive your guidance.¡± Shang Xia replied. Those words came from the depths of his heart. Because of what Kou Chongxue shared, Shang Xia managed to learn one important fact. After stepping into the Martial Intent Realm, his previous guess of transforming essence to qi, training qi to achieve the divine, and returning from the divine to the void seemed to make sense. Now, he had to add one more layer at the end. It was to refine the void into the dao. Transforming essence to qi was what happened during the first transformation. Training the qi to achieve the divine was probably the second transformation, and according to Kou Chongxue, the key to that level was fusing his divine sense with the world. At the same time, he had to keep his will steady. Next came returning from the divine to the void. That corresponded with the third transformation, and refining the void into the dao would allow him to step into the grand completion stage. As his thoughts spun in his head, Kou Chongxue¡¯s sigh broke his train of thought. ¡°A cultivator¡¯s path is full of uncertainties and difficulties. One can even say that it¡¯s a road that is undiscovered. All of us are exploring as we go along. From there, we¡¯ll carve out a proper path. As the pioneers of the path, we hope that we can look for ways to let people in your generation take fewer winding paths. Hopefully, you understand the effort I put into this. After all, the time we are given is diminishing as we speak.¡± Doubts filled Shang Xia¡¯s mind, but he felt a terrifying pressure descending on him in the next moment. His body seemed to have turned into stone, and his divine sense froze over. He wanted to speak, but he discovered that he couldn¡¯t open his mouth no matter how hard he tried. He wanted to look around, but his eyeballs wouldn¡¯t spin. ¡°Luckily¡­ My¡­ Origin¡­ True¡­ Qi¡­ Can¡­ Still¡­ Circulate¡­ Now¡­ Change¡­ To¡­ Fuse¡­¡± Shang Xia understood that it was an opportunity for him to transform his divine sense a second time. Kou Chongxue seemed to be using his terrifying strength to force Shang Xia into breaking through. The feeling Shang Xia had when he first entered the Martial Intent Realm returned to him. A familiar light swallowed him from inside out, and his consciousness accepted it without any struggles. CH 258 When Shang Xia¡¯s consciousness entered his dantian once again, he could feel his Origin True Qi running wildly through his body. A comfortable feeling swept over his soul and he felt wholly enlightened. If Shang Xia¡¯s breakthrough to the Martial Intent Realm allowed him to grasp the feeling of his divine sense forming, his breakthrough now gave him the full experience. He seemed to be able to observe the full breakthrough from the space inside his dantian. A flash of inspiration struck him when he was feeling the changes. That was probably the effects of his second divine sense transformation anyway. Wanting to see the full range of his divine sense then, Shang Xia chose to conduct his experiment then and there. He extended his divine sense as far as he could, and it quickly left the wooden hut. When it did, he felt as though he had forgotten something but the thought quickly left his mind. His divine sense went further and further as it eventually entered the courtyard from before. He could even see Shang Lubing who was preparing to pour himself another cup of tea. As the old expert raised the teapot in one hand, he seemed to have detected something amiss as he glanced at his surroundings. Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense didn¡¯t stop there. It continued to extend outwards, and when he reached a radius of 30 feet from himself, he felt a wave of dizziness threatening to overwhelm him. Realizing his limits, he started to withdraw his divine sense and the sick feeling of nausea started to fade. As his divine sense returned to his body, he discovered that Shang Lubing was nowhere to be seen. Realizing what he had forgotten, Shang Xia tried to locate the old patriarch and eventually found him casually conversing with Shang Lubing not too far away from where he was cultivating. He couldn¡¯t help but recall the scene where they just arrived. None of the disciples noticed the courtyard and Kou Chongxue¡¯s wooden hut. They were right in front of them, yet none of the disciples noticed them! Was that an ability of Martial Dipper Realm experts?! His train of thought was interrupted by the conversation between Kou Chongxue and Shang Lubing. ¡°Why is he taking so long?¡± Shang Lubing asked. Turning to stare at Shang Xia, the corners of Kou Chongxue¡¯s lips curled upwards to form a sneer, ¡°This brat¡¯s cultivation is higher than them to begin with. I have to spend a little more effort on him compared to them.¡± Shang Xia noticed that Kou Chongxue had discovered his sneaky behavior the moment he stared at him. Deciding to test the limits of his abilities, he no longer bothered with the two old experts and his divine sense condensed around him. He found out that not only could he observe his surroundings, he was also able to ¡®see¡¯ himself sitting in the hut. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t expand any more of your fate dipper. Your injuries will only become more serious!¡± Shang Lubing¡¯s voice was low, and his words were like a warning to Kou Chongxue. In response, the patriarch chuckled. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I can still hold on for now¡­¡± ¡°The kids are talented, but there¡¯s no need for you to exhaust your fate dipper to help them! Just give them some pointers and impart several sets of martial arts to them if they¡¯re really talented. If you want to take it a step further, you can easily give them a few advancement formulas. At the very worst, just reward them with a graded weapon. You¡¯re a Martial Dipper Realm expert. Do you really lack stuff like that? Why do you need to exhaust your fate dipper like that?¡± Kou Chongxue revealed a bitter smile in response. ¡°You should know that the greatest effects of my Illusory Tea will only be brought out when taken in conjunction with the source energy from my Eternal Spring Fate Dipper. In order to lower the risk of anything happening during his cultivation and breakthrough, I have to use it¡­¡± Shang Lubing muttered softly, ¡°Don¡¯t you know that your injuries were caused because of the imbalance between your fate dippers?! Now that you weakened it further, your injuries are only going to get worse!¡± ¡°There¡¯s not much time left¡­ The speed of fusion between our two worlds has reached a terrifying level. The spatial barrier is also growing too weak. The mere presence of the Rose Party in the battlefield between the two worlds is enough proof of that. In the future, entering the battlefield between the two worlds will start to become a common occurrence. We need to ensure the later generations grow as strong as possible before that happens.¡± Kou Chongxue sighed. After staying silent for some time, Shang Lubing asked, ¡°How long do we have left?¡± ¡°Soon¡­ The fusion should be done in less than five years. In fact, it might be much sooner than we think.¡± Kou Chongxue revealed a bitter smile. ¡°How is this possible?!¡± Shang Lubing gasped. He only managed to suppress his shock when he noticed Kou Chongxue¡¯s lethargic appearance. ¡°If that¡¯s really true, how can we be ready for it?¡± Kou Chongxue¡¯s appearance slowly returned to normal. ¡°Even if we don¡¯t have enough time, at least we can leave behind a seed of hope. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± Shang Lubing sucked in a long breath and continued, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder we took the risk to reclaim the Coral Forest even when faced with the alliance of the Rose Party and the Four Spiritual Peak¡­ Luckily for us, the risk paid off. Today, we have complete supremacy over the battlefield between the two worlds. Even if our worlds duse together, our You Continent will be the one controlling everything. ¡°Hah. If only things are so simple. Don¡¯t forget, the Qing, Bing, Shu, and Liang continents are right beside us. That¡¯s how we formed the five border institutions anyway. Even if our You Continent managed to gain control of the battlefield between the two worlds now and we formed an alliance with the other four institutions, there are many other continents out there in the Azure Origin World¡­ No matter how great our accomplishments are now, we might not be the eventual winner!¡± Kou Chongxue¡¯s words were like a bucket of cold water that was splashed over Shang Lubing¡¯s head. ¡°Even so, it¡¯s better than doing nothing.¡± Kou Chongxue added after noticing the look of exasperation on Shang Lubing¡¯s face. ¡°Once we merge the Coral Forest into our institution, we¡¯ll be able to gain another trump card. Even if the situation takes a turn for the worst, we will have another way out.¡± Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" ¡°If that¡¯s true, won¡¯t you have to¡­¡± A worried look appeared on Shang Lubing¡¯s face after hearing what he said. Raising his hand to stop Shang Lubing from saying anymore, Kou Chongxue turned to stare in Shang Xia¡¯s direction. ¡°Brat, since you¡¯re done, it¡¯s time to come out. Why are you learning all your dad¡¯s bad habits? Stop eavesdropping on your elders!¡± Opening his eyes, Shang Xia turned to look at Kou Chongxue in shock. ¡°My father?¡± ¡°How¡¯s your breakthrough? Was it smooth?¡± Kou Chongxue changed the topic suddenly, diverting Shang Xia¡¯s attention. Turning his attention to his dantian, Shang Xia noticed that the amount of Yin Yang Essence Qi left in there decreased once again. The feeling of becoming one with the world grew stronger. Nodding his head, he replied to Kou Chongxue¡¯s question. ¡°It went amazingly smooth¡­¡± ¡°Oi brat, did you spy on me with your divine sense earlier?¡± Shang Lubing interrupted all of a sudden. ¡°I was trying out my abilities¡­ I failed to restrain myself because of the sudden increase in strength¡­¡± Shang Xia explained himself hastily. Before Shang Xia could complete his explanation, he saw Shang Lubing¡¯s expression changing. ¡°It really is you! Are you crazy? You expanded your divine sense and fused it with the heavens and earth to observe your surroundings the moment you completed your breakthrough. Aren¡¯t you afraid that you would lose your mind and turn into an undead corpse?¡± With his jaws dropping in fright, Shang Xia didn¡¯t know what he should say. Luckily, Kou Chongxue stepped in. ¡°It probably has something to do with the Shang Clan¡¯s Triple Loop Coalescence Needle. It strengthened his soul during his advancement to the Martial Intent Realm.¡± Shang Lubing nodded slowly in response. However, Shang Xia felt that the Triple Loop Coalescence Needle was only a part of the reason behind his strengthened soul. After the optimization by the blood red tablet, his advancement to the Martial Intent Realm was significantly different from those who used it before. A smile appeared on Shang Lubing¡¯s face as he decided to talk about something else. ¡°Kid, your cultivation was the highest among the five and the reward you received was the greatest. What are you still doing here? Why aren¡¯t you returning to the institution to consolidate your foundations?¡± Pausing for a second, Shang Xia explained, ¡°Disciple heard from Instructor Shang that Patriarch Kou¡¯s injuries are getting worse. I wonder if there¡¯s anything I can do to help him?¡± ¡°Haha, your intentions might be good, but your cultivation isn¡¯t high enough. He¡¯s a Martial Dipper Realm expert and even I can¡¯t do anything about his injuries, much less you.¡± Shang Lubing chuckled. Despite what he said, Shang Xia could tell that Shang Lubing wasn¡¯t really mocking him for having a low cultivation. As such, he decided to try again. ¡°This disciple heard that Patriarch Kou¡¯s injuries were due to the imbalance between his fate dippers. One of his fate dippers is called the Eternal Spring Fate Dipper and it¡¯s the one that allowed me to break through to my stage. I wonder what the other one is called?¡± The moment the words left his lips, Shang Lubing¡¯s expression turned weird. ¡°Kid, you¡¯re a sneaky one alright, What else did you hear?¡± Shang Xia shook his head and sighed. ¡°That¡¯s about all I heard.¡± Naturally, that¡¯s not all he heard. However, there was no need to reveal it explicitly. Anyway, Shang Lubing¡¯s question was merely a formality. Glancing at Kou Chongxue, Shang Lubing asked, ¡°Kid, do you know that anything regarding the patriarch¡¯s cultivation shouldn¡¯t be revealed to anyone else? Even if you¡¯re Shang Bo¡¯s grandson, it doesn¡¯t matter. What if the secrets are revealed to our enemies? When that happens, our patriarch will be in a great deal of trouble!¡± ¡°Of course I understand.¡± Shang Xia muttered without a change in expression. Snorting softly, Shang Lubing intentionally turned a little more serious. ¡°Since you understand, why aren¡¯t you leaving?! Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re thinking of asking even more questions about your patriarch¡¯s injury?¡± Any other student of the institution would have given in to the formless pressure coming from Shang Lubing and left. However, Shang Xia was no ordinary student. He looked at Kou Chongxue dead in the eye and asked, ¡°I wonder if Patriarch Kou is willing to share more?¡± CH 259 ¡°I wonder if Patriarch Kou is willing to share more?¡± Shang Xia asked. Hearing his question, Shang Lubing was about to erupt with anger as his expression sank. His tone turned frosty and he growled, ¡°Brat, are you deaf? Didn¡¯t you hear what I said? Do you really think that I won¡¯t dare to do anything to you because you¡¯re Shang Bo¡¯s grandson?¡± One couldn¡¯t forget that Shang Lubing was in charge of the Contribution Division in the Tongyou Institution. He had the authority to punish and reward the disciples of the institution as he saw fit. Another terrifying wave of pressure came crashing down on Shang Xia. Even though it wasn¡¯t comparable to what Kou Chongxue used when he broke through earlier, it was more than enough to force a Martial Intent Realm cultivator into the ground. However, he clearly underestimated Shang Xia. Shang Xia remained standing despite the frightening amount of power pressing down on him, and the ground beneath his feet was starting to sink. His veins were clearly visible as they bulged out from his forehead, and it was clear that he was resisting Shang Lubing¡¯s aura with everything he could. If they looked at it from another angle, it would prove a terrifying fact. Shang Xia actually had the capabilities to stand against Martial Extermination Realm experts! Even though there would only be one outcome if he tried anything, that was enough! Being able to resist the aura of a Martial Extermination Realm expert placed Shang Xia far above the crowd. Just as Shang Lubing was starting to feel awkward about the situation and the thought of teaching Shang Xia a lesson crossed his mind, Kou Chongxue¡¯s soft chuckle broke the weird stalemate. A look of amusement could be seen in Kou Chongxue¡¯s eyes as he looked at Shang Xia. ¡°How are you so sure that you can help me?¡± ¡°Hmph, help my ass.¡± Shang Lubing sneered angrily. Naturally, Shang Xia chose to ignore Shang Lubing as he addressed Kou Chongxue directly. ¡°This disciple doesn¡¯t dare to promise anything, but two brains are better than one. Even if I can¡¯t think of a solution now, it doesn¡¯t mean that I will never be able to think of one.¡± ¡°Hah, do you really think this is a problem that can be solved through discussion and brainstorming?!¡± Shang Lubing snorted at the side. Waving casually towards Shang Lubing, Kou Chongxue stopped him from dissing the kid any further. A profound gaze appeared in his eyes and he looked into Shang Xia¡¯s eyes. He seemed to be able to see through any secrets Shang Xia was hiding, and the kid twisted his body subconsciously. Chuckling slightly at Shang Xia¡¯s response, Kou Chongxue continued, ¡°Alright. It¡¯s nothing too important anyway. We¡¯ll just take this as a casual chat. It can serve as a guide to your cultivation in the future and help you avoid some critical problems.¡± Shang Lubing shot a strange look at Kou Chongxue before turning to Shang Xia. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say anymore. You¡¯re really lucky¡­ What are you waiting for? Thank the patriarch! Even your grandfather hasn''t learned what he¡¯s about to tell you.¡± Despite being a little annoyed by Shang Lubing¡¯s repeated comments, Shang Xia still put on a respectful expression to thank Kou Chongxue. Nodding slowly, a look of melancholy appeared on Kou Chongxue¡¯s face. He seemed to be thinking about the past but he eventually spoke up, ¡°Kid, do you know how a cultivator enters the Martial Dipper Realm?¡± Obviously, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t expecting such a question. He was stunned for a moment, but he threw out a guess. ¡°Is it not through the use of an advancement medicine?¡± Shang Xia wasn¡¯t the only one who was taken aback. Even Shang Lubing didn¡¯t understand why Kou Chongxue would ask such a question. Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" ¡°Hehe, my question probably came as a surprise. After all, this is something neither of you have experience with.¡± Pausing for a second, he continued, ¡°Everyone knows that I entered the Martial Dipper Realm and they think that I have a complete advancement formula. That is one of the greatest foundations that holds up our institution. However¡­¡± Kou Chongxue stared at the two of them with a complicated look in his eyes. ¡°... This advancement formula isn¡¯t complete.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Not complete?!¡± The two of them basically yelled in unison. Turning to look at each other, they saw the look of worry in each other¡¯s eyes. The rank five advancement formula said to be owned by the Tongyou Institution wasn¡¯t complete! If the news ever got out, the entire Azure Origin World would be shaken by the news. In fact, the backlash might be so terrifying that it could shake the foundations of the Tongyou Institution. ¡°How did you¡­¡± Shang Lubing asked. Kou Chongxue wasn¡¯t surprised by their reactions at all. He replied calmly, ¡°It¡¯s the Origin Tide.¡± ¡°Origin Tide?!¡± Shang Lubing gasped. ¡°How did you¡­¡± Shang Lubing was clear about what happened during an Origin Tide in the battlefield between the two worlds. Even the strongest family that existed before the collision between the two worlds wouldn¡¯t be able to resist the energy that came from an Origin Tide. It was said that a giant Origin Tide erupted during the collision, turning the entire Zhu Family into a bunch of undead corpses. How in the world did Kou Chongxue survive?! ¡°During the initial phase of creation of the battlefield between the two worlds, I encountered an Origin Tide and saw that a strand of Primal Yang Copper Fate Dipper was swept up in it. ¡°Primal Yang Copper Fate Dipper?!¡± Shang Lubing gasped. ¡°That¡¯s a top-grade fate dipper!¡± ¡°Primal Yang Copper Fate Dipper?¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself. It seemed as though he was thinking of something. Shang Lubing turned to look at him and asked, ¡°Do you know what that is?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± Shang Xia shook his head. However, a distinct guess remained in his heart. From the sound of it, it has something to do with the element of gold among the five elements¡­ Kou Chongxue added, ¡°Under such circumstances, I know that there was only one thing left to do. Since both ways pretty much resulted in death, why not take my chances? I used the incomplete advancement formula I had and used the strand of Primal Yang Copper Fate Dipper to enter the Martial Dipper Realm.¡± Sucking in a cold breath, Shang Lubing whispered, ¡°In the end, you succeeded!¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Kou Chongxue nodded.¡±In fact, I have no idea how I managed to succeed. I used my advancement medicine that was created with two missing ingredients and swallowed the Primal Yang Copper Fate Dipper. In a daze, I took in a large amount of energy from the Origin Tide. When I woke up, the Origin Tide was gone. I also managed to fully refine the strand of Primal Yang Copper Fate Dipper.¡± Kou Chongxue might have told his story casually, but the two of them knew how dangerous the situation actually was. He basically handed his fate over to the heavens by doing that. One had to know that there was another person who tried charging into the Martial Dipper Realm. His preparations were much more complete than the patriarch, but he suffered a miserable fate. He turned into a rank five undead corpse who died under the bombardment of several Martial Extermination Realm experts. Shang Xia¡¯s thoughts went a level deeper. When the Tongyou Institution launched an offensive against the Coral Forest, Shang Xia felt that their actions were a little hasty. Even though the Tongyou Institution eventually came out on top to achieve an overwhelming victory, the truth of the matter was that things could have turned out a lot differently. They even lost a Martial Extermination Realm expert like Liu Jitang! If not for the fact that Liu Zhiyuan, Kang Ci, and Shang Ke broke through during the entire episode, their victory would have been pathetic. The three of them managed to replenish the fighting strength that the institution had lost! The higher ups of the institution might have gone all in for the Coral Forest because they discovered that Kou Chongxue didn¡¯t possess a complete advancement formula. Since the Zhu Family was the strongest family before the calamity, they were the ones with the highest chance of possessing a complete advancement formula. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but think of the time when he entered the secret chamber and saw the stone grave. No matter how hard he tried to recall the words that appeared, he was unable to do so. A strange feeling filled his mind at that instant. It seemed to originate from the depths of his mind, and it felt as though a hidden memory was about to be unlocked. Unfortunately for him, he failed. Was that a memory seal? Shang Xia¡¯s heart trembled slightly. The feeling appeared when he thought about the words on the stone coffin, and Shang Xia was sure it had something to do with the advancement formula inscribed in it. Since the seal on his memory wasn¡¯t broken earlier, it probably had something to do with his cultivation. When his divine sense transformed for the third time, he might be able to loosen the seal on his memory. However, he didn¡¯t know how strong he would have to be to completely destroy the seal and unlock the memory of the rank five advancement formula. When Shang Xia was still stuck deep in thought, Shang Lubing continued to ask about the origins of Kou Chongxue¡¯s second fate dipper. Shang Xia¡¯s attention was finally drawn back to reality. ¡°... This is the place I managed to refine my second fate dipper. ¡° Kou Chongxue gestured at the wooden hut around him. It seemed as though he had built his residence at the location where he located his second fate dipper. ¡°Here?¡± Shang Lubing¡¯s eyes widened in shock. He clearly didn¡¯t expect such a reply. ¡°You should remember how I left to explore the world after the institution started running properly twenty years ago. After exploring the regions around the spatial barrier around the battlefield between the two worlds, I found this place.¡± Kou Chongxue explained. Shang Lubing added, ¡°Yeah. I remember you saying something about locating a secure region to cultivate. You even requested for Ma Mingfeng to assist you in creating a spatial passage connecting this place to the institution.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Kou Chongxue continued, ¡°When I discovered this place, it was teeming with life, completely unlike anything else. It was the perfect place to cultivate.¡± ¡°After absorbing the vitality in the area, I started to cultivate. With the assistance of my inner qi, I managed to create a second strand of fate dipper after ten years of cultivation. That was my second fate dipper, the Eternal Spring Fate Dipper.¡± Shang Lubing shook his head and sighed, ¡°God damn. I thought that we used up all our luck when the calamity struck us. Who would have thought that all the luck landed on you! What the hell¡­ Are you the son of lady luck or something?!¡± CH 263 Tossing out the various talismans, Shang Xia bought himself some time to deal with the only way to break out of his sticky situation. Instead of taking the risk of trying to run, he chose to rush towards the hidden archer! Shang Xia knew it clearly. As long as the hidden archer lived, his chances of running away were slim to none. The only way he could live was to deal with the hidden archer. ¡°Yin Lian, be careful!¡± The blade wielding cultivator roared the moment Shang Xia moved. That only served to confirm Shang Xia¡¯s guess that he was moving in the right direction. It didn¡¯t take long for him to hear the whistling of another arrow as it tore through the air. A burst of lightning emerged from the top of Shang Xia¡¯s sword as it greeted the arrow. No match for the explosive lightning, the black iron arrow shattered to bits. Before the lightning could dissipate, another black iron arrow ripped through the air and closed in rapidly towards Shang Xia. Realizing it was too late to deflect the arrow with his sword, Shang Xia extended his left hand and a layer of formless inner qi gave it a nice coating. With the extra protection, Shang Xia grabbed the arrow directly. Despite the layer of protection from his inner qi, his flesh was clearly weaker than metal. A thick gash appeared on his palm as the arrow was stained a deep red. By the time it lost all its momentum, the arrow was barely three inches away from Shang Xia¡¯s eye. Despite his injury, his movements didn¡¯t slow down. Due to the two arrows he shot, the hidden archer¡¯s location was revealed to Shang Xia. ¡°I found you!¡± With a shake of his body, Shang Xia changed direction in mid air yet again. With the assistance of the heaven and earth qi in the surroundings, he leaped twenty feet in the air and saw a figure running desperately through the forest. He held a long bow in his hand. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s sword had disappeared at an unknown time, and the Waning Spear Moon replaced it. Even though it was nearly destroyed, it was barely usable. After all, it still maintained its spear-like appearance. Only with a spear would Shang Xia be able to unleash his full strength! ¡°Void Evasion!¡± He stabbed towards the fleeing cultivator who was nearly eight feet away with the fourth move he comprehended. During the second transformation of his divine sense earlier, he was struck with a flash of inspiration and he created his fourth move from his comprehension of the Providence Spear. He visualized the technique several times, but that was his first time actually using it in battle. Before his inner qi could travel fully through the spear to complete the move, the Waning Moon Spear was finally unable to withstand his Origin True Qi any longer. It shattered like glass and it was completely scrapped. ¡°Hah, brat, you¡¯re dead now!¡± The axe wielding cultivator behind roared with laughter. At the same time, the archer who was running away paused to draw his bow. Only then did Shang Xia discover that he had mistaken the archer for a male. It was actually a lady who was clad in men¡¯s clothes! Unfortunately for her, she wasn¡¯t able to fully draw her bow when a giant spear made entirely of heaven and earth qi appeared in mid air. In the blink of an eye, the spear stabbed deep into her left chest. Shang Xia¡¯s spear struck before she could react. ¡°I¡­ I¡­¡± Before she could say anymore, she spat out several mouthfuls of blood in a row and she collapsed. Her body hadn¡¯t even hit the floor when Shang Xia¡¯s figure arrived. He plundered the corpse easily and grabbed the bow firmly in his hands. His actions were so swift that he broke two of her fingers with the bowstring. ¡°AHHHH!!! Yin Lian! Shang Xia, you deserve death!¡± The blade wielding cultivator roared with rage and he seemed to unleash some sort of forbidden art. He accelerated once again and he closed the distance between himself and Shang Xia in several breaths of time. ¡°Hmph. They¡¯re probably a couple.¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t forget to sneer at the two of them despite the dangerous situation he was facing. Although he just killed his lover, Shang Xia¡¯s emotions weren¡¯t affected in the slightest. He remained extremely calm and looked over the situation once again. Without the hidden archer hindering his movements, Shang Xia felt that even if he couldn¡¯t kill the two of them easily, they wouldn¡¯t be able to take him down either. Much less when one of them had already lost his cool and was charging towards him like a madman. As he continued to run, the Jade River Sword appeared in his hand once again and he twisted his body to unleash his attack. Even though he was holding a sword, he used the third move he created after comprehending the Providence Spear Art, Flashing Meteor. The blade wielding cultivator released his full powered strike at the same time. A loud blast rang through the air and the two of them tumbled into the surroundings. The eruption of heaven and earth qi that resulted from their exchange caused the ground below to sink three feet lower. The two of them released a grunt as they flew. Borrowing the strength of the recoil, Shang Xia opened up the distance between them by close to thirty feet. The moment he landed, he felt his legs going soft and he nearly fell to the ground. A sickly sweet sensation rose up his throat and he quickly spat out a mouthful of blood. Taking a deep breath, he circulated his Origin True Qi and continued to escape in the other direction. His Irregular Steps was extremely useful when it came to avoiding attacks and moving in close quarters. Now that he had fallen into the heart of a dense jungle, he was like a fish in the water as he started to run. In a flash, his figure disappeared. Several free away from the blade wielding cultivator, the axe wielding man frowned. Surprisingly, he didn¡¯t chase after Shang Xia. ¡°Brother Shan Dao, what do you think we should do?¡± Shan Dao wiped the blood that was trickling down the side of his lips before looking in the direction where Shang Xia disappeared. ¡°Forget it. We can¡¯t catch up to him anyway. We¡¯ll just have to take the L this time. Let¡¯s go.¡± When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Yuan Gang, the axe wielding cultivator, glanced at Shan Dao in shock. ¡°We failed the mission and got Yin Lian killed¡­ How are we supposed to report when we return?¡± Shang Dao kept his sword and hung his head in shame and pain. ¡°I¡¯ll bear the responsibility.¡± ¡°Brother Shan, you know that¡¯s not what I meant. Crossing the spatial barrier isn¡¯t easy. Was our sole mission after coming over here to capture that punk? He¡¯s just a Martial Intent Realm brat and his identity isn¡¯t exactly impressive anyway. His clan isn¡¯t exactly the strongest in the Azure Origin World. Why should we capture him?¡± As the words left his lips, the two of them arrived beside Yin Lian¡¯s corpse. Shan Dao lightly pressed his hand against the ground that had sunken in and sighed, ¡°There¡¯s no way we can bring her corpse back. Let¡¯s bury her here.¡± Tapping the ground, a deep grave was created and he placed her corpse into it carefully. Sealing up the hole, he piled soil on top and turned it into a simple grave. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± When he was done, he glanced at her grave once more before running in the direction Shang Xia had escaped. ¡°Brother Shan, you haven¡¯t answered my question!¡± Yuan Gang ran after him while yelling. Without slowing down, Shan Dao mentioned casually, ¡°It¡¯s better for you not to know. It won¡¯t benefit you in any way either. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.¡± Yuan Gang paused for a second but when he saw Shan Dao rushing onwards without any intention to wait for him, he could only follow obediently. Hastening his steps, Yuan Gan pressed, ¡®I really hope Brother Shan can tell me the reason.¡± Chuckling softly, Shan Dao eventually gave in. ¡°Since you wish to know¡­ Do you remember what happened in the Changbai Holy Land half a year ago?¡± ¡°Are you talking about Yu Cangze?¡± Yuan Gang gasped. ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s said that he went into hiding after stealing an item from the Changbai Holy Land. From what we know, the mission we were assigned came from the Changbai Holy Land itself.¡± Shan Dao muttered. ¡°Changbai Holy Land?!¡± Yuan Gang frowned. ¡°What has catching the kid have anything to do with Yu Cangze?¡± ¡°I have no idea. The Changbai Holy Land was reluctant to reveal any information about what Yu Cangze stole from them, or anything to do with him for that matter. From the connection we made, Yu Cangze might have been bribed by the Azure Origin World to steal the Changbai Holy Land¡¯s holy treasure.¡± Sucking in a cold breath, Yuan Gang nearly cried out in shock. ¡°Did someone related to the brat obtain the item?! Is that why we have to capture him alive?!¡± ¡°That is very likely the case.¡± ¡­ Weaving through the thick forest, Shang Xia ran more than ten miles before stopping. He crossed three large hills and traveled through several ravines. Only when he couldn¡¯t detect any movement behind him did he slow down to rest. ¡°Looks like I¡¯m really in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range now. The Tongyou Institution should be located extremely far from me, but I have no idea which direction to travel in anyway!¡± Circulating his Origin True Qi to recover his tired legs. Even though his exhaustion slowly faded, he failed to calm his heart. ¡°Cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World entered our world, and they managed to sneak attack me on my way back to the institution. They plan on capturing me alive, but what¡¯s the point? They even dared to attack me under the noses of Kou Chongxue and Shang Lubing¡­ It doesn¡¯t make sense for them to leave Kou Chongxue alone if they managed to find me there¡­¡± ¡°They definitely need someone to liaise with them when they come over. Who can the spy actually be? Could it be the members of the Rose Party, or are there even more hidden spies we don¡¯t know about?¡± ¡°By now, the Tongyou Institution probably received news of the intrusion. With the experts of the five institutions gathered together, a storm is about to sweep through the continent¡­¡± CH 264 Ever since the worlds collided, a spatial barrier formed, separating the battlefield between the two worlds and the You Continent. At the same time, it was slowly eating into the Azure Origin World through the You Continent. That was the meaning behind the fusion between the two worlds. The Thousand Leaf Mountain Range that existed since a long time ago extended across the borders of the You, Ji, Bing, and the battlefield between the two worlds. To put it in a clearer perspective, the battlefield between the two worlds extended slowly towards the central region from both the east and the west. The central region was where the You Continent was located, and it formed a weird horseshoe shape. The Tongyou Institution was located at the very edge of the horseshoe, and it was also where the tunnel to the battlefield between the two worlds was located. They were the first line of defense against the Azure Spiritual World. However, a strange occurrence could be seen on the northernmost part of the barrier. The originally smooth spatial barrier was completely deformed. The deformity was completely insignificant when compared to the rest of the spatial barrier, but several Martial Extermination Realm experts from the Tongyou City were gathered there at that moment. ¡°Is Patriarch Kou really cultivating in seclusion here? Can anyone confirm this?¡± Han Chongwei stared at the wasteland in front of him and saw how the ground looked like it had been flipped several times over. He couldn¡¯t help but ask. Those who came quickly threw their glances towards Ji Wenlong, Shang Ke, and Liu Zhiyuan. Those were the three Martial Extermination Realm experts of the institution who came with them. Shang Ke and Liu Zhiyuan were clearly as confused as the others and they too, turned to look at Ji Wenlong. Nodding slowly, Ji Wenlong explained, ¡°Yes. He discovered this place and made it his cultivation grounds. Even though I came here in the past, I wasn¡¯t sure of its exact coordinates. Now that I¡¯m here again, I can confirm that it¡¯s the place he chose to enter seclusion.¡± Wei Zhongwen couldn¡¯t help but add, ¡°So¡­ Patriarch Kou has been in seclusion here all this time¡­ Who would have thought that he would choose a place past the spatial barrier to cultivate¡­¡± Chang Huaiwu sighed too. ¡°Since Patriarch Kou was able to enter the spatial barrier to create his own cultivation ground, I guess the rumors were true. Martial Dipper Realm experts are able to tear through the spatial barrier at will.¡± An Baimei raised both his eyebrows in response. ¡°Why would Patriarch Kou choose to enter seclusion here? Could there be some sort of secret behind it?¡± Once again, the gazes of everyone present landed on Ji Wenlong. However, he chose to remain silent this time. Seeing as he wasn¡¯t willing to share any more, the rest chose not to push the matter. Yu Chengjin started to walk in the direction of the spatial barrier after hearing what they all said. He examined it carefully and he sighed, ¡°Even though the damage looks serious, there are many traces of people trying to cover up the battle. One thing we can be sure of is that the battle involved cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World.¡± Yu Chengjin¡¯s evaluation caused the expressions of the others to change. ¡°Are we sure of this?¡± Shang Ke asked. Hesitating for a second, Yu Chengjin continued, ¡°Yes. The inner qi of bloodline cultivators and those of us who cultivate our inner qi in our dantian. The situation here is clear. However, we cannot eliminate the possibility that they did this on purpose to cloud our judgment. After all, every family and clan in our Azure Origin World have been trying to understand the cultivation methods of those from the Azure Spiritual World. There are members of the Azure Spiritual World in every one of your clans here¡­¡± Everyone present was a Martial Extermination Realm expert. All of them were obviously part of the core strength of their faction. Yu Chengjin¡¯s words might be shocking, but it couldn¡¯t surprise any one present. Wei Zhongwen snorted lightly. ¡°Looks like the Rose Party is in on this shit again. They definitely assisted the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World in breaking into our world.¡± ¡°Are they actually strong enough to open up another path into the battlefield between the two worlds other than those controlled by our institutions to lead the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World in?¡± Han Chongwei snorted in disbelief. ¡°Twenty years ago, the five great families managed to draw the entire Azure Spiritual World over and caused the entire calamity. What¡¯s so surprising about the Rose Party bringing a few cultivators over?¡± Wei Zhongwen sneered. Staring at him in shock, Han Chongwei chose to remain silent. An Baimei seemed to have thought of something and he asked, ¡°Brother Ji, I heard that the reason behind the great war on your Tongyou Peak was because members of the Rose Party hid in your ranks to create a chance for the Four Spiritual Peak to launch their attack. Is that true?¡± Ji Wenlong nodded after shooting a glance at him. An Baimei continued, ¡°Since you obtained a decisive victory over the Four Spiritual Peak and thwarted the plans of the Rose Party, are you certain that you wiped out everyone from the Rose Party?¡± Ji Wenlong¡¯s expression sank and no one could tell what he was thinking about. However, he eventually spoke up. ¡°Nope. There¡¯s at least one other Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Rose Party who managed to escape into the Azure Spiritual World through the Four Spiritual Peak.¡± ¡°Martial Extermination?¡± A soft gasp left the lips of those present and the story started to make sense. Chang Huaiwu growled, ¡°The Rose Party is growing stronger and stronger. Today, they managed to collude with the Azure Spiritual World to tear open the spatial barrier to lead cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World over to the Ji Continent. That would also mean that they¡¯re capable of doing the same to the other continents.¡± Wei Zhongwen¡¯s gaze landed on where Yu Changjin was looking at earlier and he muttered, ¡°Do you think that it¡¯s possible the members of the Azure Spiritual World only managed to tear open the spatial barrier because Patriarch Kou weakened it when he opened the tunnel in the past?¡± Liu Zhuyuan who had remained silent the whole time finally frowned in response. ¡°That¡¯s not possible, right? The gray colored chaotic qi that was created by the spatial barrier seems unaffected. If it was weakened, the gray chaotic qi wouldn¡¯t be there anymore. Elder Yu, can¡¯t you see that?¡± Wei Zhongwen chuckled. ¡°If someone created a spatial tunnel, isn¡¯t it possible for them to close it off in the future?¡± ¡°This junior doesn''t know if I¡¯m hearing it right, but from seniors¡¯ words, you think that Patriarch Kou shouldn¡¯t have created his cultivation grounds here.¡± Liu Zhiyuan frowned. ¡°Zhuyuan, don¡¯t be rude! Brother Wei is only bringing up his observation. We can¡¯t possibly know everything that happened here and we need to hear every single possibility.¡± Ji Wenlong muttered. Chuckling in response, Wei Zhongwen didn¡¯t seem to mind. Yu Chengjin threw another question out once again. ¡°Brother Ji, even though this might sound disrespectful, I need to ask you a question. Are you able to tell us what Patriarch Kou¡¯s current state is?¡± The faces of everyone changed the moment he asked his question. At the same time, they perked their ears up while waiting for Ji Wenlong¡¯s reply. Shaking his head, Ji Wenlong sighed. ¡°I might not be willing to believe it either, but from the looks of it, he went missing.¡± ¡°Can we determine whether he¡¯s alive?¡± Yu Chengjin continued. Hesitating for a second, Ji Wenlong knew that the next words out of his mouth could cause disastrous effects. Shaking his head, he sighed, ¡°The Hidden Frost Sword is currently in the battlefield between the two worlds. Due to the presence of the spatial barrier, we cannot confirm anything right now.¡± Strange expressions were quickly thrown about. The Hidden Frost Sword was Kou Chongxue¡¯s divine weapon. He nurtured it for a long time and the divine weapon developed its own spirituality. Its connection with Kou Chongxue should allow it to discover Kou Chongxue¡¯s current state. However, Yun Jing was suppressing the four great races of the Azure Spiritual World with the sword in the battlefield between the two worlds. Due to the separation through the spatial barrier, it might not be able to detect Kou Chongxue¡¯s current situation. Shang Ke spoke up all of a sudden. ¡°Only by making sense of what happened here will we be able to locate Patriarch Kou.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what we need to do. Regardless, Patriarch Kou is a Martial Dipper Realm expert. Even if he¡¯s injured, they won¡¯t be able to kill him so easily!¡± Liu Zhiyuan added. Han Chongwei thought about it for a second and spoke, ¡°Even though it won¡¯t look good for us to interfere in the Tongyou Institution¡¯s business, I heard that there were five talented disciples of the Tongyou Institution invited over by Patriarch Kou. They received the invitation after their impressive performance in their training plaza. The disciples of our institutions were extremely envious of their treatment. I wonder if we can meet with the five geniuses?¡± Shang Ke exchanged a glance with Liu Zhiyuan and they remained silent. Instead, Ji Wenlong was the one who replied. ¡°Only four of them returned. Shang Xia was the last to meet with Patriarch Kou, and he hasn¡¯t been back to the institution since.¡± One had to say that Shang Xia¡¯s performance was too dazzling. Everyone present had a deep impression of the kid. Han Chongwei continued, ¡°So¡­ In addition to Patriarch Kou, the genius of the Shang Clan is also missing.¡± Shang Ke¡¯s expression sank instantly. Everyone present could tell that the enemy¡¯s main goal was Kou Chongxue. If they sent a squad capable of fighting a Martial Dipper Realm expert, Shang Xia¡¯s fate was looking really bleak. Naturally, they didn¡¯t know that the other side also formed a special squad to hunt Shang Xia down. Even if Kou Chongxue was injured, no one would dare to underestimate the strength of a Martial Dipper Realm expert. Under such circumstances, they had to send several powerful experts. Without enough assurance to protect himself, where would he find the opportunity to look after a mere Martial Intent Realm disciple? It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°Chief Shang Lubing was also present.¡± Ji Wenlong mentioned all of a sudden. Staring at him in shock, even Liu Zhiyuan and Shang Ke didn¡¯t expect Shang Lubing to be there. A trace of hope appeared in Shang Ke¡¯s heart. Shang Xia might be useless in the face of an assault on a Martial Dipper Realm expert, but Shang Lubing was a whole other story. With Shang Lubing¡¯s assistance, Shang Xia¡¯s fate didn¡¯t look as bleak as it once was! The Martial Extermination Realm experts present were also starting to reevaluate the situation once they heard that Shang Lubing was there. Liu Zhiyuan couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°When did Mister Shang return from the battlefield between the two worlds?¡± Before Ji Wenlong could say anything, Shang Ke stole the chance to reply. ¡°You¡¯ve been in seclusion to consolidate your foundations the whole time. It¡¯s not unusual for you not to know.¡± Naturally, that wasn¡¯t the true goal of Liu Zhiyuan¡¯s question. He was more concerned about what Shang Lubing¡¯s true goal of returning to the institution was. He could tell that Shang Ke was equally confused about Shang Lubing¡¯s return, but it didn¡¯t seem smart to reveal everything in front of the others. Realizing Shang Ke¡¯s subtle reminder, he quickly released a gasp before nodding in ¡®understanding¡¯ ¡°Yeah! Haha, I didn¡¯t take note of the situation because of my cultivation. I guess it¡¯s nothing special.¡± There were only two possible reasons for Shang Lubing to return. One was that the situation in the Coral Forest was about to be wrapped up and there was no need for him to be present any longer. The second was to guard against the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the other continents. No matter how friendly they seemed, they might be plotting against the institution. On the surface, only Ji Wenlong and Kang Ci were present to look over the institution. Shang Ke and Liu Zhiyuan had been cultivating in seclusion in their manors, and Shang Bo was hiding somewhere out of sight from those of the other institutions. As such, Shang Lubing¡¯s silent return was most likely linked to the second reason. Both sides knew each other¡¯s intentions and neither brought it up explicitly. Ji Wenlong, Yu Chengjin, and Wei Zhongwen frowned and turned to stare in a certain direction all of a sudden. It didn¡¯t take long for the others to also react accordingly. A black shadow flew towards the group at a high speed. When they noticed the figure, Ji Wenlong¡¯s expression sank and he snapped, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you standing guard in the institution? Why the hell did you come here?¡± Kang Ci couldn¡¯t be bothered with Ji Wenlong¡¯s scolding for now and he yelled, ¡°I discovered the traces of a huge battle! It¡¯s probably related to Shang Xia and from the looks of it, he was fighting Martial Intent Realm experts from the Azure Spiritual World!¡± The faces of everyone present changed yet again. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Four rays of extermination origins wrapped around Ji Wenlong in an instant as he instructed Kang Ci to bring them over. Behind him, Shang Ke and the rest got ready to follow and in the blink of an eye, all of them disappeared. CH 265 In the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range, several Martial Extermination Realm experts were soaring through the skies. Ji Wenlong, Shang Ke, and Kang Ci were in the lead as the others followed them casually. At the same time, Kang Ci¡¯s voice rang in the minds of Ji Wenlong, Shang Ke, and Liu Zhiyuan. ¡°Instructor Liu is back. With her back in the institution, I came over here to take a look.¡± Before Ji Wenlong could say anything, Shang Ke asked hastily, ¡°What did Instructor Liu say when she returned?¡± ¡°This¡­ Deputy Patriarch Yun is still suppressing the four great races with the Hidden Frost Sword. Deputy Patriarch Shang managed to shift the Mysterious Coral World (Coral Forest) over to our Tongyou Peak with the help of all the formation masters. It won¡¯t be easy for the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World to mess with it anymore. After receiving news that Patriarch Kou suffered a sneak attack, Deputy Patriarch Shang sent Instructor Liu back to the institution to prevent anything from going wrong.¡± Shang Ke was disappointed by the news. ¡°Is there really no news about Patriarch Kou?!¡± Kang Ci stared blankly at Shang Ke. ¡°Patriarch Kou was sneak attacked in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. Why the hell would there be news of him in the battlefield between the two worlds?¡± After speaking, he turned to look at Ji Wenlong. Sighing softly, Ji Wenlong repeated everything they discovered earlier. ¡°That¡¯s not possible. If a Martial Dipper Realm expert forcefully tears through the spatial barrier and enters the battlefield between the two worlds, it will cause a greater commotion than the arrival of the divine weapon! The disturbance he will cause will definitely affect the entire battlefield between the two worlds.¡± Kang Ci shook his head and sighed. Ji Wenlong and the rest fell silent. They expected as much. Many of them were flustered by the disappearance of Kou Chongxue and failed to recall that point. Shang Ke was the next to ask the question. ¡°How did you discover the traces of the battle then? Why didn¡¯t we notice it when we came?¡± A look of embarrassment appeared on Kang Ci¡¯s face and he muttered, ¡°I lost my way earlier and discovered it accidentally¡­¡± Without an exception, those beside him were struck speechless. However, his mistake was understandable. The moment Kou Chongxue¡¯s cultivation ground was destroyed, those in the city could feel the destructive spatial fluctuations. Rallying all the Martial Extermination Realm experts immediately, Ji Wenlong led them towards the disturbance. Leaving Kang Ci behind in the institution, Ji Wenlong didn¡¯t bother telling him where Kou Chongxue¡¯s cultivation ground was. Only when Liu Qinglan returned from the institution did Kang Ci leave. He could only travel in the direction he remembered. However, the spatial fluctuations had already died down and there wasn¡¯t a clear direction to follow. As he traveled in the direction he recalled, he got lost several times on the way there. That was how he chanced upon the destruction caused by Shang Xia and the others. It didn¡¯t take long for the various experts to arrive. By the time their conversation had concluded, they closed in on the scene of destruction. Descending into the forest below, all of them noticed the traces of the battle. All of them basically released their divine sense at the same time to look for any clues in the surroundings. Pointing at the ground down below, Kang Ci released his extermination origin and they transformed into tiny little images of snakes that slithered across the ground below. A moment later, those little snakes started to gather before fusing to form a huge one. Raising the upper half of its body towards the skies, it spat out several broken shards. Looking at them, the experts present quickly made them out to be remnants of a spear tip. ¡°It¡¯s Shang Xia¡¯s Waning Moon Spear.¡± Shang Ke gasped. ¡°His spear was about to shatter from the battle before. That can¡¯t tell us anything decisive.¡± Ji Wenlong muttered. ¡°There¡¯s this too.¡± Kang Ci brought everyone to a mount that had obviously been made recently. Sending in a stream of his inner qi to sweep away the soil, the corpse of a female cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World was revealed. ¡°The fatal wound on her chest is clearly made by a spear¡­¡± Kang Ci¡¯s addition was clearly unnecessary. After all, everyone present was seasoned experts. ¡°It¡¯s the Providence Spear!¡± ¡°Shang Xia didn¡¯t just face a single opponent. There seem to be two more of them. From the battle marks, one of them looks like they use an axe or some sort of heavy weapon. The other seems to use a blade¡­¡± ¡°The person who used the blade definitely comprehended his martial intent. From the looks of it, the other looks to have completed his third divine sense transformation. This lady is the weakest of them all. Even so, she¡¯s at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a bow user. Look at her waist. Her quiver still holds several black iron arrows.¡± ¡°Hmm, her right hand is missing two fingers though. Looks like they were torn off when someone grabbed her weapon. Her companions won¡¯t do this to her. Unless¡­ That little kid, Shang Xia, managed to kill her and grab her weapon?¡± ¡°Since he chose to grab her weapon, it means he¡¯s still alive!¡± ¡°Moreover, they had the time to bury their teammate. That can only mean that the kid ran away after realizing he wasn¡¯t their match.¡± ¡°Yeah. He would only be able to escape after killing this archer. However, he might have suffered some injuries in order to do so.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you thought about it? One of them here is at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. The other two are at the large completion stage. Even so, the brat managed to kill one of them and run away. How strong is he exactly?!¡± The conversation between the various Martial Extermination Realm experts was cut short after they realized how terrifying Shang Xia actually was. ¡°He¡¯s even stronger than before. Unless he was hiding his strength from us intentionally during the battle against the other Martial Intent Realm disciples of the other institutions, he definitely grew stronger since then.¡± Yu Changjin added. Evidently, it wasn¡¯t quite believable for Shang Xia to be able to hide his strength from so many Martial Extermination Realm experts present. As such, that could only mean that he grew a whole lot since then. ¡°Hmm¡­ This kid met with Patriarch Kou and grew stronger. Did his divine sense transform a second time?¡± Chang Huaiwu deduced, and he looked to the rest for support. An Baimei coughed dryly and added, ¡°Don¡¯t you find it strange? The experts of the Azure Spiritual World should be here for Patriarch Kou. However, it looks like they¡¯re targeting Shang Xia on purpose.¡± ¡°Hey, that¡¯s true. It is understandable if they sent a party after Patriarch Kou. Moreover, everyone in that squad should be in the Martial Extermination Realm. If Patriarch Kou and Shang Lubing were both present and were hell-bent on escaping, their enemies would have no choice but to pursue them relentlessly. That¡¯s probably the reason they chose to send another squad to deal with Shang Xia. The kid might be talented, but sending a group of experts into our world won¡¯t be easy even if they have someone to receive them here. Is it really worth it for a mere kid?¡± Everyone had differing thoughts on the matter, but without a doubt, the mystery surrounding the Tongyou City became more and more interesting. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". Regardless if it was to get to the bottom of the matter regarding the Azure Spiritual World¡¯s hunt against Shang Xia, or the Azure Spiritual World¡¯s plot, or even Kou Chongxue, the experts of the other institutions decided they would get involved with it all. Kang Ci and the others had been joining in the conversation initially, but he became silent towards the end. Ji Wenlong, Shang Ke, and Liu Zhiyuan also remained silent during their discussion. Seeing as things were starting to get out of hand, Ji Wenlong decided to step in. ¡°Alright. This isn¡¯t the time for wild speculation. The kid managed to run away from his attackers and we need to locate him as soon as possible. We can learn what happened by asking the kid. Furthermore, we¡¯re able to determine the direction where the two Martial Intent Realm cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World went. They might be chasing the kid, or they might have left on their own accord. Regardless, we should be able to catch up to them considering the fact that the attack happened not too long ago. Now that my Tongyou Institution is facing both an internal and external threat, I hope everyone here can assist us!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± ¡°Naturally!¡± ¡°...¡± The various Martial Extermination Realm cultivators agreed quickly and split themselves up into two groups. One went in search of Shang Xia while the other looked for the two Martial Intent Realm cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World. As several hours passed, the Martial Extermination Realm experts who went in every direction in search of their targets eventually returned. None of them achieved their goals. That was weird¡­ In such a short amount of time, three Martial Intent Realm cultivators shouldn¡¯t have left the range searchable by the few Martial Extermination Realm experts. One had to know that the Martial Extermination Realm experts were able to soar through the skies! They were much faster than those running on foot! Eventually, Ji Wenlong and Shang Ke had a secret discussion before ending the search. They brought the group of Martial Extermination Realm experts back to the city. At the same time, the news of Kou Chongxue¡¯s secret hiding spot and the incursion of the experts of the Azure Spiritual World ripped through the Azure Origin World. Kou Chongxue¡¯s fate was unknown, and the experts of the Azure Spiritual World were possibly still hiding in the Azure Origin World. ¡­ After Shang Xia ran ten miles out, his internal injuries started to act up. He had no choice but to stop to take a break. However, he only took a short break for the time it took a stick of incense to burn before running through the forest again. Shang Xia¡¯s thought process was clear. Earlier, the three of them were hell-bent on catching him alive. Now that they failed, the next person who came looking for him might just be a Martial Extermination Realm expert. Of course, he knew that the experts in the Tongyou City weren¡¯t there for show. They would definitely arrive in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range quickly after realizing that Kou Chongxue was under attack. Well, that might be the case, but Shang Xia wasn¡¯t planning on risking his life to find out if the Azure Spiritual World had a Martial Extermination Realm expert lying around in wait just to capture him. Betting his life was never a smart thing to do. Even if a Martial Extermination Realm expert did show up, assuming they were from the Tongyou City¡­ That didn¡¯t mean that they were on the Tongyou Institution¡¯s side! Since neither option was feasible, Shang Xia had to take matters into his own hands. Keeping himself alive was the priority, and everything else came after. After traveling another ten miles out, Shang Xia discovered that he was still in an endless jungle. He also realized that even if he ran at full speed, he wouldn¡¯t be able to outrun a Martial Extermination Realm expert if they came looking for him! Going into hiding was his next course of action. He would restore himself to his peak state before making any more decisions. Running into a random cave he found, he killed the bear living within with a single slap before sealing off the entrance. He tried connecting his divine sense to the world around him, and it was something he had experienced after his breakthrough at Kou Chongxue¡¯s place. When he merged with the world, even Martial Extermination Realm experts wouldn¡¯t easily detect his presence. CH 266 In the Shang Clan Manor in the Tongyou City¡­ After the search for Shang Xia yielded no results in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range, Shang Ke rushed back into the Shang Clan Manor. He flew straight through the city and went directly into his courtyard after returning. The Tongyou City had a rule to forbid anyone from flying within. When Yin Jing was guarding the institution alone, she didn¡¯t hesitate to reveal the divine weapon to protect the city. The might of the weapon alone scared the experts from the other regions into submission. However, things happened too quickly and the sudden attack on Kou Chongxue caught everyone off guard. When Ji Wenlong felt the fluctuations in the air earlier, he was the first to soar through the air. The Martial Extermination Realm experts he gathered followed suit, and several streaks of light appeared above the Tongyou City. Even a dumbass would realize that something big happened. In the Shang Clan Manor, several core members of the clan had already been waiting for quite some time. When they saw Shang Ke rushing back to the manor, they knew that things were extremely serious. Shang Jian, Shang Xi, Shang Yang, Shang Bei, Shang Dong, Xu Huizhu, and Yan Qi quickly headed over to look for him. Shang Xi was extremely anxious. She was more familiar with the situation regarding the institution and she was the first to ask, ¡°Fifth Uncle, what happened.¡± Hesitating for a moment, he swept his gaze across those present and sighed, ¡°We¡¯ll talk in my courtyard.¡± Glancing at each other, they quickly followed behind him. Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" Noticing the tense air in the manor, the attendants and everyone who wasn¡¯t part of the clan¡¯s core strength chose to avoid Shang Ke¡¯s courtyard. Yan Qi wanted to leave too, but Shang Ke stopped him. ¡°Yan Qi, come here.¡± Without a change in his facial expression, he could only enter the courtyard with the rest. However, he chose the seat closest to the exit. Shang Jian, Shang Xi, and Shang Yang were members of the same generation as Yan Qi and they weren¡¯t affected by his presence. The same couldn¡¯t be said for Xu Huizhu and her children. Naturally, Xu Huizhu had the demeanor of a Martial Intent Realm expert. She glanced at Yan Qi once before suppressing her suspicion. Shang Dong and Shang Bei were the only ones who were looking at Yan Qi in confusion. There was no need to hide Kou Chongxue¡¯s current situation. Everyone in front of Shang Ke was a core member of the Shang Clan, and he quickly broke down the situation for them. They learned that Kou Chongxue was attacked and was currently missing. After talking about Kou Chongxue, Shang Ke started to mention what they discovered about Shang Xia. When he mentioned that Shang Xia was likely injured and none of the Martial Extermination Realm experts managed to locate him, Shang Xi was unable to sit still. ¡°Fifth Uncle, is Little Xia in danger?!¡± Xu Huizhu, who was sitting opposite Shang Xi, revealed a trace of shock before looking downwards. A pensive look appeared on her face. Shang Ke¡¯s voice sank. ¡°Stay calm. No news is good news right now. Since no one found his corpse, he should still be alive!¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to look for him!¡± Shang Xi yelled. With his mood already in the dumpster from everything that happened, Shang Ke was trying his best to keep up his dignified appearance as the patriarch of the clan. However, he snapped after hearing Shang Xi. ¡°Where are you going to start looking for him?! Even Martial Extermination Realm experts like us failed to locate him, do you think you can do better?!¡± Shang Xi was stuck silly in that instant, and anxiety filled her heart. Shang Jian¡¯s lips twitched slightly. He wanted to say something, but when he saw Shang Xi¡¯s eyes turning red, he chose to remain silent. Unlike Shang Jian, Shang Yang quickly spoke up. ¡°Seventh Sister, calm down. Since no one found anything, it¡¯s likely that the kid¡¯s still alive. No matter what, he¡¯s a Martial Intent Realm expert. Moreover, he was attacked by three Martial Intent Realm experts from the Azure Spiritual World. Even so, he managed to kill one and escape. He¡¯s definitely a lot stronger than we think; He might have found some random corner to treat his injuries. The Thousand Leaf Mountain Range is vast. Even a Martial Extermination Realm expert won¡¯t be able to look through the entire place alone.¡± Shang Yang¡¯s reassurance was clearly more effective than Shang Ke¡¯s scolding. Shang Xi managed to rein in her wild emotions, but she couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Fifth Uncle, no matter what, I¡¯m going to take a look at the place Little Xia went missing. He¡­ He¡¯s the only remaining bloodline of¡­¡± Grunting softly, Shang Ke chose not to say anything more. OInly then did Shang Jian speak up. ¡°Seventh Sister, please hear me out. You should calm down a little.¡± When Shang Xi finally turned to look at him, Shang Jian glanced at Shang Ke from the corner of his eye before starting his evaluation. ¡°From what Fifth Uncle said, the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World seem to be interested in catching Little Xia alive. We might not know the reason behind their actions, but since he managed to run away, the members of the Azure Spiritual World and those who are working with them might set their sights on other core members of our Shang Clan¡­¡± Even Shang Ke was caught off guard by his deduction. He couldn¡¯t help but stare at Shang Jian, waiting for him to continue. ¡°If that is truly the case, god knows how many people have their eyes on us now. The moment anyone leaves to look for Little Xia, we¡¯ll be walking right into their trap.¡± Shang Jian paused for a second and continued, ¡°All of us here are family. I won¡¯t beat about the bush. Even though Seventh Sister has already entered the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, you shouldn¡¯t be stronger than Little Xia, right?¡± ¡°Then what are we supposed to do? We can¡¯t possibly do nothing!¡± Shang Xi yelled. ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± Yan Qi¡¯s voice came from the back of the courtyard. ¡°Patriarch Shang, those with their eyes on our Shang Clan Manor might not be interested in me anyway.¡± However, Shang Ke shook his head immediately. ¡°Your inner qi is a dead giveaway. The moment you leave the manor, you won¡¯t even be able to go anywhere in the Tongyou City.¡± Who would have thought that Shang Xi would speak up once again. ¡°I¡¯ll go with Seventh Brother! With me around, no one will dare to stop him. Moreover, the two of us will be comparable to a Martial Intent Realm expert at the grand completion stage.¡± ¡°Enough! We¡¯ll wait for the dust to settle after the institution successfully moves the Mysterious Coral World to the Tongyou Peak. Before that, everyone is forbidden from leaving the city!¡± Shang Ke roared. Even though it was hard to make the decision, Shang Ke knew that he had to do it. He spoke resolutely, and there was no challenging his decision. Tears flowed down Shang Xi¡¯s face and she cried in anger, ¡°Why? Why can¡¯t we do anything about this?!¡± Shang Ke ignored her for the time being and turned to Shang Jian. ¡°Tell your third brother to enter the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range secretly to look for the kid.¡± Shang Xi and Shang Yang were shocked by the sudden revelation. However, Shang Jian¡¯s face froze and an awkward expression quickly formed. ¡°This concerns the fate of our clan. Tell him to deal with this seriously.¡± Shang Ke continued. His words caused the faces of everyone present to change once again. Rising to his feet, Shang Jian muttered, ¡°Alright.¡± Shang Yang got to his feet too, and the usual smile on his face faltered. ¡°Father, is it really so serious?¡± ¡°No shit!¡± Shang Ke was naturally more casual when speaking to his own son. With his face twisting up slightly, he fell back into his chair. However, Yan Qi brought up something that piqued the interest of the rest. ¡°Patriarch, we can get Yan Ni¡¯er to look for the Sixth Young Master!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Shang Ke raised an eyebrow in surprise. A look of joy blossomed on Shang Xi¡¯s face. ¡°Yeah! Yeah! That¡¯s right! I almost forgot! The Mutated Rain Swallow he brought back from the battlefield between the two worlds seems oddly fond of Little Xia. It¡¯s extremely familiar with his aura too. It¡¯s a good idea to send her out to look for him! Moreover, no one will take note of a little bird.¡± A smile slowly formed on Shang Ke¡¯s face too. ¡°That is actually a brilliant idea!¡± With the suggestion from Yan Qi, the originally sunken atmosphere in Shang Ke¡¯s courtyard lifted significantly. Shang Ke eventually arranged for some missions for those present. After all, the migration of the Mysterious Coral World to their Tongyou Peak could be said to be of monumental importance. It not only affected the fate of the Tongyou City, but it also influenced the fate of the You Continent! That was the big picture the Shang Clan had to take note of. As one of the most prominent families in the city, they had to put in all the effort they could in order to reap the corresponding benefits after the dust settled. All of a sudden, someone rushed to the entrance of Shang Ke¡¯s courtyard and yelled, ¡°Patriarch, Master Duan Hong has already completed his preparations. He wonders when he can start to refine the graded weapon!¡± ¡­ Shang Xia awakened from his nap and when he emerged from his cave, he saw that the world was covered in a layer of white. Counting the time, Shang Xia recalled that it was close to the end of the eighth month when he returned from the battlefield between the two worlds. He entered seclusion to attack his bottleneck to enter the Martial Intent Realm after, and he tried to comprehend his Triple Providence Chapter and Providence Spear. After that, he went back to sweep the geniuses of the other institutions away. Next, the incident with Patriarch Kou happened. All of that took less than two months. Estimating the time, Shang Xia felt that it was probably somewhere in the tenth month. Due to the high altitude in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range, it wasn¡¯t impossible for it to snow in the tenth month. Feeling the chilly breeze around him, Shang Xia looked at the mound of snow that was probably two feet thick in front of the cave and sighed. From the amount of snow, Shang Xia knew that he had been in there for some time. Smacking his forehead, he sighed, ¡°How long was I in there for?!¡± Luckily for him, the frost couldn¡¯t really affect him due to his high cultivation level. Circulating his Origin True Qi, Shang Xia discovered that as long as he wanted to, he could easily heat up the entire cave and maintain it at a comfortable temperature. By that time, his injuries had fully healed. Due to the second transformation of his divine sense back at Kou Chongxue¡¯s place and the huge battle that happened right after, Shang Xia gained a lot of inspiration. As such, he wasn¡¯t willing to emerge from seclusion easily. Taking the chance when his ideas were still clear, he chose to return to seclusion. With his current cultivation level, not eating anything for eight to ten days was nothing. Moreover, Shang Xia¡¯s Embroidered Cloud Case had a ton of supplies. Using the cave as his temporary cultivation abode, he returned to seclusion. As he entered the space within his dantian, he discovered that the ball of formless chaos had increased yet again. It was more than twice as large. What was more shocking was that only a trace of his Yin Yang Essence Qi remained. Shang Xia once learned that cultivators in the Martial Intent Realm would only complete their transformation of their inner qi when their divine sense transformed for the third time. Even though that was a general guide, it was what most cultivators experienced! They would only be able to complete the conversion when they perfected their martial arts. Now, Shang Xia had just completed his second divine sense transformation and achieved what others could only do after transforming their divine sense for the third time. His actual fighting strength could also be said to be more terrifying than them! Regardless, Shang Xia felt that his cultivation in the Martial Intent Realm wasn¡¯t as heaven-defying as his cultivation in the Martial Extremity Realm. Back in the Martial Extremity Realm, he seemed to have experienced a fundamental change that sent him on a different path than those in the Azure Origin World. When he entered the Martial Intent Realm, other than possessing a larger quantity of inner qi and having it be of higher quality than cultivators of the same realm, there was nothing else! Shang Xia discovered that the Martial Intent Realm only affected one¡¯s willpower and development of divine sense. Moreover, the development was affected by one¡¯s abilities and strength they possessed in the Martial Extremity Realm. Outside factors didn¡¯t really affect the development of one¡¯s divine sense by much. For example, Shang Xia¡¯s Triple Providence Chapter and Providence Spear didn¡¯t rely on external help. He had to develop the techniques through his own understanding. Through his insights, Shang Xia even managed to create his fifth move of the Providence Spear Art. As previously mentioned, the Providence Spear Art only contained the dao of the spear. Everyone who cultivated it would have to create their own moves that suited themselves. Those who trained in the Providence Spear Art would probably come up with different techniques. The only thing Shang Xia found pitiful was that he didn¡¯t possess a spear to practice his fifth move. CH 267 ¡­ Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" In a sealed off courtyard in the Shang Clan Manor, heatwaves wreaked havoc as they swept through the lands. Even though they were three feet away from the entrance, Shang Ke and the rest could still feel the searing heat. ¡°Damn it. If we try crafting another graded weapon in the future, we definitely cannot do it in the city!¡± Shang Ke raised his head to look at the skies above the manor and saw that the void was turning blurry from the heat. ¡°Who could have expected this? Even after two whole months, the weapon isn¡¯t complete¡­ Now, the entire city knows that we¡¯re trying to craft a graded weapon¡­¡± Shang Yang muttered at the side. Shang Jian added, ¡°No matter what, it¡¯s his first time refining a graded weapon. It¡¯s amazing he managed to hold on until now. If nothing goes wrong, our Shang Clan will really be able to produce a master blacksmith capable of refining graded weapons this time¡­¡± Shang Yang was still unconvinced. ¡°Hah¡­ This is all because of our support. He¡¯s a wandering cultivator who managed to get his hands on some inheritance. Without our support, he won¡¯t be able to gather enough materials to create graded weapons even if he had fifty years! Moreover, Second brother gave him that item to increase the success rate. Of course he¡¯ll succeed this time.¡± Shang Ke turned to look at Shang Jian all of a sudden and asked, ¡°Did your third brother say anything?¡± Shang Jian shook his head and sighed, ¡°I received news one and a half a month ago that he was in the northern region. The last I heard from him was a month ago when he entered the Changfeng City. With his speed, he might already be somewhere in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range.¡± ¡°A month¡­¡± Shang Ke sighed. Next, he turned to ask Shang Yang, ¡°What about Yan Qi? Did he bring any news?¡± ¡°All he does is to play with birds all day¡­ However, he didn¡¯t bring any news with him. From the way he behaves, he even looks like he can communicate with the Mutated Rain Swallows¡­ Is that even possible?¡± Shang Ke glanced at him from the corner of his eye and Shang Yang immediately shut his mouth. ¡°Fifth Uncle, did the institution send any news? The ambush on Patriarch Kou was such a huge matter. However, two months have passed since then. Has there really been no clues at all?¡± Shang Jian sighed. Shagn Yang added, ¡°Yeah! Seventh Sister returned to the institution a month and a half ago. Why hasn¡¯t she been back?¡± Shang Ke sighed and shook his head. ¡°First of all, no news is good news. A missing Kou Chongxue is actually the most terrifying existence of all.¡± Shang Jian interrupted, ¡°This¡­ Do you think everyone else will be terrified because of the institution¡¯s decision to not investigate the matter?¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to investigate? How are we supposed to start? A cultivator who refined his origin dipper is already a peak existence under the heavens! If he wishes to hide himself, no one will be able to locate him! If he dies, I¡¯m sure the disturbance to the heaven and earth qi will alert everyone in the surroundings.¡± ¡°Even if that¡¯s true, did no one try to probe the situation?¡± Shang Yang followed up with another question even though his previous one was ignored. A soft sigh escaped Shang Ke¡¯s lips. ¡°That¡¯s why I forbade everyone from leaving the city. Anyway, Ji Wenlong reached the large completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm. It¡¯s even possible that he comprehended his fourth martial intent. With him in the institution, it¡¯s enough to deter those with nefarious intentions¡­¡± ¡°Ji Wenlong already entered the large completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm?! No wonder¡­¡± Shang Jian¡¯s expression turned solemn. ¡°That would mean that the situation will only become clearer once the matter with the Mysterious Coral World is settled¡­¡± The three of them stood in silence outside the courtyard for a little longer before Xu Huizhu came looking for Shang Jian. Seeing as no one else was left, he rubbed his hands together and turned to Shang Ke with a mischievous glint in his eyes. ¡°Dad, this¡­ Once Master Duan Hong completes the refinement, why don¡¯t you lend me the spear for a bit?¡± Seeing how Shang Ke¡¯s pupils constricted and how he was about to start a lecture, Shang Yang quickly explained himself. ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t misunderstand. I¡¯m not going to take the spear for myself. However, Little Xia is missing right now. Why not lend me the weapon to increase my fighting strength for now? I¡¯ll return the spear the moment he returns!¡± Releasing a long sigh, Shang Ke didn¡¯t answer his question. Instead, he asked one of his own. ¡°I told you to recall the members of our Shang Clan from the Ji Continent two months ago. Where are they now?¡± An awkward smile appeared on Shang Yang¡¯s face. ¡°This¡­ Dad, your daughter-in-law, and your grandchildren were on their way. However, the Tongyou City broke out into chaos recently and I told them to remain in the Changfeng City for the time being. When the situation takes a turn for the better, they¡¯ll return immediately.¡± A snort left Shang Ke¡¯s lips and his time became a little more severe. ¡°Well, let me ask you another question. You squandered away a lot of resources back in the Ji Continent. How much have you contributed to the family since then?¡± With his face flushing red, Shang Yang didn¡¯t know how to reply. ¡°Looks like you know what shame is¡­¡± Shang Ke sneered. Nodding his head slowly, he looked at the sealed entrance to the courtyard Duan Hong was in. ¡°How successful is your comprehension of the Triple Providence Chapter and the Providence Spear?¡± ¡°I somewhat completed the first chapter, and there were some parts of the Providence Spear I was confused by. I managed to create two moves from my understanding of the Providence Spear.¡± Shang Yang muttered. Chuckling in amusement, Shang Ke chided, ¡°That¡¯s it? You had the balls to ask for the spear after developing two moves? You¡¯re not worthy.¡± With a trace of reluctance in his heart, Shang Yang pouted, ¡°If I¡¯m not qualified to use the spear, is that little brat worthy?¡± ¡°Yes, he is.¡± Shang Ke stared resolutely at his son and sighed. After he spoke, Shang Ke turned to leave. As he walked away, he muttered without even turning his head, ¡°That kid improved upon the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm when he was in the Martial Realm. He practically made a perfect version of it. Next came the advancement formula. He completed an entire inheritance for cultivators to enter the Martial Extremity Realm with the corresponding martial art, secret art, and advancement medicine. In the Martial Extremity Realm, he cultivated at least six sword intents and made his own martial intent. Do you know how many people have their eyes on him? That¡¯s why your second brother gave Duan Hong the material to increase the chances of successfully refining the weapon. He¡¯s trying to get on his nephew¡¯s good side too! Back in the battlefield between the two worlds. That little fellow killed close to a hundred cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World. His contributions to the war on the Tongyou Peak, the beast tide that came after, the takeover of the Mysterious Coral World, and even the battle on the Four Spiritual Peak after was legendary! There were times when he changed the tide of the battle himself! There¡¯s no need to mention how many contributions he made to our clan. Moreover, you¡¯re one of those who benefited from it. Back when our convoy was attacked in the city, he defeated the geniuses of the other four institutions alone. Not too long ago in the Tongyou Institution, he suppressed all four Martial Intent Realm core disciples of the four institutions. He¡¯s not even eighteen yet and you¡¯re approaching thirty. What do you think? Do you think you can compare yourself to him?¡± Shang Ke¡¯s figure was nowhere to be seen, but his words rang in Shang Yang¡¯s ears. All of a sudden, a loud ringing filled the skies and brought him back to attention. A crimson streak emerged from the sealed courtyard and tore through the heavens. ¡°I did it! It succeeded!¡± Duan Hong¡¯s booming laughter emerged from the sealed courtyard. Shang Yang turned around to leave despite the birth of a blacksmith capable of creating graded weapons. He didn¡¯t turn his head back at all, and as Duan Hong¡¯s laughter grew louder, his footsteps became more hurried. ¡­ In the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. A soft whistle came from above as an arrow accurately stabbed into a grouse that was flying in mid air. The body of the bird exploded into a thousand pieces and so did the arrow. Shang Xia, who was holding on to a bow, looked at the feathers that were falling from the skies and sighed. ¡°Well, accuracy isn¡¯t much of a problem now. In fact, that¡¯s barely a challenge. With my divine sense, I can lock on to most things, much less a tiny little bird like that.¡± Shang Xia shook his head as a bitter smile revealed itself on his face. He understood that locking on to a bird was no trouble, but experts who were on the same level as himself would have no problem avoiding his divine sense if he tried shooting them down. After all, it had been several days since he left seclusion and despite the bow being a low-grade weapon, he was a newbie when it came to using it. All he had was several days of practice with it. There was no way he was going to be as good as Yin Lian who tried hunting him down previously. As Shang Xia looked around him, he had a sense of his surroundings. However, he had no idea where he was in the entire Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. With the mountain range extending all the way across the Ji, You, and Bing Continents, Shang Xia knew that all he had to do was to travel in the northern direction. That was where the You Continent was located. Raising his head to gather his bearings, he casually retrieved the bow into his Embroidered Cloud Case. Pushing against the ground, his body soared through the air and he flew for over ten feet before landing on the ground below. Ordinarily, cultivators would have to enter the Martial Extermination Realm before they could fly. They would use their extermination origin to counteract gravity to keep them in the air. However, when a cultivator entered the Martial Intent Realm, they were already able to affect the heaven and earth qi in their surroundings to a certain extent. They could glide across the air to cross a certain distance. Ever since he exited seclusion, Shang Xia discovered that his divine sense could practically merge perfectly with his surroundings. He could use the heaven and earth qi in his surroundings to increase the distance he could travel in the air. Previously, he experimented several times with his ability to glide through the air. If the terrain was relatively flat, he would be able to travel close to a hundred feet through the air. If he was on an elevated surface, he might be able to move nearly twice that when going to a region of lower elevation. Naturally, Shang Xia could tell that merging completely with the world around him wasn¡¯t the smartest thing to do. If his divine sense made a complete fusion with the world, it might be difficult for his consciousness to return to his body. On the third day of his travels, he finally left the mountain range. He saw a giant city in the distance as the sun was about to set. ¡°This¡­ This is the Changfeng City!¡± Shang Xia gasped. From what he knew, the You Continent wasn¡¯t exactly flourishing. There were only two places that had ¡®city¡¯ in their name, and one of them was the Tongyou City where he originated from. The second was the Changfeng City in front of him. CH 268 The distance between himself and the city was barely dozens of miles. To Shang Xia, that wasn¡¯t a huge deal at all. However, he chose to enter the city after dawn broke the next day. Night came quickly in the winter. Finding a spot on the bottom of the mountain, Shang Xia lit a fire and roasted a pheasant he caught earlier for dinner. With the waning moon hanging high in the skies, a wave of lethargy soon swept over Shang Xia who was getting cozy in front of the fireplace. Draping the bear skin coat he made over his body, he got ready to take a nice nap. No one knew how long had passed, but the moon in the skies was soon covered by a layer of dense clouds. The sound of horse galloping sounded in the distance. Shang Xia¡¯s eyelids trembled slightly, but a frown formed on his face before his eyes were truly open. ¡°Go!¡± The rushed gallops of a horse could be heard, and Shang Xia could hear the voice of the rider urging the horse to move faster. A wretched moan rang in the air all of a sudden, and the rider was clearly caught off guard. He gasped and a frightened cry of a child entered Shang Xia¡¯s ears. The sounds didn¡¯t last for long as a strong wind blew across the land, muffling their voices. They became softer and softer as they left the area. At that moment, another wave of galloping could be heard. Eight horses raced across the land, and Shang Xia could hear the conversation of the riders. ¡°The footsteps on the ground are fresh. They shouldn¡¯t be too far away from us.¡± ¡°Look! That¡¯s the corpse of their Scarlet Scale Horse! It died of exhaustion!¡± ¡°The body is fresh and their valuables are still here. They can¡¯t be far! Quick, get them!¡± ¡°We¡¯re not too far away from the Changfeng City¡­ We have to get them before they enter.¡± ¡°Hurry up!¡± ¡­ On the morning of the next day, Shang Xia wrapped a piece of cloth that was shredded a long time ago around his bow. Picking up a large stick on the ground, he bundled up the birds he killed along the way and the thick bear skin coat he was using as a blanket before walking in the direction of the city. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know how long he had been traveling for. Soft hair grew out from the bottom of his chin, and his unkempt mustache caused his face to look older than it really is. Due to the batterings of the cold winter winds, his skin looked pretty rugged. He became much buffer than before, and if anyone looked at him from afar, he would look like an experienced young hunter. The distance of a little more than ten miles to the city could be crossed by Shang Xia in a short period of time. Even ordinary people wouldn¡¯t find it difficult to make the journey. By the time he arrived at the city gates, the sun was shining high in the skies. He made it just in time for the city gates to open. After passing through a series of checks by the guard, he would be able to enter the city. ¡°Why are the gates of the Changfeng City closed during the night? We also have to get checked by the guards every time we wish to enter or exit¡­¡± Shang Xia overheard the conversation behind him. The person who asked was a middle aged man who looked to be a manager of a caravan, and his question was directed to a local beside him. The local carried a basket of vegetables on his shoulders and from the looks of it, he was planning to sell them off for a good price at the marketplace. He chuckled in amusement, ¡°Around a month ago, the city lord captured the heads of one of the bandit groups up north close to the Ji Continent. Apparently, their brothers are planning to make a rescue attempt. In order to prevent any suspicious personnel from hiding in the city, the city lord ordered for the closure of the gates during the night and tightened security to screen everyone who enters and exits.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± The caravan manager nodded slightly, but his expression turned weird the next moment. ¡°That¡¯s weird¡­ Why would the head of a bandit group in the Ji Continent head down south? There¡¯s only so little resources in our You Continent. What¡¯s there to plunder?¡± A youngster who was clad in clothes befitting of a martial artist sneered at the back, ¡°Hehe, you definitely don¡¯t know this. Our You Continent might be small, and we look poor. However, that¡¯s precisely the reason they set their sights on us.¡± The interest of the caravan manager was piqued and he turned around to see several other martial artists walking side by side. Their clothes looked pretty similar, and a light flashed in his eyes. He seemed to have thought of something and his expression became several times more respectful. ¡°Would you please enlighten me?¡± The youngster seemed pleased with the caravan manager¡¯s tone of flattery and he started to explain, ¡°Sure. The Changfeng City is where the various bandit groups use to fence their goods. Hehe, they¡¯re willing to sell whatever is in demand here. As long as they can make some money off it, they won¡¯t care!¡± The words barely left his lips when a guard snapped at him. ¡°What the hell are you guys on about? Do you still wish to enter the city?!¡± Cupping his fists towards the young martial artist, the caravan manager nodded his head before returning to his group. Chuckling softly, a trace of disdain could be heard in the young martial artist¡¯s laughter. Shang Xia was standing in front of them, and he was able to observe everything with his divine sense. He noticed the look of superiority in the young martial artist¡¯s eyes when he gave his explanation earlier. The Ji Continent was vast. The number of great families there was much larger than the You Continent, even before it suffered the calamity. There was also the presence of the White Deer Paradise which gave cultivators of the Ji Continent a sense of superiority over those in the You Continent. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know if the young martial artist was part of a great family there, or if he was a disciple specially nurtured by the White Deer Paradise. The only thing he didn¡¯t understand was the reason they had appeared. Regardless, his poker face made it such that no one could tell his thoughts. He looked like an ordinary hunter who left the city for a short trip. Who would have thought that Shang Xia would discover something interesting with his divine sense while waiting for his turn? He saw a young woman who was wrapped up in thick clothing holding a child in her hands. The kid¡¯s face was flushed red, presumably from the cold, and they squeezed their way into the crowd. He also discovered something weird. The young woman seemed to be heading straight for him. She grabbed his shoulder all of a sudden, and a soft voice rang through the air. ¡°Honey, didn¡¯t you promise to bring us into the city? Why didn¡¯t you wait for us?¡± As the words left her mouth, Shang Xia felt the edge of a sharp knife pressed against him. She was using her thick clothes as cover, and he could tell that she would stab him the moment he said something off. This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. With his divine sense, he managed to tell that the sharp knife she held was actually a small dagger. Coughing dryly, Shang Xia seemed to have caught a chill. In the eyes of the young lady, she felt that Shang Xia was frightened by her sudden appearance. In order to ensure that nothing went wrong, she tightened her grip on her dagger and pressed it closer to Shang Xia. ¡°Isn¡¯t it cold today? I didn¡¯t want to drag the two of you out of bed. I planned on bringing back some clothes for you two after selling my stuff.¡± Shang Xia coughed awkwardly. ¡°It¡¯s alright. We wish to experience the bustle of the city. Just buy some more food to last us the winter¡­¡± The young lady pouted coyly. Those around them couldn¡¯t help but toss over some glances of envy. After all, the three of them portrayed the perfect picture of a loving family. When they finally arrived at the city gates, a guard who was in the Martial Realm approached. His gaze landed on Shang Xia¡¯s bow, but he didn¡¯t take a second look when he saw that the cloth wrapping around it was tattered beyond belief. He flipped through Shang Xia¡¯s belongings that were wrapped in his bearskin coat and muttered, ¡°What a huge piece of bear skin. It looks pretty complete too. You should be a pretty good hunter!¡± As the words left his lips, Shang Xia felt the grip around his arm tightening. ¡°Hehe, I was just lucky. I found a sleeping bear in the woods.¡± Shang Xia scratched his head in ¡®embarrassment¡¯ and released a booming laugh. ¡°Alright. Go ahead. Your bear skin should be worth at least three pieces of silver essence. Don¡¯t be scammed by anyone.¡± The guard waved his hand and sent the three of them on their way. Thanking the guard sincerely, Shang Xia and the young lady packed up their things and entered the city. They didn¡¯t walk far before they heard the guard again. ¡°Oh my! Young Master Fan, Young Master Han, Young Master Lu, Young Master Zhang! It¡¯s my honor to meet you today. The young master of my family said that he had already booked the best rooms in the Changfu Inn for you! You can head over any time. He also said that he would hold a feast for you at night.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyebrows jumped slightly and he turned his head to see the youngster who spoke to the caravan manager earlier cupping his fists while laughing, ¡°Many thanks to your young master. I shall represent everyone here to thank Brother Yang!¡± All of a sudden, a weird divine sense emerged from the city gates. It seemed to be searching for something. ¡°This¡­¡± Shang Xia suppressed his curiosity and he maintained his poker face as he turned to walk deeper into the city. He felt the grip around his arm loosening but he didn¡¯t think too much about it. Without even looking closely at the young lady and her daughter, he went on his way. As deep winter was approaching, there weren''t many chances left to purchase fresh goods off the streets. An attendant quickly rushed over to Shang Xia when he saw the four pheasants he carried, and he purchased it for a piece of silver essence after some negotiating. The bear skin brought a much better price. It even caused three shopkeepers to start a bidding war, and eventually, it was bought by a fatty who wore a dog-skin cap. Parting with four pieces of silver essence, he bought the bear skin off Shang Xia. Weighing the five pieces of silver essence in his hand, Shang Xia chuckled before stuffing them into his sleeves. Who would have thought that a familiar voice would ring in his ears again. ¡°Mummy, I¡¯m hungry¡­¡± Turning around in fright, Shang Xia saw the young lady and her daughter once again. The young lady looked to be around twenty in age, and she carried her three year old daughter in her bosom. The little kid stared at Shang Xia with her large round eyes, and Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Why are you here again?¡± Lowering her head, the young lady¡¯s face flushed red. No one knew if it was because of the cold or because of shame, but she whispered, ¡°I¡­ I l don¡¯t have any money anymore¡­¡± Shang Xia was flabbergasted. He could tell that she was at the Martial Extremity Realm, and she shouldn¡¯t be poor. A rumbling sound came from the little kid¡¯s stomach, causing the young lady¡¯s face to turn even redder. Glancing around, Shang Xia saw a stall by the side of the road that sold dumplings and he chuckled in amusement, ¡°What a coincidence. I¡¯m getting hungry too. Let¡¯s get some food over there.¡± He started to walk towards the stall after he spoke. The young lady¡¯s gaze turned a little weird as she looked at Shang Xia¡¯s back, but she quickly ran behind him. ¡°Owner, get me three bowls of dumplings and six sesame cakes. Bring me the chili and vinegar on the side.¡± Shang Xia yelled before looking for a place to sit. He turned to look at the young lady who was following closely behind him. She wanted to sit beside him, but after thinking for a second, she chose to place the little girl between them. CH 269 ¡°Alright, eat it while it¡¯s hot.¡± Shang Xia said when the three piping hot bowls of dumplings were served. He took the lead and picked up his utensils. Chewing on the juicy meat wrapped in a slightly chewy but still soft layer of dumpling skin, the fragrance of the soup lingered in his mouth. Narrowing his eyes a little, Shang Xia recalled the scene when he entered the city earlier. At the city gates, Shang Xia could basically confirm that the strange divine sense came from a cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World. It scanned through the four young martial artists who came from the Ji Continent, and after careful deduction, Shang Xia realized that at least one of them was a cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World too. If not for his special divine sense that could merge with the world, his disguise would have been seen through by the owner of the strange divine sense right away! The owner of the divine sense and the four young martial artists weren¡¯t the only ones who didn¡¯t discover Shang Xia¡¯s true identity. The young lady was also unable to see through Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation level. They might not have discovered his identity, but Shang Xia saw through all of them! There was even an urge burning in his heart to kill the cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World. If they were at the entrance of the Tongyou City, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t hesitate to start a bloodbath. The problem was that he was currently in the Changfeng City. Moreover, he was lost in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range after suffering from the ambush. He concluded that Kou Chongxue was also attacked, and he couldn¡¯t be sure of the current situation in the You Continent. As such, he couldn¡¯t move about recklessly. There was also another reason Shang Xia didn¡¯t make his move. There were three experts who were sent to ambush him. Who could be sure that there weren¡¯t more hiding in the You Continent? It wouldn¡¯t be a smart move to expose his identity at that moment. His decision to remain passive was quickly proven to be correct. As the city standing between the Ji Continent and the You Continent, the Changfeng City was also the only other city in the You Continent other than the Tongyou City. It might be controlled by the city lord, but the four great clans of the Tongyou City naturally had their affairs in order there. As he walked through the city, he discovered that many warehouses and storefronts were being silently observed by different people/ Shang Xia didn¡¯t know if they were truly the members of the four great clans in the Tongyou City, or other experts. He couldn¡¯t be sure if they were targeting him too. All he knew was that he shouldn¡¯t reveal himself at that moment. Luckily he had remained in the wilderness for quite some time. His facial features were basically covered by his newly grown beard and mustache, and his appearance was a lot more weathered than before. No one would be able to recognize him as the young master of the prestigious Shang Clan if they weren¡¯t familiar with him. In their eyes, he was nothing more than an ordinary hunter. It seemed as though he would have to lie low for quite some time in the Changfeng City. At the very least, he couldn¡¯t do anything before he verified the current situation in the You Continent. It didn¡¯t take long for him to devour the bowl of dumplings and two sesame cakes. The young lady and the little kid weren''t lagging far behind him either. By the time he placed his chopsticks down, the young lady had emptied her bowl of dumplings. The little girl also managed to finish half a bowl of dumplings and half a sesame cake. ¡°How much is it?¡± Shang Xia wiped his mouth before taking out a piece of silver essence. ¡°Twelve copper boards!¡± The owner approached his table with a cloth in hand and a smile on his face. ¡°What?¡± Shang Xia stared at the owner of the stall in shock. With a strange look on his face, the owner stared at Shang Xia before explaining, ¡°A bowl of dumplings and soup cost two copper boards. A sesame cake is one copper board each. You had six of them, and it cost twelve copper boards in total. This¡­¡± Seeing how the young lady and little kid were turning to stare at him, Shang Xia was still unable to hide his state of shock. ¡°How is it so cheap?¡± Widening his eyes in shock, the stall owner chuckled in amusement, ¡°I¡¯m just running a small business over here¡­ I can¡¯t possibly overcharge my customers!¡± ¡°Alright. Get me another eight sesame cakes to go. Let¡¯s make it a nice number.¡± Shang Xia said while tossing a piece of silver essence over. ¡°Coming right up!¡± Whistling happily, he grabbed another eight sesame cakes. Along with those the little girl left, the owner packed them all up before handing them to Shang Xia with his change of four copper plates. Speaking of which, Shang Xia understood how the currency system worked in the Azure Origin World. A piece of silver essence was worth a hundred copper boards. Copper plates were larger in size compared to a copper board, and one of them was worth twenty copper boards. Weighing the copper plates in his hand, Shang Xia smiled. It was indeed his first time using copper boards and copper plates as his method of payment. As the young master of the Shang Clan, he mainly dealt in silver essence. There was also the rare occasion where golden coins were used. The amount he paid was barely worth anything in his eyes. At that moment, he had close to three hundred pieces of silver essence in his Embroidered Cloud Case. It was the payment he extorted from Yu Changjin when he came over to ask for the talismans to cure the disciple of his institution. However, the copper boards and copper plates in his hand held a more significant meaning as he made them all through his hunt in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. After receiving his change, Shang Xia got to his feet and the young lady quickly picked up the little girl to follow him. They looked much better after eating the piping hot bowl of dumplings. As he strolled down the street, the little girl¡¯s voice rang from behind. ¡°Uncle, where are you going?¡± ¡°Winter in the You Continent is really unforgiving. You won¡¯t survive for long in your clothes. I¡¯ll bring you to get some.¡± Shang Xia said without even turning around. ¡°It¡¯s alright. You can get a set for Yuanyuan. I¡¯ll do fine¡­¡± The young lady finally revealed her true voice and it sounded clear and melodious as it entered Shang Xia¡¯s ears. Turning around, Shang Xia¡¯s gaze landed on the little girl and he chuckled. ¡°Yuanyuan¡­ You have a nice name, hahaha.¡± Widening her eyes, the little girl¡¯s smile extended across her face. ¡°Thank you, uncle!¡± Shang Xia turned around and saw a clothing store. He laughed happily, ¡°Alright, we¡¯re here. Let¡¯s go take a look!¡± When they emerged from the shop, the little girl was wrapped in a puffy red jacket. Coupled with her round face, she looked like a cute swollen red snowman. The young lady didn¡¯t leave empty handed like she wanted to. A jade green jacket hugged her body, and it protected her from the cold without compromising her figure. Shang Xia noticed a long time ago that she had been injecting her inner qi into the little girl¡¯s body to keep the kid warm. It was like he said. They wouldn¡¯t last long without warmer clothes. As the little girl had eaten her fill and she was comfortable in her new jacket, she no longer wanted to remain in her mother¡¯s embrace. She squirmed her way out and the young lady had no choice but to let her walk on her own. She jumped happily around the young lady and Shang Xia as her laughter quickly lightened up the mood. By the time they reached the end of the street, she had her fill of osmanthus cakes, cotton candy, fried dough sticks, and she was gnawing on a stick of candied hawthorn. Shang Xia looked at the young lady before chuckling in amusement. ¡°This looks like her first time trying these stuff¡­¡± Grunting softly, the young lady lowered her head in embarrassment. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re going to remain in the city for some time.¡± Shang Xia mentioned casually. Glancing at Shang Xia, the young lady lowered her head once again and sighed, ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have any money on you¡­ Do you have any skills you can use to earn some?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°No¡­¡± The young lady whispered softly after hesitating for a long time. Nodding slowly, Shang Xia no longer harped on the matter. He led the way to a property broker and requested to rent a small courtyard. The broker moved quickly. It didn¡¯t take long for him to locate a suitable property for Shang Xia. Before long, the three of them followed behind the broker to take a look at the place. The courtyard was clearly made for a small family. It faced the south, avoiding any direct sunlight in the day, and there was a main room along with two smaller rooms beside it. There were two fruit trees in the courtyard, and there was also a well covered in bluestone. Looking through the property, Shang Xia felt that it was quiet enough and decided to rent it out. ¡°It¡¯s three silver essence for a month.¡± The broker threw out a price that Shang Xia was unfamiliar with. After all, he wasn¡¯t well-versed in the property prices of the Changfeng City. Taking out the money he had left in his sleeves, Shang Xia didn¡¯t know if he should bring out more from his Embroidered Cloud Case to rent the courtyard for a longer period of time. When the broker saw Shang Xia¡¯s reaction, he thought that Shang Xia was hesitating due to the price. He couldn¡¯t help but explain, ¡°It might be a little more expensive, but you can¡¯t blame us! In the past few months, there were many outsiders who came to our city. The prices of every single property increased by a huge amount! If you don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth it, you can always look for another place.¡± Shang Xia chuckled softly. ¡°I didn¡¯t say that I won¡¯t rent.¡± Counting out three silver essence, he handed it over to the broker. While doing so, he made a casual offhand comment. ¡°I haven¡¯t been here for a while and the city became so crowded. I wonder where these people came from? Could they be the original inhabitants of the You Continent?¡± Shaking his head, the broker sighed, ¡°Previously, the original inhabitants of the You Continent had already returned. Nowadays, they seem to be cultivators from the Ji Continent. They might not be throwing their weight around, but it¡¯s obvious that they look down on people of the You Continent like us.¡± Since he paid for the courtyard and got the information he wanted, he decided to send the broker away. This novel is available on "pawread dot com". Turning back to the mother and daughter duo, he decided to bring them out to get some supplies. Spending all the money he had left from the sale he made earlier in the day, they brought back several bags full of items. Shang Xia lit a fire in his room and it finally regained its warmth. The little kid poked at the sweet potatoes that Shang Xia had thrown in the fire earlier and started drooling. Shang Xia laughed happily when he saw her actions. However, he turned around to look at the young lady who arrived behind him. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask about our identities?¡± That had been the question she was dying to ask since they entered the city. Shang Xia¡¯s gaze returned to the kid and he chuckled, ¡°Why should I ask? Even if I did, will you tell me?¡± ¡°No.¡± The young lady remained silent for some time before muttering. ¡°Haha. It¡¯s quite alright. Little Yuanyuan is pretty cute!¡± Shang Xia burst out laughing when he saw her comical expression as she ¡®cooked¡¯ the sweet potatoes. Walking beside Shang Xia, the young lady stared at the little girl as her expression finally thawed. She whispered, ¡°Yuanyuan hasn¡¯t been this happy in a long time. It has also been long since she experienced such peace¡­ Thank you!¡± Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, he muttered, ¡°You chose this for her.¡± Shaking her head slowly, she turned to walk towards her door. When she arrived, she turned around to look at Shang Xia. ¡°I¡¯m called Hai Min. Don¡¯t forget my name if anyone asks. What should I call you?¡± ¡°You can call me Shang Xia. I come from an ordinary family of hunters.¡± Shang Xia spoke without turning to look at her. ¡°Alright. Yuanyuan shall now be called Shang Yuanyuan for now. She¡¯s the daughter of an ordinary hunter.¡± Leaving the room, she sighed, ¡°I¡¯ll prepare dinner now.¡± Perhaps it was because of the long journey they experienced, the two of them chose to turn in early after dinner. Shang Xia went to one of the side rooms and he started to circulate his inner qi. He didn¡¯t forget to cover the entire courtyard with his divine sense in case anything went wrong. After some time, he discovered that Hai Min had left her room silently. CH 270 With his divine sense covering the courtyard, nothing should be able to hide from him. The moment Hai Min left her room, Shang Xia¡¯s eyes snapped open. He quickly assumed a sleeping position and he took deep breaths as though he was sleeping. Hai Min had changed into a set of clothes that allowed her to camouflage in the night and she stopped outside Shang Xia¡¯s room for a moment to ensure he was asleep. It took a few moments, but she was convinced that Shang Xia was asleep. Leaping into the air, she started to run across the roof and out of the courtyard. The Changfu Inn might be the largest and best inn in the Changfeng City, but the reputation of the best restaurant in the city belonged to the Yanlai Restaurant. That night, the son of the city lord, Yang Zhenbiao, was hosting several esteemed guests on the second floor of the Yanlai Restaurant. Hai Min used the cover of night to approach the restaurant, but when she arrived a hundred feet away, she discovered that the entire area was crawling with guards. The streets around the restaurant were also well lit to stop anyone from hiding in the darkness. Pausing for a second on the roof of a nearby house, Hai Min retrieved a cape and after draping it over herself, her blurry figure disappeared in the darkness of night. That wasn¡¯t all. Her body odor, the sound of her breathing, and anything that could give her presence away disappeared. It was appropriate to say that she managed to merge herself into her surroundings. In the restaurant, a young man who looked barely twenty and had a high nose bridge and a large forehead stood up and raised his cup. ¡°It¡¯s not every day all of us get to gather together. In order to make things less awkward, let me start the introductions!¡± He was clearly one of the higher ranked members in the group. The moment the words left his lips, everyone broke out into laughter and someone in the crowd replied, ¡°Brother Li, you¡¯re too kind. Brother Li is a third generation disciple of the White Deer Paradise. It¡¯s our honor for you to start with the introductions!¡± ¡°Thank you, Brother Tianshou!¡± Li Tianshou downed his cup of wine and the introductions in the hall started. The first person to continue was Yang Zhenbiao. He was around 24 years of age, and his cultivation had also reached the Martial Intent Realm. He was the host of the feast that was currently happening. Along with him was his father¡¯s disciple, Qin Yuyuan. He was also an expert who had condensed his divine sense. Other than the two of them, there were four other members present. They were the four young martial artists Shang Xia noticed at the city gates. ¡°This is the second young master of the Liu Clan, Liu Yunjia. The Liu Clan is one of the three largest families in the Ji Continent.¡± ¡°This is Guo Yuxi. He¡¯s the fourth young master of the Guo Clan. Similarly, the Guo Clan is one of the three largest families in the Ji Continent.¡± ¡°That is Young Master Zhang Yushu. He¡¯s the fifth young master of the Zhang Clan. Naturally, the Zhang Clan is also part of the three largest families in the Ji Continent.¡± After introducing the three of them, everyone drank another toast. A strange look appeared on Li Tianshou¡¯s face when he introduced the fourth person. ¡°This¡­ This is Young Master Chen Sanyang¡­¡± Pausing slightly, he suppressed his emotions before continuing. ¡°Young Master Chen comes from the Changbai Holy Land!¡± The faces of Yang Zhenbiao and Qin Yuyuan changed as they stared at the fourth person in confusion. Qin Yuyuan eventually waved his hand to dissolve the awkward atmosphere. ¡°Brother Tianqin, I apologize for my ignorance, but I wonder where the Changbai Holy Land is located?¡± Roaring with laughter, Li Tianshou refused to say anything more. Chen Sanyang raised his cup slowly and the corners of his lips curled upwards. ¡°Brother Qin, have you heard of the Liao Continent?¡± A frown appeared on Qin Yuyuan¡¯s face. There wasn¡¯t a place in the Azure Origin World called the Liao Continent. However, he seemed to have heard the name somewhere before. In contrast, Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s face darkened. His voice became extremely low. ¡°Are you from the Azure Spiritual World?¡± Qin Yuyuan jumped in fright after hearing what Yang Zhenbiao said. Noticing the mocking looks on the faces of the other three and Li Tianshou, Qin Yuyuan quickly suppressed his emotions. He also saw that Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s initial anger transformed into contemplation and he decided not to do anything. Even so, his heart was filled with unrest and he raised his caution to the maximum. Naturally, his facial expression didn¡¯t show a thing. Chen Sanyang laughed loudly before releasing his aura. In that instant, an energy wave swept through the room. From the senses of those present, it was clear that Chen Sanyang had already entered the Martial Intent Realm. ¡°Indeed¡­ It¡¯s bloodline essence qi¡­¡± Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s gaze shifted over to Li Tianshou and his divine sense emerged. ¡°Brother Tianshou, what¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± Yang Zhenbiao was at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, and even though the aura released by Chen Sanyang was threatening, he was clearly unafraid to take on any challenges. Li Tianshou waved his hand once to stop the rampaging heaven and earth qi in the hall and forced their divine sense back. He chuckled with amusement, ¡°Young city lord, please don¡¯t get worked up. Brother Chen merely wishes to take a look around the You Continent and experience your culture. That¡¯s all there is to it.¡± Sniggering softly, Chen Sanyang looked at Li Tianshou before cupping his fists towards Yang Zhenbiao. When he was done, he returned to his seat. Yang Zhenbiao was sullen. He wasn¡¯t worried about Chen Sanyang. Instead, a trace of vigilance was born in his heart after seeing how easily Li Tianshou suppressed the two of them earlier. Liu Yunjia broke the awkward silence. ¡°Brother Chen is our friend and we were the ones who invited him to the You Continent.¡± A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. Guo Yuxi also added, ¡°That¡¯s right. Ever since the collision between our worlds twenty years ago, we had multiple instances of interactions with each other. There might be a spatial barrier separating both our worlds, but cultivators have entered each other¡¯s worlds regardless. Brother Yang, there¡¯s no need to make a fuss of things now. ¡° ¡°That¡¯s precisely the case.¡± Zhang Yushu continued. ¡°Brother Yang, as the young city lord, you¡¯ll eventually ascend to control the Changfeng City. You should go out and take a look at the world before then. I¡¯m not trying to be insulting here, but the only ones seeing the Azure Spiritual World as an enemy are the cultivators in the five border regions. Your You Continent is taking the grudge to a new level, hating on everyone in the Azure Spiritual World.¡± Liu Yunjia chuckled. ¡°Brother Yang, why don¡¯t you think about it? So what if the five border regions win, or lose the war? IIt doesn¡¯t matter. The five border regions are barren as fuck anyway. With the limited population, you can¡¯t even find many talented individuals around. Why should the fate of our Azure Origin World be decided by them? The only ones who have the authority to decide the situation on the Azure Origin World belong to the eight great holy lands in the central continents!¡± Qin Yuyuan was in a state of complete bewilderment. He didn¡¯t know what was going on anymore. However, a trace of unease flashed in Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s eyes. It seemed as though he was fighting hard with his morals. A casual smile hung on Li Tianshou¡¯s face as his gaze went back and forth on everyone present. A snort eventually left Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s lips. ¡°Whatever. The matter regarding Brother Chen here has nothing to do with me. That¡¯s not the point of this gathering anyway.¡± Turning to Li Tianshou, he continued, ¡°Brother Tianshou, what do you say?¡± Nodding in response, Li Tianshou took over. ¡°Brother Yang is right! We can deal with other matters next time. Today, I¡¯m going to act as a middleman. Why don¡¯t we get on with today¡¯s agenda? All of you can speak as you please. I won¡¯t interrupt anything.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Yang Zhenbiao nodded before looking at the person who came with him. ¡°Brother Qin, please.¡± Suppressing his emotions, Qin Yuyuan spoke. ¡°The reason behind our meeting today is regarding the cooperation of the great families of the Ji Continent and our Changfeng City against the bandit group up north. The situation involving the Eighteen Horsemen is basically resolved. We have the third horseman, Hai Pei, in custody. Due to their strong sense of comradery, they will definitely launch a rescue operation soon. When the time comes, we will be able to capture all of them in one fell swoop. However, my master, City Lord Yang Hu, hopes to take them in as his subordinates. After all, the reputation of the Eighteen Horsemen is too striking. Everything they own can go to the three great families of the Ji Continent. What do you think?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not possible.¡± Zhang Yushu spoke right after Qin Yuyuan gave his proposal. ¡°The Eighteen Horsemen have been messing around in our Ji Continent for too long. The number of crimes they committed can fill countless books. The members of our Ji Continent want nothing more than to capture them and sentence all of them to a horrible death. Now that we finally have a chance to do it, we won¡¯t allow them to live. Moreover, the resources they plundered came from our Ji Continent anyway. Naturally, everything has to be returned to us.¡± ¡°Hehe, since when have your families cared about the well being of the common population of your Ji Continent?¡± Qin Yuyuan sneered. A frosty light flashed across Liu Yunjia¡¯s face and he growled, ¡°Brother Qin, what¡¯s the meaning of this. The Eighteen Horsemen have been terrorizing my Ji Continent for a long time and our clans suffered endless pain in their hands. Don¡¯t tell me we¡¯re unreasonable to request that all of them die for their sins?¡± Glancing at Yang Zhenbiao, Qin Yuyuan continued, ¡°All of you came here wanting us to cooperate with you. Now, you¡¯re not even willing to give us some benefits. Where¡¯s your sincerity in this matter?¡± Guo Yuxi sneered in ridicule, ¡°Even if we don¡¯t kill them all, do you really think they will serve City Lord Yang? If we¡¯re not wrong, those bastards are backed by the Tongyou City anyway. Isn¡¯t City Lord Yang afraid of raising a bunch of wolves that might overthrow him in the future?¡± ¡°How do you know we won¡¯t be able to¡­¡± Qin Yuyuan wanted to speak, but he was interrupted by a cough from Yang Zhenbiao. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to worry about how we convince them. That¡¯s our problem.¡± Yang Zhenbiao added. Liu Yunjia turned to Li Tianshou and asked, ¡°Brother Li, you¡¯re from our Ji Continent too. What do you say?¡± Casually sipping his drink, Li Tianshou muttered casually. ¡°That¡¯s easy.¡± ¡°I hope you can enlighten us.¡± Yang Zhenbiao sighed. ¡°Even though they¡¯re called the Eighteen Horsemen, there are only five or six of them who can truly fight. The rest are nothing more than garbage. Since Young Masters Liu, Guo, and Zhang want an explanation, you can bring a few of them back and kill them. The rest will be left to the Changfeng City.¡± After he spoke, no one stood out to reject his suggestion. Waiting for a moment or two, Li Tianshou chuckled to break the silence. ¡°Alright. Since there¡¯s no objection, let¡¯s do it my way. Many thanks for giving me the honor of making the decision.¡± Since the matter was concluded, the banquet quickly returned to its original high. After some drinks, the relationship between the few young masters became better and they started to chat casually. ¡°Brother Yang, all of us know that the Eighteen Horsemen are backed by the Tongyou City. Even if City Lord Yang Hu is an expert at the Martial Extermination Realm, he isn¡¯t worth mentioning in front of the Tongyou City. How do you plan to convince the Eighteen Horsemen? Not to mention the fact that we¡¯re going to kill the stronger ones.¡± Zhang Yushu asked suddenly. Yang Zhenbiao chuckled softly, but he didn¡¯t explain their actions. However, a cackle quickly tore through the air. ¡°It¡¯s easy! Once the Tongyou City gets run over, the Eighteen Horsemen won¡¯t be able to rely on them anymore! They will have to change a backer.¡± CH 271 The Eighteen Horsemen were able to sweep through the Ji Continent unhindered. Not even a dumbass would believe that there was no one backing them up. Even the strongest of them wasn¡¯t in the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, but they were able to resist the pressure from the combined strength of the three great clans of the Ji Continent and the White Deer Institution. It was basically an open secret in the Azure Origin World that the Eighteen Horsemen had the support of the Tongyou City. A huge portion of their gains entered the hands of the cultivators of the You Continent. Due to the huge distance between the Ji Continent and the Tongyou City, the Eighteen Horsemen chose to get rid of their goods in the Changfeng City. Hai Min, who was lying on the roof of the restaurant, could hear the discussion among them. The cape she was wearing allowed her to avoid detection from Yang Zhenbiao and the others. However, she didn¡¯t realize that her actions were seen clearly by someone not too far away. Earlier, if not for the fact that Shang Xia was following closely behind her, he was afraid that he would have lost her in the darkness too. ¡°What an amazing cape! It managed to hide her aura completely and improve her camouflage!¡± Shang Xia might be standing further away, but with his divine sense merged with the world around him, he was also able to hear the conversation in the restaurant. Chen Sanyang¡¯s voice came from inside the restaurant all of a sudden. ¡°... If the Tongyou City can¡¯t even protect themselves, the Eighteen Horsemen will have to look for a new owner. City Lord Yang Hu is the best choice!¡± Zhang Yushu looked at him in shock before turning to Li Tianshou who was laughing happily. He then turned to Yang Zhenbiao who had a look of contemplation on his face before chuckling, ¡°Brother Chen, you kept us in the dark for a long time. Looks like you really understand the thoughts of City Lord Yang. The Changbai Holy Land and the White Deer Paradise seem to have reached a conclusion a long time ago too!¡± Liu Yunjia and the others widened their eyes in shock, but they soon suppressed their emotions. Chen Sanyang waved his hand casually and snorted, ¡°I¡¯m merely a nobody. I won¡¯t be able to show my face around City Lord Yang Hu. However, Brother Li¡¯s status is admirable. He¡¯s the one City Lord Yang is relying on!¡± Outside the restaurant, Shang Xia nodded to himself. As an envoy of the White Deer Paradise, Li Tianshou was naturally able to meet with Yang Hu anytime he wished. The reaction Yang Zhenbiao had earlier was real when he learned about Chen Sanyang¡¯s origin. His father didn¡¯t tell him any of his plan with Li Tianshou. The cooperation between them and the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World could never be revealed. Especially when they were in the You Continent who hated the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World more than anything else in the world. Even as Yang Hu¡¯s son, Yang Zhenbiao wasn¡¯t privy to the information that his father had deals with the members of the Azure Spiritual World. In any case, Shang Xia didn¡¯t think that that was the only problem. The thing he was worried about was the fact that Chen Sanyang had the guts to reveal his identity in front of so many people. That could only mean one thing. Yang Hu, Li Tianshou, and even Chen Sanyang himself felt that there was no longer a need to hide his identity! That would also mean that their goals had already been accomplished. Even if they hadn¡¯t, they were close to it! They might not have said who they were targeting, but Shang Xia was sure of it. They were plotting against the Tongyou City! ¡°The attack on Kou Chongxue¡­ you guys did it?¡± Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s voice rang in the hall once again. Even though no one replied, Shang Xia could imagine the faces on Chen Sanyang at that moment. ¡°You guys really killed Kou Chongxue?¡± A sense of unease could be heard in Qin Yuyuan¡¯s voice as he asked. A soft chuckle left Li Tianshou¡¯d lips. ¡°Even if killing a Martial Dipper Realm expert was so easy, how can there be no signs of his death?¡± ¡°Since he¡¯s still alive, how are you guys courageous enough to plot against the Tongyou City? The Tongyou Institution isn¡¯t an easy target to deal with.¡± Yang Zhenbiao muttered. This time, his voice contained no trace of emotion. Not a shred of fear was left in his heart. Since his father chose to receive the support of the White Deer Paradise and work with the Azure Spiritual World, they definitely came up with a complete plan. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. All he wished to do was to make sense of the entire situation. The best way would be to ask his father, but since his father arranged for the banquet, he definitely had his reasons for doing so. Now, he finally understood where his father¡¯s confidence originated from. His plan to convince the Eighteen Horsemen to work for himself didn¡¯t just originate from capturing their third man in charge and his authority as the city lord. ¡°Even if Kou Chongxue is still alive, he¡¯s probably pacing the gates of hell. He won¡¯t be able to affect our plans in the near future. Once we succeed, even a Martial Dipper Realm expert would be crushed to death by the merger of our worlds.¡± Li Tianshou gloated. ¡°Merger? Do you mean, our Azure Origin World and the Azure Spiritual World¡­¡± Yang Zhenbiao had a strong sense of repulsion in his heart. He felt that what they were talking about was too far-fetched, and it was definitely not something Martial Intent Realm cultivators like them were supposed to be thinking about. However, there was a voice in his mind telling him that everything he was hearing was exactly what his father intended for him to hear. The Changfeng City was merely a city in a barren region of the Azure Origin World. His experience and insights were far too lacking when compared to the experts who came from the central continent. He wasn¡¯t the only one. Even Shang Xia found their idea ridiculous. He also discovered a slight movement on the roof of the restaurant. Sighing softly, he knew that those inside definitely discovered her presence now that she had moved. Silence filled the restaurant where Li Tianshou and the rest were, and it took some time for the commotion to return. Shang Xia could feel two powerful divine senses extending out from the restaurant as they examined the surroundings. One of them was really weird, and Shang Xia immediately identified the owner of the weird divine sense as Chen Sanyang. Merging his divine sense with the world around him, Shang Xia¡¯s presence disappeared. He might be able to avoid their detection, but he got ready to make his move. The moment Hai Min made her escape, he would lend her his strength. It came as a surprise when he discovered that she was still lying silently on the roof. It finally hit him. Her cultivation level was too low and she should be unable to feel their divine sense. As such, she had no idea she was already exposed. When Shang Xia was hesitating to give her a reminder, the divine senses started to extend further around the restaurant. It was as though they failed to find anything close by. Luckily, Shang Xia was prepared. The divine senses swept across him but failed to discover his presence. He realized that Hai Min might not have been discovered by the two of them. After remaining still, she seemed to have evaded their senses. Thinking that the person spying on them had already left, the two divine senses extended to look for clues. Sneering in his heart, Shang Xia knew that they wouldn''t be able to find anything no matter how far they looked. Their divine senses might not have discovered him or Hai Min, but that didn¡¯t mean that Hai Min was out of danger. Once they sent people up to the roof to take a look, Shang Xia was afraid that even with his assistance, she might not be able to escape. A booming laughter emerged from the restaurant suddenly. ¡°Brother Tianshou, Brother Chen, I¡¯m really surprised by what you just shared. Who would have thought that I was merely a frog at the bottom of the well. I must have embarrassed myself!¡± ¡°Brother Yang, no need to say that! The only reason we knew about it in advance is because of the holy lands behind us. Even if we don¡¯t tell you anything, you will probably learn about it soon! Hahaha, you can even say that we overstepped our boundaries by telling you in advance!¡± ¡°Oh right, even though Kou Chongxue is out of the picture, the Tongyou Institution is still a force to be reckoned with. They also have the support of the four great clans. Even if we succeed, we¡¯ll have to pay a huge price! I¡¯m not a coward, but my Changfeng City is located close to the Tongyou City! The moment they go crazy and try dragging all their enemies down to hell with them, we¡¯ll be the first to be torn to shreds!¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Li Tianshou burst out laughing. ¡°Brother Yang, let me ask you something else first. How do you think we managed to locate Kou Chongxue¡¯s cultivation grounds?¡± Qin Yuyuan muttered instead of Yang Zhenbiao. ¡°Wasn¡¯t there a spy who told you? Didn¡¯t the Tongyou Institution clear out the spies of the Rose Party earlier?¡± ¡°The Rose Party is made up of a bunch of fools. How could they possibly discover Kou Chongxue¡¯s hiding spot? The only ones who know the secret are in the higher ups of the Tongyou Institution. Even the patriarchs of the four great clans might not know!¡± ¡°Hiss¡­¡± Sucking in a cold breath, Yang Zhenbiao continued, ¡°Who is it exactly?¡± All of a sudden, Shang Xia felt something off. He could tell that those in the restaurant were currently moving about rapidly. However, Li Tianshou¡¯s voice quickly followed up, ¡°Who do you think is the most likely candidate to enter the Martial Dipper Realm in the Tongyou City?¡± ¡°Huh? Are you talking about Ji Wenlong? That¡¯s not possible. Do you think that Kou Chongxue is trying to suppress Ji Wenlong and he¡¯s taking revenge?¡± ¡°Hehe, Shang Bo barely entered the Martial Extermination Realm ten years ago. Today, we heard rumors that he entered the fourth layer of the Martial Extermination Realm. He¡¯s comparable to the powerful Ji Wenlong in a few short years of time. If that¡¯s not suppression, I don¡¯t know what is. If Kou Chongxue gave Ji Wenlong the same amount of support, he wouldn¡¯t have just entered the large completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm.¡± ¡°This¡­¡± ¡°Also, do you know why the Tongyou Institution can¡¯t wait to get their hands on the Mysterious Coral World? They definitely know that they can only obtain it after the grand formation loses power completely, yet they chose to enter it before the time came even though they know that it would damage the mysterious world. They waited for close to twenty years, but why would they act so impatiently now?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it because Liu Jitang¡­ No, could it be because of the rank five advancement formula?¡± ¡°Kou Chongxue was unable to bring out the rank five advancement formula, and naturally, they had to make their own plans. ¡°Wait. Brother Li, did you say that he is unable to take it out? Isn¡¯t it because he wasn¡¯t willing to do so?¡± ¡°Hehe, according to the elders of the holy lands, Kou Chongxue¡¯s entry to the Martial Dipper Realm was a tad too suspicious. He might not actually possess an advancement formula. At the very least, he won¡¯t have a complete formula! They can¡¯t possibly tell that to the world. Once they do, the Tongyou Institution would lose control over the four great clans. Clearly, there¡¯s no secret in the world that can be kept forever. The four great clans probably started to make their own plans!¡± ¡°So that¡¯s the case¡­¡± All of a sudden, three figures emerged from the hall on the second level of the restaurant and charged towards the roof. The moment they did, a terrifying blast ripped across the surface of the roof and the cape on Hai Min¡¯s body fluttered in the air. She was exposed immediately! ¡°Hah! It really is the Tranquil Cape. Speak! Which one of the Eighteen Horsemen are you?!¡± Liu Yunjia growled as a giant claw formed in mid air to grab at Hai Min. CH 272 Using the distraction Yang Zhenbiao, Li Tianshou, and Chen Sanyang gave them, the three young masters of the Ji Continent rushed up to the roof. Hai Min¡¯s Tranquil Cape was really too special. The three of them could only personally make their moves when Li Tianshou and Chen Sanyang failed to locate anyone with their divine senses. The move was indeed useful. The moment they appeared, Hai Min¡¯s presence was revealed. In a state of shock, she leaped up to flee. A grunt left Liu Yunjia¡¯s lips and he gathered a huge claw out of heaven and earth qi to grab at her fleeing figure. Due to her cultivation only being at the Martial Extremity Realm, Liu Yunjia was extremely confident that he would be able to capture her. Alas, Hai Min¡¯s cape fluttered behind her, and she leaped off the roof. Not only did she not fall towards the ground immediately, but she started to soar through the skies like a bat. That wasn¡¯t all. She moved faster and faster! Who would have thought that her Tranquil Cape would possess such frightening properties! Not only did it disguise her presence, but it also allowed her to fly through the air! Glancing at her, Shang Xia chuckled in his heart. He could tell that the cape was really special, but with her inner qi reserves, she wouldn¡¯t be able to sustain her flight for long. ¡°Hmph! Where do you think you¡¯re going?!¡± Guo Yuxi roared as he pushed himself off the roof to chase after her. Evidently, the three of them were familiar with the properties of her cape. They were ready to react the moment she tried anything! Shang Xia wanted to lend her his assistance by stopping the three of them when she was discovered earlier, but he hesitated slightly when he heard the voices coming from within the restaurant. ¡°They finally made their move¡­ Hahaha, my throat was getting dry after talking so much.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Tranquil Cape indeed. It¡¯s the only thing that can avoid my senses. However, that person¡¯s cultivation shouldn¡¯t be too strong¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s go take a look!¡± Footsteps rang through the air as those in the restaurant raced after the three who emerged earlier. Chen Sanyang¡¯s laughter echoed softly through the air at that moment. ¡°You guys can go ahead. I won¡¯t be joining in the fun. Many thanks for Brother Yang¡¯s generosity tonight. I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± Li Tianshou¡¯s voice came soon after. ¡°Oh? Brother Chen, are you going to meet your fellow comrades?¡± ¡°Hahaha, Brother Tianshou, you¡¯re right. Tomorrow, an elder from my side will be coming over. I have to welcome him at the city gates.¡± Chen Sanyang chuckled. Yang Zhenbiao smiled after hearing what they said. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, I hope Brother Chen has a good rest tonight. Farewell.¡± ¡°Farewell!¡± Chen Sanyang bade his farewell to Yang Zhenbiao and Qin Yuyuan before turning to Li Tianshou again. ¡°Brother Li, I hope you can be careful with the thing I asked you to investigate. It¡¯s extremely important and if you receive any news on Yu Cangze, please inform me as soon as possible. Not only will this benefit my holy land, but you will also stand to gain a lot too!¡± ¡°Brother Chen, rest assured. I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Li Tianshou muttered. When they were done talking, Shang Xia decided to assist Hai Min. Dropping into the alley beside him, he raced in the direction she fled. With the help of her Tranquil Cape, Hai Min might be able to fly for some time, but the properties of camouflage were gone the moment she took flight. She wasn¡¯t able to fly very far anyway. By the time she landed, the distance between her and the three young masters was merely tens of feet! A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. The Changfeng City might not be as powerful as the Tongyou City, but their security forces weren¡¯t there for decoration either. With the commotion they caused, Yang Hu¡¯s troops quickly started their encirclement. Without a way to hide, Hai Min wouldn¡¯t be able to shake off the three of them. There were also soldiers from the city blocking off some of her escape routes. Seeing as she was about to be completely surrounded, she made a last ditch attempt to use the buildings around her as cover while running through a small alley. She chose to run in a direction opposite of the courtyard. She found herself unwilling to put her daughter and the kind hunter who helped her in danger. However, her decision caused the distance between herself and those chasing her to shorten. In an instant, she threw herself into a dangerous situation. As she ran desperately through the streets with the three of them hot on her heels, none of the four discovered a figure racing towards them at a terrifying speed. It didn¡¯t take long for the mysterious figure to arrive alongside them. Raising his hand, Shang Xia¡¯s bow appeared. When he saw their nimble movements, Shang Xia revealed a bitter smile. He wasn¡¯t confident he could hit them accurately at the speed they were moving. Helpless, he could only retrieve his bow. In its place appeared the Jade River Sword. After entering the Martial Intent Realm, Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation increased like a rocket. He could tell that his Origin True Qi was getting overly tyrannical. When he just entered the Martial Intent Realm, a low-grade weapon could still allow him to show off his full strength. He discovered that ever since his divine sense transferred a second time and he became stronger, low-grade weapons wouldn¡¯t be able to last long in his hands. Even though Shang Xia had quite a few graded weapons, he hadn¡¯t reached the point where he could waste them however he liked. Since he destroyed the Waning Moon Spear when he was ambushed in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range, he didn¡¯t wish the same fate to befall his Jade Creek Sword. Even though the Jade River Sword might cause his identity to be revealed, he couldn¡¯t care less. From Shang Xia¡¯s estimations, Liu Yunjia was the strongest of the three young masters from the Ji Continent. His Deep Leaping Steps were extremely useful when it came to weird terrain like the one they were traveling in as he could leap up on roofs and back down onto the streets as he pleased. A huge reason behind Hai Min being unable to shake them off was because of him. A frosty light flashed in Liu Yunjia¡¯s eyes when he thought about how they would be able to capture another one of the Eighteen Horsemen. ¡°Not good!¡± With his eyes widening slightly, he yelled to warn the others. As a genius specially nurtured by his clan, he was no weakling. He was also extremely sensitive to danger. His body was in the air when he made a strange twist. He managed to land on the roof of a building on his left before unsheathing two short blades. He slashed horizontally, and the sound of metal scraping against each other stabbed into the ears of those present. Sparks flew through the air as a black figure shot past Liu Yunjia. Liu Yunjia discovered that his blades were reacting strangely after the exchange. One of his blades became a hundred times heavier and the other turned strangely light. His movement was affected as half his body sank downwards while the other half pulled forward, causing him to lose his footing. He felt like his body was about to be torn in half, but that wasn¡¯t all. He seemed to lose control over his inner qi and his inner organs jolted violently. Grunting fiercely, the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth. He couldn¡¯t believe it. He was injured from a casual exchange with the other party! ¡°Be careful!¡± He warned his companions behind him, but he discovered that his voice had turned completely hoarse from the blood rushing up his throat when he spoke. Liu Yunjia might be in a bad state, but Shang Xia was equally as shocked. He discovered that his opponent wasn¡¯t as useless as he had thought. One had to know that Shang Xia had launched a sneak attack earlier. He half expected to critically injure Liu Yunjia, but the other party only suffered some inner injuries. It was a remarkable feat in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes. However, he didn¡¯t falter because of that. He moved quickly through the air. Liu Yunjia was able to receive his strike earlier, but that was it. He couldn¡¯t see Shang Xia¡¯s facial features and he could only warn his friends to be careful. As Shang Xia¡¯s figure disappeared into the night, a whistling sound tore through the air as the Jade Creek Sword made its appearance. This time, the sword slashed towards Zhang Yushu. In order to prevent his Origin True Qi from tearing the weapons to shreds from the inside, he used his divine sense to control the sword. The art of controlling his sword! It was the same technique he scoffed at when someone used it against him during the raid of the Shang Clan¡¯s convoy when he returned to the Tongyou City from the battlefield between the two worlds. However, Shang Xia was an expert at the Martial Intent Realm now! His divine sense experienced its second transformation, and it could bring out a terrifying effect when used to control the sword. After all, the essence of a sword controlling art was the power controlling the sword itself. Transforming essence to qi, training qi to achieve the divine¡­ Shang Xia¡¯s sword techniques reached a frightening level! The state of man and sword as one was easily achieved. Now, becoming one with the sword not only involved using his qi to create a connection with his sword. His divine sense came into play, and the sword could even influence the heaven and earth qi in their surroundings! A strange cry came from Zhang Yushiu, and an intricately crafted copper hammer appeared in his hand. He slammed it down at the incoming streak of light. ¡°Bang!¡± With a loud blast, the Jade Creek Sword was sent flying into the night sky. Zhang Yushu might have deflected the attack, but he wasn¡¯t able to remain unaffected. He flew through the air as waves of pain swept through his body. ¡°There¡¯s an ambush! There¡¯s more than one of them!¡± Zhang Yushu gasped in between breaths. The instant the words left his lips, the snap of a bowstring echoed through the skies. ¡°Whoosh¡­¡± An ordinary-looking arrow appeared in front of Guo Yuxi¡¯s sights. A mace appeared in Guo Yuxi¡¯s hand as he smacked it down at the arrow. With a small explosion, the arrow burst into pieces. Guo Yuxi took several steps back due to the backlash, but he sighed. ¡°The archer is a lot weaker than the other two. We don¡¯t know who our opponents are, and we should regroup and wait for reinforcements.¡± The three of them seemed to have worked together before and they came to a tacit understanding. They gathered closer to each other in an instant. With their backs to each other, they faced their surroundings with cautious expressions. They didn¡¯t know where the next round of attacks would come from. They clearly misjudged the situation. When Yang Zhenbiao, Qin Yuyuan, and Li Tianshou arrived and no other attacks came, they discovered that they were duped. The attacks they suffered earlier was probably an attempt to help the user of the Tranquil Cape escape. However, the three of them acted as though they were about to face a huge battle. Feeling that they had turned into a laughing stock in the eyes of their enemies, anger surged through their hearts. Hai Min didn¡¯t know who helped her to escape, but she made a huge detour around the city in order to be safe. After ensuring that there was no one on her tail, she returned to the courtyard. By the time she returned, she discovered that her daughter was still sound asleep. The young hunter seemed to be in deep sleep too, from the deep breaths he was taking. Getting back into bed, Hai Min discovered that she was unable to fall asleep. All she could think of was the conversation she overheard. CH 273 When Li Tianshou and the rest arrived with several other experts in tow, they saw how the three young masters were huddled together ready to face a huge enemy. After hearing a simple explanation from the three of them, Qin Yuyuan frowned and ordered for a lockdown of the city immediately. He turned to them and frowned, ¡°Does this mean that the other members of the Eighteen Horsemen have entered the city?¡± However, Li Tianshou shook his head slowly and muttered, ¡°No¡­ That¡¯s not right. According to our intelligence, none of the Martial Intent Realm cultivators of the Eighteen Horsemen uses the sword!¡± ¡°Brother Tianshou, one can use a different weapon when mounted. They might not be known to use the sword when they¡¯re riding, but that doesn¡¯t mean that they can¡¯t use the sword in close-quarters combat. Moreover, most of the Eighteen Horsemen were students of the Tongyou Institution. In order to avoid suspicion and to prevent us from guessing their identities, they might have used a different weapon to cover their tracks.¡± Yang Zhenbiao muttered. However, Liu Yunjia shook his head to reject Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s deduction the moment he spoke. ¡°No. Young city lord, you make sense, but the two swordsmen who attacked us used extremely weird techniques. One of them even used a sword controlling art. The Tongyou Institution would never teach them stuff like that.¡± Guo Yuxi continued, ¡°Brother Liu is right. Moreover, there¡¯s one other archer in their ranks and even though they¡¯re weaker than the other two, they¡¯re still a Martial Intent Realm expert. Even if the members of the Eighteen Horsemen manage to change their weapons to hide their fighting style, they can¡¯t possibly train to be an archer without anyone noticing. None of the Eighteen Horsemen are known to be archers anyway.¡± ¡°There¡¯s one more thing¡­¡± Zhang Yushu muttered. ¡°Even though they only exchanged one move with each of us, all of them were using graded weapons. The Eighteen Horsemen might not possess so many treasures they¡¯re not known for using anyway!¡± ¡°Who the hell can it be then?¡± Yang Zhenbiao frowned. His grumblings were met with a chuckle from Li Tianshou. ¡°All of them are from the great families of the Ji Continent. They won¡¯t be wrong on such matters. With their insight, they should know a lot of techniques regarding cultivators in the area too. If they find the sword technique foreign, the users might not be anyone from the Ji or You continents!¡± Pausing for a second, he continued, ¡°... If they¡¯re good swordsmen and they¡¯re currently in the You Continent, could they be members of the Jianmen Institution?!¡± Everyone stared at him in shock. However, Li Tianshou waved his hand casually to dispel their doubt. ¡°I''m merely speculating. There¡¯s no need to take me seriously. After all, there¡¯s no evidence.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll send my men to check. Regardless if it¡¯s the Eighteen Horsemen or the members of the Jianmen Institution, they¡¯ll have to abide by the rules of my Changfeng City now that they¡¯re here.¡± Yang Zhenbiao growled. It didn¡¯t take long for him to send out several experts to investigate the matter. As the people he sent out scattered through the city, it was destined for the city to be in for a sleepless night. ¡­ After passing down his orders, Yang Zhenbiao handed over the reins to Qin Yuyuan before rushing back to the City Lord Manor to meet with his father, Yang Hu! Yang Hu looked like a typical cultivator from the You Continent. He was extremely well-built and his face was pretty much a square. A trace of viciousness flashed through his eyes, and the violent air he was emitting couldn¡¯t be hidden. Because of his position as the city lord of the Changfeng that stood between the You and Ji continent, the members of the Ji Continent gave him the title of the Tiger of the You Continent. At the same time, he was also known as the Changfeng Monarch. Due to his increase in age, he looked like a middle aged man whose pot belly was starting to form. Even so, it only served to promote his prestigious and mighty aura. Yang Hu wasn¡¯t surprised that his son came running to see him in the middle of the night. When Yang Zhenbiao walked into his room, he spoke slowly, ¡°So, how was the banquet tonight?¡± ¡°This¡­ There were some surprises, but I gained a lot.¡± Yang Zhenbiao explained the happenings that went down earlier. When he ended with the part about the spy and how the three young masters of the Ji Continent were obstructed, he told Yang Hu about Li Tianshou¡¯s suspicion of the Jianmen Institution. Sighing softly, Yang Hu maintained his calm expression. ¡°Now that Kou Chongxue has been ambushed a second time and his life and death remains unknown, the Tongyou City is going to face enemies from inside and out.¡± Yang Zhenbiao thought about what Yang Hu said for a second before asking, ¡°Father, our city is filled with people of different backgrounds. There are those from the Tongyou City, White Deer Paradise, Ji Continent, Rose Party, and other factions. You have always acted impartially in the past. Did you choose to work with the White Deer Paradise because of this?¡± Yang Hu glanced at him from the corner of his eye and a deep light swam within. ¡°You can say so, but that¡¯s not truly the case.¡± A look of confusion flashed across Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s face. ¡°Please enlighten me.¡± A strangely wise expression could be seen on the otherwise rough and simple Yang Hu¡¯s face. He muttered, ¡°In the past, we were able to remain neutral among all the different factions. My capability is only a small part of the reason. The main reason is that all the different factions require a buffer between them. Now that the balance is broken, we have to choose a side no matter what. Since the White Deer Paradise is the one with the largest advantage right now, we have to take their side.¡± ¡°Is this because of the cooperation between the White Deer Paradise and the Changbai Holy Land?¡± Yang Zhenbiao recalled the scene in the restaurant earlier and asked. ¡°Hehe.¡± A mocking smile could be seen on Yang Hu¡¯s face. ¡°There¡¯s more than that. Kou Chongxue offended too many people. Why else do you think he was ambushed the first time?¡± Yang Zhenbiao frowned. ¡°Kou Chongxue might be powerful, but why would he offend the entire world?¡± ¡°A Martial Dipper Realm expert is more than capable of suppressing an entire part of the Azure Origin World by himself. Moreover, Kou Chongxue isn¡¯t an ordinary Martial Dipper Realm expert. He has already escaped the control of those holy lands¡­¡± ¡°Control? Why would Martial Dipper Realm experts be controlled by anyone?¡± Yang Zhenbiao couldn¡¯t help but interrupt.¡± Yang Hu waved his hand to indicate for Yang Zhenbiao to finish listening and he continued, ¡°... We¡¯ll talk about that later. All you need to know is that Kou Chongxue¡¯s cultivation level might not be the highest in our Azure Origin World, but the prestige he has far outranks anyone else. As such, many people have been jealous of him for a long time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the reason a lot of powers in our Azure Origin World want Kou Chongxue dead¡­ The White Deer Paradise is one of them, and that¡¯s why we chose to side with them. Is that it?¡± Yang Zhenbiao muttered. Yang Hu burst out laughing. ¡°Let me ask you something else. I built up the Changfeng City after so many years. If I disappear one day, do you think you and your brothers can protect my creation?¡± ¡°Why would you ask something like that?¡± Yang Zhenbiao frowned. ¡°Just tell me if you¡¯re confident of doing it.¡± Yang Hu grunted. Beads of sweat started forming on Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s forehead. ¡°Without a Martial Extermination Realm expert¡­¡± Yang Hu nodded his head in gratification. ¡°At least you¡¯re not delusional. You need to know that our Yang Family doesn¡¯t possess a proper rank four advancement formula. The only reason I advanced in the past was because I ran into a completed set of advancement medicine and a stray extermination origin. Do you know what this implies for our family?¡± Yang Zhenbiao lowered his head slowly. ¡°In the future, it won¡¯t be possible for me to enter the Martial Extermination Realm.¡± ¡°Your brothers aren¡¯t as talented as you. You¡¯re hardworking, but I can¡¯t say for sure if you can enter the Martial Extermination Realm in the future.¡± Yang Hu sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I will have to disappoint Father.¡± ¡°Nonsense. Talent is determined at birth. There¡¯s nothing to be disappointed about. However, a rank four advancement formula is the true mark that one has become a large power in this world. If we manage to obtain a complete rank four advancement formula, we can still protect our foundations without a Martial Extermination Realm expert.¡± Yang Hu muttered. Yang Zhenbiao finally realized what Yang Hu was saying. ¡°Are we working with the White Deer Paradise because they¡¯re giving us a rank four advancement formula?¡± Yang Hu smiled and nodded. ¡°Do you know what their initial condition was?¡± Seeing how Yang Zhenbiao was shaking his head, Yang Hu explained, ¡°They promised to assist me in my breakthrough to the Martial Dipper Realm and to replace Kou Chongxue as the spokesperson for the You Continent!¡± ¡°Martial Dipper¡­¡± Yang Zhenbiao nearly yelped out loud. Yang Hu snorted. ¡°A set of rank five advancement medicine cannot compare to a rank four advancement formula in my eyes!¡± ¡°Father, you¡­ You did this for our family!¡± Yang Zhenbiao widened his eyes in shock. ¡°Alright. You just need to know where our bottom line is.¡± Yang Hu sighed. Lowering his head respectfully, Yang Zhenbiao asked another question. ¡°What about the Eighteen Horsemen? Do you have any other instructions for me?¡± ¡°Since we already promised them, handle it accordingly.¡± When he was done speaking, Yang Hu waved his hand to dismiss his son. Not too long after Yang Zhenbiao had left, Yang Hu stood in front of his window and stared into the night sky. He raised his head all of a sudden and snorted, ¡°Since you¡¯re already here, why don¡¯t you show yourself? Help yourself to a cup of tea.¡± A soft chuckle drifted in the wind and a figure emerged from behind a huge boulder. The figure wore a velvet cap on his head and he quickly approached Yang Hu¡¯s room. Glancing at the newcomer, Yang Hu snorted. ¡°Heh. I didn¡¯t think members of the Rose Party would dare to show yourselves at this point in time. How many Martial Extermination Realm members do you even have left?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the problem, City Lord Yang? Are you afraid that our connection will be exposed and you¡¯ll draw trouble to yourself?¡± The person chuckled in amusement. A sneer appeared on Yang Hu¡¯s face and he continued, ¡°I¡¯m just curious. Now that all eyes are on my Changfeng City, where did you find the courage to show up? Hmph, with the shitty reputation of your Rose Party, I bet you want to fish for a piece of the pie like the others.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Suppressing his rage, the newcomer snorted, ¡°Don¡¯t forget. We had many dealings with each other. If I choose to reveal this matter to the Tongyou City¡­¡± Yang Hu roared with laughter before the person could finish. ¡°There are too many powers looking to work with me now. Who do you think you are? Your Rose Party is merely a bunch of ragtag fools now. Go ahead, report me to the Tongyou City! Do you want me to provide you with a bunch of the crimes we committed together?¡± The person who came could no longer suppress their anger. Glaring at Yang Hu, he no longer bothered with the pleasantries or threats, ¡°City Lord Yang, all I want is to receive an answer from you today.¡± ¡°Sure. All I ask for in return is for you to answer my question.¡± ¡°Deal.¡± After the two were done, Yang Hu reached out his hand to shake hands with the other party. With the transaction sealed, the member of the Rose Party muttered, ¡°From what we know, the Changbai Holy Land of the Azure Spiritual World is hunting down some guy called Yu Cangze. He¡¯s suspected to be a spy our Azure Origin World planted in the Azure Spiritual World. Do you know who he is?¡± Yang Hu thought for a moment and a frown appeared on his face. ¡°I heard of him recently and have no idea who he might be. However, he¡¯s definitely someone from our world if he¡¯s being hunted down by the Changbai Holy Land. Moreover, he¡¯s likely to have returned to our world.¡± ¡°Heh. God damn White Deer Paradise and Changbai Holy Land¡­ As they say, steal a hook and they¡¯ll hang you like a common criminal. Steal the whole country and they¡¯ll make you a prince¡­ Looks like they¡¯re going big on this one!¡± A trace of sorrow could be heard in his voice, but he managed to regain his clarity quickly. ¡°It¡¯s your turn. Ask what you want.¡± Yang Hu thought for a second before throwing out his question. ¡°Did your Rose Party take part in the second ambush on Kou Chongxue?¡± ¡°Nope. I don¡¯t know how many people took part in it anyway.¡± The member of the Rose Party sighed. ¡°Wait. Even you don¡¯t know?¡± The member of the Rose Party threw the question back at Yang Hu. Sinking into silence, Yang Hu fell deep into his thoughts. He only snapped back to attention after hearing a soft cough from the other party and he sighed, ¡°Alright. You can leave now.¡± This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. CH 274 The news of an assassination attempt on the young city lord quickly swept through the city. The night was bound to be a sleepless one. Perhaps it was because of the direction Hai Min escaped in, the guards were sent in a completely different direction from the little courtyard they were in. They only arrived at Shang Xia¡¯s courtyard in the morning. Amidst a series of rapid banging, Shang Xia opened the gates to the courtyard while yawning loudly. The moment the gates opened up slightly, two guards at the Martial Realm rushed inside. ¡°Are you the only one here?¡± The two guards glared at Shang Xia with a frosty gaze. One of them asked while the other examined the courtyard closely. Shang Xia seemed to be frightened by their ferocious demeanor and he stood rooted to the ground with his mouth wide open in shock. At that moment, a soft creak came from the main room and Hai Min pulled the coat Shang Xia bought for her tightly over herself before walking out. ¡°Honey, Who is it so early in the morning? Why¡­¡± Before she completed her sentence, she saw the guards standing in the middle of the courtyard and she retreated in apparent fear. She took several steps back, and she wanted to close the door, but one of the guards growled, ¡°Are the two of you new here? This courtyard belonged to someone else before¡­¡± An innocent cry came from behind Hai Min just as the man spoke. ¡°Mummy, I¡¯m hungry! I wanna eat dumplings!¡± Yuanyuan muttered while rubbing her eyes and her tiny head poked out from behind Hai Min¡¯s legs. Discovering the guards standing in their courtyard, Yuanyuan looked up at Hai Min and asked, ¡°Who are they?¡± Grabbing Yuanyuan, Hai Min quickly pulled her back into the room. After seeing the little kid, the guards seemed to have their suspicions dispelled. They turned back to Shang Xia with a much friendlier attitude and explained the situation. ¡°There have been some suspicious activities going on in the city recently and everyone is on guard. If you discover anything strange going on, do notify the guards immediately.¡± ¡°Of course, of course.¡± Shang Xia replied before sending them off respectfully. He went out after to get dumplings for Hai Min and Yuanyuan. Halfway through their breakfast, Hai Min turned to look at Shang Xia. ¡°A few of my relatives will be visiting us later.¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t even raise his head while eating. ¡°You¡¯ll have to host them on your own then. I¡¯ll have to leave the city today to hunt. Otherwise, our family will run out of money in a few days.¡± Hai Min stared at Shang Xia in shock when she heard what he said. Blood rushed to her face and she felt it heating up slightly. However, she heard what he said about going out to hunt and she muttered, ¡°You¡­ You have to be careful when you go out hunting¡­¡± Yuanyuan tilted her head to the side and she asked with her mouth full, ¡°Mummy, is this my daddy? You said that daddy will buy me lots of good food when he returns! He¡¯ll buy me toys and play with me too! Is that true?¡± Hai Min¡¯s eyes turned red after hearing what her daughter said, and she immediately lowered her head. Shang Xia noticed the change in Hai Min¡¯s mood and a sense of mischief filled his mind. He turned to look at Yuanyuan and he laughed, ¡°Why don¡¯t you call me daddy?¡± Coughing once, Hai Min turned to stare at Shang Xia with a strange look on her face. However, Yuanyuan was elated. She yelled happily, ¡°Hehe! I¡¯ll call you daddy when you bring back a little rabbit for me!¡± ¡°Finish your food! Don¡¯t talk nonsense!¡± Hai Min snapped at Yuanyuan before lowering her head in embarrassment. She didn¡¯t dare to look at Shang Xia anymore. Glancing at the blushing Hai Min, Shang Xia laughed. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll bring you a rabbit.¡± After he spoke, he couldn¡¯t help but lock pinkies with Yuanyuan. ¡­ After the incident in the morning and when he was done with breakfast, Shang Xia left the city the moment the gates opened. He slung a new quiver of arrows on his back as he headed straight for the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. Not too long after Shang Xia entered the mountains, Chen Sanyang left the city on his Scarlet Scale Horse and headed south. Chen Sanyang moved quickly, and he crossed the mountain pass quickly. He entered the only route leading into the heart of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. Going in close to a hundred miles, Chen Sanyang made a sharp turn to arrive at another patch of forestry. After traveling deeper and deeper through the forest up till the point where his horse could no longer advance, he continued the rest of the way on foot. Securing his mount to a nearby tree, he rushed through the forest and disappeared in the blink of an eye. When he disappeared, his mount suddenly released a loud neigh and stomped hard on the snow below. Shang Xia¡¯s figure arrived beside the horse, and he gently stroked the creature¡¯s back. Calming it down slightly, he turned to look in the direction where Chen Sanyang disappeared. As a chilly breeze swept through the land, Shang Xia¡¯s figure disappeared from where he was a second ago. Chen Sanyuan traveled deeper and deeper into the mountain range, and even though he didn¡¯t know where he was anymore, he had his general sense of direction. A triangle-shaped flag appeared in his hand all of a sudden. The bright orange flag started to flutter as Chen Sanyang sent some of his inner qi into it. It started to point in a certain direction of the mountain range. A look of joy appeared on Chen Sanyang¡¯s face and he quickly ran in the direction it was pointing to. Not too long after he had left, Shang Xia appeared in the place he once stood. He leaped up into a tree to look at where Chen Sanyang was running towards. His expression turned extremely serious. Chen Sanyang didn¡¯t notice that he was being followed as he traveled in the direction indicated by his flag, and it didn¡¯t take long before he arrived before the spatial barrier separating the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range and the battlefield between the two worlds. Walking along the barrier for dozens of miles, the flag in his hand showed some signs of reaction. It pointed straight at the barrier before him. As if he was already expecting such a response from the object, Chen Sanyang heaved a sigh of relief. Looking around him cautiously, Chen Sanyang pretended as though he was taking a casual stroll around the forest before returning to his original spot. Since the time he left the city, Shang Xia had been following him, unnoticed. Standing before the spatial barrier, a small gourd appeared in Chen Sanyang¡¯s hand. Popping open the seal to the cork, several items dropped out. Shang Xia had seen the formation masters of the Tongyou Institution in action, and he could tell what those items were used for. Indeed. Chen Sanyang placed those items in various spots around him with practiced ease before carving runes in the ground below. After everything was done, he heaved a sigh of relief before stabbing his flag into the middle of the formation. Sending his inner qi into the orange flag, the runes he cared into the ground earlier started to light up as the items rose into the skies. A ray of orange light emerged from the center of the formation, shooting into the grayish spatial barrier up ahead. It tried to split the barrier down the middle. Hiding behind a tree fifty feet away from Chen Sanyang, Shang Xia noticed everything that was happening. After his divine sense transformed a second time, the range he could extend it to increased to slightly over fifty feet. After merging his divine sense with the world around him, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t afraid that Chen Sanyang could discover him. As the orange beam tried to widen the crack it made in the barrier, Chen Sanyang¡¯s face turned deathly pale. It was clear that the consumption of his inner qi wasn¡¯t enough for him to sustain the formation he created. If Shang Xia made his move then, Chen Sanyang would be dead beyond doubt. When Shang Xia was still hesitating about whether to make his move, another beam of orange light came from the other side. Several shadows appeared as they made their way through the barrier. Even though Shang Xia had his guesses, he was shocked to the core when he saw them crossing the spatial barrier. It was too late even if he wished to make his move. A powerful divine sense swept through the area and Shang Xia knew that it belonged to a Martial Extermination Realm expert. After his initial sense of panic, he quickly suppressed his emotions. He discovered that the divine sense didn¡¯t possess any sense of malice. Instead, it was merely a probe of his surroundings. Failing to discover Shang Xia¡¯s presence, the divine sense soon disappeared. However, he decided to retreat immediately! This novel is available on "pawread dot com". Back then at Kou Chongxue¡¯s secret cultivation grounds, Shang Xia experimented with his divine sense. Not even Shang Lubing could discover his presence when he merged with the world around him. Shang Lubing might not be able to tell who was spying on him, but he could tell that a divine sense was observing him. If Shang Lubing was able to tell, it only made sense that the newcomer would notice the stray divine sense too. He had to leave as soon as possible. At the very least, he had to be gone before the other party emerged from the spatial barrier. Only then would he be able to ensure his safety. Very quickly, the orange beam formed a door on the spatial barrier and Chen Sanyang forced himself to his feet and arranged his clothes despite his haggard appearance. He bowed deeply. ¡°Disciple Chen Sanyang greets Elder Liang!¡± ¡°Hmph!¡± A snort boomed through the air as an old man with thinning white hair stepped out from the orange door. ¡°Little Brat Chen, you messed up!¡± Chen Sanyang¡¯s originally pale face turned a grade whiter, but he didn¡¯t know what he did. The elder didn¡¯t bother to speak to him any longer and his gaze swept across the dense forestry around them. A loud roar escaped his lips. ¡°I wonder which expert is playing tricks on me? I am Liang Shuangren of the Changbai Holy Land and I hope you can show yourself!¡± CH 275 ¡°... I hope you can show yourself!¡± Even though the elder of the Changbai Holy Land sounded polite, his divine sense terrorized the region around him. A terrifying storm swept through the forest around him. There was no doubt about it. Liang Shuangren detected Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense. However, he couldn¡¯t tell who or where the person was, and he could only force Shang Xia to show himself with such a method. Luckily, Shang Xia made his decision to leave quickly. He ran away the moment he felt the divine sense of a Martial Extermination Realm expert. Due to the fact that he had to maintain his stealth, Shang Xia kept his state of fusion between his divine sense and the world around him. His speed was greatly affected. Of course, hiding his presence and aura didn¡¯t mean that no one would be able to discover him if they caught sight of him. As such, he had to run under the cover of the dense trees in case anyone saw him. When Liang Shuangren rampaged around earlier, Shang Xia barely got out of his attack radius. A strong gust of wind came from behind him, and despite the distance between them, Shang Xia felt his inner organs shaking and his inner qi flowing irregularly. That didn¡¯t affect his decision to escape though. He knew that he had to continue his escape even if his internal injuries would get worse. He circulated his inner qi and pushed his Irregular Steps to the limit. His figure turned into a blur and he disappeared into the forest. ¡°Elder Liang¡­¡± Liang Shuangren wanted to look for the little rat himself, but he was stopped by a yell from behind. The energy storm he created earlier not only destroyed the area around him, but it almost affected the formation laid down by Chen Sanyang. The youngster couldn¡¯t help but yell in fright to stop Liang Shuangren from causing more damage. Raising an eyebrow in surprise, he looked towards the forest before grunting slightly. A trace of reluctance could be seen on his face. He chose not to give chase in the end. Instead, he waved his hand and a huge barrier appeared around them to prevent anyone else from spying on them. The orange door on the spatial barrier stabilized, and three other experts from the Azure Spiritual World emerged. ¡°Brother Liang, what¡¯s with the huge disturbance?¡± Someone else asked, but they also stared in the direction where Shang Xia escaped. That was clearly another Martial Extermination Realm expert! Even though Shang Xia had already left their radius of detection, the two experts could still tell many things from the faint traces he left behind. ¡°Strange¡­ A Martial Intent Realm cultivator had the ability to avoid my divine sense. I wouldn¡¯t have detected him if not for his low cultivation level¡­¡± Liang Shuangren snorted softly. This novel is available on "pawread dot com". The middle aged Martial Extermination Realm expert who just emerged frowned. ¡°Do you mean that the person¡¯s divine sense possesses some strange properties?¡± ¡°Too bad he escaped.¡± A trace of disappointment could be seen in Liang Shuangren¡¯s eyes as he sighed. ¡°Brother Liang, we cannot stay here for long. We definitely alerted the members of the Azure Origin World since we weakened the barrier. Not to mention the fact that someone noticed our entry. In order to avoid trouble, we have to leave this place.¡± The middle aged man who just emerged muttered. Glaring at Chen Sanyang who was half dead from the energy expenditure, Liang Shuangren growled, ¡°Brother Youshang is right. Even though the threat of Kou Chongxue has been dealt with and the risk of crossing the spatial barrier has been reduced. However, the number of Martial Extermination Realm experts here is no joke.¡± Youshang chuckled in amusement, ¡°Haha, if Kou Chongxue was still around, we wouldn''t risk crossing the spatial barrier.¡± As the two of them conversed, the last two Martial Intent Realm cultivators emerged from the orange door. Liang Shuangren pressed his hand downwards, destroyed all signs that they laid down a formation there and sank the entire area around them by three inches. Getting Chen Sanyang to lead the way, Liang Shuangren continued, ¡°Then again, the situation isn¡¯t as bad as it seems. Kou Chongxue is nowhere to be found, and the Tongyou Institution is busy moving the mysterious world. The spatial barrier is basically unprotected right now.¡± Youshang shook his head and muttered, ¡°Brother Liang, we cannot be careless. This is the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. The You Continent isn¡¯t the only one that borders it. The experts of the Ji and Qing Continents might be paying attention to this place.¡± Liang Shuangren roared with laughter. ¡°Looks like Brother You is pretty familiar with the Azure Origin World too. However, you might not know that the true powerhouses of our worlds have already reached an agreement. The one working with our Changbai Holy Land is the White Deer Paradise of the Ji Continent.¡± A look of realization appeared on Youshang¡¯s face and he burst out laughing, ¡°So that¡¯s it! Looks like I haven¡¯t been keeping myself updated these few years!¡± ¡°Brother You, there¡¯s no need to say something like that. Even in our Changbai Holy Land, not many people know about this matter. If not for the fact that I have an important matter to deal with personally in the Azure Origin World, they might not have told me anything too.¡± Liang Shuangren explained. Youshang chuckled in response, ¡°I have to thank Brother Liang regardless for bringing me along to widen my horizons!¡± ¡°Naturally. After all, I need your help.¡± ¡°Anytime! Hahaha¡­¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± ¡­ After running tens of miles through the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range, Shang Xia finally heaved a sigh of relief after ensuring that no one was after him. At the same time, he celebrated silently. If not for the fact that the Martial Extermination Realm expert on the other side was held back by something, Shang Xia would have died a thousand times over if he decided to give chase. After all, the Martial Extermination Realm expert traveled a lot faster than him. He felt that he was too careless. He should have done something the moment he discovered Chen Sanyang was setting up the formation. It didn¡¯t matter if it involved killing Chen Sanyang or destroying the formation, he could have done either easily! Even though he managed to keep his life, he already alerted the enemies to his presence. It would be basically impossible for him to track them down again or to learn of their plans. Helpless, Shang Xia could only leave. Noticing the time, he felt that he would be able to return to the city before dusk fell even if he took it a little slow. Hiding his aura, Shang Xia merged his divine sense with the world around him. He needed to pretend like he was an ordinary hunter in case the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Azure Spiritual World went crazy and swept through the region looking for him. In his current state, they wouldn¡¯t be able to discover his true strength unless they got up close and personal. Weaving through the mountain range with his bow in hand, he managed to practice his archery by sniping two prey. As the sun started to set, he caught sight of the Changfeng City in the distance. When he prepared to make the journey back, he heard a familiar cry in the skies. Widening his eyes in shock, a look of unbridled joy appeared on his face as he looked into the skies. He failed to see anything other than an endless sea of blue, and the cry he heard earlier seemed to be a mistake. With confusion flashing in his eyes, he whistled loudly. He didn¡¯t know if it was what he thought it was, but he waited patiently as his whistle echoed through the mountain range. The familiar chirp came from a distance after some time, and it became much clearer than before. A little black dot appeared in his sight, but it enlarged rapidly as it flew towards Shang Xia. In the blink of an eye, Shang Xia could make out the shape of a bird. He could basically confirm that the little bird flying towards him was Yan Ni¡¯er, and he quickly caught sight of four smaller birds flying behind her. Yan Ni¡¯er discovered Shang Xia¡¯s presence too, and she started circling overhead. Releasing loud cries from time to time, she seemed to be asking him why the hell he was so far away from home. Like their mother, the four little birds did the same. However, their cries were a lot more chaotic and they seemed to be peppering him with other random questions. Waving his hand towards the air, Yan Ni¡¯er rushed down towards him and perched obediently on his shoulders. Yan Lei followed closely behind and rushed into his palm. Shang Xia knew what that meant, and a ball of reddish-gold lightning quickly appeared in his hand. ¡°Hehe, you crafty little bird¡­¡± Diving into the ball of lightning, Yan Lei bathed in it happily. The three other younglings absorbed the remnant lightning in the air as they didn¡¯t have the same tyrannical Lightning Bird bloodline as Yan Lei, but their gains weren¡¯t small either. Shang Xia chuckled in amusement and looked at Yan Ni¡¯er while maintaining the ball of lightning in his hand. ¡°Did they send you out to look for me?¡± ¡°Chirp, chirp!¡± ¡°Did the clan receive any news about the situation in the Tongyou City?¡± Shang Xia asked, but he discovered that he went a little overboard. After all, what was the bird supposed to say? Who would have thought that the little bird would clap her wings once before extending one of her legs forward. Shang Xia finally noticed that there was a tiny letter on it. Retrieving it carefully, Shang Xia unfurled the tiny letter that was barely an inch in length. He saw countless words scribbled on it¡­ ¡­ As night fell, Shang Xia lugged a fat deer towards the city gates. There were also three grouses strapped to his belt as he arrived before the gates closed for the night. Even though the deer was close to a hundred pounds, its value was far from the bear skin he brought the first time. He only managed to sell it for two pieces of silver essence. He sold two of the grouses for fifty copper boards and brought the last one back to his courtyard. As he approached the courtyard, he saw Hai Min sending off two people. The three of them exchanged several words before Hai Min caught sight of Shang Xia. The two she was talking to followed her gaze and stared at him too. Their gazes were sharp and they examined him from head to toe. They thought that they had managed to see through the man, but it went without saying they couldn¡¯t. Shang Xia maintained his neutral expression as he approached the courtyard, as though he didn¡¯t notice their probings in the slightest. When he arrived, he smiled at Hai Min. ¡°These must be your relatives. Why don¡¯t you introduce us to each other?¡± CH 276 Shang Xia had a pretty good gauge of how strong the two of them were the moment he saw them earlier. The younger one who looked to be in his twenties was as strong as Hai Min, and he was in the Martial Extremity Realm. The other member who was in his thirties seemed to have condensed his divine sense. However, he was clearly not as strong as Shang Xia. His divine sense barely completed its first transformation. The two of them had no idea that their strength had been exposed to the other party and they continued to size him up as he approached. Shang Xia couldn''t be bothered with the two of them and he addressed Hai Min directly. ¡°These must be your relatives. Why don¡¯t you introduce us to each other?¡± Hai Min¡¯s face turned red and her voice was barely louder than a mosquito¡¯s buzz. ¡°This¡­ This is my Fifth Uncle, Uncle Cen. That¡¯s my Ninth Brother, Brother Huang.¡± Shang Xia raised the grouse in his hand and kept the grin on his face as he replied, ¡°Oh! So it¡¯s Fifth Uncle and Ninth Brother. You must be tired from traveling. I managed to get something good on my hunt today. If you don¡¯t mind, please join us for dinner.¡± The older gentleman¡¯s gaze turned softer and he chuckled in amusement, ¡°That¡¯s alright. We won¡¯t be staying for dinner. Thirteenth Sister likes the tranquility here. Since she doesn¡¯t mind living here, please take care of her.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Shang Xia laughed. Nodding his head slightly, Uncle Cen turned to address his companion. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± A trace of anger could be seen on the face of the younger man when Shang Xia appeared, and when he was called away, he growled into Shang Xia¡¯s ear, ¡°If you fail to take care of the two of them¡­ Hmph!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Uncle Cen¡¯s voice rang through the air once again. An unmistakable trace of authority could be heard in his voice. ¡°Keep up. We¡¯re leaving!¡± Shooting one last glare at Shang Xia, the young man turned to run after Uncle Cen. Shang Xia¡¯s expression remained friendly from the start to the end. He seemed extremely welcoming to both of them. Uncle Cen¡¯s voice rang through the air as the two of them disappeared into the distance. ¡°If you run into any trouble, you know where to find us.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s gaze landed on Hai Min and he saw her complicated expression. Shang Xia chuckled in amusement. ¡°Let¡¯s return. It¡¯s getting late.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Hai Min lowered her head coyly before stepping away from the entrance. Yuanyuan¡¯s head popped out of the entrance at that moment. She leaped up and down when she saw Shang Xia and she pointed at her cloth tiger he was holding in his arms. ¡°I want that, I want that!¡± He handed the toy he bought for her when he was making his way back earlier before holding out a pouch that held two pieces of silver essence over to Hai Min. ¡°These are my earnings for the day. I also brought back a grouse for dinner.¡± When she was thinking about whether she should accept the pouch, she noticed the smile on Shang Xia¡¯s face. She reached out to take it and she giggled. ¡°We should be able to use this for a long time. You won¡¯t have to head out to hunt for the time being. It¡¯s getting dangerous out there due to the worsening weather!¡± Shang Xia raised the bow in his hand before placing it on his shoulders. He laughed, ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about. With this bow in hand, I won¡¯t be afraid if I meet a huge bug on the way!¡± She couldn¡¯t help but chortle at his antics. ¡°You¡¯re not taking this seriously! Hmph!¡± Realizing something was wrong with the way she spoke to him, her face flushed red and she lowered her head to avoid looking into Shang Xia¡¯s eyes. Oh no! Isn¡¯t this how couples usually talk to each other?! What¡¯s wrong with me?! Shang Xia didn¡¯t seem to notice her fluctuating emotions as he entered the courtyard. ¡°Hey, can you get me a basin of hot water? I¡¯ll clean this bird up and we¡¯ll have it for dinner tonight.¡± After he was done, he took out a tiny bag from his sleeves and dangled it in front of Yuanyuan. ¡°Hey, look at this. Do you want some?¡± ¡°Sesame sweets!¡± Yuanyuan¡¯s eyes lit up and she picked a piece of candy to pop it in her mouth. ¡°Thank you, uncle!¡± She took out another piece from the bag and handed it over to Shang Xia. ¡°Uncle, have one too!¡± After Shang Xia took it, Yuanyuan grabbed another piece and ran over to Hai Min. ¡°Mummy, have one too!¡± ¡­ The two cultivators who left earlier appeared on a rooftop not too far away from Shang Xia¡¯s courtyard. They looked at Yuanyuan who was bouncing about in joy and looked at each other. A soft sigh eventually escaped Uncle Cen¡¯s lips. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± The two of them finally disappeared this time. The moment they did, Shang Xia, who had just bled the grouse out and was planning to pluck off all its feathers, turned to stare at where they were standing. Content that they were really gone, he plucked out the prettiest feathers on the bird before handing them over to Yuanyuan. As the two of them made their way back to the inn they were staying in, Uncle Cen asked, ¡°Do you think you can give her that type of life? Are you willing to live like that?¡± Brother Huang¡¯s expression fluctuated violently and he growled, ¡°We¡­ No¡­ We have to leave no traces wherever we go. Living happily with no restraints. That¡¯s how we¡¯re supposed to live.¡± A soft sigh escaped Uncle Cen¡¯s lips. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s the life we¡¯re supposed to lead. However, not everyone is willing to live that way.¡± ¡°Uncle Cen?!¡± Brother Huang frowned. Uncle Cen waved his hand and a look of loneliness appeared in his eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s head back to gather the others. We¡¯ll come up with a plan to save Third Brother before doing anything else.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my point exactly! Is she going to stay out of this completely?! That¡¯s her¡­¡± Brother Huang groaned. Pulling out a piece of cloth from his sleeves, he sighed, ¡°Do you know why I took this away from her?¡± He didn¡¯t wait for a reply as he continued his explanation. ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, she was planning to use the Tranquil Cape to launch a rescue attempt herself.¡± ¡°This¡­ Won¡¯t she be sending herself to death if she tries to do it alone? She¡¯s a mere Martial Extremity Realm cultivator. How can she save him under the eyes of Yang Hu?¡± Brother Huang gasped. His expression changed when he saw the look on Uncle Cen¡¯s face. ¡°You took it away because you didn¡¯t want her to risk her life¡­ Why would she try something like that? Why won¡¯t she wait for us? She would rather risk it all to save him than to trust and wait for us¡­¡± Uncle Cen sighed without saying anything more. After a long, silent journey back to their inn, Brother Huang finally broke the silence. ¡°Uncle Cen, were there some of us who are unwilling to save Third Brother?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not all.¡± Widening his eyes in shock, Brother Huang couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard. ¡°What do you mean?!¡± Before Brother Huang could say anymore, Uncle Cen explained, ¡°Yang Hu has been trying to pull us over to his side for a long time. Now that he captured Third Brother and held him in the city, it¡¯s probably a plot.¡± Brother Huang¡¯s expression sank once again. ¡°Is that why Thirteenth Sister doesn¡¯t trust us? She¡¯s afraid that Third Brother was caught because some of us sold him out?¡± Uncle Cen lowered his head and sighed. ¡°Only the eighteen of us knew where Third Brother was headed that day.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean that we¡¯re behind this! Changfeng City belongs to Yang Hu anyway! His foundations here are deep! Isn¡¯t it possible that Third Brother exposed himself on accident and was captured by Yang Hu?¡± Uncle Cen shook his head and remained silent. He was clearly unwilling to continue arguing. Raising his eyebrows all of a sudden, Brother Huang seemed to have thought of something. ¡°Uncle Cen, wasn¡¯t there someone supporting us in the dark? Why don¡¯t we get them to appear?¡± A strange look appeared on Uncle Cen¡¯s face and he muttered, ¡°Haa¡­ They can¡¯t even take care of themselves now, much less us. Otherwise, Yang Hu would just be a speck of dust in our eyes. Actually, I have always suspected that Yang Hu has been targeting us because of our hidden relationship.¡± ¡°So¡­ That¡¯s why Thirteenth Sister suspects that one of us has been converted to Yang Hu¡¯s side!¡± ¡°We have been causing chaos in the Ji Continent all these years. If our backer falls, we¡¯ll be hunted to the ends of the earth. Those in the Ji Continent won¡¯t let us go.¡± Uncle Cen muttered. A sneer left Brother Huang¡¯s lips. ¡°Heh. Even if we¡¯re abandoned by our backer, does Yang Hu really think that he can protect us with his meager power? The Changfeng City is nothing in the face of the Ji Continent!¡± Thinking about it for a second, Uncle Cen whispered, ¡°At least he¡¯s someone from our You Continent¡­¡± A frown formed on Brother Huang¡¯s face. He seemed to have understood something. He might have grown up in the Ji Continent, but his father and ancestors were from the You Continent. ¡­ In the Shang Clan Manor in the Tongyou City¡­ A month ago, Duan Hong managed to successfully craft the low-grade spear. Now that the Shang Clan nurtured their own master blacksmith, the distance between them and the other three great clans drew even closer. However, the spear remained ownerless as Shang Xia¡¯s whereabouts was still unknown. No matter how hard the Shang Clan tried to look for clues on Shang Xia in the past month, they returned empty-handed. With the increasing attention they were placing on the moving of the Mysterious Coral World, no one had the time to focus on their manhunt any longer. Yan Qi was the only one who was dealing with the matter seriously. Even though Shang Xi wanted him to give her a report on his progress every day, she had too many things to take care of. The reports he gave her only served to add to her stress. Shockingly, Yan Qi would also receive letters from Shang Jian from time to time. Those letters would state the locations of where Shang Xia could be hiding and some suggestions on what Yan Qi could do. Shang Jian was busy enough, but from the letters, Yan Qi could tell how much Shang Jian cared for this nephew of his. That changed Yan Qi¡¯s perspective towards Shang Jian. At the very least, the impression of Shang Jian became much better than Shang Yang who had his eye on Shang Xia¡¯s spear during the crafting phase. One fine night, Yan Qi suddenly realized Yan Ni¡¯er and her children weren¡¯t back yet. The birds would set out at specific intervals of time, and they would return every few days to take a break. They had never been late and their absence caused no small amount of panic to run through Yan Qi¡¯s mind. Just as he was about to make a report to Shang Xi, he discovered a silver streak shooting through the air. Yan Ni¡¯er had returned! A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. CH 277 The Shang Clan Manor was located in the city center. That point alone spoke volumes about their authority and power. Even though Shang Xi was rushing as fast as she could, she had to pass through several courtyards and a small garden. As she passed through the garden, a shadow emerged from behind a rock formation and it shot towards her. ¡°Seventh Sister, watch my spear!¡± A crimson light tore through the air before appearing in front of Shang Xi in the blink of an eye. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to play with you! Stop messing around!¡± Shang Xi¡¯s mood was in the gutters to begin with. She became more irritated now that someone was playing around with her. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. A pair of knives appeared in her hands and a frosty light emerged from them to slash at the tip of the spear. A frightening blade light was sent flying into the rock formation at the side. As a surprised yelp came from behind the rock formation, Shang Yang¡¯s figure emerged. The moment he appeared, the rock formation was sliced straight through. The cut surface was perfectly smooth, like a mirror. ¡°Seventh Sister, we¡¯re just exchanging pointers. There¡¯s no need to be so heavy handed¡­¡± Shang Yang looked at the smooth surface of the rock formation and grumbled softly. Who would have thought that Shang Xi¡¯s gaze would land on the spear in his hand at that moment. ¡°When did you get your hands on this spear?¡± Her voice turned deep, and she was like a volcano about to erupt. Jumping in fright, Shang Yang explained, ¡°Please don¡¯t misunderstand. It just came back from the institution after they upgraded it to a mid-grade weapon. I wanted to play around with it and borrowed it from Duan Hong. I¡¯ll return it once Nephew Xia comes back!¡± A smile returned to his face soon after. ¡°Why would I fight with my nephew over a weapon?¡± Nodding slowly, Shang Xi reached one hand out and muttered, ¡°Alright, you can hand it over then.¡± ¡°What¡­ He¡¯s back?¡± Shang Yang gasped. With a flick of her wrist, one of Shang Xi¡¯s blades flew towards him. With no time to react properly, he could only raise his hands to protect his face. Shang Xi¡¯s figure blurred and appeared right in front of Shang Yang. She grabbed the spear from him before he knew what was happening. ¡°Seventh Sister, you actually sneak attacked me¡­¡± Shang Yang couldn¡¯t finish his sentence when Shang Xi strolled away without even turning her head. ¡°Heh, we¡¯re even now.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Closing his palm to realize that the spear was already gone, he could only stare at Shang Xi¡¯s leaving figure with a sad expression on his face. ¡­ Shang Xi handed Shang Ke a letter with a solemn look on her face. Even though he barely glanced through it, he tightened his grip on the letter. ¡°Who else knows about the contents of this letter?¡± ¡°Yan Qi looked for me the moment Yan Ni¡¯er returned. I told him to keep it a secret. As of now, the three of us are the only ones who have read this letter.¡± Shang Xi whispered. When Yan Ni¡¯er returned with news on Shang Xia, the two of them felt a huge weight lifted off their chests. They nearly burst into celebration at the discovery. However, when they read the letter he wrote, they couldn¡¯t help but rein in their emotions. Getting to his feet, Shang Ke muttered, ¡°Alright. The implications of this letter are huge. I have to look for Ji Wenlong immediately. You¡¯ll stay in the clan for now.¡± ¡°Fifth Uncle, if what Little Xia said is true, looking for Ji Wenlong¡­¡± Shang Xi mumbled. ¡°Relax. You don¡¯t have to worry about this. I might not return for quite a while. Work with Shang Jian and take care of the clan in my stead.¡± Shang Ke smiled. Shang Xi raised both her eyebrows and asked, ¡°Why don¡¯t we wait for the kid to return before doing anything else?¡± A bitter laugh escaped Shang Ke¡¯s lips. ¡°I¡¯m afraid he won¡¯t be able to return for some time. Moreover, the Tongyou City has turned into a nest of thieves. It will be extremely dangerous for him to return now.¡± With her expression changing, she wanted to ask another question but Shang Ke left before she could say anything. Staring blankly into space for some time, a look of concern eventually formed on her face. Seemingly having made her decision, she turned to leave. As soon as she left the room, she noticed Shang Yang waiting for her. ¡°Seventh Sister, did you guys find Little Xia?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to mention anything about this matter. Do not say anything to anyone!¡± Shang Xi sighed without looking at him. He wanted to say something when she walked past him, but she spoke before he could utter a word. Stopping dead in her tracks, she turned to stare at him. ¡°Oh, I heard that your family is currently in the Changfeng City right now. Your wife comes from a prominent family in the Ji Continent. Is she part of the three great families?¡± Shang Yang didn¡¯t know why she would bring that up suddenly, and he muttered casually. ¡°My father-in-law comes from the Li Family. They¡¯re not as powerful as the three great families, but they have a connection to the White Deer Paradise. One of their family members is a direct disciple of the White Deer Paradise, and the family is relying on his influence to expand their power. In the past, I managed to benefit from their connection.¡± A trace of pride could be seen in his eyes when he spoke about his wife¡¯s background. Nodding slowly, Shang Xi¡¯s expression became a little more complicated when she looked at him. However, she didn¡¯t stay for long. She turned to walk away. Shang Yang raised both his eyebrows as he looked at her leaving figure. He found it a little weird that she would ask about his wife¡¯s family. However, a ¡®flash of inspiration¡¯ struck him. His Seventh Sister was coming of age too. She was around the same age as the member of the Li Family who was a direct disciple of the White Deer Paradise. Could she be interested in the other party? Even though the member of the Li Family who was a direct disciple of the White Deer Paradise had extraordinary status, Shang Yang felt that his Seventh Sister was a suitable match for him. After all, she was a strong cultivator and their Shang Clan could be said to be a powerhouse in their own right. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Shang Xi was a good match for the other party. If that was truly the case, he felt that it was time for him to pull some strings on the Li Family¡¯s side to get the two of them together. If things were to progress smoothly, not only would he be able to help Shang Xi, their Shang Clan would be able to form a closer relationship with the White Deer Paradise. That alone would increase their influence and prestige. Thinking up to that point, Shang Yang¡¯s heart burned with anticipation. He wanted nothing more than to rush to the Changfeng City to discuss the matter with his wife. ¡­ When Shang Ke arrived at the institution to meet Ji Wenlong, he saw Yu Chengjin leaving in a huff. A helpless sigh escaped Ji Wenlong¡¯s lips when he saw Shang Ke. ¡°Because of the Mysterious Coral World¡¯s close proximity to the spatial tunnel, the spatial barrier around our institution is weakened severely. It¡¯s especially obvious around the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range and there are countless freaks traveling to and fro each day.¡± A chuckle left Shang Ke¡¯s lips. ¡°Didn¡¯t we already account for that? What¡¯s the matter, did the Jianmen Institution send someone to negotiate with you?¡± ¡°Hmph, they¡¯re not the only ones. The other institutions are of the same stance. In order to prevent us from turning into a holy land, they¡¯re pulling out all the stops. They even hinted to us that we might not be able to protect ourselves in case things go out of hand.¡± Ji Wenlong growled. Shang Ke¡¯s expression sank instantly. ¡°Are they threatening us?¡± Ji Wenlong glanced at him once, and his expression turned solemn. ¡°They might not have stated it outright, but that¡¯s basically their idea.¡± ¡°Hmph. They¡¯re outsiders at the end of the day. Luckily we already planned for this to happen. No matter what, we can¡¯t expect them to fight to the death when facing our enemies. It¡¯s good enough for them to share a little of the pressure we face.¡± Shang Ke snorted. ¡°Looks like the worst-case scenario has happened¡­¡± Ji Wenlong sighed. Shang Ke changed the topic all of a sudden. ¡°Didn¡¯t it all happen because of the ambush on Patriarch Kou? His whereabouts are unknown, and every single power is doing everything they can to find him. Because of that, the other institutions are reevaluating their choice of supporting us. Oh right, has there still been no news from Patriarch Kou?¡± Shaking his head, Ji Wenlong seemed to have realized that Shang Ke seemed to have come with a purpose. ¡°Oh right, why are you here today?¡± Revealing a bitter smile, Shang Ke handed the letter from Shang Xia over to Ji Wenlong. ¡°I have bad news. We¡¯re facing problems from inside and out.¡± A similar smile appeared on Ji Wenlong¡¯s face when he read the contents of the letter. When he was done, he turned it to ask to prevent the contents from leaking before sighing helplessly, ¡°Regardless, it¡¯s good that the kid is alive.¡± ¡°What should we do about the situation in the Changfeng City? From his description, the White Deer Paradise has chosen to collude with the Changbai Holy Land in the Azure Spiritual World. If Yang Hu chooses to side with the Ji Continent, you know the implications it will bring!¡± Ji Wenlong muttered softly, ¡°Yeah¡­ The Changfeng City¡¯s attitude will certainly affect our plans¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s too bad we have to remain in the city. Otherwise, Yang Hu wouldn¡¯t dare to betray our You Continent even if he had balls of steel.¡± Shang Ke growled. Turning to stare at Ji Wenlong all of a sudden, he asked, ¡°What other arrangements do we have outside?¡± ¡°What else can we do? Ever since Patriarch Kou was ambushed, the Changfeng City refused any communication with us. It¡¯s been two months since their last report. I¡¯m afraid that all our people in the Changfeng City have been suppressed by Yang Hu.¡± Noticing the sunken expression forming on Shang Ke¡¯s face, Ji Wenlong couldn¡¯t help but add, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll give you an address. The kid can try his luck there. If he manages to help us out, it¡¯ll be an unexpected surprise. However, tell him to keep himself safe. He definitely cannot compromise himself to carry out the plan.¡± Writing down a place on a piece of paper, he added a line or two that was coded in a secret language before handing it over to Shang Ke. Looking at whatever Ji Wenlong wrote, Shang Ke kept the piece of paper in his sleeves before turning to walk away. Before he left, he turned around and asked, ¡°Is there really no news about Patriarch Kou?¡± Ji Wenlong sighed while shaking his head. A trace of suspicion flashed across Shang Ke¡¯s face as he turned to look outside. He muttered to himself, ¡°Hmph¡­ Why do I feel like all of you are hiding something from me?¡± ¡­ As dawn broke the next day, it marked the start of the third day Shang Xia had arrived in the Changfeng City. Two months had passed since the ambush on Kou Chongxue in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. Yuanyuan got up bright and early only to notice her Uncle Xia standing under the tree in the courtyard deep in thought. Waddling over to his side, she tilted her head to the side and mumbled, ¡°Uncle, what are you looking at?¡± Shang Xia lifted her high into the skies before laughing loudly, ¡°I was thinking if I should make a pretty little nest in the tree so that cute little birds can rest here!¡± ¡°Will there be birds in the winter? Will they be my neighbor?¡± Yuanyuan wondered out loud. Chuckling in amusement, Shang Xia replied, ¡°Of course they will. Little Yuanyuan is so cute that they¡¯ll definitely like you too!¡± The little lass beamed happily before wriggling free. She ran back into her room in excitement, ¡°Mummy, Uncle said that cute little birds will come over to be my neighbor!¡± CH 278 Even though Hai Min said that there was no need for Shang Xia to go out hunting anymore as the money he earned previously would be able to last them a long time, Shang Xia still found an excuse to leave the city. Emerging from the city gates, Shang Xia ran straight towards the location where Chen Sanyang opened up the gap in the spatial barrier the day before. Since they came the day before, it didn¡¯t make sense for them to remain exposed. They would have left in order to not run into any trouble. The reason he went was because of the way Chen Sanyang set up the formation the day before. He felt that the runes could serve as inspiration for him to craft talismans, and he decided to take the risk to return. There was also a trace of hope that the other party would leave traces that he could use to trace them back to where they were going. Of course, Shang Xia didn¡¯t forget about how three Martial Intent Realm experts of the Azure Spiritual World ambushed him when he left Kou Chongxue¡¯s cultivation grounds previously. He wasn¡¯t able to kill them all then, but he would take his revenge one day. Naturally, he was destined to be disappointed. Other than a flat crater, he failed to discover anything else. What surprised him even more was the lack of experts present at the scene. Whenever the spatial barrier was opened, energy fluctuations would alert experts in the surroundings. In the past, countless Martial Extermination Realm experts would be sent over to investigate the disturbance. Now, not a single one could be seen! After looking through the whole area, Shang Xia discovered that no one else came! He was the only one who arrived after the traces of the spatial barrier opening formation was wiped! He wondered when did the members of the Azure Spiritual World start behaving so brazenly in their Azure Origin World. Was it possible that the opening of the spatial barrier wasn¡¯t discovered because it was weakened? When Shang Xia planned to track those who came the day before down, he discovered that he made a fatal error. A strange divine sense filled the region and it tried to lock on to him. It was another Martial Extermination Realm expert! The strange divine sense could only belong to someone from the Azure Spiritual World! The person who arrived wasn¡¯t an expert from their Azure Origin World! Shang Xia¡¯s heart sank as he started running in the opposite direction he discovered the divine sense. He finally realized his mistake. Clearly, the opposing party wasn¡¯t willing to expose Chen Sanyang. Chen Sanyang might have brazenly revealed his identity to Yang Zhenbiao and Qin Yuyuan, but that was because they were all on the same side. When they discovered the presence of the person who secretly followed Chen Sanyang, they knew that they miscalculated. No matter what, they were in the You Continent. Yang Hu and several others might be siding with the Ji Continent, but they couldn¡¯t be sure of the attitudes of everyone else. The moment Chen Sanyang¡¯s identity was revealed, Yang Hu¡¯s collusion with the Ji Continent and Azure Spiritual World would be discovered. If anyone started stirring trouble, the Changfeng City would be thrown into chaos. Their plan would most likely be affected. Due to that reason, they had to know who the person tracking Chen Sanyang the day before was. When Shang Xia thought deeper into it, he pushed himself to the limit as he escaped. With the cover of the trees around him and the special property of his divine sense, he managed to avoid the detection of any divine sense. If a Martial Extermination Realm expert wishes to locate him, they could only do so with their sight. Because of that, he earned another chance to run away. Running for more than an hour, Shang Xia only stopped when he discovered that he couldn¡¯t feel the strange divine sense any longer. Heaving a sigh of relief, he started to circulate his inner qi to recover some energy. The desperate escape attempt drained him no less than the huge battle he had in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range when he was ambushed previously. After escaping from Martial Extermination Realm experts from the Azure Spiritual World twice in two days, Shang Xia felt a sense of pride. Using four whole hours to restore himself to his peak state, he hid his aura again. It didn¡¯t take long for him to return to his appearance as an ordinary hunter. He used the time to practice his archery skills and shot several preys before the sky started to turn dark. Only then did he leave the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. Along the way, he stood at the spot where he found Yan Ni¡¯er the day before. According to her speed, it should be more than enough time to make a round trip back to the Shang Clan Manor if she rushed the whole way. Indeed. It didn¡¯t take long for him to hear the familiar cry in the skies. With Shang Xia¡¯s constant care, Yan Ni¡¯er was no longer the same Mutated Rain Swallow he captured when he entered the battlefield between the two worlds. Her speed reached a terrifying level, and it was starting to be comparable to the Lightning Bird who refused to leave the battlefield between the two worlds. A silver streak flashed in the air and Yan Ni¡¯er landed on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulders. Very quickly, he discovered a small cloth bag hanging on her leg. Raising both his eyebrows in shock, he didn¡¯t understand what was so important they had to entrust Yan Ni¡¯er to bring it with her despite her small stature. When he opened the bag up, he was shocked to discover an Embroidered Cloud Case. Their actions were risky indeed. The Shang Clan only had three Embroidered Cloud Cases in total. Shang Xia brought back two from the Coral Forest, and he kept one for himself. He gave the one he obtained from Zhu Ying to his aunt, Shang Xi! After all, she was the spokesperson for the clan other than Shang Ke. Her Embroidered Cloud Case was only a cubic feet large. It seemed a little lacking in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes. As such, there were four Embroidered Cloud Cases in the Shang Clan at that moment and one on Shang Xia. Now, they sent another one to him! That wasn¡¯t all. They hung it on a bird to send it over! If Yan Ni¡¯er ran into trouble on her way over, the Shang Clan would lose out big time! Holding the Embroidered Cloud Case in his hand, he could tell that it was the one Shang Xi used to own before. Inspecting the items within, a look of joy appeared on his face. Several items appeared in his hand, and several clicking sounds could be heard as the items that emerged started to connect to each other. Eventually, a six feet long pole was formed. A final item emerged from the Embroidered Cloud Case, and it was the tip of a spear with scarlet runes all over its surface. The tip of the spear spun in the air once before connecting to the six feet pole with a loud ¡®clack¡¯! A seven feet long spear stood tall before Shang Xia. Shockingly, that wasn¡¯t a low-grade weapon he commissioned Duan Hong to create! The spear was upgraded by a blacksmith of the Tongyou Institution, and it was a mid-grade weapon! Wrapping his palm around the spear, Shang Xia felt a sense of familiarity with it. He felt that the Origin True Qi in his body was trembling in excitement and the urge to display the moves he comprehended from his understanding of the Providence Spear Art filled his heart. Finally suppressing his raging emotions, Shang Xia took out another letter that Shang Xi wrote personally. She wrote about the origins of the spear, but due to the lack of Heavenly Spotted Metal, they were unable to raise it up to a high-grade weapon. ¡°Hah. She said that the spear hasn¡¯t been given a name. From the runes on the tip of the spear and the faint red coating, let¡¯s call it the Scarlet Star Spear!¡± Shang Xia muttered. He sent some Origin True Qi into the spear and the tip was covered with a soft glow. There were sparkles of light coming from the tip of the spear too, and they seemed to resemble stars in the night sky. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. After reading the letter Shang Xi sent, he was brought back to reality by the chaotic chirping in the air above. Raising his head, he noticed four little birds chirping loudly in the air. They were clearly sending him a warning! With their speed, they were much slower than Yan Ni¡¯er who arrived first. That was understandable as Yan Ni¡¯er raced over with her fastest speed in order to look for Shang Xia. The four birds that came later discovered someone hiding in the surroundings! Luckily for Shang Xia, they discovered his presence. After all, he failed to detect anyone! Yan Ni¡¯er rose into the skies again as she shot towards the forest where the stranger was located. Shang Xia pulled on his bowstring as he sent his Origin True Qi into the weapon. Releasing the bowstring, a sharp whistle tore through the air and pierced through a giant tree. Splinters flew through the air as the trunk of the tree burst into pieces. Those splinters contained a lot of energy as they ripped through the area, leaving a trail of destruction. The four little birds were smart too. The moment Shang Xia released his attack, they flew into the air. Yan Ni¡¯er soared high into the skies before diving down at her target. ¡°Interesting!¡± A snort came from somewhere in the forest. With his pupils constricting, Shang Xia discovered that his previous attack wasn¡¯t able to injure the person in the slightest. ¡°Yan Ni¡¯er, get back!¡± He pulled his bowstring again, but this time, he no longer used an ordinary arrow. Instead, a metal arrow appeared on his bow. Yan Ni¡¯er was smart enough to realize that she wouldn¡¯t be of any help against an opponent of that level and she soared high into the air after Shang Xia¡¯s warning. Releasing his bowstring, another arrow ripped through the air. A powerful energy wave emerged from the forest at that moment and it went straight for Shang Xia. The familiar feeling allowed Shang Xia to determine the person hiding in the forest. It was the Martial Extermination Realm expert who discovered him earlier! He located Shang Xia! A loud explosion rang through the forest as his arrow tore through another tree. As soon as that happened, a terrifying aura rushed towards him. With a flip of his wrist, the bow disappeared. Grabbing his Scarlet Star Spear beside him, Shang Xia stabbed towards the person who just appeared. ¡°Die!¡± CH 279 ¡°Die!¡± It was too late to run. The only thing Shang Xia could do was fight. With the mid-grade Scarlet Star Spear in his hand, Shang Xia unleashed his strongest skill against a Martial Extermination Realm expert. It was also the move he comprehended in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range but had no spear to practice with. The fifth move he created from his comprehension of the Providence Spear during his seclusion, Woundless Spear! Five spots of starlight emerged from the tip of the spear, and a gash appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s left shoulder. A stream of blood trailed down his arm. The Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Azure Spiritual World who had entered Shang Xia¡¯s attack range discovered the frightening fluctuations of heaven and earth qi. His expression changed drastically and he used some sort of special movement skill to retreat several feet backwards. By the time he stabilized himself, he discovered that there were five huge wounds on his left hand. Despite them being external injuries and the blood he was losing couldn¡¯t be compared to the injury Shang Xia suffered from the backlash from his strike, he was shocked nonetheless. He was a Martial Extermination Realm expert! However, he was injured by a cultivator at the Martial Intent Realm! He was a proper Martial Extermination Realm expert who possessed an extermination origin. Examining Shang Xia from head to toe, he shrugged his left shoulder to reveal his extermination origin. As soon as it emerged, the wounds on his arm closed. ¡°You¡­ What spear technique is this?!¡± After suppressing his fright, a trace of admiration could be heard in his voice. Shang Xia withdrew his spear slowly and he spoke casually, not minding that his opponent was a Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Azure Spiritual World. ¡°Providence Spear Art, Woundless Spear.¡± ¡°Providence?¡± Looking at the injuries on his arm that had healed, he turned to look at the wound on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°What an amazing Woundless Spear¡­¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t know if he was mistaken, but he thought he heard a trace of admiration from the other party. Even so, he didn¡¯t dare to be careless. ¡°The Changfeng City is right there. If you leave me with no other choice, I can only choose to fight to the death. Let¡¯s not waste any more time.¡± Even if their cultivation realms differed by one huge level, a Martial Intent Realm cultivator would be able to cause a huge disturbance. Of course, Martial Extermination Realm experts would be able to raise even larger waves. Ordinarily, a Martial Intent Realm cultivator would be taken care of as long as the Martial Extermination Realm expert wills it. However, this Martial Intent Realm kid was clearly different. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. They might have only exchanged one move, but Shang Xia had proven his strength! He might not be a match for the Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Azure Spiritual World, but it wouldn¡¯t be a problem for them to fight for a while. If that happened, the powers in the Changfeng City would definitely take notice and the Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Azure Spiritual World would be revealed! To put things simply, Shang Xia was basically betting that the other party wouldn¡¯t want to be exposed. Of course, that was the only thing Shang Xia could do. Turning his back to a Martial Extermination Realm expert to run away was a surefire way to get killed. He was betting on the fact that the Martial Extermination Realm expert wasn¡¯t clear about the situation in the Azure Origin World. From the look on the other party¡¯s face, it seemed like he lucked out. Glancing at the Changfeng City, a strange look of amusement could be seen in his eyes. His gaze paused on Shang Xia for an additional second before the Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Azure Spiritual World turned to leave. Only after the figure of the Azure Spiritual World¡¯s Martial Extermination Realm expert disappeared into the forest did Shang Xia¡¯s taut nerves relax. The person who came was one of the two Martial Extermination Realm experts who was brought over by Chen Sanyang the previous day. However, Shang Xia left before he arrived. A soft chirp from the air above brought Shang Xia back to reality. He stretched out his hand and Yan Ni¡¯er quickly perched on his shoulder. ¡°Are you able to follow that person?¡± Shang Xia whispered. A long cry from Yan Ni¡¯er told Shang Xia that she found it possible. Thinking about it for a moment, Shang Xia continued, ¡°Alright, follow him. Stay as far away as possible and locate their hiding spot. However, you need to be careful. Stay safe and protect yourself. If anything goes wrong, run!¡± ¡°Chirp, chirp!¡± Yan Ni¡¯er flapped her wings and shot into the skies. Turning into a gray streak, she quickly disappeared into the skies. Now that he had seen her speed up close, he discovered that he had underestimated how fast she flew. From the looks of it, even Martial Extermination Realm experts would have to eat her dust if she flew at full speed. Moreover, she was an aerial creature to begin with. She could fly for a long time. Martial Extermination Realm experts might be able to soar through the skies, but they would have to take a break at some point. That was precisely the reason Shang Xia was willing to get her to track down the Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Azure Spiritual World. He believed that she was smart enough to protect herself too. There was one other thing. After the short exchange, Shang Xia knew that he couldn¡¯t remain there for much longer. Arranging the gains he obtained from his hunt, he quickly got ready to return. After all, he had to get back before the city gates closed! Along the way, he didn¡¯t forget to forage for branches and trees to make a makeshift nest for the four little birds. When he was done, he called for the four of them to bring them with him. Just like that, his appearance returned to that of an ordinary hunter. The longbow was slung to his back, and a quiver of arrows hung on his waist. There was a rabbit and a hairy fox strapped to his waist as he dragged them back to the city. He hugged a nest that he covered with a piece of cloth and he headed back without much misfortune. When he returned, he sold the rabbit and fox for some money before buying some food. Arriving in his courtyard, he handed the bag of sesame sweets he bought for Yuanyuan who bounced away happily. However, she quickly returned when Shang Xia placed the nest carefully on the ground. Under her curious gaze, he took off the cloth to reveal four cute little birds. The little kid jumped in joy. Even though the four birds were Mutated Rain Swallows, their growth didn¡¯t happen too quickly. The largest among them, Yan Lei, was barely bigger than an ordinary swallow. As for whether their appearance in the winter would cause some sort of commotion, Shang Xia had no idea. Naturally, the little girl wouldn¡¯t find it weird either. She stared at the birds happily. Surprisingly, she rejected Shang Xia¡¯s suggestion of placing the nest on the tree in the courtyard. Instead, she decided to personally construct a nest for them with a random basket she found before placing it near the window of her room. As Yuanyuan went to look for materials to build a new nest, Hai Min approached Shang Xia and muttered, ¡°Thank you.¡± Raising both eyebrows, Shang Xia turned to stare at her. ¡°Yuanyuan has never enjoyed such a peaceful life. She hasn¡¯t been so happy either. In the past, she would never wait at the entrance in anticipation for anyone to come back.¡± Hai Min explained. ¡°It¡¯s important for one to have a happy childhood¡­¡± Shang Xia chuckled in response. Clearly, Hai Min didn¡¯t expect him to say something like that and she was visibly stunned for a good minute. The laughter coming from Shang Xia¡¯s lips didn¡¯t stop. ¡°What are we eating tonight? I spent quite some time hunting today and I¡¯m getting hungry!¡± With her face flushing red, Hai Min muttered, ¡°It¡¯s ready, it¡¯s ready! Light the lamp and we¡¯ll be able to eat.¡± Shang Xia looked at Hai Min who was walking back to the kitchen and smiled. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re enjoying this type of life too¡­¡± Hai Min¡¯s figure froze for a second, and she lowered her head slightly. Her footsteps became much more hurried. With her back towards him, Shang Xia failed to see the gentle smile that appeared on her face. ¡­ As the darkness of night fell, silence returned to the courtyard. Shang Xia, who had been in deep sleep, opened his eyes suddenly. Extending his divine sense to cover the rest of the courtyard, he discovered that Hai Min and Yuanyuan were fast asleep. Getting off his bed, he lit his lamp. When he received the Embroidered Cloud Case earlier, he only took out the spear. He didn¡¯t examine the rest of the contents carefully. The first thing he took out this time was a letter Shang Xi penned personally. There were three important points in the letter. The first was the Scarlet Star Spear. She explained that after Duan Hong completed its refinement, the Tongyou Institution agreed to raise it to a mid-grade weapon. It was made for Shang Xia, and the weapon complemented him perfectly. The second point was to remind him not to expose his identity in the meantime. He shouldn¡¯t return to the Tongyou City too due to the dangerous journey he would have to take. Even though Shang Xi didn¡¯t state it explicitly, Shang Xia could tell that the Tongyou City was in trouble. Many different powers had their eyes on the city, and they were facing trouble from both inside and out. If he insisted on returning, he would most probably be captured by outsiders to become a bargaining chip they would use to threaten the Shang Clan with. Without a doubt, a terrifying storm was about to hit the Tongyou City. Everything originated from the Tongyou Institution¡¯s plan for the Mysterious Coral World. Moreover, Kou Chongxue¡¯s disappearance only served to cause the institution to sink into an even more dangerous situation. The ambush on Kou Chongxue was a topic of debate, and no one was certain of his assailants. There were even rumors spreading that the second ambush on Kou Chongxue was a joint scheme from those inside the city with other powers. As Shang Xia was also affected by the ambush, many people would try to look for him to gain information about Kou Chongxue regardless if he knew anything or not. That was also an important reason for him to keep his identity a secret. Once he was captured, his fate was sealed. It didn¡¯t matter if he managed to lie his way through their interrogation or if he told them the truth about how he didn¡¯t know anything. Once they were done, death would be the only thing waiting for him. Shang Xia¡¯s desire to remain hidden became stronger after reading Shang Xi¡¯s letter. Luckily for him, no one would ever think that the legendary Thousand Illusion Young Master who had an impressive battle record in the Tongyou Institution would become an ordinary hunter! If that wasn¡¯t a good enough disguise, having a three year old daughter and a wife should be good enough. Who in the right mind would think that an ordinary hunter with a cute little daughter would be a mere eighteen year old young master of the Shang Clan?! Realizing that his identity wouldn¡¯t be revealed for quite some time, Shang Xia finally read the final matter his aunt wanted to tell him. Because of his warning that Yang Hu was working with the Ji Continent and that the White Deer Paradise was in cahoots with the Changbai Holy Land of the Azure Spiritual World, those in the Tongyou City would be able to take appropriate measures. They knew that Shang Xia would be an invaluable asset in the Changfeng City and Shang Xi informed him about a secret code he could use to connect with the members of the Tongyou City. She told him the location of a place where he could obtain assistance, but she ended off by telling him not to make rash moves. No matter what, the entire situation was shrouded in mystery. There were peak level experts in the Martial Extermination Realm from the various powers in play, and a Martial Intent Realm cultivator like him wouldn¡¯t be able to decide the situation alone. When he was done with the letter, he discovered that his aunt also placed several sets of equipment used to craft talismans in the Embroidered Cloud Case. With his ability as a second rank Talisman Master, he would be able to create some useful talismans that might assist him with the shitstorm that was about to unfold soon. CH 280 When dawn broke the next day, Shang Xia greeted Hai Min before telling her of his decision not to head out of the city. He chose to take a break to stroll around the city. When the sun was directly overhead, Shang Xia decided it was time to carry out his plan. He headed towards a forge in the southern part of the city. According to Shang Xi¡¯s letter, the forge was a front used by the spies of the Tongyou City. However, Shang Xia could also tell that Shang Xi had learned of the location recently. From the way she put it, their Shang Clan didn¡¯t seem to be in charge of operations there. Shang Xia didn¡¯t find it weird that he was getting such information now. When he sent Yan Ni¡¯er back with his report on the situation, he was sure that the clan passed the information to the Tongyou Institution. Most of the spies and foundations the Tongyou City had in the Changfeng City were operated by the Tongyou Institution. From their willingness to send Shang Xia over to the forge, they should be certain that it hadn¡¯t been compromised. Since the Changfeng City was working with the White Deer Paradise, Shang Xia was sure that the city lord had weeded out most of the spies placed by the Tongyou Institution. He felt that there were only two reasons the forge hadn¡¯t been exposed. One of them was because the forge was too well hidden and managed to evade detection. The second reason was because the spies there hadn¡¯t been activated. Now that he was sent there, he might be the one bringing the institution¡¯s instructions to start their operations. The more he thought about it, the more important the secret code he received seemed. Reciting it over and over in his head until he couldn¡¯t be more familiar with it, he stepped through the entrance. The cultivators who resided in the You Continent faced tough battles often and it wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say that all of them were as tough as nails. The weapons they used were evidence of that. There were countless large blades, spears, broadswords, and giant axes hanging on the wall. They weren¡¯t second-rate garbage either. They weren¡¯t graded weapons, but they were of good quality. Seeing how Shang Xia had entered, an attendant who looked more like a blacksmith approached him. A trace of a smile could be seen on his face and he greeted, ¡°Greetings, customer, do you see anything you like? Feel free to take your pick. Our forge is one of the best in the city. Looking around casually, Shang Xia heard the sound of hammering coming from the back. He felt heat waves battering against him, and he asked casually, ¡°Is the resident blacksmith in? I wish to meet him.¡± Widening his eyes slightly, the attendant started to size Shang Xia from head to toe. ¡°Why do you wish to meet my master?¡± Coughing lightly, Shang Xia introduced himself. ¡°Please tell him that an old friend from the You Continent is here to meet his third brother. Please convey my exact words to him.¡± Glancing at Shang Xia suspiciously, the attendant ran into the back. Knowing that it would take some time, Shang Xia started to walk around the shop. Picking up several arrows here and there, he examined their quality. After a short while, the curtains that separated the back from the front of the shop rustled. An old fellow whose body was steaming from the heat walked out and chuckled, ¡°Customer, are you interested in buying arrowheads? Or are you planning to buy ready-made arrows?¡± Tossing the arrows in his hand back into the pile, Shang Xia laughed, ¡°I need a bundle of arrows and it would be great if they were made entirely of essence metal. Oh right, old man, how many times would you hammer ten pounds of essence metal?¡± Narrowing his eyes slightly, the old blacksmith didn¡¯t reply instantly. He examined Shang Xia from head to toe again before muttering, ¡°Reputation is of utmost importance to us. To temper ten pounds of essence metal, I¡¯ll need to hammer it 3600 times exactly.¡± A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. Nodding slightly, Shang Xia continued, ¡°Do you use a large hammer or a small one?¡± ¡°600 strikes with a large hammer, 3000 strikes with a small one.¡± The old blacksmith replied. Shang Xia continued, ¡°I wish to order a piece of metal essence that has been struck 900 times with a large hammer.¡± The old blacksmith replied solemnly, ¡°You need to wait three days.¡± After their conversation, both sides entered a state of silence. Eventually, Shang Xia broke the silence. ¡°Old man, did I go wrong somewhere?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been here for more than 20 years. If not for your presence today, I¡¯ll have to bring that prompt to the grave with me.¡± The old blacksmith sighed. Shang Xia couldn''t help but turn serious. Bowing respectfully, he asked, ¡°Are you the person I am supposed to meet here?¡± ¡°No. That¡¯s somebody else. Go back for today and wait. Come back tomorrow at noon.¡± The old blacksmith muttered. Nodding slowly, Shang Xia turned to leave. However, he seemed to have remembered something. ¡°Old man, did you say that you had complete arrows here?¡± ¡­ After shopping for half a day, Shang Xia basically covered the entire city. At the same time, he burned the layout of the city into his mind. Shang Xia took special note of the City Lord Manor. He made one complete round around the manor to inspect anything of interest to him. The day was always short in the winter. By the time he was done with his scouting, the sun was about to set. He went to pick up a bag of rice cakes, half a pound of sauced beef, a roll of rope and some wooden boards. He planned to make a swing in the courtyard for Yuanyuan after dinner. As night fell, the main street of the city was the only place filled with activities. Other than that, the rest of the city was quiet as could be. Near midnight, Shang Xia woke up once again. He heard a soft whistle coming from outside. It didn¡¯t take long before he noticed Hai Min emerging from her room to speak with someone outside. During their conversation, the two seemed to have reached some sort of disagreement. They quarreled in low voices, but Shang Xia was able to hear several interesting words they used in their argument. He heard stuff like ¡®Tongyou Institution¡¯, ¡®rescue¡¯, ¡®identity¡¯, and ¡®submission¡¯. It didn¡¯t take long for the argument to end as the person who intruded into the courtyard left after the time it took to boil a pot of tea. After the person left, Hai Min was visibly affected. She returned to her bed, but Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense allowed him to notice that she was unable to fall asleep as she tossed and turned about in her bed. Waking up bright and early, Shang Xia finished the swing he planned to complete the night before. When Hai Min emerged from her room, pointed out her obviously exhausted state. ¡°Didn¡¯t you sleep well last night? Well, there¡¯s not much to do in the winter anyway. You should go back to bed after we have breakfast.¡± A gentle smile appeared on her face despite her gloomy feelings. She asked, ¡°Are you going to hunt today?¡± ¡°Relax. Everything will be fine.¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t answer the question as he patted her shoulders suddenly. She instinctively wanted to dodge his unexpected gesture, but she forced herself to stand still eventually. When Shang Xia¡¯s hand landed on her shoulders, her face flushed red. Shang Xia could feel her body trembling slightly and he took his hand off after a short while. His gaze turned to Yuanyuan who just woke up and he waved at her before leaving the courtyard. The first thing he did was to head over to the forge. The day before, he learned that the old blacksmith was called Wu Ji, and the old man greeted him as soon as he entered. ¡°There¡¯s a forest ten miles west of the city. The person you wish to meet will see you there.¡± The old blacksmith said. After purchasing 30 ordinary arrows from Wu Ji, Shang Xia placed them into his quiver that contained 20 metal essence arrows before leaving through the southern city gates. Walking a distance away from the city gates, he started traveling west. It didn¡¯t take long for him to discover the patch of forest Wu Ji told him about. Holding the bow in his hand, he entered the forest. ¡°What prey can you hunt in this small forest?¡± A voice came from behind and shocked Shang Xia. Turning around abruptly, Shang Xia saw an expert who was clad in gray robes. The expert sported a short beard, and he was barely ten feet away from Shang Xia. There was no doubt about it. He was a Martial Extermination Realm expert! Raising the caution in his heart to the maximum, Shang Xia gasped silently. He wasn¡¯t overestimating himself, but he knew that no one under the Martial Extermination Realm would be able to hide from his divine sense, much less get so close to him. Anyone who could do something like that either had a treasure like the Tranquil Cape, or was a powerful expert in the Martial Extermination Realm. The only thing that shocked Shang Xia was the fact that the Tongyou Institution actually hid a Martial Extermination Realm expert in the Changfeng City! One had to know that Martial Extermination Realm experts weren¡¯t cabbages that grew by the side of the street. Even in the holy lands, they were existences who were respected elders! Composing himself, Shang Xia cupped his fists. ¡°I greet senior!¡± ¡°Grandson of Shang Bo. It¡¯s no wonder you would look for me for protection. Brat, you were the last person to see Lord Kou. The moment your identity is revealed, hehe¡­¡± A strange look appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face after hearing what he said. ¡°Senior, are you misunderstanding something? I¡¯m not here to seek your protection.¡± ¡°Then why did you look for me?¡± The expert was visibly confused. Shang Xia explained everything he saw the other day and he also talked about the possible situation in the Tongyou City. He didn¡¯t expect the Martial Extermination Realm expert to reveal a strange look on his face the more Shang Xia explained. When he was done, Shang Xia realized he forgot an important matter and he asked, ¡°I wonder how I should address senior?¡± ¡°You can call me ¡®Mister Bu¡¯.¡± The expert replied after thinking for a moment. Nodding slowly, Shang Xia continued, ¡°So that¡¯s basically the current situation. The Tongyou City should have their hands full at the moment. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t ask me to look for you. I wonder what Mister Bu has planned?¡± ¡°This old man might have hidden myself for the past twenty years, but I still know a thing or two that goes on in the Tongyou City. Hmph. All of them are too hasty. They wish to swallow the Mysterious Coral World for themselves. I¡¯m afraid their plan is to hide in their tortoise shell the moment they succeed, avoiding the pressure of the outside world. It¡¯s a shame their shell hasn¡¯t hardened enough for them to carry out their plan.¡± Mister Bu muttered. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but gasp in fright. He realized that the person before him was probably an old acquaintance of Kou Chongxue and Shang Bo. Since that was the case, he was probably familiar with the institution¡¯s plan. He could also tell that the old man sounded a little angry when he was speaking about the Tongyou City earlier. However, that made sense. He was made to lay low in the Changfeng City for twenty years! It was no wonder he was pissed. Shang Xia wondered what reason they used to convince such a powerful expert to hide in the Changfeng City for twenty years, but he snapped back to reality when Mister Bu continued talking. ¡°So¡­ The Tongyou City sent you to look for me to deal with Yang Hu?¡± Shang Xia thought about it for a second and realized that was basically the gist of it. The matter between the collusion of the White Deer Paradise and the Changbai Holy Land was a whole other matter altogether. Currently, the largest problem came from Yang Hu. It wasn¡¯t wrong to say that dealing with him would settle a lot of problems. Seeing as Shang Xia was starting to nod, Mister Bu sneered in contempt. ¡°Do you think the two of us are enough to stop Yang Hu who has governed this city for close to twenty years? Brat, are you dreaming?¡± Shang Xia raised his eyebrows in shock. You¡¯ve been hiding here as long as Yang Hu has been in charge of the city! Shouldn¡¯t you have developed some sort of hidden power or trump cards to deal with him? What the hell¡­ Naturally, he swallowed his thoughts before they escaped from his lips. He quickly changed his phrasing. ¡°I wonder what suggestions Senior Bu has¡­¡± Glancing deeply at him, the Martial Extermination Realm expert seemed to have seen through his thoughts. Of course, he wasn¡¯t planning to call Shang Xia out. He muttered, ¡°Follow me. There might be something interesting going on nearby.¡± CH 281 ¡°Follow me. There might be something interesting going on nearby!¡± Mister Bu said before heading in a certain direction. Shang Xia followed behind the man hastily. Not too long after they emerged from the forest, Shang Xia noticed a small hill that was covered in a layer of wilting weeds. Gesturing for Shang Xia to remain silent, Mister Bu carefully climbed up the hill. When Shang Xia arrived beside him, they used the tall weeds as cover to stare at the scene below. Several Scarlet Cloud Horses were strolling about as they munched on the grass below. There was a small fire burning nearby, and several cultivators were huddled around it as they discussed something among themselves. From their appearance, it was clear that many of them were weary travelers who just completed a long journey. As they spoke to each other, some of them would look in the direction of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range as though they were expecting someone else. Shang Xia¡¯s eyes widened in shock when he saw two familiar faces among them and his reaction was clearly noticed by Mister Bu. ¡°Brat, do you know who they are?¡± Without turning his head, Shang Xia muttered, ¡°Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent¡­¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± Mister Bu gasped lightly. ¡°How do you know about them?¡± Shang Xia chuckled softly, ¡°I¡¯ve heard their name so many times in the past few days that my ears are about to rot from hearing about them.¡± Grunting softly, Mister Bu continued, ¡°Oh right, you probably heard that their third in command was captured by Yang Hu. You should be able to guess their objective then. They¡¯re probably gathered here to start their rescue operation¡­¡± Shang Xia noticed several riders coming from another direction, and he quickly ducked into the weeds. ¡°Hehe, they might even start fighting among themselves¡­¡± ¡°How do you know that too?!¡± Mister Bu stared at Shang Xia in shock. Realizing something, Shang Xia turned his head to look at Mister Bu with his eyebrows raised. ¡°Mister Bu, are you planning to take these guys under your command?¡± At this point, Mister Bu was no longer surprised that Shang Xia had guessed his intentions. He replied Shang Xia with a question of his own. ¡°Why not? Yang Hu has been controlling the Changfeng City for twenty years. Now that he chose to work with the White Deer Paradise and the Changbai Holy Land of the Azure Spiritual World, we need all the help we can get, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been hiding here for so many years. Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t have subordinates of your own!¡± Shang Xia snorted in disbelief. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll be able to hide anything from Yang Hu if I manage to bring up my own power?¡± Mister Bu sneered. Even though Shang Xia didn¡¯t quite believe the man, he couldn¡¯t do a thing about it if Mister Bu was adamant about not spilling the beans. Seeing as only thirteen of the Eighteen Horsemen had arrived, Shang Xia knew that they wouldn¡¯t be starting anything soon. Sighing softly, Shang Xia turned to Mister Bu. ¡°Mister, how do you know that they will be of use to us?¡± ¡°Do you know their identities?¡± Mister Bu didn¡¯t answer his question immediately. Shang Xia thought about it for a second before he continued, ¡°Are you referring to their backer? Because I know now for a fact that it¡¯s the Tongyou Institution¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s not exactly true. All of them were criminals who were released by the institutions. In order to make up for their mistakes, they were sent out to become part of the Eighteen Horsemen.¡± Mister Bu explained. In that instant, a lot of Shang Xia¡¯s doubts cleared up. He continued to ask, ¡°Won¡¯t that mean that they would bear a grudge against the Tongyou Institution? With the current troubles we¡¯re facing, Yang Hu finally found a chance to convert them to his side¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s just trouble we¡¯re facing. The Tongyou Institution seems to be unable to protect itself any longer. To everyone who thinks they understand the situation in the Tongyou City, all of them feel that the institution is finished. Even the four other institutions feel that the Tongyou Institution is too stubborn and domineering. They won¡¯t be willing to lend their full strength to help them tide through their troubles.¡± Mister Bu sighed. Shang Xia wanted to ask some more, but his train of thought was interrupted by Mister Bu. ¡°They¡¯re pretty much all here. Let¡¯s take a look at their preparations before deciding what we should do.¡± Shang Xia turned back to the party sitting around the fire and saw several figures coming over. Looking at the group, he discovered that there were only sixteen of them in total. Who would have thought that everyone would get to their feet when the last person arrived? All of them are wearing a thick cape, and they quickly wore a mask to block off their facial features. From afar, they looked like some sort of cultish presence. ¡°Huh? Why are there only sixteen of them?¡± Mister Bu¡¯s confused voice rang in Shang Xia¡¯s ears. Even though he already knew the last person who was missing, he maintained his expressionless face as he turned to Mister Bu, ¡°Do you know who hasn¡¯t arrived?¡± ¡°All of them covered their facial features. I can¡¯t be certain who hasn¡¯t arrived¡­¡± Mister Bu replied after a short hesitation. Shang Xia raised his eyebrows in surprise, but he didn¡¯t say anymore. He turned his attention to the gathering below. At that moment, things played out like Shang Xia said. They broke out into an argument. Even though Shang Xia and Mister Bu couldn¡¯t hear their conversation, the body language they were using made it obvious. From the way they were standing, Mister Bu could tell that the sixteen horsemen gathered there were split into three groups. One of the groups had four people, the other had five. Those were the two groups that seemed to be arguing the most intensely. The rest seemed to be neutral for the time being. All of a sudden, one of the leaders of the group tore off his mask and revealed his large bald head that had two scars running across them. He roared with rage, ¡°I said all that should be said. All of you know the repercussions of any choice made. Let¡¯s make the decisions now.¡± He turned to another person and asked, ¡°Boss Sha, what do you say?¡± Even though the argument seemed intense earlier, Shang Xia could barely make out a few words. Once the bald man took off his mask, his voice was projected out instantly. It seemed as though their masks weren¡¯t ordinary items either. Coupled with their capes, there seemed to be a barrier surrounding them to hide their voices. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". ¡°Tranquility Cape?¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself. Mister Bu¡¯s voice rang in his ears once again. ¡°Not really. The capes on their body might be able to isolate their voices, but that¡¯s not the real Tranquility Cape. The actual Tranquility Cape is said to belong to their third in command. The woman you saw at the restaurant the other day spying on those people should be the daughter of their third in command.¡± Shang Xia nodded his head silently in response. However, Mister Bu didn¡¯t stop there. ¡°That bad guy is the fourth horseman. His cultivation has already reached the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. He¡¯s a good fighter.¡± ¡°All eighteen horsemen were punished by the Tongyou Institution, and they were sent to cause trouble in the Ji Continent to make up for their mistakes. However, most of them didn¡¯t like using their real names. They eventually started referring to each other from their ranking order. The baldie is ranked fourth, and the person he called Boss Sha is the leader of the Eighteen Horsemen.¡± As the words left Mister Bu¡¯s lips, the person the baldie referred to took off his mask to reveal his appearance. He was a middle aged man who wore an eyepatch. Grunting once, there was still a trace of hesitation on his face as he said, ¡°We definitely have to save our third brother. However, what Second Brother and Fourth Brother said makes sense. This¡­ We need to make another plan. Regardless, Third Brother won¡¯t be in danger for the time being¡­ Sixth Sister, what do you think?¡± A helpless expression appeared on the baldie¡¯s face, but he turned to their Sixth Sister for her response. She didn¡¯t think that she would be used by their leader to take on the pressure, but she eventually took off her mask to reveal her pale face. A chuckle left her lips. ¡°You guys can discuss among yourselves. I¡¯ll follow whatever arrangements you come up with.¡± The situation turned awkward in an instant. The attitudes of both the bald expert and the leader were clear. The leader wasn¡¯t willing to offend anybody, and the baldie wasn¡¯t able to come up with a decision. ¡°The Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent might be considered a cohesive team. However, most of the power lies in the hands of the six Martial Intent Realm experts among them. Out of the six, their leader, Boss Sha, might have the highest cultivation level among them, but he¡¯s not a good decision maker. Their sixth sister just condensed her divine sense, and she is unable to rally the rest of the group with her limited authority. Usually, the second to fourth ranked members of the Eighteen Horsemen would make the decisions. Now that their third in command has been captured, there¡¯s only three of them with actual power in the group.¡± Mister Bu introduced the Eighteen Horsemen to Shang Xia. At the same time, he summarized the power structure to Shang Xia. Two more people took off their masks at that moment and Shang Xia recognized one of them as Uncle Cen who came to visit Hai Min earlier. The last person who revealed his appearance looked slightly younger than forty, and he had a gentle demeanor. Shang Xia could tell that the man was probably the most meticulous one among the group from the profound look in his eyes. With the explanation from Mister Bu earlier, Shang Xia guessed that he was the second in command of the Eighteen Horsemen. CH 282 ¡°Fifth Brother, we made our arguments. All of us understand the implications behind what action we will be taking. As long as we choose to serve under the Changfeng City, our problems will be solved. They will release Third Brother immediately too. What¡¯s stopping us now?¡± The second in command spoke, and his tone was shockingly gentle. However, there seemed to be no room for discussion when he made his statement. Uncle Cen growled, ¡°Second Brother, if we do that, we¡¯ll betray the Tongyou Institution. No one will believe a group of traitors anyway. Even if we enter the service of the Changfeng City, they¡¯ll use us like how we¡¯ve been used by the institution!¡± The bald expert snorted in response, ¡°As you said, we¡¯re also being used right now. No matter which side we stand on, they¡¯re only using us to do their dirty work. Why don¡¯t we choose the stronger backer anyway? Fifth Brother, don¡¯t forget, we¡¯re a bunch of bandits!¡± ¡°I told you before that the Changfeng City isn¡¯t just working with the Ji Continent. They¡¯re colluding with the members of the Azure Spiritual World! You¡¯re right, we¡¯re bandits and we¡¯re a bunch of criminals. However, we¡¯re members of the You Continent at the end of the day! If we choose to work with the Changfeng City, we won¡¯t be betraying the institution, we¡¯ll be betraying our identity as members of the You Continent!¡± Uncle Cen snapped. All of them fell silent as soon as the words left his lips. Only after some time did their second in command speak up. ¡°When the Eighteen Horsemen was first formed slightly more than ten years ago, the Tongyou Institution managed to establish themselves as the only power guarding the entrance to the battlefield between the two worlds.¡± No one knew why their second in command was bringing their history up, and everyone turned to look at him. ¡°In the years that passed, we have always maintained the number of experts in our group. There were many who gave up, died, and were replaced. Some of them were called back to the institution, and some of them disappeared completely. How many times have our members changed since then?¡± Their leader frowned and asked, ¡°Second Brother, what are you implying?¡± The man didn¡¯t answer his question immediately. He swept his gaze across the other horsemen before sighing, ¡°In the years that passed, we were the weapon of the institution. We risked our lives countless times. We have already paid for our crimes.¡± Pausing for a moment, he continued, ¡°In other words, we don¡¯t owe the institution anymore! Have you ever thought about it? None of those who have ever been called back to the institution were rewarded! Have you heard of any of those who left being rewarded with advancement formulas to break through?¡± When he saw the looks on the other¡¯s faces, he increased his volume accordingly. ¡°That¡¯s right! None of them were rewarded! To put it bluntly, none of us sinners are trusted by the institution anymore! Even if we return to the institution in the future, we wouldn¡¯t be able to take a step further in our cultivation!¡± He turned to look at their leader and continued, ¡°Boss, you have already reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. You¡¯re not even fifty years old this year! You¡¯re more than capable of stepping into the Martial Extermination Realm in the future! Are you willing to return to the institution only to be abandoned?¡± Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" The leader of the group grunted softly, and his expression fell. However, he didn¡¯t say a word in response. Their second in command then turned to Uncle Cen. ¡°Fifth Brother, the city lord has already made me a promise. The moment we agree to serve them, he¡¯ll do everything in his power to assist us to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm¡­¡± ¡­ On the hill, Mister Bu snorted softly, ¡°Nonsense. He¡¯s just lying to them at this point. Yang Hu doesn¡¯t even have a rank four advancement formula. He can¡¯t help them break through.¡± Shang Xia nodded subconsciously. ¡°However¡­ Yang Hu chose to work with the White Deer Paradise. He might have requested for a rank four advancement formula in return! Even so, the herbs required to make a portion of advancement medicine aren¡¯t something he can gather easily. Does he think they¡¯re cabbages that grow at the side of the road? Even if he has some herbs, why would he give them to outsiders like the Eighteen Horsemen?¡± Mister Bu continued his deduction. ¡°?¡± Shang Xia wanted to say something, but Mister Bu¡¯s expression changed slightly and he stopped Shang Xia with a single gesture. In a low voice, Mister Bu whispered, ¡°Wait, someone is coming.¡± Shang Xia wanted to use his divine sense to inspect his surroundings when Mister Bu stopped him yet again. ¡°It¡¯s the people from the Changfeng City. Fuck, they actually surrounded them so precisely. Looks like someone among the Eighteen Horsemen is a traitor.¡± Shang Xia caught sight of the threat closing in and he frowned. ¡°Should we warn them?¡± ¡°Relax. There¡¯s nothing to worry about. No Martial Extermination Realm expert came along. We¡¯ll decide our next course of action after seeing what happens.¡± Mister Bu smiled. Shang Xia finally recalled that the expert squatting beside him was a true blue Martial Extermination Realm expert. Due to their interaction earlier, Shang Xia almost forgot that he was speaking to the expert the Tongyou City hid in the Changfeng City. As long as Mister Bu decided to protect the Eighteen Horsemen, it didn¡¯t matter how many people the Changfeng City sent. Unless Yang Hu came personally, everyone else would be buried in the sand once Mister Bu made up his mind to attack. However, the expert seemed more interested in rooting out the traitor who sold the others out to the Changfeng City. Patting Shang Xia¡¯s shoulders, Mister Bu indicated that it was time for them to change locations. The two of them used the cover of the tall weeds to run out of the encirclement, but they remained close enough to observe the huge battle that was sure to take place. ¡­ ¡°Second Brother, don¡¯t tell me you believe that bullshit! Also, when did you meet Yang Hu to hear his conditions? Aren¡¯t you afraid that the Tongyou Institution will deal with you in the future?¡± Uncle Cen growled. Before the second in command could reply, a voice rang through the air. ¡°A wise man submits to his circumstances. If Brother Liu can try to persuade you, my father will definitely do as he promised. As for the institution, they can¡¯t even deal with their own troubles at the moment. Why would they care about you guys?¡± ¡°Who?!¡± The leader of the Eighteen Horseman, Boss Sha, roared before turning his head to the source of the voice. Countless rays of blade intent filled their surroundings, tearing everything to shreds. A figure tore through the air before a huge fist made from heaven and earth qi tore a path into the blade qi in the air. The figure drifted slowly back down after he was done. ¡°I¡¯ve long since heard of Leader Sha of the Eighteen Horsemen. With your Manifestation Collapse martial intent, not many opponents in the Martial Intent Realm can match up to you. Your reputation is well deserved indeed. I am Yang Zhenbiao of the Changfeng City and I greet the Eighteen Horsemen!¡± Yang Zhenbiao stood opposite the sixteen experts with an expressionless face. After he spoke, dozens of experts from the Changfeng City revealed themselves behind him. They formed a tight encirclement around their target. The horses that belonged to the members of the Eighteen Horsemen present neighed loudly all of a sudden, and they collapsed on the ground in unison. It was clear they had been drugged earlier. The members of the Eighteen Horsemen present reacted differently. Boss Sha, Uncle Cen, and a few others got ready for battle. However, their second in command, Brother Liu, walked towards Yang Zhenbiao with his fists cupped together. ¡°Young City Lord, please treat them well!¡± Uncle Cen roared with rage, ¡°Second Brother, did you leak our position? How dare you betray us and work with the Changfeng City?¡± ¡°Shut up! I didn¡¯t betray us! I gave all of us a way out of this!¡± Brother Liu turned around and snapped. Uncle Cen sneered coldly in response. ¡°Bullshit! How do you explain this? If we don¡¯t accept your suggestion today, will we be walking out of here alive/¡± Brother Liu sank into silence. However, the awkward situation was broken with a laugh from Yang Zhenbiao. ¡°Everyone, please don¡¯t misunderstand. Brother Liu really gave you a chance. If he really wishes to betray all of you, he can rally everyone here to mount a rescue operation on your third brother in the city. When that happens, all he has to do is to tell us your plan and we¡¯ll capture all of you anyway. The only reason we¡¯re taking such a reasonable approach is because he convinced my father that he will be able to convince you guys.¡± Turning to look at Brother Liu, Yang Zhenbiao continued, ¡°From the looks of it, his goodwill is going to go up in smoke. I guess it¡¯s still up to me to clean up the mess today.¡± Brother Liu gave Yang Zhenbiao a deep bow and sighed, ¡°I hope Young City Lord can show them some mercy. Capture those who are unwilling to serve City Lord Yang, and I believe they will see the light in the future. There¡¯s no need to kill anyone. In the future, we will be part of the Changfeng City¡¯s strength.¡± Glancing at Brother Liu from the corner of his eye, Yang Zhenbiao looked at the members of the Eighteen Horsemen they surrounded before sighing, ¡°Naturally. How can I say no to Brother Liu¡¯s request? Please.¡± Brother Liu took a step forward and yelled, ¡°Fourth Brother, Seventh Brother, Eighth Brother, what are you waiting for?¡± Those he called out looked at each other before leaving the group. There were a few others who followed to stand behind Brother Liu. The only person who hadn¡¯t moved was the bald expert. Brother Liu glared at him and snapped, ¡°Fourth Brother Zeng, what are you waiting for?!¡± The bald expert who was supposed to be a part of them chose to remain in the group at that moment. His expression turned complicated but he shook his head resolutely, ¡°Second Brother, we can always fight among each other due to our differences. Even if we have to part ways eventually, I believe all of us won¡¯t blame the other party. However, you didn¡¯t ask any of us before making the decision for us as a whole. You shouldn¡¯t have colluded with outsiders against your brothers.¡± ¡°Fourth Brother, you agreed with me previously. Are you regretting your decision now?¡± Brother Liu growled. With a resolute look in his eyes, Brother Zeng raised his bald head and glared at Brother Liu. ¡°If we don¡¯t agree, it looks like none of us will be walking out of here today, right?¡± ¡°Fourth Brother¡­¡± ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s no need for more discussion. I won¡¯t be leaving with you today!¡± Brother Zeng roared. ¡°Hehehe¡­¡± Chuckling in amusement, Yang Zhenbiao waved his hand. The cultivators who came from the Changfeng City got ready to attack. Brother Liu yelled, ¡°What are the rest of you waiting for? Boss, Are you going to let the others¡­¡± ¡°Sigh¡­¡± A soft sigh interrupted him. Under the shocked gazes of those present, Boss Sha stepped out and cupped his fists towards Yang Zhenbiao. ¡°Are you really willing to give us a rank four advancement formula?¡± Raising his hand to top the experts of the Changfeng City, Yang Zhenbiao muttered, ¡°Of course! However, we¡¯re still locating some of the herbs required to make the advancement medicine. I hope Boss Sha can wait for two more years.¡± ¡°I have the time. I hope City Lord Yang doesn¡¯t forget his promise today.¡± Boss Sha muttered. After he spoke, he stood beside Brother Liu with his eyes closed. Despite his actions, Brother Liu tossed over a glance full of doubt. Regardless, it didn¡¯t matter. Seeing as their leader had already chosen to submit, two others emerged from the group to stand beside Brother Liu. At that moment, only seven of the original sixteen members of the Eighteen Horsemen remained in the middle of the encirclement. They were the bald expert, Brother Zeng, Uncle Cen, Sixth Sister Gu, Ninth Brother Huang, Tenth Brother Zhao, Seventeenth Sister Yuan, and Eighteenth Brother Mao. Seeing as they were basically done, Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s gaze turned chilly. ¡°Take them down. If they resist, kill them!¡± Brother Liu hesitated for a second and he wanted to say something. However, he was stopped by Yang Zhenbiao. Boss Sha remained expressionless as though the fate of his fellow Eighteen Horsemen had nothing to do with him. Dozens of feet away, Shang Xia sighed softly, ¡°This is a great performance indeed.¡± CH 283 None of the Eighteen Horsemen were amateurs. Even though a good portion of them chose to submit to the other side, those who remained didn¡¯t lose their cool. With the number of enemies they were facing, the remaining seven experts of the Eighteen Horsemen huddled with their backs against each other. They tried to fight their way out in one direction, but the enemies they were facing were too strong. They soon found themselves back in a tight encirclement. Luckily, Yang Zhenbiao was still hoping to capture them alive. His order earlier to kill anyone who resisted was there to strike fear in their hearts, but he clearly ordered his men to show some restraint. Otherwise, some of the weaker ones would have already died. As the battle raged on, Shang Xia turned to stare at Mister Bu. They seemed to be locked in a stalemate as the corners of their eyes twitched in annoyance. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to help them?¡± Mister Bu growled. ¡°You¡¯re my senior. You should make the first move. Didn¡¯t you wish to take them under your command?¡± Shang Xia frowned. Mister Bu shook his head slowly and sighed, ¡°I can¡¯t make a move now. The Changfeng City is right there! If I make a move, Yang Hu will definitely discover my presence. When that happens, my strength will definitely be exposed. It will be difficult for me to continue my mission.¡± Shang Xia raised his eyebrows in shock. From what Mister Bu was saying, he seemed to have a hidden identity in the city. Also, the hidden identity he was using seemed to be well acquainted with Yang Hu. If he was able to remain hidden without exposing his strength, it was possible that Yang Hu had no idea a Martial Extermination Realm expert like him was hiding under his nose! However, Shang Xia shook his head too. ¡°You know the identity I¡¯m using to stay hidden in the city. I can¡¯t make a move either. I believe you know the implications if my identity is exposed¡­¡± Without even mentioning the fact that Shang Xia was Shang Bo¡¯s grandson, he was the last person to interact with Kou Chongxue! Every single power was out hunting for him to get a better grasp on the situation! Were they supposed to watch as the members of the Eighteen Horsemen were killed?! When they were hesitating, a wretched cry came from one of the seven surrounded. Turning to stare at the battle in unison, they saw a youngster who was barely twenty falling to the ground. He was killed by a Martial Intent Realm expert from the Changfeng City! With the death of their brother spurring them on, the remaining six felt endless rage burning in their hearts. They lost control of their emotions and the reluctance to go all out disappeared. All of them released their full strength at once. In their eyes, it didn¡¯t matter if they didn¡¯t leave the place alive. They would drag their enemies down with them. As they attacked recklessly, the injuries on their body increased steadily. ¡°If you¡¯re not going to do anything, it¡¯s going to be too late.¡± Mister Bu sighed. From the look in his eyes, he was urging Shang Xia to make his move. Shang Xia knew that he couldn¡¯t really watch them die. The sole fact that Uncle Cen and Brother Huang cared about Hai Min ensured that Shang Xia had to make his move. Moreover, those people could be considered a part of the Tongyou Institution¡¯s fighting strength. ¡°Why don¡¯t you hide your face? You can suppress your cultivation to the Martial Intent Realm and cover your faces before going out there. You can launch a sneak attack and catch them off guard.¡± Shang Xia suggested. When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. As long as Mister Bu didn¡¯t reveal his cultivation at the Martial Extermination Realm, it was possible to not alert Yang Hu. Staring at Shang Xia incredulously, he snapped, ¡°Do you know how many Martial Intent Realm experts there are in the Changfeng City?! There are eight of them. With the two who entered the city, there¡¯s a total of ten! Even if I seal off my cultivation base to the Martial Intent Realm and avoid exposing my identity as a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator, they¡¯ll still take me as a cultivator in the Martial Intent Realm! And what¡¯s with you suggesting that I go out there to sneak attack them? Aren¡¯t you going to do anything?¡± ¡°Of course I am.¡± Shang Xia slapped the bow he was holding before giving Mister Bu some words of encouragement. ¡°You can rest assured and fight all you like. I¡¯ll cover you. With the cover I have here, my identity won¡¯t be exposed.¡± Raising both eyebrows, Mister Bu wanted to scoff at Shang Xia but he couldn¡¯t come up with anything. Seeing as the remaining members of the Eighteen Horsemen were about to fall, he could only slap a handkerchief over his face to hide his appearance. With his body bent, he charged silently towards the battlefield. No matter what, his true cultivation base was at the Martial Extermination Ream. Even if he used the strength possessed by a Martial Intent Realm expert, his battle sense and experience were something that impressed Shang Xia. Being impressed was one thing. Shang Xia didn¡¯t forget to draw his bow. The moment Mister Bu sprang into action, Shang Xia released the essence metal arrow he had drawn. It pierced straight into the shoulder of a Martial Intent Realm expert from the Changfeng City. ¡°Ah!¡± His scream pierced through the air. The person Shang Xia aimed at wasn¡¯t anyone else, it was Qin Yuyuan who had accompanied Yang Zhenbiao the other day in the restaurant. Even though he managed to detect the arrow at the last second and twisted his body to avoid it hitting his vital points, his shoulder was completely crippled. He could no longer feel it, and he fell to the ground in pain. No one around him expected to be sneak attacked from behind, and the two experts beside him lagged slightly. Mister Bu made his move in that instant. Leaping out of the weeds, Mister Bu¡¯s palm struck the back of a Martial Intent Realm expert. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he fell to the ground, never to recover. The members of the Changfeng City finally realized what was happening. Yang Zhenbiao looked at the two Martial Intent Realm experts who fell and his eyes turned bloodshot. He brought several men over and yelled loudly, ¡°Who are you and how dare you interfere with the matters of my Changfeng City?!¡± The only thing that replied him was the whistling of another metal essence arrow. The Martial Intent Realm experts around Yang Zhenbiao were prepared, but Shang Xia didn¡¯t aim for him. Instead, his arrow flew towards a Martial Extremity Realm cultivator who was fighting the remaining members of the Eighteen Horsemen. After practicing his archery in the past few days in the forest, Shang Xia improved significantly. However, he wouldn¡¯t say that he could snipe a Martial Intent Realm expert with 100% certainty. At the very best, he was able to injure them like what he did to Qin Yuyuan. However, when it came to Martial Extremity Realm cultivators, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t run into any problems. With the death of the Martial Extremity Realm cultivator, an opening was formed. Fourth Brother Zeng and Uncle Cen weren¡¯t fools. They might not know who was helping them, but they would take the opportunity to escape nonetheless. With the opening close to Shang Xia and Mister Bu, the remaining six Horsemen ran towards them. Mister Bu moved in perfect harmony with Shang Xi''s arrows. When Shang Xia¡¯s second arrow killed a Martial Extremity Realm cultivator, Mister Bu¡¯s palm came crashing down on another one. Their target was clear. They weren¡¯t willing to cause a huge number of casualties to those from the Changfeng City, but they wanted to open up a route for the six to escape. ¡°Fuck! Stop them!¡± Yang Zhenbiao roared with rage. He soared into the skies and stomped down on Mister Bu. Watching Yang Zhenbiao rise higher into the skies, Shang Xia shot an arrow over at him. Already expecting the archer to carry out a sneak attack, Yang Zhenbiao dodged it without much suspense. As a Martial Extermination Realm expert, Mister Bu had plenty of battle experience. He stepped forward slightly, dodging Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s stomp. Wanting to chase after the masked opponent who came out of nowhere to spoil his plans, Yang Zhenbiao barely took a single step when another arrow came from Shang Xia. He had no choice but to retreat. The step he took backwards to dodge the arrow gave Mister Bu a chance. He worked with Fourth Brother Zeng, Uncle Cen, and two other Martial Intent Realm of the Eighteen Horsemen experts to push back a Martial Intent Realm expert of the Changfeng City and several weaker cultivators. Eventually, he managed to put himself into their group of six. ¡°Sixth Sister, leave with the rest. I¡¯ll stay behind with Uncle Cen to hold them off.¡± Fourth Brother Zeng roared before getting into position. Watching the tense situation play out before him, Mister Bu could only cover their escape. Luckily, the party sent by the Changfeng City couldn¡¯t ignore the threat that was Shang Xia¡¯s bow. A hidden archer was truly too dangerous. Whenever anyone tried to circle around Mister Bu and the other two to stop the escaping members, Shang Xia¡¯s arrow would force them back. Fighting while retreating, they eventually managed to enter the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range which was quite a distance away from the Changfeng City. With the complicated terrain and dense coverage, Mister Bu managed to heavily injure another Martial Intent Realm expert from the Changfeng City. Yang Zhenbiao had no choice but to give up. CH 284 Shang Xia knew that it was impossible to become a true archer with his short training. He might be able to shoot decently, but he used a large portion of his Origin True Qi to brute force his control over his bow. He was clearly unable to bring out the full power of the graded bow he looted after killing the expert from the Azure Spiritual World looking to kill him. Of course, with his strength, it was more than enough for his arrows imbued with his Origin True Qi to kill any cultivator in the Martial Extremity Realm or below. Next, they had to talk about Mister Bu. He was working with Fourth Brother Zeng and Uncle Cen. The members of the Changfeng City instantly felt the pressure against them mounting, especially with Shang Xia shooting arrows from the side. Shang Xia¡¯s ranged assistance caused the members of the Changfeng City to restrain themselves. That was what allowed them to retreat into the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. Currently, there were only five of the original Eighteen Horsemen left. All of them were riddled with injuries, and Fourth Brother Zeng and Uncle Cen fared the worst. After all, they were the targets of focus by most of the experts of the Changfeng City. Looking at the remaining comrades around him, Uncle Cen sighed, ¡°From today onwards, the Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent will cease to exist.¡± It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Fourth Brother Zeng wanted to say something, but all that emerged from his lips was blood. Fluster broke out among the remaining members and eventually, a bottle of medicine was handed over to Fourth Brother Zeng. When that was done, Sixth Sister Gu, who was in the best condition out of all of them, cupped her fists towards Mister Bu. ¡°Many thanks to senior for the help. How can we address you?¡± As Mister Bu had already concealed his appearance before entering the battle, none of them recognized him. He waved his hand casually and said, ¡°You can call me ¡®Mister Bu¡¯. As for the reason behind my assistance¡­ You can consider it my reluctance to see my fellow comrades of the Tongyou City dying in the hands of others.¡± They stared at him in shock. ¡°Mister Bu, are you also someone from the institution?¡± ¡°You can think of it as such¡­¡± Mister Bu chuckled. Not hearing the strange tone in his voice, most of them accepted it as a matter of fact. Well, even if they found it strange, all of them chose to overlook it at that moment. Uncle Cen¡¯s expression turned into one of excitement after learning that Mister Bu came from the institution. ¡°Senior, I wonder if you have news on the institution right now?¡± ¡°All of you aren¡¯t strong enough to deal with the matters concerning the institution at the moment. Also, you better not try going to the Tongyou City now. It¡¯s a death trap at the moment. Now, all you need to do is to stay in place and ensure your safety.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Sixth Sister Gu nodded slowly and muttered, ¡°Many thanks for senior¡¯s guidance¡­¡± Sixth Sister Gu wasn¡¯t able to see through the intricacies and didn¡¯t hear the hidden meaning behind Mister Bu¡¯s words. However, Fourth Brother Zeng and Uncle Cen were clearly sharper. They looked at each other silently and due to Fourth Brother Zeng¡¯s heavy injuries, he was in no position to speak. Uncle Cen eventually sighed, ¡°All of us are indebted to Mister Bu for the life-saving grace. If you have any instructions for us, we¡¯ll carry it out without any hesitation!¡± A chuckle left Mister Bu¡¯s lips. ¡°The most important thing right now is to locate a quiet place for you to recover. I will definitely need your help in the future. Of course, I¡¯m not commanding you to do my dirty work. Instead, they¡¯re missions from the institution.¡± The inner strife among the Eighteen Horsemen earlier was about leaving the control of the Tongyou Institution. Since those standing beside Mister Bu at that moment chose not to betray the institution, they could be said to have passed the test. Mister Bu wouldn¡¯t suspect them at all and he chose to reveal some information. Even so, his gaze was locked on Fourth Brother Zeng. After all, he admitted to agreeing with Second Brother Liu earlier. The only reason he chose to stand against the Changfeng City was because their second in command colluded with Yang Zhenbiao and he detested their actions. As such, Fourth Brother Zeng¡¯s position in the matter was slightly problematic. He wasn¡¯t truly loyal to the institution. He only helped the rest due to his hatred for Second Brother Liu¡¯s actions. Fourth Brother Zeng¡¯s injuries were serious and he failed to notice Mister Bu¡¯s subtle actions. However, Uncle Cen seemed to have caught on and he added quickly, ¡°Fourth Brother only wanted a way for us to survive. He never intended to betray the institution.¡± Nodding slowly, Mister Bu handed a map and a piece of jade talisman over to Uncle Cen. ¡°Alright. I marked out a secret region in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range you can use to recuperate. I¡¯ll look for you in a little bit. If anything comes up, crush the jade talisman and I¡¯ll arrive as quickly as possible.¡± ¡°Many thanks!¡± Uncle Cen received the jade talisman and kept it carefully before asking, ¡°There was another senior who helped us earlier with the bow. I wonder if it¡¯s possible for us to express our gratitude to them?¡± Glancing behind him, Mister Bu chuckled, ¡°He¡¯s not willing to show himself at the moment. I¡¯m sure you will meet in the future.¡± Sixth Sister Gu seemed to have heard Mister Bu¡¯s intention to leave from the way he spoke and hurriedly added, ¡°Mister, we don¡¯t wish to trouble you any further, but our third in command is stuck deep in the Changfeng City. I wonder if we can trouble Mister Bu to¡­¡± Mister Bu interrupted her before he could finish her sentence. ¡°Since Yang Hu captured them, their life won¡¯t be in danger for the time being. I will need your help in the future to launch a rescue operation too. Right now, all you need to care about is recovering.¡± Uncle Cen and the others rejoiced after hearing what he said. They thanked him profusely. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll call it a day today. We¡¯ll see each other soon.¡± When he was done talking, he turned around and his figure disappeared into the snowy white forest. When they saw him leave, Ninth Brother Huang who had been silent all this time muttered, ¡°Uncle Cen, even though he saved us earlier, why are you so respectful to him?¡± Sixth Sister Gu spoke before Uncle Cen could say anything. ¡°He¡¯s no ordinary expert. If I¡¯m not wrong, Uncle Cen and Fourth Brother Zeng could tell that he had a special identity.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. If we¡¯re not mistaken, he¡¯s an expert at the Martial Extermination Realm.¡± Uncle Cen nodded. ¡°Martial Extermination?!¡± Ninth Brother Huang gasped, but he seemed to have realized that his reaction was too loud and he quickly suppressed his voice. ¡°Why would he pretend to be a Martial Intent Realm cultivator?¡± There were traces of rage in his voice. After all, he felt that Mister Bu could have saved all of them if he revealed his true strength. He might even be able to save the life of one of their brothers as they had their escape. ¡°Little Huang!¡± Uncle Cen could tell what Ninth Brother Huang was thinking about, and he warned, ¡°All that matters is that he lent us a helping hand. Since he chose to step in to save our lives, we need to express our gratitude. You need to understand that if he chose to remain on the sidelines, we would have suffered a lot more casualties. He might have even chosen to watch us die!¡± ¡°Relax¡­ I understand. I just have to release my emotions a little¡­¡± Uncle Cen sighed and chose to remain silent. All of a sudden, Sixth Sister Gu added, ¡°There might be another reason he chose to hide his cultivation!¡± Seeing as Ninth Brother Huang had turned to look at her, she continued, ¡°He might be trying to prevent Yang Hu from noticing his presence!¡± Fourth Brother Zeng, who was recovering with his eyes closed, opened his eyes slowly. He nodded his head slightly when the attention of the others turned to him to indicate his agreement with Sixth Sister Gu¡¯s deduction. Sighing softly, Ninth Brother Huang¡¯s emotions calmed down a lot. ¡°We can¡¯t enter the Changfeng City any longer. Moreover, we have no idea what is going on in the Tongyou City. We can only choose to believe what Mister Bu said. After all, he seems to have some sort of relationship with the Tongyou Institution.¡± Uncle Cen explained. However, Sixth Sister Gu seemed to have thought of something. ¡°He¡¯s able to determine that Yang Hu won¡¯t do anything for the time being¡­ Moreover, he chose to hide his cultivation. Wouldn¡¯t that mean that he¡¯s extremely close to Yang Hu in the Changfeng City?¡± ¡­ On a small hill some distance away from where the battle took place¡­ By the time Mister Bu arrived, he noticed a Mutated Rain Swallow leaping off Shang Xia¡¯s shoulders and flying into the skies. Next, it started circling the air above the hill. ¡°Since you know about the situation with the third in command of the Eighteen Horsemen, you definitely have someone close to Yang Hu. Unless¡­ You have a hidden identity as a spy hiding beside the city lord!¡± Chuckling softly, Mister Bu didn¡¯t answer Shang Xia. Instead, he asked a question of his own. ¡°Why are you unwilling to show your face earlier? Is there someone among the five who can recognize you?¡± Shang Xia felt that there was no need to hide something like that and he nodded casually. ¡°I¡¯m staying with their thirteenth sister, Hai Min, in the city. I met Uncle Cen and Ninth Brother Huang earlier. However, they don¡¯t know who I am.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s it¡­¡± Mister Bu nodded. He clearly didn¡¯t expect Shang Xia to give such a straightforward reply. He quickly changed the topic. ¡°Your bird is pretty good. Where did you get it?¡± Even though he raised his eyebrows slightly in response, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t surprised that Mister Bu wasn¡¯t willing to answer his question. If he was in the other man¡¯s place, he wouldn¡¯t reveal his secret identity either. However, a sudden impulse took over Shang Xia and he chuckled, ¡°She¡¯s called Yan Ni¡¯er. I brought her back from the battlefield between the two worlds. I¡¯m afraid she¡¯s about to transform into a Lightning Bird soon.¡± Opening his eyes in shock, Mister Bu gasped. ¡°You brought a creature out from the battlefield between the two worlds? Didn¡¯t they say that Yu Duhe was the only fellow who managed to tame a few scrappy birds in there?¡± The smile on Shang Xia¡¯s face grew wider and he continued, ¡°Looks like my luck isn¡¯t too bad then!¡± Seeing the stupid expression on Shang Xia¡¯s face, Mister Bu knew that the kid was feeling exceptionally proud of himself. He played along and continued asking, ¡°Are you using the bird to do something right now?¡± ¡°I knew I couldn¡¯t hide it from you!¡± Shang Xia smiled. ¡°I got her to follow someone in secret previously. Since you brought me here to watch the great performance, I feel the need to return the favor. I heard that another great play is about to begin. Would you like to take a look?¡± CH 285 In the forest that was covered in a thick layer of snow, two figures flew across the land, leaving behind a fuzzy afterimage. They didn¡¯t leave much traces in the snow as they passed. A grayish shadow could be seen flying above the blurry figures. Occasionally, the gray streak would release a loud chirp to direct those traveling across the land. ¡°Brat, how far more do we have to travel?¡± Even though the two of them were moving very rapidly through the forest, Mister Bu¡¯s voice rang clearly in Shang Xia¡¯s ears. ¡°I have no idea.¡± Shang Xia muttered. His voice didn¡¯t seem strained at all as he ran through the forest alongside Mister Bu. A frown formed on Mister Bu¡¯s face. ¡°Didn¡¯t the bird tell you how far we have to travel?¡± With a strange look on his face, Shang Xia replied, ¡°Do I look like I speak bird? I can only communicate with Yan Ni¡¯er in basic terms¡­ Do you think she can talk to me like a normal human or something?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?!¡± Mister Bu snorted. ¡°This old man needs to return to the Changfeng City before night falls¡­ You better arrange it properly¡­¡± Pausing for a moment, he continued, ¡°Where in the world is your bird planning to go anyway? If we¡¯re only going there to take a look, I¡¯ll head over there myself. You can wait for me here. I move faster alone anyway.¡± Mister Bu was a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator at the end of the day. He could fly through the air and move a lot faster than if he had to wait for Shang Xia. ¡°That¡¯s not a good idea. There¡¯s more than one Martial Extermination Realm expert there! If you fly through the air, they¡¯ll notice you before you get close!¡± Shang Xia muttered. ¡°WHAT?¡± Mister Bu¡¯s expression changed instantly. His figure faltered unsteadily and growled, ¡°What are you playing at you little brat? Are you crazy? You¡¯re trying to spy on Martial Extermination Realm experts at the Martial Intent Realm¡­ Are you tired of living?¡± Shang Xia chuckled in response. ¡°Relax. Yan Ni¡¯er is smart. She won¡¯t be detected by any of them. Moreover, who would expect a bird to be tracking them?¡± ¡°Brat, let me give you some advice. You should stop relying on luck. What if they actually detected your presence? I might be able to avoid their divine sense, but what can you do?¡± Mister Bu growled with an ugly expression. Shang Xia expected him to say that and he laughed softly before merging his divine sense with the world around him. Mister Bu could no longer feel his presence. If not for the fact that he was staring at Shang Xia who was running beside him, he wouldn¡¯t know that anyone was there. Staring at the kid from head to toe, Mister Bu reevaluated Shang Xia. He muttered softly, ¡°Your Shang Clan¡¯s Providence Chapter doesn¡¯t seem to possess a special ability like that¡­ I never saw Shang Bo or Shang Ke doing anything like this¡­¡± ¡°Do you know them personally?¡± Shang Xia asked suddenly. Mister Bu released a snort in response. ¡°Hmph, brat, you¡¯re still too inexperienced to be fishing for information from me.¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but snigger silently. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll take a look. If you reveal yourself on accident, you better not blame me for not saving you.¡± Mister Bu growled. When he was done with his warning, he continued, ¡°Anyway, who is the Martial Extermination Realm cultivator you¡¯re tracking?¡± ¡°They¡¯re from the Azure Spiritual World!¡± Shang Xia followed up with an explanation of what happened with Chen Sanyang the other day. An uneasy look appeared on Mister Bu¡¯s face and he sighed eventually. ¡°Indeed¡­¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t understand what he meant, but before he could ask about it, Yan Ni¡¯er released a loud cry. Shang Xia raised his head and saw her circling around before descending towards them. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Shang Xia muttered. Mister Bu couldn¡¯t be bothered with questioning Shang Xia any further and he ordered sternly, ¡°Stay here and remain hidden. Don¡¯t go anywhere. I¡¯ll go and take a look.¡± After he spoke, his figure flashed and he appeared dozens of feet away. Shang Xia stretched out his hand to stop Mister Bu, but he was a little too late. Mister Bu seemed adamant about doing it alone this time, and he didn¡¯t give Shang Xia a chance to say anything. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". Shang Xia understood that the Martial Extermination Realm expert was doing it to protect him and he couldn¡¯t really say anything about it. Moreover, Mister Bu¡¯s concerns were understandable. Shang Xia¡¯s actions were really too reckless. Was he really capable of spying on them without being discovered? Even the act of getting Yan Ni¡¯er to track them was too risky. Shang Xia looked in the direction where Mister Bu disappeared and he clenched his jaw. After thinking about it for a second, he decided to ignore Mister Bu¡¯s instructions. He started to walk forward. After traveling close to a hundred feet forward, he discovered signs of activities behind a distant hill. Just as he was about to take a closer look, a hand reached out from behind a tree to cover his mouth. ¡°Wu¡­¡± Shang Xia wanted to gasp in fright, but no sound came out. He retrieved the Origin Light Dagger and stabbed viciously to the side. ¡°Shut up! It¡¯s me!¡± Shang Xia seemed to have discovered Mister Bu¡¯s presence right as he spoke and he quickly withdrew his dagger. Luckily for the Martial Extermination Realm expert, the dagger disappeared before it could pierce through Mister Bu¡¯s waist. ¡°What the fuck! You¡¯re an insidious bastard!¡± Mister Bu released Shang Xia and he stared at the weapon in his palm. ¡°You have so much good stuff on you¡­¡± With a flick of his wrist, The Origin Light Dagger disappeared into his sleeves. ¡°Look. Are those the Martial Extermination Realm experts you were tracking?¡± Mister Bu¡¯s voice rang softly in Shang Xia¡¯s ears. With the cover of the trees around him, Shang Xia looked in the direction where Mister Bu pointed. He noticed Youshang, who tracked him previously along with another black-clothed man. The two of them seemed to be discussing something in secret, and neither Shang Xia nor Mister Bu could hear their conversation. They didn¡¯t dare to extend their divine sense over for fear of getting detected. Even so, the two of them could tell that the black-clothed man was a cultivator of the Azure Origin World from the way the heaven and earth qi moved around him. The man clearly didn¡¯t cultivate any bloodline powers. Without a doubt, that was a member from the Azure Origin World who was colluding with the members of the Azure Spiritual World! From the energy fluctuations around him, Shang Xia and Mister Bu eventually deduced that the black-clothed man was a Martial Extermination Realm expert. There was no way he would be a nameless expert with such a high cultivation level! All of a sudden, Shang Xia discovered that Mister Bu¡¯s expression had changed. Turning to look at the expert beside him, Shang Xia noticed that a look of suspicion was forming on Mister Bu¡¯s face. His lack of composure also caused his qi to leak out slightly. Before Shang Xia could say anything, the two of them noticed the anomaly. They turned to stare in the direction Shang Xia and Mister Bu were hiding. ¡°Sneaky bastard, get out here!¡± The expert from the Azure Spiritual World roared. The resulting sound waves caused Shang Xia¡¯s mind to shake. It didn¡¯t matter if it was Shang Xia or Mister Bu. Neither of them could remain hidden any longer. A bloody mist extended towards Shang Xia as the roar faded, and a giant palm made from blood came crashing down. It shattered every tree in its path and it pressed down viciously. ¡°Kid, leave!¡± That was all Shang Xia heard before he felt a strong force pushing him away. Before he landed, Shang Xia heard a loud roar coming from Mister Bu as he rose into the skies. With his middle finger and index finger pointing up into the air, Mister Bu extended his arm upwards. A grayish-white extermination origin emerged and it tore a hole through the giant palm in the air. Mister Bu¡¯s figure trembled slightly and he escaped from the gap in the palm. Shang Xia finally crashed into the ground thirty feet away and he tumbled a few times. However, he remained silent. He had merged his divine sense into the world around him the moment he landed. As long as no one sees him, not even a Martial Extermination Realm expert would be able to detect his presence. Even though Mister Bu wouldn¡¯t be able to take the both of them down, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for him to escape. However, Shang Xia discovered a shocking fact. Instead of running away, Mister Bu was closing the distance between himself and his opponents! There was no doubt about it, Mister Bu was buying time for him to escape! After all, Shang Xia would be nothing but a burden if he remained. Without hesitation, Shang Xia leaped to his feet and started running. The moment he started moving, a roar tore through the air. ¡°Painting Finger?! That¡¯s the Sima Family¡¯s special technique! Hmph! It¡¯s someone from the Rose Party! We cannot allow him to leave!¡± The voice didn¡¯t sound like Youshang of the Azure Spiritual World. Instead, it came from the black-clothed cultivator. Shang Xia almost fell over as he found the voice slightly familiar. Turning to look in the direction of the black-clothed man, Mister Bu¡¯s voice boomed through the air. ¡°You?¡± He didn¡¯t have a chance to continue as the two of them continued their attacks. With Youshang¡¯s extermination origin tearing through the air, Mister Bu felt his heart palpitating. He also seemed to have lost control of his inner qi. He had to defend both their attacks while regulating his inner qi. There was no way for him to talk. Realizing that the situation just took a huge turn for the worst, Shang Xia suppressed his suspicions for the time being and he continued to run. He didn¡¯t manage to get far when a terrifying ray of energy tore through the air. ¡°Brother You, let me assist you!¡± A three-colored extermination origin appeared in the distance and it flew straight for the battlefield. It belonged to Liang Shuangren of the Changbai Holy Land, and the situation that Shang Xia thought couldn¡¯t get any worse just went to shits. ¡°Shit!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s heart pounded against his chest and his expression changed. CH 286 ¡°Evil Remnants?¡± Shang Xia was obviously capable of telling who they were referring to. The voice sounded even more familiar in Shang Xia¡¯s ears. However, he was still unable to identify the person who spoke! The only problem was¡­ Mister Bu was part of the Evil Remnants? Shang Xia would rather believe that it was their attempt at framing Mister Bu than to believe their words. However, why would the three Martial Extermination Realm experts start yelling so loudly during their fight? Were they there to fight, or were they there to quarrel with each other? No one would brother screaming so loudly about stupid facts like that when they were battling. Especially since they were close to the hideout used by the Azure Spiritual World. When the three-colored extermination origin appeared in the air, Shang Xia¡¯s heart sank. ¡°Shit!¡± If Mister Bu was able to forcefully resist the combined attack of two Martial Extermination Realm experts, the arrival of the third one would overwhelm him for sure! He might not be able to run away with his life intact anymore! Moreover, Shang Xia could tell that in the short exchange between Mister Bu and the other two, all of them were experts who had barely stepped into the Martial Extermination Realm. The person who was coming was a true expert at the third layer of the Martial Extermination Realm! An existence at that level could decide the outcome of the battle alone! Even if the other two retreated and left the newcomer to deal with Mister Bu, there would only be one ending to the battle. Mister Bu would die! A feeling of guilt had already overwhelmed Shang Xia at that moment. If not for the fact that he chose to bring Mister Bu over, the Martial Extermination Realm expert wouldn¡¯t be forced into such desperate straits! Of course, he didn¡¯t expect Mister Bu to lose his composure after noticing a hidden meeting between Youshang and a mysterious cultivator. Since things had already happened, there was no point for Shang Xia to regret his actions. In contrast, the best thing he could do was to escape! He couldn¡¯t allow Mister Bu¡¯s actions to go to waste! As he was running away, Shang Xia missed the part where the black-clothed man seemed to have gone crazy after seeing that Liang Shuangren was coming. He utilized all his strength to congeal an ice mountain in the air before slamming it down towards Mister Bu. Mister Bu roared loudly and his extermination origin emerged once again. It crashed heavily against the ice mountain, shattering it to bits. However, Youshang wasn¡¯t there for decoration. He found the opportunity to bypass Mister Bu¡¯s defense and struck his palm into Mister Bu¡¯s stomach. He heard two loud snapping sounds and it was clear that he broke his opponent¡¯s ribs. Grunting loudly, Mister Bu retreated in mid air to prevent the black-clothed man from following up with another attack. It seemed as though Youshang and the black-clothed man had practiced their combination attack before. However, Mister Bu realized that the black-clothed man didn¡¯t follow up as he expected. Instead, the black-clothed man descended into the forest below before hiding his extermination origin to make his escape. Before Mister Bu could make sense of the situation, Youshang was back with another attack. This time, Youshang seemed to be the one to go crazy. He attacked as if his life was on the line, and he wanted to prevent Mister Bu from leaving. From their actions, it was more than certain that Youshang and the black-clothed man were trying to hide a secret they didn¡¯t want anyone to know about. The black-clothed man made his escape the moment Liang Shuangren started moving towards the battlefield, and Youshang¡¯s frenzied attacks on Mister Bu pressured him so hard that they couldn¡¯t even talk. Clearly, he didn¡¯t wish for Mister Bu to say anything about what he saw earlier. In fact, it seemed as though Youshang wanted to silence Mister Bu from the intensity of his attacks. Even though Mister Bu saw through their intentions, he couldn¡¯t do a thing about it! As the three-colored extermination origin bloomed in the air above, Mister Bu fell into despair. ¡°No¡­ I¡¯m going to die if this keeps up. Even if I lose my life today, I have to fuck with them as much as I can!¡± Mister Bu decided in his heart. He knew that his fate was sealed the moment the three-colored extermination origin appeared. Since there was no way out, he had nothing to lose anymore! Pushing his inner qi to the limit, he summoned his only ray of extermination origin, the Frosted Extermination Origin, and met Youshang¡¯s attacks head-on. He released twelve palms that landed accurately on Youshang¡¯s strikes. Since he was injured earlier, he felt that defending and wasting his opponent¡¯s time was the best way to mess with them. Death was of no consequence to him any longer. If he had to die, he would try to cause the greatest harm to his enemy. After unleashing twelve palms consecutively, his inner injuries seemed to have gotten worse. He spat out three mouthfuls of blood and retreated even further. Youshang was surprised by Mister Bu¡¯s strength as his palm technique seemed to complement his Frosted Extermination Origin well. He frowned when he saw Mister Bu opening up the distance between them, but his pupils constricted when he saw the blood Mister Bu spat. ¡°Not good!¡± Seeing the pleased look on Mister Bu¡¯s face, Youshang understood what he was planning to do. He panicked instantly. I can¡¯t let him reveal what happened earlier! In a state of desperation, Youshang finally revealed his true cultivation level. A second extermination origin emerged and it suppressed the glow around Mister Bu completely. It seemed as though it was his first time showing off his true strength. However, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with keeping it a secret any longer seeing as his secret was about to be revealed. The palm he released when he discovered people spying on them reappeared in mid air, but this time, it had a sinister glow around it. The palm extended its fingers that resembled five long spears that shot straight towards Mister Bu. ¡°You wish to silence me¡­¡± Before Mister Bu could complete his sentence, Youshang¡¯s Blood Finger Spears arrived! ¡°Brother You, spare his life! He might know something now that he came looking for us! Let me interrogate him!¡± Liang Shuangren yelled at the critical moment. How could Youshang agree to his request? He didn¡¯t stop as his Blood Finger Spears continued towards their target. Mister Bu managed to shatter two of them forcefully, but he exhausted all his energy as the third spear approached. Who would have thought that a wave of frost would emerge at that moment to destroy the other three spears? ¡°Why would you¡­¡± Youshang gasped. Mister Bu, who had submitted to his fate, snapped his eyes open in shock. That was because the person who arrived to save him was the black-clothed man he found familiar earlier! Just a second ago, the black-clothed man released three Mysterious Frost Swords to shatter Youshang¡¯s Blood Finger Spears. At the same time, the shockwaves of the collision destroyed the heaven and earth qi around them. Mysterious Frost Sword?! Even though Mister Bu had accepted his fate earlier, his feelings were starting to change in that instant. We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. He widened his eyes in shock but he paused for a second. Hesitation, shock, and excitement eventually flashed through his eyes in succession. A complicated look appeared on Mister Bu¡¯s eyes when he looked at the black-clothed man. ¡°Who is he?¡± Youshang asked with a trace of suspicion in his voice. However, Liang Shuangren finally arrived before anyone could answer the question. ¡°Huh? Who is this? Why are there so many experts of the Azure Origin World here? Youshang, did they hide here to ambush you?¡± Waving his hand to release a formless strike, Liang Shuangren separated Youshang from the black-clothed man. As the techniques utilized by those from the Azure Spiritual World were filled with their bloodline powers, their attacks would contain a lot more killing intent than Martial Extermination Realm experts from the Azure Origin World. When they got stronger and refined more strands of extermination origin, the killing intent behind their attacks would be a lot more subtle. When someone at Liang Shuangren¡¯s level attacked, it became difficult to tell the difference between him and someone from the Azure Origin World! Of course, the black-clothed man and Mister Bu found it difficult to withstand the casual strike sent out by Liang Shuangren. Their cultivation level was far from the other party, and they had to give it their all in order to resist the attack! A giant shockwave swept through the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range, and the clouds in the skies broke into countless pieces. An obvious sign of battle could be seen from far away, and the light produced by the extermination origins decorated the skies with a multitude of colors. ¡°Heh¡­ Two cultivators from the Azure Origin World. Since you came, there¡¯s no need for you to return!¡± Liang Shuangren growled. He knew that he could take on both of them at the same time, and he shot a casual glance at Youshang. ¡°Brother You, don¡¯t tell me you know them?¡± Liang Shuangren was no fool. He could obviously tell that something was wrong with their previous interaction. As Youshang was his comrade from the Azure Spiritual World, he wanted to give his friend a chance to prove his innocence. ¡°Of course not.¡± A snort left Youshang¡¯s lips. His gaze solidified and he charged towards Mister Bu after he spoke. ¡°I¡¯ll take them down before we discuss this matter further!¡± Youshang roared. However, they noticed that after Liang Shuangren arrived, Youshang had retrieved his second strand of extermination origin. ¡°Haha! Alright! Since you already injured that guy, you can deal with him! I¡¯ll settle the other.¡± Liang Shuangren chose to deal with the black-clothed man after seeing Youshang¡¯s actions. Who would have thought that the moment Liang Shuangren moved, Youshang and Mister Bu would join hands to launch a sneak attack against him? CH 287 As Youshang rushed towards Mister Bu aggressively, Liang Shuangren decided to trust him for now and allow him to deal with the heavily injured Mister Bu. He chose to fight the black clothed expert from the Azure Origin World. Who would have thought that Youshang and Mister Bu would cooperate so seamlessly at the moment? They unleashed their strongest techniques in unison with Liang Shuangren as their target! Also, Youshang no longer hid his cultivation at the second layer of the Martial Extermination Realm. A blood-red streak of extermination origin was followed by a silvery-gray one, bringing Youshang¡¯s attack power to the next level. Mister Bu¡¯s Frosted Extermination Origin also possessed shocking power. He sent out a punch in the air, freezing the air around him. A thick layer of ice formed on the ground below, and the trees surrounding the battlefield turned into ice sculptures. That wasn¡¯t all. When the two of them made their move, the black-clothed man didn¡¯t remain idle. He pushed himself to the limit and his extermination origin turned into a giant ice sword beside him. In an instant, the battlefield changed. Mister Bu, who had been surrounded by Youshang and the black-clothed man earlier joined them to launch a deadly assault on Liang Shuangren. The sudden change in the situation was something Liang Shuangren didn¡¯t expect. Who would have thought that the comrade he chose specially for the mission to the Azure Origin World to work together with his enemies? ¡°Huh¡­¡± Liang Shuangren snorted in the face of the ambush. A trace of self¨Cmockery could be seen on his face, but not a trace of anger could be seen. As an expert at the third layer of the Martial Extermination Realm, he was able to react even when faced with such a terrifying lineup. A ray of extermination origin emerged beside him to form a shield of light to block the black-clothed man¡¯s giant frost sword. Next, he twisted his body suddenly, releasing a huge surge of energy along with his other extermination origins. A huge twin-headed snake appeared in mid air and each head clashed against Youshang¡¯s and Mister Bu¡¯s attack respectively. ¡°Crack!¡± The black-clothed man¡¯s frost sword was torn apart as the light shield created by Liang Shuangren¡¯s extermination origin shattered. Heaven and earth qi swept through the lands after the exchange. After suffering from his injuries previously, Mister Bu clearly wasn¡¯t doing too well. His giant fist looked impressive, but it was swallowed by the giant snake without much fanfare. Surprisingly, Youshang¡¯s blood-red spear possessed frightening power. The twin-headed snake swallowed the tip of the spear, but it exploded the next second. The blood spear seemed to have lost some of its power, but it still flew straight towards Liang Shuangren. It sped up in mid air and it went straight towards Liang Shuangren¡¯s back. ¡°You¡­¡± Grunting in surprise, Liang Shuangren quickly gathered his inner qi to block the blood spear from striking him. Youshang¡¯s cultivation level might have surprised Liang Shuangren, but the latter still felt that he was strong enough to deal with it. What truly shocked Liang Shuangren was Youshang¡¯s second extermination origin. It seemed different from the extermination origin produced and refined by cultivators in the Azure Spiritual World! He didn¡¯t know who this ¡®old friend¡¯ of his was any longer! Close to ten years ago, Liang Shuangren discovered this ¡®old friend¡¯ of his and they were tight ever since. The scene where they first met flashed across Liang Shuangren¡¯s mind. When he received the mission to infiltrate the Azure Origin World, this ¡®old friend¡¯ of his even volunteered to accompany him despite knowing the dangers they would face! At that moment, he finally understood he was merely a tool that had been used by Youshang! The screen of inner qi he mustered to defend himself at the last moment was pierced through mercilessly, and Liang Shuangren instinctively raised his hand to block the spear. A hole was torn through his palm. Luckily for him, he managed to twist his head away at the last second and the blood spear scraped his shoulders. Blood sprayed through the air the next second. Even though Mister Bu and the black-clothed man couldn¡¯t do anything to Liang Shuangren, Youshang was different! They injured Liang Shuangren during their first exchange, and the battle that was about to break out didn¡¯t seem hopeless after all! Since things had progressed up to that point, the identities of the three had already been exposed to Liang Shuangren. In order to prevent their identities from being leaked to the outside world, they had to silence this elder from the Changbai Holy Land forever! The three of them might have reservations about each other, but one thing they could come to an agreement on was that they had to kill Liang Shuangren today! In order to do so, they would have to give it their all. Even if they had to risk their lives, they had to bury Liang Shuangren in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range! No longer restraining themselves, the skies above the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range flickered with a multitude of lights. Heaven and earth qi rampaged and even with the cover of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range, the shockwaves still alerted everyone in the surroundings. ¡­ When Liang Shuangren arrived at the battlefield, Shang Xia lost his ability to spy on them with his divine sense. The terrifying skirmish that erupted next turned the region around them into a mass of chaos. Even with Shang Xia¡¯s guts, he didn¡¯t dare to venture near the place. Even though he had run some distance away from the battle and missed a part of it earlier, Shang Xia realized that the three who were fighting originally teamed up against Liang Shuangren when he arrived. We are "pawread dot com", find us on google. Initially, he felt that he was mistaken. However, seeing as the battle was getting more and more violent, he could basically confirm that the three of them had chosen to join hands to deal with Liang Shuangren. Otherwise, the battle would have long concluded. As for the intricate details that happened throughout the battle, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t learn a single one! Even though he was still feeling a little guilty about dragging Mister Bu into the mess, he had to get as far away as possible. After all, he was a Martial Intent Realm cultivator at the end of the day. With the Martial Extermination quartet going all out, the shockwaves that resulted would be more than enough to turn him into dust. He could hide his presence to observe the battle, but he had to ensure his safety by staying far away from them. Without hesitation, he started to move further in the direction he came from. When he arrived at a small hill that was a distance away from the battlefield, he suddenly heard a clear chirp coming from the skies above. The little bird disappeared earlier when Mister Bu was discovered by the two of them. Now that Shang Xia also managed to escape from the complete shitshow that was going on, she quickly met up with him. When Shang Xia was about to get Yan Ni¡¯er to look for a clear path to escape, she released several short chirps that caused a frown to appear on his face. Some people were approaching, and from the looks of it, there was more than one of them! Yan Ni¡¯er¡¯s communication with Shang Xia improved a whole lot since their time in the battlefield between the two worlds, but the things she could tell him were still limited. Her message was simple. Those people who were approaching were attacked by the shockwaves of the battle and when they came, they were running on land. None of them were Martial Extermination Realm experts. Even though the battle had been raging on for some time, they were in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. For a group of people to arrive so quickly, they had to be spies of the Azure Spiritual World who were hiding in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range after passing through the spatial barrier! After a series of considerations, Shang Xia decided to get Yan Ni¡¯er to lead the way as he avoided running into them. He hid his aura and presence and allowed them to pass. Meeting several Martial Intent Realm experts head-on wasn¡¯t the smartest choice he could make anyway. With his current skills, even Martial Extermination Realm experts wouldn¡¯t be able to sense his presence after he merged his divine sense with the world around him, much less cultivators in the Martial Intent Realm. They wouldn¡¯t be able to detect Shang Xia unless they actually saw him! When the group of four cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World passed him, Shang Xia widened his eyes slightly. He recognized two of the four and a trace of killing intent sprouted in his heart. Those two were the ones who attacked him after he left Kou Chongxue¡¯s place! Of the four, one of them was at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, and another had completed his third divine sense transformation. He was a step away from entering the grand completion stage. The other two were in the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm having experienced two divine sense transformations. The two he didn¡¯t recognize passed through the spatial barrier with Liang Shuangren, and there wasn¡¯t much need to introduce the two he had seen before. As they said, the road is narrow among enemies. They were destined to cross paths. As for the reason behind Shang Xia¡¯s killing intent, he was curious about the ambush he faced when he left Kou Chongxue¡¯s secret cultivation grounds. How did they know to ambush him there? He had to get to the bottom of the matter. When he was still deciding to carry out a sneak attack, the four of them who had just passed the hill stopped. They stared into the air where the four Martial Extermination Realm experts were fighting and sighed. The region where the four experts were fighting was twisted and they couldn¡¯t see a thing. ¡°What do we do now?¡± One of the cultivators who came along with Liang Shuangren started to panic. ¡°What in the world happened?! Can Martial Uncle Liang be in danger?¡± Another cultivator who was holding a huge axe in his hand muttered, ¡°Elder Liang is a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert. He has an inheritance from the holy land, and experts from the Azure Origin World in the fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm might not be his match. How can he be in any danger?¡± Shang Xia recalled this axe-wielding cultivator as Yuan Gang, and he was one of the two who was at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. ¡°Brother Yuan is correct.¡± Another one of the four spoke. Clasping his hands behind his back, a smile appeared on his face, ¡°Martial Uncle Liang will definitely be alright. I wonder who would be crazy enough to fight him anyway? Also, does this mean that our hiding spot is exposed?¡± With his cultivation at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, his opinion carried a lot of weight. ¡°Brother Lin, your words make sense.¡± Shan Dao, the other cultivator who ambushed Shang Xia previously, spoke. ¡°Senior Brother Lin, what should we do now? We can¡¯t possibly wait here for the battle to end, right?¡± ¡°This¡­¡± Senior Brother Lin stared into the distance and didn¡¯t know what to say at that moment. Liang Shuangren¡¯s voice tore through the skies at that moment and he roared at the four of them, ¡°What the fuck are you standing there for? Hurry up! Use the¡­ Use the Essence Harmony¡­ Formation! Get in here!¡± CH 288 ¡°What the fuck are you standing there for? Hurry up! Use the¡­ Use the Essence Harmony¡­ Formation! Send an attack in here!¡± Liang Shuangren¡¯s roar caused the four cultivators to panic. ¡°Martial Uncle Liang¡­ What did he mean by that? Is he calling us to back him up?¡± Senior Brother Lin scratched his ear in disbelief. Liang Shuangren¡¯s yell earlier seemed to be disrupted by the fluctuation of heaven and earth qi, but he managed to get a part of his message across. ¡°He should be telling us to use the Essence Harmony Pulse Formation to send a powerful attack towards him, right?¡± Shang Dao explained. From his voice, the four of them could tell that he was in a bad spot. In fact, it was so bad that he had to ask a bunch of Martial Intent Realm cultivators to back him up! ¡°Sending an attack in there blindly? What if we accidentally hit someone from our side?¡± Yuan Gang scratched his head and looked at the others. Finally, someone else spoke. ¡°Even if we manage to lay down the formation and send an attack in there, our strike won¡¯t be as strong as something unleashed by a Martial Extermination Realm expert. Martial Uncle Liang is at the third layer of the Martial Extermination Realm. How could we be of assistance?¡± ¡°Wait. Junior Brother Di and Junior Brother Yuan, you make sense!¡± Shang Dao looked at the chaotic air in the distance and muttered, ¡°All of us can tell that Martial Uncle Liang might be in trouble. Since he told us to send an attack in randomly, we can tell that he might be facing more than one opponent. He needs our help, and it doesn¡¯t matter who we hit.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Senior Brother Lin nodded slightly. It was as though Shan Dao had spoken his thoughts out loud. Glancing at Senior Brother Lin from the corner of his eye, Shan Dao continued, ¡°Since we can be certain that Martial Uncle Liang is currently facing more than one enemy, we can also say that they¡¯re not as strong as him since he¡¯s able to last for so long under their combined assault.¡± A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. ¡°Yeah.¡± Senior Brother Lin clapped once and took over. ¡°Martial Brother Shan took the words right out of my mouth. Since Martial Uncle Liang needs our help, we¡¯ll do as he says. Our combined strength might be able to reach the standard of a first layer Martial Extermination Realm expert and that might be enough for him to turn the situation around.¡± Tilting his head slightly to the side, Senior Brother Lin revealed a haughty expression as though he managed to see through Liang Shuangren¡¯s thoughts. ¡°You¡­ Hurry¡­ Hurry!¡± Liang Shuangren¡¯s voice became more hurried, and he barely managed to force out a few words. This time, the four of them no longer hesitated. They got into position immediately. According to what they learned in the Changbai Holy Land, they circulated their inner qi before merging them with each other. ¡°All of you¡­ You¡­ You¡¯ll die today¡­¡± Liang Shuangren¡¯s voice seemed to boom through the air. He sounded much more casual all of a sudden, and a trace of excitement could be heard in his voice. It was as though the pressure on him lessened significantly. Standing nearly forty feet away from the four of them, Shang Xia could also hear Liang Shuangren clearly. He might not know what was happening in the battlefield, but he could tell that Mister Bu¡¯s side held the slight advantage from the strained breaths Liang Shuangren was taking. However, he also knew that once the stalemate was broken, Mister Bu would be in grave danger. Unless¡­ Mister Bu was on the same side as Liang Shuangren! Of course, Shang Xia didn¡¯t quite believe it was possible for a third change to happen in the battlefield. He wasn¡¯t willing to believe it either. However, the Painting Finger Mister Bu unleashed at the start of the battle aroused Shang Xia¡¯s suspicions. As someone who had experienced the weaker versions of the Painting Finger against members of the Rose Party, Shang Xia clearly recognized the move. A conflict was raging in Shang Xia¡¯s heart at the moment. He eventually managed to keep his head clear, and he looked at the problem objectively. He didn¡¯t interfere with the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World when they were setting up their formation. Instead, he patiently waited for them to link their inner qi. His divine sense might not be able to spy on the battle with the four Martial Extermination Realm experts, but it was more than enough to detect what the four Martial Intent Realm cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World were doing. He could feel that the four of them finally fused into a single entity. It seemed as though their inner qi broke through the upper limits of what was achievable by a Martial Intent Realm cultivator. Shang Xia could see that a blurry halo appeared above the four of them, and the space started to tremble. Shan Dao, who was the strongest among the four, stood at the very front. He slowly unsheathed his sword. Their merged qi entered Shan Dao¡¯s blade slowly, and a terrifying pressure descended on Shan Dao¡¯s physical body. With all his strength, he sent out a single strike towards the chaotic battlefield. However, that one attack seemed to suck all the energy out of their bodies at once. A huge blade made of heaven and earth qi flew towards the battlefield, and it seemed to resemble a single ray of extermination origin. From the looks of it, Shan Dao wasn¡¯t far from breaking through to the Martial Extermination Realm. The instant the blade emerged and flew towards the battlefield, Shang Xia knew that his opportunity had arrived! With the Scarlet Star Spear in hand, he leaped over the hill and released the fourth move of his Providence Spear Art, Void Evasion. It was the strike that was the hardest to avoid, and with their weakened states it was the perfect attack. The secret art that allowed the four of them to display the power of a Martial Extermination Realm expert proved to be their downfall. After expending most of their energy in the strike, they were basically wooden targets waiting for Shang Xia to reap their lives. With a single stab, the tip of Shang Xia¡¯s spear went straight into Yuan Gang¡¯s back. As the tip emerged from his chest, Yuan Gang lowered his head slowly with blood pouring out of his mouth. Darkness started to encroach on his vision. ¡°I¡­ I¡­ What¡¯s happening to me?¡± Those were the last words he could mutter before his vision went completely black. He fell to the ground, never to get up again. ¡°Brother Yuan!¡± ¡°Junior Brother Yuan!¡± Shan Dao and Senior Brother Lin roared with rage, but they couldn¡¯t do a thing as Yuan Gang fell before their eyes. Since their secret formation had to be maintained by four Martial Intent Realm experts, Yuan Gang¡¯s death signified that they wouldn¡¯t be able to use the formation any longer. Fortunately for them, the formless blade that they sent towards the battlefield wouldn¡¯t dissipate because of that. However, they would suffer a heavy backlash from the sudden broken connection. Shan Dao suffered the most as he took on the brunt of the backlash. The others felt the inner qi in their body fluctuating violently, but they could calm it down in a second. However, time wasn¡¯t on their side at the moment. After killing Yuan Gang, Shang Xia¡¯s second attack arrived! He needed to kill another one before they recovered! With time of the essence, Shang Xia used the fastest strike he comprehended, Lightning Stonefire! Of the moves he comprehended, it possessed the weakest offensive ability. However, it was the fastest! The Scarlet Star Spear flashed like lightning and it went towards Junior Brother Di who had the next weakest cultivation. The last thing Junior Brother Di saw was a frosty light that drew a perfect arc across his neck. With his eyes wide open in shock, the light slowly faded from them. Due to their limited cultivation level, Shang Xia managed to instakill the two of them. However, his actions weren¡¯t without consequences. Senior Brother Lin and Shan Dao were enraged. Releasing a guttural cry, hatred filled Senior Brother Lin¡¯s face. He glared at Shang Xia, wanting nothing more than to tear the person before him into pieces. His originally calm and dignified demeanor was nowhere to be seen. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Shan Dao yelled as he recognized Shang Xia. In the past, his ambush failed. He even allowed Shang Xia to kill one of their members before escaping! He wasn¡¯t just angry at the whole situation. He felt utterly humiliated! Watching two of his junior brothers close their eyes for eternity, he ignored all his injuries as he swung his blade at Shang Xia. Even if he had to die, he wanted to drag Shang Xia with him! His crazed and desperate attack couldn¡¯t be more well-timed. In order to ensure that every one of his strikes slayed his enemy, Shang Xia didn¡¯t hold back on his Origin True Qi expenditure. After killing the two of them, he had to regulate his inner qi and it was the perfect time for Shan Dao to launch his counterattack. CH 289 Shan Dao¡¯s crazed attack actually allowed him to grasp the greatest opportunity to deal damage to Shang Xia! With him jumping into action at that moment, Shang Xia would be suppressed by his maniacal attacks. He couldn¡¯t ignore Senior Brother Lin who was also an expert at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm! Under Shan Dao¡¯s frenzied attacks, Shang Xia had to take two steps back to steady himself. By the time he found his footing, Senior Brother Lin joined in the battle, forcing Shang Xia into a dangerous situation. They might have forced him into a corner, but not a trace of panic could be seen in his eyes. Facing Senior Brother Lin¡¯s first strike, Shang Xia retreated while dragging his spear through the ground. He created a huge space between himself and the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World. Even though that gave Shan Dao more time and space to gather his inner qi, Shang Xia gained the same opportunity! He retrieved two completed talismans from his Embroidered Cloud Case and tossed them at the two. One shouldn¡¯t forget that Shang Xia was an actual rank two talisman master! Even though talismans only contained a certain amount of power, Shang Xia created them with his special martial intent! They were sword talismans that had never been seen before! Even though the power contained in them was far from a rank three talisman, they contained Shang Xia¡¯s unique sword intents. In mid air, one of the talismans transformed into a rain of sword light that fell on Senior Brother Lin. That was his Cloud Drizzle Sword Talisman! The other was a little more special. It was something Shang Xia created after fusing fire and ice qi with softness and strength qi. The power contained in the talisman could be said to have reached the peak of any rank two talismans. ¡°Hmph, petty tricks!¡± Senior Brother Lin yelled and he drew a circle around himself with his sword. A blood-red line appeared and it expanded slowly around him. The rain of sword light fell into the bloody ring that was growing bigger and bigger and they eventually disappeared. Compared to Senior Brother Lin who used some sort of special technique to nullify Shang Xia¡¯s sword talisman, Shan Dao¡¯s approach was a lot more tyrannical. With a loud grunt, his blade slashed downwards, cleaving the sword intent that emerged from the jade talisman in two. He didn¡¯t even care about the remnant energy battering against him as he charged straight at Shang Xia. He didn¡¯t wish to give Shang Xia an opportunity to catch his breath. Shang Xia expected such an ending. His sword talismans were strong, but the two of them were freakishly powerful cultivators at the Martial Intent Realm. Shan Dao was at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm and there was nothing much to say about him, and Senior Brother Lin completed three divine sense transformations and was a step away from the grand completion stage! Those puny talismans weren¡¯t going to stop them! However, Shang Xia¡¯s main goal was to waste their energy and time by distracting them with talismans. Raising his Scarlet Star Spear, Shang Xia''s attitude changed. A serious look returned to his face and facing Shan Dao who had entered his attack range, his spear stabbed out ruthlessly. Shang Xia growled once as a deep wound that reached down to his bones appeared under his left rib cage. Blood flowed down his body and stained his clothes a deep crimson. Shan Dao, who had just arrived before Shang Xia, widened his eyes in shock and fear. In the instant Shang Xia stabbed his spear forward, fear filled Shan Dao¡¯s heart. He felt as though the world was collapsing on him. A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. The giant phantom of a praying mantis behind Shan Dao was supposed to fuse with his blade. However, it started to act differently at that moment. It lunged in the opposite direction of Shan Dao. Feeling a wave of irritation rising in his heart at that moment, Shan Dao nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. His blade almost made contact with something, but it eventually missed its target. Before he could reflect on what happened, a sharp pain shot up the left side of his body. A bloodied hole appeared in his shoulder as blood sprayed out like a fountain. Even though he was wounded, he didn¡¯t notice how it happened! Of course, it had something to do with Shang Xia. But from the looks of it, his spear hadn¡¯t even connected! Luckily for him, the evasion of the praying mantis behind him earlier acted like some sort of warning. Due to the abnormal reaction of the giant phantom he created, he shifted his trajectory slightly. If he went through with his original attack, the wound that was slightly above his heart at that moment would have gone straight through it! Facing two experts at their level, Shang Xia didn¡¯t dare to be careless. He had been making strategic retreats in order to recover enough energy to unleash his attack. Finally gathering enough inner qi, he released the fifth strike he comprehended, the Woundless Spear! Even though it was called the woundless spear, the hole in Shan Dao¡¯s shoulder was self-explanatory. It was terrifyingly strong! When Shang Xia unleashed the strike, he would injure himself before the enemy. He only used it once in the past. As such, he hadn¡¯t been able to deepen his understanding of the strike and improve on it. The reason he chose to use his fifth strike was because of the effect it had when he used it on Youshang when he was being followed the previous time. It was able to force Youshang, a Martial Extermination Realm expert back, it would definitely be able to cause considerable damage to a Martial Intent Realm cultivator. Of course, Shang Xia understood that his fifth strike wasn¡¯t exactly omnipotent. When he unleashed it on Youshang previously, he suffered more damage than the Martial Extermination Realm expert. Shan Dao, who was his target this time, managed to avoid it slightly with his battle instincts. Circulating his inner qi, Shang Xia closed the wound on his body. He experienced it before and he knew that sealing his wound would only provide a temporary solution. Recovering would depend on how strong his physique was. Of course, the same applied to Shan Dao. Shang Xia saw how Shan Dao was tapping on various points on his body while tossing medicine into his mouth like they were candy. No matter what he tried, he would only be able to stop the bleeding at best. The injuries would heal unless he took some time off to rest. Naturally, there was no time to rest in such an intense battle. Even though Shan Dao was injured, Senior Brother Lin wasn¡¯t! He took Shan Dao¡¯s place and started to attack Shang Xia. With Shan Dao¡¯s injuries, Senior Brother Lin could tell that if Shang Xia struck at that moment, his comrade would be done for. He had to do something and he drew a blurry arc in front of him with his sword. A gray sword light forced Shang Xia to retreat. Advancing towards Shang Xia, Senior Brother Lin quickly placed himself between his opponent and the already injured Shan Dao. He unleashed his sword technique, causing a wave of frost to rush towards Shang Xia. The sword technique he was using was called the Avalanche Sword Art, and it was part of an inheritance he received from the Changbai Holy Land. It possessed tyrannical might. Shang Xia¡¯s expenditure of inner qi couldn¡¯t be said to be negligible after killing two Martial Intent Realm cultivators and heavily injuring Shan Dao. With Senior Brother Lin pressing down with his sword art and his divine sense, Shang Xia felt a sense of pressure like never before. Helpless, he could only choose to retreat once again. Watching his opponent retreat, Senior Brother Lin didn¡¯t let up. He even started pushing his divine sense to the extreme as the heaven and earth qi around him fluctuated wildly. Joy filled his heart as he felt his cultivation slowly increase. Shang Xia was like a stepping stone he could use to push himself to the peak of the Martial Intent Realm before forming his extermination origin! Even though his opponent killed two of his comrades and heavily injured another one, everything would be alright if he managed to turn the situation around. The more he thought about it, the stronger his attacks became. The feeling of breaking through grew stronger! Was he really going to experience a breakthrough? Examining himself, Senior Brother Lin felt a wave of comfort washing through his mind. His thoughts cleared up and the world before him seemed to have turned a little brighter as he submerged himself into his thoughts. If he managed to use the opportunity to comprehend his martial intent, he would step through the gates and enter the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm! It was a shame the situation at hand didn¡¯t allow him to do so. He was trying to suppress his enemy, the sinner who killed two of his comrades and heavily injured another! Who would have thought that Shang Xia would give up on their fight at that moment? Senior Brother Lin wanted to use the battle to comprehend his martial intent, but Shang Xia turned to flee. What the fuck?! He ran?! Senior Brother Lin was right at the edge of his comprehension. Just a little more and he would have succeeded. Who would have thought that Shang Xia would take the opportunity when he was slightly distracted earlier to run? The feeling Senior Brother Lin got was probably comparable to a man on his wedding night who was about to reach his climax when the bed collapsed. Senior Brother Lin roared with rage. ¡°Stop right there, get back here!¡± Just as he was about to give chase, he realized that he wasn¡¯t as fast as the kid. Even if he had the ability to catch up, he wouldn¡¯t dare to chase. He could only release his enraged cry, but all he received in return was a stare from Shang Xia like was looking at a dumbass. ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re going too far! No, wait!¡± Senior Brother Lin seemed to have recalled something and he quickly turned to look behind. ¡°Oh no, Brother Shan Dao!¡± When he turned to look at Shan Dao, he was greeted with a reluctant gaze from his fellow comrade. Not a shred of vitality was left in his body and a small flying knife could be seen sticking out from his neck. That was a low-grade weapon, the Fleeing Wind Dagger he obtained when he killed the members of the Rose Party in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. CH 290 When Senior Brother Lin was immersed in the miraculous feeling that almost allowed him to break through earlier, he completely forgot about Shan Dao who was behind him. He didn¡¯t even notice when Shang Xia threw out his flying knife. It went without a doubt that Shang Xia had been toying with Senior Brother Lin the whole time. Senior Brother Lin might be from the Changbai Holy Land, but it seemed as though his battle experience was a little lacking. Moreover, Shang Xia¡¯s goal was to kill Shan Dao anyway. He had to take revenge for the ambush the other day. As a direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land, Senior Brother Lin was extremely proud of his status. However, all that ego and pride was ground to dust by Shang Xia who killed three of his fellow disciples in front of him. Senior Brother Lin, who was a step away from entering the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, felt his body shivering violently as all the energy left him. Luckily for him, he managed to maintain his last shred of rationality. He knew that it wasn¡¯t time to be crying over the death of his comrades. He quickly acted to retrieve their bodies. Even though the battle between the Martial Intent Realm cultivators had ended, the Martial Extermination experts in the distance were still going strong. Liang Shuangren was still at a massive disadvantage and he needed to bring his fellow cultivators over to utilize the Essence Harmony Pulse Formation. Reaching down to pull out the flying knife stuck in Shan Dao¡¯s throat, a sharp whistle came from behind, causing the hair on his body to stand erect. Luckily for him, he was prepared for any type of ambush. The moment he discovered the threat, he twisted his body to the side. The metal arrow that appeared from the depths of the forest around them pierced straight through Shan Dao¡¯s corpse. The strong force dragged the body several feet across the ground. Several dozen feet away, Shang Xia lowered his bow and released a soft sigh. He was lamenting the fact that his sneak attack missed, but he didn¡¯t stop there. He started rushing towards Senior Brother Lin. The arrow was supposed to bury itself deep in Senior Brother Lin¡¯s body, but the man was clearly prepared for Shang Xia¡¯s sneak attack. After the short break he received when Senior Brother Lin collected the bodies of his comrades, Shang Xia managed to recover slightly. He wasn¡¯t afraid that he would be suppressed mercilessly like before. Moreover, the arrow he shot out earlier had a second purpose. He wanted to stop Senior Brother Lin from retrieving his Fleeing Wind Dagger. The dagger might be small, but it was still a low-grade weapon nonetheless. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t a wastrel who wasted resources! It didn¡¯t take long for Shang Xia to close the distance between them. He didn¡¯t slow down as he sent another arrow flying towards Senior Brother Lin. Ready to take the attack on, Senior Brother Lin sliced it in half. However, the remnant energy in the arrow forced him back. With Senior Brother Lin distracted, Shang Xia moved even closer. ¡°That¡­ That¡¯s Yin Lian¡¯s Bow!¡± Senior Brother Lin gasped as a twisted expression appeared on his face. Facing the fast-approaching Shang Xia, Senior Brother Lin knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat such a monster. Even though he wanted nothing more than to tear Shang Xia to shreds, his last remaining bit of rationality told him to run. After missing his first arrow, Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect the next to hit. However, stalling Senior Brother Lin was enough. The loot on the corpses belonged to him and he couldn¡¯t allow Senior Brother Lin to take them away. It went without saying that Shang Xia had noticed that the other three were carrying a variety of precious items on them. Just their weapons alone were worth a huge fortune. All of them were carrying graded weapons and Shang Xia couldn¡¯t allow such goodies to slip away from under his eyes. When Shang Xia was about to enter striking range, Senior Brother Lin finally made the rational decision to leave. In order to save himself, he couldn¡¯t retrieve the corpses of his fellow martial brothers. Shang Xia didn¡¯t plan to hunt Senior Brother Lin down. Instead, he went to retrieve his Fleeing Wind Dagger immediately. After grabbing his dagger, he discovered that Shan Dao¡¯s blade was missing! Earlier, Shang Xia noticed that his blade was a mid-grade weapon. Sweeping his divine sense across the corpse, he discovered that everything was missing! There could only be one explanation. Senior Brother Lin retrieved them earlier when he grabbed Shan Dao¡¯s corpse. A trace of irritation filled Shang Xia¡¯s heart. If he acted a little earlier, he might have been able to stop Senior Brother Lin from taking away the items. The person who was supposed to possess the largest fortune among them was Shan Dao, but Shang Xia only managed to retrieve his dagger from the corpse. The items on the other two experts might not have been retrieved by Senior Brother Lin, but they didn¡¯t possess a spatial artifact. The most valuable items on them were Yuan Gang¡¯s axe and Junior Brother Di¡¯s short hammer. Shang Xia¡¯s sneak attack was too successful. Junior Brother Di died without drawing his weapon. However, when Shang Xia tried sending some of his Origin True Qi into the weapon, he felt a sense of rejection. If he was unable to send his inner qi into the weapon, it would be less useful than an ordinary sword he picked up at the side of the street. Unable to decipher the reason behind the rejection, Shang Xia could only store it in his Embroidered Cloud Case to bring it back for future research. Luckily for him, he was able to use Yuan Gang¡¯s axe with no problems. The axe was a low-grade weapon, and Shang Xia took it as his consolation prize. At the very least, he received something after killing the three of them. Naturally, Shang Xia was probably the only person who could say something like that. Receiving two graded weapons would make anyone else jump for joy. If Shang Xia¡¯s attitude was seen by anyone from the five institutions, they would probably drown him in spit. When everything was done, Shang Xia waved his hand and tossed the three corpses into a nearby hole in the ground. When he was done, he turned to look at the chaotic battlefield in the distance. From the time Shang Xia carried out his sneak attack to the time Shang Xia disposed of the three bodies, not too much time had passed. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. With the intensity of the battle going on among the Martial Extermination Realm experts, they might not even notice what happened over at their side. Dealing with the Martial Intent Realm cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World, Shang Xia didn¡¯t know what to do next. He couldn¡¯t help the Martial Extermination Realm experts on his side even if he wanted to. After all, he was unable to observe the situation happening in the huge battle between the four. He didn¡¯t even know that out of the four Martial Extermination Realm experts who were fighting, which of the other three were on his side. The only enemy he knew was Liang Shuangren. Whoever it was up there would be able to notice him eventually. Indeed, not too long after, he heard an enraged cry coming from Liang Shuangren. With a confirmed enemy yelling his guts out, Shang Xia knew that the only smart move was to retreat. Also, from the urgent cries for help from the group of Martial Intent Realm cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World, Shang Xia could tell that Liang Shuangren wasn¡¯t in a good spot. Since Shang Xia¡¯s confirmed enemy was in a pinch and he didn¡¯t know who his allies were, he could only run as far as he could before waiting for the situation to clear up. Leaving would allow him to stay safe while not affecting the outcome of the battle. However, the moment he turned around to leave, a bad premonition filled his heart. Mister Bu¡¯s identity might be suspicious, but Shang Xia couldn¡¯t deny that the expert took care of him previously. If not for the fact that Mister Bu pushed him away when they were discovered, he might have already lost his life to the cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World. Of course, the main trust Shang Xia had in Mister Bu came from the Tongyou Institution. They were the ones who sent him to meet Mister Bu in the first place! Thinking up to that point, he turned back to look at the chaotic battlefield once again. He measured the distance visually and realized that even after drawing his bow to the maximum, he wouldn¡¯t be able to shoot his arrow at anyone fighting. Even if it was possible to shoot an arrow in there, it would be useless against a Martial Extermination Realm expert. The most likely scenario was that the arrow would be ripped to shreds by the shockwaves from their clashes long before it reaches the battlefield. Realizing there was nothing more he could do at his current location, he leaped off the hill and did something absolutely insane. He started running towards the battlefield. The distance between him and the fight wasn¡¯t large, but Shang Xia found it difficult to make much progress. Strong winds pushed him back as the chaotic fluctuations of heaven and earth qi obstructed his way. When he tried his hardest to approach, a loud blast rang through the air and he nearly lost control of his inner qi. If not for the fact that his foundations were solid, he might be crippled by the sudden disturbance. Regulating his inner qi, he started to push himself forward. When he started feeling the impact of the shockwaves on his body, he finally made out a few of the figures fighting above. Glancing at the four of them once, Shang Xia had no choice but to take a few steps back in retreat. He discovered that his inner qi was exhausted after a short glance at the battle! It was the effect of the various extermination origins controlled by the four of them. However, that also told him one important fact. He was close to the heart of the battle if their extermination origins could affect him so heavily! To put it bluntly, he was able to notice them, but any of the four would be able to kill him with a single thought! Gritting his teeth, Shang Xia chose to risk it all. Gripping his Scarlet Star Spear in his hand, he barged his way into the area covered by their extermination origins. He locked on to Liang Shuangren as soon as he could before pushing his Origin True Qi to the limit to release one strike. There was only a single move Shang Xia knew that could cause damage to Martial Extermination Realm experts. That was his fifth move, the Woundless Spear! After unleashing his strike, Shang Xia didn¡¯t even have time to keep his spear in his Embroidered Cloud Case. Holding his spear, he fled hastily from the scene. The instant he left the destructive region, a new wound appeared under his right rib. The wound was once again seven inches long and one inch deep. His clothes were stained an even deeper shade of red. CH 291 Shang Xia¡¯s reckless death-courting actions caused another deep wound to form on his already battered body. The wound was bad, but luckily, it was only an external wound and Shang Xia was able to hold on forcefully. He might not have been able to see the result of his Woundless Spear, but Shang Xia could determine that Liang Shuangren was definitely injured by it. Liang Shuangren might be a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert, and Shang Xia¡¯s strike might only be able to draw some blood. However, that was enough. As long as he drew Liang Shuangren¡¯s attention away for a split second, the other Martial Extermination Realm experts would be able to capitalize on the chance! His crazy attempt drained him of all his energy. There was no way he could do it again. Another voice rang in his ears as he was retreating. ¡°Silly kid, you¡¯re really lucky to be able to escape with your life this time. Borrow me your spear for the time being!¡± Thinking back to the interaction before the battle, Shang Xia realized it belonged to Youshang of the Azure Spiritual World. How was it possible for Shang Xia to lend his spear to someone from the Azure Spiritual World? The Shang Clan specially created the Scarlet Star Spear for him, and they used a colossal amount of resources to do so. He wouldn¡¯t hand deliver the weapon to someone from the Azure Spiritual World¡­ Before Shang Xia could start hurling obscenities at the man, Mister Bu¡¯s voice rang in his mind. ¡°Lend it to him. With the spear, we might be able to kill Liang Shuangren!¡± ¡°Kill Liang Shuangren? Am I supposed to toss the spear towards you guys? Will he be able to grab it if I do?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s tone was a little reluctant and it was obvious he didn¡¯t wish to hand his spear over to a cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World. However, logic told him that an opportunity to kill an elder of the Changbai Holy Land wouldn¡¯t present itself so often. As such, he chose to listen to Mister Bu. ¡°Just throw the spear in! Gimme the weapon! Other people are going to come soon!¡± Youshang¡¯s voice rang through the air once again. Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ]. Even though Shang Xia couldn¡¯t see the battle clearly, he could tell where they were from their voice. It seemed as though Youshang was working with Mister Bu and the black-clothed man to fight Liang Shuangren. He might be confused about the reason behind Youshang¡¯s decision to kill Liang Shuangren, but he eventually chose to trust Mister Bu. With all his strength, he tossed his spear towards the chaotic battlefield. When he was done, he started running away with all his might. Without his weapon in hand, Shang Xia didn¡¯t even dare to stay behind to wait for the battle to conclude! As he was making his way away, Shang Xia heard a happy grunt from Youshang as the battle intensified yet again. Rumble¡­ The mountain range under the four Martial Extermination Realm experts was starting to crumble, and the shockwaves of the battle tore through the lands. While running away, Shang Xia felt that the shockwaves were sent after him intentionally. Running desperately, Shang Xia didn¡¯t stop until he couldn¡¯t hear the blasts coming from their exchange. When he was finally far enough to feel safe, he turned to look at the scene of destruction. He was shocked to discover a huge wave pointing in his direction. Shang Xia wondered if it had anything to do with Liang Shuangren trying to drag him into the afterlife. The thought flashed through his mind, but he was unable to receive any confirmation on the matter. That was because the clouds in the air had already been destroyed by the chaotic battle. The space was no longer twisted, and the four of them were nowhere to be seen. He couldn¡¯t tell the result of the battle either. ¡°Where did they go? Hey wait a second, my Scarlet Star Spear!¡± Shang Xia roared angrily as he didn¡¯t know if he would ever be able to retrieve his weapon now that it was in the hands of a Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Azure Spiritual World. What Youshang said earlier suddenly rang in Shang Xia¡¯s mind. ¡®Other people are going to come soon¡¯! He thought that after Senior Brother Lin returned, he would be leading the members of the Azure Spiritual World over. However, it was also possible for other cultivators to check out the disturbance. Mister Bu also said before that his identity couldn''t be leaked. He had to return to the city before night fell. That was probably why they disappeared after the battle concluded. After all, none of the four could reveal their identities. That made it all the more so that Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t be able to stay where he was. Even though he had to leave as soon as possible, he didn¡¯t dare to return to the city immediately! He took a huge detour around other regions of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range before heading back. Not too long after he emerged from the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range and caught sight of the Changfeng City in the distance, an unexpected figure appeared beside him. It was Mister Bu who had disappeared after the battle. ¡°Cough, cough¡­¡± Mister Bu covered his mouth with his left hand before chuckling, ¡°Kid, you¡¯re really quick. If I came a little later, you would have entered the city.¡± Shang Xia glanced at him from the corner of his eye and muttered, ¡°Are you injured?¡± ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s just a small injury. Moreover, I traded my injury for something much more worth it.¡± Mister Bu chuckled. ¡°You killed the third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Azure Spiritual World?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes lit up and he gasped softly. Nodding slowly, a satisfied smile appeared on Mister Bu¡¯s face. Stretching out his hand, Shang Xia growled, ¡°Where¡¯s my spear?¡± Nearly bursting out into laughter, Mister Bu flipped his wrist to reveal the Scarlet Star Spear. It was clear that Mister Bu had a spatial artifact on him too. Shang Xia reached out to grab his spear and inspected it from head to toe. When he was satisfied that there wasn¡¯t any serious damage on the spear, he heaved a sigh of relief. Next, he heard Mister Bu whispering softly. ¡°Your spear is made with a lot of good materials. It also looks like it went through several refinement processes from Ou Bai of the Tongyou Institution. His talent in blacksmithing isn¡¯t exceptionally impressive. He never takes risks. Every time he refines a weapon, he would follow the steps without any deviation. His success rate is high, and the quality of the product is good. However, he is never able to bring out the limits of the materials used. From a certain perspective, you can say that he¡¯s wasting resources.¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but look at Mister Bu in a new light. ¡°Senior, do you also refine weapons?¡± Thinking back to how the Tongyou Institution got him to meet with Mister Bu, it made sense as Shang Xia went to the forge to look for Mister Bu in the first place. A smile appeared on Mister Bu¡¯s face. ¡°I know a thing or two. In fact, the materials and treasures used to craft your spear are more than enough to refine a high-grade weapon. Who would have thought that Ou Bai was the one working on it? It¡¯s no wonder it became a mid-grade weapon. However, it¡¯s possible to improve it in the future. The only requirement is for you to look for several more treasures.¡± He even told Shang Xia the names of the materials he needed to find in order to raise his spear to the high-grade level in the future. Shang Xia burned them all into his memory. Seeing as they were about to arrive at the city gates, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but ask again, ¡°Senior, what exactly happened back there? Why would the three of you surround Liang Shuangren to kill him? Who are the other two? Where did you go after the battle?¡± ¡°Hehe, I thought you would have asked this a long time ago. You really managed to control yourself¡­¡± Mister Bu chuckled in amusement. Shang Xia sniggered under his breath. ¡°Mister Bu, please enlighten me.¡± In response, Mister Bu shook his head slowly. ¡°There are some things you cannot learn about at the moment. All that matters now is that Liang Shuangren is dead and we wiped out the nest of cultivators from the Azure Spiritual World.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ So that¡¯s where you went after killing him. Did you do that to prevent the news from leaking? Looks like the person they called Senior Brother Lin didn¡¯t manage to avoid his fate even after nearly breaking through to the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm¡­¡± Shang Xia sighed. ¡°Who nearly broke through to the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm? There were a few of them who completed their third divine sense transformation, but the strongest among them was only at the large competition stage. None of them were close to breaking through¡­¡± Mister Bu frowned. Realizing the severity of the situation, Shang Xia¡¯s expression turned serious immediately. If Senior Brother Lin really managed to escape, the news of Liang Shuangren¡¯s death would probably be leaked! Also, the three other Martial Extermination Realm experts who killed Liang Shuangren were still trying to hide their identities! It was especially so for Youshang. In Shang Xia¡¯s eyes, he was a weirdo who changed his allegiance at the last second and killed his comrade! There was no way he could allow the news to reach other members of the Azure Spiritual World! Mister Bu lowered his voice and growled, ¡°Are you sure there¡¯s someone like that?¡± Shang Xia nodded resolutely. He also revealed the battle that happened among them. Exhaling a long breath, Mister Bu shook his head in response. ¡°We can¡¯t blame you for this. You killed three of the four Martial Intent Realm cultivators you faced. The way you handled the situation was pretty much perfect. If anyone else was in your place, they might not have done better. You don¡¯t have to worry about letting him escape.¡± ¡°What about exposing our identities?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°Relax. The most important thing right now is to tell the other two that someone managed to escape. With their experience and schemes, they should have several more identities they can use to hide themselves. They shouldn¡¯t be exposed for the time being.¡± Mister Bu sighed. From his words, Shang Xia could tell that the three of them had already reached an agreement and formed some sort of alliance. That also allowed Shang Xia to heave a sigh of relief. ¡°Then¡­¡± Shang Xia muttered slowly while looking at Mister Bu. With the corners of his lips curling upwards to form a sneer, Mister Bu retrieved a box before handing it over to Shang Xia. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Shang Xia gasped and a look of delight appeared on his face. ¡°Stop pretending to be dumb. You were waiting for this all along. Haha. You were indispensable when it came to killing Liang Shuangren. Naturally, we left a share of the spoils for you.¡± Shang Xia reached out to grab the box like a kid on Christmas day and he chuckled, ¡°Many thanks to seniors! I wonder what good stuff you left for me?¡± CH 292 ¡°Haha! I didn¡¯t think that you guys would leave some scraps for me. I wonder what good stuff this box contains?¡± With his intentions seen through by Mister Bu, Shang Xia no longer maintained his courteous look. He couldn¡¯t wait to open the box. However, he was stopped by Mister Bu. ¡°Haha, take a look after you get back. We¡¯re approaching the gates. You better not let other people discover this.¡± Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Shang Xia decided to take the man¡¯s advice. He soon added, ¡°Oh right, I apologize for my actions. If not for my insistence to bring you into the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range, you wouldn¡¯t be injured.¡± Shang Xia was sincerely apologetic for what he had done. However, his apology was met with a soft chuckle from Mister Bu. ¡°You can¡¯t be blamed for this. Everything happened too suddenly and we were caught off guard. Luckily, it ended well. At the very least, I found several people to work with for our plans on the Changfeng City.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes lit up and he continued questioning, ¡°Are you talking about the black-clothed man? He seems really familiar to me. I wonder where I¡¯ve seen him before¡­¡± ¡°Hah. You¡¯ll know when the time comes¡­¡± Mister Bu laughed. ¡°What are your plans for the future? How should we communicate in the future?¡± Shang Xia asked. Thinking for a second, Mister Bu muttered, ¡°You should have seen Old Wu from the forge the other day. If you notice a little copper bell under his shop sign, that would mean that I¡¯m looking for you. If you need to find me, you can tell him directly. He¡¯ll know where to find me.¡± After confirming their mode of communication, they were about to enter the city when Mister Bu stopped walking. A strange look appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he turned to look at the Martial Extermination Realm expert. All of a sudden, he discovered a violent fluctuation of heaven and earth qi in the distance. Shang Xia looked at Mister Bu with a look of confusion, but he saw the Martial Extermination Realm expert staring into the air in the northern direction. Shang Xia followed his gaze, and he found himself looking at a huge mirage. A massive manor that was surrounded by huge rock formations seemed to appear on the horizon. He couldn¡¯t be more familiar with the mirage. It looked exactly the same as the Coral Forest back in the battlefield between the two worlds! ¡°Mysterious Coral World?¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself. ¡°That¡¯s right. Looks like the Tongyou Institution¡¯s scheme that had gone on for twenty years finally bore fruit.¡± Mister Bu sighed. However, the deep frown on his face betrayed his true feelings. ¡°Is there anyone who will try to stop them?¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but ask. Mister Bu glanced at him from the corner of his eye and muttered, ¡°Heh. Now, their enemies will be revealed. Those who are plotting against the institution have to make their move.¡± When he was done, he turned to look at Shang Xia and he continued, ¡°I thought we had a lot more time to prepare. Looks like things are going out of control. With the arrival of the Mysterious Coral World, the Tongyou Institution will throw all consideration to the wind in order to reach the status of a holy land. The Changfeng City has to react immediately. We¡¯re out of time. Here¡¯s the new plan. I¡¯ll save the third in command of the Eighteen Horsemen in three days and prevent the Changfeng City from cooperating with the Ji Continent!¡± When he was done, he shot a final glance at the faint appearance of the Mysterious Coral World in the distance before turning to enter the city. ¡°Wait, wait, wait! What is our plan exactly?¡± Shang Xia asked. Without turning his head, Mister Bu yelled, ¡°You¡¯ll know when the time comes!¡± However, he seemed to have thought of something else and he continued, ¡°When you return, do your best to improve your spear art. You will need all the strength you can get.¡± When he was done, his figure blurred and disappeared. ¡°Hah¡­ How can I improve my Providence Spear Art so easily? If I manage to use three months to comprehend a new move, I¡¯ll be thanking the gods! How am I supposed to do anything in three days?¡± Shang Xia shook his head helplessly. Retracting his aura, he returned to his disguise as an ordinary hunter as he entered the city. Walking along the streets of the Changfeng City, he saw that the Mysterious Coral World had attracted a lot of attention. As the skies turned darker, the mirage of the Mysterious Coral World started to fade. The heaven and earth qi in the air seemed to become more active. Shang Xia could feel that the heaven and earth qi was fluctuating a lot more wildly than usual, and if he felt that was, things would be way worse for the others. In fact, they could even describe the increase in activity as ¡®tyrannical¡¯! Suppressing his Origin True Qi to the best of his abilities, Shang Xia found it trying to force itself free. If that kept up, his cultivation would definitely suffer some damage! When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Noticing the abnormality he was feeling, he could tell that many others were having it worse. If anyone were in seclusion at that moment, the sudden change in heaven and earth qi would cause all their efforts to go down the drain. Some weaker ones might even experience cultivation deviation and lose control of their inner qi altogether! As if the world was trying to prove Shang Xia right, a miserable cry left the lips of a cultivator not too far away. He fell to the ground, twitching. Strange masses formed under his skin and they started moving about as though rats were running inside him. ¡°It¡¯s bad! He¡¯s experiencing cultivation deviation!¡± A guard near the gate growled. ¡°Give him some space to breathe. Enter the city quickly!¡± Shang Xia wanted to make his move to help the man, but the situation was worse than he thought. Several palpitating sounds could be heard as the bones on his body started to crack. His body shriveled up and the heaven and earth in the area started to fluctuate. There was no saving him. Shang Xia had no choice but to enter the city with the large group around him. They circled around the dying cultivator to pass through the city gates. The moment they entered the city, the fluctuating heaven and earth qi calmed down. It was in stark contrast to the outside world. ¡°There¡¯s a formation around the city!¡± Many people were rushing along the streets, and all of them were clearly cultivators. Ordinary humans who couldn¡¯t cultivate didn¡¯t possess inner qi in their bodies, and they couldn¡¯t feel the heaven and earth qi around them. They were the only group of people who were unaffected by the changes to the world around them. When Shang Xia returned to his courtyard, he saw Yuanyuan playing with several kids who lived nearby. He handed the bag of sweets he bought along the way to Yuanyuan and got her to share them with her newfound friends. ¡°Creak.¡± Shang Xia left Yuanyuan to her own devices before walking into the courtyard. Feeling the slight pulse of heaven and earth qi, he could tell that someone had recently completed their cultivation session. ¡°You¡¯re back!¡± Hai Min wrapped a thick coat around herself as the sharp light in her eyes faded. Watching how she tried to hide her aura, Shang Xia didn¡¯t plan on exposing her. He chuckled in response, ¡°You don¡¯t seem to mind Yuanyuan playing around by herself outside¡­¡± Of course, he knew that with Hai Min¡¯s current cultivation level, she could hear everything that was going on where Yuanyuan was playing. She would be able to rush over if anything went wrong. Since Hai Min wanted to live an ordinary life, Shang Xia decided to let her do as she wished. After all, she didn¡¯t know that he was a cultivator either. Ever since leaving the mountain range, Shang Xia had closed his wounds. He changed into a fresh set of clothes so that Hai Min wouldn¡¯t be able to notice anything off. The events that transpired that day were frightening, even by Shang Xia¡¯s standards. He saved several members of the Eighteen Horsemen before crawling back from the gates of hell when they were discovered by Martial Extermination Realm experts. He might have closed the wounds he received during the battle forcefully with his inner qi, but his body needed some more time to heal. After dinner, Shang Xia didn¡¯t even practice his talisman crafting and neither did he try to cultivate. He crawled into bed and fell asleep instantly. When he woke up the next day, his injuries were much better. The wounds were closing and he felt extremely refreshed. It also didn¡¯t take long for him to notice that the heaven and earth qi in the city was a lot denser than before. Naturally, that was merely the situation in the Changfeng City. He didn¡¯t know how terrifying the heaven and earth fluctuations were outside the city, or the current situation in the Tongyou City. Next, he merged his divine sense with the world around him. He noticed that the radius he could detect had increased. He also discovered that there was no movement from the other room. Clearly, Hai Min and Yuanyuan were still in deep sleep. With nothing else distracting him, Shang Xia retrieved the box Mister Bu handed over to him outside the city gates. A sense of anticipation filled him when he thought about the reward he was getting came from Liang Shuangren, a Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Azure Spiritual World. Opening the box carefully, Shang Xia discovered a stalk of Snow Ginseng that was covered in red threads. There were several talismans surrounding the item too. The ginseng was as clear as jade, and there were several vein-like strands running through its body. Even though Shang Xia didn¡¯t know what the Snow Ginseng was worth, or what it could be used for, he could tell that it was an extremely precious treasure from how well it was kept. ¡°This should be a special herb that grows in the Azure Spiritual World¡­ I might not know its rank, but it shouldn¡¯t be anything worse than a rank four treasure. I¡¯ll look for Instructor Zhang Haogu after returning to the institution to identify the treasure!¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself. Keeping the box carefully in his Embroidered Cloud Case, Shang Xia decided to head out to buy breakfast. When he stepped out of his room, he stretched his body slightly and discovered that there were no movements from Hai Min¡¯s room. A sudden urge to practice his spear arts overwhelmed him and the Scarlet Star Spear appeared in his hands. After swinging it around twice, Shang Xia sent a trace of his Origin true Qi into the spear. He slowly entered his stance to display his first move, Rift Crossing! As soon as he did, the scene in front of his eyes changed as a trace of red-hot inner qi entered his body from inside the spear. Before Shang Xia could react, the trace of inner qi fused with his Origin True Qi. A ball of mist appeared in his vision and a faceless figure appeared within it. The faceless figure started demonstrating different spear arts with precise moves, causing Shang Xia to gasp in shock. CH 293 After getting up in the morning, Shang Xia noticed that Hai Min and Yuanyuan were still sleeping and decided to practice his spear moves to loosen his muscles. Who would have thought that a strand of foreign inner qi would be hidden in the spear, imprinting all sorts of spear arts and spear manuals into Shang Xia¡¯s memory the moment he started using it? When the movements of the faceless figure in the mist were firmly imprinted into Shang Xia¡¯s mind, he suddenly recalled what Mister Bu said about training his spear art diligently after returning. He was slightly skeptical at first as they were going to make their move in three days. Such a short amount of time wasn¡¯t enough for him to begin comprehending his sixth move! Now, he finally understood why Mister Bu wanted him to practice his spear art after returning. It seemed as though the foreign inner qi that was left in his Scarlet Star Spear contained the recollections of an expert containing many intricate spear arts and techniques! That wasn¡¯t all. After thinking through all the moves imprinted in his memory, Shang Xia discovered that all the moves possessed frightening strength. Through the recollection of the moves, Shang Xia realized that those spear arts seemed to ingrain themselves deeper into his memory every time he thought about it. They were like some sort of inheritance! He even had the delusion that he could execute every move to perfection the moment he swung his spear. The feeling was extremely amazing, and it was indescribable with words. Luckily, Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense was powerful and he didn¡¯t lose himself in the situation. It didn¡¯t take long for him to snap back to reality. Nothing came free in the world. He wouldn¡¯t be able to master those moves without constant practice. Everything he felt earlier was a hoax, and he knew that he had to practice his spear art in order to gain proficiency in those moves. The memory of the moves was real though. As long as he wanted to train in the spear arts that were burned into his mind, he would be able to without much difficulty. However, there was something even more amazing. There might not be a need for him to practice all the moves. An idea appeared in his mind, and he couldn¡¯t wait to verify his guess. However, the sound of movements came from Hai Min¡¯s room. Leaving the courtyard to get the mother and daughter some food, it didn¡¯t take long for him to return. However, he was more focused on the appearance of the Mysterious Coral World in the distance and the idea he came up with earlier when they were eating. Finishing his food quickly, Shang Xia bade farewell to the two of them and promised to bring Yuanyuan some delicious snacks before leaving the courtyard. Shang Xia could guess that the moment he left, Hai Min would contact the remaining members of the Eighteen Horsemen to carry out their rescue operations. He respected her choices and chose to focus on himself for now. Before leaving the city, Shang Xia took a huge detour over to Wu Ji¡¯s forge. He replenished his arrows before rushing towards the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. When he was at the forge earlier, Shang Xia didn¡¯t notice a bell hanging under the sign. Neither did he manage to see Wu Ji. He purchased the arrows from the attendant he met the first time he came, and he couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly disappointed. During the appearance of the Mysterious Coral World the day before, the heaven and earth qi fluctuated violently. Due to the time that passed, the situation calmed down and the heaven and earth qi seemed to be much more docile. No one knew how many cultivators experienced cultivation deviation before the heaven and earth qi finally settled down. Not too long after he left the city, Shang Xia found a secluded spot before turning to look in the northern direction. The Mysterious Coral World he was expecting to see was nowhere to be found, but there were several strange and beautiful phenomena in the distance. ¡°This looks like something that can only be seen in the battlefield between the two worlds when an Origin Tide erupts¡­¡± Shang Xia muttered. In the past, Shang Xia experienced a small-scale Origin Tide eruption when he entered the Martial Extremity Realm. He couldn¡¯t be more familiar with it. However, he knew that the Origin Tide that assisted in his breakthrough was extremely tamed. The phenomenon he experienced before its eruption was like a fly compared to the monster he was seeing in the distance. From all the information he was getting from his scattered sources, from the Shang Clan to Mister Bu, the Tongyou Institution had a grand scheme. The plan to bring the Mysterious Coral World back from the institution might only be a small part of it! It seemed as though fusing the Tongyou Peak with the Mysterious Coral World was but a mere rumor that existed previously. If the battle between the various powers and the Tongyou Institution was hidden in the dark before, the appearance of the Mysterious Coral World in the You Continent would definitely push the battle out into the light. It seemed as though the Tongyou Institution was planning to stand up against any faction that would threaten their plans. The fate of the You Continent rode on the fate of the Tongyou Institutions¡¯s actions, and regardless of the outcome, the outcome was bound to cause a great deal of change in the Azure Origin World. The only thing Shang Xia found to be a pity was that he wasn¡¯t in the Tongyou City when everything was going on. That was bound to be the place where the battle got the most intense, but thinking clearly, he discovered he might not be very useful to the situation as a whole. After all, he was merely a Martial Intent Realm cultivator. He wouldn¡¯t be called upon for the true confrontation that would take place with Martial Extermination Realm experts, and there wasn¡¯t much left for him to do there. Now that he was in the Changfeng City, away from the core of the storm, he might be able to assist the institution in several matters. Shang Xia didn¡¯t remain in place for long. He quickly entered the mountain range to verify his guesses about the spear arts he received. Even if he didn¡¯t use his movement art, it took less than two hours for him to venture into the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. Locating a deserted valley within, Shang Xia took out his spear impatiently and recalled the moves executed by the faceless man. When he wanted to test out some of the moves, the Origin True Qi in his body pulsed violently. Beads of cold sweat dripped down his forehead. A bad premonition filled his heart. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. He realized that practicing many different types of martial arts might allow him to display stronger fighting prowess, but it might not be beneficial to his cultivation as a whole. Instead of training in all sorts of techniques, it made more sense to practice several better ones to the peak level. That would make it easier for him to comprehend his martial intent in the future and step into the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm! Thinking about his Shang Clan¡¯s inheritance, the Providence Spear, Shang Xia had already drawn a connection from the Providence Spear to the Triple Providence Chapter. If he recklessly practiced the moves from another inheritance now, it might adversely affect his progress. It might even muddle the ball of formless chaos in his dantian, harming his cultivation foundations severely! At that moment, he realized that the ¡®Triple Command Realm¡¯ was completely different from the ¡®Yin Yang Realm¡¯. He was able to utilize different sword arts in the Yin Yang Realm as it focused on combination. It combined the various techniques into one. In the Triple Command Realm, or the Martial Intent Realm as members of the Azure Origin World called it, Shang Xia chose his path a long time ago. He wanted to comprehend the Providence Spear Art to its peak, and there was no room for other inheritances! Especially so when the Providence Spear Art contained a lot of mysteries he had yet to discover. If he tried training in the spear arts left in the spear, he would be destroying his path of cultivation completely! ¡°The spear arts contained in it seems to be a trap¡­¡± Shang Xia sighed silently. Since Youshang was the one who used his spear, he couldn¡¯t help but suspect that the cultivator was scheming against him. ¡°The five spear arts he imparted are not only complete, but they are also extremely exquisite! Any one of them would possess terrifying power when fully comprehended, and it would allow a cultivator to stand tall in the Martial Intent Realm. Among the five, two of them can be considered inheritance-level spear arts. They will allow a cultivator to comprehend a martial intent when trained to their peak¡­ If this really is a trap, the person who laid down this trap is really too generous¡­¡± As many thoughts flashed through Shang Xia¡¯s mind, he couldn¡¯t help but think about the various techniques contained in there. He quickly discovered that his memory of the faceless man demonstrating the techniques contained some secrets. He was able to sink his consciousness into his memory to observe every part of the technique when they were executed! He could even choose to experience the spear techniques personally by standing against the faceless man, feeling their power and intent! What shocked Shang Xia was that he could stop the motion of the faceless man at any time to think about what he saw before resuming the execution of the technique. To put it bluntly, he was watching a 4d video replay in his mind¡­ Wait a second¡­ There was no need to train those spear arts himself! With the memory imprinted firmly into his mind, Shang Xia could understand all the moves by analyzing them slowly! It seemed as though Youshang didn¡¯t plan to harm him! It seemed more like a test he had given to Shang Xia. Since he passed the test and discovered the intricacies behind the spear arts left behind, next came the rewards. He could use those memories to comprehend his next move in the Providence Spear Art series! It seemed as though the rewards he was getting for helping them kill Liang Shuangren were truly benefiting him. The other party might have bestowed upon him several spear arts for him to improve his own technique, but that wouldn¡¯t stop him from recording them for his clan in the future! Not everyone in the Shang Clan had the authority to learn the Providence Spear and receive the clan¡¯s inheritance. Now that he had five more spear arts in his mind, it would bring about a massive boost to the clan¡¯s strength! Rank three martial arts weren¡¯t cabbages that grew by the side of the road. Even in the Shang Clan, they had less than seven different martial arts for cultivators at the Martial Intent Realm! That was including the Providence Spear which wasn¡¯t open to most disciples of the clan. He received five out of nowhere, and two of them were complete inheritances! The more he analyzed the various moves contained in those five spear arts, the more engrossed he became. All of a sudden, a new door seemed to have opened in front of Shang Xia and he felt as though he received enlightenment. He came up with the sixth move of his Providence Spear Art, and he gently stabbed the spear in his hand forward. In an instant, the Origin True Qi in his body poured into the spear. The heaven and earth qi that was around him rushed towards him with frightening momentum. They formed a giant spear that shot out in the direction his Scarlet Star Spear pointed at. With a loud blast, the giant spear of heaven and earth qi pierced through a small hill that was a hundred feet away from Shang Xia. Soon after, the hill crumbled in on itself and dust filled the air. The sixth move of his Providence Spear Art, Flow Recompensation! CH 294 At the location where Liang Shuangen was killed by Mister Bu and the other two the day before, Yang Hu examined the traces of battle along with three other Martial Extermination Realm experts. ¡°It definitely happened here. City Lord Yang, you seem to be really late to the party¡­¡± A white-bearded old man who had long and narrow eyes snapped at Yang Hu. ¡°Ahem¡­¡± An older cultivator who looked to be in his fifties coughed once before trying to diffuse the situation. ¡°As the two of you know, the situation in the Changfeng City is extremely important considering the state the Tongyou City is in now. It¡¯s no wonder City Lord Yang was unable to rush out of the city to observe the battle yesterday. After all, none of us can be sure that it¡¯s not a distraction to lure him out of the city. If their plot was to draw him away, we won¡¯t even have to care about the damage they could do to the city. Obstructing the holy lands¡¯ plan would be a great sin in itself! When that happens, all of us would be in trouble.¡± The narrow-eyed cultivator turned to look at the elder who spoke before mocking, ¡°Oh? City Lord Yang might be unable to leave, but why the hell is a subordinate like you unable to check it out?¡± ¡°This¡­¡± The elder paused for a second, unable to think of a reply. Eventually, Yang Hu stepped in to soothe the situation. ¡°Brother Gao, Mister Si here isn¡¯t my subordinate. He¡¯s an old friend of mine.¡± The cultivator who spoke earlier sneered and didn¡¯t seem to want to let up, ¡°Since you¡¯re not City Lord Yang¡¯s subordinate, why don¡¯t you tell us where you were yesterday?¡± A frown formed on Mister Si¡¯s face and he growled, ¡°Are you suspecting me?¡± The cultivator who Yang Hu called Brother Gao snorted but remained silent. Even so, everyone present could tell that he was implying that Mister Si had something to do with it. Sneering with rage, Mister Si released a weird laugh. The situation immediately became tense between the two of them. Eventually, Yang Hu¡¯s figure trembled slightly and he appeared between them to mediate the situation. ¡°There¡¯s no way Mister Si will be behind this. Brother Gao, you can relax.¡± An interested expression appeared on Brother Gao¡¯s face and he asked, ¡°Why would you say that?¡± Yang Hu started to hesitate for a second, but Mister Si took over with a sigh, ¡°That¡¯s because my family name isn¡¯t ¡®Si¡¯. It¡¯s ¡®Sima¡¯.¡± ¡°You¡¯re from the Rose Party?¡± The other Martial Extermination Realm expert who hadn¡¯t said anything finally spoke up. ¡°Hmm¡­ Indeed. It¡¯s not possible for you to be behind this. Who would have thought that City Lord Yang would be friends with members of the Rose Party?¡± Grunting softly, Yang Hu changed the topic. ¡°Brother Wei, what did you discover?¡± Shaking his head, he sighed, ¡°This place might look like a mess, but whoever did it cleaned it up really well. They seem to be experts who have done this before. The only thing we can be sure of now is that there were more than two Martial Extermination Realm experts who took part in the battle. Liang Shuangren¡¯s situation isn¡¯t too optimistic.¡± Yang Hu pondered for a second before asking, ¡°The Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Changbai Holy Land have been wiped out twice now. The first time is understandable. After all, it was because¡­¡± He seemed to have thought of something and he quickly switched his words. ¡°Whatever the case, we will need their help in the future. It¡¯s not easy for them to send their high level experts over!¡± The cultivator Yang Hu addressed as ¡®Brother Wei¡¯ muttered in response, ¡°Of course. With three Martial Extermination Realm experts dying left and right, any faction would feel the pain. Moreover, they died in a foreign land¡­¡± Brother Gao snapped, ¡°Actually, it doesn¡¯t matter if they¡¯re regretting their losses. As long as our plan begins in the Tongyou City, the Changbai Holy Land has to make a move.¡± ¡°Brother Wei, who do you think the most likely suspects are?¡± Yang Hu asked suddenly. Brother Hu chuckled softly, ¡°Haha. Brother Yang, you don¡¯t care about who the assailants really are. You¡¯re probably concerned about the experts of the Tongyou City. You think that a few of them are hiding around the Changfeng City, right? As long as you ensure the safety of the water-attributed spiritual vein under your city, nothing else matters. They won¡¯t dare to attack you and neither would anyone else.¡± ¡°The spiritual vein is ready, but I plan to use that to help my son advance into the Martial Extermination¡­¡± Before Yang Hu could complete his sentence, Brother Wei tossed a jade talisman over. Yang Hu¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw it. Even with his prestige as a city lord who had controlled the Changfeng City for twenty years, he couldn¡¯t help but tremble with excitement. ¡°This¡­¡± ¡°This is the rank four advancement formula you have been wanting. Do you think it¡¯s worth it to trade it for the extermination origin you¡¯ve been nurturing for twenty years?¡± Brother Wei muttered. Sucking in a cold breath, Yang Hu sighed, ¡°This is indeed something I cannot reject.¡± A smile appeared on Brother Wei¡¯s face after hearing Yang Hu¡¯s response. Mister Sima who had been standing at the side chuckled. ¡°Congratulations, Brother Yang! You finally got what you wished for!¡± A complete rank four advancement formula! That was the foundation of a powerful clan! In order to scheme against the Tongyou City, the White Deer Paradise was actually willing to bring out a rank four advancement formula. One could imagine how much they were expecting in return. Yang Hu wanted to say something, but a frown formed on his face as he turned to look in another direction. ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem like a battle between Martial Extermination Realm experts.¡± Mister Sima felt the energy fluctuations too, and he muttered. ¡°I need to head towards the Tongyou City after this. That seems to be on my way.¡± Brother Wei spoke and his extermination origin appeared under his feet. He sped into the distance. Brother Gao yelled, ¡°Senior Brother, wait for me!¡± Watching the two of them disappear into the distance, Mister Sima chortled, ¡°Heh, the two of them probably have something to discuss with each other. They don¡¯t wish for us to listen in on their conversation¡­¡± ¡°Mister Sima, aren¡¯t you curious about how the two Martial Extermination Realm experts from the Azure Spiritual World were killed the first time around?¡± Yang Hu muttered after watching the two of them disappear into the horizon. The smile on Mister Sima¡¯s face didn¡¯t fade. ¡°City Lord Yang will tell me if you¡¯re willing to. There¡¯s no need for me to pry.¡± ¡°Heh. The cooperation between your Rose Party and the Azure Spiritual World probably started before you thought of working with the White Deer Paradise.¡± Yang Hu gave him a deep stare before speaking. ¡°That¡¯s not something I can say.¡± ¡°Will your Rose Party really not get involved with the matter in the Tongyou City this time?¡± Yang Hu continued. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s possible?¡± The smile on Mister Sima¡¯s face was enough to tell Yang Hu the answer he needed to know. Yang Hu nodded slowly as if he already expected it. He continued, ¡°In fact, my son ran into an ambush yesterday. There might be one, or even two Martial Extermination Realm experts who carried out an ambush on him.¡± ¡°Is that true? Is he alright?¡± Mister Sima¡¯s expression turned serious. Yang Hu sighed softly, ¡°Yeah. He¡¯s smart enough to not rush into the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range on his own. Otherwise, Liang Shuangren and the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World might not be the only ones who died yesterday. Mister Sima added, ¡°Do you suspect that the Martial Extermination Experts your son ran into were the ones who killed Liang Shuangren? Why didn¡¯t you tell the two of them earlier?¡± Yang Hu glanced at his old friend from the corner of his eye. ¡°Do you think the two of them are really here to look for the culprit?¡± A bitter smile slowly formed on Mister Sima¡¯s face. ¡°I was planning to persuade you to be a little more careful when dealing with them. After all, they might not truly trust you. My words might sound like I¡¯m trying to sow discord between you guys, but I¡¯m not. Furthermore¡­¡± ¡°Furthermore, you think that the advancement formula might be fake. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not that easy to make a fake rank four advancement formula.¡± Yang Hu muttered after finishing Mister Sima¡¯s sentence. ¡°This is something I was unable to get my hands on even after working with the Rose Party for so many years¡­¡± A forced smile appeared on Mister Sima¡¯s face and he heard Yang Hu sighing. ¡°The storm is coming¡­ Let¡¯s go. We¡¯re returning to the city.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we waiting for Gao Yun of the White Deer Paradise to come back?¡± Mister Sima asked. ¡°He knows where the Changfeng City is.¡± ¡­ ¡°No matter what, the cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World who borrowed my spear returned the favor. Five spear arts is indeed a generous gesture.¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself. However, he recalled how they slayed a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Changbai Holy Land and didn¡¯t feel that guilty for getting so many benefits in return. After all, they would have gained a lot more from killing the expert. ¡°Also, he probably doesn¡¯t know that I received my inheritance. Imparting the spear arts to me might not be an attempt to harm me. Luckily, I managed to resist the temptation earlier. Haha, I even managed to develop my sixth move!¡± Shang Xia was extremely satisfied with the power contained in his sixth move. After comprehending his sixth move, Shang Xia could feel that the remaining Yin Yang Essence Qi in his dantian was slowly being refined into Origin true Qi. Only a small portion was left. Feeling the Origin Core in his body becoming more solid and full of Origin True Qi, Shang Xia was somewhat sure that his divine sense was ready to transform a third time. Once that happened, he wouldn¡¯t be far away from reaching the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. When he was still evaluating his current self, several warning cries came from Yan Ni¡¯er. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. ¡°Oh no, someone is coming.¡± Shang Xia yelped before leaving the valley. He suppressed his aura and fused his divine sense into the world around him. When he was done, he seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth. A moment later, two streaks of light appeared above the valley. The two Martial Extermination Realm experts of the White Deer Paradise who were talking to Yang Hu a moment ago had arrived. They scanned the remains of the hill Shang Xia shattered as their divine sense surrounded the region. However, they failed to discover anything. ¡°Looks like a cultivator at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm was here testing out the strength of his martial intent¡­¡± Gao Yun licked his lips as a trace of envy flashed across his eyes. Even though he came from the White Deer Paradise, he didn¡¯t comprehend his martial intent before breaking through to the Martial Extermination Realm. According to the rules of the White Deer Paradise, he lost all qualifications to fight for an origin dipper in the future. As such, his cultivation was capped at the large completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm. Reaching that level was something else altogether. ¡°He¡¯s extremely alert. The person had already left.¡± Brother Wei muttered. Shang Xia quickly recognized ¡®Brother Wei¡¯ when he saw the man hovering in the air. From his hiding spot, he could see the two of them clearly! Moreover, the cultivator they called ¡®Brother Wei¡¯, was Wei Zhongwen who was stationed in the Tongyou City! Gao Yun muttered, ¡°Senior Brother Wei, I¡¯m afraid that Yang Hu will discover something strange with my actions. After all, I¡¯m carrying out the plan alone¡­¡± Turning to stare at him, Wei Zhongwen¡¯s face was expressionless when he spoke. ¡°Oh? So what if he does? The moment Ancestor Lu arrives, he can¡¯t do anything about it even if he wants to.¡± CH 295 ¡°Junior Brother Gao, you need to remain in the city and prepare for Ancestor Lu¡¯s arrival. You don¡¯t need to worry about anything else.¡± Wei Zhongwen muttered. From his expression, it was clear that he didn¡¯t think highly of Yang Hu. One had to know that he was at the same cultivation level as Yang Hu. Both Wei Zhongwen and Yang Hu were experts at the third layer of the Martial Extermination Realm. Gao Yun was slightly weaker than them at the second layer. Gao Yun seemed to have fallen deep in thought as he muttered, ¡°No wonder you weren¡¯t concerned about the deaths of those from the Azure Spiritual World¡­¡± ¡°Hah, they¡¯re not members of our world, why should we care about them?¡± Wei Zhongwen sneered. ¡°The fusion of our worlds might be inevitable, but the day hasn¡¯t come yet. The reason our White Deer Paradise chose to reach an agreement with the Changbai Holy Land was to ensure both sides don¡¯t break out into an all-out war. The fusion of our worlds is a massive opportunity to begin with and how much each faction can obtain will depend on their strength. Since the Tongyou Institution chose to take the lead, They¡¯re going to help us take all the pressure.¡± Gao Yun added, ¡°Those from the Tongyou Institution are overestimating themselves. If Kou Chongxue was at his peak, we might reconsider our actions. Hehe, he fell prey to the many holy lands and was attacked while in seclusion. Who would have thought that the Tongyou Institution would still be gutsy enough to bring the Mysterious Coral World back?¡± ¡°They¡¯re in too deep now to pull themselves out of their sticky situation!¡± Wei Zhongwen snorted. ¡°The Tongyou Institution had coveted the Mysterious Coral World for a long time now. However, they¡¯re rushing things and have no clear sense of direction. Moreover, their inner affairs aren¡¯t in order and there might be some higher-ups in the institution working against them!¡± A light lit up in Gao Yun¡¯s eyes. ¡°I heard that Kou Chongxue¡¯s support of Shang Bo incurred the wrath and dissatisfaction of the other three great clans. Ji Wenlong¡¯s cultivation was stuck for a long time before he finally reached the large completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm recently. Moreover, none of them had access to Kou Chongxue¡¯s rank five advancement formula. Looks like the rumor about him not possessing one is pretty much confirmed. Anyway, that was also the main reason leading to the second ambush on Kou Chongxue. Someone in the higher-ups of the Tongyou Institution leaked the news intentionally and the greatest suspect is Ji Wenlong. Senior Brother Wei, you¡¯ve been in the Tongyou City all this time. What do you think?¡± ¡°We are unable to verify the rumors and can only choose to believe in them. Ji Wenlong and Shang Bo are outstanding talents of their generation and they definitely know what¡¯s best for them. The rumors are far from enough to cause a rift to come between the two, especially now that they¡¯re pulling the Mysterious Coral World into the You Continent.¡± Gao Yun nodded slowly before asking, ¡°Senior Brother Gao, are you going to return to the Tongyou City now?¡± ¡°Yeah. the Tongyou City is in complete lockdown now. They¡¯re a bunch of suspicious fools. Even ¡®alliance members¡¯ like myself can only support their actions. They refuse to let us into the core of their institution. With my identity as a Martial Extermination Realm expert, I can leave the city to help them deliver news to people not in the city.¡± Wei Zhongwen sneered. With his eyes widening slightly, Gao Yun gasped. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t expect that that would give you a chance to communicate with us!¡± ¡°Remain in the Changfeng City for now. Yang Hu looks like he doesn¡¯t dare to do anything, but he¡¯s a scheming one. We cannot let anything obstruct Ancestor Lu¡¯s arrival. There are many people who will try to do something in secret. Now that the Liu, Guo, and Zhang families of the Ji Continent have entered the Changfeng City, they¡¯re obviously going to fight with us for a share of the benefits. Be careful of them.¡± Wei Zhongwen explained. Nodding in acknowledgment, Gao Yun growled, ¡°They can try!¡± ¡°Just take care of yourself and be wary of them. I¡¯ll have to go now.¡± Wei Zhongwen said as his extermination origins appeared under his feet. He tore through the air and disappeared in a few moments. Gao Yun looked in the direction where Wei Zhongwen disappeared before returning to the Changfeng City. The valley quickly regained its calm. No one knew how long had passed when a silvery-gray light shot into the skies. A bird circled the skies above the valley for some time before releasing a clear cry. Shang Xia¡¯s head popped out from one of the crevices in the valley, and he looked at Yan Ni¡¯er who was flying happily in the air before emerging. The cute little bird returned to his shoulders once he was out from his hiding spot. Staring at the little creature, a bitter smile appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Things are getting more and more complicated now. I can¡¯t return to the city anytime soon¡­ What do you think I should do?¡± Yan Ni¡¯er flapped her wings around, causing Shang Xia¡¯s scattered hair to become even messier. She released several short cries in succession. A strange look returned to Shang Xia¡¯s face as he stared at her in disbelief. ¡°What did you find out this time?¡± Yan Ni¡¯er flapped her wings while holding on to his collar. ¡°You wish to bring me there?¡± Shang Xia asked. A crisp chirp confirmed his words as she released his collar and soared into the skies. She flew in the southeastern direction and Shang Xia raced after her with his Irregular Steps. With so many encounters in the past few days, he became extremely familiar with the use of his Irregular Steps. With its short-distance maneuverability, it focused on allowing a cultivator to make tiny adjustments while compromising on their speed. Since the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range was filled with dense greenery, it allowed Shang Xia to display the full extent of the technique¡¯s power. While running after Yan Ni¡¯er, Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect that their journey would last for more than two hours. Even with his increase in cultivation, circulating his inner qi to sustain his use of the Irregular Steps basically drained him of all his energy. That was also under the premise that Yan Ni¡¯er slowed down specifically for him to catch up. She had been chirping angrily in the air while indicating for Shang Xia to keep up. All of a sudden, Yan Ni¡¯er turned into a streak of silvery gray light that disappeared into the forest. Seeing her actions, Shang Xia could guess that they were close to their destination. He hid his aura before walking in the direction Yan Ni¡¯er flew off to. Climbing over a hill, Shang Xia seemed to hear the sound of rushing water. Surprise filled his mind as it was deep in the winter. How could there still be flowing water with the current weather? The lakes were supposed to be frozen but from the sound of it, he was close to a gushing river! Could there be something strange with the water in the mountain range? Just as he was about to approach the river, he saw a figure running deeper into the woods. Hiding his presence, he followed the figure stealthily. When he finally arrived at the bottom of the hill, he discovered that there was a huge lake surrounded by ice. However, the surprising thing was that thick mist seemed to emerge from the surface of the lake, signifying that the temperature of the water wasn¡¯t as low as he had thought. Traveling along the river, Shang Xia eventually heard some people conversing with each other. He quickly ducked behind a large tree nearby. He discovered that there were only a few feet separating him from the people who were talking. Due to the mist in the air and the rumbling of water, Shang Xia nearly ran into the people he was tracking! It didn¡¯t take long for him to realize that something was off. Even though his physical senses were obstructed by the mist and noise, his divine sense should have discovered their presence! Shang Xia focused more on his divine sense and discovered that it was being weakened as it extended away from his body. Originally, he could feel everything in a thirty feet radius clearly. Now, the distance has become less than half. He was barely able to feel two people who were talking slightly more than ten feet away! ¡°There¡¯s something strange with this mist!¡± Shang Xia quickly discovered the problem. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why are you in such a rush to meet me in this place?¡± Shang Xia found the voice slightly familiar. ¡°Hmph! I¡¯m trying to save you! Were you followed by anyone when you came over?¡± The second person who was talking also sounded familiar to Shang Xia. Could they be people he knew? Shang Xia was curious, and he peeked his head out from behind his tree. Even though the mist was slightly clouding their appearance, Shang Xia recognized them right away. Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. The person he was following was Chen Sanyang, and the other person was Senior Brother Lin who escaped from Shang Xia the other day! He managed to evade capture from Mister Bu and the others and he seemed to have found a place to hide. Chen Sanyang looked almost the same as before, but Senior Brother Lin looked extremely haggard. Chen Sanyang also seemed to have understood the severity of the situation when he saw the other party¡¯s disheveled appearance. ¡°Lin Yi, did something happen in our hideout? Why do you look like that?¡± ¡°How do you know something bad happened in our hideout?¡± Lin Yi gasped. Too lazy to explain himself to his fellow comrade, Chen Sanyang growled, ¡°Just tell me what happened!¡± Lin Yi stared at him with a gaze full of suspicion and he raised his caution level for his fellow cultivator who came from the Azure Spiritual World. ¡°Answer my question first! Were you followed?!¡± Turning impatient, Chen Sanyang snapped, ¡°No, no one followed me! Yang Hu left the city in the morning and he hadn¡¯t returned when I left. I heard that he went into the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range due to some battle between Martial Extermination Realm experts¡­¡± Pausing suddenly, Chen Sanyang stared at Lin Yi. ¡°Was it Martial Uncle Liang? What happened to him?¡± Lin Yi covered his face and started to choke on his sobs. ¡°Martial Uncle Liang¡­ He¡­ He¡­ I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s already¡­¡± ¡°Martial Uncle Liang might already be dead.¡± Lin Yi said after finally controlling his emotions. When he calmed down slightly, he told Chen Sanyang about what happened the other day and some guesses he had. CH 296 After hearing Lin Yi¡¯s description of the battle among the Martial Extermination Realm experts, Chen Sanyang muttered, ¡°So, you¡¯re suspecting that Yang Hu sold Martial Uncle Liang out? Or are you saying that he led his subordinates to surround Martial Uncle Liang? Is that why you were in a rush to get me out of the city? Are you afraid that Yang Hu will kill me too?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any evidence, but that¡¯s what I suspect. Moreover, Martial Intent Realm cultivators wouldn¡¯t be involved in a battle between Martial Extermination Realm experts. All of us were unable to see those taking part in the battle. We only managed to hear Martial Uncle Liang.¡± ¡°All of you?¡± Chen Sanyang raised his eyebrow and something seemed to have caught his attention. Lin Yi continued, ¡°When Martial Uncle Liang detected the presence of Martial Extermination Realm experts and rushed over, I, Shan Dao, Yuan Gang, and Di Xian followed behind him. From the looks of it, those people were setting up a trap to lure Martial Uncle Liang over. Once he arrived, they surrounded him in a joint attack.¡± Chen Sanyang frowned. ¡°Slow down. Martial Uncle Liang has always been careful, how will he be tricked so easily? With his strength, unless Kou Chongxue appeared personally, wouldn¡¯t he be able to escape?¡± ¡°I thought about it for a long time and only one possibility is left. Did you forget about the other Martial Extermination Realm cultivator who crossed the spatial barrier with us the other day?¡± Lin Yi sighed. ¡°Youshang? Are you talking about him? Do you think he was part of those who plotted against Martial Uncle Liang? Why would you say that?¡± Chen Sanyang became more confused. However, it seemed as though Lin Yi¡¯s deduction made sense. Lin Yi turned extremely solemn and he continued, ¡°I suspect that he¡¯s doing the same thing as Yu Cangze. Either he¡¯s a traitor of our Azure Spiritual World, or the Azure Origin World planted him as a spy in our world.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know why Martial Uncle Liang brought Youshang over? Didn¡¯t they conduct a check on his background before?¡± Chen Sanyang decided to get to the bottom of the matter. After all, he crossed the barrier a long time before the others. There might be things he didn¡¯t know about. Lin Yi shook his head in response. ¡°He met us along the way. Martial Uncle Liang said that Youshang was a friend he had made a long time ago and they were closer than blood brothers. When Youshang heard that Martial Uncle Liang was going to take the risk of crossing into the Azure Origin World, he chose to come along to provide assistance¡­¡± Chen Sanyang stroked his chin and fell deep into thought. After some time, he muttered, ¡°That¡¯s coincidental¡­ Did Martial Uncle Liang agree right away? No, that¡¯s not possible. Martial Uncle Liang¡¯s mission to enter the Azure Origin World was supposed to be one of the highest level secrets in our Changbai Holy Land. How can he mention it to Youshang so easily?¡± Shrugging his shoulders, Lin Yi gestured wildly. ¡°What¡¯s the point of mentioning all these now? Maybe Martial Uncle Liang trusted him wholeheartedly. Who the hell cares? I suspect that Youshang sneak attacked Martial Uncle Liang from behind, causing him severe injuries. That was the reason he was unable to run away¡­¡± Seeing the look on Chen Sanyang¡¯s face, Lin Yi finally raged. ¡°You fucker! Are you suspicious of me?!¡± Chen Sanyang growled. ¡°The more you act like this, the more suspicious you look.¡± The two of them stared at each other in silence and tensions started to rise. Eventually, Lin Yi folded. ¡°Alright¡­¡± With a trace of guilt, Lin Yi spoke about everything else that happened. He talked about how they laid down the Essence Harmony Pulse Formation. However, they were interrupted by a Martial Intent Realm expert and the other three were killed. ¡°So¡­ You ran away because you were scared and by pure luck, you ran in a different direction from the hideout, allowing you to avoid being killed by the next round of assault?¡± Chen Sanyang glared at Lin Yi when he saw the embarrassed smile on his face. His voice sank a little further. ¡°From your description, that youngster should be Shang Xia of the Shang Clan. Oh right. Did you say that he¡¯s capable of using Yin Lian¡¯s bow?¡± ¡°The bow he¡¯s using looks pretty similar to what she used. However, there were several shreds of cloth around the bow and I can¡¯t be sure.¡± Lin Yi sighed. ¡°Hah! It has to be!¡± Chen Sanyang slapped his thigh in glee all of a sudden, catching Lin Yi off guard. Raising an eyebrow, Chen Sanyang decided to let Lin Yi in on some information. ¡°Shang Xia was the last person who met Kou Chongxue. All we need to do is to send out the message that he¡¯s currently residing around the Changfeng City and this entire area will be thrown into chaos.¡± Lin Yi couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. ¡°What has that got to do with our predicament now?¡± At that moment, they were the only ones left in the Azure Origin World. Shouldn¡¯t their priority be finding a way to return to their world? Who the hell cared about catching Martial Uncle Liang¡¯s murderer or whatever dude called Shang Xia? However, the two of them didn¡¯t know that the legendary being who could throw the entire region into chaos as described by Chen Sanyang was hiding a short distance behind them. He heard their conversation loud and clear, and he was feeling extremely annoyed. He didn¡¯t expect Chen Sanyang to guess his identity so easily! If they were to leak his tracks, it was very likely that he would be located in Changfeng City before long. Even if he started running away that instant, Hai Min and Yuanyuan would be in for a great deal of trouble. The two of them also had another identity that couldn¡¯t be compromised! It seemed as though the only way to protect himself and the two of them were to ensure that Chen Sanyang and Lin Yi would never be able to leave the area. A ray of frosty light flashed through his eyes and killing intent rose in his heart. Before he could start circulating his inner qi, a sharp pain came from under his ribs and he had to gasp for breath. The wound that closed the day before was clearly not fully healed yet. Shang Xia discovered that the wounds caused by his Woundless Spear could only recover with time. Medicine and treasures wouldn¡¯t do much in helping in his healing journey. If he forcefully tried to circulate his inner qi and attack the two of them, he would only be able to use 80 percent of his strength! With the element of surprise, it might not be a problem to take on one of them. However, two of them weren¡¯t easy enemies to deal with! When Shang Xia was considering his next course of action, the voices returned. ¡°Are you really content returning to the Azure Spiritual World with your tail tucked between your legs?¡± Chen Sanyang sounded extremely displeased with the situation. Lin Yi rolled his eyes before complaining, ¡°What else can we do? The true battle between our two worlds will involve Martial Extermination Realm experts. The reason I came looking for you is because of your Multi World Anchoring Flag. As long as we join forces, we should be able to cross the dense fog and spatial barrier leading back to our world.¡± Chen Sanyang sneered in response, ¡°Stop dreaming. Even with the Multi World Anchoring Flag, we need a Martial Extermination Realm to use it. The two of us are basically stranded in the Azure Origin World. Unless you¡¯re willing to run all the way to the Linya Peak to beg them to help us, there¡¯s nothing we can do about it. Moreover, the Linya Peak belongs to the Mulan Holy Land. It¡¯s one thing for us to embarrass ourselves, but it¡¯s another to embarrass our Changbai Holy Land. We might even die without a proper burial ground if we head over there¡­¡± After Chen Sanyang spoke about the various implications, he saw a strange smile appearing on Lin Yi¡¯s face. He slapped a boulder beside him and he chuckled, ¡°do you know why I chose to bring you to this place?¡± ¡°Why?¡± Chen Sanyang frowned. ¡°Did you not realize that the mist in this place is able to restrict your divine sense?¡± Lin Yi said in excitement. Spreading out his divine sense, Chen Sanyang discovered that it was true! The look in his eyes changed. ¡°Extermination Mist? Is this a place used to nurture extermination origins? Damn! Your luck is really¡­¡± Lin Yi gloated. ¡°That¡¯s right. The mist is indeed extermination mist. However, there¡¯s no extermination origin at the source of this lake. I suspect that this lake starts to split underwater. The location where the extermination origin is located should be somewhere underground. The water that flows down the mountain is merely stained by the extermination qi produced by the extermination origin¡­¡± A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. Chen Sanyang continued, ¡°Do you think we can locate the spiritual vein that produces the extermination origin?!¡± ¡°Hehe, I knew you would ask that question. Are you thinking of locating it so you can prepare to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm? Do you think that¡¯s my real intention here?¡± Lin Yi snorted. An awkward expression appeared on Chen Sanyang¡¯s face. He wasn¡¯t truly greedy. However, no cultivator would refuse an extermination origin! After all, an extermination origin was truly precious and it was the key to entering the Martial Extermination Realm! It wasn¡¯t something easily obtainable in the Azure Origin World or the Azure Spiritual World! It was no wonder Chen Sanyang would get so worked up. Many cultivators at the Martial Intent Realm had reached the peak of their cultivation level but were stuck there due to the inability to obtain a suitable extermination origin. Both Lin Yi and Chen Sanyang had completed their third divine sense transformation. The two of them were also highly regarded disciples of the Changbai Holy Land. Both of them were cultivators who were expected to enter the Martial Extermination Realm in the future. However, that also meant that they were rivals who would be competing with each other for resources. The more Chen Sanyang thought about it, the more he realized that there was no reason for Lin Yi to tell him about the extermination origin. After exerting a little more brain power, Chen Sanyang discovered Lin Yi¡¯s true intentions. ¡°Are you planning to make use of the extermination qi here to tear open the spatial barrier to enter the battlefield between the two worlds?¡± Lin Yi pressed his lips together and sighed, ¡°What else? Do you think I was giving you an opportunity to enter the Martial Extermination Realm?¡± Only Martial Extermination Realm experts who had refined their extermination origin would be able to tear open the spatial barrier with their own abilities. However, with Chen Sanyang¡¯s Multi World Anchoring Flag, they could gather the extermination qi in the air before unleashing an attack on the spatial barrier to split it open. The Multi World Anchoring Flag had another use. The Changbai Holy Land managed to set up many leading formations in the battlefield between the two worlds, allowing the user of the Multi World Anchoring Flag to find their way around. Martial Extermination Realm experts might be able to travel through the spatial barrier, but they wouldn¡¯t be able to find their way around without the use of the treasure! Chen Sanyang understood that Lin Yi¡¯s revelation of the extermination origin was his way of issuing an ultimatum. If Chen Sanyang rejected his proposal, Lin Yi would have to turn against him in order to protect his secret. Chen Sanyang fell deep into contemplation. He was truly unwilling to give up everything he had arranged in the Changfeng City to return to the Azure Spiritual World with Lin Yi. He turned to look at his fellow comrade and sighed, ¡°Junior Brother Lin, is it possible for you to give me a few days to think about it?¡± Before Lin Yi could react, Chen Sanyang continued, ¡°I won¡¯t hide anything from you. I¡¯ve been making some arrangements in the Changfeng City for the past half a year. I achieved some results, and I am truly unwilling to let everything go to waste. The moment I disappear, the plans I made in the Changfeng City won¡¯t be the only thing to go wrong. The members of the Ji Continent might also come up with other plans. If that affects our cooperation with the White Deer Paradise, I would have let our Changbai Holy Land down! I won¡¯t be able to atone for my sins even if I died a hundred times over!¡± Lin Yi¡¯s expression sank and he growled, ¡°How long do you need?¡± Gritting his teeth, Chen Sanyang eventually replied, ¡°Three days. Give me three more days! Moreover, the extermination qi in the air right now is pretty scattered. Even if you use my Multi World Anchoring Flag, you will need some time to gather enough extermination qi to open the spatial barrier.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Lin Yi agreed, and an excited expression appeared on Chen Sanyang¡¯s face. He wasn¡¯t the only one. Shang Xia was equally as excited. His chance was finally here! They were going to split up! As Chen Sanyang was about to leave, Lin Yi¡¯s voice rang through the air, causing Chen Sanyang and Shang Xia¡¯s expression to freeze. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for three days, but you have to leave the Multi World Anchoring Flag with me.¡± CH 297 ¡°I¡¯ll wait for three days, but you have to leave the Multi World Anchoring Flag with me.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± A hostile expression formed on Chen Sanyang¡¯s face. Shang Xia, who was hiding behind his tree, felt that things were going south really quickly. He could tell that the Multi World Anchoring Flag was a precious treasure. It was able to lead cultivators through the spatial barrier separating the two worlds from the battlefield between the two worlds. Even if Shang Xia used his buttocks to think, he would know that Chen Sanyang would be unwilling to hand such a treasure over. Not to mention the fact that Lin Yi might run away with the Multi World Anchoring Flag after Chen Sanyang returned to the city. When that happened, it would be too late for Chen Sanyang even if he wanted to cry! Chen Sanyang¡¯s expression started to flicker. ¡°Do you have to do this? Can¡¯t you wait for a little while?¡± Lin Yi wasn¡¯t moved by his attempt. ¡°Senior Brother Chen, don¡¯t take it the wrong way. After all, we need to use the extermination qi in order to tear open the spatial barrier. As you said, the extermination qi in the air is thin. Without several days of gathering, we won¡¯t be able to use the Multi World Anchoring Flag.¡± Lin Yi¡¯s words seemed to have moved Chen Sanyang. Retrieving a small triangle-shaped flag, he handed it over to Lin Yi. ¡°Junior Brother Lin, you cannot lose this treasure.¡± A look of joy appeared on Lin Yi¡¯s face and he ignored the warning tone in Chen Sanyang¡¯s voice. He reached his hand out to grab the flag. ¡°Brother Chen, go ahead. See you soon.¡± Snorting once, Chen Sanyang turned around to head back to the city. Some distance away, Chen Sanyang passed the tree Shang Xia was hiding behind but he didn¡¯t notice anything off. Shang Xia watched as Chen Sanyang¡¯s figure disappeared into the thick mist. Since the two had separated, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t mind carrying out a sneak attack on either one of them. Regardless if it¡¯s Chen Sanyang who figured out Shang Xia¡¯s identity or Lin Yi who discovered the spiritual vein that should have produced an extermination origin, Shang Xia knew that he had to get rid of them. In order to prevent any more problems from arising in the future, taking them out now would be the best choice of action. Under ordinary circumstances, Shang Xia would choose to kill Chen Sanyang before returning for Lin Yi. After all, Chen Sanyang''s revelation would place him in a much more dangerous situation. Gathering the extermination qi would take some time, and Lin Yi might not be able to leave for some time. If Chen Sanyang returned to tell Yang Hu about his discovery of Shang Xia¡¯s presence, things would turn ugly really quickly. Just as he made the decision to go after Chen Sanyang, he heard Lin Yi¡¯s voice once again. ¡°Dumbass!¡± Shang Xia was instantly intrigued. He took several steps to the side and managed to see what Lin Yi was doing. Waving the Multi World Anchoring Flag, several runes started to appear around his body. It created a weird barrier-like object around him, causing Shang Xia¡¯s vision to turn blurry. ¡°Of course, we need a few days to gather the extermination qi. But who told you that I¡¯m going to start gathering the extermination qi after you leave?¡± Lin Yi flicked his wrist once and a weird yellow gourd appeared in his hand. He shook it beside his ears and heard the sound of water sloshing around inside. ¡°The extermination mist I gathered in here should be enough. Without Chen Sanyang, it might be a little dangerous for me to cross the spatial barrier. I better collect a little more in case anything unexpected happens.¡± After speaking, he opened the cork of the gourd and a ball of black qi emerged. ¡°Oh shit!¡± Lin Yi almost yelled out loud and he slapped the bottle, sucking the black colored qi back into it. This time, the mist in his surroundings also seemed to be affected. They started moving towards the bottle. Throughout the process, Shang Xia could feel that the mist in the air was being filtered before entering the bottle. Only a portion of the qi contained in the mist was sucked into the bottle. After hearing the conversation between the two earlier, Shang Xia could confirm that Lin Yi was probably trying to collect the extermination qi in the mist. According to his original plan, he was going to kill Chen Sanyang on his way back to the city. Now that he discovered Lin Yi¡¯s actions, he decided to change his plan. It seemed as though Lin Yi¡¯s preparations were practically done. He would be able to tear open the spatial barrier soon! In order to stop him from leaving, Shang Xia chose to kill him first. From the looks of it, Lin Yi also possessed a shit ton of treasures. Other than the yellow gourd in his hand, he also had the Multi World Anchoring Flag! Shang Xia turned to look at a tree located halfway up the hill behind him. No one knew when Yan Ni¡¯er appeared, but she was staring at Shang Xia intently. Gesturing for her to follow Chen Sanyang, Shang Xia tried to remain as quiet as possible. He could only hope that Yan Ni¡¯er would understand his intentions from his gestures. Leaping off the tree, Yan Ni¡¯er flapped her wings before shooting through the skies. She disappeared in the blink of an eye. Lin Yi raised his head all of a sudden, but it didn¡¯t take long for him to focus on the gourd after discovering that nothing was wrong. A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. Shang Xia wanted to wait a little while more before taking action in case Chen Sanyang noticed the disturbance and returned. However, he quickly discovered that the mist around him was starting to thin. He stared at the yellow gourd in Lin Yi¡¯s hand and discovered that the mist was gathering there. It even seemed to form a cocoon around Lin Yi¡¯s body entirely. Realizing that he had to make his move soon, he retrieved his Scarlet Star Spear. He leaped out from his hiding spot and went straight towards Lin Yi¡¯s original position. He arrived at the source of the lake where Lin Yi was gathering the mist, and with his spear tearing through the thick mist gathered around the yellow gourd, he discovered that Lin Yi was nowhere to be seen. Where the hell did that fellow go? Shang Xia even thought that Lin Yi discovered his presence and would quickly carry out a counterattack. He prepared himself for a huge battle, but after examining his surroundings, he discovered that Lin Yi had really disappeared. Could he have escaped? Shang Xia¡¯s first reaction was to grab the yellow gourd beside him. Next, he turned to look all around, trying to locate Lin Yi. Soon after, he discovered that a small pool was hidden behind a rock nearby. Ripples could be seen on the surface of the water. Thinking back to their conversation again, Shang Xia knew that that asshole Lin Yi was probably not willing to leave the extermination origin behind either. He wanted to see if he could locate it along the spiritual vein before he left. From the thin mist gathered around in the place they were in, Lin Yi probably deduced that even if the river led to the spiritual vein where the extermination origin was located, it would have to be quite a distance away. Unless there was a straight path under the river leading to the spiritual vein, it was unlikely he would be able to find it. However, what if he was wrong? On the off chance that his estimations were wrong and the spiritual vein was located nearby, he would have missed a massive chance! No matter what, he was going to escape and abandon his mission. Once that happened, he would be labeled as a deserter even if returned. There was also no chance he would be able to return to the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. Even if Lin Yi couldn¡¯t obtain the extermination origin, it wouldn¡¯t be a pity for him to destroy it! Shang Xia quickly ran through Lin Yi¡¯s entire thought process. It didn¡¯t take long for the ripples on the surface of the water to grow more violent. It was clear Lin Yi was messing about under the water. Shang Xia felt the ground under his feet trembling violently, and it was as though an explosion happened deep underwater. Rumbling sounds came from the pool of water and Shang Xia¡¯s expression sank. He grabbed the yellow gourd before stuffing the opening with the cork he found. Once he kept it in his Embroidered Cloud Case, a massive geyser sprayed into the air. The rumbling sounds became clearer and a figure seemed to appear in the pillar of water. Shang Xia seemed to have expected it and the instant Lin Yi emerged from the pool of water, he struck. His Scarlet Star Spear tore through the pool of water and struck Lin Yi¡¯s figure in mid air. Not expecting anyone to be nearby, Lin Yi dived into the pool without any reservations earlier. He didn¡¯t take much precautions either from the way he left his gourd unattended. To catch someone off guard was basically Shang Xia¡¯s special skill at this point. Facing an attack specially curated to take him by surprise, Lin Yi wouldn¡¯t be able to react unless he had been expecting it. Unfortunately for him, he wasn¡¯t. He even made it easy for Shang Xia as he released a massive attack under the water. He exhausted a lot of energy, and he was unable to muster any sort of true qi defense quickly. He barely managed to pull out his sword to meet the tip of the spear. A loud clang rang through the air as his sword flew through the air. Shang Xia¡¯s spear twisted to the side, but it still managed to pierce through his belly. Blood sprayed out from his body, turning the originally clear geyser a faint red. Shang Xia twisted his spear slightly and sent a genius disciple of the Changbai Holy Land, Lin Yi, slamming into the ground below. Luckily for him, Martial Intent Realm experts had terrifying life force. Lin Yi managed to remain alive for now, but his injuries were nothing to scoff at. He was alive, but barely. Using the last of his strength to crawl to his feet, he held the boulder beside him as he tried to escape. Shang Xia stood silently behind as he watched Lin Yi¡¯s staggering figure. After some time, he sent a simple stab towards the back of Lin Yi¡¯s heart. Several dozen spears formed from heaven and earth qi appeared around Shang Xia before raining down on Lin Yi. CH 298 ¡­ After meeting up with Gao Yun on their way back to the Changfeng City, Yang Hu, Mister Sima, and Gao Yun returned to the city without anyone knowing. Entering the city lord manor, Gao Yun wanted to discuss something with Yang Hu but saw a Martial Intent Realm cultivator rushing over to whisper something in Yang Hu¡¯s ear. With his expression changing slightly, Yang Hu¡¯s face quickly returned to normal. He turned to Mister Sima and sighed, ¡°Brother Sima, please host Brother Gao for a moment. I¡¯ll be back soon. Brother Gao, my son brought me some news and I have to leave immediately. Please understand.¡± He cupped his fists towards Gao Yun before leaving hastily. Even though he was displeased, Gao Yun knew that they weren¡¯t in the White Deer Paradise. City Lord Yang Hu was the person with the highest authority present and he had the stuff they needed. As such, he chose to remain silent. It was Mister Sima who noticed something off with Yang Hu¡¯s hasty departure, but the neutral expression on his face didn¡¯t disappear. He didn¡¯t expose anything, and he quickly called for an attendant of the city lord manor to make arrangements for Gao Yun. After Yang Hu left the hall, he increased his speed once again. Yang Zhenbiao had to use his movement skill before catching up to his father. ¡°Tell me what happened!¡± Yang Hu growled without turning his head. ¡°The water level surrounding the spiritual vein dropped suddenly. Extermination qi started to fluctuate violently and despite my efforts to stop it from spreading, I failed.¡± Yang Zhanbiao explained. The two of them arrived near the back of the manor before long. When they passed one of the rooms located there, Yang Hu¡¯s figure slowed down for a second. His gaze hovered around the room for a moment before he continued on his way. Yang Zhenbiao followed his father¡¯s gaze and he seemed to have heard some movements coming from inside the room. The person inside also noticed them as he looked out of the window. As Yang Zhanbiao followed behind his father, a look of contemplation could be seen in his eyes. After passing several rooms, Yang Hu entered an old-fashioned looking one that seemed to stand out from the rest. He tapped several spots on the wall beside him and a passage that led underground was revealed. Before heading down, Yang Hu growled, ¡°Who else knows about this matter?¡± ¡°Father, you sealed off the passage to the spiritual cave yourself. Other than myself, no one can enter. I called Senior Brother Qin to stand guard outside in the past, and even though most of my senior brothers know that we¡¯re trying to nurture an extermination origin in there, we¡¯re the only ones who know that the extermination origin has already been produced!¡± Yang Zhenbiao muttered. Nodding slightly, Yang Hu rushed down the pathway. The sound of rushing water filled his ears as tiny water droplets could be seen on the walls around him. Yang Zhenbiao stuck close to Yang Hu and he asked after some slight hesitation, ¡°Father, have you told the members of the White Deer Paradise that we¡¯re nurturing an extermination origin in the spirit cave?¡± ¡°... Relax. The White Deer Paradise¡¯s scheme contains too many things. Their schemes run so deep that they won¡¯t care about a mere extermination origin. In fact, our Changfeng City is such a small part of their plan that they couldn¡¯t even care less.¡± By the time they were done talking, a huge underground river could be seen. It was like a massive dragon that tore through the ground. The pathway they were on extended below the water surface, and a small wooden boat could be seen nearby. Yang Hu didn¡¯t approach the wooden boat immediately. Instead, he examined the water level before sighing, ¡°Yes. It definitely decreased.¡± Yang Zhenbiao stared at him in confusion. ¡°Does this mean that the water level is starting to recover? When I went to make the report, the water level dropped by two whole steps!¡± Nodding slowly, Yang Hu didn¡¯t speak anymore. The two of them approached the wooden boat and released the line they were using to keep it steady. Without anything holding the wooden boat back, they rushed downstream like a rocket. In the time it took a pot of tea to boil, they traveled several miles out. A spot of light appeared in the distance. As they traveled closer to the light source, Yang Zhenbiao saw Qin Yuyuan who was standing close by. Stopping the boat, Yang Zhenbiao tossed the line over to Qin Yuyuan. Pulling the boat to the side of the river, Yang Hu quickly leaped off. A small path that was barely two feet wide could be seen beside the river. ¡°What¡¯s the situation right now?¡± Yang Hu asked. Hesitating for a second, Qin Yuyuan reported, ¡°Things are weird. The water level is recovering and the extermination qi that was thinning earlier seems to be recovering. It won¡¯t take long before it returns to normal.¡± The three of them continued forward and soon, they ran into a stone entrance that was covered with a layer of light. ¡°Yuyuan, wait here. Do not let anyone approach.¡± Yang Hu ordered before stepping through the light gate. ¡°Yes.¡± Qin Yuyuan muttered, but a strange light flashed through his eyes. It was too bad that Yang Hu and Yang Zhenbiao were too distracted to notice it. Yang Zhenbiao entered the light gate after Yang Hu, and he tapped the side of the wall after he crossed, sealing it off behind him. ¡­ Lin Yi didn¡¯t expect that he would actually hit the jackpot by randomly blowing up a part of the underground river. Who would have thought that the walls around the underground river were less than three inches thick? Shang Xia stared at the geyser that was shooting up into the skies and he was at a loss of what to do. When the geyser appeared, the weird mist-producing river he saw before became a lot more violent. The mist in the air also thickened several times. There was no way for him to head down to look for any clues as he had to kill Chen Sanyang before the cultivator could return to the city. Of course, Shang Xia also knew that such a huge disturbance would definitely be noticed even if they were in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. It wouldn¡¯t be great if someone found the strange river and reaped the benefits without him. It seemed like the only thing he could do was to seal off the geyser. He tried stuffing a rock slab beside him into the opening but it didn¡¯t take long before the frightening pillar of water tore through the rock. Looking around, his gaze landed on the massive boulder he was hiding behind earlier. Using his Scarlet Star Spear as a lever, he circulated his Origin True Qi to move the giant object towards the hole. The boulder was several times the size of a human and weighed more than ten thousand pounds. Only after exerting a good amount of energy did Shang Xia push it over the geyser. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. It was more than enough to stop the pillar of water from emerging from the ground. Next, Shang Xia found several small stones to seal off the gaps. When he was done, the raging river finally calmed down. Heaving a sigh of relief, Shang Xia pulled out the yellow gourd he obtained earlier. The thick mist in the surroundings was sucked in by the gourd quickly, and Shang Xia only stopped the process when the mist returned to its original level. Learning from Lin Yi, Shang Xia shook the gourd beside his ear but noticed that the amount of liquid contained within didn¡¯t increase by much. Right as he wanted to keep the gourd into his Embroidered Cloud Case, his gaze landed on a small opening in the ground that was emitting extermination mist. Shang Xia walked over to observe the opening in the ground before creating a small platform out of rocks. He stuffed the gourd under the platform with its opening right above the hole in the ground where the extermination qi was emerging from. Walking around the stone platform he created, Shang Xia nodded in satisfaction. The gourd was hidden, and it could absorb the extermination mist that emerged from the ground continuously. The situation couldn¡¯t be better. Next came Lin Yi¡¯s corpse. It was destroyed earlier by the combination of Shang Xia¡¯s attack and the powerful rush of water from the geyser. Earlier, Shang Xia was trying out his sixth move and the results he obtained were frightening. Even though it proved that his sixth move was powerful, it also destroyed nearly everything on Lin Yi¡¯s body. Shang Xia was exceptionally heartbroken by the fact that Lin Yi¡¯s low-grade sword was heavily damaged by his spear. Even though it looked intact earlier, Shang Xia barely picked it up when it shattered into a hundred pieces. That also caused Shang Xia to feel slightly afraid. His Scarlet Star Spear was barely a grade higher than the sword. If his Origin True Qi infused attack could damage the sword so badly, it was definitely affecting his spear too. He already experienced the tyrannical might of his Origin True Qi when he shattered his Waning Moon Spear in the past. His Origin True Qi might not pose a threat to himself, but the same couldn¡¯t be said for his weapons. With a mid-grade weapon in hand, he couldn¡¯t put his mind at ease. He was afraid that it would shatter someday, and upgrading it to a high-grade weapon was his priority. However, that was easier said than done¡­ Whenever he thought about the treasures that he required to upgrade the spear, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but feel a headache coming. If it was that easy to refine high-grade weapons, his grandfather, Shang Bo, would have obtained one a long time ago. Other than the sword, Lin Yi had many treasures on him. But if a graded weapon was unable to avoid its fate of destruction, those treasures wouldn¡¯t fare much better. Shang Xia looked at whatever was left and he sighed in resignation. Luckily, the Multi World Anchoring Flag was an exceptional treasure and it couldn¡¯t be destroyed easily. He casually flicked it in his hand once and saw the water droplets falling off its surface. It regained its original shine CH 299 Obtaining the two most important treasures Lin Yi possessed, Shang Xia was satisfied. He casually tossed everything left into his Embroidered Cloud Case without examining them closely. Next, he had to catch up to Chen Sanyang! However, he made a huge miscalculation. He had to kill Chen Sanyang before he left the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range! If he allowed Chen Sanyang to leave the mountain range, his actions might be discovered! He felt lucky that Lin Yi sent himself to death earlier. He wasn¡¯t prepared for Shang Xia¡¯s attack earlier, and Shang Xia didn¡¯t exert too much energy. Running in the direction Chen Sanyang left, not many clues were left for him to accurately track the man. Since he knew Chen Sanyang was returning to the Changfeng City, he wouldn¡¯t be wrong if he headed in the same general direction. His only hope lay in Yan Ni¡¯er. He prayed that the little bird knew what he meant when he gestured to her earlier. If she knew what his intentions were, things were over for Chen Sanyang. After all, she could even track Martial Extermination Realm experts, much less a Martial Intent Realm Chen Sanyang. Running through the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range, he discovered he made a huge mistake. If Yan Ni¡¯er was tracking Chen Sanyang, how the hell was she supposed to tell him which direction to go? In hindsight, he should have brought the four little birds along with him. With the four of them, they could relay the message to him. Now, he could only hope that Chen Sanyang would take a short break so that Yan Ni¡¯er could return to tell him where to go. While waiting for him to point him in Chen Sanyang¡¯s direction, Shang Xia didn¡¯t stop moving. Seeing as he was about to leave the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range with no sign of Yan Ni¡¯er, Shang Xia became slightly irritated. He even wondered if Chen Sanyang discovered her presence. Yan Ni¡¯er might not be as fast as the Lightning Bird, but she could still fly faster than Martial Extermination Realm cultivators. Moreover, not many people would pay attention to a mere bird. When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. The problem was if she was discovered by the other party. She might be able to fly quickly, but she was still a little bird at the end of the day. If Chen Sanyang wanted to kill her and laid down a trap, it was highly possible she would be dead. As worry started to overwhelm him, a familiar cry rang in the skies above. A look of joy appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he turned around to stare at the source of the cry. However, a look of confusion quickly formed on his face. Why did Yan Ni¡¯er appear from the East? That wasn¡¯t where the Changfeng City was located. Naturally, it wasn¡¯t time for him to think about all that. He ran towards her quickly. Yan Ni¡¯er seemed to be really anxious when she came, and the moment she saw Shang Xia, she turned around and sped off. No longer caring about his usage of inner qi, Shang Xia tried his best to keep up. Every time he leaped off a hill, he would use his Origin True Qi to glide in the air. He could cover a longer distance that way. With his speed, he traveled several miles in one short hour. He finally saw Yan Ni¡¯er who was making circles in the air above. It seemed as though he was nearing his target. Slowing down to catch his breath, Shang Xia restricted his aura once again. He carefully walked in the direction Yan Ni¡¯er was circling to look for traces of Chen Sanyang. Before he could locate the man, Shang Xia discovered a massive path that cut through the mountain range. ¡°Why are we here?!¡± A frown could be seen on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he observed the path that was barely five feet in width before him. It snaked across the entire mountain range, and he quickly discovered the presence of some other people. The path stretched across the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range and connected the border of the Ji Continent to the Changfeng City. It was also the only path that carriages could travel through. Ordinarily, the path would be populated with merchant carriages or people who were traveling between the continents. Nothing was different when Shang Xia arrived. At that moment, Chen Sanyang was hiding on a nearby hill as if he was waiting for someone to arrive. A chill ran through Shang Xia¡¯s heart. He knew that he had to deal with the hidden threat that was Chen Sanyang as quickly as he could. If he allowed the person Chen Sanyang was waiting for to appear, things would become troublesome! However, there were too many people traveling around. No matter how Shang Xia went about doing it, he was bound to be discovered. Shang Xia was a decisive person regardless. Since there was no way of dragging it out any longer, he chose to make his move. Retracting his aura, he merged his divine sense with the world around him. He started moving towards Chen Sanyang but he discovered that on the hill where Chen Sanyang was, there wasn¡¯t much to hide behind. He was able to conceal his aura, but he couldn¡¯t hide his physical body! Even though there were talismans that could allow him to hide his body, Shang Xia could only create a rank one talisman called the Shadow Talisman that allowed him to remain unseen when he was in a shadow. The hill Chen Sanyang was on didn¡¯t possess any cover at all, much less a shadow he could hide in. Not to mention the fact that he could only remain undiscovered when he wasn¡¯t moving while hidden. Helpless, Shang Xia could only choose to approach Chen Sanyang cautiously with the intention to strike at any time. Sneaking slowly behind Chen Sanyang, Shang Xia eventually got thirty feet of him. At that moment, Chen Sanyang seemed to have felt something and he started to turn his head. Knowing that he was about to be discovered, the Scarlet Star Spear appeared in Shang Xia¡¯s hand and he got ready to attack. All of a sudden, a sharp cry rang above Chen Sanyang¡¯s head. When Chen Sanyang raised his head to look at the skies above, he was shocked by a ray of grayish lightning rushing down towards him. He jumped in fright, retreating close to five feet with a single leap to avoid Yan Ni¡¯er¡¯s ambush. A trace of annoyance could be seen on his face as he chopped out with his right hand. The heaven and earth qi around him seemed to ignite as sparks flew all around. A fiery blade shot towards Yan Ni¡¯er. Yan Ni¡¯er wasn¡¯t stupid. All she wanted to do was to distract Chen Sanyang. She knew that she wasn¡¯t strong enough to fight a Martial Intent Realm expert. When Chen Sanyang leaped backward earlier to dodge Yan Ni¡¯er¡¯s sudden attack, Yan Ni¡¯er hurriedly flapped her wings to return to the skies above. The fire blade created by Chen Sanyang struck nothing, but he couldn¡¯t care less about that. He could feel a terrifying killing intent rising behind him and the hair on his neck was already standing erect. It was a distraction?! Someone is actually behind me! Shit! I was played by that fucking bird! Chen Sanyang forced his body forward and pushed off with all his might. A terrifying aura emerged behind where he stood, and the top of the hill seemed to be flipped over by a wave of heaven and earth qi. As he flew forward, he felt countless rays of sharp qi flying past him. Waves of pain started assaulting him as he felt many wounds cutting deep into his bones. Even after suffering so much pain, he was unable to catch a glimpse of his attacker! He had no idea who was trying to kill him! He could only continue to run forward while disregarding his injuries. The winding path that connected the Ji Continent to the Changfeng City was right in front of him! Once he arrived, he would definitely run into some merchant groups. There would probably be some martial artists protecting the convoys and he might be able to use them to distract the person who sneak attacked him! Even though it would cause some casualties among those merchant groups or random groups of travelers, Chen Sanyang could care less about them! He was from the Azure Spiritual World to begin with! He couldn¡¯t wish for more people of the Azure Origin World to die. Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect Chen Sanyang to be so sensitive to danger. Neither did he expect Chen Sanyang to be an expert at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm! It seemed as though everyone was hiding their strength nowadays. Everyone was clever. They wouldn¡¯t reveal their true cultivation level or hidden cards unless they were forced into a corner! Even though he unleashed his third move earlier, Flashing Meteor, he only slightly injured Chen Sanyang. Thankfully, Shang Xia had already made his preparations. He didn¡¯t expect to kill Chen Sanyang with his first move, and he quickly followed behind Chen Sanyang. He didn¡¯t forget to wrap a piece of cloth around his face to hide his appearance before rushing down the hill. Releasing his divine sense, he locked onto Chen Sanyang who was barely ten feet away from him. Their divine senses clashed with each other as Chen Sanyang tried to resist the suppression that came along with the lock-on. Even though Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation level wasn¡¯t as high as Chen Sanyang, he wasn¡¯t losing any ground. In fact, his divine sense seemed to possess an edge over his opponent. The two of them charged downhill, causing the merchants who were using the path to panic. Screams filled the air and there were some curses mixed within. There were even some brave individuals who didn¡¯t care who the two of them were and started attacking indiscriminately. Chen Sanyang knew that he couldn¡¯t give his enemy any opening. Every time he was distracted by the martial artists in front of him, a powerful attack would come from behind. As for Shang Xia, he steeled his heart. Since he decided to kill Chen Sanyang, he was going to go all out. Those who distracted him from his tasks were thrown to the side mercilessly. ¡°Who are you? Who the fuck are you?!¡± Chen Sanyang screamed in terror, but he didn¡¯t dare to turn his head. A feeling of despair crept into his heart. However, a rumbling sound came from the foot of a nearby hill. From the sound of it, they were rushing towards him at a terrifying speed. Soon after, several riders mounted on Scarlet Cloud Horses appeared in Chen Sanyang¡¯s vision. The killing intent behind him disappeared suddenly. Those riders who appeared were like angels to him, and he waved to them desperately. ¡°Save me, please save me!¡± All of a sudden, a small hole appeared in his thigh. Losing balance, he crashed into the ground with a loud thud. The story Lin Yi told him earlier surfaced in his mind. Looking at the wound on his thigh, he recalled Lin Yi¡¯s story of how a weird spearman killed three of his fellow comrades. According to Lin Yi, the spearman had a way of striking his enemy without the spear actually making contact. ¡°It¡¯s him!¡± Struggling to get up, Chen Sanyang stared at the riders who were closing in on him and tried to yell, ¡°Sha¡­¡± A spear descended from the heavens and lodged itself deep in Chen Sanyang¡¯s throat, interrupting whatever he was trying to say. CH 300 When Chen Sanyang fell to the ground earlier, he discovered the identity of the person who was hell-bent on killing him. ¡°It¡¯s him!¡± He wanted to reveal Shang Xia¡¯s existence to the people around him in his last-ditch attempt to take revenge. Even if he had to die, he needed to cause trouble for his enemy! ¡°Sha¡­¡± A spear descended from the heavens and lodged itself deep in Chen Sanyang¡¯s throat, interrupting whatever he was trying to say. The gurgling of blood was all that was left. The riders who had arrived quickly pulled on the reins of their mounts. When the horses¡¯ hoofs hit the ground, two deep craters were formed. Under the gaze of the riders present, Shang Xia, whose face was covered in cloth, approached the corpse and retrieved his Scarlet Star Spear. As Chen Sanyang¡¯s body twitched twice, the sign of his inner qi leaving his body caused the heaven and earth qi around them to fluctuate. Due to the difference in cultivation methods used by those from the Azure Spiritual World, a thick stench of blood filled the air. ¡°Cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World. You deserve death!¡± Shang Xia said as he swept his gaze across those present. Other than Shang Xia, no one dared to speak a word. Poking Chen Sanyang¡¯s body with his spear, a flurry of items fell to the ground. His divine sense imprint of his spatial artifact broke the moment he died. As he laid down a self-destruction mechanism in his spatial artifact, most of the items in there were destroyed. Shang Xia glanced at his surroundings nonchalantly, but under the cloth, his expression was twisted from the aching in his heart. A loud cry came from the skies at that moment and Yan Ni¡¯er swooped past Shang Xia¡¯s head. Even though he was surprised, Shang Xia still maintained his cool appearance. He casually stuffed everything on the ground into his Embroidered Cloud Case, and he didn¡¯t inspect any one of those items. When he was done, his figure blurred as he disappeared into the forest nearby. From the time they appeared to the time Chen Sanyang was killed, not much time had passed. Even after Shang Xia left, many people were unable to react. Only after a long time did they finally realize what had happened. Someone muttered softly, ¡°Cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World? How can they appear here? Do you think he¡¯s joking?¡± The person who spoke was a cultivator, but his position in the world of cultivation was clearly too low to be of concern. He didn¡¯t know that cultivators could cross into other worlds. It didn¡¯t take long for someone to correct him. ¡°He¡¯s right. That cultivator definitely comes from the Azure Spiritual World.¡± Everyone stared at the person who just spoke, and he was clearly one of the leaders of the caravans. He looked at the phenomenon in the air caused by the fluctuation of heaven and earth qi and explained, ¡°I managed to survive after entering the battlefield between the two worlds in the past. I fought against cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World. I experienced their techniques and the bloody essence qi in the air is proof of that.¡± After he spoke, clamor broke out among the crowd as many people started to gather around the body. Most people who went up to the body were people who were originally from the You Continent. Their hatred for those of the Azure Spiritual World had reached a terrifying level. It didn¡¯t take long before Chen Sanyang¡¯s body was stomped to shreds. The riders who appeared earlier were from the Ji Continent, and their plan was to keep Chen Sanyang¡¯s body intact. However, they couldn¡¯t possibly engage and attack those who were stomping on his body, and they could only stare at each other helplessly. There were even several people who drew their weapons to slash at the corpse. All of a sudden, a streak of light tore through the skies and arrived above them. ¡°Martial Extermination!¡± It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Several people recognized the sign of a Martial Extermination Realm expert. The way Martial Extermination Realm experts soared through the air gave them another nickname in the eyes of mortals, They were also known as ¡®Heavenly Cultivators¡¯. A tall elder with a gray beard clad in white robes descended from the skies and turned to the group of riders. ¡°What¡¯s going on here? Why did you stop?¡± Their leader replied quickly, ¡°We greet Elder Guo. A cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World was just killed here.¡± He then explained everything that happened a moment ago. ¡°Cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World, could it be¡­¡± Elder Guo¡¯s expression changed drastically before pointing at the mangled corpse on the ground. ¡°You¡­ You watched him die?! Why didn¡¯t you interfere?¡± The leader among them hesitated for a second and whispered into Elder Guo¡¯s ears. ¡°Elder Guo, that¡¯s a cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World! He¡­¡± At the same time, everyone in the surroundings started to whisper among themselves. Even though they were speaking softly, their conversations couldn¡¯t escape Elder Guo¡¯s detection. He seemed to have heard the words, ¡®Ji Continent¡¯, ¡®Great families¡¯, ¡®Guo Family¡¯, and ¡®seems to know him¡¯. Those were the words getting thrown around the most often and he knew that he made a mistake. Coughing once, he growled, ¡°Did you see the appearance of the murderer? Where did he go?¡± The leader of the riders pointed in the direction Shang Xia left. Even though Shang Xia moved quickly, he couldn¡¯t possibly avoid detection altogether. ¡°Are you planning to stand here without doing anything?¡± Elder Guo growled before cruising into the air. He snapped, ¡°Protect the corpse! Investigate the identity of the person who died. We must capture the spies of the Azure Spiritual World if there are any!¡± The riders yelled in acknowledgment and surrounded Chen Sanyang¡¯s corpse. However, those riders had basically been affiliated with the Guo Family of the Ji Continent after Elder Guo¡¯s arrival. Their intentions of protecting the corpse of an individual from the Azure Spiritual World could only be speculated. ¡­ After Shang Xia left, he ran straight for the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. Earlier, Yan Ni¡¯er¡¯s loud chirp warned him that a Martial Extermination Realm expert was rushing towards them as they spoke. From Shang Xia¡¯s understanding of the relationship between the Changbai Holy Land, White Deer Paradise, and the three great families of the Ji Continent, he guessed that the Martial Extermination Realm expert should be from one of the three great families. Shang Xia knew their intentions. They were interested in the Mysterious Coral World the Tongyou Institution dragged back from the battlefield between the two worlds. Shang Xia didn¡¯t bother verifying the identity of the person who came. After all, they would be enemies no matter what. He had long since come to the conclusion that no one in the White Deer Paradise, Changbai Holy Land, or the three great families of the Ji Continent could be trusted. They were probably the reason Chen Sanyang was waiting by the hill! Moreover, Shang Xia even had the suspicion that those bastards who were coming were probably involved in the second ambush on Kou Chongxue. Luckily for him, the members of the three great families of the Ji Continent couldn¡¯t openly declare their collaboration with members of the Azure Spiritual World. Even if it was an open secret to those amongst the upper echelons of the various factions, they wouldn¡¯t reveal the details to the lower leveled cultivators. That was the reason those riders didn¡¯t stop Shang Xia, or chased him when he left. It gave him a little more time to run away. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t care about the injuries he suffered from unleashing the Woundless Spear anymore as he charged deep into the mountain range. Yan Ni¡¯er shot past his head in a silvery blur, and she released another warning cry. Shang Xia leaped to the side before tumbling into a small crevice under a cliff. He concealed his aura and merged his divine sense with the world around him. After several breaths of time, an orange light tore through the air above and a tyrannical divine sense swept through the lands. Not detecting anything out of the ordinary, the orange light continued on. However, the divine sense didn¡¯t disappear as it continued to scan through the lands. Unfortunately for him, he failed to detect Shang Xia no matter how hard he looked. ¡°I wonder which friend managed to kill a cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World. This old man is extremely impressed. I wonder if we can meet?¡± Elder Guo¡¯s voice rang through the air. Hah, do you think I¡¯m stupid? This daddy here won¡¯t be fooled by you, asshole! Shang Xia sneered in his heart and he remained motionless. Elder Guo¡¯s voice rang through the air several more times, and he seemed adamant about meeting the person who killed Chen Sanyang. His words were like farts in Shang Xia¡¯s ears as he circulated his Origin True Qi internally to regain some of his energy. Since he was hiding his aura and presence, Elder Guo was unable to discover him. After yelling for some time, Elder Guo seemed to have gotten tired. His footsteps grew softer and he seemed to return. Not knowing if Elder Guo had truly left, Shang Xia decided to remain in place. He didn¡¯t wish to be played for a fool and caught by the other party the moment he showed his face. He seemed to have been over-cautious as Elder Guo really left. Soaring through the air, he returned to meet with the group of riders. By the time he returned, Chen Sanyang¡¯s corpse, or whatever remained of it, had been collected. Another group of riders could be seen approaching when Elder Guo returned, and they seemed to be escorting a convoy. When Elder Guo descended from the skies, a male and female cultivator walked out to greet him. The three of them looked similar in age, and they were familiar with each other. The male cultivator had a sickly look, and he spoke the moment Elder Guo returned. ¡°Brother Guo, did you find the person who did it?¡± ¡°The person who did it was extremely slippery. I seemed to have gone in the wrong direction¡­¡± Elder Guo shook his head and sighed. The sickly-looking man turned to stare at the female cultivator beside him who was clad in green robes. ¡°Did you two notice anything?¡± Elder Gup asked. The woman in green eventually spoke, ¡°The person who died was Chen Sanyang, an envoy of the Changbai Holy Land. He was our contact here. After asking around, the person who killed him was probably using the Shang Clan Spear Art!¡± CH 301 ¡°Shang Clan Spear Art?¡± Elder Guo¡¯s expression changed and he asked, ¡°Are we sure of that?¡± ¡°I fought Shang Bo twice and lost. I understand the Shang Clan Spear Art pretty well. From my deductions, that person is definitely using the Shang Clan Spear Art.¡± The green robed lady muttered. Elder Guo frowned. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe the Fourth Lady. However, I heard that the Shang Clan¡¯s inheritance is called the Providence Spear. Practically every practitioner of the Shang Clan Spear Art comprehended different moves. How can you be sure that it¡¯s the Shang Clan Spear Art?!¡± Chuckling softly, she replied, ¡°I have my ways.¡± Elder Guo nodded silently and decided not to continue his line of questioning. He turned to the other man and asked, ¡°Brother Zhang, since she¡¯s sure of it, shouldn''t we start guessing if the person who killed Chen Sanyang is Shang Bo¡¯s grandson? Is he the person who saw Kou Chongxue last?¡± The man hesitated for a second before nodding slowly. ¡°It¡¯s definitely possible. However, he covered his appearance when he made his move earlier. None of us can be sure.¡± ¡°What do you think we should do now? Should we focus on flushing him out to question him about Kou Chongxue¡¯s whereabouts?¡± Elder Guo asked. Brother Zhang and the green robed lady stared at each other before the green robed lady spoke. ¡°The issue regarding the Tongyou City is of utmost importance. We cannot waste our resources looking for a mere junior. Even if we find him, he might not know where Kou Chongxue went.¡± Brother Zhang added, ¡°The Tongyou Institution has always done things their own way. Our task is to fight for benefits for our respective families. Who cares if we find Kou Chongxue? Even if we find him, we¡¯ll have to give that information to the others for them to deal with him. We might as well do something more worth our time.¡± Seeing the understanding the two of them had reached, Elder Guo knew that they already reached a conclusion before he arrived. He said, ¡°The two of you make sense. Our three great families of the Ji Continent will advance and retreat together. Without the members of the Azure Spiritual World, we won¡¯t have to worry about many other things. I guess this can be considered a sort of advantage!¡± The three of them represented the three great families, but it seemed as though the relationship between them was pretty interesting. On the surface, the three of them were of similar status. However, Elder Guo was the strongest and most experienced out of the three. Even though the other two couldn¡¯t match up to him in those aspects, they seemed to possess some sort of tacit understanding with each other. Brother Zhang continued, ¡°So¡­ Should we continue our journey to the Changfeng City then?¡± Elder Guo glanced at him casually before looking in the direction of the Changfeng City. ¡°No! The Changfeng City has already thrown in their lot with the White Deer Paradise. If we go there, we won¡¯t be able to gain any benefits! We¡¯ll skirt past the Changfeng City and head directly towards the Tongyou City!¡± Exchanging another glance, Brother Zhang and the lady seemed to agree with Elder Guo¡¯s suggestion. ¡­ Shang Xia only returned to the Changfeng City the next day. After one night of seclusion in the mountains, his injuries were a lot better. At the very least, no one could tell that he was injured after he wore a new set of clothes. He didn¡¯t know what Hai Min and Yuanyuan would think after he spent a night outside the city. Even though Shang Xia stayed with the two of them in order to maintain his disguise as an ordinary hunter, he had to admit that it was a different type of life he really enjoyed. It seemed as though he would have to break the promise he made to Yuanyuan the day before. In order not to get himself flagged for suspicious behavior, he remained outside until noon time before returning to the city. Strolling around the city, he used his divine sense to observe everything around him. Discovering nothing out of the ordinary, he finally relaxed. On the way back to his courtyard, he made a special detour to Wu Ji¡¯s forge. He planned to take a casual look even though they had already planned to take action three days since they last met. Surprisingly, he heard the clear ringing of a bell when he passed the forge. He glanced up only to see a small bronze bell hanging below the shop sign. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he strolled into the forge casually. Since he bought arrows often, it made sense for him to be there. Entering the forge, he yelled, ¡°Attendant, are there any better arrows around? The arrows I bought the other day were too light!¡± The curtain parted slightly and Wu Ji poked his head out. Glancing at him and taking a look around the forge to ensure there was no one present, he growled, ¡°Follow me!¡± Entering the back room where the furnace was running at full power, he passed a row of wooden houses that housed the attendants and apprentices. Eventually, they arrived at a small but exquisite courtyard. The old blacksmith pointed at the only room in the courtyard and muttered, ¡°He¡¯s waiting for you.¡± When he was done, he left immediately. Shang Xia pushed the doors of the room open and saw a middle aged man standing with his back facing the entrance. He was admiring a piece of art on the wall and he turned around when he heard the creaking of the doors. Shang Xia immediately recognized Mister Bu. ¡°You killed Chen Sanyang yesterday? Your identity is exposed. Everyone knows that Shang Bo¡¯s grandson appeared in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range and might reside in the Changfeng City!¡± Mister Bu spoke the moment he saw Shang Xia, and he sounded extremely serious. Shang Xia stared at Mister Bu without a trace of fear and he returned Mister Bu¡¯s question with one of his own. ¡°Mister Bu, what about your Painting Finger? Are you a spy of the institution or are you with the Rose Party?¡± The two stared at each other with no intention to back down. After a short while, Mister Bu finally broke the silence with a soft snort. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you did the right thing. Chen Sanyang died while waiting to regroup with the experts of the three great families of the Ji Continent. Now, they chose to circle around the Changfeng City to head straight for the Tongyou City.¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t understand the logic behind it. ¡°What has his death got to do with their detour? Did the three great families of the Ji Continent reach some sort of agreement with the Changbai Holy Land?¡± Shang Xia thought back to the conversation he overheard in the restaurant when he first came to the Changfeng City. The White Deer Paradise and the three great families were supposed to be on the same side, or at least that was the vibe Shang Xia received from them. Did they run into some sort of disagreement? Why would they skirt past the Changfeng City that was working with the White Deer Paradise at the last moment? Shang Xia stared at Mister Bu for an explanation but was met with a shake of the head. ¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on either. All I know is that it might have something to do with a formation master of the White Deer Paradise who arrived yesterday.¡± ¡°Formation master?¡± Shang Xia thought back to Gao Yun and Wei Zhongwen who hailed from the White Deer Paradise. He saw them after he released his fully powered sixth move back in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. They were drawn over by the heaven and earth qi fluctuations, and he hid down below to listen in on their conversation. Mister Bu clearly didn¡¯t notice the look in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes as he continued, ¡°That¡¯s right! As soon as that person arrived, he was hosted with a massive banquet! In the morning, Yang Hu even invited him over to the spirit cave in the underground water-attributed spiritual vein¡­¡± ¡°Hold up. Did you just say underground water-attributed spiritual vein? Spirit cave?¡± Shang Xia connected many dots in that instant and he couldn¡¯t help but ask. Mister Bu thought that Shang Xia was asking due to his limited knowledge of those things and he quickly explained, ¡°There has always been a water-attributed spiritual vein located under the Changfeng City. Yang Hu placed a strong emphasis on it and other than his son and several direct disciples, no one knows the location of the spirit cave. In order to prove his sincerity to work with the White Deer Paradise, he invited their formation master over to lay down protection formations. It could be said that he has already passed all his power over to the White Deer Paradise!¡± Shang Xia raised his eyebrows in shock. ¡°Are they really willing to give up their control of the Changfeng City so easily?¡± ¡°Naturally, it comes with several conditions.¡± Mister Bu explained. ¡°One of them was that the White Deer Paradise had to provide them with a complete rank four advancement formula. At this moment, Yang Hu already has the formula.¡± It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". ¡°No wonder¡­¡± Shang Xia gasped. He understood the meaning behind their actions too. That was because they were like the Shang Clan. In order to receive a complete rank four advancement formula, Shang Bo put in a lot of hard work for the institution. If not for Shang Xia¡¯s luck to obtain the Hundred Days Longevity Intoxication, the Shang Clan might still have to depend on the institution¡¯s advancement formula. Mister Bu continued, ¡°From what I learned, it¡¯s highly likely they¡¯re nurturing an extermination origin in the spirit cave. In fact, it should already be complete! Yang Hu might have invited the formation master of the White Deer Paradise due to something that happened to the extermination origin.¡± Shang Xia nodded slowly as his gaze flickered slightly. Can it really be so coincidental?! ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± Mister Bu finally noticed Shang Xia¡¯s abnormal reaction and he asked. ¡°Oh¡­ Mister Bu, who is the strongest person in the White Deer Paradise? Can they defeat Patriarch Kou?¡± Shang Xia asked all of a sudden. ¡°What¡¯s with the sudden question?¡± Mister Bu thought that Shang Xia was asking purely out of curiosity and he explained patiently, ¡°From what I know, the White Deer Paradise definitely has their own rank five advancement formula. They might even possess more than one ancestor in the Martial Dipper Realm.¡± ¡°Ancestor?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Is that how they address experts who reached the Martial Dipper Realm in the White Deer Paradise?¡± Mister Bu replied, ¡°That¡¯s right. In the White Deer Paradise, only experts who have reached the Martial Dipper Realm can receive the title, ¡®Ancestor¡¯. There should be at least three ancestors in their ranks.¡± ¡°Three?!¡± Shang Xia gasped. He felt a chill running through his heart. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean that they can flatten our You Continent if they choose to launch a full-scale assault?¡± Chuckling softly, Mister Bu explained, ¡°Relax. It¡¯s not that simple. Those who receive their origin dipper with the assistance of their holy land would be severely restricted. They are unable to leave the territory controlled by their holy lands. In fact, it¡¯s difficult for them to leave their holy land itself.¡± Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief, but he heard the meaning behind Mister Bu¡¯s words. ¡°It might be difficult to leave, but there seems to be a way. Do you think the White Deer Paradise will send a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor over to our You Continent?¡± CH 302 ¡°It might be difficult to leave, but there seems to be a way. Do you think the White Deer Paradise will send a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor over to our You Continent?¡± Even though he asked the question, he already had an answer in his heart. In fact, he was practically sure they would send a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor over. After all, that was what he heard from Wei Zhongwen and Gao Yun the day before. Back then, he didn¡¯t know that the members of the White Deer Paradise called their Martial Dipper Realm experts ¡®Ancestor¡¯. Now that he did, he knew that things were about to get ugly. Mister Bu was extremely experienced. With a small reminder from Shang Xia, he understood many things. ¡°Are you saying that Gao Yun came to the Changfeng City because¡­¡± Shang Xia nodded solemnly. ¡°Actually, I wonder where the underground water-attributed spiritual vein leads? Does it go through the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range and lead towards the Ji Continent? If that¡¯s the case¡­¡± Mister Bu¡¯s expression twisted immediately. Only after some time did he reply. ¡°Even if it¡¯s not connected, they can always do it manually¡­¡± Mister Bu growled, ¡±No. This is bad. The arrival of a Martial Dipper Realm expert will bring about too many uncertainties. I have to report this immediately. We need to make preparations now! You¡­¡± Shang Xia interrupted him before he could complete his sentence. ¡°Mister Bu, how is Patriarch Kou right now?¡± It was a question he had been dying to ask. Even though Shang Xia didn¡¯t know if Mister Bu knew anything about Kou Chongxue when they first met, he had a suspicion that Mister Bu definitely received some news recently. It was especially so after he worked together with Youshang and the black robed expert to kill Liang Shuangren. He definitely knew a lot more than before. Even the aura he exuded changed. He felt a lot more unflustered than when Shang Xia first met him. Most importantly, Mister Bu¡¯s expression might have changed earlier, but he didn¡¯t panic in the slightest. He only thought of making a report back to the institution so that they could ¡®make their preparations¡¯. It was as though they already had a plan to deal with the descent of a Martial Dipper Realm expert. Clearly, Mister Bu didn¡¯t expect the question from Shang Xia so suddenly. He didn¡¯t react immediately, and he only spoke after a slight hesitation. ¡°How should I know anything about him? However, the Tongyou Institution has been operating for more than twenty years. Even if he isn''t around, they might possess some form of assurance. Moreover, the Martial Dipper Realm expert¡¯s strength would be greatly affected if he travels so far away from his territory. If the Tongyou Institution has enough time to prepare, they might be able to overcome this ordeal.¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with Mister Bu¡¯s forced explanation at all. Instead, he only cared about Mister Bu¡¯s initial reaction when he asked the question. The short hesitation allowed Shang Xia to form his own guesses about the situation. Of course, he knew that there was no point in digging deeper into the matter either. It wasn¡¯t as though Mister Bu would reveal any more¡­ No matter what, Shang Xia was still a mere student of the institution. He might be considered an extremely powerful individual in the Martial Intent Realm, but he was still too weak to be factored into the Tongyou Institution¡¯s plan. Shang Xia no longer continued to ask about Kou Chongxue. Instead, he continued down the line Mister Bu was driving at. ¡°Mister Bu, do you have any way of contacting the institution? From what I heard, even birds are unable to enter the Tongyou City at this moment.¡± Shang Xia tried sending Yan Ni¡¯er back a long time ago. However, she returned the next day and brought back some horrifying news. There was something outside the city that was ready to ambush her, and she was too afraid to return. Yan Ni¡¯er might be a lot more domesticated than before, but her instincts of locating danger didn¡¯t dull. Shang Xia didn¡¯t doubt her evaluation of the situation when she returned. Mister Bu replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to ask too many questions about this. Even if I wish to send some information back to the city, I¡¯ll have to pay a huge price. Time is tight. All you need to do now is to raise your cultivation level. Didn¡¯t I tell you to practice your spear art the other day? Wait¡­ Your cultivation¡­ Are you about to experience your third divine sense transformation?!¡± Muster Bu didn¡¯t observe too closely earlier, and Shang Xia was used to hiding his aura. As such, he failed to detect Shang Xia¡¯s increased cultivation level the moment he stepped in. Only then did he discover that Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense was about to reach a whole new level. A smile appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he chuckled in response, ¡°I have to thank senior for the reminder the other day. I might not know which senior sealed their knowledge into my spear, but I offer my sincere thanks.¡± Mister Bu sighed. ¡°Your Shang Clan¡¯s ¡®Providence Inheritance¡¯ is really marvelous. It combines the insights of a secret art with your martial arts. The other day, I noticed that you hadn¡¯t reached the requirements to experience your third divine sense transformation. Did you manage to comprehend your sixth move of your Providence Spear Art?¡± Indeed, comprehending a new move in the series would allow his cultivation to take a huge leap forward. When Shang Xia came up with three moves of his Providence Spear Art in the past, his divine sense experienced a second transformation. Now that he completed the next set of three moves, his divine sense was ready to transform the third time! What made the increase in cultivation so special was that such rapid advancement wouldn¡¯t affect his foundations! The Triple Providence Chapter and the Providence Spear were the reason Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation shot up so quickly in the Martial Intent Realm! Of course, him being able to come up with his moves due to his insight into the Providence Spear Art was an important factor. If he was unable to comprehend the secrets behind the spear art, his cultivation would never be able to increase no matter how hard he tried! Shang Xia felt that after his divine sense transformed a third time, he couldn¡¯t rely on coming up with new moves for his Providence Spear Art to raise his cultivation. He would have to start training in the Triple Providence Chapter in order to push his cultivation up. Speaking of which, Shang Ke was a good example to talk about. During his cultivation, Shang Ke created four moves in total before his divine sense transformed for the third time. He wasn¡¯t like Shang Xia who increased his cultivation solely based off the creation of new moves. Shang Ke had to cultivate painstakingly between each transformation. When his divine sense finally completed the third transformation, he came up with his fifth move, but that wasn¡¯t enough for him to comprehend his martial intent to enter the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. Eventually, his cultivation level was stuck at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm and he forcefully broke through by refining the extermination origin in the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl. Due to his weak foundations, he would never be able to match up to Shang Bo despite their cultivation levels both being in the Martial Extermination Realm. A weird smile formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Senior, you seem to know a lot about my Shang Clan¡¯s inheritance¡­¡± ¡°Of course not! I only heard stories about it. Your grandfather, Shang Bo, created seven moves in total and Shang Ke created five. Now, you¡¯ve created six moves before experiencing your third divine sense transformation. I hope that you can surpass your Grandfather Shang Bo in the future.¡± Mister Bu replied. Even though he was already a Martial Extermination Realm expert, a trace of envy could be seen on Mister Bu¡¯s face. Shang Xia cupped his fists together and laughed, ¡°Many thanks for senior¡¯s kind words. I¡¯ll work hard.¡± When he was done, he turned around to leave. However, he was called back by Mister Bu. Shang Xia turned around, baffled, while Mister Bu added, ¡°We might have to carry out our plans in the next two or three days. The Changfeng City will probably also fall into chaos. When that happens, your chance to complete your third divine sense transformation will come.¡± Shang Xia stared deeply at Mister Bu as the corners of his lips slowly curled upwards. ¡°Many thanks for senior¡¯s reminder. I know what to do.¡± ¡°Just do your best. Don¡¯t push yourself past your limits. Remember, staying safe is of utmost priority.¡± Mister Bu nodded. ¡­ After emerging from the forge with two quivers of arrows, Shang Xia returned to his courtyard. When he entered the street leading to his courtyard, he saw Hai Min laying out some needlework on the rocks beside the entrance of their courtyard. Uncle Cen was beside her and seemed to be telling her something. Yuanyuan was playing with some other kids not too far away. Hai Min replied Uncle Cen half-heartedly as her gaze constantly flickered to the other end of the street. When she saw Shang Xia¡¯s familiar figure, the tension in her heart disappeared and she seemed to feel a lot more relaxed. Straightening her back, she looked at Shang Xia who was walking towards the courtyard and a smile appeared on her face. A soft breeze brushed against her hair, messing it up slightly. She used her slender fingers to tuck them behind her ears, causing her to give off the air of a demure young lady waiting for her husband to return home. The smile on Shang Xia¡¯s face was wide as he waved to her. At that moment, Uncle Cen also turned to stare at Shang Xia. Nodding slightly, he released a soft sigh. The only person who had a different reaction was Yuanyuan. Instead of standing there quietly, she leaped into the air with joy as she ran towards him in excitement. Shang Xia held her by her shoulders and tossed her into the air only to hear her cute little giggles ringing in his ears. Placing her down slowly, he brought out a packet of sweets he bought along the way. Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" ¡°You don¡¯t have to buy them every day! Look at her, she became a little chubbier from eating so many sweets¡­¡± Hai Min pouted but it did nothing to hide the joy she felt. ¡°Hahaha, is there a kid out there who doesn¡¯t like candy? It would be a pity if she doesn¡¯t get to eat them!¡± Shang Xia replied before turning to Uncle Cen. ¡°Fifth Uncle, when did you come?¡± Uncle Cen smiled in response. ¡°I¡¯ve been here for a while now. Little Min said that you didn¡¯t return the entire night and she was worried about you. She has been waiting for you outside the whole time.¡± The other day, the Eighteen Horsemen disbanded and Shang Xia saved Uncle Cen with Mister Bu. He was unwilling to reveal his appearance and Uncle Cen had no idea his savior was standing right in front of him. Shang Xia chuckled softly and looked at Hai Min. He saw her face turning slightly red and he couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°There is really little prey in the nearby mountain ranges. I had to venture further out and missed the timing to return to the city. I could only stay out there last night.¡± It was a great explanation he had already made up while he was returning. ¡°Have you eaten lunch?¡± ¡°Nope!¡± ¡°I left some in the kitchen¡­ I¡¯ll heat them up for you now.¡± Hai Min said and she turned to enter the courtyard. Uncle Cen coughed once and spoke, ¡°Since there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll take my leave. I have to travel a fair distance after leaving the city.¡± ¡°Fifth Uncle, please take care.¡± Hai Min bowed slightly. After watching Uncle Cen leave, Hai Min and Shang Xia returned to the courtyard. Placing his bow to the side, Shang Xia asked, ¡°Oh yeah, why did Uncle Cen enter the city?¡± ¡°Someone fell sick and he came in to buy some medicine. He came over as it was along the way¡­¡± Hai Min explained. CH 303 As darkness fell over the land, the Changfeng City fell silent and the usual bustle was nowhere to be seen. In a small courtyard in the northern part of the city, Shang Xia lit his lamp after sensing that Hai Min and Yuanyuan had gone to sleep. He placed several items on the table. In the middle of his room. Among those items were the Multi World Anchoring Flag and some items Chen Sanyang left behind. The Multi World Anchoring Flag could also be considered to belong to Chen Sanyang, but it didn''t really matter at that point. As for the yellow gourd Lin Yi used to collect extermination mist, he left it back at the opening near the river before returning. After meeting Mister Bu and learning about the presence of the water-attributed spiritual vein under the Changfeng City, Shang Xia came up with a plot of his own. After all, the White Deer Paradise wasn¡¯t the only one who knew how to scheme against others. There was only one problem. It seemed as though he couldn¡¯t leave the yellow gourd there anymore. He learned that the spiritual vein was affected the day before and Yang Hu made arrangements for someone from the White Deer Paradise to investigate the matter. From the timing of the incident, it seemed to coincide with the time Lin Yi caused the massive explosion underground. If Yang Hu were to continue his investigation, it would be a matter of time before his gourd would be discovered. Shang Xia felt that it was time for him to take another trip out to the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range to retrieve his treasure. It was a pity that he would have to waste all the escaping extermination mist, but recovering his treasure was more important. With the matter of the gourd settled, Shang Xia started to look through the rest of the items on the table. After killing both Lin Yi and Chen Sanyang, Shang Xia grabbed all their belongings before making a run for it. The expert from the Guo Family of the Ji Continent tried hunting him down right after that happened and Shang Xia managed to avoid capture by hiding somewhere in the mountain range. He chose to remain in seclusion to recover and to avoid any crafty tricks by the other party. Finally, he returned to the city and spoke with Mister Bu. He didn¡¯t have time to check through the items he obtained. With the cover of night, nothing else was stopping him from looking through his loot. However, a wave of disappointment filled him when he stared at the items laid out on the table. It wasn¡¯t that Chen Sanyang possessed garbage, but all of them could no longer impress Shang Xia. ¡°All of these are ordinary herbs and treasures at the second or third rank¡­ Damn it! No matter what, Chen Sanyang was a core disciple of the Changbai Holy Land. Shouldn¡¯t he possess some secret art or items required to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm?!¡± Shang Xia grumbled silently. Of course, he didn¡¯t expect to find an advancement formula or divine weapon from Chen Sanyang. After all, he entered the Azure Origin World to act as a liaison for those who would come after. It would be too much of a risk to hold such precious treasures. Shang Xia¡¯s expression twisted slightly as he looked at them again, but he soon noticed something odd about them. Those rank two and three herbs and treasures seemed to be gathered for a specific purpose¡­ ¡°They might be common, but that¡¯s because I¡¯m from the Azure Origin World! Chen Sanyang was from the Azure Spiritual World and these are extremely rare treasures to him! No wonder he collected all these things¡­¡± Shang Xia gasped in realization. Well, his joy of discovering Chen Sanyang¡¯s purpose in gathering those treasures ended there. He had no use for most of the items. However, if he brought them back to the Tongyou Institution, there would be god knew how many people fighting over a single one of those treasures. Due to the fact that cultivators from the Azure Spiritual World cultivated differently from the cultivators from the Azure Origin World, the way they used their spatial artifacts were also different. When they died, there would be a restriction in their spatial artifact that reacted to their deaths and destroyed everything within. It happened to both Lin Yi and Chen Sanyang. To read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com. Shang Xia was especially heartbroken that Chen Sanyang¡¯s spatial artifact was broken. Chen Sanyang had been in the Azure Origin World for a much longer time and he should have collected a lot more treasures. It was a pity they were all destroyed after his death. However, Shang Xia also discovered that when Chen Sanyang was hunted down by him the day before, he didn¡¯t reveal any weapons. He only used some sort of martial art that created a fire palm that shot towards Shang Xia. He even wondered why Chen Sanyang wasn¡¯t used to weapons. Without obtaining a graded weapon, Shang Xia felt that something was missing. Playing with the items on the table, he discovered several stone pieces that contained blurry lines on their surface. Thinking hard and deep, he finally recognized that those blurry lines made up some sort of runes. As Shang Xia was a qualified talisman master, he was familiar with runes and the like. He felt as though he had seen those runes before. Thinking back, he recalled the scene where Chen Sanyang created the opening in the spatial barrier to allow Liang Shuangren and the others to enter the Azure Origin World. The Multi World Anchoring Flag might be the most important treasure, but he laid out several items to create a formation to assist him. Due to the distance separating Shang Xia from Chen Sanyang when that happened, he barely managed to glance at the runes that made up the formation. Now, it seemed as though those runes were also present in the items he obtained from Chen Sanyang. Was there a deeper meaning behind them? ¡°Looks like the runes are used together with the Multi World Anchoring Flag¡­¡± Shang Xia thought to himself. ¡°If I am able to grasp how those runes work, I wonder if I can cut a path through the spatial barrier myself. Hm¡­ I¡¯m afraid I need to look for several formation masters to help me with this matter¡­¡± With his idea in mind, Shang Xia decided to start understanding the runes on Chen Sanyang¡¯s items. He brought out the items he used to create talismans and started tracing those runes. The moment his brush hit the talisman papers, a flash of inspiration struck him. He placed his brush down instantly and took out the Multi World Anchoring Flag. Since Chen Sanyang used the flag to lay down the formation, the runes might also be present on the flag itself. He tried recalling everything when Chen Sanyang opened the path in the spatial barrier and he tried sending some of his Origin True Qi into the flag. The instant he tried, he felt a strong resistance coming from the item. It seemed as though some bloodline qi remained in the item and it tried to stop Shang Xia¡¯s inner qi from entering the Multi World Anchoring Flag. Even so, Shang Xia didn¡¯t stop. His Origin True Qi was tyrannical to begin with. After an hour, he managed to destroy any trace of bloodline qi on the Multi World Anchoring Flag. Without any obstructions, he poured his Origin True Qi into the item. That was the frightening part regarding treasures that were used in both worlds. Even though both sides had their differing methods of using inner qi, they could use treasures from either world without restrictions. That was also the reason cultivators of both worlds could draw on each other¡¯s experience to improve their talismans, weapons, and even spatial artifacts. It might also be the reason behind the fusion between the two worlds¡­ As soon as Shang Xia managed to pour his inner qi into the Multi World Anchoring Flag with no restrictions, dense runes appeared on the surface of the flag. They flickered unsteadily before twisting to form a complete rune. When they finally merged, it seemed as though the flag was lit on fire and a bright orange glow surrounded the object. Shang Xia quickly stopped pouring his inner qi into the flag when that happened. The flickering runes died down almost instantly. It seemed as though his guess was right. The runes were also present on the Multi World Anchoring Flag. They looked extremely complicated and he felt that he would need a little more time to grasp their true use. The only thing strange about the runes on the flag was that they didn¡¯t seem to be drawn on by a brush. Instead, they were directly weaved on. If he wanted to memorize the runes entirely, he could only pour his Origin True Qi into the flag and feel each thread one by one. Of course, that might not be a bad thing. By sending more of his Origin True Qi into the item, he could refine the item and increase his control over it. That caused Shang Xia to think back to the Swallow Fur he obtained back in the battlefield between the two worlds. He learned that a spatial pouch was created by weaving the fur together. The institution and the Shang Clan had been paying great attention to the fur they could collect after the Mutated Rain Swallows nested on the Pinxin Peak. However, Shang Xia heard nothing about the creation of a spatial pouch even after such a long time. Shang Xia had a portion of Swallow Fur, but Yan Ni¡¯er used it to make her nest. Now that her babies had hatched, Shang Xia wondered if Shang Xi managed to bring the fur away for the institution to create a spatial pouch. Speaking of spatial artifacts, Shang Xia was currently using two Embroidered Cloud Cases. He found them a little lacking when it came to storing all the items he had. He was entitled to feel whatever way he wanted, but if his thoughts were revealed to the outside world, he would be in a great deal of trouble. Even Martial Intent Realm experts might not necessarily possess an Embroidered Cloud Case. If people learned that he had two Embroidered Cloud Cases on him, even Martial Extermination Realm experts might appear to rob him. CH 304 In a small room in the northern part of the Changfeng City in the dark of night. Shang Xia was listening intently to the situation outside his room. Ensuring that nothing was off, he continued to trace the runes he saw on the Multi World Anchoring Flag. Several dozen crumpled balls of talisman paper could be seen lying all around the ground below. The light from the candle on his table flickered unsteadily, mirroring the erratic feeling Shang Xia was feeling in his heart. He was starting to get annoyed with each failure. A formless energy emerged from the tip of Shang Xia¡¯s brush suddenly, tearing the rank two talisman paper to shreds. More than half the completed rune was turned into trash. Helpless, Shang Xia placed his brush down. He wanted to ball up whatever remained of the talisman paper but paused abruptly as he turned to stare at the flickering candle. ¡°The heaven and earth qi in the air is fluctuating violently. However, there aren¡¯t any Martial Intent Realm experts or Martial Extermination Realm experts fighting nearby¡­ Don¡¯t tell me that the protection formation surrounding the Changfeng City is malfunctioning¡­¡± A frown formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he turned to stare out of the window immediately. Ever since the Mysterious Coral World appeared the other day, the heaven and earth qi in the You Continent hadn¡¯t been too docile. It even caused several cultivators with weak foundations to experience cultivation deviation. Previously, the heaven and earth qi in the city managed to maintain its calm due to the presence of the protection formation around the city. Things seemed to be taking a turn for the worse at that moment. With Shang Xia¡¯s discovery of the heaven and earth qi in the surroundings turning violent, one could only imagine how terrifying the situation would be outside the city. Staring at the night sky, Shang Xia felt that it turned a shade darker. As he rose to his feet, he heard some sounds coming from outside. Slapping the table once, everything he took out earlier, including the wasted talisman paper that had been crumpled and thrown to the ground earlier disappeared. Blowing out the candle, Shang Xia returned to bed and let out long snores. Everything happened in a flash and soon, the door of Hai Min¡¯s room creaked open. She was clearly disturbed by the sudden fluctuations of heaven and earth qi as she stared into the skies in confusion. As someone from the Eighteen Horsemen, Hai Min¡¯s cultivation foundations were pretty solid. She wasn¡¯t the only cultivator who was woken up in the middle of the night due to the change. Many weaker cultivators received varying degrees of injuries as they were caught unprepared. Hai Min stared into the skies and noticed several rays of light coming from the north. The phenomenon shocked Hai Min, but she quickly understood that something had happened in the Tongyou City. Walking quickly over to Shang Xia¡¯s room, she placed her ears against the door. She left quietly after hearing his snores, and she disappeared in a flash. Shang Xia felt everything she did clearly and when the footsteps coming from the roof of his building disappeared, he leaped to his feet. He moved quietly and left his room. Using his divine sense to cover the room Yuanyuan was in, he sighed, ¡°Isn¡¯t she afraid that Yuanyuan would be frightened after waking up and discovering her absence?¡± Ensuring Yuanyuan was still sound asleep, Shang Xia ran after Hai Min. It didn¡¯t take long for him to notice that she was running in the direction of the City Lord Manor. Wait a second¡­ Is she trying to infiltrate the City Lord Manor alone?! Fortunately, Hai Min was no fool. She slowed down after closing in on the manor and she hid her presence. She stared in the manor and observed the situation within. Shang Xia was afraid that she would be discovered by the guards and was prepared to help her out. He didn¡¯t expect to discover countless people observing the situation in the City Lord Manor using the cover of night. The disturbance in the city was too huge, causing many cultivators to gather around the City Lord Manor to try to get to the bottom of the matter. At that moment, a three colored light tore into the skies from the core of the City Lord Manor, dulling every other light source in the residence. A tyrannical aura emerged from the manor to reveal the prestige of a Martial Extermination Realm expert. Yang Hu¡¯s voice boomed through the air as he addressed everyone. ¡°The Tongyou City has gone too far! Their selfishness caused the thinning of the spatial barrier and intrusion of cultivators from the Azure Spiritual World! The chaos they brought is immeasurable! Not even our protection formation can stop the fluctuation of heaven and earth qi anymore and that is a sign that the passage between the You Continent and the battlefield between the two worlds has been completely exposed!¡± He was throwing all the blame onto the Tongyou Institution and he was so convincing that even Shang Xia who knew what was going on had no idea how to react. The descent of the Mysterious Coral World definitely required widening the spatial tunnel connecting the You Continent to the battlefield between the two worlds. By doing so, the spatial barrier would definitely be weakened. Shang Xia witnessed how cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World crossed the barrier and the fluctuation of heaven and earth qi was also true. The institution might have planned for everything to happen, but Shang Xia didn¡¯t know about their considerations. Yang Hu might have learned something, but he wouldn¡¯t reveal it to the outside world. The only thing Shang Xia could do was to guess. Moreover, the Tongyou Institution was dancing on the edge of a blade at the moment. If they succeeded, they would be able to reap huge benefits. If they failed, they would be doomed for eternity. Not even the allies of the Tongyou Institution could agree with what they were doing. From the looks of it, even the closest allies of the institution might be plotting against them. It was evident from the complete lockdown the Tongyou Institution ordered. The complete lockdown was so serious that even Shang Xia couldn¡¯t return. ¡°What does City Lord Yang plan to do in that case?¡± A reply came from the skies above the City Lord Manor. ¡°Everyone, relax!¡± Yang Hu¡¯s voice came again. Even though it boomed in their ears, only cultivators could hear what he was saying. ¡°I might not be powerful enough to take on the entire Tongyou Institution, but I have invited an expert from the White Deer Paradise to protect the city. Everyone, you can rest assured that no matter what happens to the Tongyou City, our Changfeng City will stand tall!¡± ¡°When day breaks tomorrow, I will personally head over to the Tongyou City to ask for an explanation! The Ji, Liu, Yun, and Shang Clans will have to give us an explanation of what is going on right now! They can¡¯t possibly play with the lives of everyone from our You Continent for their stupid plan!¡± Yang Hu became more agitated the more he spoke. Those residing in the city weren¡¯t fools. They knew that with Kou Chongxue at the helm, the Tongyou Institution had been protecting the You Continent for the past twenty years from the invasion from those from the Azure Spiritual World. They might not know what was going on in the Tongyou City at that moment, but they had their faith in the institution. No matter how righteous Yang Hu sounded at that moment, all they could hear was that he was planning to collude with the White Deer Paradise. Suspicion filled their hearts but they remained silent. In front of a powerhouse like Yang Hu and an expert of the White Deer Paradise he invited, no one would dare to question his decision. Those who came quickly took their leave, but Yang Hu remained in the air as he turned to stare in the direction of the Tongyou City. A three colored light surrounded his body and made him look extremely intimidating. Only after looking around and discovering no one left around the City Lord Manor did he return. Under the illumination of several lanterns surrounding the City Lord Manor, Yang Zhenbiao ran over to where Yang Hu was standing. ¡°Father, are you really going to the Tongyou City tomorrow?¡± Yang Zhenbiao asked apprehensively. Ignoring his son, Yang Hu¡¯s gaze landed on Mister Sima who was standing beside him. ¡°Will you follow me there tomorrow?¡± Mister Sima¡¯s expression remained neutral but before he could speak, Yang Zhenbiao yelled, ¡°Is Mister Sima also going? That would mean that there would be no Martial Extermination Realm expert protecting the city!¡± Yang Hu glared at his son once to shut him up before turning to Mister Sima. ¡°What do you say?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll listen to City Lord Yang.¡± A smile appeared on Mister Sima¡¯s face as he replied. ¡°Great!¡± Roaring with laughter, Yang Hu turned to leave. ¡°Father, you¡­¡± Before Yang Zhenbiao could say anything, Yang Hu had disappeared. Yang Zhenbiao could only turn to Mister Sima with a helpless expression on his face. ¡°Mister, do you think¡­¡± ¡°Young City Lord, relax. Since the Changfeng City has chosen to side with the White Deer Paradise, we should go all the way. As long as your father or myself remains, they will be able to let their guard down. We¡¯ll just leave the entire place to them when we head over.¡± Mister Sima explained. ¡°But¡­ But¡­ Father¡¯s twenty years of hard work on the Changfeng City¡­¡± Yang Zhenbiao stuttered. Mister Sima patted Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s shoulder and explained, ¡°The City Lord¡¯s ambition doesn¡¯t stop here. A mere Changfeng City is too small to fulfill his appetite!¡± After he spoke, Mister Sima turned to leave. The moment he turned around, his expression turned completely dark. ¡­ It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". When Hai Min returned to the courtyard, she could hear Shang Xia¡¯s snores ringing steadying through the air. At dawn the next day, Hai Min surprised Shang Xia with a sudden declaration. ¡°I have to visit my family today and I will be leaving the city. Can you stay at home and take care of Yuanyuan for today?¡± Raising an eyebrow in shock, Shang Xia eventually regained his composure and a smile appeared on his face. ¡°Sure.¡± CH 305 Even though Yang Hu had left, the conversation between Mister Sima and his son didn¡¯t escape his ears. Crossing into a small courtyard near his own, he saw Gao Yun sipping a cup of piping hot tea. ¡°The Ice Tea in the northern continent is really something else!¡± Gao Yun smiled after placing his cup down. ¡°Ever since half of the You Continent was swallowed up by the collision between the worlds, the Ice Tea has been hard to find. Who would have thought that Brother Yang would be in possession of some?¡± ¡°I discovered several Ice Tea Plants in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range and harvest a tael or two every year. If Brother Gao likes it, I have some lying around in the manor. Feel free to help yourself.¡± Yang Hu smiled. Ice Tea might be precious, but he wouldn¡¯t fuss over such matters when things have progressed up to that point. After thanking him, Gao Yun turned serious. ¡°Brother Yang, have you not found the Multi World Anchoring Flag?¡± Yang Hu¡¯s expression sank and he shook his head. ¡°We are unable to locate Shang Bo¡¯s grandson. Those who witnessed the killing the other day said that they didn¡¯t see any flag-like item among the loot taken away. Shang Bo¡¯s grandson brought everything away and the experts of the three great families of the Ji Continent were the ones who collected his body eventually.¡± A sneer formed on Gao Yun¡¯s face. ¡°So¡­ The Multi World Anchoring Flag can be anywhere then? Chen Sanyang could have hidden it somewhere, or it could have landed in Shang Bo Grandson¡¯s hands. It might even be destroyed when Chen Sanyang was killed or the three great families of the Ji Continent might have gotten their hands on it¡­¡± ¡°That seems to be the case. The only possibility that seems unlikely is the flag¡¯s destruction. The flag is sturdy and it¡¯s unlikely to be destroyed along with the self destruction of Chen Sanyang¡¯s spatial artifact.¡± Yang Hu replied after a short while. The look of mockery became even deeper on Gao Yun¡¯s face. ¡°No shit! Hmph, why would Elder Guo lose a Martial Intent Realm cultivator anyway? Do you think anyone would believe that he was unable to catch up to a cultivator in the Martial Intent Realm? Not to mention the fact that they decided to avoid our Changfeng City after discovering Chen Sanyang¡¯s corpse¡­¡± ¡°That is true. Moreover, the disciples of the three great families of the Ji Continent left the city before nightfall today.¡± Yang Hu nodded. ¡°Hmph. I¡¯m not surprised by their actions at all!¡± Gao Yun snorted. After some hesitation, Yang Hu asked, ¡°Brother Gao, do you mean that they managed to obtain the Multi World Anchoring Flag?¡± Instead of replying Yang Hu directly, Gao Yun asked another question. ¡°I heard that Chen Sanyang was waiting by the mountain path connecting the Ji Continent to the Changfeng City. From the looks of it, he seemed to be waiting for someone.¡± ¡°Yeah, he was.¡± ¡°Who do you think he¡¯s waiting for?¡± Gao Yun continued. ¡°From the looks of it, the three great families of the Ji Continent are the most suspicious.¡± Yang Hu replied. Gao Yun nodded slowly before adding, ¡°I heard that Chen Sanyang received a warm welcome when he first entered the city. According to the plan for the three great families of the Ji Continent, they were supposed to use the Changfeng City as their base of operations. Why would Chen Sanyang run all the way over to the mountain path to wait for them?¡± ¡°This¡­ Could they have reached some sort of agreement without us knowing?¡± Yang Hu frowned. He found it weird too, but he seemed to have thought of the problem. ¡°He learned that the members of the Azure Spiritual World were wiped out! Does he think that we¡¯re behind it?¡± ¡°Could he have tried to warn them before they entered the city?¡± Yang Hu guessed. However, he quickly continued, ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem right. If we were the ones who did it, why would we leave Chen Sanyang alive?¡± The look of mockery on Gao Yun¡¯s face remained and he sneered, ¡°He might think that we¡¯re afraid of hurting him and damaging the Multi World Anchoring Flag in the process!¡± Yang Hu felt that Gao Yun was forcing the matter, but he couldn¡¯t think of any other explanations in the meantime. After thinking about it for a moment, he asked, ¡°Brother Gao, if we are unable to obtain the flag, will our plan be affected?¡± Gao Yun finally wiped the annoying smile off his face and he muttered, ¡°It will definitely affect our plans. We would have been able to ensure Ancestor Lu possessed 90 percent of his strength if we had the Multi World Anchoring Flag. Now¡­¡± Yang Hu¡¯s heart pounded in his chest. ¡°What happens now?!¡± ¡°Brother Yang, calm down. Even if Ancestor Lu is unable to maintain 90 percent of his combat strength, I can still ensure that he has the strength of a Martial Dipper Realm expert. He¡¯s more than enough to sweep away any resistance in the You Continent regardless!¡± Gao Yun chuckled to reassure Yang Hu. Seeing the confident expression on Gao Yun¡¯s face, Yang Hu finally relaxed. However, he couldn¡¯t get rid of the final bit of unease in his heart. ¡­ Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect Hai Min would leave him to watch Yuanyuan. That itself portrayed the immense trust she had in him. Also, he could guess what she was planning to do. There was no way she was going to leave the city for him. Moreover, she seemed prepared. The moment Shang Xia agreed, she picked up her stuff and got ready to leave. Yuanyuan looked really unaffected too. She remained obediently beside Shang Xia after Shang Xia agreed to watch her for the day. It seemed as though it wasn¡¯t the first time Hai Min was leaving Yuanyuan alone. When Hai Min stepped out of the door, she paused for a second before turning back to look at Shang Xia and Yuanyuan. ¡°If I don¡¯t come back today, I hope you can look after her a little while more.¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t seem to understand the meaning behind her words and he said simply, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us! She¡¯s going to be alright with me!¡± Hai Min waited to say something else, but she felt her throat locking up. She eventually nodded her head before muttering softly, ¡°I¡¯ll have to trouble you then.¡± When she was done, she left without turning back. Shang Xia and Yuanyuan went to the entrance of the courtyard and watched as she disappeared down the street. Yuanyuan, who stood as tall as Shang Xia¡¯s knee, raised her head to look at him. ¡°Uncle, will my mommy come back?¡± ¡°Why do you ask that?¡± Shang Xia raised his eyebrows in shock before kneeling down to look at her more comfortably. Tears welled up in Yuanyuan¡¯s eyes and she muttered, ¡°Last time, there were some uncles and aunts who would say the same thing. However, they would never come back!¡± Shang Xia rubbed her head affectionately and muttered, ¡°Relax. She¡¯ll be back.¡± Grabbing Shang Xia¡¯s sleeves, Yuanyuan turned to look at Shang Xia ¡°Uncle, can you help my mommy?¡± Staring at Yuanyuan in shock, he asked, ¡°Do you know what she¡¯s going to do?¡± Shaking her head, Yuanyuan was on the verge of tears. ¡°No¡­ But I want her to come back!¡± ¡°Alright. Follow me. Once we arrive there, I¡¯ll head out to bring your mum back.¡± Shang Xia thought about it for a second before reaching a decision. Backing into the courtyard for a moment, Shang Xia grabbed his bow. They then left for Wu Ji¡¯s forge and Shang Xia bought Yuanyuan several bags of sweets along the way. Outside the forge, Shang Xia noticed the copper bell ringing in the wind and he brought her directly into the inner courtyard behind the forge. Wu Ji rushed over to look for him and was taken aback when he saw Shang Xia holding a little kid with him. ¡°Can you look for someone to take care of her for two days or so? I¡¯ll leave some money with you. If I fail to return, please bring her back to the Shang Clan Manor in the Tongyou City. Tell them my name and they¡¯ll take care of her.¡± When he was done speaking, Shang Xia brought out a bag of silver essence and handed it over to Wu Ji. From the clinking of the bag, it wasn¡¯t hard to tell that there were hundreds of silver essence in there. The bag was something Shang Xia obtained from Wang Chengjin of the Jianmen Institution. It was payment for his talismans and Shang Xia hadn¡¯t found a chance to use them throughout his journey. Wu Ji was visibly shocked, but he quickly waved his hands to reject the money. ¡°How can I take that?! Do you know how much money is in there?!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be stingy when taking care of her.¡± Shang Xia muttered before stuffing the bag into Wu Ji¡¯s hand. When he was done, he squatted beside Yuanyuan. ¡°Follow this old grandpa for now. I promise to bring your mum back, alright?¡± Yuanyuan nodded her head slowly before walking over to Wu Ji¡¯s side. She tilted her head to the side before grabbing Wu Ji¡¯s stubby fingers. ¡°Hello, Grandpa!¡± ¡°Oh! Um¡­ Hey, little girl¡­¡± Wu Ji was clearly at a loss for what to do. He quickly yelled at his disciple and the disciple scurried away. It didn¡¯t take long before an old woman appeared from the courtyards in the back. Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" Wu Ji handed the kid over to her before instructing her to take care of Yuanyuan like she was her own granddaughter before sending them away. Yuanyuan held the old lady¡¯s hand obediently as they walked away, but she turned her head from time to time to look at Shang Xia. Sticking his tongue out suddenly, Yuanyuan burst into laughter. Even after the two of them disappeared, Shang Xia was still staring in their general direction. ¡°Relax. My wife will take good care of her.¡± Wu Ji muttered softly. ¡°Oh?¡± Shang Xia turned to look at the old blacksmith before finally snapping back to reality. ¡°Where did Mister Bu go? Can I look for him now?¡± To his surprise, Wu Ji shook his head slowly. ¡°Mister Bu left for the Tongyou City with Yang Hu early in the morning. He left behind a message for you. He said that Yang Hu was getting suspicious of him. He also told me to tell you to stop everything you had planned. Leave the city immediately and keep yourself safe. Don¡¯t take unnecessary risks, or any risks for that matter! He also asked me to tell you to ensure that none of those outside the city enter. Tell them to stop anything they are planning!¡± Even though Mister Bu didn¡¯t mention their names specifically, Shang Xia knew that he was referring to the remnants of the Eighteen Horsemen. Unfortunately, Hai Min had already left the city to meet them! Shang Xia understood that it was too late to stop them. In fact, they might have already entered the city with Hai Min¡¯s help. CH 306 In the Tongyou City¡­ Now, the Tongyou City looked nothing like before. It resembled some illusory fantasy land that was fading in and out of existence. When the Tongyou Institution brought the Mysterious Coral World back to the You Continent, the expanded spatial tunnel destroyed the balance of the battlefield between the two worlds and turned into an outlet for the origins of both worlds to start leaking. When the Mysterious Coral World started its merging process with the institution, a myriad of phenomena filled the skies. In the skies above, the scene in the battlefield between the two worlds could even be seen playing out like a great lifestream. What confused many people was that the Tongyou Peak was like a massive annoyance that blocked off half of whatever they could see going on in the battlefield between the two worlds. Despite that, their attention was on the phenomenon that was playing out above the gigantic Tongyou Peak. The sun and moon could be seen hanging high in the skies. The difference between this and the time Shang Xia experienced the tiny Origin Tide was huge. In the past, it didn¡¯t seem that impressive. Now, it seemed as though both celestial bodies were shining with the greatest intensity possible. Even though those in the Tongyou City were separated from the battlefield between the two worlds with the spatial barrier, they could slightly feel its effects. ¡°Sun and Moon in the sky¡­ The appearance of an Origin Tide!¡± Yu Changjin stood in the air above the Tongyou Institution as he stared at the scene in the skies. He muttered to himself, but it seemed as though many people heard what he said. ¡°That¡¯s just a mirage in the battlefield between the two worlds. Don¡¯t forget, the real sun belonging to our Azure Origin World is hanging high above our heads!¡± Wei Zhongwen chuckled beside him. In the air above the Tongyou Institution, almost every Martial Extermination Realm expert was present. Wei Zhongwen was coincidentally standing beside Yu Changjin. Grunting softly, Yu Changjin tilted his head to look at the sun above. His gaze wavered slightly and he said, ¡°I almost forgot about that! Looks like the Origin Tide that is going to erupt will be far beyond our imaginations. This¡­ Do you think the Tongyou Institution will be able to withstand this tribulation?¡± ¡°Hehe, everything depends on the Tongyou Institution. If they¡¯re willing to stop before taking things too far, they might be able to.¡± Wei Zhongwen mumbled. However, there seemed to be another meaning behind his words. Yu Chengjin grunted again, but he didn¡¯t say anymore. He didn¡¯t look at Wei Zhongwen any longer and seemed to fall deep into thought. Seeing the look on his face, Wei Zhongwen knew that he managed to reach his purpose. As though recognizing that the two of them had concluded their conversation, the skies above the Tongyou City changed once again. The temperature changed drastically. It was pleasantly warm one second but deathly cold the next. A frightening gust of wind tore through the eastern part of the city while a flurry of snow fell on the western part. The Tongyou City seemed to blast through the various seasons in that instant. There were even places in the city that experienced different weather simultaneously. At the same time, the heaven and earth qi in the surroundings became extremely dense. Even people who had barely stepped through the gates of cultivation could feel the powerful fluctuations. They were even able to locate the source of the disturbance by raising their heads. It seemed as though the spatial tunnel connecting the Tongyou Institution to the battlefield between the two worlds was the source of everything. The Origin Tide tore through the city in an instant. In the skies above, the Mysterious Coral World that was fusing with the Tongyou Institution resembled a massive beast. It sucked in a terrifying amount of heaven and earth qi every second and absorbed a frightening amount of energy coming from the Origin Tide. Resplendent rays of light filled the skies of the You Continent. Chang Huaiwu of the Yanmen Institution sighed while looking at the pretty scene before him. ¡°If I could bathe the amount of energy produced by the Origin Tide, my cultivation would experience a huge increase¡­¡± An Baimei of the Beihai Institution chuckled in amusement, ¡°Do you think it¡¯s that easy? The Origin Tide this time consists of energy from the Azure Spiritual World as well. The world origins are too chaotic at this point in time and even if you manage to absorb the energy, you will need a long time to convert it to your own.¡± Han Chongwei from the Wuwei Institution interrupted, ¡°Then again, the Tongyou Institution seems to have planned for this. They started the fusion process before the Origin Tide, allowing it to eat up most of the energy coming from the Origin Tide. Normally, the eruption of the Origin Tide would cause great damage to any spiritual land. Even holy lands would be greatly corroded by the eruption. However, the institution dealt with it by using the chaotic energy to hasten their fusion process.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ The Mysterious Coral World has been sitting in the battlefield between the two worlds for close to twenty years. It¡¯s used to both the world origins of our Azure Origin World or the Azure Spiritual World. It can even stabilize itself with the energy contained in the Origin Tide¡­¡± An Baimei sighed. Chang Huaiwu chuckled helplessly, ¡°Looks like we won¡¯t be able to fish for as many benefits as we thought. We will have to let the Mysterious World form before doing anything else. Hah, the Tongyou Institution planned it out well.¡± ¡°The You Continent suffered the most during the collision of our worlds. For Patriarch Kou, Ji Wenlong, Shang Bo, and the others to build the Tongyou Institution up to this state, it¡¯s a miracle! They truly deserve their title as geniuses of the generation.¡± An Baimei muttered. Han Chongwei continued, ¡°Without a doubt, the Tongyou Institution will benefit the most from this. We can only wait for the scraps left behind by the Tongyou Institution¡­ Looks like we have to start praying for better luck so that we get a little more of what is left behind.¡± Chang Huaiwu sniggered, ¡°We have no other choice¡­¡± An Baimei heard the dissatisfaction in their voices, but he didn¡¯t point it out directly. He chose to remain silent and a frown formed on his face. ¡­ In the Changfeng City¡­ Shang Xia raced out of the city after leaving Yuanyuan with Wu Ji. After avoiding the various merchant groups that were making their way into the city, Shang Xia unleashed his Irregular Steps to rush deep into the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. Mister Bu had already told Shang Xia the coordinates of the place he sent the remnants of the Eighteen Horsemen to, but he didn¡¯t know that Hai Min was part of them. In fact, it was highly likely she was related to the third in command captured by Yang Hu the other day. When Mister Bu saved Uncle Cen and the rest, they didn¡¯t reveal Hai Min¡¯s existence either. It seemed as though every party involved had chosen to hide Hai Min and Yuanyuan¡¯s existence from Mister Bu. That eventually caused the oversight that was happening as they spoke. Hai Min ran to contact Uncle Cen and the others the moment she learned that Yang Hu had left the city. We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. Shang Xia, who didn¡¯t know that Mister Bu was following Yang Hu away, didn¡¯t stop her from leaving the city. He didn¡¯t expect the situation to become so dangerous. With Yang Hu and Mister Bu out of the city, the expert from the White Deer Paradise was the only Martial Extermination Realm cultivator left! His strength was more than enough to destroy any form of resistance in the city! However, that also seemed to be the greatest opportunity they had to rescue their third in command¡­ ¡°Looks like I can only try my luck¡­ Let¡¯s hope that I make it in time.¡± CH 307 In the battlefield between the two worlds¡­ A huge change happened to the geography with the disappearance of the Mysterious Coral World. If Shang Xia were to enter the battlefield between the two worlds again, he would discover that the space seemed much more cramped than before. Due to the presence of the Four Spiritual Peak in the past, the battlefield between the two worlds, it formed some sort of equilibrium with the Tongyou Peak to stabilize the space within. Even though the two territories were moving towards each other slowly, they still served as worthy anchors. Unfortunately, the Four Spiritual Peak was destroyed following the events in the Coral Forest. When that happened, the Tongyou Peak became the core region of the battlefield between the two worlds. Next came the moving of the Mysterious Coral World. When they were moving it to the Tongyou City, the territory controlled by the Tongyou Peak that was between the Tongyou Peak and the spatial barrier mysteriously disappeared. The Tongyou Peak became faintly visible from the Tongyou City due to the greatly reduced distance. That wasn¡¯t all. The Mysterious Coral World¡¯s fusion with the Tongyou Institution caused a huge scale phenomena to fall upon the city. Moreover, the appearance of the Origin Tide caused world origin to pour out from the battlefield between the two worlds like water out a broken dam. Due to the massive outflow of world origin, the spatial barrier separating the Azure Spiritual World and the battlefield between the two worlds started to thin. If anyone were to stand in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range and stare in the direction of the spatial barrier, they would discover that the weird gray mist that made up the barrier was starting to thin. The Tongyou Institution''s act of pulling the Mysterious Coral World out of the battlefield between the two worlds seemed to be the cause of everything. At that moment, Yun Jing and Shang Bo stood on the Tongyou Peak and stared in a certain direction in the battlefield between the two worlds. The two of them were the only ones left on the Tongyou Peak. All the students and experts from the Tongyou City who went over to assist in their efforts to move the Mysterious Coral World had already returned to the city. ¡°It¡¯s coming¡­¡± Shang Bo¡¯s expression changed slightly and he released his aura completely. He became as still as a mountain. Chuckling softly, Yun Jing asked, ¡°Hehe, didn¡¯t we already expect this?¡± ¡°This time, the four great races will definitely utilize all their strength. I wonder how many Martial Extermination Realm experts the Changbai Holy Land will send¡­¡± Shang Bo muttered. Yun Jing turned serious too. ¡°Heh. There¡¯s no retreating from this battle. As long as everything remains smooth over at the institution, the state of the Tongyou Peak no longer matters. Even if we destroy the entire battlefield between the two worlds, it doesn¡¯t matter!¡± Shang Bo nodded slowly. ¡°Luckily, the Changbai Holy Land still has their reservations. Those Martial Dipper Realm freaks there won¡¯t be able to affect our plans.¡± ¡°Yeah. Even though we laid down so many plans, I never expected that things would still turn out this way.¡± Yun Jing sighed. ¡°Now that things have reached this state, everyone¡¯s intentions are clear. Other than everything we prepared and our hidden aces, everything will be left up to luck.¡± Shang Bo growled. The moment he completed his sentence, the skies above the battlefield between the two worlds tore open. A powerful energy wave that could affect even Martial Extermination Realm experts rampaged through the lands. ¡°Divine Weapon! The four great races brought out their Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw!¡± Yun Jing was slightly taken aback, but a chuckle soon left her lips. She grabbed at the void beside her and yelled, ¡°Hidden Frost Sword, appear!¡± A burst of light came from behind her and a shadowy blade rose into the skies. In an instant, icy qi filled their surroundings and stopped the chaotic flow of energy in the battlefield between the two worlds. The only thing that could counter a divine weapon at that moment was another divine weapon! Yun Jing¡¯s expression remained solemn as she growled, ¡°I¡¯ll stop the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw. I¡¯ll leave the Tongyou Peak to you!¡± ¡°Relax. I¡¯ll handle it.¡± Shang Bo sighed. Yun Jing¡¯s figure disappeared in an instant as four massive tears opened in the skies above. It was as though a giant claw had torn right through the space above, and the spatial tears showed no signs of recovering. Soon after, a deeper and more terrifying rip sundered the four streaks in half. A massive hole was torn into the heavens above. Without waiting for Shang Bo to admire the scene above him, four streaks of light flew towards the Tongyou Peak in all directions. Before they could slam into the protection barrier around the Tongyou Peak, several more streaks of light appeared and rushed towards the solitary Shang Bo who stood on the Tongyou Peak. ¡­ Shang Xia thought that he could remain in the city to stop Uncle Cen and the rest before they made their move. However, he underestimated the size of the city. Not to mention the fact that he had no idea where the person they wanted to save was located. Due to the fact that there were many among the original Eighteen Horsemen who surrendered to the City Lord Manor, Uncle Cen, and the others would have to change their appearance before they could enter the city. They might even enter through unconventional methods before meeting up somewhere in the city. If Shang Xia waited for them outside the southern city gates, not only was it possible for him to miss them, they wouldn¡¯t recognize him either. Luckily for both sides, Shang Xia left Yuanyuan with Wu Ji not too long after Hai Min left the city. It was possible for him to catch up with her and he quickly sped towards the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. He needed to arrive at the hiding spot Mister Bu prepared for them before they arrived. In one of their previous exchanges, Mister Bu revealed the location to Shang Xia. After entering the mountain range, Shang Xia didn¡¯t manage to discover Hai Min. He even called Yan Ni¡¯er to do a sweep of the area but to no avail. When he arrived at their hiding spot, Shang Xia discovered that the wooden hut Mister Bu prepared was completely empty! There wasn¡¯t any sign of habitation at all. None of the remaining members of the Eighteen Horsemen stepped foot in the region! We are "pawread dot com", find us on google. As bandits who were used to the wilderness, it made no sense that they couldn¡¯t locate the area. Moreover, Shang Xia even saw Uncle Cen outside his courtyard the day before. Clearly, they didn¡¯t fully trust Mister Bu despite him saving their lives. They probably located another hiding spot in the mountain range. Damn it! I should have expected something like this! Shang Xia whistled loudly to signal for Yan Ni¡¯er to increase her search radius before rushing back towards the Changfeng City. He hoped that he would be able to run into them on his way back. Unfortunately, things didn¡¯t play out as he expected. Seeing as he was about to leave the mountain range, Shang Xia suddenly heard a long whistle coming from the air above. He whistled in response while running in the direction of Yan Ni¡¯er¡¯s whistle. The two of them quickly ran into each other behind a small hill. ¡°Where are they? Quickly, bring me there!¡± Shang Xia asked impatiently but he felt a headache coming. How was he supposed to remind them without exposing his identity? However, Yan Ni¡¯er chirped noisily, causing Shang Xia¡¯s expression to sink. ¡°What do you mean they¡¯re not the ones I¡¯m looking for?¡± Tilting her head to the side, Yan Ni¡¯er continued chirping hastily. ¡°Then who are they? Forget it. Don¡¯t bother with anyone else right now. Look for Hai Min and the rest. I have to return to the city right now. Let¡¯s hope I make it in time.¡± Shang Xia was starting to get irritated. If he was going to return to the city anyway, there was no need for him to leave in the first place to waste that much time. Seeing as Shang Xia was about to leave, Yan Ni¡¯er flew towards him and grabbed his collar with her tiny claws. She flapped her wings violently and dragged him back slightly. That was the first time Shang Xia had experienced her full strength, and she seemed stronger than she looked. One couldn¡¯t evaluate her strength by her short two feet long wingspan. As a Mutated Rain Swallow, she could borrow the power of lightning and use it to boost her strength slightly. Stumbling back slightly, Shang Xia¡¯s expression turned serious. ¡°This¡­ Are you serious? Are you insisting that I follow you to look at the person you found?¡± ¡°Chirp!¡± Yan Ni¡¯er seemed to nod her head at him. ¡°Is this really important?¡± Shang Xia asked yet another stupid question. From her actions, Yan Ni¡¯er had proven that she thought there was no other choice than to drag him there. A trace of hesitation appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. However, Yan Ni¡¯er soared into the skies and made a beautiful arc through the skies before reaching out to grab Shang Xia¡¯s collar again. Dodging her at the last second, he yelled, ¡°Alright, alright! I¡¯ll go with you!¡± Yan Ni¡¯er shot up into the skies as Shang Xia shook his head helplessly. He quickly ran into the forest around him as he chased after the little bird. He tried to reassure himself silently, ¡°Even if they enter the city, they might not make their move immediately. Since I don¡¯t know where they are anyway, I can only locate them once they start their rescue mission. I should be able to make it back in time. Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll take a look at what Yan Ni¡¯er is getting at¡­¡± Following as close as he could, Shang Xia quickly traversed through the mountain range. He discovered his surroundings getting more and more familiar as a sense of unease filled his heart. He heard the sound of water flowing after some time, and he increased his speed yet again. When he finally arrived, he heard voices coming from upstream as a raging river ripped through the mountain range. CH 308 ¡­ As the Tongyou Institution continued its fusion with the Mysterious Coral World, it resembled a giant tank of water that took in an astronomical amount of energy from the Origin Tide that had erupted above the Tongyou City. As the Origin Tide started to die down, the energy fluctuations eventually stopped. It regained its original calm as it started to stabilize the new Mysterious World that was created. Out of the four spiritual lands in the Mysterious Coral World, the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World was in the best shape. The Willow Forest came next. They recovered at a much quicker pace compared to the Unstable Region and the Dual Season Lands. Other than that, the Tongyou Institution itself was a complete spiritual land on its own. When the fusion was complete, they would definitely become stronger than the original Mysterious Coral World. In the skies around the Tongyou Institution. Many Martial Extermination Realm experts who were there to witness the transformation of the Tongyou Institution and protect it stared at the newly formed Mysterious World in awe. They were standing in positions allocated to them by the institution. All of them played a key role in the smooth completion of the transformation. Naturally, they could use the chance to make use of the remnant energy left behind by the fusion to cultivate. It was beneficial for them in a way. After entering the Martial Extermination Realm, one would reach a new height in cultivation. Absorbing heaven and earth qi ordinarily wouldn¡¯t prove as effective as when they were in the lower realms, but things were different if they could absorb the energy that emerged from the eruption of the Origin Tide. Even though the energy contained in the Origin Tide was chaotic, all they had to do was to refine it several more times after absorption. Moreover, now that the Origin Tide had died down and the energy was absorbed by the newly forming Mysterious World, it was more than suitable for them to absorb! How good would it be if all of them could absorb the heaven and earth qi that had filled the newly formed Mysterious World to the brim? The thought filled everyone¡¯s mind. They couldn¡¯t help but think about Ji Wenlong who was currently at the core of the newly forming Mysterious World. Could he really be planning to barge into the Martial Dipper Realm with the help of the energy contained in the Origin Tide? Perhaps he was trying to replicate what Kou Chongxue did. That might be the true reason behind the Tongyou Institution¡¯s plan of dragging the Mysterious Coral World back from the battlefield between the two worlds. They might be trying to force a Martial Dipper Realm expert to appear in their ranks to fill in the space after Kou Chongxue¡¯s disappearance. Everyone¡¯s thoughts ran wild and complicated expressions filled the faces of those present. Chang Huaiwu broke the silence all of a sudden. ¡°The Tongyou Mysterious World isn¡¯t complete even after absorbing so much energy from the Origin Tide! This really makes me envious. Hahaha, I¡¯m not afraid of embarrassing myself but I¡¯m feeling a little impatient!¡± Wei Zhongwen¡¯s roared with laughter right after he spoke. ¡°Brother Chang, can¡¯t you see? The Tongyou Institution has already achieved their goal! They stabilized their foundations and can be considered to have stepped through to the ranks of a holy land!¡± ¡°What?!¡± An Baimei grunted once. He frowned and stared at Liu Qinglan who was nearby. ¡°Instructor Liu, was this the plan all along? Is the Tongyou Institution trying to become a holy land?¡± Before Liu Qinglan could say anything, Han Chongwei¡¯s voice came from the side. ¡°You can¡¯t do that! If the Tongyou Institution forces itself to upgrade, it will eat up a huge portion of energy from the battlefield between the two worlds! The battlefield will shrink again, and the spatial barrier separating our worlds will weaken. Our worlds will fuse much earlier than expected.¡± A trace of rage emerged on Chang Huaiwu¡¯s face. He roared in anger, ¡°Liu Qinglan, what¡¯s the meaning of this?!¡± ¡­ As he followed Yan Ni¡¯er into the mountain range, Shang Xia quickly approached the river that emitted weird mist. A trace of suspicion appeared in Shang Xia¡¯s heart, but he soon heard voices coming from the other side. He went closer and listened in on their conversation. ¡°... The flow of the river seems slightly off!¡± ¡°How can the river perfectly follow the flow underground? This is a mountain range for fuck¡¯s sake!¡± Shang Xia heard his heart thumping in his chest. He didn¡¯t know if they found the region because of the disturbance the other day. He also wondered if there were any Martial Extermination Realm experts among them. After double checking that he hid his aura so that no one noticed him, he raised his guard once again. Shang Xia experienced too many close calls in the recent days and he was getting a little bit nervous about running into another Martial Extermination Realm expert. One had to know that it was difficult to find a single Martial Extermination Realm expert ordinarily. In the Tongyou City, Shang Xia was hardly able to see a Martial Extermination Realm expert even though his grandfather was one. Now, Martial Extermination Realm experts were like cabbages that were popping up everywhere. Shang Xia basically saw one to two of them every day. There were times when he saw three or four of them a day! Approaching cautiously, their conversation became even clearer. ¡°Senior Brother Li, you said that Elder Gao told us to look for the leak. What¡¯s the point of that?¡± ¡°Hehe, junior brothers and sisters, all we have to do is to listen to Elder Gao¡¯s instructions. There¡¯s no need to dig deeper into the matter unnecessarily. Once we complete our task, Elder Gao will definitely reward us. There might even be a huge opportunity hidden here!!¡± From the voice, Shang Xia could tell that the speaker was someone he had met in the past. ¡°Opportunity?¡± Another voice came from the side, attracting the attention of those present. The familiar voice continued, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be anxious. All we need to do is to focus on the task Elder Gao gave us. The opportunity can wait.¡± Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. ¡°Senior Brother Li is right!¡± ¡°Of course!¡± ¡°We have to thank Brother Li for this great chance to carry out Elder Gao¡¯s orders. Even if we run into some sort of fortune here, Senior Brother Li should receive most of the benefits!¡± A series of cheers broke out among the group. From their words, they mentioned ¡®Elder Gao¡¯ and ¡®Senior Brother Li¡¯ a whole lot. Shang Xia¡¯s thoughts immediately turned to Li Tianshou who was present at the gathering with Chen Sanyang and the three young masters of the Ji Continent the other day. ¡°Alright, alright, I am grateful for your goodwill. However, we need to make full use of our time. We should arrive at the source of the river soon. I managed to avoid Yang Zhenbiao when I left the city earlier, but we cannot drag this out for long. They will definitely get suspicious if I don¡¯t return soon.¡± ¡°Right. Let¡¯s focus on the task.¡± ¡°Luckily, Yang Hu left the city!¡± Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief. From their conversation, Li Tianshou seemed to be their leader. Since he was in command, there should be no Martial Extermination Realm expert among them! Suddenly, the mist above the river became thicker. It barely took two days, but the extermination qi in the air seemed to have thinned a lot. ¡°I found it! The source of the leak should be right under this pile of rocks!¡± Li Tianshou¡¯s excited voice rang through the air. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t hold back any longer. He couldn¡¯t allow them to discover the yellow gourd he had hidden. If they obtained it, it would be too late for him to make his move. He peeked out from behind a giant rock and released his fully drawn bowstring. The bow was a low-grade weapon, but it could only unleash its full strength with a suitable bow technique. Even though Shang Xia fully drew the bowstring, the power contained in the arrow was barely half of what it was capable of. That was even after Shang Xia poured his Origin True Qi into the arrow to supplement its strength. Of course, one couldn¡¯t say that Shang Xia¡¯s archery didn¡¯t improve. He was a lot better than before. The arrow he shot wasn¡¯t aimed at Li Tianshou. Instead, it flew straight for another cultivator from the White Deer Paradise not too far away. Shang Xia experienced Li Tianshou¡¯s strength when he was spying on them previously. He knew that Li Tianshou had not only completed his third divine sense transformation, but he possessed frightening abilities. There was no way his half-baked arrow could injure Li Tianshou. Moreover, Shang Xia was sure his actions would be discovered the moment he acted. As such, there was no point shooting Li Tianshou. He had to take out someone with absolute certainty. ¡°Be careful!¡± Shang Xia was right. Li Tianshou noticed his actions the moment he released the bowstring. However, Li Tianshou clearly didn¡¯t expect that the sneak attack wasn¡¯t aimed at him, the leader of the operation. ¡°Ah¡­¡± A howl came from Shang Xia¡¯s target by the time the warning left Li Tianshou¡¯s lips. After shooting the arrow, Shang Xia kept the bow in his Embroidered Cloud Case. Rushing at Li Tianshou and the others, the Scarlet Star Spear was grasped firmly in his hands. A solemn expression could be seen on Shang Xia¡¯s face. The arrow he shot earlier didn¡¯t even manage to seriously injure his target, much less kill the man. Blood might be flowing from the wound, but the wound was on the cultivator¡¯s lower belly. It couldn¡¯t be considered a serious wound, and it wouldn¡¯t affect the cultivator¡¯s combat abilities in the short term! It seemed as though the group of experts from the White Deer Paradise wouldn¡¯t be easy targets! A sharp chirp came from the skies above when Shang Xia was preparing for battle, and he realized that Yan Ni¡¯er was giving him a stern warning. It was a trap! However, it was too late for him to retreat now. CH 309 ¡­ The fusion between the Azure Origin World and Azure Spiritual World was inevitable. That was an open secret among those in the Martial Extermination Realm, but the view on the fusion was split. Eventually, it was agreed that the fusion of both worlds was inevitable. However, they would delay it for as long as possible to build up their strength. The Tongyou Institution¡¯s actions showed that their scheme ran deep. God knew how many benefits they promised before dragging the experts of the other four institutions over to assist them in the fusion process. Even the White Deer Paradise of the Ji Continent sent an elder over. Since moving the Mysterious Coral World out of the battlefield between the two continents wouldn¡¯t greatly damage the world origins or the spatial barrier, the various powers felt that it was acceptable. Moreover, the Tongyou Institution sacrificed a ton by guarding the You Continent for the past twenty years alone. There used to be the threat of Kou Chongxue too, causing everyone to take a step back and allow the Tongyou Institution to do as they wished. However, if the Tongyou Institution wanted to borrow the world origins to upgrade themselves into a holy land, it would shake the foundations of the Azure Origin World! That would cross the bottom line of those present! As such, a simple question from Chang Huaiwu caused the tension in the air to rise to its peak. Facing his question, Liu Qinglan replied seriously, ¡°We had a plan to promote ourselves to a holy land, but we definitely have not executed it. We didn¡¯t plan to do everything in one go.¡± The situation was greatly diffused by her explanation, but there were still many who threw looks of doubt at her. ¡°Is that really the case? From the looks of it, the formation of the Tongyou Mysterious World absorbed a great portion of the energy from the Origin Tide. If this keeps up, the spatial barrier will still be greatly weakened even if you don¡¯t become a holy land.¡± Han Chongwen clearly didn¡¯t trust what she said and he pressed deeper. ¡°The Coral Forest suffered too much damage previously, and thus the Mysterious Coral World has to absorb more energy to restore itself. Everyone, please rest assured. Our Tongyou Institution won¡¯t place the world in danger in order to gain some small benefits. Moreover, it¡¯s impossible to develop a holy land with the energy contained in a single Origin Tide.¡± Kang Ci, who had recently entered the Martial Extermination Realm, added. An Baimei stared at the exchange before snorting softly, ¡°That better be the case.¡± Chang Huaiwu stared at An Baimei who seemed to be smoothing things over and he revealed a strange expression. ¡°Hah. I thought of grabbing more benefits from the institution for this matter. Looks like that¡¯s going to be impossible now. The Tongyou Mysterious World doesn¡¯t seem to be fully satisfied by the energy contained in the Origin Tide. I wonder if Deputy Patriarch Ji is hiding from all of us as he enters the Martial Dipper Realm within?¡± Seeing how Liu Qinglan turned to glare at him with a deep frown on her face, he quickly added, ¡°I heard that the old ancestor of the Zhu Family managed to enter the Martial Dipper Realm. You guys ran into him in the Coral Forest and killed him after a long battle. Don¡¯t tell me that you failed to obtain his origin dipper¡­¡± The new topic caught everyone¡¯s attention again. The Tongyou Institution ¡®possessed¡¯ a rank five advancement in the eyes of those present. With the energy contained in the Origin Tide and an origin dipper, everyone thought that Ji Wenlong would definitely use the chance to step into the Martial Dipper Realm. If he succeeded¡­ ¡­ The moment Shang Xia emerged, he saw the look of mockery on Li Tianshou¡¯s face. He understood that he was jumping head-first into a trap, but it was too late! His Scarlet Star Spear was like a roaring dragon that shot at his opponent as he unleashed the strongest strike of the Providence Spear Art he created. Flow Recompensation Spear! Surprisingly, Shang Xia didn¡¯t go for Li Tianshou! He aimed for someone else again. The ball of energy that had gathered at the tip of his spear rotated in the opposite direction suddenly, scattering the original singular spear light into many smaller rays. Naturally, that decreased the power of each spear light. Shang Xia¡¯s true intention wasn¡¯t to kill any one of them. Now that he knew it was a plot, he wanted to look for an opportunity to escape. There was no point in jumping into the deep end of their trap. He had to cut his losses immediately! His reaction was quick, but how could the White Deer Paradise allow him to escape their intricate trap however he wished? Li Tianshou and the others shattered the weaker spear lights that were flying towards them and someone activated the formation they laid down earlier. Several trees in the surroundings became surrounded by a strange glow and ice shards flew all around. A huge net formed in the skies and surrounded Shang Xia instantly, blocking off all routes of retreat. Seeing how impossible it was to escape, Shang Xia could only land between two huge boulders. He blocked off the ice shards casually by twirling his spear, causing an icy mist to surround him as he shattered them completely. In the blink of an eye, Li Tianshou and the rest surrounded him. Five experts who were in the Martial Intent Realm formed a tight encirclement around Shang Xia with Li Tianshou as their leader. However, a sharp cry came from somewhere else and a frown formed on the Martial Intent Realm experts in the White Deer Paradise¡¯s party. In their haste to stop Shang Xia from escaping, they forgot about the disciple Shang Xia was aiming for previously. His spear light might not be able to affect those in the Martial Intent Realm experts after he diffused their strength, but that didn¡¯t mean that the others could. Even though the spear contained a small portion of Shang Xia¡¯s full strength, it killed his target instantly. Li Tianshou and the other four didn¡¯t dare to get distracted as they turned their attention back to Shang Xia. His act of killing their companion with a weakened spear light was more than enough to reveal his strength. ¡°Shang Xia, just give up. It¡¯s one against five, you have no chance of winning.¡± Li Tianshou sneered in contempt. He was cautious of Shang Xia¡¯s strength, but he felt a sense of accomplishment filling his heart when he realized that they successfully trapped him. Facing the five of them, Shang Xia maintained his calm demeanor. He stared at Li Tianshou before asking, ¡°How did you recognize me?¡± ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re the only one who can locate this place! Do you think that my White Deer Paradise didn¡¯t know about the location of the leak? We discovered it a long time ago!¡± Li Tianshou sneered. ¡°We also discovered the Spiritual Extermination Gourd under those rocks. Also, there was the corpse who displayed wounds created by your Shang Clan Spear Art! Do you think you can hide these from us?¡± ¡°After comparing them with the wounds on Chen Sanyang, we uncovered your identity. Haha, do you really think that you can remain undetected/¡± ¡°Not to mention the fact that you used the Spiritual Extermination Gourd to collect the Extermination Mist leaking into the air. Everything pointed to the fact that you would return. All we were waiting to do was for you to show yourself!¡± ¡°Hehe, as the last person who met with Kou Chongxue, your life is definitely worth a lot! Even though the Tongyou City is about to be sieged on all sides and your value is no longer what it was, it doesn¡¯t matter! I¡¯ll be the one to capture you today!¡± Li Tianshou roared with laughter while spewing a bunch of nonsense. In his eyes, Shang Xia was nothing more than a bunch of free cultivation resources. Shang Xia¡¯s expression sank and it was so dark that it could rival thunderclouds. Without a doubt, he had been too careless. He also underestimated the formation master of the White Deer Paradise. He heard from Mister Bu that the water-attributed spiritual vein under the Changfeng City was experiencing some problems. Since they estimated that the spiritual vein was the key to the descent of the White Deer Paradise¡¯s Martial Dipper Realm ancestor, there was no way Gao Yun would be careless about it. Shang Xia thought that he would be able to cover it up by blocking the leak, turning himself into a joke that thought he could pull the wool over the eyes of Gao Yun, a Martial Extermination Realm formation expert. He felt that he could use the chance to earn big, but from the looks of it, they were waiting for him to return and step into the trap they crafted specially for him. Li Tianshou clapped his hands, breaking Shang Xia¡¯s train of thought and he roared with laughter, ¡°I have to thank Young Master Shang for this. The Spiritual Extermination Gourd is a special treasure indeed. The extermination mist within might not be enough to nurture an extermination origin, but there are many uses for it! Well, I won¡¯t bore you with the details.¡± Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t allow himself to be affected by Li Tianshou¡¯s mockery, and he raised his spear towards the man. ¡°I heard that all the disciples of the White Deer Paradise are geniuses. Looks like I will have to experience it for myself. Brother Li, why don¡¯t we exchange pointers?¡± Li Tianshou sneered in response, ¡°Hah Are you crazy? Why would I fight you alone when we have you surrounded? What a joke! Junior brothers and sisters, we¡¯ll move together! We cannot allow Junior Brother Luo to die in vain!¡± With all five of them taking action, Shang Xia was immediately thrown into a desperate situation. With victory at hand, Li Tianshou and the others decided to play around with Shang Xia, eating away at his inner qi. After all, none of them wished to be buried with him. They would stand a chance to retreat unscathed if they wore him down until he had no energy left to unleash his desperate counter attack. Li Tianshou seemed to have thought of something while forcing Shang Xia back with his sword. He chuckled, ¡°Oh right, since Chen Sanyang died in your hands, you should be in possession of the Multi World Anchoring Flag. Haha! The flag is even more precious than the Spiritual Extermination Gourd!¡± The other members of his group cheered in response as a look of greed appeared in their eyes. Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. CH 310 ¡­ The situation in the Tongyou City was extremely precarious. Of the various Martial Extermination Realm experts in the air, most of them had their own plans. Even though they weren¡¯t targeting the Tongyou Institution directly, they were clearly denouncing the Tongyou Institution and their methods. Liu Qinglan and Kang Ci might have reassured them that the institution wasn¡¯t planning to upgrade themselves into a holy land at that moment, but no one was buying it. They could only see that the Tongyou Mysterious World was sucking in a huge amount of world origin. If everything kept up, what everyone feared would come to pass. With things progressing up to that point, the Martial Extermination Realm of the other institutions were the only ones who were suspicious. Even Liu Qinglan and Kang Ci felt their hearts pounding in fright. That was because the Tongyou Mysterious World had indeed sucked up a huge portion of world origin from the battlefield between the two worlds. Even if it wasn¡¯t brimming with energy, it should at least be close to filling up with energy! However, not a sign could be seen! If Liu Qinglan and Kang Ci weren¡¯t able to convince themselves, there wasn¡¯t a need to talk about convincing others. ¡°Everyone, please do not panic.¡± In order to deal with the situation, Shang Ke rushed over from his original position. ¡°All of you might think that our Tongyou Institution is stubborn and persistent when it comes to carrying out our plans, but we have never once placed the rest of the world in danger in order to obtain benefits. We are part of the Azure Origin World and we will never betray our fellow comrades. Otherwise, why would we choose to protect this barren land for twenty years straight?¡± His words allowed the tense situation to diffuse to a great extent. After all, it was true that the Tongyou Institution had been a loyal protector of the Azure Origin World. Liu Qinglan and Kang Ci lacked persuasiveness due to their experience and seniority. Among the elders who came to support the institution, most of them were from the older generation. Even Han Chongwei, the youngest of them all, was older than Liu Qinglan by eight years! Under such circumstances, all of them had an air of superiority when they were talking to Liu Qinglan. Such psychological superiority disappeared when Shang Ke appeared. After all, he was also part of the same generation as those present. At the very least, they had to respect his position as one of the heads of the four great clans of the Tongyou City. Naturally, there was another aspect behind it. Shang Ke¡¯s appearance told them that the powers in the Tongyou City were of one mind. No matter what happened, they would side with the institution. Liu Qinglan and Kang Ci also made it very clear with their actions. The moment Shang Ke appeared, they stood behind him to provide support. With Shang Ke speaking for them, even the Martial Extermination Realm experts had to think twice if they wanted to make things difficult for Liu Qinglan and Kang Ci. Liu Zhiyuan, who had the weakest support and authority among the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Tongyou City hesitated for quite some time before finally heading towards Shang Ke, Liu Qinglan, and Kang Ci. He eventually stood behind Shang Ke before whispering to Liu Qinglan, ¡°Instructor Liu, did something happen?¡± The situation regarding the formation of the Tongyou Mysterious World might have calmed down, but conflict was starting to brew among the various parties who had arrived. The other institutions had laid down their stances and intentions loud and clear. An Baimei warned the Tongyou Institution about risking the foundations of the Azure Origin World, but he was still amicable about it. From his position, he was leaning towards protecting the Tongyou Institution. Han Chongwei and Chang Huaiwu were trying to find the moral high ground to pressure the institution, and they exposed their extreme displeasure towards the Tongyou Institution''s actions. Yu Chengjin hadn¡¯t said a word since the beginning, and he seemed to want to fade into the background. However, it went without saying that no one would dare to neglect his presence. From the way things were looking, the alliance between the five institutions had a shit load of cracks in them. However, they could still forcibly maintain the alliance as there was no outright conflict among them. Who would have thought that an accident would happen at that moment? A huge streak of red light tore through the skies and exploded in the skies above the city. The huge explosion rocked the foundations of the city and the space above started to twist. A formless barrier that surrounded the city wavered slightly and became visible to those present. ¡°The Startling Rainbow Blade of the Yuwen Family! The Evil Remnants are making their move!¡± Chang Huaiwu recognized it immediately. Liu Zhiyuan growled, ¡°Hmph, we expected the Rose Party to make their move. This doesn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°No!¡± Chang Huaiwu turned around abruptly and stared at those from the institution. ¡°I¡¯m trying to say that it¡¯s time for the spatial tunnel to be closed. The Tongyou Mysterious World absorbed enough energy, it¡¯s time to stop.¡± Liu Zhiyuan¡¯s expression changed. ¡°Mister Chang, what do you mean? According to our agreement¡­¡± ¡°According to our agreement, the Tongyou Institution shouldn¡¯t have absorbed so much world origin from the battlefield between the two worlds. According to our agreement, we should have closed the spatial tunnel a long time ago. According to our agreement, we should have already obtained the things promised to us!¡± Chang Huaiwu snapped at Liu Zhiyuan. ¡°You¡­!¡± Liu Zhiyuan roared with rage. However, he was stopped by a gesture from Liu Qinglan. She indicated for him to calm down before addressing Chang Huaiwu, ¡°The Rose Party has always stood against our Tongyou Institution. Moreover, they¡¯re the main enemies of all our institutions. There¡¯s no need to force us to compromise because of the interference of the Rose Party. All of us expected as much. Moreover, the Yuwen Family¡¯s foundations lie in the Bing Continent, not our You Continent!¡± Grunting once, Chang Huaiwu didn¡¯t say anything else. He turned away and refused to look at the members of the Tongyou Institution. Liu Qinglan muttered after observing his reaction, ¡°In that case, I hope everyone follows the plan. I shall deal with the person outside the city.¡± Search "pawread dot com" for the original. After she spoke, she turned into a ray of light that shot out of the city. By the time the light faded, her figure could be seen outside the protection barrier. Another red streak tore through the skies at that moment, but Liu Qinglan¡¯s Eight Segmented Whip appeared to take it on. It slammed heavily into the incoming ray of red light. ¡­ It was the first time Shang Xia felt so helpless when fighting. His spear art might possess tyrannical might, but he was unable to break through the encirclement no matter how hard he tried. The five of them were like experienced hunters who were hell-bent on tiring their prey to death. They wanted to force him onto the road of despair. Shang Xia estimated that if things were to keep up, he would eventually be killed by them. ¡°His spear art is really terrifying. It¡¯s no wonder he managed to kill Chen Sanyang!¡± Someone couldn¡¯t help but chuckle seeing as victory was already in their hands. Instead of belittling Shang Xia¡¯s techniques, he truly admired Shang Xia¡¯s execution of the Shang Clan Spear Art. As an elite disciple of the White Deer Paradise, he managed to display his magnanimity even though they obtained the upper hand. Li Tianshou chuckled bitterly, ¡°The Shang Clan¡¯s Providence Spear really lives up to its reputation. Even the various holy lands recognized its abilities. The Shang Clan managed to rise up in the ranks due to this technique. They stood at the peak among the second-rate families before the collision of our worlds. When the calamity happened, they took the chance to become one of the four great clans of the You Continent¡­ Oi, don¡¯t beat him to death!¡± Li Tianshou barely completed his sentence when someone else interrupted, ¡°His spear art might be strong, but he can¡¯t be compared to you, Senior Brother Li. Hahaha! Senior Brother Li has been suppressing him ever since the battle started!¡± ¡°Haha, Junior Brother Lu, you¡¯re overexaggerating. After all, I only fight battles I can win¡­ Oi! Fuck! He¡¯s doing it again, be careful! One of his strange techniques can pierce through any defense¡­ I can¡¯t stop it either!¡± Even though he was talking, Li Tianshou¡¯s actions weren¡¯t affected. He slashed horizontally to slice off a piece of skin from Shang Xia¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Ah! ¡­ This fucking spear art is bullshit!¡± Junior Brother Lu yelled as his left ear was torn to shreds by a formless spear light. After unleashing the Woundless Spear, a small nick appeared under Shang Xia¡¯s cheeks. At the same time, his shoulder was stained red with blood. CH 311 It was one of the rare times when Shang Xia had been forced into a corner! If Shang Xia were to sum up his entire experience of the battle, he could probably do it in one word, ¡®pitiful¡¯! Li Tianshou, a direct disciple of the White Deer Paradise, seemed to have a good grasp of the Shang Clan¡¯s Spear Art! With the other four, they severely restricted his fighting style! The only move they hadn¡¯t broken was his fifth move, the Woundless Spear! Even though the Providence Spear Art allowed members to create and comprehend moves of their own, the principles behind them were pretty similar. Each cultivator would develop their moves based on the principle of the Providence Spear Art and their own cultivation. For example, Shang Xia¡¯s first three moves were somewhat related to his first martial intent, the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. After his second divine sense transformation, his next set of three moves seemed connected with his martial extremity intent, the Seven Laceration Sword. It was all the more obvious with Shang Xia¡¯s sixth move, the Flow Recompensation Spear. Of all his moves, that was also the most powerful strike. As long as one looked into Shang Xia¡¯s past cultivation, they would be able to deduce the type of techniques he could use! For a colossal existence like the White Deer Paradise, it wasn¡¯t difficult for Li Tianshou to dig out everything he required. However, that begged the question. Was the White Deer Paradise aiming for Shang Xia specifically? He was a mere cultivator in the Martial Intent Realm. No matter how eye-catching his performance was, he shouldn¡¯t be able to affect their grand plan. He couldn¡¯t understand why the White Deer Paradise had set their eyes on him. That wasn¡¯t what Shang Xia was brooding over anyway. It was true that his Shang Clan Spear Art was special and there were many seniors of his family who trained in it. They managed to uncover a small part of the Providence Spear¡¯s secret, and only core members would be able to know the intricacies behind it. How in the world did the White Deer Paradise learn of it?! From how Li Tianshou was behaving, he seemed exceptionally familiar with Shang Xia¡¯s Providence Spear Art. Shang Xia even suspected that he was a hidden member of the Shang Clan! Search "pawread dot com" for the original. As the encirclement became smaller, the pressure Shang Xia faced grew larger. His moves were blocked with great efficiency through the cooperation of the five of them, and despite his best efforts to break out of his predicament, he failed. When he used his third move, Flashing Meteor, he discovered that the energy contained in his spear would be pulled in different directions. The speed he was so proud of became useless and his spear moved as slow as a snail. As for his fourth move, Void Evasion, it failed to hit anything despite it being the most unpredictable. As long as anyone caught on to the rhythm of his attacks, they would be able to avoid it effectively. With the formation closing in on him, things started to seem bleak. Shang Xia¡¯s spear shot towards someone¡¯s chest, but due to a sudden interference, he only managed to scrape his target¡¯s left hand. He realized that there was no point in using the techniques he knew any longer. Even his sixth and strongest move was deemed useless before the five of them. The only attack that could actually hit anyone was the Woundless Spear, but the only problem with that was that he would injure himself every time he used it. With five of them as his opponents, he would end up killing himself before seriously wounding anyone! If things were to continue down the same path, he would eventually exhaust himself and fall into their hands. ¡°Young Master Shang, what¡¯s the point? Can¡¯t you see that everything you do is useless? Just give up obediently and save yourself from the pain. As long as you agree to work with us, you will be able to stay alive. Even your Shang Clan would be spared! In fact, you might even benefit greatly from our cooperation!¡± Li Tianshou tried to shatter Shang Xia¡¯s mental defense. He spoke extremely seriously, and it seemed as though he would fulfill any one of Shang Xia¡¯s requests if he agreed. Even his four companions were shocked by his words. They stared at each other in confusion, wondering if what Li Tianshou said was true. However, Shang Xia remained silent. The spear in his hand continued to dance, and the power contained in his strikes seemed to increase. Even though the battle had dragged on for some time and his inner qi was depleting, he refused to give up. Shang Xia was like a cornered beast. He fought with everything he had, and the battlefield had already shifted some distance away from where they once started. Even though he couldn¡¯t break out of the encirclement, he refused to give up. ¡°Young Master Shang, is there a point in continuing? You¡¯ll just use up all your inner qi. Are you trying to preserve your reputation by losing to us eventually using the excuse that ¡®you slipped¡¯? Or are you trying to console yourself by fighting to the bitter end?¡± Li Tianshou continued and he sounded like he was pitying Shang Xia. ¡°Or¡­ Are you planning something and thinking that you still have a chance to escape?¡± Li Tianshou snapped all of a sudden as his sword stabbed outwards. He blocked Shang Xia¡¯s spear from harming one of his junior sisters, and he continued playfully. ¡°Hmm¡­ Are you trying to stall for time? Young Master Shang, do you have backup coming? Wow. Is it possible that you¡¯re behind the extermination of those from the Azure Spiritual World?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you guess?¡± Shang Xia, who had been silent this whole time, finally spoke. His tone sounded incomparably relaxed all of a sudden. A bad premonition filled the hearts of those from the White Deer Paradise. Li Tianshould might not know what Shang Xia was up to, but he gave the rest a warning. ¡°Everyone, be careful! He¡¯s a spent force! Don¡¯t act recklessly and let him use up his energy.¡± As soon as the words left his lips, Shang Xia¡¯s grunt entered their ears. ¡°We¡¯re finally here.¡± Here?! Where¡¯s here?! Is there something wrong with this place? Li Tianshou was slightly taken aback and he stared around him suspiciously. The feeling of unease in his heart became even stronger. Soon, he caught sight of a massive boulder. It was the boulder they discovered was stopping the leak from the underground river. Everything clicked in Li Tianshou¡¯s mind in that instant. He wanted to warn the others, but it was too late. Shang Xia tossed out a rank two talisman he made the other day. Light filled the skies as a wave of energy tried to shove everyone away. Other than Li Tianshou, everyone nearly burst out laughing. They thought that Shang Xia was truly messing with him. With their strength, a rank two talisman wouldn¡¯t affect them in the slightest! They found Shang Xia extremely stupid to think that something like that could affect their fighting formation. With a trace of mockery in their eyes, they shattered the wave of energy rushing towards them. However, Li Tianshou¡¯s voice boomed through the air. ¡°Watch out, he¡¯s trying to escape!¡± Watch out? Escape? The four of them could stop the energy wave with their eyes closed. What was there to watch out for? Also, they had him completely surrounded. There was nowhere to run! When the light finally died down, a solemn look could be seen on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he released his sixth move, Flow Recompensation! However, they were confused the next moment. Who the hell was he aiming at? The five of them knew where each other was, but Shang Xia¡¯s attack didn¡¯t seem directed at any of them! Finally, they realized that Shang Xia¡¯s act of throwing out the rank two talisman was purely to distract them. The only thing they didn¡¯t understand was the target of his attack. Following his stab, their gazes landed on the giant boulder not too far away from him. What¡¯s he doing? ¡°Stop him!¡± Li Tianshou¡¯s voice brought them back to reality, but by the time they started moving, it was too late. Shang Xia was fighting like a cornered beast earlier in order to drag the battlefield towards the giant boulder! All of them were mistaken. When he released his strike earlier, he wasn¡¯t aiming for the boulder. Instead, he stabbed towards the ground under the rock! Boom! With the opening widened, even the boulder couldn¡¯t resist the strong pressure coming from underground. A giant pillar of water shot into the skies, causing the boulder to tumble away. Without anything to stop the water from escaping, a giant geyser that was several times larger than when Shang Xia killed Lin Yi appeared. The water that fell back to the earth eventually soaked everyone present. The pile of rocks nearby that hid the Spiritual Extermination Gourd scattered, revealing the treasure. Affected by the sudden gust of wind that appeared along with the eruption of the geyser, the Spiritual Extermination Gourd flew into the air. Of course, mere water wasn¡¯t enough to harm anyone in the surroundings. In fact, it didn¡¯t seem to change anything. Shang Xia was still surrounded by the members of the White Deer Paradise. As the Spiritual Extermination Gourd returned to the earth, a huge amount of extermination mist emerged from its opening. Without the gourd to absorb the mist emitted by the water, the smokey screen billowed out from the ground. In the blink of an eye, thick mist filled the air and everyone lost the ability to see more than three feet away! CH 312 Shang Xia never thought that he could fight his way out of their trap. There was no chance he could bank on a small sliver of a chance that they would mess up and he would be able to escape. As such, there was only a single thing he could do. That was to introduce any anomaly into the battle. He would drag them towards the boulder that blocked off the flow of the underground river. Naturally, Shang Xia¡¯s strong foundations and deep reserves were essential for him to fight all five of them while shifting the battlefield slowly. Also, he had to thank his lucky stars that Li Tianshou¡¯s plan was to capture him alive. None of them went all out with killing moves. They were also afraid that Shang Xia would turn desperate and focus all of his energy on dragging one of them down with him, resulting in them holding back greatly. There was also one more thing that allowed Shang Xia to complete his plan successfully. Li Tianshou and the others didn¡¯t remove the Spirit Extermination Gourd after their discovery. All those factors allowed Shang Xia¡¯s plan to eventually work. As for his Flow Reconstitution Spear, it had the ability to shift the heaven and earth qi around him, much less the flow of some water underground. Releasing his sixth move, he freed the underground river and the gourd. The mist released by the two created a thick smokescreen that greatly affected the visibility in the area. The cultivators of the White Deer Paradise discovered that the same restriction was placed on their divine sense. They couldn¡¯t feel anything greater than five feet from themselves. When the mist just appeared, they released their divine sense to look for Shang Xia the best they could, but as it extended away from their bodies, their divine sense started to corrode due to the extermination qi in the air. ¡°Shit!¡± Li Tianshou barely gathered his thoughts when a scream pierced through the air. ¡°Junior Brother Yu!¡± Li Tianshou gasped before giving the others a reminder. ¡°There¡¯s something strange about this mist. Everyone, retreat! We¡¯ll regroup after getting out of this mist!¡± Li Tianshou knew that their fighting formation had been broken. With the sudden change in the situation and Junior Brother Yu¡¯s death, Shang Xia gained the advantage. Staying in the mist and fighting blindly would only benefit Shang Xia. Even with their advantage in numbers, he knew that they would get nowhere if they were to fight him one on one. Li Tianshou might refuse to believe it, and he might have been mocking Shang Xia the whole time when they were fighting him earlier, but deep down in his heart, he knew that Shang Xia was extraordinarily strong. Even a direct disciple of the White Deer Paradise like himself wasn¡¯t Shang Xia¡¯s match if they had a one-on-one fight. Since things had progressed up to that point, Li Tianshou couldn¡¯t bother with capturing Shang Xia and completing their mission any longer. He had to protect the lives of his comrades! The more Li Tianshou thought about it, the more his thoughts fell back into disarray. Despite his desire to bring his fellow comrades out of the mist, he severely underestimated Shang Xia. With the exception of himself, none of the other disciples of the White Deer Paradise could react when Shang Xia attacked them. ¡­ The extermination mist might have suppressed the divine sense of everyone heavily, but the suppression Shang Xia felt was relatively weaker than the rest! When he arrived near the river for the first time and killed Lin Yi, Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense could extend more than ten feet away from himself. Even though the mist became much thicker, he was still able to forcefully extend his divine sense seven to eight feet away from his body. With the additional distance he could feel compared to those from the White Deer Paradise, they were basically sitting ducks waiting for him to harvest their lives. He knew where they were, but they had no idea the god of death had already set his eyes on them! Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Utilizing his third move, Flashing Meteor, he killed the person closest to him. With Junior Brother Yu¡¯s miserable cry to warn the others of his miserable fate, the other three tried to run out from the mist. One unfortunate soul picked the wrong direction. She tried to leave the region covered by the mist but ran in the direction of Shang Xia. Discovering his new target, Shang Xia locked on to the disciple of the White Deer Paradise before unleashing his fourth move, Void Evasion! Feeling a sense of danger closing in rapidly, the disciple of the White Deer Paradise twisted her body violently. Not knowing where the attack came from, she could only trust her instinct and tossed a circular shield in that direction. A burst of light was all she saw before the mist clouded her vision. Discovering her mistake, it was too late for her to retrieve her shield. She could only use both hands to cover his chest as a huge spear created from the white mist in their surroundings shot at her. Under her shocked gaze, it pierced directly through her body. The fear she felt for the murderous demon in the mist overshadowed her pain, and she released a blood-curdling scream that seemed to sap away all her energy. Eventually, she fell to the ground as her vitality left her. ¡°Senior Sister Gong!¡± Another disciple of the White Deer Paradise who was about to leave the region covered by the mist turned her head involuntarily when she heard the scream coming from behind. Li Tianshou¡¯s voice came from outside the mist and he yelled at the disciple who had stopped running. ¡°Shut up! Get out of the mist before doing anything else!¡± Gasping in shock, she recalled what she was doing. She turned around to run, but it was too late. A small vortex of extermination mist formed behind her. ¡°Too late.¡± A voice scarier than that of a demon¡¯s rang in her ears. ¡°No, don¡¯t¡­¡± She wanted to continue speaking, but a bolt of lightning and the rumbling of thunder drowned her out. A bolt of reddish-gold lightning thicker than a man¡¯s forearm appeared in her vision as it tore the thick mist apart before slamming heavily into her back. She couldn¡¯t even release a cry before she was sent flying. She slammed into the ground several feet away with her life or death unknown. ¡°Fuckl¡± Li Tianshou, who ran out of the region surrounded by the mist, stared at his only other junior brother who managed to run out before retrieving something from his sleeves. ¡°You forced me to do this.¡± Li Tianshou poured his inner qi into the carving of a white deer he retrieved. With a loud snap, the white deer carving shattered. A spiritual deer seemed to materialize in the air behind him before leaping into the extermination mist. ¡°Get over here!¡± He snapped at Junior Brother Lu who was missing an ear from the battle earlier. As the last remaining member of the five who surrounded Shang Xia, Junior Brother Lu ran over to Li Tianshou before asking in panic, ¡°Senior Brother Li, Senior Sister Gong, and the others¡­¡± Li Tianshou¡¯s expression sank and he felt a strong ache in his heart. He eventually suppressed the pain he felt and he growled, ¡°I used the White Jade Spiritual Deer Carving. That asshole is definitely going to die.¡± CH 313 ¡­ On the Tongyou Peak in the battlefield between the two worlds¡­ Shang Bo stood alone above the main Tongyou Peak as he faced several enemies. ¡°Bang¡­ Rattle, rattle¡­¡± The final chains that connected the bridges around the main peak and the six auxiliary peaks finally shattered as thick chain links fell to the ground below. Massive boulders that were used to hold the bridges in place tumbled down the various peaks. ¡°Shang Bo, the protection formation around the Tongyou Peak is broken. Are you going to remain stubborn and fight to the end?¡± A thick pillar of light charged into the Tongyou Peak and slammed into Shang Bo who was standing as steady as a mountain at the top of the main Tongyou Peak. The solemn expression on Shang Bo¡¯s face thawed and a sneer took its place. ¡°Dumbass¡­ You overestimated yourself!¡± His Nine Firefly Lance shot into the ground below and when it hit, a massive shockwave swept through the land. With the Tongyou Peak in the center, the shockwave spread at a visible speed and caused the surrounding space to twist. ¡°Crash¡­¡± The broken chains seemed to resemble a sleeping serpent that was awakened by Shang Bo¡¯s actions. They rose into the air again to form a massive net that covered the Tongyou Peak. Did the protection formation of the Tongyou Peak really shatter? The protection barrier that surrounded the Tongyou Peak was no longer there, but that didn¡¯t mean that the protection formation was destroyed. Instead, it was a trap laid down by Shang Bo. Without the protection barrier, he expected his opponent to charge into the Tongyou Peak recklessly. He was right. ¡°Not good!¡± The Martial Extermination Realm expert who rushed into the Tongyou Peak released several rays of light to surround himself as he tried to retreat. ¡°Since you came, there¡¯s no need to think of leaving.¡± Shang Bo grunted and his steadfast figure that had remained at the top of the main Tongyou Peak soared into the skies for the first time. The first move he released possessed earth-shattering might. ¡°Die!¡± Shang Bo¡¯s yell created a massive soundwave that tore through the air. In an instant, it echoed countless times in the space above the main Tongyou Peak. The chains that filled the air whipped towards the Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Azure Spiritual World on his command. Even though they weren¡¯t strong enough to injure him, they were more than enough to restrict his movements. With their interference, he was unable to avoid Shang Bo¡¯s Nine Firefly Lance! As the specks of light started to gather together, the Nine Firefly Lance pierced through space and appeared right in front of the cultivator¡¯s eyes. ¡°Help¡­¡± Circulating all his inner qi to defend himself, he didn¡¯t forget to call for him from his companions. Unfortunately, it was too late. He was sent flying by Shang Bo¡¯s lance and blood flowed uncontrollably down his lips. A red crescent was drawn in the air by his blood. At the same time, several rays of light appeared above the Tongyou Peak. One of the rays transformed into a massive palm that grabbed the cultivator who was flying away while another transformed into a giant hammer that smashed down towards the Tongyou Peak. With a cold snort, Shang Bo seemed to ignore the hammer as he used his divine sense to control the metal chains to grab the cultivator who was flying away. At the same time, he seemed to become one with his lance as he leaped through space to charge at his target. Clearly, Shang Bo wanted to kill the Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Azure Spiritual World. ¡°Please, save me!¡± The cultivator roared in fright as his movements were restricted yet again. The giant palm that was reaching towards him tore the chains out one by one and deep rumblings filled the air once again. However, it couldn¡¯t change a thing. Shang Bo¡¯s Nine Firefly Lance ripped through the space and the man and weapon duo appeared right in front of the cultivator he struck. They were so close that Shang Bo could see the look of despair in his eyes. ¡°Ah¡­!¡± A miserable cry ran through the air and Shang Bo¡¯s lance stabbed straight through his target¡¯s body. A four colored light emerged from the lance and destroyed any signs of life left. Above the Tongyou Peak, Shang Bo casually flicked his wrist as the Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Azure Spiritual World who was at the third layer fell to the ground, never to open his eyes again. As he fell, rays of extermination origin emerged from his wound and wrapped his body into a cocoon, turning him into a multicolored comet that shot towards the foot of the mountain. Before his body could hit the ground, it exploded to send frightening amounts of heaven and earth qi rippling through the surrounding area of the Tongyou Peak. Several snaps followed his demise as the massive palm in the air tore several more chains out from the Tongyou Peak. Two of the six auxiliary peaks were also riddled with holes and they were on the verge of collapse. On the other side, the giant hammer that was created with a three colored extermination origin slammed heavily into the main peak. As the mountain trembled violently, a massive chunk flew off subsequently. Even under their combined attempt to save him, Shang Bo managed to kill a Martial Extermination Realm expert at the third layer. His act was a stinging slap to those from the Azure Spiritual World. ¡°Extermination Origins returning to one, large completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm! Shang Bo, you need to die!¡± ¡­ In the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range, at the source of a mountain river¡­ Li Tianshou shattered the White Deer Carving he was carrying and a spiritual deer entered the thick mist Shang Xia was hiding in. The little carving was extremely precious. Li Tianshou¡¯s heart was aching when he destroyed it. However, he was also confident that the spiritual deer could get rid of all his troubles. ¡°Senior Brother Li, that spiritual deer¡­¡± Junior Brother Lu managed to escape death earlier and barely managed to stabilize his emotions when he saw what Li Tianshou did. A look of envy could be seen in his eyes. Glancing at Junior Brother Lu from the corner of his eye, Li Tianshou growled, ¡°Yeah. Master gave it to me. I was supposed to use it when breaking through to the Martial Extermination Realm.¡± ¡°That¡¯s such a waste!¡± Junior Brother Lu couldn¡¯t help but sigh. However, Li Tianshou explained solemnly, ¡°The spiritual deer can be considered to be an existence invincible under the Martial Extermination Realm. Moreover, it should be able to collect the extermination mist in the surroundings to reform itself when it¡¯s done¡­¡± Pausing for a second, he continued reluctantly, ¡°It¡¯s a pity the Spirit Extermination Gourd isn¡¯t here. Otherwise, I¡¯ll be able to obtain a second treasure that can collect extermination qi! Fuck! Shang Xia is really a piece of work alright¡­ Who would have thought that he could come up with a plan to escape at the last second?¡± Junior Brother Lu balked in his heart after hearing what Li Tianshou said. Pity my ass! We¡¯re going to die if you don¡¯t release the spiritual deer. What¡¯s the point of saving the treasures if we¡¯re all dead? Naturally, he couldn¡¯t reveal his thoughts to Li Tianshou. Instead, he maintained his pitiful expression and he muttered, ¡°Senior Brother, are we going to not do anything?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you try going in there?¡± Li Tianshou raised an eyebrow and looked at Junior Brother Lu like he was looking at a clown who was tired of living. Chuckling once, Junior Brother Lu added, ¡°Why don¡¯t we get the spiritual deer to lure him out before joining hands to¡­¡± ¡°Relax. The spiritual deer will be able to absorb the extermination mist soon. When it¡¯s done, he won¡¯t have a place to hide anymore!¡± Li Tianshou muttered. Junior Brother Lu¡¯s eyes lit up instantly. ¡°I was too rash. I didn¡¯t expect Senior Brother Li to already have a plan!¡± Waving his hand, Li Tianshou sighed, ¡°It¡¯s alright¡­¡± Junior Brother Lu interrupted Li Tianshou before he could finish his sentence. ¡°But¡­ Why isn¡¯t anything happening? It seems a little too quiet¡­¡± Li Tianshou¡¯s expression sank after hearing what he said. Staring at the thick layer of mist in front of him, he tried to remain calm as he gave Junior Brother Lu an explanation. ¡°The mist might be too thick, suppressing the fluctuation of heaven and earth qi. It¡¯s also possible that the spiritual deer decided to absorb the extermination qi in the mist before doing anything¡­¡± With a look of confusion on his face, Junior Brother Lu asked, ¡°That¡¯s weird. If the spiritual deer is absorbing the extermination qi in the mist, the mist should be getting thinner, isn¡¯t that so?¡± Li Tianshou forced himself to remain calm as he thought of another explanation. ¡°Maybe¡­ Maybe it hasn¡¯t found Shang Xia? I don''t know?!¡± A weird energy fluctuation tore through the mist all of a sudden and their smoky surroundings started to boil. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Jumping back in fright, Li Tianshou and Junior Brother Lu gasped in fright. At the same time, a look of confusion appeared on their faces. ¡°Wait, the spiritual deer couldn¡¯t find him?¡± ¡°No! That¡¯s the sign of divine sense transformation! What the hell! He only completed his second round of divine sense transformation when he fought us earlier!¡± CH 314 Outside the Tongyou City, a Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Rose Party disrupted the forced stalemate between the Martial Extermination Realm experts in the city. After Liu Qinglan emerged from the city, the masked attacker launched another attack against the protection barrier around the Tongyou City. There were more than one of them, but due to their desire to hide their identities, none of them dared to use their special moves. As a result, they used ordinary moves that didn¡¯t contain too much power. Regardless, Martial Extermination Realm experts were still Martial Extermination Realm experts. Despite them releasing weakened versions of simple attacks, the sheer number caused the protection barrier to tremble violently. The experts in the city could only head out one by one in order to stop those masked attackers from causing more damage. When Han Han Chongwei left his position to stop the attackers outside, he glared at Kang Ci and the others before giving a stern warning, ¡°Don¡¯t go overboard¡­¡± Chang Huaiwu wasn¡¯t willing to leave without saying anything either and he growled, ¡°I¡¯ll give you one more hour. I¡¯ll hold them back for one hour, and the Tongyou Institution has to close the spatial tunnel connecting the You Continent to the battlefield between the two worlds.¡± The warning they left behind caused those from the institution to reveal ugly expressions. Wei Zhongwen chuckled at the side, ¡°Well, you¡¯re on your own. I''ll stop one of them too.¡± After he spoke, a cocoon of light wrapped itself around him and he flew out of the city. Kang Ci, Shang Ke, and Liu Zhiyuan could only bow slightly to show their respect for the various experts who were giving their assistance. Wei Zhongwen, who had just left the city, roared suddenly, ¡°City Lord of the Changfeng City, Yang Hu, I know it¡¯s you! Who would have thought that as a native cultivator of the You Continent, you would join in the battle?¡± A burst of light filled the skies as a deep rumbling was heard. In the city, the experts of the Tongyou Institution stared at each other in shock. They saw the look of apprehension in each other¡¯s eyes. A sudden change occurred at that instant. Soft ringing came from the depths of the Tongyou Mysterious World and a ray of purple light shot into the air as it tried to make its escape. ¡°It¡¯s a loose extermination origin, grab it!¡± Kang Ci roared. ¡°That¡¯s a Purple Extermination Origin, don¡¯t let it escape!¡± Shang Ke growled. He clearly knew more than Kang Ci when it came to matters regarding extermination origins. Who would have thought that the extermination origin would travel in an opposite direction from the two of them? It tried to fly out of the city. Unfortunately for the ray of loose extermination origin, a barrier of white appeared to trap it. The purple extermination origin was firmly trapped in the white barrier that appeared. Chuckling softly, An Baimei¡¯s brows slowly retracted from the void. That was the white object that formed a barrier to capture the extermination origin and when it finally returned to An Baimei¡¯s face, a streak of purple could be seen on his originally snow-white eyebrows. ¡°I guess I got lucky. Hahaha, it would be impolite for me to refuse this gift from the heavens!¡± An Baimei chuckled. Even though he still had a solemn expression plastered on his face, he couldn¡¯t hide the joy in his eyes. According to the agreement they had with the institution, the moment the Tongyou Mysterious World was formed, the experts who came to help would be able to get a first pick of the treasures that were formed naturally in the mysterious world. An Baimei was clearly luckier than the rest as he managed to obtain a strand of loose extermination origin. The others could only offer their congratulations despite their envy. He knew that he won big this time. Cupping his fists to return the pleasantries, he turned to head out of the city to stop Han Chongwei¡¯s opponent. Since he received some benefits, he felt that he should replace someone out there so that they had a chance to profit. Those inside the city weren¡¯t the only ones who saw the strand of loose extermination origin being obtained by An Baimei. Those outside the city saw what happened too. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". When An Baimei obtained the strand of extermination origin, someone outside the city cried, ¡°The Tongyou Mysterious World has taken shape and can produce previous treasures. If everyone chooses to remain passive, all the benefits will fall to Kou Chongxue¡¯s disciples¡­ Nothing will be left for you!¡± Liu Qinglan forced her opponent back before turning to glare at her surroundings. ¡°Which cowardly asshole is trying to sow discord among us? Show yourself!¡± Naturally, the person who spoke wouldn¡¯t show himself. Liu Qinglan¡¯s threat was useless. However, that didn¡¯t mean that the person¡¯s words were useless. Three more rays of light shot towards the city from another direction. ¡­ When the most talented disciples of the White Deer Paradise and the Changbai Holy Land reached the peak of the Martial Intent Realm, they would be awarded with treasures that could store extermination qi. Treasures like that were similar to the Spirit Extermination Gourd Lin Yi used to possess, or the white jade deer carving Li Tianshou used. Comparing the two of them, Li Tianshou¡¯s treasure seemed a little more impressive as it seemed to possess some life-saving capabilities. It was a shame that he overlooked something really important when he used his white jade deer carving. He seemed to have forgotten that it was primarily used to collect extermination qi. When the spiritual deer entered the mist and was unable to locate Shan Xia, it started to absorb the extermination qi around it. When Shang Xia heard Li Tianshou¡¯s yell earlier, he had already retrieved his aura and hid his presence. He managed to avoid the detection of the spiritual deer when it entered the mist. Earlier, when he killed the two elite cultivators from the White Deer Paradise, Shang Xia could feel a subtle change happening with his divine sense. He seemed to have touched on the doorstep of the third transformation! That was the miraculous properties behind the Shang Clan¡¯s inheritance. Training in their spear arts would allow them to progress at a rapid pace. Under such circumstances, Shang Xia understood that a huge opportunity had arrived. Even though he knew that a strong enemy was waiting for him to emerge from the extermination mist, he chose to hide his presence and focus on the transformation. If he managed to grasp the opportunity, he would be able to complete his third divine sense transformation in a short amount of time! As the first to sixth move of his Providence Spear Art played out in his mind, a stroke of inspiration struck him and the seventh move became crystal clear in his mind. It was produced from the essence of the first six moves and with the sudden comprehension, Shang Xia felt the Origin True Qi in his body fluctuating wildly as the remaining strands of stray Yin Yang Essence Qi left in his dantian started their conversion. His divine sense started its third transformation at the same time. At that moment, Shang Xia understood the reason behind the use of his Triple Loop Coalescence Needle when he stepped into the Martial Intent Realm. Before he could fully digest the gains brought by his third divine sense transformation, a gap seemed to form in the thick mist before him. Frowning slightly, Shang Xia discovered that the figure of a deer was closing in on him rapidly. It seemed as though the disturbance allowed the spiritual deer to locate his presence! Instinctively, Shang Xia¡¯s Scarlet Star Spear pierced forward to unleash the seventh move he just comprehended, Celestial Disruption! CH 315 ¡­ In the battlefield between the two worlds, on the Tongyou Peak. Four of the six auxiliary peaks around the main peak had already fallen. The last two were coincidentally located away from the main assault and managed to avoid destruction for the time being. In the air above the main peak, Shang Bo was fighting with the assistance of the protection formation around the Tongyou Peak. As the battle raged on, the protection formation weakened significantly. There were at least four experts at the Martial Extermination Realm surrounding Shang Bo and they were slowly closing in on him. He was unable to move about as he wished. The cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World had no idea if the Origin Tide earlier would damage either world, and they couldn¡¯t be sure of what was happening outside of the battlefield between the two worlds. Shang Bo was like a massive wall that stood between them and the Azure Origin World. He blocked off the spatial tunnel leading to the Azure Origin World and didn¡¯t hesitate to use the protection formation of the Tongyou Peak to stop them. The Tongyou Peak which had been the foundation of the Tongyou Institution for twenty years crumbled as a result. From Shang Bo¡¯s actions, those from the Azure Spiritual World could tell that the Tongyou Institution was cooking up some weird plot. When Shang Bo killed one of their third layer Martial Extermination Realm experts earlier, he enraged those from the Azure Spiritual World. However, they didn¡¯t dare to move recklessly when facing him. Neither did they dare to lose their rationality. From the looks of it, Shang Bo managed to fuse his extermination origins to enter the large completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm. If they forced him into a corner, he could easily drag a few of them down with him. ¡°Shang Bo, how long do you think you can hold out for? Are you really going to sacrifice yourself here?¡± A familiar voice echoed through the skies. ¡°What¡¯s the point of stopping us? If we¡¯re not mistaken, your Tongyou Institution should also be facing immense pressure back in the city due to the weird plan you guys came up with, right?¡± ¡°Instead of stopping us from closing the spatial tunnel here, you should return to the institution and deal with matters there! At least you¡¯ll be able to keep the benefits you already obtained.¡± Shang Bo swept his lance diagonally, forcing the only expert from the Changbai Holy Land who was actively attacking him back before snorting, ¡°Hmph, stop wasting your time. As long as I¡¯m here, you won¡¯t be able to enter our Azure Origin World.¡± As the words left his lips, four Martial Extermination Realm experts surrounding Shang Bo exchanged a glance and came to a quick understanding. Three of them released their special techniques to restrain Shang Bo¡¯s Nine Firefly Lance as the through took the chance to slam his mid-grade weapon down against Shang Bo¡¯s skull. ¡°Hah, Shang Bo might be strong, but more than 70 percent of his strength comes from his high-grade weapon. As long as we hold it down, he¡¯ll lose a lot of his fighting ability! Defeating him won¡¯t be a problem once that happens!¡± That was the lesson the experts from the Azure Spiritual World had after their experience fighting Shang Bo over the past twenty years. When they fought him previously, there were always Martial Extermination Realm experts of the institution backing him up and they could never really restrain him. Now that the others were stabilizing the situation back in the city, the experts of the Azure Spiritual World finally had a chance to gang up on Shang Bo! The Changbai Holy Land didn¡¯t remain idle as they provided a weapon that directly countered Shang Bo. Now, they finally saw some hope of defeating the formidable deputy patriarch of the Tongyou Institution. Shang Bo obviously didn¡¯t think that his Nine Firefly Lance would be restrained so easily by the other party. He thought that he would be able to tear it free, but the fourth expert from the Azure Spiritual World who hailed from the Changbai Holy Land didn¡¯t give him the chance to do so. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. With life and death on the line, Shang Bo didn¡¯t hesitate to send his inner qi into his lance and release it towards the three of them. Since he wouldn¡¯t be able to retrieve it anyway, he might as well cause as much damage as he could with it. Without the Nine Firefly Lance, Shang Bo became a toothless tiger. It was something the members of the Azure Spiritual World had been aiming for, and they finally achieved their goal. The Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Changbai Holy Land locked onto Shang Bo as his weapon fell directly towards his skull. A smug look could be seen on his face as his weapon came crashing down. When the four great races of the Liao Continent in the Azure Spiritual World resisted the influence of the holy lands, everyone could tell that they wanted to swallow the benefits in the battlefield between the two worlds alone. However, they failed to achieve their goal and those who died in the hands of the Tongyou Institution reached a terrifying number. The four great races could be said to have lost badly! The recent events made it even more obvious. The Four Spiritual Peak that represented the authority of the four great races of the Liao Continent was flattened completely! With themselves close to destruction, they could only lower their heads and accept the holy lands¡¯ assistance. The scene before him was proof that the four great races couldn¡¯t do without the Changbai Holy Land! With the Changbai Holy Land¡¯s assistance, the opponent they couldn¡¯t defeat was immediately restrained! With glee filling his heart, the Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Changbai Holy Land sneered at Shang Bo. The moment he defeated the large completion stage Martial Extermination Realm expert before him, whatever plot the Tongyou Institution was brewing was bound to fall apart. His ego was so inflated that he even imagined Shang Bo dying in his hands! To his surprise, Shang Bo¡¯s hands didn¡¯t remain empty for long after releasing the Nine Firefly Lance. A long spear took its place before anyone noticed. That was no ordinary spear. He didn¡¯t take it out in a fit of panic to replace his lost weapon. Instead, it was a high-grade weapon that was in no way inferior to the Nine Firefly Lance. The high-grade spear that perfectly suited his fighting style, the Champion¡¯s Spear, finally appeared! Since he used the Nine Firefly Lance, he had never been able to bring out his full strength. The Nine Firefly Lance was a high-grade weapon, but Shang Bo was never able to swing it around like a spear. Now that he revealed his newly acquired high-grade spear, one could say that he had far surpassed the Shang Bo they were fighting moments ago. Ever since the battle in the Mysterious Coral World and the subsequent destruction of the Four Spiritual Peak, Shang Bo collected a ton of treasures. Much of those treasures were of exceptionally high grade. The institution fully focused on crafting the Champion¡¯s Spear after he handed over a huge portion of those treasures. In fact, Shang Bo¡¯s Champion¡¯s Spear started production before the institution upgraded Shang Xia¡¯s Scarlet Star Spear to a mid-grade weapon. Due to the immense difficulty of crafting a high-grade weapon, Shang Bo¡¯s Champion¡¯s Spear was completed after Shang Xia¡¯s spear had completed its upgrade. One could imagine how long the refinement process took. With the Champion¡¯s Spear in hand, the aura around Shang Bo changed. Facing the unavoidable attack from the Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Changbai Holy Land, Shang Bo stabbed his spear upwards without flinching in the slightest. A four colored ray of light emerged from the tip of his spear and seemed to become the only source of light in the world around them. It caught the attention of those surrounding him immediately. The experts from the four great races of the Liao Continent of the Azure Spiritual World who were in charge of restraining Shang Bo¡¯s Nine Firefly Lance felt a bad premonition rising in their hearts when the Champion''s Spear first appeared in Shang Bo¡¯s hand. The Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Changbai Holy Land was equally as panicky, but it was too late for him to retreat. He could only follow through and hope for the best. A loud blast rang through the skies as countless golden shards filled the skies. Without warning, the Nine Firefly Lance that had been suppressed by the three cultivators exploded. Countless shards contained Shang Bo¡¯s inner qi as they flew in all directions, injuring the three. CH 316 Shang Bo paid the price of sacrificing a high-grade weapon to injure three Martial Extermination Realm experts from the four great races of the Liao Continent. It didn¡¯t end there. The tip of the Champion¡¯s Spear soon turned the Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Changbai Holy Land into a human skewer. Facing a full-powered strike while being overconfident and caught by surprise, it was no wonder he was killed. In a one-against-five situation, Shang Bo managed to kill two of them. The battle turned Shang Bo into a legend, but no matter how strong he was, he couldn¡¯t fight forever. He exhausted a huge portion of his strength and had to fall back. He didn¡¯t even have enough energy to operate the half-destroyed protection formation around the Tongyou Peak. Without the defenses of the Tongyou Peak, the spatial tunnel leading to the Tongyou Institution became wide open. ¡­ After An Baimei obtained the strand of loose extermination origin, the greed in the hearts of those who were attacking the Tongyou Institution reached a new level. The battle became even more intense. Of course, the Tongyou Mysterious World didn¡¯t stop absorbing energy due to the chaos. The world origins poured into it endlessly. A multitude of spiritual herbs and treasures that were created due to the influx of energy was produced, and they flew out of the Tongyou Mysterious World from time to time. After An Baimei took over Han Chongwei¡¯s position, Han Chongwei returned to the city to try his luck. An object covered in world origin shot out from the Tongyou Mysterious World, but Kang Ci was able to obtain it this time. Examining the new item in excitement, his expression soon froze. He managed to obtain a mass of soil-like items, and he recognized it as a pile of Myriad Gold Clay. It was a rank four treasure. It was definitely something precious, but it was basically garbage when compared to the loose extermination origin An Baimei obtained earlier. He could only blame his bad luck. According to the arrangement they had, Kang Ci flew out of the city to replace one of the fighters since he obtained a treasure. Replacing Chang Huaiwu, Chang Huaiwu quickly made his way back into the city. ¡­ According to the Shang Clan¡¯s knowledge of their inheritance, one could comprehend nine moves at most when they studied the Providence Spear Art. However, the person with the highest achievement in the Providence Spear Art only managed to comprehend seven moves before entering the Martial Extermination Ream. That person was Shang Bo and he received the title, ¡®Soul Tearing Spear¡¯. That wasn¡¯t all. After creating seven moves from his comprehension, Shang Bo managed to comprehend his third martial intent to enter the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. With his strong foundations, he stepped through the gates of the Martial Extermination Realm. Reaching his grandfather¡¯s record, Shang Xia managed to come up with his seventh move after being surrounded and attacked by one direct disciple and four elite disciples of the White Deer Paradise. His seventh move was built on the foundation of his first six moves, and it was called ¡®Celestial Disruption¡¯. However, he wasn¡¯t exactly in the perfect spot at that moment. A gap formed in the extermination mist as a spiritual deer charged at him. Instinctively, he unleashed his seventh move for the first time! After entering the Martial Intent Realm, a cultivator would experience three divine sense transformations in total. Every time they completed one transformation, the inner qi in their body would undergo another round of refinement. Once a cultivator underwent their third divine sense transformation, their inner qi would fully integrate with their divine sense, giving them a boost in strength only second to the comprehension of their third martial intent. Even Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect that so much power would be contained in his seventh strike. If he were to compare it to his previous strongest strike, Flow Reconstitution, it was more than twice as strong! A loud blast and strong energy fluctuations filled the air, shocking Li Tianshou and Junior Brother Lu outside the mist. Specks of light resembling stars in the night sky quickly filled their vision. ¡°This¡­¡± Junior Brother Lu stared at Li Tianshou in shock, as though wanting his senior brother to confirm his guesses. The only thing he received in response was a look of fright and a terrified cry. ¡°This is bad¡­ We have to run!¡± Li Tianshou turned to run after speaking and he didn¡¯t care about Junior Brother Lu any longer. Even though he had no idea what Li Tianshou said, Junior Brother Lu followed closely behind. He couldn¡¯t help but try to catch a glimpse of what happened in the mist. All he saw was the specks of light gathering back into a giant ball before obliterating the position he once stood. That wasn¡¯t all. A terrifying pressure that originated from the depths of the extermination mist descended on him. The next thing he saw was a pair of eyes that was scarier than the devil¡¯s. Shang Xia emerged from the mist and locked eyes with Junior Brother Lu. Those eyes¡­ Feeling a chill run down his heart, Junior Brother Lu turned to run. However, he felt a chilly breeze blowing against the back of his head the moment he turned. ¡°Senior Brother Li, save me¡­¡± His voice stopped there and his body stiffened. His eyes glazed over and he fell to the ground slowly, never to rise again. The last thing he recalled before his thoughts were extinguished forever was Li Tianshou¡¯s escaping figure. Instead of caring for his junior brother, Li Tianshou pushed himself to the limit as he tried to escape from whatever monster had emerged from the extermination mist. As a direct disciple of the White Deer Paradise, Li Tianshou had always been confident in his own abilities. He might be proud of himself, but he had one thing proud sons of heavens didn¡¯t have, a sense of reality. He knew when to retreat. When they surrounded Shang Xia initially, he was extremely confident that he could bring Shang Xia in alive. He acknowledged that Shang Xia was stronger than any one of them individually, but as a group, there wasn¡¯t anything they should be afraid of. However, Shang Xia managed to overcome the situation. He picked them off one by one and Li Tianshou realized that containing Shang Xia again would be impossible. Of course, he was still confident that he could escape unscathed even if he wasn¡¯t Shang Xia¡¯s opponent. When he shattered his white jade deer carving, he was so sure that Shang Xia would be killed. Who would have thought that Shang Xia would break through in the middle of their battle? The instant Li Tianshou felt the energy fluctuations coming from the extermination mist earlier, there was only one thought left in his mind. Run! Acting decisively, he turned to make his escape. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". He was right. That was the smartest choice he could make at that moment. No¡­ That was the only choice he could make. However, it didn¡¯t make a difference. As starlight gathered in the air again, Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense descended and completely suppressed Li Tianshou. ¡°Mercy!¡± Li Tianshou didn¡¯t hesitate to beg for his life. He didn¡¯t think it was humiliating at all, and he quickly threw out a reason for Shang Xia to spare him. ¡°We¡­ We might be relatives!¡± CH 317 ¡°We¡­ We might be relatives!¡± Li TIanshou roared as his surroundings turned a dark red and spots of flickering light swam around him. As soon as the words left his lips, the crimson tide around him disappeared and those spots of light started to extinguish themselves. Even so, Li Tianshou didn¡¯t feel relieved in the slightest. Instead, he became even more nervous. That was because he felt the icy cold tip of a spear pressing against the left side of his face. Beads of perspiration dripped down his forehead. No one knew when, but Shang Xia stabbed a hole through Li Tianshou¡¯s earlobe. Li Tianshou¡¯s divine sense had been widely disrupted before he knew what was happening. ¡°Relatives? Interesting.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s voice rang in Li Tianshou¡¯s mind. He didn¡¯t bother hiding the tone of mockery in his voice. Li TIanshou¡¯s forehead was filled with beads of perspiration at that point. He knew that the next thing he said would decide his life and death. ¡°It¡¯s true!¡± Li Tianshou¡¯s voice was slightly off, but he quickly added, ¡°My cousin is your Ninth Aunt!¡± ¡°Ninth Aunt?¡± Shang Xia was shocked. He clearly didn¡¯t expect Li Tianshou¡¯s revelation. Shang Xia knew that his Ninth Uncle, Shang Yang, got married in the Ji Continent. However, he didn¡¯t know her name. At least he learned where Li Tianshou¡¯s knowledge of his Shang Clan Spear Art came from¡­ Shang Xia wondered if Shang Yang revealed too much about the Providence Spear to his wife, allowing Li Tianshou to learn it from her¡­ Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Thinking about it in a more sinister way, Shang Xia wondered if Shang Yang¡¯s wife and her family were using Shang Yang as a way to plot against the Shang Clan of the You Continent¡­ Thinking about all the possibilities, Shang Xia¡¯s gaze landed on Li Tianshou and he growled, ¡°Where¡¯s my Ninth Aunt now? Is she in the Changfeng City?!¡± ¡°Yes! I followed her down here from the Ji Continent. Your ninth uncle had been pestering her to quickly head towards the Tongyou City, but I interfered and kept her here.¡± Li Tianshou explained. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but sheer, ¡°You seem to be finding an excuse for my Ninth Aunt now. What¡¯s the matter? Do you think I¡¯m suspecting her?¡± ¡°Yes. You will definitely think that she¡¯s up to something once you learned that we¡¯re related. However, this has nothing to do with my cousin!¡± Li Tianshou admitted quickly. In response, Shang Xia nearly burst out laughing. ¡°Why do you sound like you¡¯re expecting your White Deer Paradise¡¯s scheme to fail?¡± ¡°Regardless of whether we succeed or not, it doesn¡¯t matter. At the very least, you¡¯re strong enough to take revenge on my Li Family¡­¡± Li Tianshou sighed. After a short pause, he continued, ¡°This is a battle between two monsters. The White Deer Paradise and the Tongyou Institution are behemoths. You and I are nothing but mere pawns. We have no choice but to do the things we did, what¡¯s the point of stepping onto the path of vengeance?¡± Raising a single eyebrow, Shang Xia muttered, ¡°Everything you just said isn¡¯t enough for me to spare your life yet.¡± ¡°What price do I have to pay?¡± With a look of ridicule, Shang Xia chortled, ¡°You¡¯re a direct disciple of the White Deer Paradise. You should have a rank four advancement formula on you, right?¡± A bitter smile appeared on Li Tianshou¡¯s face. ¡°How is that possible? Even direct disciples can only obtain advancement medicine from the White Deer Paradise. They will never give me an entire formula.¡± ¡°What about a ray of extermination origin? Or do you know where a strand of ownerless extermination origin lies?¡± Shang Xia continued. Pointing to the ground, Li Tianshou snorted, ¡°There¡¯s one.¡± Stabbing forward slightly, Shang Xia tore another wound on Li Tianshou¡¯s earlobes. However, no blood emerged. ¡°Shit. He¡¯s up to something!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression changed slightly and he tore a hole through Li Tianshou¡¯s head. It exploded and revealed a wooden block that fell to the ground. Close to ten feet away from Shang Xia, Li Tianshou¡¯s sorry figure crawled to his feet as he stared at Shang Xia in fright. There was a look of unmistakable fury in his eyes as he made his escape. ¡°Do you really think that you can escape?¡± Shang Xia snorted before racing towards Li Tianshou. Who would have thought that Li Tianshou would turn around all of a sudden to unleash a ferocious counter attack against Shang Xia. ¡°Asshole, do you think that I¡¯m really afraid of you?!¡± Li Tianshou roared as a blurry sword appeared in his hand. ¡°Mother fucker, I¡¯m still a direct disciple of the White Deer Holy Land. You barely completed your third divine sense transformation earlier. What makes you so cocky to think that you can kill me? I even lowered my head and begged for my life earlier. Heh, do you think that you can bully me however you want?¡± Li Tianshou tossed out a scroll and a multitude of sword lights filled the skies. Li Tianshou¡¯s figure turned blurry and his voice echoed through the air, making it difficult to discern where it came from. Shang Xia didn¡¯t seem flustered in the slightest. Even though the sword light in the air had the ability to kill other Martial Intent Realm experts with a single touch, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t afraid. He stabbed his Scarlet Star Spear in a certain direction and yelled, ¡°Break!¡± The void around him seemed to shatter and the sound of tearing could be heard. The sword light in the air became flaccid as they fell to the ground powerlessly. Shang Xia¡¯s spear stabbed through the scroll, rendering it powerless. However, Li Tianshou appeared behind Shang Xia and screamed, ¡°Go to hell!¡± His sword stabbed straight at Shang Xia¡¯s back. Watching how Li Tianshou¡¯s sword arrived an inch behind Shang Xia, a long sword appeared to stop him. ¡°You¡­¡± Seeing as his sneak attack failed, Li Tianshou turned to flee. Unfortunately for him, Shang Xia was faster. With his figure blurring, Shang Xia appeared in Li Tianshou¡¯s way. ¡°Since you learned so many secrets about my Shang Clan from my Ninth Aunt, did she never tell you that I¡¯m talented in the way of the sword?¡± Shang Xia replaced the Scarlet Star Spear in his hand with his Jade River Sword after breaking the effects of the scroll. Staying close to Li Tianshou, the two of them exchanged close to a hundred blows in a short amount of time. The flurry of sword lights they produced formed a sturdy net that surrounded them. If anyone could see them, they would notice a ball of sword light tearing through everything in its path as it made its way across the mountain range. A loud screech came from the sphere of sword light, forcing the two of them apart. Li Tianshou and Shang Xia¡¯s figures were revealed, and they stood ten feet away from each other. Neither one of them moved. ¡°What technique is that?¡± Li Tianshou eventually broke the silence with a soft growl. ¡°Seven Laceration Sword.¡± Shang Xia replied. Li Tianshou¡¯s face twisted in agony. ¡°Is that¡­ Is that your martial extremity intent?¡± Hesitating for some time, Shang Xia eventually replied. ¡°I would like to call it my yin yang intent¡­¡± Nodding slowly, Li Tianshou opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something else. However, his body swayed slightly and crashed into the ground before any words could leave his lips. CH 318 Shang Xia¡¯s martial extremity intent was called the Seven Laceration Sword, and it was a combination of seven sword intents. However, the power contained behind it far surpassed what the combination of the seven sword intents could produce. When Shang Xia plunged the Jade River Sword into Li TIanshou earlier, the strand of sword qi that contained all seven sword intents exterminated his life force completely. Retrieving his sword, Li Tianshou¡¯s sword and his belt came along with it. Shang Xia poured his inner qi into Li Tianshou¡¯s sword and noticed a tiny crack along the entire surface of the blade. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh in pity about the wasted blade. ¡°What a shame¡­ Another weapon is destroyed¡­¡± Shang Xia kept Li Tianshou while shaking his head. The weapon might look perfect on the surface, but the internal structure had been destroyed by his Origin True Qi earlier. There was no hope of repairing it either. He could only return and melt it down to hopefully recover some material. At his current level, Shang Xia could say that he had a huge reserve of inner qi. However, it was still as tyrannical as ever. Opponents who were wielding low-grade weapons would probably scrap their weapons after fighting with Shang XIa. The belt around Li Tianshou¡¯s waist was his spatial artifact. When it fell into Shang Xia¡¯s hands, he noticed tiny cracks forming all over it. It was close to destruction. It seemed as though Li Tianshou had chosen to destroy it right before he was killed. Opening and retrieving all the items within was clearly impossible. Helpless, Shang Xia could only shatter it with brute force and hope for some precious items to remain intact. With Li Tianshou¡¯s belongings scattered all over, Shang Xia sighed before picking out some of the more complete ones. As a direct disciple of the White Deer Paradise, Li Tianshou couldn¡¯t be considered poor. Counting the treasures he had on him, he had the jade carving of the spiritual deer, the scroll he tossed out to create the veil of sword light in the air, and the substitute talisman he used earlier. Those were three extraordinary treasures! It was a pity the substitution talisman was a one-time use item. The scroll that produced the sword light was torn to shreds by Shang Xia, and the spiritual deer was gravely wounded in the mist by his seventh spear strike, Celestial Disruption. Walking over to his Scarlet Star Spear that was stuck in the scroll, Shang XIa pulled it out before rolling the scroll up again. He retrieved a rank two restraining talisman he made and stuck it on the scroll in order to retrain the effects of the scroll for as long as he could. When he was done, he tossed it into his Embroidered Cloud Case. The scroll Li Tianshou tossed out earlier was called the Myriad Sword Light Diagram and it could be considered a type of talisman. As a rank two talisman master, it was something Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t be able to produce even if he poured his blood and sweat into the refinement process. According to Shang Xia¡¯s estimations, the person who created the scroll had to be a rank four talisman master! If he managed to study the scroll and gain some insights, he might be able to hasten his progress to become a rank three talisman master¡­ Tidying up the area, Shang Xia felt a wave of exhaustion washing over him. He took a break against a huge tree and sucked in several long breaths. Staving off the exhaustion for the time being, Shang Xia thought back to what happened. It was true that he obtained a complete victory over those from the White Deer Paradise. However, he basically drained himself of all his inner qi in order to do so. With no more enemies in his surroundings, Shang Xia felt his inner qi recovering slowly. He trudged into the extermination mist to look for the gourd that flew away earlier. When he emerged, the yellow Spirit Extermination Gourd was in his hand again. However, there seemed to be something different with it. There was a small symbol of a white deer on the body of the gourd. With a frown on his face, Shang Xia didn¡¯t understand what happened to the gourd when he was fighting earlier. Thinking back, he recalled how the spiritual deer rushed towards him as soon as he completed his third divine sense transformation. He unleashed his seventh move, Celestial Disruption, on instinct, heavily injuring the creature. A huge portion of the energy that made up the spiritual deer was scattered, and the spiritual deer shrank in size before disappearing into the extermination mist. When Shang Xia retrieved the gourd earlier, he discovered the appearance of the tiny deer on the body of the gourd. He noticed the shattered remains of the jade carving on the ground earlier when he killed Junior Brother Lu, and he guessed that the spiritual deer entered the Spirit Extermination Gourd since its original hole was destroyed. That wasn¡¯t too far off from the truth. When Shang Xia grabbed the gourd earlier, he could feel the presence of the spiritual deer and the fear it was feeling. A question formed in his mind and he wondered if the deer would be able to emerge now that it had entered the Spirit Extermination Gourd. Regardless, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with that at the moment. Opening the gourd, he tried to absorb all the extermination mist in the air. Who would have thought that the moment he opened the gourd, it would suck in the extermination mist at a crazy rate? It absorbed the mist at a speed several times faster than before! This novel is available on "pawread dot com". The giant clump of mist that allowed Shang Xia to reverse the situation and kill the members of the White Deer Paradise earlier was sucked into the gourd at a terrifying pace. With Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense, he discovered that the extermination mist that had been sucked into the gourd was being purified at the same time. The extermination mist in the air contained a lot of impurities. However, those impurities were filtered by the gourd and everything contained within was the essence of the extermination mist. When the gourd had fully absorbed the extermination mist, the amount of extermination qi contained within had increased by a whole lot. Shang Xia shook it slightly and heard sloshing sounds coming from within. Shang Xia looked at the symbol of the white deer on the ground and he discovered that its antlers were gone. Two small stubs remained in its place. Collecting the bodies of those he killed, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t hide them as he did Lin Yi¡¯s corpse. He learned his lesson and destroyed them completely. When he was done, he returned to the geyser and plugged it up with more boulders he found in the surrounding area. After all, the opening was too large for him to do what he did previously. After he was done, he didn¡¯t leave the Spirit Extermination Gourd to collect the extermination mist like he did before. After all, he received enough rewards from the battle earlier. Since he had taken care of everything, Shang Xia turned to rush back to the Changfeng City. CH 319 ¡­ To experts in the Martial Extermination Realm, the eruption of the Origin Tide was both a crisis and a massive opportunity. That was why no one raised strong objections to the Institution when they widened the spatial tunnel and drew in a terrifying amount of energy into the You Continent. It wasn¡¯t just an opportunity for those from the Azure Origin World. It was also a chance for those from the Azure Spiritual World! If the Tongyou Institution was merely absorbing the world origin of the Azure Origin World, those from the Azure Spiritual World might not give a shit. At most, the Tongyou Institution¡¯s actions could be considered embezzlement. However, now that they were sucking in the world origin from both worlds through the battlefield between the two worlds, they were affecting the other side too. Absorbing the world origin of the Azure Origin World to strengthen themselves didn¡¯t affect the big picture, but absorbing the world origin of the Azure Spiritual World while they were at it allowed them to weaken their enemy while making themselves stronger. That was the basis of their plan when they pitched it to their allies. It was the reason the other four institutions sent their experts over to assist the Tongyou Institution in their efforts. It was also why the great powers of the various continents remained silent about the Tongyou Institution¡¯s actions. As a whole, the operation could be said to benefit the Azure Origin World at the expense of the Azure Spiritual World. It went without saying that the experts of the Azure Spiritual World wouldn¡¯t sit around and let the Tongyou Institution do as they wished. It was unfortunate the four great races of the Liao Continent were defeated in the battlefield between the two worlds and were suppressed by Yun Jing and Shang Bo after the Four Spiritual Peak toppled. They couldn¡¯t react as quickly as they thought. They had to send various Martial Extermination Realm experts over to the battlefield between the two worlds to attack the spatial tunnel connecting the Tongyou Institution to the battlefield between the two worlds and they barely managed to gather enough experts at the last moment. With Shang Bo paying the price of destroying his Nine Firefly Lance he had been using for a long time, he killed two Martial Extermination Realm experts from the other side. With his inner qi greatly exhausted, Shang Bo could only retreat. He messed with them while retreating, he could only delay the interference from those from the Azure Spiritual World as long as possible. As he retreated, the Tongyou Peak that stood tall in the battlefield between the two worlds suffered the same fate as the Four Spiritual Peak. It was reduced to dust. When Shang Bo moved back towards the Tongyou Institution, a loud cry came from the skies. The battle between the two divine weapons and their wielders caused countless fractures in the air above the Tongyou Peak, revealing the spatial barrier behind. Along with a loud cry, a ray of light crashed into the ground beside Shang Bo who was closer to the spatial tunnel at that point. The revelation of the person who was defeated caused Shang Bo¡¯s expression to change. Yun Jing, who was wielding Kou Chongxue¡¯s Hidden Frost Sword, was defeated! There was no longer a trace of hesitation in Shang Bo¡¯s heart. He turned to enter the spatial tunnel beside him. He moved too decisively and suddenly. Before those fighting him could react, he entered the spatial tunnel. None of them managed to obstruct him in the slightest. The moment he entered the spatial barrier, a spatial tear appeared in the place he once stood. ¡°What are you waiting for?! The Origin Tide is happening as we speak! Charge!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! We¡¯ll head in there right now and destroy the newly formed mysterious world!¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that it¡¯s a trap?¡± ¡°The spatial tunnel¡­¡± ¡°Shit! The Tongyou Institution is closing the spatial tunnel. They¡¯re trying to destroy the connection to the Origin Tide!¡± ¡°Hurry up!¡± ¡­ When Shang Bo and Yun Jing held the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World back, the battle around the Tongyou City had already reached its climax. In the air above the Tongyou Mysterious World, two Martial Extermination Realm experts would be stationed there in case anything went wrong. Moreover, they would be there to grab any treasures produced by the formation of the mysterious world. Since the start of the battle, those guarding the Tongyou Mysterious World had rotated once. An Baimei and Liu Zhiyuan were the two luckiest ones who managed to obtain a strand of loose extermination origin each. Those who were slightly unluckier obtained high grade herbs or treasures! As for those with garbage luck, they could thank whatever gods there were as none of the treasures produced by the formation of the Tongyou Mysterious World were below the fourth grade. Someone outside the city yelled suddenly, ¡°Look, the spatial tunnel is closing up! They¡¯re ending the connection with the Origin Tide!¡± ¡°Everyone, we have to risk it all now. Everyone who comes here has their own plan. There¡¯s no need to hold back any longer. Otherwise, we¡¯ll miss the chance!¡± No one knew who yelled, but Shang Ke¡¯s opponent seemed to respond to the call instantly. A terrifying surge of energy pushed Shang Ke away as a frosty light froze the space around them. Shang Ke could only release his extermination origin in a desperate attempt to protect himself. However, he was too weak compared to the other party. He retreated again and again, and he was forced back into the city. With the help of the protection formation, he finally managed to catch his breath. He forced the icy qi out from his body immediately to prevent leaving behind hidden injuries. However, he had to quickly jump back into battle as his opponent drew close to the city. ¡°Frost Jade Palm¡­ Looks like Mister Zhang Luofei of the Ji Continent has arrived. Forgive me for my disrespect, but fuck you!¡± Shang Ke entered the Martial Extermination Realm not too long ago and barely managed to solidify his foundations. He hadn¡¯t mastered any martial arts suitable for his current cultivation level and other than his extermination origin, all he could fight his opponents with were the five moves he created when comprehending the Providence Spear Art in the Martial Intent Realm. Even though he couldn¡¯t be considered weak, he was definitely at a disadvantage when compared to those experienced experts who had been in the Martial Extermination Realm for a longer time. When Shang Ke engaged his enemy this time, he no longer tried to defeat his opponent. Instead, he focused on defense and dragging out the battle as long as possible. He was suppressed heavily by his opponent, but he had no choice but to fight on bravely. After Zhang Luofei revealed himself, the Martial Extermination Realm experts who came to attack the city started utilizing their signature moves. Their identities were revealed one by one. ¡°Guo Baofeng, you old bastard!¡± ¡°Huh? I heard of this move before. Are you the Taihang Swordsman, Yu Hanglong?¡± ¡°Fourth Lady of the Liu Family¡­ Well met.¡± ¡°Are you the Harmonious River Master? Who would have thought that Mister Ye would come too¡­ Welcome¡­¡± ¡°...¡± Those who came seemed to have a resounding reputation in the Azure Origin World. The moment they started using their signature moves, it wasn¡¯t difficult to recognize them. ¡°Oh shit!¡± Wei Zhongwen from the White Deer Paradise yelled suddenly. Liu Zhiyuan looked over when he yelled and saw a second Martial Extermination Realm expert appear behind Yang Hu. Yang Hu was locked in combat with Wei Zhongwen earlier, but with the appearance of a new enemy, Wei Zhongwen seemed to fall to a disadvantage immediately. He seemed to be struck by a sneak attack from the newcomer and he slammed heavily into the barrier. Trembling violently, the barrier seemed to have reached its limits as it started to crack. Yang Hu roared as a huge blade appeared in the air to slash down at Wei Zhongwen. From the looks of it, Yang Hu wanted to send his enemy to the depths of hell. At the critical moment, Wei Zhongwen felt something tightening around his waist before he was pulled towards the Tongyou Mysterious World. Liu Zhiyuan dragged him back just in time as Yang Hu¡¯s blade slammed heavily into the protection barrier. No longer able to withstand the attacks, the protection barrier around the Tongyou City disappeared. ¡­ In the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range¡­ Not too long after he left, Shang Xia heard a long chirp from high above. He paused slightly and heard a soft whisper coming from the woods beside him. ¡°Looks like you managed to deal with it yourself. Heh. I¡¯m afraid I need to trouble you to follow me this time.¡± Shang Xia turned around abruptly and saw a familiar figure standing several feet away from him. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± A multitude of thoughts flashed through Shang Xia¡¯s mind, but he quickly replied. ¡°Senior, didn¡¯t you return to the Azure Spiritual World?¡± Ignoring Shang Xia completely, the mysterious figure stretched his hand out and spoke. ¡°Don¡¯t you have the Multi World Anchoring Flag? Lend it to me.¡± A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. CH 320 It didn¡¯t come as a surprise that Shang Xia was currently staring at Youshang who came from the Azure Spiritual World. He knew that the person was involved in the battle against Liang Shuangren and from the information he gained from Mister Bu, Youshang was highly likely a hidden agent the Tongyou Institution sent to the Azure Spiritual World. He was worthy of Shang Xia¡¯s trust. That was probably the reason why Youshang left on his own accord after tracking Shang Xia down the first time they met. Even though Shang Xia knew that he was staring at someone from the Azure Spiritual World, he didn¡¯t show any traces of panic. He was surprised, but that was it. After hearing the hurried chirps coming from the skies, Shang Xia learned that Youshang was the backup Yan N¡¯er found. He couldn¡¯t help but praise Yan Ni¡¯er¡¯s intellect in secret. Not only did she find him, but she also managed to discern that he was on their side. If she messed up and brought a Martial Extermination Realm expert who was working against the Tongyou Institution over, Shang Xia would be in deep shit. However, Youshang didn¡¯t stand on ceremony after locating Shang Xia. After confirming that Shang Xia was no longer in danger, he directly asked for the Multi World Anchoring Flag. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t surprised that his possession of the Multi World Anchoring Flag was known to Youshang. After all, many people saw him killing Chen Sanyang the other day. It wouldn¡¯t be difficult for a Martial Extermination Realm expert like Youshang to find out even if he wasn¡¯t at the scene. As long as anyone was careful enough and used sound reasoning, they would realize that Shang Xia obtained the Multi World Anchoring Flag. However, he knew how important the Multi World Anchoring Flag was. No matter how much he felt that Youshang could be trusted, he wouldn¡¯t hand it over easily. Thinking for a second, a chuckle left his lips. ¡°Senior, what are you going to use the flag for?¡± Youshang sniggered softly and stared at Shang Xia. He seemed to have seen through Shang Xia¡¯s intentions. Shang Xia was facing immense pressure just speaking to Youshang. The other party was a Martial Extermination Realm expert, but Shang Xia held his ground regardless. A trace of admiration flashed across Youshang¡¯s eyes after a moment of silence. He eventually explained, ¡°I¡¯m planning to use the flag to strengthen the protection formation around the Changfeng City. Only by doing this will we be able to disrupt the plans laid down by the White Deer Paradise.¡± ¡°Senior, are you planning to obstruct the descent of their Martial Dipper Realm ancestor?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°Huh? How do you know about that?¡± A strange look replaced the look of admiration in Youshang¡¯s eyes as he addressed Shang Xia again. However, he shook his head slowly while continuing his explanation. ¡°With Gao Yun handling the situation with the spiritual vein, there will be nothing to stop the descent of the ancestor. The only thing I can do is to weaken the strength their Martial Dipper Realm ancestor can use after arriving. At the very most, I can shorten the time they can remain in our You Continent.¡± A light flashed in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes and he asked, ¡°Do you need any help?¡± ¡°Originally, That old man Bu¡­ I mean, Mister Bu, was supposed to help me. With him in the City Lord Manor, our chances of success were better. Now that he has been dragged to the Tongyou City by Yang Hu, the only ones left for me to command are some random subordinates¡­¡± Youshang revealed a portion of their original plan to Shang Xia. After hearing what he said, Shang Xia seemed to have thought of a group of people. ¡°Are you talking about the remaining members of the Eighteen Horsemen? Do you know where they are now?¡± Youshang sighed helplessly in response. ¡°Yeah, probably. He told me that there are three,of them in the Martial Intent Realm who can be helpful and the others are in the Martial Extremity Realm. Hmph, damn brat, do you believe me now?¡± Shang Xia flicked his wrist and tossed the flag over to the Martial Extermination Realm expert before asking, ¡°Is there any way I can help?¡± ¡°You?¡± Youshang glanced at Shang Xia from the corner of his eye as he played with the Multi World Anchoring Flag. He was slightly surprised by Shang Xia¡¯s willingness to help. ¡°Have you completed your third divine sense transformation? How many moves did you come up with for your Providence Spear Art?¡± ¡°I just created and comprehended my seventh move¡­¡± Shang Xia muttered. ¡°Hiss¡­.¡± Youshang nodded with satisfaction. ¡°Looks like you can be a little useful. However, all we can do is disrupt their plans slightly. You won¡¯t be able to do too much. Even if you¡¯re not available, our plan won¡¯t be affected by much. Moreover, you obtained the Multi World Anchoring Flag. It would greatly turn the tide in our favor, even if it¡¯s not much against a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise. You made a great contribution to the institution and there might not be a need for you to take part in the next phase¡­¡± Who would have thought that another idea would appear in Shang Xia¡¯s mind after hearing what Youshang said? ¡°What if¡­ What if I have a plan to affect the spiritual vein under the Changfeng City?!¡± ¡­ As the spatial tunnel connecting the Tongyou Institution to the battlefield started to close, the world origins and energy that was produced by the Origin Tide started to die down. Find the original at "pawread dot com". The protection formation around the city popped at that moment as the Martial Extermination Realm experts from the various powers entered the city. There were nine Martial Extermination Realm experts on the side of the institution in the city at that moment. They quickly retreated to surround the Tongyou Mysterious World in order to prevent the enemies from intruding on the Tongyou Mysterious World. Of course, they were there as a preventive measure. Even if their enemies managed to breach their defensive line, they wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the Tongyou Mysterious World however they liked. The mysterious world that formed possessed some form of defense, and one could argue that the protection barrier around the Tongyou Mysterious World was slightly stronger than the protection barrier around the Tongyou City. A sudden change occurred at that moment. The spatial tunnel that was closing seemed to freeze in place as the closing process slowed down significantly. Liu Qinglan and Kang Ci seemed to receive a secret transmission at the same time. They quickly flew towards the spatial tunnel after ditching their opponents. With two less Martial Extermination Realm experts from the institution, the pressure immediately increased. Liu Zhiyuan and Han Chongwei spat out a mouthful of blood under the relentless attacks from their attackers. ¡°What the fuck are you doing?! Are the members of the institution going to be the first ones to run?!¡± Han Chongwei roared with anger. Yu Chengjin sent a ray of sword light over to force Han Chongwei¡¯s opponent back before growling, ¡°Don¡¯t go spouting bullshit!¡± As soon as the words left Yu Chenjin¡¯s mouth, a deep grunt came from the spatial barrier and another torrent of energy rushed into the Tongyou Mysterious World. ¡°The experts from the other world are coming! The Tongyou Institution have their hands full and it¡¯s the best time to destroy the Tongyou Mysterious World!¡± Someone yelled as the battle grew in intensity yet again. Yu Chenjin grunted coldly and his voice resounded in the ears of those present. ¡°All of us are from the Azure Origin World. Are we really going to lower ourselves to side with the outsiders against members of our world?¡± ¡°What a joke! Do you look like you have our Azure Origin World¡¯s interests at heart? If we¡¯re really talking about fighting the outsiders, give up on the Tongyou Mysterious World right now. I¡¯ll immediately head through the spatial tunnel to fight those assholes from the other world!¡± ¡°The Taihang Swordsman is right!¡± ¡°If you are willing to back your words up, give up on the Tongyou Mysterious World. I¡¯ll go fight the experts from the other world if you do!¡± ¡°Hehe, you bastards from the Tongyou Institution are probably colluding with those from the Azure Spiritual World. Do you think we¡¯re stupid? The collision of our worlds was a massive plot by you guys. The so-called Evil Remnants are merely those you push the blame to. The Tongyou Institution is the one who¡¯s colluding with those from the other world!¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± As vicious accusations were thrown about, Wei Zhongwen brought up the issue once again. ¡°The Mysterious World has already formed. Why are you still absorbing energy from the Origin Tide?¡± Shang Ke felt that things were going south and he quickly tried to soothe the situation. ¡°Brother Wei, what do you mean by that?¡± ¡°Hmph, just as I thought! Your Tongyou Institution is trying to rise to the same level as a holy land by absorbing our Azure Origin World¡¯s world origin!¡± Wei Zhongwen ignored Shang Ke¡¯s attempt and yelled loudly. With the topic brought up once again and with emotions running high, the experts defending the Tongyou Mysterious World hesitated slightly, allowing their enemies to catch an opening to slam a massive offensive into the barrier around the Tongyou Mysterious World. ¡­ Shang Xia led Youshang back to the opening of the underground river he plugged up earlier. Walking around the mountain of rocks Shang Xia piled on the opening, Youshang tutted in amazement. ¡°Damn¡­ You even managed to locate an opening to the underground river that contains the spiritual vein under the Changfeng City. This luck¡­¡± Youshang eventually shook his head in disbelief. Ignoring the man, Shang Xia asked, ¡°Senior, is it possible to locate the spiritual vein by following this underground river and destroy it to stop the descent of their Martial Dipper Realm ancestor?¡± Youshang shook his head and muttered in a strange tone. ¡°Of course we can¡¯t destroy the spiritual vein! Wouldn¡¯t that mean that we¡¯ll destroy the foundations of the Changfeng City? Moreover, it¡¯s extremely likely that the spiritual vein has already nurtured a strand of extermination origin¡­¡± ¡°What should we do then?¡± Shang Xia frowned. Turning to stare at Shang Xia suddenly, a crafty smile formed on Youshang¡¯s face. ¡°Kid, go big or go home?¡± An uneasy feeling crept up Shang Xia¡¯s heart when he saw the look on Youshang¡¯s face. Before he could say anything, an object flew towards him. Grabbing it, Shang Xia saw that it was a pearl that had faint signs of water swirling about inside. It looked really familiar and he felt that he used it somewhere before. ¡°That¡¯s a Water Repulsion Pearl.¡± Youshang explained. ¡°Gao Yun laid down his formation and it covers the spiritual vein. The moment you approach the spirit cave, he¡¯ll be able to discover your presence. If you fail to destroy it immediately, we won¡¯t be able to stop the activation of the formation and a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor will descend. When that happens, we¡¯ll probably be killed with a single slap.¡± ¡°So¡­ Hehe, you can only make your move after the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor descends. While I hold those pesky fools back back with the protection formation and the Multi World Anchoring Flag, do what you need to do!¡± The smile on Youshang¡¯s face grew wider. ¡°Holding them back? Is it possible to do something like that? That¡¯s a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor we¡¯re talking about!¡± Shang Xia gasped. ¡°Did Ji Wenlong enter the Martial Dipper Realm?!¡± ¡°Hehehehehe.¡± A sinister chuckle left Youshang¡¯s lips and he chose to ignore Shang Xia¡¯s question. ¡°Damn kid, just follow my command!¡± CH 321 Whether or not the Tongyou Institution would try to upgrade themselves to a holy land wasn¡¯t something that could be discerned so easily. However, Wei Zhongwen was the one who said it! That was an elder of the White Deer Paradise! He was from a holy land himself, and the other experts could only choose to treat it a little more seriously. Han Zhongwen merely brought it up again. Since he planted the thought in their minds earlier, they would think about it if the Tongyou Institution kept it up. After all, the Tongyou Institution was truly making a huge scene. They widened the tunnel and schemed to obtain the world origin from both the Azure Origin World and Azure Spiritual World. As time passed and no other treasures emerged from the creation of the Tongyou Mysterious World, people were starting to get suspicious. The bottom line the other institutions had was that the Tongyou Institution couldn¡¯t upgrade themselves to a holy land. The moment they did, the spatial barrier around the You Continent would be too weak to prevent intrusions from the Azure Spiritual World due to the sheer amount of energy they would drain from the world origin. When that happened, the battlefield between two worlds that was connected to the Qing, Bing, Liang, and Shu Continents would experience a terrifying change. Since they weren¡¯t prepared, they would probably face extermination. With the slight hesitation, attacks slammed into the Tongyou Mysterious World. The protection barrier around it trembled violently. ¡°Everyone, our Tongyou Institution is not trying to ascend to a holy land. We¡¯re trying to close the spatial tunnel as we speak!¡± Liu Zhiyuan yelled. Due to the slight distraction, he was struck by the Fourth Lady of the Liu Family of the Ji Continent. He spat out a mouthful of blood. Luckily, the Tongyou Institution¡¯s allies from the other four institutions wouldn¡¯t remain impassive. They quickly regained focus to protect the Tongyou Mysterious World. Throwing out their final warnings, the elders of the various institutions continued to hold back the attackers. However, they were clearly putting in much less effort than before. Shang Ke couldn¡¯t help but yell in response, ¡°Everyone, please assist us in crossing the last hurdle. If anyone enters the Tongyou Mysterious World, it might agitate the Origin Tide and force it to continue.¡± A weird cackle came from their opponents. ¡°Heh, wouldn¡¯t that fulfill your wish and help you to ascend to a holy land?¡± ¡°Bullshit!¡± Shang Ke was forced back by Ye Sishuang, the Harmonious River Master. However, he mustered his strength and roared, ¡°Do you think it¡¯s that easy to ascend to a holy land without a Martial Dipper Realm expert to hold the fort?¡± ¡°Heh, so¡­ Ji Wenlong is trying to enter the Martial Dipper Realm for you to accomplish your goals. Am I right?¡± Another loud roar rang through the skies, but it was rudely interrupted by a loud blast from the southwest. The faces of the Martial Extermination Realm experts who were fighting changed. They didn¡¯t need to say a word to know what happened. A terrifying streak of jade green light dyed the skies as a huge pillar of light tore into the heavens. It transformed into a giant claw in mid air and seemed to cross space to strike at the Tongyou Mysterious World. The Martial Extermination Realm experts in the way quickly dodged to the side. ¡°How can there be a Martial Dipper Realm expert there?!¡± ¡°Who?!¡± Those from the Tongyou Institution weren¡¯t the only ones who were shocked. Those who came to attack the Tongyou Mysterious World were equally surprised. All of them stared at each other in disbelief. To form various items and actions with the heaven and earth qi was something Martial Extermination Realm experts were capable of. Even some outstanding cultivators could do it when they were in the Martial Intent Realm. However, the claw that appeared seemed to transcend space to strike at the Tongyou Mysterious World. Only Martial Dipper Realm experts were capable of something like that. Only with their fate dipper could they achieve something like that! The protection formation around the Tongyou Mysterious World that held strong even after several rounds of bombardment earlier showed signs of cracking when the claw smashed into it. The shockwave that resulted flattened a third of the Tongyou City! That was the might of a Martial Dipper Realm expert! That was a true Martial Dipper Realm expert who had the ability to think! They were existences who could destroy an entire continent if they wished! Even though the Tongyou Mysterious World looked strong, it was no longer the magnificent existence in their eyes a moment ago. Due to the blow earlier, the Tongyou Mysterious World shrunk and a large amount of world origin was forced out of it. Those scattered world origin either nurtured some worldly treasures or turned into pure heaven and earth qi that filled the lands. ¡°Haha! What are we waiting for? Since a Martial Dipper Realm expert has arrived, we¡¯ll just follow their lead!¡± Riches and honor came with risks. Even though a Martial Dipper Realm expert came, many of them still started to race towards the precious treasures that appeared. Right as the claw was about to swipe at the Tongyou Mysterious World again, a burst of light emerged from inside. It dyed the space inside the mysterious world with its magnificent hues. At the same time, Shang Ke and the other experts of the Tongyou Institution seemed to receive a secret transmission at the same time as they retreated into the Tongyou Mysterious World simultaneously. Those who came to attack the institution backed away in fright. However, there were some greedy ones who hesitated slightly as they contemplated if they should continue vying for the treasures that were scattered all about. In an instant, a four colored light created a massive blade that sundered the palm of the claw above the Tongyou Mysterious World. It followed up by slashing towards the southwestern direction, sealing off the space the claw traveled through. Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" ¡°Bang¡­¡± With the path of its energy transmission sealed, the claw couldn¡¯t support itself. It started to scatter and the energy sent several Martial Extermination Realm experts flying. Two of them were too close to the blast and they suffered serious injuries. ¡°Martial Dipper! The Tongyou Institution also has a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor!¡± A few of those who were flying through the air yelled. Only Martial Dipper Realm experts could fight against those at the same level. ¡°Kou Chongxue¡­¡± A name that was more terrifying than any other Martial Dipper Realm expert those present could think of flashed through their minds. However, someone else quickly revealed the truth. ¡°No, that isn¡¯t Kou Chongxue!¡± Kou Chongxue didn¡¯t use a blade. Earlier, the claw was cut in two by a blade made from heaven and earth qi. There was only one super expert in the Tongyou Institution who used blades. ¡°Ji Wenlong managed to enter the Martial Dipper Realm?!¡± Yang Hu yelled in shock. ¡°Nope, not yet.¡± The person who was ¡®holding¡¯ Yang Hu back was Wei Zhongwen of the White Deer Paradise, and the two of them were putting up quite a good show. ¡°But¡­ That seemed like an attack from an expert in the Martial Dipper Realm!¡± Yang Hu gasped. He was clearly regretting his decision to side with the White Deer Paradise. Things had already exceeded his expectations. The moment the blade appeared earlier, Yang Hu was starting to waver. Wei Zhongwen allowed a strong attack from Yang Hu to shoot by him before releasing a palm strike to ¡®force¡¯ Yang Hu to retreat before sneering, ¡°What¡¯s wrong? City Lord Yang, are you afraid?¡± Snorting in response, Yang Hu became a lot more serious when fighting Wei Zhongwen. A mocking smile crept up Wei Zhongwen¡¯s face and he explained, ¡°He¡¯s able to unleash that attack because of the assistance of the world origin. Hehe, the Martial Dipper Realm expert who attacked is unable to fully cross over to the You Continent. Otherwise¡­¡± A chilly sword light appeared to assist Yang Hu as Mister Bu¡¯s voice rang in their ears, ¡°Heh, from the looks of it, Ji Wenlong doesn¡¯t look exhausted from the exchange. He¡¯s a lot stronger than we expected.¡± Wei Zhongwen gave Mister Bu a deep glance before snorting coldly, ¡°I heard that the institution managed to obtain a portion of Zhu Tong¡¯s fate dipper when he was killed. Holding on for a period of time shouldn¡¯t be difficult for Ji Wenong.¡± Mister Bu increased the intensity of his attacks while asking, ¡°Elder Wei, do you know who the Martial Dipper Realm expert who just attacked is?¡± ¡°I might not know who it is, but I¡¯m sure the attack came from the Bing Continent. It¡¯s definitely related to the Yanmen Institution.¡± As if on cue, Yu Hanglong and Chang Huaiwu turned around and charged at the barrier around the Tongyou Mysterious World in unison. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Shang Ke roared. Before he could move out of the Tongyou Mysterious World to intercept them, Ye Sishuang stopped him. Seeing as they were closing in on the Tongyou Mysterious World, a ray of sword light slashed towards them. ¡°Hmph, I knew something was wrong with the two of you. Who would have thought that you were part of the Evil Remnants?¡± Yu Chengjin of the Jianmen Institution appeared suddenly. He blocked Guo Baofeng of the Ji Continent with one hand while stopping the two of them with the other. His frightening strength was revealed at that moment. ¡°So¡­ You Haibiao died in your hands!¡± Chang Huaiwu¡¯s expression was ugly as could be. He didn¡¯t think that his identity had already been under scrutiny by the others. Even their meticulous plan was stopped by Yu Chengjin just as they started its execution. ¡°Heh, dumbass¡­¡± Wei Zhongwen had his back towards the Tongyou Mysterious World, but he seemed to have seen through everything. ¡°Anyway, haven¡¯t they all thought of something else? How can there only be Martial Extermination Realm experts in charge of the protection of the mysterious world? Have no one thought of where the Martial Intent and Martial Extremity Realm disciples of the Tongyou Institution went?¡± Yang Hu¡¯s expression sank again. ¡°Are they laying down a formation?¡± ¡°The Zhu Family used to own the Mysterious Coral World. There should be a massive control center that houses the grand protection formation. It¡¯s a separate space and the lower leveled cultivators should all be gathered there to maintain the formation while the Martial Extermination Realm experts deal with the high-leveled battles outside. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Yang Hu asked anxiously. ¡°So¡­ The key to breaking the entire situation lies in my hands!¡± Wei Zhongwen turned around abruptly to stare at the Tongyou Mysterious World. Yang Hu and Mister Bu stopped their attacks and stood behind him silently. ¡°The Tongyou Institution won¡¯t expect this. The Martial Dipper Realm expert from the Yanmen Institution isn¡¯t the only one who chose to interfere. Hehe. There¡¯s another ready to strike!¡± CH 322 In the air above the Tongyou Mysterious World, Ji Wenlong¡¯s figure appeared to battle the Martial Dipper Realm expert who was sending his powers across the continents. Huge rifts in the earth that spanned hundreds and thousands of miles formed in the earth due to their battle. A huge gorge that tore through the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range formed. The battle directly turned half the Tongyou City into rubble. The Martial Extermination Realm experts of the other continents who were trying to destroy the Tongyou Mysterious World earlier spared no strength to try to burrow their way into the mysterious world now to hide behind the protection barrier. Members of the institution were trying their best to stop those attempts, but there were too many of them. Even with the lower-leveled cultivators maintaining the protection barrier, countless holes were torn in it. With the number of formation masters controlling the protection formation, the barrier managed to restore itself quickly. However, a large amount of world origin would flow out of the mysterious world whenever holes were torn in the barrier. All of a sudden, Wei Zhongwen, who was fighting Yang Hu, turned around to attack the barrier. He was an elder of the White Deer Paradise who was at the third layer of the Martial Extermination Realm. His attack tore a huge hole through the protection barrier as world origin and pure heaven and earth qi flowed out like water out a broken dam. ¡°Wei Zhongwen, what the hell are you doing?!¡± Han Chongwei clearly didn¡¯t expect Wei Zhongwen to act against them, and he roared with anger. Ignoring Han Chongwei, Wei Zhongwen raised his hand to release another attack. All of a sudden, Mister Bu, who had remained motionless beside Yang Hu, sent a powerful strike towards Wei Zhongwen¡¯s back. Wei Zhongwen seemed to be ignorant of the fact as he continued to attack the barrier. Mister Bu¡¯s actions seemed to catch him by surprise. If his attack landed, Wei Zhongwen would suffer serious injuries due to the lack of preparations. However, Yang Hu reacted quickly. He punched towards Mister Bu with his extermination origins wrapped around his fists. If Mister Bu refused to pull back and followed through with his attack, he would be struck by Yang Hu! It was possible for him to retreat immediately to avoid being surrounded by two third layer Martial Extermination Realm experts. Both Yang Hu and Wei Zhongwen were powerful experts who far surpassed Mister Bu. At the end of the day, Mister Bu was a mere first layer Martial Extermination Realm expert. However, Mister Bu didn¡¯t take the chance to escape. He was going to allow Yang Hu¡¯s fist to land on him as he continued his attack. It was clearly an unequal exchange. One had to know that with Wei Zhongwen¡¯s cultivation and physique, he wouldn¡¯t be completely crippled if Mister Bu struck him. He might suffer internal injuries and suffer a reduction in fighting abilities, but he would be fine otherwise. Once Yang Hu¡¯s fist struck him, he would be heavily injured! Even so, Mister Bu didn¡¯t pull back. ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± A grunt and a huge explosion rang through the air in unison. Wei Zhongwen grunted heavily as he felt a mouthful of blood rising in his chest. He tumbled through the air and his appearance was slightly affected. However, Mister Bu suffered a fate several times worse. Yang Hu¡¯s punch landed on the left side of his body, shattering several ribs in the process. He spat out a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying into the distance. He struggled to regain his footing. Find the original at "pawread dot com". ¡°Hehe¡­ When did those from the Rose Party start to side with the institution?¡± Wei Zhongwen growled as a sinister light flashed through his eyes. Both himself and Yang Hu had already started to suspect Mister Bu, but it seemed as though his calculations were a little off. He didn¡¯t expect Mister Bu to ignore Yang Hu to land a strike on him. A strange expression appeared on Yang Hu¡¯s face and he snapped at Mister Bu, ¡°Who are you? Really¡­¡± Snorting, Mister Bu wanted to say something else but he coughed up a mouthful of black blood before he could do so. The blood froze in mid air before it could fall to the ground below. ¡°Kill him!¡± Wei Zhongwen ordered after seeing that Mister Bu had lost all combat abilities. He didn¡¯t care about the man¡¯s true identity at all. After throwing the order out to Yang Hu, he continued to move towards the protection barrier around the Tongyou Mysterious World. A look of suspicion appeared on Yang Hu¡¯s face as he soared over to where Mister Bu was. ¡°No matter what, you¡¯ve assisted me for the past few years. If you wanted to harm me, there were many opportunities you could have done it. Why now?¡± Mister Bu seemed to have caught his breath after spitting out the mouthful of blood. He chuckled lightly and sighed, ¡°No matter what, the Changfeng City is the only remaining city in our You Continent. There aren¡¯t many native cultivators of the You Continent left. I was planning to help you strengthen the Changfeng City before assisting you to cooperate with the institution to make our You Continent stronger. Alas, you chose to side with the White Deer Paradise.¡± Falling silent for a moment, Yang Hu sighed, ¡°All of us have our considerations¡­¡± Mister Bu seemed to have used up all his energy by speaking, but he seemed incomparably calm. Yang Hu was slightly distracted for a moment, but he quickly snapped back to attention. ¡°One last question. Who exactly are you?¡± Before Mister Bu could say anything, Yang Hu snapped, ¡°Don¡¯t give me that bullshit about being part of the Rose Party. I won¡¯t believe it. What exactly is your relationship with the Tongyou Institution?¡± Struggling to keep his eyes open, Mister Bu wanted to reply. He was interrupted by the scene playing out behind Yang Hu. In a fit of anger, blood rushed up his face and it twisted with rage. ¡°Rip!¡± Another tear formed in the barrier, and it was something those lower leveled cultivators wouldn¡¯t be able to close in a short amount of time. It was definitely something that would cause long lasting damage to the Tongyou Mysterious World. After Mister Bu was seriously injured, Han Zhongwen used a special art from the White Deer Paradise to tear a giant gash in the protection barrier of the mysterious world. It was a tear that would require several days to seal up. A torrential amount of energy poured out from the gap as Wei Zhongwen summoned his martial exterminations. A three colored vortex formed as it sucked in the energy and world origin greedily. CH 323 After a cultivator entered the Martial Extermination Realm, their cultivation would experience a fundamental transformation. The reason behind the transformation was due to the fusion between the cultivator¡¯s extermination origin and the world itself. An obvious effect of the metamorphosis was that Martial Extermination Realm experts could fly through the air. They could also interact with the heaven and earth origin of the world. Of course, they could also receive inheritances. Especially for those in holy lands. They had Martial Dipper Realm ancestors standing over their heads and they didn¡¯t lack Martial Dipper Realm inheritances¡­ Other than those inheritances, the Martial Extermination Realm experts of those holy lands could also receive special secret arts that were custom-made for them according to the special properties of their extermination origins. As an elder of the White Deer Paradise, Wei Zhongwen managed to receive the teachings of a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor. That was how he comprehended the secret art he used on the Tongyou Mysterious World. When ordinary Martial Extermination Realm experts struck the protection barrier around the Tongyou Mysterious World, the gap would close up quickly due to the interference of the formation masters within. Heaven and earth qi and world origin might escape, but compared to the amount the Tongyou Mysterious World took in earlier, it was barely considered anything. However, things were different when Wei Zhongwen used his secret art. It corroded the protection barrier, making it extremely difficult to close up again. The world origin that the Tongyou Mysterious World absorbed earlier gushed out violently. With a burst of maniacal laughter, Wei Zhongwen opened his arms to bathe in the torrent of world origin. When Yang Hu wanted to do the same, he discovered something wrong. Opening his mouth, he released an enraged roar in a certain direction. As the sound wave rocked through the air, a masked figure who was several dozen feet away was forced out of the space he was hiding in. ¡°Who goes there?!¡± Yang Hu felt that anyone who could be hiding around him had to be an enemy. Without hesitation, he revealed his extermination origins. Three strands of extermination origin pulsed around him and quickly formed a giant tiger. Surprisingly, the tiger only had one eye. It released a soundless roar before pouncing at the masked figure who appeared. The masked figure was charging at Yang Hu when he was revealed, but he decided to turn to run once the tiger had formed in the air. Yang Hu¡¯s roar attracted a lot of attention. Who would have thought that the masked figure would leave without fighting? Yang Hu was unable to guess the other person¡¯s intentions, but when he finally snapped back to reality, he discovered that Mister Bu had already disappeared. When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Just a second ago, Mister Bu was on his last breath. Who would have thought that the heavily injured Mister Bu would disappear all of a sudden? Is he dead? Yang Hu thought to himself and a frown appeared on his face. Thinking deeper into the matter, he realized that the masked cultivator had appeared to save Mister Bu! Who could it be?! For someone to hoodwink Yang Hu and save someone under his nose, he had to be a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator! When Mister Bu attacked Wei Zhongwen earlier, he already revealed his identity as an ally of the Tongyou Institution. There was only one other explanation. The masked cultivator was a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator from the Tongyou Institution! However, that brought another question. Why would the masked cultivator save Mister Bu at the last second? He didn¡¯t make his move earlier to interfere with the battle but appeared at the last second to save a dying man. Even though there were many suspicions in his mind, Yang Hu wasn¡¯t able to act on them. Mister Bu was gone, but he had too many things to do. The Tongyou Institution wouldn¡¯t sit by idly and watch as the world origin poured out of the Tongyou Mysterious World to be absorbed by Wei Zhongwen. They would definitely try to launch an attack to affect Wei Zhongwen in any way they could. Many of the Martial Extermination Realm experts who came to attack the Tongyou Mysterious World flocked towards Wei Zhongwen when they saw the huge amount of world origin around him. Yang Hu received instructions from Wei Zhongwen earlier to protect him during the time he was absorbing the world origin and to stop those who would try to interfere with his business. As such, he quickly leaped into action to fight those who were approaching. When that was happening, another terrifying change happened in the direction of the Changfeng City. The skies that had lost its color earlier from the destructive battle experienced another change. It was as though a massive sun had descended upon the lands. A streak of light appeared above the Changfeng City and stretched towards the Tongyou City, forming a heavenly bridge. Seeing as the bridge was about to land on the Tongyou Mysterious World, Ji Wenlong, who was fighting the spirit projection of the other Martial Dipper Realm expert from the southwestern direction created a huge blade of heaven and earth qi before slamming it down onto the bridge. ¡°Does the White Deer Paradise wish to interfere with the matters of our You Continent?¡± Ji Wenlong roared. Before the blade could crash into the bridge, a figure could be seen strolling casually towards the Tongyou City. ¡°You Continent? Hmph, the You Continent should have been destroyed twenty years ago.¡± A smile appeared on the newcomer¡¯s face and he casually raised his fingers to meet Ji Wenlong¡¯s blade. The powerful blade that contained endless might was stopped dead in its tracks. Ji Wenlong wasn¡¯t a Martial Dipper Realm expert to begin with. He was using the power contained in the Tongyou Mysterious World to resist the spirit projection from the Martial Dipper Realm expert from the Bing Continent. Now that he was distracted, a jade green light flashed across his body, tearing a swathe of energy from the Mysterious Tongyou World. Ji Wenlong regained his focus as he shattered the ray of jade green light before regaining a part of the energy it was attempting to take away. Only then, the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise spoke. ¡°Hehe, looks like I¡¯m not the only one here.¡± ¡°Hmph, likewise¡­¡± A deep voice rang through the skies, and even though no one could tell the direction it came from, they knew that the person who replied to the ancestor of the White Deer Paradise was the Martial Dipper Realm expert from the Bing Continent. In the time it took for them to exchange pleasantries, the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor from the White Deer Paradise had already appeared beside Wei Zhongwen. He also managed to control the rose-colored bridge that he summoned to land beside the region where Wei Zhongwen was absorbing the world origin that was leaking out of the Tongyou Mysterious World. As soon as the end of the rose-colored bridge was formed, Wei Zhongwen leaped out from the huge tide of world origin. ¡°Disciple greets Ancestor Yun Lu!¡± Ancestor Yun Lu nodded slightly. ¡°You did well this time! I appreciate what you have done. In the future, you¡¯ll definitely enter the large completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm!¡± A look of excitement appeared on Wei Zhongwen¡¯s face as he replied, ¡°Ancestor, this disciple only carried out your plan. I only managed to accomplish this with your guidance.¡± Ancestor Yun Lu nodded yet again, and his gaze landed on Yang Hu who was right beside them. ¡°You must be Yang Hu from the Changfeng City.¡± Bowing immediately, Yang Hu didn¡¯t dare to show the slightest disrespect. Wei Zhongwen¡¯s voice rang through the air before he could say anything. ¡°Replying to Ancestor Yun Lu, this is indeed City Lord Yang Hu. He was a crucial part of our success this time!¡± Even though he was an expert at the third layer Martial Extermination Realm, Yang Hu felt his mind going blank. He didn¡¯t know what to say to Ancestor Yun Lu. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Ancestor Yun Lu muttered before turning to ignore Yang Hu completely. Even though he heaved a sigh of relief, Yang Hu felt a sense of dissatisfaction rising in his heart after noting Ancestor Yun Lu¡¯s nonchalance. When he was still stuck in a state of confusion over his feelings, Wei Zhongwen arrived beside him. ¡°Brother Yang, I need you to protect the bridge with me.¡± Even though Yang Hu didn¡¯t know why he needed to do so with Ancestor Yun Lu present, he knew better than to question Wei Zhongwen¡¯s command at that point. A smile returned to his face and he replied, ¡°Naturally. I¡¯ll do as you say.¡± The conversation between the two barely ended when Yang Hu discovered that the world origin around them had been sucked completely dry. In fact, the bridge was extending into the gap to forcefully absorb the world origin and heaven and earth qi contained in the Tongyou Mysterious World. CH 324 ¡­ (time skip backward in case you¡¯re confused) Outside the Changfeng City in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range¡­ After giving Shang Xia the Water Repulsion Pearl and leaving behind a few sets of instructions, Youshang left him behind and rushed back to the Changfeng City. According to Youshang¡¯s calculations, Shang Xia had turned into the key to destroying the White Deer Paradise¡¯s plans. That might be the case, but he would be taking on the greatest risk. Not only would he have to distract Gao Yun when he returned, but he would also have to take the risk of being killed by the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise at any time! When Shang Xia heard the plan earlier, he found it a little surprising. Youshang was a cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World regardless. Who would have thought that he would place his life on the line for the Tongyou Institution? Shang Xia was so shocked that he brought up the stupidest suggestion in his life. ¡°Senior, why don¡¯t you stay here while I return to the city?¡± Staring at Shang Xia like he was looking at the biggest clown in the Azure Origin World and asked, ¡°Are you going to fight Gao Yun when you get back to buy time for me?¡± Coughing drying in response, Shang Xia paused for a good minute to reflect on his stupidity before speaking. ¡°If I stay here, how would I know when to head into the underground river to carry out the plan?¡± ¡°Relax. When their Martial Dipper Realm ancestor descends, the commotion they will create will be massive. That will be your signal to carry out the plan.¡± After he spoke, Youshang felt that he said enough. He turned into a streak of light that left Shang Xia behind as he flew back to the city. Watching Youshang disappear into the horizon, Shang Xia frowned. There was nothing for him to do while waiting. Plopping his butt down on a giant rock nearby, Shang Xia started to circulate his inner qi. He exhausted a huge amount of it earlier and there was no better time to recover. He also started reflecting on the battle before. There was also the matter of his third divine sense transformation. He also had to digest the gains he received after the transformation and refine his seventh move. Even though he experienced his third divine sense transformation during the battle earlier and seemed to turn the tides of battle easily, the situation was much more dangerous than actually described. If not for his already sturdy foundations and accumulations, he might not have been able to complete his third divine sense transformation so quickly and easily! Feeling the changes to his divine sense, he discovered that the greatest improvement to it was the degree of fusion to the heaven and earth qi around him. He could use it to a greater degree by manipulating a larger amount of heaven and earth qi. He could also imbue his inner qi into them. The feeling was exceptionally clear when he unleashed Celestial Disruption earlier. If he had to rank and explain his spear technique and the moves he came up with, he would say that the first three moves allowed him to show off his exquisite technique while possessing many strong killing properties. The following three moves were more combat-oriented, and they allowed him to kill his enemies effectively. His seventh move, ¡®Celestial Disruption¡¯, didn¡¯t fall into either category perfectly. Instead, it focused more on the spiritual aspect. It was an extremely powerful move that also allowed him to tear his opponent¡¯s divine sense apart! He couldn¡¯t help but think about Shang Bo¡¯s title as the Soul Tearing Spear. Shang Bo seemed to have gained his title after comprehending his seventh move, ¡®Tearing Soul¡¯. The power contained in Shang Bo¡¯s seventh spear was unquestionable. But from the name, it wasn¡¯t difficult to imagine the damage he could cause to his opponent¡¯s divine sense. After all, one¡¯s divine sense was related to one¡¯s soul. Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. The next thing to flash across Shang Xia¡¯s mind was Shang Ke¡¯s title as the Suspended Spear. With his newfound comprehension, he realized that Shang Ke¡¯s title was more of a mockery by his opponents. Since Shang Ke only managed to come up with five moves due to his limited comprehension of the Providence Spear Art, they were probably mocking the fact that his technique couldn¡¯t really be considered strong. Of course, it wasn¡¯t that weak either, thus the name ¡®suspended¡¯. His comprehension wasn¡¯t high nor low, and it could only be considered to be suspended somewhere. That was proven by the fact that Shang Ke¡¯s strength wasn¡¯t comparable to Shang Bo. Next, Shang Xia thought back to the times he saw Shang Ke fighting. If he had to be truly critical, Shang Xia felt that he was already a match for a Martial Intent Realm Shang Ke before he experienced his third divine sense transformation. A wave of anxiety struck Shang Xia after realizing the fact. He discovered how risky his actions were when he handed the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl Shang Ke. With Shang Ke¡¯s weak foundations back in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, it was truly a miracle that he managed to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm! There was nothing more to say since Shang Ke successfully entered the Martial Extermination Realm and became a second pillar of strength for the Shang Clan. However, Shang Xia was still feeling a tinge of guilt. After finally getting over his feelings, he continued to ponder over his gains in the previous battles. God knew how long had passed when he finally felt a change in his surroundings. With his eyes snapping open, Shang Xia noticed that the entire mountain range seemed to have come to life. The earth was shifting as a deep rumbling came from down below. Suppressing the shock in his heart, Shang Xia steadied his breathing. When he was able to think clearly again, Shang Xia discovered that the boulder he was sitting on was vibrating slightly. ¡°Not good¡­ It¡¯s the underground river!¡± He discovered the source of danger the next second. The changes happening to the mountain range had something to do with the underground river! The river seemed to have experienced some agitation and it was flowing much more violently than before. According to what he learned from Mister Bu and Youshang, along with the inferences he had after hearing the conversation between Gao Yun and Wei Zhongwen, Shang Xia knew that the underground river containing the spiritual vein was a key to the descent of the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise. He might not know the exact method the ancestor was using to appear on the You Continent, but there was no doubt about it. The underground river was going to play a key part in it! Moreover, the descent of a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise would greatly affect Shang Xia! If things were to go ugly, he wouldn¡¯t be able to keep his life! Realizing the severity of the situation, he regulated his breathing again before transforming his inner qi according to the dao of weight. He filled himself with heavy qi before pressing himself down on the boulder he was on. The boulder was heavy to begin with, and with Shang Xia¡¯s addition, it managed to remain in place. It resisted the pressure building up from the underground river and its attempt to burst out into the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. After all, he couldn¡¯t allow Gao Yun to discover any anomalies before they carried out their plan. With Shang Xia¡¯s interference, the boulder sank several inches into the ground. Before he could heave a sigh of relief, an even stronger blast came from down below. He knew it wasn¡¯t an illusion when the mountain range started trembling before his eyes. The sound that came from the underground river increased in volume as the boulder below him started shaking frantically. Something was moving closer and closer towards him, and it was moving extremely quickly! Could it be¡­ Could it be the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise?! Shang Xia¡¯s eyes widened in fright. As the sound got closer and closer, it got so loud that Shang Xia nearly lost his hearing. He felt the trembling under him getting more and more intense as the boulder started to bounce up and down. Furiously circulating his inner qi and transforming it to possess the properties of weight, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t think of anything else. As the deafening rumble reached its peak, Shang Xia felt something traveling through the underground river at a terrifying speed. He was too scared to speak, but he could tell that something was moving quickly towards the Changfeng City. Discovering that his back had been drenched in his perspiration, Shang Xia quickly leaped off the boulder. Before he could hit the ground, the boulder exploded into countless pieces. CH 325 His expression turned ugly as the boulder exploded into tiny fragments. He knew that a massive geyser would shoot up into the air without the boulder to stop the river¡¯s flow now that there wasn¡¯t anything to stop it. Contrary to his expectations, the geyser that he predicted to appear didn¡¯t. That wasn¡¯t all. The water barely trickled out from the opening. Even though Shang Xia didn¡¯t know what just happened, his instincts told him that the disturbance was caused by the descent of the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise. Even though he didn¡¯t know the exact method the ancestor used to appear in the You Continent, he knew that it had something to do with the reduction in the amount of water in the underground river. After thinking about it, Shang Xia decided that finding another boulder to block the underground river was useless. Instead, he widened the hole. The amount of water coming from underground had returned to the level when Shang Xia first discovered it. The extermination mist that was emitted by the water was also nowhere to be seen any longer. When Shang Xia was pondering over what Youshang told him and thought if he should carry out the plan and dive into the underground river, he heard a massive explosion coming from above. Raising his head, he stared at the rose-color dyed skies that was starting to create a bridge towards the north. The origin of the rose-colored skies was somewhere Shang Xia was familiar with. It was where he had been living recently, the Changfeng City. However, he was even more familiar with the direction the rose-colored bridge was headed. If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise made his arrival in Changfeng City before heading north towards the Tongyou City! The last bits of hesitation flew out of Shang Xia¡¯s mind as he widened the opening of the underground river even more. However, he chose to wait a little longer just to be safe. After the time it took half a stick of incense to burn, Shang Xia discovered that there were no energy fluctuations coming from any direction. The only thing he could see was the rose-colored bridge in the distance becoming more and more solid. He truly had no idea when was the best time to take action. The arrival of a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor brought along with it a massive disturbance. However, a fight between Martial Extermination Realm experts might not be able to reach him. After all, those in the Changfeng City didn¡¯t discover the battle between Liang Shuangren and the others in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range either. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know when Youshang would make his move. He could only estimate the time and rely on his instincts. With a multitude of thoughts running through his mind, Shang Xia decided to widen the opening even more before doing anything. Stabbing deep with his Scarlet Star Spear, Shang Xia removed as much mud and sludge as he could. Ensuring time and time again that he would be able to fit through the opening, Shang Xia noticed that the amount of water pouring out from the opening had increased once again. Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t an obvious change. Retracting his spear, Shang Xia was deciding between diving into the underground river and waiting a little more when a brilliant radiance lit up the skies in the north. Search "pawread dot com" for the original. Raising his head to take a look, he saw a gray light surrounding the rose-colored bridge. He didn¡¯t find the gray light foreign at all. He experienced the eruption of an Origin Tide back in the battlefield between the two worlds and had seen something similar. With the appearance of the gray light, the rose-colored bridge became even more sturdy. Shang Xia quickly understood what was going on. The bridge was a medium for the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise to suck away energy from the Tongyou Institution! At the same time, he realized that the underground river wasn¡¯t just a simple body of water. It might be a way for the White Deer Paradise to send the energy back to their holy land! With the gray light slowly traveling towards the Changfeng City, Gao Yun made use of the formation he laid down several days before to channel the energy he had received. The underground river started to swell once again, and Shang Xia started to see a dense layer of mist emerging from the surface of the water. No longer hesitating, Shang Xia dived into the opening. His Origin True Qi filled his body as he sank deeper. He didn¡¯t use the Water Repulsion Pearl the moment he entered the water. He located the general direction leading towards the Changfeng City before bringing out the pearl. No longer fighting the flow of the river, Shang Xia eventually found an opening in a rock face not too far away and burrowed his way into it. A long narrow passageway appeared before him. Seeing that the river had widened, Shang Xia knew that he had arrived at the main body of the underground river. When Shang Xia estimated the amount of water flowing through the underground river earlier, he thought that the underground river would fill the entirety of the space it was in. However, it seemed as though the underground cavern that contained the river was barely half full! After stepping onto the passageway, Shang Xia felt a bone-chilling cold seeping into his body. Despite using the Water Repulsion Pearl to prevent himself from touching the water, he couldn¡¯t avoid the icy qi in the air. From what Youshang and Mister Bu told him in the past, the underground river flowed from north to south and it crossed the entire Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. As long as he followed the river in the general direction of the Changfeng City, he would be able to arrive at the spirit cave he was supposed to be looking for. Realizing that he was quite a distance away from the Changfeng City, Shang Xia sped in his intended direction. Luckily, the Water Repulsion Pearl increased his speed when traveling through the water while keeping it away from him. Even though it might be a little slower than when Shang Xia traveled through the Mountain Range, there weren''t any obstacles he needed to avoid in the underground river. All he had to do was to run straight. Running for one hour through the darkness, Shang Xia discovered that the current was growing heavier and the water level was rising. With anxiety eating away at his heart, Shang Xia pushed himself to the limit and increased his speed once again. He hadn¡¯t run far when a deep rumbling came from his surroundings. Soon, the noise became louder and the river started to sway slightly. Understanding that there was no way he could avoid whatever was coming, he grabbed onto the cracks in the rock beside him and pressed himself flat against it. Right as he completed his preparations, a loud whistle tore through the underground cavern and the current became stronger once again. The air bubble he had by using the Water Repulsion Pearl shrunk violently as the chill invading his body became stronger. He wasn¡¯t too shocked by both of those changes. Instead, he was surprised by the sudden thickening of the heaven and earth qi around him! CH 326 Shang Xia pressed himself firmly against the wall beside him. Even with the Water Repulsion Pearl, he felt as though the water was rushing against his skin. He could feel every subtle transformation to the current around him. The feeling was pretty similar to what he felt back when he stood in the middle of the Origin Tide when he was still in the Martial Realm. The only difference between what he was experiencing was that the heaven and earth qi that had fused with the water around him was much less violent than at the core of an Origin Tide. Shang Xia could feel that it was obediently following the flow of the river. Heaven and earth qi in the space around him became denser and denser, turning the region around him into something that resembled a spiritual river! Shang Xia¡¯s guesses were true. The White Deer Paradise was going to use the underground river to transport the world origin and heaven and earth qi they stole from the Tongyou Institution back to the Ji Continent! As for how they would receive the energy on the other side, Shang Xia had no clue. That wasn¡¯t his problem anyway. At that moment, Shang Xia was fully submerged in the spiritual river. It was a heaven-sent opportunity for any cultivator to be able to be surrounded by so much pure energy! As long as he cultivated within for a period of time, his cultivation might be able to soar straight into the Martial Extermination Realm! Of course, he would have to be ready with his advancement medicine and stuff for that to happen. Shang Xia quickly tossed the thought to the back of his mind. That wasn¡¯t the time to think of cultivating! With the amount of energy flowing through the underground river back to the Ji Continent, Shang Xia understood that the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise wasn¡¯t facing much resistance over at the Tongyou Institution! That would also mean that the situation over at the Tongyou Institution wasn¡¯t looking too good. They probably had no means of stopping the ancestor! He had to make his move as soon as possible. Pushing himself forward, he discovered another problem. The current was too strong and the amount of inner qi he required to take a single step forward was massive. The consumption of inner qi was terrifying, and he didn¡¯t know how far he had to go! Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡­ Outside the Changfeng City, a ray of light appeared in the skies towards the south. It shot towards the city at a terrifying speed, and by the time the guards reacted, it had already arrived above the city. The streak of light left a long tail that faded after some time. The protection formation around the Changfeng City quickly activated and a formless barrier appeared to surround the city before the streak of light could enter. Slamming heavily into the barrier, a massive explosion was produced by the collision. The disturbance caused the city to tremble violently. Even though the protection barrier around the Changfeng City wasn¡¯t fully destroyed, a long crack appeared where the collision took place. The crack extended towards the southern gate of the city. Half a street had been turned to shreds around the southern part of the city due to the impact of the collision. Countless buildings were turned to rubble, and there wasn¡¯t a single person who survived the blast. A huge crater could be seen and an ordinary spear was stuck in the heart of the crater. From the look of it, the spear was what caused the explosion. At the end of the street stood several experts from the City Lord Manor. It seemed as though they had been patrolling the city when the incident happened. Ugly expressions filled the faces of those present as they stared at the huge crater not too far away. Gritting his teeth, Yang Zhenbiao growled, ¡°Martial Extermination!¡± Qin Yuyuan frowned. ¡°What do we do now? Master isn¡¯t here and more than half the strength of our protection formation has been directed away. We can¡¯t stop a Martial Extermination Realm expert!¡± With a wave of unease filling his heart, Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s face turned dark and he growled, ¡°What else can we do? We can only inform that person in the manor!¡± Hesitating for a moment, Qin Yuyuan muttered, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll make the report immediately.¡± ¡°No.¡± Yang Zhenbiao reached out to stop Qin Yuyuan. ¡°He won¡¯t bother meeting you. I¡¯ll go!¡± Qin Yuyuan¡¯s face sank slightly. He wanted to say something, but Yang Zhenbiao waved his hand and interrupted, ¡°Senior Brother Qin, you should remain here with the rest. Do not bother fighting the person who came. If things get ugly, return to the City Lord Manor!¡± After speaking, Yang Zhenbiao ran back towards the City Lord Manor. Watching Yang Zhenbiao leave, Qin Yuyuan was shocked to discover that the young city lord had entered the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm without him realizing it. Qin Yuyuan recalled something and he yelled, ¡°What happens to the city then? What are we supposed to do?¡± ¡°Just focus on saving yourself if the situation turns bad! Ignore the rest and return to the manor! Once you enter the manor, you¡¯ll be safe!¡± A voice rang in Qin Yuyuan¡¯s mind and he was the only one who could hear Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s reply. Qin Yuyuan looked at those around him and a trace of guilt flashed in his eyes. Those with him were either fellow disciples or people who were serving Yang Hu. Among them were also members who used to be part of the Eighteen Horsemen. All of a sudden, a hoarse voice rang beside Qin Yuyuan¡¯s ears. ¡°Brother Qin, what do we do now?¡± Qin Yuyuan turned to stare at him only to discover that it was Boss Sha of the Eighteen Horsemen. Grunting once, Qin Yuyuan was about to respond when he saw a guard running unsteadily towards them. Turning to the guard, he no longer bothered with Boss Sha. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The guard who came hadn¡¯t entered the Martial Extremity Realm and he suffered heavy injuries from the blast earlier. He managed to retain his consciousness due to his strong mental strength, but he wasn¡¯t looking too good. When the Guard saw Qin Yuyuan, a wave of relief washed over him and he crumpled to the ground while yelling, ¡°Someone¡­ Someone is attacking the city gate!¡± ¡°How many?¡± Qin Yuyuan growled. ¡°The¡­ The Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent! They¡¯re here!¡± Qin Yuyuan felt some weird fluctuations coming from behind him and the scene where they ran into a suspected Martial Extermination Realm expert when trying to wipe out those stragglers who refused to join them crossed his mind. Was the appearance of the Martial Extermination Realm expert and the remnants of the Eighteen Horsemen truly a coincidence? A sneer formed on his lips when he felt the unease from those behind him. ¡°Looks like those rats decided to send themselves to their death. Someone will deal with the Martial Extermination Realm expert on their side! Everyone else, follow me to kill those useless rats!¡± After he spoke, he turned to look at the members of the original Eighteen Horsemen who chose to join the Changfeng City. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t miss your chance this time.¡± CH 327 The spear tore through the air and broke past the protection barrier causing a huge weakness to form. Several members took the chance to break through the southern city gates after a huge portion of the guards were disabled by the explosion. Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. When Qin Yuyuan and the others rushed over to the southern gate, Youshang entered the city without anyone noticing as he made his way over to the City Lord Manor. ¡­ In the underground cavern that contained the river, Shang Xia was advancing, albeit a little slowly. Even though he was expending a lot of inner qi, he refused to stop. Luckily for him, he already completed his third divine sense transformation and received a huge boost to the amount of Origin True Qi he could contain in his dantian. That was the reason he could sustain for so long. Then again, using his inner qi to resist the current was a good way to temper it. It was a rare chance to train himself. Due to his rapid increase in strength, the amount of Origin True Qi in his body increased at a frightening pace. Sometimes, he wouldn¡¯t be able to fully consolidate his foundations before improving again, causing some hidden risks in his cultivation. Under the constant erosion and recovery of his inner qi, it got rid of many hidden problems Shang Xia had with his rapid increase in strength. If not for the fact that Shang Xia was in a rush to locate the spirit cave, he would have gotten rid of the Water Repulsion Pearl and resisted the current with his own abilities. The water level was slowly rising in the cavern, and the amount of heaven and earth qi in the air was also getting much denser. From the looks of it, the cavern was probably going to become some sort of heavenly cultivation land when the event ended. After all, the heaven and earth qi in the surrounding was too dense! It seeped into the walls and slowly transformed the entire area. As the current became stronger and the water level grew higher, Shang Xia could basically confirm that he was closing in on the spirit cave. Who would have thought that a deep whistle would ring in his ears at that moment? The deafening ringing echoed through the underground cavern, drowning out the roaring river. A strange feeling overwhelmed Shang Xia and his instincts told him that he had arrived under the Changfeng City. After he continued onwards a little more, he saw a strange sight. The river seemed to stop abruptly, and all that was left was a deep hole that extended into the ground. A huge pool of water could be seen at the bottom of the deep hole. Eighteen strange streams of water seemed to form a huge cage over the pool of water, trapping it within. As he approached the strange hole, he was stopped by an invisible barrier! Even though Shang Xia hadn¡¯t seen a spiritual vein or a spirit cave before, his gut feeling told him that he was looking at one! The only problem was finding a way to break the formless barrier and enter¡­ Could he do it by force? When he thought of ways to enter the spirit cave, a loud blast came from above. From the intensity of the blasts and the faint fluctuations of heaven and earth qi, Shang Xia discerned that there was no way those fighting were in the Martial Intent Realm or below. They had to be Martial Extermination Realm experts! There were only two people who could unleash such frightening strength. It was Gao Yun who was stationed in the Changfeng City by the White Deer Paradise and Youshang of the Azure Spiritual World! Shang Xia heard loud voices coming from above, but he couldn¡¯t hear them clearly. According to his agreement with Youshang, he would have to barge into the spirit cave while Youshang held Gao Yun back. He would destroy the formation eye Gao Yun laid down preciously, shattering any routes of retreat for the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise! Naturally, the only prerequisite to their plan was for someone to hold the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise down. If he was allowed to run around unchecked, he could probably return to the Changfeng City in the blink of an eye and kill everyone messing up their plans. That might have been a requirement for his plan to succeed, but Shang Xia had no way of confirming if anyone could do it. With the spirit cave in front of him, there was no time for him to think about the various risks involved anyway. Holding his Scarlet Star Spear firmly in his hand, Shang Xia circulated his Origin True Qi to the limit. He released his strongest strike immediately! His spear stabbed forward as he unleashed Celestial Disruption! When he started cultivating the Triple Providence Chapter and the Providence Spear Art, Shang Xia¡¯s ability to use heaven and earth qi reached a terrifying level. Now that the region around him was brimming with heaven and earth qi, the power contained in his strike increased by close to 30 percent of what it was capable of! As the tip of the spear closed in on the formless barrier, a ripple appeared on the surface of the barrier, weakening the blow. After the Scarlet Star Spear stabbed two inches into the barrier, it stopped. That wasn¡¯t all. A terrifying backlash came from the barrier, causing Shang Xia¡¯s expression to change drastically. Shang Xia was flung backwards, and he barely managed to keep his grip on his spear. Only after retreating tens of feet did he stabilize his footing. ¡°Buzz¡­¡± The formless barrier started to tremble violently as the streams of water that surrounded the pool fell into disarray. Shang Xia¡¯s attack earlier might not be as useless as he had thought. It seemed as though he disrupted the flow of energy in the spirit cave. Feeling the energy fluctuations coming from within, they seemed somewhat familiar to him. Something clicked in his mind after some time and he realized that those eighteen streams of water contained a familiar energy he felt in the battlefield between the two worlds! They were probably the world origin the White Deer Paradise was stealing from the Tongyou Institution! Shang Xia¡¯s glare landed on those streams of water that hovered above the pool and his expression darkened slightly. Examining the spirit cave closely, Shang discovered something interesting. The streams of water that ¡®trapped¡¯ the pool of water seemed to be avoiding its middle region. Wanting to get a proper look at the pool below, Shang Xia discovered that there was a blurry region above the pool that prevented him from seeing what was contained in it. Everything became clear at that moment. The spirit cave contained the spiritual vein, and an extermination origin was being nurtured in the deep pool in the spirit cave! The extermination origin was probably also the key that allowed the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise to descend! If Shang Xia wanted to enter the spirit cave, he would have to destroy the protection barrier produced by the protection formation Gao Yun laid down! That was probably the only chance the Tongyou Institution had to turn the situation around now that a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor had arrived to stand against them. How was he supposed to destroy the barrier in a short amount of time?! With anxiety eating at his heart, Shang Xia thought back to his previous attack. There was no way Gao Yun wasn¡¯t alerted by the disturbance he created. It was even possible that the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor had discovered the abnormal situation in the Changfeng City. Those weren¡¯t just baseless guesses. When he was sent flying earlier, he could hear the ringing sound coming from above increasing in intensity. Clearly, Gao Yun was fighting with all his might in order to get rid of Youshang. Shang Xia decided that there was no time left. He had to do something immediately! The longer it dragged out for, the lower the chance of turning the situation around! Moreover, the City Lord Manor probably didn¡¯t just house Gao Yun. There were probably other experts who might be sent over to stop him! The faster he moved, the greater the probability of turning the situation in the Tongyou City around. That wasn¡¯t all. It also ensured that he and Youshang would have a greater chance of leaving alive! If the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor were to return, their fates would be sealed! The Scarlet Star Spear danced in his hand as he unleashed a series of seven moves. With one stronger than the other, the formless barrier trembled violently and it seemed to be on the verge of destruction. At the very last second, the streams that ¡®trapped¡¯ the pool below finally experienced some changes. Some of them poured into the deep pool and a portion of the energy flowed into the barrier to stabilize it. It seemed as though Gao Yun¡¯s formation could borrow the energy from the world origins that were flowing towards the Ji Continent to strengthen his formation! With the power of the world origins to strengthen the protection formation, the barrier would be able to hold off anyone under the Martial Extermination Realm! Even if Gao Yun was distracted, the barrier couldn¡¯t be broken easily! The might of a formation master from the White Deer Paradise was impressive indeed! When Shang Xia discovered that his attacks were no longer able to affect the barrier, he nearly sank into despair. Only after forcing himself to calm down did he manage to catch his breath. Ideas flew through his mind as he thought of his next course of action. He even wondered if he should escape from the way he entered the underground cavern. With his thoughts disarray, Shang Xia looked through everything in his Embroidered Cloud Case hoping he would chance upon something to help him overcome the hopeless situation. He eventually brought out the Spirit Extermination Gourd that had the image of a spiritual deer imprinted on its surface. Unfortunately, he was unable to absorb the energy from the spiritual vein directly. Otherwise, he would be able to cut off the energy supplied to the barrier, solving his problem immediately. As for the spiritual deer contained in the gourd¡­ Shang Xia thought back to when the spiritual deer tried to sneak attack him in the mist and frowned. Estimating its abilities before Shang Xia mercilessly released his seventh move on it, it was probably as strong as a Martial Intent Realm expert at the grand completion stage! However, he didn¡¯t know if the spiritual deer would still possess its strength now that it had been beaten to such a state. Shang Xia sighed bitterly. Even with the strength of a cultivator at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, it wouldn¡¯t be enough to shatter the formless barrier! With no other choice, Shang Xia chose to go all out. Even if the spiritual deer wasn¡¯t as strong as it used to be and it wouldn¡¯t make a difference, he decided to do a final hail mary. He even brought out all the rank two talismans he had and tossed them at the barrier. Under the multi-colored explosions of the various different types of qi, Shang Xia discovered that something seemed odd about the barrier. Retracting his spear, he took a closer look at the barrier. What he saw nearly made his eyes pop out of their sockets. A tiny spiritual deer that was one-third its original size was on the other side of the barrier! It pranced about for a little while before moving towards the center of the deep pool contained in the spirit cave! CH 328 In the space around the Tongyou Mysterious World¡­ Ancestor Yun Lu seemed to have reached some sort of silent agreement with the Martial Dipper Realm expert of the Bing Continent. Ji Wenlong, the only person who had the ability to tangle with a Martial Dipper Realm expert, was held down by the expert in the southwest as Ancestor Yun Lu absorbed the world origin without restraint. The Martial Extermination Realm experts of the institution didn¡¯t remain idle as they tried to disrupt his attempt. Unfortunately, they couldn¡¯t get past the defenses of Yang Hu and Wei Zhongwen. There were many who tried asking the White Deer Paradise for an explanation, but Ancestor Yun Lu was too lazy to explain to them. The spatial tunnel connecting the Tongyou Institution to the battlefield between the two worlds sealed up at that instant and their energy source stopped. At that moment, the Tongyou Institution became a massive pool of energy that had its source cut off. The world origin contained within the Tongyou Mysterious World was being sucked up by Ancestor Yan Lu¡¯s rose bridge at a terrifying rate, and there was no way they could restore their lost energy. When Ancestor Yan Lu absorbed the world origin in the Tongyou Mysterious World, there were many experts who tried to profit from the Tongyou Institution¡¯s misfortune. Unfortunately for them, the experts of the Tongyou Institution were capable of stopping them. They might be useless against a Martial Dipper Realm expert, but they could stand their ground against those in the Martial Extermination Realm! A subtle change happened in the Tongyou Mysterious World all of a sudden. Two figures shot out and charged towards Ancestor Yun Lu on the rose-colored bridge. Without batting an eyelid, Ancestor Yun Lu stared directly at Kang Ci and Liu Qinglan who were flying at him. After the spatial tunnel was sealed, the two of them finally freed themselves from those from the Azure Spiritual World. However, as the saying went, out of the frying pan, into the fire. Their next opponent was a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor from the White Deer Paradise. That was a peak-tier existence in the Azure Origin World! Before they could even close in on Ancestor Yun Lu, they were easily intercepted by Yang Hu and Wei Zhongwen. Wei Zhongwen and Yang Hu were third layer Martial Extermination Realm experts. Even if they were alone, they would be able to stop both Kang Ci and Liu Qinglan, much less when there were two of them. The corners of Ancestor Yun Lu¡¯s lips curled upwards and he no longer bothered with the two. He turned to stare at the gap in the protection barrier around the Tongyou Mysterious World and chuckled, ¡°Interesting¡­¡± As soon as the words left his lips, a change happened. Another figure emerged from the Tongyou Mysterious World. He held a silver spear in his hand as heaven and earth qi gathered around him. They seemed to fuse with him as he unleashed his strongest attack against Ancestor Yun Lu. ¡°Shang Bo¡­ You are definitely qualified to enter the Martial Dipper Realm in the future¡­¡± Ancestor Yun Lu sneered softly. ¡°Too bad, only a single person can draw upon the strength of the Tongyou Mysterious World!¡± Waving his hand casually, Ancestor Yun Lu shattered the spear light produced by Shang Bo. A grunt left Shang Bo¡¯s lips as he was sent flying back into the Tongyou Mysterious World. Even though Shang Bo had entered the large completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm, he wasn¡¯t strong enough to challenge a Martial Dipper Realm expert. If he was able to borrow the strength of the Tongyou Mysterious World like Ji Wenlong, he might have been able to fight with Ancestor Yun Lu. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t the case. No matter how strong Shang Bo was when compared to other Martial Extermination Realm experts, they were merely ants before Ancestor Yun Lu. There was also the matter of exhausting his strength. Shang Bo used up most of his inner qi during the fight in the battlefield between the two worlds. He barely returned to catch his breath, and he barely had enough energy to send out a single strike. Of course, Shang Bo was no fool. He knew that he wasn¡¯t a match for Ancestor Yun Lu. The only reason he sent out the strike earlier was to cover the other experts of the Tongyou Institution! When Shang Bo was sent flying, a soft cry came from the depths of the mysterious world and it caused the rose bridge to tremble slightly. Ancestor Yun Lu¡¯s expression finally changed when he heard the sound. His gaze turned serious as he looked at the gap that connected the bridge to the Tongyou Mysterious World. Even so, the look that he was still in control of the situation didn¡¯t fade from his eyes. A small sword emerged from the Tongyou Mysterious World at that instant and it crossed the hundred feet gap in an instant. It shot towards Ancestor Yun Lu. ¡°Divine Weapon, Hidden Frost Sword!¡± Ancestor Yun Lu gasped as he unleashed several palm strikes at the space before him. He created several layers of barriers with the heaven and earth qi in his surroundings. When the Hidden Frost Sword arrived, It shattered a few layers before stopping. ¡°Hehe, too bad you¡¯re not Kou Chongxue!¡± Ancestor Yun Lu burst out with mocking laughter. He stared at Yun Jing who was standing at the edge of the Tongyou Mysterious World as a sneer formed on his lips. At the same time, the barriers around the Hidden Frost Sword solidified as they wrapped around the weapon. ¡°Who would have thought that you would be so kind as to give me a free Divine Weapon? Guess I won¡¯t stand on ceremony then¡­¡± Yun Jing¡¯s expression changed drastically as she tried to recall the sword. Rays of light emerged from the sword as it tried to struggle free. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. Ancestor Yun Lu expected her to do as much as he pressed down at the space in front of him to create a massive palm out of heaven and earth qi. It descended onto the Hidden Frost Sword and trapped it firmly in place. From the looks of it, Ancestor Yun Lu seemed to have expected things to develop up to that point. In fact, it might have been a part of his plan in the first place. Waving his hands again, thin strands of light emerged from the remnant pieces of the barrier that were shattered by the Hidden Frost Sword earlier and they wrapped themselves around it. In an instant, the Hidden Frost Sword was trapped securely in mid air. ¡­ In the Changfeng City, Uncle Cen and Fourth Brother Zeng led the remaining members of the Eighteen Horsemen to unleash an offensive on the experts from the City Lord Manor. However, they were unable to defeat Qin Yuyuan and the other experts. Their battle formation was shattered quickly as they made their escape through the city. In an instant, half the city was thrown into chaos by their actions. Perhaps, that was their plan all along. After scattering, they ran in all directions to incite massive riots. The chaos that ensued caused those from the City Lord Manor to turn extremely busy as they tried to quell the unrest. As the only other city in the You Continent that stood at the chokepoint of the You Continent and the Ji Continent, the Changfeng City possessed extremely strategic importance. The Tongyou Institution and the great clans of the Tongyou City had long since sent some of their men over either in disguise or through hidden means. The Changfeng City might have been Yang Hu¡¯s territory, and he managed to maintain a strong control over the city when he weeded out the spies of the Tongyou City previously. However, that didn¡¯t stop them from sending more! When he was around, he might have been able to suppress everyone against him with his personal strength. Now that he had left for the Tongyou City, no one could keep them in check. Moreover, there were many citizens of the Changfeng City who had been enraged by his recent actions. They were merely forced to remain quiet due to his overwhelming strength. Due to Yang Hu¡¯s cooperation with the White Deer Paradise, the City Lord Manor behaved in a tyrannical manner. They went about clearing out the hidden spies of the Tongyou Institution, causing much chaos in the city. Those who managed to survive the purge had a belly full of fire. As soon as Uncle Cen and the others scattered, they lit the fuse of chaos. The spies who went into hiding revealed themselves and caused chaos in the city. Of course, the unrest in the city might be extremely annoying to deal with, but they were far from enough to shake the foundations of the City Lord Manor. The only thing that could affect the City Lord Manor was the battle that was going on within. By that time, the gates to the City Lord Manor had been blown apart. Youshang¡¯s sneak attack allowed him to gain the advantage over Gao Yun, but the battle quickly evened out due to Gao Yun¡¯s formation he laid down in the City Lord Manor. Regardless, Youshang achieved his goal. All he needed to do was to keep Gao Yun in the City Lord Manor! Facing the strange fighting style of Youshang, a cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World, Gao Yun didn¡¯t dare to be careless as he controlled his formation personally to do battle. There was no way a battle between Martial Extermination Realm experts could be hidden and the shockwaves soon swept through the city. Who would have thought that neither of them would hold back? It even seemed as though they were intentionally increasing the intensity of the battle and the power contained in the shockwaves of their exchanges. As a cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World who was allied to the Tongyou Institution, Youshang wouldn¡¯t give a shit about the deaths of those in the Changfeng City. Gao Yun was no different. He was in the You Continent to carry out the White Deer Paradise¡¯s plan to steal the Tongyou Institution¡¯s world essence. He couldn¡¯t be bothered to keep the ordinary cultivators of the Changfeng City safe! As the two of them fought with no restraints, they turned a quarter of the city center into rubble in the time it took a pot of tea to boil. A terrifying fluctuation emerged from Gao Yun¡¯s protection formation all of a sudden, and Youshang¡¯s mocking laughter rang through the skies. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Are you getting tired? Can¡¯t you see that I¡¯m trying to keep you from returning? From the look on your face, you probably discovered that the Spirit Cave down there is under attack. It¡¯s too late for you to return now.¡± ¡°Who the hell are you? Why is a cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World helping the Tongyou Institution? Aren¡¯t you guys enemies?¡± Youshang chuckled without replying. The frown on Gao Yun¡¯s face soon transformed into a sneer. ¡°Well, you seemed to have underestimated me. Even though I¡¯m not too strong, the formation I laid down won¡¯t be broken by some third rate trash!¡± Youshang released another attack while Gao Yun was busy gloating and his attack smashed into the protection barrier around the man. Even though it looked like it was about to shatter, it managed to stay whole. ¡°How about it?¡± Gao Yun snorted in contempt. ¡°Even though I don¡¯t know how you managed to send your companion down where the Spirit Cave is, I hate to break it to you. Ancestor Yun Lu will return from the Tongyou City soon. When that happens, none of you are getting away!¡± Youshang¡¯s expression finally changed when he heard what Gao Yun said. CH 329 Youshang thought that they would be able to disrupt the plan once Shang Xia located the spirit cave. As long as he drew Gao Yun, who was in charge of protecting it away, he felt that Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t have a problem disrupting the plans of the White Deer Paradise. Things had indeed progressed as he planned. Gao Yun was drawn away, and Shang Xia seemed to have located the spirit cave. The only thing Youshang didn¡¯t count on was that the protection formation around the spirit cave would be powerful enough to maintain its operation without Gao Yun¡¯s presence! ¡°Looks like you¡¯re truly clueless when it comes to formations!¡± Gao Yun threw a mocking sneer at Youshang and continued, ¡°You might have thought that you could attack the spirit cave as long as there was no Martial Extermination Realm expert to hold the formation. You might also have thought that most of the power of my formation was channeled into something else!¡± Youshang was forcing himself to maintain his composure as Gao Yun continued in glee, ¡°You definitely didn¡¯t expect that Ancestor Yun Lu would be able to send the world origin back from the Tongyou Mysterious World! Even though a huge portion of it is being sent back to the Ji Continent, a portion of it remains here to power the formation! Even without me, the power contained in the barrier around the spirit cave won¡¯t decrease! In fact, it will become even stronger! Look at the barrier around me. It¡¯s powered by the same formation! It¡¯s growing stronger due to the influx of world origin! It¡¯s even¡­ Huh?!¡± Gao Yun stopped abruptly. Youshang saw the protection barrier around him popping like a bubble after it trembled violently. ¡°Hah!¡± Roaring with laughter, Youshang sent out a spear light that caused Gao Yun to tumble through the air. As Gao Yun flew through the air, he roared, ¡°Do you really think that you have won?! I told you, you don¡¯t know anything about how formations work!¡± ¡­ Shang Xia was about to give up and he decided to give it one last shot. He released everything he had and decided to leave by riding the current back to where he came from. He might even be able to avoid a huge calamity when the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor returns. Never in his wildest imagination would he expect the spiritual deer who emerged from his Spirit Extermination Gourd to pass through the barrier around the spirit cave. When it pranced around and approached the deep pool below, Shang Xia stared at it with an incredulous look on his face. He only snapped back to reality when the little deer started absorbing the extermination qi out from the deep pool. A thought flashed across his mind. The deer had to possess extremely similar qualities to the formless barrier! It made sense as the deer and Gao Yun both came from the White Deer Paradise. That might be the reason why the barrier didn¡¯t stop the deer from passing! Well, that was the best explanation Shang Xia could come up with anyway. What he didn¡¯t know was that the spiritual deer was a spirit animal used specifically by the direct disciples of the White Deer Paradise to collect extermination qi. Anywhere that could produce extermination qi was somewhere that held a ton of dangers. The spiritual deer possessed special abilities to break through formations and restrictions in case the direct disciples ran into any trouble. That was the true reason behind the spiritual deer¡¯s ability to cross Gao Yun¡¯s barrier. Once it did, the spiritual deer would naturally lean towards its original purpose and that was to absorb as much extermination qi as possible. The moment it stuck its head into the deep pool and absorbed a huge amount of extermination qi, the protection formation weakened significantly. Shang Xia slashed horizontally with his spear, tearing a huge gash through the formless barrier before entering the spirit cave. Entering the spirit cave, Shang Xia watched as the little deer grew larger at a visible pace as it sucked up the spirit qi in its surroundings. It quickly grew over three feet tall. That wasn¡¯t all. The aura surrounding the spiritual deer started to increase once again. Shang Xia might have severely injured it previously and caused it to weaken significantly, but it was rapidly growing stronger. Even though it didn¡¯t become as strong as Shang Xia, its strength couldn¡¯t be ignored. Due to the properties of the extermination qi it absorbed, traces of inky green could be seen on the spiritual deer¡¯s body. Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. Shang Xia retrieved the Spirit Extermination Gourd and pointed the opening at the spiritual deer suddenly. The little deer that was still in the midst of sucking up the extermination qi was pulled in the direction of the gourd. It was clearly reluctant to return to the gourd as it struggled violently. At the same time, it desperately tried to suck up the energy in its surroundings. Pouring his Origin True Qi into the Spirit Extermination Gourd, the suction force became too strong for the spiritual deer to handle. It flew backwards and returned to the gourd. A chilly qi emerged from the Spirit Extermination Gourd after the spiritual deer was retrieved and he couldn¡¯t help but shiver slightly. Covering his palms with his Origin True Qi, he eventually managed to block off the icy qi coming from within. The image of the spiritual deer returned to the body of the gourd, but Shang Xia could tell that it was struggling desperately to get out. The image was squirming about, and Shang Xia could tell that if he no longer sent his inner qi into the Spirit Extermination Gourd, the spiritual deer would break free immediately. The moment it did, the gourd would probably be destroyed! Shang Xia was naturally unwilling to allow something like that to happen. He half expected as much when the deer started absorbing extermination qi crazily, and that was the reason behind his actions earlier. When the spiritual deer entered the Spirit Extermination Gourd after being weakened by Shang Xia previously, it was on the verge of collapse! It needed to remain in the Spirit Extermination Gourd in order to recover its lost energy. Now that it managed to absorb a huge amount of extermination qi from the deep pool contained in the spirit cave, it was naturally unwilling to remain trapped in the gourd. Unfortunately, Shang Xia was in possession of the gourd. He wouldn¡¯t allow the spiritual deer to run free, and he quickly suppressed it with his control of the gourd. He activated the gourd¡¯s ability to absorb and refine extermination qi as a portion of energy absorbed by the deer was forcefully sucked out by the gourd. At the same time, he brought it closer to the pool of water in order to take in even more extermination qi. As the gourd absorbed more and more energy, it eventually reached an equilibrium with the spiritual deer again. The deer no longer had the strength to break out of the gourd, and a satisfied smile returned to Shang Xia¡¯s face. The more energy the gourd absorbed, the greater the fusion between itself and the spiritual deer that was trapped within. While energy from the deep pool in the spirit cave poured into it, it started to fuse with the spiritual deer trapped within. Eventually, the gourd and spiritual deer completed their fusion and turned into a usable artifact. With the process completed, Shang Xia could finally control the spiritual deer. With a single thought, the deer emerged from the gourd. With Shang Xia¡¯s command, it approached the deep pool as it continued to absorb the extermination qi within. Since the spiritual deer had become one with the Spirit Extermination Gourd, it was able to recover much quicker. The gourd had the ability to devour extermination qi, and so did the spiritual deer. The energy in the gourd was usable by the deer, and with two sources of extermination qi, the spiritual deer quickly recovered to its peak state. By the time Shang Xia completed the absorption of the spiritual qi in the deep pool, the protection formation around the Changfeng City laid down by Gao Yun stopped working. Those streams of water that contained the world essence Ancestor Yun Lu was stealing from the Tongyou Mysterious World also experienced a drastic change. They were no longer connected to the underground river that led to the Ji Continent! Even though the river was raging on as per usual, not a trace of extermination qi was contained in it. With no outlet, the heaven and earth qi that was produced from the world origin started to gather in the spirit cave. World origin was pouring in from the rose-colored bridge, and it was so dense around Shang Xia that he started to feel suffocated. Turning around to leave, Shang Xia discovered that another formless barrier had formed around the spirit cave! He was no longer able to move about as he wished! Even though he destroyed the formless barrier created by Gao Yun¡¯s formation, it seemed as though another stronger barrier had formed due to the massive influx of world origin! He might have shattered the protection formation Gao Yun laid down, but he was still trapped in the spirit cave! With world origin pouring in at a terrifying rate, it became so concentrated that they started to condense. Droplets of heaven and earth origin started forming in the air before him. No matter how much he didn¡¯t wish to cultivate, Shang Xia discovered that he didn¡¯t have a choice! The dense heaven and earth origin seeped into his body whether he liked it or not. With the amount of energy that was pouring into him, Shang Xia felt that it was possible to enter the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm directly! After all, that was the next step after the three divine sense transformations. That might be a good thing for others, but that was exactly what Shang Xia didn¡¯t want! He wanted to continue comprehending the Providence Spear Art and unleash its full potential to experience a step-by-step increase in his cultivation! No¡­ I have to get out of there! If I can¡¯t get out, I¡¯ll have to destroy the entire region! Shang Xia raised his head and discovered a shocking fact. He looked at the eighteen holes in the ceiling staring right back at him, and through every hole he could see the reflection of a waning moon! He realized that those eighteen holes were actually wells that led to the Changfeng City. It was also where the world origin Ancestor Yun Lu was stealing was pouring in from! CH 330 ¡­ Outside the Tongyou Mysterious World, Ancestor Yun Lu couldn¡¯t deny that he was moved when he saw the Hidden Frost Sword. Splitting off a portion of energy from the rose-colored bridge to suppress the Hidden Frost Sword, Ancestor Yun Lu was secretly rejoicing that he would be able to obtain Kou Chongxue¡¯s divine weapon for free. Due to his slight distraction, the experts of the Tongyou Institution managed to capitalize on the chance. A formation master that was operating the protection formation from within the Tongyou Mysterious World tried to seal off the gap while cutting off the world origin entering the bridge. ¡°Haha, are you really going to give up the Hidden Frost Sword just to destroy the connection? Looks like we know what happened to Kou Chongxue now¡­ Hahaha! Without Kou Chongxue to protect you, you¡¯re finished!¡± Ancestor Yun Lu roared with laughter as he stared at the Tongyou Mysterious World. However, there was a trace of regret in his heart. He was regretting the fact that he was unable to use his full strength at that moment. If not for the fact that the Changbai Holy Land failed to live up to their promise and deliver the Multi World Anchoring Flag, he would be able to unleash a larger portion of his strength. He wouldn¡¯t be distracted by the appearance of the Hidden Frost Sword and allow those from the Tongyou Institution to affect the connection between the bridge and the mysterious world. Absorbing the energy from the Tongyou Mysterious World might have been his main goal, but returning with the Hidden Frost Sword wasn¡¯t too bad either! At least, he thought it was worth it to absorb a little less energy in exchange for a divine weapon! Increasing his suppression on the Hidden Frost Sword, the rose-colored bridge immediately started to dim. Unfortunately for the Tongyou Institution, they were unable to sever the rose-colored bridge and seal off the gap in their protection formation. The only thing they managed to do was to lessen the amount of world origin being sucked up by the bridge. While that was happening, the Hidden Frost Sword was slowly being dragged towards Ancestor Yun Lu. Clearly, the Tongyou Institution suffered a devastating defeat. Not only would the world origin they obtained to create the Tongyou Mysterious World be sucked dry by a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor from the White Deer Paradise, they even lost Kou Chongxue¡¯s divine weapon! ¡­ Outside the City Lord Manor of the Changfeng City. Youshang roared with laughter when he saw the protection barrier around Gao Yun popping. He could tell that Shang Xia succeeded in destroying the protection formation underground. Facing Youshang¡¯s terrifying spear arts, Gao Yun managed to keep his composure. He yelled loudly, ¡°Do you really think that you¡¯ve won? Hah, you don¡¯t know anything about how I lay down formations!¡± As soon as he spoke, eighteen streams of light fell from the rose-colored bridge hanging above the city. They quickly connected with the eighteen wells Shang Xia had seen before. ¡°I always have a backup plan! You might have been able to destroy the connection between the extermination qi in the spirit cave I used to power my formation, but it doesn¡¯t matter! The spirit cave down there contains a terrifying amount of world origin. Even if your companion is a Martial Extermination Realm expert, he won¡¯t be able to do a thing with that much world origin pouring into the spirit cave. Haha! You should be able to guess what will happen down there with that much energy!¡± Youshang¡¯s expression changed slightly, and he pulled back his spear abruptly. It trembled slightly in his hands before two strands of extermination origins appeared around the tip of the spear. They transformed into a giant dual colored spear in mid air before flying towards Gao Yun who was hovering in mid air. ¡­ Shang Xia didn¡¯t know why the eighteen wells were connected to the eighteen streams of energy he was staring at, and he also didn¡¯t know why no one noticed the anomaly. Neither did he understand why he was able to see the reflection of the moon in each of the eighteen openings. However, the one thing he knew was that he had to leave the place immediately. Those eighteen openings were his way out! When he was about to make his move, a dense curtain of energy poured down from above. Since the spirit cave was their destination, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t possibly avoid any of it. The amount of world origin in the spirit cave was so dense that he started finding it hard to move around. There wasn¡¯t a need to talk about bursting out through those eighteen holes. It was tough for him to move about normally. Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Even if he didn¡¯t know what was going on earlier, he could tell that those eighteen streams of energy were an attempt by Gao Yun to suppress him! That wasn¡¯t all. He also discovered that as the eighteen streams of energy poured down into the spirit cave, the deep pool where he extracted the extermination qi from earlier started to transform. Along with the transformation, the protection formation that Shang Xia shattered earlier seemed to regain its abilities. World origin and heaven and earth qi poured into the underground river as it poured towards the Ji Continent. Even though he used a lot of effort to stop that from happening earlier, he couldn¡¯t care less about the change now that he couldn¡¯t move about freely. Even though he was getting more anxious as time passed, he didn¡¯t break out into full-blown panic. He might be suppressed by the terrifying amount of world origin around him, but there weren''t any immediate threats to his life. He could only hope that Youshang would be able to hold Gao Yun back for a little longer so that he could think of a plan to escape. Who would have thought that a figure would be seen approaching the spirit cave while Shang Xia was racking his brains for ways to leave? Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s figure could be seen as he approached the spirit cave. When the Changfeng City¡¯s protection barrier was broken by Youshang earlier and the remaining experts of the Eighteen Horsemen attacked the city, Yang Zhenbiao was the first to leave! He went back to inform Gao Yun of the attack and when Youshang killed his way into the City Lord Manor, he quickly hid underground. Even though Gao Yun laid down a massive protection formation around the spirit cave, he managed to do so with the foundations already laid down by Yang Hu. Yang Zhenbiao had a little understanding as to how the protection formation worked and he quickly entered the moment he detected something off. That was right. Gao Yun wasn¡¯t the only person who discovered Shang Xia¡¯s actions. When Shang Xia sucked away the extermination qi in the deep pool, and the strand of extermination origin located within, the protection formation was affected. Yang Zhenbiao who was hiding underground also discovered the abnormality. Yang Zhenbiao was no fool. Since the person could forcefully tear open the protection barrier powered by Gao Yun¡¯s protection formation, he knew that he would be no match for whoever it was. He wouldn¡¯t run over to the spirit cave only to throw his life away! Instead, he already started to make his escape preparations. He didn¡¯t expect Gao Yun¡¯s protection formation to reactivate again. When he felt the protection formation recovering, he discovered that it was even stronger than it was before. It probably managed to trap the attacker, and Yang Zhenbiao felt that his chance had arrived. Yang Zhenbiao was compelled to take action. He knew that the extermination origin they were nurturing in the spirit cave was already complete! He might not know that his father had sold it off to the White Deer Paradise, but he knew that a strand of extermination origin was his ticket to enter the Martial Extermination Realm! He had to take a look! Approaching the spirit cave, he discovered that there was indeed someone trapped within! With the newfound courage that the protection formation had been reactivated, he examined Shang Xia with his divine sense. Rage threatened to overwhelm him when he discovered that Shang Xia was merely at the Martial Intent Realm! Without hesitation, he attacked Shang Xia. ¡°How dare a fucking Martial Intent Realm trash like you try something like this?!¡± Yang Zhenbiao wasn¡¯t affected by the protection barrier, and he wasn¡¯t suppressed by the world origin at all. A blow landed on Shang Xia, forcing him to cough up several mouthfuls of blood. ¡°Who are you and how did you get in here?¡± Yang Zhenbiao roared. He unleashed the Startling Tiger Palm earlier, and it was an inheritance he received from his father. His attack contained a frightening amount of power and it connected with Shang Xia who found it difficult to move his muscles at the moment. As a cultivator who was at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, he was even slightly stronger than Li Tianshou Shang Xia killed previously. Taking on an attack from him was no joke. When the palm was traveling towards him earlier, Shang Xia had the intention to dodge. He discovered that his movements were slower than a snail¡¯s, and he had no choice but to take the attack. Realizing that Shang Xia didn¡¯t have the ability to move, every last bit of caution in Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s heart disappeared. He stepped into the Spirit Cave, but surprisingly, he wasn¡¯t suppressed by the dense world origin around. However, his expression changed the moment he stepped foot into the spirit cave. He ran over to the deep pool and discovered that the extermination origin had disappeared. ¡°Where¡¯s the Yin Water Mysterious Extermination?! Hand it over and I¡¯ll spare your life!¡± Yang Zhenbiao growled while staring at Shang Xia. Spitting out another mouthful of blood, Shang Xia sneered, ¡°Oh? So that¡¯s the Yin Water Mysterious Extermination. This daddy over here obtained it a while ago. Come get it from me if you have the abilities.¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking to die!¡± Yang Zhenbiao released a sinister chuckle as he leaped through the air to punch at Shang Xia¡¯s chest. A tiger¡¯s roar echoed through the spirit cave at that moment. Roaring Tiger Fist. That was the second of the three techniques Yang Zhenbiao trained in. Without the ability to resist, Shang Xia was struck squarely in his chest. He was sent flying from the blow and he spat out another mouthful of blood. That had been Shang Xia¡¯s plan all along. Since he couldn¡¯t move, he would borrow the momentum of his flight to toss out his Spirit Extermination Gourd. Naturally, he wasn¡¯t able to throw it out with much force and the gourd tumbled to the ground. Even so, that was enough. ¡°Huh? This is¡­¡± As Yang Hu¡¯s son, Yang Zhenbiao knew quite a lot of information. He was also able to identify precious treasures and the gourd that Shang Xia threw out caught his eye. Before he could grab the gourd to properly identify it, the cork popped open and a gray mist emerged. It transformed into a spiritual deer that was nearly five feet tall that charged at Yang Zhenbiao with its head lowered. ¡°Spiritual Deer Carving from the White Deer Paradise. Are you from the White Deer Paradise? How is this possible?¡± Yang Zhenbiao released a strange cry as he was unable to dodge in time. He could only take the spiritual deer¡¯s charge with his body. Bang! As he was sent flying, he slammed heavily into the wall behind. He slid powerlessly down the wall and slumped on the ground below. ¡°Bleugh¡­¡± Raising a shaky finger to point at Shang Xia, he wanted to say something but vomited out a mouthful of blood instead. CH 331 Outside the Tongyou Mysterious World¡­ Right before Ancestor Yun Lu could grab the Hidden Frost Sword, a loud whistle tore through the void. Before anyone could react, an ordinary looking hand stretched out from the void and grabbed the Hidden Frost Sword that was ringing non-stop. As soon as the hand appeared, the ringing emitted by the Hidden Frost Sword changed. The change was clear. The miserably ringing seemed to transform into one of endless excitement. The moment the hand grabbed the Hudden Frost Sword, it twisted its wrist once, shattering all the restraints around the sword. ¡°How¡­ How can you be¡­¡± Ancestor Yun Lu¡¯s casual expression finally changed. His voice was filled with shock and fear¡­ ¡­ Outside the Changfeng City¡­ Gao Yun was holding off Youshang¡¯s relentless attacks while still running his mouth off. ¡°I don¡¯t know what agreement you made with the Tongyou Institution, but you should treasure your life. If you leave now, you might still make it. Otherwise, hehehe¡­¡± Youshang seemed to turn a deaf ear to whatever Gao Yun was saying. His attacks became even more aggressive and he forced Gao Yun who seemed to be holding the advantage to retreat desperately. ¡°Are you really going to stay so stubborn?¡± Gao Yun didn¡¯t seem affected by Youshang¡¯s offensive. However, his expression changed drastically when the amount of energy pouring down from the rose-colored bridge. It weakened by more than half! ¡°This¡­¡± ¡­ The spiritual deer wasn¡¯t suppressed by the world origin in the slightest due to the fact that it managed to absorb the extermination origin nurtured by the spiritual vein. The moment it did, it seemed to become one with the protection formation Gao Yun laid down. Naturally, the protection formation wouldn¡¯t suppress one of its own. Find the original at "pawread dot com". There was another reason Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect. After the spiritual deer absorbed the Yin Water Mysterious Extermination Origin, it became a lot stronger than it originally was! It exceeded Shang Xia¡¯s estimations. It far surpassed a Martial Intent Realm cultivator at the grand completion stage. That meant that the spiritual deer could possess the strength of a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator! The protection formation could suppress Shang Xia as he was still in the Martial Intent Realm, but its effects were limited when it came to an existence that possessed strength at the level of the Martial Extermination Realm. When the spiritual deer rammed into Yang Zhenbiao earlier, it easily inflicted heavy injuries on the man. After all, how could a Martial Intent Realm cultivator like Yang Zhenbiao withstand a blow from an existence that had the strength of a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator? Yang Zhenbiao clearly didn¡¯t expect the event to unfold like that, and Shang Xia was equally surprised. When he tossed out the Spirit Extermination Gourd earlier, it was a desperate attempt to do something about the situation. He didn¡¯t expect it to be so effective. When the blood draining from Yang Zhanbiao¡¯s face, he thought back to the spiritual deer. He knew that only direct disciples of the White Deer Paradise could possess something like that. The only person he knew who had the authority to receive a treasure like that from the White Deer Paradise was Li Tianshou whose cultivation had reached the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. Now that the spiritual deer was summoned by someone who obviously didn¡¯t hail from the White Deer Paradise, there was only one possibility. Li Tianshou had been killed by the person before him! ¡°Who exactly are you¡­¡± Yang Zhenbiao mumbled somewhat incoherently. Shang Xia was too lazy and injured to reply. Since Yang Zhenbiao was seriously injured, Shang Xia understood that the wisest thing he could do was to eliminate the threat completely. However, the thing that happened next caused Yang Zhenbiao to snigger uncontrollably despite his serious injuries. The spiritual deer didn¡¯t continue to charge at Yang Zhenbiao. Instead, it ran towards the deep pool where the energy was collected and started to eat its fill. The spiritual deer was clearly not controlled by Shang Xia! Shang Xia might have been able to forcefully control the appearance of the spiritual deer with the Spirit Extermination Gourd, but he was no longer holding on to it. He couldn¡¯t pour his inner qi into the gourd either. ¡°Hah¡­ Hah¡­¡± Yang Zhenbiao held on to the wall behind him as he struggled to get to his feet. Even though his inner injuries were serious, he wasn¡¯t dead yet. As for Shang Xia, he was still unable to move due to the suppression. He could only remain motionless in place. In reality, Shang Xia was doing all he could to resist the suppression around him. However, his abilities were limited after taking two strikes from Yang Zhenbiao earlier. When he saw Yang Zhenbiao getting to his feet and slowly making his way over, Shang Xia sighed softly in his heart. He stared at the eighteen openings in the ceiling, praying for a change to happen. Who would have thought that the situation would change suddenly? The amount of energy pouring down decreased by more than half, and it seemed as though it was about to disappear completely. Shang Xia thought that he was hallucinating when the change happened, and he blinked his eyes forcefully. After examining it closely, he discovered that it was actually happening! The reflection of the moon became extremely blurry as though it was about to disappear. He also realized that the suppression around him became much weaker than before. Rejoicing in his heart, Shang Xia didn¡¯t give half a shit about the reason behind the sudden weakened suppression. Rousing his inner qi immediately, he quickly circulated it in his body. A grunt left his lips and after spitting out another mouthful of blood, Shang Xia slapped his hands against the ground and got to his feet. Facing Shang Xia¡¯s sudden action, Yang Zhenbiao was so shocked that his legs went weak. He nearly crumpled to the ground again. Feeling the killing intent rolling off Shang Xia, Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s heart sank as despair started to set in. Turning around with the last of his energy, Yang Zhenbiao no longer cared about killing Shang Xia. He wanted nothing but to leave immediately. ¡°Young City Lord, where are you going?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s voice rang in Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s ears and he couldn¡¯t hide his tone of ridicule in the slightest. ¡°Mercy¡­ Please spare my life!¡± Yang Zhenbiao stuttered as he fell to the ground and desperately tried to crawl away. As he was looking like a bum who was scared of death, he turned around abruptly and tossed two daggers made from tiger¡¯s teeth at Shang Xia. Just as he was about to rejoice about outsmarting his opponent, a streak of starlight tore through the air in front of him and stabbed straight into him. Raising his hands feebly, he wanted to say something but the blood in his throat blocked off whatever words that was about to emerge. After several weak gurgling sounds, he crumpled to the ground. Shang Xia managed to grab both the daggers and his nose was soon assaulted by a pungent smell. Clearly, those daggers were poisoned. Heaving a sigh of relief, Shang Xia thought about how he almost fell victim to Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s hidden attack. Even though he didn¡¯t know why the amount of energy decreased by half, he was glad that he finally regained the ability to move. The suppression was still active, but all it took was more energy from Shang Xia to move about. Every time he unleashed his attack or took a small step forward, he would expend a lot of Origin True Qi. Only by using his inner qi to forcefully resist the suppression could he unleash his attacks with the power he desired. Just a second ago, he nearly failed to intercept those daggers. After keeping them both carefully, Shang Xia searched through Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s body only to obtain an intricate-looking wooden box. ¡°Hehe, let¡¯s hope that the things the young city lord doesn¡¯t disappoint.¡± Tossing the storage box into his sleeves, Shang Xia chose to examine it in the future. The situation above ground wasn¡¯t clear and it wasn¡¯t the best time to look through his loot. Taking several steps forward, he picked up the Spirit Extermination Gourd before sending some Origin True Qi in. He quickly tried to drag the spiritual deer back into the gourd. It seemed as though he couldn¡¯t fully control the spiritual deer despite it fusing together with the Spirit Extermination Gourd. After absorbing even more extermination qi, the spiritual deer seemed to have escaped his control once again. As half of its body was sucked back into the gourd, it released a deep cry before struggling desperately against the suction force. When the spiritual deer didn¡¯t listen to Shang Xia¡¯s command earlier to kill Yang Zhenbiao, a trace of lingering fear appeared in his heart. He was no longer willing to allow it to continue doing as it wished. Shang Xia didn¡¯t hold back as he poured his inner qi into the gourd. As the suction force increased, the spiritual deer seemed unable to withstand it any longer and it released a miserable cry before turning into a ball of mist that returned to the gourd. Heaving a sigh of relief, Shang Xia thought back to how lucky he was when the spiritual deer entered the Spirit Extermination Gourd on its own accord preciously. If not for the fact that the spiritual deer was trying to survive, it wouldn¡¯t have entered the gourd willingly. If that were the case, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t have been able to complete his mission. When he thought about how strong the spiritual deer became when it struck Yang Zhenbiao, he knew that subduing it forcefully would no longer be as easy as before. Luckily, he had the assistance of the gourd. Now that Yang Zhenbiao was dead and the Spirit Extermination Gourd was back in his hands, the most logical thing for Shang Xia to do was to look for a way out of the spirit cave. When he raised his head to look at the eighteen holes again, Shang Xia discovered that energy was only pouring in from nine of the eighteen holes. He understood that the world origin was still being drained from the Tongyou Mysterious World, and it seemed as though his mission wasn¡¯t completed yet. He might not know what led to the decrease in world origin, but from his experience earlier, those nine remaining holes were the key to shattering Gao Yun¡¯s hidden second layer of formation! Pulling his spear out from Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s body, Shang Xia raised his head to look at the hole directly above him. Circulating his inner qi, he released his fourth move, Void Evasion! CH 332 Outside the City Lord Manor in the Changfeng City¡­ The energy that fell from the rose-colored bridge decreased by half, surprising both Gao Yun and Youshang. This time, it was Youshang¡¯s turn to talk shit. ¡°Hahaha, the ancestor of your White Deer Paradise isn¡¯t that impressive after all. With the decrease in energy, there¡¯s no way whatever formation you laid down can suppress my partner.¡± ¡°Preposterous! How dare a mere rat like you try to evaluate our ancestor¡¯s strength?! You better start thinking about your own fate right now. The energy sent back might have decreased, but my ancestor might be returning as we speak. Hmph. Even though I can¡¯t trap your comrade, I am more than capable of stalling you here! When the ancestor returns, hehehe¡­¡± Gao Yun snapped with rage. Roaring with laughter, Youshang continued, ¡°If that¡¯s the case, there¡¯s not much left for us to talk about!¡± Gao Yun¡¯s expression sank slightly, but he didn¡¯t say a word in response. He didn¡¯t expect Youshang to give up on his offensive suddenly. Turning around, Youshang sent an attack towards one of the wells around the City Lord Manor. When he was fighting with Gao Yun earlier, he discovered the anomaly with the placements of the wells. He felt that those could be the path the world origin was taking to enter the spirit cave underground. His guess was correct. However, Gao Yun wouldn¡¯t allow him to destroy those wells as he wished! As the space above the City Lord Manor started to distort, Youshang¡¯s attack tore into the ground below as cracks formed on the well he was aiming for. However, he quickly noticed that something was wrong. ¡°Huh? This is an illusion!¡± Youshang¡¯s expression changed slightly as he retreated slightly. Covering his palms with his extermination origin, he sent them forward to meet Gao Yun¡¯s palms that appeared out of nowhere. A massive blast ensued and Youshang was forced to retreat. Retreating hundreds of feet, Youshang eventually managed to stabilize his footing. Gao Yun¡¯s gaze landed on Youshang and he growled, ¡°You¡¯re still underestimating me.¡± When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Who would have thought that a massive explosion would come from the well Youshang aimed at after the words left Gao Yun¡¯s lips? A powerful spear light emerged from underground, causing a pillar of water to burst out from down below. A ray of light flashed through Youshang¡¯s eyes and he chuckled in amusement, ¡°Looks like your formation failed to trap my partner.¡± Without turning his head to look at the disturbance, Gao Yun sneered, ¡°Like I said. All of you are frogs at the bottom of the well.¡± After the water sprayed up into the air, the well quickly regained its calm. If not for the traces of water that landed all around the well, no one would think that anything happened earlier. ¡­ Unleashing Void Evasion, Shang Xia rejoiced after it smashed into the opening above. He thought that he managed to open up a path to escape. However, the opening quickly closed up and the reflection of the waning moon returned. Sucking in a cold breath, Shang Xia felt a trace of irritation rising in his heart. He understood that he thought too simply earlier. The formation laid down by the formation master of the White Deer Paradise wasn¡¯t that easy to break apart indeed. Looking at the eighteen opening above him, another idea crossed his mind. Only nine of them had the reflection of the waning moon in them. Why shouldn¡¯t he try attacking one that didn¡¯t have the reflection? He quickly discovered that he made a mistake. Since the energy could no longer flow through the nine holes there was no point in keeping them open. The formation master of the White Deer Paradise wouldn¡¯t leave such a huge loophole for him to take advantage of. Of course, he had to unleash his attacks to discover his mistake. When he stabbed at those openings without the reflection of the moon, he discovered that they were covered by a formless barrier. Those holes were sealed off by the formation master of the White Deer Paradise with some sort of spatial distortion, and a Martial Intent Realm cultivator like Shang Xia was unable to do anything about it. If he wanted any chance of breaking through to the surface, he would have to do it from the nine holes that contained the reflection of the moon! ¡°It recovered quickly after I broke through the water surface. That¡¯s because only one of them was damaged. What if I attack all nine at once?¡± As soon as the thought surfaced in his mind, he unleashed his sixth move, Flow Recompensation! Nine rays of spear light appeared almost simultaneously as they crashed into the nine holes above. Even though the reflection trembled violently, they didn¡¯t shatter completely. As the reflection returned to its tranquil state, Shang Xia knew that his second try had failed. His sixth move was named ¡®Flow Recompensation¡¯, and it possessed frightening power, but it seemed as though splitting it into nine different parts was too much for him to handle. To put it simply, his sixth move was far from enough to break him out of his predicament! In terms of brute force, Shang Xia¡¯s seventh move, Celestial Disruption, was somewhat lacking when compared to Flow Recompensation. Its focus was on unpredictability rather than brute force, and Shang Xia doubted that it could break through the nine holes above. The more he thought about it, the more desperate he felt. Was he really going to have to rely on others to come rescue him? He refused to place his fate in the hands of others, and a feeling of reluctance filled his heart. The more he thought about it, the more the reflection of the waning moon in the nine holes above seemed to resemble mocking smiles laughing at his weakness. ¡°If I can shatter those nine moons at once¡­¡± A trace of anger replaced the feeling of reluctance in his heart and he quickly got to his feet. A trace of inspiration struck him when he looked at the reflection of the waning moon above his head. The principles he learned after comprehending the Providence Spear Art in the past surfaced in his mind and he seemed to have caught on to something. During his first divine sense transformation, he managed to affect the heaven and earth qi in his surroundings. After his second divine sense transformation, he managed to fuse his divine sense with the world around him. Now that he completed his third divine sense transformation, he had the ability to control the heaven and earth qi around him to a greater degree! Since he had the ability to control the heaven and earth qi around him, was it possible for him to extend the control and do the same to the world origin in his surroundings? Extending his divine sense around him, Shang Xia quickly grasped the essence of the problem. Gao Yun was able to use the world origin like heaven and earth qi to power his formation. Why couldn¡¯t he do the same?! With an idea in his mind, Shang Xia raised his Scarlet Star Spear and started waving it around. He drew a perfect circle around him and gathered whatever energy there was before twisting his wrist to point upwards. He stabbed forward slightly as his divine sense fused with his eighth move. The spear light created from the energy around him carried his divine sense as it traveled up towards the nine holes. As they slammed into the formless barrier above, the barrier didn¡¯t seem affected at all. However, those reflections seemed to receive a devastating attack as they scattered completely. Not a trace remained! Quickly coming up with a name for his eighth move, Shang Xia named it, Startling Moon! CH 333 ¡­ ¡°How¡­ How can you be¡­¡± Ancestor Yun Lu¡¯s gaze was filled with equal parts shock and fear, but he quickly suppressed his emotions. Even so, the fright in his voice managed to attract the attention of the Martial Extermination Realm experts in the surroundings. After all, how often would a Martial Dipper Realm expert be frightened by something? They stopped fighting in an instant as they quickly flew further away from him in case something unexpected happened. Before they could look at the existence who shocked Ancestor Yun Lu so much, the skies rumbled as another frightened cry came from the southwest. ¡°Kou Chongxue, how are you here?!¡± The Martial Dipper Realm expert who was unwilling to reveal his identity the whole time while fighting with Ji Wenlong seemed to have detected Kou Chongxue¡¯s presence right after Ancestor Yun Lu. He couldn¡¯t contain his shock at all! Kou Chongxue! That name was an utter nightmare for every single Martial Extermination Realm cultivator who wasn¡¯t from the You Continent! The moment his name was spoken, many Martial Extermination Realm experts who came to attack the Tongyou Institution had half a mind to turn tail and run. ¡°Hmph, what¡¯s there to be afraid of?¡± Ancestor Yun Lu snorted heavily after suppressing his initial shock. In fact, he seemed to become even more unperturbed than before. Even with Kou Chongxue¡¯s hand holding on to the Hidden Frost Sword, the connection between the bridge and the Tongyou Mysterious World hadn¡¯t been broken. ¡°Hehe, just a little ant struggling at death¡¯s door. How strong are you now? Do you really think that you can change the situation with your measly strength?¡± Ancestor Yun Lu quickly reverted to his original behavior. His calm demeanor quickly roused those who were thinking of retreating. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right! Kou Chongxue was ambushed twice! With Ancestor Yun Lu here, there¡¯s nothing for us to be afraid of!¡± ¡°Even though we don¡¯t know how he managed to avoid everyone¡¯s detection to hide in the Tongyou Mysterious World, he¡¯s dead now that he dares to show himself!¡± To access the premium content, go to [ pawread dot com ]. ¡°Hehe, everyone might be a little wary of the Tongyou Institution if he refused to show himself. Now that he revealed his presence, he¡¯s asking to die! What a fool!¡± ¡°This¡­ Do you think that he managed to regain his strength?¡± ¡°Ahem¡­ How can that be possible? Can¡¯t you see that Ancestor Yun Lu is standing strong against him?¡± ¡°...¡± As the Martial Extermination Realm experts who were attacking the Tongyou Institution broke out into discussion, the voice of the Martial Dipper Realm expert from the Southwest rang through the air again. ¡°Hah! This old man was nearly fooled by you! You can¡¯t hide your condition from us! We verified that you lost control over your fate dippers in the previous battle! Haha! Luckily I wasn¡¯t fooled into retreating the moment you appeared!¡± Ancestor Yun Lu¡¯s expression changed when he heard what the other Martial Dipper Realm expert said. The Martial Extermination Realm experts who were attacking the Tongyou Institution also revealed weird expressions. No matter what, the Martial Dipper Realm expert from the southwest was a peak tier existence in the Azure Origin World. Why did his words sound so cheap? Wasn¡¯t he smearing his reputation? Ji Wenlong snorted in disdain after hearing what he said. ¡°So you¡¯re Feng Yezi, the Wind Walking Sage! My Tongyou Institution didn¡¯t offend you before. What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± The expressions of those from the Tongyou Institution changed when they heard Ji Wenlong calling out Feng Yezi¡¯s name. As for the others, some of them revealed looks of suspicion while others revealed a look of realization. The only person whose expression didn¡¯t change was Ancestor Yun Lu. He seemed to have guessed Feng Yezi¡¯s identity already. At the same time, Kou Chongxue didn¡¯t say anything. He didn¡¯t seem surprised by Feng Yezi¡¯s appearance. After Ji Wenlong¡¯s yell, the voice from the southwest quietened down. However, that didn¡¯t mean that his attacks stopped. Ji Wenlong¡¯s battle with him continued. The voice only came back after a short pause. This time, there was a trace of helplessness in it. ¡°Hmm. I didn¡¯t expect this either. All I wanted was to obtain some benefits from the situation. I don¡¯t have any intentions of harming any of you.¡± It seemed as though he was already making up excuses for Kou Chongxue who hadn¡¯t shown his face. On the rose-colored bridge, Ancestor Yun Lu pressed his lips together in irritation. ¡°Enough! Feng Yezi, what are you thinking about right now? Are you already planning to meet Kou Chongxue after the battle today? What¡¯s there to explain?!¡± Who would have thought that the world origin that was sucked away from the Tongyou Mysterious World would flow back into the bridge? The energy quickly gathered under Ancestor Yun Lu. His figure that was starting to turn illusory earlier became extremely sturdy as his aura became frighteningly powerful. A strange phenomenon appeared above his head, and it was somewhat similar to when the Origin Tide erupted earlier. ¡°Everyone, the spatial tunnel leading to the battlefield between the two worlds has been sealed. With his serious injuries, this is our best shot at killing Kou Chongxue!¡± Ancestor Yun Lu roared as the clouds in the skies were torn apart by the soundwave. A weapon that resembled a deer¡¯s antlers appeared in Ancestor Yun Lu¡¯s hand as he charged at the Tongyou Mysterious World. Tearing a massive hole in the protection barrier around the Tongyou Mysterious World, Ancestor Yun Lu revealed the figure who had been hiding in there all along. He was standing in the midst of several rock formations and reservoirs of water as he stared at the opening torn open by Ancestor Yun Lu. His appearance couldn¡¯t be more ordinary, and his dressing was a little shabby. However, he didn¡¯t reveal the slightest trace of emotions when he saw Ancestor Yun Lu. ¡°That¡­ That¡¯s the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World that used to be in the Mysterious Coral World!¡± Many Martial Extermination Realm experts recognized the region. ¡°Kou Chongxue!¡± Practically everyone¡¯s gaze was drawn to the figure standing there. ¡°Hahaha! I must have accumulated plenty of good fortune in my past lives for me to be able to take your life today, Kou Chongxue!¡± Ancestor Yun Lu roared. Even though he was assured of his victory, he still showed some respect to Kou Chongxue. A chuckle left Kou Chongxue¡¯s lips suddenly. ¡°Brother Yun Lu, are you certain you can kill me? Aren¡¯t you afraid that you have misjudged the situation?¡± ¡°Hah. This old man lived for a hundred years more than you. You¡¯re just a junior. For you to address me like that, I¡¯m offended! However, It¡¯s alright. My current body is a mere clone. Even if I have to sacrifice this clone to kill you, it¡¯s worth it!¡± The two of them seemed like old friends from the way they spoke, but everyone around could tell that they wanted nothing more than to send each other to the depths of hell the moment they had the chance. ¡°Hehe, sacrificing your clone to kill me is a pity indeed. Brother Yun Lu, you only managed to create this clone with your fate dipper. Why don¡¯t you leave it behind to compensate me for my losses today?¡± Kou Chongxue waved his hand and a sharp whistle came from the Hidden Frost Sword he had retrieved from the void earlier. Many Martial Extermination Realm experts felt the danger when Kou Chongxue started to wield his sword and retreated quickly. Unfortunately, some of them didn¡¯t move quickly enough. Their divine sense trembled and they felt as though someone slammed a sledgehammer into their souls. Blood poured from their orifices as they forced themselves to hurry away from the Tongyou Mysterious World desperately. The Hidden Frost Sword drew a perfect arc through the skies, cleaving a massive chunk off Ancestor Yun Lu¡¯s weapon. His movements were so fast that many Martial Extermination Realm experts were unable to catch a glimpse of his blade. ¡°He¡­ He¡¯s able to fight!¡± The same thought flashed through the minds of everyone present. That included those from the Tongyou Institution. ¡°You actually have the ability to fight back¡­ Impressive indeed!¡± Ancestor Yun Lu roared. Kou Chongxue¡¯s laughter filled the skies as he replied, ¡°Hahaha! I was in a hopeless situation before. The balance between my fate dippers had been broken and I was a step away from entering the underworld. Who would have thought that a little brat¡¯s suggestion would be all it took for me to hold on till today? Looks like I will have to disappoint all of you today!¡± Snorting once, Ancestor Yun Lu cried out to Feng Yezi. ¡°Old man Feng, How long do you plan to mess around for?!¡± While he spoke, he smashed his weapon down at Kou Chongxue. The exchange between two Martial Dipper Realm experts instantly tore the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World to shreds. ¡°AYAYAYA!¡± A strange cry came from Feng Yezi and he started his desperate attack. A gray bag appeared in the air above the Tongyou Mysterious World. To be exact, it appeared right above Ji Wenlong. As the bag opened, Ji Wenlong could no longer care about fighting with Feng Yezi. He sent a strong slash upwards in an attempt to cleave the bag in two. Unfortunately, the bag released a burst of air at that moment and it greatly reduced the power in Ji Wenlong¡¯s strike. When Ji Wenlong was distracted by the gray bag, a withered hand extended out from the void and it grabbed at the Tongyou Mysterious World, tearing a massive hole through the barrier. World origin poured out at a frightening rate. ¡°How dare you!¡± Ji Wenlong growled as his blade came slashing down at that hand. The hand dissipated the moment Ji Wenlong¡¯s attack arrived, causing him to strike at air. The gray bag that was slightly deflected by Ji Wenlong earlier appeared at the opening the hand tore earlier. A strong suction force appeared and it drew in the world origin that was leaking along with tens of treasures that had been nurtured by the Tongyou Mysterious World earlier. Just as Feng Yezi succeeded, the skies above the Tongyou Mysterious World lit up before a deafening silence descended onto the lands. Ancestor Yun Lu¡¯s figure started to shatter, and everyone could see the bewildered expression on his face as he disappeared. CH 334 ¡°This can¡¯t be! This isn¡¯t possible! How are you still able to use your fate dippers?!¡± Feng Yezi yelled in terror as Ancestor Yun Lu¡¯s clone shattered to bits. During the first ambush, those who carried out the attack basically verified that Kou Chongxue lost control over his fate dippers. All of them knew that his injuries wouldn¡¯t be recovering at all. Even though the second attack failed to claim Kou Chongxue¡¯s life, they could basically confirm that he would die even without external interference. The disequilibrium between his fate dippers had become too large and he was barely holding on to his life. What happened after Ancestor Yun Lu broke into the Tongyou Mysterious World destroyed everything they thought they knew about Kou Chongxue! With three moves, he destroyed Ancestor Yun Lu¡¯s fate dipper clone! Only Martial Dipper Realm experts could kill other Martial Dipper Realm experts! In other words, Kou Chongxue not only used his fate dipper to power his strikes. He might look just as haggard as he was earlier, but his condition didn¡¯t seem to be deteriorating at all! What could that possibly mean?! Did Kou Chongxue actually find a way to stabilize his fate dippers?! The repercussions if it did terrified even Feng Yezi. After all, he knew what would happen if Kou Chongxue returned to his peak. Without bothering about his identity as a Martial Dipper Realm expert, he shook off Ji Wenlong before escaping with all his might back to the southwest. A Martial Dipper Realm expert was running away! He might know that even if Kou Chongxue found a way to stabilize his fate dippers, he wouldn¡¯t be able to restore himself to his peak state in a short amount of time. He also knew that Kou Chongxue was an arrow at the end of its flight after killing Ancestor Yun Lu. As long as he continued to waste Ji Wenlong¡¯s time, he would be able to suck away a lot of world origin from the Tongyou Mysterious World and obtain many treasures. Even so, he chose to escape without hesitation. With Ancestor Yun Lu¡¯s clone shattered and Feng Yezi retreating, the signal sent couldn¡¯t be clearer. The Martial Extermination Realm experts who had come to attack the Tongyou Mysterious World scattered immediately. They ran in all directions, afraid that a slight delay would cost them their lives. Even though Kou Chongxue looked to be in a bad situation, no one dared to test the only Martial Dipper Realm expert left. Even if he was at death¡¯s door, he was still a Martial Dipper Realm expert! ¡°I would have to trouble a few of you to stop Wei Zhongwen and Yang Hu.¡± Ji Wenlong¡¯s voice boomed through the air. He was a spent force after fighting Feng Yezi for such a long time. If anyone had to say who felt the most anxious the moment Ancestor Yun Lu¡¯s clone was destroyed, it would have to be Wei Zhongwen and Yang Hu. The two of them tried to shake off Liu Qinglan and Kang Ci while making their desperate escape. They were experts in the third layer Martial Extermination Realm to begin with. Liu Qinglan and Kang Ci were far from able to stop them if they wished to escape. However, a thin sword web filled the void right as they shook off Liu Qinglan and Kang Ci. The sword web shattered the space around it as it obstructed their escape. ¡°Yu Chengjin, how dare you stop me!¡± Wei Zhongwen roared with anger. The spatial cracks quickly restored themselves, but by the time they did, Yu Chengjin had appeared before the two of them. With a sword in hand and a frown on his face, Yu Chengjin growled, ¡°Brother Wei, the actions of your White Deer Paradise are extremely despicable.¡± Out of everyone who came to assist the Tongyou Institution, Yu Chengjin and Wei Zhongwen were the two with the highest cultivation. Now that Wei Zhongwen had turned to the other side, Yu Chengjin was the strongest expert who wasn¡¯t completely burned out on the side of the Tongyou Institution. He was the only one who had the ability to stop the two of them. This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Wei Zhongwen turned around to release another attack to force Liu Qinglan away before growling, ¡°Are you stopping me because of this shit reason? Do you know what stopping me means? Is your Jianmen Institution willing to become an enemy of my White Deer Paradise?¡± A snort left Yu Chengjin¡¯s lips in response. ¡°The holy lands have never bothered with any of our five continents who have dedicated ourselves to preventing the intrusion of the Azure Spiritual World. Your White Deer Paradise chose to forsake the You Continent today and you can easily do the same for the rest of us in the future.¡± ¡°How is that the same?! The You Continent has always acted alone. They never intended to cooperate with us!¡± Wei Zhongwen roared. ¡°There¡¯s no need to say anymore.¡± Yu Chengjin shut him up with a stream of thin sword qi. Behind Wei Zhongwen, Liu Qinglan ignored the injuries she had suffered as she attacked them from the back. Yang Hu, whose intestines were green with regret for siding with the White Deer Paradise, knew that he had to do something. Instead of attempting to escape on his own, he chose to assist Wei Zhongwen. He knew that there was no path of retreat now. He chose to side with the White Deer Paradise and the Tongyou Institution wouldn¡¯t let him off whether he escaped or not. Even though he was cursing Wei Zhongwen¡¯s eighteen generations of ancestors, he still had to help the man. The You Continent no longer had a place for him after the shit he pulled. If he wanted to safely leave the You Continent, he had to rely on the White Deer Paradise. Well, that was if they managed to live to see that day. Before he could jump into the battle, they were surrounded by Han Chongwei, Shang Ke, Liu Zhuyuan, and Kang Ci. When Kou Chongxue appeared earlier, the Martial Extermination Realm experts who came to attack the Tongyou Mysterious World ran to the sidelines. The only exception was Wei Zhongwen and Yang Hu who were tasked to protect the bridge by Ancestor Yun Lu. When everyone¡¯s attention was on Wei Zhongwen and Yang Hu, another figure was running sneakily in the southwest direction. He only managed to travel several dozen miles before he was intercepted. ¡°Brother Chang, why are you in such a rush to leave? Why don¡¯t you stay for a little while?¡± The person who stopped Chang Huaiwu might have hidden his appearance, but he took part in the battle earlier. He saved Mister Bu from Yang Hu earlier. ¡°Who the hell are you? Why are you getting in my way?!¡± Chang Huaiwu of the Yanmen Institution roared. As soon as Feng Yezi¡¯s identity was revealed, he knew that his identity couldn¡¯t be hidden from the others any longer. He knew he had to leave before the members of the Tongyou Institution hunted him down. ¡°I have something important to do right now and I have to return to my Yanmen Institution. I hope you don¡¯t make things difficult for us?¡± The person who stood in Chang Huaiwu¡¯s way took off his disguise and muttered, ¡°Brother Chang, I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯re not planning to go back to the Yanmen Institution. You should be rushing over to the icy pool under the Linya Cliff, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Chang Huaiwu gasped when he saw the masked man¡¯s appearance. ¡°I should have expected this. Since Kou Chongxue didn¡¯t die, you wouldn¡¯t have met your end either, Shang Lubing!¡± A smile appeared on Shang Lubing¡¯s face, but he didn¡¯t say anything in response. As Chang Huaiwu¡¯s expression fluctuated unsteadily, he seemed to be making some sort of decision in his mind. ¡°Maybe Elder Chang can help me to understand how my martial nephew You Haibiao died. What is your relationship with the evil remnants anyway?¡± An elderly voice rang from behind Chang Huaiwu all of a sudden. ¡­ As the battle drew to a close outside the Tongyou Mysterious World, the four strongest experts who had exhausted a huge portion of their energy gathered in the nearly destroyed Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World. Yun Jing felt a bad premonition filling her heart when she saw Kou Chongxue leaning against his sword. She quickly stepped forward to assist him. The moment she supported him, her expression changed and she yelled in fright. ¡°Why are you utilizing your origin energy?!¡± Her yelp caused Shang Bo and Ji Wenlong to hasten their steps. When they arrived near him, Ji Wenlong frowned while looking in the direction of the rose-colored bridge. ¡°What¡¯s the point of maintaining the connection with your own energy?¡± ¡°What?!¡± Yun Jing yelled once again as she tried to sever the connection between Kou Chongxue and the bridge. However, he nudged her away before vomiting out a mouthful of blood. He chuckled a little hoarsely, ¡°This is such a good opportunity. People are scheming against us all the time. It¡¯s not our style to take a beating passively. An eye for an eye. That¡¯s my style!¡± He forced a smile before taking out the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl and addressing Yun Jing. ¡°Relax. The extermination origin in here can sustain me for some time.¡± Coughing softly, Shang Bo asked, ¡°Is this the idea the brat gave you? Is it really possible for you to fix the problem this way? Anyway, the extermination origin inside the pearl won¡¯t be able to last that long. Not to mention the fact that you would have to take on the burden anyway!¡± Ji Wenlong muttered at the side, ¡°So what is your plan exactly?¡± Kou Chongxue said weakly, ¡°Since the White Deer Paradise is able to steal our world origin, we can make use of the connection to steal their foundations!¡± ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡± Yun Jing yelled. ¡°This isn¡¯t part of the plan! We already stopped their plot against us and you stripped Yun Lu of a fate dipper. He will be seriously injured, but he¡¯s not the only Martial Dipper Realm expert in the White Deer Paradise!¡± Shang Bo thought about it for a second and muttered, ¡®Is this why you called us over? You wish to gather all of our strength to carry out the plan?¡± ¡°Yeah. I thought about it at the last second. However, I won¡¯t be able to do it alone.¡± Kou Chongxue sighed. Ji Wenlong was clearly against the idea as he snapped at the two of them, ¡°No! This is too dangerous!¡± ¡°Dangerous? How many risks have we taken in the past 20 years?¡± Kou Chongxue coughed twice and continued, ¡°By the way, did you complete the deduction on my advancement formula? Are you able to use it?¡± Ji Wenlong retrieved a scroll from his sleeves that was made up of an unknown material before sighing, ¡°Yeah. We basically completed the basic deduction for the rest of the formula. As for whether I will succeed or not¡­ Everything has to be left up to fate!¡± Yun Jing, Shang Bo, and even Kou Chongxue turned to stare at him in shock. However, a bitter smile soon appeared on Ji Wenlong¡¯s face. ¡°In order to complete this scroll, I used more than a third of the world origin we absorbed¡­¡± ¡°What?! That much?¡± Yun Jing gasped. Shang Bo quickly added, ¡°Perhaps that¡¯s the reason why only holy lands are able to support the existence of a Martial Dipper Realm expert¡­¡± A sinister smile soon appeared on Kou Chongxue¡¯s face. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll have to make up for it by absorbing more energy from the White Deer Paradise!¡± CH 335 There used to be two different protection formations around the City Lord Manor in the Changfeng City. One of them was used to protect the manor, and the other was used to protect the spirit cave below. After Gao Yun entered the City Lord Manor, he quickly made amendments to the protection formations. He laid down a third layer between the two. The third layer would activate if any one of the other two formations were destroyed. It was an added security measure in case any one of the protection formations were affected, but it also brought with it a massive disadvantage. As long as the third layer of formation was broken, everything would come crumbling down. Due to his confidence in his abilities, Gao Yun didn¡¯t panic even though he learned that the spirit cave was being attacked. In actuality, he was right. After the third layer of formation was activated after Shang Xia destroyed the protection formation around the spirit cave, Gao Yun was more than capable of suppressing Shang Xia in the spirit cave with the aid of the world origin pouring in through the bridge. Unfortunately, man proposes and god disposes. No one would have thought that the amount of world origin would decrease by half due to Ancestor Yun Lu¡¯s desire to obtain the Hidden Frost Sword. Half the energy used to maintain the suppression on Shang Xia disappeared suddenly, allowing him to move again. Under the pressure of survival, Shang Xia comprehended his eighth move, Startling Moon. He shattered the protection formation that remained. Shang Xia breaking his formation was something that exceeded Gao Yun¡¯s expectations. However, he was more worried about the sudden decrease of world origin coming from the bridge. Without a doubt, something happened to Ancestor Yun Lu. Youshang might be a second layer Martial Extermination Realm expert, but his mastery over the spear allowed him to barely be at a disadvantage when fighting the third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert, Gao Yun. Along with the sudden change and Shang Xia breaking the protection formation, Youshang took advantage of Gao Yun¡¯s distraction to quickly turn the battle around. It was especially so when the protection formation was broken. Youshang no longer had to worry about Shang Xia and he could go all out. His offensive increased in intensity yet again and he became the one suppressing Gao Yun. After Shang Xia emerged from one of the wells, he noticed that Youshang was actually starting to gain the upper hand. He also quickly discovered that the protection formation was starting to reform itself. More energy fell from the bridge above the city into those holes. Stabbing straight at the foundations of the well he crawled out of, Shang Xia destroyed it and sealed the opening off completely. The stream of energy that was supposed to enter the well scattered all over the ground, turning the region into somewhat of a fantasy painting. A stroke of inspiration came over Shang Xia and he brought out the Spirit Extermination Gourd and tried to absorb the world origin that scattered all around. Even though he planned to experiment with it, he was shocked when the world origin was sucked into the gourd. Is it possible that the gourd can not only absorb extermination qi but world origin too? Well, good things never last. Gao Yun quickly discovered his actions. Despite being tangled up with Youshang, Gao Yun was still able to split away some of his consciousness to control the protection formation. The world origin that was spilled over from Shang Xia¡¯s destruction of the well was quickly directed to another well in the distance. Watching the scene play out in front of him, Shang Xia quickly emerged from the courtyard he was in to enter another one housing a well. Raising his spear, he destroyed the next well before using his Spirit Extermination Gourd to absorb the spillover world origin. ¡°Be careful!¡± Youshang roared in the distance. With a chill running down his heart, Shang Xia leaped out of the courtyard he was in before lunging to another nearby structure. A huge blast came from behind him and the courtyard he was in earlier turned into a pile of rubble. If he reacted a little slower, he might have been turned into a pancake, just like the courtyard. After all, taking an attack from a Martial Extermination Realm expert, especially one as strong as Gao Yun, wasn¡¯t fun. Raising his head, Shang Xia saw Youshang fighting to stop Gao Yun from sending any more attacks down below. With a trace of rage building in Shang Xia¡¯s heart, he was too annoyed with Gao Yun to be afraid of him. Getting up, he swung his spear upwards. He unleashed his fifth move, the Woundless Spear! In the past, Shang Xia used the same move to attack Liang Shuangren. He wanted to do it again. Since Liang Shuangren and Gao Yun had similar cultivation bases, he felt that he could possibly do something to Gao Yun! Moreover, Shang Xia¡¯s personal cultivation increased since then. The power contained in his strike was far greater than before. It didn¡¯t take long for him to send out the strike. Blood stained the back of his robes. Without any prior warning, an injury two inches long appeared on Gao Yun¡¯s neck. Blood sprayed out from his new wound. Even though a wound like that wouldn¡¯t affect a Martial Extermination Realm expert, the premise of which the attack arrived scared him. There was no sign of it at all! He might have locked on to the source of the attack that was Shang Xia dozens of feet away, but he still felt a sense of unease in his heart. That was because he discovered that even though he knew where the strike came from, he had no idea how to defend against it! Alas, he failed to notice Shang Xia¡¯s blood-soaked back. Otherwise, he would understand that Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t be able to send out another attack in a short period of time. As for the person in question, Shang Xia, he ignored the pain as a trace of excitement threatened to overwhelm him. The injury he received when sending out the strike earlier was much lighter than before! Also, the injury he inflicted on Gao Yun was a lot more serious than Liang Shuangren. Even though both injuries meant nothing to a Martial Extermination Realm expert, the increase in damage he caused held a greater meaning behind it! At the very least, Gao Yun had to split off a large amount of attention to prevent Shang Xia from landing his attack again. Youshang was able to capitalize on the opportunity to heavily punish the distracted Gao Yun. The muscles around his newly opened wound squirmed to seal it off as Shang Xia started to look for other wells in the manor. This time, he was clearly much more crafty. He found one in a courtyard away from where the two of them were fighting and he destroyed it quickly. Once again, he retrieved his Spirit Extermination Gourd to collect the spillover world origin. Raising his head suddenly, he stared at one of the rooms beside him. ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ]. No sound came from within, but Shang Xia didn¡¯t lower his spear. He pointed it at the courtyard and got ready to deal with any threat that might come. A moment later, a figure of a woman appeared at a window facing Shang Xia and her voice rang through the air, ¡°Did you just use the Shang Clan Spear Art?¡± Narrowing his eyes, Shang Xia growled, ¡°Who are you and how do you recognize the Shang Clan Spear Art?¡± Hesitating slightly, the woman within muttered, ¡°Can you let me out? I¡¯ve been trapped in here for too long and there are restrictions all over the place.¡± A thought flashed through Shang Xia¡¯s mind and he decided to test the woman a little. ¡°Do you know who Uncle Cen is?¡± ¡°Looks like you should know who I am. Who sent you?¡± The woman sighed in a weird tone after some time. Shang Xia ignored whatever she said and asked yet another question. ¡°What¡¯s the name of your granddaughter?¡± The woman in the room seemed visibly taken aback and she hesitated for a short while before muttering, ¡°Did Hai Min bring Yuanyuan to the Tongyou City?¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t bother thinking deeper into her words and he nodded his head. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re the third in command of the Eighteen Horsemen¡­¡± As soon as he spoke, his spear tore through the restrictions and broke the roof of the building she was trapped in. A figure jumped out before landing in front of Shang Xia. It was the first time he was seeing her, and according to his estimations, she should have been in her forties. However, the person who stood before him was a beauty who looked slightly over thirty. She exuded a charming air, and perhaps it was because she had been trapped in the room for a long time, she looked extremely pale and tired. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know that when he was examining her, she was doing the same to him. She barely glanced at the battle between the two Martial Extermination Realm experts. Her gaze had been locked on to him the rest of the time. When Shang Xia was about to speak, Third Sister Hai broke the silence first. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do you find me familiar?¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because you look too similar to Hai Min and Yuanyuan¡­¡± Shang Xia chuckled awkwardly. Sniggering softly, she raised her chin a little and asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± ¡°The White Deer Paradise declared war on us and the battle is still going on.¡± Shang Xia raised his head to look in the direction she was indicating before explaining. She stared at him in shock but quickly managed to regain her composure. She muttered seriously, ¡°What can I do to help? Are the two up there on our side? Um¡­¡± Shang Xia thought that she had already discovered Youshang¡¯s identity as someone from the Azure Spiritual World and he quickly explained, ¡°That guy up there wielding the spear is a spy the institution stationed in the Azure Spiritual World. We only managed to infiltrate the city with his help. Senior, you barely recovered your energy. If you wish to do anything, you should help Uncle Cen and the rest. They¡¯re somewhere in the city right now.¡± Tearing her eyes off the battle, she gave Shang Xia a deep stare before smiling slightly. ¡°Alright, I''ll be off then!¡± It seemed as though she wasn¡¯t someone who liked to drag things out. She unleashed her movement art and left the City Lord Manor instantly. CH 336 Everything Shang Xia did was clearly noticed by Gao Yun. However, Gao Yun was too distracted by Youshang to do a thing. The only thing he could do was to redirect the way the energy fell into the spirit cave underground, but Shang Xia sucked up all the world origin with his Spirit Extermination Gourd before Gao Yun could try anything. Gao Yun understood that getting tangled up like that wasn¡¯t the way to go. There were 18 wells that formed an opening to the spirit cave in the City Lord Manor. If Shang Xia continued to destroy them, they would no longer be able to steal the Tongyou Institution¡¯s world essence. That was also why Gao Yun was dragging out the battle as long as he could. When the amount of energy decreased by half earlier, he didn¡¯t break out into full-blown panic. In his eyes, even if Kou Chongxue was alive, he wouldn¡¯t be able to change the tide of the battle. An accident might have happened, but the energy was still being sent back to the Ji Continent. That clearly meant that things hadn¡¯t gone to shit yet. Moreover, he felt that Ancestor Yun Lu would definitely be able to discover what was going on in the Changfeng City. Gao Yun was dragging things out so Ancestor Yun Lu could return to deal with the pesky asshole who was engaged in battle with him and the rat who had destroyed the protection formation. What he didn¡¯t expect was for the energy flow to stop completely! Ancestor Yun Lu was nowhere to be seen, but the world essence falling from the rose-colored bridge disappeared! Gao Yun wasn¡¯t the only one surprised by the change. Even Youshang couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. A sudden bout of laughter emerged from Gao Yun¡¯s lips all of a sudden. ¡°Hehe, all of you are dead. Ancestor Yun Lu is definitely coming back to deal with you now!¡± Shang Xia felt a suffocating pressure descending on him when he heard that the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor was returning, but something seemed off about the whole matter. However, Youshang¡¯s roaring laughter soon rocked through the air. ¡°Hahahahahaha! Are you stupid? If your ancestor is really about to return, will you be so kind as to give me a reminder?!¡± It clicked in Shang Xia¡¯s mind. However, Youshang sent him a secret transmission all of a sudden. ¡°Hurry up and leave in case it¡¯s really true.¡± ¡°But you¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother about me. I have a way to leave if things get rough!¡± Youshang snapped before Shang Xia could say any more. Even though Youshang seemed to not give half a shit about Gao Yun, he still decided to play it safe. Nodding slightly, Shang Xia quickly turned around to flee from the City Lord Manor. While he was at it, he destroyed four more wells on the way out. All of a sudden, the change occurred. The world origin being transferred back from the bridge stopped, but the bridge remained motionless in mid air. Brilliant rays of light emerged from the north, and a stream of light shot back towards the Changfeng City along the bridge. The skies above the Changfeng City seemed to lose their color with the arrival of the stream of light, and the heaven and earth qi started fluctuating violently. Raising his head, Shang Xia saw a swirling vortex of light as a massive water droplet emitted dense radiance as it started to fall off the bridge. This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Before Shan Xia could make sense of what had happened, Gao Yun¡¯s expression changed drastically. He didn¡¯t bother with Youshang¡¯s crazed attacks at all as he flew towards the bridge in an attempt to grab the water droplet. At that moment, a terrifying chill came from behind him. Gao Yun might have been willing to risk everything to grab the droplet, but he knew that was Youshang¡¯s blow landed, his life would be in danger. Unwilling, he could only turn around to clash with Youshang as the both of them were sent tumbling through the air. In that instant, the water droplet lost all contact with the bridge. Even though it was a pretty big droplet of water, it remained hovering in mid air. Gao Yun forced himself to stop rolling through the air as he flew towards the water droplet, and so did Youshang. Youshang unleashed everything in his arsenal to stop Gao Yun from approaching it. At the same time, Youshang¡¯s anxious voice boomed in Shang Xia¡¯s ears. ¡°You need to grab that! That¡¯s a fate dipper!¡± What?! Fate dipper?! Even though he was shocked to the core, Shang Xia¡¯s body moved instinctively and he started rushing towards the water droplet. Even though he was unable to fly through the air, he was able to stay suspended for some time. The water droplet seemed to be affected by the shockwaves of the battle between Gao Yun and Youshang and it wobbled unsteadily. It seemed to be ready to fall at any time. As Shang Xia got closer to the droplet, he discovered that it was much larger than he had thought! When he saw it in the distance, it looked slightly larger than an ordinary raindrop. Now that he was getting closer to it, he discovered that it was huge enough to swallow him whole! How the hell was he supposed to retrieve such a massive fate dipper? Just as the thought flashed through his mind, Youshang¡¯s caution entered his mind once again. ¡°Do not touch it with your bare hands! You need to store it in a medium of some sort!¡± No shit! Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier?! Seeing as he was about to slam straight into the droplet, Shang Xia brought out the Spirit Extermination Gourd in a state of panic and pulled the cork. A chilly wind appeared from the void beside him before he could react. ¡°Be careful!¡± Youshang¡¯s warning seemed to come a little late this time. Shang Xia was extremely annoyed by that point. The treasure was right there for the taking. However, it would mean nothing if he was dead. Without hesitation, he released the control of heaven and earth qi around him. Without the support of the heaven and earth qi around him, he fell to the ground below. Was it possible to evade an attack from a Martial Extermination Realm expert so easily? Obviously not. A chilly stream of qi seeped into Shang Xia¡¯s body, and he felt a bone-piercing pain shooting through his entire being. A layer of ice seemed to form around him as he fell to the ground. At the same time, his inner qi seemed to be frozen solid. He couldn¡¯t circulate them as he wished. ¡°Bang!¡± With a loud thud, he smashed heavily into the ground outside the City Lord Manor. The ground under him shattered, and so did the layer of ice around his body. Feeling a sickly sweet sensation rising up in his throat, he spat out a mouthful of blood before crawling to his butt. Luckily for him, the fall and the blood he vomited expelled the icy qi in his body. He was eventually able to circulate his Origin True Qi again. Then again, his Origin True Qi was much more tyrannical than the inner qi of other Martial Intent Realm cultivators to begin with. He was frozen earlier because he was caught by surprise. Now that he could circulate his inner qi again, he quickly removed any traces of the icy qi from his body. When he was done, he leaped to his feet and glared at Gao Yun who was fighting in the air above. His expression was as dark as thunderclouds when he looked at Gao Yun who was currently being suppressed by Youshang. The wound on his back when he released the Woundless Spear earlier opened up again, causing his bloodstained clothes to turn a shade of darker red. In the short amount of time since he emerged from the spirit cave underground, he nearly died twice! And the cause of it was that piece of shit Formation Master from the White Deer Paradise fighting in the air! Earlier, Shang Xia retrieved his Spirit Extermination Gourd in a fit of desperation to not touch the fate dipper. With it still in his hands, he didn¡¯t hesitate to slap it heavily on the bottom. Grayish-black extermination qi emerged from the gourd, and the figure of a spiritual deer appeared in mid air. It turned into a streak of light that charged straight at Gao Yun. ¡°Huh? How did my White Deer Paradise¡¯s spiritual deer end up in your hands?¡± Gao Yun frowned. Shang Xia¡¯s little tricks couldn¡¯t be hidden from someone like Gao Yun, but when Gao Yun saw the spiritual deer charging at him, he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle in amusement, ¡°Brat, let me teach you another trick today. The secret art of my White Deer Paradise can¡¯t be used to harm our own!¡± Even though he was forced to take a hit before he could retreat slightly, he started channeling the White Deer Paradise¡¯s secret art. He wanted to control the spiritual deer to attack Youshang instead of himself! ¡°Hahaha! I really have to thank¡­ Wait, how is this possible? No! ARGH!¡± Gao Yun¡¯s shit-eating smile froze on his face when he discovered that his secret art wasn¡¯t working. The spiritual deer didn¡¯t change its target to Youshang at all! There was nothing he could do other than to rouse his extermination origin in an attempt to protect himself. As the deer closed in on him, it leaped into the air before slamming heavily into Gao Yun. After absorbing the Yin Water Mysterious Extermination Origin, the spiritual deer possessed strength close to a Martial Extermination Realm expert who barely stepped into the realm. If Gao Yun was fully prepared, the deer wouldn¡¯t be able to do a thing to him! Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t. When the spiritual deer slammed into him, he felt his organs shifting and he spat out a mouthful of blood. After one strike, the spiritual deer seemed to have lost most of its energy and it scattered into a ball of grayish black extermination mist. ¡°You¡­¡± Gao Yun¡¯s gaze was filled with suspicion, but rage replaced his confusion after he saw how the spiritual deer turned into a ball of extermination mist. Youshang wouldn¡¯t let go of a chance like this to beat the annoying asshole of a Formation Master who was Gao Yun. He felt no guilt about hitting Gao Yun when he was down. Taking advantage of the opportunity, his spear stabbed at Gao Yun mercilessly. With his strength affected due to the injuries he suffered, he was unable to react immediately to dodge Youshang¡¯s attack. He had to take it on forcefully, and he spat out another mouthful of blood after doing so. The imposing manner that he had initially dulled by a whole lot. It didn¡¯t take long for Youshang to gain the upper hand after that. Gao Yun could only flee miserably as Youshang chased closely behind. Under such circumstances, Youshang didn¡¯t seem relieved at all. Instead, a deep frown could be seen on his face as he glanced at the brat down below. After the spiritual deer slammed into Gao Yun, the fluctuations finally caused the fate dipper to fall. As it was falling, Youshang¡¯s voice rang beside Shang Xia¡¯s ear once again. ¡°It¡¯s best to not let the fate dipper hit the ground. But if there¡¯s no other way, just dodge it and we¡¯ll deal with the aftermath later!¡± Not knowing whether or not Shang Xia heard what Youshang said, he pointed the opening of his Spirit Extermination Gourd at the falling fate dipper. As though it felt threatened by the fate dipper, the spiritual deer, who turned into the ball of extermination mist, raced back to the gourd as quickly as it could. At the same time, the fate dipper seemed to have been affected by the suction force of the Spirit Extermination Gourd as it started to grow thinner in mid air. A ball of gray mist that represented the Yin Water Mysterious Extermination Origin, and an extended water droplet that was the fate dipper started to swirl about the opening of the Spirit Extermination Gourd before being sucked in completely. The weight of the gourd increased by several times suddenly, and the gourd nearly fell to the ground. Shang Xia quickly raised his other hand in an unpanicked fashion to shove the cork back over the opening of the gourd when no traces of the extermination origin or fate dipper was left outside. CH 337 ¡°What! Have! You! Done!¡± Gao Yun roared with all his might after Shang Xia sealed off the gourd. Raising his head to glance at the asshole of a Formation Master who made his life hell ever since he dove into the underground river back in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range, Shang Xia barely managed to resist his urge to flash a middle finger at the man as he ran out of the City Lord Manor. An enraged cry came from behind him as Gao Yun released a maniacal cry. A blast tore through the air and a quarter of the City Lord Manor was destroyed in an instant. Even though he was shocked, Shang Xia only turned to look behind him after he felt that he had left any immediate dangerous situation. He was shocked by what he saw next. He saw Gao Yun forcing Youshang away as he fled in Shang Xia¡¯s direction. ¡°Stop him! He wants to get away!¡± Youshang roared as a thousand page essay filled with curse words filled Shang Xia¡¯s mind. Stop telling a Martial Intent Realm cultivator to do everything! What the fuck! Even if this daddy here is capable of messing with Martial Extermination Realm experts, I can¡¯t do it over and over and over again! No matter how much he was cursing in his heart, Shang Xia still found the situation a little weird. Why would Gao Yun try to escape? Feeling the Spirit Extermination Gourd in his hand, Shang Xia seemed to have thought of a terrifying possibility. Also, after the extermination origin and fate dipper entered the Spirit Extermination Gourd, they were remaining oddly silent. When Youshang saw Shang Xia¡¯s inaction, he misunderstood the kid¡¯s intentions. He quickly addressed Shang Xia again. ¡°The energy isn¡¯t flowing from the Tongyou City anymore! Yun Lu¡¯s plan should be destroyed! The water droplet earlier should be Yun Lu¡¯s fate dipper after his clone was destroyed. Seeing Gao Yun¡¯s reactions now, my guesses should be right!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s shock increased after hearing Youshang¡¯s evaluation. For Yun Lu¡¯s clone to be destroyed and for his fate dipper to be revealed, that would mean that the Tongyou City was no longer in danger! When Ancestor Yun Lu descended earlier, there was such a terrifying fluctuation of heaven and earth qi! He arrived with such a spectacle, but he was defeated just like that? Was it possible that Kou Chongxue had recovered?! Shang Xia could think of no other reason for Ancestor Yun Lu to be defeated. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. If that was the case¡­ Trembling slightly, Shang Xia¡¯s spear shot upwards. Starlight gathered around the top of his spear as he released his seventh move, Celestial Disruption! The moment his spear stabbed upwards, the streak of light under Gao Yun¡¯s fleeing figure exploded. Specks of light started gathering around his body at a frightening pace. With his expression changing slightly, he swiped his sleeves to get rid of those tiny specks of light. The only reason his expression changed was because of the inconvenience Shang Xia¡¯s attack caused when he was trying to escape. By the time he dealt with those light specks, Youshang had arrived in front of him. His escape attempt was foiled! Gao Yun wasn¡¯t the only person who was shocked by how Shang Xia managed to obstruct his escape. Youshang was equally taken aback. Shang Xia¡¯s spear art could affect Martial Extermination Realm experts! Even though it was a mere distraction, it was a terrifying achievement. Shang Xia was in the Martial Intent Realm and Gao Yun was a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert! It was a slight delay, but it wasn¡¯t enough to deal with Gao Yun for good. Youshang¡¯s voice rang beside Shang Xia¡¯s ears again. ¡°It¡¯s not enough. Summon that spiritual deer again!¡± Taking everything into consideration, Shang Xia managed to affect Gao Yun due to the sneak attack. If Shang Xia tried it again, there was no way it would succeed. Very quickly, Gao Yun changed direction to flee in the other direction. ¡°Quickly! Stop him!¡± Youshang¡¯s voice appeared again. Actually, Shang Xia had been making his preparations. He didn¡¯t need Youshang¡¯s reminder this time. Youshang barely completed his sentence when Shang Xia¡¯s Scarlet Star Spear shot upwards. Unleashing his eighth move, Startling Moon, the moon that was hanging above the City Lord Manor seemed to shift slightly. The two Martial Extermination Realm experts in mid air gasped in unison. One of them seemed to be in disbelief while the other was slightly confused. Earlier, Shang Xia used the same move to break out from underground. Perhaps it was due to the dispersed power, but the two of them didn¡¯t notice anything out of the ordinary about Shang Xia¡¯s attack. Now that they were witnessing it for themselves, they discovered that his strike had the ability to shift space! That was the publicly acknowledged domain that could only be affected by Martial Extermination Realm experts! Only Martial Extermination Realm experts had the ability to alter the space around them! However, Shang Xia managed to do it in the Martial Intent Realm! Gao Yun, who had been escaping, finally felt a sense of danger coming from the kid below. If the Woundless Spear Shang Xia unleashed earlier managed to injure Gao Yun and caused him a little surprise, Celestial Disruption definitely caused him to see the kid in a new light. However, Both of those moves couldn¡¯t affect him much. Startling Moon was different. It definitely possessed enough power to hurt him for real! Gao Yun could tell that the space before him was fractured. If he forcefully broke through, he would be significantly injured! Raising his head to look at the waning moon that appeared in the air, Gao Yun stretched his hand out to grab at it mercilessly. The moon in the air fractured, turning into random pieces of light. The space in front of Gao Yun returned to normal, and the moon that was originally hanging high in the air appeared in its original position. Shang Xia¡¯s eighth move might be powerful, but a Martial Extermination Realm expert could shatter it without much effort. However, Gao Yun had to admit that his escape attempt was actually obstructed by Shang Xia yet again! Youshang¡¯s spear arrived during the short delay, and a grunt left Gao Yun¡¯s lips as he spat out another mouthful of blood. At that instant, the bridge started to tremble once again, attracting the attention of the two Martial Extermination Realm experts and Shang Xia. Only then did Shang Xia realize the problem. If Ancestor Yun Lu¡¯s fate dipper was in his hands, why was the bridge still suspended in mid air? Could it be? Gao Yun broke away from Youshang once again, and the latter chased closely behind him. This time, Gao Yun seemed to have set his mind on escaping. No matter how many attacks he had to take from Youshang, he had to get away! The rose-colored bridge lit up as Gao Yun attempted to escape for a third time, and the clear ringing of a sword filled the skies above the You Continent. It seemed to be an announcement of sorts, and Shang Xia was familiar with the ringing sound. Hidden Frost Sword! Kou Chongxue! When the thought appeared in Shang Xia¡¯s mind he couldn¡¯t help but picture the legend who had been defending the You Continent from both external threats like the Azure Spiritual World, and internal threats in the Azure Origin World! The man was back! The ringing sound didn¡¯t stop there as it echoed clearly in the ears of everyone present. Gao Yun, who had been running freely around the Changfeng City all this while, felt his movements severely restricted as a terrifying pressure descended on him. On the other hand, Shang Xia found that his divine sense and thoughts had become extremely clear. Kou Chongxue¡¯s return seemed to signify that the ruler of the You Continent had returned! ¡°Hah!¡± Youshang snorted heavily as a cold light emerged from his palm. His spear shot out with the force of a thousand suns and the power contained behind it exceeded the time when it tore through the protection barrier and severely damaged the southern city gates! ¡°Ah!¡± Gao Yun felt an unprecedented wave of danger rapidly encroaching on him. With life and death at stake, he released all three of his extermination origins to protect himself. A strand of red, a strand of yellow, and a strand of blue intertwined to form a three-colored shield in front of him. ¡°Rip!¡± The shield was torn to shreds as Gao Yun¡¯s miserable scream filled the air. However, a bitter laughter soon replaced his scream. After the spear tore through Gao Yun, the glow around it disappeared as it started to fall powerlessly to the ground after traveling several tens of feet. Clearly, Youshang was a spent force after sending out the last strike. ¡°Haha¡­ Hahaha, Hahahaha! Looks like I¡¯m going to live after all!¡± After the spear tore through his shield, a huge hole was blown through Gao Yun¡¯s chest. The injury might be serious, but it wasn¡¯t enough to take the life of a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert. Even though he was extremely weakened, Youshang was exhausted from everything that happened before! Like a dried-out lamp, Youshang would only be able to watch as Gao Yun escaped! There wasn¡¯t a need for Gao Yun to be worried about Shang Xia. After all, he had already left the range of the kid¡¯s attack! Now, no one could stop him from leaving! ¡°Damn it! We still allowed him to escape!¡± Youshang gasped weakly. A rank four formation master like Gao Yun was the reason the White Deer Paradise was able to send a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor out of their territory. An existence like that was extremely rare, even in a superpower like the White Deer Paradise! As long as he remained alive, the threat the White Deer Paradise posed to the You Continent would never be eliminated! Youshang and Shang Xia were reluctant to see him escaping, but there wasn¡¯t much they could do about it. Youshang turned to look at Shang Xia as Gao Yun started to circulate the last of his inner qi in an attempt to leave the Changfeng City. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh softly to himself. The kid had done enough. From destroying the first layer of protection formation around the spirit cave before breaking out himself, to the destruction of the various wells that channeled the word origin the White Deer Paradise was stealing. He even interrupted Gao Yun¡¯s escape attempt twice, allowing Youshang to critically injure the man. Shang Xia even managed to develop a move that allowed him to do something only Martial Extermination Realm experts could do, which was to shift space. What more could he expect from the kid? After all, Shang Xia was only at the Martial Intent Realm. His expression froze after thinking about the things Shang Xia managed to accomplish. A look of terror soon replaced his frozen expression when he saw that Shang Xia was deep in contemplation. The Scarlet Star Spear in Shang Xia¡¯s hand was buzzing softly, and it seemed to be getting excited about something. This¡­ Switching up his grip on the Scarlet Star Spear, Shang Xia grabbed it with one hand. Arching his body like a bow, he prepared to toss the spear at the fleeing Gao Yun. Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense achieved an unprecedented state due to the ringing of the Hidden Frost Sword, and the scene where Youshang unleashed the final attack on Gao Yun replayed time and time again in his mind. The only thing that Shang Xia could think about was the streak of light that was left behind by Youshang¡¯s spear when he threw it earlier. That was the full-powered strike of a second layer Martial Extermination Realm expert they were talking about! However, the true power contained in the strike could rival the strongest attack of a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert! The inspiration, idea, and method of execution filled Shang Xia¡¯s mind, and everything seemed to gather together into a streak of light. It became strangely imprinted into his memory, and it fused with his comprehension of the Providence Spear Art. In that instant, he released the Scarlet Star Spear. It turned into a streak of red light that slightly resembled what Youshang did earlier. Was it actually a copy of Youshang¡¯s move? No! It wasn¡¯t a mere copy. It included everything Shang Xia understood about the Providence Spear Art and the streak of red disappeared into the void as soon as it left his hand. A hundred or so feet away, Gao Yun who was certain that he managed to escape, felt his heart sinking as the feeling of death crept up his heart. His expression changed drastically. The guttural cry barely managed to leave his lips before blood sprayed uncontrollably out from them. His extermination origins that were barely supporting his flight were stained red. He resembled a bloodied sun that was hanging above the Changfeng City, but in the next moment, a gaping hole was blown through it. Dense starlight followed the trajectory of the spear that punched a hole through the blood sun as Gao Yun¡¯s cries were silenced. The ninth move of Shang Xia¡¯s Providence Spear Art, Piercing Sun, was complete! CH 338 In the western region of the Changfeng City¡­ The corpse of a twenty year old youth fell to the ground at the end of a semi-destroyed street. His face was slightly greenish in color and it was clear that he had been poisoned. Not too far away from the youth was Sixth Sister Gu. She was trembling as the person got closer and closer to her. Seeing her frightened expression, a trace of reluctance could be seen in Second Brother Liu¡¯s eyes as he muttered softly, ¡°Sixth sister, you can¡¯t blame me for being too cold-hearted! The Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise will be personally taking charge of the battle. The institution is finished! All of us have been abandoned by the institution to begin with and we¡¯re just searching for ways to live¡­¡± Sixth Sister Gu, whose inner qi was evidently exhausted, could only shed tears of despair. ¡°Second Brother, don¡¯t kill me! I don¡¯t wish to die¡­¡± Second Brother Liu seemed to have sensed a familiar and threatening aura quickly closing in, and a slight chill filled his heart. Killing intent filled his heart and a sharp sword flew out from his sleeves like a snake as it went straight for Sixth Sister Gu¡¯s throat. ¡°Second Brother Liu, you dare?!¡± A sharp yell came from the distance and following the cry, several walls in the distance blew up. The shattered rocks flew towards Second Brother Liu who was about to take Sixth Sister Gu¡¯s life. With his expression changing, he no longer bothered dealing with Sixth Sister Gu. He retreated hastily and the sword in his hand danced about in front of him to deflect the debris that was flying at him. As dust filled the air, a seven-foot-long spear tore through the dusty air. Due to the energy fluctuations coming from the spear, the air was quickly cleared. Discover the complete story on pawread dot com. Killing intent swept over Second Brother Liu and a trace of panic flashed in his eyes. He wanted to dodge the spear that was coming at him, but it seemed to have locked onto his aura. There was nowhere he could go! As the second in charge of the one glorious Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent, Second Brother Liu didn¡¯t lack fighting spirit. He had been through countless dangerous situations and putting his life on the line was a common occurrence. Since there was no way to avoid it, he would just go all out. Crazily circulating his inner qi, he unleashed the strongest move he had since he started cultivating! A look of excitement appeared on his face as he seemed to have reached the next stage of his cultivation thanks to the sudden stimulation! However, the look of excitement quickly froze on his face. A spear that was even longer than Shang Xia¡¯s Scarlet Star Spear broke through his defenses and skewered him mercilessly to the ground. When the dust settled, a familiar figure appeared in his sights. ¡°Cough¡­ Cough¡­¡± Staring at her without blinking, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with the blood that was streaming out of his body. He gasped in shock, ¡°Third¡­ Third Sister! How are you here? How can you use the spear?¡± Third Sister Hai stared at Second Brother Liu without a trace of emotions in her eyes. ¡°Second Brother, you should be the person who revealed my tracks to the Changfeng City, right?¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡­ I only wanted to leave a route of retreat for the rest of us!¡± A bitter smile emerged on Second Brother Liu¡¯s face. Nodding expressionlessly, Third Sister Hai continued, ¡°Everyone deserves to fight for their right to live. It¡¯s too bad you shouldn¡¯t have plotted against your fellow comrades!¡± On his last breath, Second Brother Liu¡¯s eyes bulged out from their sockets and he eventually forced out his last words. ¡°Third Sister, who¡­ Who exactly are you?¡± ¡°My true family name is Shang!¡± ¡®Third Sister Hai¡¯ sighed before giving him an explanation. ¡°So, that¡¯s it¡­ No wonder¡­¡± Before he could complete his sentence, his head tilted to the side and his eyes lost focus. ¡°Third¡­ Third sister?¡± A voice containing a trace of fear and relief came from Sixth Sister Gu who was leaning against the rubble at the side. A soft sigh left Third Sister Hai¡¯s lips but she didn¡¯t turn around to look at Sixth Sister Gu. Instead, she looked straight and addressed the person hiding in the shadows, ¡°Boss Sha?¡± ¡°Out of the eighteen of us, I might seem to be the oldest and strongest. However, the Eighteen Horsemen existed twenty years ago. It was thirteen years ago when I joined due to my sins in the institution. You were already Third Sister Hai when I joined and even though no one knew your true identity as someone from the Shang Clan, your authority should already be higher than mine. In fact, if we talk about experience and strength, you should be our leader!¡± Boss Sha nodded slightly before he muttered. Smiling softly, she raised an eyebrow in surprise. ¡°Why are you bringing this up now?¡± ¡°Please spare my life! All of us have been through life and death together. I hope you can leave me a way out. In the future, there will no longer be Boss Sha and he will no longer exist in this world! The old Boss Sha is already dead!¡± The corners of Third Sister Hai¡¯s lips curled upwards in a mocking smile before turning to glance in the air above the City Lord Manor. ¡°What¡¯s this? Boss Sha wishes to hide your identity and go into hiding? Do you have so little confidence in the White Deer Paradise?¡± Remaining silent for some time, Boss Sha eventually broke the silence. ¡°I hope Third Sister can spare my life.¡± ¡°Am I supposed to silence Sixth Sister in order to keep this secret for you?¡± Third Sister Hai sneered softly. A deafening ring filled the skies above the You Continent all of a sudden, catching everyone off guard. Boss Sha¡¯s face changed and he no longer cared about Third Sister Hai. He turned to run. ¡°Go look for Fifth Brother Cen and gather with the others!¡± Third Sister Hai muttered before leaving to chase Boss Sha. ¡­ In the skies above the City Lord Manor. Youshang spat out a mouthful of blood in shock when he saw Gao Yun¡¯s body falling from the skies. A bitter smile eventually appeared on his face. ¡°This brat¡­¡± After throwing his spear, Shang Xia¡¯s figure was frozen completely. He maintained his stance after throwing his spear at Gao Yun, and it wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t wish to recover. At that moment, his inner qi was completely exhausted. He released his ninth move, Pierced Sun! The power contained in the spear was terrifying, it was powerful enough to kill a Martial Extermination Realm expert! The moment he threw out the spear earlier, he staked everything on it. He poured all his energy into it and it had to succeed. If it didn¡¯t he would lose his weapon and waste all his energy! When that happened, anyone would be able to kill him! Evidently, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use Piercing Sun whenever he liked! Of course, that was the first time he was utilizing the move. After some refinement in the future, he might find a better way to execute it. There might be more changes in the future! After recovering slightly, Shang Xia managed to lower his hand and circulate his inner qi according to the Triple Providence Chapter. The amount of Origin True Qi in his body eventually recovered to a point he could move about freely again. When he was done, Shang Xia discovered what he achieved. He came up with the legendary ninth move of the Providence Spear Art that was only rumored to exist! Even in his current state, Shang Xia could tell that his cultivation had reached a white new state! It wasn¡¯t exactly the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, but Shang Xia couldn¡¯t put his finger on it. Only when he fully recovered would he be able to look into the actual changes. He had a feeling that after his inner qi recovered, he would be a single paper-thin window away from entering the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. When he was recovering slowly, Youshang went over to Gao Yun¡¯s corpse and retrieved the Scarlet Star Spear for him. At the same time, he went to gather everything else. After returning to see that Shang Xia was meditating peacefully, he shook his head and laughed before putting the Scarlet Star Spear by his side. He then returned silently to the City Lord Manor to pick up whatever was of use there. Since the battle ended earlier, there were many cultivators who went towards the City Lord Manor in an attempt to loot it. However, they made their way out the moment they felt Youshang¡¯s Martial Extermination Realm aura coming from within. The silence around Shang Xia didn¡¯t last for long. Right after he recovered another tiny bit of Origin True Qi, he was awakened by a voice. ¡°Hey! This old man came late. However, it looks like you guys managed to deal with everything here.¡± A short sword came from the rose-colored bridge above as Kou Chongxue¡¯s voice rang in his ears. Only the sword was present, and Kou Chongxue¡¯s voice was coming from inside the sword. Getting to his feet, Shang Xia exclaimed, ¡°Disciple greets Patriarch Kou!¡± Youshang appeared at an unknown time, and he cupped his fists together half-heartedly before laughing in an unruly manner, ¡°I heard that a certain patriarch had always been lamenting the fact that he has to work hard all the time. Hah! Aren¡¯t you just scolding everyone else subtly by saying that they¡¯re of no help to you? We dealt with everything here so that we won¡¯t have to hear your nagging when you come.¡± A chuckle came from the sword all of a sudden. ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re pretty sharp! Looks like there¡¯s hope for you yet.¡± Sniggering softly, Youshang muttered, ¡°Hurry up and tell us what you need so that we don¡¯t have to guess your intentions!¡± The Hidden Frost Sword emitted a low buzz, seemingly apologetic about Youshang¡¯s accusation before the reply came. ¡°We have to respond in kind! Since they had the guts to come to us, I¡¯ll head over to the Ji Continent right now! Did you find any diagram about the underground river or route leading to the Ji Continent?¡± Youshang seemed to have been prepared for his questioning and he quickly tossed out a small case. ¡°This is the belongings of the White Deer Paradise¡¯s formation master. Everything you might need should be in there.¡± The Hidden Frost Sword shook slightly in the air and Shang Xia didn¡¯t discover any abnormality but the case was split in two. Everything inside rained down on the ground below. Shang Xia didn¡¯t notice when the artifact was cut, but everything inside was perfectly preserved! ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± A weird scroll that was made from an unknown material rose into the air and Shang Xia barely caught sight of what it was. It seemed to contain some intricately drawn lines within, but it was quickly whisked away. ¡°Stay here and guard this place! I¡¯ll head over to the Ji Continent now!¡± As soon as his voice disappeared, the Hidden Frost Sword turned to fly away. However, it was stopped by a yell from Youshang. ¡°Hold it!¡± CH 339 ¡°Hold it!¡± Youshang¡¯s yell caused the sword to sway unsteadily in mid air as a sharp buzz came from within. ¡°Damn brat! Why do I feel like you¡¯re getting more and more disrespectful whenever I see you?¡± Kou Chongxue sounded strict, but he couldn¡¯t hide the banter. It seemed as though the relationship between Youshang and Kou Chongxue wasn¡¯t simple. Snorting twice, Youshang threw out a triangular flag. ¡°I think you might need this.¡± ¡°Hey, that¡¯s the Multi World Anchoring Flag! Where did you get that? How did you get it anyway?¡± A trace of excitement could be heard in Kou Chongxue¡¯s voice. He quickly continued, ¡°This can really help me out. I¡¯ll be able to take the chance to teach them a lesson they¡¯ll never forget!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t find this. This little brat found it. Return it to me when you¡¯re done, I still have uses for it!¡± Youshang pressed his lips together before sneering. Kou Chongxue paused for a moment before muttering, ¡°You¡¯re going back to the Azure Spiritual World?¡± ¡°Are you planning to let the Tongyou Mysterious World upgrade to a holy land?¡± Youshang asked a question of his own. From the looks of it, his question was directly related to the one Kou Chongxue asked him. ¡°Not right now. We still need to make many considerations before that can happen.¡± Kou Chongxue even seemed a little regretful as he gave his answer. Explore the extended edition on pawread dot com. ¡°Alrighty then!¡± Youshang rolled his eyes in response. ¡°Anyway, I got it. This flag belongs to the other little guy. Is there anything else?¡± Kou Chongxue¡¯s voice came from the Hidden Frost Sword, and it shook slightly. It resembled Kou Chongxue shaking his head in real life. During their conversation, Youshang kept many treasures that fell to the ground later when Kou Chongxue destroyed the spatial artifact. Youshang picked out a jade strip before tossing it over to Shang Xia. ¡°This should contain the rank four advancement formula the White Deer Paradise is planning to give Yang Hu. You can bring it back to the institution when you¡¯re done here!¡± Carefully receiving the jade strip, Shang Xia muttered his thanks. A soft laugh came from the Hidden Frost Sword but he didn¡¯t say any more. Shang Xia understood the meaning behind Youshang¡¯s actions. He handed Shang Xia the jade strip in front of Kou Chongxue as he didn¡¯t wish to hide anything. However, he was also sending Shang Xia another message and that was to copy down its contents before giving it to the institution. Just like that, Shang Xia obtained another rank four advancement formula. It seemed as though Youshang was thanking him for the assistance Shang Xia rendered for the assault on the City Lord Manor earlier. Moreover, that gave Shang Xia another piece of intel. This hidden spy of the Tongyou Institution in the Azure Spiritual World had quite a good grasp of the Shang Clan! However, his information source seemed to be a little outdated. He didn¡¯t know that the Shang Clan already obtained two sets of rank four advancement formulas! Out of the two, one of them was the advancement formula Shang Bo obtained from the institution, and the other was the Hundred Days Longevity Intoxication Shang Xia brought back some time ago. With the one in his hand, the Shang Clan would possess three different rank four advancement formulas! The moment a suitable expert from the second generation of the Shang Clan was ready to break through, they wouldn¡¯t be lacking in advancement formulas! Now, the Shang Clan could truly be considered a superpower! ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Kou Chongxue asked. ¡°I have to return to the Azure Spiritual World soon. I¡¯ll hand matters here over to you guys!¡± Youshang said suddenly. Kou Chongxue seemed surprised by the sudden declaration. ¡°Why are you in such a rush? What about the flag?¡± ¡°I borrowed the flag for the worst-case scenario. Now that so much world origin has been absorbed from the battlefield between the two worlds, the spatial barrier is extremely weak! I¡¯ll take this chance to return. Also, this allows me to seem a lot less suspicious.¡± Youshang muttered. After a short pause, Kou Chongxue¡¯s voice rang in their ears. ¡°Thanks for the hard work¡­¡± Turning to look at Shang Xia, Youshang chuckled in amusement, ¡°I¡¯ll hand this place over to you! You¡¯ll be the acting city lord of the Changfeng City for now!¡± Opening his mouth, Shang Xia wanted to say something but Youshang had already disappeared into the distance. The two of them worked together to kill Gao Yun, and when Youshang left, he felt a weird sense of loss. A look of disappointment crossed his face. The Hidden Frost Sword seemed to be able to detect the changes in Shang Xia¡¯s mood and Kou Chongxue¡¯s amused voice came from within once again. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about, kid. You guys will definitely meet again in the future!¡± Shang Xia nodded, but he soon added, ¡°Patriarch, do you have any other orders for me?¡± Shang Xia recalled that Kou Chongxue wanted to head to the Ji Continent, and from the way the Hidden Frost Sword was behaving, Kou Chongxue seemed to be in a rush to leave. A soft hum came from the sword and the patriarch¡¯s voice came from within once again. ¡°Now that I have the Multi World Anchoring Flag, I¡¯m no longer in a rush. I can let those old men and women in the institution catch their breath a little longer. That¡¯s why I¡¯m still here! By the way, the thing you said the other day worked. If not for the fact that I managed to recover slightly, our Tongyou Institution would have fallen today!¡± ¡°Patriarch, you protected our You Continent for the past twenty years. This disciple is a member of the institution and I should share some of the responsibilities. I gave you the idea because there was no harm in trying anyway. At the end of the day, you succeeded because of your luck!¡± Laughing softly, Kou Chongxue added, ¡°Haha! Damn kid, your words are much more pleasing to the ears than that guy from before.¡± Smiling, Shang Xia seemed to have thought of something. He muttered softly, ¡°This disciple has been meaning to ask you this¡­ How long can you fight in your current condition for anyway?¡± ¡°Damn brat, I just said that you spoke nicer than the other guy. Looks like you¡¯re a lot more daring now¡­¡± Kou Chongxue¡¯s voice paused for a second. ¡°I guess it¡¯s alright to tell you. Even your grandfather was trying to persuade me not to do this. All of them were against my actions of taking revenge on the White Deer Paradise. Even with their help, I would only be able to use one strike when I go over. With the Multi World Anchoring Flag in hand, I would be able to unleash two more!¡± Shang Xia chuckled in amusement suddenly. ¡°The White Deer Paradise is a piece of shit! Those ravenous wolves won¡¯t stop until we¡¯re dead. They won¡¯t stop plotting against us anyway, and three moves won¡¯t be enough! As a member of the You Continent and a disciple of the institution, I can¡¯t take this lying down. Today, I¡¯ll give you a great present for you to truly mess them up!¡± The Hidden Frost Sword buzzed in the air and it shook violently for a moment. ¡°Damn brat, what are you up to now?¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate to bring out his Spirit Extermination Gourd. He sent it into the air before the Hidden Frost Sword with a trace of his Origin True Qi. ¡°This¡­¡± Even with Kou Chongxue¡¯s composure, he nearly yelled in fright after examining the contents of the gourd. His tone became a lot more serious. ¡°Kid, do you know what the contents of your gourd represent?!¡± ¡°If we use it properly, the contents can produce one Martial Extermination Realm expert and one Martial Dipper Realm expert.¡± Shang Xia replied casually. The Hidden Frost Sword trembled before Kou Chongxue¡¯s sigh came again. ¡°The Yin Water Mysterious Extermination Qi should be produced by the spirit vein under the Changfeng City. The Water Origin Fate Dipper belongs to the Yun Lu and due to my limited strength earlier, I failed to retain it back at the Tongyou Mysterious World. I thought that it managed to return to the Ji Continent. Who would have thought that you managed to capture it.¡± Shang Xia laughed, ¡°Yeah, I lucked out. I was in the right place at the right time! If Patriarch Kou didn¡¯t deal with Ancestor Yun Lu, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to grab the fate dipper. Moreover, I won¡¯t be able to use either treasure any time soon. If you use them, you will be able to bring out their full effects!¡± Kou Chongxue¡¯s roaring laughter boomed through the air. ¡°Hahaha, nicely said! I carried out your suggestion and although there were many things that could be improved, I am sure that your idea will allow the issue with my fate dippers to be solved. Now that you delivered the Water Origin Fate Dipper to me, my cultivation will have hopes of recovering. In fact, it¡¯s extremely likely that I will be able to reach the next level! This old man will really owe you big time!¡± Shang Xia smiled humbly in response. ¡°This disciple believes that Patriarch Kou will be able to receive great rewards after heading to the Ji Continent this time. You will definitely shock the world!¡± Kou Chongxue¡¯s laughter continued. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll borrow your fortune and I won¡¯t let you down! I¡¯ll head over the same way they¡¯re sending world origin back to the Ji Continent! Stay here and maintain the protection formation in the spirit cave. I¡¯ll give them a taste of their own medicine! You might even be able to benefit from this!¡± After he spoke, the tip of the sword pointed to the skies. The massive water droplet that was the Water Origin Fate Dipper flew towards the sword. The instant the Water Origin Fate Dipper touched the Hidden Frost Sword, it disappeared into the body of the blade. The sword hummed in excitement, but the sword soon turned into a streak of light that entered one of the wells that remained in the City Lord Manor. Shang Xia retrieved his Spirit Extermination Gourd, and he discovered a hidden message Kou Chongxue left behind. ¡°This gourd is pretty interesting. There¡¯s a spirit living in it too. The gourd and the spirit seem to have reached a point of equilibrium and it slightly resembles the making of a divine weapon. If an opportunity arrives in the future, you might be pleasantly surprised!¡± Shang Xia wiped the perspiration off his forehead after the sword disappeared. Luckily, he only destroyed a few wells earlier. Otherwise, Kou Chongxue¡¯s Hidden Frost Sword was going to have to double as an excavator. A loud rumble came from the ground below and the Changfeng City quaked violently. Fortunately, it didn¡¯t last for long as the rumbling sound quickly disappeared. It seemed to move south as several abnormalities happened in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range soon after. The disturbance in the City Lord Manor drew the attention of many cultivators once again. Luckily, the battle earlier between Youshang and Gao Yun served as a huge warning. There was also the descent of the Hidden Frost Sword which significantly reduced the number of people who dared to approach. Of course, there were some ballsy idiots who decided to try their luck. As they closed in on the City Lord Manor, they ran into Shang Xia¡¯s terrifying divine sense. No one under the Martial Intent Realm could draw near. As for those in the Martial Intent Realm, they would find arrows being shot at them if they dared to venture too near. Eventually, all of them retreated to a safe distance. As the crowds swarmed around the buildings nearby, a voice eventually tore through the air. ¡°Is the Sixth Young Master of the Shang Clan present? I am here on Senior You¡¯s orders!¡± CH 340 On a small riverbank a hundred or so miles away from the Changfeng City¡­ Boss Sha lowered his head to look at the spear that was stuck in his chest as he felt the strength draining from his body. Struggling to look at Third Sister Hai, he gasped, ¡°Large¡­ Large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm! No¡­ Grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm? What martial intent did you comprehend?¡± The spear was forcefully pulled out from his chest and Third Sister Hai flicked it once to get rid of the bloodstains on it. She looked at Boss Sha who had toppled to the ground. She muttered expressionlessly, ¡°My Third Uncle also completed his seventh move when comprehending the Providence Spear Art and he received the title of Soul Tearing Spear when he was in the Martial Intent Realm. Using his experience, I developed my own set of skills. I guess I¡¯ll call my martial intent the Soul Breaking Spear then!¡± ¡°Soul Tearing Spear, Soul Breaking¡­¡± Widening his eyes in shock, Boss Sha pointed at Third Sister Hai before muttering, ¡°You¡­ You¡­ You¡¯re¡­¡± With his hands falling limply to the side, he was unable to complete his sentence as the light in his eyes faded forever. Looking at the corpse on the ground, a trace of reminiscence flashed across her face. However, her gaze soon shifted to look at the void several feet away from her. Someone appeared there at an unknown time. Seeing the appearance of the newcomer, she muttered, ¡°It¡¯s you¡­¡± ¡­ To access the premium content, go to [ pawread dot com ]. ¡°Is the Sixth Young Master of the Shang Clan present? I am here on Senior You¡¯s orders!¡± The person ran towards the City Lord Manor while yelling. Hearing his familiar voice, Shang Xia¡¯s heart trembled slightly. He thought to himself, ¡°That sounds like Uncle Cen. Youshang seems to have instructed them to come help me out. However, they don¡¯t know who I am yet. Looks like things are going to get awkward¡­¡± Outside the manor, Uncle Cen indicated for his companions who were rushing over to slow down in case the Sixth Young Master of the Shang Clan misunderstood their intentions. Even so, he had faith that the Sixth Young Master of the Shang Clan would welcome them. He had a hunch that the Sixth Young Master he was looking for was the mysterious Martial Extermination Realm cultivator who saved them when their lives were threatened in the past. The only thing he didn¡¯t expect was for Shang Xia to be in a state of dilemma. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know if he wished to reveal his identity to the others. An idea appeared in his mind. ¡°Have you met your third in charge?¡± Silence filled the air for a second before Uncle Cen¡¯s voice echoed through the air. ¡°Third Sister went to hunt down Boss Sha. She¡¯s dealing with all our loose ends as we speak. Grunting softly, Shang Xia recalled that the Boss Sha he saw back then was in the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. For her to hunt him down¡­ It seemed as though the third in command of the Eighteen Horsemen was the true tyrannical leader among them. ¡°Assist me to protect the City Lord Manor. Do not let anyone in. Kill anyone who tries to intrude into the manor!¡± Shang Xia decided to allow them to enter the manor eventually. As Kou Chongxue went down to the Ji Continent to seek revenge, the most important thing for Shang Xia to do was to protect the patriarch¡¯s way back. Hiding his identity wasn¡¯t as important as that! Moreover, he would be heading into the spirit cave underground soon. Uncle Cen and the others might not discover him any time soon. ¡­ In the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range close to the Ji Continent, the underground river eventually broke through the ground and formed the Thousand Scale River. It flowed slightly to the east and would eventually end in the sea, and it was connected to the White Deer River somewhere in between. As the name of the White Deer River implied, it originated from the White Deer Paradise, and they conveniently named the source of the river the White Deer Springs. Two Martial Extermination Realm experts of the White Deer Paradise were stationed around the Thousand Scale River, and they were Bai Mohan and Zhou Beiyuan respectively. They remained on a small floating platform in the middle of the raging river as they ensured nothing went wrong. The region where the Thousand Scale River was connected to the White Deer River was stained an inky green, but the colored water only flowed up the White Deer River back to the paradise. Bai Mohan who had been standing there for some time now muttered softly, ¡°Who would have thought that the Thousand Scale River would run all the way through the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range into the Changfeng City of the You Continent? Hah. The Tongyou Institution really overestimated themselves this time. The You Continent is full of backward losers. How dare they try to devour world origin themselves and affect the fate of our White Deer Paradise? Hehe with the energy we took from them, our White Deer Paradise will be able to upgrade to the White Deer Heaven soon!¡± The platform they were on seemed to be sitting in the middle of a huge formation, and on the other side of it, Zhou Beiyuan looked down at the water and frowned. ¡°Senior Brother Bai, do you think that the energy is getting more and more diluted?¡± ¡°Really?¡± Bai Mohan went to the edge before looking down at the inky green water. ¡°Hmm¡­ The color looks lighter than before. However, the distance to the Tongyou City is huge. Ancestor Yun Lu only managed to send a fate dipper clone over and it¡¯s impressive he managed to retrieve so much world origin back. It¡¯s fine for there to be some leakage along the way.¡± Zhou Beiyuan nodded slightly, but he couldn¡¯t help but mutter under his breath, ¡°Could there be some sort of accident?¡± Bai Mohan seemed to have overheard the biggest joke of his life and he roared with laughter. ¡°Hahaha! Junior Brother Zhou, you must be going mad! With Kou Chongxue out of the picture, those weaklings in the Tongyou Institution won¡¯t be able to do a thing against Ancestor Yun Lu! Moreover¡­¡± A mysterious chuckle left Bai Mohan¡¯s lips as he continued, ¡°Do you really think that we¡¯re the only ones who are plotting the institution? Do you think we¡¯re the only ones who¡¯re sending a Martial Dipper Realm expert?¡± ¡°Hah! Everyone shoves a collapsing wall! Looks like the Tongyou Institution is finished! But¡­ What if Kou Chongxue reappears?¡± Zhou Beiyuan sniggered but he seemed to have thought of something. ¡°There¡¯s no ¡®what if¡¯!¡± Bai Mohan interrupted his junior brother. ¡°Do you know what injury Kou Chongxue is suffering from? His fate dippers are in a state of disequilibrium! For an ancestor at the Martial Dipper Realm, there is no way to cure an injury like that! The moment they fall into a state like that, they can only forcefully prolong their life with the use of their inner qi! If he forcefully makes another move, he¡¯ll shorten his lifespan immensely!¡± Even though Zhou Beiyuan and Bai Mohan had close to the same cultivation level, one of them was clearly a lot more knowledgeable about matters at the Martial Dipper Realm. Zhou Beiyuan quickly took the chance to continue asking, ¡°I am truly clueless about such things. However, Kou Chongxue¡¯s reputation is like the sun in the midday sky. He¡¯s the most tyrannical being in the northern continents¡­ How did someone like that fall into the state he is in? ¡° Bai Mohan grinned haughtily, ¡°Hehe, Junior Brother Zhou, you asked the right person. If you ask anyone else, they won¡¯t be able to tell you anything! This¡­¡± Zhou Beiyuan nodded hurriedly. ¡°Of course! Everyone in our White Deer Paradise knows that Senior Brother Bai is the fifth generation descendant of Ancestor Hua Lu. Your noble self¡­¡± Bai Mohan waved his hand casually and chuckled. ¡°Hahaha, it¡¯s just a mere title. I¡¯m just basking in my ancestor¡¯s glory¡­¡± Even though that was what he said, the grin on his face couldn¡¯t be wider. He failed to hide his arrogance. ¡°We have to talk about this from the first time he was attacked. In the past, something happened outside the heavens, causing the experts of our Azure Origin World to flock over. No one knew how Kou Chongxue managed to piss them off and he was surrounded by many Martial Dipper Realm ancestors. In the end, he was heavily injured as he fled back to the You Continent¡­¡± Just as Bai Mohan was getting into the climax of the story, he discovered that his junior disciple¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t right. He quickly asked, ¡°Junior Brother Zhou, Junior¡­¡± Zhou Beiyuan snapped back to reality and gasped, ¡°Senior Brother Bai, the flow stopped! The color disappeared!¡± ¡°How is that possible?!¡± Bai Mohan snapped his head around to stare at the water, but he heard a low rumble coming from the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. The originally peaceful water started to ripple violently. With his expression changing drastically, Bai Mohan roared, ¡°Something happened! Junior Brother Zhou, break the connection! Inform an ancestor immedi¡­¡± Before the words could leave his lips, a bronze streak of light zipped over to the platform they were on. As the streak of light stopped, the body of a sword could be seen hovering in mid air. A terrifying pressure descended on the two of them and they fell to their knees powerlessly. Neither of them could raise their heads. ¡°Divine¡­ Weapon¡­ Hidden¡­ Frost¡­¡± Bai Mohan struggled to speak, and when he finally gathered enough strength to raise his head, he couldn¡¯t control his fright any longer. The Hidden Frost Sword was Kou Chongxue¡¯s personal weapon! It was the weapon the madman used to suppress the entire northern part of the Azure Origin World! A divine weapon had its own spirit, but without Kou Chongxue¡¯s explicit permission, it wouldn¡¯t allow itself to be controlled by others! Bai Mohan might be arrogant, but he wasn¡¯t foolish enough to think that Ancestor Yun Lu actually managed to obtain Kou Chongxue¡¯s Hidden Frost Sword. Even though that was truly the case earlier, Bai Mohan had no idea what had happened in the You Continent. There was only one other possibility. Kou Chongxue had come! But if that was truly the case, there would be another huge problem. If Kou Chongxue had come, where was Ancestor Yun Lu and his fate dipper? No, that wasn¡¯t scarier than what was actually happening. The most fearsome thing was that Kou Chongxue had actually descended on the Ji Continent! How was he so confident as to charge into the Ji Continent alone? A multitude of thoughts flashed through Bai Mohan¡¯s mind as he laid motionless on the platform. He might have found it terrifying, but his greatest fears soon came true! The Hidden Frost Sword drew an arc in the skies as Bai Mohan and Zhou Beiyuan had their heads separated from their bodies. Their decapitation didn¡¯t hinder the movements of Kou Chongxue¡¯s Hidden Frost Sword in the slightest; it quickly returned to the river and sped in the direction of the White Deer Paradise. Kou Chongxue¡¯s soft sigh was all that remained in the air as the sword disappeared. ¡°What a great plan you assholes had¡­ If I didn¡¯t come here personally, I would be letting down the amazing arrangements you laid down!¡± CH 341 Hundreds of miles outside the Tongyou City, Wei Zhongwen was beaten to death by a group of Martial Extermination Realm experts after he was obstructed by Yu Chengjin. However, they had to admit that Wei Zhongwen was indeed extraordinary. Even with the impressive lineup that was Yu Chengjin, Liu Qinglan, Han Chongwei, and Shang Ke, they were unable to take him down without suffering some losses. Yu Chengjin and Shang Ke received heavy injuries in order to take him down. As for Yang Hu, he was saved by two mysterious experts who came out of nowhere. Before Han Chongwei and the others could stop them from leaving, they were already gone. They could only focus on Wei Zhongwen. As for Chang Huaiwu of the Yanmen Institution, he was stopped by An Baimei and the others. After a round of negotiation, they decided to detain him and send him back to the Yanmen Institution for further punishment. The battle for the Tongyou Mysterious World eventually drew to a close, but half the city was turned into ruins due to the battle between the experts in the Martial Extermination Ream. If not for the fact that Kou Chongxue dealt with Yun Lu in the Tongyou Mysterious World itself, the entire place might have been trashed. ¡­ With Uncle Cen and the other remaining members of the Eighteen Horsemen stationed in the City Lord Manor, Shang Xia could finally heave a sigh of relief before entering the spirit cave below. After entering the spirit cave, he couldn¡¯t feel the slightest ripple of energy. That seemed about right as Kou Chongxue had just left for the Ji Continent. Since there was nothing to do, he decided to look at Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s storage artifact. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t like Kou Chongxue who had the ability to shatter spatial artifacts without damaging their contents. He could only resort to brute force to open Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s treasure while praying that the precious items within wouldn¡¯t be damaged. Crash! Along with the destruction of his spatial artifact, a pile of items crashed to the floor. However, quite a bit of them fell into the deep pool below. Reacting quickly, Shang Xia grabbed a piece of silk in front of him that had a talisman stuck on to it. At the same time, he managed to retrieve a jade bottle that was sealed shut with a special wooden cork and some red cinnabar clay. The bottle looked a little familiar to Shang Xia. From the looks of how heavily it was protected, Shang Xia thought back to the time when Shang Ke retrieved his advancement medicine in the Coral Forest. Examining the bottle carefully, he noticed a small row of words carved on its surface. Exquisite Muddle. Thinking of something, Shang Xia hurriedly retrieved the jade strip Youshang handed him before leaving. His divine sense entered the strip to read its contents, and he gasped in shock when he saw the name of the rank four advancement formula, ¡®Exquisite Muddled Liquid¡¯! ¡­ The White Deer Country of the Ji Continent got its name due to the presence of the White Deer Paradise. As a holy land that sat on the Ji Continent, the White Deer Paradise enjoyed a majestic status in the land. Cultivators who were from the White Deer Paradise would usually refer to themselves as cultivators from the White Deer Sect when they went about doing their business in the Ji Continent. As a holy land, the White Deer Paradise was naturally located in a separate region of space. It was unable to sustain itself as an independent world, but it hung high above the Azure Origin World. The key to the balance the White Deer Paradise maintained with the Azure Origin World was the White Deer River that originated from the holy land that connected to the Ji Continent. In the depths of the White Deer Paradise, on a large plain that housed the source of the White Deer River, the White Deer Spring, a herd of white deers could be seen grazing on the grass under their feet as they enjoyed the tranquility. World origin emerged from the White Deer Spring as it poured into the depths of the White Deer Paradise, strengthening the space around it. Right beside the spring was Ancestor Yun Lu of the White Deer Paradise. As he looked at the world origin streaming in, he felt a trace of unease in his heart. It was as though he could feel that something bad had happened to his clone. Not too far away from him was an open entrance. A lady who had golden hair and was clad in a Chinese-styled robe walked out from within. She looked to be in her fifties and she was Ancestor Hua Lu, another Martial Dipper Realm ancestor. A frown could be seen on her face as she emerged. ¡°Looking at your uneasy expression, did something bad happen to your clone?¡± Ancestor Yun Lu shook his head and sighed. ¡°The distance between our continents is inhibiting my senses. I have no idea what is going on there.¡± ¡°Would you like to recall your clone?¡± Ancestor Hua Lu muttered softly. However, she was met with a quick refusal. As Yun Lu shook his head, he explained, ¡°This concerns the fate of our White Deer Paradise. Everything here will determine if we can upgrade ourselves into the White Deer Heaven! Senior Brother Xuan Lu has been running around the past few years dealing with the matter of raising our strength once again, and he¡¯s been going to the region outside heaven so often. I can¡¯t give up this rare chance to obtain world origin from the Tongyou Institution! Moreover, my clone has the strength of a Martial Dipper Realm expert. I will be able to leave even if anything happens. At the very least, my Water Origin Fate Dipper should be back even if an accident occurs.¡± A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. ¡°But¡­¡± Ancestor Hua Lu seemed a little worried and wanted to say a little more, but she was interrupted by Yun Lu abruptly. His expression changed as he spat out a mouthful of blood while hollering, ¡°No!¡± Ancestor Hua Lu was shocked as she tapped several spots in the air. A stream of pure inner qi poured into Yun Lu¡¯s body and she asked, ¡°What¡¯s going on? Did something happen?¡± With his chest heaving up and down, Yun Lu felt perspiration dripping down his forehead as pain assaulted his body. ¡°I¡­ My fate dipper clone was exterminated! This is a trap!¡± ¡°Who? What?¡± Ancestor Hua Lu growled, and she quickly looked around herself. Snapping out of his pain, Ancestor Yun Lu became a lot more panicky. ¡°It¡¯s not good! He¡¯s going to be here soon¡­ No! He¡¯s already here!¡± Ancestor Hua Lu couldn¡¯t be bothered with Yun Lu any longer and she quickly pulled her golden hairpin out of her hair and drew a horizontal line in the void before her. A spatial crack appeared and shattered any connection the White Deer Paradise had with the outside world. ¡°It¡¯s too late for you to cut the connection now! Hahaha!¡± The Hidden Frost Sword emerged from the White Deer Spring and sundered the spatial crack that was forming. Ancestor Hua Lu¡¯s hairpin broke in half. A bronze-colored sword qi seemed to transcend space to land directly on Ancestor Hua Lu¡¯s body. Her figure flickered slightly and she appeared tens of miles away. ¡°Kou Chongxue, it¡¯s you!¡± Ancestor Hua Lu gnashed her teeth together and growled. A sinister frown formed on her face. ¡°Oh? Why are you so feisty today? You seem to be holding a grudge about something!¡± Kou Chongxue¡¯s voice boomed above the White Deer Paradise. ¡°Lady Hua Lu sounds so serious! You better choose your words wisely. If your disciples misunderstand the relationship between us, it¡¯s not my fault! By the way, I¡¯ll be embarrassed too!¡± ¡°Kou Chongxue, you¡¯re seeking death!¡± Hua Lu might look like she was in her fifties, but she had been cultivating for well over a hundred years. She was known for being graceful and proper. She couldn¡¯t allow Kou Chongxue to say whatever he liked and smear her reputation. With anger rising in her heart, she retrieved a jade seal and smashed it over at the Hidden Frost Sword. The seal spun around in mid air before turning into a small hill that was tens of feet tall. It fell directly on Kou Chongxue¡¯s Hidden Frost Sword in an attempt to suppress it. Well, Kou Chongxue didn¡¯t come here to pick a fight with any one of them to begin with. Not to mention that he was currently in the other party¡¯s territory. He wouldn¡¯t be able to forcefully suppress them with his current strength. His plan was only to try to enrage Hua Lu. However, he didn¡¯t have much hope when he came over. After all, why would someone get angry with him over a few words? Much less when they were already Martial Dipper Realm experts. However, reality exceeded his expectations. Ancestor Hua Lu flew into a fit of rage after he teased her slightly. The jade seal might seem powerful, but it was full of weaknesses. In actuality, all of them present knew that Kou Chongxue was fighting on borrowed time. The smartest move Hua Lu could pull was to team up with Yun Lu to suppress the Hidden Frost Sword. They could also draw upon the power of the White Deer Paradise to deal with the threat! Fighting him alone was the stupidest thing she could do! The jade seal might have turned into a small hill, but Kou Chongxue¡¯s consciousness was inside the Hidden Frost Sword. The tiny sword quickly avoided the falling hill before shooting a terrifying sword light into the void before him. Without the confidence to face Kou Chongxue¡¯s sword light, Hua Lu could only retreat again. Once Hua Lu wasn¡¯t able to tangle with him any longer, the Hidden Frost Sword changed back into the White Deer Spring. According to Kou Chongxue, Yun Lu, the perpetrator of the entire scheme against the Tongyou Institution, hid his true body there! Naturally, his instincts wouldn¡¯t be wrong at such a critical moment. However, Yun Lu was also a Martial Dipper Realm expert! He might be injured, but his cultivation base was still present! By the time Kou Chongxue entered the White Deer Spring, he had already left! A sense of foreboding filled Kou Chongxue¡¯s heart as soon as he entered the White Deer Spring. For him to catch Yun Lu¡¯s trace so easily and follow him into the White Deer Spring, something was up! It was most probably a trap Yun Lu laid down! It seemed as though a tough battle was ahead of him. Even so, Kou Chongxue wasn¡¯t worried in the slightest! The situation was much better than the worst-case scenario he prepared for before coming over. From the time he entered the White Deer Paradise, he discovered that the strongest and oldest of the three ancestors, Ancestor Xuan Lu, was nowhere to be found! Even though he didn¡¯t know when Xuan Lu left the White Deer Paradise or what he was doing out there, he knew one thing and that was that the White Deer Paradise only had two ancestors holding the fort at that moment! A bronze strand of light emerged from the Hidden Frost Sword at that moment, transforming into a clone that looked exactly like Kou Chongxue. The bronze light that emerged was Kou Chongxue¡¯s Primal Yang Copper Fate Dipper and his Hidden Frost Sword transported it all the way over from the Tongyou Mysterious World. As soon as his clone formed, he grabbed the Hidden Frost Sword in his hand and sighed softly, ¡°It¡¯s too bad I just obtained the Water Origin Fate Dipper. I can¡¯t refine it in time to make full use of it, but it will still be helpful in the upcoming battle!¡± After he spoke, he stabbed his Hidden Frost Sword deep into the eye of the formation in the White Deer Spring. The White Deer Paradise trembled violently the moment his sword pierced the formation. If Kou Chongxue¡¯s random swipe when he just appeared caused the White Deer Paradise to tremble slightly, his current actions caused a massive earthquake to the region! Yun Lu was using the formation to steal the Tongyou Mysterious World¡¯s world origin, but Kou Chongxue¡¯s sword immediately tore a massive wound in the independent space that was the White Deer Paradise! A massive blast ensued, and Kou Chongxue borrowed a little power from the Water Origin Fate Dipper he received from Shang Xia earlier. The foundations and energy accumulated by the White Deer Paradise started to shift with a thought from Kou Chongxue! The energy stored by the White Deer Paradise started to flow into the White Deer Spring, and like how they stole the world origin from the Tongyou Mysterious World, it flowed along the White Deer River, Thousand Scale River, and through the underground river back to the You Continent! CH 342 ¡­ In the City Lord Manor in the Changfeng City¡­ By the time Third Sister Hai returned, Fourth Brother Zeng, Uncle Cen, Sixth Sister Gu, and a few others were there to wait for her. ¡°Third Sister, you¡¯re back!¡± ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Third Sister, where¡¯s Boss Sha?¡± Third Sister Hai swept her gaze across those present and paused slightly before muttering, ¡°Boss Sha and Second Brother Liu are dead.¡± Even though they already expected as much, hearing it from her gave off a different feeling. Even Sixth Sister Gu, who had seen Second Brother Liu¡¯s death with her own eyes, revealed a complicated gaze. The few of them could only rely on each other as they danced with death and all of them had a pretty good relationship with each other. Now that their fellow comrades were dead, they couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of regret filling their hearts. At the same time, they had to admit that their Third Sister Hai was a formidable expert. Her identity wasn¡¯t as simple as it seemed either. ¡°Mother, you came out!¡± Hai Min was also part of those who came. Even though her daughter was the one who called out to her, Third Sister Hai barely acknowledged it with a slight nod before turning to address the others. ¡°Where¡¯s the kid?¡± Naturally, she was referring to Shang Xia. She ran into Youshang outside the city earlier and learned that he instructed the remaining members of the Eighteen Horsemen to head over to the City Lord Manor. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Because of Youshang¡¯s reminder, they went ahead and called Shang Xia the Sixth Young Master of the Shang Clan, allowing them some guesses as to who Third Sister Hai was looking for. However, Shang Xia went into the underground spirit cave right after they entered, allowing him to hide his face for the time being. Even though they felt that she was a little disrespectful to their savior, they replied to her nonetheless. However, they hadn¡¯t corrected their mistake and thought that Shang Xia was the mysterious Martial Extermination Realm expert who came to their aid previously and they answered Third Sister Hai¡¯s question. ¡°Senior told us to defend the manor. He went over to protect an important region and left this place in our care.¡± Third Sister Hai¡¯s expression changed slightly when she heard how they addressed him, and she muttered, ¡°Why are you addressing him as ¡®senior¡¯? Have you met him?¡± After killing Second Brother Liu and Boss Sha, Third Sister Hai no longer hid her cultivation level. Her cultivation base at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm was revealed, and Uncle Cen and the others didn¡¯t dare to look directly at her. Her slight change in emotions wasn¡¯t noticed by any one of them. Nodding quickly, Uncle Cen replied, ¡°When Boss Sha and the rest chose to betray us and join the Changfeng City, Senior Shang saved us, along with another mysterious senior. We haven¡¯t seen his true appearance, but he scared away many people with the bow earlier. His weapon of choice was similar to the senior who saved our lives, and since Senior Youshang sent us here to assist him, he¡¯s definitely our senior.¡± Third Sister Hai snorted slightly in response. ¡°I¡¯m not doubting his identity. But since you know that he¡¯s from the Shang Clan, did you meet him or something?¡± ¡°Third Sister, is there¡­ Is there something wrong?¡± Uncle Cen hesitated for a moment as he heard the strange tone coming from Third Sister Hai. She snapped at him the next moment. ¡°What do you mean there¡¯s something wrong? Nevermind! Just guard this place! I¡¯ll go meet that ¡®Senior Shang¡¯ you¡¯re talking about!¡± ¡°Third Sister, the Sixth Young Master told us not to disturb him¡­¡± Fourth Brother Zeng added. ¡°Sixth Young Master?¡± Third Sister Hai nearly burst out laughing after hearing his title again. Uncle Cen quickly turned to look at Hai Min before signaling her with his eyes. Hai Min quickly spoke up. ¡°Mother, Yuanyuan¡­ She¡¯s missing¡­¡± Turning her head to stare at Hai Min, Third Sister Hai snapped, ¡°What?!¡± Jumping in fright, Hai Min quickly continued, ¡°I handed her over and got someone to take care of her. The situation was too chaotic earlier and when everything settled down and I returned to my courtyard, I discovered that it had already collapsed. Yuanyuan also went missing. I think she might have been brought to a safe place by the person I requested to take care of her¡­¡± Third Sister Hai¡¯s dark expression cleared up slightly after hearing that Hai Min might be fine and she asked, ¡°Who did you ask to take care of her? Describe their appearance to me.¡± Hai Min quickly described Shang Xia¡¯s appearance to her mother. Everything seemed fine earlier, but once she made the description, Third Sister Hai gnashed her teeth with rage before bursting into laughter to conceal her anger. ¡°Great! What an amazing Senior Shang you found here. Sixth Young Master of the Shang Clan my ass!¡± Her sudden outburst caused everyone to stare at each other in shock. Uncle Cen looked at Ninth Brother Huang as a bad premonition filled their hearts. ¡­ In the spirit cave underground, Shang Xia had no idea his identity had already been seen through by Third Sister Hai. He was still looking at the advancement medicine he obtained from Yang Zhenbiao. Since the advancement formula was given to him by Youshang after he picked out Gao Yun¡¯s belongings, it seemed as though the entire set was what the White Deer Paradise was giving Yang Hu in exchange for his alliance. A set of advancement medicine and the Yin Water Mysterious Extrermination Origin. Indeed¡­ It seemed as though those were Yang Zhenbiao¡¯s key to entering the Martial Extermination Realm! Moreover, with the advancement formula in Yang Hu¡¯s hands, he would be able to establish himself as a powerful faction in the future! For the White Deer Paradise to hand over a set of advancement medicine and a complete advancement formula, one could see how seriously they were taking this. All the great powers in the Azure Origin World had a pact to strictly prevent the outflow of advancement formulas, especially high leveled ones! Even with Shang Bo and Kou Chongxue¡¯s relationship, the Shang Clan had to toil away for twenty years and Shang Bo had to pledge his allegiance to the Tongyou Institution before he could obtain a set of rank four advancement formula for his family! That was how much emphasis the Tongyou Institution placed on a rank four advancement formula! Of course, the Shang Clan didn¡¯t just possess that one set of advancement formula now. With more options, they could prevent wasting any talented individuals! Shang Xia might have obtained the rank four advancement formula from Youshang earlier, but to be honest, he was more interested in the bottle of advancement medicine. The advancement formula would describe the way to create the advancement medicine, but one would still have to look for all the ingredients and find a qualified alchemist! The number of precious herbs required to create a set of rank four advancement medicine was astronomical! There were even some that couldn¡¯t be obtained easily! Now that a set of advancement medicine had fallen into Shang Xia¡¯s lap from nowhere, or more accurately to say, after killing Yang Zhenbiao, it would save him a lot of trouble! That was also another reason why the great powers didn¡¯t wish to spread their advancement formulas around. They wanted to keep the ingredients of the medicine a secret so others have no idea how important some of the herbs were! After keeping the medicine and the advancement formula carefully, Shang Xia started to look at the remains. He picked at those that caught his eye. Even though it took a long time to describe what happened, only a short moment had passed in reality. Nothing came from the underground river that led to the Ji Continent, but Shang XIa chose to place his Spirit Extermination Gourd above the deep pool after thinking about it for some time. All of a sudden, one of the holes above him turned dark. When Shang Xia raised his head to take a look, he saw a spear light smashing into the protection barrier above him. Jumping to his feet in fright, he grabbed his Scarlet Star Spear and got ready to fight. A tiny hole was torn in the barrier and a figure descended gracefully through it. She arrived in front of Shang Xia with a cold look on her face. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s senior¡­¡± Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief after seeing who came. However, he still noticed the lingering spear light that struck the barrier earlier and he couldn¡¯t be bothered with why she forcefully tore through the barrier to enter the spirit cave. His expression sank and a trace of killing intent formed in his heart. ¡°Who exactly are you? What spear art did you just use?¡± Without saying a word, Third Sister Hai¡¯s aura at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm descended. Her spear returned to her hand and she raised it towards Shang Xia. As someone who had exchanged blows with Martial Extermination Realm experts more than once and even killed one of them, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t intimidated by the aura of a mere grand completion stage Martial Intent Realm cultivator. Watching how she raised her spear at him, Shang Xia chuckled with rage and his Scarlet Star Spear that he had been lowering slowly stood upright again. One had to say that ever since he comprehended Piercing Sun and killed Gao Yun, he seemed to have reached a completely new realm of comprehension. Be it his mental state or his cultivation, they seemed to have experienced a massive level up. It allowed him to maintain a casual attitude whenever he was up against cultivators of the same realm. It was a state that allowed him to achieve complete suppression over those at the same cultivation level! Even if his opponent was in the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, it didn¡¯t matter! His opponent might have caught him off guard and taken the initiative to strike, but it wouldn¡¯t be enough! The moment Shang Xia brought out his spear, he would achieve complete domination! Raising his spear, it didn¡¯t matter which of the nine moves he wanted to unleash. That wasn¡¯t all. He seemed to have mixed many different styles with each other and he was ready to utilize any technique he wanted. Stabbing out slowly, Shang Xia completely shattered the pressure that was on him. Facing Third Sister Hai¡¯s seven foot long spear, he wasn¡¯t flustered in the slightest as he quickly suppressed her. Nevertheless, she was a Martial Intent Realm expert at the grand completion stage. Defeating her wouldn¡¯t be easy. Her figure started to flicker and she quickly escaped his suppression. Shang Xia didn¡¯t react immediately. Instead, he stood where he was and growled, ¡°Who exactly are you? Why do you know my Shang Clan Spear Art?¡± Compared to his initial anger, he was slightly taken aback by her skills. However, his shock couldn¡¯t even begin to compare to the fright Third Sister Hai was feeling. The Providence Spear Art might differ from person to person as they came up with moves that suited themselves based on their understanding of the Providence Spear Art, but the basic principles were there. Anyone would recognize their technique as long as they knew what to look for. Shang Xia¡¯s attacks earlier were all-encompassing and managed to force her back without much difficulty. Even though he used many different techniques, Third Sister Hai was able to confirm a single fact. He was definitely using the Providence Spear Art! Her eyes widened in shock as she thought about the final sentence in the Providence Spear Art. ¡°Nine spears into one, Providence in one¡¯s fingertips!¡± Did he¡­ Did he come up with nine moves based on his comprehension of the Providence Spear Art?! Raising her head to stare at Shang Xia, she failed to contain her shock. ¡°You¡­¡± Before she could continue, a low rumbling came from the underground river. CH 343 Back at the White Deer Paradise. With Kou Chongxue¡¯s fate dipper clone forming and controlling the Hidden Frost Sword personally, he stabbed it deep into the eye of the formation in the White Deer Spring. The energy that had been stored up by the White Deer Paradise poured into the spring at a terrifying speed as they were channeled back to the You Continent! The White Deer Paradise had been plotting for a long time. However, now that the tables have turned, the energy they had accumulated was being stolen instead! ¡°Kou Chongxue, you deserve to die!¡± Ancestor Hua Lu who finally discovered what was going on roared with rage when she saw the accumulations of the White Deer Paradise being stolen under her nose. She was so angry she nearly vomited a mouthful of blood. Even though she was bursting with rage, she managed to restrain herself this time. She didn¡¯t rush to attack Kou Chongxue immediately. She disappeared from her spot. A cold snort emerged from Kou Chongxue¡¯s nose, but he became all the more serious. When Ancestor Hua Lu disappeared, Kou Chongxue discovered that the space around him was starting to turn a little more solid. In fact, there was a subtle pressure descending on him in the form of complete suppression. That was why a holy land was considered a holy land. Even with his frightening strength, Kou Chongxue wouldn¡¯t be able to fight against the White Deer Paradise on his own! Given enough time, they would be able to force him to stop! Earlier, when Yun Lu disappeared, it seemed as though he knew what to do now that Kou Chongxue had arrived. His retreat might be correct, but it was also because he had no choice. He suffered serious injuries just a moment ago when one of his fate dippers was forcefully separated from him. He couldn¡¯t possibly fight with the enraged Kou Chongxue who charged into their territory to seek revenge. Yun Lu might have been a third element Martial Dipper Realm expert at his peak and much stronger than Hua Lu, but his current strength was severely compromised! With Hua Lu retreating into the core of the White Deer Paradise to take charge of the situation, Kou Chongxue wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat them anymore. Their reluctance to do battle outright might be fuelled by the fact that they had to protect the White Deer Paradise, but it was also because none of them wished to fight with the madman of the You Continent! Kou Chongxue wasn¡¯t known as the tyrant of the northern continents for nothing! Even though the current Kou Chongxue was a mere fate dipper clone and was still severely injured, they didn¡¯t wish to fight him head-on! The clone might only be comparable to a first element Martial Dipper Realm expert, but that was Kou Chongxue they were talking about! One had to know that the clone was created from his Primal Yang Copper Fate Dipper! Of the fate dippers owned by those in the Martial Dipper Realm, it was known to possess the strongest combat capabilities! In the past, that was what Kou Chongxue relied on to dominate the Azure Origin World and establish his prestige! With a fate dipper clone made up of the Primal Yang Copper Fate Dipper, he could easily challenge Hua Lu who was a second element Martial Dipper Realm cultivator. There was also a need to mention that Kou Chongxue¡¯s fate dipper clone was wielding his divine weapon, the Hidden Frost Sword! Graded weapons could be split into low, mid, and high-grade. However, no one knew how to classify divine weapons yet. The Hidden Frost Sword was made from Origin Yang Mysterious Copper, and from the name itself, one could easily draw the connection to his fate dipper. There was no need to doubt that was a first-rate weapon! Any Martial Dipper Realm expert would probably experience a 30 percent increase in strength with a divine weapon in hand. But for Kou Chongxue with the Primal Yang Copper Fate Dipper to wield the Hidden Frost Sword made from the Origin Yang Mysterious Copper¡­ Taking a step forward, Kou Chongxue drew another line in the air in front of him after pulling his sword out from the White Deer Spring. The number of Martial Dipper Realm experts in the Azure Origin World was slightly more than the number of fingers on both hands, and anyone who reached that level could be considered to have reached the peak. None of them had any guides on how to improve. If they wished to progress, they could only pioneer their own path! Kou Chongxue¡¯s sword art was something he created himself after entering the Martial Dipper Realm, the Origin Yang Thousand Peak Sword! He got his inspiration for the first move contained in his sword art from the winding Thousand Leaf Mountain Range, and that was where the name ¡®Thousand Peak¡¯ came from. Since his sword was made from Origin Yang Mysterious Copper, he conveniently added the words Origin Yang in front of his technique! Even though the subsequent moves had nothing to do with the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range any longer, the name stuck. As he unleashed his rank five sword art, the space in the White Deer Paradise seemed to split apart and the energy contained similarly dissipated. It was as though half the air in a balloon vanished. The energy and foundations of the White Deer Paradise continued to pour out of the White Deer Spring and the scene greatly resembled what happened in the Tongyou Mysterious World when Yun Lu appeared. The energy that disappeared earlier quickly returned, and this time, it seemed to form a huge torrent in the skies that came crashing down on Kou Chongxue. The slovenly dressed Patriarch Kou who looked like half a slob released an unbridled aura as a sharp light flashed in his eyes. He swung his sword seemingly in an attempt to fight against the combined strength of the White Deer Paradise alone. However, the White Deer Paradise evidently wouldn¡¯t allow Kou Chongxue to do as he pleased this time. The jade hill Hua Lu tossed out earlier descended once again. This time, it had the assistance of the power contained in the White Deer Paradise. There wasn¡¯t a chance for him to dodge this time. Turning serious, Kou Chognxue whose sword was about to draw another nice arc through the White Deer Paradise felt it clash with the jade hill. The resulting explosion rocked the White Deer Paradise as the jade hill broke apart slightly. It was blown away by the impact. Hua Lu¡¯s weapon wasn¡¯t a divine weapon at the end of the day. It wasn¡¯t able to challenge Kou Chongxue¡¯s Hidden Frost Sword in the slightest! However, it managed to force Kou Chongxue to take half a step back! He stood at the eye of the formation in the White Deer Spring, and a staff fell from the void! The person who made his move this time was Yun Lu, whose cultivation was forced to regress due to Kou Chongxue! Ancestor Yun Lu seemed to have grasped his timing really well as his sudden strike caught Kou Chongxue when the latter hadn¡¯t fully stabilized himself. However, he was destined to be disappointed. Kou Chongxue might be in a foreign territory, but his individual combat strength was stronger than Hua Lu or Yun Lu! He wasn¡¯t afraid of Yun Lu¡¯s sneak attack at all! Instead, he was a little more wary towards attacks like the one Hua Lu unleashed earlier that caused him to lose his footing. That was because it exhausted a lot of his energy! Kou Chongxue might have gained the upper hand earlier, but in exchange, he used up quite a bit of energy to resist that attack. Against targeted strikes like that from Yun Lu, Kou Chongxue could easily deal with it with his fighting techniques. Moreover, he could conserve a lot of strength due to his wealth of battle experience that allowed him to resist Yun Lu¡¯s strikes with the least amount of energy! He might look like he was at a disadvantage, but he could last a long time in one-on-one battles like that. Time was the most important thing to him right now! Did he barge into the White Deer Paradise to look for a fight? No! Was it to vent his frustrations on Yun Lu? Of course not! He was there to steal the foundations of the White Deer Paradise because of what they did to the Tongyou Institution! Not only would he be able to regain what they lost, but he would also be able to weaken the White Deer Paradise who declared themselves as the institution¡¯s enemy the moment they pulled their shitty move! Winning a small skirmish against Yun Lu or Hua Lu didn¡¯t interest Kou Chongxue in the slightest! The longer he dragged things out, the longer the foundations of the White Deer Paradise would flow back to the You Continent! That was his goal. ¡­ In the spirit cave under the City Lord Manor in the Changfeng City, the rumbling sound became stronger and stronger as a sudden pressure descended on Shang Xia and Third Sister Hai. It was as though a ferocious beast was about to emerge! This novel is available on "pawread dot com". Forgetting everything she wanted to say, Third Sister Hai screamed at the top of her lungs in order to beat the noisy rumbling that came from the distance. ¡°What the hell is going on?! You know what¡¯s happening, right?!¡± A mischievous look appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he roared with laughter, ¡°It¡¯s here! A great opportunity!¡± Before Third Sister Hai could say anything, she discovered that the water in the underground river had started flowing in reverse! Waves battered against the walls as the water level started to rise quickly. It didn¡¯t take long for the spirit cave to be flooded too. At that moment, a white streak drilled its way into the deep pool in the spirit cave as dense white mist emerged. It quickly escaped from the holes in the ceiling as they turned into streams of energy that rose towards the rose-colored bridge in the air. It quickly traveled in the direction of the Tongyou City before pouring into the Tongyou Mysterious World. Unlike the time when the Tongyou Mysterious World was sucking up energy from the Origin Tide crazily, the energy that came from the White Deer Paradise was much more mellow. It became a warm and pure stream of energy that strengthened the Tongyou Mysterious World. It wasn¡¯t as tyrannical as the energy from the Origin Tide and cultivators could even absorb it to cultivate. The tyrannical and chaotic energy that came from the Origin Tide had its own uses. It was much more difficult to absorb to be used in cultivation, but it proved to possess miraculous properties that could create miracles. An example would be how Ji Wenlong completed the deduction of Kou Chongxue¡¯s incomplete rank five advancement formula previously. Also, it could produce loose strands of extermination origin, treasures, and other impressive stuff. As the white mist filled the spirit cave, it quickly became extremely dense as it choked the unprepared Third Sister Hai. Due to the small space in the spirit cave, the dense mist quickly caused visibility to drop to the point where they couldn¡¯t see their fingers if they placed their hands before them. After finally getting rid of the suffocating feeling, Third Sister Hai greedily transformed the mist around her into inner qi before yelling, ¡°Is this the opportunity you¡¯re talking about?¡± Shang Xia, who was sucking in the pure energy in the air as quickly as he could, roared with laughter, ¡°Yeah! The opportunity is right in front of you! Too bad you might not be able to make use of it!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s words caused her mind to spin. She was already at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. As long as she took another step¡­ However, she didn¡¯t possess any rank four advancement medicine! Her cultivation couldn¡¯t increase any further, and she couldn¡¯t absorb the energy around her endlessly! She could only watch as the energy flowed out of the spirit cave due to her bottleneck! On the other hand, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t restricted by his cultivation base. With the help of the energy around him, he quickly approached the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. CH 344 During his third divine sense transformation when he faced Li TIanshou and the rest, he comprehended his seventh move, Celestial Disruption. In order to escape from the spirit cave that was swelling with chaotic world origin the White Deer Paradise stole from the Tongyou Institution, Shang Xia came up with his eighth move, Startling Moon. To prevent Gao Yun, a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert from escaping, Shang Xia comprehended his ninth and most frightening move, Piercing Sun. Like building a skyscraper, Shang Xia comprehended the last three moves in quick succession. According to the Shang Clan¡¯s inheritance, Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation would rise every time he came up with a new move for his Providence Spear Art. Because he did it so quickly, he didn¡¯t get an opportunity to allow his cultivation to rise as he had no time to properly replenish his body of Origin True Qi! Kou Chongxue saw through him and that was why he said that it would be a great opportunity for him. Since he already experienced his third divine sense transformation, Shang Xia gained a greater control over the heaven and earth qi around him. His speed of absorption would naturally increase because of it. As such, the amount of Origin True Qi in Shang Xia¡¯s dantian increased at a terrifying speed. His senses became much clearer than before and he truly broke through his bottleneck to enter the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. Since he had everything prepared, the Crimson Soul Tablet t in his sea of consciousness emerged once again. Dense words filled the tablet and it didn¡¯t take long for the third crack to form. The world origin around him poured into his body at a terrifying rate, and before he could inspect the words on the Crimson Soul Tablet, he discovered that the third crack was starting to recover slightly. He realized that the world origin that entered his body in such a crazed fashion wasn¡¯t being refined completely by him, instead, it was pouring into his sea of consciousness and assimilating into the Crimson Soul Tablet. His eyes widened in shock. It seemed as though he had discovered the method to prevent his soul from crumbling! World origin was the solution! ¡­ Third Sister Hai was truly feeling regretful at that moment. If she didn¡¯t barge into the spirit cave, she wouldn¡¯t have experienced the rush of world origin! It wouldn¡¯t affect her if she didn¡¯t know that she was missing a huge opportunity, but she did! Watching the world origin and pure heaven and earth qi flowing around her with no way to make use of it, she couldn¡¯t be more annoyed. Moreover, she wasn¡¯t willing to leave just like that. She would be unhappy if she remained, but she was also reluctant to leave¡­ It seemed as though there was no solution here. With nothing left to do, she could only turn to look at Shang Xia. Feeling his cultivation soaring, she could only sigh softly in her heart. ¡°If only I returned a little earlier in the past¡­¡± Chuckling in anguish, Third Sister Hai quickly tossed those useless thoughts away. She wondered what was happening to herself. She couldn¡¯t understand why she was thinking about the past at that moment! Am I getting old?! What is with me¡­ No one knew how long had passed, but Shang Xia¡¯s absorption seemed to stop abruptly. He seemed to be completely stuffed from the world origin and heaven and earth qi that entered his body. With Third Sister Hai¡¯s cultivation at the grand completion stage, she naturally discovered Shang Xia¡¯s entry into the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. Unless he comprehended his third martial intent, he wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the grand completion stage! That was to say, Shang Xia would be suffering the same fate as her. He wouldn¡¯t be able to absorb any more energy around him and could only watch as it flowed out of the spirit cave. When she thought about that, a trace of joy appeared in her heart. She wouldn¡¯t have to suffer alone! However, the next thought that flashed through her mind caused her to turn sullen again. The kid in front of her was tens of years younger than her, but he had already entered the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm! She was merely a step ahead of him! Thinking properly about his age, she realized that he shouldn¡¯t have crossed his eighteenth birthday. The brat that was five years younger than her daughter actually reached a terrifying height in his cultivation! The Providence Spear Art where one could only reach the peak state of comprehension after coming up with nine moves based on their understanding had been mastered by the kid! Comprehending his third martial intent shouldn¡¯t be a problem for the kid, and he would be able to step into the grand completion stage easily! Moreover, the day that happened wouldn¡¯t take long¡­ The more she thought about it, the worse her mood became. She felt that she could only take comfort in the fact that he was currently stuck at a bottleneck like herself and was unable to absorb more energy. However, he quickly proved her wrong. Energy started pouring into him endlessly again. ¡°This isn¡¯t possible!¡± With her eyes widening in shock, she nearly jumped in fright. ¡°He clearly just entered the large completion stage a moment ago! Is he able to comprehend his martial intent so quickly?! Doesn¡¯t he need to consolidate his foundations and fuse the nine moves into one before attempting to comprehend his third martial intent?! Is there no need to test out everything he comprehended?¡± Seeing how the world origin was practically flooding into his body, she couldn¡¯t help but start creating explanations for Shang Xia¡¯s situation herself. Maybe it¡¯s because the kid achieved the legendary perfect comprehension of the Providence Spear Art by creating nine moves¡­ Her conflicting emotions that made it such that she couldn¡¯t make up her mind to leave or stay was quickly replaced by her curiosity to see how much Shang Xia could progress. A sudden change occurred, and Shang Xia opened his eyes suddenly. His gaze seemed to pierce through the thick mist to land on Third Sister Hai. ¡°Brat, why did you stop?¡± Third Sister Hai¡¯s voice rang in his ears. She was able to detect him with her divine sense even though she couldn¡¯t physically see him. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that this is a rare opportunity?¡± ¡°Senior, you should be someone from my Shang Clan, right?¡± Shang Xia ignored her question and asked one of his own. For a long time, no other sound came from the other side of the mist. Shang Xia didn¡¯t find it odd at all as he continued. ¡°This junior is called Shang Xia. My grandfather is Shang Bo and he was the patriarch until a little while ago when he gave up his position to take on his role as a deputy patriarch of the Tongyou Institution. I wonder which generation senior is part of and how I should address you.¡± After some time, Third Sister Hai¡¯s voice rang softly in his ears. ¡°Is your grandfather really no longer in charge of the clan? Will he no longer interfere with the decisions in the clan?¡± Chuckling softly, Shang Xia replied. ¡°My Fifth Grandpa, Shang Ke, is the current patriarch of the Shang Clan. Grandpa Bo has passed down his authority completely.¡± ¡°Brat, do you plan to marry my daughter Hai Min and raise her kid with her?¡± Third Sister Hai threw a bomb out before he could react. The way she changed the topic was unexpectedly wild. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. ¡°Huh?¡± Shang Xia jumped in fright after hearing her question and he was dumbstruck for a moment by the sudden questioning. ¡°Hmph!¡± What¡¯s the problem? Are you not planning to admit it if I didn¡¯t ask about it explicitly?¡± Third Sister Hai snapped. ¡°You should have discovered that Hai Min was my daughter a long time ago!¡± Before Shang Xia could organize his thoughts and think of something to say, Third Sister Hai continued. ¡°Damn brat! Why aren¡¯t you learning how to be a proper man? Do you think that you¡¯re still three years old? Huh? Do you think you can play family with Hai Min and Yuanyuan and leave whenever you wish? Why are you acting like your father?!¡± Finally catching an opportunity to speak, Shang Xia yelled, ¡°Senior, this is a misunderstanding! We chose to rent a courtyard in order to hide our identities in the Changfeng City! Nothing happened between the two of us! We definitely didn¡¯t go overboard with our actions!¡± ¡°Hehe, the two of you lived together for such a long time and you¡¯re telling me it¡¯s a misunderstanding? My daughter isn¡¯t ugly by any means and you¡¯re a damn brat with raging hormones. I refuse to believe you can restrain yourself! Unless¡­ Unless you have some problems there¡­¡± Shang Xia wanted to double down that he didn¡¯t do anything as that was the truth, but he was flabbergasted by what she said. He would rather be misunderstood than have people think that he had ¡®issues¡¯. Seeing as he had turned quiet, Third Sister Min roared, ¡°What now? Can¡¯t you argue anymore?¡± ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not impossible for us to become related in that way.¡± She threw yet another curveball at Shang Xia. He was clearly disturbed by her unhinged behavior and manner of speech, but she didn¡¯t give him a chance to interrupt. ¡°Well, I would be considered your aunt¡­ Since that¡¯s the case, Hai Min would be your cousin. That¡¯s nothing you should be worried about anyway. My father was cousins with your grandfather and they¡¯re not directly related. There shouldn¡¯t be the issue of interbreeding within the family even if¡­¡± Shang Xia was finally unable to stand her going off about all those nonsense and he interrupted her with a roar, ¡°What do you mean shouldn¡¯t be an issue?! Why are you being so casual about this?!¡± ¡°Asshole! Are you trying to abandon her after what you¡¯ve done?! Are you planning to shirk your responsibility now?¡± Third Sister Hai growled as a chilly light flashed in her eyes. Her image in Shang Xia¡¯s mind was taking a 180 degree turn now. Never in his wildest imagination would he expect the third in command of the Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent to behave like that. From the looks of it, she had already made up her mind to play matchmaker for the both of them. He quickly retorted, ¡°Wait! This junior and Hai Min will deal with our own problems! You don¡¯t have to interfere in this! Senior, why don¡¯t you tell me your true identity so I can verify it first?¡± He clearly said that for the sake of it. By the time she revealed her technique earlier, he could basically confirm that she was part of the Shang Clan. After all, the Providence Spear Art and the Triple Providence Chapter that made up the Shang Clan¡¯s ¡®Providence Inheritance¡¯ was too special. Only core members of the Shang Clan would be able to gain access to it. Moreover, there seemed to be some restrictions that prevented others from cultivating the Providence Inheritance. In essence, members of the Shang Clan might not necessarily train in the Providence Inheritance, but anyone who received the Providence Inheritance was definitely a member of the Shang Clan! After a short pause, Third Sister Hai¡¯s hoarse voice came from the other side of the mist. ¡°Your grandfather¡¯s generation had five members in total. My father was their second brother and your grandfather was ranked third. Today, only your grandfather and Uncle Ke are left. Your father was the fourth descendant in his generation and there¡¯s Second Brother Shang Jian, Seventh Sister Shang Xi, Ninth Brother Shang Yang. I can be considered their third sister. Shang Xi is your blood-related aunt, and you can consider me your distant aunt, Shang Pei!¡± CH 345 Since the battle in the Tongyou City had ended, the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the other institutions eventually decided to leave. However, many of them quickly discovered that the rose-colored bridge that was connected to the hole in the Tongyou Mysterious World¡¯s protection barrier stood firm in mid air. Yu Chengjin and the others realized that something was still happening and after a short discussion, they decided to pay a visit to Kou Chongxue to ask him about the Tongyou Institution¡¯s plans for the immediate future. Who would have thought that countless gates would appear in the void at that moment as the disciples of the institution started to make their way back into the institution. They started to clean up the ruined mess that stood before them. By the time Yu Chengjin and the others arrived, Shang Bo and Yun Jing had recovered enough to receive them. They were waiting at the entrance of the Tongyou Mysterious World. However, both sides hadn¡¯t exchanged greetings when a milky white pillar of light pierced into the air in the distance. Both sides witnessed how the skies above were starting to fluctuate slightly as the white glow extended all the way onto the bridge. ¡°This¡­¡± An Baimei recognized the source of the white light immediately. The corners of his mouth arched downwards and he didn¡¯t know whether he should continue talking. The milky white glow flowed along the bridge before entering the Tongyou Mysterious World, replenishing the energy it had lost. Even though An Baimei didn¡¯t say anything earlier, those present were Martial Extermination Realm experts. They could obviously feel the heaven and earth qi in their surroundings getting denser. Naturally, the dots were quickly connected in their minds and they immediately identified what the stream of energy was. In fact, they could even guess where it came from. The Martial Extermination Realm experts who were present felt their expressions changing slightly. Most of them communicated with their eyes and rueful expressions quickly appeared on their faces. ¡°Hehe¡­ Patriarch Kou being injured and lurking about death¡¯s door¡­ I wonder how many of those old men are feeling their faces stinging right now.¡± ¡°Looks like the White Deer Paradise is going to suffer quite a bit this time. It¡¯s the true manifestation of going out for wool and coming home shorn!¡± ¡°Patriarch Kou really made a grand entrance this time. He even plotted against the White Deer Paradise¡­ They¡¯re going to be in some serious trouble now!¡± ¡°...¡± Shang Bo and Yun Jing could only pretend to ignore the discussions they were having. With the world origin pouring into the Tongyou Mysterious World, Shang Bo and everyone present took the chance to absorb whatever leftover energy they could to replenish the energy they lost during the battle that passed. Too bad for them, Kou Chongxue only allowed a small portion of energy to leak from the Tongyou Mysterious World. Most of the energy was channeled directly into the Tongyou Mysterious World. Watching the energy stream into the Tongyou Mysterious World seemingly without end, the Martial Extermination Realm experts from the other powers eventually turned impatient. Yu Chengjin was the first to ask, ¡°Brother Shang, Sister Yun, will we be able to be fortunate enough to meet Patriarch Kou today?¡± ¡°Apologies. Our patriarch¡¯s injuries just took a turn for the better. However, he is unable to meet with you guys at the moment. Please forgive us.¡± Shang Bo replied. All of them present wasn¡¯t ballsy enough to irritate Kou Chongxue, and none of them dared to say anything in response. Yu Chengjin continued, ¡°Does Patriarch Kou have any intentions of replacing the White Deer Paradise and taking control of the You Continent as the Tongyou Paradise?¡± Yun Jing chuckled in response. ¡°Brother Yu, I know what you¡¯re getting at. Our Tongyou Institution didn¡¯t forcefully upgrade ourselves into a holy land with the energy from the origin tide, and we have no intentions of doing so with the energy obtained from the White Deer Paradise. Also, as a member of the alliance among our five border institutions, our Tongyou Institution will not forsake any one of you.¡± ¡°Great. That¡¯s good to hear.¡± Yu Chengjin cupped his fists together and heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°The Tongyou Institution is truly honorable. All of us are very grateful to the institution¡¯s stance.¡± An Baimei and the others seemed to have received the reply they wanted and they cupped their fists together in unison. ¡°The Tongyou Institution is honorable indeed!¡± ¡­ In a secret region in the Tongyou Mysterious World, Kou Chongxue stood side by side with Ji Wenlong. The yells from the experts outside eventually entered their ears, and Ji Wenlong looked at Kou Chongxue and chuckled weirdly, ¡°Are you really going to give up this chance to rise to the level of a holy land?¡± Coughing once, Kou Chongxue replied, ¡°Do I look like such a short-sighted person? Why would I weaken the spatial barrier just to increase our strength slightly?¡± Evidently doubtful that the Madman of the You Continent was actually so selfless, Ji Wenlong continued, ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s not because the world origin from the White Deer Paradise isn¡¯t enough to push us into the ranks of holy lands?¡± ¡°What nonsense are you spouting now? Hmph, those three assholes of the Ji Continent are nothing but a fart in this granddaddy¡¯s eyes! I¡¯ll beat them up whenever I wish! I¡­¡± Kou Chongxue snorted in contempt. Before he could complete his sentence, Ji Wenlong interrupted him, ¡°Isn¡¯t your clone about to be forced out of the Ji Continent?¡± Kou Chongxue¡¯s expression sank and a helpless expression appeared on his face. ¡°Well¡­ I mean, my clone is fighting in their territory after all. Even if I want to beat them up badly, I have to show some restraint. Moreover, Xuan Lu might be coming back soon. He might even bring some other experts over to block off my path of retreat. I have to escape in case I get trapped in there!¡± ¡°Hurry up and retreat then. We can¡¯t help you with anything now.¡± Ji Wenlong sighed. ¡°Hmph¡­ Look at yourselves. I can¡¯t put my hope in any of you! Heh¡­ The three of you can¡¯t even compare to a single brat at the Martial Intent Realm¡­¡± A shit-eating grin appeared on Kou Chongxue¡¯s face as he gloated. Ji Wenlong naturally wouldn¡¯t bother himself with how Kou Chongxue spoke to him. After all, they had been working together for such a long time and Ji Wenlong wasn¡¯t much of a cultured soul himself. After thinking about it for a second, he was still in a state of disbelief as he asked the question that had been bugging him for quite some time now. ¡°So¡­ Is it really true that the suggestion that you should use the water attribute to balance out the instability caused by your Primal Yang Copper Fate Dipper and your Eternal Spring Fate Dipper?¡± A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. A helpless sigh escaped Kou Chongxue¡¯s lips. ¡°Of course it¡¯s not that simple! The method the kid proposed was a little crude, but I can tell that he¡¯s on to something. There¡¯s a long way to go if I wish to truly fix the problem. If I¡¯m a little careless, the imbalance will cause me to experience cultivation deviation! I can only say that I¡¯m really lucky to be able to regain some combat capabilities now¡­¡± ¡°Even so, that¡¯s shocking enough! You need to prepare yourself. After the battle today, those people from the Beyond Heavens Pavilion will probably come knocking. They definitely want to obtain your secret as to how you did it.¡± Ji Wenlong warned. A cold snort left Kou Chongxue¡¯s lips. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be better? This old man still has a lot of grievances I need to take out on them!¡± Ji Wenlong turned around and his expression sank. ¡°You better control yourself a bit. All you¡¯re doing now is to borrow the prestige you had before. Don¡¯t overdo it. Our institution isn¡¯t able to hold out in case another attack comes¡­¡± It would be better if Ju Wenlong didn¡¯t say anything. Now that he mentioned it, Kou Chongxue flew into a fit of rage. ¡°Look at yourselves! How am I supposed to rely on you? As long as one of you manages to refine a fate dipper and step into the Martial Dipper Realm, I won''t have to deal with everything myself! Hmph¡­¡± Ji Wenlong wanted to refute, but Kou Chongxue simply waved his sleeves in annoyance. ¡°What are you still standing here for? You derived the rest of my rank five advancement formula with the energy from the origin tide. The shattered fate dipper we obtained in the battlefield between the two worlds is almost fully restored too. I drew over the White Deer Paradise¡¯s hundreds of years of accumulation. If you really wish to risk it and step into the Martial Dipper Realm, there¡¯s no better time.¡± A smile appeared on Ji Wenlong¡¯s face and he turned around to step into a sealed secret region in the Tongyou Mysterious World. Looking at his fading figure, Kou Chongxue yelled, ¡°Oi, don¡¯t die!¡± Ji Wenlong didn¡¯t bother turning his head to look at the patriarch. The only thing he did was to gesture with his hands above his head. ¡­ In the spirit cave under the Changfeng City. Shang Xia spoke to Shang Pei through the mist. ¡°Third Aunt, do you have some sort of misunderstanding with my Grandpa Bo?¡± Shang Xia noticed the abnormality when she addressed Shang Bo as ¡®your grandfather¡¯ instead of Third Uncle. It wasn¡¯t difficult to connect the dots especially since she addressed Shang Ke as ¡®Fifth Uncle¡¯. Clearly, something happened between the two. Shang Pei paused for a moment before sighing, ¡°Misunderstanding? If only it was that simple¡­¡± ¡°Is your situation the same as Second Uncle, Shang Jian?¡± Shang Xia thought back to Shang Jian who returned to the clan recently. Ever since he was born, he hadn¡¯t seen the man before. In fact, he didn¡¯t know he had a second uncle until the other day. Shang Pei was the same. He had no idea she existed until recently. Shang Xia found it weird. The two of them were clearly core members of the Shang Clan. There was no way he would have no idea who they were! Questions started forming in Shang Xia¡¯s mind. What could cause Shang Jian and Shang Pei to run away from the family to the point where no one talked about them? ¡°I know what you wish to know. However, these are things that happened twenty years ago. It¡¯s a grudge that¡¯s between members of the older generation of the clan. You kids shouldn¡¯t take part in it. After all, twenty years have passed. There¡¯s nothing time can¡¯t heal.¡± Shang Pei sighed. However, she quickly added, ¡°Since Fifth Uncle is the patriarch of the clan now, I can go back whenever I wish! Hmph¡­ Even if I do return, I¡¯ll only go back for a short look!¡± Shang Xia frowned. ¡°You don¡¯t wish to stay? Second Uncle has a huge family. He has already returned and settled down in the clan. Oh, Ninth Uncle is back too!¡± A trace of anger could be heard in Shang Pei¡¯s voice as she grumbled, ¡°I¡¯m not suited to remain in the Tongyou City. I¡¯ve already gotten accustomed to my life as a bandit. I can do whatever I want without caring about the repercussions! I¡¯m only going to go back for the rank four advancement formula. Actually, if not for the fact that I was looking for you, I wouldn¡¯t have been caught by Yang Hu.¡± ¡°Looking for me?¡± Shang Xia gasped in shock. When he eventually snapped back to reality, he recalled the fact that he had been missing in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range for some time now. It seemed as though Shang Ke wasn¡¯t able to send anyone out of the city to look for him due to the situation in the Tongyou City and he had to enlist some outside help. Well, that pretty much led to everything that happened after he went missing. CH 346 ¡°So¡­ You were planning to return to the Tongyou City to attack the barrier of the Martial Extermination Realm?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°Today, our Shang Clan has two rank four advancement formulas. Do you know which one is more compatible with you? Did you also manage to find a loose strand of extermination origin?¡± ¡°How should I know?¡± Shang Pei snapped. However, she realized something special about what he said. ¡°Wait. Does our Shang Clan actually have two different rank four advancement formulas?! Are you sure it¡¯s not two bottles of advancement medicine?¡± ¡°Hehe nope. I¡¯m not talking about medicines here. We have two complete rank four advancement formulas. One of them was provided by the institution, the Multi Illusion Wine. Because Grandpa Bo gave up his position as our Shang Clan Patriarch to focus on the institution, they gave the formula to us. The second is the Hundred Days Longevity Intoxication. Only several other core members know that we have this second formula. The former will be greatly beneficial to cultivators who train in illusory type skills. The latter is more useful for cultivators who have wood attributed extermination origins.¡± Seeing as Shang Pei was remaining silent, Shang Xia continued, ¡°Aunt, which advancement formula do you think suits you more?¡± ¡°How¡­ How would I know?¡± Shang Pei sighed. ¡°You might not know this, but advancement formulas are hard to come by! Many cultivators just use what they can find. It¡¯s good to be able to use an advancement formula, why would we be choosy about it?¡± Shang Xia laughed out loud. ¡°How can that be¡­ Since you have an option, you should choose the one that suits you the best. Moreover, your entry to the Martial Extermination Realm would be a significant milestone for our Shang Clan!¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Shang Pei frowned. ¡°Today, my grandfather and Grandpa Ke entered the Martial Extermination Realm. If someone from the second generation also manages to advance, the image of our Shang Clan will be greatly boosted! We will finally possess some semblance of a great clan!¡± Shang Pei coughed once and muttered, ¡°Actually¡­¡± ¡°?¡± Shang Xia tilted his head to the side when he noticed that she didn¡¯t complete her sentence. ¡°Nothing¡­¡± Changing the topic all of a sudden, Shang Pei started to talk about something else. ¡°Fifth Uncle is really a great guy¡­ With our Shang Clan¡¯s accumulations, it¡¯s amazing if we manage to produce a set or two of rank four advancement medicines. Obtaining a strand of extermination origin is the difficult thing. For him to call me back now, it might be because the creation of the Tongyou Mysterious World allowed several strands of loose extermination origins to be produced¡­¡± Shang Xia nodded. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s definitely possible for that to happen¡­ After all, the eruption of an Origin Tide usually means that some good stuff will be born.¡± ¡°Even so, there must be many people in the institution who are waiting to receive an extermination origin. My turn won¡¯t come so soon¡­¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t reply as he knew that whatever she said was true. ¡°Originally, my best chance of entering the Martial Extermination Realm is in this place. With the amount of energy here, the optimal conditions are right in front of me¡­ What a pity!¡± Pressing his lips together, Shang Xia whispered, ¡°Actually¡­¡± A soft chuckle escaped Shang Pei¡¯s lips and she chided, ¡°Brat, why are you copying me now? If you have something to say, spit it out!¡± ¡°I was trying to tell you that it might not be too late¡­¡± Shang Xia sighed. Silence descended and neither of them spoke a word for some time. Only after a short while did Shang Pei¡¯s voice ring through the air again. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I have a set of rank four advancement medicine and a complete rank four advancement formula with me¡­ Moreover, the spirit cave we are in was used to nurture the Yin Water Mysterious Extermination Origin. I collected it in my Spirit Extermination Gourd. I don¡¯t know if you wish to take the risk¡­¡± Footsteps rang through the spirit cave all of a sudden. With the sound of water splashing, a figure appeared in front of Shang Xia. She extended her face as close to Shang Xia as possible before growling, ¡°Do you know what you¡¯re talking about right now?¡± The smile on Shang Xia¡¯s face became wider and he continued, ¡°The White Deer Paradise planned to give Yang Hu A rank four advancement formula, the Exquisite Muddled Liquid. He gave his son the medicine, the Exquisite Muddle, and planned to use the extermination origin here to boost his son into the Martial Extermination Realm!¡± ¡°Do you have all of those?¡± Shang Pei gasped. Nodding slowly, Shang Xia grinned. ¡°Yup. I have it on me right now. ¡° ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll rob you right now?¡± An aggressive light flashed through Shang Pei¡¯s eyes and she growled. Shang Xia maintained his happy grin and he snorted. ¡°Why would an elder snatch something that belongs to her nephew? Moreover¡­ Hehe. Third Aunt, you don¡¯t seem to be my opponent right now.¡± A trace of irritation filled her heart and she snapped. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll be afraid of you? A Martial Intent Realm cultivator who just reached the large completion stage?¡± The smile on Shang Xia¡¯s face didn¡¯t fade as he continued to look at her. With her expression sinking slightly, she straightened her back and groaned. ¡°Alright, What plans do you have? You can¡¯t possibly be thinking of giving me something so important without anything in return.¡± ¡°I harbor no evil intentions. I feel that a chance like this won¡¯t come around often and you shouldn¡¯t miss it. It¡¯s one thing for me not to possess an advancement medicine or knowledge about an extermination origin, but now that I have it, there¡¯s no need to waste such a good chance. Moreover, we¡¯re all from the Shang Clan. I¡¯m not giving away benefits to random people!¡± Shang Xia explained. ¡°Is that it?¡± A frown appeared on Shang Pei¡¯s face. Shang Xia nodded sincerely. ¡°Yep.¡± Taking a long breath, Shang Pei sighed, ¡°Looks like he was right. He was talking about you when he said that I might run into a huge opportunity¡­¡± ¡°Who?¡± The grin on Shang Xia¡¯s face faded a little. ¡°Are you talking about Youshang?¡± ¡°Brat, seriously, what do you think of my daughter? She might have been married in the past, but¡­¡± Shang Pei changed the topic again. Waving his hands in dismissal, Shang Xia snapped, ¡°This isn¡¯t a deal between us! I¡¯m giving you the items for free! This doesn¡¯t concern Hai Min at all!¡± After he spoke, he retrieved the advancement medicine before taking the Spirit Extermination Gourd. He placed it before him immediately. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°Shang Xia, are you really not going to reconsider?¡± Shang Pei muttered. Just as Shang Xia extended his hands to take back the items he placed on the ground, Shang Pei moved a little more quickly than him. She grabbed the advancement medicine and gourd. Her footsteps rang through the spirit cave as her voice rang in Shang Xia¡¯s ears. ¡°Regardless of whether I succeed, you need to take care of Hai Min and Yuanyuan. Also¡­¡± Pausing for a second, a soft whistle flew towards Shang Xia. Grabbing the item, Shang Xia discovered a six sided object that seemed to resemble a type of key. ¡°This is a key to a secret region in the Taihang Mountains. In the past, I discovered it with my husband. The two of us didn¡¯t know what was good for us and we thought that we ran into a huge opportunity. We rushed in there without much thought and I was the only one who managed to emerge. In the future when you explore the secret region, please bring his corpse out¡­¡± Shang Pei sighed. Shang Xia replied, ¡°Aunt Pei, you can go there yourself after you advance!¡± ¡°No. Everyone can only enter the secret region once. I already wasted my chance.¡± Shang Xia muttered, ¡°What did you discover when you entered?¡± Hesitating slightly Shang Pei eventually replied. However, she didn¡¯t seem sure about her answer. ¡°There seems to be a damaged divine weapon in there¡­¡± ¡°Divine weapon?!¡± Shang Xia jumped in fright. It was actually a divine weapon! Even if it was damaged, a divine weapon was something that had a soul! It was extremely rare. It would definitely be stronger than high-grade weapons. Thinking about high-grade weapons, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but turn to look at his Scarlet Star Spear. It was extremely well-made for a mid-grade weapon, and it could definitely be upgraded to a high-grade spear in the future. The matter of the upgrade was also starting to become urgent. After Shang Xia comprehended and unleashed his eighth and ninth moves, tiny cracks appeared on the spear. Those cracks were the effect of his tyrannical Origin True Qi, but Shang Xia could tell that they would affect his weapon if he allowed the problem to fester. In other words, even mid-grade weapons couldn¡¯t withstand his qi anymore! He needed to change his weapon as soon as possible. It had to be something that could withstand his tyrannical qi! With the information he gained from Shang Pei, he finally discovered a ray of hope of solving his problem. While he was thinking of all the possibilities, a dense fragrance filled the spirit cave. Gathering his thoughts, Shang Xia knew that Shang Pei was about to attempt to charge into the Martial Extermination Realm! She was much more decisive than Shang Xia had thought. The moment she ingested the advancement medicine, a terrifying aura filled the spirit cave. The Yin Water Mysterious Extermination Origin assimilated into her body, causing great changes to her dantian. A huge amount of energy in the spirit cave poured into her body without any restraint. The thick mist that filled the cave instantly thinned, and the streams of energy that were being transferred to the bridge became redirected to her. Earlier, Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation caused two streams to close completely as he sucked away enough energy from them. Now, four more strands were directed at Shang Pei. The energy that flowed back to the institution became a lot slower than before! CH 347 After entering the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, Shang Xia seemed to finally take a break. He looked like he had given up on absorbing more energy as he conversed with Shang Pei, but in actuality, the energy that was flowing into his body didn¡¯t stop. The way he was absorbing it was truly special. Even though Shang Pei had been standing in front of him earlier, she didn¡¯t notice a thing. Well, that might have something to do with the beneficiary of the world origin he was absorbing. Every bit absorbed went to his sea of consciousness to repair the Crimson Soul Tablet. Since he utilized the Crimson Soul Tablet to deduce his martial intent after entering the large completion stage earlier, the third crack appeared on it. However, the crack seemed to recover after he absorbed the world origin around him. Realizing how important the world origin was, Shang Xia started to use his divine sense to direct the world origin pouring into his body to head up into his sea of consciousness! The crack was still extending slowly, but the size of the crack was much smaller than the first two. After his martial intent was displayed on the surface of the Crimson Soul Tablet, the crack immediately stopped. It didn¡¯t stop there. The tiny crack that just formed started to seal up as more world origin poured into it. The speed at which it was recovering was slow, and Shang Xia had been absorbing world origin to seal the crack while he spoke to Shang Pei earlier. When Shang Pei took her advancement medicine, the words fully appeared on the tablet. Martial Intent: Heaven Startling Spear Prerequisite Secret Art: Providence Chapter Prerequisite Martial Art: Nine Providence Spear Requirement: Sufficient Heaven and Earth Qi Medicine Required: Startling Soul Needles Special Requirement: Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter Success Rate: 75 - 85% That was the martial intent derived by the Crimson Soul Tablet. Since one¡¯s martial intent was an all-rounded upgrade of all the techniques they had learned in their current realm, Shang Xia didn¡¯t find it surprising that the prerequisite martial art was called ¡®Nine Providence Spear¡¯. The rest of the requirements made sense too. It went without saying his secret art was a requirement for him to comprehend his martial intent. It also went without saying that he required a ton of heaven and earth qi. Currently, he was submerged in a sea of world origin. The heaven and earth qi around him was especially dense, and that requirement wouldn¡¯t be a problem. The amount used by Shang Pei to charge into the Martial Extermination Realm barely created a dent in the total amount that would be transferred back to the institution. She was absorbing a huge amount of it now, but there was a limit as to how much she could take in. Since he was merely comprehending his third martial intent, he would naturally use less energy than Shang Pei! There would be more than enough energy for him in the spirit cave! However, the only problem was the medicine required. He didn¡¯t know what the Starting Soul Needle was. He didn¡¯t know if it was a physical object or a method of acupuncture! Was it also possible to be a type of injection he hadn¡¯t heard of? After racking his brains, he felt that the latter possibilities were a little more likely. He shifted his gaze involuntarily to Shang Pei who was cultivating in the other corner. This Third Aunt Pei of the Shang Clan had been roaming the world for close to twenty years. She should be much more experienced than himself and she might know a thing or two about the Startling Soul Needle he was looking for. Moreover, Shang Xia knew that the medicine required was something that could increase his success rate, but it wasn¡¯t strictly necessary! For example, the medicine he used when comprehending his first martial intent in the Martial Realm was only used to treat his injuries! The medicines he used while comprehending his Yin Yang Sword Formation, which he later renamed to the Seven Laceration Sword, in the Martial Extremity Realm, had nothing to do with his second martial intent! They were only used to widen his meridians and make them stronger! The only thing that Shang Xia found truly surprising was the Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter. When he glanced at it, the Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter seemed to appear in his memories automatically. To understand why it appeared in his mind automatically, one would have to go back to the root of cultivation. The worth of every special requirement was actually close to the martial intent he comprehended. For example, the Blood Collection Lightning Art he learned when comprehending his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. It allowed him to temper his body to be strong enough to withstand the power contained in his martial intent. One had to know that the higher one¡¯s cultivation realm got, the stronger their souls and body would become. However, if they wanted to increase the strength of their physical body or soul even further, they would have to pay a huge price. The Blood Collection Lightning Art allowed a cultivator in the Martial Realm to increase the strength of their physical bodies, and that was already a huge benefit. After he handed it the guide to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm and the assistive technique that was the Lightning Collection Blood Art to the institution, he realized that there would be a much higher demand for the Lightning Collection Blood Art than the full guide. When he was comprehending his Yin Yang Sword Formation in the Martial Extremity Realm, he managed to develop a special skill to craft Yin Yang Sword Talismans! Because of that, Shang Xia¡¯s skill of crafting talismans increased at a terrifying pace. It also greatly increased his fighting capabilities after he created those special talismans of his. He discovered their secret a long time ago. He could vaguely feel that those talismans he created could help cultivators in the Martial Extremity Realm to easily comprehend a sword intent! Of course, it could only help those who were comprehending one of the seven sword intents Shang Xia comprehended. Even so, it was shocking enough! With those considerations in mind, Shang Xia was expecting great things with his Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter! Carefully examining the Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter that appeared in his memories, a strange expression formed on his face. He discovered that he had unknowingly comprehended it ever since he entered the Martial Intent Realm. Back when he just stepped into the Martial Intent Realm, he discovered that he could affect the heaven and earth qi around him to a certain extent. After his second divine sense transformation, he could fuse his divine sense with the world around him. That allowed him to hide himself while spying on his opponents. Not even Martial Extermination Realm experts would be able to discover his presence when he did that. Explore the extended edition on pawread dot com. Even though it hadn¡¯t been long since he completed his third divine sense transformation, Shang Xia discovered something even more special. Not only did his control over the heaven and earth qi around him increase, he discovered that he seemed to have touched on a new realm. He was able to capture minute changes that others might not even discover had happened to predict what would happen in the near future! That was how his ninth move, Piercing Sun, nailed Gao Yun who was flying away! Shang Xia noticed where Gao Yun was going and accurately predicted where he would be the next second before shooting out the spear and sending the man to the underworld. It was a feeling he got after making a good deduction of how the heaven and earth qi was moving in the air. According to the Crimson Soul Tablet, the feeling was because of the synergy between himself and the world around him. Of course, the Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter wasn¡¯t as simple as that. Even though Shang Xia knew that he could save a lot of effort in comprehending his martial intent now that he was in sync with the world around him, he found it a little questionable. Was he going to become some sort of divine spear entity that could predict the future? That didn¡¯t seem too likely. That thought merely existed for a second in his mind before he tossed it to the back of his head. He knew that with the assistance given by the Crimson Soul Tablet, entering the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm wouldn¡¯t be too difficult! With another thought, the worlds on the tablet started to change. Martial Intent: Heaven Startling Spear Prerequisite Secret Art: Providence Chapter Prerequisite Martial Art: Nine Providence Spear Requirement: Sufficient Heaven and Earth Qi Medicine Required: - Special Requirement: Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter Success Rate: 75 - 80% The change used a lot less energy than before. According to the tablet now, Shang Xia discovered that even without the Starting Soul Needle, the success rate was merely lowered by a small 5 percent! Which also meant that he could try comprehending his martial intent that very moment! It might seem like a good idea, but Shang Xia eventually managed to suppress his urge. A huge part of the reason was that he was trying to repair the Crimson Soul Tablet with the world origin around him and once he started cultivating, the tablet would stop being restored immediately as he would use up the energy that entered his body at a rapid pace. The cracks that were forming around the tablet had already crossed his bottom line. He didn¡¯t wish to rush things and doom himself for eternity! The third crack signified that the tablet was about to be destroyed. If he didn¡¯t do anything about it when he could, he might not find another suitable opportunity to fix it! Secondly, he didn¡¯t wish to interrupt Shang Pei. The amount of energy he would absorb might be inconsequential, but he would interrupt the flow of heaven and earth qi in the spirit cave which might disturb her. With the path laid out for him, Shang Xia could comprehend his martial intent any time he wanted to! There was no need to risk it all at that moment. If his impatience caused Shang Pei to fail and the recovery of the Crimson Soul Tablet to stop, the losses would seriously outweigh the gains. As for why Shang Xia gave Shang Pei the opportunity to break through at that moment¡­ He had his reason. Shang Pei knew that she would owe Shang Xia big time after that, but the opportunity was laid out right in front of her! She had to take it! The reason behind Shang Xia¡¯s generosity was simple. Shang Pei knew exactly what he wanted and she didn¡¯t bother placing down any barriers around herself. She allowed him to observe every second of her breakthrough in order to draw on her experience in the future! She knew that Shang Xia was trying to learn a little more so that his breakthrough would be smoother in the future. CH 348 With the fearsome amount of world origin and pure heaven and earth qi around them, Shang Pei¡¯s breakthrough didn¡¯t experience any obstruction at all. The aura around her started to rise as a deep green light started to fill the spirit cave. The milky white mist in the air was starting to be stained deep green, and Shang Xia understood that she had already crossed the most dangerous part of her breakthrough. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that she had successfully broken through. A cultivator would need some time to properly breakthrough and consolidate their foundations. However, the most dangerous period was when they just ingested their advancement medicine and started to refine their extermination origin. Their dantian would experience a fundamental transformation, and a cultivator would become the weakest at that moment. Their requirement for heaven and earth qi would be terrifying, and if they were unable to balance the amount they absorbed with what they could take in, they might experience cultivation deviation! Luckily, Shang Pei managed to cross that stage without much difficulty. She was in the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm when she broke through, and she was able to quickly consolidate her foundations! Throughout the entire process, Shang Pei could tell that her dantian was slowly transforming. She could also tell that Shang Xia had been observing the change with his divine sense. She did nothing to hide it. The transformation she experienced might be very different from what Shang Xia would when he entered the Martial Extermination Realm in the future, but no one could deny that he was gaining valuable experience. As the amount of world origin rushing into the spirit cave lowered in intensity, the spirit cave was no longer bursting with energy like before. Luckily, she had already completed the most dangerous part of her breakthrough. Since there was nothing much for him left to observe, Shang Xia turned his attention away from Shang Pei. Instead, he started to wonder how Kou Chongxue was doing. ¡­ In the White Deer Paradise¡­ Under the suppression of both Hua Lu and Yun Lu, Kou Chongxue discovered that the situation was slowly starting to turn against him. He was trying his best to deal with the two of them. However, they had already grasped the best way to fight with him. They were working together seamlessly to use the assistance of the White Deer Paradise to suppress Kou Chongxue¡¯s tyrannical strength. To access the premium content, go to [ pawread dot com ]. Under such circumstances, they could only force Kou Chongxue back bit by bit. Since Kou Chongxue wasn¡¯t at his peak state, he couldn¡¯t last for long under their suppression. The battle between both sides was dragged out with Kou Chongxue defending with everything he had. Those from the White Deer Paradise could only watch as their foundations drained out of the White Deer Spring. It might be bad, but it was the best they could do for now! Their attacks against Kou Chongxue became stronger as they wanted to drive him out as quickly as they could in order to lessen their loss. With his many years of experience, Kou Chongxue could feel the subtle shift in the space around him and discovered that a massive calamity was about to descend. The White Deer Paradise seemed to be plotting against him as the two ancestors suppressed him! Turning away from the White Deer Spring, Kou Chongxue decisively gave it up! He turned to flee out of the White Deer Paradise. His movements were too quick. None of them expected him to run without the slightest bit of warning! According to Yun Lu and Hua Lu, Kou Chongxue would be able to hold on for a lot longer! In their eyes, he would want to take away as much world origin as he could. Who would have thought that he would turn to run when the battle was at its climax?! ¡°Where the hell are you going?!¡± Yun Lu roared as his figure appeared to block Kou Chongxue. A rod came crashing down from the void towards his head. ¡°Do you think our White Deer Paradise is a place you can come and go as you please?!¡± Hua Lu¡¯s voice came from the skies as the jade hill that appeared earlier reappeared in the skies above Kou Chongxue. The only difference was that she didn¡¯t smash it at him. She tossed it towards the entrance in an attempt to seal it off! ¡°Haha! You guys are definitely plotting against me!¡± Kou Chongxue roared with laughter. ¡°Are you planning to trap me here so you can slowly wear me down? You must be dreaming!¡± A trace of danger filled Kou Chongxue¡¯s heart as he was talking. It seemed as though he was right! They definitely prepared some sort of devious plan to deal with him! There was no way he could remain in the White Deer Paradise. Twisting his body around, his clone turned into a streak of light that returned to his Hidden Frost Sword. A blinding glow appeared around the blade of the sword and it turned into a streak of light that tore through space to appear in front of Yun Lu. ¡°Bang!¡± A crisp blast rang through the White Deer Paradise as Yun Lu¡¯s staff was broken in half. That wasn¡¯t all. The Hidden Frost Sword made a beautiful arc through the skies and slashed at Yun Lu¡¯s face. Grunting in fright, Yun Lu could only raise his broken staff to protect himself. He didn¡¯t even dream of suppressing the Hidden Frost Sword with his broken weapon. However, it was a beautiful feint as Kou Chongxue controlled the sword to turn away at the last moment to brush past Yun Lu. ¡°Stop him!¡± Yun Lu yelled when he discovered that he had misjudged the situation. He slammed his broken staff down in an attempt to pincer Kou Chongxue with Hua Lu¡¯s weapon at the entrance of the White Deer Paradise. ¡°Kou Chongxue, there¡¯s no escape! Leave your clone behind!¡± Hua Lu snorted as she directed her weapon to work together with Yun Lu to stop Kou Chongxue. The jade hill started moving again as it came crashing down on the Hidden Frost Sword. If it truly managed to come into contact with the Hidden Frost Sword, Kou Chongxue would truly be in trouble. Hua Lu was borrowing the power of the White Deer Paradise to suppress him and even if his true body arrived, he might not be able to fight back against the pressure that came from the entire White Deer Paradise alone! ¡°Kou Chongxue, give up!¡± Yun Lu snorted as he raised his caution level to the max. He knew that Kou Chongxue would pull some moves out of desperation and he had to stop it. A mocking laughter tore through the White Deer Paradise at that moment and Kou Chongxue¡¯s voice boomed in the ears of both Martial Dipper Realm ancestors. ¡°Too naive!¡± Their hearts sank once they heard what he said. Before they could realize what they left out earlier, Kou Chongxue roared in a sinister manner, ¡°Explode!¡± Boom! A massive explosion tore through the White Deer Paradise as it trembled violently. The world origin that stopped leaking out of the White Deer Paradise due to Kou Chongxue running away from the White Deer Spring caused the explosion. The eye of the formation shattered beyond belief from the explosion. It seemed as though Kou Chongxue¡¯s methods were truly vicious. He directly caused serious damage to the White Deer Paradise with that explosion. A giant hole appeared in the White Deer Paradise as energy poured out of it unceasingly. Kou Chongxue seemed to have unleashed a giant waterfall of energy over the Ji Continent with whatever he just did. ¡°Kou Chongxue!¡± ¡°My White Deer Paradise will not stop until we kill you, you madman!¡± Hua Lu and Yun Lu roared as curses flew out of their mouths. They had no choice but to stop whatever plan they had to force him to stay. They quickly controlled the world origin in the White Deer Paradise to patch up the hole. No matter what, they couldn¡¯t allow the White Deer Paradise to suffer more damage. ¡°Hahahahahahaha, Yun Lu, Hua Lu, blame yourselves for plotting against my Tongyou Institution. You brought this upon yourself!¡± Kou Chongxue¡¯s annoying laughter came from the Hidden Frost Sword as it flew out of the White Deer Paradise. Without the support of the world origin, Hua Lu¡¯s jade hill couldn¡¯t stop him. He flung it away before shooting through the exit. A ray of gray light emerged from the void as it tried to strike the Hidden Frost Sword. It was too bad Kou Chongxue already expected as much. His fate dipper clone condensed above the blade before swinging his sword at the incoming gray light. When they came into contact with each other, a huge blast covered the skies. ¡°Old man Xuan Lu, I knew it! Haha! Who would have thought that you wouldn¡¯t improve even after so many years? You¡¯re still the same as before¡­ What a disappointment!¡± Raising his head, a trace of mockery could be seen in his eyes. Even so, his clone shifted slightly in mid air as he got ready to deal with any sudden change in the situation. A figure clad in gray robes appeared not too far away and a strange look could be seen on his face when he looked at Kou Chongxue. ¡°Kou Chongxue, you must be insane to come knocking in my White Deer Paradise. Did you solve the problem with your fate dippers?¡± ¡°Xuan Lu, I knew you were part of those assholes who came to attack me!¡± A frosty light flashed through Kou Chongxue¡¯s eyes and he sneered in response. ¡°Everyone knew what happened to you. There¡¯s no need to go around biting everyone you see. However, if you wish to blame me for what happened to you, I won¡¯t deny it.¡± Xuan Lu growled. The sneer on Kou Chongxue¡¯s face grew wider but he stole another glance at the gray whip that Xuan Lu was holding in his hand before a trace of hesitation appeared in his eyes. Turning around, he started to flee again. ¡°Do you think you can escape after coming all the way here?!¡± Xuan Lu snorted once before swinging his whip again. It extended towards the Hidden Frost Sword in an attempt to trap it in mid air. Who would have thought that Kou Chongxue would transform into a stream of light that fell into the White Deer River right before Xuan Lu¡¯s whip could wrap itself around him? With his eyes widening slightly, Xuan Lu¡¯s figure flashed and he appeared above the White Deer River. ¡°Illusory arts?!¡± Muttering softly to himself, Xuan Lu¡¯s expression quickly sank. ¡°No¡­ This somewhat resembles the aura of the Water Origin Fate Dipper!¡± Two other figures tore through the skies to arrive beside Xuan Lu at that moment. ¡°Senior Brother Xuan Lu?¡± Hua Lu¡¯s eyes lit up when she saw him. ¡°Where¡¯s that damn thief?¡± Xuan Lu¡¯s face sank once again and he looked at Yun Lu who was much weaker than before. ¡°You separated your Water Origin Fate Dipper from yourself?!¡± CH 349 ¡°You separated your Water Origin Fate Dipper from yourself?!¡± Facing Xuan Lu¡¯s questioning, Yun Lu could only lower his head as the look in his eyes dimmed. He sighed softly, giving Xuan Lu all the response he needed to know. A trace of anger filled Xuan Lu¡¯s heart. That was a fate dipper they were talking about! No matter how powerful the White Deer Paradise was, it wasn¡¯t something they could waste as they wished! Losing a fate dipper was something that caused Xuan Lu¡¯s heart to ache! After all, the number of fate dippers a Martial Dipper Realm expert possessed directly affected their strength. Yun Lu was originally a third element Martial Dipper Realm expert. His cultivation was second only to Xuan Lu in the White Deer Paradise, and he would be considered a powerful expert in their Azure Origin World. Even in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion, he would be considered a powerhouse! Now that he had lost a fate dipper, his foundations would definitely be affected. That would in turn affect the foundations of the White Deer Paradise. It was no wonder Xuan Lu was feeling so distressed. While a multitude of considerations was happening in Xuan Lu¡¯s mind, Yun Lu was also complaining silently. If Xuan Lu wasn¡¯t in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion when the fight started, the three of them would be more than enough to keep Kou Chongxue from doing as he pleased in the White Deer Paradise! Naturally, everything was clearer in hindsight. Who would have thought that their mission would fail and Kou Chongxue would show up personally? He even possessed so much fighting strength! ¡°Things are getting troublesome¡­¡± Xuan Lu didn¡¯t bother blaming Yun Lu for what had happened. Instead, he looked around at the White Deer Paradise and he sighed, ¡°We might not know what method he used to recover from his supposed irreversible state of injury, but now that he can fight again, the Beyond Heavens Pavilion is going to get busy¡­ Since he obtained the Water Origin Fate Dipper, he might even grow stronger than before¡­ Hehehe. Looks like we not only got out foundations stolen from us, we even helped our enemy grow stronger! We¡¯re going to turn into a laughing stock in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion!¡± Hua Lu¡¯s expression became a little awkward when she saw the look on Yun Lu¡¯s face and she quickly chirped in. ¡°Senior Brother, even if Kou Chongxue recovered, our White Deer Paradise wouldn¡¯t be the only one panicking. When the event happened years ago, those experts in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion were also responsible for it. They could deal with him once, and we can definitely deal with him again!¡± Xuan Lu glanced at her before chiding her mercilessly. ¡°Do you think Kou Chongxue is mentally challenged or something? Will he allow himself to fall twice in the same place? Moreover, it¡¯s not like he doesn¡¯t have allies in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion either!¡± Xuan Lu felt his anger and irritation dissipating slightly when he looked at Hua Lu, his precious junior sister who eventually managed to enter the Martial Dipper Realm successfully. His tone lightened up slightly as he continued, ¡°When they ambushed him the first time, many of them had their reservations. After learning that his injuries were in an irreversible state and that he had become a cripple, many of them were pressured into leaving him alone. Even though all of them have no idea of the extent of his recovery, we cannot deny that Kou Chongxue has regained his ability to fight. He will definitely be able to make use of his connections and favors in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion once he truly sets his mind to it.¡± Hua Lu was so surprised that she couldn¡¯t say a word in response. Only after some time did Yun Lu speak up. ¡°Senior Brother Xuan Lu, what do we do now?¡± ¡°Protect the sect. I¡¯ll have to make another trip to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion.¡± Xuan Lu sighed. However, Hua Lu interrupted, ¡°Senior Brother, are you really going to leave now? What if Kou Chongxue¡­¡± With his patience worn thin, Xuan Lu snapped, ¡°If the two of you allow him to barge in even after your preparations, forget about defending the White Deer Paradise. Just disband the sect and go into seclusion.¡± After he spoke, his figure started to blur and he disappeared. Seeing the look of worry on Hua Lu¡¯s face, Yun Lu quickly reassured her, ¡°Junior Sister, rest assured. Kou Chongxue was only able to enter earlier because he took advantage of the route we used to channel the world origin. We were caught off guard. The two of us are more than capable of stopping him. After all, we¡¯re stronger than you think!¡± ¡°Senior Brother Yun, actually¡­ I¡¯m quite envious of him¡­¡± Hua Lu sighed all of a sudden. Raising an eyebrow in shock, Yun Lu asked, ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°Look¡­ Kou Chongxue can enter our Ji Continent as he wishes.¡± Hua Lu sighed. Even though Yun Lu¡¯s expression changed slightly, he didn¡¯t say anything in response. He knew what she was driving at. Kou Chongxue merely sent a clone over with his Hidden Frost Sword and beat them to the point a massive hole was blown in their holy land. If he recovers fully and kills his way over, what were they supposed to do? Hua Lu didn¡¯t seem to see the ugly expression forming on Yun Lu¡¯s face and she continued, ¡°Compared to that guy, the two of us are trapped in this place all our lives. Even if we wish to leave, we can only remain in the confines of our Ji Continent or the Beyond Heavens Pavilion¡­¡± ¡°Junior Sister, don¡¯t say any more¡­¡± ¡°I know.¡± Hua Lu smiled before she continued, ¡°I have no other intentions. I had the chance to be like him in the past. However, I was too afraid to fail and chose to borrow the power of our White Deer Paradise to advance¡­¡± This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡­ It was true that Kou Chongxue had borrowed the power of the Water Origin Fate Dipper. Not only was he able to prolong the time he could stay in the White Deer Paradise, but it also allowed him to leave in one piece! As the Hidden Frost Sword returned from the way it came from, it destroyed everything in its path. He didn¡¯t wish to leave a way for those from the Ji Continent to intrude into the You Continent. In the spirit cave under the Changfeng City¡­ Shang Xia, who had been observing Shang Pei while restoring his Crimson Soul Tablet, could feel the subtle changes happening in the water level when Kou Chongxue smashed a hole through the White Deer Paradise earlier. The surge in world origin caused Shang Xia¡¯s thoughts to run wild. Did the old patriarch demolish the White Deer Paradise or something? Why the hell did the world origin increase suddenly?! Well, he wasn¡¯t wrong. When his thoughts were still running wild, a sharp whistle filled the underground cavern as the Hidden Frost Sword returned. Even though the Hidden Frost Sword hadn¡¯t arrived, the sharp ringing was already causing Shang Xia¡¯s mind to buzz. Not too afraid for himself, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but worry about Shang Pei who was undergoing her breakthrough. His divine sense surrounded her in an attempt to isolate her from the disturbance. Despite his efforts, Shang Pei revealed a bitter look as the aura she emitted fluctuated unsteadily. Strengthening the barrier of divine sense around her, Shang Xia tried to isolate the sharp ringing as much as he could. Her pained expression slowly eased, and Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed as though his Shang Clan would be able to produce yet another Martial Extermination Realm expert. Also, Shang Xia realized that the terrifying events were about to draw to a close now that Kou Chongxue was returning. Pressing his lips together, Shang Xia rubbed his chin with slight discontent. The third crack on his Crimson Soul Tablet hasn''t fully healed. Close to a third of it still remained on the surface of the tablet. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly reluctant that everything was about to end. He used so much world origin in the spirit cave, but he wasn¡¯t able to fully restore the damage to the tablet! He didn¡¯t know when another chance would come, but he knew that it wouldn¡¯t be anytime soon. He also discovered that with his increase in cultivation level, any change he wanted to make on the Crimson Soul Tablet took up a lot more energy than before. If he didn¡¯t hasten the recovery of the tablet, it would probably crumble the next time he deduced the road for his future cultivation! When that happened, his fate could be imagined. The more he thought about it, the cloudier his expression became. He didn¡¯t realize that the whistling had already stopped and the water had already returned to its original state. When he finally snapped back to reality, he discovered that Kou Chongxue¡¯s clone had appeared in the spirit cave. He held his sword behind him as he stared at the kid. ¡°Patriarch!¡± Leaping to his feet, Shang Xia gave the man a greeting. Waving slightly, Kou Chongxue¡¯s gaze landed on Shang Pei not too far away. ¡°You actually gave someone else your Yin Water Mysterious Extermination Origin and the set of advancement medicine¡­ Looks like your relationship isn¡¯t as simple as it seems¡­¡± His words seemed really casual, and Shang Xia didn¡¯t know if it was because his trip to the Ji Continent yielded great results or if he couldn¡¯t be bothered with a mere Martial Extermination Realm expert. Shang Xia quickly explained himself, ¡°This¡­ This is disciple¡¯s third aunt. She¡¯s not some random person I came across¡­¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Turning to look at her carefully, he seemed to have unlocked a memory that was deep in his mind. ¡°I think I have some impression of her. She fell out with your grandfather in the past and ran away from home. Wow¡­ You actually found her?¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t understand Kou Chongxue¡¯s stance on the matter but he didn¡¯t dare to lie either. ¡°Third Aunt has been part of the Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent the whole time¡­¡± Nodding slowly, Kou Chongxue sighed. ¡°Then I guess it¡¯s not a waste that you gave her those stuff then.¡± Shang Xia felt a trace of relief washing over his heart as though he avoided some sort of calamity after hearing what Kou Chongxue said. However, it didn¡¯t seem as though he was placed in any sort of dangerous situation¡­ Could it be?! Was it because of his Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter? Patriarch Kou seems angry that I gave her the extermination origin and advancement medicine! It didn¡¯t matter that she was my third aunt¡­ He only backed off after hearing that she was part of the Eighteen Horsemen¡­ He only said that it wasn¡¯t a waste after hearing that, and it seemed as though he had finally approved of his actions¡­ It seemed as though Patriarch Kou had some knowledge of the Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent¡­ Kou Chongxue¡¯s voice boomed in his mind all of a sudden. ¡°Large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm! Your body is bloated with inner qi and you seem to have touched on your martial intent¡­ Show me your comprehension!¡± CH 350 ¡°Alright, give me your all! Show me what you comprehended!¡± Kou Chongxue didn¡¯t know of the existence of his Crimson Soul Tablet, and that Shang Xia could comprehend his third martial intent any time he wished. However, he could feel everything else. He could tell that Shang Xia was a mere step away from entering the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm! Under such circumstances, Kou Chongxue was more than willing to give Shang Xia some pointers for him to take the last step! He might have the guidance of the Crimson Soul Tablet, but Shang Xia knew that it wasn¡¯t every day that a Martial Dipper Realm expert would give him pointers. Not to mention the person giving him pointers was the tyrannical Kou Chongxue. He was more than happy to display everything he learned. Glancing at Shang Pei, Shang Xia realized that the spirit cave wasn¡¯t big enough for him to display his technique without disturbing her. Kou Chongxue naturally noticed his hesitation and he smiled. ¡°Relax. Just give it your all.¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t have a reason to doubt the patriarch and the Scarlet Star Spear quickly appeared in his hand. Grunting softly, Shang Xia¡¯s spear stabbed at Kou Chongxue. A frown appeared on Kou Chongxue¡¯s face as he waved his sleeve in front of him. The spear Shang Xia sent out contained the essence of his first three moves and the moment it was unleashed, his inner qi almost flowed in reverse. Luckily, his Origin True Qi wasn¡¯t any ordinary type of qi. He quickly managed to calm his flow of qi. Kou Chongxue snapped at him, ¡°Hmph, that¡¯s just controlling your inner qi better than other Martial Intent Realm cultivators. Your spear might be fast, but the energy contained in it isn¡¯t properly concentrated! What are you playing at? Do you think you¡¯re an ordinary cultivator? Again!¡± Shang Xia glanced over at Shang Pei and after realizing that she wasn¡¯t affected by the fluctuations of heaven and earth qi, his divine sense gathered on Kou Chongxue¡¯s clone. Naturally, the Martial Dipper Realm Kou Chongxue escaped the lock-on almost immediately. However, he gasped in shock before distorting away. His sleeve which hadn¡¯t completely emerged from the void flickered once before slowly gathering again. Shang Xia was honestly disappointed when he saw what happened. After all, he was using his sixth move, Flow Recompensation as the base of his move. He fused both his fourth and fifth moves together with it. With the properties of the Woundless Spear, he was certain that he would be able to injure even Martial Extermination Realm experts. However, he couldn¡¯t even touch the patriarch¡¯s clothes. Of course, the backlash came quickly. A small wound appeared on his shoulder and dyed his robes red. Kou Chongxue¡¯s surprised gasp came from another direction. ¡°This¡­ This¡­ This is a sure-hit skill!¡± With his pride greatly damaged, Shang Xia sighed, ¡°Didn¡¯t I miss? What are you talking about?¡± Kou Chongxue laughed hoarsely in response. ¡°Damn kid, don¡¯t you know that this is just a clone? What am I supposed to do? Find some blood and let it flow out from wherever you hit me?¡± Shang Xia recalled the flickering earlier around near Kou Chongxue¡¯s left arm. ¡°This move is strange indeed. It¡¯s almost invincible. You will definitely injure whoever you aim at, and the power contained in it is nothing to scoff at. It will definitely rank in the highest ranks of martial intents. However, you left out your divine sense. You haven¡¯t unleashed its full potential!¡± One had to say that Kou Chongxue¡¯s evaluation was spot on. It seemed as though the old patriarch was pretty familiar with the Shang Clan¡¯s Providence Spear Art. Without Kou Chongxue urging him on a second time, Shang Xia unleashed his next move. The spirit cave and the space contained in it trembled violently. ¡°Nice!¡± Kou Chongxue¡¯s eyes lit up and he couldn¡¯t help but praise Shang Xia¡¯s third move. When Shang Xia was starting to worry that he was going to disturb Shang Pei¡¯s advancement, Kou Chongxue casually waved the Hidden Frost Sword to separate the space around her from them. After combining his seventh to ninth move, Shang Xia was finally able to affect space. That shocked Kou Chongxue so much that he gasped earlier. However, Shang Xia noticed that Kou Chongxue¡¯s casual slice affected the space way more efficiently and forcefully while also shattering the effects of his third strike. ¡°That¡¯s an intricate move. It¡¯s able to affect space like Martial Extermination Realm experts. You¡¯re much stronger than Shang Bo when he was at your cultivation level!¡± Despite Kou Chongxue¡¯s praise, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t feeling it. The three moves he unleashed weren¡¯t his martial intent, but he wasn¡¯t planning on hiding his true comprehension from Kou Chongxue. He truly wanted the patriarch¡¯s pointers, and those moves contained the essence of his Nine Providence Spears. After all, he didn¡¯t wish to rely on the Crimson Soul Tablet too heavily. Deepening his comprehension would never go wrong. Another reason was that he was feeling a little threatened by the number of cracks that had formed on the tablet. He wanted to deepen his comprehension as much as he could in order to reduce the burden on his Crimson Soul Tablet when he comprehended his martial intent the in the future! The three moves he released against Kou Chongxue weren¡¯t useless after all. It allowed him to deepen his understanding a little more. He had a sudden realization that the more refined his technique was, the stronger his Heaven Startling Spear would be when he comprehended it. His dantian started to rotate as the inner qi in his body circulated crazily. His spear started to buzz as he raised his spear again. Stabbing outwards, the space that Kou Chongxue separated popped like a bubble. ¡°Huh? This appear¡­¡± Kou Chongxue revealed a look of shock as he drew three horizontal lines in the air. Three individual screens that separated the space between them formed. However, Shang Xia¡¯s spear seemed to ignore every single obstruction in its way as it continued to stab at Kou Chongxue. The casual smile on Kou Chongxue¡¯s face had disappeared and it was replaced with a solemn expression. He wasn¡¯t admiring the move and giving his criticisms like before. Raising his sword, he slashed at the spear that was headed his way! A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. The fourth move Shang Xia displayed actually struck Kou Chongxue¡¯s sword physically! ¡°Bang!¡± A crisp ringing sound filled the spirit cave and two of the three screens Kou Chongxue made earlier shattered. The last one twisted violently, but it eventually managed to keep its shape. Lowering his sword, the space around Kou Chongxue fluctuated violently before condensing slowly. He stared at Shang Xia as a thoughtful light flashed in his eyes. ¡°Your spear¡­¡± Instead of completing his sentence, Kou Chongxue changed his line of questioning. ¡°How many moves did you come up with from your comprehension of the Providence Spear Art?!¡± ¡°Nine.¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t plan on hiding it anyway. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder¡­ Have you thought of a name for the move you just used?¡± Kou Chongxue asked. Forcing a smile, Shang Xia muttered somewhat sheepishly, ¡°Heaven Startling Spear¡­¡± Gruntly softly, Kou Chongxue fell deep into thought for a moment before he continued, ¡°You can sunder the soul and destroy their physical bodies with that spear you just unleashed¡­ Why not call it the Divine Killing Spear?¡± CH 351 ¡°Divine Killing Spear?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s heart trembled slightly when he heard the name. The words on the Crimson Soul Tablet changed once again. Martial Intent: Divine Killing Spear Prerequisite Secret Art: Providence Chapter Prerequisite Martial Art: Nine Providence Spear Requirement: Sufficient Heaven and Earth Qi Medicine Required: Startling Soul Needles Special Requirement: Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter Evaluation: Exterminates Both the Physical Body and Soul. The change caused Shang Xia¡¯s eyes to widen slightly in shock. Before he could take the time to examine the changes, the words started to transform once again. A new set of words seemed to want to emerge. Realizing that the Crimson Soul Tablet was about to start developing a rank four advancement formula for him, Shang Xia felt a closer level of fusion with the tablet. Even though the feeling lasted for a mere second, Shang Xia was sure that the Crimson Soul Tablet achieved a deeper fusion with his soul. That was because he felt something coming from the tablet. It sent a simple message to him, ¡®danger¡¯! Even though it was a simple word, Shang Xia understood what it was trying to tell him. If it carried out the deduction for a rank four advancement formula that suited Shang Xia the best, it would use up a ton of energy. It would bring the Crimson Soul Tablet to the edge of destruction! Without question, the amount of energy required to make a deduction increased with his cultivation level. He lucked out during the deduction of his third martial intent, the Divine Killing Spear - Heaven Startling Spear previously - as he had the world origin from the White Deer Paradise to restore the Crimson Soul Tablet. The endless tide of world origin was gone, and he couldn¡¯t draw upon it to lessen the destruction to his Crimson Soul Tablet. After snapping back to reality, Shang Xia forcefully stopped the Crimson Soul Tablet from whatever it wanted to do. Listening to Shang Xia, it started to calm down. He also discovered the reason behind the Crimson Soul Tablet¡¯s activation earlier. He had two rank four advancement formulas in his mind, and it would naturally build on the one he was more compatible with! Strangely enough, it managed to give him a warning earlier. During the connection he had with the Crimson Soul Tablet, he also discovered something weird. It managed to gather Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense and turn into something like a clone that possessed Shang Xia¡¯s consciousness and transmitted its thoughts to him. ¡°Clone?¡± The thought flashed in Shang Xia¡¯s mind and he turned to look at Kou Chongxue¡¯s clone that wasn¡¯t too far away. He also turned to look at the Hidden Frost Sword that was swinging casually in the patriarch¡¯s hand. Shang Xia clearly recalled how the Hidden Frost Sword carried Kou Chongxue¡¯s fate dipper and allowed him to transform into a clone. By that logic¡­ Could the Crimson Soul Tablet also be a divine weapon?! The thought barely formed in his mind when he felt that something was off. Even if it is, how can it perfect advancement formulas and come up with martial intents to guide my cultivation? If divine weapons were able to do that, the Tongyou Institution wouldn¡¯t be lacking in inheritances! Shang Xia shook his head silently before throwing away those random guesses he had. He turned his attention back to Kou Chongxue. Even though many thoughts ran through his mind, a mere second had passed in the real world and Kou Chongxue barely noticed him zoning out. ¡°Hehe, you seemed to have figured it out. Do you know why I chose to help you change the name of that move?¡± Kou Chongxue snickered. Shang Xia was slightly confused, but he wouldn¡¯t suss himself out by asking for the explicit reason at that moment. He chose to cover it up with a peal of embarrassed laughter. Kou Chongxue continued, ¡°There¡¯s no need to think too much about it. Your move definitely damaged my divine sense slightly earlier. Of course, you didn¡¯t affect me too much. I¡¯ll be able to recover in a few days.¡± Shang Xia felt his heart trembling at Kou Chongxue¡¯s revelation. His spear actually injured the Martial Dipper Realm patriarch before him! It was no wonder the patriarch renamed it for him! ¡°Then again, if your spear possesses the ability to damage my divine sense, you would be able to cause Martial Extermination Realm cultivators huge problems! Not to mention the fact that your attack can go through space¡­¡± Kou Chongxue added. Shang Xia reacted quickly this time. ¡°Many thanks for Patriarch Kou¡¯s praise! I will continue to work hard to perfect my move!¡± Nodding in acknowledgment, Kou Chongxue muttered, ¡°That¡¯s the spirit you should have. It would be great if you manage to enter the Martial Extermination Realm in a year or two!¡± Seeing as he had almost wrapped things up, Kou Chongxue coughed twice and brought up a new topic. ¡°Kid, you managed to gain huge merits this time. Pick any advancement formula you like. You can choose any as long as it¡¯s compatible with you. It doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s from your Shang Clan or from the Tongyou Institution. The institution will spare no expense to create a set of advancement medicine for you.¡± With a massive grin appearing on his face, Shang Xia quickly thanked Kou Chongxue. ¡°Many thanks, Patriarch Kou, for your support!¡± Kou Chongxue nodded slightly but he hesitated slightly before muttering, ¡°We have other uses for the Multi World Anchoring Flag¡­ I¡¯ll bring it back to the institution.¡± Shang Xia might not understand how the flag worked, but he knew that it was an important treasure. He wouldn¡¯t be so foolish as to go against the patriarch for a treasure he knew nothing about in the first place. However, he wasn¡¯t stupid either. He quickly added, ¡°Of course! It¡¯s my honor to give up a treasure to the institution! Since the institution has uses for it, you can have it!¡± However, an unexplainable strange sensation filled Shang Xia¡¯s heart after he said it. Bursting into laughter, Kou Chongxue chided. ¡°Relax. This old man won¡¯t steal your treasures without giving anything in return!¡± Kou Chongxue¡¯s eyes landed on the Spirit Extermination Gourd that was hovering above the deep pool. Shang Pei left it there after retrieving the extermination origin within. Gesturing slightly, the gourd appeared in his hand. ¡°This gourd is from the Changbai Holy Land¡­ But the spiritual deer inside comes from the White Deer Paradise¡­ Haha, kid, you¡¯re really lucky to be able to fuse these treasures together. Well, the Changbai Holy Land and the White Deer Paradise aren¡¯t the only ones who can use the treasures! Our Tongyou Institution is capable of doing it too!¡± After he spoke, Kou Chongxue waved his hand in the air and a strand of jade green sword light emerged from the void. Shaking the gourd violently, the spiritual deer leaped out eventually. The jade green sword qi slashed the spiritual deer in two the moment it emerged before turning it into a ball of hazy light. The hazy light was devoured by the jade green sword light and after the assimilation was complete, Kou Chongxue pointed at the gourd. ¡°Get in!¡± When the sword qi entered the gourd, no inscriptions appeared on the body of the gourd. The image of the white deer also disappeared completely. Discover the complete story on pawread dot com. Corking the gourd, he tossed it back at Shang Xia. Grabbing it, Shang Xia raised his eyebrows in shock. Kou Chongxue¡¯s voice rang in his ears soon after. ¡°The spiritual deer and your gourd both suffered varying degrees of damage. It¡¯s not as effective as before and I used the strand of sword qi to supplement its powers. It can discover extermination qi in its surroundings and it can also be used as a last resort to kill your enemies if you run into any danger. It can deal with anyone under the Martial Dipper Realm. Only extremely powerful individuals in the Martial Extermination Realm would be able to keep their lives after you use this. If you release the sword qi contained within, remember to nurture it again. The strand of fate dipper qi will be able to restore itself after absorbing enough energy.¡± CH 352 After receiving the gourd from Kou Chongxue, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t contain the joy in his heart. It was as though a heavenly treasure had fallen onto his lap. Without mentioning the ability of the fate dipper qi to regenerate, just the strength it possessed was terrifying enough! ¡°Anyone under the Martial Dipper Realm would find it almost impossible to withstand the sword qi¡± Just that sentence from Kou Chongxue alone told Shang Xia how precious the strand of sword qi was! It was more than capable of threatening the lives of any Martial Extermination Realm expert! The more frightening part of it was that Kou Chongxue actually left behind a part of a fate dipper in the gourd. That was what allowed the sword qi to regenerate even after it was exhausted. That would mean that Shang Xia could utilize the sword qi over and over! There was no other treasure in Shang Xia¡¯s arsenal that would be able to match up to it at the moment. The sword qi became the strongest trump card he had! Kou Chongxue¡¯s sigh entered Shang Xia¡¯s ears again. ¡°It¡¯s a pity your gourd isn¡¯t strong enough. It¡¯s only able to withstand a little of my Eternal Spring Fate Dipper. If it was able to take a strand of sword qi from my Primal Yang Copper Fate Dipper, you¡¯ll be able to give any Martial Dipper Realm expert a run for their money. You can even kill them if the situation permits¡­¡± Shang Xia¡¯s hand trembled while holding the gourd and he quickly thanked Kou Chongxue, ¡°Many thanks! Patriarch Kou, your gift is already precious enough!¡± Turning to Shang Xia, Kou Chongxue nodded to himself half-heartedly. ¡°Oh yeah. You¡¯re not in the Martial Extermination Realm yet. Even if I manage to leave behind a strand of sword qi from my Primal Yang Fate Dipper, you won¡¯t be able to use it. You can¡¯t withstand the energy contained¡­¡± ¡°...¡± After he was done speaking, his gaze turned to Shang Pei before addressing Shang Xia again. ¡°This old man shouldn¡¯t stay here for too long. I¡¯ll return to the Tongyou City right now. The situation is still pretty chaotic after the battle. You shall remain in the Changfeng City and act as the Temporary City Lord. Hold the fort here and stabilize the situation. Wait for the institution to send someone over to take your place.¡± Shang Xia waved his hand in panic and cried, ¡°This disciple isn¡¯t capable of that! One has to be a Martial Extermination Realm expert to be a city lord! That¡¯s the only way to suppress the various cultivators in the city and those who wish to harm it. I seem somewhat lacking¡­¡± Kou Chongxue didn¡¯t bother about him and turned into a streak of light that returned to his Hidden Frost Sword. He snorted in disdain. ¡°Heh, don¡¯t undervalue yourself. Is there anyone under the Martial Extermination Realm who can be your opponent?¡± Pausing for a second, a trace of frost filled his voice as he continued, ¡°As for those in the Martial Extermination Realm, which one of them will dare to jump out now and cause trouble?¡± When he was done speaking, he didn¡¯t wait for a response as he turned into a streak of light. All he left behind was his voice echoing through the spirit cave. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m off!¡± before disappearing into the space in front of Shang Xia. Looking at the place where the sword disappeared, Shang Xia felt a sense of disappointment filling his heart. However, he eventually turned to look at Shang Pei who was sitting there with her eyes closed. ¡°Since senior is already awake, why don¡¯t you greet the patriarch? It¡¯s a little disrespectful for you to pretend not to see him¡­ After all, he¡¯s the patriarch of our Tongyou Institution and a Martial Dipper Realm expert! He¡¯s one of the peak existences in our Azure Origin World!¡± After a short period of silence and Shang Xia felt that Shang Pei was planning to ignore him completely, she eventually spoke. ¡°This old lady¡¯s body was completely frozen when he looked at me earlier! I couldn¡¯t even get up!¡± ¡­ The Tongyou Institution¡¯s act of bringing the Mysterious Coral World back to the You Continent and drawing over the Origin Tide to transform it into the Tongyou Mysterious World. It caused a huge battle to break out over the world origin and the treasures that came along with it. Eventually, Kou Chongxue¡¯s frightening reappearance caused those who stood against the institution to retreat and he charged into the Ji Continent alone to take revenge on the White Deer Paradise. The three ancestors had to take the loss due to his sudden appearance, and with that, the events finally drew to a close. Explore the extended edition on pawread dot com. Even though making the three ancestors of the White Deer Paradise take a loss seemed to be an overstatement, and Kou Chongxue only managed to do it because he caught them off guard, it was true that the White Deer Paradise suffered a loss because of him. Naturally, Xuan Lu only returned to join the battle at the end, but the huge hole Kou Chongxue blew in the White Deer Paradise overshadowed everything. After causing enough damage to the White Deer Paradise, Kou Chongxue managed to escape in one piece. With that, the Tongyou Institution could be said to have achieved a one sided victory. Kou Chongxue¡¯s prestige was like a sun that hung in the midday sky and everyone realized that the Madman of the You Continent was back! As for little Shang Xia who was appointed as the temporary city lord by Kou Chongxue, he was swamped and he couldn¡¯t leave the city for the foreseeable future. Once he proclaimed his title and laid claim to the City Lord Manor, the city turned surprisingly calm. He passed down a few orders and discovered that his instructions were carried out exceedingly smoothly. His plan of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys fell through! The plan he came up with to deal with those who dared to openly oppose him became useless! Of course, Shang Xia knew that everything that was happening had nothing to do with his individual prestige. It was just that no one in the city dared to cause any trouble at that moment. A huge battle had just passed, and everyone needed time to recover. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be more pleased with the situation. He was more than happy to spend more time on his personal cultivation. In a small courtyard in the eastern part of the city, Shang Xia was fully focused on crafting the talisman in front of him. The room he was in wasn¡¯t shabby at all, but it was extremely cluttered. There wasn¡¯t much space to put other things. Looking at the seemingly all-powerful Shang Xia, his fate was slightly laughable. He experienced so much in such a short amount of time and he had no time to practice talisman crafting during his cultivation. His cultivation rose like a rocket, but he was still a rank two talisman master. It was extremely disproportionate to his cultivation at the Martial Intent Realm. After taking on his position as the temporary city lord, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t allocate too much time to his cultivation as he was unable to use his Crimson Soul Tablet to optimize the rank four advancement formulas he had for fear of damaging it too greatly. There wasn¡¯t much to do anyway, and he decided to place more focus on the art of formations. As he had the experience of creating his special rank two talismans, his speed of improvement was terrifying. His foundations were solid anyway. With his extraordinarily powerful divine sense that underwent some sort of miraculous baptism after he comprehended his Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter, he managed to control his energy to a greater degree when crafting talismans. It gave him an impressive success rate when crafting talismans. Because of that, Shang Xia took one month to get into his peak condition before setting out his mind to craft a rank three talisman for real. The difficulty of crafting a rank three talisman was a huge jump from crafting a rank two one. Even exceptional talisman masters wouldn¡¯t possess extremely high success rates when crafting a rank three talisman. That explained the rarity of it as battles involving Martial Intent Realm experts rarely involved the use of talismans. There were many reasons behind that. One was because of the difficulty of crafting rank three talismans, and another was because rank three talisman masters were few and far between¡­ After Shang Xia started his attempt, he discovered the greatest challenge was the about of divine sense that it required! A cultivator¡¯s divine sense was somewhat connected with their cultivation and soul, and it was something that wasn¡¯t easily exhausted. To give a context of what divine sense was, it was connected to a cultivator¡¯s soul and it represented how strong their will was. Like what cultivators usually say, ¡°I can be defeated, but I cannot admit defeat!¡± That was probably a testament to their willpower¡­ Since one¡¯s divine sense was connected to their soul, any exhaustion to it would result in a much lengthier process of recovery. The possibility of experiencing cultivation deviation was much higher than when absorbing heaven and earth qi! That singular reason forced many talisman masters to rethink their decision to craft a rank three talisman. Even if they had successfully crafted one before and can be considered a rank three talisman master, they would still think twice before making one. Shang Xia might be a young master of a great clan, but he didn¡¯t possess many rank three talismans! He currently had another one, and that was a Suspended Spear Talisman Shang Ke passed to him sometime previously. Before Shang Ke entered the Martial Extermination Realm, he managed to request for a talisman master from the institution to assist him in sealing his divine sense into a talisman. After expending a huge amount of divine sense, Shang Ke managed to produce two talismans. He gave one to Shang Xia before he entered the Coral Forest, and he gave Shang Xia another one after learning that he had used the first. Shang Ke attempted the talisman creation thrice, but he only succeeded in making two talismans. After he recovered, he wanted to try again, but he was strictly forbidden from doing so by Shang Bo. Using someone else¡¯s divine sense when crafting rank three talismans was a method used by rank three talisman masters to practice their craft while keeping their risk to a minimum. One could practice the art of crafting talismans while the person who provided the divine sense would be able to receive a talisman after completion. It was a win-win situation! The only problem with that was that the expenditure of divine sense was much more terrifying than if the talisman master created the talisman himself. The reason was simple too. Using someone else¡¯s divine sense was much less effective than using their own! As for cultivators who separated a part of their divine sense, they might suffer hidden injuries or damages to their divine sense without their knowledge. That was the reason why Shang Bo strictly forbade Shang Ke from doing anything else like that. Since Shang Xia wasn¡¯t keeping his plan to craft a rank three talisman a secret anyway, Shang Quan was specially dispatched from the Tongyou City by Shang Ke to warn Shang Xia. A severe warning came from Shang Ke. ¡°No matter what, you are not to over exert your divine sense when creating talismans!¡± Also, the higher the talisman rank, the stronger it would be. The ingredients used to craft such talismans would definitely be more precious than lower leveled talismans. Looking at the rank three talisman paper in front of him, Shang Xia didn¡¯t need to ask to know that the entire Shang Clan wouldn¡¯t be able to find three rank three talisman papers even if they flipped the clan upside down. They might have one or two if Shang Ke and Shang Bo went around to ask for favors, but the Shang Clan itself had no capabilities of producing rank three talisman papers! What a stroke of luck that Shang Xia managed to take on the position as the temporary city lord¡­ Yang Hu had managed the Changfeng City for more than ten years. The Changfeng City was also a major chokepoint for those who wanted to travel to the You Continent, and that made them a trading hub. Yang Hu might be holding on to the extremely precious stuff himself, but the treasury in the city wasn¡¯t lacking either. Shang Xia managed to find some treasures that caught his eye in there. He also managed to find two rank three talisman papers that he was planning to use to push himself to the rank three talisman master level. Shang Quan tossed out another idea to Shang Xia when he was there. He could put out a notice that the City Lord Manor in the Changfeng City was willing to purchase rank three talisman paper, and might solve a lot of problems. Shang Xia implemented the plan quickly and to his surprise, someone came over to sell. Shang Xia managed to purchase 2 rank three talisman papers from him and a Golden Scale Qi Quelling Ink Slab and a Spirit Concentration Jade Press. He also managed to buy two pieces of Calming Incense. Naturally, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t take those items for free. He paid the man according to the market value of those items. He spent a huge half of the silver essence he obtained from all the experts he killed in an instant. Even so, he understood that those items had no set value to them. He wouldn¡¯t be able to find them in the open market out there. Even if people wanted to buy, they might not be able to! Control of the City Lord Manor had its benefits indeed. The person who came to sell had also been screened by Shang Quan. They were willing to sell such precious items to Shang Xia because they wanted protection from the Tongyou Institution in exchange for the favor. They wished to open a trading route with the Tongyou City after it was rebuilt. All they hoped for was for Shang Xia to remember them in the future so that they could do business easily in the Tongyou City. With Shang Xia¡¯s current prestige and power, he could do many things like that with a simple statement. As long as he mentioned it in passing to his Grandpa Ke, the Shang Clan would help them out slightly. After all, Shang Xia¡¯s authority had risen a long way after he entered the Martial Intent Realm. Luckily, Shang Xia knew how to deal with people like that. He couldn¡¯t give them too much and he needed to know when to stop. He wasn¡¯t an immature brat anymore. He understood that all the power he was wielding now was because of the overbearing existence that was the Tongyou Institution behind him. Shang Xia might seem to understand how much more authority he gained, but in actuality, he was still underestimating himself. Even a senior like Shang Quan who had experienced much more of the world didn¡¯t know how terrifying of an existence Shang Xia was! If one truly dug deep, they would realize that Shang Xia was a freakish existence who was on speaking terms with Kou Chongxue! That was the Madman of the You Continent they were talking about! A Martial Dipper Realm expert who stood at the peak of the power pyramid in the world! With all his contributions and talent, Shang Xia could actually get Kou Chongxue to back him up if anything were to happen! That was the true extent of Shang Xia¡¯s influence! Even Shang Xia himself hadn¡¯t realized that! CH 353 With that, Shang Xia managed to scrape together seven pieces of rank three talisman paper. He also obtained some news of treasures that would bring great assistance to his path of talisman crafting. He hid in the small courtyard before starting to focus on the creation of the rank three talisman. He couldn¡¯t be bothered about leaving the City Lord Manor empty for the moment. After all, the prestige of the Tongyou Institution was at an all-time high at the moment. No one would dare to step out to cause trouble. Naturally, if there was someone who was crazy enough to make their move, Shang Xia had taken precautions. One couldn¡¯t forget that there was a Martial Extermination Realm expert consolidating her foundations in the spirit cave under the City Lord Manor! Next came crafting his talismans. No matter how talented one was, it was almost impossible to successfully craft a rank three talisman on their first try! Not to mention Shang Xia who wasn¡¯t that talented in the first place. He might have the knowledge and experience from the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture, but he still failed thrice in a row. Just like that, he wasted three pieces of rank three talisman paper. As for the other treasures that made up the ink and other assistive treasures, there was no need to mention that a lot of them went down the drain. The greatest challenge Shang Xia had was splitting off his divine sense. He discovered that crafting rank three talismans was truly difficult, and it slightly affected his cultivation. He split it off twice during his first two attempts, but before he could do it again, he already scrapped the third piece of rank three talisman paper. Splitting off their divine sense was a painful process, and weaker cultivators would be unable to withstand the effects. However, Shang Xia was an existence who was at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm and the effects it had on him weren¡¯t as large as he had thought. We are "pawread dot com", find us on google. He had solid foundations and even if his divine sense was exhausted slightly, it wouldn¡¯t affect him too much. Perhaps due to the way he entered the Martial Intent Realm with an optimized rank three advancement formula provided by his Crimson Soul Tablet, his divine sense was already leagues ahead of cultivators at the same level. His divine sense also experienced a fundamental transformation when he comprehended the Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter and it was far stronger than before. That was why Shang Xia was able to attempt the crafting process so many times without adversely affecting his personal cultivation. Shang Ke estimated that he would be able to split his divine sense off thrice in a month if he gave it his all. Since Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense was much stronger than Shang Ke, Shang Xia felt that he would be able to do it seven times before it affected his cultivation. Of course, refining rank three talismans seven times in a month wasn¡¯t possible. Unless all of them failed, he would be unable to make so many attempts. His three previous attempts that failed already cost him a month, but he learned an important lesson and that was to not overexert himself. He took another month to restore his divine sense to its peak state while summarizing the lessons he learned from his three failures. Three months had passed since he took on the role as the temporary city lord of the Changfeng City when he made his fourth attempt to craft a rank three talisman. In the months that passed, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with what was happening in the outside world as he concentrated on the art of talismans. He didn¡¯t know why the Tongyou City hadn¡¯t sent someone to take over his position, but he couldn¡¯t care about it at the moment. After all the preparations he made both physically and mentally, his fourth attempt went exceedingly smooth. Splitting off a portion of his divine sense affected his conduction slightly, but he was prepared. Shang Xia quickly maintained his focus while crafting. At that moment, Shang Xia¡¯s advantage was fully displayed. His thick reserves and solid foundations allowed him to split off a portion of his divine sense without affecting his attention! It was the third straight day that he was crafting the rank three talisman, and the amount of inner qi he poured into it had reached a terrifying amount. Even so, he had to ensure that the amount he imbued in every step was perfect. His control of inner qi had already surpassed a huge portion of rank three talisman masters! With the acute senses he had due to his powerful divine sense, Shang Xia managed to accurately control every detail during the crafting process. When he finally raised his brush, he successfully created a rank three talisman, the Golden Lightning Spear Talisman! It was one of the 6 rank three talismans recorded in the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture and it was one that possessed similar qualities to his cultivation. The properties of the talisman could be compared to the first three moves in his Nine Providence Spear! With that, Shang Xia stepped into the ranks of a rank three talisman master. Thinking back to the situation in the Tongyou Institution, he realized that even with their foundations, there were two rank three talisman masters in total. One of them joined the institution from out of nowhere, and to put it strictly, the institution only managed to nurture a single rank three talisman master themselves. Now that Shang Xia had successfully crafted his Golden Lightning Spear Talisman, he would be the third rank three talisman master in the Tongyou Institution, and he would be the youngest of them all! As for rank four talisman masters¡­ There wasn¡¯t a need to mention the Tongyou Institution. The entire You Continent didn¡¯t possess one either. With the completion of his talisman, Shang Xia felt a huge mental load taken off. He heaved a sigh of relief and took a five day break before attempting it again. It was a pity. He seemed too relaxed during his fifth attempt and failed halfway through the process. Helpless, Shang Xia could only take a break for three more days before starting his sixth attempt. Unfortunately, it failed. It was half a month since his successful attempt, and after exhausting so much divine sense, Shang Xia chose to call the rest of the month off and he started to recover to his peak state. Four months had passed since he took on his role in the Changfeng City and after reaching his peak state, he no longer hesitated to start his seventh attempt. After all, that was the last piece of rank three talisman paper he had. Recalling the same feeling he had during his successful attempt, he managed to complete another Golden Lightning Spear Talisman after three days. His second talisman was of much higher quality than the first. The power contained in it was much stronger than the other one, and the talisman would be able to last for a much longer time before weakening. Talismans couldn¡¯t be kept forever either. Rank one talismans would probably lose their effects after half a year if it was kept out in the open. If it was stored properly in a spatial artifact or with some sort of seal, it might be usable after a year or more. However, that would be a complete waste if it was used for rank one talismans. The cost of a spatial artifact was hundreds of times more expensive than a rank one talisman. Rank two talismans would be stable for about a year or so if kept outside, and they could last for up to two years if stored properly! Rank three talismans were completely different. It would be stable for five years at the very least and if stored with special methods, it was possible to increase its lifespan to up to ten years! The reason behind that was because of the cultivator¡¯s divine sense! With the divine sense stored in the talisman, it could last for a much longer time. CH 354 After using seven pieces of rank three talisman paper to craft two Golden Lightning Spear Talismans and staying in his position for four months, Shang Xia successfully became a rank three talisman master. The only blemish in his achievements was that the Thorny Brush that had accompanied him since the start of his talisman crafting journey was turned to scrap after he completed his second piece of Golden Lightning Spear Talisman. Fortunately, he had seen it coming and managed the destruction from affecting his completed talisman. If the rank three talisman he toiled hard to complete was destroyed along with his brush, Shang Xia would probably bawl his eyes out. With the completion of his second talisman, Shang Xia finally relaxed as he basked in the afternoon sun that shone in his courtyard. When Shang Xia was about to drift off into sleep, the entrance of the courtyard creaked open and Hai Min entered while holding Hai Yuanyuan in one hand and a tiny basket in another. Yuanyuan¡¯s face was smeared with black sesame paste as she licked her fingers happily as she strolled in with her mother. ¡°Uncle, uncle, here! Have some black sesame cake!¡± The little brat giggled while handing over a half-eaten cake to Shang Xia. Laughing out loud, he took a huge bite out of the cake. ¡°Wow! It¡¯s so fragrant!¡± Grabbing Yuanyuan, he raised her high into the air amidst her laughter. Hai Min felt a strange sensation filling her heart when she saw the interaction between Shang Xia and her daughter. However, he eventually placed her down on the ground. Stepping forward, she spoke to the little kid. ¡°Yuanyuan, uncle is tired. Why don¡¯t you go around and play on your own?¡± After Yuanyuan made a beeline for her room, Hai Min giggled. ¡°Do you like kids?¡± Shang Xia looked at Yuanyuan who was waddling away like a cute little penguin and he smiled. He didn¡¯t turn his head as he replied, ¡°I like daughters¡­¡± Hai Min¡¯s gaze trembled violently but she quickly turned the topic away. ¡°I heard that the Tongyou City sent a city lord over two days ago¡­ As the temporary city lord, how are you still in the mood to sunbathe here?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Snapping his head around, Shang Xia chuckled with embarrassment, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me earlier?¡± Two days ago, Shang Xia had been wholly devoted to creating his second Golden Lightning Spear Talisman and Hai Min naturally wouldn¡¯t disturb him¡­ Realizing his mistake, Shang Xia chuckled in amusement. It seemed like the conversation between the two of them was getting more and more casual. Before she could say anything else, Shang Xia continued, ¡°Looks like I have to return soon. I wonder which Martial Extermination Realm senior the institution sent. I shouldn¡¯t keep them waiting.¡± After he spoke, he turned to head out of the courtyard. Following closely behind, Hai Min saw him out personally while asking, ¡°When will you be back? If you don¡¯t come back after a long time, Yuanyuan will probably start whining that her amazing snack-buying uncle is gone¡­¡± Pressing his lips together, Shang Xia muttered, ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t really know. You guys aren¡¯t willing to head to the Tongyou City too¡­ Oh well, at least you won¡¯t have to move to another courtyard this time.¡± Waving his hand casually, Shang Xia quickly headed for the City Lord Manor. Standing at the entrance of the courtyard, Hai Min¡¯s smile never faded as she watched Shang Xia¡¯s leaving figure. Only after he disappeared into the crowd did she turn to return. When she closed the door and went back inside, she discovered that Shang Pei had appeared at an unknown time. With her eyes widening in shock, Hai Min gasped, ¡°Mother¡­ When did you come?¡± ¡°Hmph! I restrained myself and came over only after you guys were done with¡­ Hmph. Why aren¡¯t you willing to head over to the Tongyou City with him? You should know that the Tongyou City is the safest place to be right now.¡± Shang Pei¡¯s expression sank slightly as she spoke. Hai Min sighed helplessly, ¡°You know that I''d rather live here quietly!¡± ¡°So¡­ You¡¯re not planning to come with me when I head down south, right?¡± Shang Pei snorted lightly. Nodding seriously, Hai Min turned to look at the courtyard before whispering, ¡°This¡­ This is what I want.¡± Shang Pei wanted to continue messing with Hai Min, but she decided against it eventually. ¡°What about my granddaughter? Is she going to be like you? Are you planning to teach her your half-assed martial arts?¡± Falling into silence, Hai Min thought for a second before sighing, ¡°I plan on sending her to the Tongyou Institution in a few years¡­¡± ¡°Hmph, at least you¡¯re not foolish. At the very most, you¡¯ll be able to enjoy a peaceful life for a few more years¡­¡± Shang Pei snorted. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. When she was done speaking, she turned to leave. Hai Min¡¯s voice came from behind her, ¡°Where are you planning to go this time?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going down south to Taihang. I have to repay the favor after receiving so many things from that little brat.¡± Shang Pei replied without turning around. However, her gaze flickered slightly before she turned around to glance at Hai Min. ¡°Like father like¡­ You might not be willing to leave this place, but he might not be thinking of returning¡­¡± ¡°I know.¡± Hai Min replied casually. Snorting again, Shang Pei¡¯s figure disappeared as she was walking to the door. Seeing that Shang Pei had left, Hai Min went over to the room Shang Xia had been using and she saw two golden talismans sitting peacefully on the table. Golden lightning arcs seemed to be dancing about their surface¡­ ¡­ ¡°Mister Bu, why are you here?¡± Shang Xia thought back to all the Martial Extermination Realm experts he knew in the institution while walking over to the City Lord Manor but Mister Bu never crossed his mind. He didn¡¯t expect the institution to send someone so familiar with him over! Mister Bu chuckled in amusement, ¡°There are too many talents in the institution. Hehe, too bad I¡¯ve been living in the Changfeng City for the longest time and I¡¯m extremely familiar with this place. That¡¯s why they sent me over to take on the position of the city lord. However, I had to take the time to recover in the institution because of the injuries I suffered during the battle. Taking on that palm from Yang Hu wasn¡¯t good for my health!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes sparkled while joking with Mister Bu. ¡°I see¡­ I was thinking that the institution was starting to get inefficient after waiting for so long. This disciple has been working to the bone by taking on the position as the temporary city lord of the Changfeng City for so long¡­ There¡¯s so much to do! I¡¯ve been waking up early and sleeping late every night¡­¡± ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Mister Bu roared with laughter and interrupted his bullshit show. ¡°The hidden city lord who hands his responsibility to everyone else¡­ The amazing Sixth Young Master of the Shang Clan who has been the temporary city lord of the Changfeng City for the past four months is something else alright! Not a single person has seen his appearance and rumors of how you govern the city have already spread to the Tongyou City. Worked to the bone my ass!¡± With his face flushing red with embarrassment, Shang Xia snapped, ¡°Which asshole out there smeared my good name? I definitely showed my face several times in the City Lord Manor¡­¡± Mister Bu dismissed him with a sneer. An awkward laughter appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face when he realized that he only met those who came over to the City Lord Manor to sell him the stuff he was looking for. Naturally, Mister Bu wouldn¡¯t dig deeper into Shang Xia¡¯s method of governance. He simply changed the topic. ¡°Oh right, are you a rank three talisman master now?¡± The smile on Shang Xia¡¯s face grew wider but he didn¡¯t say anything in response. Extending his hand out, Mister Bu snapped, ¡°Show me.¡± ¡°I gave it away!¡± Shang Xia rubbed his nose and muttered softly in response. ¡°Oh? You gave it to your cousin?¡± Mister Bu hit the jackpot immediately. ¡°Oi kid, you need to be careful. After all, the two of you are related in a way¡­¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± A frown started to form on Shang Xia¡¯s face. A shit-eating grin appeared on Mister Bu¡¯s face and he continued, ¡°Huh? Oh, I don¡¯t know anything. Don¡¯t worry about me.¡± Clicking his tongue, Shang Xia decided to change the topic. ¡°Old man, can you act a little more seriously? Anyway, now that you¡¯re the Changfeng City Lord, you shouldn¡¯t use names like Mister Bu or Mister Si any longer¡­¡± ¡°Heh, you¡¯re still too inexperienced when it comes to changing the topic.¡± Mister Bu sneered. However, his expression slowly turned serious. ¡°This old man is called Bu Jingshuang. I believe you heard my name before.¡± ¡°The Triple Frost of the You Continent!¡± Shang Xia widened his eyes in shock. ¡°How long has Patriarch Kou been planning this for?!¡± CH 355 ¡­ Half a year had passed since Shang Xia was stranded in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range after the ambush he ran into after meeting Kou Chongxue for the first time. The original Tongyou City had been destroyed due to the battle for the Tongyou Mysterious World. By the time he returned, all he saw was a newly rebuilt city. It hadn¡¯t been long since Shang Xia returned to the Tongyou City when he headed towards the Scripture Depository. During the great war that happened, the Tongyou Institution was protected with its own protection formation and when the Tongyou Mysterious World was formed, its protection formation also defended the institution. The Tongyou Institution might be damaged, but it wasn¡¯t too bad. Because Dong Qianzui, the original head of the Scripture Depository was killed during the first war on the Tongyou Peak, the institution passed on his responsibilities to Instructor Zhang Haogu. Shang Xia received Kou Chongxue¡¯s approval previously and he was quickly led by Zhang Haogu into the secret chamber in the Scripture Depository. It was the first time Shang Xia was entering the legendary secret chamber that housed the institution¡¯s highest leveled inheritances and secret arts. That explained the thick layer of mist surrounding him when he entered. Even if he used his divine sense, it would be blocked off by the gray mist around him. Shang Xia could only see the faint outline of bookshelves behind the thick mist. ¡°There¡¯s no need to look at them. There are countless restrictions and formations protecting this place. Now that it¡¯s connected to the Tongyou Mysterious World, even Patriarch Kou won¡¯t be able to see through the mist.¡± Zhang Haogu muttered without even turning back. It was as though he already knew what Shang Xia was doing. ¡°Instructor Zhang, since all the advancement formulas are kept here, how should we determine if we are compatible with one?¡± Shang Xia asked suddenly. When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Turning his head slightly to look at Shang Xia, he muttered, ¡°Who told you that all our advancement formulas are kept here? We have more than one secret chamber in our Scripture Depository¡­ Also, we keep more stuff in there than advancement formulas. Today, our institution has nine rank four advancement formulas¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t we possess only six rank four advancement formulas?¡± Shang Xia interrupted him suddenly. Stopping, Zhang Haogu stared at Shang Xia and muttered, ¡°You know quite a bit¡­ We had six in the past. After retrieving the Mysterious Coral World, we found two more from the Zhu Family¡¯s Inheritance. You brought back another from the Changfeng City. That makes nine.¡± Zhang Haogu didn¡¯t forget to praise Shang Xia after mentioning what he did. ¡°With your contributions, it¡¯s acceptable for the institution to reward you with an advancement formula. However, you advanced too quickly and you¡¯re still a little too young¡­ Well, there weren¡¯t any who were against rewarding you, but they were thinking of holding off a little while and giving the opportunity to a few of those seniors who had been waiting for quite a while now. However, you brought back a complete rank four advancement formula from the Changfeng City and Patriarch Kou personally vouched for you. No one had anything to say since then.¡± Approaching a shelf that was sealed with countless restrictions, Zhang Haogu released it so that Shang Xia could see its contents. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t surprised by Zhang Haogu¡¯s revelation. Even though the Tongyou Institution was one complete entity, not everyone got along with each other. Resources were also limited. It made sense that there was some competition going around. After the restrictions on the shelf were released, Zhang Haogu revealed a key in his hand that had been there since god knows when. He opened the shelf and revealed a stone slab that was covered in a thick layer of mist. Even though its physical body was there, Shang Xia was unable to read its contents. Seeing the look of confusion on Shang Xia¡¯s face, Zhang Haogu explained, ¡°In order to read the contents, Patriarch Kou has to appear personally to get rid of the restrictions. The three deputy patriarchs can also work together to lift the restriction for you.¡± ¡°How am I supposed to determine if this advancement formula is suitable for my advancement?¡± Shang Xia asked once again. Pulling out an inky jade bottle from under the slab, Zhang Haogu read. ¡°This is the Multi Illusory Wine. It¡¯s what both Shang Bo and Shang Ke used to enter the Martial Extermination Realm. As for compatibility¡­ Our Tongyou Institution has our ways of testing it.¡± After he spoke, Zhang Haogu brought out a silver needle that was thinner than a hair and close to a foot long. Dipping the needle into the bottle, Zhang Haogu held it out before pricking Shang Xia¡¯s finger to draw a drop of blood towards it. A ray of light emerged from the needle before extending along its body. ¡°This¡­¡± Shang Xia asked. Casually turning his wrist, Zhang Haogu watched as the light slowly started to rise. When it reached a length of six inches, it finally stopped. A deep frown appeared on his face. ¡°Six inches? This old man heard that Deputy Patriarch Bo managed to get it to eight inches before the light stopped. Even your Shang Clan Patriarch Ke managed to get it close to seven inches¡­¡± Shang Xia understood the uses of the needle and he couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°Is that how you test for compatibility? Have you reused the needle before?¡± ¡°This needle is named the Root Needle by the chemists in the institution. It¡¯s actually a rank three treasure but it can only be used by one person. The longer the light extends, the greater the compatibility. The success rate will naturally increase according to how compatible one is with the advancement medicine. Six inches barely meets the requirements¡­ Ordinarily, the institution would only recommend going through with the formula if the light reaches seven inches¡­¡± Shang Xia¡¯s finger trembled as he sighed. ¡°Alright, alright, I hope I don¡¯t have to test it all nine times¡­¡± Opening another shelf, Zhang Haogu sneered without turning his head. ¡°Nine times? If you¡¯re really unlucky, it¡¯s going to take a lot more than that.¡± With his eyes widening in shock, Shang Xia muttered, ¡°What¡­ Why is that?¡± ¡°Look at the amount of mist in here. Do you think there are only nine shelves contained in this secret chamber?¡± Before Shang Xia could say anything, Zhang Haogu continued, ¡°Other than the nine complete rank four advancement formulas we spoke about, we have a lot of other advancement medicine here. With the hard work of our students and instructors, we collected two nameless rank four advancement medicines and four questionable ones¡­ We also have five that seem incomplete!¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± Shang Xia gasped. ¡°Nameless medicine? Are the chemists in our institution unable to identify them? Is there anyone who would dare to use them to advance?¡± Zhang Haogu glanced at Shang Xia from the corner of his eye and he muttered, ¡°At our peak, we had four nameless medicines and seven we suspect to be rank four advancement medicine. Some of those we suspect to be rank four advancement medicine has been used. Of course, no one would dare to use those that we deem incomplete.¡± Shang Xia whispered curiously, ¡°As for those who ingested those advancement medicines¡­¡± ¡°Two of them broke through successfully. One of them became a cripple and two more died instantly.¡± CH 356 ¡°Two of them broke through successfully. One of them became a cripple and two more died instantly!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s pupils shrank after hearing their fate. ¡°It¡¯s so dangerous. Why would they¡­¡± Before he could complete his sentence, Shang Xia discovered what was inappropriate about it. Zhang Haogu¡¯s bitter laughter rang through the air. ¡°Damn brat! Do you know how rare a rank four advancement medicine is? It¡¯s not something you can refine just because you have an advancement formula! You need to gather all the herbs and treasures in order to refine one! Every single one of them is extremely precious! There¡¯s also the matter of extermination qi¡­¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but think about what Shang Pei said to him in the spirit cave. ¡°It¡¯s good to be able to use an advancement formula, why would we be choosy about it?¡± Zhang Haogu¡¯s voice rang in his ears again. ¡°The situation looks a lot better now because we managed to withstand the various trials and assimilate with the Mysterious Coral World¡­ Hmph¡­ How long can our prosperous state last? Do you know how many people are eyeing our rank four resources? You¡¯ve just touched the edge of the Martial Extermination Realm! Do you think that those seniors who have been waiting for many years to advance will be willing to give up their opportunity just because Kou Chongxue gave the word? Some of them have been waiting for ten years now!¡± Zhang Haogu continued testing Shang Xia¡¯s compatibility with the advancement medicines while talking. Clearly, the kid¡¯s luck wasn¡¯t that good as the longest the light went was 6.4 inches. ¡°Kid, you¡¯re in trouble now¡­¡± Zhang Haogu shook his head and sighed. ¡°Your compatibility with these medicines aren¡¯t that amazing. You still need a ton of extermination qi and other items to advance. Do you wish to continue testing with those nameless medicines or those we suspect are rank four advancement formulas? Or are you going to choose the Nanke Wine?¡± The Nanke Wine was the medicine that Shang Xia was the most compatible with. Looking at the needle, Shang Xia sighed helplessly, ¡°Let¡¯s carry on.¡± Zhang Haogu wasn¡¯t surprised by Shang Xia¡¯s choice. It was too bad he had to keep getting pricked by the needle. While Zhang Haogu continued with the tests, he asked casually, ¡°I heard that the Institution is willing to give you a set of advancement medicine. However, you will have to prepare your extermination origin on your own. The Shang Clan will be allocated with one strand of loose extermination origin. Are you planning to use that?¡± Shang Xia frowned as he looked at his arm which was full of tiny needle holes. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± His confusion wasn¡¯t about whether or not the clan would give him the strand of extermination origin to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm. Instead, he didn¡¯t know whether or not the Shang Clan only had one strand of loose extermination origin. Zhang Haogu completed the testing process for the nameless and suspected rank four advancement medicine quickly. Their expressions were unsightly as the highest the light got was 6.8 inches. Pulling his beard, Zhang Haogu sighed, ¡°6.8 inches¡­ It¡¯s pretty close to 7, don¡¯t you think?¡± During the testing process earlier, Shang Xia had already made up his mind. As long as the light didn¡¯t extend past the 7 inches mark, he wouldn¡¯t use any of the medicine. He only agreed to continue the testing process as he wanted to prepare himself to get a formula and medicine that can be improved by the Crimson Soul Tablet. Shang Xia grasped some sort of rule after he played around with the Crimson Soul Tablet in the Changfeng City. He discovered that the tablet couldn¡¯t create something out of nothing. It needed a base to carry out its deductions. Unfortunately, there was no world origin for him to absorb at the moment. If Shang Xia allows the Crimson Soul Tablet to carry out its deduction, the tablet would be on the brink of destruction! As such, Shang Xia wanted to reduce the burden on the tablet as much as he could. He wanted to look for a set of advancement medicine he was the most compatible with so that the tablet wouldn¡¯t need to exert too much effort to optimize it! Even if he obtained a set of advancement medicine from the institution, Shang Xia was afraid that he was going to have to refine a whole new set according to what the Crimson Soul Tablet came up with. He could only hope that the institution would have enough resources and herbs for him to refine a brand new set. ¡°Let¡¯s continue.¡± Shang Xia sighed. ¡°Continue? What are you talking about?¡± Zhang Haogu nearly dug his ears after hearing what Shang Xia said. ¡°Aren¡¯t there still the incomplete ones?¡± Shang Xia chuckled. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Turning extremely serious, Zhang Haogu warned, ¡°Hey, don¡¯t mess around here. We actually know that those medicines are incomplete. We left it here in order to examine them and do some research. You can¡¯t use them to advance¡­ It¡¯s too dangerous!¡± Shang Xia extended another finger and laughed. ¡°It¡¯s not every day that I get to come in. It would be great if I tested all of them. After all, I wish to see how unlucky I can get!¡± Grunting softly, Zhang Haogu burst into a bout of sudden laughter. ¡°Alright. This old man expected as much. With your talent, you won¡¯t use any advancement medicine with such low compatibility with yourself. Luckily, you¡¯re still young and can afford to wait a few more years. If you can¡¯t find anything now, you can look for one slowly. Since you want to test out the five incomplete sets, let¡¯s do it!¡± Shang Xia looked at the bottle Zhang Haogu raised and he joked, ¡°Who knows? I might even be able to come up with a way to refine these medicines by coming up with my own formula in the future¡­¡± Coughing twice, Zhang Haogu no longer bothered with whatever Shang Xia said. The moment they started the testing process, Shang Xia¡¯s luck seemed to take a turn for the better. When they tested the second of the five bottles, the light extended to 7.2 inches. ¡°This isn¡¯t bad!¡± Zhang Haogu muttered before taking out another bottle. He knew that even though it seemed suitable, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t dream of using an incomplete medicine. When they tested the fourth bottle, the light reached a whopping 7.9 inches. That was pretty rare. Other than Shang Bo, whose compatibility with the Multi Illusory Wine reached 8 inches, it was almost the highest Zhang Haogu had seen. Shang Xia raised his eyebrows in shock. However, he managed to swallow whatever he wanted to say as he awaited the result from the last bottle. If he had no other choice, he would wait for an Origin Tide to erupt in the battlefield between the two worlds so that he could absorb the world origin. With enough world origin to prevent the Crimson Soul Tablet from shattering, he would optimize and fix the incomplete medicine Zhang Haogu was holding. Even though it might take a long time for him to find an erupting Origin Tide and his cultivation might stay stagnant for a long time, his fate might be better than those described by Zhang Haogu who had to wait for ten years to be allocated resources from the institution to break through. Opening the last bottle, Zhang Haogu sighed before pricking Shang Xia¡¯s finger again. The two of them didn¡¯t really expect the last bottle to be that compatible with Shang Xia. After all, two of the five bottles already caused the light to cross the 7 inches mark. What were the odds of there being three bottles of incomplete medicine with high compatibility? The light extended slowly up the needle. It crossed the 4 inches mark easily as it rose to the 7 inches mark. It didn¡¯t stop there! To their surprise, it broke through the 8 inches mark and extended slowly up to the 8.6 inch mark! CH 357 The gates to the Scripture Depository closed silently behind Shang Xia as he held a greenish-blue bottle in his hand. A trace of worry could be seen on his face. Zhang Haogu walked up to him and sighed, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be too hard on yourself. You¡¯re still young and there¡¯s no rush to break through. You can wait a little while to see if an opportunity befalls you!¡± Shang Xia knew that Instructor Zhang had misunderstood his depression. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t correct Zhang Haogu as that would reveal his secret. He turned to the man and asked, ¡°Instructor, do you mean what you say? If I really managed to restore the recipe for the advancement medicine, would the institution be willing to provide all the ingredients required for it?¡± Discover the complete story on pawread dot com. ¡°Are you really planning to restore the recipe of the advancement medicine?!¡± Zhang Haogu stared at Shang Xia in shock. He eventually continued, ¡°Alright. As long as you manage to do it, I promise you. Of course, if you manage to find other suitable advancement formulas, the institution will also provide all the ingredients required to make the medicine. After all, that was what Patriarch Kou personally promised you.¡± Zhang Haogu naturally didn¡¯t expect Shang Xia to be able to restore the recipe. He thought that Shang Xia was merely leaving a way out for himself. Chuckling silently in his heart, Shang Xia felt pretty confident of restoring the recipe. However, the herbs required after completing the recipe would be too precious. At the very least, a huge portion of them would be rank four herbs. Even with the abilities of the Shang Clan, Shang Xia might not be able to gather them all. If he managed to borrow the might of the institution, gathering them wouldn¡¯t be as difficult as he thought. Luckily, Kou Chongxue had already passed down the order for the institution to make a set of advancement medicine for Shang Xia. All he needed to do was to complete the recipe. After thanking Zhang Haogu, the two of them continued on their way out of the secret region. As they were walking out, Shang Xia thought of something and he asked, ¡°Instructor, is there no other way to interact with the world origin outside of an Origin Tide? After all, an Origin Tide is hard to come by¡­¡± Even though Zhang Haogu had taken on the role of the head of the Scripture Depository, his earlier role in the institution allowed him to make a name for himself. He had been teaching students for many years and Shang Xia¡¯s way of addressing him suited his ears a little more than being called the head of the Scripture Depository. Shang Xia didn¡¯t think that it was inappropriate to ask him questions either. After all, Zhang Haogu was an extremely knowledgeable instructor. That fact had been widely proven by the members of the institution. Hearing his question, Zhang Haogu raised an eyebrow in shock. ¡°Huh? Why are you thinking about world origin now?¡± Obviously not willing to reveal the secret about the Crimson Soul Tablet, a light flashed through Shang Xia¡¯s eyes as he made up a lie on the spot. ¡°Disciple received Patriarch Kou¡¯s guidance previously and managed to understand a little more about my martial intent. I felt that my technique has something to do with world origin! I hope Instructor Zhang can enlighten me¡­¡± ¡°Wow, you¡¯re a lucky kid!¡± Zhang Haogu nodded slightly. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know if he was referring to the guidance by Kou Chongxue or the fact that his technique had something to do with world origin. Stroking his beard, Zhang Haogu muttered, ¡°Then again, the Origin Tide isn¡¯t the only way you can interact with the world essence. There are two other ways you can do so.¡± ¡°So¡­ There are three ways to do it?¡± Shang Xia felt a burst of joy. He wasn¡¯t expecting much when he asked the question, but he was pleasantly surprised to discover that there were so many more ways to come into contact with world origin.¡± Glancing at Shang Xia from the corner of his eye, Zhang Haogu snorted lightly. ¡°Don¡¯t celebrate yet. There might be three ways to do it, but it¡¯s not easy to fulfill either one.¡± ¡°Instructor, please guide me.¡± Shang Xia wiped the smile that was forming on his face away and spoke. Zhang Haogu nodded while explaining slowly. ¡°Well, the first method is the one you know. It¡¯s also the one our institution used to form the Tongyou Mysterious World. During an Origin Tide, we weakened the spatial barrier separating us and the battlefield between the two worlds. In order to do this, one has to be able to withstand the terrifying amount of world origin. This¡­¡± ¡°This tyrannical method is obviously not suited for me¡­ This disciple doesn¡¯t have a mysterious world to withstand the surge of world origin if I use this method!¡± Shang Xia completed whatever Zhang Haogu wanted to say. After all, he didn¡¯t think that he was comparable to the Tongyou Mysterious World! ¡°Well, that brings us to the second method. That¡¯s the head over to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion!¡± ¡°Beyond Heavens Pavilion?¡± Shang Xia seemed to have heard that name somewhere before. However, he didn¡¯t quite understand what it actually was. ¡°What type of place is that?¡± Zhang Haogu quickly picked up the explanation. ¡°It¡¯s the location in our Azure Origin World that is closest to our world boundary! Naturally, it¡¯s the most dangerous region in our Azure Origin World. It¡¯s also where the greatest opportunities lie! From a certain point of view, the Beyond Heavens Pavilion can be considered a true entrance to our world. It controls the fate of our Azure Origin World by protecting it from everything else. The battlefield between the two worlds is comparable to a controlled environment that is only connected to the Azure Spiritual World, but the Beyond Heavens Pavilion protects us from the true dangers that lie outside. There is world origin there, but it¡¯s really thin. The amount of world origin might not be comparable to the amount in an Origin Tide, but it¡¯s constantly present. As long as you stay in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion, you can absorb world origin to cultivate.¡± A trace of longing appeared on Zhang Haogu¡¯s face when he spoke about the Beyond Heavens Pavilion and things outside the Azure Origin World. With his eyes lighting up, Shang Xia hurriedly asked, ¡°Am I able to head over to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion?¡± Coughing once, Zhang Haogu chuckled softly. ¡°Only after refining an extermination origin would one¡¯s physical body be able to withstand the spatial forces that exist there. Only then will you be able to establish yourself in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion. Moreover, only Martial Extermination Realm experts will be able to refine world origin to cultivate¡­¡± With a wave of disappointment washing over him, Shang Xia sighed helplessly. ¡°What¡¯s the third method?¡± ¡°Every single mysterious world and holy land will contain a large amount of world origin¡­¡± A smile appeared on Zhang Haogu¡¯s face. Shang Xia¡¯s mood was in the gutters after listening to the few methods and he couldn¡¯t help but interrupt, ¡°Instructor, do you think the institution will allow me to use the world origin in the Tongyou Mysterious World?¡± Coughing dryly, Zhang Haogu continued, ¡°Well¡­ Everyone knows that our Tongyou Institution plans on ascending to the Tongyou Paradise in the future. We can¡¯t allow our hard-earned world origin to be used up.¡± The Tongyou Mysterious World was the only one Shang Xia had access to at the moment. There was no need to mention other holy lands! Shang Xia wasn¡¯t Kou Chongxue who could break into one and steal their world origin! Moreover, Kou Chongxue only managed to achieve what he did because the situation allowed. If not for the fact that he caught them off guard, he wouldn¡¯t be able to infiltrate into their territory so easily! Xuan Lu¡¯s absence was also another reason why Kou Chongxue managed to blow a massive hole in the White Deer Paradise. After accounting for all the factors, one could say that Kou Chongxue¡¯s solo victory against the White Deer Paradise was nothing more than pure luck! The situation would never present itself again. If Kou Chongxue dared to use the same method, he would be in for a great deal of pain. Shang Xia felt extremely despondent after hearing Zhang Haogu¡¯s revelation. He sighed powerlessly. ¡°Instructor Zhang, you might as well have not told me anything¡­ I can¡¯t use any of the methods to access world origin!¡± ¡°Yeah? Not many people would know about these if they¡¯re not in the Martial Extermination Realm anyway. If not for your contributions to the Changfeng City, this old man wouldn¡¯t be telling you all these stuff.¡± Zhang Haogu tutted while shaking his head. By the time the two of them were done talking, they left the Scripture Depository. The moment they emerged, they saw a pillar of light shooting into the skies in the distance. Extermination qi filled the air as a massive disturbance was felt. Countless disciples of the institution turned to stare in its direction. Shang Xia was no stranger to these types of phenomena. He turned to look at Zhang Haogu before asking yet another question. ¡°That¡¯s an extermination origin¡­ I wonder which senior broke through?¡± A look of joy could be seen on Zhang Haogu¡¯s face when he stared at the pillar of light. He chuckled happily, ¡°That should be Instructor Gu Shou! Hehe, he¡¯s the second Martial Extermination Realm expert born after the War of the Tongyou Mysterious World¡­¡± Gu Shou was an instructor of the inner division and was also the one who went to look for Shang Xia in the Coral Forest when he went missing the other time. During that time, Gu Shou suffered serious injuries due to the battle with Ouyang Zhaiyuan. Otherwise, he would have taken Shang Ke¡¯s place to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm in the Coral Forest! Speaking of which, Shang Xia was technically still a disciple of the inner division. Gu Shou was his instructor! Shang Xia laughed, ¡°Looks like our institution gained a lot during the formation of the Tongyou Mysterious World¡­ With our strength rising to a whole new level, it¡¯s truly a glorious time for our Tongyou Institution! If Gu Shou is the second person to break through¡­ Who¡¯s the first?¡± ¡°Of course we gained a lot! However, our losses weren¡¯t small either¡­¡± Zhang Haogu muttered before glancing at Shang Xia from the corner of his eye. ¡°Hehe. The first person in our Institution to break through after the war is standing right in front of you! Heheh!¡± Gasping in fright, Shang Xia turned to stare at Zhang Haogu. It was no wonder he seemed a little more passionate when he was talking about the Beyond Heavens Pavilion earlier. Shang Xia didn¡¯t notice it then as he was too engrossed in finding a method to obtain world origin, but it seemed as though Zhang Haogu had been dropping hints since a long time ago! The grin on Shang Xia¡¯s face became wider and he exclaimed, ¡°Oh! This disciple has been rude. I sincerely congratulate Instructor Zhang on breaking through!¡± At the same time, Shang Xia was feeling slightly bewildered. With his acute senses, he would be able to detect if someone was in the Martial Extermination Realm even if they were trying to hide their aura. However, he failed to notice that Zhang Haogu had broken through since they met. A wide smile appeared on Zhang Haogu¡¯s face after hearing Shang Xia¡¯s congratulations. He might be an extremely conservative bookworm who was known to be a little lacking in the expression of his emotions, but he couldn¡¯t help but reveal a proud smile. After some time, the smile disappeared from his face and he continued, ¡°Actually, there¡¯s another way that might work if you¡¯re looking to obtain world origin¡­¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes lit up and he asked impatiently. Pointing in the direction of the Tongyou Institution, he muttered, ¡°The institution is about to reopen the spatial tunnel that leads to the battlefield between the two worlds!¡± Seeing Shang Xia falling deep into contemplation, Zhang Haogu continued, ¡°Our Tongyou Mysterious World absorbed a huge amount of world origin during the Origin Tide that passed. However, there might be traces of it left in there. Even if there is, it won¡¯t be easy to locate any. Moreover¡­¡± Pausing for a second, Zhang Haogu sighed before he added, ¡°... Moreover, when we closed the spatial tunnel previously, it signified that we had given up on the battlefield between the two worlds. The Azure Spiritual World probably capitalized on that and established themselves there. Now that we¡¯re going to throw our forces back in, it¡¯s going to be a bloodbath when we fight the members of the Azure Spiritual World to regain some territory!¡± CH 358 After leaving the Scripture Depository, Shang Xia wanted to look for his Grandpa Bo to inquire more about the Beyond Heavens Pavilion. However, he was stopped by Song You of the Outreach Division before he could enter the Tongyou Mysterious World. ¡°The Tongyou Mysterious World is currently closed. Other than Martial Extermination Realm experts of the institution and formation masters of the Hundred Professions Pavilion, no one is allowed to enter!¡± Song You muttered expressionlessly. Raising his head to look at the Tongyou Mysterious World above, Shang Xia saw that the rays of light in the skies were dying down and he knew that Gu Shou was already starting to consolidate his foundations. He looked at Song You casually and muttered in passing, ¡°Chief Song, you should be close to entering the Martial Extermination Realm, right?¡± After he spoke, Shang Xia tilted his head to the side casually and left. Behind him, Song You¡¯s gaze transformed into an enraged glare as he stared at Shang Xia¡¯s leaving figure. His expression sank. He didn¡¯t know that Song You took his casual words as an insult, but he didn¡¯t care even if he did as he went to look for Sun Haiwei. Originally, he was planning to ask her more about the situation in the Inner Division. After all, he had been missing for the greater part of a year at that point. Who would have thought that she would reveal an alarming situation out of the blue? After Shang Xia received a promise from Kou Chongxue that the institution would provide him with a rank four advancement formula, a huge ruckus was kicked up in the institution. There were many seniors who had been stuck in the Martial Intent Realm for a long time who expressed their dissatisfaction. After the events that transpired, the institution eventually emerged as the ultimate victor. However, the amount of resources suitable to create rank four advancement medicine was far from enough to satisfy the demand of those at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm. Even if they had several strands of extermination origin, they couldn¡¯t create enough medicine for everyone who wanted to break through! As such, only two experts received the opportunity to break through. One was Zhang Haogu, and the other was Gu Shou. They received suitable extermination origins and medicine from the institution and from the looks of it, both managed to break through successfully. Before Shang Xia¡¯s return, the various divisions in the institution and several other great powers had basically decided on those who had the qualifications to receive help from the institution to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm. Zhang Haogu of the Scripture Depository and Gu Shou of the Inner Division no longer needed to be mentioned, but there were three others. Song You, Yuan Zhen, and Qian Sitong were also fighting for a spot to advance! Explore the extended edition on pawread dot com. Who would have thought that because of a single sentence from Kou Chongxue to Shang Xia who wasn¡¯t in the Tongyou City during the war, another challenge would appear? Naturally, they didn¡¯t know what happened in the Changfeng City. All they knew was that Shang Xia, a mere disciple who wasn¡¯t even twenty years old, managed to obtain a spot before them! They were seniors who contributed a ton to the institution and they felt that they were much more deserving of receiving the institution¡¯s help to advance. Even though Kou Chongxue didn¡¯t promise to give Shang Xia a strand of extermination origin, the advancement medicine was what they truly desired! From a certain point of view, gathering the herbs required to make one set of advancement medicine might be more difficult than finding an extermination origin! The five who were chosen weren¡¯t the only ones who were dissatisfied when the news reached them. There were numerous other seniors who felt that Shang Xia shouldn¡¯t be given so much support. All of them felt that they were more deserving of the resources! In the end, Kou Chongxue stepped out personally to quell the situation. He announced that the resources required for Shang Xia¡¯s advancement medicine would be allocated separately and Zhang Haogu and Gu Shou would be allowed to advance. Because of his interference, temporary peace was restored to the institution. However, now that Zhang Haogu and Gu Shou had successfully broken through, the others weren¡¯t able to sit still. There were many who were eyeing Shang Xia¡¯s resources, and Song You was one of them. Song You was one of those who was actively trying to look for ways to take Shang Xia¡¯s resources for himself, but everyone who was a part of it seemed to have forgotten one thing. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t exactly lacking allies in the institution. With Kou Chongxue¡¯s personal promise, no matter how high those causing a ruckus jumped or how noisy they were being, no one managed to snatch his resources. After learning so many things from Sun Haiwei and his other sources, Shang Xia naturally didn¡¯t care about offending Song You. After all, he was no pushover. No matter what, he could be considered to be at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm too! That explained his behavior when he ran into Song You earlier when he tried to enter the Tongyou Mysterious World. Shang Xia eventually left the institution. However, he didn¡¯t rush straight back to the Shang Clan Manor. Instead, he called Yan Qi over and started chatting about the recent happenings in the Tongyou City. ¡°Seventh Uncle, did anything happen with the Martial Extermination Realm experts after the great war?¡± Shang Xia asked. Yan Qi thought for a second before replying, ¡°After the war, the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the various factions started to leave. When things started to settle down, Zhang Haogu of the Tongyou Institution broke into the Martial Extermination Realm first, followed by Ji Yu of the Ji Clan and Yun Yichen of the Yun Clan. Just a moment ago, Gu Shou also broke through. Our Shang Clan seems to be pretty quiet as no new Martial Extermination Realm expert was born.¡± Grunting once, Shang Xia nodded slowly. Yan Qi couldn¡¯t tell what he was thinking, but he continued, ¡°However, our Shang Clan already has two Martial Extermination Realm experts. If we take things into perspective, we¡¯re slightly ahead of the other two clans.¡± Shang Xia frowned thoughtfully. He seemed to understand why there would be people jumping out to challenge him for resources even after Kou Chongxue¡¯s promise. Then again, the news of Shang Pei entering the Martial Extermination Realm was probably only known by a select few in the Tongyou City. Otherwise, the chaos that would rise would probably be several times the intensity! Glancing at Shang Xia, Yan Qi hesitated slightly before asking, ¡°Young Master, are you planning to enter the Martial Extermination Realm?¡± Shang Xia chuckled softly in response. ¡°Seventh Uncle, what are you trying to say?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing much¡­ Wasn¡¯t our Shang Clan allocated a strand of extermination origin from the institution? If Young Master manages to obtain a set of advancement medicine, the extermination origin should obviously go to you!¡± Yan Qi muttered. Smiling, Shang Xia tutted, ¡°There should be someone in the clan who is eyeing the extermination origin, right?¡± Laughing softly, Yan Qi didn¡¯t say anything in response. Of course, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t planning to harp on the topic either as he made his way back to the Shang Clan Manor. When Shang Xia returned from the Changfeng City, he ran into Shang Ke who was rushing out to settle some matters. Since there was nothing much for him to do, he returned to the institution. He was much calmer after he returned from the institution, the unpleasant taste in his mouth after his interaction with Song You finally disappeared. However, now that he returned, Shang Xia discovered that the situation in the manor was much more chaotic than before. There were tons of foreign faces. He looked at a middle aged man who was berating two servants of the Shang Clan Manor and a frown slowly made its way onto his face. ¡°Who are these people? They seem really annoying¡­¡± In the Shang Clan Manor, there was no way Shang Xia would be wary of his words. His voice entered the ears of those present. The middle aged man turned to look at Shang Xia, and a look of contemplation appeared on his face. He quickly discovered Yan Qi and he made the connection. His eyes widened in fright and he quickly bowed slightly. ¡°I am Li Wufu from the Li Family. I wonder which young master I am speaking to?¡± ¡°Li? Did he come from the Changfeng City?¡± Shang Xia also connected the man¡¯s identity to someone he knew and he quickly turned to ask Yan Qi. Before Yan Qi could say anything, Li Wufu smiled cordially. ¡°That¡¯s right. We are the Ninth Master¡­¡± Before he could finish, he realized that Shang Xia wasn¡¯t listening to him at all. Neither was Shang Xia looking at him. Yan Qi whispered softly at the side, ¡°Only a few of those people came with the Second Master when he returned. The others are from the Ji Continent and they came with the Ninth Master¡¯s wife¡­¡± The smile on Li Wufu¡¯s face remained, but he started to straighten his back after hearing Yan Qi¡¯s introduction. ¡°Heh¡­¡± Shang Xia snorted lightly and he continued, ¡°So they are actually from the Li Family of the Ji Continent. ¡°Oh right, wasn¡¯t there someone called Li Tianshou from their family who was part of the White Deer Paradise?¡± Li Wufu¡¯s expression changed slightly and a trace of worry flashed across his face. However, he quickly regained his smile before responding to Shang Xia. ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s right! I didn¡¯t think that Young Master Shang would have heard of Young Master Li!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s lips curled upwards before glancing at Li Wufu from the corner of his eye. ¡°Oh. Yeah. He told me everything about himself when he was begging me to spare his life. What a shame¡­¡± The blood drained from Li Wufu¡¯s face after hearing what Shang Xia said, and he stuttered like a fool, ¡°This¡­ This isn¡¯t possible! Young Master Li is a direct disciple of the White Deer Paradise. Why would he beg¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s dead.¡± Shang Xia muttered casually while staring into the distance. ¡°That¡¯s right. I killed him!¡± ¡°You¡­ You¡­ You¡­¡± With his body trembling like a leaf, Li Wufu continued to stutter. ¡°You¡­ Just you wait! ¡­¡± Before he could finish what he wanted to say, he turned around to rush towards a certain courtyard in the Shang Clan Manor. Turning to Yan Qi, Shang Xia passed down an order. ¡°Tell my Ninth Uncle that I am passing down an order to everyone in the Shang Clan right now. Other than his wife and children, no one who came from the Ji Continent can stay. Especially those who have ties with the Li Family. All of them are to leave the manor immediately.¡± When he was done, a feeling of comfort washed over him. All the irritation he felt earlier was gone. ¡°But¡­ Young Master, won¡¯t this be a little insulting to the Ninth Master? After all, he¡¯s your uncle¡­¡± Yan Qi revealed an awkward expression and said. A sneer formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°He didn¡¯t think that it was an insult to me when he eyed my Scarlet Star Spear in the past. Hmph, don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know about what happened. Also, his wife might have been made to stay in the Changfeng City by Li Tianshou, but she didn''t seem concerned enough to return to the Tongyou City when she heard that we were in trouble. She wasn¡¯t willing to support us when we needed it the most and there¡¯s no need to act all friendly now. Just carry out my order. If anyone brings up a problem, I¡¯ll deal with it! If they wish to know, feel free to tell them everything I said!¡± Yan Qi was planning to say something else, but he quickly swallowed his words after seeing the look on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he nodded hastily. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with this immediately!¡± CH 359 Not too long after Shang Xia returned, Shang Ke came back to meet with him. ¡°What? Why do you want to join the forces to enter the battlefield between the two worlds? What¡¯s with the sudden decision?¡± Shang Ke looked at Shang Xia in shock. ¡°It¡¯s extremely risky to enter the battlefield between the two worlds right now. Originally, the instructors and teachers of the institution would lead the way and old fellows like us would head in with them to stabilize the situation. You¡¯re close to breaking through and you should stay here to cultivate peacefully and strengthen your foundations!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t find a suitable advancement medicine in the institution¡­¡± Shang Xia mentioned what happened in the Scripture Depository before telling Shang Ke about Zhang Haogu¡¯s suggestion. Pausing momentarily, Shang Ke sighed. ¡°So, your plan is to head into the battlefield between the two worlds to look for traces of world origin that have been left behind to restore the recipe for that incomplete advancement medicine you took from the Scripture Depository?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Shang Xia nodded. ¡°Your idea sounds feasible, but you might not be able to succeed. In fact, it¡¯s nearly impossible for you to succeed! Not everyone is as lucky as Kou Chongxue. Moreover, even if you find traces of world origin in there, it might not be enough.¡± Shang Ke shook his head and sighed. Strangely enough, Shang Ke merely analyzed the situation for Shang Xia. He didn¡¯t forbid Shang Xia from going directly. He merely emphasized the difficulty of Shang Xia¡¯s success and he wanted to give Shang Xia other suggestions. His expression returned to one of calm and he mentioned, ¡°Since you don¡¯t have a suitable advancement medicine, I suggest you calm down and cultivate for the time being. If you strengthen your foundations now, you will be able to go much further in your cultivation in the future. After all, you advanced too quickly in the year and a half that passed. It¡¯s so quick that it terrifies me!¡± Naturally, Shang Xia was planning to stand firm. ¡°I wish to take my chances. World origin doesn¡¯t come by often and it¡¯s extremely difficult to locate any. If I waste this chance to find some, I will regret it for life!¡± ¡°Hehe. Even if I agree, your Grandpa Bo might not allow it.¡± Shang Ke sighed. With a huge grin appearing on his face, Shang Xia chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s good enough with your agreement.¡± He was planning to leave after receiving permission from Shang Ke earlier, but he seemed to have thought of something. ¡°Grandpa Ke, there¡¯s something else I should tell you¡­¡± Shang Ke laughed in response. ¡°Are you planning to tell me what happened with your Ninth Aunt? Don¡¯t worry. Even if you didn¡¯t give that order, I would have. They didn¡¯t consider our familial ties when she decided to stay in the Changfeng City instead of returning to the Shang Clan Manor. There¡¯s no need for us to act too courteously with them either. Those who came with her will drag us down even if we didn¡¯t do anything about them. Kicking them out will save us from a lot of trouble down the road. It¡¯s just a mere Li Family from the Ji Continent. Kicking them out won¡¯t affect us in the slightest!¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid Ninth Uncle will be unhappy with my decision¡­¡± Shang Xia finally admitted. He might have acted all tough when he passed down the order, but he was still a little hesitant about making things awkward between him and Shang Yang. Shang Ke muttered. ¡®If he is unable to understand the reason behind your actions, he¡¯s no longer worthy of being a member of our Shang Clan! Hmph! We¡¯ll see how he deals with this and his attitude towards the clan now!¡± Heaving a sigh of relief, Shang Xia bade Shang Ke farewell. After he left, Shang Jian came over to look for Shang Ke. ¡°Fifth Uncle, were you talking to Nephew Xia about the matter of breaking into the Martial Extermination Realm?¡± Shang Jian asked. Even though he looked calm on the surface, waves were battering against his heart. He felt a trace of anticipation while waiting for the answer he wanted. Seeing through his intentions instantly, Shang Ke chuckled. ¡°He hasn¡¯t found a suitable advancement medicine yet. Unfortunately, he has to delay his breakthrough for some time.¡± Feeling a burning sensation in his chest, Shang Jian¡¯s eyes lit up and asked, ¡°Then¡­ Can I¡­¡± ¡°You have to wait for a little while more¡­¡± Shang Ke replied before hearing the rest of his sentence. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Feeling despondent, A trace of reluctance appeared in Shang Jian¡¯s heart. After all, no one could resist the temptation of being able to break into the Martial Extermination Realm. ¡°Fifth Uncle, is there a reason for this? Shang Xia might have contributed a lot, but we cannot miss the chance to strengthen the clan! Today, the other great clans have produced a second Martial Extermination Realm expert. I have consolidated my foundation for a long time in the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. Even though I haven¡¯t been able to enter the grand completion stage, I should be ready to attempt my breakthrough! My chances of advancing are¡­¡± Seeing that Shang Jian was turning more agitated the more he spoke, Shang Ke slapped the table before him and got to his feet. ¡°How do you know our Shang Clan will miss the chance to strengthen ourselves?¡± ¡°Do you know that your Third Sister has already entered the Martial Extermination Realm? Our Shang Clan already has a suitable inheritor from your generation! You haven¡¯t heard, but do you know where her advancement medicine and extermination origin came from? The little kid gave it to her without asking for anything in return!¡± ¡°You think that you have consolidated your foundations at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm and should be given the extermination origin we have for you to try to break through. Do you know that Shang Xia has already entered the grand completion stage? His qualifications of entering the Martial Extermination Realm are much higher than yours. Our clan would only give you the extermination origin if he doesn¡¯t need it! Either you stop acting like you deserve the extermination origin, or you can head out there and find another strand for your breakthrough! If you manage to find one, I¡¯ll immediately arrange for the clan to prepare the Exquisite Muddled Liquid for your advancement¡­¡± Smacking his forehead, Shang Ke added, ¡°Oh yeah. I forgot to tell you about this. The Exquisite Muddled Liquid is the most suitable advancement formula you can find in our clan! Do you know where we got this new advancement formula? The kid brought it back himself after killing someone from the White Deer Paradise!¡± Shang Jian was stunned into silence and he could only leave in embarrassment. He didn¡¯t know that Shang Xia¡¯s contributions to the clan were far greater than they could ever imagine. Shang Ke sighed softly when he saw Shang Jian¡¯s leaving figure. Actually, he was planning to give the strand of extermination origin the institution rewarded the Shang Clan with to Shang Jian. The extermination origin was called the Lingkong Formless Extermination Origin and even though it might not be extremely compatible with Shang Jian, one couldn''t be picky when breaking through anyway. Shang Ke felt that Shang Xia was advancing too quickly and it would be good to slow down and temper himself a little before breaking through. That would allow him to progress further on the path of cultivation in the future. However, as the patriarch of the Shang Clan, Shang Ke had to be impartial. Shang Xia did indeed make great contributions to the clan and he deserved the extermination origin! Even if he wanted to give it to Shang Jian, he would need a proper reason to do so! It was true that he could use it to push Shang Jian into the Martial Extermination Realm, but he couldn¡¯t allow Shang Jian to feel entitled to the strand of extermination origin. To put it simply, Shang Jian¡¯s attitude towards the entire situation was wrong! ¡­ In the southern courtyard of the Shang Clan Manor. Li Tianxiu ran into the courtyard in a state of panic and she cried the moment she saw Shang Yang. ¡°Ninth Brother, why are they chasing them away? Is your status in the Shang Clan really so low that even your nephew can humiliate you however he wishes? Hmph, if I had known that you were such a wastrel, I wouldn¡¯t have married you in the past! I even traveled such a long way from the Ji Clan only to¡­¡± ¡°Enough!¡± Shang Yang snapped. He appeared in front of her in an instant and he shook her arm violently to wake her up to reality. ¡°You caused this! This isn¡¯t my fault! You don¡¯t even know what you¡¯ve done. What¡¯s the matter with Li Tianshou? Why was he with you in the Changfeng City?!¡± Li Tianxiu realized that Shang Yang was serious when she saw the ferocious glare in his eyes and her imposing aura quickly crumbled. She muttered, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my cousin Tianshou? He said he wished to travel the world to look for suitable opportunities to break through. When he heard that I was heading to the You Continent, he became interested and decided to follow us.¡± ¡°He decided to follow you because he was interested?! Preposterous!¡± Shang Yang was so angered that he broke out laughing. ¡°Did he say something about his prominent status and he didn¡¯t wish to be noticed by everyone else? Did he ask to follow you so that he can hide his identity?!¡± Seeing the look of confusion on Li Tianxiu¡¯s face, Shang Yang facepalmed himself before muttering, ¡°Your family started it and you can¡¯t blame us for how we reacted. Since our families formed a grudge against each other, those you brought with you cannot stay. My nephew, Shang Xia, chose to kick them out of the city and left it at that. He has already shown me enough respect. Otherwise, hehe¡­¡± Li Tianxiu¡¯s face was filled with terror after hearing his explanation. Shang Yang sighed and looked at Li Tianxiu and sighed. ¡°From today, you need to keep your head down in the clan. For our kids, you should know what you have to do!¡± When he was done, Shang Yang turned to walk away. Finally snapping back to reality, Li Tianxiu ran after him and yelled, ¡°No! Ninth Brother, you can¡¯t do that! My cousin is a direct disciple of the White Deer Paradise and our Li Family is a prominent figure in the Ji Continent! Members of my Li Family can be sent into the White Deer Sect every few years¡­¡± A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. ¡°Li Tianshou is dead!¡± Shang Yang turned around and snapped at the delusional Li Tianxiu. Unable to control his anger about her delusional behavior, he roared. ¡°Heh, the White Deer Sect you¡¯re so proud of don¡¯t even dare to let out a fart after Kou Chongxue blew a hole in their territory. Stop thinking that their reputation alone will be enough to scare anyone in the Tongyou City!¡± Feeling her legs go weak, she fell to the ground powerlessly¡­ ¡­ Shang Xia returned to his courtyard in the Shang Clan Manor and he summoned Duan Hong after returning. Duan Hong could be considered the best blacksmith in the Shang Clan at the moment. He played with the Scarlet Star Spear Shang Xia handed over to him and examined the damage it sustained. Even though Duan Hong was far from being able to upgrade the Scarlet Star Spear into a high-grade weapon, Shang Xia felt that it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for him to fix those small damages. ¡°Sixth Young Master, there might be a difference in how the institution upgraded your spear, but I can¡¯t wrap my head around it. Why does your spear seem more damaged internally?¡± Shang Xia chuckled in response. ¡°The institution has nothing to do with this. I¡¯m the problem. Do you think it¡¯s possible to fix it?¡± After thinking for a second, Duan Hong muttered. ¡°It¡¯s possible, but the spear is no ordinary weapon. The resources required to fix it are pretty rare¡­¡± During his stint in the Changfeng City, Shang Xia killed many important people and obtained a ton of treasures. When he took on the role of the temporary city lord, he swept the treasury clean. There was probably no one with the same cultivation level as him who could even come close to the amount of treasures he had! Waving his sleeves, six cases appeared on the table before him and all of them contained a piece of precious material that was of the third rank. ¡°Master Duan Hong, if you can use any of these to repair the spear, feel free to use them!¡± Duan Hong gasped in fright when he saw the material on the table. His eyes lit up and he yelled, ¡°Yeah! It¡¯s enough! These will definitely be enough to repair your spear!¡± A smile formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he pushed all six cases towards Duan Hong. ¡°Since it¡¯s possible, I will have to trouble you to fix it as soon as possible.¡± Sending off Duan Hong whose grin was threatening to split his face in half, Shang Xia noticed Yan Qi entering his courtyard. ¡°Young Master, we kicked those from the Ji Continent out. Ninth Master has already placed his wife under house arrest for the time being¡­¡± Yan Qi reported. Shang Xia nodded at his report. After passing down his order when he returned, he didn¡¯t really keep track of their progress. Now that everyone who came from the Ji Continent was kicked out with the exception of Shang Yang¡¯s wife and children, Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Young Master, Custodians Sun Haiwei and Tian Mengzi from the institution have come to visit you. I have already arranged for someone to bring them to the Eastern Hall and for tea to be served!¡± Yan Qi made another report. ¡°Oh? That¡¯s rare?¡± Shang Xia might be a little confused about their sudden arrival, but he started to make his way over. Before Shang Xia¡¯s figure entered the hall, his voice had already arrived. ¡°It¡¯s this student¡¯s honor to host Teacher Sun and Teacher Tian today! I wonder what brought you guys over?¡± Sun Haiwei and Tian Mengzi stood up respectfully the moment they heard his voice. ¡°We¡¯re pretty similar in age to begin with! There¡¯s no need to call us teachers¡­ Shouldn¡¯t we address each other casually as senior and junior brothers?¡± Tian Mengzi coughed awkwardly and quickly closed the distance between themselves. After he spoke, the relationship between the three became much closer than before. By the time Shang Xia entered the hall, the three of them casually exchanged pleasantries before getting on to the main topic. Tian Mengzi wasn¡¯t one to beat about the bush anyway and he was a talkative one. He quickly got to the point. ¡°Today, we came to visit Junior Brother Shang because we wish to invite you to join a gathering of Martial Intent Realm cultivators.¡± ¡°Gathering?¡± Shang Xia looked at the two of them in confusion. Sun Haiwei quickly explained with a smile on her face, ¡°Actually, it¡¯s a private gathering organized by Martial Intent Realm cultivators. All of us will share some of our experiences in cultivation and it can be considered a way for us to improve!¡± Shang Xia quickly gained interest after hearing her introduction. ¡°Is there really such a thing? Why haven¡¯t I heard of it?¡± A bitter smile appeared on Tian Mengzis face as he responded. ¡°Brother Shang, you¡¯re a disciple of a great clan! Usually, there would be no need for you to take part in this gathering as you can gain a lot from your seniors¡­ Also, you probably haven¡¯t heard of it because your cultivation increased a little too quickly¡­ No one managed to get a hold of you ever since you entered the Martial Intent Realm¡­¡± CH 360 ¡°Our Tongyou City can be considered a good gathering place for cultivators. It¡¯s not rare to see many of them meeting each other to exchange pointers. Of course, the frequency cannot be compared to before the war over the Tongyou Mysterious World.¡± Tian Mengzi explained as they walked into the bustling city center. The reconstruction work started a long time ago. It had been half a year since the battle ended, and most of the Tongyou City had been restored. The only part left was the city center, but it was getting there. Shang Xia looked at the crowd with interest and he discovered that the Tongyou City was actually bursting with life. Due to the war, a huge portion of the city was destroyed. Fortunately, not a lot of people were killed. After all, the various families had sent away a huge portion of their members before the battle started. ¡°Who are the people taking part in the gathering?¡± Shang Xia asked casually. Sun Haiwei replied to him this time. ¡°There should be all sorts of people there¡­ There might be cultivators from the institution, and there should also be various scattered cultivators. There might also be several from the great clans, but cultivators who have been living in seclusion outside the city might also take part. Even cultivators from other continents might come!¡± Tian Mengzi added, ¡°Actually, gatherings like that might take place openly, but there are also some that are carried out in the shadows. Many of these are organized by prominent factions and everyone would call people they know to take part in it. We can use it to network and form connections with other cultivators. Those that are properly organized are pretty safe.¡± ¡°What about those that are carried out in the dark?¡± Shang Xia asked. Chuckling in amusement, Tian Mengzi continued, ¡°Those usually involve unsavory deals. Many things that happen there cannot see the light of day. That is why most gatherings like that would be extremely well-guarded. Without someone who knows a way in, cultivators wouldn¡¯t be able to take part. Also, killing and plundering are a common occurrence in those gatherings.¡± Shang Xia found it hard to believe. ¡°I understand that there can be some dark happenings in the city. However, with the influence the Tongyou Institution and the four great clans have over the city, killing and plundering seem to be going too far¡­ Shouldn¡¯t they control themselves?¡± Sun Haiwei and Tian Mengzi looked at each other and bitter smiles appeared on their faces. Tian Mengzi muttered, ¡°Junior Brother Shang, you''re not exactly wrong. Those happenings are much tamer compared to other cities due to the presence of the Tongyou Institution and the four great clans. However, underground meetings like that organized by those powers in the dark have their reasons to exist. One can say that it¡¯s a necessary evil for there to be balance.¡± Shang Xia fell into contemplation and realized that those hidden powers that organized those meetings were probably operating under the tolerance of the institution and the four great clans. By the time their conversation was over, the three of them arrived at a tea house that seemed pretty newly built. Without waiting for the attendant to greet them, the manager of the tea house quickly ran towards the group of three. ¡°Young masters and young miss, are you Master Zhao¡¯s guests? Please head upstairs to the third floor. Master Zhao has been waiting for some time now!¡± The three of them were escorted by the manager directly to the third floor and they were welcomed by a middle aged man with a wide smile on his face. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that the honored students of the institution would join us! Well met!¡± The middle aged man¡¯s gaze fell on Shang Xia as he spoke. Shang Xia might be a lot more famous than Sun Haiwei and Tian Mengzi in the institution, but not many people outside of the institution knew him. He was a foreign face everywhere else. Seeing the looks of hesitation on Sun Haiwei and Tian Mengzi¡¯s face, Shang Xia knew that they didn¡¯t know if they should reveal his identity. He quickly introduced himself. ¡°You can call me ¡®Xia¡¯. I wonder how I can address you?¡± ¡°Oh. Young Master Xia!¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t know if the middle aged man believed he was using his real name, but he couldn¡¯t care either. The middle aged man continued. ¡°I come from the Zhao Family and we own this tea house. It¡¯s our honor to host Young Master Xia too!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be the owner of this place, Owner Zhao!¡± Shang Xia greeted the man enthusiastically. Of course, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t flaunt his status in an event he didn¡¯t know much about and he decided to take things as they went. Tian Mengzi decided to chip in now that they have made their introductions. ¡°Old Man Zhao, can¡¯t you tell us how many people will be taking part in this gathering?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t send out many invitations this time. Due to the events that happened in the city and new faces that will be joining us this time, there should be around twenty people taking part in this gathering.¡± Owner Zhao paused for a second and continued, ¡°I also received news that there would be scattered cultivators from outside the city taking part in this gathering.¡± Tian Mengzi looked at Owner Zhao in shock. ¡°Wow! Old Man Zhao, your network is growing really wide! If not for the fact that you held it at your teahouse, I would have thought that we were taking part in some shady gathering this time!¡± ¡°No, no, of course not!¡± Owner Zhao waved his hand to dismiss Tian Mengzi¡¯s concern. The smile on his face didn¡¯t fade and instead, it seemed to grow even wider. When they were done talking, he brought them into the room behind him. Sun Haiwei flipped open a basket outside the door before they entered and pointed at something within. ¡°Little Xia, you¡¯re here for the first time and there will be many people with questionable backgrounds. You should use this.¡± Lowering his head, Shang Xia saw that she was pointing at a bunch of masks that were placed carefully in the basket. Even though Shang Xia was getting curious, he didn¡¯t ignore Sun Haiwei¡¯s warning. He took a mask and placed it on his face quickly. The moment he did, the aura around him changed completely. He fused his divine sense with the world around him and transformed into an ordinary person. A look of shock filled the faces of Tian Mengzi, Sun Haiwei, and Owner Zhao. They didn¡¯t expect Shang Xia to be capable of doing something like that. Getting over their shock, Tian Mengzi and Sun Haiwei also put on their masks before walking into the room. By the time they entered, they discovered that the room was pretty small. It didn¡¯t seem to be able to house more than twenty of them for the gathering. However, from the looks on Sun Haiwei and Tian Mengzi¡¯s face, Shang Xia decided to remain silent as he observed what happened next. Owner Zhao took several steps forward and tapped on a table several times before a hidden passage opened up on one of the walls. ¡°Please enter. I will be right with you.¡± Owner Zhao gestured towards the hidden passage and mentioned. Tian Mengzi nodded towards Sun Haiwei and Shang Xia before taking the lead. With the two of them following behind him, the entrance soon closed up. Surprisingly, the passage remained lit. ¡°That¡¯s Zhao Fengchun, and he¡¯s from the Zhao Family in our Tongyou City. The Zhao Family Head, Zhao Hengchun, is at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. It¡¯s said that he¡¯s been looking for a way to enter the Martial Extermination Realm for several years now. He has been looking at the institution for a way to advance for some time.¡± Sun Haiwei whispered to Shang Xia as they made their way down the passage. Shang Xia nodded slightly. He knew about the Zhao Family. In the Tongyou City, the Zhao Family could be considered to be in the middle of the power pyramid. When he met Zhao Fengchun earlier, he had already examined the man from head to toe. He knew that Zhao Fengchun was also at the Martial Intent Realm, and he was pretty famous in the city. It was no wonder he had the ability to host a gathering like that. The passage wasn¡¯t too long and the three of them quickly arrived at the end. Pushing a bamboo door open, they entered a spacious hall. Seats were arranged in an orderly fashion around the room, and there was an empty space in the middle of the room. By the time they entered, there were close to eight cultivators already waiting. It seemed as though the three of them didn¡¯t arrive too late, but neither did they arrive too early. The moment they entered, they attracted the gazes of everyone in the room. Tian Mengzi didn¡¯t bother with them and he quickly looked for a place they could sit before gesturing to Sun Haiwei and Shang Xia. By the time they got to their seats, the gazes of many people had already left them. However, there were still several who were trying to examine the trio. Regardless, none of them managed to discover anything due to the masks they were wearing. From their age, it wasn¡¯t difficult to identify them as members of the Tongyou Institution. After all, they were pretty young compared to the others. For cultivators in the Tongyou City to be in the Martial Intent Realm at their age, they had to be students in the institution. Tian Mengzi and Sun Haiwei didn¡¯t seem to be bothered regardless. However, Shang Xia snorted once in annoyance. The bodies of those who were examining them trembled violently as they felt as though someone smashed a sledgehammer into their brains. A look of fear appeared on their face when they looked at the trio again. Shang Xia swept his gaze across those present and this time, no one dared to meet his gaze. All of them looked away in fright. Sun Haiwei heaved a sigh of relief and Tian Mengzi gave him a huge thumbs up. It didn¡¯t take long for the doors to open again and two people entered the hall. They looked around the room and their gazes paused on Sun Haiwei and the others before they found their seats. Sun Haiwei sighed softly and she whispered to the other two. ¡°That¡¯s Huo Wuji from the Upper Division and Wu Tianfang from the Protection Division!¡± Tian Mengzi nodded slightly to indicate his understanding. Shang Xia glanced at them several more times and the two of them clearly detected it. They looked at Shang Xia and revealed a toothy smile. ¡°They seem to be able to tell that we¡¯re from the institution!¡± Tian Mengzi¡¯s voice entered Sun Haiwei and Shang Xia¡¯s mind. No one knew how many entrances there were in the weird hall, but six other cultivators eventually entered from other paths. Zhao Fengchun eventually entered and he seemed to be the last person. By the time he entered, there were nineteen Martial Intent Realm experts seated in the hall. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. The moment he entered, he looked around the room before giving a short introduction. ¡°It¡¯s not easy to gather everyone here and I shall make this introduction speech as short as possible. I would like to thank everyone for giving me a chance to host this gathering. Let me get the ball rolling!¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect Zhao Fengchun to be so direct and start the event off immediately, but curiosity quickly filled his heart. Zhao Fengchun took out a lacquered box that was a foot in length and covered in talismans before opening it carefully. There were a total of 12 pearls carefully laid throughout the box and he continued, ¡°These are 12 300-year-old Hazy Pearls. They are rank three treasures and they have extensive uses. They can be made into advancement medicine and can even be used to craft talismans. You can also use them when refining graded weapons or laying down formations!¡± Pausing for a second, he added, ¡°I wish to trade it for a bottle of Heart Cleansing Dew or a piece of Dancing Yang Blue Jade!¡± As soon as he spoke, the atmosphere in the hall became slightly heated. Many people started whispering among themselves and looks of amazement could be seen on their faces. CH 361 The change in atmosphere caused Shang Xia to realize that there was a deeper meaning behind the trade. However, he wasn¡¯t in a rush to get to the bottom of the matter. Instead, he observed the others in the hall. He realized that at least half of those who came wore a mask to hide their identities. Shang Xia also discovered that Tian Mengzi¡¯s gaze became a lot more somber after hearing the offer. He transmitted his voice into Tian Mengzi¡¯s ears. ¡°Senior Brother Tian, do you know what¡¯s going on?¡± Tian Mengzi nodded slightly and replied with another voice transmission. ¡°It hasn¡¯t been long since I entered the Martial Intent Realm. I only joined these gatherings twice in the past and in the past two times, Zhao Fengchun also started the gathering off with a trade. He would usually ask for a rank four advancement formula or information about extermination origins. In the past, everyone would burst into laughter after his offer. After all, no one would bother trading with him even if they had that information.¡± Sun Haiwei also added at the side, ¡°I attended one gathering before, and during that time, I can confirm that he was looking for information regarding ways to enter the Martial Extermination Realm.¡± Shang Xia sighed softly. ¡°... It¡¯s no wonder¡­ For him to do this now, many people might guess that Zhao Hengchun had already entered the Martial Extermination Realm!¡± ¡°It might be a tactic they¡¯re using to release the news that Zhao Hengchun has already broken through!¡± Sun Haiwei whispered. Tian Mengzi nodded in response. ¡°I¡¯m afraid other than the four great clans, Martial Extermination Realm experts are going to appear in other powers¡­¡± Their gazes landed on Shang Xia unintentionally after they spoke. They were clearly warning him that the situation in the Tongyou City might change soon. The two of them weren¡¯t the only ones who discovered the hidden meaning behind Zhao Fengchun¡¯s actions. Everyone¡¯s gaze landed on the man and were met with an indifferent expression. Shang Xia was equally as calm and instead of looking at Zhao Houchun, he turned to look at the other two seniors from the institution. He interacted with many rank four advancement formula and extermination origin previously. He was extremely knowledgeable about Martial Extermination Realm experts and he knew that even if a few of them appeared in the Tongyou City, they wouldn¡¯t be able to change the situation regardless. Zhao Fengchun swept his gaze across the hall and laughed, ¡°Is there anyone interested in these Hazy Pearls?¡± Shang Xia was actually really interested in them. Shang Quan had once spoken to him about the process of crafting rank three talisman ink. If one crushed those Hazy Pearls into powder, it would be a good assistive ingredient in making rank three talisman ink. However, the powder was a mere assistive ingredient and he only needed a small amount to refine rank three talisman ink. Shang Xia knew that those Hazy Pearls could be used to craft rank three talisman paper, but he didn¡¯t know the specifics. After all, all he knew how to do was to craft talismans! The Zhu Family Talisman Scripture he was using to further improve his way of talismans didn¡¯t contain any method of crafting ink or talisman paper. All it told him was how to see if the ink and paper were of sufficient quality. Shang Xia truly desired the pearls, but he didn¡¯t have any of the treasures Zhao Fengchun wanted. All of a sudden, a man whose face was covered in a black mask chuckled softly. ¡°These pearls are definitely precious treasures, but I don¡¯t have any Heart Cleansing Dew or Dancing Yang Blue Jade. I do have a stalk of Heart Directing Grass. I wonder if Owner Zhao is interested?¡± Pausing for a second, Zhao Fengchun muttered, ¡°The value of the grass cannot be compared to either treasure I asked for.¡± A soft chuckle left the black masked man¡¯s lips and he fell silent. The effects of the Heart Directing Grass was truly not as effective as the other two treasures despite them all being treasures of the same rank. Zhao Fengchun continued, ¡°Even if you do not have Heart Cleansing Dew or Dancing Yang Blue Jade, I am willing to trade as long as the effects are similar.¡± It was a pity no one else made an offer. Evidently disappointed, Zhao Fengchun¡¯s gaze landed on the black masked man. ¡°How about six pearls for your Heart Directing Grass?¡± ¡°Eight.¡± A chuckle left the man¡¯s lips and he started bargaining. Hesitating slightly, Zhao Fengchun eventually agreed to the trade. ¡°Alright. As the host of the gathering, I shouldn¡¯t be so calculative. Deal!¡± After he spoke, eight pearls rose into the air and flew towards the black masked man. The man laughed happily and kept the pearls before waving his sleeves slightly. A long wooden box appeared on the table before Zhao Fengchun. Opening it slightly to inspect its contents, Zhao Fengchun seemed to become a lot more relieved as he closed the box quickly before keeping it. ¡°Alright. Feel free to take over!¡± Zhao Fengchun regained his composure and waved his sleeves before retreating to the side. Very quickly, another cultivator who had a stocky build went up to the table and started taking out treasures. Shang Xia was happily watching the exchanges happening when Sun Haiwei¡¯s voice entered his ears again. ¡°Junior Brother Shang, do you know the similarities between the Heart Cleansing Dew, Dancing Yang Blue Jade, and Heart Directing Grass?¡± As Upper Division disciples of the Tongyou Institution, the connection between the items couldn¡¯t escape their eyes. Those who were seated in the hall could also make their guesses. Shang Xia hadn¡¯t said anything when Tian Mengzi interrupted. ¡°From what I know, the Heart Cleansing Dew and Dancing Yang Blue Jade can be used to clear one¡¯s turbid qi. It is also really effective for one to consolidate one¡¯s foundations to prevent cultivation deviation. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯m hearing of the Heart Directing Grass but from the trade earlier, it¡¯s effects should be slightly weaker than the other two.¡± ¡°From how urgently Zhao Fengchun wanted to make the trade, could something have happened to disciples of the Zhao Family during their cultivation?¡± Sun Haiwei frowned. ¡°Did Zhao Hengchun run into some sort of accident after breaking through?¡± Shang Xia paid attention to the exchange going on in the middle of the room while replying to the both of them. ¡°Dancing Yang Blue Jade is a rank three treasure and a Heart Cleansing Dew is of a similar rank. If Zhao Hengchun truly broke through, these treasures would be useless for him.¡± Sun Haiwei hesitated slightly before mentioning, ¡°Junior Brother Shang, do you think that he failed to break through then?¡± ¡°Hmm, that might not be the case. It¡¯s possible that Zhao Hengchun broke through successfully and is currently experiencing a small problem in his cultivation path. That is why he only requires medicine of the third rank. Of course, It¡¯s possible that the situation is extremely serious and Zhao Fengchun is panicking and is trying to get any medicine that has any effect. We can¡¯t know for sure¡­¡± Tian Mengzi shook his head and sighed. During their conversation, three people had already gone up to the center table to propose an exchange. Two of them succeeded in getting what they wanted and only one returned empty handed. By the time they turned their attention back to the table, a female cultivator who named herself, ¡®Third Mistress Liu¡¯ was standing at the center table. She opened a thin wooden box and revealed a pale yellow needle. To access the premium content, go to [ pawread dot com ]. Shang Xia knew that it was probably a rank three medicine from the looks of it. After all, it looked pretty similar to the Triple Loop Coalescence Needle he used to break through! Her revelation captured the attention of many people in the hall. Soon after, she whispered softly, ¡°This is a rank three medicine called the Sunset Willow Spirit Awakening Needle. It can assist cultivators to strengthen their divine sense and assist in one¡¯s divine sense transformation. Naturally, it would be less effective when used during successive transformations. Before she could mention the items she wanted to trade for, Sun Haiwei and Shang Xia heard Tian Mengzi¡¯s voice in their ears. ¡°Please help me to obtain this item!¡± The three of them could be said to be great talents of the Tongyou Institution. However, the distance between them were greatly pulled apart after their entry to the Martial Intent Realm. Tian Mengzi was able to read the situation really clearly. He knew that neither Shang Xia nor Sun Haiwei needed the medicine and they would be able to assist him in his purchase. Shang Xia hadn¡¯t revealed his cultivation base since returning to the Tongyou City and not many people knew that he had already reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. Tian Mengzi was clearly in the dark, but from the aura Shang Xia was emitting, Tian Mengzi could tell that Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation was leagues ahead of himself. As such, Shang Xia probably didn¡¯t need the needles. Moreover, with Shang Xia¡¯s background, a mere medicine like that probably couldn¡¯t catch his eye. As for Sun Haiwei, the reason was even more simple. She had already completed her second divine sense transformation not too long ao. As such, she probably had no need for the needle in the foreseeable future! Tian Mengzi was the only one of the three who could use the medicine! He felt that something was missing ever since he stepped into the Martial Intent Realm. As such, the needle was probably a way for him to push himself to complete his second divine sense transformation! CH 362 He was right. Sun Haiwei and Shang Xia were barely interested in the Sunset Willow Spirit Awakening Needle. Of course, they wouldn¡¯t reject Tian Mengzi since they learned that he required the medicine and they could only wait for Third Mistress Liu to put forth her conditions. ¡°I hope to exchange it for a rank three metal. It should be heavier than thirty pounds after I refine its impurities.¡± As soon as she spoke of her condition, Tian Mengzi heaved a sigh of relief. He had clearly made his preparations before coming to the gathering. Of course, he also managed to run into many opportunities of his own to obtain treasures and he wasn¡¯t too afraid that he would be unable to trade for it himself. However, Shang Xia felt that the trade wouldn¡¯t be as easy as it seemed. Everyone sitting in the hall wasn''t poor by any means. There were definitely more than a few of them who had the ability to bring out the items she wanted. However, there was only a single needle. There was no doubt that it was going to turn into a bidding war. Before Tian Mengzi could say anything, someone in the crowd gave an offer. ¡°I have 30 pounds of rank three Star Grain Mysterious Metal. I hope it¡¯s enough to exchange it for your Sunset Willow Spirit Awakening Needle.¡± A smile appeared on Third Mistress Liu¡¯s face and she replied. ¡°Star Grain Mysterious Metal. Of course¡­¡± ¡°Wait a second! There¡¯s no need to rush into it!¡± Another middle aged cultivator interrupted before she could finish her sentence. ¡°Star Grain Mysterious Metal might be a rank three treasure, but I have thirty pounds of Chaotic Rain Essence Gold! It¡¯s worth much more than what he¡¯s offering and I wonder if you would agree to the trade.¡± ¡°I have 32 pounds of Flowing Moon Silver!¡± ¡°...¡± Before Tian Mengzi could even say anything, six people had already raised an exchange. By the time Shang Xia snapped back to reality, he discovered that he had clearly underestimated the others and how much they wanted the Sunset Willow Spirit Awakening Needle. He might not be able to use it since he had already entered the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, and neither did some of those who were bidding, but they could buy it for their juniors or descendants! As such, many people proposed a trade regardless of whether they could use it or not. Reaching the conclusion, Shang Xia realized that if he hadn¡¯t promised Tian Mengzi to obtain the treasure, he would have started bidding for it himself. All she wanted was rank three metals. Shang Xia had a ton of it. He killed more than 10 Martial Intent Realm cultivators in the Changfeng City. He had three Embroidered Cloud Cases in his sleeves and there were too many rank three metals in them.¡± Tian Mengzi also clearly realized that there was no easy way to win the item and a bitter laugh escaped his lips. He was no longer in a rush to put up a bid. The more urgently he raised the bids, the higher the price of the Sunset Willow Spirit Awakening Needle. Shang Xia¡¯s gaze landed on Third Mistress Liu at that moment and he saw the smile on her face. The bidding war was clearly something she wanted to see. It didn''t take long for the price to rise by a huge amount. Two of the biggest offers were 35 pounds of Cloud Grain Mysterious Copper and 30 pounds of Star Grain Mysterious Metal with an additional 50 pieces of gold coins. Ordinarily, everyone would be using copper boards and silver essence as currency. Not many people would use gold coins. However, the Sunset Willow Spirit Awakening Needle was clearly so precious that it wasn¡¯t surprising for cultivators to make up for the value of items using gold coins. One silver essence was worth a hundred copper boards, and a gold coin was worth a hundred silver essence. They might be used as currency, but they could also be considered a type of treasure in itself. A bronze board could be obtained after refining a batch of high grade essence bronze. Silver essence was made after refining low grade essence silver. By extension, gold coins were made from refining ordinary essence gold. Naturally, the process of refinement of each currency was a little more difficult than the previous ones, but the principle was the same. As such, fifty gold coins could basically be considered rank three metal. After smelting them, she should be able to get five or so pounds of essence gold. Adding his initial offer of thirty pounds of Star Grain Mysterious Metal, it was pretty much comparable to the other offer of Cloud Grain Mysterious Metal. With the bidding war basically at a stalemate, everything would be left up to Third Mistress Liu. Seeing as it was about time for him to make his move, Tian Mengzi spoke up after some discussion with Sun Haiwei and Shang Xia. ¡°I have another offer here. I wonder if you would mind listening to it?¡± Third Mistress Liu turned to look at him and Tian Mengzi said casually, ¡°I have ten pounds of Scarlet Flame Metal Sand, ten pounds of Star Grain Mysterious Metal, five pounds of Cloud Grain Mysterious Metal, five pounds of Earth Core Copper Slurry, and three pounds of Stress Gold Ore. What do you think?¡± A look of shock flashed in her eyes after he spoke. ¡°Little brother here seems to be pretty rich. However, you only offered 33 pounds in total. It doesn¡¯t seem to be comparable to the 35 pounds of Cloud Grain Mysterious Metal offered.¡± Tian Mengzi smiled confidently and replied. ¡°I offered less because there are a lot more options to choose from. Doesn¡¯t this allow you to save a lot of effort to look for other materials?¡± This novel is available on "pawread dot com". That was the result of the discussion between Sun Haiwei, Shang Xia, and Tian Mengzi. After all, if they were truly talking about wealth, a mere Tian Mengzi wouldn¡¯t be richer than most people there. Even with Shang Xia and Sun Haiwei¡¯s help, there was no point in overpaying for the needle. Out of the five materials he offered, only the Scarlet Flame Metal Sand and Earth Core Copper Slurry belonged to him. He borrowed the Star Grain Mysterious Metal from Sun Haiwei and the others came from Shang Xia. From the way she was exchanging the Sunset Willow Spirit Awakening Needle for metals, it seemed as though she was trying to refine a graded weapon. Moreover, she didn¡¯t specify which material she required. That could only mean that she hadn¡¯t thought of how she should refine her graded weapon. Without an idea of how to refine her weapon, she probably hadn¡¯t made any preparations. Since refining weapons usually involved more than one type of material, offering a few different types would increase their worth. That was also the reason why Tian Mengzi had the guts to offer slightly less than the current highest offer. After all, he made up for it in variety. Naturally, their method would only work if she was truly trying to refine a graded weapon. They seemed to have placed the right bet as a smile appeared on her face. ¡°Little brother, you seem pretty funny! But¡­ You¡¯re right.¡± Actually, she was already moved when he made his offer earlier. She only mentioned what she did to try her luck at getting a little more. The others also discovered her true intentions when they saw her reaction and started to look through their collection to see what they could offer. They discovered that no matter how hard they tried, they were unable to bring out so many different types of rank three materials! However, Third Mistress Liu seemed to be a little reluctant to part with her Sunset Willow Spirit Awakening Needle. She muttered, ¡°Unfortunately, the quantity is still too low. If you can¡¯t make up for the last two pounds, I would choose to trade with the cultivator who is willing to exchange 35 pounds of Cloud Grain Mysterious Metal.¡± Tian Mengzi wanted to say something, but Sun Haiwei tugged his sleeves to get his attention. He turned to look at Shang Xia and saw him shaking his head slightly. Realizing his mistake, he knew that he couldn¡¯t seem too desperate. He understood Shang Xia¡¯s intentions and he shook his head in response. ¡°It¡¯s a shame I wouldn¡¯t be able to bring out anything more.¡± Gritting her teeth, Third Mistress Liu seemed a little sore that her plan failed. Wu Tianfang from the Protection Division of the Tongyou Institution roared with laughter at that moment. ¡°Madam Liu, stop hesitating. None of us here are fools. You can¡¯t drag things out and waste everyone¡¯s time either. Moreover, you¡¯re not making a loss¡­¡± There seemed to be another meaning behind Wu Tianfang¡¯s words and everyone present knew what he meant. Clearly, Tian Mengzi¡¯s offer was more than fair and she was wasting everyone¡¯s time by trying to get a little more. Pouting slightly, Third Mistress Liu sighed, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll trade it with you for a slight loss¡­ Hmph!¡± Tian Mengzi felt a burst of joy in his heart and he made his way forward to make the trade. At the same time, he sent a thankful look in the direction of Wu Tingfang and Huo Wuji. After the trade was done and Third Mistress Liu returned to her seat, Wu Tingfang stood up and made his way over to the center table. Before he could arrive at the front, a chuckle came from another side of the hall. ¡°Old Chap Wu, I heard that you have a lot of good stuff. You have to take some out and widen our horizons.¡± Someone else also piped up at the side, ¡°Hey Deacon Wu are you representing the institution or are you here for your own sake?¡± Wu Tingfang ignored the two of them as he made his way over. Only when he arrived at the center table did he rebuke the two of them with a soft chuckle. ¡°Yeah, I do have some good stuff with me. It¡¯s not like you have the ability to trade for them, you fool! Moreover, the trades here are done fairly. Why do you care who I¡¯m representing?¡± Roaring laughter broke out in the hall and it seemed as though his words didn¡¯t offend the others in the slightest. No matter what, he was an important figure in the Tongyou Institution. Many people were waiting in anticipation for the things he would reveal. Under their excited gazes, he took out a document that seemed to be made with a silk-like material. ¡°I have a rank two advancement formula called the Distraction Powder. It¡¯s a guide for those who walk down the dao of direction. They will be able to master left and right qi after training in it. I wish to trade for a completed graded weapon!¡± Everyone was flabbergasted by the appearance of an advancement formula, but they soon roared with dissatisfaction. ¡°Oi! All of us here are in the Martial Intent Realm. Why did you take out a rank two advancement formula?! Are you messing with us?!¡± ¡°Hehe, you want a graded weapon for a rank two advancement formula. What a joke! You should take out a rank three advancement formula at least!¡± Opening his eyes in shock, Wu Tingfang turned to the person who spoke first and roared with rage, ¡°Old Freak Yu, are you delusional or did you fall out of your bed headfirst this morning? This is a completely rank two advancement formula, not a portion of rank two advancement medicine. You¡¯ve been alive for a long time. Have you seen a complete rank two advancement formula in your life?!¡± ¡°Oi, there¡¯s you too.¡± Turning to the person who spoke after the other guy, Wu Tingfang yelled. ¡°Do you think you can hide behind your mask and talk all the crap you want? You want a rank three advancement formula for a graded weapon? Why don¡¯t you bring out a rank three advancement formula? As long as it¡¯s something the Tongyou Institution doesn''t have, I¡¯ll give you a graded weapon. How¡¯s that?! What the f¡­ I¡¯ll even make a deal with you on the Tongyou Institution¡¯s behalf. We¡¯ll give you one graded weapon for every rank three advancement formula you take out that we don¡¯t have. You can trade as many as you want! How¡¯s that?!¡± Seeing how unbridled Wu Tingfang was acting, everyone knew that he wasn¡¯t serious too. Regardless, most people in the hall were dumbstruck and Wu Tingfang continued, ¡°Damn your granny. A graded weapon for a rank three advancement formula. I wish I was as crazy as you guys too!¡± Coughing once, he eventually regained his composure. ¡°Alright, all of you are too hasty. I wasn¡¯t done yet and all of you started yapping around. Other than this rank two advancement formula, I also have a martial art that is suitable for those who train the dao of directions. This is pretty much half of another rank two advancement formula. It¡¯s definitely enough to trade for a graded weapon!¡± CH 363 ¡°A rank two advancement formula and a suitable martial art¡­ Old Man Wu, are you still holding on to an inheritance? Can you complete the set and make it suitable for a Martial Extremity Realm cultivator to comprehend his martial extremity intent and reach the grand completion stage?¡± The smarter cultivators connected the dots when he brought out the martial art. Sneering bluntly, Wu Tingfang replied, ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right! This daddy here also has an inheritance but I don¡¯t have to take it out! These are enough to trade for a low-grade weapon!¡± Snickering under his breath, Wu Tingfang continued, ¡°Hehe, if any of you can bring out a mid-grade weapon, I¡¯m willing to bring the inheritance out. Hell¡­ I¡¯ll even throw in the recorded insights of those who had trained in it before!¡± It was true that rank two advancement formulas, secret arts, and inheritances weren¡¯t effective for those sitting in the hall. However, the situation was exactly as Wu Tingfang had said. With the exception of a rare few, none of them had seen a complete set before! We are "pawread dot com", find us on google. With a complete set like that, one would be able to use it as a core inheritance for their faction! There would definitely be someone in the crowd that had a family to support anyway. ¡°Hehe, I told you guys! Old Man Wu is a petty thief! He¡¯s always hiding someone unless you force it out of him. Shameless asshole split the inheritance with the martial art and advancement formula in order to raise his price a little!¡± The person who spoke was a middle aged man who was sitting not too far away from Shang Xia. His eyebrows were strangely shaped and it was raised in the middle, forming a Chinese character ¡®eight¡¯. A look of ridicule could be seen on his face as he continued, ¡°Hehe, even if you can take out the inheritance, you¡¯re delusional if you want to trade it for a mid-grade weapon. If you bring out half a rank three inheritance, we might consider it!¡± Wu Tingfang¡¯s lips curled upwards and he sneered, ¡°How do you know no one is willing to trade it with me?¡± As soon as he spoke, an aged voice rang through the hall. ¡°I have a low-grade weapon here. I wonder if Deacon Wu is willing to make the trade?¡± An old man with hunched back stood up close to the back of the hall and he brought out a short spike that was two feet long. ¡°Can I take a closer look at it?¡± Wu Tingfang asked. ¡°Naturally.¡± The old expert¡¯s withered hands stretched out slightly and a look of reluctance filled his face as he tossed the spike at Wu Tingfang. Carefully receiving the weapon, Wu Tingfang examined it carefully before returning it to the old expert. ¡°I apologize. The weapon is excellent, but it¡¯s not suitable for me.¡± The old expert sighed softly and nodded his head as he retrieved his weapon. He returned to his seat and no longer spoke. Before Wu Tingfang could say anything, he was interrupted by a familiar laugh. Looking at the source of the voice, he discovered that it was the black masked man who traded the Hazy Pearls with Zhao Fengchun to start off the gathering. ¡°Do you wish to make an offer?¡± Wu Tingfang cupped his fists and asked. ¡°I have a low-grade weapon, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s suitable for you either.¡± The black masked man chuckled in response. ¡°Can I take a look?¡± Wu Tingfang didn¡¯t reject it immediately. Instead, he chose to play it safe. After all, a graded weapon was extremely rare and it was already impressive for him to receive two offers. The black masked man took out his weapon casually and muttered, ¡°Sure, take a look at it. However, this weapon is pretty special. You need to bring out the inheritance and make it a complete set if you wish to obtain this weapon.¡± Slightly surprised, Wu Tingfang nodded before placing a scroll on the table. Seeing the item, the black masked man brought out a wooden box and opened it slowly. A brush laid within and a light immediately flashed in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes. Two small words were carved onto the jade-like body of the brush, ¡®Flying Goose¡¯. ¡°This is a talisman brush!¡± A gasp came from someone in the hall. ¡°Indeed. However, it can also be considered a graded weapon!¡± The black masked man smiled. Wu Tingfang was no fool. He knew how precious the Flying Goose Brush was. Something like that would definitely be in the upper ranges of the low-grade weapon. In fact, it was comparable to some mid-grade weapons! It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to trade the rank two advancement formula, martial art, and inheritance for it. Everyone could see that Wu Tingfang was tempted and he was trying to reason with himself. However, he seemed to have recalled a piece of news that came from the Tongyou Mysterious World and he eventually shook his head. He was about to reject the deal when Huo Wuji interrupted. ¡°Please wait!¡± Huo Wuji was a lot more cultured than Wu Tingfang from the sound of his voice. Well, it wasn¡¯t surprising as Wu Tingfang was from the Protection Division and everyone there was brutes anyway. Huo Wuji cupped his fists towards the black masked man and he smiled. ¡°If I may ask, are you a talisman master?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± The black masked man was slightly taken aback by the question, but he shook his head eventually. Huo Wuji sighed before sitting down again. Seeing as Wu Tingfang wasn¡¯t going to accept his deal, the black robed man started to close the case but he was stopped once again. ¡°Wait a second!¡± The person who spoke was evidently really young. With his eyes widening with shock, the black masked man turned to look at the person who spoke and discovered he was with the person who bought the Sunset Willow Spirit Awakening Needle earlier. Shang Xia cupped his fists to greet the black masked man and turned towards Wu Tingfang to signal his apologies for hijacking his trade before coughing softly. ¡°I have a sword that I can trade with you for the rank two scrolls. At the same time, I need a brush.¡± The moment he spoke, the faces of Wu Tingfang and the black masked man lit up. They understood what he was trying to say. With a flick of his wrist, a chilly light flashed in the hall and the Jade Creek Sword appeared in his hand. The Jade Creek Sword wasn¡¯t a broadsword, but it was slightly thicker than ordinary swords. It was indeed suitable for Wu Tingfang. ¡°That¡¯s a good sword! Alright, I¡¯ll make the trade!¡± The moment Shang Xia brought out the sword, Wu Tingfang¡¯s eyes lit up. He couldn¡¯t help but praise the sword while sending the advancement formula and martial art flying towards the black masked man. He kept the inheritance carefully. Like he said before, a low-grade weapon could be used to trade for the advancement formula and martial art. The inheritance was off the table unless someone brought out a mid-grade weapon. Grabbing the scrolls Wu Tingfang threw over, the black robed man didn¡¯t toss out the case containing the brush towards Shang Xia immediately. Instead, he chuckled softly, ¡°Little friend, I think you know the worth of this brush.¡± Shang Xia nodded and replied. ¡°Of course. What do you have in mind?¡± ¡°Little friend, if you need the brush, you should be a talisman master. You can give me some talismans to make up for the cost of my brush.¡± The black masked man smiled. ¡°Alright.¡± Shang Xia flicked his wrist and sent three talisman jades flying at the man. ¡°Rank two talisman jades?¡± The black masked man might not be a talisman master, but he knew a thing or two. He could tell that Shang Xia tossed out rank two talismans at him and he felt a little disappointed. ¡°If you¡¯re only giving me 3 rank two talismans, I¡¯m afraid¡­¡± Before he could complete his sentence, the talisman jades landed in his hand. He scanned them with his divine sense and his expression turned a lot more serious. He stared at Shang Xia, flabbergasted. Only after some time did he continue. ¡°These are amazing quality sword talismans. Alright. Three of them are more than enough!¡± With the deal complete, he sent the case with the Flying Goose Brush over to Shang Xia and concluded the trade. It seemed as though all three parties were extremely satisfied with their gains. Huo Wuji, who was waiting for his turn, carefully walked over to the center table before opening a long jade case that was sealed with a talisman. Five pieces of essence jade were arranged carefully within. ¡°I have five pieces of essence jade here. I wish to trade for 5 rank three talismans!¡± Even though he was announcing the terms of his trade to the rest of the hall, his gaze landed directly on Shang Xia. CH 364 Even though Shang Xia being a rank three talisman master wasn¡¯t widely spread through the Tongyou City, it wasn¡¯t exactly a secret. Moreover, he just took out the Jade Creek Sword to make a deal with Wu Tingfang just a second ago. The Jade Creek Sword might not be something he used often, but almost every disciple of the Tongyou Institution knew that it belonged to Shang Xia. After all, it was the weapon he used when facing the genius sword disciples of the other institution when the Shang Clan Convoy was ¡®raided¡¯ when they returned to the Tongyou City for the first time. As such, Huo Wuji and Wu Tingfang quickly uncovered his identity. Shang Xia didn¡¯t find it surprising they managed to discover who he was either. What he didn¡¯t expect was that Huo Wuji would bring out five pieces of essence jade to look for rank three talismans. From Huo Wuji¡¯s gaze, Shang Xia could tell that he was expecting Shang Xia to bring out those rank three talismans too! Unfortunately for Huo Wuji, Shang Xia only managed to scrape together seven pieces of rank three talisman paper with all the help he got. With those seven pieces of talisman paper, he only managed to create 2 rank three talismans which he left for Hai Min to defend herself. He might be a rank three talisman master, but he didn¡¯t possess a single rank three talisman on him! He didn¡¯t even have rank three talisman papers to craft talismans! Feeling Huo Wuji¡¯s gaze on him, Shang Xia could only pretend to be ignorant while remaining silent. Honestly, Huo Wuji¡¯s trade could be said to be extremely worth it if anyone was able to bring out the talismans he wanted! Essence jade was comparable to rank three treasures, and they were much more valuable than Zhao Fengchun¡¯s Hazy Pearls! They could be used even more extensively. As such, the appearance of those essence jade caught the attention of many cultivators in the hall. Naturally, most of them present wouldn¡¯t be able to make the trade. However, the appearance of five essence jade allowed those in the hall to quickly understand the deeper meaning behind Huo Wuji¡¯s actions. It was possible for a person to discover a piece of two. However, for five of them to appear at once, there was only one possibility behind it. Huo Wuji was definitely not capable of bringing out so many of them. The Tongyou Institution had to be behind it. Of course, Huo Wuji couldn¡¯t possibly trade the institution¡¯s items for himself. That would mean that the Tongyou Institution was the one who wanted those rank three talismans! For a massive existence like the Tongyou Institution, there was no way they would be satisfied with several pieces of rank three talismans. Huo Wuji might only be one of the many experts who were tasked with locating rank three talismans. In other words, there should be even more members of the institution who were out there scouring for rank three talismans as they spoke. That brought them back to another question. Why would the Tongyou Institution be looking for rank three talismans? One had to know that the institution had their own rank three talisman masters. Well informed experts in the hall felt something click in their minds and one of them asked directly, ¡°Instructor Huo, is the Tongyou Institution looking for rank three talismans? So that would mean that the institution is really planning to reopen the spatial tunnel leading to the battlefield between the two worlds and establish themselves there again, right?¡± Huo Wuji finally realized that his act was off earlier and since someone had already brought up the question, he could only try to explain his actions. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Is fellow cultivator interested in joining us?¡± The person who spoke earlier burst into laughter. ¡°Of course I''m interested! That¡¯s the battlefield between the two worlds we¡¯re talking about! Your Tongyou Institution will definitely take the lead and start another war the moment you reopen the spatial tunnel to grab as many benefits as possible. It would be great if we¡¯re able to join the second batch of cultivators to enter to fight for a little benefit!¡± One had to know that since the Tongyou Institution closed the spatial tunnel during the war for the Tongyou Mysterious World, they were signaling to the Azure Spiritual World that they had given up on the battlefield between the two worlds. One could argue that the majority of the benefits of the Origin Tide that erupted in the battlefield benefited the institution, but a lot of energy remained in there. The first batch the Tongyou Institution sent would definitely be attacked by the Azure Spiritual World who didn¡¯t stop their advances towards the battlefield between the two worlds. The risks they were taking were the highest, but at the same time, the benefits they would receive if they were successful would be the largest! As such, the Tongyou Institution would never allow outsiders to be part of the first batch to enter the battlefield between the two worlds even if it meant that they had to take the risk of coming under attack. Due to the massive victory the Tongyou Institution obtained during the war for the Tongyou Mysterious World, the members of the institution experienced a huge increase in strength. Entering the battlefield between the two worlds would pose some threat to them, but they should be strong enough to deal with whatever came. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. Naturally, the Tongyou Institution wasn¡¯t stupid. After sending in the first batch to grab most of the benefits, they would open up the chance to other cultivators. For those who were interested in entering the battlefield between the two worlds from the second batch onwards, the Tongyou Institution would release a certain number of slots so that they could enter to search for their own fortune. Those from the You Continent, or even cultivators from elsewhere would be allowed to enter! Other than obtaining rank three talismans, Huo Wuji was also there to spread the news subtly that the institution was about to start their operation! ¡°I have a piece of rank three talisman here. Can I trade it for a piece of essence jade?¡± After understanding the meaning behind his actions, someone quickly brought up a trade. Since a rank three talisman could only be created with divine sense, there wouldn¡¯t be too many of them in circulation. The power contained in a rank three talisman was also really formidable. If a Martial Intent Realm expert used it, the talisman would turn into a very useful tool! Unless Huo Wuji ran into a supreme talisman master who had deep accumulations, it was nearly impossible to trade all five pieces away at once. He would have to trade them one by one! The allure of a piece of essence jade was huge. However, Huo Wuji only managed to trade them for three pieces of rank three talismans eventually. He kept the two remaining essence jade before returning to his seat. He might be done, but the gathering was far from over. Perhaps it was because of his subtle revelation of the Tongyou Institution¡¯s plans, but the atmosphere became even more heated. Throughout the process, Zhao Fengchun seemed exceptionally happy with all the extra information he gained. During the rest of the trades, Shang Xia and the rest joined most of the time. Unfortunately for Shang Xia and Tian Mengzi, they didn¡¯t manage to obtain much. Shang Xia didn¡¯t trade for much as not many things could catch his eye. There wasn¡¯t much he could use either as a cultivator at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. It was a different case for Tian Mengzi. As he hadn¡¯t been in the Martial Intent Realm for long, he didn¡¯t have much savings to begin with. Obtaining the Sunset Willow Spirit Awakening Needle used up a huge portion of his wealth earlier. Even if he wanted to trade for anything else, there was nothing he could bring out! Sun Haiwei wasn¡¯t like the two of them. She managed to obtain a piece of Triple Aperture Heart Ice Jade. It was beneficial to her cultivation and she had been playing with it the whole time since she obtained it. The trades went by pretty quickly, and everyone felt their horizons expanding every time someone put up a rare item for trade. Eventually, it was Shang Xia¡¯s turn to propose a trade. As Tian Mengzi and Sun Haiwei rejected the chance to propose a trade earlier, Shang Xia was the only one left. After thinking about it for a second, Shang Xia decided to walk over to the center table. He gauged the room earlier and not a trace of panic existed in Shang Xia¡¯s heart when he made his decision. As everyone stared at him in anticipation, he brought out seven small lacquered boxes that had a vivid carving of a white deer on its side. Those in the hall weren¡¯t amateurs! They immediately recognized the white deer as something that came from the White Deer Paradise! With the relationship the Tongyou Institution had with the White Deer Paradise, it was clearly impossible for a disciple of the White Deer Paradise to appear in the Tongyou City at that point. For someone to bring out an item like that in a gathering of Martial Intent Realm experts, that could only mean one thing¡­ The gazes of everyone present became a lot more curious and respectful when they looked at Shang Xia. The look on Huo Wuji and Wu Tingfang became one of disbelief as they stared at Shang Xia. Waving his hand, one of the cases slowly opened. A tiny deer that looked a little confused appeared before the eyes of everyone present. ¡°This is a spiritual deer that was specially nurtured by the White Deer Paradise. I won¡¯t elaborate more on its uses. I believe everyone here knows what this is capable of. It¡¯s not difficult to obtain this either. All I require are rank three talisman papers. There are seven boxes here with a spiritual deer in every one of them. I¡¯ll take two pieces of rank three talisman paper per box.¡± As soon as he spoke, someone got to their feet and yelled, ¡°I have two pieces of rank three talisman paper!¡± Tossing one box through the air, Shang Xia completed his first trade just like that. He looked at the talisman paper the other party handed over and inspected them well. He discovered that they were rather crudely made, but they were rank three talisman paper nonetheless. Shang Xia didn¡¯t price it too high, and with the added reassurance that the item came from the White Deer Paradise, it became an extremely desirable item. Two cultivators who seemed to know each other whispered to each other before taking out a piece of rank three talisman paper each. With that, they traded it with Shang Xia for a case. However, someone in the crowd was clearly dissatisfied as they didn¡¯t have any rank three talisman paper. ¡°Little brother, unless we¡¯re talisman masters ourselves or have the ability to craft talisman paper, we won¡¯t be able to trade with you. Why don¡¯t you change your request and ask for other things? I''m willing to trade a case for items equivalent in value to two pieces of rank three talisman paper. How¡¯s that?¡± Shang Xia snorted softly in response. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I only wish to trade for rank three talisman papers today.¡± While he was speaking, a fat cultivator approached the table and after searching high and low, he managed to pull out a dull yellow piece of talisman paper, a greenish-black material made out of beast skin, an empty talisman jade, and a palm-sized metal sheet that didn¡¯t have any markings on it. Even though all four items were different, they were definitely capable of being transformed into rank three talismans. ¡°Two cases, how¡¯s that?¡± The fatty smiled before raising two pudgy fingers to Shang Xia. Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate. He took out two cases from the remaining five and handed them over to the fatty. Even though the spiritual deer in each of the seven cases were pretty much similar, there were still very minute differences. Those Shang Xia chose for him were clearly those of a higher quality. After receiving the cases, the smile on the fatty¡¯s face grew wider. No one knew if he saw through Shang Xia¡¯s actions earlier, but he returned to his seat and plopped his butt down. Thinking for a second, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but send the fatty a voice transmission. ¡°Honored sir, are you able to produce talisman paper or material?¡± CH 365 ¡°Honored sir, are you able to produce talisman paper or material?¡± The fatty raised his head and laughed without giving an explicit reply. A wave of disappointment filled Shang Xia¡¯s heart when his question was ignored, but he didn¡¯t bother pressing for an answer. Seeing how four of the seven cases were already gone, everyone could tell how desirable those items were. That was also how Shang Xia discovered how well-received items from the White Deer Paradise were. One had to know that one would be able to obtain an item like that as long as they were a direct disciple from the White Deer Paradise. That would mean that the White Deer Paradise had a way to mass produce them. That might be true for the White Deer Paradise, but obtaining one in the outside world wasn¡¯t so easy. Many people might want to trade with Shang Xia, but they didn¡¯t have what he wanted. As such, there was nothing much they could do about it. Voice transmissions entered Shang Xia¡¯s mind non-stop as many people asked if he was willing to take other items of equal value. Ignoring all of them, Shang Xia paused for a second to wait for any more offers. Seeing as no one was able to bring out rank three talisman paper, he kept his cases and returned to his seat. When he returned, another transmission entered his ear. ¡°Are you really a talisman master? I have a bottle of rank three talisman ink with me. Do you want it?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression froze and he turned to look around him. He saw the black masked man nodding slightly in his direction. Shang Xia found it slightly weird. One had to know that he obtained the Flying Goose Brush from the man earlier. Since the start of the gathering, he brought out a Heart Directing Grass, the Flying Goose Brush, and now, he seemed to be in possession of some rank three talisman ink. He could be considered one of the most active traders in the gathering! Shang Xia hesitated for a moment before sending a voice transmission of his own. ¡°What type of talisman ink do you have? How much of it do you wish to trade?¡± As a rank three talisman master, Shang Xia would be able to tell the slight difference between the quality of talisman paper and talisman ink of the sank rank. There would be differences when using different types of talisman ink on different talisman paper. For example, he obtained two pieces of beast skin that could be considered talisman paper from his trades earlier. The skin came from water-attributed beasts, and if he used water-attributed ink to craft talismans on them, the talisman created would possess stronger effects. It would also be easier to successfully create a rank three talisman. The metal sheet he obtained from the fatty earlier also had its advantages. If he used it to craft sword talismans or spear talismans, the effects would be much stronger than ordinary talisman paper. After hearing Shang Xia¡¯s question, the black masked man was basically sure that Shang Xia was a rank three talisman master. He chuckled softly in response. ¡°I have a batch of ¡®Endless Red¡¯ ink. Feel free to raise any sort of trade. I believe that you won¡¯t try to scam me.¡± When he was done, he waved his hand and tossed over a small bottle that was three inches tall towards Shang Xia. Their actions didn¡¯t really catch the attention of the others in the hall and Shang Xia opened the bottle to inspect its contents after receiving it. The stench of blood assaulted his nose the moment he opened the bottle. If one allowed the smell to linger for long, they might lose control of their qi. That greatly tested the skills of the talisman master when crafting talismans. They had to be extremely careful when using the ink and every stroke might take them some time as they had to calm themselves down after every movement. However, that didn¡¯t mean that the ink was useless. It could boost the offensive abilities of the talisman when it was completed! To access the premium content, go to [ pawread dot com ]. With the effects of the ink, the talisman would be able to last a little longer than other rank three talismans even if they weren¡¯t kept properly. Shang Xia was truly tempted to obtain the bottle of talisman ink. One had to know that when he crafted the two talismans back in the Changfeng City, he was using rank two talisman ink! It wasn¡¯t impossible to craft rank three talismans with rank two ink, but the effects would be a little weaker than rank three talismans made with rank three ink. Holding the bottle in his hand, Shang Xia didn¡¯t return it immediately. Instead, he sent another voice transmission over. ¡°The bottle of ink is of great quality, but it¡¯s slightly lacking in quantity, don¡¯t you think? According to my estimations, even if I don¡¯t waste any, I should only be able to craft five talismans out of these. I am willing to trade it for two spiritual deer cases I brought out earlier. What do you think?¡± A happy chuckle made its way into Shang Xia¡¯s ears. ¡°Sounds good to me!¡± Tossing out two cases, Shang Xia asked another question. ¡°Do you have the recipe to create this ink? I am willing to pay a high price to obtain it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I do not.¡± The black masked man kept the cases carefully while replying to Shang Xia. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but feel a little regretful after hearing his response. However, there was nothing he could do about it as his attention returned to the center table. More than half of the Martial Intent Realm cultivators in the hall had gone up by the time Shang Xia completed his trade. As the others made their way up, Shang Xia felt that there was nothing more they could bring out that could catch the attention of the others present. Surprisingly, he was proved wrong almost immediately. Someone brought out a set of rank three advancement medicine, and another took out a rank three martial art. There was also a rank four spiritual herb that appeared. The gathering was pushed to a whole new climax. The rank three martial art wasn¡¯t comparable to the rest, but the advancement medicine was clearly the highlight of the gathering. The situation in the hall nearly turned chaotic when it was introduced. The cultivator who obtained it stood up and bade his farewell immediately. With Zhao Fengchun¡¯s arrangements, he disappeared from an unknown entrance. When the rank four spiritual herb appeared, a tense air filled the hall as several experts got to their feet in excitement. Zhao Fengchun couldn¡¯t sit still. He felt that he was about to lose control of the situation despite being the organizer of the gathering. Fortunately, Huo Wuji and Wu Tingfang had the support of the Tongyou Institution and they bought the rank four spiritual herb immediately, causing the tense bidding war that was almost certain to happen to die before it could start. No one could be sure what would happen if everyone in the hall started to bid for the rank four spiritual herb and it was extremely likely the harmonious atmosphere in the hall would be destroyed by a huge battle. After all, everyone present could use a rank four spiritual herb. With no one else to present their items, the gathering drew to a close as Zhao Fengchun arranged for everyone to leave the hall. After they left, the three of them felt a sense of loss despite obtaining several treasures. Regardless, the gathering was over and even if they were regretting not bidding on several more items, there was nothing they could do about it. Before they bade each other farewell, Sun Haiwei asked, ¡°The battlefield between the two worlds is about to reopen and a massive war is almost certain to break out. I am planning to use it as a chance to temper myself to try to complete my third divine sense transformation. I wonder what your plans are?¡± Tian Mengzi gasped in shock. ¡°Are you going to complete your third divine sense transformation already? Oh man, I just obtained the Sunset Willow Spirit Awakening Needle and will try to complete my second transformation. Who would have thought that you¡¯re going to leave me in the dust¡­¡± Sun Haiwei chuckled softly and continued, ¡°That¡¯s what I plan to do. It¡¯s not certain that I will succeed¡­¡± ¡°I wonder how the institution plans to retake their territory in the battlefield between the two worlds. If I manage to complete my divine sense transformation before they reopen the spatial tunnel, I wish to join the first batch of cultivators to enter¡­¡± After they spoke, they turned to look at Shang Xia. Even though they had hung out for an entire day, they had no idea which stage of cultivation Shang Xia had reached. Shang Xia laughed happily. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely join the first batch to enter the battlefield between the two worlds!¡± CH 366 A few days had passed since the gathering Shang Xia attended and ever since he returned to the Shang Clan Manor, he had been cultivating quietly to strengthen his inner qi. He might have reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm and looked like there was nothing left for him to do other than to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm, but that wasn¡¯t true. There were many things he could do to strengthen his foundations. It was true that other people who had reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm had nothing to do other than to wait for a breakthrough, but he advanced too quickly! As he strengthened his foundations, he was also getting into his peak state to craft a rank three talisman. Even though he had been hiding in the Shang Clan Manor in a state of semi-seclusion, the situation was different from the time he was in the Changfeng City. In the Shang Clan Manor, Yan Qi would return from time to time to report to him things that were happening throughout the city. Speaking of which, Shang Xia found things to be a little weird. Wu Tingfang and Huo Wuji might have subtly released the news of the Tongyou Institution¡¯s plan to reopen the spatial tunnel, but the undercurrents he expected to rock the city didn¡¯t happen. After taking some time to think about it, Shang Xia discovered why that was the case. This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. One was the fact that being able to enter the battlefield between the two worlds was a great opportunity. Those who learned about it wouldn¡¯t go around spreading the news like wildfire! They would only tell those in their faction or some close friends. Next, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for anyone to receive the institution¡¯s permission to enter the battlefield between the two worlds. Only those who were at least in the Martial Extremity Realm had the qualifications to enter! The second condition was more than enough to stop 80 percent of those who wanted to enter the battlefield between the two worlds. The only problem they had was that no one knew when the Tongyou Institution would reopen the spatial tunnel. Also, Shang Xia was technically still a student of the Inner Division in the Tongyou Institution. Even though his cultivation level had long surpassed many seniors in the institution and he could be considered an unparalleled existence under the Martial Extermination Realm, his status in the institution couldn¡¯t even be compared to Sun Haiwei and Tian Mengzi! In fact, any Upper Division disciple would be given more responsibility than him. As an Inner Division disciple, Shang Xia was naturally not privy to information like the opening of the spatial tunnel. Because of that, Shang Xia went to fish for more information from Shang Ke. Even so, he failed to gain much knowledge on the matter. Shang ke didn¡¯t seem to be clear about what was going on either. As such, Shang Xia could only attempt to guess the institution¡¯s intentions by looking at their battle preparations. At the same time, he had to prepare himself to the best of his abilities. Shang Xia¡¯s plan to obtain rank three talisman papers didn¡¯t stop at the gathering Tian Mengzi brought him to. He requested for Shang Quan to look for rank three talisman papers back in the Changfeng City and Shang Quan had been doing it ever since. It was a pity the Tongyou Institution was the greatest supplier of rank three talisman paper. They were also making their own battle preparations, and there was no way they could provide Shang Quan with much. With the Shang Clan operating at full capacity to look for rank three talisman paper, they mobilized their power within and outside the Tongyou City to gather seven pieces in total. Shang Quan passed them all to Shang Xia in the manor. The amount Shang Quan obtained couldn¡¯t even be compared to those Shang Xia traded! Moreover, the rank three talisman paper Shang Quan gathered for Shang Xia were counted as resources provided by the clan. After he succeeded in crafting the talismans, he would have to contribute a small portion of them back to the Shang Clan! The condition of contributing a small portion of the talismans he created was already a great bargain the Shang Clan gave to Shang Xia. That was because they knew he had just become a rank three talisman master and his success rate of crafting rank three talismans was low! The institution didn¡¯t remain idle either. The master of the Hundred Professions Pavilion came over to invite Shang Xia back to the institution to craft talismans. They obviously knew that Shang Xia had already become a rank three talisman master after receiving information from their sources. Shang Xia was a student of the Tongyou Institution and it went without saying that they were allowed to ask him for help, but that was it. Since he didn¡¯t use the institution¡¯s resources to reach his current level nor did he request the institution¡¯s help, they couldn¡¯t force him to do their bidding. Instead, they went over to the Shang Clan to cordially invite him over to assist in their efforts. Requesting for his uncle, Shang Quan, to pay him a visit, Shang Xia handed his uncle a small bottle the moment he arrived. ¡°Uncle Quan, do you think you can study this bottle of rank three talisman ink and craft higher ranked talisman inks in the future?¡± Shang XIa asked. ¡°Is this a bottle of Endless Red?¡± Shang Quan identified it instantly. He gasped softly, ¡°Where did you get this?¡± Shang Xia gave him a rough description of what happened the other day when Tian Mengzi brought him to the gathering of Martial Intent Realm cultivators. Thinking for a moment, Shang Quan muttered, ¡°It might help me a little, but it will only serve to give me some inspiration. After all, these can¡¯t be considered some sort of advancement medicine. It will be quite impossible for me to re-create this even if I have a sample. I will need to carry out countless experiments and waste god knows how much resources in order to make better talisman ink.¡± After some negotiations, Shang Quan retrieved a small tube of the ink with Shang Xia¡¯s permission. Looking at the amount Shang Quan took away, Shang Xia discovered that there was probably about 80 percent of the ink left. That would be enough to craft around 4 rank three talismans. Watching Shang Quan leave the courtyard, Yan Qi suddenly entered with a strange expression plastered on his face. He bowed slightly as he gestured to welcome someone else. ¡°Second Uncle, why are you here?¡± A trace of surprise flashed across Shang Xia¡¯s face and he hurriedly called for someone to serve some tea. The relationship between the two could be said to be extremely awkward, but none of them felt any malice for each other. Shang Jian was a lot more well-versed with the world than Shang Yang and he helped Shang Xia out many times in the past. Other than a little bit of awkwardness left between the two of them, they were actually pretty chill. When Shang Xia went missing the other time, he tried his best to locate the kid. He even looked for Shang Xi and Yan Qi to see if they had any news of him. After Shang Xia spoke to Shang Pei during his stay in the Changfeng City, almost all the hostility he had for those uncles and aunts who had some beef with the clan dissipated. Those long-lost aunts and uncles who might have left the clan because of some nasty incident in the past seemed to have already received some form of forgiveness from those of the older generation. Shang Ke didn¡¯t seem to be the only one who was pushing for their return. Shang Xia could tell that even Shang Bo had given his implicit permission for them to come back. With the increase in his cultivation realm, Shang Xia seemed to be able to see the situation a lot more clearly. He could tell that a huge change was coming and it might happen in the coming years. When that happened, not a single faction would be able to stay on the sidelines. The opportunity that would befall their clan would depend on how strong they could become before then. As Shang Xia and Shang Jian sat in the courtyard sipping their tea, Shang Jian finally broke the silence. ¡°I heard that you¡¯ve been gathering rank three talisman paper. I¡¯ve been roaming the world for a long time and I managed to form some connections out there. I managed to obtain 3 rank three talisman paper after looking around and I hope you don¡¯t think they¡¯re too little.¡± After he spoke, he placed a small wooden box on the table between them. There were exactly 3 rank three talisman papers in it. Shang Xia didn¡¯t reject the gift and he chuckled happily, ¡°Second Uncle, I won¡¯t stand on ceremony then!¡± In the past, Shang Xia heard from Shang Quan that ever since he requested for rank three talisman paper, Shang Jian went looking for Shang Quan to confirm that Shang Xia had actually become a rank three talisman master. For close to 20 years, Shang Jian had been living outside the You Continent. His connections in the clan and in the Tongyou City wouldn¡¯t be better than Shang Quan and it wasn¡¯t likely for him to be able to gather 3 pieces of rank three talisman paper with his network in the city. As such, he definitely expended a lot of effort to obtain them. Shang Jian felt a trace of joy in his heart when he saw Shang Xia accepting his gift. After a short discussion, Shang Jian finally brought up the true reason he was looking for Shang Xia. ¡°Little Xia, your cultivation increased by leaps and bounds since we last met but your cousins¡­ Those two brats are still stuck in the Martial Extremity Realm. They might also be walking down the way of the sword, but the way they train is different from me. I don¡¯t really have a way to help them myself¡­¡± Shang Xia nodded and chuckled in response, ¡°I left seven sword arts in our clan from my insights. They can take a look at them and see if any of the sword arts suit them.¡± A wide grin appeared on Shang Jian¡¯s face in that instant. However, he regained his composure and thanked Shang Xia sincerely, ¡°Your second uncle will have to thank you in their stead then! Many thanks!¡± Shang Jian had seen Shang Xia¡¯s sword art when he was in the Martial Extremity Realm and discovered that the various sword qi he had fused perfectly together. When he unleashed his Seven Laceration Sword, it was able to contend with Martial Intent Realm experts! If they could learn a thing or two from Shang Xia¡¯s sword techniques, Shang Jian was certain that the two of them would be able to smoothly enter the Martial Intent Realm in the future. After Shang Xia sent Shang Jian away, he turned to look at Yan Qi whose expression was fluctuating wildly. It seemed as though he was contemplating whether or not he should say something to Shang Xia. Seeing the look of discomfort on Yan Qi¡¯s face, Shang Xia broke out into laughter. ¡°Seventh Uncle, why do you look so constipated? With our relationship, is there a need to keep secrets from each other?¡± Heaving a sigh of relief, words shot out of Yan Qi¡¯s lips like bullets out a machine gun. ¡°Young master, don¡¯t you know about the strand of extermination origin the institution rewarded our clan with? The Second Master has been looking for the patriarch really often recently to ask for it!¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t stop laughing. ¡°I am far from advancing into the Martial Extermination Realm. As a matter of fact, I don¡¯t think that extermination origin is suitable for me in the first place.¡± After obtaining eight rank three talisman paper or equivalent from the gathering, seven from Shang Quan, and three from Shang Jian, Shang Xia managed to gather 18 rank three talisman paper in total! It was more than enough to keep him busy for some time! Unfortunately, he only had a small portion of the Endless Red ink left. Shang Quan didn¡¯t bring him any rank three ink, and he could only use rank two talisman ink once he ran out. It would slightly affect the power contained in the talisman slightly but it was something Shang Xia had to accept. After all, even in the Hundred Professions Pavilion in the Tongyou Institution, there wasn¡¯t enough rank three talisman ink to go around. Done with his preparations, Shang Xia was in no hurry to start the crafting process. Instead, he crafted more than a dozen rank two talismans to familiarize himself with the Flying Goose Brush. The Flying Goose Brush was of the same rank as his Thorny Brush, but the Flying Goose Brush was evidently better than the Thorny Brush in all aspects. Regardless of the way it was crafted or the smoothness of the brush, the Flying Goose Brush put the Thorny Brush to shame. When he was familiar with the Flying Goose Brush, Shang Xia regulated his qi again and he discovered that he was in a pretty amazing state to be crafting talismans. Taking out a piece of rank three talisman paper, he started his first attempt. The first rank three talisman paper was used to create the Golden Lightning Spear Talisman that he was familiar with and with him already succeeding twice previously, he was confident of successfully crafting a third. Even though he wasn¡¯t in a special state of enlightenment like he was the first two times, he was still extremely focused. He managed to split his divine sense off and complete the talisman in three short days. Without a doubt, succeeding on the first try was a great confidence booster for Shang Xia. After he took a short break, Shang Xia didn¡¯t bother cultivating to return to his peak state as he wanted to ride on the familiarity he had with the brush. He started on the second piece of talisman paper and soon, the third. In less than fifteen days, he managed to compete three rank three Golden Lightning Spear Talismans! Compared to his previous success rate, he was on a roll! One could say that he improved a ton since then. At the very least, he was able to craft Golden Lightning Spear Talismans with a pretty high hit rate now. CH 367 After completing 5 rank three talismans, Shang Xia was starting to feel tired. From that point alone, one could imagine how strong his divine sense was compared to those at the same level. Even though he had been giving it his all when crafting talismans, he recalled Shang Ke¡¯s warning that he had been given back in Changfeng City. No matter what, he couldn¡¯t split off too much divine sense in a month. That was the reason he had to slow down. With 5 talismans complete, he decided to take a break for a month. One reason was to restore his divine sense, and another was to return to his peak state. Lastly, he was preparing to craft another type of rank three talisman. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t possibly craft Golden Lightning Spear Talismans his whole life. There were 6 rank three talismans recorded in the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture and it was much more detailed than whatever the institution had! After his break, he was planning to craft another type of rank three talisman called the Tranquil Water Screen! As the name of the talisman suggested, one would be able to summon a water screen to protect themselves in times of need. The Tranquil Water Screen wasn¡¯t really related to Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation method by any means and in order to succeed, he would have to rely on his mastery in talisman crafting. Even though one could be considered a rank three talisman master if they could craft a rank three talisman, one could only be considered a qualified talisman master if they mastered the way to craft two or more rank three talismans. Of course, they needed a high rate of success too! When his break was over and Shang Xia started on his first attempt at crafting the Tranquil Water Screen, his speed slowed to a snail¡¯s crawl. He had been extremely focused and careful, but after completing half the talisman, all his hard work went down the drain because of a small mistake. As it was his first time crafting a new type of talisman, Shang Xia had been prepared to fail. Resting for five days, he started his second attempt. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know if it was because of his reflections from the failure before or pure luck, but he actually succeeded on his second attempt! Overflowing with confidence, Shang Xia started his third attempt right away as he tried to take advantage of the familiarity he had after his success. Without much suspense, he failed the instant he tried to seal his divine sense into the talisman. That wasn¡¯t all. He failed two more times consecutively. With a 1 out of 5 hit rate, Shang Xia managed to suppress his urge to start on his sixth attempt. He took a short break to reflect on his failures and quelled the impatience burning in his heart. His creation of the Tranquil Water Screen was far worse than when he made his Golden Lightning Spear Talismans back in the Changfeng City. However, that couldn¡¯t stop him from trying again. Taking out two more pieces of rank three talisman paper, he powered on. Even though he stumbled slightly, he managed to complete his second Tranquil Water Screen. Succeeding two times out of six, now his success rate was looking a little better than his initial development of the Golden Lightning Spear. Obviously, Shang Xia was comforting himself. During his next attempt, he promptly failed. He wanted to try again, and he could tell that he was starting to gain deeper insights into how to craft the Tranquil Water Screen. If he continued, he would definitely be able to do better. Looking at the last 6 pieces of rank three talisman paper he had left, he took a deep breath and decided to wait. Meditating and cultivating for the next few days to properly reflect on everything he had learned, he decided to take another approach. He would use the last 6 pieces to craft another rank three talisman, the Spiritual Yin Knife Talisman! The power contained in the Spiritual Yin Knife might not be comparable to the Golden Lightning Spear, but it was much more unpredictable. If used properly, it could catch his opponents off guard, and by the time they discovered its presence, it would be too late! Naturally, his first attempt ended in failure. On his second attempt, he seemed to have reached the same state of enlightenment he had when he succeeded in crafting his Golden Lightning Spear Talisman for the first time. Without hesitation, his brush danced on the rank three talisman paper on the table and he completed his first Spiritual Yin Knife Talisman. Shang Xia discovered that the miraculous feeling was still present and he quickly opened the small bottle at the side that contained the Endless Red ink and he dipped his brush into it. Taking out the metal sheet he obtained from the fatty, his Flying Goose Brush danced on its surface as red streaks appeared. As the rank three talisman ink filled the metal sheet, Shang Xia didn¡¯t rest for a second as he completed his second Spiritual Yin Knife Talisman in one smooth attempt that took three days. Without rest, he took out another rank three talisman paper. This time, he completed it even more quickly than before. He took two and a half days to craft his third Spiritual Yin Knife Talisman. When he was done, he discovered that he only had half of his Endless Red ink left. Fortunately, they would be sufficient for the 2 pieces of talisman papers he had left. With confidence filling his heart, he started another attempt. He completed it in one smooth attempt, shocking Shang Xia himself. With the completion of the fourth piece of Spiritual Yin Knife Talisman, the strange feeling he felt finally started to fade. His mind went blank and Shang Xia felt a sharp pain shooting through his body. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". Fatigue overwhelmed him and he discovered that he had overdrawn his divine sense. Luckily, he was still able to withstand the effects. Looking at the last piece of talisman paper, Shang Xia felt that he should chase his victory and finish the last talisman even if he had to strain his divine sense even more. It sure as hell didn¡¯t come as a surprise when his last attempt failed and he wasted his last piece of rank three talisman paper. CH 368 After using 5 pieces of rank three talisman paper to craft Golden Lightning Spear Talismans, he succeeded thrice. Using 7 pieces of talisman paper to create Tranquil Water Screen Talismans, he completed two. With the final 6 pieces he had, he miraculously created four Spiritual Yin Knife Talismans. With 18 pieces of rank three talisman paper, Shang Xia actually managed to create 9 rank three talismans. The success rate could be said to be pretty underwhelming when compared to other accomplished rank three talisman masters, but it was somewhat amazing for Shang Xia who had barely become one. After ending his seclusion, he learned from Yan Qi that he used close to 4 months to craft talismans. By the time he emerged from his courtyard, autumn had already arrived. ¡°How did so much time pass already?¡± Shang Xia turned to ask Yan Qi. ¡°Did the institution send any news? Did the first batch of experts already enter the battlefield between the two worlds?¡± Before Shang Xia entered seclusion, he told Yan Qi to inform him the moment the institution decided to open the spatial tunnel connecting the Tongyou Institution to the battlefield between the two worlds. He didn¡¯t think that Yan Qi would forget the order. Shaking his head, Yan Qi muttered, ¡°The Tongyou Institution definitely released the news of the reopening of the spatial tunnel. However, the institution fell silent half a year ago. It seemed as though any plans of reentering the battlefield between the two worlds had fallen through!¡± ¡°This¡­ This shouldn¡¯t happen¡­¡± Shang Xia frowned. Yan Qi seemed to have thought of something and he quickly handed a piece of document over to Shang Xia. ¡°Oh right, Young Master, even though you haven¡¯t been to the institution for close to a year now, the institution still promoted you to an Inner Division disciple.¡± Staring at him in shock, Shang Xia eventually retrieved the document Yan Qi handed over. He chuckled silently in his heart before keeping the document carefully. He took out one of each rank three talisman in his collection and handed it over to Yan Qi. ¡°Oh right, help me to hand this over to the clan. It can be considered my contributions to the clan after the resources they gave me to support my advancement to become a rank three talisman master.¡± Before Yan Qi could rush to the treasury to hand the talismans over, Shang Xia stopped him again. He took out another Spiritual Yin Knife Talisman after some consideration. ¡°Please give this to my Second Uncle too. I would like to thank him for supplying me with those rank three talisman papers.¡± After Yan Qi left, Shang Xia headed over to look for his Fifth Grandpa, Shang Ke. Shang Ke wasn¡¯t surprised when he saw Shang Xia. In fact, he was the first to speak. ¡°Hehe, damn brat, you¡¯re definitely here to ask about the reopening of the battlefield between the two worlds, right?¡± Shang Xia nodded in response. ¡°I can¡¯t hide anything from you. So, is there news about the matter? Did Grandpa Bo say anything about it?¡± Shang Ke snickered softly. ¡°Everything I know came from your Grandpa Bo. He seems to be a little reluctant to tell me the full details, but it seems as though it has something to do with the institution¡¯s lack of preparations.¡± ¡°Lack of preparations?¡± Shang Xia frowned. He muttered softly, ¡°The institution should have started their preparations since the war for the Tongyou Mysterious World ended. There¡¯s no way they¡¯re so sloppy in their preparations that they aren¡¯t ready yet. There are only several reasons that can cause the delay. Either something happened on the side of the Azure Spiritual World, or the issue lies with the upper echelons of our Azure Origin World! The Changbai Holy Land might have sent reinforcements to the battlefield between the two worlds, preventing us from hastily reopening the spatial tunnel¡­¡± A light flashed in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes. ¡°Or¡­ Could it be that Patriarch Kou hasn¡¯t fully recovered? Are there other reasons affecting¡­¡± Staring at Shang Xia in shock, Shang Ke snapped, ¡°All we know right now is that Kou Chongxue wasn¡¯t fully recovered when he went to the Ji Continent before.¡± A chill ran down Shang Xia¡¯s heart. ¡°Did his injuries get worse after he took action against the White Deer Paradise the other time? Did he overexert himself?!¡± A bitter smile appeared on Shang Ke¡¯s face and he sighed, ¡°That¡¯s not something your Grandpa Bo will say. Not even to me.¡± Nodding slowly, Shang Xia seemed to have fallen into deep contemplation. However, he didn¡¯t say anything more. ¡­ In the core region of the Tongyou Mysterious World where the Zhu Family Manor once stood. Shang Bo and Yun Jing were looking at Kou Chongxue who had just emerged from seclusion. Releasing a long breath, a white mist appeared and everything within a hundred feet of the patriarch seemed to freeze over. ¡°Did you recover fully?!¡± Yun Jing stared at him with wide eyes and asked. With a somber expression, Kou Chongxue remained silent. None of them knew what he was thinking about. Seeing as he didn¡¯t reply to her, a trace of worry appeared on Yun Jing¡¯s face. ¡°Did it not work?! Hmph! You¡¯re really something else alright¡­ You believed that kid because of some random nonsense he spewed. Are you tired of living?! How can you bet your life so casually?!¡± Kou Chongxue¡¯s gaze started to focus and a hoarse voice left his lips. ¡°Hehe, aren¡¯t you afraid of offending your Third Brother Shang by insulting his grandson?¡± Shang Bo chuckled at the side and he didn¡¯t seem to take her words to heart. After all, he was a little more aware of what had happened. Smiling at Shang Bo, Yun Jing seemed to express her apologies before turning back to Kou Chongxue. ¡°So what is your situation right now?¡± ¡°I managed to rebalance my fate dippers. Hehe, looks like the kid wasn¡¯t sprouting bullshit when he came up with this idea.¡± Kou Chongxue muttered. Yun Jing wasn¡¯t the only one who was shocked at the revelation. Even Shang Bo widened his eyes in shock. Even though he expected as much after looking at how much better Kou Chongxue looked, it was another thing to hear it from the man himself. All of them knew that once Kou Chongxue solved the problem of his fate dippers¡¯ imbalance, he would be able to restore a huge portion of his fighting strength. Moreover, they thought that he would only be able to do something like that if he grasped some sort of special technique. From what Kou Chongxue was saying, it seemed as though Shang Xia¡¯s pointers were all he used to solve the problem! Was the kid¡¯s idea really so impressive?! Even up till that point, none of them believed that Kou Chongxue¡¯s recovery had something to do with Shang Xia. One had to know that even though Yun Jing and Shang Bo hadn¡¯t stepped into the Martial Dipper Realm, they had been to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion. They heard other Martial Dipper Realm experts discussing the dao and they knew that there was one deadly mistake one could never make in the Martial Dipper Realm. That was to lose control of their fate dippers and allow there to be an imbalance. Once that happened, it was said that there was no way back. Only death awaited an expert whose fate dippers reached a state of disequilibrium. That was the greatest cause of death for experts at the Martial Dipper Realm! It caused more deaths than battles among experts at that level! Kou Chongxue was probably the first to overturn his fate! Not only did he not die, he even managed to regain his strength and deal a great deal of damage to the White Deer Paradise! If the news were to leak¡­ Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" No! The news of his recovery had already spread across the lands! Now, the Azure Origin World wasn¡¯t the only problem. Even the Martial Dipper Realm experts of the Azure Spiritual World would have heard of Kou Chongxue¡¯s recovery! All of them would know that Kou Chongxue had a way to solve the greatest problem that plagued them! The more they thought about it, the heavier their hearts became. Shang Bo and Yun Jing stared at each other in fright. God damn! Luckily, Kou Chongxue was the one who received the kid¡¯s pointers and recovered! If he was anyone else, those treacherous bastards might have already launched a great war to pry the secret from whoever managed to solve the problem of their fate dippers¡¯ disequilibrium. Kou Chongxue¡¯s reputation truly saved them this time. Realizing the implications of the matter, Yun Jing and Shang Bo knew that everyone who knew how Kou Chongxue recovered would have to keep the matter a secret. As long as anyone leaked the news, their lives would most likely be forfeit! No! They forgot a scarier fact! They wouldn¡¯t be the first to die! Shang Xia¡¯s life would be in even more danger than they could imagine! CH 369 ¡°This will definitely cause a storm, especially in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion! You need to be careful¡­¡± Yun Jing warned. Shang Bo¡¯s expression changed slightly and he muttered, ¡°Is that the reason why you pushed the opening of the spatial tunnel back? Are you expecting another massive war to break out? As for your strength right now¡­¡± Waving his hands casually to dismiss their concerns, Kou Chongxue sighed, ¡°There¡¯s nothing to worry about. The chances of a huge fight breaking out is small. Of course, they will definitely join forces and attempt to suppress us. However, have we ever backed down from a challenge like that? Do you think this old man here will be threatened by them?¡± ¡°But¡­ Now that we are reopening the spatial tunnel to regain some ground in the battlefield between the two worlds, the Azure Spiritual World will definitely send a Martial Dipper Realm expert over. With the added pressure from the Beyond Heavens Pavilion, are you sure you won¡¯t be backstabbed by those from our world? You¡¯ll be under attack on all sides!¡± Yun Jing frowned. Snorting with disdain, Kou Chongxue growled, ¡°For the past twenty years, haven¡¯t we been attacked on all sides? Relax. They still treasure their reputation and a replay of what happened during the war for the Tongyou Mysterious World shouldn¡¯t play out again. As for how I restored my strength, let¡¯s just say that it was because of a miraculous encounter. It¡¯s not like they have any incidents like that to compare me to. It¡¯s entirely possible that something like that happened in the past and they can let their imaginations run wild. Whatever the case, we¡¯re not telling them the exact way I recovered.¡± Yun Jing and Shang Bo nodded their heads slowly. However, Yun Jing was clearly still worried. ¡°You refined the Water Origin Fate Dipper and restored the balance of your fate dippers. Now, you¡¯re a third element Martial Dipper Realm Expert. Do you think you experienced an upgrade in strength?¡± Kou Chongxue sighed softly in response, ¡°That¡¯s what I wanted to tell you. After entering the Martial Dipper Realm, there is no longer a guide on how to get stronger. We have to pioneer our own path, and we can only rely on ourselves to bash our way forward.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright if one has the backing of a huge superpower or a holy land. No matter what, they somewhat have experiences of other Martial Dipper Realm experts. Even though those who borrow the power of their holy lands to advance will be restricted to staying within their territory, they will definitely be able to progress a little more smoothly than me. With so many experts who have already stepped into the Martial Dipper Realm, they definitely left behind a lot of experience and records. They might have been able to find a better way to progress.¡± Shang Bo interrupted, ¡°At the end of the day, our foundations aren¡¯t as strong as them. However, when we upgrade to the Tongyou Paradise in the future, we will definitely be comparable to the White Deer Paradise.¡± Kou Chongxue nodded in acknowledgment before he continued, ¡°Even though I managed to refine another fate dipper, my battle capabilities seem to have reduced slightly.¡± A look of worry appeared on Yun Jing¡¯s face as she was dumbstruck by his revelation. Hesitating slightly, Shang Bo broke the silence. ¡°Why don¡¯t we call the brat over and ask him if he knows something about it?¡± Waving his hands, Kou Chongxue muttered, ¡°There¡¯s no need to trouble a child for this.¡± ¡°Third Brother Shang, do you really think that the kid knows what to do in the Martial Dipper Realm?¡± Yun Jing chuckled bitterly. A helpless smile also appeared on Shang Bo¡¯s face. ¡°If we talk about my entire progress in the Martial Dipper Realm so far, you can think of my combat strength to be at the fifth level when I just stepped into the Martial Dipper Realm and refined the Primal Yang Copper Fate Dipper. After refining my Eternal Spring Fate Dipper, my combat strength dropped to the fourth level. Today, after everything we¡¯ve been through and after I solved the problem of imbalance, my actual battle capabilities seem to have dropped to the third level!¡± Kou Chongxue explained. ¡°Are you the only one facing this problem? Or are other Martial Dipper Realm experts experiencing the same thing?¡± Yun Jing asked a very important question out of the blue. Shaking his head, Kou Chongxue muttered, ¡°Those undying assholes in the holy lands might have grasped a thing or two, but I don¡¯t know much about the rest. However, I do know that there are not many Martial Dipper Realm experts who can do a thing to me.¡± When he was done talking, he finally got to his feet and he stared at the bronze gates not too far away. Turning into a streak of light, he charged through the air and disappeared into the distance. His voice was the only thing he left behind. Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. ¡°Just follow the plan for the reopening of the spatial tunnel. Leave the Beyond Heavens Pavilion to me!¡± ¡­ With Kou Chongxue¡¯s order, the Tongyou Institution quickly gave the notice that the spatial tunnel would reopen on the eighth day of the ninth month. It would take place in five days and the news quickly spread through the Tongyou City. Shang Xia looked at his Scarlet Star Spear that he received not too long ago after commissioning Duan Hong to fix it previously. Even though graded weapons didn¡¯t possess their own spirituality like divine weapons, they were normally bathed in the inner qi of their user. That would allow the user of a graded weapon to feel a lot more familiar with it. When he was inspecting his weapon, Yan Qi opened the doors to his courtyard and barged in hastily. Shaking the spear in his hand slightly, the body of the spear started to buzz as it became ready to threaten everyone in its vicinity. Yan Qi, who had just entered the courtyard, felt as though a terrifying beast had set its sights on him. However, that feeling disappeared as quickly as it came. Yan Qi could feel that his clothes were drenched in perspiration as he thought back to the fear he felt a moment ago. It happened so quickly that he didn¡¯t know if he was hallucinating. Looks like I can¡¯t enter this courtyard as I wish in the future! What the hell was that?! Yan Qi thought to himself. ¡°Seventh Uncle, is something the matter?¡± Shang Xia kept his spear and asked when he saw the hurry Yan Qi was in. Sucking in a long breath to stabilize himself, Yan Qi took several steps forward and muttered, ¡°Young Master, the institution sent out news that in five days, the spatial tunnel leading to the battlefield between the two worlds will open!¡± Turning serious, Shang Xia asked, ¡°Are you sure? Is the news confirmed?¡± ¡°The institution passed down the news personally. There¡¯s no mistake about it. I believe the manor will receive the notice soon enough.¡± Yan Qi nodded in response. ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go, I have to look for Grandpa Ke!¡± Shang Xia yelled as he headed for the exit. Seeing how quickly Shang Xia was moving, Yan Qi hastened his steps to keep up before yelling, ¡°Young Master, I am willing to accompany you if you enter the battlefield between the two worlds as part of the vanguard!¡± Shang Xia chuckled happily in response. ¡°It¡¯s great that you¡¯re willing to follow me. However, every great clan probably has a plan for their experts to enter the battlefield between the two worlds along with the institution¡¯s vanguards. You should be following the clan instead of me!¡± Staring at Shang Xia with his eyes wide with shock, he realized what Shang Xia was saying. ¡°Young Master, aren¡¯t you planning to follow the clan?¡± ¡°Did you forget? I¡¯m an Upper Division disciple of the institution now!¡± Shang Xia replied without even turning his head. On their way to Shang Ke¡¯s courtyard, the two of them ran into someone Shang Xia hadn¡¯t seen in a long time. ¡°Oi brat, are you also planning to look for Fifth Uncle?¡± Shang Xi¡¯s voice rang through the air the moment she caught sight of him. From the direction she was walking in, it was clear she had also received the news and was headed for Shang Ke¡¯s courtyard. A smile appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Aunt, are you also planning to head into the battlefield between the two worlds?¡± Nodding slightly, Shang Xi explained, ¡°I¡¯ve been in seclusion this whole time. I received some insights during my cultivation and I plan to head over to start a massacre against those cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World to hopefully gain an opportunity to undergo my third divine sense transformation!¡± Chuckling in response, Shang Xia exchanged a few more words with her as they went to look for Shang Ke. ¡­ When Yan Qi brought the news back, Shang Jian ran into the eastern courtyard hastily. Seeing the empty courtyard before him and Xu Huizhu in the distance, his expression sank. ¡°Hmph, where are the kids? Shouldn¡¯t they be training right now?¡± Shang Jian¡¯s tone of voice wasn¡¯t exactly pleasant. In fact, he seemed to be blaming Xu Huizhu from the way he spoke. With a frown forming on her face, She snapped at him. ¡°Your nephew¡¯s sword art is really something else. Even I can¡¯t decipher it after examining it over and over. Do you think Bei¡¯er and Dong¡¯er will be able to understand anything in a short period of time? The more they train, the more confused they get. I told them to head into the cultivation chamber to think over what they learned so far. They can train after clearing their minds.¡± Finally regaining his calm demeanor, Shang Jian released a long sigh. ¡°Ai¡­ Looks like I can¡¯t blame them for that either. Looking at Fourth Brother¡¯s child, even I¡¯m left far behind. The kid¡¯s sword art has far surpassed me. I only hope that Dong¡¯er and Bei¡¯er can improve quickly so as not to make us look too bad¡­¡± Rolling her eyes at him, Xu Huizhu sneered, ¡°Your kids are already ahead of their peers in terms of cultivation. Don¡¯t compare them to Shang Xia. He¡¯s an absolute monster. If they can be like him, you¡¯ll probably go crazy.¡± ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Shang Jian revealed a helpless smile. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± The two of them quickly changed the topic and decided never to compare themselves or their children to Shang Xia again. Looking at Xu Huizhu again, he discovered that she had been examining something when he entered and he asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Raising her eyebrows slightly, she muttered softly, ¡°Come take a look yourself. Yan Qi just delivered it. He said that it¡¯s a rank three talisman Shang Xia created.¡± A pout formed on her face and she joked, ¡°At least you didn¡¯t waste those rank three talisman papers¡­¡± Sending an annoyed glance her way, Shang Jian quickly went over to look at the talisman that was emitting a slight stench of blood. ¡°Huh? This¡­ This talisman isn¡¯t as simple as it looks!¡± A trace of admiration could be heard in his voice as he praised the talisman sitting before him. Not realizing the intricacies behind the talisman, Xu Huizhu sighed, ¡°A rank three talisman might not be something you see every day, but as cultivators of the Martial Intent Realm, we don¡¯t really need it. We should leave it for Dong¡¯er and Bei¡¯er.¡± It was true that the two of them were Martial Intent Realm experts, but Shang Jian was clearly ahead of Xu Huizhu when it came to experience and cultivation. Holding the talisman in his hand, he ignored whatever she said as he inspected it closely. ¡°You don¡¯t understand. This talisman¡­ Hehe, this talisman is so strong that even you might not be able to withstand its effects.¡± Seeing the look of shock on her face, Shang Jian knew that she was reevaluating the worth of the talisman at that moment. He couldn¡¯t help but add, ¡°Alright. I will definitely be sent to the battlefield between the two worlds with the clan. I might as well hold on to it. I¡¯ll head out and look for more rank three talisman paper and ask the kid to prepare some talismans for Dong¡¯er and Bei¡¯er in the future.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to join the expedition?!¡± Xu Huizhu¡¯s expression changed after hearing what he said. Nodding slightly, Shang Jian interrupted her before she could say anything else. ¡°There¡¯s no need to dissuade me from doing it. I understand what I have to do. Since I¡¯m a part of the Shang Clan, I can¡¯t expect them to hand me everything on a silver platter. I have to make some contributions too. I have to fight for an opportunity to grow stronger. Things will never get better if I remain here and wait for a pie to drop from the skies.¡± CH 370 On the eighth of the ninth month, students of the institution and experts of the four great clans were gathered around the main entrance of the Tongyou Institution where the spatial tunnel lay. They were split into two groups, and the group that had already stepped through the entrance and was waiting for the spatial tunnel to open was made up of cultivators who were at the very least Martial Intent Realm experts. There were custodians, instructors, deacons, and heads of the various divisions. There were more than thirty of them who hailed from the Tongyou Institution. They were also joined by experts of the four great clans. Surprisingly, there were several chosen cultivators from several other factions in the city among them. Without exception, all of them were in the Martial Intent Realm. They totaled around sixty people and multiple Martial Extermination Realm experts stood above their heads. Everyone watched the spatial tunnel quietly. That group would be the first to charge into the battlefield between the two worlds the moment the tunnel opened. They would also be responsible for killing as many people as they could. The second group remained within the confines of the institution and they were led by a tiny group of Martial Intent Realm experts from the institution. The rest was made up of Martial Extremity Realm cultivators from the institution and some select factions in the city. There were hundreds of people who made up that group. After the vanguard killed their way in and secured a landing point, the second group would pour into the battlefield between the two worlds and reinforce the region as their base of operations. At the same time, they would slowly expand the radius of their territory. Shang Xia had strategically placed himself among the first group of people, and he was ready to slay anything or anyone that stood in his way the moment the spatial tunnel opened. He didn¡¯t choose to join the members of the Shang Clan. Instead, he stood close to the others from the institution. Right beside him were familiar faces like Sun Haiwei and Tian Mengzi. When the Tongyou Institution mentioned that the spatial tunnel was about to reopen, Shang Xia, Shang Xi, and Shang Jian went over to look for Shang Ke to request permission to take part in the war. Shang Ke didn¡¯t reject their request. Instead, he gathered all the Martial Intent Realm experts who could be deployed from the clan and their vassals and personally brought them to the institution to join the war. He left Shang Yang back in the clan to take charge of matters there, and he was the only Shang Clan descendant of direct bloodline. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t the only one who wasn¡¯t stuck with the members of the Shang Clan. Shang Ke wasn¡¯t there either as he hovered in mid air while discussing something with the rest of the Martial Extermination Realm experts there. In total. He brought over eight members of the Shang Clan who were in the Martial Intent Realm to join in the war, and they were headed by Shang Jian. They stood close to the experts of the institution while waiting for the tunnel to reopen. No one knew how long had passed, but a ray of light soon emerged from the dense fog that covered the battlefield between the two worlds, painting a strangely beautiful scene on the lands. At that moment, one of the Martial Extermination Realm experts in the air took a step forward. Standing in front of the spatial tunnel, his voice soon resounded in the minds of everyone. ¡°Open the tunnel!¡± His voice was too recognizable and everyone turned to stare at him. He was none other than the other mighty deputy patriarch of the Tongyou Institution who established his prestige not too long ago, Shang Bo! Amidst the loud warcries of those in the first group, a weird spatial vortex emerged from the mysterious world above their heads. A pillar of light emerged from the depths of the vortex and slammed directly into the spatial barrier separating the institution from the battlefield between the two worlds. ¡°Heh, are they going to use the strength of the mysterious world to forcefully tear a hole into the battlefield between the two worlds?¡± Tian Mengzi was the most adept with formations out of them all and he seemed to be able to read into the institution¡¯s actions. However, he quickly continued. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder there¡¯s no formation master among us. All of them probably hid in the mysterious world to get ready for this!¡± Shang Bo¡¯s voice boomed through the air suddenly. ¡°Everyone in the Martial Extermination Realm, please lend us your strength to create the tunnel!¡± As soon as he spoke, he released his extermination origins. Since he reached the large completion stage back then and reached the state of fusing his extermination origins back to one, a dull orangey-yellow light emerged and entered the light pillar that came from the vortex. It slammed directly into the spatial barrier. Those standing behind him also started to make their moves. Their extermination origins started to gather towards the light pillar and crashed heavily into the spatial barrier. With the power of the mysterious world, a hole that was close to sixty feet deep formed. With the assistance of the various Martial Extermination Realm experts, the depth of the hole increased to a hundred feet. Strange light emerged from the spatial barrier and it tried to forcefully close the giant hole that formed, but Shang Bo¡¯s command came again. ¡°Those in the Martial Extermination Realm, follow me into the tunnel to stabilize it!¡± With him leading the way, Yun Jing, Liu Qinglan, Kang Ci, Shang Lubing, Liu Zhiyuan, Shang Ke, Ji Yu, and Yun Yichen flew into the barrier there was another foreign-looking Martial Extermination Realm expert among them who also entered the tunnel. The mist that was slowly starting to enter the spatial tunnel was forcefully dispersed by the impressive lineup of Martial Extermination Realm experts. Not too long after they entered, the Tongyou Mysterious World sent out another pillar of light that caused the tunnel to grow by another sixty feet. As the light started to dim, Shang Bo¡¯s loud grunt came from within the tunnel as a multitude of lights lit up the space before them. The tunnel seemed to grow even deeper and the space around it became more solid. As the process repeated several more times, the tunnel continued to grow and the movements from the Martial Extermination Realm experts were no longer observable from the outside. Standing before the spatial tunnel and watching the space turn more and more solid, the wisps of gray qi that could be seen along the edges of the tunnel disappeared. A look of disappointment appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. He learned from cultivators at the Martial Extermination Realm that chaotic world essence was contained in the spatial barrier. Those gray wisps that escaped were essentially muddied world origin. Even though they weren¡¯t extremely pure, Shang Xia could feel that they would be effective in restoring the Crimson Soul Tablet. It was a shame there was too little of it that escaped. It wasn¡¯t possible for him to make good use of it. Of course, not daring to enter the unstable tunnel at that point was also a reason behind his inaction. If he was like those Martial Extermination Realm brutes, he would have gone in with them to absorb those world origin. At the end of the day, he was at the Martial Intent Realm. His physical body wasn¡¯t strong enough to withstand the spatial storms that came from the unsteady tunnel. Search "pawread dot com" for the original. CH 371 The first group of experts was still waiting for the signal to enter the spatial tunnel as the Martial Extermination Realm experts did their thing. However, they weren¡¯t exactly idle. The world origin that escaped from the spatial barrier turned into pure heaven and earth qi that filled the air. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t the only one who came into contact with world origin in the past. There were many cultivators who were stuck at their respective bottlenecks and they absorbed as much heaven and earth qi as they could during the process. When that was happening, Shang Xia discovered someone peculiar. The heaven and earth qi that came from the chaotic world origin seemed to be affected by some sort of suction force and a huge portion of them were pulled into the depths of the Tongyou Institution. He could tell that the Tongyou Mysterious World was the one that produced the suction force, but surprisingly, it wasn¡¯t absorbing the heaven and earth qi for itself. Instead, it was increasing the density of the heaven and earth qi in the institution. With the departure of those in the Martial Extermination Realm, the atmosphere became a lot more relaxed. There were many who started absorbing heaven and earth qi but there was also a potion of them who started chatting with each other. Shang Xia¡¯s attention was focused on the beam of light that emerged from the Tongyou Mysterious World, but he managed to catch some of what those around him were saying. ¡°Senior Brother Yuan, is the spatial barrier becoming weaker?¡± ¡°Senior Brother Qian has been roaming outside for quite some time now. Did you hear something about it?¡± Shang Xia felt his heart trembling slightly and he could guess who those people referred to. ¡®Senior Brother Yuan¡¯ was probably Yuan Zhen of the Protection Division and ¡®Senior Brother Qian¡¯ was probably Qian Sitong of the Outreach Division. Yuan Zhen was the more recognizable of the two as Qian Sitong was usually stationed outside the institution to look for intelligence. It was said that he¡¯s been roaming around the various continents of the Azure Origin World when he wasn¡¯t back in the institution. The discussion among them quickly entered Shang Xia¡¯s ears again. ¡°Nonsense! I only heard about the weakening of the spatial barrier from the higher ups of the institution. However, those also seemed like rumors that were floating around. Brother Yuan, you¡¯re the head of the Protection Division and should know a lot more about this¡­¡± ¡°AI¡­ Brother Qian must be kidding. Only the true experts of the institution would be able to confirm this. I¡¯m not in the Martial Extermination Realm and the institution wouldn''t tell me these things for no reason.¡± ¡°Brother Yuan, you mean¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m close to breaking through to the Martial Extermination Realm. Why don¡¯t we join forces and fight together in the battlefield between the two worlds?¡± After a short period of silence, the eighth blast came from deep within the spatial tunnel before Qian Sitong gave his answer. ¡°I¡¯m honored that Brother Yuan is willing to work with me but there are so many other experts in the Martial Intent Realm who are going to take part in the war. Why did you choose me as your ally?¡± ¡°Brother Qian, is there a need to ask something you already know the answer to?¡± ¡°Hehe¡­ It hasn¡¯t been long since I returned and there are some things I don¡¯t know. I hope Brother Yuan can enlighten me¡­¡± ¡°Brother Qian, you¡¯re being dishonest here. Why would you remain in the institution after the war? As one of the heads of the Outreach Division, there is no way you haven¡¯t heard of it.¡± ¡°Brother Yuan, you seem to be mistaken. I really don¡¯t know anything! I received Deputy Patriarch Yun¡¯s order to remain here as we¡¯re lacking in manpower to start another war after opening the spatial tunnel again. Yuan Zhen frowned and snapped, ¡°Since Brother Qian is unwilling to admit it, I¡¯ll lay it out for you. I hope this can allow you to see my sincerity.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± ¡°Brother Qian, do you know what happened after the war for the Tongyou Mysterious World? Each of the four great clans managed to obtain an extermination origin. Other than the Shang Clan, the other clans had already produced another Martial Extermination Realm expert.¡± ¡°I know about that. I can see three more additions to those in the Martial Extermination Realm from the four great clans.¡± Yuan Zhen didn¡¯t stop there. ¡°That¡¯s not the point here. Anyway, Zhang Haogu and Gu Shou also managed to enter the Martial Extermination Realm. As for the Shang Clan, it doesn''t matter whether or not they produce another Martial Extermination Realm expert. They already have two to begin with.¡± Qian Sitong muttered, ¡°I heard that if not for Gu Shou suffering from serious injuries in the Coral Forest, the Shang Clan Patriarch wouldn¡¯t have been the one to break through¡­¡± A sneer appeared on Yuan Zhen¡¯s face. ¡°See, I knew you had an idea of what happened. Anyway, I¡¯m trying to say that it¡¯s unfair that the four great clans managed to get one strand of extermination origin each while our institution only received two.¡± Qian Sitong didn¡¯t reply immediately. Instead, he paused for a second and continued, ¡°That¡¯s actually a little unfair. Even though the four great clans greatly contributed to the institution¡¯s victory, it¡¯s a little unfair for all the benefits to go to them¡­ Looks like there are some problems with the higher ups of the institution¡­¡± Chuckling softly, Yuan Zhen added, ¡°That was what I thought too. However, Deputy Patriarchs Ji and Yun did the same thing as Deputy Patriarch Shang and relieved themselves of their position in their respective clans to focus on the institution. As the Division Masters of the Protection Division and the Outreach Division, Deputy Patriarch Ji and Deputy Patriarch Yun seem to be planning to pass down their positions to worthy individuals too¡­¡± A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. The last part of his revelation seemed to have truly shocked Qian Sitong. After a period of silence, Qian Sitong finally snapped back to reality. ¡°Is this true? If what you say is truly the case, the institution¡¯s act of giving each great clan a strand of extermination origin wouldn¡¯t be exaggerated at all!¡± ¡°Heh, Brother Qian, the position of the Division Master¡­¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m not qualified to take on the position as the Division Master of the Outreach Division! At least not yet. However, Brother Yuan Zhen, it wouldn¡¯t be a stretch if you were to take over the Protection Division!¡± Qian Sitong roared with laughter suddenly. With his tone dropping slightly, he growled, ¡°Brother Qian, do you think the position of a Division Master in our Tongyou Institution would go to anyone under the Martial Extermination Realm?¡± Sighing softly, Qian Sitong finally gave Yuan Zhen the reply he wanted. ¡°Brother Yuan, I understand. Now that we¡¯re going to attack the battlefield between the two worlds¡­¡± ¡°This will determine if we can advance into the Martial Extermination Realm and take on the roles of the Division Masters of our respective divisions! What do you say?¡± Yuan Zhen growled once again. ¡°Here¡¯s to our pleasant cooperation!¡± Qian Sitong muttered softly. Even though they didn¡¯t transmit their voices directly to each other, they surrounded themselves with a barrier made from their divine senses. Not many people would be able to eavesdrop on them. However, they would never expect that there would be someone who could listen in to their entire conversation without alerting either one of them! Shang Xia discovered that since he comprehended the Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter, the degree of fusion with the world around him increased. He was able to bypass their divine sense barrier without much problems and he also discovered a more terrifying fact. The greater his insights into the Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter, he would be able to transform the aura around him to disguise himself! The ninth burst of light emerged from the Tongyou Mysterious World, shooting straight into the spatial tunnel when their conversation concluded. A loud blast unlike any of the eight that happened before it resounded in the ears of everyone present. Snapping back to reality, Shang Xia realized that the time had come. A thick stream of heaven and earth qi poured out from the tunnel all of a sudden as the density of heaven and earth qi in their surroundings increased several folds. Shang Bo¡¯s voice came from within the tunnel and raised the curtains of the impending battle. ¡°The spatial tunnel has been connected! Everyone, enter the battlefield between the two worlds and get ready for battle!¡± As soon as he spoke, huge energy fluctuations came from within the spatial barrier. CH 372 When the Tongyou Institution carried out their plan to establish the Tongyou Mysterious World, they naturally evacuated everyone from the battlefield between the two worlds. During the great war for the Tongyou Mysterious World, they closed off the spatial tunnel to avoid facing the Martial Extermination Realm experts from the Azure Spiritual World. That resulted in the battlefield between the two worlds falling into the hands of the four great races of the Liao Continent in the Azure Spiritual World. They were naturally unwilling to let the Tongyou Institution enter the battlefield between the two worlds to fight with them for benefits again. After the spatial tunnel was shut off, the Azure Spiritual World had been preparing to launch a frightening offensive on the Tongyou Institution the moment they reopened the spatial tunnel. As such, the war that was about to happen didn¡¯t come as a surprise! The experts of the Azure Spiritual World heard the commotion when the Tongyou Institution carved the spatial tunnel out with the power from the Tongyou Mysterious World, and they were more than ready to start the battle. They knew where the tunnel would connect and they had long since reinforced the area to suppress the members of the Tongyou Institution the moment they crossed over. With Shang Bo in the lead, close to ten Martial Extermination Realm experts emerged from the tunnel. Their main objective was to slaughter and make a powerful entrance for the rest of the members of the Tongyou Institution to enter. When those back at the entrance of the tunnel heard the commotion coming from within, they finally revealed looks of fear and worry. A moment later, the fluctuations coming from the battlefield between the two worlds seemed to die down a little. Those waiting at the entrance seemed to have discovered something and many people cheered. ¡°We forced those bastards from the Azure Spiritual World to retreat!¡± From the sounds of battle coming from within the tunnel, it seemed as though the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the institution were smoothly fighting their way deeper into the battlefield. However, it could also be a trap laid down by the other side to bait their experts deeper into foreign territory. There were many Martial Intent Realm experts who started making their way into the tunnel, but they were stopped by Peng Lanqing. ¡°Stop right there!¡± When they turned to stare at him with expressions of confusion, he quickly explained his actions. ¡°The shockwaves of the battle caused by those at the Martial Extermination Realm are massive. Not to mention there are definitely more than ten of them fighting in there now. If we run in now, we might be killed before we know what happened. It would be an unnecessary loss!¡± Instructors of the institution were on the same level as deacons of the various divisions and due to the emphasis and nurturing the institution had on instructors, they seemed to possess authority higher than others at the same level. Peng Lanqing might be an instructor of the Outer Division, but even deacons like Qian Sitong, Yuan Zhen, Song You, and Yu Duhe respected him enough to listen to his orders. The reason behind that was simple. Deacons of their various divisions might be important in their own right, but instructors were the ones who taught many students of various generations in the institution. Many of those who became deacons would even address Peng Lanqing as their teacher when they saw him around. In the absence of Martial Extermination Realm experts, Peng Lanqing¡¯s words would be the law. After several minutes had passed and the energy fluctuations were no longer as violent as they were, everyone could feel that the battle was no longer concentrated at the other end of the spatial tunnel. Everyone turned to stare at Peng Lanqing as if waiting for an order. His gaze never left the spatial tunnel and after he was satisfied that the other side was safe, he roared loudly without turning his head. ¡°Deacons, heads, and instructors of the institution, follow me into the tunnel! Everyone is to follow behind at a safe distance!¡± As soon as he spoke, he rushed into the tunnel. Yuan Zhen, Qian Sitong, Song You, Yu Duhe, and various other experts of the institution followed closely behind him. Behind them were the others in the first group. Sun Haiwei¡¯s voice suddenly rang in Shang Xia¡¯s ears as they were making their way into the tunnel. ¡°Junior Brother Shang, are you really not going to stick with us after we enter the battlefield between the two worlds?¡± After thinking for a second, Shang Xia found no reason to lie to her. He replied to her sincerely, ¡°I am thankful for Senior Sister Sun and Senior Brother Tian¡¯s kind intentions. However, my objective is to train myself and to look for opportunities now that we are entering the battlefield between the two worlds. We won¡¯t be able to help each other out in any aspect when we look for our opportunities and it will be better for me to move alone!¡± Seeing as he had already made up his mind, Sun Haiwei and Tian Mengzi knew that there was no point in saying more. As such, they nodded to acknowledge his stance before wishing him luck. Nodding back at them, Shang Xia unleashed his Irregular Steps and disappeared from his original position. Tian Mengzi and Sun Haiwei looked at each other and seemed to be at a loss for words. Only after some time did Tian Mengzi break the silence. ¡°Haiwei, how strong do you think he is right now?¡± After a short moment of hesitation, Sun Haiwei muttered, ¡°He¡¯s using some sort of secret technique to mask his cultivation and it¡¯s not easy to see through it. From his confidence and his objective, he has definitely completed all three divine sense transformations. He should be in the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm, but it¡¯s also likely that he has already stepped into the grand completion stage.¡± ¡°So¡­ If he¡¯s at the large completion stage, do you think he¡¯s planning on using this opportunity to comprehend his third martial intent and step into the grand completion stage?¡± Tian Mengzi sucked in a cold breath. ¡°That¡¯s a little too fast, isn¡¯t it? I feel that he should have just entered the large completion stage¡­ He might cultivate quickly, but he wouldn¡¯t be at the stage of comprehending his martial intent! I heard that the Shang Clan Spear Art is really unique anyway. Everyone has their own comprehension and they will have to come up with their own moves. I wonder how many moves Junior Brother Shang came up with¡­¡± ¡°I heard that Deputy Patriarch Shang Bo developed seven moves with his comprehension before stepping into the Martial Extermination Realm. With Junior Brother Shang¡¯s monstrous talent, he should also have developed seven moves at the very least.¡± Sun Haiwei tilted her head to the side and muttered to herself. Sighing, Tian Mengzi continued, ¡°If he already developed seven moves, wouldn¡¯t that mean that he would be at least the same level as Deputy Patriarch Shang when he advances? Many people out there are saying that Deputy Patriarch Shang Bo is a talent comparable to Patriarch Kou. It¡¯s said that his combat abilities have already surpassed Deputy Patriarch Ji even though they¡¯re at the same level. Wouldn¡¯t that mean that after our Tongyou Institution takes over the entire You Continent, the Shang Clan might possibly become the next powerhouse like the Zhu Family?!¡± Sun Haiwei lowered her voice and sighed, ¡°Deputy Patriarch Shang Bo has already given up on his position as the Shang Clan Patriarch. Strictly speaking, we cannot consider him when we think about the Shang Clan¡¯s influence¡­¡± Shaking his head slowly, Tian Mengzi was clearly unconvinced that Shang Bo would really give up all connection with the Shang Clan. Like the other deputy patriarchs who stepped down from their roles in their clan. If a calamity struck and threatened the survival of their clan, there was no way they would stand by idly at the side. ¡°Enough of that nonsense. We¡¯re already falling behind a little. We need to get in there and help the rest out!¡± Sun Haiwei snapped at him suddenly after discovering that they were near the back of the group that was headed into the battlefield between the two worlds. A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. ¡­ Even though Shang Xia was at the back of the group when they started moving, he managed to overtake many people with his Irregular Steps. He didn¡¯t forget to spread his divine sense around to scout for any trouble while looking for traces of world essence as he made his way forward. Unfortunately, the world essence around him was too thin and there was no point in absorbing them. Seemingly having thought of something, Shang Xia slowed down and pressed his hand on the spatial barrier and tried to communicate with the Crimson Soul Tablet in his sea of consciousness. He wanted to see if it could absorb world origin from within the barrier, but evidently, it wasn¡¯t possible. Since he wasn¡¯t able to pierce through the barrier and absorb the world origin himself, the tablet was obviously unable to. The Crimson Soul Tablet had the ability to suck up world origin, but it needed Shang Xia as a medium. After thinking about it, he slammed his palm heavily into the barrier, causing it to tremble slightly. His action attracted the attention of many experts around him. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re overestimating yourself.¡± Song You sneered as he passed Shang Xia. However, there was someone else who stopped to turn to Shang Xia. ¡°The spatial barrier around the tunnel has been reinforced by formations and the energy of the Martial Extermination Realm experts who passed by. You can¡¯t break it unless you enter the Martial Extermination Realm. Also, the stability of this spatial tunnel will affect the success of our operation of establishing ourselves back in the battlefield between the two worlds. Please don¡¯t try anything to jeopardize our mission.¡± Turning to look at him, Shang Xia noticed that the person who gave him the explanation was a middle-aged man who seemed to be sporting a little pot-belly. Realizing how inappropriate his actions were, Shang Xia quickly thanked the man. ¡°Many thanks for senior¡¯s explanations. I was too rash and didn¡¯t consider the severity of my actions. How can I address you?¡± ¡°Hahaha, I am Mu Jiansheng of the Mu Family. I believe you should come from the Shang Clan?¡± The pot-bellied man chuckled in response. It¡¯s him! Shang Xia gasped silently before bowing his head slightly. ¡°As it turns out, you¡¯re Uncle Mu! I am indeed from the Shang Clan. You can call me Shang Xia.¡± The middle-aged man¡¯s gaze lingered on Shang Xia as a look of satisfaction appeared on his face. ¡°Not bad, not bad at all! You deserve your reputation indeed. I heard that you were promoted with my daughter and you¡¯re both in the Upper Division now. I believe the two of you will interact more in the future.¡± ¡°Naturally¡­¡± Shang Xia released an awkward laugh and started to shift his gaze. ¡°This is going to be a dangerous battle. You should take care of yourself. Staying alive trumps everything, do not go out of your way to take any unnecessary risks.¡± Mu Jiansheng gave Shang Xia another piece of advice before rushing towards the battlefield between the two worlds. Seeing that the man had left, Shang Xia slowly retracted his hand that was still on the spatial barrier. Several cracks that he was hiding earlier started to restore itself. CH 373 As soon as he stepped out of the spatial tunnel, Shang Xia felt a rush of heaven and earth qi hitting him in the face. His divine sense allowed him to sense the occasional fluctuations of heaven and earth qi and looking into the distance, he could see the phenomena that occurred when Martial Intent Realm experts died. Even further out, there was a massive pillar of bloody light that filled the skies. That was a sign of the death of a Martial Extermination Realm expert. In the short minutes that passed, a Martial Extermination Realm expert had already fallen! If things were like before, the experts of both worlds would probably call a ceasefire. After all, the death of a Martial Extermination Realm expert would signify a huge loss in battle power for either side. Now, the death of a Martial Extermination Realm expert only served to raise the bloodlust of those who were fighting. Feeling a sudden sense of danger, Shang Xia turned to stare in a certain direction. A yell came from the distance. ¡°Be careful!¡± Shang Xia could also hear a satisfied chuckle tens of feet away. A smile appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he casually twisted his right wrist. A ray of reddish-gold lightning emerged from his index finger and shattered the silver pellet that was flying at him into dust. The person who cautioned Shang Xia a moment ago wasn¡¯t the only one who was shocked. It seemed as though the opponent who sent out the sneak attack was equally as frightened as he stopped fighting and turned to escape. ¡°Hehe, do you think you have a chance to run away now? It would be rude of me to not repay the favor¡­¡± Shang Xia sneered as a metal bow appeared in his left hand. An arrow was already nocked and he drew the bow without hesitation. His divine sense locked onto the escaping figure as he released the bowstring. A loud whistle tore through the skies as a black light sped into the distance. The person who sneak attacked Shang Xia earlier seemed to realize they would be unable to dodge the arrow no matter what. Turning around hastily, he slammed a blown lash downwards with all his might. With a loud snap, Shang Xia¡¯s arrow exploded into several tiny fragments. However, the sneaky attacker wasn¡¯t able to escape unscathed. He was sent flying through the air. Before he landed, he spat out several mouthfuls of blood. The person who warned Shang Xia earlier seemed to have sensed an opportunity and he leaped forward, smashing a palm into the head of the cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World. Shang Xia felt a sense of disappointment when he saw what happened earlier. He found it to be a pity as the arrow he shot out was clearly not what he expected. Since his strength took a huge leap forward, the bow seemed to be a little weak. If only he had a mid-grade bow, the arrow would have killed the cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World. Of course, that could only remain as a thought for the time being. Shang Xia hadn¡¯t really seen mid-grade bows being used and bows seemed to be a less common weapon in general. Regardless, severely injuring that cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World seemed to be a massive achievement. He saw many shadows scattering into the distance while he kept the bow. The person who warned Shang Xia earlier quickly made his way back with a slingshot in his hand and a storage case. ¡°Young Master Shang, I managed to kill that person easily thanks to you. I believe that his items belong to you¡­¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t accept the items. Instead, he raised his eyebrows in confusion. ¡°Do you know me? How may I address you?¡± When the first group entered the spatial tunnel earlier, they further split themselves up into four different groups. Shang Xia, Sun Haiwei, and Tian Mengzi were part of the fourth squad that entered, but with his movement skills, Shang Xia entered the battlefield between the two worlds at the same time as the third squad. The cultivators that made up the third batch were a little different. They were mostly made up of scattered cultivators who had a good track record with the institution and Shang Xia didn¡¯t recognize most of them. He was truly taken aback when the man called him ¡®Young Master Shang¡¯. Search "pawread dot com" for the original. ¡°You can call me Che Yihang. I¡¯m a wandering cultivator who lives outside the city. I¡¯ve seen you back in the Changfeng City and that¡¯s how I know you.¡± Che Yihang laughed. He quickly continued, ¡°I was fighting with him earlier and I had been suppressed the whole way. He managed to find an opportunity to carry out a sneak attack but Young Master Shang¡¯s skills are immaculate. You managed to react quickly, allowing me to reverse the situation and kill him easily!¡± Shang Xia nodded slightly and continued, ¡°Alright, since we killed him together, I¡¯ll only take the slingshot. You can keep the storage case.¡± Reaching out to grab the weapon, Shang Xia left the case for Che Yihang. A look of joy appeared in his eyes and he chuckled happily, ¡°Then¡­ Many thanks! I won¡¯t stand on ceremony then.¡± Keeping the case carefully, he looked carefully around him and muttered, ¡°The cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World seem prepared. They attacked me the moment I left the spatial tunnel. Luckily for me, you helped to take care of that guy. The others who were with him seem to have escaped¡­¡± ¡°Since they¡¯re nearby, I should take the chance to kill a few more of them.¡± Shang Xia muttered before turning to leave. ¡°My strength is limited and I will be a liability if I follow you. I should travel with the experts of the institution. Farewell!¡± Che Yihang waved his hand at Shang XIa¡¯s leaving figure. Both of them unleashed their movement skills as they traveled in opposite directions. When they were a fair distance away from each other, Shang Xia turned to look in the direction Che Yihang left and a smile appeared on his face. It seemed as though he was pretty self-aware. He didn¡¯t bother dragging things out when taking his leave either. Glancing at the slingshot in his hand, Shang Xia whistled softly. It was another low-grade weapon and even though it seemed intricately crafted, it wasn¡¯t exactly an exceptional weapon. It couldn¡¯t even be compared to the bow he was using earlier. In his hands, the slingshot was nothing more than scrap metal. Naturally, that only applied to Shang Xia. He was the only one in the Martial Intent Realm who could scoff at a low-grade weapon. Anyone else would treat it like a precious treasure. One could tell how important a low-grade weapon was from how Wu Tingfang wanted to trade a near-complete set of rank two manuals for it. Refocusing on his objective, Shang Xia reminded himself that his main objective was to look for remnant world origin. Of course, that was his end goal. He didn¡¯t mind clearing out the trash around the exit of the spatial tunnel to ensure that cultivators who entered later would be able to stay relatively safe. He would benefit the most when the institution suppressed those from the Azure Spiritual World. Only then would he be able to travel around with the reassurance that he had enough time to look for the world origin he desired. He wasn¡¯t delusional in thinking that they would eventually be able to suppress those from the Azure Spiritual World. In fact, it was because he was confident in the strength the institution possessed. Well, most of it stemmed from himself in the first place. With his current combat capabilities, he knew that it was close to impossible for anyone under the Martial Extermination Realm to pose a threat to him. Since it was more likely for him to be randomly attacked by Martial Extermination Realm experts when the situation was chaotic, he decided to quell the chaos to the best of his abilities. Since he was a near-invincible existence around the exit of the spatial tunnel, he would force the situation to stabilize! When the Tongyou Institution had complete control over their territory, he would be able to leave with the reassurance that the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Azure Spiritual World would be dealt with by those of the institution. Looking into the distance, he wondered who was the Martial Extermination Realm expert who fell. Deciding on the direction he wanted to start his massacre, he no longer held back and ran over at top speed. His divine sense was a lot stronger than cultivators at the same level and with his comprehension of the Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter, he could sense where other cultivators were with a higher level of accuracy. After traveling out a little, he quickly discovered energy fluctuations in the air and locked on to a battle that was happening not too far away. Hiding his aura, he sneaked over without being discovered. His divine sense was also operating at full capacity and he tried to observe the battle with it. Surprisingly, one of the cultivators who was locked in battle was someone he was familiar with. There was no need to think about who he should help at that point. Leaping up close to twenty feet into the air, Shang Xia managed to hover in the air by manipulating the heaven and earth qi around him. No longer hiding his presence, his divine sense descended in a giant wave and crashed into the cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World. ¡°What?!¡± The cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World was clearly an experienced fighter. The moment a third divine sense appeared, he already started to make his retreat. Unfortunately, it was too late. Raising his head, he saw a figure suspended in mid air and his heart turned cold. ¡°Martial Extermination!¡± Shang Xia might be no Marital Extermination Realm expert, but he was damn close to one. The heaven and earth qi around him swarmed into his bow in an endless tide as a chilly light emerged after he released the bowstring. The streak of light pierced through the cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World like he was nothing. Just like that, a Martial Intent Realm expert from the Azure Spiritual World who experienced a second divine sense transformation was killed. Since Shang Xia wasn¡¯t a Martial Extermination Realm expert, he couldn¡¯t remain suspended in mid air without the help of heaven and earth qi. The heaven and earth qi that supported him in the air went into the arrow he shot, and he promptly started falling to the ground. Casually sending a slap towards the ground before he could slam into it, he managed to land gracefully. ¡°Oh my, is this the Sixth Young Master of the Shang Clan? I am Zhao Fengchun and I thank Young Master Shang for the assistance!¡± Zhao Fengchun couldn¡¯t help but cough twice after he spoke. Shang Xia cupped his fists towards the man and replied casually, ¡°Oh, Senior Zhao! Are you alright?¡± ¡°Young Master Shang, rest assured I can still fight. There¡¯s no need to worry about me!¡± Zhao Fengchun tossed some medicine into his mouth while laughing. Instead of approaching, Shang Xia simply bade his farewell from where he was. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, I shall not bother you any further. Senior Zhao, please take care. I shall take my leave.¡± Waving his hand, he disappeared into the distance. Zhao Fengchun slowly recovered from the battle earlier and his pale face finally regained some color after the medicine took its effects. His expression sank while looking in the direction Shang Xia disappeared. ¡°The four great clans are truly colossal existences. Even the third generation member of their clan is far stronger than me. My Zhao Family might have birthed an expert in the Martial Extermination Realm, but look like we¡¯re far from being able to match up with any of the four great clans. Oh right¡­ Young Master Shang looked pretty familiar¡­ Have I met him before?¡± A trace of curiosity flashed in his eyes but seeing as he was unable to think of where he met Shang Xia, he decided to continue on his way. CH 374 With his cultivation base at the Martial Intent Realm, Zhao Fengchun wasn¡¯t exactly a weakling. After all, anyone who could hold their ground against cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World was definitely an expert in their own right. However, all of them seemed to be as weak as ants when Shang Xia appeared. With a single arrow, he killed the cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World. There was a certain part of his successful kill that could be attributed to his sneak attack as the cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World was focused on fighting Zhao Fengchun. However, that highlighted another problem. Neither of them discovered Shang Xia¡¯s presence even though he got in range to attack them! Shang Xia¡¯s successful impersonation of a Martial Extermination Realm expert also had something to do with it. After killing the man, Shang Xia quickly went to look for other targets. He needed to sweep away the obstacles around the spatial tunnel for the Tongyou Institution to gain control of the area. The battlefield between the Tongyou Institution and those from the Azure Spiritual World had already expanded to cover hundreds of miles from the exit of the spatial tunnel. When the Martial Extermination Realm experts entered earlier, they launched a ferocious assault on those from the Azure Spiritual World. By this time, they entered deep into the battlefield between the two worlds. As Martial Extermination Realm experts, they could travel several miles in the blink of an eye. It made sense for them to push deep into the battlefield between the two worlds quickly. Due to the shockwaves of the battle between the Martial Extermination Realm experts, the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World didn¡¯t gather close to the exit of the spatial tunnel. They remained scattered hundreds of miles away and gathered after the Martial Extermination Realm experts left. They had to remain scattered as they were afraid that the Martial Extermination Experts of the Tongyou Institution wouldn¡¯t play by the rules and target them if they were in a huge group. Unfortunately for them, by the time they closed the distance to the exit of the spatial tunnel, the Martial Intent Realm experts of the institution arrived. ¡°Hah¡­ Luckily they didn¡¯t lay down any formations or traps around. Otherwise, we¡¯re going to have a hard time establishing ourselves in the battlefield between the two worlds.¡± Shang Xia sighed inwardly. However, he soon realized that it was not impossible for those from the Azure Spiritual World to lay down traps for them. Even though the battlefield between the two worlds would experience frequent shifts and one wouldn¡¯t be able to tell where they were exactly in the battlefield between the two worlds, Shang Xia could tell that it wasn¡¯t where he entered for the first time. It was a weird feeling that wasn¡¯t baselessly supported by his instincts. With his much higher cultivation base, he was able to touch on the principles of space and discover that he was in a different region compared to before. Regardless, it wasn¡¯t time to think about all of that now. After helping Zhao Fengchun kill his opponent, Shang Xia¡¯s original plan was to go around like a firefighter and do the same, slowly increasing the advantage the cultivators of the institution had. However, the members of the Azure Spiritual World clearly wouldn¡¯t allow him to do as he wished. They sent someone out to stop him. When he was hundreds of feet away from another group of cultivators from the Azure Spiritual World cries of beasts could be heard as they started rushing towards Shang Xia. ¡°Grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm?¡± Shang Xia stared in that direction in shock. Of course, he didn¡¯t feel the slightest amount of fear. He was merely surprised by their presence. He could see that there was an expert eyeing him coldly in the distance, but in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes, the other party was nothing more than a circus clown. He didn¡¯t hide his disdain either. The cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World could tell that Shang Xia was looking down on him and a sense of humiliation washed over him. Anger filled his heart as he released a heaven-shaking roar. His aura increased slightly as he seemed to ignite his bloodline. The phantom of a giant creature appeared behind him as it leaped at Shang Xia. Not fazed by the appearance of the creature, Shang Xia continued in the same direction and the distance between them quickly shrank to 50 feet. Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. The cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World leaped into the air and sent his fists flying in Shang Xia¡¯s direction. The space seemed to tremble and it seemed as though it was about to crumble under the might of his punch. Shang Xia felt an immense pressure descending on him as his opponent approached. Regardless, his expression didn¡¯t change as he watched the incoming attack. With his palm facing inwards, he chopped down casually as reddish-gold bolts of lightning emerged from his fingertips. They slammed heavily into the creature that was lunging at him and due to the impact, Shang Xia frowned slightly before taking a step back. The cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World burst into laughter before increasing his speed once again to advance ten feet closer to Shang Xia. Sighing softly, Shang Xia seemed to blame himself for being overconfident. After all, the opponent was at the same cultivation level as himself. They were both in the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm and he was too naive to think that his first martial intent could stop the other side¡¯s all-out attack. By the time he realized that his opponent had entered his attacking range, he saw a giant palm condensing in the sky before it started to descend on him. Raising his eyebrows slightly, Shang Xia muttered, ¡°Are you from the Changbai Holy Land?¡± ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s too late for you to realize that now!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s opponent snorted before revealing a haughty look. He didn¡¯t seem surprised that Shang Xia managed to uncover his identity, but he seemed extremely confident of killing Shang Xia now that they were so close to each other. ¡°Well¡­ It¡¯s not really too late.¡± Shang Xia muttered as the Scarlet Star Spear appeared in his hand. He stabbed it straight towards his opponent. The massive palm that was created from heaven and earth qi tore apart like paper. Before the cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World could react, a spear that was made from heaven and earth qi appeared right in front of him. That was Shang Xia¡¯s fourth move, Void Evasion! ¡°What the hell is that spear technique?!¡± The cultivator from the Changbai Holy Land yelled before retreating hastily. He released 12 palm strikes in a row before finally shattering the spear. He was forced back from the impact, and his fingers were painted a bloody red. ¡°Who are you?! What freakish spear art is this?!¡± The cultivator from the Changbai Holy Land stared at Shang Xia in fright. As a direct disciple from the Changbai Holy Land, his cultivation had reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. No matter what, he could be considered to be an apex existence in the Martial Intent Realm. It made no sense for him to be beaten so badly! Shang Xia¡¯s gaze turned a little serious after he saw how his opponent stopped his Void Evasion Spear. However, he didn¡¯t hesitate as the Scarlet Star Spear trembled in his hands. It flew out even quicker this time as he unleashed his seventh move, Celestial Disruption! A sea of starlight appeared before the eyes of the cultivator from the Changbai Holy Land and several streaks of light started to speed towards him. The pressure of a thousand mountains came crashing down on him and he discovered that there was no way for him to evade! Helpless, he gave his loudest roar before mustering all his inner qi to create another passive palm with the heaven and earth qi around him. The palm was called the Heaven Supporting Divine Palm and it was his third martial intent. It seemed to contain tyrannical might as it tried swatting the streaks of starlight flying his way. Blocking all the starlight that came from Shang Xia¡¯s Celestial Disruption, it managed to neutralize his seventh move. ¡°Shang Clan Spear?! Who the hell is Shang Bo to you?!¡± It seemed as though the cultivator from the Changbai Holy Land was pretty familiar with the powerhouses from the Tongyou Institution. He couldn¡¯t confirm if Shang Xia was using the Shang Clan Spear Art earlier, but now that Shang Xia had unleashed Celestial Disruption, he found the moves familiar. Ignoring the man, Shang Xia released another move. This time, he unleashed his eighth move, Startling Moon! ¡°Preposterous! Do you think I¡¯m going to let you do as you wish?¡± The cultivator from the Changbai Holy Land roared after noticing that Shang Xia had ignored him. He gathered his energy to send out another Heaven Supporting Divine Palm! CH 375 Noticing how Shang Xia wasn¡¯t paying attention to him and how he released move after move, the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land was extremely helpless. He could only release his second Heaven Supporting Divine Palm Unfortunately for him, Shang Xia didn¡¯t repeat the same move as before. Back in the Changfeng City, Shang Xia managed to break through the protection formation around the spirit cave with his eighth move. The effect of Startling Moon could even affect a cultivator¡¯s divine sense! The disciple of the Changbai Holy Land didn¡¯t manage to fully form his Heaven Supporting Divine Palm due to the intense pain that made him feel as though his soul was tearing apart. Just like that, the threat of his Heaven Supporting Divine Palm lost more than 30 percent of its power. After entering the Martial Intent Realm, a cultivator would mainly focus on using their divine sense in battle as it was a lot more versatile than inner qi. Shang Xia¡¯s Startling Moon specially targeted their divine sense and he was confident that would be enough to deal with his current opponent. From what he could sense, the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land had a martial intent that barely allowed him to withstand his seventh move. Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ]. With Shang Xia¡¯s eighth move against the weakened Heaven Supporting Divine Palm, the outcome was basically decided. Shang Xia¡¯s spear tore through the palm like it was nothing before heading straight for his opponent¡¯s chest. As a direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land, he would be embarrassing himself if he didn¡¯t possess any life-saving methods. Even though Shang Xia¡¯s spear was arriving, he calmly shattered a jade pendant he hung by his waist and a ray of mysterious light appeared to destroy the spear coming his way. Giving Shang Xia a deep stare, the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land turned to make his escape. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t surprised by the sudden change in events. After all, he knew how difficult killing someone from a holy land was. It wasn¡¯t as if he hadn¡¯t killed anyone from the Changbai Holy Land or White Deer Paradise before. That was also what allowed Shang Xia to make up his mind. There was no way he could allow his opponent to escape! Other than himself, the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land would be easily defeated by others from the institution! Unleashing his Irregular Steps, he gave chase. The distance between them was kept at a steady thirty feet and no matter how much he pushed himself, he was unable to close the distance any more. Shang Xia¡¯s movement technique might be impressive, but it was a rank two movement skill at the end of the day. Shang Xia might be using it even though he had advanced to the Martial Intent Realm, but his movement skills were barely passable when compared to those used by direct disciples of those great powers. The only reason he was able to ensure that the distance between them didn¡¯t widen was because he was supporting himself with his Origin True Qi! As they ran through the battlefield between the two worlds, Shang Xia pushed his palm forward and a giant lightning web traveled through the air towards the fleeing disciple of the Changbai Holy Land. The strange like that emerged from his pendant a moment ago reappeared, wiping Shang Xia¡¯s lightning net away. A cold snort emerged from Shang Xia¡¯s lips as he released his divine sense to pressure his fleeing opponent. Cursing Shang Xia a thousand times over in his mind, the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land didn¡¯t know how Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense was so much stronger than his. Of course, he wasn¡¯t afraid that he would be overpowered. The distance between them caused Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense to weaken a lot. If they were closer to each other, he might be a little afraid. With 30 feet separating them, all Shang Xia could do was to lock onto him. It didn¡¯t take long for them to cover a distance of more than a hundred miles from where they once were. By that time, they were quite a distance away from the exit of the spatial tunnel. Throughout the process, they discovered many battles going on around them. However, the two of them chose to ignore everything. Who would have thought that two crazy idiots would be stupid enough to get in their way? One of them was another Martial Intent Realm expert from the Changbai Holy Land, and the other was a deacon of the institution! The other disciple of the Changbai Holy Land wasn¡¯t weak at all! His weapon was also of exceptional quality. With additional treasures to increase his strength, he wasn¡¯t at a disadvantage when faced with an experienced deacon of the Tongyou Institution. It would be difficult to determine a victor in a short period of time. The deacon of the Tongyou Institution discovered that the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land might be lacking in experience, but he was quickly getting the hang of it as they fought. If the battle dragged on, he might actually fall to a disadvantage. Luckily for him, the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land seemed too inexperienced and he was in a rush to finish off the deacon. He seemed to be in a hurry, and his gaze swayed from side to side as if to look for backup. The two of them discovered a dust cloud in the distance and they discovered two figures flying in their direction at exceptional speed. There was no way of hiding such a huge commotion and when the young disciple of the Changbai Holy Land saw the first person to emerge from the dust cloud, his eyes lit up. He forced the deacon away before yelling loudly, ¡°Senior Brother Chu Chen, it¡¯s you! I am Jiang¡­¡± ¡°Fuck off!¡± Chu Chen yelled. While he made his escape, he felt as though a poison viper had locked on to him. As long as he became careless, the person chasing behind would be able to capitalize on his mistake and send him to the depths of hell! Why would he care about helping his junior disciple now that his life was on the line? If not for the fact that he was too preoccupied with the threat behind him, he might have killed his junior disciple who was standing in his way. The disciple of the Changbai Holy Land didn¡¯t think that he would be dealt with so crudely by his senior brother and he stood at the side, stunned. His jaws were agape as Chu Chen blew past him. Without even turning his head, Chu Chen continued into the distance. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with Senior Brother Chu? He¡¯s in such a hurry¡­ It¡¯s like he¡¯s being chased¡­ Wait. Chased?!¡± Gasping in fright, his expression changed. He turned to look behind Senior Brother Chu Chen and he was smacked in the face with a powerful gust of energy. He stumbled a little and he saw a foreign figure racing after Chu Chen. ¡°Senior Brother Chu¡­ How¡­ How is he the one being hunted down?! How can anyone under the Martial Extermination Realm threaten him?!¡± No matter how stupid he was, he could tell that there was a problem. However, he seemed a little reluctant to accept the fact that Chu Chen was being hunted down by a disciple of the Tongyou Institution. In the Changbai Holy Land, Chu Chen could be considered a Martial Extermination Realm seed! He was a genius who stood at the top of the Martial Intent Realm. No one in the same realm was his opponent! Now, he was running for his life! If not for the fact that he witnessed it by himself, the other disciple of the Changbai Holy Land wouldn¡¯t believe it. Seems like I¡¯m forgetting something¡­ By the time he realized, it was too late. He suddenly recalled that he was locked in a huge battle with a deacon of the Tongyou Institution and due to the distraction, he lost whatever advantage he managed to build earlier. Ge Qingzhu, a deacon of the Tongyou Institution, slammed his bamboo staff downwards and all the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land could do was to evade desperately. In a battle at their level, his reaction was too damn late. The Bamboo Staff fell and narrowly missed his head as he twisted his body, but it slammed directly into his shoulders. Just like that, half his body was crippled. Releasing a wretched scream, he turned to flee. Ge Qingzhu naturally wouldn¡¯t allow his opponent to escape like that. He had long since prepared for his opponent to flee after landing his attack. His staff swept out horizontally as several rods made from heaven and earth qi appeared in the air. It sealed off his opponent¡¯s route of retreat and after several muffled cries, his staff slammed directly into his opponent¡¯s neck, sealing off his screams once and for all. Only then did Ge Qingzhu manage to catch his breath. After ensuring there was no one around him, he turned to look in the direction where Chu Chen ran to. He muttered to himself, ¡°That¡­ That looked like Deputy Patriarch Shang¡¯s grandson! According to the rumors I¡¯ve heard¡­ He seemed to pop out of nowhere to take on the position as the head of the disciples!¡± ¡°Damn¡­ From his reaction earlier, the person who was running away should be a direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land¡­¡± Ge Qingzhu sighed softly. ¡°He¡¯s definitely living up to his father¡¯s name!¡± When he finally caught his breath, he turned to look at the corpse at his feet. Rubbing his chin, he sighed. ¡°This brat looked extremely happy to see the direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land earlier. He also seemed eager for the direct disciple to recognize him¡­ Could he have some sort of treasure he was planning on giving his senior brother?¡± Ge Qingzhu¡¯s eyes lit up and he started to search the body. Finding a tiny storage box, he happily stuck a talisman onto it. The talisman turned into a streak of green light that entered the storage case and it popped open without much trouble. A pained expression could be seen on Ge Qingzhu¡¯s face when he looked at the talisman that no longer glowed. ¡°I hope it¡¯s worth it to use a Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman on this! It¡¯s a rank three talisman that is usually only made by rank four talisman masters! If I don¡¯t get anything good¡­¡± Looking through the items in the storage case, Ge Qingzhu¡¯s expression sank. Even though not many items were destroyed, it seemed as though he didn¡¯t manage to profit from it. ¡°I made a loss! This is a great loss!¡± Ge Qingzhu cursed softly. ¡°Why the hell is he so happy to see his senior brother anyway? It¡¯s not like he has anything good!¡± His gaze landed on the corpse again and he decided to search even more thoroughly. It just didn¡¯t make sense! Finally discovering something strange about the disciple¡¯s robes, he tugged at the corpse¡¯s lapels and discovered a silk fabric looking scroll. ¡°Is this¡­ A map?¡± Ge Qingzhu took a closer look at it and his gaze landed on the location indicated on it. There was an image of a tiny pond and there seemed to be an exquisite lotus drawn on it. There was even an annotation at the top with the words ¡®Ruyi Lotus¡¯. ¡°Ruyi Lotus?! That¡¯s a rank four herb! It might even be the main herb for a rank four advancement medicine. No wonder¡­¡± A light flashed through Ge Qingzhu¡¯s eyes and he muttered to himself, ¡°This evens out the cost of my talisman, right?!¡± CH 376 ¡°Such a shame. If that dumbass took another step forward, he would have been able to obstruct this guy from running away!¡± Shang Xia sighed to himself. From the interaction earlier, Shang Xia finally learned the name of the person he was chasing. It seemed as though the direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land he was hunting down was called Chu Chen! It wasn¡¯t as though Shang Xia didn¡¯t have a way to damage Chu Chen. However, his divine sense was stretched a little thin now that they were so far away and Chu Chen had the treasure from the Changbai Holy Land that was stopping most of Shang Xia¡¯s attempt at slowing him down. He didn¡¯t feel confident in any of his methods to obstruct his opponent from leaving. At their level, Shang Xia knew that he only had one chance to cause considerable damage to the other party. If he failed, his target would get away. That was why he was hesitant to shoot an arrow or unleash another move. After all, he would have to stop to do it. If he missed or if he failed to overpower the strange light protecting Chu Chen, he would lose his chance to kill the man. ¡°After this, I¡¯m definitely looking for a better movement art!¡± Shang Xia cursed inwardly. Even with his Origin True Qi to assist him, he could tell that the Irregular Steps were truly not good enough for him at his current level. If they were to fight for real and if they had similar combat abilities, Shang Xia would fall to a disadvantage quickly due to his poor movement skills. In the blink of an eye, they crossed dozens of miles. Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense started to pulsate and he could feel danger closing in. All of a sudden, one of the hills that was in the distance collapsed and it seemed to have been crushed by a giant palm made from heaven and earth qi. ¡°Shit! There are Martial Extermination Realm experts fighting here!¡± Shang Xia roared in his heart. His movements slowed slightly as a wary look appeared in his eyes. Chu Chen, who was still focused on running away, didn¡¯t seem to notice the danger as he continued on his way. In an instant, the distance between them increased to around 40 feet from the original 30. Shang Xia knew that Chu Chen definitely sensed the change in his surroundings. He was just choosing to ignore the Martial Extermination Realm battle on purpose. He also discovered Chu Chen¡¯s plan. The disciple of the Changbai Holy Land seemed to want to escape Shang Xia by heading towards the battlefield of Martial Extermination Realm experts. He might be planning to shake Shang Xia off using the shockwaves of the battle. The plan seemed dangerous, but it was the only choice he had! Chu Chen understood that if he allowed Shang Xia to keep up the chase, there would come a time when he would run out of inner qi. That would be the moment he died! After all, there was no question about it. Shang Xia was definitely stronger than him. By extension, his inner qi reserves should be deeper too. Running away forever wasn¡¯t an option. We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. Since his fate would be sealed the moment Shang Xia caught up, he chose to risk it all for a chance to live. There was also another reason Chu Chen was running in the direction he chose. It was where the sign of a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator falling was seen! If Shang Xia was able to catch sight of that when he left the spatial tunnel, those from the Azure Spiritual World definitely knew where it was. They might even know who was killed! For Chu Chen to dare to bring him over, he might even be sure that the expert who died belonged to the Tongyou Institution! After all, the death of a Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Tongyou Institution would mean that the Azure Spiritual World stationed experts nearby. Seemingly having read Chu Chen¡¯s mind, Shang Xia no longer hesitated. He decided to end things immediately. With a flick of his wrist, a talisman that shone a bright gold flew towards his target. When it was almost 20 feet away from Chu Chen, Shang Xia activated it with his Origin True Qi. A golden spear that was surrounded by lightning tore through the air as it shot at the fleeing Chu Chen. Shang Xia was extremely confident of activating any talismans as long as they were 50 feet from him, and the distance between them hadn¡¯t increased beyond that. The Golden Lightning Spear Talisman might not be comparable to an attack from Shang Xia, but it could be used much more flexibly. With Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense to guide the talisman, he could easily pinpoint where Chu Chen was running to. Chu Chen felt the threat even without turning his head. His figure darted from side to side and he managed to avoid the spear at the last second. Releasing a desperate counterattack, he managed to scatter most of the lightning around him. A rank three talisman might prove to be fatal when used against ordinary Martial Intent Realm experts, but it was nothing a direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land in the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm couldn¡¯t deal with. However, the short distraction allowed Shang Xia to fulfill his goal of closing the distance between them. Once again, the distance closed to around 30 feet. Chu Chen didn¡¯t forget to glance at Shang Xia with a look of mockery. It seemed as though he was feeling a lot more confident now that he was closing in on familiar territory. However, he was met with a terrifying sight. Shang Xia was holding his spear and he seemed to be unleashing some sort of spear technique! ¡°Heh, we¡¯re separated by more than 30 feet, hehe¡­¡± He felt that with the distance between them, there was no way Shang Xia could do anything to him. However, as a direct disciple from the Changbai Holy Land, he had his fair share of life and death situations. He might be skeptical that Shang Xia could damage him, but he still started to take precautions. His inner qi started circulating in his body as he prepared to take on Shang Xia¡¯s attack. Who would have thought that the strike he was expecting wouldn¡¯t come? He could only catch the blurry action of Shang Xia when he casually swiped the spear in the air. Before he could make sense of what was going on, he felt a chill running down his spine. A sharp pain that originated from his leg shot through his body and he slowed down significantly. That was Shang Xia¡¯s fifth move, the Woundless Spear! At the same time, a wound appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s right shoulder and stained his robes red. Shang Xia ignored the wound completely as he closed the distance between them even more. In the blink of an eye, the distance that separated them barely spanned 10 feet! ¡°Die!¡± Shan Xia roared as his spear stabbed forward at an incredible speed. Heaven and earth qi gathered around his spear to form the giant phantom of one and it seemed to leap through the air to stab Chu Chen. ¡°Hold it!¡± A roar came from above as the soundwave rocked Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense. CH 377 ¡°Hold it!¡± A booming voice tore through the skies and caused Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense to tremble. A Martial Extermination Realm expert arrived, and he was approaching quickly! With a chill running through his heart, Shang Xia felt a huge pressure descending on himself. It was like a massive hammer that was slamming down from the heavens. That wasn¡¯t all. The sound wave smashed directly into his divine sense and he felt a sharp pain shooting through his mind. Chu Chen, who had been locked on by Shang Xia earlier, took on Shang Xia¡¯s strike with all that he had. He might have suffered a huge loss, but he managed to open up the distance between himself and Shang Xia. When he thought that he could finally breathe easily now that backup had arrived, Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense reappeared. He felt the hair on his neck standing on end as the feeling of danger came back. ¡°Be careful!¡± The voice that sounded before came from the skies again, but it sounded a lot more angry and worried than before. With his life on the line, Chu Chen, a direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land, no longer bothered about appearances. He did a miserable roll on the ground and a spear light shot past him. When he got to his feet and started running again, half his face was stained red with blood. Compared to the fear he was feeling in his heart, Chu Chen was more curious as to how Shang Xia managed to send out another attack even after a Martial Extermination Realm expert had interfered. Unfortunately for him, he would have to bring his question to his grave. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. Just as he thought that Shang Xia had sent out his last attack, he suddenly discovered the tip of a crimson-colored spear growing larger in front of his eyes. His consciousness was exterminated in the blink of an eye and the last sound to enter his ear was a roar that seemed to grow ever more distant. ¡­ Sima Zhanxing was about to lose his mind. In the Azure Spiritual World, had to rely on the great races in the Liao Continent to survive. He might be a Martial Extermination Realm expert, but he was nothing without the backing of the Rose Party. It was especially so when he was a member of the Azure Origin World trapped in the Azure Spiritual World with no way of returning. In the time he spent there, he experienced a great deal of discrimination and distasteful behavior. The Changbai Holy Land had been pushing for the deterrence of the Tongyou Institution¡¯s return to the battlefield between the two worlds. However, Sima Zhanxing seemed to be even more fervent in his assault against the Tongyou Institution when compared to those from the four great races of the Liao Continent. When the Martial Extermination Realm experts of both sides clashed, he didn¡¯t care about the repercussions and obstructions he would face as he searched for Liu Qinglan to prove himself. He wanted to defeat someone from the Tongyou Institution in order to prove his worth to the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Changbai Holy Land. He discovered how wrong he was when he finally located her. He discovered that she had already refined her second extermination origin and he was horribly defeated by the opponent he was slightly stronger than a year ago! No matter how talented he was, it was difficult to progress in a world where he had no support and no chance to look for resources! He was basically stuck at the same level he was when he last fought the members of the Tongyou Institution! He was even thanking his lucky stars that his cultivation base didn¡¯t weaken! Under the ferocious assault of Liu Qinglan¡¯s newly improved nine-segmented whip, multiple wounds formed on his body and he was beaten up really badly. If things were to keep up, he would probably die in her hands. Just as he was falling into a state of despair, a Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Changbai Holy Land, Pan Yunbi, appeared. He managed to save Sima Zhanxing from his miserable fate. Pan Yunbi¡¯s appearance changed the tide of battle completely. Sima Zhanxing was elated at her appearance while Liu Qinglan felt her heart going cold. Her feelings didn¡¯t stem from Pan Yunbi¡¯s cultivation base. Pan Yunbi was also a second layer Martial Extermination Realm expert, and she wasn¡¯t too much stronger than her. Instead, it was that Pan Yunbi actually came to back Sima Zhanxing up. Her presence alone meant that there was a Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Tongyou Institution who fell! It was true that Pan Yunbi was also a second layer Martial Extermination Realm expert and wasn¡¯t too much stronger than Liu Qinglan, but one couldn¡¯t forget that she came from a holy land. With the inheritances she had and Sima Zhanxing¡¯s assistance from the side, they quickly gained the upper hand. Sima Zhanxing and Liu Qinglan seemed to take each other¡¯s place as Liu Qinglan was being trashed mercilessly. If things kept up like that, it wouldn¡¯t take long before Liu Qinglan became the second Martial Extermination Realm expert from the institution to fall. Both sides might seem to have prepared a grand lineup for the war with a huge number of Martial Extremity and Martial Intent Realm cultivators who were ready to rush into the battlefield between the two worlds, but the true experts who would decide the outcome of the battle were the Martial Extermination Realm experts on both sides. If another Martial Extermination Realm expert from the institution fell, the battle would tilt heavily in favor of the Azure Spiritual World! Sima Zhanxing felt an opportunity coming his way as he worked with Pan Yunbi. If he managed to gain her trust with his flawless cooperation, he would finally be able to find his footing in the Azure Spiritual World! As long as the Changbai Holy Land stood up for him, the awkward situation with the four great races would be solved immediately! If he worked his way up and gained enough merits, the Changbai Holy Land might even send him back to the Azure Origin World! He pushed himself to his limit while working with Pan Yunbi to suppress Liu Qinglan. Facing their aggressive assault, Liu Qinglan was forced into a passive state and she could only defend herself the best she could. If the situation were to keep up, she would exhaust herself before long and her fate would be sealed. Just as Sima Zhanxing and Pan Yunbi were about to achieve their goal, two sneaky figures entered the range of their divine senses. They didn¡¯t pay attention to the two figures initially after discovering that they were merely Martial Intent Realm experts. They were hell-bent on killing Liu Qinglan as that would allow them to gain a huge advantage over the Azure Origin World. However, Pan Yunbi¡¯s actions turned a little sluggish and she seemed to examine the two figures closer. Out of nowhere, she snapped at Sima Zhanxing. ¡°Go! Go save the person running away and kill the little asshat chasing him.¡± A look of fury appeared on her face as she growled to herself, ¡°Hmph, useless trash!¡± Sima Zhanxing was a Martial Extermination Realm expert at the end of the day. His expression sank after hearing her insult. Too bad for him, he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. He was hoping for the Changbai Holy Land to take him in, or at least, speak up for him against the four great races. He had to accept her insults whether he liked it or not, and his sunken expression quickly disappeared. A smile appeared on his face and he acknowledged her order, ¡°I¡¯ll go immediately! Please be careful here.¡± As he turned to leave, he realized how much he had changed over the past year. He was the young master of the Sima Family in the Azure Origin World! He was well-respected all his life, but now, he had to take the scolding of someone who wasn¡¯t too much stronger than him and he couldn¡¯t show the slightest trace of displeasure! The extermination origin under his feet glowed even more intensely as he raced over to the two little ants running around on the ground below. When he noticed the figures running down below, he realized that he had misunderstood Pan Yunbi earlier. He also understood why she had commanded him to save the person running away. From the looks of it, the cultivator running away was a direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land and she was probably scolding him, right?! That¡¯s probably it¡­ He¡¯s really useless if he needs a Martial Extermination Realm expert to save his ass¡­ The more he thought about it, the better he felt about himself. At the very least, he felt that Pan Yunbi wasn¡¯t referring to him earlier. After finally comforting himself, another disturbing thought flashed through his mind. When did I become so insecure?! What the¡­ He didn¡¯t exactly manage to answer his own question when he felt a familiar presence among the two. ¡°It¡¯s him!¡± Excitement replaced all the self doubt in his heart when he noticed Shang Xia. ¡°Shang Xia! The grandson of deputy patriarch Shang Bo. Hahaha! That¡¯s the genius the institution has been placing heavy emphasis on!¡± Happiness flashed in his heart when he thought about the person he was about to kill. ¡°Hold it!¡± ¡­ ¡­ Well, the things that played out next caused a fire to burn in his chest. Even after being discovered by Sima Zhanxing, Shang Xia managed to kill Chu Chen! What the hell¡­ Is he crazy?! Rushing down towards the two of them his extermination origin shot at Shang Xia. Unfortunately, it was too late. Chu Chen was as dead as could be! CH 378 Shang Xia knew that even if he turned to run now that Sima Zhanxing was here, he wouldn¡¯t be able to escape. Since that was the case, he might as well kill Chu Chen and deal with things from there. He would have to fight Sima Zhanxing anyway and if he were to die eventually, Chu Chen would be waiting in the underworld for him. Also, Shang Xia didn¡¯t think that it was truly scary to go up against a first layer Martial Extermination Realm expert. He was no stranger to Martial Extermination Realm experts! He went around messing with them when he remained hidden in the Changfeng City all the way up to the war for the Tongyou Mysterious World. He had assisted in the killing of a Martial Extermination Realm expert and that wasn¡¯t all. He even killed one personally! It was true that a cultivator would experience a fundamental transformation when they entered the Martial Extermination Realm. The transformation would allow them to manipulate heaven and earth qi as they wished and touch on the true mysteries of the world and cultivate using world origin. However, that didn¡¯t mean that they were unkillable! Sima Zhanxing had arrived after Chu Chen was sent to the underworld. The extermination origin under his feet shot towards Shang Xia and it seemed to rob its surroundings of heaven and earth qi. For the first time in his life, Shang Xia discovered that the heaven and earth qi around him had been sucked dry and he couldn¡¯t feel their existence. He didn¡¯t feel so much suppression when Youshang and Gao Yun fought above the City Lord Manor in the Changfeng City, and he didn¡¯t feel it when Youshang, Bu Jingshuang, and the black robed mystery man surrounded Liang Shuangren back in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. When Shang Pei advanced into the Martial Extermination Realm, she didn¡¯t showcase such power either. Something finally clicked in Shang Xia¡¯s mind when the strange feeling overwhelmed him when he faced Sima Zhanxing. Those Martial Extermination Realm experts before didn¡¯t bother using their full strength on a Martial Intent Realm ant like him! Of course, there was also the reason of there being Martial Extermination Realm experts on his side that lightened the suppression on him. Shang Xia realized that Martial Extermination Realm experts weren¡¯t as weak as he had thought! Everything he knew in the past was a serious misconception! Well, whatever the case, it was too late for regrets now. He would finally have a chance to experience how strong a Martial Extermination Realm expert truly was! Shang Xia understood that there was no retreat. There was only one thing he could do and that was to advance desperately! Only then would he manage to find a glimmer of hope to stay alive! Feeling the torrential pressure that was coming his way, Shang Xia sucked in a deep breath before drawing a horizontal arc before him. He released his eighth move once again, Starting Moon! Shang Xia was clear that the first six moves were probably useless against an expert at Sima Zhanxing¡¯s level. Celestial Disruption, Startling Moon, and Piercing Sun were the only moves that could affect a Martial Extermination Realm expert. Startling Moon could affect space itself, and it was effective in disturbing a Martial Extermination Realm expert¡¯s divine sense. It allowed Shang Xia to carve out a small space for himself when faced with Sima Zhanxing¡¯s attack. ¡°Huh?¡± Sima Zhanxing gasped when he noticed how Shang Xia took his attack. Confusion filled his heart, but at the same time, he became extremely frustrated with himself for being unable to take down a Martial Intent Realm expert. Behind him were Liu Qinglan and Pan Yunbi. They definitely noticed what happened. ¡°Why the hell are you here kid? Why aren¡¯t you running? Oh, never mind!¡± Liu Qinglan¡¯s voice rang through the air, but there was a trace of helplessness in it. As the words left her lips, a massive explosion rang through the air. The skies seemed to split into two as a massive pillar of light tore into the heavens. A small strand flew straight for Sima Zhanxing¡¯s back. After Shang Xia forcefully blocked Sima Zhanxing¡¯s attack, Sima Zhanxing wanted to release a follow-up strike but was interrupted by the sudden threat from behind. Another shrill voice boomed through the air as the strand of light shot at Sima Zhanxing. ¡°Hmph, Liu Qinglan, can you afford to be distracted when fighting me?!¡± Two balls of light appeared in the air as they made a pincer attack in the air at a seemingly random spot in the void. Liu Qinglan¡¯s figure emerged from the location and a deep frown could be seen on her face. Her eyelids jumped as she looked at the situation where Shang Xia was before she sent out a flurry of attacks. Her whip danced in mid air and several blasts rang through the air. They smacked both light balls coming from her left and right and the void trembled violently. Even though neither of them seemed to be at an advantage at that moment, Pan Yunbi clearly had the upper hand as she managed to seize the initiative to attack. Liu Qinglan could only defend passively. Without Liu Qinglan to distract him, Sima Zhanxing turned his attention back to Shang Xia. Just when he turned around to end the Martial Intent Realm ant, he discovered a massive spear that was intricately formed with heaven and earth qi shooting towards him. Shang Xia unleashed his ninth move, Piercing Sun! Sima Zhanxing¡¯s expression changed as a huge hole was punched through his extermination origin! At that moment, he realized that Shang Xia could actually pose a threat to his life. Facing a Martial Extermination Realm expert, Shang Xia didn¡¯t just plan on staying alive. He was even planning to turn the situation around and threaten Sima Zhanxing¡¯s life! Unfortunately for him, Sima Zhanxing was much more prepared than Gao Yun. Facing the giant spear that had broken through his extermination origin, Sima Zhanxing circulated his inner qi and shattered the void in front of him with a single punch. Several cracks in the void obstructed Shang Xia¡¯s spear and it eventually whittled it down to nothing. Shang Xia¡¯s Piercing Sun was nullified by Sima Zhanxing¡¯s punch! However, defending himself came at a cost. When Sima Zhanxing pulled his fist back, he noticed that three of his fingers had been sliced cleanly off! ¡°You actually managed to wound me! Is that the martial intent you comprehended after practicing the Providence Spear Art?!¡± Sima Zhanxing finally turned serious as he spoke seriously to Shang Xia. ¡°Your Shang Clan Spear Art definitely lives up to its name. Your move was extraordinary and you should be proud of yourself!¡± ¡°Hmph, useless trash!¡± A soft voice came from the void and rang in his ears again. Pan Yunbi¡¯s voice rang loudly in Sima Zhanxing¡¯s mind. With his facial muscles twitching uncontrollably, Sima Zhanxing suppressed the humiliation in his heart and he growled at Shang Xia, ¡°You might be a super talent carefully nurtured by the Tongyou Institution, but it ends here!¡± Channeling all the rage he felt, Sima Zhanxing¡¯s extermination origin reappeared and he sent a punch towards Shang Xia. The weight of a mountain tried to press Shang Xia down into the ground as his divine sense came crashing down. Unfortunately, Shang Xia stood as straight as a rod as he stared at Sima Zhanxing without batting an eyelid. ¡°Did I say that that was my third martial intent?¡± A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. CH 379 Shang Xia¡¯s third martial intent wasn¡¯t just a tyrannical physical attack. It could sunder a cultivator¡¯s soul too! Kou Chongxiue once said that Shang Xia¡¯s Divine Killing Spear had the ability to shatter divine sense, and that was the true meaning behind its name. It could destroy both the physical body and one¡¯s soul. One had to know that Shang Xia¡¯s Divine Killing Spear managed to affect Kou Chongxue¡¯s Martial Dipper Realm clone. Even though it was a mere clone, Kou Chongxue¡¯s true cultivation level was still at the Martial Dipper Realm. Shang Xia was able to affect an expert at that level, much less a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator like Sima Zhanxing whose cultivation had been stagnant at the point where he just broke through. With the tyrannical might contained in the spear, Sima Zhanxing felt his divine sense freezing helplessly. When he was struck by Shang Xia¡¯s Divine Killing Spear, his body trembled violently as he fell to the ground. Of course, he wasn¡¯t exactly dead yet. Even though he had confidence in his ability to injure a Martial Extermination Realm expert, Shang Xia knew that it wasn¡¯t enough to kill one. As such, Shang Xia quickly adjusted his condition after dealing with Sima Zhanxing¡¯s Spirit Gathering Fist. When he gathered enough Origin True Qi, he rushed to the location where Sima Zhanxing fell. There wasn¡¯t a need to speak for Sima Zhanxing who took the brunt of Shang Xia¡¯s attack. Liu Qinglan and Pan Yunbi who were fighting in mid air turned to look at the only Martial Intent Realm expert in the surrounding area in shock. What the hell did they just witness? A Martial Intent Realm cultivator just sent a Martial Extermination Realm expert to the shadow realm! If they didn¡¯t witness it themselves, they would have laughed at anyone who told them what happened to oblivion. When one entered the Martial Extermination Realm, they would finally understand the fundamental difference between themselves and cultivators who have yet to reach their level. It was a gap that was theoretically impossible to cross. However, the truth was displayed right in front of them. ¡°Useless piece of trash! He¡¯s really useless!¡± Pan Yunbi raged as anger filled her heart. She didn¡¯t think that her teammate would be defeated by a mere ant-like Shang Xia! With her extermination origins surrounding her, she quickly retreated from the battle with Liu Qinglan. Pan Yunbi knew that the number of Martial Extermination Realm experts on both sides were the key to victory. The moment Sima Zhanxing fell, the advantage the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World obtained a moment ago would disappear! Moreover, the problem wasn¡¯t the battle at hand. Sima Zhanxing was defeated in the hands of a Martial Intent Realm cultivator! If they allowed Shang Xia to continue to grow, things would get extremely troublesome for the Azure Spiritual World! Not only did Pan Yunbi have to save Sima Zhanxing, she also had to kill Shang Xia! No matter how lowly Sima Zhanxing¡¯s status was, he was still a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator at the end of the day. His fighting strength couldn¡¯t be ignored. Naturally, the same thoughts were playing out in Liu Qinglan¡¯s mind, but in reverse. There was no way she could allow Pan Yunbi to save Sima Zhanxing and kill Shang Xia. The moment Pan Yunbi turned around to leave, Liu Qinglan leaped into action to stop her. ¡°Hmph, we haven¡¯t decided a victor yet. Elder Pan, don¡¯t be in a rush to leave!¡± This time, Liu Qinglan was the one who took the initiative to attack Pan Yunbi. Pan Yunbi held the advantage in the past due to her deeper foundations, but Liu Qinglan was no weakling. She was an expert nurtured by the institution and she quickly adapted to the situation. With her stopping Pan Yunbi, the elder of the Changbai Holy Land wouldn¡¯t be able to shake her off in a short period of time. It didn¡¯t take long for another pillar of light to shoot up into the skies from where Sima Zhanxing fell earlier. The massive disturbance announced to the world that a second Martial Extermination Realm expert had fallen! Pan Yunbi¡¯s expression darkened but she quickly made her decision. She forced Liu Qinglan back before rushing in the opposite direction where Sima Zhanxing fell. With the speed of Martial Extermination Realm experts. She managed to open up the distance between herself and Liu Qinglan by almost ten miles in the blink of an eye. Since Sima Zhanxing had fallen and the Marital Intent Realm cultivator had the ability to kill Martial Extermination Realm experts, it didn¡¯t make sense for her to let Liu Qinglan meet up and join forces with the Martial Intent Realm cultivator to deal with her. ¡­ When Sima Zhanxing was defeated by Shang Xia¡¯s Divine Killing Spear earlier, he understood that his fate was sealed. After all, his divine sense was extremely fuzzy and he wasn¡¯t able to call upon his extermination origin as he wished. Facing death, Sima Zhanxing discovered that not a trace of fear remained in his heart. All the despair he felt earlier had disappeared as he seemed to have accepted his fate. The dignity of a Martial Extermination Realm expert reappeared and he sighed heavily when he saw the approaching Shang Xia. ¡°If not for the fact that I had to remain in the Azure Spiritual World and live my days like a street rat, I wouldn¡¯t have died in your hands. Unfortunately, that was my fate.¡± Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Seeing the storm of heaven and earth qi gathering around Sima Zhanxing¡¯s body as he detonated his soul, Shang Xia understood that his killing of a Martial Extermination Realm expert this time was made up of many lucky factors that benefited him. Like what Sima Zhanxing said. If not for the fact that he had to run into the Azure Spiritual World a year ago, he would have been able to draw on the support of his Sima Family and the Rose Party. He wouldn¡¯t be in such a sorry state where he could be defeated by a mere Martial Intent Realm cultivator. Sima Zhanxing was basically a pauper when he fought Shang Xia. Shang Xia had multiple rank three talismans with him and several precious treasures while all Sima Zhanxing had were his fists! If Sima Zhanxing had the support of his Sima Family and the Rose Party, he would be able to bring out a lot more valuable treasures than Shang Xia! After all, he was a genius of the Sima Family who had attained Martial Extermination Realm cultivation. They would be more than willing to give him a ton of resources. Whatever the case, the fact remains that Shang Xia managed to kill a Martial Extermination Realm expert in a one-on-one fight. His understanding towards how Martial Extermination Realm experts fought increased and his confidence received a huge boost. Seeing the pillar of light that rose into the skies when Sima Zhanxing fell, Shang Xia didn¡¯t choose to run away. Instead, he regained his composure slightly before rushing in the direction of Pan Yunbi and Liu Qinglan. Of course, he wasn¡¯t running over there because of his newfound confidence of slaying a Martial Extermination Realm expert. Instead, it was because he knew that there was no point in running away if Liu Qinglan¡¯s opponent set her eyes on him. He might not be able to kill Liu Qinglan¡¯s opponent like how he did Sima Zhanxing, but he was more than able to lend Liu Qinglan a helping hand in her battle. He could tell that Liu Qinglan and Pan Yunbi didn¡¯t defer too much in strength, and since they were probably at a stalemate, his interference with the battle might just be what Liu Qinglan needed to turn the tides! It didn¡¯t take long before he approached the location where their battle was earlier. However, he discovered that the two of them had left the area! After searching around a little bit more, Shang Xia had no choice but to give up his search. CH 380 If anyone were to look at the Azure Origin World from space, they would see two massive masses that seemed somewhat joined together but separated by a layer of formless gray gas. There seemed to be a strange world boundary separating the two giant masses and other than that, there seemed to be a massive spatial barrier that separated continents on both worlds. Above the giant land masses seemed to exist a strange world boundary and cultivators who could move around there were basically Martial Extermination Realm experts. When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Everyone there was a Martial Extermination Realm expert at the very least, but not every Martial Extermination Realm expert had the authority to enter the region. It was the region all of them had heard of before, the Beyond Heavens Pavilion! The Beyond Heavens Pavilion might lie high above the two worlds, but due to the gravitational forces of the two worlds, the core of the Beyond Heavens Pavilion seemed to resemble a void whirlpool. Even though it wasn¡¯t impossible for people to pass through the whirlpool, the risks they would have to take weren¡¯t small. As such, the core of the Beyond Heavens Pavilion was known as the boundary between the two worlds. If a true expert who had reached a certain level of cultivation were to stand close to the whirlpool and look down, they would be able to see void boundaries appearing from time to time. Those void boundaries that existed seemed to be similar to the battlefield between the two worlds. There was a figure sitting not too far away from the whirlpool and his clothes seemed extremely untidy. He seemed pretty unkempt as he pressed his short sword against his body while downing another swig of wine. Smacking his lips together, he turned to look at the people sitting on the other side of the whirlpool. There was an old bearded expert and a short man who sported a long-ass mustache who were seated quietly on that side. Each of them seemed to be waiting for each other to do something. The three of them looked at each other quietly and a strange scene played out. There were various spots of light not too far away watching the three of them silently. All of a sudden, a stream of foreign qi emerged from the whirlpool, causing the heaven and earth qi to turn a lot denser than before. ¡°Haha! World origin is returning. Another Martial Extermination Realm cultivator from your Azure Origin World probably died. Kou Chongxue, two of them have already died since the battle started. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re going to lose!¡± The person who spoke was the short man who sported the mustache and his voice rang loudly in the ears of everyone present. Even though he was short, his voice boomed really loudly through the air. Kou Chongxue, who was seated opposite him, downed another swig of his wine before muttering softly, ¡°Shorty Xu, the battle has yet to end. Why are you acting so impatiently? Are you in such a hurry to lose? Did your brains turn to mush during your cultivation?¡± ¡°You!¡± The short man roared with rage and got to his feet, but he was stopped by the bearded old expert. ¡°Martial Nephew Xu, can¡¯t you see that Kou Chongxue is trying to rile you up?¡± The bearded old man chuckled in amusement. With his expression changing, the short man glared at Kou Chongxue before sitting down once again. He snorted coldly and no longer said another word. The old bearded expert turned to Kou Chongxue and muttered, ¡°Patriarch Kou, your strength is truly as tyrannical as the rumors say. You managed to suppress the two of us alone and that alone is truly respectable. However, my Changbai Holy Land has been in existence for hundreds of years and our foundations are solid. If you keep this up and let the battle run wild, twenty years of your hard work will go down the drain! Can¡¯t you just wait for our worlds to fuse naturally and upgrade the Tongyou Mysterious World into a holy land? Why are you taking such a huge risk?¡± Kou Chongxue chuckled softly and his gaze turned a little hazy. ¡°The outcome of the battle can¡¯t be decided with just two deaths. Then again, what makes you so confident that the person who died came from my Azure Origin World? Even if there are no traces of bloodline cultivation from the person who died, you can¡¯t be sure that he¡¯s an ally of my Azure Origin World.¡± Snorting coldly, the short man replied, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll keep watching!¡± After he spoke, he became silent again with the old bearded expert beside him. He might be done, but the old bearded expert was not. He glanced at the space behind Kou Chongxue and asked, ¡°Patriarch Kou, you made a huge show of suppressing the three deers of the White Deer Paradise back in the Ji Continent and now, you¡¯re holding the two of us back alone in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion. Aren¡¯t you afraid that the White Deer Paradise will take the chance to mess with your Tongyou Institution?¡± Kou Chongxue released a bout of hearty laughter, ¡°If the three of them dare to break the rules again, I won¡¯t hold back any longer. From what I see, the three of them know what is important. Like we say, even enemies will have to stand together when faced with an external threat.¡± A cold snort came from behind Kou Chongxue as soon as the words left his lips. The old bearded expert smiled and he seemed to have thought of something as he continued. ¡°Oh right. I forgot to say this before but I would like to congratulate you on your recovery.¡± A light flashed through Kou Chongxue¡¯s eyes and he sneered softly, ¡°Old Man Luo, do you think I¡¯m stupid? There¡¯s no need to beat about the bush.¡± ¡°Indeed. I hope you can answer my questions then. Firstly, How did you enter the battlefield between the two worlds in the past without being detected by us?¡± Even without extending his divine sense, Kou Chongxue could tell that many people were paying attention to their conversation. However, he didn¡¯t plan to hide it anyway. He spoke casually. ¡°Easy. When I was injured, my strength didn¡¯t reach the threshold of the Martial Dipper Realm. That¡¯s how none of you detected my presence in the battlefield between the two worlds.¡± ¡°Impossible!¡± The short mustached man yelled all of a sudden. ¡°If you had been hiding in the battlefield between the two worlds all along, your recovery would cause all of us to discover you. However, you only managed to display your strength at the Martial Dipper Realm after your Tongyou Institution moved the Coral Forest out of the battlefield between the two worlds and after Ancestor Yun Lu arrived. Something sounds fishy about this!¡± Glancing at the shorty from the corner of his eye, Kou Chongxue muttered, ¡°Well, if you think it¡¯s impossible, I have nothing more to say. Why do I have to explain my methods to you?¡± Rage filled the short expert¡¯s heart but he felt a palm pressing him back down to the ground. The old bearded expert looked at Kou Chongxue with a deep gaze before he entered the conversation again. ¡°Patriarch Kou, you might be terrifyingly strong and exceptionally lucky to the point where we have to admit defeat. However, now that you found a way to restore balance to your fate dippers, do you know what it truly means to everyone in the Martial Dipper Realm?¡± CH 381 After spending some time strolling around the battlefield, Shang Xia discovered that he couldn¡¯t find the slightest trace of Liu Qinglan and her opponent. Helpless, he could only return to where Sima Zhanxing fell. The heaven and earth qi had already dissipated and Shang Xia stared into the air with a look of regret. He felt that it was a waste for the inner qi stored in Sima Zhanxing¡¯s body to be returned to the world! When Sima Zhanxing died earlier, Shang Xia thought of experimenting with the heaven and earth qi. He wanted to see if it could restore the Crimson Soul Tablet. In his eyes, cultivators in the Martial Extermination Realm already had the ability to touch on world essence. As such, the inner qi stored in their bodies should be effective in restoring the Crimson Soul Tablet, right? Unfortunately, the waves of heaven and earth qi released during his death didn¡¯t cause the slightest bit of reaction from the Crimson Soul Tablet. With the experience at hand, Shang Xia felt that even if Martial Extermination Realm experts could absorb world origin, they would''t be able to use it to the fullest extent! That was probably why the tablet didn¡¯t respond earlier. The more he thought about it, the more Shang Xia felt that something was off. If the inner qi of Martial Extermination Realm experts weren¡¯t enough, would the tablet only respond to those in the Martial Dipper Realm?! If that wasn¡¯t enough¡­ What about those in the Sixth Order of the Primary Realm?! A chill ran down his spine when he thought about it. At the moment, Shang Xia was merely a Martial Intent Realm cultivator. He practically used up all his strength to kill a Martial Extermination Realm expert. Of course, there was the element of luck mixed within. How was he supposed to kill a Martial Dipper Realm expert or those who were even stronger?! The more he thought about it, the colder his heart became. After all, his Crimson Soul Tablet wouldn¡¯t be able to last for long if he kept up whatever it was he was doing. ¡­ He couldn¡¯t locate the battlefields of the other Martial Extermination Realm experts, Shang Xia decided to take a break before returning to the vicinity of the spatial tunnel to slay some Martial Intent Realm cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World. His fight with Sima Zhanxing might only have lasted a few short moments, but he used up a very significant portion of inner qi. After all, it wasn¡¯t easy to leap realms and kill someone stronger than him. If he returned immediately, he wouldn¡¯t be able to display more than 30 percent of his strength if he fought. He couldn¡¯t possibly use the rest of his talismans on those Martial Intent Realm cultivators, right?! He wouldn¡¯t mind using those talismans if he could interfere in the fight between Liu Qinglan and Pan Yunbi, but using the talismans on the Martial Intent Realm cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World would be an utter waste. ¡°Ah, whatever! I¡¯ll hide and restore my strength before trying anything else.¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself. ¡°The victory of our expedition rests on the shoulders of those Martial Extermination Realm experts anyway. Since that¡¯s the case, things shouldn¡¯t end so quickly. After all, not all of them are as easy to kill as Sima Zhanxing¡­¡± From the looks of it, the situation was probably going to be the same as before. The battle would turn into a stalemate after some time and the situation in the battlefield between the two worlds would return to the time when the Tongyou Peak and the Four Spiritual Peak were still standing. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. When that happened, the Martial Extermination Realm experts would no longer go all out against each other. The balance would rest in the hands of the Martial Intent Realm and Martial Extremity Realm cultivators on both sides. Once the forced peace was restored in the battlefield between the two worlds, there would be hundreds upon hundreds of Martial Intent Realm and Martial Extremity Realm experts on both sides. Even if Shang Xia was invincible in the Martial Intent Realm, he wouldn¡¯t be able to rampage and kill as he liked. Choosing a random direction, he quickly looked for a place to restore his strength. Once he recovered, he would be able to join the battle and take out as many opponents as possible before the situation died down again! Not too much time had passed when Shang Xia went around looking for a place to recover, but by the looks of it, the Martial Extremity Realm cultivators of the Tongyou Institution should have already entered the battlefield to reinforce the institution¡¯s territory. It went without saying that the Azure Spiritual World¡¯s plan to stop the Tongyou Institution failed miserably. Naturally, the Tongyou Institution had to pay a huge price for that to happen. There were experts falling left and right, using their lives to buy the institution a little more time. Unexpectedly, the battles that took place didn¡¯t die down that quickly. Instead, it became even more intense. Ordinary cultivators weren¡¯t like Shang Xia or Sima Zhanxing. The battle between them could drag on for days if they were in the Martial Intent Realm! As long as they didn¡¯t go crazy and blast ultimate attacks on each other non stop, they wouldn¡¯t exhaust themselves so easily. Due to the fact that Shang Xia had been chasing Chu Chen for a greater part of the time he was in the battlefield between the two worlds, he had no idea where he was. The space within the battlefield between the two worlds shifted often, and even after their time there, no one would dare to say that they knew every region in the battlefield. In some special border regions of the battlefield between the two worlds, there were even beasts that were comparable to Martial Extermination Realm experts. Due to their presence, the regions they were in wouldn¡¯t move by much and the experts of both worlds wouldn''t mess with those beasts ordinarily. If the true experts of the two worlds didn¡¯t dare to go running around the battlefield between the two worlds recklessly, it was even more unlikely for the weaker disciples to do that. As such, Shang Xia managed to find a secluded region before long. He casually opened a hole in one of the hills around him before laying down some simple alarm systems around before starting his cultivation. No one knew how long had passed, but Shang Xia was awakened by a loud roar that came from outside his cave. Luckily, the inner qi he expended in the battle against Sima Zhanxing had been mostly fully restored. Getting to his feet, Shang Xia felt a refreshing wave washing through his mind. As all the fatigue from the battle against Sima Zhanxing disappeared. Confidently stepping out of the cave, he released his divine sense and fused it with the world around him to conceal his aura. Even if Martial Extermination Realm experts came, they wouldn¡¯t be able to detect his presence if they didn¡¯t see him for themselves. After concealing his aura, Shang Xia started to move in the direction of the roar. Not long after crossing the hill, he heard voices coming from the side. ¡°Senior Brother Zhou, we left the battle without permission to come over here. If anyone discovers us, will we be in trouble?¡± Shang Xia hid behind a rock and sneaked a look at them. He saw four cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World huddled together while pointing at places on a weird fabric scroll. It seemed as though they were looking for something. The person who seemed to be their leader was clad in silvery-blue robes and he was dressed pretty similar to Chu Chen. The other three looked like his followers. Could it be another direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land?! Before the disciple in the silvery-blue robes could say anything, one of the other disciples snapped at the person who spoke before. ¡°Junior Brother Xiang, the battlefield between the two worlds is currently a meat grinder. Two Martial Extermination Realm experts had already died and we recently received news that Chu Chen lost his life. Senior Brother Zhou is trying to protect the three of us by bringing us away from the battle. Junior Brother Xiang, are you planning to head back there and continue fighting with those freaks of the Azure Origin World?!¡± CH 382 Junior Brother Xiang quickly waved his hands in the air and spoke hastily, ¡°No, no! Of course that¡¯s not what I meant. Senior Brother Yue, please don¡¯t misunderstand! However¡­ If anyone discovers our tracks and reports it to the elders, we might be punished!¡± The disciple who snapped at him earlier became even more annoyed after hearing what he said. ¡°Junior Brother Xiang, you¡¯ve always been so timid. Keep in mind, hunger is key. If you¡¯re timid all the time, you¡¯ll eventually die from the lack of resources.¡± Senior Brother Zhou, the leader among them, finally tore his gaze away from the map and looked at the third disciple who hadn¡¯t spoken a word. His tone was surprisingly gentle and he chuckled softly, ¡°Junior Brother Qi, what do you think?¡± ¡°The battle had nothing to do with us in the first place.¡± Junior Brother Qi finally spoke up, but his words stunned those present. A smile appeared on Senior Brother Zhou¡¯s face as he continued, ¡°Junior Brother Qi, why would you say that? Didn¡¯t the elders send us here to take part in the battle?¡± ¡°Hmph, the four races of the Liao Continent were the ones who came begging for our assistance. That doesn¡¯t mean that we have to put our lives on the line for them. Moreover, it¡¯s not as though we haven¡¯t fought those cultivators from the Tongyou Institution before. Senior brother Zhou already killed two of them. The three of us managed to kill two more. We did our part by killing four of them.¡± Junior Brother Qi chuckled softly. Brother Yue clapped his hands happily in response. ¡°Exactly! Junior Brother Qi, you¡¯re right! We did our part and they can¡¯t blame us for anything!¡± The smile on Junior Brother Qi¡¯s face remained but he stayed silent. Senior Brother Zhou seemed to be extremely satisfied with the response and he flipped the scroll in his hand. ¡°Those thieves from the Tongyou Institution stole the world essence from the battlefield between the two worlds. However, a small portion managed to return to the battlefield between the two worlds before they closed the spatial tunnel. The returning world origin turned into many different treasures scattered around the land. The four races were severely damaged by the Tongyou Institution the previous time and they knew it would be impossible for them to stop the Tongyou Institution from returning eventually. That is why they begged us for help. We chose to assist them as they were also members of the Azure Spiritual World and we killed some of their opponents for them. Junior Brother Qi is correct. The elders can¡¯t find fault with us.¡± ¡°Senior Brother Zhou, this scroll¡­¡± A trace of light flashed through Junior Brother Xiang¡¯s eyes now that he received assurance they wouldn¡¯t be in any sort of trouble. ¡°This is the price the four races have to pay for our services.¡± Senior Brother Zhou laughed in response. However, he didn¡¯t state what they were looking for exactly. That didn¡¯t stop the sharp Junior Brother Qi from making his guesses. ¡°Senior Brother Zhou, I heard that the space within the battlefield between the two worlds would shift frequently. The scroll you are holding should be some sort of map. Is it useful in any way?¡± ¡°Haha. Of course a mere map wouldn¡¯t be enough. However, there are many landmarks described here that cannot be moved away during the shift. As long as we observe the place thoroughly, we¡¯ll be able to find our way around. At the very least, the four races didn¡¯t waste all their time in the battlefield between the two worlds.¡± Senior Brother Zhou muttered. ¡°Senior Brother Zhou, you¡¯re a genius alright. I didn¡¯t think about this at all.¡± Senior Brother Yue laughed. Junior Brother Xiang, who had been quiet for a little while now added, ¡°Hehe, the four races of the Liao Continent seem to be backed in a corner by the Tongyou Institution. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t give us benefits like that!¡± ¡°Do you really think that the four races of the Liao Continent are fools?¡± Senior Brother Zhou snorted suddenly. Staring at Senior Brother Zhou in shock, Junior Brother Xiang didn¡¯t know how to respond for a second. A frown started to form on Senior Brother Yue¡¯s face even though he enjoyed watching Junior Brother Xiang making a fool of himself. However, he had to ask, ¡°Is there something off about this?¡± ¡°Everything the four races could find easily should already be retrieved by them. They would only give us the location of treasures that lie in dangerous regions or places that are hard to reach.¡± Senior Brother Zhou finally turned serious as he explained the situation to the others. ¡°Hmph. The four races are truly treacherous!¡± Senior Brother Yue snorted once before turning to look at Junior Brother Xiang. ¡°Do you still have a problem with Senior Brother Zhou¡¯s action of bringing us here?¡± With his face flushing red, Junior Brother Xiang yelled loudly. ¡°I¡­ Of course not! I never had a problem! I will always listen to Senior Brother Zhou and follow his commands!¡± Snorting once, Senior Brother Yue turned to look away. The frown on Senior Brother Zhou¡¯s face didn¡¯t fade as he finally interjected. ¡°Alright, alright, stop arguing. According to the map, we¡¯re not too far away from where we need to be. However, the area seems to have changed slightly. We need to locate a small field filled with Bearded Eye Grass. Spread out and look!¡± With his command, the three of them scattered to start looking for the herb. With a deep frown on his face, Senior Brother Zhou didn¡¯t do the same as the three. Instead, he examined it closer before running in another direction. When Shang Xia heard Senior Brother Zhou¡¯s order earlier for the three to find the Bearded Eye Grass, he knew that they were looking for the hill he was hiding in to restore his inner qi earlier. He quickly left the rock he was hiding behind to return to a region near the cave he made. After all, he noticed some weird yellowish-green grass when he emerged earlier. The grass bore some sort of flower that was the size of a man¡¯s eyeball, and the petals resembled long white whiskers. That was how the grass got its name. When a breeze blew through the land, the flowers looked like tiny eyes that were blinking in the wind. At night, those flowers would also emit a strange soft glow to make them resemble stars in the night sky. In several short seconds, Shang Xia heard the soft whistling of wind headed his way. Someone actually chose to run in that direction. As a figure arrived at the foot of the hill, Shang Xia recognized him as Junior Brother Xiang. The moment he arrived, Junior Brother Xiang¡¯s gaze landed on the field of weird-looking grass. A look of joy appeared on his face. However, his gaze quickly landed on the cave Shang Xia carved out to make his recovery and his expression changed drastically. He quickly made the decision to return to notify the others before exploring the area. Unfortunately for him, a soft chuckle entered his ears before he could leave. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Before he could yell to warn his comrades, a ray of sword qi blew a hole in his body. His inner organs exploded like candy out of a pinata and he fell to the ground powerlessly. Shang Xia kept his Jade River Sword as a frosty light flashed through his eyes. There was no need to be kind to a bunch of Azure Spiritual World cultivators who killed members of the Tongyou Institution. Walking towards Junior Brother Xiang who was still alive thanks to the powerful life force of a Martial Intent Realm cultivator, Shang Xia could see the life quickly draining out of him. ¡°There¡¯s no need to waste your energy. You can¡¯t nullify my Seven Laceration Sword.¡± Despair filled Junior Brother Xiang¡¯s mind. He wasn¡¯t able to say a word, but a multitude of thoughts were running through his mind. He couldn¡¯t even understand what type of qi Shang Xia used, other than the fact that there was a shit ton of them running amok in his body. There was no need to bother thinking about nullifying them since he couldn¡¯t even tell what they were. Regardless, he wondered how Shang Xia was able to possess so many different types of qi. The thought barely flashed through his mind when he realized that wasn¡¯t the time to think about those random thoughts he had. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but chuckle when he saw the conflicting emotions appearing on Junior Brother Xiang¡¯s dying face. ¡°What are you looking for? Why don¡¯t you share it with me?¡± Glaring at Shang Xia, a trace of disdain appeared in Junior Brother Xiang¡¯s eyes. He was maintaining his life with his quickly depleting inner qi, but with his cultivation at the Martial Intent Realm, he wouldn¡¯t run out of it anytime soon. The smile on Shang Xia¡¯s face became wider as he grabbed Junior Brother Xiang off the ground. With his eyes widening in pain and shock, Junior Brother Xiang felt a searing pain shoot through his body. Perspiration and blood soaked his clothes and he was like a wet rag that Shang Xia was pulling up from the floor. Even so, he discovered he couldn¡¯t make the slightest noise. Shang Xia¡¯s smile was comparable to that of a devil¡¯s in Junior Brother Xiang¡¯s eyes. That wasn¡¯t the end as Shang Xia muttered softly. ¡°Are you willing to talk? Oh right, blink your eyes if you want to communicate with me. You can¡¯t speak anyway.¡± Hearing what he said, Junior Brother Xiang closed his eyes immediately. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but praise the man¡¯s guts. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give you a quick death. The others will probably come looking for you and run into the same fate anyway. Let¡¯s just hope that they¡¯re as stubborn as you.¡± Opening his eyes once again, pure rage could be seen as Junior Brother Xiang¡¯s face twisted with rage. He wanted nothing more than to tear Shang Xia to shreds for threatening his fellow martial brothers, but his body trembled once and the light in his eyes dimmed. Shang Xia truly admired Junior Brother Xiang¡¯s strong will. As such, he didn¡¯t prolong the man¡¯s suffering and killed him directly. After all, the enmity between them wouldn¡¯t be solved even if Shang Xia released him. The scroll in Senior Brother Zhou¡¯s hand definitely piqued Shang Xia¡¯s interest. After all, the treasure that a direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land had his eye on would definitely be special. Not to mention the fact that direct disciples of the Changbai Holy Land were existences who were one step into the Martial Extermination Realm. Only treasures like rank four advancement formulas and strands of extermination origin would be able to catch their attention. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but recall the loot he obtained after killing Chu Chen and Sima Zhanxing. If Senior Brother Zhou, a direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land, had a scroll that recorded some sort of treasure on him, Chu Chen might also have something like it! Unfortunately, forcefully opening the spatial artifact would damage the items within. Shang Xia was afraid that even if Chu Chen had similar treasures on him, they would be destroyed when Shang Xia forced the case open. Compared to Chu Chen¡¯s spatial artifact, Shang Xia was looking forward to opening Sima Zhanxing¡¯s spatial artifact. He might have been living a shitty life in the Azure Spiritual World, but he was a genius member of the Rose Party regardless! Unfortunately¡­ Shang Xia knew that there was a special rank three talisman called the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman that could open spatial artifacts without destroying the items within. However, it wasn¡¯t recorded in the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture and Shang Xia didn¡¯t know if the institution had a way of creating it. To read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com. He was quickly brought back to attention when he heard some commotion nearby. He quickly hid his aura again. The person who came this time clearly wasn¡¯t as careful as Junior Brother Xiang no matter how inexperienced he seemed. As the person appeared at the foot of the hill, he yelled at the top of his lungs, ¡°Junior Brother Xiang, stop playing around and being mysterious! Did you find some sort of treasure?! Are you planning to keep it for yourself?¡± Taking a few steps forward, Senior Brother Yue looked up only to be greeted with the sight of the Bearded Eye Grass and joy filled his heart. He roared with laughter. ¡°I knew it! I¡­¡± Before he could say another word, a soft sigh entered his ears. ¡°You¡¯re much more careless than your Junior Brother Xiang.¡± Widening his eyes in shock, Senior Brother Yue felt his body going soft as he crumpled to the ground. He stared at Shang Xia who was slowly approaching with fear in his eyes. CH 383 Shang Xia discovered that against cultivators in the same cultivation realm, his Nine Providence Spears didn¡¯t give him the greatest advantage. There was obviously no need to bother with his Divine Killing Spear when up against them. After all, all those moves would create too huge of a commotion. With his comprehension of the Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter, he was able to conceal himself almost perfectly. He needed attacks that could allow him to catch his opponents off guard! The sneak attacks he used against Junior Brother Xiang and Senior Brother Yue succeeded due to their relatively lower cultivation realm. Neither of them completed their third divine sense transformation and they didn¡¯t detect the danger that was rapidly closing in. After a cultivator completed their third divine sense transformation, their senses would become a lot sharper. Even though they might not be able to detect Shang Xia, they would feel a sense of danger at the last second. Unfortunately for the two of them, they were unable to feel anything and Shang Xia dealt with them with one move. Originally, Shang Xia was planning to do the same to the third person. However, the remaining two weren¡¯t fools. They discovered that Junior Brother Xiang and Senior Brother Yue didn¡¯t respond to any of their calls and they quickly gathered together. As they approached the hill, a deep frown appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. If Senior Brother Zhou was the only one with a strong cultivation base, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t feel too annoyed. He expected a direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land to be at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm anyway. However, Junior Brother Qi had surprisingly completed his third divine sense transformation. It seemed as though Senior Brother Zhou wasn¡¯t as useless as he looked. He was actually able to get such capable subordinates. The Azure Spiritual World and Azure Origin World might be separated by the spatial barrier and the battlefield between the two worlds, but the contact between the two worlds was pretty much plentiful. The Tongyou Institution¡¯s information system wasn¡¯t too bad and they gathered some intelligence on the Changbai Holy Land too. Shang Xia knew that disciples like Chu Chen and Senior Brother Zhou were really important in the Changbai Holy Land. They had to gather their own subordinates before entering the Martial Extermination Realm and the holy land fully supported their actions. Junior Brother Qi looked a little younger than Senior Brother Zhou, and Shang Xia couldn¡¯t understand how Senior Brother Zhou got him as a subordinate. For a talented individual like Junior Brother Qi, he would most likely enter the grand completion stage in the future and become a direct disciple comparable to Senior Brother Zhou! Well, it evidently wasn¡¯t time to think about all that nonsense. The two of them didn¡¯t slow down as they quickly approached the hill. Their voices eventually entered Shang Xia¡¯s ears. ¡°... They came one after the other. However, they didn¡¯t leave behind any indications for us to follow¡­¡± Junior Brother Qi muttered softly. As soon as the words left his lips, Senior Brother Zhou snorted in disdain, ¡°Hmph, they¡¯re probably getting greedy.¡¯¡¯ ¡°Senior Brother Zhou?¡± Junior Brother Qi stared at him with a confused expression. Sighing softly, Senior Brother Zhou explained, ¡°No one knows how many fruits the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree bore. If they located it first and kept a few for themselves, no one would know¡­¡± Junior Brother Qi looked at him in shock. Clapping Junior Brother Qi¡¯s shoulders, Senior Brother Zhou muttered, ¡°Let¡¯s go. It¡¯s not that easy for those dumbasses to steal the fruits for themselves. I¡¯ll teach them a lesson so they behave themselves in the future!¡± As soon as he spoke, he started walking towards the foot of the hill. Junior Brother Qi hastened his steps as he followed closely behind Senior Brother Zhou. However, Senior Brother Zhou paused suddenly. Junior Brother Qi¡¯s expression changed as he retreated quickly. He didn¡¯t forget to yell, ¡°Senior Brother Zhou, get back!¡± No one knew if Senior Brother Zhou hadn¡¯t detected the danger or if he was planning to take it head-on, but he remained where he stood. The second Junior Brother Qi left, a massive spear created from starlight shot straight for Senior Brother Zhou. Junior Brother Qi¡¯s pupils shrank when he saw the starlight that made up the spear. Since there was no way of sneak attacking the two of them, Shang Xia felt that he might as well open with his spear art. Realizing that there was no way to run, Senior Brother Zhou roared and brought out his weapon. It was a high-grade weapon and heaven and earth qi gathered around him the moment it appeared. It was a massive metal ruler and he slammed it down heavily at the spear flying his way. A loud blast rang through the air, but Junior Brother Qi yelled over it. ¡°Senior Brother, be careful! That¡¯s the Upper Division disciple of the Tongyou Institution, Shang Xia!¡± Students in the Tongyou Institution would stay for six years at max, and disciples who could enter the upper division had statuses comparable to direct disciples of the holy lands. However, the Tongyou Institution was a special case. In order to nurture as many disciples as they could, the time disciples could remain in the institution was limited. In two short years, the cultivation of the Upper Division disciples couldn¡¯t improve by much! When compared to true direct disciples of the various powers, they were far too lacking. As a result, the disciples of the Tongyou Institution in the Upper Division would usually only possess cultivation bases at the peak of the Martial Extremity Realm. It would be rare for them to enter the Martial Intent Realm. The institution only managed to increase the number of disciples who entered the Martial Intent Realm in recent years due to the increased resources they obtained from the battlefield between the two worlds. Even so, disciples like Tian Mengzi and Sun Haiwei were in the minority. The Tongyou Institution might be growing stronger recently, but the quality of their disciples was far from holy lands like the Changbai Holy Land and the White Deer Paradise. Of course, there were exceptions to everything. There was one black horse that managed to advance so quickly that his reputation rang loud and clear through the worlds. That was Shang Xia, who took less than 3 years to enter the Upper Division. The terrifying existence known as Shang Xia not only managed to kill Chu Chen, a direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land, he even managed to kill a Martial Extermination Realm expert, Sima Zhanxing! Senior Brother Zhou and the others might not really care about an abandoned Martial Extermination Realm expert like Sima Zhanxing since they had no idea what it was like to face a Martial Extermination Realm expert, but Chu Chen hit close to him! The reason they were able to become direct disciples was because of the support of the elders in the faction! Their cultivation base was also a cut above the rest as they could suppress those in the same cultivation realm. Nevertheless, Shang Xia killed someone like that! The fact alone caused those from the Azure Spiritual World to raise their guard against him. There was even an order from the Changbai Holy Land for their disciples to report Shang Xia¡¯s whereabouts if they ever ran into him. They were also specifically ordered not to fight him as the holy land would send out Martial Extermination Realm experts to hunt him down. Unfortunately, Shang Xia disappeared from the battlefield between the two worlds when the order was released. The space within the battlefield might shift quickly, but no one expected him to disappear for three days straight! Now that Senior Brother Zhou and Junior Brother Qi ran into him, they were cursing themselves for their bad luck. Laughing bitterly, Senior Brother Zhou actually didn¡¯t need Junior Brother Qi¡¯s reminder of who Shang Xia was. He realized who the attacker was the moment he saw the spear. However, he didn¡¯t plan on resigning to his fate yet. As a direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land, even if he was weaker than an opponent of the same level, he wouldn¡¯t be defeated in a few moves! As long as he was able to buy some time and send an emergency signal out, he believed that the seniors of the Changbai Holy Land would be able to arrive quickly. Moreover, he wasn¡¯t the only one who was present. There was also Junior Brother Qi who would assist him¡­ Many thoughts flashed through his mind, but in reality, only a short moment passed. His metal ruler slammed heavily into the spear and he took several steps back. Every time his foot landed on the ground, huge cracks would be seen. When he finally stabilized his body, his face was flushed red with all the blood rushing up to his brain and his inner qi fluctuated unsteadily. He was on the verge of losing control of his inner qi altogether. Luckily, he managed to deflect the spear with his previous attack. The giant spear made with starlight smashed into a rocky surface nearby. A massive hole was blown through it and the space seemed a lot wider than before. With that, two corpses were revealed to Senior Brother Zhou and Junior Brother Qi. ¡°Junior Brother Qi¡­¡± Realizing that things were going south too quickly from the power contained in the spear, Senior Brother Zhou yelled in haste. He knew that if he were to fight Shang Xia alone, he would only suffer the same fate as Chu Chen. Only if they dragged the battle out would they be able to hold out till the seniors arrived! With a loud roar, he raised his weapon and rushed at Shang Xia again without waiting for Junior Brother Qi to follow behind him. One had to say that Senior Brother Zhou definitely possessed the qualities befitting a direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land. Not only was he confident in his abilities, he knew that he had to risk everything for a chance to survive. Only by seizing the initiative would he be able to draw the battle out. Too bad for him, he missed one extremely crucial detail. His Junior Brother Qi stood at the sidelines instead of joining the battle! ¡°Junior Brother Qi, hurry up and fight him with me!¡± Senior Brother Zhou roared as he took on several blows from Shang Xia. He wasn¡¯t the only one who was confused. Shang Xia was equally as puzzled. ¡°Junior Brother Qi, what are you doing?! Why aren¡¯t you fighting him?¡± Senior Brother Zhou yelled as he was quickly suppressed by Shang Xia. Even if he wasn¡¯t willing to assist his fellow teammate, he should be running away to report to his superiors! Why was he standing there while watching the fight?! For the full version, visit pawread dot com. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t understand what was happening, but he didn¡¯t let up on his relentless assault on Senior Brother Zhou. Naturally, he split off a bit of his divine sense to observe Junior Brother Qi. The other party might look like he was planning to remain as a bystander, but Shang Xia knew better than to let his guard down. Eventually, Shang Xia unleashed Piercing Sun and shattered Senior Brother Zhou¡¯s martial intent, Measuring the Heavens. Releasing his fourth move, Void Evasion, he took Senior Brother ZHou¡¯s life. When everything was happening, Junior Brother Zhou merely stood at the side with a cold gaze. CH 384 Since Shang Xia carried out his sneak attack, Junior Brother Qi had been watching coldly from the side. That might be the case, but Shang Xia never lowered his guard against the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land. Only after Senior Brother Zhou¡¯s death and the storm of heaven and earth qi dissipated did Shang Xia turn his attention to Junior Brother Qi. ¡°Who¡­ Who exactly are you?¡± Shang Xia hesitated for a moment before asking the question. He even suspected that Junior Brother Qi was a spy the institution placed in the Changbai Holy Land from his actions. ¡°I¡¯m obviously a cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World.¡± With a trace of mockery in his eyes, he sneered at Shang Xia. ¡°I know what you¡¯re thinking. I¡¯m no spy for your Tongyou Institution.¡± Shang Xia wanted to ask him for the reason behind his actions, but Junior Brother Qi was clearly unwilling to give him the chance to do so. Twisting his palm slightly, a strange hook-like weapon appeared in Junior Brother Qi¡¯s hands. ¡°Well¡­ I won¡¯t feel good if I don¡¯t exchange some pointers with you¡­¡± Looking at the weapon in his hand, Junior Brother Qi muttered softly. Before Shang Xia could say anything, Junior Brother Qi lowered his voice and growled, ¡°If you manage to take on my blow, the Lightning Fire Jujube fruits can be yours. If you can¡¯t¡­ Don¡¯t blame me for taking advantage of your weakened state after defeating Senior Brother Zhou!¡± Shang Xia found his words a little strange, but Junior Brother Qi was already leaping at him. ¡°Oh? Large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm?¡± Shang Xia was slightly taken aback when Junior Brother Qi¡¯s aura rose abruptly. He discovered the other party was hiding his strength and even though he wasn¡¯t at the grand competition stage, he was close! The only thing that made Shang Xia take him a little more seriously was that Junior Brother Qi was merely a smidge weaker than Senior Brother Zhou when the latter unleashed his martial intent, Measuring the Heavens! From the looks of it, Junior Brother Qi hadn¡¯t even started comprehending his martial intent! Facing such an attack, Shang Xia didn¡¯t plan on receiving it passively. Instead, he took the initiative and sent out an attack of his own. Starlight fell from the void and streamed towards the long hook. He didn¡¯t dare to be careless as he unleashed his seventh move, Celestial Disruption! To access the premium content, go to [ pawread dot com ]. Tiny explosions rang through the skies as the starlight fell on Junior Brother Qi¡¯s hooks. His offensive was seriously weakened as he approached. However, Junior Brother Qi didn¡¯t seem surprised in the slightest. He twisted his hooks in mid air and he redirected the massive spear that had formed. The spear was forced off its trajectory. The sudden change truly shocked Shang Xia. Unfortunately, that was the extent of Shang Xia¡¯s feelings. He wasn¡¯t flustered at all and he concentrated his divine sense on the giant spear that was directed away from Junior Brother Qi. Junior Brother Qi seemed to have underestimated Shang Xia¡¯s control over his spear. He failed to withdraw his hooks and the giant spear trembled slightly, forcing Junior Brother Qi to lose his balance. Reacting quickly, Junior Brother Qi regained his footing and redirected his hooks with the suction force coming from the spear and slashed it at Shang Xia¡¯s neck. One had to say that Junior Brother Qi was truly an exceptional talent. His skills were top notch and the power contained in his strikes was comparable to weaker martial intents comprehended by those in the Martial Intent Realm. Too bad for him, he was up against Shang Xia. The monster of a man wouldn¡¯t allow Junior Brother Qi to do as he wished! Shang Xia also reacted quickly and the Scarlet Star Spear in his hand trembled. Without any warning, he unleashed his eighth strike, Startling Moon! The void started to tremble and the hook that was closing in on Shang Xia¡¯s neck was affected by the twisted space as it completely missed its target. Shang Xia¡¯s Startling Moon didn¡¯t stop there. Even after nullifying Junior Brother Qi¡¯s attack, it shifted its focus on defense and struck out mercilessly. The spear arrived before Junior Brother Qi before he could detect it. Even though Junior Brother had no idea how Shang Xia¡¯s spear worked, he was able to feel a trace of danger rapidly closing in on him. That alone was admirable! No longer bothering with attacking, Junior Brother Qi didn¡¯t even bother defending himself with his weapons. He turned around to escape immediately! Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t leave himself defenseless. He threw out a rank three talisman and it transformed into two streaks of blood-red light that covered his legs. His speed instantly increased by one-fold and Shang Xia could only stare at him, dumbfounded by the sudden change. Looking at the direction he left, a ray of light flashed through Shang Xia¡¯s eyes. It was no wonder Junior Brother Qi had the guts to pick a fight with him. Other than the fact that his cultivation wasn¡¯t simple, he was also confident in his ability to run away. Junior Brother Qi was probably planning to use Shang Xia to hone himself in order to reach the next stage of cultivation! In actuality, Junior Brother Qi already touched on the edges of his martial intent. All he lacked was a way to comprehend it for real. With the experience he gained from fighting Shang Xia, it was a matter of time before he comprehended it. Now that Junior Brother Qi had escaped, Shang Xia knew that it wouldn¡¯t take long before Junior Brother Qi comprehended his martial intent and became a direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land. Only one question remained. The dude¡¯s identity seemed a little questionable¡­ Shang Xia shook his head silently and sighed. Seeing as there was no way to hunt down Junior Brother Qi, he turned to look at Senior Brother Zhou¡¯s corpse. Luckily for him, Senior Brother Zhou didn¡¯t keep the map in his spatial artifact. After some searching, Shang Xia pulled it out from the corpse¡¯s lapel. Opening the map, Shang Xia looked at the various annotations on it and quickly found where he was. From the looks of it, he wasn¡¯t far from the treasure. Lightning Fire Jujubes could be considered a precious treasure that was born from the world. If one were to pluck the jujube fruit from the tree, one would be able to use it as a weapon. As long as one infused enough inner qi into the fruit before tossing it at their opponents, they would be able to summon a huge amount of lightning and fire qi. The power contained in it was comparable to a talisman! A mature Lightning Fire Jujube tree could bear 36 fruits in total, and the quality of the fruits was usually split into 4 levels. The lowest-graded fruits could release power equivalent to a rank one talisman and those fruits made up half of the 36. A slightly better fruit could release power equivalent to a rank two talisman and there were probably 9 of them in total. By extension, the rank three fruits were comparable to a rank three talisman, and 6 of them would appear among the 36. The final 3 fruits were considered rank four Lightning Fire Jujubes and they could be compared to a rank four talisman! One had to know that Shang Xia used many months of effort to create 9 rank three talismans back at the Shang Clan Manor. Even if he added all of them up, the power contained within couldn¡¯t match up to a rank four Lightning Fire Jujube! With 3 fruits like that, Shang Xia would finally possess a little more means to threaten a Martial Extermination Realm expert. Retrieving Senior Brother Zhou¡¯s spatial artifact, Shang Xia found nothing else of value in the others and he quickly cremated the corpses. He followed the map and started looking all around him. Looking at the map, Shang Xia knew that it definitely came from the four great races of the Liao Continent. Could those treasure maps be the reason behind the Changbai Holy Land¡¯s willingness to join the battle? That revealed another problem. If the four great races of the Liao Continent had a map to the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree, why would they not save it for themselves? Could it be because the region around the tree was filled with danger? Perhaps only those who were capable had the ability to harvest the fruits. It seemed as though the closer he got to the tree, the more danger he would be in. Since Junior Brother Qi managed to escape, Shang Xia knew that he would also have to be extremely careful during the entire process. He had to hide his tracks the best he could. No matter what identity Junior Brother Qi had, the fact that Shang Xia killed three disciples of the Changbai Holy Land. With one of them being a direct disciple, Junior Brother Qi would definitely be questioned the moment he surfaced. Only by revealing Shang Xia¡¯s presence would he be able to escape suspicion. From what he heard earlier, the Changbai Holy Land had a way for them to communicate in the battlefield between the two worlds and it wouldn¡¯t take long before a Martial Extermination Realm expert came looking for him. Whatever the case, Shang Xia ventured deeper and deeper into a strange mountain range indicated on the map not too far away from the Bearded Eye Grass. Due to the efforts of those who surveyed the battlefield between the two worlds, almost everyone knew that the central region was mostly flat while the border regions were filled with mountainous regions. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that there were no mountains to be found in the central region. They were just few and far between. In the past, the Tongyou Institution and the Four Spiritual Peak were both located in the central region and from the information they gathered, spiritual beasts and mutated beasts lived in those mountain ranges lining the border. The various powers also concluded that without being fully prepared, none of them would disturb the powerful beasts living in those mountain ranges. In close to twenty years, there had almost been little to no stories of Martial Extermination Realm experts slaying those strong beasts. Every time there was news of that happening, reports of a beast tide would usually follow, causing the strength of both the humans and the beasts to fall considerably. At that moment, Shang Xia was closing in on a sea of pebbles. According to the indication on the map, that was the landmark closest to the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree. In other words, he should be extremely close to it! Taking a closer look all around him, Shang Xia discovered that his surroundings were a little too quiet. Expanding his divine sense to the best of his abilities, he turned around to stare at a patch of space behind him. ¡°Hehe. Looks like you still managed to discover my tracks. I was planning to deal with you after you located the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree. Who would have thought that you could discover me with your divine sense? Impressive¡­¡± A hoarse voice came from the void as an aged figure emerged. Shang Xia remained relatively calm when he looked at the newcomer. He muttered in a low voice, ¡°Are you an elder of the Changbai Holy Land?¡± ¡°You¡¯re Shang Bo¡¯s grandson indeed. The rumors of your strength should be true¡­ Chief of the Upper Division, Shang Xia. This old man is called Huang Yunxiang and I¡¯m an Inner Sect Elder.¡± The aged figure nodded slightly and he even seemed to admire Shang Xia slightly. Even though the structure of the Tongyou Institution was different from the rest, people like Huang Yunxiang were naturally familiar with how the institution classified their disciples. A strange look appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he asked suddenly, ¡°Inner Sect Elder? In that case, do you know someone called Liang Shuangren?¡± Huang Yunxiang nodded slowly and sighed. ¡°Looks like the Tongyou Institution really had something to do with his death. Liang Shuangren was an honorary elder of our Changbai Holy Land¡­ Hmm, you can consider him an Outer Sect Elder.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ I understand now.¡± Shang Xia nodded in all seriousness and continued. ¡°He¡¯s just a strong fighting dog your Changbai Holy Land uses to carry out your operations.¡± CH 385 ¡°Oh¡­ I understand now. He¡¯s just a strong fighting dog your Changbai Holy Land uses to carry out your operations.¡± Staring at Shang Xia in apparent shock, Huang Yunxiang eventually chuckled in amusement. ¡°Well, you¡¯re being really direct about it but I can¡¯t say you¡¯re wrong.¡± Thinking for a second, Shang Xia continued, ¡°Elder Huang, for you to run all the way out here for a mere Martial Intent Realm cultivator, aren¡¯t you afraid that the Tongyou Institution will manage to gain the upper hand?¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t actually know the situation out there. He was merely trying to bait some information from Elder Huang. The moment Elder Huang appeared, a bad premonition appeared in Shang Xia¡¯s heart. It seemed as though the institution wasn¡¯t doing too well if the opponents could afford to send another Martial Extermination Realm expert to look for Shang Xia. Chuckling softly, Huang Yunxiang could obviously tell Shang Xia¡¯s intentions. After all, an old fox like him was too familiar with the ways of the world. Shang Xia was truly too inexperienced when compared to him. He continued nonchalantly, ¡°Since I showed my face here, why don¡¯t you take a guess?¡± Shang Xia grinned after hearing what Huang Yunxiang said. ¡°Since Elder Huang put it so ambiguously, you guys probably failed to gain the upper hand. Haha. I am much more relieved now. Looks like the Tongyou Institution isn¡¯t doing too badly.¡± This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. The smile on Huang Yunxiang¡¯s face faded as the killing intent in his eyes grew stronger. He didn¡¯t expect himself to be outsmarted by a little brat like Shang Xia. Shang Xia added again, ¡°Elder Huang, you¡¯re a Martial Extermination Realm expert. Your divine sense should be able to cover a much larger range than me. Did you discover the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Are you trying to waste my time now? Or do you think you can deal with me after harvesting the fruits on the tree?¡± Huang Yunxiang raised an eyebrow and mocked the kid. ¡°Haha. I don¡¯t want you to die without even seeing the tree, that¡¯s all¡­ At least you can leave this world without regrets.¡± Shang Xia sniggered softly. Huang Yunxiang¡¯s expression turned cold the moment the words left Shang Xia¡¯s lips. ¡°Hmph, in that case, you¡¯ll definitely be leaving the world with regrets today!¡± As soon as he spoke, he waved his sleeves violently and a yellow cloud emerged. It expanded in the skies above Shang Xia before crashing down mercilessly. Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect an elder of the Changbai Holy Land to act so unscrupulously towards a Martial Intent Realm cultivator. Luckily, he had prepared himself for it. The moment Huang Yunxiang made his move, Shang Xia threw himself in the opposite direction and ran across the sea of pebbles. He knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to outrun an attack from a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator. He could only try to take it on with the assistance of the terrain around him. When he was running, he didn¡¯t forget to mock the elder. ¡°Heh, as an elder of the Changbai Holy Land, you can¡¯t even keep your composure when speaking to juniors. You won¡¯t even give me a chance to fulfill my last wish. Are you really so afraid of me?¡± ¡°Go talk to Sima Zhanxing when you¡¯re dead. Don¡¯t waste my time.¡± Huang Yunxiang growled before pointing downwards. ¡°Fall!¡± The cloud that was slowly descending suddenly increased its speed and it resembled a huge yellow hurricane that was tearing down the land. It went straight for Shang Xia. The yellow storm filled the skies and it seemed to want to swallow everything in its path! Raising his spear, Shang Xia released Startling Moon without even turning back. Piercing a hole in the storm, he created a small safe space for himself. ¡°Hmm¡­ To affect space when you¡¯re in the Martial Intent Realm. You¡¯re truly a genius worth sending out a Martial Extermination Realm expert for.¡± Huang Yunxiang complimented Shang Xia before his tone sank again. ¡°It¡¯s a pity your actions are futile. How long can you last under my Desert Mist Extermination?¡± The moment he completed his sentence, he discovered that Shang Xia had already increased the distance between them by more than ten feet. ¡°Huh? How is he able to avoid my divine sense detection? Is this something Shang Bo left behind?¡± Huang Yunxiang muttered. He wanted to look at the situation under the yellow storm, but he suddenly realized that something was wrong. ¡°Not good!¡± He suddenly felt a strong disturbance coming from under the yellow cloud. Shang Xia tore his way through the land, and when Huang Yunxiang saw how his extermination origin wasn¡¯t able to stop Shang Xia¡¯s his expression turned incomparably serious. Of course, he didn¡¯t think that the situation had turned bad yet. He didn¡¯t use his full strength earlier because he didn¡¯t think he had to. Now that Shang Xia had jumped out of the range of the yellow cloud, he didn¡¯t wait for Shang Xia to land before pointing at him. A thin ray of light emerged from his fingertips and shot straight at Shang Xia. The instant it came into contact with his divine sense, Shang Xia felt a bone-chilling sensation and he felt his divine sense freezing over. Shang Xia understood that Huang Yunxiang had revealed his second extermination origin. In mid air, Shang Xia circulated his inner qi again and the Scarlet Star Spear trembled in his hands. He unleashed his ninth move, Piercing Sun, without hesitation. A huge spear appeared in mid air and smashed at the ray of light that came from Huang Yunxiang. That was the only move he had with power close to his Divine Killing Spear and Shang Xia knew that he had to use it in order to deal with the threat at hand. Clashing with the ray of light in mid air, Shang Xia achieved something that wasn¡¯t supposed to happen. He stopped an attack from a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator with his rank three spear art! The giant spear couldn¡¯t avoid its fate of being frozen over and it eventually dissipated in mid air. It didn¡¯t stop there. Shang Xia had to block the remainder of the attack with his Scarlet Star Spear. His weapon froze over instantly. Everything happened so quickly that Shang Xia was unable to land on the ground even after his spear froze. He might have lost his weapon, but Shang Xia didn¡¯t seem flustered in the slightest. Instead, he stared at Huang Yunxiang while laughing. ¡°Is there a reason you¡¯re holding back even after so many failed attempts to kill me? Are you preparing for something to happen?¡± Huang Yunxiang¡¯s expression turned extremely ugly and he simply grunted at Shang Xia to indicate his annoyance at the kid. The chill in his gaze grew stronger. In contrast, a pained look appeared in Shang Xia¡¯s eye when he saw his frozen-over weapon that had already fallen to the ground. He knew that with the damage it suffered, it was definitely going to be badly damaged after the battle. He quickly regained his composure and an annoying smile appeared on his face again. ¡°Elder Huang, you¡¯re a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator at the end of the day. I¡¯m not your opponent¡­ It won¡¯t take much for you to kill me either. Why don¡¯t you come closer since you seem to be wasting a lot of energy trying to kill me from so far away.¡± Fury flashed through Huang Yunxiang¡¯s eyes but he remained where he was. He sneered coldly, ¡°Brat, you¡¯re asking to die!¡± Shang Xia ignored him completely and he chuckled coldly, ¡°We shouldn¡¯t be far from the tree, right? Are you afraid of damaging the fruits if you act recklessly now?¡± Seeing the sneer on Huang Yunxiang¡¯s face, Shang Xia seemed to have thought of another possibility. ¡°... Or¡­ Are you afraid that there¡¯s a spiritual beast guarding the treasure?¡± Shang Xia barely completed his sentence when he discovered a huge disturbance coming from underground. Violently rumbling filled the lands and a massive crack appeared under him. It was like a giant mouth that wanted to swallow him whole. With his expression changing, Shang Xia didn''t dare to leap into the air to flee from the crack. Instead, he unleashed his Irregular Steps to its limit. Running to the side, he quickly hid his aura. If not for the fact that Huang Yunxiang had his eyes on Shang Xia, he would have expected Shang Xia to be swallowed up by the crack. He wouldn¡¯t believe that a Martial Intent Realm cultivator could hide his presence so perfectly. However, that wasn¡¯t time for him to worry about Shang Xia¡¯s abilities. That was because after Shang Xia retracted his aura, the existence that was underground locked onto him! ¡°Squeak, squeak!¡± With two loud squeaks, the crack on the ground widened and a massive mouth appeared. Two large teeth that resembled large blades chomped at Elder Huang Yunxiang. CH 386 The Lightning Fire Jujube Tree was one reason behind Elder Huang Yunxiang¡¯s reluctance to go all out against Shang Xia, but a bulk of his attention was placed on dealing with the spiritual beast that would be guarding the tree. Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect the beast to be hiding underground where no one could see it. He didn¡¯t discover the beast when he was in the area, instead, he managed to detect Huang Yunxiang who was tracking him. Crossing paths with Huang Yunxiang, Shang Xia managed to catch on at the last second and avoid the giant rat that emerged from underground. A Martial Extermination Realm spiritual beast developed intelligence that was superior to ordinary beasts. It could tell that Shang Xia was a mere ant with his cultivation realm and the real threat was posed by Huang Yunxiang who was floating in the air above. That was why Shang Xia had the guts to try escaping in front of the beast. Since the beast missed Shang Xia the first time, it wouldn¡¯t bother missing such a tiny meal. It charged directly at Huang Yunxiang and started a strong offensive. A loud squeak filled the skies and Shang Xia felt as though someone stabbed a sharp needle through his brain. Even with his willpower and soul that was close to a cultivator at the Martial Extermination Realm, he felt as though his head was splitting open. Luckily, he reacted quickly and concealed his aura. Huang Yunxiang was the true target of the attack. Shang Xia looked up only to see Huang Yunxiang¡¯s extermination origin expanding rapidly under his feet as he forced his body to stabilize in mid air. The giant rat¡¯s teeth came crashing down at that exact moment and a loud blast was heard when Huang Yunxiang counterattacked. Another loud squeak came from the giant rat along with the massive blast. When Shang Xia looked up again, he discovered that Huang Yunxiang had already summoned his third extermination origin to deal with the threat. A sea of three-colored light swallowed the massive figure that was the giant rat. ¡°Heh, that old fart actually hid his cultivation when trying to kill me¡­ He¡¯s actually a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert!¡± Shang Xia sneered silently as he continued to watch the situation playing out in the air. He intended to reach over with his divine sense to observe the battle but when his divine sense approached, it was quickly swallowed up by the same sea of light. It seemed as though a battle like that wasn¡¯t something he could peek at with his weak divine sense. Fortunately, the giant rat didn¡¯t look too weak. It didn¡¯t look like it was at a complete disadvantage against Huang Yunxiang. It released an enraged cry as it continued to fight. Since the battle was between Martial Extermination Realm experts now, Shang Xia figured that it was the best time for him to sneak away. All he needed to know was where the hell the damn tree was! He knew it was close, but there were no signs of it! Since he couldn¡¯t locate the tree immediately, he had to keep his little life safe before doing anything else. He realized how stupid his actions were after feeling the shockwaves of the battle. He knew that the Changbai Holy Land would send an expert to track him down after Junior Brother Qi escaped, but he still chose to stubbornly look for the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree! Finally admitting his mistake, he started to run in a random direction away from the battle. Since both parties fighting had nothing to do with him, there was no point interfering with the battle. It would be for the best if they heavily injured each other. It didn¡¯t take long for him to arrive hundreds of feet away from the battlefield. As he focused on getting further away from the battle, a burst of red light came from nowhere, obstructing his way. A wall of fire came out of the ground and stood in his way, stopping him from moving forward. Shang Xia felt a chill running through his heart as he took a huge leap to the side to avoid slamming into the wall of fire that appeared. The wall of fire seemed to appear from Huang Yunxiang¡¯s third extermination origin and it was clear the elder didn¡¯t plan on letting him leave so easily. His ability to obstruct Shang Xia sounded all the alarm bells in Shang Xia¡¯s mind. It seemed as though the elder was able to split off a part of his consciousness and he wasn¡¯t fully focused on the battle against the giant rat. He had to get away as quickly as possible! A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. Turning in another direction, he ran even quicker away from the battle. Who would have thought that he would run into a massive pit after running for a short while? Nothing but a lone tree stood at the center of the pit and Shang Xia noticed dozens of egg-sized fruits hanging on its branches. Widening his eyes in shock, Shang Xia almost couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. He was still lamenting the fact that he couldn¡¯t find the tree earlier. Who would have thought that he would run into it while making his escape? With a burst of joy filling his heart, Shang Xia decided to head down and pluck all the fruits before thinking about the repercussions. As he leaped through the air and tried entering the put, weird pulsations came from the ground below and countless spikes appeared. They shot towards Shang Xia who no longer had his spear due to Huang Yunxiang¡¯s interference. Flipping his wrist, the Jade River Sword appeared in his hand. Sword light rained down on those spike-like objects. The collision between his sword qi and those spikes forced him back up to the surface. What the hell? Is this the doing of the weird fat rat? Shang Xia shivered slightly. He knew that the rat wouldn¡¯t be willing to let Shang Xia steal those fruits easily. He was surprised by the fact that the rat still had the energy to mess with him even when tangled with Huang Yunxiang! He was angered and amused at the same time, and he nearly burst out in enraged laughter. It seemed as though both Martial Extermination Realm assholes fighting were holding back and hiding their full strength! Shang Xia felt that it was possible they were both wary of him, but that didn¡¯t make sense if he thought about it. If they were both afraid he might take away the Lightning Fire Jujubes, Huang Yunxiang wouldn¡¯t have stopped him from running in the direction he was headed initially! There could only be one other reason. There was something there Huang Yunxiang didn¡¯t want him to find! Choosing another direction that didn¡¯t lead to the pit or the region he was once stopped by Huang Yunxiang, Shang Xia started running once again. This time, no one stopped him. Even so, their divine senses didn¡¯t leave him. With Shang Xia¡¯s acute instincts, he could feel that both experts were keeping an eye on him. Only after he ran out several miles did he leave their range of detection. Quickly stopping, Shang Xia turned to look behind him. He took a huge detour around the hill that was beside him before deciding to head back. This time, he moved at a snail¡¯s pace. He pushed his concealment to the limit and if anyone were to see him now, they would think that he was a weird corpse that was wandering the land due to the lack of qi. When the two existences felt Shang Xia¡¯s presence leaving their range of detection, they immediately stopped holding back. Releasing their full power, the scale of the battle reached a new height instantly. Even when he was six miles away, Shang Xia could feel the terrifying energy fluctuations that came from the clash between the two. He didn¡¯t need to use his divine sense to observe the battle to know where it was. From the shockwaves of the battle, Shang Xia could tell that Huang Yunxiang was stronger than Liang Shuangren who was killed back in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range! What shocked him was the fact that the damn fat rat was able to match up to Huang Yunxiang! Pushing his concealment to the limit, Shang Xia carefully made his way back to where the two of them were fighting. By the time he returned, four long hours had already passed. The battle that was happening in mid air finally experienced some changes. Shang Xia could vaguely feel Huang Yunxiang¡¯s extermination origins growing stronger all of a sudden, and the battle immediately tilted in his favor. Rather than trying to kill the rat with the advantage he had, he started to draw the battle away from the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree. Shang Xia became even more confident of his guess when he ran away earlier, but he remained where he was without the slightest movement. When the two of them moved away a little, a figure popped out from the ground where Huang Yunxiang stopped Shang Xia with a wall of fire earlier. The figure started running towards the large put. ¡°I knew it!¡± Shang Xia thought to himself. Even though his guess was verified, he remained motionless. The person who was running to the pit wasn¡¯t anyone else but Junior Brother Qi who ran away from Shang Xia previously. Junior Brother Qi was only able to hide there because of a secret art from the Changbai Holy Land and Shang Xia didn''t find it surprising at all. Since he made his appearance, Shang Xia guessed that he probably made some sort of deal with Huang Yunxiang. Moreover, the Martial Intent Realm disciple might have already guessed that there would be a spiritual beast guarding the tree when he called the elder over. Their plan was probably to approach the tree from different directions and Huang Yunxiang¡¯s job would be to lure the beast away while his job would be to retrieve the fruits. That was why Huang Yunxiang stopped Shang Xia from running in that direction in the first place. With his strong divine sense, he would definitely discover Junior Brother Qi! The giant rat might have been lured away by Huang Yunxiang, but the moment Junior Brother Qi started moving in the direction of the pit, it quickly discovered the disciple¡¯s presence. Roaring with rage, the giant rat seemed to go crazy as it tried its best to return to the pit. It ignored all the damage it was suffering from Huang Yunxiang. Noticing the rat¡¯s reaction, Huang Yunxiang¡¯s attacks became even more intense in an attempt to stop it. At that point, neither expert held back. They pushed themselves to the limit as the huge battle that took place before transformed into a match of sudden death! Huang Yunxiang released several grunts while miserable squeaks came from the rat. The man and spiritual beast duo suffered varying levels of injuries. Shang Xia, who had been observing everything, turned extremely serious as he brought out a yellow gourd from his storage case. CH 387 The two existences in the air finally placed everything on the line as they released everything they had. If they didn¡¯t stop soon, it was certain that they would be seriously injured even if they didn¡¯t end up dragging each other to the underworld. Even though the battle up there looked intense, both Martial Extermination Realm existences knew that the key to victory had already appeared. The moment Junior Brother Qi approached the tree and obtained the fruits, he would be able to unleash attacks comparable to experts in the Martial Extermination Realm. If the rat was barely able to hold on under Huang Yunxiang¡¯s ferocious assault, the addition of Junior Brother Qi would spell its death! On the contrary, if the rat managed to break past Huang Yunxiang¡¯s obstruction and protect the tree, Huang Yunxiang¡¯s plan would fail miserably. Sitting at the sidelines, Shang Xia understood that Huang Yunxiang¡¯s true intention might not be the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree in the first place. Instead, he might be scheming to get the giant rat¡¯s extermination origins! Killing Shang Xia might just be a side quest of his. That was probably why Huang Yunxiang didn¡¯t chase after him when he made his escape earlier. From how long the battle lasted, it was easy to tell that the rat had refined more than a single strand of extermination origin. If Shang Xia or Huang Yunxiang had to compare the extermination origin they could obtain by killing the giant rate and the Lightning Fire Jujubes, the extermination origins were countless times better. Shang Xia was extremely serious when he took out the yellow gourd. It contained the strand of sword qi Patriarch Kou sealed within for him to save his life at a crucial moment. Even when he was fighting Sima Zhanxing, he didn¡¯t want to waste it. However, with the giant rat and Huang Yunxiang in front of him, Shang Xia felt that it was time to take the risk. Slowly opening the cork on the gourd, Shang Xia poured his inner qi into it without holding back. A deep green ray of light seemed to have awakened in the depths of the gourd as a tiny sword that was barely three inches long started to form. Shang Xia got to his feet and bowed slightly at the sword before muttering in an incomparably solemn tone, ¡°I hope this cute little sword¡­ Ahem, I mean¡­ I hope Patriarch Kou can help me deal with this!¡± The tiny sword rose into the air before enlarging itself by several thousand times. A gigantic sword that contained the strength of a Martial Dipper Realm expert hovered in the skies and the entire world around it lost its color. In that instant, the sword qi Kou Chongxue left Shang Xia and became the center of attention in the battlefield between the two worlds. The Martial Extermination Realm experts scattered all around stopped their battles abruptly and turned to stare in the direction of the sword qi as an uncertain light flashed in their eyes. ¡­ In the Beyond Heavens Pavilion where the vortex was located, a frightening amount of sword qi caused the void to tremble. The shorty who seemed to be called Ancestor Xu leaped to his feet and yelled with rage, ¡°Kou Chongxue, you despicable bastard! You actually left behind a portion of your power in the battlefield between the two worlds!¡± A smile appeared on Kou Chongxue¡¯s face and he sneered derisively, ¡°Shorty Xu, are you stupid or something? Your holy land sent experts into the battlefield between the two worlds to support their battle efforts despite you guys having nothing to do with this. Am I not allowed to leave my disciples some life saving methods? Alright, you want this to be fair? Retrieve the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw from the battlefield right now or I¡¯ll send my Hidden Frost Sword down there to play with you guys. How¡¯s that?¡± ¡°The Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw belongs to the four races of the Liao Continent. What does my Changbai Holy Land have to do with this?¡± Shorty Xu snorted in response. ¡°Oh really? Without your Changbai Holy Land messing around, do you think those bunch of fools who are thinking of backstabbing each other all the time can gather together to make a divine weapon?¡± Kou Chongxue mocked. Raising his voice slightly, Shorty Xu quickly retorted, ¡°You can¡¯t blame us for everything! Do you have evidence to show that we made that weapon? Hmph, our Changbai Holy Land might be rich and powerful, but we¡¯re not crazy to the point where we can give away divine weapons!¡± Kou Chongxue no longer bothered with the short man. Instead, he turned to the bearded elder. ¡°Elder Luo, this little short fuck seems like he¡¯s ready to fight me. Why don¡¯t we just fight it out now and get this over with?¡± The bearded elder maintained a serene expression on his face and he quickly tried to mediate the situation. ¡°Come on, It¡¯s just a scuffle between juniors. We don¡¯t have to get involved with this. If you throw your Hidden Frost Sword down there, your combat abilities will definitely be affected if we were to fight. Junior Brother Xu, you need to calm down too. Patriarch Kou only left behind a small trace of his qi. It¡¯s not something to make a fuss over.¡± Shorty Xu snorted once before glaring at Kou Chongxue. However, he seemed to have thought of something and a mocking smile appeared on his face. ¡°Our Changbai Sect is more than capable of taking out anything your Tongyou Institution can give your students¡­¡± Rolling his eyes slightly, Kou Chongxue decided to treat Shorty Xu like a barking dog and he no longer bothered with the man. ¡­ In a certain location in the battlefield between the two worlds, Yan Su¡¯er was holding Yun Jing and Shang Lubing back on her own. She was the only remaining Martial Extermination Realm expert of her race, but she was no weakling. She had already reached the fourth layer of the Martial Extermination Realm and she wasn¡¯t at a disadvantage when taking the both of them on at the same time. Yun Jing chuckled bitterly after noticing that she had no intention of killing the two of them. From her actions, she seemed more interested in holding them back so they couldn¡¯t head over to assist the other members of the institution. ¡°Grandmother Yan, your relationship with our institution has never been bad. Why are you making things difficult for us?¡± Yan Su¡¯er casually waved her staff to force the advancing Shang Lubing back slightly before muttering softly, ¡°When did I make things difficult for you? We¡¯ve always been on good terms with each other. Isn¡¯t it good for us to be stuck in a deadlock like this without any deaths? The two of you are the ones who are trying to make things difficult for me. I¡¯m not doing anything!¡± Yun Jing didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. She thought about it for a second before responding, ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll stay behind and put on an act with you. Just let Mister Shang Lubing leave. How¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Absolutely not.¡± Yan Su¡¯er rolled her eyes at Yun Jing before she continued, ¡°If I let any one of you leave, my race and I will have to take on the brunt of the holy land¡¯s anger! Are you planning on defending us against the Changbai Holy Land? Hmph. Even Kou Chongxue will have to be able to enter my Liao Continent before you can even think of that.¡± Yun Jing heard the meaning behind her words and a glint flashed in her eyes. ¡°Grandmother Yan, looks like you¡¯re not very satisfied with the Changbai Holy Land either!¡± ¡°Heh, don¡¯t even try. This old lady has eaten more salt than you have rice.¡± Yan Su¡¯er sneered immediately. Chuckling softly, Yun Jing seemed to have reached a conclusion of her own. She was about to say something when a terrifying sword qi emerged in the distance. ¡­ Shang Bo was desperately running away as he flew across the lands at high speed. That was right, the legendary Shang Bo who stopped the experts of the Liao Continent on his own during the war for the Tongyou Mysterious World who had reached the large completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm was running away with his tail tucked between his legs! He was akin to an invincible existence in the case where no Martial Dipper Realm experts appeared, but now, he was running for his life! The person who was chasing him relentlessly was Ran Kongqing, Ran Biluo¡¯s uncle! When the Four Spiritual Peak fell in the past, the Martial Extermination Realm experts from the Liao Continent suffered serious losses. It was especially so for the Lang and She races. They lost two Martial Extermination Realm experts each! Yan Su¡¯er was the only remaining Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Yan Race, but she had reached the fourth layer of the Martial Extermination Realm! A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. Ran Biluo might have fallen, but there were still two Martial Extermination Realm powerhouses left in the Ran Race. Due to the events that happened, the Ran Race naturally became the strongest of the four great races of the Liao Continent. With the interference of the Changbai Holy Land, the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw naturally ended up with Ran Kongqing. If they truly took cultivation realms into consideration, Ran Kongqing was far from Shang Bo¡¯s match. Even if there were two Ran Kongqings, they wouldn¡¯t be able to suppress Shang Bo in the slightest! However, things were different with a divine weapon in hand. Since the Tongyou Institution barged into the battlefield between the two worlds, Ran Kongqing immediately located Shang Bo. The two experts who stood at the peak of the power pyramid in the battlefield between the two worlds at the moment started their game of cat and mouse since then. Throughout the battle, Shang Bo had been exchanging blows with the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw. His Champion¡¯s Spear had suffered a lot of damage due to the clashes despite it being a high-grade weapon. He didn¡¯t know how long he would be able to hold out for. When he was sighing about the fact that he barely used his weapon for a year, a giant claw emerged from the void in front of him. Ran Kongqing¡¯s annoying voice ran in his ears once again. ¡°Shang Bo, let¡¯s see if you manage to escape from me now¡­¡± Midway through his sentence, his facial expression froze as the two of them turned to stare in another direction. A bone-chilling aura came from one of the regions in the battlefield between the two worlds and caught their attention immediately. ¡­ When Junior Brother Qi made his appearance and angered the giant rat, Huang Yunxiang discovered that he made a serious miscalculation. Originally, he thought that with his superior cultivation, he would be able to defeat the giant rat eventually. However, the rat possessed a specific extermination origin that directly countered his Desert Mist Extermination Origin. That wasn¡¯t all. The giant rat had terrifying defensive capabilities. When it summoned the same extermination origin to wrap around its body, it seemed to have donned a set of tough armor that Huang Yunxiang had trouble breaking. As for the giant rat¡¯s second extermination origin, it was concealed under its body in a formless mass. It allowed the rat to move at a frightening speed, and one could only imagine how difficult it was to deal with an existence that moved with the speed of a rocket and possessed sturdy defenses. Ordinarily, rats were clumsy animals that had weak defenses. The giant rat that was locked in combat with Huang Yunxiang destroyed everyone¡¯s preconceptions of rats. Huang Yunxiang missed close to half his attacks on the rat and those that hit were eventually nullified by the rat¡¯s defensive abilities. With Junior Brother Qi¡¯s appearance to enrage the monstrous rat, Huang Yunxiang realized how bad of a situation they were in. He had to do something to the rat before it returned, but how the hell was he supposed to do so?! Risking it all, he unleashed everything he had. Sending out attacks without holding back his inner qi expenditure. He quickly shattered two of the rat¡¯s claws and punched a hole in the creature¡¯s stomach, but he also suffered a massive headbutt from the freakish existence. He felt his insides turning upside down and his inner qi slowed to a crawl. With the two of them heavily injured, a figure that they had forgotten about finally reappeared. They discovered that the figure had released a small green sword before they could take any precautions. The sword seemed to lock on to the rat and man combo, but the feeling was so faint neither of them focused on it. In the next instant, the tiny green sword trembled once before turning into a massive guillotine that hung above their heads. Huang Yunxiang frowned slightly and the final thought he would ever have ran through his mind. What the hell is this? And why didn¡¯t we discover that little bastard when he¡¯s so close to us? CH 388 To be fair, Kou Chongxue told Shang Xia that the sword qi he left behind couldn¡¯t be easily blocked by anyone under the Martial Dipper Realm. However, it was Shang Xia¡¯s first time using it. He didn¡¯t know what he should expect but since he was unleashing it against two heavily injured Martial Extermination Realm experts, he felt that it shouldn¡¯t be much of a problem to deal with them. Search "pawread dot com" for the original. Now that he used it, all of his worries were blown away. For Kou Chongxue to say that his sword qi was practically invincible under the Martial Dipper Realm, it was no mere exaggeration. Huang Yunxiang and the giant rat were no match for it. They were slain the moment it emerged! As the little sword danced in mid air, the three strands of extermination origin that surrounded Huang Yunxiang were easily shattered as his body was sliced in two. Helpless, he fell powerlessly from the skies. Even though his body was in a crippled state and he was almost completely fucked, he wasn¡¯t truly dead yet. The life force of a Martial Extermination Realm expert was truly boundless. Even if he lost a few limbs and half his body, he would be able to live for quite some time. The little sword flashed in the air again and only his head was left. Heaven and earth qi fluctuations filled the skies and Huang Yunxiang¡¯s head fell weakly to the ground below. With the last of his energy, he roared, ¡°Hurry up and run!¡± A figure leaped out from the pit that contained the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree and fled without so much as turning back. One had to admit that Junior Brother Qi acted really decisively. While he made his escape, a loud explosion came from behind as a storm of heaven and earth qi tore through the lands. Huang Yunxiang¡¯s items scattered everywhere. Even at the brink of death, Huang Yunxiang didn¡¯t forget to detonate his spatial artifact. It was a pity Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t be able to obtain everything he owned. One had to know that his spatial artifact contained the wealth of an elder of the Changbai Holy Land! With the destruction of his spatial artifact, the last of his life force drained away from his body. All the inner qi he stored turned into wisps of energy that returned to the battlefield between the two worlds. Looking at the scattered items reluctantly, Shang Xia chose to take a closer look at them before heading over to the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree. He couldn¡¯t be bothered with how many fruits Junior Brother Qi stole before getting away as he ran over to where the items fell. When he arrived, he discovered that the giant rat was still breathing. The life force it possessed was much stronger than Huang Yunxiang, and even after the little sword severed its body, it was still able to maintain its life! At the final moment before the sword made contact with its body, the formless extermination origin it possessed allowed it to twist slightly, avoiding a hit on its critical regions. Shang Xia noticed that it was trying to dig into the ground to make its escape, but it was a shame Huang Yunxiang severed its claws earlier. It was unable to make its escape before Shang Xia arrived. With the threat approaching, several spikes emerged from the ground below and shot at Shang Xia. The Jade River Sword danced in his hand as sword qi rained down on those spikes, shattering it to pieces. The giant rat was evidently not in the best shape after taking on Kou Chongxue¡¯s sword qi. Realizing how weak it was, Shang Xia leaped into the skies and sent his Seven Laceration Sword deep into the creature¡¯s back. The sword qi wreaked havoc in the rat¡¯s body and it didn¡¯t take long before all its innards were turned to mush. His sword qi didn¡¯t stop there. They ate away at the rat¡¯s life force before destroying it completely. Even after noticing how the rat flopped powerlessly to the ground, Shang Xia didn¡¯t dare to let his guard down. He carefully observed the creature while keeping his sword. At the same time, he brought out the gourd to retrieve Kou Chongxue¡¯s sword qi. Due to the expenditure, the sword was no longer as solid as it was before. It flickered unsteadily and its body became a lot more translucent than before. Trembling once, the sword turned to point at the giant rat. After a Martial Extermination Realm expert was slain, the energy contained in their body would normally scatter and return to the world. That wasn¡¯t the case for rank four spiritual beasts. It was possible to retrieve its extermination origins for other uses. Moreover, the corpse of the beast wouldn¡¯t disappear in the storm of heaven and earth qi that ensued. When Kou Chongxue modified the gourd in the past, he didn¡¯t just leave the sword qi in there for Shang Xia. Instead, he gave the gourd the ability to store extermination origins. The giant rat might be dead, but its extermination origins were still stored safely in its body. The strand of sword qi in the gourd locked firmly onto their positions. Circulating his inner qi again, Shang Xia pointed the gourd in the direction of the creature as a suction force started to emerge from its opening. Soon after, two strands of light rose from the corpse. One of them was a deep yellow in color while the other seemed weirdly formless. Shang Xia barely noticed the other strand of light. As the extermination origins slowly entered the gourd, Shang Xia could feel it getting significantly heavier. When they were fully extracted, Shang Xia felt as though the gourd in his hands weighed a thousand tons. The unique aura that was possessed by a rank four spiritual beast no longer lingered on the giant rat¡¯s body, but the stench of blood in the air became a lot stronger than before. ¡°Well, the meat on the body of a beast should be pretty nutritious¡­ However, is anyone going to really eat the body of a rat?¡± Shang Xia thought to himself while examining the corpse. Even if he wanted to keep the corpse into his Embroidered Cloud Case, it wouldn¡¯t fit. Waving his hand slowly, he created a pit before burying the corpse of the giant rat. Walking over to where Huang Yunxiang¡¯s items had fallen, he swept his gaze across everything while sighing. There was nothing too precious left like what he expected. Experts like Huang Yunxiang who came from a huge power like the Changbai Holy Land weren''t like those wandering cultivators out there. He wouldn¡¯t bring his personal inheritance around with him wherever he went. Moreover, some of his treasures would be kept back in his faction. If he fell, his belongings would be left for the various juniors and fellow cultivators back there. After dealing with the mess, Shang Xia turned to look at the giant pit where the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree was. Deciding not to head in there immediately, he chose to look for his spear before doing anything else. It didn¡¯t take long for him to find it, but since it took Huang Yunxiang¡¯s attack head-on, Shang Xia discovered that he wasn¡¯t able to send his inner qi into the spear as smoothly as he did before. Clearly, the spear that he barely used for a year had suffered serious damage. Even if he brought it back to the institution, he might not be able to fully restore it back to its original state. Helpless, Shang Xia could only pour as much Origin True Qi into the Scarlet Star Spear as he could in order to get rid of whatever inner qi Huang Yunxiang left behind. That was the simplest way to slightly restore the usability of his weapon, but the effects were similarly elementary. Moreover, he would have to do it for a long time for there to be any visible improvements. Returning to the pit that contained the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree while pouring his inner qi into his spear, Shang Xia noticed that more than half the fruits were gone. Luckily, the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree possessed a weird and unique property. It would only produce 33 fruits initially, and only after all 33 were plucked would it bear the final 3 fruits. The final 3 fruits were of the fourth rank, and it went without saying that they were the most powerful fruits that could be produced by the tree. Also, it wasn¡¯t easy to retrieve the Lightning Fire Jujubes. One had to be very careful in plucking the fruits. One had to remove all the first rank fruits before moving on to the second rank ones. Finally, they would remove the third ranked Lightning Fire Jujubes. If one made a mistake by retrieving the fruits in the wrong order, the final 3 rank four Lightning Fire Jujubes might not fully form. Even if it did, not all 3 fruits would be available. If one was extremely unlucky, retrieving the fruits in the wrong order might also cost them their lives! The fruit might explode if plucked in the wrong order, and when that happened, it would cause a chain reaction for every fruit on the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree to explode simultaneously, swallowing the entire region in a sea of lightning and flames. The probability of that happening might be low, but it was definitely possible. That was also the reason why Junior Brother Qi didn¡¯t dare to risk it and try destroying the tree before escaping. After all, if the fruits exploded together, he would be dead for sure! By the time Shang Xia approached the tree, he discovered that there were only 11 Lightning Fire Jujubes left. That would mean that Junior Brother Qi managed to obtain 22 Lightning Fire Jujubes before running away! Examining the tree a little more closely, all 6 rank three Lightning Fire Jujubes were still present. Not a single rank one fruit was left. It seemed as though Junior Brother Qi was quite meticulous when it came to retrieving the fruits. Even though he didn¡¯t know if his powerful divine sense had anything to do with it, but Shang Xia could clearly feel the difference between the fruits that remained on the tree. He could tell the rank two ones from the rank three ones and it didn¡¯t take long for him to completely clear out the rest of the rank two jujubes. When he was done, he carefully retrieved the 6 rank three Lightning Fire Jujubes in preparation for the birth of the rank four fruits. The moment the last rank three Lightning Fire Jujube was plucked, the tree that was almost ten feet tall started to shrink. At the same time, the essence of the tree started to gather in the main branches as three deep green jujube fruits emerged from the tallest branch. The fruits matured quickly as they grew visibly in size as the color changed from deep green to a brilliant red. The tree didn¡¯t stop shrinking as it became smaller and smaller. Finally, when it became a mere feet tall, it started to tremble violently. The three Lightning Fire Jujubes that were the size of an egg turned completely red as faint markings appeared on its surface. The rank four Lightning Fire Jujubes were finally fully mature, and Shang Xia carefully retrieved them. He kept them properly in a special case made for retaining the heaven and earth qi of an item while watching the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree continue to shrink. Transforming into a wisp of jade-green qi, the Lightning Fire Tree disappeared completely. The strand of qi shot into the ground below and Shang Xia understood that that was the true source of the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree. Now that all the fruits were gone, the strand of qi would return to the earth to nurture the next Lightning Fire Jujube Tree. As for when the next tree would be born, no one knew when that would happen. CH 389 If the fall of two successive Martial Extermination Realm experts didn¡¯t cause the situation in the battlefield between the two worlds to change by much, the same couldn¡¯t be said for Huang Yunxiang. The phenomenon that appeared in the skies when he fell alarmed the entire battlefield between the two worlds. That was because of the strand of sword qi Shang Xia released right before Huang Yunxiang fell. The sword qi he summoned earlier came from Kou Chongxue and with the appearance of a Martial Dipper Realm aura and the death of a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator, things couldn¡¯t be more obvious. ¡°How is this possible?!¡± As an inner sect elder of the Changbai Holy Land, he left his blood imprint talisman with other members of the Changbai Holy Land in order to stay in contact with the others. The talisman allowed him to receive reports or messages from those who were holding onto it. The moment he died, his blood imprint talisman shattered. Pan Yunbi, who was one of them who held onto his blood imprint talisman, felt it shatter the moment he died. A deep frown formed on her face and she found it hard to accept that he had died. In contrast to her disbelief, Liu Qinglan caught on to the small shift in her emotions and started another round of frenzied attacks. During their battle, Pan Yunbi had the upper hand due to her deep foundations as a member from a holy land. However, Liu Qinglan was no pushover. As an expert from the Tongyou Institution, she became stronger the more she fought. The situation was slowly turning around as Liu Qinglan adapted quickly to Pan Yunbi¡¯s fighting style. Liu Qinglan¡¯s situation wasn¡¯t unique though, the Martial Extermination Realm experts were starting to fall into a stalemate but they weren¡¯t the only ones. The cultivators of the Azure Origin World and Azure Spiritual World who weren¡¯t in the Martial Extermination Realm had also been forced into a deadlock. Everyone was approaching their limits. Now that another Martial Extermination Realm expert fell, the situation in the battlefield between the two worlds started to tilt towards one side. The members of the Tongyou Institution seemed to have received a huge boost after discovering the change. After all, the sword qi earlier came from Patriarch Kou! Many of them felt it before during the battle for the Tongyou Mysterious World, and now that it appeared again with the fall of a Martial Extermination Realm expert following soon after, it wasn¡¯t hard to deduce that the one who died was someone from the Azure Spiritual World! They slowly started to gain the upper hand due to the sudden change. As the person who caused it, Shang Xia had no idea what was going on. After retrieving the extermination origins from the giant rat, and the Lightning Fire Jujubes, Shang Xia regained some confidence. It seemed as though it wasn¡¯t a complete waste to use the sword qi Kou Chongxue stored in the gourd. Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. The only thing Shang Xia could complain about was that he used nearly half his reserve of inner qi to summon the strand of sword qi. Looking for a secluded spot, Shang Xia chose to recover his lost inner qi before doing anything else. Junior Brother Qi managed to escape once again, and there was no doubt he would bring another Martial Extermination Realm expert over. Since Shang Xia could pretty much guess what Junior Brother Qi was going to do, he wouldn¡¯t remain in the area just to get caught off guard by another expert. Running some distance away, Shang Xia found a spot to recover. By the time he was done, a period of time had already passed. Slowly taking out the Spirit Extermination Gourd, Shang Xia examined the flickering strand of sword qi contained within. It looked extremely unstable and there was no way he could send out another attack like the one before. It barely maintained its functionality of absorbing extermination origins. Shang Xia had no idea when it would be able to recover. After killing two Martial Extermination Realm experts on the side of the Azure Spiritual World, Shang Xia was afraid that there was a massive target drawn on his back. He even guessed that the moment he appeared, he would be hunted down by the opposing Martial Extermination Realm experts without a care of the consequences. If that were to happen, the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Tongyou Institution wouldn¡¯t be able to save him. No matter how cocky he might be feeling after killing two Martial Extermination Realm experts, Shang Xia knew how strong he actually was. With the strand of sword qi given to him by Kou Chongxue in hibernation, he had lost his greatest trump card. The last thing he dared to do at that moment was to rush straight to where most of the other cultivators were gathered. Making a smart decision, he chose to head to a location as secluded as possible. After all, his original objective to search for world origin in the battlefield between the two worlds and his actions would be of great help. With the remnant sword qi in the Spirit Extermination Gourd, Shang Xia could collect any extermination origins he ran across. With the assistance of the Crimson Soul Tablet, he would also be able to locate world essence as long as he came close enough. In a sense, extermination origins were comparable to world origin. One could say that world origin gave birth to extermination origins, but it would be more accurate to say that extermination origins were created from the heaven and earth qi that was born from world origin. Now that he was free to move around as he wished, Shang Xia planned to use his Crimson Soul Tablet along with his divine sense to scan the area. He would hit the jackpot if he managed to find world origin, but he would also take out the gourd from time to time to feel for the presence of an extermination origin. Unfortunately, the region he was in was too secluded. Any extermination origins he would be able to locate would probably be in the bodies of rank four spiritual beasts, and he wasn¡¯t crazy enough to take one on yet. After noticing how strong the giant rat was, Shang Xia knew that even with the rank four Lightning Fire Jujubes, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do much to rank four spiritual beasts. Those fruits might not be weak, but in the face of a Martial Extermination Realm expert, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t be heavily injuring them unless he caught them off guard! The moment they were prepared for it, the power released by the rank four Lightning Fire Jujube would be equivalent to an attack from a cultivator at the same level. Defending themselves wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem. That was the reason behind Shang Xia¡¯s cautious attitude even though he was traversing through the secluded regions of the battlefield between the two worlds. The moment he discovered anything off, he would choose to make a long detour. Better safe than sorry anyway. His caution paid off multiple times. Twice, strange beasts who hid well to carry out an ambush on Shang Xia had to emerge from their hiding spots the moment he chose to take another path. Unfortunately for them, Shang Xia didn¡¯t enter their attack range and with his battle experience, he eventually managed to make a narrow escape. As he continued on his adventure, he discovered that the towering mountains and ridges that surrounded him slowly started to disappear. Unknowingly, a massive marsh that had never been recorded in the reports of the institution appeared before his eyes. When he was still hesitating about whether he should enter the marsh, a strange whistle filled the battlefield between the two worlds. He was no stranger to the whistling. He knew that the sound signaled the appearance of a divine weapon! Moreover, he was familiar with the disturbance when the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw or the Hidden Frost Sword appeared. The sound this time was clearly different, and that meant that a new divine weapon had appeared on the battlefield! When the Tongyou Institution forcefully opened the spatial tunnel to the battlefield between the two worlds, the Azure Spiritual World had been waiting for them. Since they knew how strong the experts of the institution were, it went without saying that the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw had already been lying in wait in the hands of an expert of the Azure Spiritual World. Who would have thought that they would send a second divine weapon into the battlefield between the two worlds? Things weren¡¯t looking too good for the Tongyou Institution. After all, Kou Chongxue was still holding on to his Hidden Frost Sword as he held the fort back at the Beyond Heavens Pavilion. The appearance of a second divine weapon would definitely tilt the favor of the battle back to the Azure Spiritual World. The advantage they obtained after Huang Yunxiang died was wiped away in an instant! Since the disturbance caused by the arrival of the second divine weapon was huge, Shang Xia could tell its general direction with his divine sense. A thunderous roar swept through the skies at that moment. ¡°Shang Lubing, go to hell!¡± The skies darkened slightly as the roar caused the heavens to tremble. Shang Xia¡¯s expression changed drastically. The aura coming from the divine weapon didn¡¯t lose out in the slightest when compared to Kou Chongxue¡¯s sword qi. Soon after, the space above the battlefield between the two worlds was torn to shreds with the appearance of a frightening amount of silver threads. They shot in the same direction, in a certain region of space in the battlefield between the two worlds. Shang Xia felt his heart leaping into his throat when he heard the roar and witnessed the terrifying attack that was descending. Staring at the silver threads that filled the skies, Shang Xia felt that the divine weapon resembled a horsetail whisk. As for the person wielding the weapon¡­ It was obvious that anyone who could bring out the power of a divine weapon, albeit slightly, was an expert at the Martial Extermination Realm expert. Since their target was Shang Lubing, Shang Xia was truly afraid for the man. After all, Shang Lubing wasn¡¯t Ji Wenlong or Shang Bo! He might not be able to take the attack and live! Just as the strike was about to land, a cold snort rang through the battlefield between the two worlds and it was akin to a deafening thunderclap in the ears of everyone present. Raising his head in fright, Shang Xia witnessed a scene that wasn¡¯t something he would see every day. A massive hand that seemed to surpass his knowledge of objects that could be condensed from heaven and earth qi tore through the void and grabbed at the whisk. That wasn¡¯t all. The space around the hand revealed countless cracks as something wanted to continue emerging from the broken space above. As the upper body of the creature was about to fully emerge from the broken space, a terrifying fluctuation filled the battlefield between the two worlds. Even without reaching the Martial Extermination Realm, Shang Xia could feel that the space around him became a lot thinner than before. The culprit that caused it was clearly the giant who was tearing its way into the battlefield. With the giant hand holding firmly onto the whisk, the facial features of the man himself started to become clear. The moment it did, Shang Xia¡¯s jaws dropped in shock. ¡°Ji Wenlong! You¡­ You actually entered the Martial Dipper Realm!¡± The Martial Extermination Realm expert who was yelling about killing Shang Lubing a moment ago roared in fright. From his tone, it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how frightened he was. CH 390 In the Beyond Heavens Pavilion, around the vortex. Ancestor Xu leaped to his feet and pointed at Kou Chongxue while yelling with all his might, ¡°Kou Chongxue, how dare you allow a Martial Dipper Realm expert to enter the battlefield between the two worlds? You went against our agreement. You¡­ You¡­ You wish to destroy the battlefield between the two worlds and kill everyone within! You¡¯re really vicious¡­.¡± Before he could finish his sentence, a cold light tore through the air. Ancestor Luo who had been seated yelled in fright, ¡°Junior Brother Xu, be careful!¡± Ancestor Xu jumped in fright. Regardless, he was an expert in the Martial Dipper Realm. His figure flickered thrice in the air and he eventually managed to evade a small strand of sword qi that was sent his way. ¡°Kou Chongxue, how dare you sneak attack me?¡± Ancestor Xu finally returned to his original position and he gasped in shock. The fear in his voice was pretty apparent. By the time Ancestor Xu¡¯s gaze landed on Kou Chongxue, the patriarch of the Tongyou Institution was already properly seated with his Hidden Frost Sword pressed firmly beneath him. It was as though he never made a move in the first place. Looking at Ancestor Xu with a look of mockery on his face, Kou Chongxue sneered, ¡°Shorty Xu, who the hell do you think you are to point at my face and curse me? If I¡¯m not mistaken, no one has the guts to do so.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Ancestor Xu raised his hand again, but before he could extend his finger, he hesitated and lowered his hand instantaneously. His awkward actions quickly made him a laughing stock for anyone who witnessed the scene. He might not dare to get physical with Kou Chongxue, but he wasn¡¯t afraid of running his mouth. With rage filling his heart, he growled, ¡°Alright. Since you wish to destroy the region, let¡¯s go all out and do it thoroughly! Heh, of the cultivators within, only a small portion of them come from my Changbai Holy Land. Even if they¡¯re killed, our foundations wouldn¡¯t be affected. Those from the four races of the Liao Continent can die for all I care. After all, they¡¯re merely dogs who follow our command. Heh, can you say the same? If everyone from the Tongyou Institution dies, all your effort in the past years will be completely wasted!¡± Kou Chongxue¡¯s gaze turned slightly serious, but he replied casually. ¡°Alright. At the very most, I¡¯ll use another twenty years to build another Tongyou Institution. It¡¯s just twenty years. I can afford to waste it anyway!¡± ¡°Fine! That¡¯s great! Since that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll just watch as this¡­¡± Ancestor Xu¡¯s rage overwhelmed him and he released a thunderous roar. However, Ancestor Luo interrupted him before he could complete his sentence. ¡°Junior Brother Xu, calm down!¡± Seeing as the two of them were about to come to blows at any moment, Ancestor Luo knew that he had to stop the situation from deteriorating. Turning to look at Kou Chongxue, a look of praise could be seen in his eyes as he quickly diverted the topic. ¡°Patriarch Kou, I have to commend your excellent planning skills. Your Tongyou Institution actually managed to produce another Martial Dipper Realm expert. Looks like your Tongyou Institution truly gained the qualification to raise itself into a holy land!¡± Chuckling softly, Kou Chongxue cupped his fists towards Ancestor Luo and smiled. ¡°Many thanks! Hahaha! Many thanks for your congratulations!¡± What the hell? Did I even say anything about congratulating you? With the look on his face freezing slightly, Ancestor Luo eventually regained his calm expression. He swept his gaze across the void before him and sighed, ¡°This¡­ Hmm. If I¡¯m not mistaken, he should be Deputy Patriarch Ji Wenlong of your Tongyou Institution. Haha, looks like he¡¯s a real daring fellow. He had the guts to attempt his breakthrough to the Martial Dipper Realm even without reaching the grand completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm.¡± Kou Chongxue also retracted his smile and he sighed, ¡°He didn¡¯t have much of a choice. Old Man Ji had been trapped in the Martial Extermination Realm for a long time¡­ He didn¡¯t show any signs of comprehending his martial intent and could only try his luck to break through. Otherwise, the amount of world origin my Tongyou Mysterious World absorbed would be enough to immediately cause us to ascend to become a holy land immediately. That wouldn¡¯t be good for the spatial barrier. When that happens, my Tongyou Institution would immediately become a target for everyone in the Azure Origin World.¡± Ancestor Luo sighed softly before he continued. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll all take a step back. Deputy Patriarch Ji is not allowed to join the battle and I¡¯ll retrieve my Thousand Silver Whisk. Now that your Tongyou Institution produced a second Martial Dipper Realm expert, Patriarch Kou, you will have to be warier of your actions in the future to be fitting of your status.¡± After speaking, he turned to look in a certain direction and seemed to pass down an order. Laughing softly, Kou Chongxue replied, ¡°How can I not accept now that you brought it up?¡± Reaching forward slightly, Kou Chongxue lightly patted the space before him. Ancestor Luo reached out at the same moment and pointed at a certain region in the battlefield between the two worlds. ¡­ In the skies of the battlefield between the two worlds, Kou Chongxue¡¯s figure started to solidify and the space contained within trembled violently. The silvery threads that were extending through the void turned a little more transparent as every strand grew thicker. They twisted tighter and tighter around each other in Ji Wenlong¡¯s hands. The faces of the Martial Extermination Realm experts on both sides revealed a worried expression as the situation had already spun out of control. None of them knew what would happen if Ji Wenlong and the divine weapon fully emerged. When they were trying to prepare themselves mentally for what was about to happen, Ji Wenlong¡¯s figure and the divine weapon disappeared in unison. It was as though neither of them existed in the first place. The battlefield between the two worlds regained its original calm, and Shang Xia could feel the space around him turning more solid. The fear that was spouting in his heart had also disappeared and he heaved a sigh of relief. Only then did Shang Xia¡¯s attention return to the marsh he saw earlier. As he extended his divine sense, Shang Xia could faintly feel that there was something calling out to his Crimson Soul Tablet, but the feeling was too blurry. The calling seemed to come from far away. Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Bringing out the Spirit Extermination Gourd, Shang Xia decided to try his luck. He popped open the cork of the gourd and a small strand of sword qi emerged. It seemed to be attracted in a certain direction and after slightly spinning around Shang Xia, it turned to point towards the depths of the marsh. From the looks of it, he would have to venture deeper into it to look for the source of the attraction. At the moment Shang Xia chose to enter the marsh, the Azure Origin World finally gained a firm advantage over the Azure Spiritual World. Without the addition of the divine weapon, the Azure Spiritual World was one powerhouse down. The Tongyou Institution quickly capitalized on the gap. Nearly three hundred miles from the entrance of the spatial tunnel carved out by the Tongyou Institution, Shang Jian stabbed his sword into the ground beside a huge pool of water. He fell to the ground powerlessly and he fought to suck in several deep breaths of air. Only then did his pale face finally regain some color. Two corpses of cultivators from the Azure Spiritual World could be seen lying on either side of him and from the looks of it, they tried to pincer Shang Jian but were killed instead. Also, with Shang Jian¡¯s back facing the body of water, it wasn¡¯t hard to determine that he was trying to prevent them from approaching the pool. Of the two corpses, one of them had multiple lacerations on his body and it was obvious he was killed by a powerful sword art. The same couldn¡¯t be said for the other corpse. There was a huge hole in his neck, and it didn¡¯t seem to be made by a sword. ¡°Luckily I had the Spiritual Yin Knife Talisma! If not for it, I¡¯ll probably be buried here today¡­¡± Shang Jian quickly restored as much inner qi as he could before turning to look at the pool of water behind him. A fire seemed to be lit in his eyes as he muttered, ¡°Dong¡¯er and Bei¡¯er might actually be able to break through now¡­ With the main ingredient of their advancement medicine ready for the pickings, I only hope that they work harder. Hopefully, they don¡¯t fall too far behind the others¡­¡± Even though that was what he said, he didn¡¯t quite believe himself when he thought about Shang Xia. The talisman that saved his life in the last moment was even made by the kid! Choosing to not think about it any longer, he plunged into the deep pool of water. ¡­ In one of the many forests in the battlefield between the two worlds, Shang Xi held firmly onto her blades and she stared at a sorry figure who was trying to run away desperately. Flipping her palm, she revealed a talisman that shone a brilliant golden color. However, she eventually kept it safely in her sleeves. ¡­ Tian Mengzi ran desperately as he tried to widen the distance between himself and a lady wearing a red dress behind him. No matter how hard he tried, the distance between them would not open up. ¡°Hehe, why do you have to be so heartless, is this servant really so scary?¡± An eerie voice rang in his ears and it caused his hair to stand on end. His face twitched slightly as he became slightly faster than before. Despite his effort, he was stopped by a cliff that blocked his path. ¡°Oh no! This has to be fate. Hehehe, looks like even the heavens are trying to match make us. Why don¡¯t you stop running and come¡­ Hey, what are you doing?! Are you tired of living?¡± Tian Mengzi didn¡¯t hesitate as he leaped off the cliff with the weird voice ringing behind him. The lady in the red dress craned her neck over the cliff to watch Tian Mengzi¡¯s falling figure as she gnashed her teeth in anger. ¡°Hmph, murderous garbage! It¡¯s good that you chose death anyway.¡± Too bad for her, a resplendent glow surrounded Tian Mengzi the moment the words left her lips. It was as though two huge wings had grown out from his back as it allowed him to soar through the air temporarily. He landed gracefully after descending hundreds of feet. Seeing that he had survived, she stomped her feet angrily before turning to leave. Not too long after she left, a massive avalanche fell from the top of the cliff. ¡­ As Sun Haiwei was roaming a massive prairie with grass reaching up half her body, they swayed violently in the wind. A massive wave of grass seemed to form at that moment as it tried to swallow her whole. Without warning, Sun Haiwei sent a strong palm strike to the side. Frosty qi emerged from her palm, freezing a huge region of land and the grass that was about the land on her. The moment it did, a head popped out of nowhere. Unfortunately, it was eventually frozen solid. With a frown on her face, Sun Haiwei drew her sword. As a cold ray of sword light flashed in front of her, the head that had turned into an ice statue shattered completely. CH 391 Entering the marsh, Shang Xia discovered that that light couldn¡¯t easily pierce through the thicket. The stench of something rotting quickly assaulted him and dense mist quickly clouded his vision. ¡°Poison miasma?¡± Shang Xia frowned. Even though it couldn¡¯t affect him at his current level, he knew that he would have to be ever more careful when venturing deeper into the marsh. Well, the poison miasma was a form of heaven and earth qi anyway. Gathering enough of it would probably allow them to condense to form a complete strand of extermination origin, but there was no point trying to gather it. One would need to use a lot of time in order to gather the miasma and even more effort to refine the poison within. Only after a lengthy process of purification would they be able to obtain a strand of extermination origin. There was no way Shang Xia would have the time to refine the poison from the miasma. Moreover, it didn¡¯t seem as though the gourd would be able to do so. The Spirit Extermination Gourd was able to store extermination qi and collect extermination origins, but it didn¡¯t possess the capability of purification. When he returned, he would probably report the presence of the marsh to the institution anyway. The institution would send several cultivators over to collect and refine the miasma to produce an extermination origin. The only problem was how long it would take. From the amount of miasma in the air, Shang Xia knew that it was truly an undiscovered region. Since that was the case, it was possible for there to be precious treasures that haven''t been plundered from the land. If he was lucky, there would be no need to care about the poison extermination origin that he could obtain from the miasma. There might just be several strands of stray extermination origins laying around. Thinking up to that point, Shang Xia wanted to extend his divine sense out and use the assistance of the Crimson Soul Tablet to look for those treasures. However, he quickly discovered that his divine sense was facing a strong suppression in the marsh. It was even being corroded by the poison miasma in the air. Retracting his divine sense, Shang Xia felt a trace of unease wash over him. He knew that his combat abilities and his ability to sense danger would be greatly reduced since he couldn¡¯t use his divine sense as he wished. That would open him up to a lot more dangerous sneak attacks. Naturally, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t one to give up. He decided to push his way deeper into the marsh. Opening the cap of the Spirit Extermination Gourd once again, the small sword qi appeared and pointed in a certain direction. No longer hesitating, Shang Xia started to move in that exact direction. Treading carefully, he didn¡¯t wish to step into any sort of trap. Unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t advanced for more than a hundred feet when the ground below him started to bulge. A powerful aura came from below and Shang Xia immediately determined that it was a rank three spiritual beast. His Scarlet Star Spear trembled slightly and he pointed it towards the mound that had formed. Right before he could stab it deep into the ground, his instincts told him that something was wrong. Ignoring the corrosion of his divine sense, Shang Xia released it quickly to observe the situation around him. In that short second that he released his divine sense, he discovered no less than four auras of rank three beasts that were starting to surround him. Indeed¡­ It was a trap! Shang Xia discovered that in the undiscovered marsh, he had turned into the prey of its original inhabitants. During his short hesitation when he released his divine sense, the creature that was underground attacked. A poison water arrow emerged from the ground and it shot towards Shang Xia¡¯s face. Feeling the power contained in the poison arrow, Shang Xia didn''t dare to take it head on. Pushing his divine sense a little more, he increased his concealment and disappeared from his assailant¡¯s detection. His figure flickered slightly as he avoided the poison arrow from touching his body. At the same time, the Scarlet Star Spear in his hand trembled. It created a massive spear phantom in the air that shot accurately towards the ground below. A guttural roar rang in his ears as the mound of earth exploded. The body of the beast hiding under the earth that was close to fifty feet in length burst forth and a long tail swept at the spear phantom that was created, shattering it. At the same time, a rotting stench filled the air and the odor of blood followed. Even though the creature managed to shatter the spear phantom, it was clearly hurt while doing so. The creature might have just emerged from the ground and was covered in layers of mud, but Shang Xia still managed to identify it. It was a massive swamp lizard! One had to remember that the lizard wasn¡¯t the only threat against Shang Xia at the moment. When the other creatures discovered the commotion, they moved in unison. As it turned out, the other auras also belonged to fellow swamp lizards! They quickly moved to the source of the commotion, and their speed could be said to be much quicker than the first lizard! In the blink of an eye, the four swamp lizards appeared before Shang Xia and their tails swept at him. Leaping into the air, Shang Xia knew that he might have hidden his presence, but the creatures were still able to see him! He jumped back tens of feet to avoid their attacks, and he circulated his inner qi at the same time to drift through the air to fully leave their range. Who would have thought that five different poison water arrows would shoot towards him as he flew through the air? They sealed off any routes of retreat he had. Shang Xia was shocked to discover that not only were those swamp lizards able to lay a trap for him, but they were also able to work together flawlessly to prevent him from escaping! Unfortunately for them, they seemed to have messed with the wrong person. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t just some prey that they could turn into lizard feed! Seeing as there was no way to escape, Shang Xia knew he could only break through with brute force. His hands trembled slightly and the Scarlet Star Spear shook dangerously. The heaven and earth qi in the air was drained quickly as a massive spear formed. The poison water arrows that were sent out by the swamp lizards lost their power and the heaven and earth qi contained in them was sapped away to make Shang Xia¡¯s spear even stronger. Gathering enough heaven and earth qi in the air, Shang Xia released his sixth spear strike, Flow Recompensation! The key behind his sixth move was to incorporate offensive and defensive might and it was the perfect move to use when stuck in a sticky situation. In his hands, the Scarlet Star Spear became capable of attacking and defending at the same time! Grunting softly, the huge spear in the air separated into five different parts that stabbed at the swamp lizards below. Waving their tails, those lizards quickly swatted his attack away. It seemed as though the power contained in his spear wasn¡¯t enough to deal with the lizards after he split it up. Whatever the case, he managed to achieve his goal by sending out that spear strike. All he wanted to do was to distract the swamp lizards so that he could regain the initiative of the battle. That was right, even though he was facing five swamp lizards with each one of them comparable to a martial intent realm expert, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t thinking of running away! He wanted to counter attack and kill all five of them! When the lizards were still distracted, Shang Xia released his Void Evasion Spear and aimed it at the first swamp lizard. When Shang Xia caught on to their trap earlier, he managed to injure it slightly. It made sense for him to take out the weakest link immediately. Void Evasion wasn¡¯t a strike that could be defended against easily by other cultivators. The swamp lizard wasn¡¯t a human cultivator, and facing a tricky strike like that, it was at a loss of what to do! Eventually, it was pinned into the ground by a spear light that emerged from the tip of the Scarlet Star Spear. The five swamp lizards laid a trap for Shang Xia, but in their short exchange, not only were they unable to scratch Shang Xia, one of them was even killed in exchange! Despite Shang Xia¡¯s strong offensive, the four swamp lizards weren¡¯t deterred in the slightest. Instead, they seemed to attack even more frantically. Find the original at "pawread dot com". By the time Shang Xia landed on the ground below, the four swamp lizards had already approached. At the same time, they caused a huge wave of mud to rush in Shang Xia¡¯s direction to prevent him from escaping from the opening caused by the death of one of their companions. That wasn¡¯t all. Shang Xia felt that the poison miasma in the air was getting thicker the more they fought. His divine sense was being corroded at an even faster rate. Were the swamp lizards able to manipulate the poison miasma in the air? The thought flashed in Shang Xia¡¯s mind for a moment but he realized it wasn¡¯t time to think about such matters. By the time everything had happened, the four swamp lizards had already closed in on him. They seemed to want to fight him in close combat in an attempt to kill the human who intruded on their territory. For how smart they were, Shang Xia had a hard time believing they were merely rank three spiritual beasts! No matter what, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t planning to let them do as they wished. As he got ready to deal with them even more questions ran through his mind. Ordinarily, spiritual beasts would only develop intelligence after entering the fourth rank. Unless they underwent some sort of mutation like the Mutated Rain Swallows, otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be able to possess such abilities! An even more dangerous thought appeared in his mind the next moment. If those swamp lizards hadn¡¯t undergone mutation, there could only be one possibility left! They were following the orders of an even stronger swamp lizard of the fourth rank that was lying in wait somewhere! However, the more he thought about it, the more confused he became. If there truly was a rank four swamp lizard hiding somewhere, why did it send out rank three lizards instead of making a move itself? The thoughts might be running through Shang Xia¡¯s mind, but his hands weren¡¯t idle. Seeing as the four beasts had entered his attack range, Shang Xia slung his Scarlet Star Spear behind him before bringing out his Jade River Sword. Ever since entering the Martial Intent Realm, he rarely used the sword but he felt that it was time to unleash his sword skills once again. In mid air, Shang Xia didn¡¯t release his Seven Laceration Sword on a single target. Instead, he laid down the Seven Laceration Sword Formation! Even though he changed the name of his martial intent to the Seven Laceration Sword in the past, it was built on the Yin Yang Sword Formation he comprehended through the Crimson Soul Tablet. He managed to perfectly fuse all seven pairs of sword qi into one to create a powerful attack. Now, he had separated them when releasing his Seven Laceration Sword Formation and sword qi filled the region around him. Opposing pairs of sword qi rained down on the land as they formed a massive sword formation. With the sword formation active, multiple pairs of qi would smash into the bodies of the swamp lizards at the same time. One had to know that the power contained in a single pair of sword qi was terrifying enough. With several different pairs striking the bodies of the swamp lizards, the might contained in them increased exponentially as many different combinations of qi could be used at the same time! No matter how tough the bodies of those swamp lizards were, they suffered multiple injuries and were beaten into a sorry state. With the seemingly endless amount of sword qi raining down on their bodies, the four swamp lizards couldn¡¯t care less about locating where Shang Xia was. They were like blind flies that were desperate to run away from whatever hell they were trapped within! Not going to give up the amazing opportunity he had in front of him, Shang Xia released his grip on his sword and poured his inner qi into the Scarlet Star Spear hanging behind him. With a beautiful twist of his body, he grabbed his spear with both hands before releasing Celestial Disruption! As starlight filled the skies, they turned into spears that shot into the bodies of those swamp lizards who were still being tortured by the multitude of sword qi. One of the swamp lizards was turned into a lizard-sieve and without it standing in his way, Shang Xia quickly leaped out of their encirclement. CH 392 ¡­ Wu Tianfang and Huo Wuji of the Tongyou Institution had been working together since they entered the battlefield between the two worlds and with their cooperation, they managed to track down a cultivator of the Azure Spiritual World at the Martial Intent Realm. However, their opponent didn¡¯t go down without a fight. During their hunt, they chased their opponent over to a peak that was covered in colorful mist. As seasoned cultivators, their instincts told them that the mountain peak was filled with dangers. When they tried to extend their divine sense into the colorful mist to inspect the area, they discovered that it was cut off abruptly before they could learn about the situation within. The colorful mist seemed to separate the mountain peak from the rest of the battlefield between the two worlds to make it an independent space that stood strong on its own. Looking at each other, Wu Tianfang and Huo Wuji saw the look of shock in each other¡¯s eyes. However, they also saw the look of curiosity hidden behind it. They started to hesitate and wondered if they should charge in to uncover the mysteries within. At that moment, Huo Wuji seemed to have caught sight of something. He discovered that there was a hill nearby that had been destroyed at an unknown time. They didn¡¯t know when it happened, but they could tell that it was several short miles away. From the ruins that remained, he could see that the top half of the hill was missing. Huo Wuji seemed to have thought of something and he quickly took several steps back. Estimating the actual distance between himself and the destroyed hill, he stared at Wu Tianfang abruptly. Wu Tianfang didn¡¯t seem to have noticed the collapsed hill. Instead, his gaze was fixed on the mountain before him as he felt a sense of familiarity towards it. When Huo Wuji turned to look at him, Tian Wufang felt his heart trembling slightly and the two of them seemed to have reached the same conclusion. ¡°This¡­ Is this the Yuxi Peak?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Yuxi Peak and the Pinxin Peak!¡± After they spoke, they quickly turned to look at the mountain peak that was covered in colorful mist. It seemed as though the Yuxi peak in front of their eyes was the only remaining structure of the Tongyou Peak! ¡°What do we do now?¡± Wu Tianfang muttered. Snorting coldly, Huo Wuji quickly broke down the situation. ¡°The distance between this place and our new spatial tunnel isn¡¯t considered too far. It¡¯s not like this place is really secluded either. If we¡¯re able to find it, the members of the Azure Spiritual World can do the same. Moreover, the situation is extremely chaotic right now and from the looks of it, the colorful mist around the Yuxi Peak makes things even more complicated. It¡¯s not something the two of us can deal with along.¡± Pausing for a second, he continued, ¡°We¡¯ll retreat. Let¡¯s make a report to the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the institution and get them to take a look at this after the situation stabilizes.¡± Nodding slightly Wu Tianfang agreed. ¡°That sounds like a good plan. Moreover, that asshole who ran in there probably had his fate sealed the moment he entered.¡± ¡­ Blackish-red blood poured out of the swamp lizard¡¯s body before it fell back into the mud below. It was swallowed by the blackish mud that covered the marsh region and the stench of rotting flesh in the air became even stronger. After killing two of the five swamp lizards, Shang Xia finally managed to break out of their encirclement. However, a strange light shot towards his back the moment he managed to find his footing again. Shang Xia didn¡¯t discover the hidden attack immediately, and by the time he realized what was going on, he could only swing his Scarlet Star Spear behind him desperately in an attempt to block the ray of light. When his spear came into contact with the ray of light, he felt as though he struck a springy ball of rubber. He felt a huge backlash coming from his spear. However, instead of sending him flying backwards, the ray of light seemed to want to pull him towards its original location. This amount of force¡­ Shang Xia gasped silently before releasing his spear altogether. In that instant, the spear was dragged away from him. When the spear landed in the mud not too long later, Shang Xia made his move. Jumping into the air, he reached out to send a bolt of reddish-gold lightning bold towards his spear. It struck both the spear and the ray of light that dragged it away from him. Crackle¡­ Making a pulling motion with his hand, the Scarlet Star Spear quickly returned to him. The weird creature or object that struck his spear earlier returned to the mud but before anything else could happen, a massive frog that was sixty feet tall emerged from the ground below. Huge swathes of mud and earth flew through the air and it rained back down on the land. ¡°Croak¡­¡± When the frog croaked, Shang Xia felt as though someone had slammed a massive sledgehammer into his brain. The three swamp lizards that were injured from his sword formation earlier froze completely and their bodies turned stiff. From the looks of it, their mind was also affected by the croak and they fell unconscious. Is this¡­ Is this the Poison Miasma Frog?! What the hell¡­ It¡¯s a rank four spiritual beast?! Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate. Enduring the pain that was threatening to tear his mind apart, he turned to leave. He flicked his wrist once and a Lightning Fire Jujube that was deep red in color appeared in his palm. Turning to look at Shang Xia for a second, the frog decided not to waste its effort on the kid. After all, Shang Xia was like a teeny tiny little snack. Even if it wanted to eat Shang Xia, it might not be able to fill its belly. Instead, its tongue shot at the corpse of the swamp lizard Shang Xia killed earlier. In a smooth motion, it ate half the lizard. The moment its tongue went to grab the corpse of the swamp lizard, Shang Xia caught sight of the weird object that tried pulling him in earlier. It was the frog¡¯s damn tongue! Heaving a sigh of relief that the frog was choosing to eat the swamp lizards, Shang Xia didn¡¯t plan on staying. He continued to make his escape. Behind him, the poison frog didn¡¯t stop after eating the corpse. If continued to kill the three who fell unconscious when it appeared. From the moment it appeared, the swamp lizards were unable to move. It seemed as though the Poison Miasma Frog was a true counter to those swamp lizards! With a strange feeling overcoming him, Shang Xia slowed down to take a look behind. Right as the frog swallowed those swamp lizards, a thunderous roar in the distance rocked the air and the rage contained in it rang clearly in the ears of everyone who heard it. Leaping into the air, the Poison Miasma Frog jumped hundreds of feet out the moment it heard the void. By the time the soundwaves of the roar dissipated, the frog was nowhere to be seen. Lowering his head slightly, Shang Xia grunted softly as a trace of hesitation flashed across his eyes. However, he quickly made up his mind and decided to run in the direction where the frog left. Luckily, the frog seemed to be the overlord of the region and the path that it took seemed to be pretty safe. Shang Xia didn¡¯t have to worry about running into dangerous situations when following the creature. Despite not being able to see the giant frog, another loud roar came from the distance, pointing him in the right direction. Fluctuations of heaven and earth qi came in that direction and it didn¡¯t take long for the giant frog¡¯s enraged croak to ring through the air. Shang Xia could hear the smoldering rage in its voice as it confronted the source of the roars. From the shockwaves and fluctuation in heaven and earth qi, Shang Xia could tell that a battle between the terrifying frog and an existence of the same level had begun. Was that the real reason why the frog allowed Shang Xia to leave? Did it already discover the presence of the other creature and was preparing for battle after replenishing its energy with the swamp lizards? From the giant frog¡¯s decisive actions of killing the three swamp lizards and the loud roar that followed soon after, it was very likely that the creature that the frog was doing battle with was a rank four swamp lizard! Even though Shang Xia was busy letting his thoughts run through his mind, he didn¡¯t forget to conceal his aura the best he could. Things might get messy if he was discovered by both rank four spiritual beasts. Playing safe, Shang Xia chose to take a detour when he was closing in on the battle. Since he was close enough to determine where it was, he decided to approach it from another direction When he finally approached the battle after taking all his precautions, a strange feeling filled his heart. As he extended his divine sense, the Crimson Soul Tablet in his sea of consciousness started to tremble slightly. His movements turned a little sluggish when he felt the change, but he sucked in a cold breath the next second. Did I finally find something useful?! Raising his head, his gaze pierced through the thick miasma that covered the marsh. He seemed to have caught sight of a strange cloud floating in the distance but no matter how hard he tried after that, he couldn¡¯t observe the contents within. Even so, he could tell that it definitely had something to do with the world origin since his Crimson Soul Tablet was acting up. Not too far away from the strange cloud he was looking at, the battle between two rank four spiritual beasts were starting to heat up. Shang Xia knew that the smartest thing he could do at the moment was to hide himself and wait for the battle to be over. If the two beasts could injure each other, he would be able to swoop in at the last minute and reap all the benefits. The only problem with that was that he would be forced into a passive position. He could only pray that the two rank four spiritual beasts would be crazy enough to go all out against each other. After growing so much stronger, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t the weakling he once was. He would avoid falling into a passive state and hoping for others to complete all the hard work for him. Moreover, with the intelligence of rank four spiritual beasts, they knew when to stop. Moreover, their grudge at the moment wasn¡¯t intense enough that one of them had to die. Also, from what Shang Xia saw earlier, the Poison Miasma Frog seemed to be a natural counter of those swamp lizards. That would mean that if the giant frog¡¯s opponent was indeed a rank four swamp lizard, the lizard would fall into a disadvantage before long. Once the rank four swamp lizard discovered that it wasn¡¯t the frog¡¯s opponent, it would definitely start to run away. If that were to happen, Shang Xia would have to face the rank four Poison Miasma Frog who would probably retain a huge amount of combat strength if he wished to obtain the item in the strange cloud-like object his Crimson Soul Tablet was responding to. To make the situation as favorable as possible, Shang Xia would have to make his move quickly! Taking the chance where the two rank four spiritual beasts were locked in combat, he pushed his divine sense to the limit to hide his presence even further. When he was done, he started to slowly approach the cloud. Shang Xia was never one to hesitate. The moment he made up his mind about something, he would take action immediately! Making yet another detour, he avoided the battlefield where the two monsters were duking it out and he quickly approached a thousand feet radius from the cloud. At that distance, he also managed to catch sight of the two rank four spiritual beasts who were fighting. He was right, the giant frog was stuck in battle with a huge swamp lizard that was close to a hundred feet long. Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. CH 393 As he approached the mysterious cloud he was aiming for earlier, Shang Xia could confirm that the elusive world origin he had been looking for was definitely present. Concealing himself to the best of his abilities, he got even closer to the strange cloud. The nearer he got, the clearer the battle between the rank four beasts became. As he watched the battle play out before him, he could guess who had the upper hand. The marsh he was in seemed to be a prime hunting spot for the Poison Miasma Frog, and its main food source was very possibly the swamp lizards Shang Xia had seen it eat earlier. Because of the Tongyou Institution¡¯s actions of drawing in energy from the Origin Tide and causing traces of world origin to return to the battlefield between the two worlds when they forcefully closed the spatial tunnel during the war for the Tongyou Mysterious World, the rank four giant swamp lizard seemed to have seen a trace of hope, If it could refine the world origin that was contained in that weird cloud, it might finally be able to get rid of its fate of being the Poison Miasma Frog¡¯s prey! Because of the little ray of hope it had, the swamp lizard chose to take the risk and approach the frog¡¯s hiding spot! Despite it being in the fourth rank, Shang Xia could tell that it had broken through not too long ago! It might have been attempting its breakthrough earlier as it sent those rank three swamp lizards to secure the area around it. To access the premium content, go to [ pawread dot com ]. That was how Shang Xia fell into their trap in the beginning. Luckily, his strength could be said to be at the pinnacle of the Martial Intent Realm. Even when faced against five rank three swamp lizards, he wasn¡¯t suppressed at all. He even managed to kill two of them. Who would have thought that the giant frog would appear and start hunting those poor little swamp lizards from out of nowhere? Shang Xia, who had just escaped their encirclement earlier, ran into the lizards¡¯ natural predator! Now that the rank four Poison Miasma Frog had arrived, the Swamp Lizard King that was breaking through was naturally discovered. With a trace of rage in its heart that the prey it has been hunting all along was starting to play tricks on it and was trying to break free of their fate, the Poison Miasma Frog decided to take action immediately. It didn¡¯t hold back and killed the three remaining swamp lizards immediately before ignoring Shang Xia a mere human. Rushing over to the cloud containing world origin, it started to do battle with the swamp lizard king immediately! The reason behind the frog¡¯s action wasn¡¯t anything too deep. It wanted to stop the swamp lizard king from advancing even further and posing a threat to its position as the king of the marsh! Well¡­ Obtaining the world origin that could allow itself to grow stronger was also one of the reasons behind the frog¡¯s action. Entering a hundred feet radius from the cloud, Shang Xia¡¯s heart trembled and he discovered that the Crimson Soul Tablet had the ability to attract the world origin at such a close distance. With his divine sense extending over to the cloud despite the corrosion of the poison miasma in the air, the Crimson Soul Tablet released a strong force of attraction. It was like a starving beast that hadn¡¯t eaten in years when it discovered the world origin. The moment the world origin was drawn over, it was devoured in an instant. Before any creature could react, the world origin that was contained in the strange cloud disappeared! Not even a smidge of it was left. Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect something like that to happen, much less the two beasts who were locked in combat. Their actions froze in an instant and their gazes landed in the direction where the world origin seemed to have moved to and they quickly discovered the little ant that was Shang Xia who was wearing a helpless expression on his face. God damn it, brother tablet, what the hell was that?! I¡¯m in deep shit now¡­ Cursing silently, Shang Xia didn¡¯t freeze up completely. Tossing out a Lightning Fire Jujube that was shining a deep golden red, he turned around to flee. The detonation of the Lightning Fire Jujube could be heard behind him as he ran away and the enraged croak of the Poison Miasma Frog boomed through the air. It was followed by a miserable cry from the swamp lizard king. Shang Xia didn¡¯t dare to turn his head and he poured inner qi into his legs desperately. Pushing himself to the limit, he only prayed that he would be able to move faster. At the same time, his divine sense was operating in overdrive to conceal his aura to avoid detection. While making his escape, he didn¡¯t forget to curse his movement techniques once again. He swore that he had to obtain a better movement technique no matter what. However, there was one thing he forgot. It was entirely possible for him to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm by the time he returned. When that happened, he would be able to soar through the air with the use of his extermination origins. Movement techniques would be completely useless then! As he made his frenzied escape, he was unable to place his attention on the Crimson Soul Tablet that was in his sea of consciousness. At that moment, it was undergoing an extreme transformation. Anyway, back to the Lightning Fire Jujube, it deserved its reputation as a miraculous treasure born from the heaven and earth. The moment Shang Xia tossed out the rank four Lightning Fire Jujube, neither the Poison Miasma Frog nor the swamp lizard king could remain unaffected. The Poison Miasma Frog was stopped dead in its tracks and it couldn¡¯t chase after Shang Xia immediately while the weaker swamp lizard king suffered injuries. Earlier, when the world origin disappeared abruptly, the frog¡¯s first instincts told him to chase after the culprit immediately. Unfortunately, the Lightning Fire Jujube was too strong. It forced the frog to defend itself and bought Shang Xia some time to escape. However, his actions only caused the Poison Miasma Frog to become more determined to obtain the world origin that was taken away. It didn¡¯t expect the swamp lizard king to be injured by the surprise attack earlier and the frog quickly fell into a dilemma. It could choose to quickly deal with the obstruction from the Lightning Fire Jujube and chase after the little thief who had stolen the world origin, but it could also take the chance to eat the injured swamp lizard king! That was another rank four spiritual beast and it definitely had the ability to threaten the frog¡¯s position in the future! The world origin concerned the frog¡¯s future achievements and the height it would able to reach while eating the swamp lizard king would provide the Poison Miasma Frog with a huge strength boost immediately! Also, the world origin was getting further and further as it continued to weigh its options. However, the injured swamp lizard king was right in front of it! Killing and devouring it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. A rank four spiritual beast might be a lot more intelligent than spiritual beasts of lower ranks, but its intellect was still far from an old monster cultivator of the human race. To make a huge decision like that, the Poison Miasma Frog¡¯s bestial instincts quickly took over. ¡°Croak!¡± A shadow shot out from the mouth of the frog in the next instant and went straight for the swamp lizard king. ¡­ Running close to five miles without so much as slowing down, Shang Xia finally felt secure enough to turn around. He was shocked but pleasantly surprised to see that there was no rank four spiritual beasts on his tail. With the luxury of time to gather his thoughts, he seemed to have understood the situation. He couldn¡¯t help but heave a sigh of relief and thank his lucky stars. Loud roars came from where he originally was and Shang Xia quickly made up his mind to continue running. The swamp lizard king seemed to be buying him some time as it held on for its dear life against the Poison Miasma Frog who was determined to kill it, but Shang Xia didn¡¯t wish to risk his life for the threat of the Poison Miasma Frog that would descend at any time. The distance of five miles was something it could cover in several leaps, and with the marsh being where the frog hunted most of the time, Shang Xia made the smart choice to run. He ran towards the outskirts of the marsh, and after ten or so miles, he finally noticed some disturbance in the heaven and earth qi in the air around him. It seemed as though the swamp lizard king who was injured by his Lightning Fire Jujube earlier was no longer able to hold on. It eventually died in the hands -or tongue- of the Poison Miasma Frog. Since it dealt with the swamp lizard king who had the ability to threaten its position as the king of the marsh, the Poison Miasma Frog¡¯s thoughts quickly returned to the little ant who had the guts to seal the world origin from right under its nose. Not to mention the fact that Shang Xia threw out a Lightning Fire Jujube earlier to disrupt the frog¡¯s movement. Its instincts were telling it to kill the damn human! Moreover, the world origin concerned its future too! Without devouring the body of the swamp lizard king, the Poison Miasma Frog leaped in the direction where Shang Xia escaped. Shang Xia could barely make out the huge figure that was bouncing in the distance as it started to grow bigger and bigger. Estimating the distance he had run, Shang Xia felt that there was close to 34 miles between himself and the location where the two rank four spiritual beasts did battle earlier. With the speed at which the shadow was growing, Shang Xia could tell that it was moving extremely quickly! He had seen Martial Extermination Realm experts in the past, and he experienced how fast they were first-hand. Some of them were fast, and some of them were slow. However, their speed seemed proportional to their cultivation level! With how fast the damn fat frog was moving, Shang Xia estimated that it was definitely comparable to a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert. According to his calculations, it wouldn¡¯t take long before the frog caught up! Pushing himself to the limit, Shang Xia continued to make his escape. In the blink of an eye, Shang Xia could feel the fluctuations in the air that were caused by the frog¡¯s movements. With the pressure that brought with it the weight of a mountain crushing down on Shang Xia, he felt that the Poison Miasma Frog could descend at any moment and crush him to bits. However, lady luck seemed to be shining on him at the moment as the scenery before him started to change once again. The mountains range where he came from could be vaguely seen in the distance! With a burst of joy filling his heart, Shang Xia knew that he was finally about to emerge from the damned marsh. Behind him, the giant frog was trying its best to catch up to Shang Xia as if it was trying to make it before Shang Xia left the marsh completely. It would take three to four more leaps before it could chase down the little ant who dared to mess with it, but seeing as Shang Xia was about to leave the marsh, it circulated its inner qi desperately. In an instant, its aura nearly strengthened itself onefold! Opening its mouth, a thunderous croak rang through the air as a wave created from the mud and sludge from the marsh was formed before striking at Shang Xia. The abrupt disturbance was naturally unable to avoid Shang Xia¡¯s detection and his expression changed drastically. Reacting the best he could, he reached for a handful of Lightning Fire Jujubes in his Embroidered Cloud Case and tossed them at the wave. Four rank three Lightning Fire Jujubes that were the size of a chicken¡¯s egg exploded when they came into contact with the wave, greatly reducing the power behind the Poison Miasma Frog¡¯s attack. As it continued on to Shang Xia, the power contained in it no longer possessed a threat. However, Shang Xia felt an ache in his heart. One had to know that he only had 6 rank three Lightning Fire Jujubes! In an instant, he lost two thirds of them! CH 394 This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. In a single breath, Shang Xia tossed out 4 rank three Lightning Fire Jujubes and destroyed the wave of mud and sludge behind him. He managed to buy even more time for him to escape with his actions. Behind him, the Poison Miasma Frog noticed that Shang Xia was at the edge of the marsh, and with a final leap, it landed heavily in the marsh while sending out hundreds of arrows created with the muddy water below towards Shang Xia. Realizing what had happened, Shang Xia turned around helplessly and unleashed Celestial Disruption with whatever power could be mustered in his Scarlet Star Spear. Spears created with starlight shot at the approaching mud arrows. With soft clattering sounds ringing through the air behind him, Shang Xia felt his arms hurting from the backlash that came from the power contained in those arrows. By the time he had blocked all of them, he felt his arms going numb and he had a feeling his Scarlet Star Spear had reached its limit. In the time he took to block the mud arrows, the Poison Miasma Frog seemed to have discovered an opportunity to make its move. It made another quick leap to close the distance even more. Puff¡­ With its divine sense locked onto Shang Xia, its tongue shot out at Shang Xia with terrifying speed. It was comparable to a huge spear that flew straight for Shang Xia¡¯s chest. In a state of panic, Shang Xia retrieved a talisman and tossed it towards the approaching tongue. With a formless dagger forming in the air, it paused for a second before landing accurately on Poison Miasma Frog¡¯s tongue. The Spiritual Yin Knife Talisman was one of the three types of talismans Shang Xia made back in the Shang Clan Manor. It was the talisman with the strangest attacking ability and it was the hardest to defend against. Despite being a rank four spiritual beast who had sturdy defenses, Shang Xia¡¯s sudden attack struck accurately on its tongue, a part that had lower defense compared to the rest of its body! With pain shooting up to its mind, the frog quickly retracted its tongue. With his life at stake, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with the price he had to pay. He brought out another Lightning Fire Jujube that was deep red and filled with golden lines. Without a second thought, he tossed it directly at the Poison Miasma Frog. With a ferocious cry filled with pain and anger resounding through the air behind him, Shang Xia finally made his way out of the marsh. By the time he emerged, he had nearly exhausted his inner qi and he was looking extremely disheveled. He might have left the marsh, but he didn¡¯t know if the Poison Miasma Frog would be crazy enough to chase him outside of its territory. Forcefully holding back the intense lethargy he was feeling, he continued to run towards the dense forestry that covered the mountain range before him. As Shang Xia made his escape, the Poison Miasma Frog croaked angrily in the direction where Shang Xia had left. With burn marks all over its slimy skin, the frog didn¡¯t look to be in such a good state either. However, the Poison Miasma Frog seemed to be unwilling to take a single step out of the marsh. No matter how loudly it croaked, it could only watch as Shang Xia¡¯s figure disappeared into the distance. Finally entering the forest he was aiming for without the pursuit of the Poison Miasma Frog, Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief. With fatigue overwhelming him, his body swayed slightly and he felt his vision starting to turn dark. No¡­ This doesn¡¯t seem right! Shang Xia held on to the last bit of consciousness he had and realized that something was off. The fatigue he was feeling didn¡¯t seem to come from the battle from before! After all, he had been in more intense battles for a far longer period of time! At his current level, he wouldn¡¯t lose consciousness simply because of a short getaway like that! Thinking back to the Crimson Soul Tablet and the world origin it devoured earlier, Shang Xia felt that it was possible for the tablet to be undergoing some sort of transformation. Forcing himself to stay away, he stumbled through the forest and finally located a large tree with a hole in the trunk. Forcing his way into the hole, he was finally satisfied that the location was hidden away from plain sight and allowed himself to fall asleep. The moment his vision turned dark, his consciousness returned to his sea of consciousness. Every single bit of his attention was placed on the changes that were occurring to the Crimson Soul Tablet. Shang Xia¡¯s guess was right. Due to the intense change happening to the Crimson Soul Tablet, he was forced into a deep sleep. Other than the changes to the words on the surface of the Crimson Soul Tablet, the cracks were repairing themselves. However, the cracks would reopen from time to time. A new crack seemed to be forming as the words on the surface of the tablet continued to change, but it didn¡¯t take long for it to be sealed up. Luckily for Shang Xia, he didn¡¯t forcefully use the tablet to produce the recipe for his rank four advancement medicine back in the Changfeng City. He stopped right after comprehending his third martial intent, preventing the tablet from being severely damaged. Now that the Crimson Soul Tablet had absorbed a huge amount of world origin and was starting to repair itself, Shang Xia finally had the confidence to use it to produce his rank four advancement medicine. The incomplete medicine he obtained from the Scripture Depository was finally put into use! As the Crimson Soul Tablet studied the medicine and made its changes, the words on its surface changed at a terrifying rate. It was comparable to the speed at which thoughts flew in one¡¯s mind. Throughout the process of the deduction to create a complete formula from whatever Shang Xia provided, the Crimson Soul Tablet would use up a huge amount of energy. That was the reason behind the additional crack that formed, but with the injection of word origin, it quickly restored itself. Shang Xia noticed the changes happening to the Crimson Soul Tablet and felt that the amount of world origin he obtained from under the noses of the two rank four spiritual beasts earlier wasn¡¯t truly enough. It might be barely enough for the world origin to repair the crack that was forming, but it would be far from enough to repair the two earlier cracks. That didn¡¯t stop Shang Xia from completing the deduction of his rank four advancement formula. Since there was enough world origin to complete it, there was no use in delaying it any further. With a single thought, the words on the tablet started to become visible. Looking at the words on the tablet that were no longer changing, Shang Xia observed the crack that had formed to ensure that the tablet wasn¡¯t going to shatter any time soon. After all, the moment it did, his consciousness would go with it. When that happened, there was no doubt about it as his life would also come to an end. To his surprise, his little experiment seemed to have worked! As long as he willed it, the tablet would stop its deduction process and so would the destruction to it. The world origin that hadn¡¯t been used fully would also be stored in his body, waiting for him to use it eventually. As such, Shang Xia finally discovered a way to control the speed of destruction of the tablet! Following which, he turned to look at the words that had appeared. Advancement Medicine: Four Seasons Samsara Wine Advancement Criteria: Grand Completion Stage of the Martial Intent Realm Main Ingredient: Spirit of the Four Seasons Supplementary Ingredients: 1x Jade Peach Blossom harvested in the Spring, 1x Nine Leaf Lotus harvested in the Summer, 1x Glass Daisy Chrysanthemum harvested in the Autumn, 1x Dragon Headed Wintersweet harvested in the Winter Shang Xia¡¯s heart sank the moment he saw the ingredients required. He knew that the rank four advancement medicine wouldn''t be easy to create! Thinking back to the incomplete medicine he brought out of the Scripture Depository, he wondered what the hell he had gotten himself into. One had to know that the Crimson Soul Tablet was usually only able to modify and optimize formulas that were complete. Now that he was using an incomplete medicine as the base, Shang Xia didn¡¯t know how the tablet would react. The main reason he was using the bottle of incomplete medicine was because of the high compatibility he had with it. Of course, he was also confident that the tablet would be able to restore the complete recipe of the advancement medicine, but he didn¡¯t know if there were any other side effects. Now that the recipe had been slightly restored, Shang Xia stared at the recipe with his jaws agape. What in the world had the four seasons had to do with the Martial Extermination Realm? At the very most, the Martial Extermination Realm should be connected with the four divisions of the twenty-eight constellations! Namely, the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise¡­ Could the four seasons be actually connected to them? With his brain bogged down by a sea of thoughts, he eventually decided to just go with whatever the tablet said. After all, there shouldn¡¯t be anything wrong with it. Luckily, the ingredients required were only connected to the four seasons. If the Crimson Soul Tablet really required him to look for the four mythical beasts or to obtain their blood essence or something like that, Shang Xia would actually smash his head into a wall. Even if they existed, where was he supposed to start looking? Even so, his head was already starting to hurt when he saw the main ingredient recorded. ¡®Spirit of the Four Seasons¡¯... That would mean that he would have to capture the essence of the four seasons experienced throughout the world. There were many ways the essence of each season could appear and trying to capture it was frighteningly tough! The Spirit of the Four Seasons could appear as a simple spring breeze or it might be contained in a droplet of rainwater that fell during a short summer rain. It could even be a fruit that appeared on a certain tree in the autumn and it might just be contained in a random rock that was blown around in a winter storm. Moreover, those would only be the spirit of one season! Obtaining four of them Even though the Spirit of the Four Seasons might not be something that only appears once in a blue moon, it was extremely elusive. If one wasn¡¯t prepared for it to appear, it would be extremely difficult to grab a hold of it. What made it worse was the storage aspect. Even if one managed to obtain it, it was a near impossible task of keeping it safe. Shang Xia might not have completed the full recipe of his rank four advancement medicine, but from what he could already see, it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to enter the Martial Extermination Realm. After all, the problem of obtaining the Spirit of the Four Seasons was already causing him a massive headache. He still had no idea how he was supposed to collect all four and mix them together or whatever it was. CH 395 Shang Xia had a sneaking suspicion that his rank four advancement medicine wasn¡¯t going to be easy to create at all! It wasn¡¯t that he hadn¡¯t seen the recipes of other rank four advancement medicine in the past. However, none of those he had seen before even came close to the Four Seasons Samsara Wine described on his Crimson Soul Tablet! Just obtaining the Spirit of the Four Seasons alone would probably be comparable in difficulty to crafting other rank four advancement medicines. Moreover, the recipe recorded on the Crimson Soul Tablet was only the start. Shang Xia hadn¡¯t completed the entire recipe due to his fear of damaging the tablet beyond repair. He didn¡¯t know how much more difficult it would be once the complete recipe was produced. Shang Xia¡¯s headache didn¡¯t end after looking at Spirit of the Four Seasons. Instead, he turned to look at the assistive ingredients and discovered that they were all precious rank four herbs. Gathering them wouldn¡¯t be a walk in the park. All of a sudden, the crack that had been sealed up earlier broke apart in full force again. That wasn¡¯t all. Another thin crack that had the width of a hair appeared on the fourth surface of the Crimson Soul Tablet, extending down a third of its surface. At that instant, Shang Xia could feel the tablet trembling violently as though it would break apart at any time. His sudden decision to continue deducing the rank four advancement formula didn¡¯t seem too smart, but he did it anyway. Only then did Shang Xia think about the situation from another direction. The Crimson Soul Tablet¡¯s ability to improve on recipes and formulas might not only exhaust world origin. It also used up some sort of special essence that was unique to the Crimson Soul Tablet itself. Well, it was also entirely possible that the enhancement and completion of a rank four advancement medicine was too taxing on the Crimson Soul Tablet which resulted in the damage at the end. However, Shang Xia didn¡¯t care too much about that at the moment. He continued to look at the words that appeared on the second face of the tablet. Assistive Treasure: A Pot of Hundred Year Old Inexhaustible Spring Water, 1x Hundred Year Old Violet Ningpo Wigfort, 1x Hundred Year Old Windchime Grass, 1x Hundred Year Old Yang Fire Stone. Assistive Ingredient: Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer¡¯s Yeast Feeling the additional destruction to the Crimson Soul Tablet, Shang Xia could tell that the deduction of the assistive treasures and supplementary herb didn¡¯t damage the tablet as much. After reading the contents on the tablet, Shang Xia also realized that the treasures and herbs required on the second face of the tablet weren¡¯t as precious as those on the first. At the very least, he had heard of them. By that time, only two of the four faces had words on them. According to how the Crimson Soul Tablet operated in the past, the complete recipe would only be produced after all four faces were filled. This novel is available on "pawread dot com". Moreover, the last two faces would contain the way to use the medicine and things like the success and compatibility rate. All of which were extremely important. Looking at the damage on the tablet, Shang Xia gritted his teeth and finally decided to continue the deduction process. Along with another round of heavy trembling, the Crimson Soul Tablet became even more damaged. This time, Shang Xia felt as though someone had stabbed a sharp spike straight into his soul. He felt as though his divine sense was about to rip in half, causing a loud scream to escape his lips. Shang Xia¡¯s body that was hidden in the trunk of a tree shook violently as pain shot through it. His body curled up like a cooked shrimp in pain but he forced himself to keep his consciousness locked onto the Crimson Soul Tablet. The crack on the fourth face of the tablet extended by another third as the words on the third face finally became visible. Shang Xia quickly stopped the Crimson Soul Tablet from further deduction and the pain abruptly disappeared. He felt a wave of comfort washing over his body. Without time to waste, he turned his attention to the third face of the Crimson Soul Tablet. Remarks: One can only use the medicine in a location that experiences all four seasons at once. At the same time, one can use the opportunity to carry out a joint refinement of the Four Seasons Extermination Origin. Only a single line was recorded on the third face of the Crimson Soul Tablet. After reading that single line, Shang Xia felt a trace of despair filling his heart. How is this possible?! What the fuck is this?! He didn¡¯t know if it was possible for all four seasons to appear at the same time, and there was no need to start on the next sentence. What in the world did it mean for him to carry out a joint refinement?! Was he supposed to refine all four strands of extermination origins that corresponded to the different seasons at the same time? Was it even possible? One had to know that refining a single strand of extermination origin was a tall task for any cultivator trying to enter the Martial Extermination Realm. If he had to refine four at once¡­ Shang Xia had never heard of anyone refining more than a single strand of extermination origin when breaking through, much less four! And there was another question. He didn¡¯t understand what the Four Seasons Extermination Origins meant in the first place. Irritation and despair filled Shang Xia¡¯s heart in equal parts as he tried to think of the various possibilities. He knew that the Crimson Soul Tablet wouldn¡¯t make up nonsense to mess with him and that accomplishing whatever was stated on it would definitely be possible, but the difficulty of making it happen seemed to be on a whole other level. After giving himself some time to calm down, Shang Xia finally started to think through the matter properly. First things first, he had to awaken from his slumber in case he ran into any trouble. After all, he was still deep in the forestry in the battlefield between the two worlds. He didn¡¯t know if the Poison Miasma Frog would appear again or if there were other dangers in his surroundings. Regardless of how difficult it was for him to obtain whatever was recorded on the Crimson Soul Tablet, waking up to ensure his own safety was the most important thing at the moment. In the darkness of the hole he had been hiding in, he forced his eyes to open as a wave of aches and pain swept through his body. Several yelps escaped his lips and when he was finally awake and aware of his surroundings, he gathered his thoughts and went to observe the words on the Crimson Soul Tablet again. The last face might still be empty, but Shang Xia didn¡¯t wish to exhaust and damage the tablet even further. If he forcefully completed the deduction, the Crimson Soul Tablet would likely shatter. According to his previous experiences in the Martial Extremity Realm, the last face would only state the compatibility rate and success rate anyway. At that point, there was no reason for Shang Xia to refer to them. The only use they had was to boost his confidence when he was advancing. The recipe was complete and as long as Shang Xia was confident in himself, he could ignore the rates calculated by the tablet. From the rest of the information recorded in the tablet, there was no way for Shang Xia to gather all the ingredients he required in a short period of time. As such, it goes without saying that he wouldn¡¯t be able to craft his advancement medicine any time in the near future. Without the advancement medicine, he wouldn¡¯t be able to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm anyway. Or according to what he knew and the knowledge he gained from his previous world, the Four Constellation Realm! Since he wouldn¡¯t be breaking through any time soon, the success rate and the compatibility rate didn¡¯t matter too much at the moment. Even though it was useless for him at the moment, the success rate had its uses. For example, he could modify the formula as he saw fit to affect the success rates like he did with his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. Thinking back, he gave the institution a weaker version of the formula he used to comprehend the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm which had a lower success rate than what he could comprehend. With the recipe of the rank four advancement medicine and his unique way of cultivation, Shang Xia had the ability to create an inheritance that recorded his way of cultivation the moment he stepped into the Martial Extermination Realm! He could record the recipe of the advancement medicine he used up to the techniques he learned. Through some manipulation of the techniques or recipe with the Crimson Soul Tablet, Shang Xia might be able to develop a way for cultivators with his inheritance to smoothly increase their strength even though he might need to compromise the strength they would possess. Choosing not to complete the fourth face of deduction at the moment, Shang Xia felt that it wouldn¡¯t be too late to finish it after finding more world origin and repairing the tablet slightly. Making up his mind, he fed the tablet with the remaining world origin that was stored in his body when he stopped the restoration process earlier. The crack on the fourth face of the tablet slowly started to close up. Unfortunately, the restoration stopped after a small part of the crack was sealed up. Taking a long breath, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but lament silently. If he wasn¡¯t able to repair the Crimson Soul Tablet, he wouldn¡¯t be able to rely on it after entering the Martial Extermination Realm. He might no longer be able to receive help from the tablet to comprehend his fourth martial intent like he did with his previous ones. Looking at the different criteria and treasures, Shang Xia looked at the part where he had to advance in a location that experienced all four seasons simultaneously and felt that it wasn¡¯t exactly impossible for a place like that to exist. Also, he hadn¡¯t heard of anyone trying to refine four strands of extermination origins at once but that didn¡¯t mean that no one had tried it before. With the bottle of incomplete medicine in his hand, it was enough proof that someone had been thinking in the same direction. The Azure Origin World was massive and Shang Xia was a mere Martial Intent Realm cultivator. Even if he had his knowledge from his past life, that didn¡¯t mean that everyone else was completely useless. There were Martial Extermination Realm experts who had lived a long life and there were even Martial Dipper Realm ancestors who left their legacy behind on the continent. Even though he hadn¡¯t heard of anyone who had entered the Sixth Order of the Primary Realm, that didn¡¯t mean that it was absolutely impossible for someone like that to exist. With the knowledge he learned from Kou Chongxue and other sources, he knew that the Azure Origin World was merely one of the many worlds out there. Everything that he felt was impossible was merely because he was a frog at the bottom of the well! Just because he hadn¡¯t heard of it yet didn¡¯t mean that things were unachievable! The reason he didn¡¯t think to ask his various seniors in the institution and the clan was because he was trying to safeguard his secret of reincarnation! He was afraid that the others would lust after his knowledge and do him harm, but his way of thinking was truly a little lacking. Of the true powerhouses, which one of them didn¡¯t possess any heaven-shaking secrets? Even if he didn¡¯t wish to reveal the secret of his Crimson Soul Tablet and his reincarnation, he could approach the problem from other angles! Finally realizing that his thinking was the source of most of his problems, Shang Xia felt a huge weight lifted off his chest. It seemed as though he finally broke through the mental barrier that had been holding him back all that while and he finally completed a type of transformation to his mental state! He finally possessed the mindset that cultivators should have in the first place! CH 396 Four Constellation Realm Advancement Medicine Advancement Medicine: Four Seasons Samsara Wine Advancement Criteria: Grand Completion Stage of the Martial Intent Realm Main Ingredient: Spirit of the Four Seasons Supplementary Ingredients: 1x Jade Peach Blossom harvested in the Spring, 1x Nine Leaf Lotus harvested in the Summer, 1x Glass Daisy Chrysanthemum harvested in the Autumn, 1x Dragon Headed Wintersweet harvested in the Winter Assistive Treasure: A Pot of Hundred Year Old Inexhaustible Spring Water, 1x Hundred Year Old Violet Ningpo Wigfort, 1x Hundred Year Old Windchime Grass, 1x Hundred Year Old Yang Fire Stone. Assistive Ingredient: Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer¡¯s Yeast Remarks: One can only use the medicine in a location that experiences all four seasons at once. At the same time, one can use the opportunity to carry out a joint refinement of the Four Seasons Extermination Origin. Success Rate: ?? Compatibility Rate: ?? That was the final result that was displayed on the Crimson Soul Tablet after Shang Xia risked it all to complete most of the restoration of the incomplete medicine¡¯s recipe. Even without the final rates calculated by the Crimson Soul Tablet, Shang Xia was able to start his preparations. Other than locating the ingredients and herbs required to craft his advancement medicine, Shang Xia also had to locate more world origin to restore his Crimson Soul Tablet. After weaseling his way out of the hole he was hiding in, Shang Xia observed the area around him. He could see the marsh far in the distance that was covered in a thin fog of poison miasma and he couldn¡¯t help but gasp in shock. As it turned out, he managed to run more than ten miles after leaving the marsh before diving into the trunk of a tree and losing consciousness. Looking around, he realized that he had lost all sense of direction after he lost consciousness. He had no idea what direction he should be traveling in at the moment and he also didn¡¯t know how long he had been out for. Naturally, he had no idea about the progress of the war between the cultivators of the Azure Spiritual World and the Tongyou Institution. Taking stock of all the treasures he had, Shang Xia realized that he only had one Golden Spear Talisman and one Spiritual Yin Knife Talisman left. Those were the only rank three ones left but he still had several rank two ones left. After all, in the battles he had taken part in, rank two talismans were pretty useless. He had a total of 8 Lightning Fire Jujubes left and of them, 5 were of the second rank, 2 were of the third rank and he only had a single rank four Lightning Fire Jujube left. The Spirit Extermination Gourd was also a treasure he could no longer rely on. Ever since he used it to deal with the giant rat and the Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Changbai Holy Land, Kou Chongxue¡¯s sword qi was on the verge of disappearing. He didn¡¯t know the exact way to restore it, but he had a vague idea of how he should go about doing it. When he plucked the final fruit from the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree, the sword qi gave a slight indication that he could suck up the strand of extermination qi that returned to the earth but Shang Xia chose not to do so. A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. He knew that the moment he absorbed the strand of extermination qi to restore the sword qi, the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree that was born in that location would never appear again! At the moment, there were two strands of extermination origins in the gourd. He obtained them from the giant rat, but he had no idea what they were. He would have struck the jackpot if they had anything to do with the seasons. He truly wondered if he was lucky enough for that to happen. Seeing as there were no other threats to his life, Shang Xia thought back to the situation in the marsh and felt that it was a pity that the Poison Miasma Frog got a free strand of extermination origin from the swamp lizard king. He wondered how strong the Poison Misama Frog would become after devouring the swamp lizard king and the swamp lizards, but he was sure that it would receive a huge boost to its strength. When he thought about the corpses of the swamp lizards and their corpses, he found it a pity that he wouldn¡¯t be able to harvest ingredients to craft rank three talisman paper. After all, the skin of those swamp lizards was great material to make rank three talisman papers. Speaking of talisman materials, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t exactly going off empty handed. The skin of the rank four giant rat in the past was a great ingredient! If he ran into a great craftsman, he might be able to turn the skin into rank four talisman paper! The more he thought about talismans, the greater the urge for him to craft talismans nearly overwhelmed him. He might be a rank three talisman master that was rarely seen in the You Continent, but other than his ability to craft talismans, everything else seemed to be restricted. He never seemed to have enough resources as his talisman paper, talisman ink, and even talisman. Even his ability to do battle seemed to be held back by the lack of proper resources. High-leveled talisman masters seemed glorious on the surface as they were able to create powerful talismans. However, their situation was also really pitiful. They never had enough resources to make full use of their abilities! As for Shang Xia¡¯s battle prowess, it was also limited by his weapon. His Scarlet Star Spear had been heavily damaged due to the various battles and trials he had been through and even though his Jade River Sword was still usable, his sword techniques were more suitable for group combat. In a one on one fight, his Providence Nine Spears came in much more handy. Those two weapons were those that could withstand his inner qi at the moment. He still had low-grade weapons, but those wouldn¡¯t allow him to bring out his full strength. Speaking of graded weapons, Shang Xia actually had another mid-grade weapon. It was the metal ruler he gained after killing Senior Brother Zhou of the Changbai Holy Land. Unfortunately, it was damaged after he struck it with his Scarlet Star Spear. Even if it wasn¡¯t damaged, Shang Xia didn¡¯t really know how to use it and it could basically be disregarded. When he was done lamenting his sad fate with resources and weapons, Shang Xia¡¯s attention returned to the five spatial artifacts he obtained after killing a whole lot of his enemies. Those weren¡¯t weaklings in the slightest and their spatial artifacts should contain some precious treasures. One of them came from the Martial Extermination Realm Sima Zhanxing, and two of the five came from direct disciples of the Changbai Holy Land. One was from Chu Chen and the other came from Senior Brother Zhou. The final two spatial artifacts came from Senior Brother Yue and Junior Brother Xiang who he killed before Senior Brother Zhou while allowing Junior Brother Qi to escape. He was clearly unwilling to break them open forcefully as more than half the items in them would be completely destroyed. He didn¡¯t wish to waste a single piece of treasure contained in those spatial artifacts! There wasn¡¯t a need to mention if there were precious treasures in Sima Zhanxing¡¯s spatial artifact. He might have been stranded in the Azure Spiritual World the whole time, but Shang Xia believed that he still had some treasures on him. As for Chu Chen and Senior Brother Zhou, they were direct disciples of the Changbai Holy Land and from the looks of it, they had a mission to scour for treasures in the battlefield between the two worlds! They definitely had some good stuff on them. If Shang Xia wanted to open those spatial artifacts without damaging their contents, he knew that there were only two ways about it. One was to use a rank three talisman called the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman, and the other was to gain primary control of space which could be achieved by Martial Extermination Realm experts. Martial Extermination Realm experts could break through simple artifacts like Embroidered Cloud Cases and stuff like what Sima Zhanxing and the others had. Only when it came to Spatial Pouches were they somewhat helpless. Looking at all the artifacts he had, Shang Xia didn¡¯t want to head back to deal with the artifacts. Only when he was back in the safety of the Tongyou Institution would he be able to break through the spatial artifacts in peace. He still wished to look for opportunities in the battlefield between the two worlds. After all, that was the best time for him to find any remnant world origin. The moment the battle between the Azure Spiritual World and the Tongyou Institution ended, the remaining Martial Extermination Realm experts would definitely turn their focus to the rank four beasts and world origin that remained in the battlefield between the two worlds. A Martial Intent Realm cultivator like him wouldn¡¯t be left with dregs. Making up his mind, Shang Xia decided to continue his journey. Skirting a huge round away from the marsh where the Poison Miasma Frog nearly killed him, he became even more careful with his actions. He didn¡¯t get too far this time when he heard a clear cry ringing through the skies. With his eyes widening in shock, a look of joy appeared on his face when he heard a second cry in the distance. Facing the source of the cries in the skies, Shang Xia charged over as quickly as he could. ¡­ When that was happening, a fat youth was running away at a speed extremely disproportionate to the size of his body. A golden streak tore through the air as a bird that was close to eight inches, long after extending its wings, appeared above him. Following a sharp cry, the bird descended as a streak of silver light. The fat youth screamed in terror while tossing a shield above his head. The shield shattered the moment the silver streak came into contact with it, but the silver streak showed no signs of slowing down. It struck heavily into the fat cultivator, causing his body to tremble violently and his movements to stop. Another clear chirp came from the skies all of a sudden, and the fat cultivator¡¯s expression turned into one of despair. Indeed¡­ Following the second chirp, the skies started to turn noisy as a multitude of chirps came from another direction. They seem to be answering the cry of the first bird. With a look of dismay filling his eyes, the fat cultivator saw hundreds of Mutated Rain Swallows filling the skies. In the span of a few seconds, they formed a huge blanket in the air that surrounded the larger bird that attacked him in the first place. When the third cry rang loudly in his ears, the rest of the birds descended at a terrifying speed. Closing his eyes, the fat cultivator seemed to have accepted his fate. Who would have thought that a long whistle would tear through the skies in that instant? The whistle covered the noisy and messy chirps and seemed to suppress them completely. A newfound light flashed through the fat cultivator¡¯s eyes when he heard the whistle and felt no birds pecking on him. He was silently praising the strength of the person who whistled, but he was also thanking the heavens that he was saved. Opening his eyes slightly, he saw that only a dozen birds were still charging at him with their wings open to slash his flesh open. Their talons which were tougher than essence steel were reaching out to tear him to sheds. Seeing as there were only a few of them left, a newfound strength filled his body. Roaring softly, his fat body glowed a deep bronze. He seemed to have turned into a statue of bronze as the dozens or so birds left descended on him. After those dozens or so Mutated Rain Swallows completed their first wave of attacks, they retreated and the next wave of attack failed to arrive. Squatting down, the fat cultivator saw several shallow cuts on his body and heaved a sigh of relief. Luckily for him, those scratches were the most serious injury he suffered. After checking out his injuries, he finally discovered that something was off. The noisy chirps had stopped and the regions seemed to have returned to an unprecedented calm state. Raising his head carefully, his gaze landed on a young cultivator who had appeared on the other side of the desert he was running through. Getting to his feet, the bronze color on his body faded and his skin went back to its original state. The rotund fatty had skin as pale as snow. He noticed that the leader of the birds that had been hunting him down was perched on the shoulder of the young cultivator who had just appeared and the damn bird was looking at him with disdain. The flock of Mutated Rain Swallows that had been circling in the air nonstop soundlessly changed their motion to fly around the head of the young cultivator. ¡°I am Shang Xia of the Tongyou Institution. I don¡¯t think this is our first meeting. I wonder how I should address you?¡± The young cultivator with the bird on his shoulder smiled and cupped his fists towards the fat cultivator. Chuckling softly, the fat cultivator scratched his head slowly and muttered, ¡°I¡­ I am Ren Huan. I don¡¯t seem to have seen you before?¡± Laughing softly, Shang Xia brought out his Golden Spear Talisman that was made from a piece of metallic sheet. ¡°Hey! That¡­ That¡¯s a piece of talisman paper I made!¡± Ren Huan seemed to have thought of something and he pointed at Shang Xia while stuttering, ¡°You¡­ You¡­ I know! You¡¯re the person who sold me that spiritual deer!¡± Shang Xia nodded and seemed extremely content that he managed to run into the fatty again. After all, from what he said earlier, the fatty was able to craft rank three talisman paper! CH 397 Shang Xia was extremely happy to hear the fatty admit that he was the one who refined the talisman paper. However, what made him happier was the discovery of the Lightning Bird and the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows! When the Tongyou Institution schemed to obtain world origin from the battlefield between the two worlds, they knew that the Tongyou Peak was going to fall. As the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows were unwilling to leave the battlefield between the two worlds, the experts on the Tongyou Peak chased them away from the Pinxin Peak in case they were annihilated completely when the experts of the Azure Spiritual World arrived. Shang Xia had been worried about the Lightning Bird and the rest of the flock during the War of the Tongyou Mysterious World, but now that he reunited with them, he could see that the birds gained quite a lot of benefits from the Origin Tide that passed. After getting over his initial shock, Ren Huan couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Wait¡­ I was wearing a mask the other day. How did you recognize me? It can¡¯t be because I¡¯m fat¡­ There are more fatties out there and you can¡¯t possibly recognize me from my body shape!¡± Pointing at his clothes that were slightly torn, Shang Xia laughed. ¡°You¡¯re wearing the same thing you did in the gathering back in the city!¡± With his eyes widening in shock, Ren Huan couldn¡¯t help but chuckle in embarrassment. ¡°Oh yeah¡­ Looks like I need a change of clothes soon!¡± Wait a second¡­ Don¡¯t tell me this fatty hasn¡¯t changed since the day of the gathering?! Eww! Ren Huan didn¡¯t notice the judgmental look on Shang Xia¡¯s face as his gaze was stuck on the bird on his shoulder. ¡°Is this Mutated Bird your spirit pet?¡± He couldn¡¯t conceal the look of admiration and envy on his face. Shang Xia tilted his head to look at the fat bird that was resting on his shoulder and he chuckled, ¡°This is a Lightning Bird. He¡¯s not my spirit pet though. However, he can be considered¡­ he can be considered my friend! Yeah¡­ The flock of Mutated Rain Swallows are his partners and children.¡± Gasping in shock, a trace of greed flashed in his eyes for a moment while he praised in admiration. ¡°Brother Shang, you are really lucky!¡± ¡°Because he is unable to leave the battlefield between the two worlds with his entire flock, we lost contact for a period of time. This is the first time we¡¯re reunited. However, I didn¡¯t think that he would be close to breaking through to the fourth rank. Then again, I have to thank Brother Ren. If not for you, I wouldn¡¯t have reunited with them so quickly!¡± Shang Xia laughed. Pausing for a second, he then continued, ¡°However, from what I saw earlier, you seem to have some misunderstanding with my old friend over here¡­¡± A helpless look appeared on Ren Huan¡¯s face as he tried to explain himself, ¡°I¡­ I found an ancient tree under a cliff and I discovered that there were faint traces of wind lightning energy contained in its leaves. Those leaves were invaluable as they could be used to craft talisman paper and I decided to grab a few of them. I didn¡¯t expect to anger the flock of birds nesting there when I tried to pluck a few leaves! Well¡­ You know what happened next. They chased me all the way over here and I ran into you. If not for Brother Shang, my three hundred pound body would have turned into bird food¡­¡± ¡°A tree that contains the power of wind and lightning?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes lit up and he turned to look at the Lightning Bird. Unwilling to trust the fatty completely, he wanted the Lightning Bird to confirm the news. Feeling Shang Xia¡¯s gaze, the lightning bird chirped softly to confirm the news. Seeing the smile that was appearing on Shang Xia¡¯s face, Ren Huan continued, ¡°Brother¡­ Brother Shang, since this fat¡­ I mean, since the Lightning Bird is your friend, can you get him to allow me to pluck a few leaves from the ancient tree? I know that Brother Shang is an accomplished talisman master. After obtaining the leaves, I¡¯ll refine them into talisman paper and I¡¯ll give half of them to you. How¡¯s that?¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t respond immediately. Instead, he turned to the Lightning Bird and asked, ¡°Is that tree really useful to you?¡± Several soft tweets left the Lightning Bird¡¯s beak and Ren Huan had no idea what the bird was saying. However, he saw Shang Xia nodding his head from time to time but he didn¡¯t know if the young cultivator truly knew what the bird was talking about or if he was just messing with him. Regardless of whether Shang Xia really knew bird language, Ren Huan knew that he couldn¡¯t offend the man. Ren Huan might look like a foolish fatty, but that was merely the outward appearance he portrayed to the world. He wasn¡¯t actually stupid. Thinking about Shang Xia¡¯s identity, he quickly recalled Shang Xia¡¯s background and the rumors that he heard in the past. As a trace of hesitation started to appear on Ren Huan¡¯s face, Shang Xia turned around and muttered, ¡°Brother Ren, are you willing to return to the cliff face to take a look with me?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Ren Huan quickly gathered his thoughts and nodded furiously, ¡°Yes, yes! I¡¯ll go!¡± With the Lightning Bird and the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows leading the way, Shang Xia and Ren Huan quickly made their way over to the ancient tree. Along the way, Shang Xia seemed to have thought of something and he asked, ¡°Brother Ren, I¡¯ve been running away from people who want to kill me all this while. I also went into seclusion for some time and was wondering how long had passed since the Tongyou Institution entered the battlefield between the two worlds. Also, do you know the situation right now? Is the battle still ongoing?¡± Ren Huan looked at Shang Xia in confusion and muttered, ¡°It¡¯s difficult to keep track of time in the battlefield between the two worlds, but there¡¯s a special method to do so. From the time the Tongyou Institution entered the battlefield between the two worlds, half a month had passed. The battle between the experts of the Tongyou Institution and the Azure Spiritual World ended eight days ago. The Azure Spiritual World lost two Martial Extermination Realm experts and we lost one. From the looks of it, we won. However, we merely managed to gain a foothold in the battlefield between the two worlds after this battle. Now, they¡¯re probably going to clear out some of the territory of beasts who made their base in the central region. The area controlled by the Tongyou Institution at the moment is merely the size of that controlled by the Azure Spiritual World.¡± A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. After hearing the explanation, Shang Xia could pretty much calculate how long he had been asleep. It seemed as though his guess was correct regardless. The outcome of the battle between the Martial Extermination Realm experts on both sides decided the duration of the war. Regardless if they were the Tongyou Institution, Changbai Holy Land, or the four great races of the Liao Continent, the death of a Martial Extermination Realm expert wasn¡¯t something they could withstand easily. Moreover, the deaths of the two Martial Extermination Realm experts on the side of the Azure Spiritual World had something to do with Shang Xia. The thought barely flashed across his mind when he seemed to have recalled something. ¡°Which expert of the Tongyou Institution fell?¡± ¡°Senior Kang Ci fell. It was said that he managed to refine a poison-type extermination origin in the past and the threat he posed to lower-leveled cultivators was astounding. He was focused fired the moment he entered the battlefield between the two worlds.¡± Ren Huan sighed. Shang Xia could only shake his head with a bitter smile on his face. Kang Ci was indeed a troublesome fellow to deal with. When the Four Spiritual Peak tried to sneak attack the Tongyou Peak when their experts were stuck in the Coral Forest, Kang Ci managed to hold them off with his abilities. In the end, She Zhihong had to order a retreat before being killed by the rank five undead corpse back at the Four Spiritual Peak. It seemed as though Kang Ci was truly plotted against this time he entered the battlefield between the two worlds. As they conversed, they quickly traveled across the land and two hours flew by like it was nothing. With the Lightning Bird and the Mutated Rain Swallows leading the way, the two of them eventually caught sight of the cliff. The ancient tree was actually located along a wind gap in a valley that extended out at the bottom of the cliff and the two of them quickly made their way over to the narrow walls. ¡°Brother Shang, you have to be careful. The wind that is ripping through the wind gap is really terrifying and powerful!¡± Ren Huan gave Shang Xia a kind warning before taking a step deeper into the valley. Shang Xia smiled casually before following the fatty. As the two of them ventured deeper into the narrow valley, Shang Xia could feel that the wind blowing against him was growing stronger and stronger as it bellowed in his ears. The deeper they got, the stronger the winds became. The howling of wind quickly overpowered their voices and the two of them could only choose to transmit their voices to each other with the use of their inner qi. Even so, their voice transmissions would sometimes get lost in the wind as though it was ripped apart by a violent force. Thinking of something, Shang Xia brought out his Spirit Extermination Gourd and used his inner qi to surround himself as he opened the cork. The moment he did, the strand of sword qi emerged and spun around the gourd once before shooting into the depths of the valley. Ren Huan¡¯s voice rang in Shang Xia¡¯s ears as the sword qi sped away. ¡°Brother Shang, you should have discovered that the wind contains extermination qi¡­¡± Raising his head to look at Ren Huan, Shang Xia saw that the fatty had barely moved his gaze away from his Spirit Extermination Gourd. Ren Huan didn¡¯t stop there. ¡°Unfortunately, the extermination qi in the air is so thin that you will need to gather them for a long time before being able to create a strand of extermination origin.¡± Ren Huan¡¯s knowledge showed Shang Xia that he wasn¡¯t an ordinary cultivator. He might also have some special treasure on him that allowed him to retrieve extermination origins. With his heart trembling slightly, Shang Xia asked, ¡°Brother Ren, what do you mean?¡± Shaking his head, Ren Huan¡¯s fat belly shivered slightly and a trace of fear appeared in his heart. ¡°Me? I don¡¯t mean anything! After all, Brother Shang¡¯s friend seems to have its eyes set on this place¡­¡± Nodding slowly, Shang Xia understood that the Lightning Bird had its reason for nesting in that spot. There had to be a reason for the Lightning Bird to hunt down the fatty. Stealing some leaves didn¡¯t seem to be enough of a reason to do so, but protecting the source of extermination origin seemed to be reason enough. All of a sudden, a bolt of lightning tore through the skies in the distance and it tore through the land. It eventually dissipated into nothingness. Ren Huan¡¯s figure paused for a second and he growled, ¡°There seems to be some sort of void lightning here¡­ It¡¯s no wonder the power of wind and lightning can be contained in the tree¡­ That¡¯s also the reason behind the ripping winds and bolts of lightning filling the area¡­¡± All of a sudden, Shang Xia discovered that the sword qi had returned to the gourd before he knew it. It flickered unsteadily while trembling and it eventually pointed in the direction of the end of the valley. As someone who was extremely close to breaking through to the Martial Extermination Realm, Shang Xia could feel that there was something else that appeared in the wind that was battering against them. At the same time, the Lightning Bird who had been keeping pace with the two of them sped up and tried to fly deeper into the valley. Shang Xia could see the trace of faint gray lightning bolts that surrounded the bird as it forced itself forward. In that instant, Shang Xia recognized the new feeling that appeared in the wind. It was a type of lightning extermination fused well with the wind around it! The reason behind the Lightning Bird¡¯s choice to nest there wasn¡¯t because of the wind-attributed extermination origin that Ren Huan had identified! Instead, it was because of the presence of a lightning-attributed extermination origin! CH 398 During his reunion with the Lightning Bird, Shang Xia could tell that the bird was extremely close to breaking through to the fourth rank. When he felt both types of extermination qi in the air around him, he understood the reason behind the Lightning Bird¡¯s choice to make a nest there. He also knew the importance of the ancient tree to it. What surprised Shang Xia even more was that the Lightning Bird was not only absorbing the wind-attributed extermination qi in the air. He was also absorbing the lightning-attributed extermination qi! That would mean that the Lightning Bird was trying to refine both types of extermination origins in its body at once! One had to know that Shang Xia had found refining multiple extermination origins incredulous when he looked at the process indicated on the Crimson Soul Tablet earlier. Now, the Lightning Bird was doing exactly that! Looking at the fat Ren Huan who was standing in front of him, Shang Xia knew that since the fatty could feel the presence of the wind-attributed extermination qi in the air, he would also be able to discover the lightning-attributed extermination qi that just appeared. A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. Ren Huan didn¡¯t seem to be a disciple of the Tongyou Institution, but for him to be able to venture around the battlefield between the two worlds at that moment, he had to be part of the You Continent! He probably also had his network in the institution in order to get himself a slot in the expedition. Since that was the case, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t afraid that the presence of both types of extermination qi would be leaked by the fatty. They were all on the same side anyway. That would also mean that the Lightning Bird could cultivate in peace. At the moment, the Lightning Bird hadn¡¯t entered the fourth rank but he was close. With his huge family backing him up, existences in the Martial Extermination Realm or other rank four spiritual beasts wouldn¡¯t dare to mess with him. As the extermination qi in the valley had to be collected slowly, it would be extremely detrimental to the Lightning Bird if the news was leaked to the four great races of the Liao Continent or the Changbai Holy Land. Luckily, the Tongyou Institution managed to gain a foothold in the battlefield between the two worlds after the lengthy battle, and with Shang Xia¡¯s presence in the valley, the institution should be able to retain control over it. The two of them didn¡¯t stop moving even though thoughts were running through their minds. They forced their way through the howling winds to arrive at the foot of the cliff where the flock had nested. Peering through the strong curtain of distorted wind, Shang Xia could vaguely make out a short tree that had sturdy branches surrounding it. He saw the leaves Ren Huan was talking about and noticed that they were close to the size of his palm. What piqued his interest was the location of the tree. It grew in such a way as to avoid being directly in the path of the gale that swept through the valley, but the winds that blasted against it couldn¡¯t be considered too weak either. Even so, the leaves on the tree remained completely motionless. When Shang Xia¡¯s gaze turned to look at the depths of the valley once again, his expression changed drastically. Even though he knew that he had been venturing around the outskirts of the battlefield between the two worlds for some time now, he had never seen the edge of it! Now, it seemed to be situated right in front of him! The space there was hazy, and there were occasional streaks of lightning flashing within. The bolts of lightning appeared out of nowhere, but they disappeared soon after. Deep within the hazy space seemed to house a giant hole that releases the terrifying winds and lightning that is filling the area. Even though Shang Xia was extremely interested in the hazy space, he knew his current cultivation level was far from enough to explore the region. He wondered if he would be able to explore the region even after entering the Martial Extermination Realm. The only thing he knew for sure was that Martial Dipper Realm experts would be capable of entering the hazy space. Otherwise, Kou Chongxue wouldn¡¯t be able to enter the battlefield between the two worlds as he wished. Turning his attention back to the ancient tree, he trudged forward with Ren Huan to approach the tree. The winds finally died down a little as they were no longer in its direct path and the two of them were finally able to speak normally. However, Shang Xia discovered something strange before either of them could say anything. The inner qi in his body became a lot more lively now that he no longer had to withstand the strong winds. Could the gale that was blowing through the valley be suitable for tempering one¡¯s inner qi? The thought barely formed in his mind when he decided to report the location to the institution. A way to temper one¡¯s inner qi didn¡¯t come by often and he felt it would be appropriate for him to inform the institution about such a wonderful location. One had to know cultivators would usually experience cultivation deviation when they lost control of their inner qi. That was one of the greatest dangers when cultivating. If cultivators were able to strengthen the inner qi in their body with the help of the strange wind in the valley, they would be able to gain better control over it. Just that point alone would allow the strange wind to become more important than the wind and lightning attributed extermination origins. ¡°There are a total of 113 leaves on the ancient tree. Of them, 43 can be used to make rank three talisman paper. The others need a little more time to mature. Hehe¡­ I guess I will have to congratulate the institution for gaining a treasure land that produces precious artifacts in the future!¡± Ren Huan¡¯s voice entered Shang Xia¡¯s ear. He was clear that if the leaves were the only treasures present, he would be able to convince Shang Xia to hide the location. Unfortunately, the Lightning Bird¡¯s existence and the usefulness of the wind in the valley were also discovered by him. Reporting the location to the institution would gain them a terrifying amount of benefits! Shang Xia chuckled in response. ¡°Of course we have to report this to the institution. However, those leaves will belong to us. Moreover, the institution will definitely reward us after they take over this region. I¡¯m a rank three talisman master. Some of the leaves here will probably be allocated to me and when that happens, I¡¯ll have to trouble Brother Ren to turn them into talisman paper. Of course, Brother Ren, you won¡¯t have to work for free¡­¡± A trace of joy flashed through the fatty¡¯s eyes when he heard what Shang Xia said and he slapped his chest happily. ¡°Of course! You can count on me!¡± Very quickly, the two of them came to an agreement. Shang Xia also found his source of talisman papers outside the institution. As for Ren Huan, he managed to find another avenue of profit. With the leaves Shang Xia promised to provide, he would be able to raise the mastery of his skills too. With a wide smile on his face, he reached out to harvest the mature leaves on the trees. From what Shang Xia could see, the leaves couldn¡¯t be harvested randomly. One needed to pluck the leaves without damaging the source energy of the tree. That would also ensure that the leaves retrieved would be able to contain the maximum amount of heaven and earth qi. Obviously, Shang Xia had no idea how to do so. He could only watch as Ren Huan made himself busy around the tree. With the fatty dealing with the troublesome matter, Shang Xia turned to observe the area around the ancient tree. He discovered a fallen branch not too far away and he picked it up while swinging it around. He quickly discovered the strength of the branch while messing around with it. When Ren Huan saw Shang Xia waving the stick around, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Brother Shang, what are you doing?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Chuckling in embarrassment that his childish actions had been seen by someone, he continued, ¡°Oh. I was wondering if I could turn the branch of the tree into a bow.¡± Ren Huan¡¯s expression darkened the moment he heard what Shang Xia said. The branch in his hand had dropped from the tree, and even if it couldn¡¯t be considered a rank four treasure, it was definitely at the peak of a rank three treasure. However, Shang Xia would have to obtain a longer and sturdier branch from the tree if he wanted to turn it into a proper bow. When that happened, he would definitely injure the tree. The number of leaves that could be obtained would definitely decrease too. Realizing that his intentions were getting inappropriate, Shang Xia chuckled awkwardly. ¡°Brother Ren, don¡¯t take what I said too seriously. I was just playing around to see how strong the wood is!¡± With his expression loosening up slightly, Ren Huan sighed, ¡°It¡¯s difficult for this tree to grow and in the future, it might even produce some leaves capable of being made into rank four talisman paper! Brother Shang is a genius to be able to enter the rank three talisman master realm at such a young age. After breaking through to the Martial Extermination Realm in the future, you should be able to become a rank four talisman master too. Brother Shang, I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t wish to harm a treasure that can produce rank four talisman paper, do you?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression turned serious and he nodded. ¡°Of course. Brother Ren, you can rest assured that I won¡¯t let my intrusive thoughts win¡­¡± Nodding slightly, Ren Huan went back to collecting the leaves. A trace of regret appeared in Shang Xia¡¯s heart after that conversation. He had a low-grade bow in his inventory, and due to his practice in the past, his bow skills had improved greatly. With his current strength and inner qi, the low-grade bow wouldn¡¯t allow him to show off his true skills. The moment he stepped into the Martial Extermination Realm, he was afraid that the bow would shatter before he could fire off a single arrow. Obtaining a high-grade bow had always been on his mind. Of course, creating graded weapons wasn''t easy, much less a high-grade bow! Just the material required to craft a high-grade bow would be terrifyingly hard to locate! As random thoughts filled his head, Shang Xia roamed about the area slightly and heard a loud chirp coming from the skies. The Lightning Bird dove straight onto his shoulder and pushed a ball of fur into his face. ¡°This¡­ Is this Mutated Swallow Fur?!¡± Ren Huan¡¯s voice rang through the air and Shang Xia could see the look of envy on the fatty¡¯s face when he turned to look. ¡°Brother Ren, do you recognize this treasure?¡± Shang Xia smiled in response. Glancing at Shang Xia, the fatty started to ramble on. ¡°This¡­ This is the main ingredient used in crafting spatial pouches! Even the most elementary of spatial pouches possess ten cubic feet of space within! To make one, we¡¯ll probably need three taels of Swallow Fur! Brother Shang, the ball of fur in your hand is close to a tael or maybe slightly more¡­ It¡¯s not enough¡­¡± Chuckling in response, Shang Xia kept the ball of fur carefully. Ren Huan had no idea that Shang Xia already had three taels of Swallow Fur. He had more than enough to make a spatial pouch. When the birds nested on the Pinxin Peak, the institution managed to gather a portion of Swallow Fur. It might not be much, but due to their schemes, they had to chase the birds away and thus ended their avenue of collection. The ball of fur in his hand was what the Lightning bird managed to gather after they made their new nest in the area! CH 399 The space contained in his Embroidered Cloud Case was limited but it was enough for ordinary cultivators. Unfortunately, Shang Xia was no ordinary cultivator. Even the largest Embroidered Cloud Case that had five cubic feet of space wasn¡¯t enough for him! With the experience of running out of space many times before, Shang Xia became smarter now that he was entering the battlefield between the two worlds. He brought more than a single Embroidered Cloud Case with him. It was exactly as he predicted. The corpse of the giant rank four rat might have been left behind, but Shang Xia managed to harvest its skin before its body rotted away. He even managed to collect a portion of blood essence and those items filled an Embroidered Cloud Case that was three cubic feet large. If not for the fact that he was unable to harvest the corpses of the swamp lizards back in the swamp before the Poison Miasma Frog went to town on them, he would use up even more space. As such, Shang Xia¡¯s desire to obtain a spatial pouch became stronger than before. It was too bad that it took extremely high expertise to create one. From what Shang Xia knew, only the Tongyou Institution had an incomplete inheritance to produce a spatial pouch. Due to the lack of Swallow Fur, no one had ever tried to complete the inheritance. Only after Shang Xia brought back the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows did the Tongyou Institution regain their focus on the inheritance to create the spatial pouch. It was a pity the gathering of Swallow Fur took too long. The news of Shang Xia¡¯s possession of Swallow Fur quickly reached the ears of the higher ups of the Tongyou Institution and the Warehouse Division and Scripture Depository. They wanted him to hand it over to the Warehouse Division for the institution to carry out experiments with it. Naturally, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t willing to give out his items for free. Not to mention a ball of Swallow Fur that he would have great uses for in the future. As such, he gave them a firm rejection. He was the one who brought the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows to nest at the Tongyou Peak back then. His identity wasn¡¯t ordinary either. Regardless if they were men from the Warehouse Division or the Scripture Depository, they couldn¡¯t go overboard when treating Shang Xia. That was how the entire event blew over in the past. Also, by then, Ren Huan managed to obtain all 43 leaves from the tree and Shang Xia quickly asked, ¡°Brother Ren, do you know how to create rank four talisman paper?¡± Staring at Shang Xia in shock, Ren Huan paused for a second before he replied. ¡°I was planning to look for a job in the institution¡­ Only then would I be able to learn how to craft rank four talisman paper.¡± Only then did Shang Xia realize why Ren Huan was so willing to work with him. It was probably because Ren Huan understood who Shang Xia was after his introduction earlier and was planning to borrow Shang Xia¡¯s influence to successfully enter the Tongyou Institution. Thinking about Ren Huan¡¯s talent in creating talisman paper, Shang Xia felt that it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to assist the fatty to enter the institution. Not to mention the fact that Shang Xia also needed Ren Huan to create talisman paper for his own use! A smile appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he chuckled, ¡°Brother Ren, why didn¡¯t you say so? I¡¯m pretty familiar with the current head of the Scripture Depository and the Warehouse Division. With Brother Ren¡¯s talent, you will definitely be well-received by both of them!¡± ¡°I have to thank Brother Shang in advance then!¡± Ren Huan couldn¡¯t help but cheer. It seemed as though his goal of joining the institution wasn¡¯t too far from his reach now. ¡°Naturally¡­ With Brother Ren¡¯s talent, it would be a waste not to help you! After all, the institution won¡¯t turn talents like you away!¡± Shang Xia continued. All o a sudden, Ren Huan took out something from his sleeves and he took out a scroll before handing it over to Shang Xia. ¡°I managed to obtain this recipe for rank three talisman ink on my adventures in the past. Brother Shang, you look like you can really use it.¡± Raising an eyebrow in shock, Shang Xia pressed his lips together while saying, ¡°How¡­ How can I take this?¡± ¡°Brother Shang, please accept it. Unless you think that my gift is too lousy¡­¡± Ren Huan pouted. Helpless, Shang Xia could only accept the recipe. He maintained his neutral expression, but a burst of joy filled his heart. Seeing Shang Xia¡¯s reaction, Ren Huan heaved a sigh of relief. ¡­ Getting a recommendation to enter the institution was his goal from the start. Even though Shang Xia didn¡¯t bring up Deputy Patriarch Shang Bo throughout their conversation, having Shang Xia¡¯s promise was enough. If Shang Xia spoke up for him in the institution, many people would make the connection with Deputy Patriarch Shang Bo. Even if they had to take his expertise into account, the heads of the various divisions would definitely allow him to enter the institution. Liu Jitang was the previous head of the Warehouse Division. After he died in the Coral Forest, the Warehouse Division was temporarily commanded by Shang Lubing who was already the head of the Contribution Division. However, the position was eventually passed back to Liu Zhuyuan in order to solidify his foundations in the institution. When Ren Huan entered the institution with Shang Xia¡¯s recommendation, he would probably be taken in as a regular talisman paper craftsman. He wouldn¡¯t be regarded as a talisman master due to a very simple reason. He could only craft talisman papers! Even if Ren Huan was able to create rank four, and even rank five talisman paper, he would only be regarded as an ordinary craftsman! His authority would be raised in the institution when he could make higher-leveled talisman paper, but only slightly. The same could be said for Shang Quan! Shang Quan was considered an ink craftsman in the institution. Even if he could produce rank three ink in the future, his title wouldn¡¯t change! There might be people who called him an ¡®Ink Master¡¯, but that was merely a formality. To read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com. That might be the case for Shang Quan and Ren Huan, but things were extremely different for Shang Xia. As a rank three talisman master, he commanded a much higher level of prestige! The same principle applied to blacksmiths and chemists. If one was only able to refine the material and herbs, they would never be treated equally to blacksmiths and chemists! Taking Duan Hong as an example, he was only regarded as a material craftsman when he could carry out slight repairs on graded weapons. Only when he crafted a graded weapon himself was he considered a blacksmith! ¡­ Shang Xia could pretty much understand Ren Huan¡¯s desire to enter the institution. Other than obtaining a way to craft rank four talisman paper, it probably had something to do with Kou Chongxue¡¯s prestige. Everyone wanted to stand under the terrifyingly strong protection umbrella known as the Tongyou Institution! Ever since Kou Chongxue revealed his strength and went over to the Ji Continent to raise hell in the White Deer Paradise, the entire Azure Origin World was shaken! The members of the You Continent developed a strengthened sense of confidence in the Tongyou Institution. Ever since the incident, there had been a lot of people trying to gain a spot in the institution! The reason so many people were allowed to enter the battlefield between the two worlds with the experts of the Tongyou Institution was because they were using it as a test! It was both a test of strength and loyalty! When Ren Huan saw how Shang Xia¡¯s gaze had returned to the hazy space on the other side of the valley, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Brother Shang, are you planning to leave?¡± ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s nothing much left for us here. The next thing we have to do is to inform the institution about this location.¡± Shang Xia muttered after thinking for a short while. Signaling to the Lightning Bird who was still perched on his shoulder, Shang Xia bade him farewell before starting to take his leave with Ren Huan. The Lightning Bird turned into a streak of light that soared into the skies. Messy chirps came from the flock of birds and they looked like they were giving him a proper send off. As the two of them turned to leave, soft tinkling entered the ears. The sound was carried by the strong gale and it rang clearly in their minds. ¡°Huh?¡± The two of them couldn¡¯t help but stare at each other in shock before turning to look at where the sound came from. Ren Huan frowned. ¡°It sounds like it¡¯s coming from the other side?¡± The ancient tree was located under a cliff face that made up one side of the valley, The sound they heard seemed to come from the other cliff face. The same thought appeared in their minds at the same exact time. If the ancient tree could grow under one cliff face, was it possible for another precious treasure to grow under the other cliff face? Both of them were too distracted by the ancient tree and the presence of the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows to think of the other possibility. Neither of them went to take a look at the other cliff face ever since they arrived! As someone who was a lot more experienced with treasures as cultivators in the same realm, Shang Xia thought of a possibility and asked out loud, ¡°Listen to that? Could that actually be the Windchime Grass?¡± The fatty¡¯s voice rang in his ears right as he completed his sentence. ¡°Brother Shang, do you also think that it could be the Windchime Grass?¡± Raising his eyebrow slightly, Shang Xia wondered if the fatty was supported by some hidden power. It didn¡¯t make sense for him to know so much otherwise! Thinking about how the fatty wanted to enter the Tongyou Institution, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with his hidden identity. Since he wanted to enter the institution, his background would be dug out regardless. From Ren Huan¡¯s anxious tone earlier, Shang Xia also realized something. ¡°Brother Huan, do you need the Windchime Grass?¡± Glancing at Shang Xia from the corner of his eye, a trace of hesitation appeared on his face. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to hide anything, but the Windchime Grass is the main ingredient for my rank four advancement medicine¡­ Whatever the case, let¡¯s go check it out¡­¡± Shang Xia understood that unlike his cheat code of a system, the Azure Origin World would usually only record the main ingredient of the advancement medicine and several other auxiliary herbs. It wouldn¡¯t be as detailed as the information on his Crimson Soul Tablet. As for the preparation process, it would usually be kept secret by those Chemists who made it. Hearing that it was the main ingredient in Ren Huan¡¯s advancement medicine, Shang Xia frowned inwardly. However, he nodded and smiled in response. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll head over with you to take a look.¡± ¡°Many thanks, Brother Shang. Let¡¯s split it like how we¡¯re splitting the leaves. As long as there¡¯s more than a single stalk of Windchime Grass, we¡¯ll split it evenly. If the herb isn¡¯t mature yet, Brother Shang can report it to the institution.¡± Ren Huan chuckled. Shang Xia laughed too. ¡°I¡¯ll report that you were also part of this. It will definitely assist in your integration into the institution.¡± The two of them laughed heartily as they quickly approached the other cliff face. They planned to take a direct path through the rushing winds in the valley in order to reduce their travel time and as a cultivator who was on the verge of breaking through to the Martial Extermination Realm, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t worried about the wind. Ren Huan¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t too low either. He completed all three divine sense transformations and he was also not afraid of the strong winds. Unfortunately for them, they didn¡¯t notice that the Lightning Bird had also charged into the frighteningly strong winds. It was as though he was chasing something. The valley was more than a hundred feet wide and it didn¡¯t take long for them to pass through the column of wind again. When they finally broke through the stream-like gale that filled the valley, they noticed a cluster of faint-silver grass swaying in the wind. As they moved, the sound of windchimes rang clearly through the air. CH 400 ¡­ ¡°The battle should have ended the moment the Martial Dipper Realm Ji Wenlong appeared¡­¡± In the Beyond Heavens Pavilion, Ancestor Luo Baixu muttered while giving Kou Chongxue a strange stare. Chuckling in amusement, Kou Chongxue replied, ¡°Of course I know that there¡¯s no point in our little skirmish. Disciples from both sides are no longer fighting with one another. Those in the Martial Extermination Realm stopped a long time ago. I believe the two of you also managed to learn of the situation down there.¡± Luo Baixu looked at the short cultivator, Xu Bailing, and exchanged a gaze. Xu Bailing yelled in indignation soon after, ¡°Why didn¡¯t we not fight in the first place?!¡± Glancing at the shorty, Kou Chongxue raised an eyebrow like he was looking at a dumbass. He was even starting to wonder if Shorty Xu only managed to break through to the Martial Dipper Realm due to some sort of compensation the heavens were giving him for being stupid. Enraged by the way Kou Chongxue was looking at him, Xu Bailing leaped into the air and tried to charge forward. Luckily, Luo Baixu was prepared for it and dragged him back. In a low voice, Luo Baixu growled, ¡°Patriarch Kou, there¡¯s no need to beat about the bush. If you have something to say, just say it. You probably haven¡¯t given the order to stop in order to hide your true intentions, right? Why don¡¯t we just talk normally?¡± Kou Chongxue stared deeply at Luo Baixu and his expression became one of unprecedented seriousness. ¡°Alright. I¡¯m sure you discovered that broken continent there¡­¡± The moment the words left his lips, the ancestors of the Changbai Holy Land froze and their expressions changed. ¡°How do you¡­¡± Xu Bailing couldn¡¯t help but struggle free and he wanted to charge at Kou Chongxue. This time, Luo Baixu grabbed him firmly and increased the strength he used to hold his companion down. A look of realization dawned on Kou Chongxue¡¯s face when he looked at the two of them again. ¡°Bloody hell! You asshole! Were you messing with me?!¡± Xu Bailing roared when he realized that his reaction gave Kou Chongxue the answer he wanted and a smirk slowly appeared on Kou Chongxue¡¯s face. Xue Bailing wasn¡¯t the only one whose expression was ugly beyond comparison. Luo Baixu didn¡¯t look too friendly either. Silence descended between them, but Kou Chongxue seemed completely unruffled. After a short moment, Luo Baixu sighed. ¡°Looks like the news of you barging into the White Deer Paradise isn¡¯t made up. It¡¯s no wonder you managed to discover so many things so quickly!¡± Nodding, Kou Chongxue replied, ¡°Brother Luo, you¡¯re quick to understand what happened indeed. Even today, not many people believe that I managed to kill my way into the White Deer Paradise and it¡¯s just a rumor I made up. Haha. None of them will guess that I would be able to catch a glimpse of that broken continent above their holy land either.¡± Xu Bailing glared at Kou Chongxue but he managed to remain uncharacteristically quiet this time. Xu Bailing had always been rash, but he knew when to let Ancestor Luo do the talking when things got serious. After staying silent for a short while, Luo Baixu sighed, ¡°What do you plan to do?¡± Understanding that his goal was pretty much accomplished after what Luo Baixu said, Kou Chongxue chuckled softly. ¡°I heard that the Liao Continent was forcefully carved out from your Changbai Holy Land 20 years ago. Am I right?¡± It didn¡¯t seem to fit the topic he was driving at, but Luo Baixu and Xu Bailing quickly understood what he was talking about. ¡°Patriarch Kou seems extremely familiar with what happened back then¡­¡± Luo Baixu growled. ¡°Haha. Isn¡¯t that the case with you guys too?¡± Kou Chongxue sneered. Even though they knew that Kou Chongxue was trying to rile them up for fun, Xu Bailing couldn¡¯t help but snort angrily when he thought about the events that happened 20 years ago. Luo Baixu gave two chuckles before responding. ¡°Patriarch Kou, your words seem to be demeaning your status a little. Why don¡¯t you speak your mind?¡± ¡°Alright. We¡¯ll join hands and split the benefits from that place. How¡¯s that?¡± Kou Chongxue said a matter of factly. Unable to remain silent any longer, Xu Bailing snorted in contempt, ¡°Hmph, Kou Chongxue, you¡¯ve been the greatest enemy of my Azure Spiritual World in the past 20 years! Do you think we¡¯ll believe that you wish to work with us on this matter now? Haha! Go ask everyone else and see if anyone believes that you¡¯re serious about working with us.¡± This time, Luo Baixu remained quiet at the side as he allowed Xu Bailing to yell as he wished. With his gaze sweeping across the two of them, Kou Chongxue muttered, ¡°That was then. This is now. Times have changed.¡± Luo Baixu thought for a second before responding, ¡°So is your Tongyou Institution going to give up on the battlefield between the two worlds?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Kou Chongxue seemed to have heard the funniest joke in his life and he sniggered, ¡°The battlefield between the two worlds belongs to whoever is capable. What has that got to do with our cooperation?¡± Luo Baixu and Xu Bailing stared at each other and Luo Baixu eventually spoke up. ¡°Hehe. Patriarch Kou, I don¡¯t think anyone will believe that you¡¯re the one who said that. If not for the fact that we¡¯re standing right here, we won¡¯t believe it either.¡± His words seemed a little awkward, but everyone who was present knew what he was talking about. Nodding, Kou Chongxue understood that the two of them basically accepted his proposition with the way they were acting. He chose not to continue talking. However, Xu Bailing spoke up once again. ¡°Wait! If we manage to gain anything, how are we splitting it?¡± ¡°Other than what we obtain in the borders of our continents, everything else is free game.¡± Kou Chongxue explained. Xu Bailing continued, ¡°That doesn¡¯t answer my question,¡± ¡°If we work together to get it, we¡¯ll split it evenly. We keep whatever we get individually.¡± Kou Chongxue answered. Luo Baixu who had been silent for quite some time spoke all of a sudden, ¡°Deal!¡± Xu Bailing wasn¡¯t in any position to say anything else and he could only agree to the terms. In the space above the battlefield between the two worlds, the three Martial Dipper Realm experts came to an agreement and silence fell upon the space again. ¡­ In the border of the battlefield between the two worlds, under the other cliff face¡­ Shang Xia and Ren Huan noticed clusters of silvery grass swaying in the wind as they emitted soft chimes. ¡°It really is the Windchime Grass!¡± Ren Huan yelled. However, he wasn¡¯t the only person whose eyes lit up when he saw the grass. ¡°Congratulations, Brother Ren!¡± Shang Xia cupped his fists towards Ren Huan and revealed a trace of envy in his eyes. Regardless of the type of rank four advancement medicine, obtaining the main ingredient was always an accomplishment for its user! Ren Huan might not have reached the peak of the Martial Intent Realm, but he had already located the main ingredient for his advancement medicine. His preparation wouldn¡¯t be easy, but he lucked out on that day! Unlike Ren Huan who seemed to know what he was looking for, Shang Xia who was standing at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm had no idea what he was going for. His mind was basically all over the place. From the preparation of both parties, he was far too lacking when compared to Ren Huan. The longer he took to locate all his ingredients, the longer it would take for him to enter the Martial Extermination Realm. ¡°There might seem to be a bunch of Windchime Grass here, but only the one in the middle of each cluster can be considered the true Windchime Grass.¡± Ren Huan explained. The way he spoke became a lot more spry than before. He continued, ¡°Only one of them can be produced in each cluster. There are only two of them that matured out of so many clusters out there. I¡¯ll take one and Brother Shang, you can keep the other one well. In the future, you might be able to trade with others for something you need. We can only leave the four remaining stalks to the institution as they¡¯re nowhere near maturing.¡± When he was done, Ren Huan harvested both stalks of Windchime Grass before handing one over to Shang Xia. Perhaps it was because he was in an amazing mood after harvesting the herb, he went ahead and gave Shang Xia another nugget of information. ¡°Brother Shang, it¡¯s said that the Spirit of Wind will appear where Windchime Grass grows. Looking at how there are six clusters around, it¡¯s really likely for the spirit to be somewhere in the area. The person who spoke might not know the implications, but Shang Xia seemed to have thought of something. He was still confused about the Spirit of the Four Seasons recorded on the Crimson Soul Tablet, but after hearing what Ren Huan said about the ¡®Spirit of Wind¡¯, something clicked in his mind. ¡°Brother Ren, what is the Spirit of Wind?¡± ¡°The Spirit of Wind is the essence of wind itself. I haven¡¯t seen it myself as it¡¯s rumored to be something formless. It¡¯s said to only exist in windy locations but unlike an extermination origin, it¡¯s something that doesn¡¯t contain the source of wind.¡± Ren Huan explained. Shang Xia seemed slightly disappointed, but he still thanked Ren Huan for the explanation. At the same time, the evaluation he had for Ren Huan became higher. The fatty should possess some impressive inheritance or backing for him to know so much. After the two of them were chatting, a loud cry tore through the air and caught their attention. Raising their heads, they saw the Lightning Bird soaring through the skies as he made beautiful arcs through the howling winds. ¡°Hey! Brother Shang, doesn¡¯t the Lightning Bird look like he¡¯s chasing something?¡± Ren Huan asked curiously. Shang Xia also discovered that the Lightning Bird was flying a little weirdly and he seemed to be chasing some sort of prey. Releasing a loud cry, thin bolts of reddish-gold lightning surrounded the Lightning Bird¡¯s body and he accelerated at a frightening speed. He reached out his claws and grabbed before opening his wings to soar high into the air. ¡°He seems to have caught something!¡± Shang Xia was more aware of the Lightning Bird¡¯s situation than Ren Huan and he explained. ¡°Brother Ren, did you notice any changes in the wind? There seemed to be some sort of change before the Lightning Bird grabbed the object and soared into the skies¡­¡± Ren Huan raised both his eyebrows at Shang Xia. He was shocked that Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense was able to make sense of the situation even through the violent wind. At his level, he was unable to discover a thing, much less discover the change Shang Xia was talking about. Before he could say anything, a loud cry came from above. By the time both of them raised their heads, they saw the bird rushing down at a terrifying speed with something in his claws. Shang Xia grunted once and the Scarlet Star Spear appeared in his hands. It trembled slightly as he stabbed outwards. The tip of the spear miraculously avoided the bird before causing an explosion with a rampaging gust of wind behind him. As the flow of the wind was disrupted, it swept out in all directions. For the full version, visit pawread dot com. Shang Xia unleashed his sixth move earlier, the Flow Recompensation Spear to protect the Lightning Bird from the hidden threat that was following behind! Without anything threatening his life, the Lightning Bird became a lot more relaxed. However, he didn¡¯t perch on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulders this time. Instead, he started circling slowly in the air above. Chirps left his lips from time to time. Shang Xia noticed the anomaly as the Lightning Bird would extend his claws from time to time before retracting them quickly. He seemed to have caught something, but Shang Xia couldn¡¯t see shit! ¡°Did you catch something for me?¡± Shang Xia asked. The Lightning Bird chirped twice as it tried to indicate for Shang Xia to keep the item he caught properly. A light flashed in Ren Huan¡¯s eyes and he exclaimed, ¡°Spirit of Wind! The thing in the Lightning Bird¡¯s claws is formless but it seems to resemble the Spirit of Wind!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s heart trembled slightly and he asked quickly, ¡°How should I store it?¡± ¡°Brother Shang, do you have any sort of spiritual restraining pouch or spirit containing bottles?¡± Ren Huan replied without delay. CH 401 Shang Xia had a few spirit restriction cases and spirit holding cases. He even had a few spirit sealing talismans he made himself some time ago. However, those items didn¡¯t seem too appropriate to hold the Spirit of Wind in the Lightning Bird¡¯s claws. It would be for the best if he used a spiritual restraining pouch like Ren Huan said. Luckily for him, Shang Xia could be considered truly well-prepared this time he entered the battlefield between the two worlds. He brought two spirit restraining pouches and spirit sealing bottles each. Having to choose between them, Shang Xia felt that using the pouch was much more convenient than the bottle. With Ren Huan¡¯s suggestion, he brought out a spirit restraining pouch from his Embroidered Cloud Case and opened it the best he could. Releasing a clear cry, the Lightning Bird dove down while shoving the Spirit of Wind directly into the open bag. When he felt the bag getting heavy, Shang started to close it as the Lightning Bird pulled his claws out. The formless Spirit of Wind was firmly captured in the bag. Before keeping the pouch, Shang Xia stuck a spirit sealing talisman on it in order to play it safe. When he was done, he squeezed the bag lightly in order to look for the Spirit of Wind but all he felt was emptiness. It was as though nothing was contained in the pouch. Discover the complete story on pawread dot com. When Ren Huan saw Shang Xia¡¯s actions, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°That thing is truly formless. It¡¯s really hard to actually touch it.¡± Nodding slightly, Shang Xia tossed the pouch into his Embroidered Cloud Case. After obtaining the Windchime Grass and grabbing a Spirit of Wind on the way, Shang Xia was extremely content with his haul this time. Ren Huan was equally as satisfied to obtain the main ingredient of his advancement medicine and wide smiles could be seen on their faces. When they passed through the stream of howling wind and returned to the spot where the ancient tree was, Ren Huan didn¡¯t wait for Shang Xia to chase him away. He bade Shang Xia farewell before taking his leave. With Ren Huan gone, Shang Xia¡¯s attention turned to the hazy space on the other side of the valley. He could tell that world origin existed somewhere in that hazy space but he had no way of approaching it! He couldn¡¯t even fully make his way over to the screen of hazy space even if he wanted to! Sighing softly, Shang Xia continued his solo journey through the battlefield between the two worlds. Because the Martial Extermination Realm experts had stopped fighting, Shang Xia¡¯s tense emotions managed to relax to a huge extent. However, he didn¡¯t slow down as he made his way around. He was clear about what their ceasefire entailed. Now that they weren¡¯t fighting anymore, they definitely started searching the other regions of the battlefield between the two worlds for treasures that appeared after the Origin Tide. The moment a Martial Extermination Realm expert arrived, Shang Xia would be left with the dregs! As he continued to explore the battlefield between the two worlds, luck wasn¡¯t on his side. He didn¡¯t manage to get anything else. He might have obtained the Lightning Fire Jujube, Wind and Lightning Leaves, and Windchime Grass previously, but that was it. As for world origin that remained after the Origin Tide, he didn¡¯t catch a single glimpse of it. Rather than finding treasures, Shang Xia seemed to be running into trouble as he trekked on. He discovered the aura of rank four spiritual beasts thrice while making his way around. It was rather fortunate that his senses were much more acute than cultivators at the same level. Of course, he wasn¡¯t exactly afraid to confront those beasts if they appeared to attack him. After all, he had another rank four Lightning Fire Jujube on him. Naturally, it made sense for him to save the treasure if he could. He managed to take a detour before running into those beasts, allowing him to avoid a scary run-in. ¡­ When Shang Xia found a small creek and was washing up, he suddenly discovered the heaven and earth qi around him turning denser. With a frown on his face, Shang Xia followed the creek upstream and arrived before a cave opening. The Crimson Soul Tablet which had been unusually quiet the whole time finally trembled slightly and seemed to point to the depths of the cave. Could there be world origin in the cave?! Shang Xia perked up slightly and started to make his way in. Who would have thought that two flashes of cold light would shoot towards him the moment he raised his leg? That wasn¡¯t all. Another streak of light came charging at him head-on and in an instant, he was surrounded by three attacks. It was clearly a trap, but Shang Xia didn¡¯t know if the trap was specially made for him. Well, with the threat so close at hand, there was no point in thinking about either matter. The only emotion that was left in Shang Xia¡¯s mind was shock as they managed to avoid his detection and he only noticed them after they unleashed their attacks! With his life under threat, Shang Xia waved his hand and tossed out scarlet-colored jujube from his left hand while a flickering gold talisman shot out from his right sleeve. He retreated hastily and his Scarlet Star Spear appeared in his hand when he was an appropriate distance between himself and his attackers. Wielding his spear, bolts of lightning surrounded the weapon and they struck accurately at the frosty light that was coming his way. Shang Xia unleashed his second move, Lightning Stonefire! It was the move that focused on speed and it accurately countered the threats. Loud blasts echoed through the cave as Shang Xia nullified the sneak attack. Even though he was the last to act, he managed to react perfectly. The flashes of frosty light were shattered with his lightning and the exchange ended with no one coming out on top. The short delay bought Shang Xia some time and he quickly retreated in order to leave the radius of the trap laid down around the cave. The Lightning Fire Jujube and his Golden Spear Talisman weren¡¯t useless either. They detonated when he was making his way backward and stopped two figures who wanted to take the chance to close in even more. After using those treasures, the number of rank three Lightning Fire Jujubes Shang Xia had decreased to a measly 1 and the only rank three talisman he had was the Spiritual Yin Knife. Drawing a horizontal line in front of him, a wave of Origin True Qi emerged and forced everything that was advancing towards him back. Any follow-up attacks were stopped immediately. When everything was done, Shang Xia¡¯s attackers were revealed. Shang Xia¡¯s heart might be pounding in his chest, but the three of them weren¡¯t exactly relaxed either. Their expressions were extremely ugly. The three of them used talismans to hide their aura in order to lay down a trap. They thought that they would be able to kill the person approaching the cave in one smooth motion, but they seemed to have miscalculated. It didn¡¯t matter if their rare concealment talismans were used up if they killed their target. However, looking at the demon-like presence who managed to hold them off alone without suffering in the slightest, their eyelids started to jump violently. How the fuck did we run into a freak like that in such a deserted place?! That was the only thought that ran through their minds when they looked at Shang Xia. However, they weren¡¯t the only ones who were examining Shang Xia. Shang Xia was observing them and he quickly noticed the abnormality in the locations they were standing on. His pupils constructed slightly and he muttered, ¡°Sword Formation?¡± His words quickly caught the attention of the three of them. The leader among them eventually took a step forward and muttered in a low voice, ¡°I didn¡¯t think that we would run into you here¡­¡± ¡°Oh?¡± The corners of Shang Xia¡¯s lips curled upwards and he chuckled. ¡°Do you know me?¡± The three of them didn¡¯t reply, but their bodies became a lot more tense. They tightened their grip on their swords at the same time. Shang Xia didn¡¯t think too much of their actions. Instead, he continued to question. ¡°What¡¯s in the cave?¡± The expressions of the three turned ever more grave but they didn¡¯t give him an answer. Instead, they took several steps back and formed a stronger defense around the entrance. The smile on Shang Xia¡¯s face grew wider after seeing their actions. The more they wanted to protect the cave, the more precious the item within. ¡°Hehe. Since the three of you aren¡¯t willing to tell me, I¡¯ll take a look for myself.¡± The moment the words left his lips, the three of them acted as though they were about to face a calamity and they gathered even closer to each other. Despite their actions, they didn¡¯t take a single step away from the entrance. Naturally, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t go easy on them. The Scarlet Star Spear trembled in his hands as he released his seventh move, Celestial Disruption. From the way they were dressed, Shang Xia could tell that they were from the Changbai Holy Land. He could also tell that all three of them had completed their third divine sense transformation and even though they might not be a direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land, they weren¡¯t much weaker than one when they worked together. Even if they ran into a weaker Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Azure Origin World, they were confident of holding them off. Unfortunately, the person standing in front of them was Shang Xia. They learned that he was the monster who was responsible for the deaths of both Martial Extermination Realm experts who fell on their side and more than one direct disciple of the Changbai Holy Land had already died in his hands! They definitely feared the monster before them, but they didn¡¯t allow their fears to affect their fighting abilities. Working flawlessly together, sword lights filled the skies. The three of them seemed to create a sword screen that defended the entrance of the cave. Sword light fell from the skies incessantly. Of course, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t overconfident to the point where he thought that a single spear strike would be enough to take care of the three of them. His spear danced in the air as it struck the sword lights raining down on him before abruptly pointing to one of them. Even though the spear seemed to contain no energy and looked more like a feint than anything else, it was anything else but. The person Shang Xia pointed at felt his heart pounding in fear as his instincts told him that a calamity was about to befall him. However, he couldn¡¯t put his finger on where it was coming from! Fortunately for the three of them, the sword formation they were using allowed them to discover the threat against any one of them. The other two quickly noticed something wrong and tried to help him. Because they had worked together for a long time, they could somewhat tell what each other was feeling. When the feeling of danger finally arrived, the leader of the three felt his pupils shrinking as he slashed violently at the void beside him. He yelled loudly, ¡°Be careful!¡± Before the two could react, the power contained in the sword formation gathered around the leader¡¯s sword and it blasted violently against the space beside him. A strand of spear qi was revealed as it smashed ruthlessly against the leader¡¯s sword. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t too surprised that his Void Evasion Spear was blocked. After all, the three of them weren¡¯t weaklings. With his figure flickering slightly, he swung his spear effortlessly. After mastering all nine spear strikes, he was able to unleash them however he wished! The more he fought, the deeper his understanding of his Nine Providence Spear. As the three disciples of the Changbai Holy Land resisted desperately, they were stuck in a deadlock with Shang Xia at the entrance of the cave. Shang Xia finally realized what they were doing and he growled, ¡°Heh, you¡¯re actually playing for time¡­¡± ¡°Hehe, did you finally notice? It¡¯s too late now. We sent out a secret transmission to our elder a long time ago. He should already be on his way!¡± The leader among them chuckled happily. Waving his sleeves, Shang Xia tossed out his final Spiritual Yin Knife Talisman and the rank three Lightning Fire Jujube. Retrieving his rank four Lightning Fire Jujube, he tossed it out with a look of anger on his face. Feeling the terrifying aura around the rank four Lightning Fire Jujube, the three of them felt the blood draining from their faces. ¡°Retreat!¡± Their leader yelled and the three of them retreated in unison. Due to their movements, an opening was revealed. ¡°He won¡¯t be able to bring the thing inside away anyway! Now that our elder is on the way, he can¡¯t escape if he enters!¡± CH 402 Shang Xia could tell that the three of them standing before him were comparable to Junior Brother Qi who escaped after stealing some Lightning Fire Jujubes. To be exact, the leader of the three had cultivation similar to Junior Brother Qi and the other two were a notch weaker. However, the three of them were able to deploy a powerful sword formation as they worked together flawlessly. Even Shang Xia couldn¡¯t break their offensive in a short period of time. Moreover, the three of them were focusing on drawing the battle out anyway. They needed to hold Shang Xia down until their elder arrived and they didn¡¯t make any risky moves that would allow Shang Xia to take advantage of any gaps in their cooperation. Neither side could defeat the other in a short period of time. Luckily, Shang Xia noticed their intentions early into the battle. The three of them made their intention too obvious and since he uncovered their plan, he wasn¡¯t going to wait for their Martial Extermination Realm elder to arrive as he wore himself down fighting the three of them. Retreating wasn¡¯t an option either. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t willing to run away without seeing the contents of the cave. After all, the Crimson Soul Tablet¡¯s reaction told him that there would definitely be precious treasures contained within. Since that was the case, Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate to reveal his precious treasures in exchange for a chance to enter the cave. Naturally, it was a ruse to force them away as he didn¡¯t plan on activating any of his treasures. It didn¡¯t make sense to waste such a huge amount of resources on the three of them. As such, Shang Xia pretended to release his treasures with the intention of killing them. His bluff worked as the three of them escaped the instant he tossed them out. However, the situation didn¡¯t change too much. Their elder was still rushing over and the three of them could guard the entrance of the cave. They weren¡¯t afraid that Shang Xia would be able to pull any miracle out of thin air. Moreover, the item contained in the cave wasn¡¯t something he could bring away in a short amount of time¡­ They couldn¡¯t be more glad that Shang Xia had entered the cave instead of running away. He would be boxed in the moment their elder arrived. As Shang Xia entered the cave, the three of them didn¡¯t forget to regroup and redeploy their sword formation. As Shang Xia was rushing in, he couldn¡¯t exploit their weakness in time and could only allow them to do as they wished. After gathering together, the three of them didn¡¯t attempt to approach Shang Xia. Seeing as they weren¡¯t going to do anything, Shang Xia boldly entered the cave before him. As soon as he entered, the three of them left and decided to leave everything to the Martial Extermination Realm elder after he arrived. He moved extremely quickly as he ran deeper into the cave. He might not know if they were lying when they said that they had called an elder over, but he wouldn¡¯t dare to call their bluff. He could only treat it as though his time was limited. With the Crimson Soul Tablet trembling slightly, Shang Xia knew that it was possible for there to be world origin contained in the cave. If he could also uncover whatever treasure those disciples of the Changbai Holy Land were so concerned about, he would have struck gold. The initial portion of the cave was pretty narrow and it slowly expanded as he got deeper. After traveling tens of feet in, he discovered that he had entered a large cavern. Even though the cavern had some sort of aesthetic lull to it, Shang Xia had no time to admire the view as he probed the reaction of the Crimson Soul Tablet again. Feeling the trembling grow a little stronger, Shang Xia knew that he was moving in the correct direction. However, he quickly realized that the amount of world origin contained in the cave was far from comparable to the amount he obtained in the marsh. He took many turns and followed different roads along many forked paths in the cave and finally entered a pretty desolate cavern in the depths of the cave. When he arrived, he could tell that the cavern was formed naturally countless years ago. He could feel that it used to contain dense heaven and earth qi. However, the heaven and earth qi that used to fill the cavern seemed to be slightly dissipated and there were signs of excavation on one of the walls. Weird light could be seen on the unnatural surface too. Understanding that he had located whatever the Crimson Soul Tablet was reacting to, he also knew that the members of the Changbai Holy Land were a step ahead of him. Stepping into an uneven crevice, Shang Xia quickly discovered the faint traces of world origin contained in the cavern. With a single thought, the world origin started to move in his direction. This time, it was slightly different from the time in the marsh. It might be because the world origin was a little too lacking in quantity, the Crimson Soul Tablet was in no rush to absorb it. Ordinarily, cultivators wouldn¡¯t be able to locate world origin so easily. If not for the Crimson Soul Tablet that acted like a GPS finder, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t be able to run accurately through the cave either. Even though the speed of absorption was slow, it was relative to the speed at which the Crimson Soul Tablet absorbed world origin in the marsh. It didn¡¯t take long for him to complete the absorption. Throughout the process, Shang Xia had been observing the wall of the cavern where the disciples of the Changbai Holy Land had been excavating. The three of them didn¡¯t seem to have noticed the remnants of the world origin. Instead, they seemed to be looking for some sort of treasure in the cavern. It was probably because of the dense heaven and earth qi in there. From the strange light that was peeking out from the unnatural cave face, Shang Xia could tell that it came from something extraordinary. It seemed as though the wall was hiding some sort of treasure. That was indeed the case. The rocks that were supposed to exist behind the wall seemed to have experienced some sort of transformation. The rocks seemed to emit a milky glow that was obstructed by random debris. ¡°Huh?¡± The strange light that originated from the milky glow couldn¡¯t escape Shang Xia¡¯s eye. When he extended his divine sense to inspect it, he could feel a familiar feeling. Waving his hand to push away the small rocks that had fallen, a round piece of jade that was the size of a pigeon¡¯s egg fell out and rolled to his feet. ¡°This¡­ This is essence jade!¡± Shang Xia inspected the item between his fingers and he felt the pure heaven and earth qi contained within. From the looks of it, the cavern might be the start of an essence jade mine! Even though essence jade was created naturally in the world, no one truly knew how it was done. No one would have expected for heaven and earth qi to be so concentrated in the cavern deep in the cave. After an extremely long period of time, the heaven and earth qi seeped into the rocks around which resulted in the density of it decreasing. However, that seemed to have led to the formation of essence jade in the walls of the cavern! Essence jade themselves might not seem to be extremely precious treasures, but they were pretty rarely seen. It was used in a variety of applications too. They might be used in rank two or rank three advancement medicines, or they might also be used to craft graded weapons. Formations might use essence jade as their base and there were many other applications. That resulted in the worth of essence jade being pretty high. Casually playing with the essence jade in his hand, Shang Xia clearly knew the worth of an essence jade mine. From the looks of the wall around, the rocks were starting to transform and the cavern could be turned into a mine at any time. ¡°Looks like this cavern can actually turn into an essence jade mine¡­ I have to report this to the institution immediately! However, reclaiming it back from the Changbai Holy Land might be a little challenging¡­¡± Shang Xia muttered softly. Obtaining the world origin contained in the cavern and obtaining a piece of essence jade along the way, Shang Xia was content with his gains this time round. He knew that staying in the area wasn¡¯t the smartest choice and he hid his aura to run out of the cave. Not too long after he left, a ray of light tore through the skies and a Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Changbai Holy Land appeared at the entrance of the cave. Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. ¡­ When the elder arrived, Shang Xia had already entered a dense forest twenty miles away. He was hiding his aura as he observed the changes to the Crimson Soul Tablet. Because of the presence of the essence jade mine, Shang Xia chose to name the cave he had just been in as the ¡®Essence Jade Cave¡¯. The amount of world origin he obtained earlier was just a tiny sliver, but the three disciples of the Changbai Holy Land didn¡¯t notice it even though they had excavated the area around it. After all, they didn¡¯t possess the Crimson Soul Tablet to point it out. Using the world origin in the cave to repair the cracks on the Crimson Soul Tablet, Shang Xia discovered that it barely managed to seal off a tiny part of the crack. He finally realized how much danger he was in. Three faces of the Crimson Soul Tablet had cracked and the fourth face was barely holding on. It was as though the tablet would shatter at any time. The moment it did, Shang Xia¡¯s soul would go along with it. That was why Shang Xia had been looking for world origin so urgently. No matter how little he could obtain, he hoped that it could help restore his Crimson Soul Tablet even slightly. After his adventure this time and his discovery of the essence jade mine, he managed to seal a quarter of the crack on the fourth face of the tablet. He also realized that the amount of world origin required when deducting and completing the formula of his advancement formula was extremely disproportionate when compared with the amount of world origin required to restore it! It required a lot more world essence to repair the broken Crimson Soul Tablet and that worried Shang Xia greatly. From the experience of completing his rank four advancement formula, he felt that he needed to restore the tablet such that there would be two uncracked faces before he even attempted to break through to the Martial Dipper Realm! It seemed as though his task of locating world origin to repair his Crimson Soul Tablet was far from over. Releasing a long sigh, Shang Xia retrieved a specially crafted secret transmission talisman from his Embroidered Cloud Case. It was an item the institution handed out in case anyone needed to call for help. However, the institution didn¡¯t give them out to anyone who wanted one. Only disciples who had recently graduated from the institution or those who were currently enrolled were provided with one! Even though Shang Xia ran into Sima Zhanxing and Huang Yunxiang in the past, he didn¡¯t use the talisman. That wasn¡¯t because he was confident in his abilities to fight the two of them. By the time he ran into them, he was in no state to use the transmission talisman. He couldn¡¯t afford to shift his focus for even a fraction of a second when up against Martial Extermination Realm experts. Of course, everything worked out in the end because Shang Xia had enough trump cards to keep him alive. When he discovered the Windchime Grass and the ancient tree, Shang Xia didn¡¯t choose to inform the institution with the talisman. After all, Ren Huan was the only other person who discovered the location with him and the fatty was on their side. The Lightning Bird had also made his new nest there and Shang Xia was in no rush to make the report. The situation with the Essence Jade Cave was different. The members of the Changbai Holy Land had already discovered it but they hadn¡¯t set up too many defenses around the area. It was the best time for the institution to take over the region. Sending some inner qi into the talisman, Shang Xia made a simple introduction of the cave and its location. However, he thought about it for a second and decided to give the institution the location of the Lightning Bird¡¯s nest and the treasures around it while he was at it. Since he was telling them most of the important things he learned throughout his journey, Shang Xia threw in some knowledge of the marsh where he met the Poison Miasma Frog. Of course, he left out everything about him obtaining world origin. When he was done, he released the talisman and it turned into a streak of light that tore through the skies. Heaving a sigh of relief, Shang Xia knew that he did all he could. Taking a short rest, he was contemplating between going out to search for more world origin and returning to the institution¡¯s territory when he was distracted by a ray of light coming from another direction. CH 403 Actually, Shang Xia had two secret transmission talismans on him. One came from the institution but the report sent by Shang Xia would be sent directly to his Grandpa Bo. The other came from the Shang Clan and every member of the clan was given one. Unlike the talisman provided by the institution that covered the entirety of the battlefield between the two worlds, the talisman the Shang Clan handed out would fly towards the closest cultivator who had a similar transmission talisman. Not too long after Shang Xia sent out his report, a transmission was sent his way! With a look of confusion on his face, Shang Xia wondered if his Grandpa Bo was in the area. After all, if that was a reply, it came a little too quickly! In all of Shang Xia¡¯s memory, the institution - or his Grandpa Bo - never acted with such efficiency! With doubt filling his heart, Shang Xia circulated his inner qi to pull the transmission in the air down towards him. When he finally held it, he realized that it wasn¡¯t a reply to his report earlier. Instead, it was a transmission talisman sent by someone from the Shang Clan! Shattering the restriction around it, he heard his Grandpa Ke¡¯s voice clearly in his mind. ¡°There¡¯s a rank four Mutated Monkey in the Redwood Forest brewing some wine. Any member of the Shang Clan who receives this is to head over to provide assistance.¡± Hearing what Shang Ke said, Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief. At least it wasn¡¯t someone who ran into trouble and needed bailing out. However, Shang Ke seemed really serious about the Mutated Monkey King¡¯s actions. From the way he behaved, it was almost certain that the wine was a rank four brew. Even if the brew wasn¡¯t successful, the dregs would probably be of the fourth rank too. One had to know that Shang Xia needed the Crimson Crystal Valley Brew as an assistive ingredient when creating his rank four advancement medicine. It was a rank four brew and even if whatever he obtained from the Mutated Monkey King wasn¡¯t what he needed, it was possible to trade for it in the future. Several thoughts flashed across Shang Xia¡¯s mind in an instant, but he didn¡¯t hesitate. He quickly ran in the direction of the transmission talisman. Naturally, the Shang Clan¡¯s transmission talisman didn¡¯t possess unlimited transmission distance. Ordinarily, the talismans would be able to travel close to a hundred miles at its max. As such, it didn¡¯t take long for the Redwood Forest to appear in his sights. Crossing a hill, he saw a figure rushing towards the forest from not too far away. ¡°Did someone else receive Grandpa Ke¡¯s summons?¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself. Less than ten members of the Shang Clan entered the battlefield between the two worlds and it was extremely unlikely for them to be within a hundred-mile radius of the Redwood Forest like Shang Xia. The Shang Clan Patriarch probably wouldn¡¯t send out two transmission talismans at once. After all, he couldn¡¯t be sure that there was more than one member of the Shang Clan nearby, or any for that matter. He was merely trying his luck. Looking at the figure who was darting into the forest, Shang Xia felt that Shang Ke wasn¡¯t the only one who discovered the Mutated Monkey King and his tribe. Unfortunately, those who were running into the forest probably came after receiving a signal from another party. One had to know that Shang Ke was a Martial Extermination Realm expert. For someone to be confident enough to call for backup would mean that the other party was confident of competing with Shang Ke. At the moment, there was likely more than a single Martial Extermination Realm expert in the Redwood Forest. The feeling of excitement Shang Xia had when he ran over started to die down. Calming himself down slightly, Shang Xia hid his aura by circulating his Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter. Using the vegetation and boulders lying around, he hid his tracks while making his way deeper into the Redwood Forest. ¡­ If forcing their way back into the battlefield between the two worlds required the cooperation of the higher-ups of the Tongyou Institution and experts in the Tongyou City, obtaining victory and securing a foothold in the battlefield between the two worlds signaled the end of the cooperation. What came next was each individual faction¡¯s hunt for benefits. When the war ended, Shang Ke successfully located the Redwood Forest and located a tribe of Mutated Monkeys. Due to their strong bond, Shang Xia knew that it wasn¡¯t really possible to deal with them alone. The Mutated Monkey Tribe was somewhat similar to humans. There was also the presence of a rank four Mutated Monkey King. While observing the tribe, Shang Ke felt that something was off as the Mutated Monkey King was directing the rest of the tribe to gather some fruits and flowers. From the looks of it, they were dumping all the ingredients into a hollowed tree trunk. The legend of monkeys brewing wine flashed across Shang Ke¡¯s mind and he couldn¡¯t help but send out a transmission talisman to call for backup. After sending out the transmission talisman, Shang Ke started to worry that he wouldn¡¯t be able to locate any Shang Clan members nearby. If that was truly the case, the talisman wouldn¡¯t be able to detect anything similar in a hundred-mile radius and would fly around above him like a headless fly before self-destructing. Now that it shot out successfully by turning into a streak of light that shot into the skies, Shang Ke heaved a sigh of relief. That was a sign that there was a member of the Shang Clan nearby. The next thing Shang Ke had to do was to hide himself well. He observed the situation in the dark and tried to look for hollowed-out tree trunks the monkeys were brewing the wine in. From how the tribe was acting, there seemed to be more than a single spot where they were brewing the wine. If he managed to locate other tree trunks where they had already completed the brew, he would have struck the jackpot! He eventually managed to find two of them but he noticed another streak of light shooting out of the Redwood Forest while he was at it. That could only mean that there was another expert in the Redwood Forest! With his heart sinking slightly, the aura around Shang Ke trembled slightly despite his best efforts to suppress it. At the same time, he started to look for signs of other experts who were going to enter the forest because of the newly released transmission talisman. At the same time, he rejoiced silently that he was the first to send out his transmission talisman. Otherwise, the other party would have discovered him like how he spotted them. While paying attention to the surroundings to look for the other party who was also in the Redwood Forest, Shang Ke prayed silently that the person who received his summons would come a little later to catch whichever party it was who sent out the second transmission talisman off guard. His prayers seemed to have worked. He could feel the aura of a Martial Intent Realm expert rushing into the Redwood Forest and he heaved a sigh of relief. Examining the newcomer with his divine sense, Shang Ke could tell that it wasn¡¯t a member of his Shang Clan. The Martial Intent Realm cultivator ran straight into the forest and his voice rang through the air. ¡°Elder Qi, this disciple received your summons and has arrived! Please allow me to greet you in person.¡± Shang Ke¡¯s heart trembled slightly and he thought to himself. ¡°Elder Qi? Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s Qi Yunxiu from the Changbai Holy Land¡­ Wasn''t that the asshole who brought the Changbai Holy Land¡¯s divine weapon into the battlefield between the two worlds and caught the attention of Ji Wenlong?¡± Since the battle had ended, the experts of their respective worlds started to exchange information with those in their faction and the identities of their opponents had basically been revealed. No matter how loud the disciple called out, he received no response which caused Shang Ke to be slightly taken aback. There could only be one reason for Elder Qi to not respond. His tracks might have already been discovered! The moment the thought crossed his mind, Shang Ke extended his divine sense to inspect the area closest to him but failed to discover anyone. When he tried to locate the Martial Intent Realm cultivator of the Changbai Holy Land again, he discovered that the disciple had already retracted his aura. Unfortunately, he was unable to hide his presence from a Martial Extermination Realm expert. After not getting a response from ¡®Elder Qi¡¯, the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land also discovered that something was off. He quickly hid his aura in case he ran into any trouble. Too bad for him, he couldn¡¯t hide from Shang Ke regardless. Despite still being able to find the Martial Intent Realm disciple, Shang Ke started to turn serious. If his presence wasn¡¯t discovered, why would Elder Qi not respond to the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land? Shang Ke couldn¡¯t find any traces of Qi Yunxiu either. It didn¡¯t make sense for the elder to leave after he discovered the actions of the Mutated Monkey Tribe. There could only be one more possibility. The disciple who came wasn¡¯t summoned by the transmission talisman Shang Ke saw! If that were the case, that would mean that there was another Martial Extermination Realm cultivator in the Redwood Forest! The Qi Yunxiu Shang Ke had been thinking about probably came even earlier than him! Search "pawread dot com" for the original. That would mean that Qi Yunxiu had summoned the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land before Shang Ke, and someone else sent out a transmission talisman after Shang Ke. Qi Yunxiu probably noticed both attempts and he chose to hide his tracks from the two of them! That would also mean that Qi Yunxiu knew that there were two Martial Extermination Realm experts in the Redwood Forest other than himself. Well, that didn¡¯t mean Shang Ke was stupid either. Now that the situation had played out, he also guessed that there were two other Martial Extermination Realm experts in the Redwood Forest. The only person who was kept in the dark was probably the last person who sent the transmission talisman. The last person might have learned that Qi Yunxiu was hiding somewhere in the forest, but he had no idea Shang Ke was also present. Carefully evaluating the situation, Shang Ke realized that even though he was the second to arrive, he held an advantageous position. The only question was how long he could hold that advantage. The moment a member of the Shang Clan arrives, Shang Ke¡¯s identity would be revealed if the person behaved like the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land! Shang Ke could only hope that the Shang Clan member who received his summons wouldn¡¯t rush over recklessly. Or at the very least, he hoped that the Shang Clan member wouldn¡¯t run into either Martial Extermination Realm expert on his way over. Other than his worries, he was starting to become concerned about the identity of the third Martial Extermination Realm expert. If the third expert was from the Azure Origin World, that would be for the best. After all, they would definitely be on the side of the institution. They would either be someone from the other three great clans or a newly ascended Martial Extermination Realm expert like Zhao Hengchun. If the third expert was a member of the four great races of the Liao Continent, things might get ugly. As for whether the third person could be another elder of the Changbai Holy Land, Shang Ke didn¡¯t even think of the possibility. After all, he would have revealed himself the moment the disciple came over calling for Elder Qi. Just as Shang Ke¡¯s head was starting to hurt as he thought about the possible identities of the third Martial Extermination Realm expert, a familiar voice entered his ears. ¡°Fifth Grandpa!¡± CH 404 ¡°Fifth Grandpa!¡± Shang Ke nearly jumped in fright when he heard the familiar voice. ¡°There¡¯s no need to get too excited! It¡¯s me, Shang Xia!¡± Shang Xia expected his Grandpa Ke¡¯s reaction when he spoke. As such, he quickly followed up with another voice transmission. Shang Ke also started to calm down as he realized that he wasn¡¯t hallucinating. He couldn¡¯t help but realize his mistake after thinking about his actions when he heard Shang Xia¡¯s voice earlier. If he made any unnecessary movements or lost control of his emotions, he would probably be discovered by the two other Martial Extermination Realm experts. Heaving a sigh of relief, he suddenly realized something else. Earlier, he was afraid that the members of his Shang Clan would be discovered when they arrived. Now, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry any longer. Shang Xia had arrived, and even he couldn¡¯t locate the kid! Their advantage over the other two parties became even larger! He couldn¡¯t help but rejoice silently. Luckily for him, the person who came was Shang Xia. With the kid¡¯s ability to hide himself from Martial Extermination Realm experts, Shang Xia was already a step ahead of cultivators in the same realm. Moreover, Shang Ke felt that he was pretty familiar with the kid¡¯s strength. He would be a huge asset in the upcoming battle. However, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder about Shang Xia¡¯s concealment art. He was truly curious about how Shang Xia did it. It didn¡¯t take long for Shang Xia¡¯s voice to ring in Shang Ke¡¯s mind again. ¡°Grandpa Ke, what¡¯s our plan?¡± Shang Ke tried to locate the source of the voice transmission and his gaze eventually landed on a thick Redwood Tree nearly twenty feet behind him. ¡°We can¡¯t make any rash moves. There are three Martial Extermination Realm experts in the forest at the moment. Other than me, there¡¯s Qi Yunxiu from the Changbai Holy Land and someone I suspect is from the four great races of the Liao Continent. All of us called for backup and you¡¯re the second to arrive. The first to come was a disciple of the Changbai Holy Land. The third disciple isn¡¯t here yet and we¡¯ll act after they make their move.¡± Shang Ke explained and sent a voice transmission towards Shang Xia who purposefully revealed his location to Shang Ke. After a short pause, Shang Xia¡¯s voice came again. ¡°Grandpa Ke, I¡¯ll go look for the other two Martial Extermination Realm experts. I¡¯ll let you know when I find them.¡± Shang Ke was about to say something else but he quickly swallowed his words. After all, he wasn¡¯t able to discover Shang Xia when he entered the Redwood Forest previously. Thinking about it for a second, he left Shang Xia with a warning before allowing him to do as he wished. ¡°Be careful. If you run into any trouble, yell and I¡¯ll rush over as quickly as I can.¡± ¡°Grandpa Ke, relax. I know what to do. They won¡¯t be able to do anything to me anyway.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s voice rang in Shang Ke¡¯s mind. Even so, Shang Ke couldn¡¯t help but leave another reminder. ¡°You cannot be careless!¡± By the time he completed his sentence, he discovered that Shang Xia¡¯s aura had disappeared again. He lost track of the kid. It didn¡¯t take long before Shang Ke felt the presence of another Martial Intent Realm cultivator approaching the forest. Shang Ke quickly recalled that the location where the cultivator was headed to was where he noticed the transmission talisman being used. Holding his breath, he paid a little more attention to the newcomer while pushing his senses to the maximum in hopes of discovering any changes in the Redwood Forest. Indeed. The moment the Martial Intent Realm disciple entered the forest, he yelled impatiently, ¡°Uncle Qingyun, I¡¯m here! Where are you?!¡± Shang Ke¡¯s heart trembled slightly. His fears were realized as he recognized the name. The disciple was calling out to Lang Qingyun, a member of the four great races of the Liao Continent. Lang Qingyun was Lang Jingyun¡¯s brother, and he hastily broke through after the war that decimated the Four Spiritual Peak. Due to his forced improvement, he was only at the first layer of the Martial Extermination Realm, and in the war that just passed, he fought with Yun Yichen on the side of the Tongyou Institution. Yun Yichen was also an expert who just broke through and the two of them were unable to gain the upper hand over the other. After the war ended, the experts on both sides shared information about their opponents and that was how they learned about the relative strength of their enemies. At that moment, Shang Ke and Shang Xia learned the identities of the other two Martial Extermination Realm experts hiding in the Redwood Forest. However, the disciple of the Lang Race acted the same way as the disciple from the Changbai Holy Land. When he didn¡¯t receive a reply from Lang Qingyun, he became alert and started to hide his aura. When he was done, he started to change his position. It was too bad he didn¡¯t know that his tracks were as clear as day in front of the other Martial Extermination Realm experts and Shang Xia. His careful actions were seen right through as he hid himself to observe his surroundings. A dull whistling filled the air and the disciple of the Lang Race discovered a red shadow that was the size of a chicken egg flying at him. When he finally sensed the danger, he swung a spade-like weapon at the red shadow. ¡°Not good!¡± Lang Qingyun¡¯s voice rang through the air, but it was too late. When his weapon slammed into the red shadow, a huge sea of lightning and flames emerged, swallowing the disciple¡¯s arm completely. ¡°Ah!¡± Retracting his arm as quickly as possible, he released his weapon and it clattered to the ground. At the same time, his arm was charred black. Luckily, the thing that flew at him was a rank two Lightning Fire Jujube. With his quick reactions, he sealed off the fiery poison that wanted to seep into his body in order to stabilize his condition immediately. As long as he took some time to recover, his arm should be as good as new. Lang Qingyun, who had been hiding somewhere nearby, flew into a fit of rage as he roared, ¡°Qi Yunxiu, your Changbai Holy Land went too far!¡± A ray of extermination origin shot into the skies and turned into a phantom of a giant wolf before it charged in the direction where the Lightning Fire Jujube came from. Lang Qingyun, the last of the three to arrive, only knew that Qi Yunxiu was present due to the arrival of the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land. Because of Shang Xia¡¯s ungodly ability to hide himself and his tracks, Lang Qingyun didn¡¯t know that there was another Martial Extermination Realm expert present. At the moment, Lang Qingyun¡¯s divine sense was also locked onto the Martial Intent Realm disciple of the Changbai Holy Land. However, he leaped in the direction where the Lightning Fire Jujube came from since it was most likely where Qi Yunxiu would be. The moment he moved, he unknowingly fell into Shang Xia¡¯s trap. ¡­ After informing Shang Ke of his presence, Shang Xia started to move around the area however he liked. He started looking for the location of the other two Martial Extermination Realm experts while hidden and when the disciple of the Lang Race arrived, Shang Xia managed to locate Qi Yunxiu. The distance separating himself and the Martial Extermination Realm elder of the Changbai Holy Land wasn¡¯t too far away and he decisively tossed a rank two Lightning Fire Jujube at the member of the Lang Race. The moment he threw it out, he ran for cover, away from Qi Yunxiu. The moment the Lightning Fire Jujube exploded, Lang Qingyun exploded with fury and took action. Since Lang Qingyun¡¯s phantom wolf was unable to ascertain Shang Xia¡¯s location and Qi Yunxiu was in range of the attack, it was enough to shock the old expert. Qi Yunxiu was no fool. From the time the Lightning Fire Jujube appeared, he knew that someone was messing with them. However, the next thing he knew, Lang Qingyun¡¯s figure approached where he was hiding. As Shang Xia¡¯s location wasn¡¯t too near his position earlier, Lang Qingyun didn¡¯t see him immediately. He knew that as long as he made a move at that moment, he could easily heavily injure Lang Qingyun. When that happened, there would be one less person to fight with him for the treasure! Due to the war that just passed, the Changbai Holy Land and the four great races of the Liao Continent seemed to have reached some sort of disagreement. No one would blame him if he injured Lang Qingyun at the moment. Moreover, Lang Qingyun was yelling for him to die earlier when he unleashed the attack and didn¡¯t bother hiding his killing intent. ¡°If I slightly injure him, he will have to leave the forest. Well, as long as I don¡¯t kill him, no one will be able to say a word. Hmph. He started it by trying to fight me for the treasure anyway!¡± Quickly justifying his action, Qi Yunxiu released his extermination origin. He slapped a whisk in the air as silver whiskers swiped at Lang Qingyun¡¯s back. Theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ]. Luckily, the whisk he was using this time was his own. It wasn¡¯t the divine weapon that caused Ji Wenlong to risk breaking the fabric of space to enter the battlefield between the two worlds. Well, even if it wasn¡¯t the divine weapon, the sudden appearance of his weapon caught Lang Qingyun off guard. More than a third of his energy contained in the phantom wolf he summoned was destroyed in an instant. Even though it didn¡¯t cause him severe injuries, it greatly wasted his inner qi. His battle capabilities decreased by close to 40 percent and there was no way he could fight other cultivators at the same level anymore.¡± ¡°Lang Qingyun, there¡¯s still a third person in the area. You better be careful of traps!¡± Qi Yunxiu gave Lang Qingyun a warning eventually but he held back in his actions. In order to prevent himself from humiliating Lang Qingyun completely, he provided a reason to shift the man¡¯s focus. Without Qi Yunxiu explaining further, Lang Qingyun also realized that something was off after seeing Qi Yunxiu popping out from behind him. He was afraid that he had already fallen into a trap. Of course, being schemed against by someone else was one matter, being injured by Qi Yunxiu was another. Lang Qingyun raged silently about how Qi Yunxiu sneak attacked him earlier but due to his injury, he wasn¡¯t in any position to anger the elder from the Changbai Holy Land. Whether he liked it or not, he had to swallow his anger at the moment. With Qi Yunxiu¡¯s warning, it seemed flushing out the third expert was what they had to do. Despite Qi Yunxiu¡¯s sneak attack, the hidden expert was the true perpetrator behind the entire matter. If he needed an avenue to vent his frustrations, it would be better to do it on the sneaky bastard. Shang Xia was no fool. He wouldn''t let them work things out before taking action. When the two of them were still speaking to each other, another Lightning Fire Jujube the size of a chicken egg flew towards them. This time, there were golden lines all over the fruit. It wasn¡¯t a rank two Lightning Fire Jujube like before. This time, Shang Xia lobbed a rank four Lightning Fire Jujube over! At the end of the day, Qi Yunxiu and Lang Qingyun were experienced cultivators. They felt the threat coming from the fruit and their faces changed instantly. Unfortunately for them, the Lightning Fire Jujube came at a bad time. The two of them were too close to dodge. With a heaven-shaking explosion, they were swallowed by a sea of fire and lightning. The trees in the surroundings that had stood tall for hundreds of years turned into ash instantly. Qi Yunxiu and Lang Qingyun released a miserable cry each before fighting their way out of the sea of lightning and fire. Ripples appeared around Qi Yunxiu¡¯s body as he forcefully cut out a path to make his escape. On the other hand, Lang Qingyun clearly didn''t possess the same abilities. With the injuries he suffered earlier inhibiting his fighting abilities, he could only use his extermination origin to push the lightning and fire away. When the two of them left the sea of lightning and fire, they were in an extremely disheveled state. But before they could do anything, an explosion rang like a thunderclap beside their ears. Countless rays of spear light fell from all directions on their weary body. CH 405 The power contained in the explosion of a rank four Lightning Fire Jujube was comparable to an attack from a Martial Extermination Realm expert. Qi Yunxiu and Lang Qingyun fell into Shang Xia¡¯s plot and what resulted was them being swallowed by a sea of lightning and fire. As an elder of the Changbai Holy Land, Qi Yunxiu naturally had ways to protect himself. However, Lang Qingyun wasn¡¯t so lucky. He was injured earlier and the sea of lightning and fire only served to weaken him even further. When they finally emerged from Shang Xia¡¯s dirty sneak attack, they were immediately besieged by the Martial Extermination Realm Shang Ke! One had to admit that the grandpa-grandson duo worked really well together. Even if Shang Ke didn¡¯t expect the kid to plot against the two of them at the same time, he leaped into action at the critical moment! Ordinarily, only Martial Extermination Realm experts would be able to deal with someone of the same level. Shang Ke had entered the Martial Extermination Realm for more than a year now and his control over his extermination origin was much better than before. Countless spear lights shot through the forest as it flew straight at the two of them. Even though the attack looked like it was aimed at both of them, Shang Ke¡¯s real target was actually the heavily injured Lang Qingyun! The spear lights approaching Qi Yunxiu didn¡¯t contain much energy and they were merely there to serve as a distraction. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t think of dealing with both experts at once. However, both he and Shang Xia could keep their cool and think about the situation from a proper perspective. Killing any single Martial Extermination Realm cultivator required a lot of effort! In their current situation, they might not even be able to kill Lang Qingyun in a short amount of time! The thing they lacked the most at the moment was time! When Qi Yunxiu escaped from the sea of lightning and fire, the ripples around him had turned extremely faint and could disappear at any time. He didn¡¯t seem too injured, but the lightning fire poison in the Lightning Fire Jujube had already seeped into his body. He needed a lot of concentration to suppress the poison and wasn¡¯t capable of dealing with sudden attacks. He needed some time to neutralize the lightning fire poison in his body but no one was going to give him the luxury to do that. The moment he raised his head, he noticed several rays of spear light falling on him. Gasping in fright, he waved his whisk in the air in a desperate attempt to protect himself. At the same time, he tossed out some sort of crystal feather. Flying through the air, the crystal feather started to transform. It eventually turned into a pair of snowy white wings. As his whisk slapped heavily against it, his figure shot into the skies with a soft whoosh. Qi Yunxiu might have escaped, but his actions were directly in line with what Shang Ke and Shang Xia desired. Now that he was gone, they could place all their attention on the heavily injured Lang Qingyun. As soon as Qi Yunxiu disappeared, the spear lights that were falling his way disappeared abruptly and those that remained strengthened slightly while stabbing straight for Lang Qingyun. Being heavily injured, Lang Qingyun wasn¡¯t able to dodge Shang Ke¡¯s attack. He knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to take it head-on either in his weakened state and in a fit of desperation, he released all his frustrations. ¡°Qi Yunxiu, you caused me to die!¡± His final roar caused a visible shockwave to tear through the region. Everything within a hundred feet of him turned to dust. As soon as Shang Ke¡¯s spear light connected, he was thrown through the air like a broken kite. When he finally fell to the ground, he was barely holding on to his life due to his strong life force. A hundred feet away from him, Shang Ke¡¯s figure flashed light lightning as he leaped into the air. His spear stabbed downwards once again and the moment it did, the series of events ended. The battlefield between the two worlds witnessed the loss of another Martial Extermination Realm expert. However, a soundless shadow appeared when Shang Ke ended Lang Qingyun¡¯s life and flew silently towards his back. ¡°Be careful!¡± Shang Xia yelled, even though his warning wouldn¡¯t make it in time. Yelling wasn¡¯t the only thing Shang Xia knew how to do. His inner qi poured into the Scarlet Star Spear in his hand and by the time the words left his lips, the spear was shooting out at a terrifying speed. It turned into a streak of light that broke through the void. It accurately struck the sneaky figure who was approaching Shang Ke. That was his ninth move, Piercing Sun! ¡°Swoosh!¡± The sound that rang through the air came after the spear found its target and the resulting soundwave caused the trees around to rustle. With the heavy impact of Shang Xia¡¯s Piercing Sun, the figure shot through the air and tumbled away. It brushed across Shang Ke¡¯s body before coming to a stop tens of feet away. A huge crater was left under the figure who tried to sneak attack Shang Ke when he was at his most vulnerable. The pride that should have filled his heart after killing another cultivator at the Martial Extermination Realm was replaced with fear as Shang Ke realized what had just happened. He lowered his spear quickly and prepared himself for battle as the phenomenon of heaven and earth qi filling the skies due to the death of a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator dissipated. Shang Ke turned his head to observe what had just happened and his gaze eventually landed on Shang Xia who wasn¡¯t too far away. The kid was retrieving his spear which was basically half-destroyed at that point. The tip of the spear was broken and the look of shock on Shang Xia¡¯s face was obvious. Turning to look at the crater that appeared, Shang Ke gasped. ¡°It¡¯s the Mutated Monkey King!¡± We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. Even though the crater was still there, it seemed to have been created by a treasure thrown out by the Mutated Monkey King. Shang Ke didn¡¯t dare to let his guard down as he looked into the depths of the Redwood Forest. ¡°That was close.¡± Shang Ke sighed and turned to look at Shang Xia again. When he was sure that the kid was safe, he continued, ¡°The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind him¡­ I didn¡¯t think that I would be plotted against by a mere beast!¡± Shang Xia also made sense of the situation. The three Martial Extermination Realm experts hid in the forest to obtain the wine brewed by the Mutated Monkey Tribe. They had been plotting against each other and hid their tracks well, but none of them were aware that they had been discovered by the Mutated Monkey King a long time ago. It seemed as though the Mutated Monkey King possessed a higher level of intelligence compared to other spiritual beasts. Even though it discovered Shang Ke and the others, it didn¡¯t attack immediately. Instead, it hid in the shadows to watch the three of them scheme against each other. It chose to attack at the last moment, but its plans were thwarted by Shang Xia. If not for the giant anomaly known as Shang Xia, Shang Ke wouldn¡¯t have been able to avoid the sneaky strike. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Shang Xia asked as he looked in the same direction as Shang Ke. ¡°Now that Qi Yunxiu has escaped and the sign of a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator falling has emerged, many Martial Extermination Realm experts should be arriving. We need to move quickly. I¡¯ll lure the Mutated Monkey King away and you can go look around the forest. We¡¯ll start to leave once the time it takes to burn a stick of incense has passed. No matter what you manage to find, leave the moment time is up.¡± Shang Ke decided. However, Shang Xia started to hesitate. ¡°Grandpa Ke, you don¡¯t even know how strong the Mutated Monkey King is!¡± Originally, Shang Xia wanted to speak his mind. He wanted to say that Shang Ke might not be a match for the Monkey King at all, but he changed the way he spoke at the last second. He wasn¡¯t speaking blindly. After all, he witnessed how the Mutated Monkey King attacked earlier. A smile appeared on Shang Ke¡¯s face and he chuckled in response, ¡°Relax. I might not be the monkey¡¯s opponent, but I can definitely hold it back for a short while. You¡¯re the one who needs to take care of yourself. The tribe might not be commanded by the Monkey King, but there are many rank three monkeys among them. If you fail to run away when the time is up, you will probably be surrounded by Martial Extermination Realm experts.¡± Nodding seriously, Shang Xia replied. ¡°Grandpa Ke, rest assured. I know what to do.¡± When he was done speaking, he turned to take his leave. It didn¡¯t take a genius to know that the area was about to turn into a battlefield between Shang Ke and the Mutated Monkey King. However, he was called back by Shang Ke. ¡°Wait. Don¡¯t be in such a rush to leave. Go over there to the crater and take away the thing that was used to ambush me.¡± When Shang Xia stopped the attack earlier, he managed to catch a faint sight of the item at the last second and it seemed to resemble a bell. He couldn¡¯t understand how a bell could remain so silent when it flew. With question marks in his mind, Shang Xia released several reddish-golden bolts of lightning that struck the soil under his feet. A loud chime echoed through the air and a bell that was the size of a fist popped out from the ground below. Shang Xia quickly grabbed it. Looking at the small indent caused by his Scarlet Star Spear, Shang Xia knew that the bell was definitely an amazing treasure. The only thing he had to do was to figure out its uses. Leaping out from the crater, Shang Xia saw his Grandpa Ke keeping Lang Qingyun¡¯s items. As their gazes met, they nodded in tacit understanding. Shang Xia turned to leave as he rushed into the Redwood Forest. Not too long after he left, an explosion rocked the air. Heaven and earth qi fluctuated violently the next moment. The battle between Shang Ke and the Mutated Monkey King had begun! Without hesitation, Shang Xia ran in the other direction. He might be worried about his Grandpa Ke, but that wasn¡¯t the time to hesitate. He ran deeper into the territory of the Mutated Monkey Tribe and straight into their ambush. Cries could be heard through the air as items were flung at Shang Xia. Fruits, stones, wooden blocks, balls of mud, and some sort of nuts flew at him as they emitted strange heaven and earth qi fluctuations. At the same time, a sinister aura appeared behind Shang Xia and it shot straight for Shang Xia¡¯s back. It was the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land who arrived before Shang Xia! No one expected him to still be around! CH 406 In order to save time, Shang Xia had planned to charge straight into the depths of the forest. He was ready to take on the attacks of the monkey tribe, but he didn¡¯t expect the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land to be waiting for him! After all, Qi Yunxiu had left and Lang Qingyun was dead. No one expected the disciple to not escape. He was even daring enough to try a sneak attack on Shang Xia! That wasn¡¯t all. The timing he chose was almost perfect. The thing about it that caught Shang Xia¡¯s interest wasn¡¯t the disciple¡¯s courage. Instead, Shang Xia wanted to know how he managed to avoid detection to appear behind him. One had to know that after Shang Xia comprehended his Man and Heaven Chapter Synergy, his divine sense could merge with the world around him and allow him to hide from Martial Extermination Realm experts. At the same time, it was much stronger than the divine sense from cultivators of the same level. The disciple alone was definitely unable to avoid Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense. That was the case earlier. Shang Xia and Shang Ke noticed him hiding in the forest but he disappeared all of a sudden, leading them to think that he had escaped. Neither of them expected the disciple to be ballsy enough to use some sort of treasure to hide in the surroundings to try fishing for some benefits. Facing such a sudden attack from the disciple from the Changbai Holy Land while being pelted with weird objects from the Mutated Monkey Tribe, any other Martial Intent Realm cultivator would have no choice but to accept their fate. It was too bad the person who was trapped in the situation was Shang Xia, anything was possible! The tip of his Scarlet Star Spear might be damaged, but it was still usable. Surprisingly, Shang Xia held it with one hand and released a sword technique while swinging the long pole around. His inner qi circulated quickly through his body and sword lights appeared around him. Using a huge amount of inner qi, Shang Xia deployed his martial extremity intent, the Seven Laceration Sword Formation! Seven pairs of sword qi were contained in the sword lights around him and they started to spin around at a frightening rate. The different types of sword qi separated and fused with each other from time to time and they destroyed any threat that dared to approach him. Everything the monkeys threw at him turned to dust in the face of the sword formation. As for the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land, he could only retreat after breaking through four layers of sword lights and still failing to reach Shang Xia. Turning his attention to the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land who tried to sneak attack him, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t allow him to get away so easily. Also, Shang Xia¡¯s interest was piqued by the number of surprises the disciple was giving him. Not only was he able to avoid detection, but he also managed to break through four layers of sword lights! Evidently, the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land wasn¡¯t some random nobody. Replacing the spear in his hand with his Jade River Sword, the power contained in the formation increased by yet another level. The radius of his sword formation also extended outwards now that he was holding the appropriate weapon in his hand. He wanted to trap the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land completely. Luckily for the disciple, he retreated the moment he failed to kill Shang Xia. With his speed, he managed to barely escape Shang Xia¡¯s sword formation. The sword light chased closely behind him and the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land released a blade light to cover his back. It blocked off a portion of Shang Xia¡¯s sword formation but two streaks of sword light still entered his body. Releasing a pained grunt, he pushed his speed to its limit and fled into the forest. With a frown on his face, Shang Xia quickly estimated the strength of the disciple who just ran away and realized that he wasn¡¯t any weaker than the direct disciples of the Changbai Holy Land who fell in his hands. Glancing in the direction the disciple left, Shang Xia burned the feeling of the man¡¯s aura into his mind before turning back to complete his mission. Looking at the monkeys in front of him, he noticed that there were close to a hundred of them. Their ranks varied from the first to third rank, but none of them were able to do a thing to Shang Xia. Without the threat of the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land, Shang Xia could focus all his attention on those monkeys. However, he had to admit that those monkeys had above-average intelligence compared to other beasts. They were able to feel the threat and even without being commanded by the Mutated Monkey King, they started to run away from Shang Xia. Those who were further away managed to escape into the forest, but those who were closer to Shang Xia were decimated instantly. Looking at the monkeys who were running away desperately, Shang Xia didn¡¯t plan on catching them one by one. Instead, he drew a horizontal arc through the air with his Jade River Sword and the radius of his sword formation extended yet again. The sword lights that surrounded him eventually extended to cover a fifty feet radius and any creature in there was killed before they could scream. Those who were a little further away managed to keep their lives but their panicked cries didn¡¯t stop. They tried to call out to their king while running away. Dealing with the threat of the Mutated Monkey Tribe for the moment, Shang Xia retracted his sword qi and took a deep breath to calm himself. The Seven Laceration Sword Formation was his martial extremity intent and but using it the way he did definitely tired him out. Luckily, the power of the sword formation wasn¡¯t something anyone could scoff at. Even at his current level, his sword formation was a useful tool in dealing with multiple enemies. As Shang Xia tried to recover his inner qi, a sharp yell came from the other side of the forest. It seemed as though his actions of massacring the Mutated Monkey Tribe didn¡¯t go unnoticed by the Mutated Monkey King. A roar from a rank four beast was enough to affect the flow of inner qi in lower-leveled cultivators. Those who were weaker would lose control of their cultivation and suffer heavy injuries. Luckily, Shang Xia was only slightly affected and his heart pounded slightly. The yell from the Mutated Monkey King gave Shang Xia a good reminder to move quickly. After all, the Mutated Monkey King might be much stronger than Shang Ke. With his mass killing of Mutated Monkeys, the Mutated Monkey King might go berserk and risk it all to kill him instead. Rushing through the forest, Shang Xia quickly discovered the heart of the Mutated Monkey Tribe. The area was a mess as random fruits lined the ground. However, the faint smell of wine, fermented fruits, and several herbs seemed to tell Shang Xia that he had come to the right place. His gaze quickly rested on a thick tree trunk. From his observations since he entered the Redwood Forest, the bark of the Redwood Trees was extremely dense. As long as the monkeys hollowed out a space in the trunk of the Redwood Trees and fermented their wine within, the liquid that was produced could be contained with no problems. Shang Xia tried to extend his divine sense to ascertain if there was wine in the tree he had locked onto, but he discovered that his divine sense was being obstructed. It was difficult to peer into the situation within the trees. The problem didn¡¯t stump Shang Xia for long. He quickly made several rounds and quickly discovered several trees that had mud smeared on their surface. Looking at the degree of which the mud had dried out, Shang Xia was able to estimate how long the wine had been fermenting. The time they had been fermenting for told Shang Xia if they were ready, or the grade the wine contained within was at. Even though the Mutated Monkey King was at the fourth rank, it didn¡¯t mean that the wine it fermented was of the fourth rank. Jumping onto one of the trees in his surroundings, Shang Xia carefully peeled away the mud seal on it. A strong aroma assaulted his nose the instant he did. Taking a light whiff, Shang Xia felt his head getting lighter as his heartbeat accelerated. The inner qi in his body also started to circulate a little quicker. Focusing his senses, Shang Xia pushed his inner qi to rotate even quicker as he forced the effects of the wine out of his body. ¡°Hehe, my luck isn¡¯t too bad! I found a batch of rank three Monkey Wine!¡± Shang Xia felt a burst of joy as he quickly identified the level of the wine in the tree trunk. It was said that Mutated Monkeys used the wine they brewed to increase their cultivation. In some cases, they were even able to break through a bottleneck after drinking some of their wine. Since the tree contained rank three Monkey Wine, Shang Xia estimated it was the reward given to rank two Mutated Monkeys for them to improve. Of course, the wine couldn¡¯t actually be a replacement for actual advancement medicine. It might be able to assist a break through, but it required long term use. Moreover, that specific effect could only benefit Mutated Monkeys. Cultivators of other species would only be able to increase their cultivation slightly when ingesting Monkey Wine. Retrieving a spirit sealing bottle, Shang Xia shoved it through the mud seal. A stream of faint-red liquid poured into the bottle and it didn¡¯t take long for him to empty the tree. The rank three Monkey Wine that had been sealed in the tree for god knew how long had been obtained by Shang Xia in the blink of an eye! He quickly turned to look at another tree with a mud seal. When he repeated the process, the aroma of the liquid pouring out was a lot fainter than before. The heaven and earth qi contained in the liquid was far from the first bottle. Clearly, the rank of Monkey Wine contained in the second tree couldn¡¯t be compared to the first! Originally, Shang Xia wanted to use a spirit sealing bottle to contain the liquid within. However, he felt that it would be a waste of a good bottle and changed it to a spirit restraining pouch. That was because he discovered that the Monkey Wine that was pouring out hadn¡¯t even reached the second rank! Disappointed, he quickly looked for more trees in his surroundings but after opening the next two, all he obtained was rank one Monkey Wine. Explore the extended edition on pawread dot com. Only after he reached the fifth tree did he discover rank two Monkey Wine! Bringing out a spirit sealing bottle, he filled it up completely. Before he could look for a sixth tree, a loud whistle tore through the air. Shang Xia could tell that it came from his Grandpa Ke, and his heart ran cold. That was a secret signal they decided on earlier. It meant that Shang Ke was reaching his limit and couldn¡¯t hold the Mutated Monkey King down much longer and that Shang Xia was to retreat immediately. Indeed¡­ The Mutated Monkey King is a lot stronger than Grandpa Ke! Shang Xia leaped over to the nearest tree and filled another bottle with rank two Monkey Wine. The time it took to burn a stick of incense was running out, and Shang Xia knew that he had to go. Moreover, Shang Ke was close to his limit and there was no way they could stay any longer. With other Martial Extermination Realm experts rushing over too, Shang Xia knew that it was time to go. He wasn¡¯t too greedy. After draining six trees, he knew that he definitely got his fair share of the treasure. In fact, he might have taken a huge bulk of it! Right as he started to make his leave, his gaze unintentionally landed on the core region of the Mutated Monkey Tribe. There, a massive tree grew alone. The trunk of the tree was so thick that two people were required to wrap their hands around it and the moment he saw the tree, he knew that it was good stuff. After all, it wasn¡¯t too common to see such a huge tree growing around. His pupils shrank as he noticed a small mud seal that was the size of his fist on the trunk of the tree. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him and he quickly jumped onto the branch of the tree closest to him. Breaking the seal, a faint-red mist emerged and Shang Xia nearly lost his balance after smelling it slightly. This¡­ Rank four Monkey Wine?! CH 407 When Shang Xia inhaled the fumes of the rank three Monkey Wine, he felt a little dizzy but he managed to regain his composure in a short second. However, this time was different. The moment he took a whiff of the mist that came from the trunk of the massive tree, he nearly fell from the branch he was standing on. It wasn¡¯t difficult to estimate the rank of the wine contained in the tree trunk. Did the Mutated Monkey King actually manage to brew rank four Monkey Wine?! The thought flashed through Shang Xia¡¯s mind for a second but he quickly focused his thoughts. At the same time, he forced the effects of the alcohol out of his body. Next, he brought out another spirit sealing bottle. However, he only managed to retrieve close to three catties of wine from the massive tree after all his efforts. Earlier, every single tree contained twenty to thirty catties of Monkey Wine. the volume of lower-ranked wine was much higher than whatever was contained in the massive tree! Shang Xia wasn¡¯t too surprised though. He understood that even if he added up all the wine he obtained earlier, it wouldn¡¯t be worth more than the three catties of wine he was holding. Rank four Monkey Wine was a truly precious commodity! When he was done, another whistle tore through the forest but this time, it sounded a lot more urgent than before. That was Shang Ke¡¯s final warning for Shang Xia to tell him that the Mutated Monkey King had already managed to break free from the battle. With the rank four Mutated Monkey King racing back to the depths of the Redwood Forest, Shang Xia had to leave immediately! This time, Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate. He ran in the opposite direction of where Shang Ke was fighting the Mutated Monkey King. The mutated Monkey King might have broken free from the battle, but Shang Ke was still trying his best to hold the creature back. After chasing for a short distance, Shang Ke changed direction all of a sudden. His extermination origin surrounded his body and he flew to where the two of them had promised to meet. A mere second had passed since Shang Ke stopped his chase when an enraged cry came from the depths of the Redwood Forest. It didn¡¯t stop there as the Mutated Monkey King roared multiple times to vent its anger. Glancing in its direction, Shang Ke didn¡¯t plan on heading over to take a look. Instead, he continued to fly to where he was meeting the kid. It didn¡¯t take long before he discovered Shang Xia running through the forest under him. Seeing as the kid was perfectly fine, Shang Ke heaved a sigh of relief. Originally, he wanted to retrieve his extermination origins and head down to meet Shang Xia, but he discovered a powerful presence coming from the distance. Raising his head, he saw two streaks of light flying in the direction of the Redwood Forest. Hovering in mid air, he started to prepare for battle as he didn¡¯t know if the newcomers were friend or foe. While he was doing that, he sent Shang Xia a voice transmission to tell him to not bother with anything and leave. With Shang Ke watching over him from the skies, Shang Xia knew that no Martial Extermination Realm expert would be foolish enough to try dealing with him. After all, the threat of Shang Ke catching them off guard was enough to ensure his safe departure. Also, Shang Xia knew his limits. He knew that a battle of the magnitude that was about to break out wasn¡¯t something a mere Martial Intent Realm cultivator like him could take part in, regardless of whether he could actually fight a Martial Extermination Realm expert or not. After all, there would be too many of them and there were some exceptionally powerful ones. As the two streaks of light approached the Redwood Forest, Shang Ke¡¯s gaze returned to the depths of the forest. He discovered that the raging Mutated Monkey King had left the core region of his territory at the moment and was headed away from him. Did it discover that Martial Extermination Realm experts are approaching and decided to escape before danger arrived? Shang Ke couldn¡¯t help but praise the Mutated Monkey King¡¯s intelligence. If it chose to remain where it was, the numerous Martial Extermination Realm experts who were bound to arrive would definitely spare no effort in killing it to divy up its extermination origins. Also, the extermination origins of the Monkey King weren¡¯t the only treasure that remained in the forest. Shang Xia might have taken a portion of the Monkey Wine, but there was still some of it left in the trees. Moreover, the existence of the Mutated Monkey Tribe was a sign that there might be treasures that were nurtured in the area. The Mutated Monkey King might be decisive enough to give it up, but it was definitely feeling heartache like never before. After all, any Martial Extermination Realm expert would be unwilling to give up on their fortune like that! In the time it took for those thoughts to enter Shang Ke¡¯s mind, the two streaks of light arrived. Both Martial Extermination Realm experts revealed themselves and one of them was Qi Yunxiu who had escaped earlier. The other was someone Shang Ke was familiar with, but not in a good way. He was someone from the four great races of the Liao Continent, She Dajun. Before they entered the Martial Extermination Realm, Shang Ke had fought She Dajun more than once. Who would have thought that they would both advance and run into each other again in the Redwood Forest? A look of contemplation flashed in Shang Ke¡¯s eyes when he saw how they arrived. Even though the two of them were supposed to be on the same side, they flew separately and there seemed to be a clear distinction between them. The Changbai Holy Land could be said to be the reinforcements there to assist the four great races of the Liao Continent, but it was clear that the relationship between them wasn''t exactly great. She Dajin¡¯s expression changed when he saw Shang Ke and he yelled, ¡°Did Lang Qingyun die?! Were you the one who killed him?¡± A sneer formed on Shang Ke¡¯s face and he didn¡¯t bother answering the question. His expression seemed to have said it all. ¡°You did it alone? How is that possible?¡± She Dajun frowned as he extended his divine sense to observe his surroundings. He tried to look for traces of other experts present but found nothing. Even so, his expression sank even further as a cold light flashed in his eyes when he glanced at Qi Yunxiu. She Dajun didn¡¯t need to say much and Qi Yunxiu¡¯s face flushed red from embarrassment. When he left the forest earlier, he quickly realized that he had been tricked. If only he stayed with Lang Qingyun and helped him slightly, Shang Ke would not have been able to get the kill. By the time he realized his mistake, he quickly made his way back. However, he knew that Lang Qingyun would be in dire straits. Even though he felt that it was possible for the opponents to gather their strength and deal with him after they were done with Lang Qingyun, he couldn¡¯t possibly sit back and do nothing! As such, he located She Dajun who was nearby to return to the Redwood Forest. At the same time, he sent out several secret transmission talismans to notify others of the Changbai Holy Land what had happened. Unfortunately, by the time his transmission talismans started to shoot through the skies, the violent fluctuation of heaven and earth qi that signified the death of a Martial Extermination Realm expert filled the air. Qi Yunxiu understood that he was a huge part of the reason behind Lang Qingyun¡¯s death and his action might cause the destruction of the alliance between his Changbai Holy Land and the four great races of the Liao Continent. To access the premium content, go to [ pawread dot com ]. In order to retain the trust of the four great races of the Liao Continent, the only way was to¡­ ¡°You¡­ You killed Lang Qingyun!¡± Qi Yunxiu pointed at Shang Ke and screamed in anger. As the words left his lips, he swung his whisk through the air and silver threads filled the skies. They shot towards Shang Ke and the moment he made his move, She Dajun seemed to understand his intentions. Even though She Dajun knew that Qi Yunxiu was trying to push all the blame to Shang Ke, he had to play along. It was a two against one situation and if they managed to take advantage of the situation to take down Shang Ke¡­ A light flashed in She Dajun¡¯s eyes and he started to move. He quickly went to block off Shang Ke¡¯s route of retreat. The two of them were comparable to Shang Ke in strength and with the two of them working together, they quickly gained the upper hand. Unfortunately, She Dajun had barely gotten in position when the void above him trembled again. A long whip extended out from the crack and lashed at She Dajun¡¯s body. With his expression changing drastically, She Dajun revealed a truncheon that attempted to block the strike. A loud smack could be heard as She Dajun¡¯s figure was sent flying through the air. ¡°What¡¯s your problem? Do you think you can bully us because of your numbers?¡± Liu Qinglan¡¯s chuckle rang through the air. Shang Ke¡¯s figure blurred as he left behind an afterimage. By the time he reappeared, he was standing beside Liu Qinglan. Qi Yunxiu¡¯s face twisted with fury as She Dajun quickly flew to his side. The two of them glared at Liu Qinglan and Shang Ke as they prepared for battle. At that moment, another streak of light tore through the air. It moved in a tyrannical manner and even though it was approaching the Redwood Forest at high speed, it didn¡¯t slow down in the slightest. Instead, the energy fluctuations around the beam of light increased. The light separated into two as it transformed into a giant wolf that was deep blue in color as it pounced at Shang Ke. Slightly startled, Shang Ke swept his spear before him and summoned a huge sword light that struck the body of the wolf. Even though he was surprised by the appearance of the newcomer, Shang Ke didn¡¯t panic. ¡°Lang Jingyun, how dare you!¡± Liu Qinglan¡¯s voice boomed through the air as a nine-segmented whip appeared to assist Shang Xia. It flew straight towards Lang Jingyun who was close to a thousand feet away. Noticing Liu Qinglan¡¯s counterattack, Lang Jingyun¡¯s figure froze in mid air and he no longer charged straight at Shang Ke. Changing directions, he headed for Qi Yunxiu and She Dajun. The two of them went over to greet Lang Jingyun and they felt a lot more confident now that a strong expert on their side had come. ¡°Shang Ke, did you kill my brother?!¡± Lang Jingyun released the extermination origins that surrounded him for a second before glaring at Shang Ke. His eyes were completely bloodshot as he waited for an answer. Raising his spear slightly, Shang Ke growled, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Alright, you¡¯ll pay for that with your life!¡± Lang Jingyun roared as he lashed his four-segmented whip at Shang Ke. Unfortunately, the space around them started to solidify and Lang Jingyun¡¯s whip was no longer able to move as it pleased. A terrifying pressure descended on the lands as the five Martial Extermination Realm experts who were present felt a massive weight pressing down on their shoulders. Raising their heads, they discovered that the space above them didn¡¯t crack, unlike the time they made their arrival. Instead, it trembled slightly as Shang Bo stepped out with his hands crossed behind his back. Looking around casually, the other Martial Extermination Realm experts unintentionally lowered their heads. No one dared to meet his gaze. However, Shang Bo eventually stared at a certain spot in space before muttering, ¡°Brother Ran, since you are already here, why don¡¯t you show yourself?¡± A blood-red palm extended out from the void after the words left his lips and the space it shattered seemed to turn into a giant black door that Ran Kongqing stepped out from. As soon as he arrived, Ran Kongqing glanced at Qi Yunxiu, She Dajun, and Lang Jingyun before turning his attention to Shang Bo. ¡°Is your brother really capable of killing Martial Nephew Qingyun?!¡± Ran Kongqing directed the question to Shang Bo and he frowned slightly as he didn¡¯t think that Shang Ke was capable of doing what they said he did. Without a change in expression, Shang Bo muttered, ¡°I¡¯m equally as curious. If the two of them are the only ones present, my Fifth Brother shouldn¡¯t be able to kill him.¡± Qi Yunxiu felt the blood draining from his face. He knew that those old foxes were definitely able to uncover what had happened given the information they knew! Even so, he maintained his composure as he looked into the distance, as if waiting for something to happen. CH 408 ¡­ The Azure Spiritual World might have killed a Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Tongyou Institution and wounded many disciples, but they suffered a greater loss. They lost two Martial Extermination Realm experts on their side. Sima Zhanxing¡¯s fall wasn¡¯t anything noteworthy, but the same couldn¡¯t be said for Inner Sect Elder Huang Yunxiang. His death wasn¡¯t so much a mystery as it was an unfortunate event. Everyone knew he was killed by the Martial Dipper Realm sword qi, but no one knew the reason he died. Moreover, his death decided the outcome of the war directly. Now, Lang Qingyun has also fallen. His death was a mystery to all other than those who killed him, and the death toll of the Martial Extermination Realm experts on the side of the Azure Spiritual World increased to three! They could be said to have taken a huge loss. Lang Jingyun, a fellow clan member of the fallen Lang Qingyun, and even Ran Kongqing, were finding it difficult to accept the loss. Ran Kongqing was currently the representative of the four great races of the Liao Continent and he was in possession of the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw. When he learned about the death of Lang Qingyun, he wanted nothing more than to charge into battle once again and vent his frustrations on the Tongyou Institution. To access the premium content, go to [ pawread dot com ]. However, the indignant feeling that was filling his heart didn¡¯t just come from the Tongyou Institution. Some grievances for the Changbai Holy Land were also smoldering in his mind. The news of Lang Qingyun¡¯s death started to spread when Qi Yunxiu managed to escape, but Shang Ke also sent a transmission to Shang Bo about the situation in the Redwood Forest. From what Shang Bo had said, Ran Kongqing could guess what had happened. If Qi Yunxiu had nothing to do with the battle, Shang Ke wouldn¡¯t have been able to kill Lang Qingyun! However, no matter how deep the hatred he felt, Ran Kongqing knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to take it out on Qi Yunxiu. After all, they needed the strength of the Changbai Holy Land to deal with the Tongyou Institution. ¡­ A second later, the space above the Redwood Forest was torn open. Shang Lubing from the Tongyou Institution arrived and Pang Yunbi from the Changbai Holy Land arrived one after the other. In the space above the Redwood Forest, nine Martial Extermination Realm experts had gathered. There were five of them from the Azure Spiritual World and Ran Kongqing also had the Lingxuan Space Shattering Claw on him. However, they weren¡¯t confident in defeating the four experts from the Azure Origin World. With the appearance of so many of them, both Ran Kongqing and Shang Bo knew that no matter how much they hated each other or how much indignation they were suffering, things would not end in a bloody battle. Since the Martial Dipper Realm experts on both sides had come to an agreement, all of them had to control themselves. After a round of mockery and quarrels, both sides seemed to understand what happened earlier even though both sides tried their best to hide what had happened. Pan Yunbi glared at Qi Yunxiu before admitting ¡®graciously¡¯, ¡°Junior Brother Qi made a huge mistake and caused Junior Qingyun to suffer some injuries. Patriarch Ran can decide on his punishment. However, the enemies are upon us and the situation in the battlefield between the two worlds isn¡¯t really stable right now. I hope that Patriarch Ran can go easy on him and allow him to make up for his mistakes through battle.¡± Pan Yunbi¡¯s words seemed to solve the situation perfectly while denouncing Qi Yunxiu, but her words were basically a formality. Ren Kongqing wasn¡¯t able to do anything to Qi Yunxiu anyway and he could only shoot a glance at Lang Jingyun while forcing a laugh, ¡°No matter what, we can only blame the enemy for being too crafty. How can I possibly push all the blame onto Junior Yunxiu? We won¡¯t bring this matter up after this.¡± Liu Qingan couldn¡¯t help but sneer after hearing what he said. Lang Jingyun and the others shot her death stares but she didn¡¯t bother with any of them. Shang Bo¡¯s voice rang in Liu Qinglan¡¯s mind as the members of the Azure Spiritual World were trying their best to intimidate her. ¡°Nothing much will happen here now that Ran Kongqing and I are here. Go take a look at the essence jade cave that was reported. There seems to be a mine in there capable of producing essence jade.¡± Nodding slightly, Liu Qinglan shot another mocking smile over to the experts of the Azure Spiritual World before turning into a streak of light that flew away. It didn¡¯t take long before she disappeared. Turning to Shang Lubing, Shang Bo sent another voice transmission over. ¡°Chief Shang, I hope you can stay here and deal with the aftermath with Shang Ke. We discovered the nest of the Mutated Rain Swallows once again and I should head over to take a look. At the same time, I¡¯ll rush over to the newly discovered marsh to check it out.¡± Shang Lubing nodded but when he tried to look for Shang Bo, he discovered that the Deputy Patriarch had already disappeared. With his departure, Ran Kongqing also vanished from his spot. Lang Jingyun who was emitting waves of killing intent was left behind with She Dajun the newly promoted Martial Extermination Realm expert. Lang Jingyun was unwilling to say anything and She Dajun could only break the silence helplessly. Coughing once, he muttered, ¡°How do you plan to split this place?¡± Chuckling softly, Shang Lubing suggested, ¡°We¡¯ll split it equally.¡± Shang Ke, who was standing right beside him, couldn¡¯t help but interrupt. ¡°Wait¡­ Chief Shang, my Shang Clan should receive a portion too, right? After all, I was the person who discovered this place and reported it.¡± Shang Lubing did a double take and he didn¡¯t seem to believe what he just heard. He turned to look at Shang Ke with a strange expression on his face but was met with an incomparably serious stare. Even a fool could tell that someone had already raided the place. Moreover, the Martial Extermination Realm experts present weren¡¯t able to detect the presence of the little shit several miles away, but they spotted his figure staring at them sneakily as though everyone there was blind. Shang Lubing couldn¡¯t help but think back to Shang Bo¡¯s hasty departure. He wondered if the Deputy Patriarch left because he wanted to maintain his reputation and avoid being part of their shameless show. Regardless, Shang Lubing was eventually defeated by Shang Ke¡¯s ¡®earnest¡¯ gaze. He sighed helplessly, ¡°Yeah¡­ Of course there¡¯s a portion that will go to your Shang Clan¡­¡± With a wide grin appearing on his face, Shang Ke cupped his fists and thanked, ¡°Many thanks, Chief!¡± ¡­ Originally, Shang Xia thought that a massive battle would break out the moment they arrived. That was why he chose to hide himself far away. However, he realized that the battle wouldn¡¯t be taking place the moment his Grandpa Bo and Ran Kongqing appeared. As such, he approached sneakily while keeping his eye on those experts hovering in the skies. Indeed. It didn¡¯t take long for the experts to take their leave. Eventually, there were only four of them left and they were responsible for splitting up the Redwood Forest. With the decision made, Lang Jingyun turned to take his leave immediately. Shang Ke flew over to Shang Xia with a wide smile threatening to split his face in two. ¡°How much wine did you collect?¡± Shang Ke couldn¡¯t wait to hear about his gains. Even though they couldn¡¯t use Monkey Wine to break through to the next level, it was an extremely valuable treasure to help with their cultivation. After all, Monkey Wine could increase the speed at which inner qi is circulated in a cultivator¡¯s body! One could only imagine how quickly a cultivator would improve if they could drink some Monkey Wine every day, the accumulated effects would be frightening after several years of cultivation! Shang Xia swept his gaze around his surroundings before whispering carefully, ¡°I collected more than 100 catties of rank one Money Wine. There¡¯s close to 60 catties of rank two Monkey Wine. As for rank three Monkey Wine, I only managed to gather around 30 catties¡­¡± Shang Ke¡¯s face lit up after hearing what he said. Even though rank one to three Monkey Wine wasn¡¯t really useful to someone at his level, it was great for those in the clan! He could even imagine how the Shang Clan¡¯s power would make a sharp rise in the following years. ¡°Nice, nice! Everything was worth it!¡± Shang Ke celebrated, but he also suppressed his voice when he said it. However, he couldn¡¯t hide his excitement. ¡°Oh right, there are more Monkey Wine in the forest and from the way we¡¯re splitting up the loot, our clan will receive an additional portion. Oi, brat, what¡¯s with that stupid look you¡¯re giving me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing!¡± Shang Xia shook his head violently before he continued, ¡°Grandpa Ke, you¡¯re working so hard for our clan and I have nothing but respect for you¡­¡± ¡°Ahem¡­¡± Shang Ke coughed lightly and he quickly followed up, ¡°Brat, it¡¯s good that you know. If you take on the role as the Shang Clan Patriarch in the future, you will know how difficult it is to manage the entire clan. You cannot give up any benefits that might help the clan!¡± Raising his thumb slowly, he commended his Grandpa Ke. However, he quickly took out another bottle and explained, ¡°Grandpa Ke, this¡­¡± Shaking the bottle slightly, Shang Ke glanced at Shang Xia from the corner of his eye. ¡°Why is there so little liquid in here?¡± He didn¡¯t wait for Shang Xia to explain himself as he popped open the cork immediately. A faint-red mist emerged from the opening of the bottle and a dense fragrance filled the air. ¡°Rank four¡­¡± Shang Ke¡¯s expression changed immediately as he stuffed the cork back in. He inhaled deeply to remove any traces of the wine fragrance in the air but he couldn¡¯t relax still. In the end, he waved his sleeves to create a violent gust of wind that ripped through the area. Looking at him now, Shang Ke¡¯s face was flushed red. No one knew if it was because of the alcohol or if he was too excited. He asked Shang Xia hurriedly, ¡°Where did you get this?!¡± As soon as the question left his lips, Shang Ke realized that it was a stupid question. He quickly shifted the topic. ¡°Did the rank four Mutated Monkey King actually leave some rank four Monkey Wine?!¡± In essence, the question he asked was the same as the previous question. However, no one could blame him as obtaining rank four Monkey Wine was a great achievement! It was no wonder he was so excited. Nodding slightly, Shang Xia explained, ¡°Grandpa Ke, will three catties of this be enough for you to refine your second extermination origin?¡± Shang Ke stared at him in stunned silence for a second and he laughed eventually, ¡°You¡¯re not too far away from breaking through yourself. You should keep it.¡± A bitter smile formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face when he thought about how far away he was from completing his advancement medicine. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy to gather everything for my rank four advancement medicine. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to be stuck at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm for quite some time! Rather than leaving this Monkey Wine with me, we might as well make full use of it now and help you increase your cultivation.¡± ¡°I understand where you¡¯re coming from and I appreciate your thoughts. However, I can¡¯t raise my cultivation as I wish! Even if it can help me refine my second extermination origin, it¡¯s really difficult to find one! Do you think extermination origins are cabbages that grow on the side of the road?¡± Shang Ke chuckled bitterly. Thinking about it for a moment, Shang Xia wondered out loud. ¡°After the war for the Tongyou Mysterious World, didn¡¯t our clan obtain the Lingkong Formless Extermination Origin?¡± Shang Ke waved his hand and snapped, ¡°I can¡¯t use that! It¡¯s supposed to be left for you. When you gain the qualification to enter the Martial Extermination Realm, you can use the strand of extermination origin to break through immediately! Giving you the opportunity to break through is much better than me using it to slightly improve my strength!¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Shang Xia gasped. ¡°Grandpa Ke, doesn¡¯t this mean that as long as our clan obtains another strand of extermination origin, you¡¯ll use it to break through to the second layer of the Martial Extermination Realm?¡± Falling silent for a second, Shang Ke eventually sighed, ¡°No¡­ We can¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Shang Xia frowned. Looking at Shang Xia, Shang Ke sighed. ¡°I know my limits¡­ I broke through to the Martial Extermination Realm in the Coral Forest because there was no other choice. With my potential, reaching my current level is the furthest I can go. Instead of wasting extermination origins, I would rather leave them for promising members of the later generations in our Shang Clan.¡± Pausing slightly, he continued, ¡°Your Second Uncle put in a lot of effort during this war and if you don¡¯t need the extermination origin immediately, I plan on giving it to him so that he can break through to the Martial Extermination Realm.¡± Shang Xia thought about it for a second but he still seemed a little confused. ¡°Didn¡¯t Second Uncle choose the Exquisite Muddled Liquid as his advancement medicine? Wouldn¡¯t the Multi Illusion Wine be much more compatible with the Lingkong Formless Extermination Origin?¡± ¡°That is indeed the case, but the Exquisite Muddled Liquid is just a little worse than it.¡± Shang Ke explained but he quickly added, ¡°Actually, anyone who can break through to the Martial Extermination Realm would be thanking their lucky stars. Why would they go around being picky about their advancement medicine?¡± ¡°What if¡­ What if he can choose from other extermination origins?¡± Shang Xia threw out a bomb all of a sudden. CH 409 Shang Ke seemed to have given up increasing his own cultivation level as he chose to leave everything for the junior members of the Shang Clan. Shang Xia could hear that his Grandpa Ke¡¯s decision came from the bottom of his heart and as the patriarch of the Shang Clan, he truly wanted the best for them. His heart trembled slightly and a mischievous smile eventually formed on his face. ¡°I think the Lingkong Formless Extermination Origin still suits you the best. Grandpa Ke, you should use it to enter the second layer of the Martial Extermination Realm. As for Second Uncle¡¯s extermination origin¡­ He might be able to make other choices!¡± Shang Ke shook his head while chuckling bitterly. ¡°That might not work¡­ After all, our Tongyou Institution¡¯s goal is only to gain a foothold in the battlefield between the two worlds. Even though we might gain a few extermination origins along the way, it won¡¯t be enough to reward the various clans and families that came in with us. It¡¯s not likely for us to get another extermination origin.¡± Shang Xia knew that Shang Ke had misunderstood him and he quickly retrieved his Spirit Extermination Gourd. He held it in front of Shang Ke and he asked, ¡°Grandpa Ke, do you recognize the two extermination origins contained within?¡± ¡°Wait a second, is that the treasure Patriarch Kou gave you to help kill Huang Yunxiang?¡± Shang Ke gasped. When Shang Xia brought out the Spirit Extermination Gourd, he thought that his Grandpa Ke would be amazed by the items within, who would have thought that the old man would focus on the treasure itself? Shang Xia felt like he was hitting air with his efforts. ¡°Yeah¡­ It is.¡± Shang Xia could only reply helplessly. After a short pause, he added, ¡°Actually, the real purpose of this treasure is to collect extermination origin¡­¡± ¡°Oh? It can actually be used to collect extermination origin?! That makes it somewhat similar to the treasures those direct disciples of the holy lands use. Looks like Patriarch Kou is truly planning to nurture promising disciples of the institution¡­¡± Shang Ke sighed. Seeing as Shang Ke still wasn¡¯t seeing the point, Shang Xia pointed it out directly. ¡°Take a look inside! I collected two extermination origins and you can see if any of them are compatible with Second Uncle¡¯s advancement medicine!¡± ¡°Ohhh, you even started using it to collect¡­ Collect extermination origins?!¡± Shang Ke¡¯s tone changed drastically when the past few words came out of his lips. He stared at Shang Xia in disbelief. ¡°What did you just say?! You said that you collected two extermination origins?!¡± He stared at the Spirit Extermination Gourd in his hand and shook them slightly before looking at Shang Xia. The process repeated several times before he gasped. ¡°Are you serious?!¡± Shang Xia technically didn¡¯t need to say anything. Shang Ke was holding the gourd and he would be able to discover the extermination origins within as long as he sent a trace of his consciousness into it. ¡°This¡­ This¡­¡± Even as the patriarch of the Shang Clan who had experienced multiple trials and tribulations, he couldn¡¯t help but suck in a long breath to calm himself down. Staring at Shang Xia, he asked seriously, ¡°Where did you get them?¡± Shang Xia had no choice but to repeat the story of how he borrowed the power of Kou Chongxue¡¯s sword qi to slay Huang Yunxiang and the giant rat. Only then did a look of understanding appear on Shang Ke¡¯s face. Even so, he couldn¡¯t help but gasp silently. One might be able to kill Martial Extermination Realm experts, but that didn¡¯t mean that they would be able to collect extermination origins easily! The mutated spiritual beasts in the battlefield between the two worlds were special and cultivators could obtain extermination origins after killing them, but the Tongyou Institution and the four great races of the Liao Continent didn¡¯t go around killing them randomly. That was because starting a mass slaughter was a surefire way of starting a beast tide. That would cause both sides to suffer huge losses. Also, it was difficult for individual cultivators to kill rank four spiritual beasts. Since mass killing wasn¡¯t an option and moving alone to kill beasts wasn¡¯t effective, there was no point in doing it. That was also the reason behind the strength of the Tongyou Institution remaining relatively stable. They didn¡¯t experience a moment where they experienced a sharp increase in strength. Of course, that was only what the Tongyou Institution thought of themselves. In the short 20 years that they had been established, with the experts of the four great clans added to the mix, the number of Martial Extermination Realm experts had numbered more than 10. In the eyes of the Azure Spiritual World and the various holy lands, the Tongyou Institution¡¯s strength could be said to have increased at a frightening rate. That was one of the reasons the various holy lands were trying to keep them in check! ¡°The dull yellow one should be called the ¡®Yellow Earth Extermination Origin¡¯. After refining it, one would experience a sharp increase in their defenses. However, it¡¯s not really suitable for attacking others.¡± Shang Ke explained. He quickly identified one of them by feeling the aura of giving off. ¡°It¡¯s not really compatible with our Multi Illusion Wine and we need to investigate its compatibility with the Hundred Days Longevity Intoxication. It¡¯s actually somewhat suitable to be used with our Exquisite Muddled Liquid, but we have to look into it a little more before making a decision.¡± The Shang Clan had three rank four advancement formulas and the one they knew the best was the Multi Illusion Wine. Next came the Exquisite Muddled Liquid and they knew the least about the Hundred Days Longevity Intoxication. They might have received the Hundred Days Longevity Intoxication first, but they were still a little more familiar with the Exquisite Muddled Liquid. After all, Shang Pei broke through with it and she left behind her experience. That was why Shang Jian chose to use the Exquisite Muddled Liquid instead of the Hundred Days Longevity Intoxication after learning that it wasn¡¯t suitable for him. ¡°As for the other one¡­¡± Shang Ke fell into deep contemplation. He frowned slightly before he continued, ¡°It seems to resemble the Cloudy Gale Extermination Origin. If that is truly the case, it should be compatible with your Second Uncle¡¯s sword art!¡± Shang Xia thought back to the battle between the giant rat and Huang Yunxiang. The scene where the rat seemed to borrow the power of wind to dodge Huang Yunxiang¡¯s attacks played out in his mind and Shang Xia muttered, ¡°That¡¯s probably it¡­¡± Shifting the topic, Shang Xia asked, ¡°So how about it? Grandpa Ke, you can go ahead and refine the Lingkong Formless Extermination Origin now, right? There¡¯s nothing else to fear!¡± A complicated feeling rushed through Shang Ke¡¯s heart and Shang Xia¡¯s image in his mind became much more imposing. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°Looks like I¡¯m going to owe you a lot for this¡­¡± Handing the bottle of rank four Monkey Wine over to Shang Ke with a smile, Shang Xia laughed, ¡°There¡¯s no need for such formalities, we¡¯re all family here! Grandpa Ke, when you become even stronger, our clan¡¯s foundations will become even more stable. It¡¯s amazing news for us!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll probably only need a catty or so of the wine here¡­¡± Shang Ke quickly gave an estimation. Seeing as Shang Xia was about to say something else, he quickly waved his hands in response. ¡°My cultivation should be able to improve with a catty of Monkey Wine. Even if I use up the rest, I won¡¯t be able to push my cultivation even higher. Since it won¡¯t be able to help me, you should keep it and use it for yourself.¡± Nodding in acknowledgment, Shang Xia no longer harped on the matter. Since he met up with his Grandpa Ke, Shang Xia decided to no longer roam around the battlefield between the two worlds. Returning to the institution¡¯s territory to digest his gains wasn¡¯t a bad idea. Along the way, Shang Ke seemed to have thought of something and he asked, ¡°Oh yeah. Did you manage to make any progress in finding the herbs for your advancement medicine? Or did you find any remnant world origin?¡± A bitter smile appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°I gained a little, but I didn¡¯t manage to make much progress¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate¡­ The resources and world origin contained in the battlefield between the two worlds is like a drop in the ocean compared to what we received in the Origin Tide. In order to completely recreate the formula of that incomplete advancement medicine you took from the institution, you will need a lot more world origin¡­¡± Shang Ke muttered. It was true that Shang Xia required a huge amount of world origin, but it had nothing to do with the recreation of his advancement medicine. However, he wouldn¡¯t correct Shang Ke¡¯s misunderstanding. In the next moment, Shang Ke said something that gave Shang Xia a pleasant surprise. ¡°Actually, I know of a location that contains world origin. However¡­¡± ¡°Where is it?¡± Shang Xia was so excited when he heard the news that he completely ignored the change in Shang Ke¡¯s tone at the end of his sentence. This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. A forced chuckle escaped Shang Ke¡¯s lips. ¡°There¡¯s no need to get impatient. Even though there¡¯s quite a bit of world origin there, it¡¯s extremely difficult for you to approach it. Not even Martial Extermination Realm experts are confident of leaving in one piece after they enter¡­¡± It was as though a bucket of cold water was poured over Shang Xia and his excitement quickly died. However, he didn¡¯t forget to ask, ¡°Where exactly is it?¡± ¡°You should be pretty familiar with the place. It¡¯s the Yuxi Peak that once made up our Tongyou Peak.¡± Shang Ke explained. ¡°Yuxi Peak? Does our Tongyou Peak still exist in the battlefield between the two worlds?¡± Shang Xia frowned. ¡°Of course not. The only peak left is the Yuxi Peak¡­¡± Shang Ke whispered. Shang Xia followed up with another question. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with the Yuxi Peak at the moment? Why don¡¯t Martial Extermination Realm experts dare to enter?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that they don¡¯t dare to enter the Yuxi Peak. Did you not hear what I say?! They might not return safely if they enter¡­¡± Shang Ke snapped. ¡°I can¡¯t explain it in a few sentences. Just go back and take a look and you¡¯ll know what I mean.¡± Now that the Tongyou Institution was back in the battlefield between the two worlds, they established themselves on a place called the Observation Peak. Shang Ke and Shang Xia left the Redwood Forest as they made their way back. Shang Ke seemed to have thought of something again and he reminded, ¡°Oh yes, you might need a lot of herbs and treasures to carry out experiments when you¡¯re trying to complete the recipe for your advancement medicine, but if you are sure that some herbs are used in your recipe, you can start to collect them. Otherwise, you¡¯ll waste a lot of time gathering more when you¡¯re ready to refine your advancement medicine.¡± Shang Xia nodded in response and he added, ¡°Grandpa Ke, there¡¯s something else I need to ask you. Have you heard of the Spirit of the Four Seasons?¡± Slightly taken aback, Shang Ke chuckled softly. ¡°Why are you asking about the Spirit of the Four Seasons all of a sudden? Do you need them to make your advancement medicine?¡± ¡°You actually know about them? Grandpa Ke, hurry up and tell me more about them!¡± Shang Xia felt a rush of joy when he saw Shang Ke¡¯s reaction. ¡°Wait, you actually need them?¡± Shang Ke stared at him strangely and was greeted with an expectant expression. He quickly followed up, ¡°Alright, alright. The Spirit of the Four Seasons can be said to be the essence of the various seasons. It¡¯s born naturally and it has some sort of intelligence. Even though it¡¯s rare, it can¡¯t be used everywhere. As such, it¡¯s not too precious. From what I know, Patriarch Kou has collected a flower spirit that contains the essence of spring. It can be considered the Spirit of Spring.¡± CH 410 ¡°Patriarch Kou has a Spirit of Spring?¡± Shang Xia was excited after hearing the news but he also felt a slight headache coming. It wouldn¡¯t be easy getting something from Kou Chongxue! One couldn¡¯t look at things on the surface level and think about the many times Shang Xia had met with Kou Chongxue. He might have obtained a strand of sword qi from Kou Chongxue, but that was his reward after making huge contributions to the institution! Shang Xia wasn¡¯t delusional enough to think that he had a great relationship with Kou Chongxue just because of their few meetings. As such, Shang Xia didn¡¯t think that obtaining the Spirit of Spring from Kou Chongxue would be easy. Shang Ke seemed to have seen through his thoughts and laughed, ¡°Leave the matter of the Spirit of Spring to me. I¡¯ll go look for information regarding the other three spirits too.¡± Shang Xia felt a huge weight lifted off his chest after hearing what his Grandpa Ke said. He might have some friendship with several Martial Extermination Realm cultivators, but at the end of the day, he could only be considered a member of the younger generation to them. He wasn¡¯t truly qualified to talk to ask them for favors or anything else. Things were different if the Shang Clan Patriarch were the one to do it. The authority and prestige he had was on a whole other level compared to Shang Xia. Moreover, Shang Xia had already expected that he would need to rely on the Shang Clan to collect the Spirit of the Four Seasons. All of a sudden, Shang Xia seemed to have thought of something. He recalled the time when he first met Kou Chongxue. The area that was flourishing with life seemed to contain several precious herbs too. ¡°Grandpa Ke, if you manage to request for the Spirit of Spring from Patriarch Kou, can you also ask if he has a piece of Jade Peach Blossom that can be harvested in the Spring?¡± Shang Xia asked. Staring at him with a confused expression, Shang Ke wondered out loud. ¡°Jade Peach Blossom? That¡¯s not a rare herb at all.¡± ¡°Yeah. And it has to be harvested in the Spring.¡± Shang Xia added. ¡°Oh, alright!¡± Shang Ke laughed. ¡°Special herbs are usually harvested in special seasons or at special times. It¡¯s more than likely that he harvested them in the Spring or sometime during the rainy season¡­¡± As they conversed, they quickly approached the Observation Peak. The Observation Peak was located almost eight hundred miles away from the spatial tunnel that led back to the Tongyou Institution. The entire region was pretty flat, and there wasn''t much forestry surrounding it. From the top of the Observation Peak, one could enjoy an unobstructed view of up to ten miles away. Even though it wasn¡¯t as majestic and intimidating as the original Tongyou Peak, times were different. As of that very moment, the Tongyou Institution wasn¡¯t the weakest faction in the battlefield between the two worlds. They laid down several simple but large scale formations in the area for the time being in order to prevent the Observation Peak from shifting due to the changes in space in the battlefield between the two worlds. Naturally, improvements to the formations would be done given more time. Even though the structures that had been built since they established themselves were made in a rush and were pretty flimsy, the area seemed to bustle with activity. It gave off a different vibe when compared to the air of oppression that had existed on the Tongyou Peak. After the two of them arrived, Shang Ke casually pointed at the area where the Shang Clan had set up base for the time being before dumping Shang Xia to his own devices. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared. When Shang Xia went over alone, he discovered that the territory the Shang Clan controlled was far from what they had on the Tongyou Peak. Obviously, that meant that there was no Shang Clan Pavilion for him to live in. There were only several hastily built houses that were surrounded by simple wooden boards that acted as fences. Even though he had returned, Shang Xia didn¡¯t see any Martial Intent Realm cultivators of the clan. Instead, he ran into his Uncle Quan. Seeing as Shang Xia had returned safely, Shang Quan revealed an expression filled with excitement and he explained, ¡°Our clan sent many disciples out to do battle but you¡¯re the only one who hasn¡¯t paid us a visit. Now that you¡¯re back, everyone can finally be at ease¡­¡± ¡°I came back with Grandpa Ke¡­ Oh yeah, why isn¡¯t there anyone else around here?¡± Shang Xia chuckled in response. To read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com. ¡°Since the battle ended, everyone other than those who were killed or heavily injured managed to gain quite a bit. Moreover, it¡¯s rare for so many experts to be gathered in a single region in the battlefield between the two worlds and many of them formed groups to go on adventures. There are also many who are making deals and forming connections with each other. Most of the time, the Martial Intent Realm cultivators of our Shang Clan won¡¯t be here. I¡¯m the only one responsible for taking care of our land.¡± A helpless smile appeared on his face after he explained the situation. Hearing what Shang Quan said, Shang Xia started to feel a burning sensation rushing up his chest. He wanted to join the others too and he couldn¡¯t be more ready to take part in a trade gathering like the one he attended back in the Tongyou City. After all, he had quite a lot of goodies on him. Shang Quan also managed to see through Shang Xia¡¯s thoughts and he laughed heartily, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Do you also wish to head out there and join the rest?¡± Coughing lightly, Shang Xia brought out an item from his Embroidered Cloud Case and handed it over to Shang Quan. ¡°Unce Quan, I chanced upon this and would like you to have it.¡± ¡°For me?¡± Shang Quan laughed happily while rubbing his palms together. He received the scroll from Shang Xia and opened it slightly to scan its contents. The moment he did, a look of shock appeared on his face. ¡°Pine Smoke Purple Scale Ink! This¡­ This is a rank three talisman ink formula! Where did you get this?¡± ¡°I got it from a friend. Uncle Quan, you should start researching the formula soon. After all, I¡¯m waiting for you to produce a batch or two so I can use them for my talismans.¡± Shang Xia smiled. ¡°No problem! I wasn¡¯t able to make rank three talisman ink in the past because I didn¡¯t have a recipe for any of them. With this, I¡¯ll definitely be able to create a few batches.¡± Shang Quan promised. He also seemed to have thought of something and he spoke while carefully keeping the scroll. ¡°This ink made me think of something. Not long ago, the members from the Talisman Hall came to ask if you would join them as soon as possible.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s achievements as a rank three Talisman Master weren¡¯t a secret. The Tongyou Institution had sent invitations to him again and again. Unfortunately, Shang Xia didn¡¯t have the time to do it before. Shang Xia laughed in response, ¡°What a coincidence. I was planning on negotiating something with them. Looks like I can take one less trip there.¡± Pausing for a second, he continued, ¡°Oh yeah, Uncle Quan, why are they in such a rush?¡± ¡°They probably don¡¯t have enough people.¡± Shang Quan gestured around him and said, ¡°Look! There are basically no defenses around our Observation Peak. They need to complete the grand formation as soon as possible. I even heard that in order to hasten the speed of laying down the formation, the members of the Formation Hall and Talisman Hall have been working together. They need a large amount of talismans and the Talisman Hall is truly lacking in manpower right now. They need all the help they can get.¡± Sniggering under his breath, Shang Xia muttered, ¡°Actually, I¡¯m not really interested in creating talismans for them to lay down the formation right now.¡± That wasn¡¯t him trying to avoid responsibilities. At the moment, he was at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm. All he wanted to do was to locate all the necessary herbs to create his advancement medicine. Moreover, he just received some news about world origin being on the Yuxi Peak and he didn¡¯t wish to waste his time in the Talisman Hall. Shang Quan added, ¡°The Talisman Hall passed the order. As long as you are willing to join them as quickly as possible and promise that you won¡¯t spread their inheritance to anyone else, They¡¯re willing to give you all the inheritance regarding talisman making the institution possesses.¡± Gasping in shock, Shang Xia looked at Shang Quan and exclaimed, ¡°Are you serious?¡± When he saw Shang Quan nodding, Shang Xia started to fall into deep contemplation. With the condition they were giving him, Shang Xia started to think about the various spatial artifacts that he didn¡¯t wish to open with brute force. One of them came from Sima Zhanxing and two of them came from direct disciples from the Changbai Holy Land. He was truly looking forward to the treasures they contained. He knew that the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman was part of the inheritance possessed by the institution. It was able to break apart any form of restriction and that would allow the contents of those spatial artifacts to not be damaged. ¡°I¡¯ll take a short break and head over immediately. Oh right, who¡¯s the head of the Talisman Hall at the moment?¡± Shang XIa asked. ¡°It¡¯s the head of the Scripture Depository, Chief Zhang Haogu.¡± Shang Quan replied. ¡°Oh? Looks like I can¡¯t possibly mess around anymore¡­ Forget it, I¡¯ll head over in a bit. I¡¯ll be able to ask Senior Zhang about some matters too.¡± Shang Xia frowned a little after he spoke. ¡°Wait, this doesn¡¯t seem right. Instructor Zhang is the head of the Scripture Depository, why is he the head of the Talisman Hall too? He hasn¡¯t entered the Martial Extermination Realm for a long time and he should be holding the fort back at the Tongyou Institution. Didn¡¯t he not join the war?¡± Shang Quan raised an eyebrow and asked, ¡°You don¡¯t know? Even though we won and killed two Martial Extermination Realm experts from the Azure Spiritual World, more than ten of our own experts received heavy injuries. Two of them were slightly wounded. Even Deputy Patriarch Yun Jing wasn¡¯t able to leave the war unscathed. Those heavily injured experts have already left the battlefield between the two worlds to recover in the city. The gap was quickly filled by Zhang Haogu and Gu Shou.¡± ¡°Luckily, the battle is over. The Martial Extermination Realm experts of both sides won¡¯t engage in large scale battles anymore. Otherwise, things might get ugly.¡± Shang Quan sighed. Shang Xia¡¯s feelings mirrored what Shang Quan was feeling at the moment. It was true that the Tongyou Institution experienced a huge increase in strength in the recent times. However, their foundations were definitely shallow. There might be ten Martial Extermination Realm experts on the side of the Tongyou Institution the moment the war started, but five of the ten were merely first layer Martial Extermination Realm experts. Two of them were in the second layer, and they were Liu Qinglan and Shang Lubing respectively. However, they broke through recently! Yun Jing was the only third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert among them but her opponent was Yan Su¡¯er, a fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm expert. In the end, she was injured and forced to leave the battlefield between the two worlds. If not for the fact that Shang Xia, the biggest anomaly in the war, was present, no one knew how things would have ended. Of course, he relied on a lot of luck as well when he killed Sima Zhanxing and Huang Yunxiang, but luck had always been a part of life. Now that he learned about Zhang Haogu¡¯s presence in the battlefield between the two worlds, Shang Xia didn¡¯t remain in the Shang Clan¡¯s territory for long. He quickly ran over to find the instructor. Zhang Haogu was extremely happy to see him. After all, he discovered Shang Xia when the youngster returned with Shang Ke. He thought that Shang Xia would need to enter seclusion for a period of time. After all, Shang Ke had already started looking around for the Spirit of the Four Seasons and Zhang Haogu thought that they were preparing for Shang Xia¡¯s breakthrough. He was already prepared for Shang Xia to not show up for some time. Who would have thought that the youngster would be rushing over to look for him? ¡°This old man is really heartened to see that you have rushed over to join the Talisman Hall.¡± A look of admiration flashed through Zhang Haogu¡¯s eyes when he looked at Shang Xia. However, he chuckled bitterly the next moment. ¡°I won¡¯t hide our situation from you even if you laugh at us for this. We¡¯ve been extremely busy and I¡¯ve been stressing about the formation the whole time. Moreover, those annoying brats from the Formation Hall have been pestering me everyday now. Now that you¡¯re here to help me, I can finally relieve myself of a lot of pressure. After all, rank three Talisman Masters are a precious commodity!¡± ¡°This disciple came a little late. Instructor Gu, please let me know if you need me to do anything.¡± Shang Xia naturally wouldn¡¯t go straight to the point and start bombarding Zhang Haogu with questions the moment they met. Of course he had to play along with the old instructor before raising his requests. After hearing the sigh of relief coming from Zhang Haogu, a crafty smile appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he asked, ¡°Oh right, actually, I wanted to ask you to clear some doubts I have while I¡¯m at it.¡± Out of the many seniors in the institution that he had access to, Zhang Haogu was the most knowledgeable one. As he had been giving out pointers and teaching people for a long time now, Zhang Haogu didn¡¯t find Shang Xia¡¯s request irritating. ¡°Go ahead. I¡¯ll tell you whatever I know!¡± ¡°Instructor Zhang, have you heard of the Spirit of the Four Seasons?¡± Shang Xia got straight to the point. ¡°Spirit of the Four Seasons?¡± Zhang Haogu was slightly taken aback as he looked at Shang Xia again. He didn¡¯t expect Shang Xia to ask something like that. After some time, he finally continued, ¡°Other than high-leveled blacksmiths, not many people will pay attention to things like that! Are you planning to make a divine weapon?¡± CH 411 ¡°Why are you looking for the Spirit of the Four Seasons? Are you planning to craft a divine weapon?¡± A look of amusement flashed in Zhang Haogu¡¯s eyes as he looked at Shang Xia. For the full version, visit pawread dot com. ¡°Craft a divine weapon?!¡± Shang Xia exclaimed in shock. ¡°So¡­ the Spirit of the Four Seasons is used in the refinement of divine weapons?!¡± Zhang Haogu stared at him for a moment before he explained, ¡°That isn¡¯t a secret among qualified blacksmiths. Every single divine weapon possesses its own weapon spirit and a Spirit of the Four Seasons is nurtured by the world. They are exceptional treasures during the process of divine weapon refinement.¡± Examining Shang Xia even more closely, Zhang Haogu continued, ¡°That is why if you really wish to learn about the Spirit of the Four Seasons, you should go ask a high-level blacksmith. Any one of them who is capable of crafting divine weapons will gather spirits like that.¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t think that the biggest headache he had would be solved with a short conversation with Zhang Haogu. Even though Shang Xia was feeling excited about the information he just learned, he felt a trace of worry rising in his heart. ¡°This disciple heard that any of the four spirits are precious objects. Since they are used in the production of divine weapons, high-leveled blacksmiths won¡¯t give them to me so easily¡­¡± ¡°Are you really planning to use it to refine divine weapons?!¡± Zhang Haogu asked while chuckling. Clearing his throat, Shang Xia admitted in a straightforward fashion, ¡°Nope. I¡¯m making preparations to create my advancement medicine.¡± Zhang Haogu¡¯s eyebrows shot up in surprise. ¡°Oh? That¡¯s new. It¡¯s not often someone uses Spirits of the Four Seasons to craft advancement medicines.¡± Shang Xia chuckled softly but didn¡¯t reply. Seeing as he had remained silent, Zhang Haogu continued, ¡°Relax. Spirits of the Four Seasons might be rare, but divine weapons aren¡¯t created that often. Look at our Azure Origin World! How many divine weapons are there in total? Even if the high-leveled blacksmiths collected the spirits, they wouldn''t have much use for it. Moreover, there are more spirits out there that can be used. As long as you trade them something of some value, they will probably agree.¡± Watching Shang Xia¡¯s expression transform to one of shock, Zhang Haogu couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Don¡¯t you believe me?¡± Shang Xia shook his head hastily. ¡°Of course not. It¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t think it would be so easy.¡± ¡°I heard that Patriarch Shang went around collecting rank four herbs the moment he returned. Is he trying to find the spirits that way?¡± Zhang Haogu questioned. Shang Xia replied truthfully, ¡°Grandpa Ke heard that Patriarch Kou has the Spirit of Spring with him and he¡¯s planning to ask the patriarch for it. However, the herbs might not have anything to do with it.¡± Actually, Shang Ke wasn¡¯t just collecting the herbs for Shang Xia. He was also gathering them for Shang Jian when he made his breakthrough later. Shang Xia might reveal some information about himself, but he wouldn¡¯t explain things that had to do with Shang Jian. No matter how much he trusted Zhang Haogu, Hiding a portion of the Shang Clan¡¯s strength was always better. If people were to learn that there was another member of the Shang Clan who was starting to make preparations to charge into the Martial Extermination Realm, things might blow out of proportion. After all, the moment Shang Xia and Shang Jian succeeded, there would be four Martial Extermination Realm experts in the clan. Their strength wouldn¡¯t lose out to the Zhu Family before the collision of the worlds! Zhang Haogu nodded slightly and muttered, ¡°Actually, Patriarch Kou planned to use the Flower Spirit to repair his Hidden Frost Sword if it suffered any injuries. However, his sword is one of the few offensive type divine weapons in our Azure Origin World and even in the Azure Spiritual World! Ordinarily, they would be the ones damaging other divine weapons, not the other way around. From what I heard, the patriarch looks highly upon you. You also have Deputy Patriarch Shang Bo backing you up¡­ I don¡¯t think it will be difficult for you to obtain it.¡± Shang Xia scratched his head and chuckled softly. Another thought flashed across his mind and he asked another question, ¡°Instructor Zhang, you just called Patriarch Kou¡¯s Spirit of Spring the ¡®Flower Spirit¡¯. Does that mean that the other spirits also have their own name?¡± Zhang Haogu shook his head and explained, ¡°The Spirits of the Four Seasons are nurtured by the world and they are a general term that refers to any spirit that contains the essence of the seasons.¡± ¡°Would that mean that as long as a spirit is born in their respective season, they can be considered a Spirit of the Four Seasons?¡± Shang Xia muttered after thinking about it for some time. ¡°Somewhat¡­¡± Zhang Haogu replied. After receiving Zhang Haogu¡¯s guidance, Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief and a wide smile formed on his face. Taking out a spirit restraining pouch, something could be seen thrashing about inside. Shang Xia handed it over to Zhang Haogu and asked, ¡°Instructor, I managed to obtain this from some strange windy region in the battlefield between the two worlds. The companion I was traveling with said that it was the Spirit of Wind. I wonder if Instructor Zhang can identify if this is one of the Spirits of the Four Seasons?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Examining the pouch, Zhang Haogu quickly formed his conclusion even though he didn¡¯t open the seal. However, he had to add, ¡°How did you manage to run into it? Not to mention capturing the highly elusive Wind Spirit¡­¡± He shot Shang Xia a suspicious glance and he continued, ¡°It¡¯s difficult for even Martial Extermination Realm experts to capture it. Did you really do it yourself? Oh right, what was that about your companion?¡± ¡°Of course I didn¡¯t do it myself¡­¡± Shang Xia quickly explained how he found the Lightning Bird and the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows again. The old instructor couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°The windy region contained in a deep valley? Lightning and wind extermination qi contained in the air? I¡¯m surprised that a place like that even exists in the battlefield between the two worlds! Looks like something changed since the Origin Tide.¡± Turning to Shang Xia, he couldn¡¯t help but praise him again. ¡°Kid, you are truly lucky. The Lightning Bird probably made its nest there because of the extermination qi contained in the air. From how you said it captured the Spirit of Wind, it should be close to a rank four spiritual beast.¡± Initially, the Lightning Bird and Shang Xia were enemies. However, the two of them went through many trials together and they assisted each other in many ways that benefited each other. Eventually, they developed enough trust for each other and the two could be considered good friends. Even though Sshang Xia had guessed how strong the Lightning Bird was, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a burst of joy in his heart when he heard Zhang Haogu mentioning it. Noticing Shang Xia¡¯s reaction, Zhang Haogu sighed involuntarily. Turning to the pouch in his hand, he muttered, ¡°It¡¯s not difficult to tell which essence it contains. As long as we draw out a small strand of its energy and release it on some flower and grass, we¡¯ll know.¡± As soon as the words left his lips, Zhang Haogu pointed casually at the opening of the pouch. At the same time, a thin copper strand emerged from his fingertip and spun around the pouch. It quickly suppressed the Spirit of Wind that wanted to escape. In the split second he did that, a soft wind emerged from the pouch and blew against the grass under his feet. Under Shang Xia¡¯s shocked gaze, the grass that was swaying in the wind a moment ago started to wither. It didn¡¯t take long before they were dead. ¡°Spirit of Autumn?¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t need Zhang Haogu to make the evaluation. Sealing the pouch, he handed it back to Shang Xia. ¡°Looks like you¡¯re really lucky. You basically got your hands on the Spirit of Spring and Spirit of Autumn already.¡± Keeping the bag, Shang Xia brought up yet another topic. ¡°Instructor Zhang, you said that the Lightning Bird is starting to advance and it¡¯s trying to absorb wind and lightning extermination qi. Is it possible for it to refine both types of qi at the same time?¡± Glancing at Shang Xia from the corner of his eye, Zhang Haoguu immediately saw through Shang Xia¡¯s intentions. ¡°You¡¯re thinking of asking if it¡¯s possible for cultivators to do the same. Hahaha, you wish to know if it''s possible to refine multiple strands of extermination origins at once, right?¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t deny but he also didn¡¯t mention the method recorded on his Crimson Soul Tablet. ¡°No one tried whatever you¡¯re thinking of before. However, it should be possible in theory. The only problem is that it¡¯s too big of a risk for a cultivator to refine multiple strands of extermination origin at the same time. Moreover, it¡¯s not easy to retrieve several extermination origins at the same time. Even holy lands wouldn¡¯t dare to dream of doing something like that. Even if they manage to gather a few of them, they wouldn¡¯t allow someone who¡¯s about to advance to behave recklessly. The moment they try refining multiple extermination origins and they start to clash, the cultivator would lose control of their inner qi and explode.¡± An amused expression remained on Zhang Haogu¡¯s face as he continued, ¡°Youngsters like you are daring and are willing to try anything. It¡¯s good to be confident in your abilities but taking things step by step is the way to go. Being bold but knowing your limits is the most important thing. You¡¯re still really young but you¡¯re already much stronger than your peers. You don¡¯t have to be in such a rush!¡± Shang Xia chuckled bitterly. ¡°Instructor Zhang, of course I understand where you¡¯re coming from. However, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m truly out of time!¡± Shang Xia wasn¡¯t wrong. However, he didn¡¯t expect anyone to understand the situation he was in. Even Zhang Haogu, the member of the institution Shang Xia trusted the most in the battlefield between the two worlds wouldn¡¯t be able to comprehend his current plight! After a short period of silence, Zhang Haogu broke the silence with a soft chuckle. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, do what you need to do. No matter what, instructors and deacons of the institution are still here to take care of things. You do what you need to. There¡¯s no need to force any of you to do anything at the moment.¡± ¡­ When Shang Xia was done with his questions, Zhang Haogu started allocating him his job for real. He strolled around the territory with Zhang Haogu and with the instructor¡¯s introduction, Shang Xia quickly learned about the other Talisman Masters he was working with. There were two others who were rank three Talisman Masters and they were Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui. Other than the two of them, there were also seven rank two Talisman Masters. Those were the important craftsmen but there were also more than ten rank one Talisman Masters ready to deal with the grunt work. Counting everyone else in the Talisman Hall like the Ink Craftsmen, Talisman Paper Craftsmen, Brush Makers, and the other miscellaneous workers, there were close to 300 people who made up the Talisman Hall! All of them were gathered there at the moment and Shang Xia could tell that more than 90 percent of members in the Tongyou Institution who had anything to do with talismans were present. CH 412 It didn¡¯t take long for Shang Xia to familiarize himself with the Talisman Hall with Zhang Haogu¡¯s introductions. The two other rank three Talisman Masters, Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui, quickly stood beside Shang Xia to run him through the tasks they were assigned to do. After getting a basic rundown on the area, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but ask the question that had been stewing in his heart for some time now. ¡°Why do we need to make a Formation Talisman? Activating a Formation Talisman might be quick, but it won¡¯t last for long. A Formation Talisman alone is too weak and will be prone to destruction due to its formless nature. If we¡¯re really pressed for time, why don¡¯t we create talismans and seal them in jade or gold? At the very least, using beast skin or wood would allow the talisman to be much more durable than a Formation Talisman.¡± Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui stared at each other for a second before turning to look at Zhang Haogu in unison. Their reactions were the same as Shang Xia as they tried to look for an answer. Clearly, the two of them were equally as curious. Zhang Haogu chuckled bitterly and explained, ¡°We don¡¯t have time on our side. Laying down a grand formation like the one back on the Tongyou Peak isn¡¯t really feasible at the moment.¡± ¡°Is the Azure Spiritual World about to attack us again?¡± Shang Xia gasped. No one could blame him for thinking like that. After all, the Tongyou Institution relied mostly on luck to gain the upperhand when they fought their way back to the battlefield between the two worlds. The members of the Azure Spiritual World might not be willing to accept the loss and allow them to do as they wished. Moreover, it was no secret that the Tongyou Institution¡¯s strength was weakened after the war. The departure of many Martial Extermination Realm experts was no secret. To the Azure Spiritual World, the Tongyou Institution was like an empty fort! The Changbai Holy Land might be shameless and the four great races of the Liao Continent might have a bone to pick with them, but everyone had to admit that their foundations were terrifying. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem to send out a few more Martial Extermination Realm experts into the battlefield between the two worlds to wreak havoc. If that were to happen, the Tongyou Institution would truly be in trouble. They would be forced into a corner and they would have to defend themselves desperately with whatever they had! That was most likely the reason they were trying to lay down a large scale formation as soon as they could. It didn¡¯t matter how they did it. ¡°Yeah. We thought about that.¡± Zhang Haogu didn¡¯t deny it, but he quickly followed up, ¡°But that¡¯s not the main reason.¡± Perhaps it was because Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui were present, but Zhang Haogu stopped there. He didn¡¯t go into details, but Shang Xia had his guesses. The conversation continued among the four of them but a young cultivator approached them in a hurry. ¡°Instructor Zhang, Teachers¡­¡± The youngster appeared before them before long and greeted three of them. Before taking on his position as the head of the Scripture Depository, Zhang Haogu was a well received instructor in the institution. Many disciples knew him and called him by his past title. Also, Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui were rank three Talisman Masters and have taught in the institution. Some of the younger disciples and teachers received their teachings in the past and that was how they were addressed. Staring at Shang Xia, the young cultivator was too stunned to speak. Shang Xia glanced at the newcomer and found him slightly familiar. They seemed to have entered the Tongyou Institution at the same time and they were actually classmates. However, the time Shang Xia spent in the institution was far too little and he didn¡¯t know which outer division the disciple came from. He didn¡¯t even know the other disciple¡¯s name. An awkward feeling overcame Shang Xia and he could only chuckle helplessly while avoiding the disciple¡¯s gaze. Now that the two of them were meeting again, Shang Xia was already in the Upper Division. Who would have thought that this Upper Division Disciple would also be feeling uncomfortable? In less than two years, the once leader of the outer divisions had already turned into a legend! Actually, the disciple who came had also reached the Upper Division. That was how he was able to report to Zhang Haogu anyway. Regardless, things were a little awkward at the moment due to the fact that even though their statuses were almost the same, one of them was a mere messenger while the other could joke around with Zhang Haogu and the two rank three Talisman Masters. Seeing as the disciple was getting distracted, Zhang Haogu frowned slightly in displeasure. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± The young cultivator snapped back to reality and made his report. ¡°Instructor Zhang, Teachers, The Formation Hall came over to ask us to hurry up. They said that even if we¡¯re unable to create the Formation Talisman, they hope that we can complete one set of auxiliary talismans.¡± The expressions of the high-leveled experts present immediately twisted in distaste. ¡°What the hell! Do they think it¡¯s that easy to create thousands of talismans?!¡± Gong Hang, who looked the most easily annoyed out of them all, yelled. Zhang Haogu waved his hand casually to stop Gong Hang from saying any more. He looked at the disciple who came and spoke in an even tone, ¡°How many talismans do they need this time?¡± ¡°This¡­ According to Teacher Chu Jia, the Formation Hall¡¯s preparation to lay down the core of the formation should be complete. As long as we complete another 24 rank three talismans, 108 rank two talismans, and 500 rank one talismans, they should be able to complete the initial process. When that¡¯s done, we can start crafting the rest to supplement the construction of the main formation.¡± The disciple completed the report. Explore the extended edition on pawread dot com. On the side, Fan Yuanhui snorted coldly, ¡°Hmph, the Formation Hall actually sent the little lass over this time. What¡¯s her problem? Is she trying to make our lives difficult?¡± Gong Hang sneered at the side, ¡°The formation we¡¯re planning to lay down should be similar to the one around the Tongyou Peak. Of course the Formation Hall knows what they have to do. They probably made preparations to complete the formation core a long time ago. Now that we¡¯re changing the main protection formation to a Formation Talisman, we¡¯re the ones doing the bulk of the work. We have to produce thousands of talismans all of a sudden. Obviously, we won¡¯t be able to keep up immediately! What is the point of hurrying us all day long?¡± ¡°No matter what, completing the grand formation is of utmost importance. Since they¡¯re completing the foundations of the formation, we¡¯ll just give them the talismans they need.¡± Zhang Haogu muttered. After he spoke, he turned to Shang Xia and smiled, ¡°Moreover, we have another rank three Talisman Master now. We should be able to speed up our production soon.¡± When they heard what he said, Gong Hang forced a smile to remain polite while Fan Yuanhui shook his head doubtfully. Luckily, Zhang Haogu didn¡¯t seem to notice the look on their faces as he addressed the disciple who came over to make the report. ¡°Please go over to the Formation Hall and tell Teacher Chu Jia that we heard her request. We¡¯ll complete one set of auxiliary talismans soon.¡± Acknowledging Zhang Haogu¡¯s orders, the disciple turned to take his leave. When the disciple was gone, Zhang Haogu turned to look at the three of them and revealed a bitter smile. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll have to depend on the three of you no.¡± Gong Hang was the oldest of the three rank three Talisman Masters present and the talismans he made were also of the highest quality. He quickly took on the position of their leader and mentioned, ¡°Let¡¯s not waste any more time. I¡¯ll work together with Teacher Fan to start on the production of rank three talismans. Talisman Master Shang, do you need to familiarize yourself before you begin?¡± SHang Xia chuckled in response, ¡°Nope. Since we are in a hurry, I can start immediately.¡± Gong Hang nodded and continued, ¡°Alright. Since that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll have to trouble you to start with several rank two talismans.¡± Raising his eyebrows in surprise, a strange light flashed through his eyes but he didn¡¯t say anything else. Instead, it was Zhang Haogu who spoke up. ¡°Huh? He¡¯s a rank three Talisman Master. Why don¡¯t you get him to craft rank three talismans? Didn¡¯t Chu Jia say that we need 24 rank three talismans for the first batch? Didn¡¯t the two of you only complete ten or fewer of them?¡± Gong Hang maintained a smile on his face, but the look in his eyes was one of mockery when he looked at Shang Xia. It was as though he was trying to tell Shang Xia to not waste resources when it came to crafting talismans. Unlike Gong Hang, Fan Yuanhui didn¡¯t seem to be afraid of offending Shang Xia as he sneered, ¡°Heh, we believe that Young Talisman Master Shang managed to craft a rank three talisman, and we admit that he¡¯s a genius for being able to do so at such a young age. However, we need to take success rate into account. Even though the Formation Hall isn¡¯t asking for so many talismans at the moment, it¡¯s not easy to craft a single rank three talisman. If we waste too many resources, the formation around our Observation Peak might not be completed on time.¡± How could Shang Xia not understand that the two of them were looking down on him, especially after what Fan Yuanhui said. The two rank three Talisman Masters might seem polite to him on the surface, but they were doubting his abilities as a rank three Talisman Master! They might have thought that the Shang Clan provided him with a ton of resources in order for him to improve, allowing him to become a rank three Talisman Master despite his low success rate in crafting talismans. They even thought that he joined the Talisman Hall in order to gain more resources from the institution. Rather than allowing him to waste resources, they might as well send him off to craft rank two talismans. In their eyes, it didn¡¯t matter if Shang Xia had a low success rate in crafting rank three talismans. The kid was a rank three Talisman Master no matter what and crafting rank two talismans shouldn¡¯t be a problem for him. They could save resources used for rank three talismans and greatly increase the production of rank two talismans, killing two birds with one stone! At least, that was what they thought. A deep frown could be seen on Zhang Haogu¡¯s face and even though he was extremely displeased with their attitude, he couldn¡¯t deny that they had the Tongyou Institution¡¯s interests at heart. Moreover, even Zhang Haogu himself hadn¡¯t seen Shang Xia in action before. All of a sudden, Shang Xia chuckled in amusement, ¡°Oh right, how many rank three talisman papers do the Talisman Hall have?¡± Gong Hang could hear the indignation in Shang Xia¡¯s voice, but he couldn¡¯t care too much. When he saw how Zhang Haogu was staring at him, he couldn¡¯t help but reply, ¡°We have 29 pieces of rank three talisman paper and there¡¯ll be more coming soon. From the standard of our talisman paper makers, they should provide us with 6 to 7 pieces after some time.¡± Zhang Haogu¡¯s eyes widened slightly and he asked, ¡°Are we running out of resources already?¡± Gong Hang wanted to grumble about the allocation of resources and how it was slowing them down, but Shang Xia interrupted him before he could say a word. ¡°How rank tree talismans have we completed?¡± With the sudden interruption, Gong Hang was really getting annoyed with Shang Xia but he couldn¡¯t snap at the youngster as Zhang Haogu was still present. He could only sneer softly, ¡°We completed 8 talismans in total¡­¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Shang Xia muttered and started to think out loud. ¡°We need 24 talismans for the first batch and since you already completed 8 of them, we need 16 more. Since we have 29 more pieces of rank three talisman paper and there should be 6 to 7 more of them coming, we¡¯ll have around 34 pieces¡­¡± Turning to Zhang Haogu, Shang Xia chuckled, ¡°Formation Talismans are a little easier to create compared to talismans of the same level. We should be able to complete the 24 talismans with the resources we have.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Zhang Haogu¡¯s eyes lit up after hearing what Shang Xia said. ¡°Humph! You¡¯re overestimating yourself!¡± Fan Yuanhui snapped suddenly. CH 413 ¡°You¡¯re overestimating yourself!¡± Fan Yuanhui couldn¡¯t help but snap at Shang Xia, ¡°Kid, I know that you managed to craft a few rank three talismans by relying on your luck, but you better not speak without thinking! It¡¯s possible to craft 16 pieces of Formation Talisman with the resources we have ordinarily, but we¡¯re in a rush right now! Do you think we have the luxury to take our time when crafting talismans?¡± Facing Fan Yuanhui¡¯s angry response, Shang Xia seemed completely unaffected. He waited for Fan Yuanhui to be done before chuckling softly, ¡°It¡¯s difficult for the two of you to complete the 16 talismans required, but I¡¯m here now.¡± ¡°You?¡± Fan Yuanhui sneered in response. He was too lazy to follow up with more insults and chose to remain silent. At the side, Gong Hang added, ¡°It¡¯s good for youngsters like you to be confident in yourself. However, you need to be realistic. It¡¯s not difficult for a rank three Talisman Master to craft a rank three talisman successfully and quickly with a little luck, but the real problem lies in your true success rate. It also depends on how much inner qi and divine sense you exhaust when crafting rank three talismans and how long you take to recover. Also, if you can maintain the same state when crafting talismans after you recover.¡± ¡°With the large amounts of rank three talismans we¡¯re crafting, we might not be able to recover to our optimal condition after every talisman. Even so, we need to maintain our success rate and it¡¯s extremely difficult to do so!¡± Gong Hang looked at Shang Xia and said earnestly, ¡°After all, every time you cut off a portion of your divine sense, you need a lot of time to recover. It¡¯s extremely taxing to craft a rank three talisman!¡± Even though Gong Hang didn¡¯t put it as bluntly as Fan Yuanhui, he was obviously disguising his ¡®teachings¡¯ to look down on Shang Xia. Zhang Haogu might be knowledgeable and knew a little about talisman crafting, but he wasn¡¯t a true talisman master. Seeing as the two of them were trying to dissuade Shang Xia from starting with the rank two talismans, he felt that he had to take their views into account. A soft laughter emerged from Shang Xia¡¯s lips suddenly and he took out a few pieces of rank three talisman paper. ¡°Why don¡¯t you give me a chance? I have 6 pieces of rank three talisman papers here. I¡¯ll use them to complete 3 Formation Talismans. If I fail, I¡¯ll give these to the Talisman Hall.¡± ¡°Young Master Shang, are you really planning to give it a shot?¡± Gong Hang muttered in a low voice. He wasn¡¯t willing to see Shang Xia waste his own talisman papers for the sake of the Talisman Hall, but he didn¡¯t wish to offend Shang Xia even further now that things had come down to this. Moreover, Gong Hang¡¯s relationship with Shang Ke wasn¡¯t bad to begin with. He was the one who crafted the Suspended Spear Talisman Shang Ke requested in the past. Fan Yuanhui didn¡¯t seem too convinced but he eventually broke the silence. ¡°Let him do as he wishes. After all, it isn¡¯t difficult for him to bring out 6 pieces of rank three talisman paper with the Shang Clan¡¯s foundations. He¡¯ll give up after he fails.¡± ¡°Since you wish to try, go ahead and enter. However, I¡¯ll have to let you know that due to our tight timeline, you¡¯ll need to complete the talismans in a month.¡± Gong Hang gestured to one of the secret chambers and sighed. Entering the secret chamber, Shang Xia heard Gong Hang¡¯s voice behind him. ¡°This is the secret chamber I use to craft talismans. Everything you need should be in here. If Young Master Shang would like to use your own equipment, that would be great. Otherwise, feel free to let me know of any other requests you might have. I¡¯ll get someone to prepare anything else you need.¡± Gong Hang brought Shang Xia around and introduced the place to him. Looking around, Shang Xia laughed happily, ¡°This is amazing! It¡¯s much better than when I tried crafting talismans. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll start right now.¡± Gong Hang stared at Shang Xia in shock as he didn¡¯t think that Shang Xia would be ready so quickly. He might be a little concerned, but he took his leave nonetheless. Watching the entrance seal up and the restrictions on the walls activate, Zhang Haogu, who was outside, frowned. ¡°How many talismans do you think he¡¯ll be able to make?¡± Gong Hang sighed softly, ¡°Mister Zhang, we¡¯re not trying to make things difficult for him, but this isn¡¯t the time to nurture talents by letting him use all the resources he wants.¡± ¡°Heh, I¡¯m quite confident in the kid¡¯s abilities. He might actually be able to complete 3 talismans in a month.¡± Zhang Haogu added when he heard how neither of them had dared to give a response. Shaking his head, Gong Hang muttered, ¡°Actually, he doesn''t need to complete 3 talismans. As long as he manages to finish 2, I would gladly welcome him to assist us. After all, we will need to complete 49 talismans in the second batch¡­¡± ¡°2? Hehe, I¡¯ll admit that I was wrong if he manages to complete a single one.¡± Fan Yuanhui snorted in disdain. ¡°Luckily for us, even if he fails, our progress won¡¯t be too affected. After all, he¡¯ll be returning the talisman papers he wasted. Then again, if he completes a Formation Talisman, he¡¯ll actually make our lives easier. However, this secret chamber¡­¡± Gong Hang chuckled in response, ¡°It¡¯s alright. A secret chamber can be built in 3 days or so. We¡¯ll just give him this one. No matter what, he¡¯s a rank three talisman master now. It¡¯s perfect timing as I need some time to recover from all the talismans I made in the past few days. Our progress won¡¯t be affected at all.¡± ¡­ When Gong Hang left the secret chamber, Shang Xia looked around the place again before getting ready to craft the rank three Formation Talisman. Along with the activation of several low-leveled talismans, the restrictions within the secret chamber were fully activated and he could start the process without fear of being distracted. Even though he hadn¡¯t crafted a Formation Talisman before, it was recorded in the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture. He had studied it again and again, and he was pretty familiar with it. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that the Formation Talisman recorded in the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture was the exact same one he was going to be crafting. After all, he needed to ensure it complemented the core of the formation laid down by the Formation Hall. Regardless, the principle of crafting the Formation Talisman didn¡¯t change. As long as there wasn¡¯t too much of a difference, many Talisman Masters would be confident enough to make one. The example of the Formation Talisman provided by the Tongyou Institution might be slightly different from the one recorded in the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture, but Shang Xia felt that it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to make one. Also, he wasn¡¯t kidding when he said that Formation Talismans were much easier to craft than other talisman types. That was also one of the main reasons he dared to try his hand at them. Looking at the mid-grade brush that was held on a brush holder above the jade platform he was supposed to do his crafting on, Shang Xia knew that it belonged to Gong Hang. The brush might be of a higher grade than what he was using, but he didn¡¯t plan on touching it. One needed time to get used to the brush they used and with only one month to craft 3 talismans, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t waste a second. As such, he quickly pulled out his Flying Goose Brush. The 6 pieces of talisman paper provided by the Talisman Hall were extremely ordinary and he placed them on the table beside him. The only thing he was surprised by was the pine-soot ink stone that Gong Hang left behind. After he ground it into ink, it would be of the third rank. With rank three ink at his disposal, Shang Xia felt a lot more confident. There were also many pieces of auxiliary equipment all around him. At the end of the day, Shang Xia had to admit that the secret chamber Gong Hang allowed him to use had surpassed his expectations. At the very least, it didn¡¯t seem like Gong Hang was making things hard for him. However¡­ Shang Xia¡¯s gaze eventually landed on a censer not too far away. The incense that was burning inside was barely passable to Shang Xia. Retrieving a jade box from his Embroidered Cloud Case, Shang Xia tossed its contents into the censer to let it burn. That was the Intent Guarding Incense Shang Xia got the recipe for a long time ago. It was one of the treasures he used when breaking through to the Martial Intent Realm, but he discovered that it had many other helpful properties. It could allow one to focus a lot better and when used during the talisman crafting process, it would allow him to remain at his most optimal condition. The only problem was that the Intent Guarding Incense wasn¡¯t cheap to create. It ached his heart whenever he used a portion of it. After a period of research by Shang Xia, he swapped out several precious ingredients and simplified the crafting process. Even though the effects were reduced, it allowed the incense to be produced at a much more sustainable rate. He revealed the simplified recipe to Shang Quan a long time ago and the money-making uncle immediately saw the benefits it could bring. At the moment, the Shang Clan had been producing all they could and were even starting to separate them into batches with different qualities. To access the premium content, go to [ pawread dot com ]. As the smoke filled the air, the entire chamber entered a state of tranquility. Shang Xia didn¡¯t stop there. He poured a little liquid from a gourd onto the ink slab beside him and pure waves of heaven and earth qi filled the air. ¡°Huh?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes lit up when he felt the change. He didn¡¯t expect the liquid to be diluted Spring Water! Was it possible for it to be Inexhaustible Spring Water? One had to know that he needed a pot of Hundred Year Old Inexhaustible Spring Water to create his advancement medicine! It seemed as though he would have to ask Zhang Haogu about it when he was done with the crafting process. Adjusting his state of mind, Shang Xia started to analyze the template of the Formation Talisman provided by the institution. Grinding the pine-soot ink stone, Shang Xia could feel that he was starting to reach his peak state. His Flying Goose Brush tapped lightly on the surface of the ink slab and he placed all his concentration on the talisman paper before him. He muttered something to himself as he immersed himself in the process of crafting the Formation Talisman. Very quickly, he entered a mysterious state under the faint incense smoke and his brush danced ferociously in his hands. The feeling wasn¡¯t foreign to Shang Xia at all as he experienced something similar when crafting his previous batch of rank three talismans. CH 414 From the time he placed his brush down on the paper to the time his first rank three Formation Talisman was complete, barely three days had passed. If he managed to keep it up, he would be able to finish 10 rank three Formation Talismans in a month! Of course, that wasn¡¯t how things worked. ¡­ A rank three Talisman Master would have to separate a part of their divine sense and seal it into the talisman they were making in order for it to be classified as a rank three talisman. An exceptional rank three Talisman Master would only be able to create 6 talismans in a month before their foundations were injured. However, Shang Xia seemed to have surpassed that benchmark. After creating his first talisman, he discovered that he would be able to craft 7 more of them at the rate he was going without injuring his foundations. After experiencing so many wars waged against the Tongyou Institution, Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense grew stronger than the ordinary cultivator. Moreover, he had the Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter for a little extra boost. With his current abilities, Shang Xia was able to split off eight portions of his divine sense easily. No matter what, strong divine sense was the hallmark of any outstanding Talisman Master. Both Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui felt that Shang Xia had already exceeded his limits by attempting to craft six rank three talismans in one short month. After all, he would have to split his divine sense regardless of whether his talismans were a success or not. They would never expect for Shang Xia to be a rank three Talisman Master who defied all logic. Not only did he possess extraordinarily strong divine sense, but he had also come up with his own unique way of crafting talismans! It started from several strokes of inspiration he had in the past, and after entering his unique state of crafting talismans, Shang Xia could reach an unprecedented state of focus. That also resulted in him being more successful in his craft! Unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t reached the level where he could control when he was able to fully enter his unique state of mind. The only thing Shang Xia could count on was the ability to recall the wondrous state of mind when crafting talismans as he tried his best to enter it again. With repeated practice and tests, Shang Xia somehow managed to capture its essence. Even though he wasn¡¯t able to fully immerse himself, he was able to recreate nearly 60 percent of it. 60 percent was more than enough for Shang Xia to be confident enough to craft the rank three Formation Talismans! Since he had studied the creation of rank three Formation Talismans again and again in the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture, the creation of his first rank three Formation Talisman went rather smoothly. Due to the reduced difficulty of crafting rank three Formation Talismans and Shang Xia¡¯s impressive skills, he used two and a half short days to seal a portion of his divine sense into the talisman. Since that was done, the talisman could basically be deemed a successful product. After some slight touch-ups, Shang Xia realized he succeeded on his first try! ¡­ With the completion of his first talisman, Shang Xia felt his ego inflating slightly despite his usual mindset. It seemed as though a rank three Formation Talisman was truly much easier to create than other rank three talismans¡­ Taking a break for one whole day to adjust his condition, Shang Xia quickly started on his second talisman. The reason why Shang Xia¡¯s way of talisman crafting was unique was because he had a special cadence. He needed to be aware of where his brush was on the paper at all times and how long it would take for him to complete each stroke. Even lifting his pen was a special process that contributed to his overall success. While he was keeping track of all that, he would also have to separate a part of his divine sense to seal it into the talisman. The process was a lot more complicated than it seemed and not only did he have to concentrate on different things, he couldn¡¯t make a single mistake. Otherwise, all his efforts would come to naught. His first successful run told him that his method was feasible, and the second time he tried it allowed him to notice exactly how complicated it was. He might have gotten a little overconfident due to his first success, or it might also be because he hadn¡¯t truly grasped the key to crafting the Formation Talismans. Because of a small mistake, he hesitated slightly when completing his stroke and the talisman paper he was working on went up in flames. After failing on his second attempt, 6 days passed. Taking a 3 day break, Shang Xia concluded everything he had learned in his previous attempts. Adjusting his mental state, he ensured it was at its peak before starting his third attempt on the tenth day. This time, he didn¡¯t face many obstacles. In two and a half short days, he completed his second rank three Formation Talisman. Feeling pretty good about himself, Shang Xia felt that his current state of mind was ready to start again. However, he decided against it as he forced himself to take a short break for 2 days. No matter what, he already completed 2 rank three Formation Talismans. He only needed to finish one more and with 3 more chances, he was pretty confident in himself. On his fourth attempt, Shang Xia made a careless mistake halfway through and caused the destruction of another rank three talisman paper. Normally, failure when crafting rank three talismans was commonplace. Not even Shang Xia could ensure that he would succeed every time. However, things were different that time as it was because of the ink he ground personally. In the past, Shang Quan was the one who created the talisman ink he used. All he needed to do was to dab a little to start his crafting process. That also meant that Shang Xia had never ground his own talisman ink. Because there was no one to help him in the secret chamber, Shang Xia ground his own ink from the pine-soot ink stone before adding some diluted spring water. To read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com. No issues popped up in his past three attempts and Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect himself to make a mistake. Unfortunately, he made the ink a little too concentrated this time. Because of how thick the ink was, some of the runes he drew became a little too thick. Heaven and earth qi that flowed through it exceeded the limit of what the talisman paper could withstand and ended his fourth attempt. It seemed as though he had to be extremely careful when it came down to crafting any rank three talismans! Sighing softly, Shang Xia took a short break before he started again. It was already the eighteenth day of their agreement and Shang Xia was already using his fifth piece of talisman paper. There was finally no mishap as he completed his third successful talisman on the twentieth day of their agreement. With ten days left, Shang Xia was in no rush to leave the secret chamber. Instead, he stayed in there for a few more days on purpose. Due to his divine sense being much stronger than experts at the same level, he was able to craft talismans at a much faster rate too. However, Shang Xia didn¡¯t wish to reveal his secret so easily and decided to head out after some time. He might have intentionally delayed his departure from the secret chamber, but those outside would be taken aback nonetheless when he emerged. As for the last piece of rank three talisman paper, Shang Xia kept it in his Embroidered Cloud Case as a reward for his successful work. Since he only needed to hand three completed talismans over, he wasn¡¯t going to make more of them just for the sake of acting cool. No one could blame him for trying to conserve resources. After all, obtaining rank three talisman paper was something Shang Xia had a huge problem with. He had no choice but to think for himself when it came down to using resources. As for the pine-soot ink stone that Gong Hang left behind, Shang Xia only left whatever was left of it there as he couldn¡¯t bring himself to be such a cheapskate and take it for himself. When he released the restrictions on the secret chamber and made his preparations to emerge, someone quickly made a report to Zhang Haogu, Gong Hang, and Fan Yuanhui. The three of them rushed over a t top speed and several other members of the Talisman Hal who knew about the bet had already gathered around. ¡°Didn¡¯t they say it would take a month? Why is he out on the twenty-fifth day?¡± Zhang Haogu felt a little uneasy as truth be told, he wasn¡¯t too confident in Shang Xia. After all, no matter how talented Shang Xia was, there was no denying that he had only stepped onto the path of a Talisman Master for a short period of time! How could he compare himself to Gong Hang or Fan Yuanhui who had been doing it for tens of years? Gong Hang chuckled, ¡°Perhaps Young Master Shang managed to finish his task early.¡± ¡°Hmph, do you think it¡¯s possible?¡± Fan Yuanhui glanced at him coldly in response. ¡°No matter what, it will be a blessing for our Talisman Hall if he manages to finish his task.¡± Gong Hang muttered. Fan Yuanhui sneered, ¡°There¡¯s another possibility and he might have destroyed all of his talisman paper¡­ Why didn¡¯t you think of that?¡± ¡°This¡­¡± Gong Hang swept his gaze across his surroundings and didn¡¯t really know how to respond. All of a sudden, a clear voice rang through the air from inside the chamber. ¡°Teacher Fan, are you really so pessimistic about my abilities?¡± The youngster emerged from the secret chamber after he spoke and not a trace of emotion could be seen on his face. The moment Shang Xia emerged, Gong Hang¡¯s gaze never left his face. Other than the fact that his face was a little pale from not being in the sun for so many days, Gong Hang couldn¡¯t detect a trace of fatigue from the overexertion of divine sense Talisman Masters would suffer from after crafting so many talismans. A trace of disappointment flashed through Gong Hang¡¯s eyes as the final bit of hope he had in Shang Xia died. After all, he felt that there was no way a Martial Intent Realm cultivator could remain unaffected after six attempts to craft a rank three talisman. Unless¡­ Unless he was cheating! Gong Hang sighed softly, ¡°Young Master Shang, can I ask how many talismans you managed to complete? Let me make this clear. All the talisman paper provided by our Talisman Hall has its own unique marker.¡± Raising his eyebrows in shock, the corners of Shang Xia¡¯s mouth curled upwards to form a sneer as he muttered, ¡°Teacher Gong, do you suspect that I swapped it out for completed talismans even after failing? I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you!¡± Waving his sleeves, three pieces of rank three Formation Talismans appeared before their eyes. ¡°Please, feel free to check for any traces of cheating.¡± CH 415 The three talismans were eventually passed to Zhang Haogu. As the Martial Extermination Realm expert who was temporarily in charge of the Talisman Hall, Zhang Haogu was obviously able to tell if those talismans were real. However, he still turned to Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui to ask, ¡°What do the two of you think about this/¡± ?! What were they supposed to say? A bitter smile appeared on Gong Hang¡¯s face as he realized that he had thoroughly offended Shang Xia with everything that he said before when the youngster threw out the three pieces of Formation Talisman. With Shang Xia¡¯s current status, nothing could be worse than someone looking down on him and suspecting that he had cheated by swapping out the talismans for completed ones. When Gong Hang mentioned that the talisman papers provided by the Talisman Hall were marked earlier, he had already made the assumption that Shang Xia wasn¡¯t the one who created those talismans. As a rank three Talisman Master himself, Gong Hang was more than capable of telling if a talisman was freshly created or not. The markings on the talisman paper wouldn¡¯t matter! Moreover, those markings left on the paper weren¡¯t used to see if Shang Xia was cheating in the first place. They were there to ensure that disciples or other members of the institution didn¡¯t try stealing the talisman papers to sell them to external cultivators. Hastily, Gong Hang tried to salvage the situation. ¡°Haha, the new generation will always surpass the old. They have reached the standard of a rank three talisman and they can definitely be used. Looks like I was too ignorant previously. I apologize to Young Master Shang for the disrespect I have shown.¡± After he spoke, this old Talisman Master whose head was filled with white hair, gave Shang Xia a deep bow. Jumping in fright, Shang Xia didn¡¯t know how to respond. ¡°This¡­ Teacher Gong, it¡¯s nothing much! If you do this¡­¡± Before Shang Xia could complete his sentence, he saw Fan Yuanhui cupping his fists and doing the same. ¡°Teacher Fan, this¡­ Teachers, I can¡¯t take this!¡± Helpless, Shang Xia could only turn to Zhang Haogu with a pleading gaze. To be really honest, Shang Xia was truly feeling a little irritated when they suspected him of cheating earlier. He even thought of storming off in a huff after showing them the completed talismans. After all, the Talisman Hall was the one who came begging him for help. They were the ones who needed to come up with the talismans for the grand formation and in Shang Xia¡¯s words: This granddaddy here doesn¡¯t need to put up with this! However, all the words became stuck in his throat the moment Gong Hang lowered his head. All the anger in his stomach disappeared in an instant. Zhang Haogu eventually broke the silence and chuckled softly, ¡°Gong Hang, Fan Yuanhui, there¡¯s no need for this. I didn¡¯t think he was able to complete the talismans. After all, it¡¯s good for youngsters to suffer some setbacks in their lives. I thought that it would be great even if he managed to complete a single talisman! Who would have thought that he would give us such a huge surprise?¡± Turning to Shang Xia, Zhang Haogu continued, ¡°Hehe, you really shocked us this time. I hope you won¡¯t bear a grudge because of this. After all, you will need to work together with Teacher Gong and Fan to finish up all the talismans we need.¡± Since Zhang Haogu had already spoken, there was nothing much left for Shang Xia to say. He nodded obediently in response, ¡°This disciple understands. I¡¯ll do my best.¡± A smile appeared on Zhang Haogu¡¯s face and he seemed gratified with Shang Xia¡¯s reply. He then followed up quickly, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get someone to send another six pieces of rank three talisman paper over.¡± Turning to Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui, Zhang Haogu asked again, ¡°So, what do you two think of this?¡± With things progressing up to that point, Gong Hang wasn¡¯t going to obstruct Shang Xia any longer. Instead, he heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°It¡¯s a great idea. To be honest, the Formation Hall has been pestering us a little too much lately. Both Teacher Fan and I didn¡¯t get much time to rest. With Talisman Master Shang taking over a portion of the responsibilities, the pressure on us will be alleviated. At the very least, we¡¯ll be able to take longer breaks to recover our divine sense.¡± Fan Yuanhui¡¯s gaze also landed on Shang Xia and he asked seriously, ¡°You completed three Formation Talismans in 25 days. Will you be able to withstand the exhaustion?¡± Shang Xia understood that Fan Yuanhui had his interests at heart when he asked the question, but the question still sounded a little off-putting. Regardless, he chuckled in response, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. I might be a little tired, but after taking a short break for 3 to 5 days, I should be ready to craft more talismans.¡± Fan Yuanhui nodded slightly and no longer spoke. ¡°It¡¯s good to be young! Your extraordinary talent is also really amazing!¡± Gong Hang quipped at the side. No one knew if he was admiring Shang Xia¡¯s talent or envious of his young age, but it seemed as though his praise was sincere. All of a sudden, Zhang Haogu slapped his forehead and chuckled bitterly, ¡°Oh right! I completely forgot about that! You need some time to recover your divine sense! Alright, we¡¯ll begin the next cycle in 5 days! One month would have passed since you started on the first batch, just like what we agreed on!¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Shang Xia nodded in response. The limit for most rank three Talisman Masters was six attempts in a single month and that was why they agreed to the bet previously. However, that was the limit for normal rank three Talisman Masters. The exhaustion Shang Xia was feeling was much less than what he portrayed. After all, he completed the talismans several days ago. There was also the matter of him only attempting the crafting process 5 times. That was also before taking into account Shang Xia¡¯s terrifying recovery speed¡­ With everything decided, Gong Hang seemed to have thought of something and he brought up another question. ¡°Talisman Master Shang¡¯s addition will greatly benefit our Talisman Hall, however¡­¡± Gong Hang stared at Zhang Haogu, Fan Yuanhui, and Shang Xia before he continued, ¡°It¡¯s just that all our resources were calculated according to how much Teacher Fan and I would use. With Talisman Master Shang added into the mix, our resources will deplete at a much quicker rate. If the institution isn¡¯t able to keep up, I¡¯m afraid there won¡¯t be enough resources for us to craft talismans.¡± For the full version, visit pawread dot com. Zhang Haogu was also feeling a headache coming as he didn¡¯t know how to solve the problem on such short notice. At the end of the day, the Tongyou Institution¡¯s foundations were truly too shallow. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be in such a mess. After thinking about it for some time, Zhang Haogu asked, ¡°What do we lack the most?¡± ¡°Talisman paper.¡± Gong Hang replied without a shred of hesitation. ¡°Our supply of Talisman Paper isn¡¯t enough. In the 20 odd days that passed, Talisman Master Shang used a total of 6 pieces. Both Teacher Fan and I used 5 pieces each and our talisman hall only managed to produce 6 pieces in total. Right now, we are only left with 19 pieces of rank three Talisman Paper. From what I heard, the ingredients used to make rank three talisman paper have been used up and we might need a period of time before the institution manages to resupply us.¡± Fan Yuanhui added, ¡°Actually, rank three talisman paper isn¡¯t all we¡¯re lacking. We¡¯re running out of rank two talisman papers too.¡± A deep frown appeared on Zhang Haogu¡¯s face and he muttered, ¡°If we¡¯re really out of choices, we can only start buying them from elsewhere.¡± That might be an idea, but the Tongyou Institution would definitely be paying out of their noses if they tried to acquire the talisman papers from elsewhere. Hearing the problem, Shang Xia gasped slightly as he thought of something. He turned to Zhang Haogu and asked, ¡°Instructor Zhang, do you remember the place I told you about where I found the Spirit of Wind?¡± ¡°What about it?¡± Zhang Haogu raised an eyebrow in confusion. Shang Xia quickly revealed the presence of the ancient tree and the Stormy Lightning Leaf that grew on it along with the matter of Ren Huan¡¯s desire to join the Talisman Hall. As soon as he heard what Shang Xia said, Zhang Haogu nearly broke out laughing. ¡°Are you telling me that Ren Huan, a talisman paper maker, not only wants to join our institution, but he also has a batch of ingredients used to craft rank three talisman paper?! What are you waiting for? Call him over and process his application! We¡¯ll make a detailed investigation of his background after we deal with this matter. However, for him to be able to join our Tongyou Institution in this expedition, the Outreach Division should have done their fair share of work. His identity shouldn¡¯t be much of a problem.¡± Shang Xia nodded and thanked Zhang Haogu. ¡°This disciple will contact him immediately and tell him to head over here as soon as he can.¡± ¡°Oh right. You can tell him that we¡¯ll compensate him for the Stormy Lightning Leaves and anything else he might provide.¡± Zhang Haogu added. When he was done speaking to Shang Xia, he turned to the other two and asked, ¡°What do you think?¡± When they heard the news about Ren Huan, the two of them were clearly much more relieved. After exchanging a glance, Gong Hang chuckled, ¡°This is definitely a pleasant surprise, however¡­¡± A helpless chuckle escaped Gong Hang¡¯s lips when he saw Zhang Haogu¡¯s gaze on him. ¡°It¡¯s just that the Stormy Lightning Leaves will make great rank three talisman papers that boost the properties of lightning and wind. It¡¯s a waste for us to turn them into Formation Talismans¡­¡± ¡°Since time is of the essence, we can only take the loss¡­¡± Fan Yuanhui sighed softly after hearing what he said, However, Shang Xia quickly added, ¡°Why don¡¯t we tell the Formation Hall about this and get them to add the properties of wind and lightning into the grand formation? Otherwise, it will truly be a waste of more than 30 Stormy Lightning Leaves.¡± Zhang Haogu and Gong Hang stared at Shang Xia like they were seeing a crazy monster, but Fan Yuanhui agreed immediately. ¡°I think that¡¯s a good idea! We¡¯ve been taking instructions from the Formation Hall all this time and they¡¯re doing whatever they want. Now, it¡¯s time for them to come up with something new.¡± Fan Yuanhui¡¯s sudden approval of Shang Xia¡¯s idea truly caught him by surprise. Before he could say anything else, Zhang Haogu chimed in. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about this after we see Ren Huan.¡± With everything settled, there was no longer a need for the four of them to be gathered together. Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui immediately returned to their secret chambers to continue their talisman crafting process, and Zhang Haogu started to take his leave. No matter what, Zhang Haogu was a Martial Extermination Realm expert and he was the head of the Talisman Hall. Not only was he responsible for the safety of the Observation Peak, but he also had to take care of the resource gathering process of the Talisman Hall. He could be said to be the busiest out of all of them! At the moment, Shang Xia was the person with the most free time on his hands, especially after getting a 5 day break. Seeing as Zhang Haogu was about to leave, he quickly stopped the instructor. ¡°Instructor Zhang, do you know where the spring water used to complete our ink comes from? Also, do you know when the spring was formed?¡± Glancing at Shang Xia suspiciously, Zhang Haogu muttered, ¡°There¡¯s an age requirement?¡± Zhang Haogu was no amateur cultivator. He had been through many things and he understood that Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t say something if it held no purpose. Of course, he wouldn¡¯t force Shang Xia to reveal the true reason behind his question if the youngster wasn¡¯t willing to talk about it. ¡°Yes. This disciple needs a pot of Hundred Year Old Inexhaustible Spring Water.¡± Shang Xia continued. Zhang Haogu laughed heartily in response. ¡°You¡¯re a lucky one alright. There¡¯s a spring located in the mountains behind the institution and it definitely existed for more than a hundred years.¡± CH 416 After Shang Xia completed the recipe of his rank four advancement medicine, he felt that he wouldn¡¯t be able to progress into the ¡®Four Constellation Realm¡¯ any time soon. Who would have thought that he would already locate several hard to find treasures right off the bat? Of the main ingredients he required, he already obtained the Spirit of Autumn and it was trashing away in his spirit restraining pouch somewhere in his inventory. If things progressed normally, Shang Ke would be able to obtain the Spirit of Spring from Kou Chongxue. Since he was asking for the Spirit of Spring, it wouldn¡¯t be too much to bring a Jade Peach Blossom that was harvested in the spring. The more important thing was that after Zhang Haogu¡¯s explanation, Shang Xia knew how to locate the Spirit of Summer and Spirit of Winter! Of the assistive treasures he would require, he already solved the problem of the Hundred Year Old Inexhaustible Spring Water. He obtained a stalk of Windchime Grass back when he was adventuring with Ren Huan and since it was at the fourth rank, it had more than reached the criteria he needed. He wasn¡¯t afraid of the difficulty of crafting his advancement medicine. He was afraid that he wouldn¡¯t know how to start looking for the treasures he needed. After they sent out the summons, Ren Huan quickly arrived. The talisman paper maker was obviously taking note of the situation in the battlefield between the two worlds. From how quickly he arrived, it was clear he hadn¡¯t returned to the Tongyou City. When Shang Xia brought him over to introduce him to the temporary head of the Talisman Hall, Zhang Haogu, the instructor quickly expressed their desire to use the Stormy Lightning Leaves Ren Huan obtained. As Shang Xia had spoken about it to him earlier, he wasn¡¯t caught off guard and he quickly agreed. However, those 43 pieces of Stormy Lightning Leaves he retrieved from the tree had to be split with Shang Xia. Thus, he only agreed to provide the 22 pieces that belonged to him. As for those that belonged to Shang Xia, he had already started to turn them into rank three talisman paper. 3 of them were complete and Shang Xia decided to hold off handing over the 18 that were left. He wanted to observe the situation before making any decisions. With the addition of Ren Huan, a talisman paper maker who could craft rank three talisman paper, along with the 22 pieces of Stormy Lightning Leaves he brought with him, the shortage in the Talisman Hall was slightly alleviated. The production of rank two and rank one talisman paper would also speed up accordingly. As for the price Zhang Haogu agreed to pay Ren Huan for those 22 pieces of Stormy Lightning Leaves, that was a deal only known to Zhang Haogu and Ren Huan. However, Shang Xia could tell that Ren Huan wasn¡¯t getting the short end of the stick. More importantly, Ren Huan could be considered to be a part of the Tongyou Institution from that moment on. From the grin on the fatty¡¯s face that didn¡¯t seem to fade, Shang Xia understood that he managed to obtain some benefits from Zhang Haogu. Fulfilling his promise to Ren Huan, Shang Xia decided to use his next four days of freedom to return to the Shang Clan¡¯s territory on the Observation Peak to take a good rest. Before he left the Talisman Hall, he received a secret transmission from his Grandpa Ke: Shang Lubing managed to obtain a piece of rank four Brewer¡¯s Yeast in the Redwood Forest. Speaking of the Redwood Forest, Shang Xia felt that he obtained the most valuable items there after getting the flask of rank four Monkey Wine. Even if they emptied the other trees to collect all the wine present, the value would pale in comparison to what he collected! Who would have thought that there would be even more precious treasures in there? To refine rank one advancement medicine, one could easily boil some herbs with ordinary water. It would become a little more difficult when it came to rank two advancement medicines as those would usually be in a powder form. When it came to rank three advancement medicines, they would usually be in the form of acupuncture needles, and they would need to be administered properly on specific acupuncture points. Rank four advancement medicine was a little more advanced than that. Rank four advancement medicine would usually come in the form of wine, and brewer¡¯s yeast was a component that couldn¡¯t be neglected. Of Shang Xia¡¯s rank four advancement medicine formula, the assistive ingredient was also a brewer¡¯s yeast, and it was called the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer¡¯s Yeast. Shang Ke didn¡¯t send Shang Xia the secret transmission for nothing. Even though he didn¡¯t know if the brewer¡¯s yeast Shang Lubing obtained was what Shang Xia needed, he managed to negotiate with Shang Lubing for the Shang Clan to obtain a portion of whatever they retrieved from the Redwood Forest. It seemed as though his shameless decision was correct. No matter how small the portion of benefits from the Redwood Forest was left for the Shang Clan, they would be able to apply for a portion of the brewer¡¯s yeast for Shang Xia! Even if it wasn¡¯t the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer¡¯s Yeast, Shang Xia would be able to trade it with others in the future. With the news he received, he no longer headed for the Shang Clan¡¯s territory on the Observation Peak. He made a quick turn and went past the Talisman Hall again to head for the Contributions Division. It didn¡¯t take long for Shang Xia to locate Shang Lubing who had just returned from the Redwood Forest. The moment Shang Lubing saw Shang Xia¡¯s shit-eating grin as he approached, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°Damn it! Did your Grandpa Ke send you?! That old fellow is really getting greedier as he grows older¡­¡± ¡°Hehehe, Chief Shang, this disciple here heard that you managed to obtain a piece of rank four brewer¡¯s yeast. Why don¡¯t you let me take a look to broaden my horizons?¡± Shang Xia cackled mischievously. Shang Lubing had no intention of hiding it and he quickly opened a jade case. Pushing it over to Shang Xia, he growled, ¡°Hmph, broaden your horizons my ass. Just tell me if you want a portion of it. However, your Shang Clan¡¯s share of the Redwood Forest isn¡¯t enough for you to obtain the entire piece. If you want the complete brewer¡¯s yeast, you need to trade it with treasures of equal value.¡± ¡°Scarlet Gold Silk Brewer¡¯s Essence!¡± Shang Xia seemed a little disappointed when he recognized the object contained in the jade case. It wasn¡¯t the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer¡¯s Yeast he needed. However, Shang Xia also realized why all the wine he obtained in the forest had a deep hue of red. The rank four Monkey Wine he obtained even had traces of gold in them. That was probably because of the Scarlet Gold Silk Brewer¡¯s Essence used during their fermentation process. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t hide his feelings from the crafty old man at all. A sneer left Shang Lubing¡¯s lips. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Is it not good enough for you? Since that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll keep it for myself. Oh right, we managed to obtain several other treasures from the Redwood Forest. You can take a larger portion since you don¡¯t want the brewer¡¯s yeast.¡± Explore the extended edition on pawread dot com. As soon as the words left his lips, Shang Lubing reached out to retrieve the jade case from Shang Xia. ¡°Old man, wait a second!¡± Shang Xia yelped in fright but when he saw the crafty grin on Shang Lubing¡¯s face, he knew that had been duped. Snapping the case shut, Shang Xia grumbled resentfully, ¡°What do you want for it?¡± Turning serious, Shang Lubing replied, ¡°Damn kid, give the institution half of all the rank one, two, and three Monkey Wine you obtained from the forest.¡± Shang Xia jumped into the air like a cat whose tail had been stepped on and roared, ¡°Absolutely not! I only managed to get a little of each. How can I give away half of them so easily?!¡± ¡°Heh, damn brat, if you only managed to get a little bit of Monkey Wine, just hand them over. It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll make a loss by trading it for the rank four brewer¡¯s yeast.¡± Shang Lubing sneered. With his eyes widening in shock, he realized that he made yet another stupid mistake. His reaction alone told Shang Lubing that he had a lot more Monkey Wine than he let on. ¡°Enough. This old man can tell how much wine you obtained after looking at the empty trees used to contain them. There¡¯s no need to hide anything from me. Hurry up and hand it over.¡± Shang Lubing muttered. However, Shang Xia hadn¡¯t given up on his negotiation tactic. ¡°Half is too much! I¡¯ll give you a third. Also, there¡¯s no need to mess around with me. You can¡¯t tell how much wine is in those empty trees. After all, most of them weren¡¯t full. The Mutated Monkey Tribe used a portion of it too and I didn¡¯t actually obtain a lot of it.¡± Sucking in a deep breath, Shang Lubing continued, ¡°Monkey Wine of the first, second, and third rank are of no use to you! What the hell does a cultivator like you at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm need them for? However, the institution will be able to boost the cultivation of our students if we manage to get our hands on it. Ever since we started mass recruitment, the number of students who entered our Tongyou Institution grew greatly. Do you know how much resources are being used at the moment? I heard that you agreed to help the Talisman Hall recently. I bet the resources there are running out too.¡± ¡°Alright, alright! Stop!¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but interrupt Shang Lubing¡¯s attempt to act poor in front of him and he quickly summarized, ¡°I¡¯ll give you 60 catties of rank one Monkey Wine, 30 catties of rank two Monkey Wine. I don¡¯t have much rank three Monkey Wine left and I¡¯ll be able to take out¡­¡± ¡°15 catties!¡± Shang Lubing interrupted him midway through his sentence. ¡°I didn¡¯t throw this number out of nowhere. This is a modest amount I estimate students of the various divisions would require¡­¡± ¡°12 catties¡­ No more¡­¡± Shang Xia sighed in defeat. ¡°Deal!¡± Shang Lubing yelled happily and revealed a sinister grin. ¡°Who would have thought that you would have so much rank three Monkey Wine on you¡­ I even thought that getting 8 to 10 catties would be a steal¡­ Hahaha!¡± Mother¡­ Shang Xia felt a wave of discomfort after hearing what Shang Lubing said. Right before he could leave the Contributions Division, Shang Lubing¡¯s voice entered his ears. ¡°Oi kid, I didn¡¯t take advantage of you if that¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking. A rank four brewer¡¯s yeast is extremely valuable. You won¡¯t be able to buy it even if you had money. If we truly released the news of the Scarlet Gold Silk Brewer¡¯s Essence, how much do you think you will need to pay in order to obtain it?¡± Shang Xia fell silent after thinking about it. However, Shang Lubing wasn¡¯t done. ¡°Also, this old man might not know what ingredients you need for your advancement medicine, but if this brewer¡¯s yeast isn¡¯t what you need, you can always trade it for others. From what I know, there are a lot of private deals happening on our Observation Peak recently.¡± Turning around to thank Shang Lubing, Shang Xia took his leave. When he finally left, he saw a familiar figure rushing towards the Contributions Division. When they saw each other, Shang Xia didn¡¯t think too much of it and nodded slightly before taking his heave. However, the lack of reaction didn¡¯t seem to apply to the other side. Dou Zhong stared at Shang Xia¡¯s leaving figure as a deep frown formed on his face. When he finally approached where Shang Lubing was, he saw the old man pasting spirit sealing talismans on several jade bottles. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Master, this¡­¡± The smile on Shang Lubing¡¯s face didn¡¯t fade as he chuckled, ¡°Oh right. Here¡¯s some rank three Monkey Wine. It should be greatly beneficial for your cultivation. There should be around three catties in here. Drink a little when you¡¯re cultivating. The wine in here should be enough for you to complete your second divine sense transformation.¡± Looking at the jade bottle in his hand, Dou Zhong asked, ¡°Master, I saw Shang Xia when I came over earlier. Was he the one who delivered these wine?¡± Raising an eyebrow, Shang Lubing glanced at his disciple before muttering, ¡°Delivered? That damn brat used it to trade for a rank four brewer¡¯s yeast. Hehe, I let him off easy by only requesting a little bit of wine from him¡­¡± ¡°Rank four brewer¡¯s yeast?¡± Dou Zhong was shocked and the gaze in his eyes turned empty. He muttered softly, ¡°Is he already making preparations to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm?¡± Falling silent for a second, Shang Lubing thought for a second before he responded, ¡°Even though he didn¡¯t say anything about it, the method he is using to break through might be extremely difficult. He might be stuck at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm for a long time¡­¡± CH 417 When Shang Xia returned to the Shang Clan¡¯s territory, he didn¡¯t manage to see his Grandpa Ke. From what Shang Quan was telling him, the patriarch hadn¡¯t been back for a long time. Even as the person in charge of taking care of the Shang Clan¡¯s matters, he had no idea where Shang ke was. He wasn¡¯t able to learn anything about what the patriarch was doing either as all his questions were ignored. Shang Xia had a feeling his Grandpa Ke hadn¡¯t been back as he was running around looking for the herbs he needed to craft his advancement medicine. Even though he didn¡¯t reveal the full recipe to Shang Ke, Shang Xia mentioned about the Spirit of the Four Seasons before. Enough time had passed for Shang Ke to have met with Kou Chongxue to ask for the Spirit of Spring and the Jade Peach Blossom. Since Shang Ke hadn¡¯t returned, Shang Xia could only assume that he managed to find news on the other spirits. Just as he was about to make his way back to take a nice rest, he discovered Shang Quan¡¯s unnatural expression. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but chuckle with amusement. ¡°Uncle Quan, what¡¯s wrong, is there something you can¡¯t tell me?¡± Breathing deeply, Shang Quan eventually muttered, ¡°Yan Qi¡­ Your seventh uncle went missing¡­¡± ¡°What?!¡± Shang Xia turned to stare at Shang Quan as his brows furrowed deeply. ¡°What happened?! Do we know why he went missing?!¡± Shang Quan hesitated slightly but shook his head. ¡°Uncle Quan, is there something you can¡¯t say?¡± Shang Xia growled unhappily. With a helpless look on his face, Shang Quan eventually sighed, ¡°The old patriarch hasn¡¯t been dealing with matters regarding the clan for a long time now. I can¡¯t get a hold of Patriarch Ke at the moment and there¡¯s no one to deal with this. I reported Yan Qi¡¯s disappearance to them, but I didn¡¯t receive a reply. I was planning to get some of the disciples of our clan and other experts from the institution to help look for him, but most of them were too lazy to bother. There were some who said that they would keep a lookout, but they don¡¯t seem to be serious about it.¡± Shang Xia immediately understood the meaning behind Shang Quan¡¯s explanation. Yan Qi was a Martial Intent Realm expert, and he was a strong fighting force of the Shang Clan. However, he had the bloodline of those from the Azure Spiritual World and was discriminated against by the cultivators of the Azure Origin World. There were even members of the Shang Clan who were avoiding him. Even though he managed to gain Shang Bo and Shang Xia¡¯s trust in the recent years, he was still treated as an outsider by many members of the Shang Clan. Now that Yan Qi was missing in the battlefield between the two worlds, no one knew if he was killed or if he had surrendered and returned to the Azure Spiritual World. It would be fine if he was killed. However, if he ran away to the Azure Spiritual World, he might be running headfirst into a trap! Shang Xia thought about it for a second and growled resolutely, ¡°Seventh Uncle won¡¯t go to the other side. We have to look for him! I¡¯ll think of a plan.¡± Shaking his head, Shang Quan muttered, ¡°Actually, I think that Yan Qi¡¯s disappearance has something to do with¡­¡± He might not have said who it was related to, but he pointed to the space before him and tapped the air lightly. Shang Xia was slightly taken aback and he seemed to have thought of something. However, he remained silent and nodded before choosing to return to his room. After two days had passed, Shang Xia, who didn¡¯t actually exert himself much from his previous talisman crafting phase, was fully rested again. It was hard to keep track of how long had actually passed in the battlefield between the two worlds. However, the Tongyou Institution lived up to their reputation as they developed a way to record how much time had gone by. Even though there was still a day left until he needed to start the next batch of talismans, Shang Xia returned to the Talisman Hall a day early to familiarize himself further with things there. He might have joined them formally, but he didn¡¯t know much about how things were run there. He didn¡¯t even know who his fellow members were! As a rank three Talisman Master, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t possibly rely on others to introduce him wherever he went. Not to mention the fact that he was probably one of the best rank three Talisman Masters in the institution at the moment. He also needed to look at the inheritance he had been promised. After all, he had been looking forward to them for quite some time now. However, someone stood in his way the moment he was about to leave. ¡°Oh? Aunt Xi, when did you come back?¡± Shang Xia stared at Shang Xi in shock. He also noticed the change in her aura. She seemed to have difficulty suppressing her strength and he chortled with amusement, ¡°You seem like you¡¯re going to undergo your third divine sense transformation, congratulations!¡± Shang Xi nodded and said, ¡°I found an opportunity to break through because of the battles I¡¯ve been through. I came back in order to enter seclusion to complete my third divine sense transformation.¡± To access the premium content, go to [ pawread dot com ]. ¡°You came to look for me because¡­¡± Shang Xia raised an eyebrow and got to the main point. ¡°Stinking brat, I heard that you were starting your preparations to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm.¡± Shang Xi muttered while rolling her eyes. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t surprised that his aunt received the news. He laughed along with her, ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not going to be easy. I have no idea how long I¡¯ll take to be able to finish my advancement medicine.¡± Tilting her head to the side, Shang Xi asked, ¡°Is it because of your extermination origins?¡± Shang Xia was slightly taken aback and understood that Shang Ke probably briefed her about the details regarding his breakthrough and he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Aunt Xi, did you run into Grandpa Ke before coming here?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t see him. However, he sent me a transmission talisman telling me to warn you to avoid the Yuxi Peak at all costs.¡± Shang Xi shook her head while saying. Only then did Shang Xia recall that Shang Ke had told him that it was possible for world origin to exist on the Yuxi Peak. However, he also told Shang Xia that the situation there was unclear and not to head over recklessly. Now that Shang Ke told Shang Xi to relay the message to not head over to the Yuxi Peak at all costs, it was probably a lot more dangerous than he had expected. That quickly piqued Shang Xia¡¯s interest. ¡°Is it really dangerous in there?¡± Shang Xi glanced at him from the corner of her eye and warned him seriously, ¡°From what I know, at least two Martial Intent Realm experts and several Martial Extremity Realm disciples have already entered. Not a single one of them managed to return.¡± ¡°I wonder what mysteries are contained within¡­¡± Shang Xia thought out loud. Hesitating slightly, Shang Xi continued, ¡°The Yuxi Peak is extremely weird right now. It seemed to be surrounded by some sort of weird power. Someone guessed that there might be world origin in there. There might also be extermination origins contained on the Yuxi Peak. With the addition of heaven and earth qi from precious herbs, the true qi, and blood qi used by cultivators of both worlds, the entire area is like a giant tank of destructive power. Anyone who enters will be unable to emerge unscathed.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the institution try to discover what is happening within?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°That¡¯s what makes it weird.¡± Shang Xi muttered, ¡°Not a single one of them went over personally to check the area out. That can only mean two things. Either nothing there interests them or they¡¯re not confident of emerging from the Yuxi Peak. From the looks of it, the second possibility is more likely.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression flickered unsteadily when he heard her explanation. If there really was world origin there, he had to make a trip over no matter how dangerous it was. Now that there were rumors of extermination origins being there too, he was even more interested in going there. Even though Martial Extermination Realm experts might be afraid of the Yuxi Peak, Shang Xia had the Crimson Soul Tablet and the Spirit Extermination Gourd. He wasn¡¯t actually too afraid of the dangers there. ¡°Are you even more tempted to go to the Yuxi Peak after hearing what I said?¡± Shang Xi snorted coldly when she noticed the look in his eyes. ¡°Yep!¡± Shang Xia thought about how to phrase his words before he continued, ¡°I have to go there eventually. However, I need to deal with the matters in the Talisman Hall first.¡± Shang Xi nodded in response. ¡°It¡¯s important to finish what you have to in the Talisman Hall. I learned about the matter of the grand formation around our Observation Peak not too long ago. The Yuxi Peak isn¡¯t going to run away anytime soon. You can head over when you have the time.¡± Before Shang Xia could leave, he was called back by Shang Xi again. ¡°What other ingredients do you need for your advancement formula? Do you need my help to look for them?¡± After thinking about it for a short while, Shang Xia told her about everything else he needed other than the Spirit of the Four Springs, Jade Peak Blossom, Windchime Grass, and Spring Water. Noting them down, Shang Xi said seriously, ¡°I¡¯ll keep a look out for all of them. As long as I receive news of any of them, I¡¯ll let you know immediately.¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t stop there. He continued, ¡°Aunt Xi, I also need to ask you to help with something else. I heard that there are many private gatherings among Martial Intent Realm cultivators around our Observation Peak. Even though I told Uncle Quan to help keep a lookout, he¡¯s no Martial Intent Realm cultivator at the end of the day. I can only hope that you can help me with it.¡± ¡°Private gatherings?¡± Another voice arrived before Shang Xi could say anything. Shang Jian emerged from another entrance and looked at the two of them. ¡°What a coincidence. There will be a private gathering in exactly one month. It¡¯s a little more difficult to enter this gathering than those before as only Martial Intent Realm experts who have completed their third divine sense transformation and above will be allowed in.¡± Shang Xi was also tempted by the news and she asked, ¡°Is this gathering meant to deal with herbs or ingredients required for breakthrough to the Martial Extermination Realm?¡± Shang Jian nodded while chuckling, ¡°Seems like it. Anyone who can attend the gathering this time has to be someone who has the qualification to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm. Everyone only has one goal there and that is to get ready to break through. Most of the treasures traded there should be related to advancement medicine or the like.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression was solemn as he thanked Shang Jian for the information. ¡°Second Uncle, many thanks for letting me know.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll learn about it even if I didn¡¯t tell you today. Now that you know, you can start making your preparations.¡± Shang Jian waved his hands casually and said. When he was done, he asked Shang Xi about the herbs Shang Xia required to advance before gasping in surprise. ¡°Why does the Nine Leaf Lotus sound so familiar? I heard a piece of news earlier but I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s real. It¡¯s said that Deacon Ge Qingzhu in the institution managed to harvest a pond full of lotuses. He obtained a lot of lotus seeds, roots, and the like. I don¡¯t know the details, but you can try asking to see if he has what you need.¡± Shang Xi thought about it for a second before muttering, ¡°There seems to be a deacon with that name in the institution¡­¡± Shang Xia¡¯s ears perked up and he hopped away quickly. ¡°Alright! Anyway, I¡¯ll head back to the Talisman Hall now.¡± Looking at Shang Xia¡¯s hastily leaving figure, Shang Jian asked, ¡°Seventh Sister, do you know what type of advancement medicine he¡¯s using to break through?¡± ¡°That damn kid has a lot of secrets on him. Haha, there¡¯s no need for us to dig into his matters. Whatever the case, he¡¯ll always be our nephew.¡± Shang Xi muttered softly. Shang Jian also followed up with a chuckle. ¡°That¡¯s true. Oh right. I think Fifth Uncle has already left the battlefield between the two worlds.¡± Raising her eyebrows in shock, Shang Xi gasped, ¡°Oh? Do you know where he went?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t too sure. However, he should be looking for those herbs you told me about earlier.¡± Shang Xi was extremely sharp. She quickly thought of a matter and seemed to have made a connection. ¡°Oh, right! It should be autumn outside the battlefield between the two worlds now, right?¡± Shang Jian smiled in response. ¡°Haha¡­ There might not be any Dragon Headed Wintersweet at the moment, but there might be some Glass Daisy Chrysanthemum in the Taihang Mountains. Third Sister is somewhere in the area right now and we can¡¯t forget that she owes the little kid a little too much¡­¡± CH 418 Shang Xia returned to the Talisman Hall a day before the agreed time as he wanted to ensure everything was in place. Also, he wanted to look through the inheritance of other rank three talismans the institution possessed. Of the various talismans they had in their records, Shang Xia was actually the most interested in the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman. The talisman that could allow him to open a low-grade spatial artifact without destroying its contents was something Shang Xia wanted to get his hands on for a long time now. However, there was one more pressing matter at hand. Shang Xia had to look for Ren Huan to get a few rank tree talisman papers before anything else. When he finally arrived back at the Talisman Hall, he was quickly noticed by someone. This time, the look on their faces was filled with a lot more respect than before. He emerged from his secret chamber 4 days ago and took out 3 complete Formation Talismans. A 50 percent success rate for a young Talisman Master like him was considered a terrifying statistic, and it was truly a frightening achievement! For those who thought that he had cheated, the talismans Shang Xia crafted were verified by Gong Hang, Fan Yuanhui, and even the Martial Extermination Realm Zhang Haogu! There was no way for anyone to doubt him. Members in the talisman hall would ordinarily be ranked according to their abilities. As Shang Xia was a rank three Talisman Master, he was a respected expert in the Talisman Hall. However, no one could deny that he was a little too young at the moment. He was an Upper Division disciple at the end of the day and almost everyone in the Talisman Hall could be considered his senior. As such, the respect they were showing was filled with a sense of awkwardness. Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t bother with the way they thought about him. He responded to all the greetings he received pretty casually. As he walked across the Talisman Hall, he discovered that his desire to look for Ren Huan couldn¡¯t be fulfilled at the moment. ¡°Huh? He was summoned by the Formation Hall?¡± Shang Xia looked at another rank three craftsman, Craftsman Qiao, in shock. Craftsman Qiao had a deep foundation in the Talisman Hall as his skill of crafting talisman papers was really impressive. At the moment, he was in charge of all the talisman paper craftsmen and Shang Xia naturally went to him in order to find Ren Huan. ¡°Mister Qiao, do you know why they¡¯re looking for Brother Ren Huan?¡± Shang Xia asked politely. A bitter smile appeared on Craftsman Qiao¡¯s face and he replied, ¡°Talisman Master Shang, I truly have no idea. The members of the Formation Hall wouldn¡¯t tell me something like that!¡± ¡°Who else knows about this? Did they go through Teacher Gong Hang or Teacher Fan when they summoned him?¡± Shang Xia continued asking. ¡°We even disturbed Teacher Gong and Teacher Fan who were in the process of crafting talismans to head over. That¡¯s not all. Head Zhang went over to the Formation Hall too.¡± Craftsman Qiao replied. A despondent look appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he muttered, ¡°Alright. I will have to trouble Craftsman Qiao to send some items into my secret chamber if there isn¡¯t anything else. I plan to start crafting another batch of talismans tomorrow.¡± Craftsman Qiao chuckled in response, ¡°Of course. It¡¯s my duty to do so. Talisman Master Shang, rest assured that everything you need will be there.¡± Before Shang Xia could take his leave, he thought of something else and asked, ¡°Oh right, I need to ask you another question so please enlighten me.¡± ¡°Of course. Ask me anything, I¡¯ll help you to the best of my abilities.¡± Shang Xia chuckled in response. ¡°Mister Qiao, do you know of a Deacon called Ge Qingzhu?¡± Craftsman Qiao smiled when he heard the question. ¡°Talisman Master Shang, are you also aiming for the lotus Deacon Ge obtained?¡± Shang Xia raised his eyebrows in shock. ¡°Oh! Looks like there are a lot of people looking for him¡­¡± Craftsman Qiao chuckled in amusement, ¡°Of course there are. It even caused Deacon Ge to hide from everyone he knew. No one is able to find him.¡± ¡­ After Craftsman Qiao took his leave, Shang Xia decided to look for the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman inheritance from the institution alone. However, he eventually decided against it with Zhang Haogu, Gong Hang, and Fan Yuanhui being too busy to help him with it. He could only return to his secret chamber like an obedient talisman master ready to start his craft. Craftsman Qiao worked extremely quickly too. Not too long after Shang Xia entered his secret chamber, a group of disciples arrived with a huge batch of ingredients. Shang Xia understood that normally, rank three Talisman Masters would only attempt three talismans in a month. Only when time was of the essence would they increase the number of attempts by one. However, they wouldn¡¯t be able to keep it up for multiple months as that might adversely affect their divine sense. After the increased production, the rank three Talisman Master would also take a longer break in order to restore himself to his peak. As times were desperate at the moment, Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui were crafting talismans with all they had. As soon as they restored their divine sense, they would start crafting the next talisman. The two of them might be familiar with crafting rank three Formation Talismans and the difficulty of those talismans was lower than other rank three talismans, but Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui were definitely going to suffer some hidden injuries due to their rapid pace of production. Under such circumstances, the two of them would start to make use of certain medicines or herbs to help recover quicker. When Shang Xia completed his bet with them and allowed them to see the error in their ways, it wasn¡¯t all bad for them. The burden they had was greatly alleviated with Shang Xia¡¯s addition to the rank three Formation Talisman crafting gang. After the disciples left, Shang Xia looked through everything they brought. He quickly discovered a round-shaped jade case that contained some sort of recovery medicine. That was a rank two medicine provided by the Talisman Hall to the rank three Talisman Masters and it was called the Thousand Mechanisms Spirit Recovery Powder. Not only could it hasten the recovery of divine sense, it could also strengthen it slightly. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. Even though the medicine was merely of the second rank, the effects it had on divine sense made it extremely precious. Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui were only able to keep up their monstrous pace of crafting talismans because of the Thousand Mechanisms Spirit Recovery Powder provided by the Talisman Hall. After Shang Xia adjusted his condition to his peak state, he activated the restrictions around the secret chamber and started his second batch of Formation Talismans. ¡­ When Shang Xia had seclusion, Shang Ke finally arrived on the Taihang Mountain range and was greeted by Shang Pei who had hastily made her way back from the southern border with the Si Continent. ¡°How are things? Did you run into any danger on the way here?¡± Shang Ke couldn¡¯t help but ask anxiously when he saw the dust-covered Shang Pei who seemed like she just tore herself out of trouble. ¡°Heh, it¡¯s just a bunch of dumbass lower bandits. There¡¯s no need to care about it.¡± Shang Pei waved her hands casually before handing him a sealed wooden box. ¡°Luckily, I managed to get it. Here. A stalk of Glass Daisy Chrysanthemum harvested in the Autumn.¡± Shang Ke knew that the dangers she ran into were far from what she was letting on, but since she wasn¡¯t willing to say much about them and managed to return safely, Shang Ke didn¡¯t think to press into the matter. He smiled in response, ¡°Alright! We managed to gather another herb Little Xia needs to break through! Everything else can only be obtained in the winter. Let¡¯s just hope that we manage to find a Dragon Headed Wintersweet then¡­¡± Shang Pei muttered, ¡°Dragon Headed Wintersweet usually grows in the Yang and Jing Continents. Even though I heard of traces of them appearing in the Xu and Yan continents, they¡¯re pretty rare. It won¡¯t be easy to find them.¡± Shang Ke nodded slightly before sighing softly, ¡°Luckily for us, we still have nearly three months before winter falls. Let¡¯s head over to the Jing and Yang Continent separately and see what we can find.¡± ¡­ The Formation Hall wasn¡¯t too far away from the Talisman Hall, and because the grand formation of the Observation Peak had to be laid down as soon as possible, the Formation Hall was even more bustling than the Talisman Hall. In one of the newly built halls in the central region of the Formation Hall, several people were crowded around a sand table placed in the middle. A miniature version of the Observation Peak could be seen with countless markings everywhere. ¡°Head Zhang, why are you requesting for us to add the properties of wind and lightning into the formation all of a sudden? Aren¡¯t you making things difficult for us?¡± Ma Mingzheng was the person who spoke, and he seemed to be the person in charge of the Formation Hall for the time being. He was also a rank three Formation Master, and he was responsible for the grand formation on the Tongyou Peak previously. Zhang Haogu sighed helplessly, ¡°I¡¯m more anxious than any one of you here to finish the grand formation! However, we¡¯re strapped for time and it won¡¯t be easy for us to finish so many Formation Talismans. Luckily, Mister Ren over here has a bunch of Stormy Lightning Leaves we can use. If we turn these leaves into rank three talisman paper, they can boost the properties of both wind and lightning. If we can imbue the properties into our grand formation, we won¡¯t have to waste the resource!¡± ¡°If we really try to incorporate the power of wind and lightning into the grand formation, all our past preparations will need to undergo large scale changes! Even the completed formation core will have to be modified. It¡¯s too troublesome!¡± Ma Mingzheng explained. The words barely left his lips when Gong Hang added glumly at the side, ¡°If you¡¯re unwilling to modify the formation, we won¡¯t have enough talisman paper to complete our task. The deployment of the grand formation around our Observation Peak will be delayed accordingly. However, if you work a little harder and add the properties of wind and lightning into our grand formation, we would be able to finish our task alongside yours. Our grand formation would be a lot stronger than before. I believe you understand the reasoning behind our request.¡± Widening his eyes in shock, Ma Mingzheng rebutted, ¡°Mister Gong, the way you¡¯re putting it¡­¡± ¡°Alright, relax, relax!¡± Zhang Haogu quickly interrupted to prevent a huge argument from breaking out. He then turned to Ma Mingzheng to ask, ¡°Brother Ma, is there no other way about this?¡± Ma Mingzheng and Zhang Haogu were from the same generation anyway, and so was Gong Hang. However, Zhang Haogu entered the Martial Extermination Realm and became the head of the Scripture Depository. He was also the head of the Talisman Hall at the moment and his status was far from the other two. Even so, he didn¡¯t wish to put on airs in front of the two of them and he didn¡¯t adopt a superior tone when talking to the both of them. Luckily, both Gong Hang and Ma Mingzheng wouldn¡¯t ignore Zhang Haogu¡¯s authority just because he was talking to them nicely. When Ma Mingzheng was still thinking about how he should reply,. Another voice came from the side. ¡°It¡¯s not impossible to add the properties of wind and lightning into the grand formation. However, I need to see how much power of wind and lightning is contained in the Stormy Lightning Leaf before we do anything. If it¡¯s strong enough, we can definitely justify modifying the formation. Anyway, you lot from the Talisman Hall won¡¯t be able to finish the talismans any time soon. We won¡¯t be wasting any time even if we did some work on the formation. However, if the power of wind and lightning isn¡¯t strong enough, it won¡¯t be worth it for us to change the formation.¡± Turning to look at the source of the voice, Zhang Haogu saw Chu Jia staring at the sand table with a deep frown on her face. Ma Mingzheng nodded after hearing what she said and he seemed to agree. Shooting a glance at Ren Huan, Zhang Haogu signaled for him to hand a piece of completed rank three talisman paper over. As the three rank three Formation Masters of the Tongyou Institution examined the talisman paper, Zhang Haogu fell deep into thought. He heard that Ma Mingzheng¡¯s position was about to be taken over, and from what he had just seen, things were likely as he had heard. CH 419 ¡°It¡¯s not enough.¡± After Chu Jia examined the talisman paper made from the Stormy Lightning Leaf, she shook her head. As the Formation Master most likely to enter the fourth rank in the future, her words carried a lot of weight. Gong Hang¡¯s expression turned a little ugly after hearing what she said. However, Zhang Haogu wasn¡¯t too disappointed when he heard Chu Jia¡¯s evaluation. In a calm voice, he asked, ¡°According to Instructor Chu¡¯s estimations, how many talisman papers like that do we need before it can reach your standards?¡± Chu Jia was a talented Formation Master of the Tongyou Institution, and she had been promoted to an instructor recently. Her position was similar to Zhang Haogu¡¯s own before he advanced. After thinking for a second, she muttered, ¡°Instructor Zhang, this isn¡¯t about the quantity of talisman paper made from the leaves. It¡¯s about the strength of wind and lightning contained in them.¡± Perhaps some of them around had no idea what she was talking about, but Chu Jia surprisingly decided to explain a little more. ¡°Even if we start the transformation process and modify the grand formation, we would only be able to modify a third of it. Even if we use 17 Formation Talismans made from this talisman paper, the effects won¡¯t be too visible. Unless¡­¡± ¡°Unless?¡± Zhang Haogu followed up quickly. ¡°Unless we have a corresponding rank three talisman of the wind and lightning attribute to supplement it. Moreover, it will bring about a substantial boost to the grand formation.¡± Chu Jia concluded. ¡°Rank three Wind and Lightning attributed talismans?¡± Zhang Haogu muttered out loud before turning to Gong Hang. ¡°Do we have a wind and lightning attribute talisman inheritance?¡± ¡°We have an inheritance for a wind talisman, and a lightning talisman. As for a talisman with both attributes¡­¡± Gong Hang muttered. At the end, he could only shake his head helplessly. Seeing his reaction, Chu Jia shot Zhang Haogu a helpless gaze. When everything thought that the situation had been concluded, a surprising figure strolled into the hall. The moment they saw Shang Bo¡¯s face, everyone snapped to attention. ¡°Deputy Patriarch Shang!¡± ¡°Head Instructor!¡± Everyone bowed in unison as they greeted him respectfully. Signaling for everyone to be at ease, he turned to Chu Jia and spoke, ¡°Shang Xia managed to find the Lightning Bird and its flock of Mutated Wind Swallows. This old man made a trip over the other day and discovered that the Lightning Bird is at the edge of breaking through. It doesn''t seem hostile towards me and I can tell that it will be willing to return to nest on our Observation Peak.¡± He then made some simple introductions of the Lightning Bird to everyone present before he continued, ¡°There aren''t any more tall mountains in our territory and we need to construct a region that contains the power of wind and lightning for them to nest. If we can integrate it into the formation, we can use the power of wind and lightning to nurture the nest during times of peace. When we need to activate the formation, we can draw on their power to face the threat. No matter what, our Tongyou Institution will benefit from it.¡± Zhang Haogu¡¯s interest was piqued after he heard about the Lightning Bird and he continued, ¡°When the Lightning Bird breaks through in the future, wouldn¡¯t that mean that our Observation Peak will possess a guardian beast of the fourth rank and its flock?!¡± Shang Bo nodded happily. That was his intention in the first place. Everyone¡¯s gaze returned to Chu Jia since she seemed to be the person in charge of the formation now. Without a doubt, none of them would be willing to give up a chance to make the Lightning Beast and its flock nest on the Observation Peak. Chu Jia understood the principles and importance of it but if they were truly going to do it, the modification they talked about earlier wouldn¡¯t be enough. They were going to have to undergo an actual large scale project. Everyone present was extremely patient as they stayed silent to wait for Chu Jia to give an answer. No matter how everyone present was probably her senior, none of them tried pestering her to give an answer. An unknown amount of time had passed before she finally released a soft sigh. ¡°It would be great if we manage to make the Lightning Bird and its flock make their nest here¡­¡± Only then did audible sighs fill the air. Ma Mingzheng and Bai Luming, who were a little more familiar with Chu Jia, understood since she was able to give a reaction like that, she should probably have an idea on how to proceed. ¡°However¡­¡± Chu Jia spoke up again, causing everyone¡¯s heart to thump violently again. ¡°We most definitely need more Formation Talismans crafted with these paper. Also, I need to meet Shang Xia! Hmph! We came up with a proper plan to lay down the grand formation and he¡¯s making a mess of it now. We even need to change the formation core that has already been completed. I know that he managed to comprehend a lightning-attributed martial intent called the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm or something. I wonder if he can produce a wind and lightning attributed talisman. Heh, watch me suck all his lightning essence dry!¡± The smile on Chu Jia¡¯s face became more sinister the more she spoke, and everyone else could only stare at each other in confusion. The atmosphere quickly became weird. Hey my great grandaunt, why are you talking about messing with Shang Xia when this monstrous grandpa is standing right in front of you?! What the f¡­ Who would have thought that Shang Bo would nod in agreement. ¡°Yes! That¡¯s the spirit! Go ahead and do what you need to. I¡¯ll give you all the support you need.¡± Puffing her chest up, a triumphant smile plastered itself onto her face as she stomped away. Zhang Haogu looked at everyone around who was coughing and yawning to pretend not to see Chu Jia¡¯s antics and he quickly broke the awkward silence. Even so, he couldn¡¯t help but shoot Shang Bo a strange gaze. ¡°Old Man Shang, isn¡¯t your grandson twenty years old or slightly younger this year? Instructor Chu is already thirty¡­ Don¡¯t you think the age gap is a little¡­¡± Shang Bo returned Zhang Haogu¡¯s suspicious gaze with one of his own and snorted, ¡°Old Man Zhang, is your brain filled with filth? You don¡¯t seem to act like a teacher at all!¡± Grunting softly, Zhang Haogu turned away from Shang Bo and chose to remain silent. The next moment, Shang Bo¡¯s mischievous voice rang in his ears again. ¡°Heh, after a cultivator enters the Martial Extermination Realm, their longevity will increase greatly. A difference of ten or so years can¡¯t be considered huge at all! Don¡¯t you think that those two little brats will enter the Martial Extermination Realm in the future?¡± Zhang Haogu couldn¡¯t be bothered with Shang Bo any longer and he simply turned the other way. ¡­ Obviously, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t know that trouble was approaching rapidly. At the moment, he had just applied the Thousand Mechanism Spirit Recovery Powder onto his temples and he was feeling a wave of comfort washing through his mind. He could clearly feel his divine sense recovering quickly. ¡°Damn. I was careless. I was too careless!¡± Shang Xia grumbled softly while massaging his temples. He stared at the final piece of rank three Formation Talisman he managed to craft with a bitter smile on his face. Under his feet sat 3 pieces of broken talisman paper. Initially, Shang Xia thought that he would have an easy time crafting the Formation Talismans with his experience. Unfortunately, reality gave him a huge slap in the face. He would need three days in order to complete one proper talisman and he couldn¡¯t lose focus the entire time. However, most Talisman Masters would be distracted by many things during the entire process. That was where their strong divine sense and willpower came in. They would usually block anything that would interfere with the crafting process, but there were some things that they couldn¡¯t fully prevent. This time, Shang Xia only managed to finish three Formation Talismans in the twenty odd days that he was in seclusion. The six pieces of rank three talisman paper he was provided with were used up, and he quickly recovered his divine sense with a few days of rest. Only then did he emerge from his secret chamber. During his last few days of rest, not only was he trying to recover, he was also reflecting on his actions and dwelling on the lessons he learned. Who would have thought that the moment he stepped foot outside his secret chamber, Chu Jia was standing there waiting for him. The two of them were rank three masters in their respective halls and should be on equal footing with each other. It was pretty unfortunate for Shang Xia as he was still a student in the Upper Division at the moment. Chu Jia was an instructor of the institution, and she could be considered his teacher. A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. There was no way a student could refuse to see his teacher, right? Moreover, he was actually curious about the reason the genius Formation Master was looking for him. One had to know that not everyone could be taught by Chu Jia in the institution. One had to be in the Inner Division at the very least, but there was one legendary figure who hasn¡¯t attended any lessons ever since he was in the Outer Division. The only interaction said legend had with Chu Jia was their interaction in the Coral Forest and that was the only impression they had of one another. Now that Shang Xia was meeting Chu Jia again, he discovered that this weird Formation Master¡¯s cultivation had already reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. Which was to say that her cultivation level was similar to him, and they were both ready to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm. Regardless, Chu Jia had always been a lazy bum. If she could get someone else to do something, she would definitely do so. As long as her eyebrows weren¡¯t on fire or something similar, she wouldn¡¯t deal with it herself. The only reason the Formation Hall could operate effectively and finish the formation core was because Ma Mingzheng had been nagging her every single day. Because of that, she finally focused and completed the blueprint of the new grand formation so everyone could start work on the rest. That was probably also the reason she was extremely annoyed with Shang Xia now that she had to make large scale changes and increase her workload. The instant Shang Xia saw Chu Jia, he wanted to make a slight bow to respect her status as a teacher. Before he could even start the motion, Chu Jia leaped in front of him and glared at him from head to toe. ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re making things difficult for me on purpose!¡± Reeling back in fright and shock, Shang Xia asked, ¡°Instructor Chu, what do you mean?¡± ¡°Hmph, hmph!¡± Twisting around violently, she crossed her arms before walking back to where she appeared from. A faint fragrance was left in the air. When Shang Xia was utterly confused and wanted to ask about the situation, she stretched out a single hand to stop him. ¡°Do you know how to craft a rank three talisman with the properties of wind and lightning?¡± Raising both eyebrows in shock, Shang Xia didn¡¯t give her a straight reply. Instead, he asked a question of his own, ¡°Instructor Chu, why are you asking about that all of a sudden?¡± ¡°Hmph, you don¡¯t need to know my reasons. Just tell me if you know how to make one.¡± Shang Xia might be feeling a trace of annoyance creeping up on him, but at the end of the day, she was still his senior and she was a teacher to boot. He couldn¡¯t help but answer, ¡°I know of a talisman that possesses both the elements of wind and lightning. However, I haven¡¯t tried making it.¡± He wasn¡¯t bullshitting. Of the rank three talismans recorded in the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture, one of them did indeed possess what Chu Jia wanted. It was something Shang Xia had recalled after getting Ren Huan to craft talisman paper from those Stormy Lightning Leaves. ¡°Great!¡± Clapping, she hopped into the air out of the blue, surprising Shang Xia yet again. She seemed to ignore the strange looks Shang Xia were shooting at her and she continued, ¡°No matter what type of method you use, you need to create seven of those in the next two months. Otherwise, Hehe¡­ You can¡¯t blame me if the grand formation doesn''t possess the power of wind and lightning.¡± CH 420 ¡°I don¡¯t care how you do it. In 2 months, you need to finish 7 of those talismans. Otherwise, the grand formation will not be able to be deployed on schedule. If that happens, you¡¯ll be responsible for everything instead of our Formation Hall!¡± Chu Jia turned to leave as soon as she spoke. She didn¡¯t even bother looking at Shang Xia again as she left the Talisman Hall. ¡°7 rank three talismans in 2 months?! Hey, are you serious?!¡± Shang Xia frowned when he looked at Chu Jia¡¯s graceful figure sauntering away. ¡°Heh, you can tell everyone that you are unable to do it. No one is forcing you to finish those talismans!¡± Chu Jia¡¯s voice rang through the air as she continued to take her leave. ¡°I sure hope that you can¡¯t do it. That will save me a lot of trouble since I won¡¯t have to change the formation any more.¡± Not too long after Chu Jia had left, Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense discovered several people approaching. He could easily identify Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui, but the third presence was a little hazy. Even so, it failed to avoid his detection and it should probably be Zhang Haogu who advanced not too long ago. Even though he managed to detect the three of them, Shang Xia had a feeling that he was missing something. A trace of curiosity couldn¡¯t help but form in his heart. Increasing the strength of his divine sense, he tried to look for the thing that was eluding him but failed nonetheless. With the three of them getting closer and closer, the feeling of something else being there became all the more intense. With no other choice, Shang Xia could only wait for them to arrive before looking for the thing he was looking for. Just as he got out to look at who was coming, he saw four people walking towards him. Other than the three he detected, he discovered what he was missing. The other was his Grandpa Bo. Gasping in fright, he was met with a smile that wasn¡¯t really a smile from his grandfather. Turning to look at Zhang Haogu, he saw the old instructor looking at him with a regretful gaze. It seemed as though the two of them had noticed the interaction between himself and the grandaunt from the Formation Hall earlier. Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui were approaching without too many weird expressions on their faces. ¡°Grandpa! Instructor Zhang, Teachers¡­¡± Shang Xia greeted immediately. Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. As the four of them arrived one after another, Shang Bo and Zhang Haogu casually glanced at the same region before finding a seat and acting like nothing happened. When everyone was present, Zhang Haogu broke the silence. ¡°Did someone come over here to make your life difficult earlier?¡± A bitter smile appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face and said everything he experienced earlier. At the same time, he realized that the four of them had probably waited for her to leave before coming to look for him. ¡°Oh? Talisman Master Shang, you actually know how to craft a rank three talisman that contains the element of wind and lightning?¡± ¡°Wait, you need to craft 7 of them in 2 months? Is Formation Master Chu crazy?! Even if she wants an ordinary talisman, crafting 7 of them in 2 months is crazy!¡± Shang Xia barely finished his recount when Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui revealed gasps of shock. Zhang Haogu shot a curious gaze at Shang Xia and silenced the rest before telling him what happened during their negotiations in the Formation Hall. When he was done recalling what happened, he asked, ¡°What is the name of the talisman you want to craft anyway?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the Gale Thunderbolt Talisman.¡± Shang Xia replied. ¡°How difficult is it to create?¡± Zhang Haogu asked again. Pausing for a second, Shang Xia replied, ¡°It¡¯s extremely difficult. I know the theory behind it, but I haven¡¯t tried crafting it for myself.¡± The look of disappointment that filled Zhang Haogu¡¯s face in the next second couldn¡¯t be concealed. Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui shook their heads and sighed collectively. Zhang Haogu soon continued, ¡°However, from what I understand from Instructor Chu¡¯s personality, she probably requested seven of them because she''s too lazy to modify the formation. In order to not let everyone think that she''s the one who refuses to make the modifications, she threw out an impossible task. At the very least, she can let us back off ourselves.¡± Pausing for a moment, he fell into deliberation before he added, ¡°If that is truly the case, we probably don¡¯t need 7 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans. You probably only need 5 of them to fulfill her request. Even if you don¡¯t finish 5 of them, 3 or 4 of them might be enough for the time being.¡± With his eyes widening in shock, Shang Xia gasped, ¡°Can she even do that?!¡± Zhang Haogu could only chuckle bitterly in response. With Chu Jia¡¯s talent for cultivation and formation building, the Tongyou Institution was expecting for her to become a rank four Formation Master in the future. That was why they had been more than accommodating to her laziness and attitude. That was also why Ma Mingzheng had been given the task to nag at her all day long despite being her senior. Gong Hang chimed in from the side, ¡°Even if it¡¯s just 3 to 5 pieces, it¡¯s not something Talisman Master Shang can come up with in 2 short months! He hasn¡¯t even tried it before. How much time would he need to come up with the first successful talisman? That¡¯s not even considering the success rate of crafting a new talisman altogether. It¡¯s difficult to even hit the minimum of 3 pieces we need¡­¡± Fan Yuanhui added, ¡°The Gale Thunderbolt Talisman contains the power of wind and lightning. The difficulty far surpasses other rank three talismans! It¡¯s impossible for him to complete it in 2 months! It would be an amazing feat if Talisman Master Shang manages to complete a talisman in a month. Hmph, we¡¯ll tell the Formation Hall to wait for 3 months if they wish to obtain any of these talismans!¡± As the words left his lips, a wave of heaven and earth qi emerged from his feet. Soon after, a ball of light that was the size of a palm appeared before them. ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± Fan Yuanhui leaped backward in shock as he glared at the location where the ball of light originated from. Fan Yuanhui might be surprised, but Shang Xia quickly realized what was going on. His taut nerves quickly relaxed and he saw that Shang Bo and Zhang Haogu didn¡¯t seem surprised at all. They seem to have already expected something like that to happen. Chu Jia, who had left a long time ago, was nowhere to be seen. However, her voice emerged from the ball of light. ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m obviously capable of turning 3 pieces of that Gale Thunderbolt Talisman into something that can change the grand formation, but using 5 and 7 pieces will be much better and allow me to increase the power in the formation. Also, if your Talisman Hall dares to drag it out for an extra month, I won¡¯t do it anymore!¡± The ball of light scattered the moment the final words came out of her mouth. It turned into a butterfly that fluttered over to Shang Xia¡¯s ears. When it arrived, her whisper entered his ears. ¡°This time, this grandaunt here isn¡¯t messing around with you! You heard me!¡± When the butterfly scattered, everyone present fell silent. Everyone seemed to be thinking of ways to solve the problem, but Shang Xia was thinking about how she managed to lay down a formation without him noticing anything. The formation she laid down was extremely small, and it seemed to assimilate itself with the restrictions all around. He didn¡¯t even notice it initially. After a short period of silence, Shang Bo, who had remained silent all that while, finally spoke up. ¡°3 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans in 2 months¡­ Are you confident of doing it?¡± Shang Xia sighed helplessly, ¡°I haven¡¯t tried making it before. How can I be confident of doing it?¡± Actually, there was another way about it and it had already crossed the minds of those present. It was just that no one was willing to bring it up. That was to buy 3 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans from somewhere else. Getting a single piece was possible, but getting their hands on 3 of them was a problem. Moreover, looking for it from outside sources will definitely raise some eyebrows. They might be able to guess what the Tongyou Institution was up to and that might allow their opponents to come up with ways to break the formation. ¡°Alright. You can give it a shot. If you are really unable to do so, I¡¯ll just have to head to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion and buy it from other powers¡­¡± Shang Bo got to his feet and looked at those present. ¡°Do you have anything else to bring up?¡± Zhang Haogu got to his feet next. ¡°This old man still needs to go speak to the Formation Hall about some matters. Teacher Gong and Teacher Fan still have to continue crafting talismans. Anyway, I¡¯ll take my leave first.¡± Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui bade their farewells and left quickly. When the three of them were gone, Shang Bo finally chuckled happily, ¡°Damn kid, you really caused a lot of trouble in the past few days. Because of you, your Grandpa Ke harassed nearly every single Martial Extermination Realm expert in the battlefield between the two worlds.¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but roar with laughter. He also followed it up with a question. ¡°Didn¡¯t Grandpa Ke already leave the battlefield between the two worlds?¡± Turning a little more serious, Shang Bo grunted softly, ¡°Yeah.¡± A look of embarrassment appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Is he¡­ Is he still running around to look for herbs I need?¡± ¡°Not really. He¡¯s just looking for them while doing something else¡­¡± Shang Bo chuckled. Seeing as his grandfather was unwilling to go into more details, Shang Xia cleverly decided to stop asking about it. ¡°Oh right. Just try your best to complete the Gale Thunderbolt Talisman. There¡¯s no need to feel too pressured to do it.¡± Shang Bo continued, ¡°Actually after Ji Wenlong entered the Martial Dipper Realm, our Tongyou Institution¡­ No. Our You Continent will be more or less capable of holding our own even after the spatial barrier disappears.¡± Thinking about it for a second, Shang Xia asked, ¡°This¡­ Our Observation Peak is trying to lay down a grand formation because our worlds are about to complete the fusion process?¡± ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s good for you to know about it now.¡± Shang Bo nodded. While he spoke, Shang Bo took out a jade case that had several layers of restrictions on it and handed it over to Shang Xia. ¡°There should be several treasures here you can use to craft your advancement medicine. Your Martial Uncle, Patriarch Kou, gave you the Flower Spirit. Oh, I mean, the Spirit of Spring. There¡¯s a piece of Jade Peach Blossom in there too. Also, there¡¯s an ancient tree bark in there that came from the Beyond Heavens Pavilion. It should be the Spirit of Winter you¡¯re looking for.¡± ¡°Spirit of Winter? Where did you get that?¡± Shang Xia was truly surprised by the gift. Originally, he asked Shang Ke to look for Kou Chongxue to get his hands on the Spirit of Spring. He was surprised that Kou Chongxue was willing to part with it. Who would have thought that Shang Bo would also get his hands on the Spirit of Winter? With the Spirit of Autumn he already had, the Spirit of the Four Seasons that Shang Xia felt would be extremely difficult to get was nearly complete! Shang Bo laughed when he heard the question. ¡°Your grandpa has been in the Martial Extermination Realm for tens of years now. Wouldn¡¯t I have collected some precious treasures along the way? I also know several important figures¡­¡± Shang Xia understood that in order to get the Spirit of Winter, his Grandpa Bo definitely relied heavily on his connections and even paid quite a huge price to do so. Gratefulness filled his heart as he thanked his Grandpa Bo sincerely, ¡°Grandpa, thank you!¡± CH 421 Clearly, the Gale Thunderbolt Talisman wasn¡¯t going to be easy to craft. Shang Xia just completed 3 Formation Talismans and even though he didn¡¯t exert himself too much, he didn¡¯t plan on starting immediately. What¡¯s more, he already made a promise to his second uncle and seventh aunt to join one of the secret gatherings of Martial Intent Realm cultivators on the Observation Peak. It wasn¡¯t easy to gain entry to the current gathering as everyone had to have completed their third divine sense transformation in order to get the qualifications to enter. As such, Shang Xia¡¯s expectations for the gathering were also pretty high. After giving Shang Xia the case with the Spirit of Spring and Spirit of Winter, Shang Bo also took his leave. As the deputy patriarch of the Tongyou Institution, he had a lot of things to take care of now that Kou Chongxue was in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion and Ji Wenlong was consolidating his foundations. Right now, he had to oversee everything that happened in the battlefield between the two worlds and there were truly too many things he had to keep an eye on. He didn¡¯t really have much free time. Before he left, he didn¡¯t forget to remind Shang Xia to head over to bring the Lightning Bird and the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows over to the Observations Peak when he was done with whatever he was doing. Shang Xia promised to do just that and the moment Shang Bo left, he followed closely behind. He disappeared from the Talisman Hall and returned to the territory of the Shang Clan. By the time he came back, Shang Xi and Shang Jian were already starting to make their preparations for the gathering. They didn¡¯t really leave the clan¡¯s territory while doing so. The moment Shang Xia saw them, he asked, ¡°Do we have any news of Uncle Yan Qi?¡± Shang Quan shook his head but looked at Shang Jian for an answer. ¡°After sending out all our transmission talismans, Third Uncle told us to not bother about Yan Qi.¡± Shang Jian muttered softly. Shang Xia was slightly taken aback and he thought about the matter himself. Eventually, he nodded and changed the topic. ¡°Second Uncle, Uncle Quan, how are our preparations for the gathering? Do we also know where and when it¡¯s going to be held?¡± The news of the gathering had already spread to most of the Martial Intent Realm cultivators in the battlefield between the two worlds. The only pieces of information that couldn¡¯t be confirmed was the time and place. ¡°Yes. it will be held in exactly three days under the Yuxi Peak.¡± Shang Jian replied. ¡°Yuxi Peak?!¡± Shang Xia¡¯s heart trembled slightly. ¡°Didn¡¯t that place turn into some sort of forbidden zone?¡± Shang Jian continued to explain, ¡°The seal around the Yuxi Peak seems to be extremely solid, but the location the gathering will be held is quite far from the region. We won¡¯t be disturbed by the chaotic qi coming from the Yuxi Peak no matter what happens.¡± Shang Xia could somewhat make the connection that Shang Jian was one of the organizers of the gathering. As such, the details he was revealing were pretty solid. ¡°Unfortunately, the Ji Clan managed to seize the initiative this time. Ji Min would be the one hosting the gathering when the time comes.¡± Shang Jian threw out another bomb all of a sudden. Reading deeper into the meaning behind his words, Shang Xia seemed to have discovered something interesting as he asked, ¡°Second Uncle, does this mean that this sort of gathering will be held in the future as well?¡± Shang Jian nodded in response. ¡°We didn¡¯t plan to hold the gathering because of a spur of the moment decision. Instead, all of us planned to do so in order to stabilize the situation. Our initial idea is to hold it regularly and for our four great clans to take turns being the host. The Ji Clan got to host this because Ji Wenlong entered the Martial Dipper Realm. We hope to use his reputation to suppress anyone who¡¯s thinking of causing trouble. That is why Ji Min will be the one to host the gathering. In the future, we have to obtain the host position no matter what!¡± Seeing the resolute expression on Shang Jian¡¯s face, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°Second Uncle, even though the Ji Clan is the one hosting the gathering, we¡¯re still part of the powers backing them. Don¡¯t we have some sort of sneak peek into what¡¯s to come?¡± Raising both eyebrows slightly, Shang Jian snickered, ¡°Of course we do. I¡¯ll give you something juicy right now. Ge Qingzhu, who went into hiding recently, will definitely show up. Also, he¡¯s going to bring a batch of the treasures he obtained to auction off.¡± ¡­ As Shang Xia was talking to Shang Jian and the others, a different scene was playing out in the Formation Hall. Three rank three Formation Masters were gathered together in discussion. ¡°Haiz, little lass, you¡¯re too stubborn this time!¡± Ma Mingzheng couldn¡¯t help but grumble after hearing what happened back at the Talisman Hall outside Shang Xia¡¯s secret chamber. ¡°You¡¯re making things difficult for Young Master Shang on purpose! Moreover, you did it right under Deputy Patriarch Shang¡¯s nose! What¡¯s more, you left behind a spying formation to eavesdrop on their conversation! Do you really think that Deputy Patriarch Shang and Head Zhang won¡¯t be able to discover what you did?¡± Chu Jia replied casually, ¡°I didn¡¯t think of hiding it from the two of them when I left the formation back there¡­¡± ¡°But you still did it!¡± Ma Mingzheng snapped angrily. With a wide smile appearing on her face, Chu Jia turned to Ma Mingzheng and chuckled softly, ¡°Alright, alright, I didn¡¯t mean any disrespect in the first place. I was only planning to show them who¡¯s boss¡­¡± Glaring at her, Ma Mingzheng growled, ¡°That¡¯s what you mean by not showing any disrespect?!¡± ¡°Hehe, No matter what, our Formation Hall has been the one calling the shots regardless of who we work with. However we put it, we¡¯re the ones doing the main bulk of the work. All of them are merely complementing our efforts. This time, because of a suggestion the Talisman Hall brought up, we¡¯ll have to carry out large scale modifications to the formation core we already set up. If we go along and let them do as they wish now, everyone will follow in their footsteps in the future.¡± Chu Jia explained while giggling. Grunting twice, Ma Mingzheng sneered, ¡°You¡¯re just afraid you won¡¯t get to slack off in the future.¡± ¡°Hehe! You¡¯re such a genius!¡± Seeing as everyone present knew her intentions anyway, she didn¡¯t bother hiding it. Ma Mingzheng could only shake his head helplessly. Seeing his reaction, she couldn¡¯t help but continue, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll head back to take a nap, alright?¡± On the surface, it looked like she was asking for Ma Mingzheng¡¯s permission to leave. However, she turned to leave after she spoke. Ma Mingzheng snorted under his breath, ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that Talisman Master Shang will be able to complete the talismans in time? What if he actually makes 5 of them?¡± When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Chu Jia yawned and muttered something under her breath that no one could hear before waving her hands casually. Without bothering with anyone¡¯s reaction, she strolled away. Looking at her leaving figure, Ma Mingzheng could only shake his head and sigh bitterly. Bai Luming, who had been silent all this while, finally broke the silence. ¡°Brother Mingzheng, you don¡¯t have to worry about her. Even though she shows a little¡­ A larger than average attitude¡­ She has never made a mistake. Neither will she fail to hit her deadlines.¡± Bai Luming observed Ma Mingzheng¡¯s reaction carefully and saw that he wasn¡¯t going to blow up in rage before he continued, ¡°Ever since I joined the institution, I haven¡¯t seen her drop the ball. She might get on your nerves and drag her feet whenever anything happens, she has always completed her task perfectly. She should know what she¡¯s doing. Brother Mingzheng, you can rest assured.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Ma Mingzheng thought for a second before realizing what he was trying to say. ¡°Are you telling me that the little lass has already come up with a way to finish the task?¡± Bai Luming nodded. ¡°If I¡¯m not wrong, that should be the case. It doesn¡¯t matter if Young Master Shang manages to complete the talismans, she should have a way to deal with the problem.¡± Ma Mingzheng couldn¡¯t help but stroke his already short beard while revealing a contented smile on his face after hearing what he said. ¡­ The Yuxi Peak could be seen in the distance as the Crimson Soul Tablet started to thump in his sea of consciousness. A huge swathe of crimson mist seemed to appear in front of him. From the aggressive thumping of the Crimson Soul Tablet, it seemed like it wanted to leap out from his mind. ¡°Little Xia!¡± The voice became louder in his mind and Shang Xia quickly snapped back to reality. Shang Xi¡¯s face popped up beside him and she asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Why did your gaze turn so aggressive when you look at the Yuxi Peak? You didn¡¯t even hear me calling you earlier.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing too much. The Yuxi Peak really transformed since the last time we came. I lost focus for a moment after seeing what happened to it.¡± Shang Xia chuckled in response. Rolling her eyes at him, Shang Xi continued, ¡°I thought that you exhausted too much of your divine sense after crafting so many talismans.¡± One had to say that the reason she came up with from out of nowhere was much better than the one he came up with. Shang Xia replied quickly, ¡°It¡¯s alright. It won¡¯t affect us in any way.¡± It was Shang Jian at the side who spoke up before Shang Xi could say anything. ¡°Little Xia, you can¡¯t be careless about things like that. I heard that the talismans you made were comparable to those crafted by Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui. The two of them have been crafting talismans for a long time and they would be much more used to the consumption of divine sense. You¡¯re young and cannot afford to injure your divine sense. You cannot affect your future prospects at all costs!¡± From the way they saw it, Shang Xia might be a genius in the way of talisman crafting, but there was no way he was better than Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui. They felt that he was using some sort of secret method to maintain his consumption to keep up with the two of them. That was why they were afraid that he would affect his future potential. If that was truly the case, it wouldn¡¯t be worth it in the slightest! Shang Jian and Shang Xi couldn¡¯t be blamed for the way they were thinking. No one would expect Shang Xia to be some perverted existence whose divine sense had exceeded their expectations. Actually, Shang Xi and Shang Jian made up their minds to head over to drag Shang Xia out of his secret chamber if he failed to return by the time they had to head over to the Yuxi Peak. In their eyes, the Talisman Hall took advantage of the time when Shang Ke wasn¡¯t present to exploit Shang Xia. Luckily, or unluckily for them, Shang Bo had barely returned from his adventures and hadn''t had the time to tell them about the Gale Thunderbolt Talisman. If they learned about it, who knew what ideas they would come up with to go knocking on the Talisman Hall¡¯s door to help protect Shang Xia¡¯s interests. CH 422 This time, the gathering would be held on a small hill that was 5 miles away from the foot of the Yuxi Peak. The arrangements might seem a little too simple, but from what Shang Xia could tell, the key locations were manned by the organizers of the gathering. Even though the place wasn¡¯t as secure as any fortified city, it was good enough for what they were about to do. That wasn¡¯t all. When Shang Xia released his divine sense earlier to take a look around, he could faintly feel a powerful aura surrounding them. He didn¡¯t know where it was coming from, but he knew it was somewhere close to where they were. Clearly, there was a Martial Extermination Realm expert presiding over the event. After thinking about it, Shang Xia realized that that was the way to go. For gatherings at that standard involving high-level Martial Intent Realm experts who were gathering resources to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm, there was no way for precautions not to be taken. Moreover, the four great clans had to be pulling the strings behind the exchange. For a huge event like that, there was no way it could be successfully carried out with the Tongyou Institution¡¯s approval. Not to mention the fact that they were currently in the battlefield between the two worlds. The experts of the Azure Spiritual World were lurking about. Even though they were currently in a ceasefire, that didn¡¯t mean that the Tongyou Institution would let their guards down. For such a massive event to take place at the foot of the Yuxi Peak, there was no way they could hide it successfully from the experts of the Azure Spiritual World. If there wasn¡¯t a Martial Extermination Realm expert present to stabilize the situation, who knew what might happen? If those experts from the four great races of the Liao Continent or those freaks from the Changbai Holy Land discovered a chance and decided to send a huge attack over, the promising experts of the You Continent who had hopes of entering the Martial Extermination Realm in the future would be killed in one fell swoop. That would be the greatest joke that would be played in the history of the Tongyou Institution. Before entering the venue, Shang Xia seemed a little distracted. He was trying to communicate with his Crimson Soul Tablet. He thought back to the time he just saw the Yuxi Peak and recalled the feeling when the tablet wanted to leap out from his sea of consciousness. That feeling caused some fear to linger in Shang Xia¡¯s heart. If the Crimson Soul Tablet were to really charge out from his sea of consciousness¡­ That was something Shang Xia hoped he never had to see. After a heart-stopping experience, a question formed in his mind: What in the world is on the Yuxi Peak to induce such a strong reaction from the Crimson Soul Tablet? It had to be world origin, but for the Crimson Soul Tablet to react so strongly, it had to be an astronomical amount of world origin. Shang Xia basically discovered the answer himself. But that begged the next question. What was he supposed to do? Was he going to have to get closer to the Yuxi Peak? Shang Xi and Shang Jian, who noticed his abnormal reaction before, didn¡¯t know the true reason behind it. His absent-minded behavior only reinforced their assumption that he expanded too much of his divine sense when he crafted talismans. They couldn¡¯t help but feel that their decision to bring him over to the gathering was the right one. As the time of the gathering drew closer, several figures started to gather around them. Shang Xia¡¯s attention only returned to the gathering when they had all entered the venue but looking around, only a third of the seats present were taken. Everyone was still slowly streaming in from all different directions. The number of cultivators who showed up was pretty impressive. Most of them hid their appearances and concealed their aura. Clearly, some of them didn¡¯t wish for their identities to be revealed. ¡°Oh? Are there really so many Martial Intent Realm cultivators who completed their third divine sense transformation in our You Continent?¡± Shang Xia gasped. ¡°The moment we stopped fighting in the battlefield between the two worlds, the news of this gathering had been spread around. The news reached those outside the battlefield, and there were even some cultivators who left the You Continent a long time and made their way over from all over the Azure Origin World.¡± Shang Jian replied. Even after hearing what Shang Jian said, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but look at the number of experts who were present. He used his divine sense to probe those present and muttered softly, ¡°Second Uncle, I don¡¯t think only members of our You Continent are present, right?¡± Shang Jian chuckled without answering the question directly. ¡°It¡¯s the first time we¡¯re holding such a large-scale gathering. We¡¯re most afraid of it being a flop. Even though that¡¯s not really likely to happen, as a precaution, all four clans reached a silent agreement that the first few items we bring out have to be a hit. Anyway, just bid on whatever you want as long as they bring out any item you require. As long as the price is right, they¡¯ll probably agree.¡± Shang Xia was slightly taken aback. Was that the legendary back door? From the way Shang Jian put it, that was what it sounded like! After Shang Jian, Shang Xi, and Shang Xia entered the venue, it didn¡¯t take long for the venue to pretty much fill up. Seeing as the time had arrived, a thin barrier covered the venue. The moment it appeared, a small portion of cultivators who were present immediately became alert. ¡°Everyone, please relax.¡± A voice rang from the center of the venue as a middle aged cultivator. His face was slightly yellowish in color, but other than that, there was nothing special about him. His voice covered the entire area the next moment. ¡°This is just an ordinary formation we¡¯re using to hide this location. It will not affect anyone who wishes to leave. If you don¡¯t believe me, feel free to check.¡± Shang Xia recognized the person immediately. He was Ji Min of the Ji Clan, and he was also the person who was hosting the gathering. His cultivation had already reached the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. He might not be the strongest or have the highest cultivation realm among everyone who was present, but he was someone who could call the shots in the Ji Clan. His status alone was more than enough to qualify him to be the host of the gathering. We are "pawread dot com", find us on google. After all, everyone present knew that there was a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor standing behind Ji Min. In fact, Ji Min didn¡¯t need to explain himself. Not too long after the formation was activated, many people could feel that they weren¡¯t restricted in any way. The peaceful atmosphere was quickly restored. Ji Min nodded slightly before cupping his fists and greeting everyone who came. ¡°I am glad everyone can make it today. I shall not waste any time and we¡¯ll get right into it! Please allow me to start things off.¡± After he spoke, he took out a formless object and placed it on the jade platform in front of him. The moment it appeared, Shang Xia discovered that several experts recognized the treasure and had sucked in deep breaths. ¡°I believe some of you here recognize this.¡± Ji Min paused for a second before he continued, ¡°This is a rank four treasure, the Formless Yarn. I hope to trade it for a piece of rank four Seven Aperture Copper or Scale Gravel.¡± He swept his gaze across the venue and hoped for someone to speak up. Unfortunately, the silence descended on the lands. ¡°Haha! If you''re staring off with something so precious, how are we supposed to proceed from here? The rest of our items will never be able to match up to it!¡± A sneer rang through the skies and brought about a wave of discussions. Shang Jian grumbled softly, ¡°Shit! We thought that we should start off with a bang. We forgot that this is a trade gathering, not an auction! Now that we brought out a rank four treasure, to start, many people might not be willing to show off their items.¡± Shang Xia understood what had happened. Even though the gathering was mainly for those gathering herbs to craft their rank four advancement medicine, there would only be several rank four treasures up for grabs. Most people would be dealing with rank three herbs or treasures. Shang Xia¡¯s advancement medicine, the Four Seasons Samsara Wine, might require a lot of rank four treasures, but a large part of those he required at the moment were rank three ingredients. As for other cultivators, most of them only required rank four herbs as the main ingredient. Most of the time, they would be looking for rank three stuff! Every cultivator wanted to maintain their reputation. For Ji Min to throw out a rank four treasure at the very start, most people wouldn¡¯t be able to bring out anything that outshined it in the future. Those who wanted to trade for rank three herbs might be too embarrassed to continue. Even if the gathering could continue as planned, the number of items that were put up for trade would be greatly reduced. When the various organizers were cursing their lack of thought, a voice rang through the air. ¡°I don¡¯t have any Seven Aperture Copper or Scale Gravel. However, I have a piece of Violet Crow Blood Rune Steel. Will you accept it?¡± The Violet Crow Blood Rune Steel threw the venue into another round of chaos. After all, it was also a piece of rank four treasure. Shang Xi¡¯s whisper entered Shang Xia¡¯s ears. ¡°That should be someone from the Liu Clan¡­¡± In order not to destroy the atmosphere entirely, the four clans had come to an agreement on how they should proceed. Ji Min seemed to be slightly taken aback as he thought for a second before replying, ¡°Fellow cultivator, the Violet Crow Blood Rune Steel might also be in the fourth rank and extremely valuable, but it¡¯s not something I need. I would still like to see if there is anyone with Seven Aperture Copper or Scale Gravel in the crowd.¡± The person who spoke paused for a second before he continued, ¡°What if no one has it?¡± Ji Min replied helplessly, ¡°The Violet Crow Blood Rune Steel might not be what I need exactly, but I still have uses for it. If no one has the items I want, I will agree to your trade.¡± Ji MIn looked around expectantly and asked, ¡°Is there anyone who wishes to trade with me?¡± Shang Xia noticed the silence that filled the air and knew that from how things were progressing, the Liu Clan was probably going to take home the Formless Yarn. Shang Xi¡¯s voice rang in his mind once again. ¡°I¡¯m afraid the Violet Crow Blood Rune Steel is something the Ji Clan actually needs too. Now that Ji Wenlong has entered the Martial Dipper Realm, they¡¯re definitely thinking of crafting a new weapon for him.¡± ¡°Are they planning to make a divine weapon?¡± Shang Xia asked. Before Shang Jian could say anything, a foreign voice rang through the crowd. ¡°I have some Scale Gravel with me. I wonder if it¡¯s enough to complete the trade?¡± CH 423 ¡°I have some Scale Gravel. I wonder if it¡¯s enough to make the trade?¡± The sudden interruption affected the conversation between Shang Xia and his aunt. It also attracted many gazes from those seated around. Ji Min¡¯s pupils shrank slightly and he quickly asked, ¡°Oh? How much are you talking about?¡± Pausing slightly, the reply eventually came. ¡°I have six taels of it!¡± ¡°Is that it? The Formless Yarn I brought out should be able to trade of nine taels of Scale Gravel.¡± Ji Min¡¯s expression sank. ¡°Eight teals.¡± The cultivator who spoke earlier interrupted Ji Min again. Due to the large bamboo hat covering his face, no one was able to see his appearance. ¡°This¡­ Even if you offer eight taels¡­¡± Ji Min seemed extremely interested nonetheless. He added, ¡°How are you going to make up for the difference? Let me make this clear before you make any counteroffers. There¡¯s no need to try using gold coins or silver essence to make up for it.¡± Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. The cultivator who wore the large bamboo hat waved his hand and sent a shadow flying towards Ji Min. ¡°What do you think about this?¡± Grabbing the item that flew his way, Ji Min realized that it was a sealed spiritual case. After opening it to confirm its contents, Ji Min sealed it properly before putting it away. ¡°Alright, deal!¡± ¡­ With the completion of the deal, Shang Xia saw that Shang Jian¡¯s lips started moving quickly. He seemed to be communicating with some other people. After the deal between Ji Min and the cultivator in the bamboo hat was complete, another cultivator went to the center platform. He had a face full of smiles and he greeted everyone by cupping his fists. ¡°I¡¯m no Ji Min. I don¡¯t have the foundations of the Ji Clan behind me and I am definitely unable to bring out any rank four treasure. However, I still have several interesting items on hand. I wonder if it will interest any of you¡­¡± Shang Xia looked at the cultivator who had a face full of smiles and was retrieving something from his sleeves and he turned to the side. ¡°Second Uncle, is this also someone on our side?¡± ¡°Strictly speaking, it¡¯s someone from the Yun Clan. He should be one of their guest elders and his family name is ¡®Du¡¯. It¡¯s said that he married a branch family member of the Yun Clan.¡± Shang Jian explained, Nodding slightly, Shang Xia turned back to look at the central platform. He saw the cultivator showing off some goods with a wide smile plastered on his face. ¡°Three Water Moon Pearls. These might be rank three treasures, but all three of them are of the same size. They are of comparable quality as well. It¡¯s not difficult to see that they¡¯re part of the same set.¡± Cultivator Du introduced, ¡°Anyone who can see that probably knows how much they¡¯re worth too. I won¡¯t waste any more time. I wish to trade these three pearls for a set of rank three palm technique that can allow me to comprehend a martial intent!¡± Surprisingly, the three Water Moon Pearls were extremely well received by those in the crowd. Not long after he made the offer, someone in the crowd yelled, ¡°Does it have to allow you to comprehend a martial intent? I have a palm technique of a pretty high standard, but no one has been able to comprehend a martial intent after learning it. Perhaps Cultivator Du will be successful after some research!¡± Cultivator Du maintained the smile on his face but he shook his head apologetically. Looking across the venue, Shang Xi¡¯s voice entered his ears again. ¡°Every single one of those pearls can be crafted into a low-grade weapon. With three of them in a full set, the strength they possess can be compared to a high-grade weapon. It¡¯s more than enough to trade it for a rank three technique and it¡¯s no wonder everyone is interested in it.¡± Even Martial Extermination Realm experts wouldn¡¯t be wielding high-grade weapons as they wished. Looking at Shang Bo, the strongest Martial Extermination Realm expert in the institution at the moment, he barely obtained his customized weapon not too long ago! Shang Jian added, ¡°You can¡¯t put it that way. No matter how special they are, they¡¯re three separate items. To fuse them into a single artifact, who knows how many treasures will be required. Moreover, they won¡¯t be able to promise that the refinement process will succeed. If we consider all the factors, trading it for a complete set of rank three technique is barely acceptable.¡± Another person in the crowd spoke up once again. ¡°I have a complete set of rank three palm technique. It¡¯s called the Floating Feather Palm! According to the records, there are two experts who comprehended the Cloud Sweeping Palm as their martial intent after learning the move. I¡¯ll use it to trade for your pearls. Do you accept?¡± The moment the trade was brought up, everyone turned to Cultivator Du in anticipation. However, Shang Xia gasped in shock with a reaction unlike the others. ¡°Why does that person sound so familiar?¡± ¡°Hehe, can you recall who that is?¡± Shang Xi chuckled softly. ¡°I think¡­ I think it''s Wu Tianfang from the Protection Division from our institution!¡± Shang Xia gasped. Shang Jian and Shang Xi nodded slightly in response. The two of them weren¡¯t surprised in the slightest. However, they were quickly greeted with another question from Shang Xia. ¡°Wait a second, didn¡¯t he trade my Jade Creek Sword in the previous gathering? Has he outgrown it in such a short period of time? If he wishes to obtain a better weapon, he should be looking for a sword anyway. Don¡¯t tell me he plans to turn the Water Moon Pearls into a sword?¡± Shang Jian stared at Shang Xi for a second before he coughed slightly, ¡°Well, there can only be one reason now can there? The institution is probably the ones who have their eyes on the pearls. Moreover, it won¡¯t be difficult for the institution to bring out a complete rank three palm technique.¡± Once the deal was done, Cultivator Du left the central platform with a face full of smiles. The trade he made this time not only managed to greatly lower the expectations of those present from rank four treasures to rank three treasures but he also allowed the gathering to regain its original purpose. Very quickly, the atmosphere was pushed back to its peak. According to their previous agreement, the four great clans along with the Zhao Family would bring out five treasures to get the ball rolling. If those treasures weren¡¯t well received by the crowd, the five powers would make bids to ensure that the items were definitely sold to put up a front that the gathering was carried out successfully as it would allow the others who were present to feel slightly more reassured that they weren¡¯t wasting their time there. Now that Cultivator Du had brought out something many people desired, it could be said that their mission was accomplished. After Cultivator Du, another cultivator quickly stepped over to the central platform. The cultivator this time wasn¡¯t from one of the five powers, but they were at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm nonetheless. The second the cultivator appeared, Shang Xia could see Shang Jian¡¯s lips trembling once again. He seemed to be communicating with the rest of the organizers before heaving a sigh of relief. Seeing the cultivator taking out his items, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but ask his second uncle, ¡°How did the Zhao Family become a part of the organizers this time? Did the four great clans allow them to join so easily?¡± The Tongyou City had always been run by the four great clans. However, now that Zhao Hengchun stepped into the Martial Extermination Realm it seemed as though the situation in the city had changed slightly. The four great clans seemed to be a thing of the past and they finally had enough qualifications to resemble the five great families of the You Continent before the collision of the worlds. That might be the case on the surface, and leaving the matter of how he got his hands on his advancement formula aside, the Zhao Family wasn¡¯t going to rival any of the four great clans any time soon. After all, in terms of foundations or strength they were far too weak. The situation at the moment was that the Tongyou City was controlled equally by the four great clans. Everything was pretty saturated and it was difficult to allow the rise of a fifth superpower. It was incredible that the four great clans didn¡¯t go out of their way to suppress the Zhao Family. How could they take the initiative to give the Zhao Family a chance to sit on the same pedestal as the four of them? Unless¡­ Shang Xia seemed to have thought of something when Shang Jian¡¯s voice rang in his mind. ¡°Think about how our Shang Clan rose to become the fourth great clan in the Tongyou City nearly twenty years ago¡­¡± Indeed¡­ ¡°Even if that¡¯s the case, the Tongyou City doesn¡¯t have the resources to support the rise of another power. Unless the four great clans take a step back together¡­ Or, the institution could make a huge contribution and force them to rise in power¡­¡± Before Shang Xia could even finish talking about it, he realized how impossible it was for either option to happen. Another surprising thought filled his mind as he questioned unsteadily, ¡°Is the Zhao Family going to migrate to the Changfeng City to take charge of things there?¡± Shang Xia shook his head as he realized that was also not too likely. The Tongyou Institution finally swept away all the power that was obstructing them in the Changfeng City. They had to exert their authority over it the best they could and there was no way they would allow any individual power to control it. Since they were lacking in so many areas, they couldn¡¯t possibly construct another city in the You Continent too. Could the Tongyou Institution have plans of expansions?! Shang Xia wasn¡¯t letting his imaginations run wild on purpose. However, it was a well established fact that Ji Wenlong had entered the Martial Dipper Realm. With two Martial Dipper Realm experts in charge of the Tongyou Institution, they definitely had the qualifications to expand. Before his imagination could grow too crazy, Shang Xi spoke up. ¡°Do you remember how half of our continent was swallowed during the collision of the worlds?¡± With his eyes widening in shock, Shang Xia gasped, ¡°This¡­ Do you mean, here?! Is it really happening so quickly?¡± Shang Xia gestured around the battlefield between the two worlds as he spoke. In that instant, a cloud affecting his judgment seemed to disappear. He seemed to make many connections and think of many things he hadn¡¯t thought about in the past. With a cultivator not a part of the five powers going up to take center stage, it seemed as though the gathering had started for real. The other members they had arranged to go up no longer needed to do so as Shang Jian and the others came to an agreement to let things run their course. Things seemed to progress normally when Shang Jian¡¯s voice entered Shang Xia¡¯s mind again. ¡°Our original agreement with the others stands regardless. If you need to trade anything, quickly get up there and get it over with.¡± CH 424 Shang Jian wasn¡¯t hurrying Shang Xia for fun. After all, not too many treasures had appeared in the gathering and Shang Xia¡¯s chance of success would be the highest if he went up now. If he continued to wait and the gathering reached the later stages, most cultivators would have obtained the treasures they desired. The chances of obtaining the items he wants would be greatly reduced. Of course, that didn¡¯t apply if Shang Xia was going to bring out truly valuable treasures. As long as something was valuable enough, everyone would bid like crazy for it. After thinking about it, Shang Xia got to his feet the moment the person on the central platform completed their deal. He caught the attention of many people as he made his way up. The number of cultivators who joined the gathering had broken through the 50 people mark, and every one of them had completed their third divine sense transformation. Before the gathering started, many people had already disguised themselves, and around half of them were hiding their appearances and auras. The other half were members of the institution. Deacons, instructors, and members of the new five great families of the You Continent felt no need to hide their presence. For someone like Shang Xia, there was no point in hiding his identity anyway. He was like a star that was shining in the night sky at the moment. Regardless of his background, cultivation, or his actual combat strength, no one could deny that he was one of the strongest Martial Intent Realm experts in the Azure Origin World at the moment. His reputation rose sharply in the past two years, and the fall of two Martial Extermination Realm experts from the Azure Spiritual World was rumored to be related to him. Even if he didn¡¯t do anything new, he would still be the center of attention anywhere he went. No matter how prepared he was when he made his way up to the central platform, he still felt a little lightheaded. Standing on the central platform, he swept his gaze across those present before opening a jade box carefully. He revealed the contents to everyone present. ¡°This is a rank four item. It¡¯s the Scarlet Gold Silk Brewer¡¯s¡­¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t even manage to complete his sentence when everyone in the venue broke out into hushed discussions. At the same time, several dozen divine senses extended to examine the treasure inside the box. ¡°It¡¯s a rank four treasure! Another rank four treasure appeared!¡± ¡°It¡¯s actually a rank four brewer¡¯s yeast! It¡¯s definitely a key to crafting a rank four advancement medicine!¡± ¡°Shit! We just started and two rank four treasures appeared! Looks like I didn¡¯t make this trip in vain.¡± ¡°Someone actually brought out something so precious to make a trade¡­ I wonder what he wishes to get in return?¡± ¡°...¡± The chaotic discussion filled the skies and the venue seemed to turn a little rowdy all of a sudden. Clearly, without someone strong enough to suppress the entire crowd, situations like that were bound to happen. The Martial Extermination Realm expert who was presiding over the gathering wasn¡¯t there to deal with situations like these. Perhaps he or she would make a move during a critical moment to suppress the masses, but they were there primarily to prevent the Azure Spiritual World from wreaking havoc. As such, Shang Xia could only stand on the central platform like a fool. With an expression of displeasure forming on his face, Shang Xia felt that he resembled a clown in the circus as everyone else was talking among themselves. With his expression turning dark, Shang Xia coughed aggressively to catch their attention. ¡°Ahem!¡± His voice was low, but it was like a thunderbolt that blasted in the ears of those present. The jolt they felt to their divine sense caused their bodies to tremble involuntarily. 30 percent of the cultivators who were present felt their heads spinning as they shook their heads violently to get rid of the feeling. The rest who were a little strong turned to stare at Shang Xia in fright as a new sense of fear for him appeared in their hearts. With a single action, Shang Xia forced the venue to return to its original quiet state as everyone looked at the young figure in the middle with a strange gaze. Without a doubt, they discovered that every single one of them was unable to stand up to him despite it being a simple cough. Luckily for them, Shang Xia had no evil intentions when he jolted their divine senses earlier. He managed to suppress dozens of them. If anyone carried out a sneak attack¡­ Shang Xia¡¯s gaze swept across the venue and he continued, ¡°I wish to trade this for another rank four brewer¡¯s yeast, the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer''s Yeast, or the Spirit of Summer!¡± Of the various herbs and treasures he required to craft his rank four advancement medicine, Shang Xia knew how precious all of them were. He needed 9 rank four treasures in total. 4 of them were the Spirit of the Four Seasons, and 4 of them were supplementary ingredients. The final one was his Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer''s Yeast. When he brought out the Scarlet Gold Silk Brewer¡¯s Yeast, he knew that he could either trade it for a brewer¡¯s yeast of the same level or one of the four spirits. We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google. Herbs like the Nine Leaf Lotus might also be rank four herbs, but they paled in comparison to either the brewer¡¯s yeast or one of the spirits. After naming his price, the atmosphere immediately sank into a freezing state. The discussions that broke out earlier when he brought out his treasure were nowhere to be heard and Shang Xia¡¯s expression sank and he couldn¡¯t help but mention, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Is there no one willing to make the trade?¡± Someone in the crowd spoke up all of a sudden, ¡°Young Master Shang, are you open to other trades?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s gaze landed on a certain corner of the venue and he muttered, ¡°I apologize. Today, I only need those two items. I have no need for other rank four herbs.¡± Shang Xia might have made his intentions clear, but there were many voices hoping he could change his mind. When he was dealing with many voice transmissions that begged him to change his conditions, someone sent a voice transmission to Shang Jian directly. ¡°Second Master Shang, why are you guys trying to get your hands on the Spirit of Summer? Are you planning to craft a divine weapon for your old patriarch?¡± No one knew how the transmission took place, but the five organizers of the gathering seemed to have some sort of group call function. As long as one of them spoke, the other four would be able to hear them. Shang Jian¡¯s expression changed drastically and he replied, ¡°According to our agreement, you have to show some support. You can¡¯t allow his trade to fail.¡± ¡°Second Master Shang, are you killing us? Where the hell are we supposed to find the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer''s Yeast or a Spirit of Summer?!¡± Someone else chimed in. A snort left Shang Jian¡¯s lips. ¡°Heh, I don¡¯t care. That¡¯s your problem. We had an agreement.¡± After a period of silence, someone else added, ¡°We¡¯ll just make a secret agreement if push comes to shove. Tell him to say that he made a deal with a mysterious party and we¡¯ll return the brewer¡¯s yeast secretly after the gathering is over¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Everyone piped up in unison. Shang Jian¡¯s expression sank as he gnashed his teeth together. ¡°You¡­ All of you are shameless!¡± The only response he received was dry laughter from the other organizers. Many people present were well versed with treasures. Even though the Spirit of the Four Seasons was rarely seen, most people knew that it could be used to craft divine weapons. However, the Shang Clan didn¡¯t seem to be ready to craft a divine weapon yet. After all, Shang Bo hadn¡¯t entered the Martial Dipper Realm. As they continued along that line of thought, a terrifying thought flashed through their minds. Was it possible for Shang Bo to be at the edge of a breakthrough? Or was the institution planning to let the You Continent birth its third Martial Dipper Realm expert soon and the Shang Clan was making their preparations for it? The more they thought about it, the crazier they felt the Tongyou Institution was. They wondered if the Tongyou Institution really had the capabilities to produce two Martial Dipper Realm ancestors in succession. When everyone was racking their brains on what Shang Xia¡¯s intention was for requesting a Spirit of the Four Seasons, someone yelled, ¡°I have a Spirit of Summer!¡± Shang Xia, who was slowly losing hope, was prepared to leave in defeat. He received a voice transmission from Shang Jian earlier telling him that none of the other four great families had the items he needed and to carry out their plan. Who would have thought that someone would jump out at the last second? Shang Xia, who had maintained his neutral expression all that while, couldn¡¯t help but reveal a trace of excitement. He tried his best to remain calm as he muttered, ¡°Can I please take a look at it?¡± A figure appeared in the corner of Shang Xia¡¯s eye before strolling towards him. All of a sudden, another roar rang through the skies. ¡°Hey! That¡¯s Ge Qingzhu!¡± The moment the words left his lips, the entire venue turned to stare at the newcomer. A trace of shock could be seen in their eyes when they looked at him. Cultivators who didn¡¯t know what was going on quickly made their inquiries and learned that Ge Qingzhu had finally emerged from hiding. They also learned that he found a pool full of Spiritual Lotuses during his adventures and it was something similar to a rank four treasure. From what they heard, he might have more than a single rank four treasure on him too! Ever since he returned to the Observation Peak, the news of his gains started to spread like wildfire. Unfortunately, no one could find him no matter how hard they tried. Everyone thought that he was under heavy protection by the institution. None of them expected him to show up during the gathering. His first move in the gathering was to trade a Spirit of Summer for Shang Xia¡¯s Scarlet Gold Silk Brewer¡¯s Yeast, basically confirming the rumors that he managed to obtain several rank four treasures on his adventures! Many gazes started to heat up when they saw Ge Qingzhu and Shang Xia was no exception. In the rumors, Ge Qingzhu managed to obtain an entire pool of Spiritual Lotuses. Even if he didn¡¯t have any of the fourth rank, he wouldn¡¯t be lacking in rank three treasures. Arriving before Shang Xia, Ge Qingzhu slid a jade bottle over. ¡°Can I open it?¡± Shang Xia asked. He had experience with the Spirit of Autumn and knew that every one of them possessed their own intelligence. He was afraid that the spirit would run the moment he opened the bottle. Nodding lightly, Ge Qingzhu explained, ¡°There¡¯s a droplet of rain contained in there.¡± Opening the jade bottle with a special method, Shang Xia quickly discovered the traces of the Spirit of Summer contained within. Nodding to indicate that he would proceed with the trade, he sent Ge Qingzhu a voice transmission. ¡°Deacon Ge, do you have any Nine Leaf Lotus harvested in the Summer?¡± CH 425 ¡°Deacon Ge, do you have any Nine Leaf Lotus harvested in the Summer?¡± Shang Xia asked casually. Pausing for a second, Ge Qingzhu seemed slightly surprised by his question as he shook his head slightly before taking his leave. Shang Xia stared at Ge Qingzhu¡¯s leaving figure and unknown thoughts filled his mind. He might not have obtained the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer''s Yeast, but Shang Xia felt that it was a blessing to be able to obtain the last Spirit of the Four Season he required. At the very least, it wasn¡¯t a wasted trip. When Shang Xia left the central platform, the gathering continued as per usual. It might be due to the appearance of 2 rank four treasures since the start of the gathering, but the atmosphere became even more heated than before. We are "pawread dot com", find us on google. The gathering was far from over, but regardless if it was Shang Xia, Shang Jian, Shang Xi, or the other organizers, all of them could say that the gathering was a resounding success. Without anything to worry about, Shang Jian and the others eventually went up to the central platform to trade for things they would need and made some interesting gains there. As more and more interesting items appeared during the gathering, Shang Xia feasted his eyes on those treasures. Rank four treasures started popping out one by one, and they didn¡¯t seem as rare anymore. There were even times when Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but make trades with those who were up there. He eventually ended up with three more items. One of them was the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman he had been pining for a long time now! Even though the institution had the inheritance and method to craft the talismans, and Shang Xia went over to look for it the moment he entered the Talisman Hall, he had yet to get his hands on it. When he first entered the Talisman Hall, he was immediately bogged down by the task of crafting Formation Talismans. In the two or so months that passed, there wasn¡¯t a need to mention crafting the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman. Shang Xia hadn¡¯t even found the inheritance! In the near future, Shang Xia would have to devote himself to crafting the Gale Thunderbolt Talismans. He knew that there was almost no chance for him to start looking into the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman regardless and since someone was trading one during the gathering, he decided to get his hands on it. After all, there were still several spatial artifacts in his possession that he had yet to open. In order to obtain the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman, Shang Xia not only used his last Spiritual Yin Knife Talisman. He also had to bring out his final piece of rank three Lightning Fire Jujube before he could get his hands on it. Both the Spiritual Yin Knife Talisman and Lightning Fire Jujue were treasures that could kill other members of the Martial Intent Realm if used properly. The Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman could only be used to open up one spatial artifact, but even so, Shang Xia decided to make the trade. The only problem he had was deciding which spatial artifact to open. Other than the talisman, Shang Xia also managed to obtain 5 pieces of rank three talisman jade. Due to the fact that talisman jade was made from essence jade, they were much higher in quality than talisman paper of the same level. They could also preserve the rank three talisman contained in them for a longer time compared to talisman paper. Of course, the difficulty of crafting a talisman with talisman jade was proportionally more difficult. ¡­ When it came to the grand formation around the Observation Peak, any cultivators who paid a little more attention would know what the Tongyou Institution was doing. It was no secret they were trying to lay down a grand formation. There were even some perceptive experts who knew that the Tongyou Institution wouldn¡¯t be able to come up with all the resources in a short period of time. They felt that the institution would definitely be trying to obtain resources through their gathering. Those smarter cultivators were trying to offer resources required by the institution and raising the prices to obtain a little more than they would otherwise, In actuality, there were people who brought out rank three talisman paper for trade and the institution did indeed make a move. In the end, they paid a little more than the market price to obtain the talisman papers. Naturally, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t be stupid enough to join in the bidding to raise the price. In the end, the Tongyou Institution successfully obtained the batch of rank three talisman paper. It was a pity the scattered cultivators trying to profit off the institution had no idea what the institution truly needed. When talisman jades appeared, the experts who were bidding on behalf of the institution pretended not to see them as that would be a massive waste of resources if they used it for the grand formation. Shang Xia saw an opportunity and bid for those talisman jades with a fair price and managed to obtain them eventually. ¡­ The third item Shang Xia obtained was close to the end of the gathering. Seeing as the gathering was about to come to an end, Shang Xia felt that there wouldn¡¯t be anything else that caught his eye and decided to bid his farewell. He wanted to take the time before people started to leave to head over to the Yuxi Peak to start a deeper investigation. Who would have thought that before he could leave the venue, he would see someone rushing up to the central platform to open a sealed case. ¡°Three hundred years old Violet Ningpo Wigfort. I don¡¯t have a treasure in mind I wish to trade this for but I¡¯ll accept anything of use to me.¡± Shang Xia stopped dead in his tracks and turned to stare at the person. The person who brought out the herb seemed to be trying his luck. Props to him as he might come across some surprising gains. After all, it wasn¡¯t every day so many Martial Intent Realm experts who had completed their third divine sense transformation or higher were gathered together. No one present lacked treasures, but they might not possess treasures they could personally use. There would definitely be people looking to obtain precious herbs no matter what. Shang Xia needed a piece of hundred year old Violet Ningpo Wigfort, and the one up for trade was three hundred years old! There was no way Shang Xia could miss out on something like that. However, it seemed as though there were many cultivators who were also interested in it and were starting to send the person secret voice transmissions. Thinking for a second, Shang Xia took out a piece of rank one talisman paper and wrote something casually on it. He turned it into a paper crane that wobbled over to the center platform. It didn¡¯t take long for it to return and when he opened it, there were only two words written on it. ¡®Too little¡¯. Instead of being disappointed, Shang Xia¡¯s gaze lit up. The other party didn¡¯t reject him directly which meant that he was actually interested in Shang Xia¡¯s offer. He was merely trying to get a higher price for his herb. Thinking for a short moment, Shang Xia added a few more words onto the talisman paper before sending it back to the platform. When the talisman paper returned, there was only a single word left. ¡®Deal¡¯. When he obtained the herb, he was relieved of 2 pieces of essence jade and 3 rank two Lightning Fire Jujubes. After leaving the venue, Shang Xia looked around him and when he was satisfied that there was no one observing him in secret, he started running. Making a huge detour around the gathering venue, he ran towards the foot of the Yuxi Peak. The closer he got, the stronger the thumping he felt between his eyebrows. Looking into his sea of consciousness, Shang Xia noticed a cloud of red mist surrounding the Crimson Soul Tablet. It was trembling non-stop as though it wanted to leap out of Shang Xia¡¯s body. Luckily, he was prepared this time. He was able to forcefully suppress the Crimson Soul Tablet with his divine sense. When he finally arrived at the foot of the Yuxi Peak, he saw a screen of multicolored gas ten feet away from him. Who would have thought that the Crimson Soul Tablet that was trembling violently earlier would regain its calm and stop moving completely? According to what he learned from Shang Xi and the others, Shang Xia knew that the Yuxi Peak didn¡¯t stop anyone from entering. The problem came when they were trying to leave. After all, no one managed to step out of the Yuxi Peak after going in. In his sea of consciousness, Shang Xia was observing the Crimson Soul Tablet closely. He discovered that the tablet was behaving as though it had met its old friend when it tried interacting with the multicolored mist surrounding the peak. That being said, they seemed to be carefully observing each other from whatever distance they were at. Carefully taking a step forward, Shang Xia realized he fucked up. The Crimson Soul Tablet and the multicolored mist seemed to recognize each other as they tried to embrace each other. The calm screen of multicolored mist seemed to lose all control as it rushed towards Shang Xia in an unstoppable wave. Noticing the change, the Crimson Soul Tablet thumped violently as though a terrifying enemy was approaching. That was its warning! There wasn¡¯t a need to think about it as Shang Xia retreated as quickly as he could. He tried his best to open up the distance between himself and the mist. The Yuxi Peak that was clouded in mysteries at the moment seemed to be a beast that had awakened as the multicolored mist started to emit a dense glow. Resplendent light shot out from every part of the mountain as it filled the space around it. Shang Xia pushed himself to his limit as he escaped as quickly as he could. Before he finally turned around to run, he noticed a shocking change to the Yuxi Peak. The multicolored mist seemed to split itself into layers and the mountain became surrounded by layers of different colors - Dark Green, jet black, dirty yellow, ash-white¡­ At a certain distance from the Yuxi Peak, the mist that was racing after him finally started to dissipate. The Yuxi Peak seemed to return to its dormant state as the multicolored mist remade itself. Feeling the sense of danger disappearing, Shang Xia finally stopped to look behind him. His heart was still racing, but he seemed to discover several new colors in the multicolored mist that surrounded the Yuxi Peak. Realizing that trouble was probably coming, he quickly concealed his aura to hide himself. He might be standing in his original position, but he seemed to resemble a motionless rock that was void of any vitality. The sudden change to the Yuxi Peak would definitely alert every single Martial Extermination Realm expert who was keeping an eye on the area. The disturbance to the Yuxi Peak might have lasted for a few moments, but Shang Xia was sure that the Martial Extermination Realm experts were on their way. CH 426 It seemed as though it wasn¡¯t time for him to explore the Yuxi Peak yet. As he got further away from the Yuxi Peak, the Crimson Soul Tablet became extremely unresponsive as it remained motionless in his sea of consciousness. When all was done and dusted, Shang Xia finally realized that he seemed to have forgotten something. Feeling around his sleeves, he pulled out his Spirit Extermination Gourd and popped the cork. A tiny sword slowly emerged as it pointed towards the Yuxi Peak. It trembled quietly, and Shang Xia sighed in his heart. ¡°Indeed¡­¡± Shang Xia had a sneaking suspicion that he would be back to the Yuxi Peak before long. He also felt that the day he entered the Yuxi Peak would be the day he would step into the Martial Extermination Realm. Concealing his aura, he continued to sneak further and further away. Not too long after he left, the space around the Yuxi Peak trembled as a figure squeezed himself out from the void. He looked at the heaven and earth qi that was fluctuating around the Yuxi Peak before extending his divine sense to cover a huge radius around the mountain. It was too bad he failed to detect anything. A cold snort left his lips as he turned to another spot in the void. ¡°Old lady, why aren¡¯t you enjoying your life back at home? Why are you here?¡± A small patch of cloud scattered as an old woman emerged from the void with a face full of smiles. ¡°I have no choice. My granddaughter is extremely playful and said that she had to join some sort of gathering or something. This old lady only has one granddaughter you know? I¡¯m afraid something bad might happen to her and decided to follow her in secret.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± The person who arrived continued, ¡°Old Lady Yan, did you see what happened to the Yuxi Peak earlier?¡± ¡°I¡¯m old, not blind. Of course I saw it.¡± Yan Su¡¯er muttered. A frown appeared on the face of the person who just arrived and asked, ¡°Does that mean that you saw the reason behind the changes to the Yuxi Peak?¡± Unfortunately, Yan Su¡¯er shook his head and sighed, ¡°I didn¡¯t arrive so quickly as to see what happened.¡± Clearly unwilling to believe her, the person who just arrived realized he couldn¡¯t do anything if she didn¡¯t wish to say more. Flying around the Yuxi Peak without entering the screen of multicolored mist, he discovered no abnormalities and decided to take his leave. After seeing the person disappear, Yan Su¡¯er stared at the Yuxi Peak with unknown thoughts running through her mind. After waiting for some time, she also disappeared. The Yuxi Peak regained its original calm, but from afar, the giant structure seemed to be shrouded in some sort of mystery. ¡­ Shang Xia obviously wouldn¡¯t know what happened to the Yuxi Peak after he left. When he returned to the Observation Peak, he didn¡¯t head back to the Talisman Hall immediately. Instead, he returned to his chamber in the Shang Clan¡¯s territory and held the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman in his hands tightly. He looked at the five spatial cases in front of him and felt a strong headache. He had no idea which to open first. Of the five spatial cases, one came from the Martial Extermination Realm Sima Zhanxing. Two of them were direct disciples of the Changbai Holy Land, Chu Chen and Senior Brother Zhou. Like Shang Xia, they were at the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. The last two were from Senior Brother Yue and Junior Brother Xiang from the Changbai Holy Land and even though they weren¡¯t direct disciples, their cultivation level had already passed the third divine sense transformation and weren¡¯t weak in any way. According to logic, Shang Xia should be using the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman on Sima Zhanxing¡¯s spatial artifact. After all, he was at the Martial Extermination Realm and his belongings should be much more valuable than those Martial Intent Realm cultivators. However, when he thought back to the time they fought, Shang Xia recalled how Sima Zhanxing had the inner qi of a Martial Extermination Realm expert but his actual strength was a whole lot weaker than experts of the same level. Even when using half his brain, Shang Xia could guess the reason behind it. As a cultivator from the Azure Origin World, Sima Zhanxing was definitely ostracized in the Azure Spiritual World. He might even be placed under strict supervision and the resources he could use to improve his cultivation were definitely severely limited. Under such circumstances, he would probably have to use everything in his possession to raise his strength. How many treasures could be possibly left in his spatial artifact? That was why Shang Xia was having a headache deciding which spatial artifact to open. It wasn¡¯t easy to get his hands on the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman and he wouldn¡¯t be able to craft them in the near future. He had to consider carefully which artifact to open. After racking his brains, Shang Xia eventually decided to use it on Senior Brother Zhou¡¯s spatial case. The reason was simple. When Shang Xia killed him previously, he heard that their team was tasked with searching for treasures through the battlefield between the two worlds. It was most likely for him to possess the most treasures. That was also the reason Shang Xia didn¡¯t choose to open Chu Chen¡¯s spatial case. Back when the war just started, Chu Chen had been hunted down by Shang Xia and he probably didn¡¯t have a lot of time to look for treasures. Senior Brother Zhou was different. Shang Xia only discovered their group when they were looking for the Lightning Fire Jujube Tree. He was searching for other treasures before that and he was probably a lot more loaded than Chu Chen. With his thoughts in place, Shang Xia sent a trace of his inner qi into the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman. As a thin glow covered the talisman, he slapped it on one of the cases on the tablet. A ray of deep greenish-blue light emerged from the talisman before corroding the seal on the spatial case. When the greenish-blue light surrounded the entire case, the restrictions on it were completely destroyed. As the glow faded, the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman that Shang Xia stuck to the case earlier crumbed and scattered in the wind. Casually brushing his hand across its surface, Shang Xia discovered that there was nothing to stop his divine sense from entering the case. Several items emerged from inside and clattered onto the ground below. Luckily for him, his hands moved quickly. He grabbed a green-colored gourd before it could touch the ground. He wasn¡¯t unfamiliar with the gourd at all. It was similar to what he obtained from a direct disciple from the White Deer Paradise, Li Tianshou! It was a piece of equipment used to collect extermination qi or store extermination origins! Weighing the gourd in his hand, Shang Xia revealed a look of disappointment. With his wealth of experience when it came to collecting extermination qi, he knew that pure heaven and earth qi in the form of extermination qi was extremely dense. A fully filled gourd would weigh more than a thousand catties. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". Like the one Shang Xia had, there were two extermination origins contained within and there was also a portion of extermination qi from Windy Valley the Lightning Bird sought refuge in. Every time he brought out his Spirit Extermination Gourd, he would prepare himself so as not to be caught off guard by the hefty object. When Shang Xia showed off the extermination origins to Shang Ke previously, the Shang Clan Patriarch was finally willing to refine the Lingkong Formless Extermination Origin back in the clan. In exchange, Shang Xia gave the Cloudy Gale Extermination Origin to the clan for Shang Jian¡¯s eventual refinement. Only then did his Spirit Extermination Gourd become a lot lighter than before. Opening the gourd in his hand, he saw two strands of faint mist emerging from within. Shaking the gourd slightly, he forced the thin mist back into it. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not exactly a waste.¡± Closing the gourd secretly, Shang Xia¡¯s expression was no longer as disappointed as it once was. He could tell that the thin extermination qi inside was of two different types. Of course, they were far from completion. Normally, disciples would be like Senior Brother Zhou who went around collecting extermination qi and the like bit by bit to finally complete a single extermination origin. Not everyone was like Shang Xia. Now that he obtained two strands of extermination qi, he didn¡¯t really know what to do with them. Even if he wanted to absorb extermination qi of the same type and complete the extermination origins, it would be hard for him to look for where to start. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean that they were completely useless. As a qualified Talisman Master, Shang Xia knew a thing or two about crafting rank four talismans even though he hadn¡¯t reached that level. According to the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture, the creation of rank four talismans would involve using extermination qi! Throughout the process, the Talisman Master wouldn¡¯t exhaust their extermination origins for obvious reasons. No one would choose to damage the foundation of their extermination origins to make talismans! As such, stray strands of extermination qi were what rank four Talisman Masters used to craft rank four talismans! After studying the process of rank four talisman crafting, Shang Xia even realized that precisely because extermination qi was used in the crafting process, all rank four Talisman Masters had to be in the Martial Extermination Realm! Putting the strands of extermination qi aside, the gourd itself was also a treasure. If the gourd was something that could be mass produced, the holy lands would have long since distributed them to as many disciples as they could! Since he was done examining the gourd, Shang Xia turned to look at the other items on the ground. When he saw a single several black jade bottle that had several seals on it, his eyes lit up. Tearing the seal away carefully, he peered into the bottle only to see half of it filled with a grayish powder that was emitting a desolate aura. ¡°This¡­ Are these ashes?!¡± Shang Xia carefully replaced the seal before sinking deep into contemplation. All of a sudden, he recalled something Zhang Haogu told him some time ago about a special sort of rank four treasure called the Essence Bone Ember. That was an ingredient that could only be obtained by grinding the bones of a powerful rank four beast who had died not too long ago. Before their inner qi fully dissipated, it would be gathered into their bones and Essence Bone Ember would be obtained if it was ground to power immediately. CH 427 Even though the other treasures other than the extermination qi collecting gourd and Essence Bone Ember were pretty valuable, they weren¡¯t very useful to Shang Xia at all. There were even some items in there Shang Xia hadn¡¯t heard of. He suspected that those things were special products from the Azure Spiritual World, and he didn¡¯t know if he would be able to use them in the future. After arranging the scattered belongings on the ground, Shang Xia immediately left the Shang Clan¡¯s territory on the Observation Peak and returned to the Talisman Hall. The moment he returned, he received a piece of news that had something to do with the gathering he had just been to. After Shang Xia left, two more rank four treasures appeared at the end and pushed the gathering of Martial Intent Realm experts to its climax. Due to the fact that the items signified the end of the gathering, those who failed to get their hands on them would be left with regret. As such, the bids were raised aggressively by the experts present. Who would have thought that the two experts who took out their treasures raised their asking price the higher it went, in an attempt to get a little more benefits. Surprisingly, but not really, the entire situation spiraled out of control. Those cultivators who were bidding on the items a moment ago cursed the sellers as a massive battle was about to break out. Luckily, the five great families reacted quickly. With the help of the experts of the institution, they managed to control the situation. With the experts of the five great families and more than a dozen experts of the institution taking charge, the gathering eventually came to a close. It might not be perfect, it was definitely a successful one. Shang Xia was shocked to learn of what happened and he felt a wave of regret filling his heart. He thought that nothing good would appear since the gathering was about to come to an end. He didn¡¯t think that there would be experts patient enough to save the best for last. Moreover, from what he heard, the two experts who took out their rank four treasures at the end had nothing in mind to trade for. All they wanted was to gain the most of our selling their treasures. He was also surprised by one more thing. No one mentioned anything about the Yuxi Peak, and it seemed as though the changes he caused happened so quickly that no one managed to catch on. Also, the news of his return probably reached Ren Huan quickly. The fatty came to deliver 17 pieces of rank three talisman paper made from the Stormy Lightning Leaves. ¡°The institution has been up my ass for this and I¡¯m delivering those talisman paper made from my portion of the leaves. Brother Shang, I¡¯m afraid I will have to delay the creation of your talisman paper for some time¡­¡± Ren Huan apologized. Shang Xia gasped in shock when he looked at the stack before him. ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry about my talisman paper for the moment. Brother Ren, you¡¯re really efficient. You managed to make so many talisman papers in such a short amount of time.¡± Ren Huan waved his hand and muttered, ¡°I wasn¡¯t really that fast. I started to craft the talisman paper right after I got my hands on the leaves. I was rushed a lot and if I had a little more time, I would be able to ensure that the talisman paper would be of better quality. Also, the success rate of creating those talisman papers would be raised when I work on your batch. With my experience this time, I should be able to complete 19 or 20 talisman papers with your portion of leaves.¡± ¡°Brother Ren, you truly have impressive skills!¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but praise. Ren Huan chuckled softly, but a trace of hesitation flashed across his eyes. ¡°Brother Shang, are you confident in crafting 3 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans in 2 months?¡± ¡°How would I know if I don¡¯t try?¡± Shang Xia smiled in response. With his eyes widening slightly, Ren Huan thought for a second before speaking, ¡°I actually hope that you manage to finish those talismans.¡± His words might betray his actual belief in Shang Xia. He might think that it was impossible, but he truly hoped that Shang Xia could achieve what he was setting out to do. Ren Huan wasn¡¯t the only one. Almost nobody in the Talisman Hall believed that Shang Xia would be able to craft those talismans in 2 short months. There were even some people who came up with their own conspiracy theory that Shang Xia was using the resources of the Talisman Hall to improve his understanding in the way of talisman crafting. When Shang Xia finally sent Ren Huan away, everyone in the Talisman Hall basically heard of his return. Regardless of their thoughts, they prepared everything that he required as they sent a ton of resources into his secret chamber. No matter how pessimistic they were about Shang Xia¡¯s attempt, the Talisman Hall wouldn¡¯t skimp on the resources they provided. After all, Shang Xia was one of the 3 rank three Talisman Masters in the Talisman Hall and his status in the institution wasn¡¯t something to scoff at. Shang Xia didn¡¯t allow himself to be affected by whatever other people thought and after he was ready, he sealed his secret chamber immediately. He had no time to waste as he started the crafting process. The Formation Hall¡¯s request wasn¡¯t the only reason Shang Xia was in a rush to craft those talismans. He also wanted to test out his unique method of talisman crafting. He needed to see if it was effective even when crafting other types of talismans! With enough practice crafting those Formation Talismans, he knew how to get into his state of mind once the process started. The only difference this time was that he was in no rush to start drawing on the talisman papers. According to the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture, he calculated everything he needed to do in his mind. He didn¡¯t miss out a single detail as he thought about every stroke and how long i would take. The position of the brush after, and how long he would need to pause at every step. Even the pressure he had to put into each brushstroke ran through his mind. By the time he completed the entire process in his mind, half a month had already passed. The Formation Hall gave him a time limit of two months, and a quarter of that was gone just like that. His brush hadn¡¯t even touched a single piece of talisman paper since he started! However, Shang Xia was in no rush at all. He even used three days to restore his state of mind. Only on the nineteenth day did his brush finally touch the talisman paper. On the second day of his first attempt, the talisman paper he was working on was vaporized in a storm of wind and lightning. Shang Xia flicked his sleeves nonchalantly as he cleared the table of its contents. He wiped away every trace of ink that had spilled and restored the table to its original position before bringing out another piece of talisman paper. His previous failure could be attributed to the sudden disharmony of the power of wind and lightning. It caused a huge explosion that caught him off guard. If not for the fact that he had expected something to go wrong and prepared himself to suppress it with his inner qi without dodging, half the table might have been taken out in that explosion. With the lesson from before, Shang Xia linked several restrictions around the secret chamber to the table he was working on. It covered some of the auxiliary equipment and resources he required and it ensured that nothing would be destroyed if he messed up again. Unlike his first failure, he only failed on his second attempt on the third day. The reason behind it was the same as the first. The power of wind and lightning went off balance for a moment, causing a huge explosion. Obviously, his second attempt was much closer to success than his first. In fact, he wasn¡¯t too far away from completing the Gale Thunderbolt Talisman. However, failing close to the end like that caused the greatest amount of damage to a cultivator¡¯s divine sense. Moreover, it was also a blow to a Talisman Master¡¯s confidence. Luckily, Shang Xia was prepared for it. He expected as much due to the difficulty in crafting the Gale Thunderbolt Talisman. The talisman could be said to be one of the most difficult rank three talismans and it wasn¡¯t really realistic to successfully craft one on his first few attempts. Taking a day to restore his condition, Shang Xia sped through whatever he had learned in his mind several times. On the 25th day, he started his third attempt. What Shang Xia didn¡¯t know was that there were 2 rank one Talisman Masters waiting for him outside his secret chamber at the moment. Since two months ago, Shang Xia had left his secret chamber on the 25th day and he handed in his talismans personally. Even though Shang Xia had no idea how the rules of the Talisman Hall worked, everyone else who wasn¡¯t a rank three Talisman Master broke out into full-scale panic whenever Shang Xia went to deliver his talismans. That was because according to the rules of the Talisman Hall, someone else would head over to collect the completed talismans after the Talisman Master left seclusion. Even rank two Talisman Masters enjoyed the privilege of dumping their creations to some other attendant when they were done so as not to eat into their rest time. As a rank three Talisman Master, Shang Xia was obviously entitled to such services! In order not to be caught off guard, the Talisman Hall sent two rank one Talisman Masters over to Shang Xia¡¯s secret chamber on the 25th day of his seclusion. They were instructed to explain the rules to Shang Xia when he emerged, but they were destined for bad luck. No one expected him to continue to remain in seclusion! Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" ¡­ ¡°Why isn¡¯t Talisman Master Shang coming out? The 25th day mark should have passed two days ago¡­¡± ¡°Heh, haven¡¯t you heard? Teacher said that Talisman Master Shang boasted that he would be able to complete 3 new rank three talismans in 2 months! Who knows when he will emerge? He might even be too embarrassed to come out after wasting all the resources he has in there¡­¡± ¡°Keep quiet, but I heard from our teacher than Talisman Master Shang is young and arrogant. He might have been goaded into doing that by the Formation Hall¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I heard the same thing. My teacher once received the guidance of Talisman Master Fan. When Talisman Master Fan crafted a new type of talisman, he used half a year to succeed. No one knows how many times he failed back then. He even had to look for Talisman Master Gong for some pointers before finally completing it. After that, he needed another half a year before he restored his condition to his peak.¡± ¡°Hehe, did you hear the rumors going around? It¡¯s said that even if Talisman Master Shang manages to complete one proper talisman, it would be a blessing in disguise?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that mean that even Talisman Master Gong and Talisman Master Fan aren¡¯t too optimistic about him?¡± As the two of them continued to talk behind Shang Xia¡¯s back, they would never expect that Shang Xia¡¯s third attempt would allow him to succeed! He ran into slight problems along the way, but he managed to overcome them to create his 5th type of rank three talisman, the Gale Thunderbolt Talisman! CH 428 After failing twice, Shang Xia managed to complete his first Gale Thunderbolt Talisman on the 27th day of his seclusion. With the marvelous feeling of success filling his mind, he didn¡¯t hesitate to start his fourth attempt immediately. This time, the crafting process went just as smoothly as his previous attempt. On the 30th day of the first month he entered seclusion, the power of wind and lightning swirled harmoniously on the surface of his talisman paper. With Shang Xia¡¯s brush completing the final rune, his second piece of Gale Thunderbolt Talisman was complete. Crafting two Gale Thunderbolt Talismans in succession, Shang Xia felt a wave of exhaustion washing over him. At the same time, a sense of satisfaction filled his mind. Making a quick calculation, Shang Xia realized that he had been in seclusion for an entire month. With 2 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans, he felt that he could squeeze out a break for 2 days. At the same time, he could hand those talismans over to Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui so that they could lay down their worries. With those talismans, the Formation Hall could also start to make preparations to modify the grand formation. Opening the entrance to his secret chamber, Shang Xia was greeted by a soft breeze and the absence of anyone else. ¡°This is weird. Didn¡¯t Teacher Gong say that I won¡¯t have to deliver the talismans myself this time? He said that he would get someone to pick up the talismans when I¡¯m done. Don¡¯t tell me Teacher Gong forgot all about it after tiring himself out while crafting talismans¡­¡± Shang Xia shook his head and muttered to himself before looking at the case in his hand that contained the talismans. Bah, whatever, I¡¯m too lazy to go over and pass them the talismans. I¡¯ll just take a break in here and start when I¡¯m ready again. I¡¯ll hand over all the talismans after I¡¯m done. Shang Xia thought to himself and stretched his back before closing the entrance of his secret chamber again. What Shang Xia didn¡¯t know was that another scene was playing out outside Gong Hang¡¯s secret chamber. Gong Hang, who had just emerged from his secret chamber with a weary expression on his face, was staring at the disciples who were sent to wait outside Shang Xia¡¯s secret chamber. ¡°So¡­ Are you telling me that Talisman Master Shang failed to craft the Gale Thunderbolt Talisman?¡± Gong Hang muttered powerlessly. Despite his soft voice, his words were like a thunderclap that rang in the ears of those disciples. Neither of them dared to raise their heads to look at him. ¡°Talisman Master Gong, we¡­ We stood outside Talisman Master Shang¡¯s secret chamber for 3 whole days and he didn¡¯t emerge.¡± One of them explained. The other quickly followed up, ¡°We followed your instructions and went to wait for him on his 25th day of seclusion! Talisman Master Shang likes to emerge on the 25th day according to his past records and we were there to ensure he would see us the moment he emerged. We stood there for 2 more days in case he was facing some difficulties. Even if he is trying to craft a new type of talisman, he should be out by then! I¡¯m afraid he''s too embarrassed to¡­¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Gong Hang sighed and massaged his glabella. ¡°Hmph, do you think you¡¯re qualified to judge rank three Talisman Masters? Leave!¡± Panic flashed across their faces and they gave a hasty bow before leaving. ¡°Talisman Master Gong doesn¡¯t seem to be in a good mood¡­¡± One of the disciples sighed after leaving the Talisman Hall. He felt a great sense of relief now that he wasn¡¯t standing in front of Gong Hang. ¡°Obviously! Talisman Master Gong is clearly stressed over the trouble caused by Talisman Master Shang! Heh, this time, our Talisman Hall is going to be ruthlessly stepped on by the Formation Hall.¡± The other disciple snapped. ¡°Then again, I left the Upper Division last year to join the Talisman Hall. Based on seniority, Shang Xia should be calling me his senior brother.¡± The first disciple who spoke earlier sneered as a strange light flashed through his eyes. It didn¡¯t take long for rumors of Shang Xia failing to craft a single Gale Thunderbolt Talisman in a month to spread through the Talisman Hall. Naturally, the Formation Hall also heard about it. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. Ma Mingzheng took the chance while Chu Jia was eating to bring up the matter. With a soft grunt, she didn¡¯t seem too affected by it. ¡°Looks like he¡¯s worthless despite his reputation. I thought that he had something to rely on after making his suggestions. At the very least, he should be able to make one complete talisman in a month. I even prepared myself for him to only complete 3 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans. Who would have thought that he wouldn¡¯t dare to leave his secret chamber and act like a coward?¡± Ma Mingzheng nodded and continued, ¡°So¡­ You¡¯re confident of modifying the formation regardless?¡± Chu Jia continued to pick at the delicacies laid out in front of her and she muttered, ¡°I ran through the changes in my head¡­¡± Ma Mingzheng continued to nod with his expressionless face. Perhaps that was what a true genius was like. In order to make the modifications, ordinary Formation Masters might have to carry out large scale experiments and call for a huge amount of assistance. Only a genius would be able to run through the genius in their minds. On the other side, Bai Luming added unceremoniously, ¡°Since he isn¡¯t able to craft a single Gale Thunderbolt Talisman in one month, he won¡¯t be able to make 3 of them in the following month. Actually, we won¡¯t need to make the modifications at all. The only problem is that we wasted 2 months worth of time. What a waste of time! If it was up to me, we need to ruthlessly mock him when he emerges. We can take the chance to stomp on the Talisman Hall so that no one tries to mess with our Formation Hall in the future.¡± The moment the words left his lips, he discovered that the atmosphere was a little off. He raised his head only to see Ma Mingzheng glowering at him. As for Chu Jia, she ignored him completely as she continued to fill her stomach. ¡°Our Tongyou Institution isn¡¯t the Rose Party and it most definitely is not part of the Evil Remnants. Formation Master Bai, you¡¯re a member of our Tongyou Institution now! We can compete among ourselves, but if we do what you just said, we¡¯ll be building a grudge with the Talisman Hall. As a rank three Formation Master, what you say will affect many people in the institution. In the future, you better keep yourself in check.¡± Ma Mingzheng was extremely serious when he addressed Bai Luming and the latter could only stutter an agreement. At the same time, he glanced at Chu Jia before him and he felt beads of perspiration dripping down his forehead. At the end of the day, he was a rank three Formation Master the institution accepted back in the Coral Forest. He wasn¡¯t the one in control of his life at the moment. As long as Chu Jia willed it, his life would be forfeit! ¡­ Even though Shang Xia completed 2 pieces of Gale Thunderbolt Talisman, his instincts and past experience told him that no matter how confident he was, he might fail in his future attempts when some unexpected situations occurred. He might have recovered his divine sense to the point where he could immediately start on his 5th attempt but he still chose to take 2 more days to adjust his mental state. He also took the chance to consolidate the experience of his past successes. On the 3rd day of the 2nd month, Shang Xia started again. This time, everything went smoothly at the start. However, an unexpected change happened the next day. When Shang Xia¡¯s brush touched the talisman paper, a sudden burst of energy emerged. The talisman paper he was working on turned into dust as the power of wind and lightning clashed. Fortunately, Shang Xia managed to discover the problem immediately. He wasn¡¯t the one who made a mistake this time! The problem lay in the talisman paper he was using. The paper wasn¡¯t consistent throughout, and there were small blemishes on certain spots. Those blemishes didn¡¯t affect the quality of the talisman paper which caused Shang Xia to overlook them earlier. Even if he noticed them before he started, he might have thought that he could just avoid them while drawing his runes. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t the case. Due to his unique way of talisman crafting, every single stroke had to run through his mind. He wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid those defects the moment he started the crafting process! He drew out the entire talisman in his mind before his brush even moved, and every time he drew a stroke, he would maintain a delicate balance between his inner qi and divine sense. As such, his failure was decided before his brush touched the paper for the first time. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t delusional. Since he failed because of the talisman paper, he wouldn¡¯t be making the same mistake. Before his next attempt, he carefully inspected the paper to ensure he would be able to avoid any effects or blemishes when drawing his runes. This lesson was a valuable one. Shang Xia knew that this experience would follow him throughout his life. When he was crafting talismans in the future, he would definitely stop to inspect his talisman paper before starting the process. With so many precautions taken, Shang Xia¡¯s next attempt was exceedingly smooth. On the 7th day of the 2nd month, he completed his third Gale Thunderbolt Talisman. According to the agreement he made with Chu Jia, the Formation Hall had to start the modification process now that he managed to produce 3 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans. With 6 attempts under his belt, Shang Xia¡¯s understanding of the Gale Thunderbolt Talisman became a lot deeper and he became a lot more adept at crafting them. Examining himself, Shang Xia discovered that his divine sense consumption wasn¡¯t as bad as he had thought. He decided to go all the way and push himself to his limit to see how many talismans he could complete before the 2nd month was up. With his mind clear and hands ready, Shang Xia started again and completed his 4th Gale Thunderbolt Talisman on the 10th day of the 2nd month of his seclusion. A sense of excitement filled his mind and riding on the high, he brought out another piece of talisman paper. Unfortunately, he felt a wave of lethargy assaulting his mind halfway through the process. His fatigue was a contributing factor, but it wasn¡¯t the reason behind his failure. Due to a miscalculation, the power of wind and lightning escaped from the rune he was drawing causing him to scrap the talisman paper. Now that he failed, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t stubborn enough to immediately start again. He took a day to restore himself to his peak condition while using the Thousand Mechanism Spirit Recovery Powder provided by the institution. With the lesson he learned previously, Shang Xia started another attempt on the 13th day of the 2nd month. Keeping everything he learned in mind, he only used 2.5 days to finish the Gale Thunderbolt Talisman he was working on. He didn¡¯t run into a single obstacle along the way, and it was his smoothest attempt so far! With almost half a month left till the deadline Chu Jia had given him, he was only lacking 2 pieces of Gale Thunderbolt Talismans from her original demand of 7. Understanding that his task was basically complete as 7 pieces of Gale Thunderbolt Talisman was something Chu Jia had asked for in order to mess with him, Shang Xia felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. Taking a nice 3 day break to recover his divine sense and inner qi. When he was ready again, he powered on for the last 12 days and managed to craft 3 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans. He might have failed twice, but it was a respectable success rate. At the end of the 2nd month, Shang Xia dragged his weary body out of his secret chamber. Seeing Gong Hang standing outside, he didn¡¯t think too much about it and tossed 8 pieces of Gale Thunderbolt Talisman over. ¡°The Formation Hall asked for 7 pieces to start their modification process. Go ask if they can do anything with 8 talismans.¡± Shang Xia sighed before returning to his secret chamber. Now that his job was done, all he wanted to do was to take a good nap. Silence filled the Talisman Hall and the space outside his secret chamber as he made his way back inside to sleep. The Talisman Masters who were waiting for him felt their jaws dropping to the ground in fright and they failed to utter a single word. CH 429 Not giving half a shit about the bomb he just threw, Shang Xia returned to his secret chamber to take a nap. Gong Hang and the other Talisman Masters who were gathered outside stared at each other in shock as they didn¡¯t know how to react. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Only after a long time did Gong Hang release a soft sigh. He kept the 8 pieces of Gale Thunderbolt Talisman carefully in a sealed spirit case. When he was done, one of the rank two Talisman Masters behind him muttered softly, ¡°Teacher Gong, did he already produce a few pieces of Gale Thunderbolt Talismans? Maybe he brought them out earlier to make us think that¡­¡± Glancing at him, Gong Hang didn¡¯t let him finish before he snapped, ¡°Are you blind? Can¡¯t you tell the state of the ink on those talismans? The strokes on the talisman were made extremely recently. We can clearly feel the divine sense that was sealed into it. There is no way any of these were produced more than 2 months ago.¡± Gong Hang paused for a second before grunting, ¡°Don¡¯t let your suspicions cloud your judgment. For Talisman Master Shang to complete the Gale Thunderbolt Talisman is a blessing for our Talisman Hall!¡± The rank two Talisman Master bowed respectfully, but he couldn¡¯t help but add, ¡°No matter what, he probably had some experience with the talismans before this. Otherwise, it¡¯s impossible for him to craft 8 of them in 2 short months. The Gale Thunderbolt Talisman is one of the most difficult rank three talismans to craft. It¡¯s a little hard to believe he made eight of them from scratch¡­¡± This time, Gong Hang didn¡¯t say anything to refute him. The rank two Talisman Master wasn¡¯t the only one who was doubting Shang Xia. Even Gong Hang had a trace of suspicion in his heart. However, he merely paused for a moment before speaking up., ¡°Even though your guess might be correct, what do you think of his talisman crafting abilities? He managed to craft 8 of them in 2 short months¡± The disciple felt his lips trembling slightly while streaks of light flashed through his eyes. Eventually, he revealed a bitter smile. ¡°I¡¯m afraid he can already be considered to be at the peak of his craft even among rank three Talisman Masters.¡± Gong Hang tilted his head downwards slightly and seemed to be content with his disciple¡¯s response. ¡°Not bad. At least you didn¡¯t let your jealousy cloud your judgment.¡± A crooked smile was all that was left on his disciple¡¯s face. Turning to look at everyone else standing around Shang Xia¡¯s secret chamber, Gong Hang muttered, ¡°Let¡¯s go. Talisman Master Shang managed to reduce a lot of pressure on us this time around. However, we still have a lot to do!¡± Everyone present realized that the Talisman Hall was about to be thrown into a whole new round of changes the moment Shang Xia handed over 8 pieces of Gale Thunderbolt Talismans. Before Shang Xia joined the Talisman Hall, Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui were the only rank three Talisman Masters present. Regardless of whether it was experience or quality, Gong Hang was considered slightly better than Fan Yuanhui in all aspects. With his years of service in the Talisman Hall, Gong Hang had provided pointers to many younger Talisman Masters. Even though they couldn¡¯t say that Gong Hang was the only voice of authority, there were many Talisman Masters and disciples who would follow anything he said. Even when Shang Xia entered the Talisman Hall as a rank three Talisman Master, Gong Hang¡¯s position wasn¡¯t affected in the slightest. Of course, Shang Xia didn¡¯t plan on wresting control over the Talisman Hall from Gong Hang and neither did Gong Hang try to suppress Shang Xia with his status. At the end of the day, their skills were what spoke the loudest. After Shang Xia completed 8 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans in 2 months, not a single soul dared to question his abilities as a rank three Talisman Master. Naturally, his prestige shot through the roof now that he had proved his abilities. Achieving something Gong Hang was unable to do, Shang Xia instantly became the number 1 Talisman Master among them. Anyone who had a little insight could tell that Gong Hang had reached the peak of whatever he could achieve in the path of talisman creation and cultivation. Fan Yuanhui was a little better as he had some room for improvement, but at the moment, he hadn¡¯t reached Gong Hang¡¯s level. Compared to the two of them, Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation was publicly acknowledged to have reached the peak of the Martial Intent Realm. He was a mere step away from entering the Martial Extermination Realm and he was extremely likely to become a rank four Talisman Master in the future. His future was a lot brighter than both Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui, and as long as nothing went wrong, he would become the first rank four Talisman Master of the Tongyou Institution! Simply put, Shang Xia was the future of the Talisman Hall! ¡­ When Shang Xia tossed out 8 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans, the Talisman Hall wasn¡¯t the only ones who were shocked. The news traveled over to the Formation Hall like a terrifying hurricane and caught everyone by surprise like a thunderbolt on a sunny day. When Ma Mingzheng and Bai Luming heard of it, their reactions were basically the same. Initially, they felt that someone was playing a prank on them and they refused to believe it. Soon after, logic took over and they became serious. Finally, they shot a glance at each other before racing over to Chu Jia¡¯s place. When they charged into her courtyard, they discovered her curled up into a ball on her soft chair. It seemed as though she didn¡¯t care about her image at all. However, her mind was sharp and despite looking like she wasn¡¯t fully awake, she pretty much guessed the reason behind their arrival. ¡°Hoho! Don¡¯t tell me Talisman Master Shang actually busted his dantian and completed 3 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans?¡± A look of excitement appeared on her face and she couldn¡¯t be bothered with them as she continued, ¡°How much resources did the Talisman Hall throw away this time? What was his success rate? How many pieces of talisman paper did he waste?¡± Ma Mingzheng and Bai Luming glanced at each other and raised an eyebrow each. Ma Mingzheng eventually broke the silence, ¡°Weren¡¯t you banking on the fact that he won¡¯t be able to craft a single one?¡± Rolling her eyes, she yawned lazily, ¡°If he really failed to craft a single one, do you think the two of you will be bothered enough to come disturb me from my beauty sleep?¡± Getting up slowly, she decided to ¡®comfort¡¯ the two of them. ¡°Alright, alright, there¡¯s no need to be so worked up. It¡¯s just 3 pieces of Gale Thunderbolt Talisman. I¡¯ve already come up with a plan to start the modifications. We¡¯ll just let them enjoy their success this time. Anyway, they won¡¯t be able to change a thing. We¡¯ll be the ones telling them what to do from now on. Hehe, alright, if there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯m going back to sleep¡­¡± Realizing that the strange look on their faces hadn¡¯t faded, Chu Jia stopped herself mid-yawn and frowned, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Did he actually manage to craft 5 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans?¡± Sinking into contemplation, the talented Formation Master Chu nodded her head with praise. ¡°Looks like the kid isn¡¯t a good for nothing after all. I definitely underestimated him previously. Hehe, he¡¯s worthy to be called Deputy Patriarch Shang¡¯s grandson! Oh well, it doesn¡¯t matter! The modifications I¡¯m thinking of already took 5 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans into account. Looks like I won¡¯t be able to continue sleeping today, hmph!¡± Chu Jia slowly crawled into a seated position as she stretched her back. A helpless look was stuck to her face as she grumbled inwardly about starting work soon. ¡°It¡¯s not 5 talismans¡­¡± Ma Mingzheng muttered. Chu Jia¡¯s movement froze and the air of laziness around her disappeared instantly. She turned her head violently to stare at him before quickly regaining her calm. She asked nonchalantly, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me he managed to finish 7 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans¡­¡± If it was anyone else, they wouldn¡¯t be able to detect the sudden fluctuation of heaven and earth qi when Chu Jia reacted earlier. However, Ma Mingzheng could be considered to be Chu Jia¡¯s half-teacher. He knew exactly what she was feeling when she reacted earlier. As someone who had been hailed a genius her whole life, practically everyone forgot about Chu Jia¡¯s cultivation. She was also a hopeful candidate to step into the Martial Extermination Realm in the future and she should be known as a powerful expert and Formation Master. With Shang Xia¡¯s current achievements, she was starting to feel the pressure of finally not being number 1. Because that was the case, Ma Mingzheng felt that there was no need to hide his achievements from her any longer and he muttered, ¡°No. He didn¡¯t just finish 7. He made 8 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans.¡± A deafening silence filled the courtyard and Bai Luming was starting to feel uncomfortable with the crushing pressure that was starting to descend on him. He wanted nothing more than to run away immediately. He wasn¡¯t the only one. Ma Mingzheng could also feel the change in the atmosphere. He sighed softly to himself. He knew that if not for the fact that Chu Jia was adamant about entering the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm before breaking through, she would already have entered the Martial Extermination Realm. Back during the War of the Coral Forest, she actually had 2 chances to break through. Looks like Shang Xia lit a fire at her ass this time. ¡°Haha¡­ Hahahaha¡­¡± Chu Jia¡¯s laughter filled the air suddenly. ¡°Interesting! I didn¡¯t think that he would be able to do something like that! Looks like I underestimated him!¡± Footsteps could be heard the next moment as she started walking out of her courtyard. ¡°Now, it¡¯s our turn to be on the receiving end. I definitely didn¡¯t expect him to finish 7 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans. I didn¡¯t plan for it at all, but that doesn¡¯t mean it will stop this grandaunt from modifying the formation!¡± ¡°This is really interesting! I haven''t been pushed so hard in a long time!¡± Chu Jia growled. The lazy air that had always been around her was nowhere to be seen, and she seemed to experience a heaven-shaking transformation. Waves of heaven and earth qi emerged from her and she seemed to be walking into a great battle. She took several steps out of her courtyard before a frown formed on her face. She didn¡¯t notice any movement behind her and she tilted her head to the side before muttering, ¡°Teacher Ma, Bai Luming, aren¡¯t you coming?¡± ¡°Little Chu¡­¡± Ma Mingzheng coughed lightly before signaling towards Bai Luming. ¡°Actually, Mister Bai will tell you what happened.¡± An apologetic light flashed in his eyes as he threw under the bus. Bai Luming¡¯s eyes widened and he glared at Ma Mingzheng. He didn¡¯t expect the old man to be so shameless. ¡°Bai Luming?¡± Chu Jia growled. A sense of danger overwhelmed him as he quickly lowered his gaze. He was extremely helpless and he didn¡¯t dare to hide anything from her at all. He could only whisper softly, ¡°Actually¡­ Actually, Talisman Master Shang said something when handed the talismans over¡­ I¡¯ll quote him directly. He said. ¡®The Formation Hall asked for 7 pieces to start their modification process. Go ask if they can do anything with 8 talismans¡¯.¡± The moment the words left his lips, Chu Jia glared at him. Bai Luming was so afraid he took a step back in retreat. ¡°Is he trying to provoke me?!¡± Chu Jia squealed before turning away. Ma Mingzheng didn¡¯t know where to look, but he sure as hell didn¡¯t dare to look at Chu Jia at the moment. He quickly pretended to think about something. As for Bai Luming, he couldn¡¯t help but grumble silently: Weren¡¯t you the one who provoked the Talisman Hall before this? Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t dare to say his thoughts out loud. Even if someone beat him to death, he wouldn¡¯t let those words come out of his lips. ¡°Amazing! Hmph, does he think making 8 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans will stump me? This grandaunt here isn¡¯t so easily defeated! Hmph, hmph!¡± Chu Jia started laughing maniacally. ¡°Ahem, about that¡­¡± Ma Mingzheng knew that he couldn¡¯t play stupid forever and he quickly tried to soothe the situation. ¡°Little Chu, you thought of a plan with 7 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans. I believe you¡¯ll be able to come up with an idea to incorporate 8 of them into the talisman too! Even if he manages to produce a ninth one, it won¡¯t be a problem!¡± Seeing the cloudy look on her face dissipating, Ma Mingzheng changed his tone slightly. ¡°However, modifying the formation would take some time. We¡¯re in a rush to deploy the formation and we might not have the time to think of how to fuse 8 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans into the grand formation.¡± Since Ma Mingzheng had spoken, he wasn¡¯t going to let Chu Jia interrupt him before he could finish. He quickly added, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll stick to the plan of using 7 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans, Tell the Talisman Hall to send 7 of them over. Tell them we¡¯re pressed for time and don¡¯t have the ability to come up with a way to incorporate 8 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans into the grand formations on short notice.¡± His actions clearly stated that the Formation Hall was going to admit defeat this time. Chu Jia was naturally unwilling to accept such an outcome, but Ma Mingzheng was exceptionally serious this time. He knew that deploying the grand formation was more important than any ego battle at the moment. No matter how hard she gnashed her teeth, Chu Jia knew that she had to admit defeat for now. CH 430 At the border of the Yan Continent on the Azure Origin World, a ray of extermination origin tore through the skies as Shang Ke¡¯s body tumbled through the air. He landed on a mountain and tried to steady himself. He looked extremely haggard and he looked around him before sucking in a long breath. Suppressing the energy fluctuations around him, he yelled, ¡°Fellow cultivators, you¡¯ve been chasing me from the border of the Xu Continent! Are you really planning to leave me with no path of retreat?¡± Two figures appeared ten thousand feet or so away and the taller and fatter one among them spoke up. ¡°We don¡¯t wish to kill you. As long as you hand over the Dragon Headed Wintersweet, we¡¯ll leave you alone!¡± Shang Ke rejected it resolutely. ¡°Impossible! I obtained the Dragon Headed Wintersweet from the Lushan Paradise in the Yang Continent. If you need it, why don¡¯t you go ask them for one?¡± The other Martial Extermination Realm cultivator who was clad in robes that had clouds embroidered on it sneered, ¡°If not for the fact that we came a little later, the Dragon Headed Wintersweet wouldn¡¯t have fallen into your hands.¡± Shang Ke raised his eyebrows in shock. ¡°Looks like you two had your eyes on me for a while now. However, the person from the Lushan Paradise promised to keep this a secret. How did you learn about this and my whereabouts?¡± The taller and fatter cultivator mocked Shang Ke ruthlessly seeing as victory was at hand. ¡°As a northerner, your entry to the Yang Continent is eye-catching enough, much less when you¡¯re a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator. The Lushan Paradise doesn''t need to reveal your whereabouts. There has been tons of eyes on you the moment he appeared. Luckily, we came the earliest and the others were too afraid to interfere.¡± ¡°So it looks like the two of you aren¡¯t nameless experts. I wonder if I can learn your names?¡± The cloud robed cultivator snorted in response, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Are you planning on taking revenge on us brothers after today?¡± The words had just left his lips when the taller and fatter cultivator made a seal with his hand. Two giant palms made from heaven and earth qi appeared on either side of the mountain Shang Ke was standing on and they closed in rapidly in an attempt to turn Shang Ke into a human pancake. ¡°Hmph, you will have to be able to leave alive before thinking about revenge!¡± When one of them made his move, the other soared higher into the air as a long banner appeared behind him. It started to store power while waiting for Shang Ke to reveal his weakness. ¡°Hehe, you¡¯re an arrow at the end of your flight. How much strength do you even have to fight against us?¡± The cloud robed cultivator sneered. He discovered that Shang Ke was merely a first layer Martial Extermination Realm expert and after being chased for thousands and thousands of miles, he had probably exhausted himself. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have stopped in the middle of nowhere to start talking reason with them. In his eyes, Shang Ke made a stupid decision. If he gave up the Dragon Headed Wintersweet initially, they might have allowed him to get away. However, letting him live was out of the question now that they wasted so much effort on him. With victory at hand, the cloud robed cultivator stared at Shang Ke like he was looking at a dead man. However, a two colored light appeared from the mountain when the heaven and earth qi palms slammed shut. ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re at the second layer of the Martial Extermination Realm! You actually hid your cultivation!¡± The cloud robed cultivator yelled in shock as he swung his banner down at Shang Ke. Countless blades that were made from green wind-attributed qi emerged and shot downwards. However, a long spear tore through the void at that instant and turned the skies above Shang Ke into mush. A huge portion of the wind blades that were falling were destroyed. ¡°You actually have an accomplice!¡± The cloud robed cultivator roared in fright as he retreated in terror. He didn¡¯t forget to remind his brother to stop getting tangled up with Shang Ke now that an unknown expert had arrived. Ripples formed in the air above Shang Ke and a middle-aged female cultivator who held a long spear in her hand emerged from the void. It didn¡¯t come as a surprise that the person who arrived was Shang Pei who went to the Jing Continent after their last meeting. The cloud robed cultivator shifted his gaze from Shang Ke to Shang Pei several times in succession before grunting in defeat, ¡°We¡¯re leaving!¡± It seemed as though he understood that they wouldn''t be killing Shang Ke to take away his treasures now that his backup had arrived. As such, he made a resolute call to retreat. Seeing the two Martial Extermination Realm experts who hadn¡¯t revealed their identities take their leave, Shang Ke finally heaved a sigh of relief. With the immediate threat gone, he was finally able to catch his breath. Feeling a wave of weakness filling his body, he became a lot more pale than before. Regardless if he was hiding his strength of not, being chased for thousands of miles tired him out. While he was catching his breath, Shang Pei¡¯s voice came from the side. ¡°Fifth Uncle, when did you manage to refine your second extermination origin?¡± ¡­ Shang Xia¡¯s first attempt at crafting Gale Thunderbolt Talismans could be considered a resounding success. He used 14 pieces of rank three talisman paper to make 8 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans. If he released the news of his success rate, the entire grade of rank three Talisman Masters might be thrown into an uproar. Not to mention the fact that the Gale Thunderbolt Talismans was one of the most difficult rank three talismans to craft. Shang Xia might not plan to spread the news himself, but one couldn¡¯t forget that Ren Huan was the one who delivered the talisman papers to Shang Xia. He gave Shang Xia 17 pieces of rank three talisman paper in total, and even if they used that as a benchmark to calculate Shang Xia¡¯s rate of success, it was still a shocking amount. The outside world might know that Shang Xia had an extremely high success rate, but only Shang Xia himself knew the true reason behind it. One was his unique crafting method, but there were also many micro factors that allowed him to do so. Of the other reasons, one of the most important ones was because of Ren Huan¡¯s talisman paper. Due to the properties of the Stormy Lightning Leaf, the talisman paper Ren Huan made contained the properties of wind and lightning even before the crafting process started. It greatly reduced Shang Xia¡¯s burden of having to introduce them during the crafting process. Of course, Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation also played a pretty big role. One couldn¡¯t forget about how he cultivated lightning attributed martial arts with a trace of heavenly lightning contained in his body. The rest of the reasons didn¡¯t matter too much as luck pretty much made up the rest of his success. Those were the true breakdown of Shang Xia¡¯s success, but no one could deny that his actions raised a huge commotion in the Tongyou Institution. The Talisman Hall also managed to enjoy some benefits as a result of his actions. Their workload was greatly decreased due to the changes the Formation Hall had to make and some of them were truly grateful. Obviously, the same couldn¡¯t be said for those in the Formation Hall. In order to incorporate the Gale Thunderbolt Talismans into the formation, all of them had started to work on overdrive. It was even said that the lazy but talented Chu Jia had even given up on her naps in order to work tirelessly on the reformation. Everyone in the Talisman Hall sucked in a cold breath when they heard what was happening. When the entire Observation Peak was bustling with activities, Shang Xia, who stunned the world with his feat, managed to free up half a month for himself. He spent the whole time in his secret chamber and finally managed to recover from the fatigue he felt. The only reason he managed to recover so quickly was because of his strong divine sense. He had the Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter to assist him, greatly increasing his recovery rate. If any other rank three Talisman Master was in his position, they might not be able to touch their brush for the next three months after pulling what Shang Xia did. Emerging from his secret chamber, the fuss over his success rate that happened when he delivered the talismans had already blown over. Shang Xia went to look for Zhang Haogu quietly in order to obtain the inheritance for the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman. In the following half a month, Shang Xia immersed himself in his study of how to craft the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman. When he was clear about the principles behind the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman, he changed directions suddenly and started to research his unique way of talisman crafting. Just like that, another half a month passed before Shang Xia was ready to craft the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman. Comparing it to the Gale Thunderbolt Talisman, Shang Xia estimated that the difference in difficulty of crafting both talismans was pretty wide. The Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman was much easier to create. As Shang Xia planned to use the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman for himself, he couldn¡¯t rely on the Talisman Hall for resources. Luckily, he saved a piece of talisman paper from his first batch of Formation Talismans. Along with the talisman jades he obtained during the gathering, he was able to try his hand at crafting some Bamboo Void Breaking Talismans. The only thing that was worth mentioning was the rank three talisman paper made from the Stormy Lightning Leaves the Talisman Hall provided. Because of his success, the Talisman Hall would naturally not bother him about them. Moreover, they wouldn¡¯t know if those talisman papers were destroyed during the crafting process. Those talisman papers, along with several auxiliary resources, went into Shang Xia¡¯s pockets just like that. During his recovery period, Ren Huan also delivered the rest of the talisman paper that belonged to Shang Xia. There was a total of 18 rank three talisman paper made from the Stormy Lightning Leaves, bringing Shang Xia¡¯s total possession of rank three talisman paper made from those leaves up to 21. For obvious reasons, Shang Xia didn¡¯t plan on using those talisman paper to craft Bamboo Void Breaking Talismans. When Shang Xia prepared himself to start crafting talismans again, 1.5 months had already passed since he handed in those talismans. The modifications of the grand formation was going smoothly, but they only managed to complete half of it. With nothing else to stop him, Shang Xia sealed his secret chamber and started his first attempt to craft a Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman. It came as no surprise when the first piece of talisman paper exploded in his face. Luckily, that was the low-grade rank three talisman paper he used to craft Formation Talismans. Using his talisman jades, he finally completed a Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman after wasting one of them. With his success, the number of rank three talismans he could create increased to 6! When he was done with his first piece of Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman, taking a break was the furthest thing on his mind. He couldn¡¯t wait to open Sima Zhangxing¡¯s spatial case. He made up his mind when he was choosing between the cases the first time. After Senior Brother Zhou¡¯s case, he would open Sima Zhanxing¡¯s case before finally progressing to Chu Chen¡¯s spatial artifact. This novel is available on "pawread dot com". With a burst of light, the restrictions around Sima Zhanxing¡¯s spatial case shattered. The items contained within scattered to the ground before him and Shang Xia¡¯s gaze immediately landed on a pebble that was emitting a soft red glow. ¡°Hah? Is that a piece of Yang Fire Stone?!¡± CH 431 Shang Xia couldn¡¯t deny that he was surprised to obtain the Yang Fire Stone that way. That was because at that moment, Shang Xia collected the Spirit of the Four Seasons which he had estimated would be the most difficult of the ingredients. As for the supplementary ingredients he required, he only managed to obtain the Jade Peach Blossom from Kou Chongxue. There were several others on their way from what he learned from his grandfather. Shang Ke sent a transmission from the Taihang Mountain not too long ago that he obtained the Glass Daisy Chrysanthemum and was locating the Dragon Headed Wintersweet. Shang Xia was rejoicing inwardly that they managed to find so many herbs, but he also realized that Shang Ke wasn¡¯t working alone. Since he was running around the Taihang Mountain, Shang Pei had probably rendered her assistance. Shang Ke didn¡¯t state where he went to look for the Dragon Headed Wintersweet in his transmission, but Shang Bo might know a thing or two about it. However, no one bothered telling Shang Xia anyway. Despite their secrecy, Shang Xia knew that neither of those herbs would be easy to find. Shang Ke and Shang Pei might be experts in the Martial Extermination Realm but those were rank four herbs they were talking about. If finding them were so easy, Shang Ke wouldn¡¯t have hurried to the Taihang Mountain to join forces with Shang Pei. The only thing Shang Xia felt gratified about was that enough time should have passed so that Shang Ke¡¯s refinement of the Lingkong Formless Extermination Origin would have been complete. With the strength of a second layer Martial Extermination Realm expert, Shang Ke¡¯s strength would reach a new level. After joining forces with Shang Pei, as long as they didn¡¯t run into old monsters in the Martial Dipper Realm or became surrounded by a large number of Martial Extermination Realm experts, they wouldn¡¯t be in too much danger. Of the various treasures and herbs Shang Xia needed to collect, the assistive treasures were the easiest to come by. At the moment, he had collected all of them other than the Yang Fire Stone. Lo and behold, it fell straight into his lap. Well, that left his assistive ingredient, the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer¡¯s Yeast. That was the only thing Shang Xia hadn¡¯t heard of since he started collecting the stuff he needed. Luckily, Shang Bo promised to help him keep a lookout for it in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion. With the promise Shang Bo made to him, Shang Xia realized something important. Since Shang Bo was planning to head to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion soon, the situation in the battlefield between the two worlds should be more or less stable. Otherwise, Deputy Patriarch Shang wouldn¡¯t dump his responsibilities to head out. Also, Shang Bo might have promised to help him keep a lookout for the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer¡¯s Yeast in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion, but that definitely wouldn¡¯t be his true purpose in heading there. From what Shang Xia learned previously, the main purpose of any Martial Extermination Realm expert heading to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion was to train. Shang Bo¡¯s cultivation could be said to have experienced an explosive rise over a short ten-plus years. That was because Kou Chongxue brought him over to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion to train. At the moment, Shang Bo¡¯s cultivation had reached an unbelievable level and it was possible for him to step into the Martial Dipper Realm with the right opportunities. Training in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion wouldn¡¯t be of much use to him at the moment. That was why it was a little strange for Shang Bo to be heading there. With the current situation of the Tongyou City, Kou Chongxue should be trying to increase the strength of other Martial Extermination Realm experts. Shang Bo would probably be left to his own cultivation for the foreseeable future as even someone like Shang Xia knew that it wasn¡¯t possible for Shang Bo to enter the Martial Dipper Realm anytime soon. Since Ji Wenlong had just broken through, the Tongyou Institution¡¯s inventory of high-level herbs was probably wiped out already. Even if it wasn¡¯t, a huge portion would have already been used up. There wouldn¡¯t be enough resources for Shang Bo to advance in such a short period of time too. Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t question his grandfather¡¯s purpose in going to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion, but he also wouldn¡¯t place all his hope of obtaining the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer¡¯s Yeast on Shang Bo. That was why he had requested for Shang Quan to keep a lookout for it around the Observation Peak. They released news that the Shang Clan was willing to trade treasures of equivalent value to obtain the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer¡¯s Yeast, but there was no news of it so far. ¡­ Looking at the rest of Sima Zhanxing¡¯s items, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but feel disappointed. Other than the Yang Fire Stone, nothing else seemed to catch his eye. In fact, the treasures Sima Zhanxing had seemed ill-fitting of his status as a Martial Extermination Realm expert. Luckily, Shang Xia had expected as much. After picking out several treasures among them, he handed everything over to Shang Quan to deal with. Sorting out the items he chose, Shang Xia discovered that the treasures Sima Zhanxing had on him were mostly special products from the Azure Spiritual World. Because some of them weren¡¯t of exceptionally high grade, Shang Xia felt that Sima Zhanxing had a purpose for collecting them. That wasn¡¯t all. Sima Zhanxing also left behind a diary of what he had seen or experienced during his time in the Azure Spiritual World. There were some details in there that shocked Shang Xia. He even felt that the information the institution had on the Azure Spiritual World was inferior to what Sima Zhanxing had recorded. Clearly, this member of the Rose Party went over with a clear agenda in mind. He might have used them to escape from the wrath of the Tongyou Institution, but it seemed as though he was also planning to use the chance to learn more about them. Putting the diary aside, Shang Xia looked at the treasures that came from the Azure Spiritual World. He had seen some of them before, and he recognized several others. He discovered that the institution had been trying to nurture some of those treasures themselves, and there were some in stock in the institution¡¯s Warehouse Division. That caused suspicion to sneak up Shang Xia¡¯s mind. With the amount of resources in the Tongyou Institution that came from the Azure Spiritual World, Shang Xia felt that there was no way they could have gotten everything from killing and plundering cultivators from the Azure Spiritual World. There had to be another avenue the institution was getting its supply. Unfortunately, at Shang Xia¡¯s current level of authority in the institution, he wasn¡¯t privy to such information. The institution¡¯s sources might have been a secret Shang Xia was unable to access, but he was sure that the Azure Spiritual World had contact with the Tongyou Institution. In the gathering that happened not too long ago, Shang Xia was sure that there was a huge group of cultivators from the Azure Spiritual World who attended. He was extremely confident that he could pick them out one by one given enough time. If he could do it, there was no doubt the Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Tongyou Institution could also do it. Thinking deeper into the matter, Shang Xia realized that the higher-ups of both parties reached some sort of silent agreement. From a certain standpoint, the Tongyou Institution¡¯s view seemed to be shifting subtly. Which brought about Shang Xia¡¯s confusion. He knew that it was happening, but he had no idea why. At the end of the day, everything could be chalked up to his low authority in the Tongyou Institution. Fortunately, Shang Xia had a sneaking suspicion that all those secrets that he couldn¡¯t access would be unraveled the moment he entered the Martial Extermination Realm. He had 3 more rank three talisman jades on him, and 3 more spatial cases. His days of crafting Bamboo Void Breaking Talismans were far from over. After resting for a few days, Shang Xia planned to start his next round of crafting when he was interrupted by messy chirps that came from all over the Observation Peak. With his eyes widening slightly, he dumped his brush back on the tablet before running out to take a look. The moment he did, he saw hundreds of Mutated Rain Swallows circling the skies above the Observation Peak. As they flew around in a giant flock, they were led by a larger, fatter bird who was emitting golden streaks of lightning as he flew. He seemed to be slightly showing off as he soared through the air. The Lightning Bird was back with his flock of Mutated Rain Swallows! A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. Even though Shang Xia had his suspicions, it seemed as though the Lightning Bird really managed to refine both the wind and lightning attributed extermination origins to enter the fourth rank. He couldn¡¯t help but be happy for the Lightning Bird from the bottom of his heart. The appearance of a rank four spiritual beast with a flock of Mutated Rain Swallows quickly alerted the Observation Peak. Panic broke out immediately as many cultivators prepared for battle. Luckily, Shang Bo hadn¡¯t left and along with 2 other Martial Extermination Realm experts, they conveyed the news that the Lightning Bird was back to nest on the Observation Peak along with the Mutated Rain Swallows. The panic quickly developed into newfound respect and trust in the Tongyou Institution. Naturally, Shang Xia was discovered by the Lightning Bird the moment he emerged from his secret chamber. A clear chirp tore through the skies as the Lightning Bird broke away from the flock. Turning into a streak of light, he landed on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulders. After completing his breakthrough, the Lightning Bird definitely grew even bigger. However, he started to shrink when he was flying towards Shang Xia. By the time the Lightning Bird perched, he returned to his old tiny figure. ¡°Chirp, chirp! Chirp, chirp!¡± The now-little Lightning Bird chirped in excitement but Shang Xia could hear the slight arrogance he was feeling. The Lightning Bird seemed to be saying: Look at me! I broke through to the fourth rank but look at you! You¡¯re still stuck in the Martial Intent Realm! Shang Xia chuckled in response, ¡°Well, congratulations. Hahaha, don¡¯t be too excited about it. I¡¯ll be catching up to you soon!¡± When the Lightning Bird flew down earlier, he attracted the gaze of many cultivators on the Observation Peak. However, he was too damn fast and not many people managed to see where he went. Only several cultivators from the Talisman Hall who were close to Shang Xia¡¯s secret chamber noticed that the Lightning Bird was perched on Shang Xia¡¯s shoulders. They stared with wide eyes at the little bird that was emitting a greenish-golden glow. That was a rank four spiritual bird they were talking about! It wasn¡¯t everyday they got to see one up close! ¡°Chirp, chirp, chirp! Chirp, chirp, chirp¡­¡± As the Lightning Bird called out several times, Shang Xia seemed to have caught the meaning behind his cries. After advancing, the Lightning Bird developed his intelligence and was finally able to convey his thoughts to Shang Xia a little more clearly than before. Shang Xia thought about it for a moment before asking, ¡°Are you concerned about Yan Ni¡¯er and her children?¡± ¡°Chirp!¡± Flapping his wings violently, the Lightning Bird confirmed Shang Xia¡¯s guess and seemed to be hurrying him for an answer. ¡°Hmmm, I¡¯ll bring them over in a little bit and you can take a look for yourself. How¡¯s that?¡± Shang Xia replied after thinking about it for a second. The Lightning Bird seemed satisfied with the answer and started chirping incessantly. Even the lower-leveled cultivators standing around could tell that the bird was extremely happy with Shang Xia¡¯s answer. Leaping into the skies, the Lightning Bird made a perfect arc above his head before releasing several loud chirps. Without warning, he released several streaks of lightning that tickled Shang Xia. Chuckling softly, Shang Xia circulated his inner qi and transformed it into a ball of lightning. Lightly tossing it at the Lightning Bird, the ball of lightning entered his body without much resistance. ¡°Chirp¡­¡± The Lightning Bird absorbed the ball of lightning instantly but before he could do anything else, a low chime seemed to fill the air above the Observation Peak. Shang Xia felt his divine sense trembling slightly from the sudden disturbance, but he wasn¡¯t the only one who was affected. The flock of Mutated Rain Swallows quietened down suddenly, and Shang Xia raised his head to be greeted by pillars of heaven and earth qi extending around the Observation Peak. Gasps quickly escaped the lips of everyone on the Observation Peak as a thin barrier of light seemed to extend out from those pillars of heaven and earth qi to encircle the Observation Peak. The grand formation of the Observation Peak was completed at that moment! CH 432 When the grand formation was fully operational, the Lightning Bird flapped his wings and rose into the skies to lead his flock to the central region of the formation. Shang Xia looked in the direction the birds were flying and noticed a giant wooden pillar hundreds of feet tall erected in the middle of the Observation Peak. He didn''t know when it was placed there, but he could tell from the size that many people would need to link hands in order to wrap themselves around it. There were long and rough branches that extended out from the main pillar that slowly tapered off and split into many smaller and thinner branches, but there were no leaves to be found on it. From far, the wooden pillar was no different from a dead tree. The Lightning Bird and the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows quickly found their way over before looking for a suitable place to build their nest. The moment the Lightning Bird landed on the pillar, runes lit up on multiple spots and a gust of wind swept across the originally peaceful Observation Peak. With a loud cry coming from the Lightning Bird, the flock of Mutated Rain Swallows started chirping away. When the cries reached their peak, a loud explosion rocked the space above the Observation Peak. Deep rumbling echoed through the lands and they slowly transformed into claps of thunder. An eye-catching bolt of lightning tore across the skies before landing close to the edge of the grand formation that surrounded the peak. That wasn¡¯t all. A gale that emitted strange howls started to rise. When the winds left the Observation Peak, it tore a huge path of destruction behind it. A tree was snapped in half and the surface that was revealed was as smooth as a mirror. Coincidentally, the tree was blown back into the Observation Peak and when it crossed the boundary marked by the grand formation, a bolt of lightning fell from the void to turn it into a bunch of ash. By the time the ash scattered across the lands, the space around the Observation Peak seemed to undergo another transformation. The void was turned into a region of chaos and that was the moment everyone within realized how terrifying the new grand formation was. Everyone was able to see what happened on the surface, but the inner workings of the grand formation weren¡¯t that obvious. They didn¡¯t know that the giant pillar of wood where the Lightning Bird decided to rest contained a separate space. It was where the core of the formation was located. The instant the changes happened, Chu Jia, who was seated cross-legged beside the core of the formation, opened her eyes. The second they were open, the reflection of the formation core in her pupils turned blurry before disappearing. The disturbance around the Observation Peak immediately stopped as everything returned to normal. The skies regained their color. Beside her, Ma Mingzheng appeared and asked with concern, ¡°How is it?¡± The look in Chu Jia¡¯s eyes turned clearer by the second and a smile slowly appeared on her face. ¡°I did it! I comprehended my third martial intent!¡± Ma Mingzheng nodded, but his expression remained neutral as he brought up the next question. ¡°What else?¡± ¡°The day I step into the Martial Extermination Realm is the day I become a rank four Formation Master!¡± Chu Jia grinned. Only then did Ma Mingzheng clap his hands in excitement. ¡°Great! That¡¯s great!¡± ¡­ This novel is available on "pawread dot com". It was common for one to lose track of time in the battlefield between the two worlds. Ever since the Tongyou Institution established the Observation Peak, half a year had passed. The 845th year of the Azure Origin World had long since rolled around. With the successful deployment of the grand formation, the Observation Peak became a lot more secure than before. The formation would activate when the Observation Peak came under attack by external threats. Since the formation was active, the Observation Peak became a lot more bustling than before. Those temporary structures were torn down completely as large scale construction began. The situation in the battlefield between the two worlds became a lot more peaceful and so did Shang Xia¡¯s life. ¡­ Ever since Shang Xia achieved the impossible and completed 8 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans in 2 months, the number of people who were willing to pay a huge price to get him to craft talismans increased at a tremendous rate. It was especially so after those talismans were incorporated into the grand formation. Also, with Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm, ordinary cultivation resources were of no use to him. As such, he didn¡¯t request too many of them from Shang Quan. Instead, the resources he wanted were all related to talisman crafting in one way or another. Everything else that he passed to Shang Quan previously had been changed into gold coins or silver essence and other than a small portion of it being contributed to the clan, the rest were saved under Shang Xia¡¯s name. Trading his old resources or those he plundered for cash was only one of Shang Quan¡¯s jobs. He was also trying to help Shang Xia look for rank four cultivation resources. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have much luck while doing so. ¡°Someone came over to request for talismans again!¡± Shang Quan reminded while bringing over a batch of resources. ¡°Hahaha, Uncle Quan, you can do as you see fit. There¡¯s only one rule that remains. I will only craft a single rank three talisman a month.¡± Shang Xia chuckled in response. Shang Quan sniggered softly. ¡°Relax, I didn¡¯t forget that. Anyway, I¡¯ll deal with the rest of the problems and make the arrangements. There¡¯s nothing for you to worry about.¡± Because of the number of rank three talismans Shang Xia had experience crafting, the people who came knocking on the Shang Clan¡¯s door never stopped. There was also a need to mention that those talismans Shang Xia could craft were either extremely useful or extremely powerful. Since he didn¡¯t wish to be bogged down by requests every day, Shang Xia simply threw the problem to Shang Quan. He waved his hand and slapped his butt before appointing Shang Quan as his representative. With the authority given by Shang Xia, Shang Quan quickly received a huge amount of benefits. That was also why Shang Quan had no complaints when helping out. ¡°Is there still no news of the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer''s Yeast or the Nine Leaf Lotus?¡± Shang Xia tossed out a casual question. With a painful smile on his face, Shang Quan could only shake his head helplessly. ¡°I can¡¯t reach Third Uncle at all. He probably didn¡¯t manage to find the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer''s Yeast in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion. Our Shang Clan looked through the entire battlefield between the two worlds and Tongyou City but failed to receive news on either of them.¡± A trace of disappointment flashed across Shan Xia¡¯s face, but the smile quickly returned. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m being too hasty. Haha, which expert who tried breaking through to the Martial Extermination Realm didn¡¯t use several years to prepare their advancement medicine? It has been less than a year since I entered the grand completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm!¡± At the start of the 845th year of the Azure Origin World, Shang Ke made a trip back to the battlefield between the two worlds in order to pass Shang Xia the Glass Daisy Chrysanthemum and the Dragon Headed Wintersweet. That truly surprised Shang Xia and he quickly requested for Shang Quan to keep a lookout for the Nine Leaf Lotus. With the addition of the herbs Shang Ke delivered, Shang Xia was only missing the brewer¡¯s yeast and the lotus. Actually, Shang Xia had started inquiring about them a long time ago. After the gathering of Martial Intent Realm experts near the Yuxi Peak, Shang Xia released news that he was willing to purchase several treasures with graded weapons. Unfortunately, no one contacted him since then. Shang Xia was initially still hopeful that he would get lucky and obtain it from the spatial cases he hadn¡¯t opened. In the time that passed, he managed to craft another Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman with the 3 talisman jades in his possession and another 2 from 4 pieces of rank three talisman paper Shang Quan bought from elsewhere. From a certain standpoint, Gale Thunderbolt Talismans were a lot harder to craft than Bamboo Void Breaking Talismans. However, the talisman paper made from Stormy Lightning Leaves alleviated a huge portion of the difficulty. That was why Shang Xia¡¯s success rate in crafting Gale Thunderbolt Talismans was much higher than Bamboo Void Breaking Talismans. With the talismans, Shang Xia opened the spatial cases of the 3 disciples of the Changbai Holy Land. He managed to obtain a rank four treasure called the Scarlet Heart Cinnabar Wood and some rank three resources. The Scarlet Heart Cinnabar Wood could be considered pretty precious, but the rank three resources weren¡¯t too useful to him. The only thing that was a cause for celebration was 2 more strands of extermination qi from Chu Chen¡¯s extermination qi gathering gourd. With the one he obtained from Senior Brother Zhou in the past, he now possessed 4 strands of extermination qi! He would be able to make 4 attempts when crafting rank four talismans in the future! After opening the spatial cases and not obtaining anything of use, Shang Xia decided to leave the battlefield between the two worlds and returned to the Tongyou City for a change of pace. At the same time, he wanted to see if he could repair his Scarlet Star Spear that was heavily damaged after his many battles in the battlefield between the two worlds. He went to give Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui a quick heads up before he left the battlefield between the two worlds, but as he was walking out of the Talisman Hall, he was greeted with many reluctant looks by the rest of the members. In the months that passed, the Talisman Hall¡¯s prestige made a huge leap forward due to Shang Xia¡¯s presence! That wasn¡¯t all as Shang Xia decided to give several lectures on talisman crafting during his time there. Every time he held a lecture, everyone would feel as though they learned something new. Because he didn¡¯t expect anything in return for conducting those lectures, his reputation in the Talisman Hall shot up like a rocket. Naturally, the support of Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui was indispensable. They were working behind the scenes to make Shang Xia the face of the Talisman Hall as they knew that the moment Shang Xia entered the Martial Extermination Realm, he would probably be the first rank four Talisman Master of the institution! When Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui walked out of the Talisman Hall with Shang Xia to bid him a farewell, Shang Xia felt that the heaven and earth qi around the Observation Peak was starting to behave abnormally. As the fluctuations quickly became stronger and stronger, Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui also discovered something off. ¡°This¡­¡± Fan Yuanhui stuttered. His cultivation was the lowest of the 3 and he was the most confused among them. With Gong Hang¡¯s wealth of experience, he seemed to understand what was happening. ¡°That¡¯s a sign of someone who¡¯s about to break through!¡± Shang Xia followed up immediately. ¡°Haha, our Tongyou Institution is about to welcome another Martial Extermination Realm expert.¡± ¡°Who?!¡± Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui yelled in unison. ¡°It¡¯s coming¡­¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t reply as he concentrated his divine sense on the spot where the heaven and earth qi fluctuations were coming from. As he spoke, a ray of light shot into the skies. The heaven and earth qi around the Observation Peak became a lot denser as a huge illusory lotus seemed to bloom in the air above. ¡°Oh? Could it be¡­¡± Shang Xia stared at the illusory lotus that was slowly fading as a name popped into his mind. CH 433 Deacon Ge Qingzhu of the Tongyou Institution successfully entered the Martial Extermination Realm, increasing the number of experts by one! Ge Qingzhu couldn¡¯t be considered an extremely well-known figure in the institution before that, and most people had no idea of his existence. Fortunately, he ran into a massive fortuitous encounter in the battlefield between the two worlds. It was said that he obtained an entire pool of spiritual lotus, and taking advantage of the opportunity, his cultivation skyrocketed. After making all his preparations, he successfully entered the ranks of true experts of the institution. Shang Xia had to praise Ge Qingzhu¡¯s approach. He took everything step by step and succeeded with a stroke of luck. Everyone had their way of cultivation and there was no need for Shang Xia to envy any of them. As such, Shang Xia made his preparations to leave while everyone was still captivated by the energy fluctuations in the air. However, he was interrupted by Shang Tai before he could leave the battlefield between the two worlds. Like Shang Quan, Shang Tai was also a second generation member of the Shang Clan who was born in a branch family. Because Shang Quan felt as though he had reached a bottleneck in his cultivation several days ago, he chose to enter seclusion. He was making his preparations to enter the Martial Intent Realm and handed his responsibilities to Shang Tai. Before Shang Xia returned to the Talisman Hall a few months ago, Shang Quan brought Shang Tai over to meet Shang Xia to make the introductions. When he heard that Shang Quan was about to enter seclusion, Shang Xia picked out several training resources, that might be of use like rank two and three Monkey Wine, for him. ¡°Uncle Tai, did something come up?¡± Shang Xia asked when he saw the rush Shang Tai was in. Shang Tai heaved a sigh of relief when he saw Shang Xia and he muttered, ¡°Yan Qi¡­ Yan Qi is back! He wishes to see you¡­¡± ¡°What happened to him?!¡± Without hesitation, Shang Xia started running in the direction of the Shang Clan¡¯s territory on the Observation Peak. Shang Xia was extremely clear about Yan Qi¡¯s personality. If he really needed to report anything to Shang Xia, he would do so personally. He wouldn¡¯t ask Shang Xia to look for him unless something unexpected happened¡­ ¡°Um¡­¡± A strange expression appeared on Shang Tai¡¯s face but he quickly continued, ¡°You¡¯ll know when you get there.¡± Hearing that, Shang Xia became even more curious. Luckily, he wouldn¡¯t take a lot of time to travel across the Observation Peak. He quickly returned to the Shang Clan¡¯s territory. The moment he returned, he caught sight of Yan Qi who had gone missing for a few months now. He instantly realized why Shang Tai wasn¡¯t willing to tell him what happened on the way back. Yan Qi used to be a buff young man with muscles bulging to the point where they were visible through his clothes. Now, he was extremely shriveled and his face was deathly pale. He had a listless gaze as he sat there waiting for Shang Xia to arrive. ¡°Seventh Uncle, this¡­¡± Shang Xia gasped in fright. ¡°Oh¡­ It¡¯s a long story¡­¡± Yan Qi perked up slightly when he saw Shang Xia. A trace of red finally returned to his face and after coughing lightly, he changed the topic. ¡°I heard that you were missing some treasures to craft your rank four advancement medicine.¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t push further about Yan Qi¡¯s injuries since he wasn¡¯t willing to talk about it at the moment. However, he couldn¡¯t deny that he was feeling a trace of excitement when Yan Qi mentioned the treasures. ¡°Seventh Uncle, do you have a plan to get them?¡± Yan Qi nodded slowly before glancing at Shang Tai. ¡°I heard from your Uncle Tai that you were missing some important treasures. I might have a way to get my hands on the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer''s Yeast.¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes lit up instantly. ¡°For real? What do you need in exchange?¡± Yan Qi released an awkward chuckle before muttering softly, ¡°Actually, you only need to trade a rank four treasure for it.¡± A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled. Shang Xia could tell that Yan Qi wasn¡¯t exactly feeling very comfortable at the moment, but Shang Xia would believe whatever he said without hesitation. As such, he quickly replied, ¡°I have some rank four treasures that I can¡¯t make use of right now. One of them is called the Essence Bone Ember, and the other is a Scarlet Heart Cinnabar Wood. Choose whichever you wish!¡± ¡°Essence Bone Ember?! Young Master, you actually have Essence Bone Ember?!¡± A hopeful light flashed through Yan Qi¡¯s eyes and excitement filled his heart. ¡°If you really have that, it would be much easier to trade for a portion of Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer''s Yeast.¡± Before he could complete his sentence, Shang Xia was already retrieving a sealed case from his spatial artifact. Yan Qi didn¡¯t hesitate either as he took the case from Shang Xia. He got to his feet before making his move. Without turning his head, he cried, ¡°Young Master, please give me a little time. At the very latest, I¡¯ll bring back a portion of Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer''s Yeast in 5 days!¡± Yan Qi arrived and left like a gust of wind. With a look of confusion, Shang Xia could only turn to Shang Tai for an answer. ¡°Uncle Tai, did Seventh Uncle tell you about what he experienced recently?¡± Shang Tai glanced at Yan Qi¡¯s figure that was some distance away before turning back to Shang Xia. He grunted softly and tried to evade the youngster¡¯s gaze. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know if he was mistaken, but he felt that there was a trace of envy and embarrassment mixed within. Shifting his body to the side slightly, Shang Tai replied, ¡°Yan Qi didn¡¯t say too much about it. Maybe it has something to do with the old patriarch¡¯s order, but he went to contact the members of the four great races of the Liao Continent.¡± ¡°Four great races of the Liao Continent? Does it have nothing to do with the Changbai Holy Land?¡± Shang Xia frowned. Shang Tai couldn¡¯t help but burst into laughter from his response. ¡°If he¡¯s really communicating with the Changbai Holy Land, there¡¯s no need to cover it up! We won¡¯t need to send Yan Qi to do it either. After all, everyone else thinks that Yan Qi is a mere servant of our Shang Clan. They won¡¯t pay too much attention to him.¡± Shang Xia nodded subconsciously. Even though he never treated Yan Qi as a servant, everyone outside the clan might not think so. With the news Yan Qi had brought him, Shang Xia knew that his trip back to the Tongyou City would be delayed once again. Patiently waiting for Yan Qi¡¯s return, a surprising event broke his dull and mundane life. An invitation was delivered to the Shang Clan and it was addressed specifically for Shang Xia. ¡°Huh? Ge Qingzhu?¡± Shang Xia received the invitation from Shang Tai while muttering to himself, ¡°He just entered the Martial Extermination Realm and should be trying to consolidate his foundations. Why will he be looking for me?¡± Shang Tai shook his head slowly and sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t know either. The person who came with the invitation left the moment I took it.¡± Shang Xia might be curious about the reason behind Ge Qingzhu¡¯s sudden invitation, but he wouldn¡¯t turn it down. After all, he would still respect the new addition to the Martial Extermination Realm ranks of the institution. Waiting till the next day, Shang Xia didn¡¯t receive any news from Yan Qi either. Originally, Shang Xia wanted to look for Shang Jian and Shang Xi to ask about matters regarding him, but as it turned out, Shang Jian had left for the Tongyou City a while ago. According to him, Shang Dong and Shang Bei were about to break through and he needed to head back to protect them during their cultivation. His plan to look for Shang Xi also fell through. She had been in seclusion the moment she got back from the gathering with the various Martial Intent Realm experts. She might have completed her third divine sense transformation and could be considered to be ahead of her peers, her cultivation was still far too lacking when she compared it with her abnormal nephew. She would be lying to herself if she said that she didn¡¯t feel any pressure. She wanted to raise her strength as much as possible which led to her entering seclusion for such a long time. Helpless, Shang Xia could only wait for Yan Qi to return alone. With nothing else to do, he started to head for the central region on the Observation Peak. That was where the giant wooden pillar was located, and it was also the home of the Lightning Bird. With such a giant structure in sight, it wasn¡¯t difficult for Shang Xia to locate it. When Ge Qingzhu advanced into the Martial Extermination Realm, he broke through in a secret chamber not too far away from the pillar. Shang Xia knew that he would be cultivating there and decided to look for him. When he arrived, many Upper Division Disciples greeted him respectfully before pointing out the way. When Shang Xia arrived, he noticed that Ge Qingzhu hadn¡¯t left seclusion for long. In fact, they were meeting in his cultivation chamber for the first time. They met back at the gathering near the Yuxi Peak. However, there were too many people present and Ge Qingzhu seemed to want to hide his presence. As such, Shang Xia didn¡¯t examine him carefully. Now that Ge Qingzhu had advanced, his aura changed drastically. He looked a lot more elegant than before and emitted a feeling of being free from all restraints. Everyone would feel a little more comfortable just by looking at him. ¡°Shang Xia greets Mister Ge!¡± There hadn¡¯t been a single deacon in the Tongyou Institution with a Martial Extermination Realm cultivation. As soon as one of them advanced, they would be quickly promoted to be one of the heads of a division. Their status would be comparable to the instructors of the teaching divisions and that was the reason Shang Xia didn¡¯t call him ¡®Deacon Ge¡¯ any longer. Ge Qingzhu revealed a smile as he nodded as Shang Xia. No one knew if he was pleased with Shang Xia¡¯s presence or if it was just the way Shang Xia was addressing him. ¡°Young Talisman Master Shang, do you still need a Nine Leaf Lotus?¡± Ge Qingzhu got straight to the point. Shang Xia clearly didn¡¯t expect Ge Qingzhu to be so direct and his eyes widened in surprise. After getting over his initial shock, he quickly regained his composure and replied, ¡°This disciple is truly in need of the lotus. However, the Nine Leaf Lotus has to be harvested in the Summer!¡± Instead of replying to his question directly, Ge Qingzhu continued, ¡°Young Talisman Master Shang, you must be curious about why I denied having the lotus back at the gathering¡­¡± Shang Xia was taken by surprise once again, but he quickly burst out chuckling, ¡°Mister Ge, you definitely had your reasons for doing so.¡± Nodding slightly, Ge Qingzhu explained, ¡°A Nine Leaf Lotus is a treasure that would be of use to someone entering the Martial Extermination Realm.¡± Shang Xia immediately understood that Ge Qingzhu probably required the lotus to craft his advancement medicine, but his confusion quickly set in. Since Ge Qingzhu sent him an invitation, he wouldn¡¯t call Shang Xia over just to tell him that he used up the Nine Leaf Lotus. Shang Xia¡¯s heart trembled slightly in anticipation of what he was about to hear. He couldn¡¯t help but feel slightly more excited. Ge Qingzhu chuckled in response, ¡°Looks like you already guessed it. I obtained two Nine Leaf Lotus back then and I didn¡¯t say anything before advancing in case I needed the second one.¡± Shang Xia nodded slightly in acknowledgment. Pausing for a second, he continued, ¡°Fortunately, I got lucky this time. Now that I succeeded, there is no need to hide the second Nine Leaf Lotus. I wouldn¡¯t mind trading it with you.¡± Shang Xia finally calmed himself and after a short moment of silence, he asked, ¡°Mister Bu, have you harvested the other lotus?¡± ¡°The rumors out there were actually correct. I obtained a pool of spirit lotuses, and that meant that I know its location. I haven¡¯t harvested the lotus, but Summer is coming soon¡­¡± CH 434 ¡°Mister Ge, what request do you have? I¡¯ll fulfill it as long as it is within my power.¡± Shang Xia calmed himself down as he spoke. A satisfied look appeared on Ge Qingzhu¡¯s face and he muttered, ¡°Actually, I do have something I need your help with. However, now isn¡¯t the time.¡± Seeing the look of surprise on Shang Xia¡¯s face, he added another explanation, ¡°I¡¯m afraid you need to be in the Martial Extermination Realm before you can help me with it. It might not pose any danger to you, but you might find it a little difficult to accomplish. You might even need to use a lot of time to complete it.¡± With things progressing up to that point, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t say anything else. In order to obtain the Nine Leaf Lotus, he had to agree. Making a promise to Ge Qingzhu, he received Ge Qingzhu¡¯s agreement to bring him to the pool of lotuses the moment Summer arrived. With the arrangement with Ge Qingzhu, Shang Xia realized that the Tongyou Institution managed to gain control of the lotus pool Ge Qingzhu discovered. However, the new Martial Extermination Realm expert seemed to be in control of the allocation of resources there. Even though there was still some time before he could get his hands on the Nine Leaf Lotus, Shang Xia was still pretty pumped. With the issue of the Nine Leaf Lotus dealt with, Shang Xia could only wait for Yan Qi to return with news about his Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer''s Yeast. The saying of good times coming in pairs didn¡¯t come from nothing. When Shang Xia left Ge Qingzhu¡¯s place and returned to the Shang Clan¡¯s territory on the Observation Peak, he was quickly greeted with the news that Yan Qi had returned. Running over to the main hall at top speed, Shang Xia saw Shang Tai conversing with Yan Qi. The moment he entered the hall, Yan Qi bowed respectfully only to be waved off quickly by Shang Xia. An expectant smile appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°How did it go? Did you manage to obtain the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer''s Yeast?¡± Yan Qi¡¯s expression froze slightly before he handed the case containing the Essence Bone Ember back to Shang Xia. ¡°Young Master, my apologies. An accident occurred.¡± Looking at the case that Yan Qi held out, a wave of disappointment washed over Shang Xia. There was news from Yan Qi, but it wasn¡¯t what he was expecting. However, he knew that he couldn¡¯t hold something like that against Yan Qi. Forcing a smile, he asked, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Why don¡¯t you tell me what happened?¡± ¡°I brought the Essence Bone Ember Young Master gave me to make the trade and I thought that it would be extremely easy to obtain the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer''s Yeast. I slipped up when talking to them and revealed that you also had the Scarlet Heart Cinnabar Wood and the other party who was interested in the trade immediately rejected the case of Essence Bone Ember. Instead, they wanted me to obtain the Scarlet Heart Cinnabar Wood if I wanted to make the trade.¡± Yan Qi explained. Shang Xia received the case and glanced at the contents before sighting, ¡°What¡¯s up with that? From what I know, the Essence Bone Ember and the Scarlet Heart Cinnabar Wood are of the same rank. They are both rank four spiritual treasures, and the Essence Bone Ember is much more valuable!¡± Yan Qi chuckled bitterly while shaking his head. ¡°They were unwilling to tell me the reason and I wasn¡¯t in a position to ask about it.¡± Shang Xia kept the case containing the Essence Bone Ember before taking out another case containing the Scarlet Heart Cinnabar Wood. ¡°By the way, are you communicating with the four great races of the Liao Continent?¡± Yan Qi received the case before revealing a thoughtful expression. ¡°Young Master, the old patriarch didn¡¯t allow me to talk about this. I didn¡¯t tell you anything about this and you guessed it all on your own¡­¡± Yan Qi then nodded slightly while keeping a straight face. Shang Xia knew that he shouldn¡¯t continue his line of questioning and muttered, ¡°Seventh Uncle, you need to be careful.¡± Yan Qi cupped his fists towards Shang Xia and said, ¡°The next time I return, I will definitely bring the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer''s Yeast with me.¡± After sending Yan Qi off, Shang Xia saw that Shang Tai had yet to leave and he quickly asked, ¡°Uncle Tai, how is Uncle Quan¡¯s progress of breaking through to the Martial Intent Realm?¡± Shaking his head, Shang Tai sighed, ¡°Brother Quan returned to the Tongyou City and I have no idea how he is actually doing right now. I only saw him before he entered seclusion, but he seems pretty confident of his accumulations in the battlefield between the two worlds in the years that passed. He once said that he was around 80 percent sure that he could advance. Who knows? He might already be consolidating his foundations back in the Shang Clan Manor as we speak.¡± Shang Xia nodded in acknowledgement. ¡°That would be for the best¡­¡± Originally, he wanted to take his leave now that he asked the questions that were on his mind. However, he noticed the unnatural expression on Shang Tai¡¯s face and he realized that his uncle probably still had something to say to him. ¡°Uncle Tai, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Hesitating slightly Shang Tai finally sighed, ¡°I might be mistaken, but from what I observed on the Observation Peak, the Tongyou Institution seems to be making some sort of secret plan. They even seem to be getting ready for something.¡± ¡°Uncle Tai, did you discover something out of the ordinary?¡± Shang Xia frowned. He knew that as the person in charge of the Shang Clan in the battlefield between the two worlds at the moment, Shang Tai probably came into contact with many things on a daily basis. He might have figured something out through all the tiny traces of information he came across. Taking some time to arrange his thoughts, Shang Tai continued, ¡°All the Martial Extermination Realm experts on the Observation Peak seemed to have gone somewhere. I suspect that all of them have already left the battlefield between the two worlds.¡± A deep frown appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Do you mean that our Observation Peak is like an empty shell right now?! Is the institution playing some empty city stratagem with our opponents?!¡± ¡°No, no, no!¡± Shang Tai shook his head, but his expression sank slightly the next second as he couldn¡¯t be sure of what was actually happening. ¡°At the very least, we¡¯re not employing some empty city stratagem. The experts of the four great races of the Liao Continent and the Changbai Holy Land have also become a lot quieter. It¡¯s as though we¡¯re all trying to protect the peace of the battlefield between the two worlds for the time being.¡± A guess had long since formed in Shang Xia¡¯s mind about the sudden change that was happening to the battlefield between the two worlds. Since a long time ago, the fights had stopped. Shang Xia was even thinking the higher-ups of both worlds had reached some sort of agreement. Now that Shang Tai brought the matter up, his guess was basically verified. ¡°Uncle Tai, start gathering the power of our clan and start placing a stronger emphasis on the Yuxi Peak.¡± Shang Xia said all of a sudden. Nodding quietly, Shang Tai acknowledged the order. However, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Our experts have always been stationed near the Yuxi Peak. Are you¡­¡± ¡°I plan on entering the Yuxi Peak soon.¡± Shang Xia admitted. With a shocked expression finding its way onto Shang Tai¡¯s face, he yelled, ¡°Shang Xia, you cannot act recklessly! Less than 10 people from our side and the Azure Spiritual World entered the Yuxi Peak since the abnormality was discovered and not a single one of them returned. Not even Martial Extermination Realm experts dare to take their chances to enter the forbidden region!¡± Shang Xia shook his head slightly and sighed, ¡°The Yuxi Peak might hold the key to my breakthrough to the Martial Extermination Realm. I have to make a trip over.¡± Shang Tai wanted to say something else, but Shang Xia quickly interrupted him. ¡°Uncle Tai, there¡¯s no need for you to worry. Even if things reach the worst-case scenario, I have a way to retreat unharmed. No matter what you say, my decision is made. The moment Seventh Uncle returns with the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer''s Yeast, I¡¯ll make my move. Uncle Tai, there¡¯s no need to try to dissuade me any further.¡± To access the premium content, go to [ pawread dot com ]. Knowing that he didn¡¯t possess the ability to change Shang Xia¡¯s mind, Shang Tai muttered helplessly, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, I can only report this matter to the patriarch¡­¡± ¡­ This time, Yan Qi didn¡¯t make Shang Xia wait for a long time. He returned on the third day after Shang Xia passed him the Scarlet Heart Cinnabar Wood. This time, the case that he passed to Shang Xia contained the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer''s Yeast he so desperately needed. At that moment, Shang Xia could be said to have collected all the components required for his rank four advancement medicine, the Four Seasons Samsara Wine. Of course, he couldn¡¯t actually break through immediately. He still had to invite an alchemist to brew his advancement medicine. Rank four alchemists weren¡¯t exactly impressive because of their ability to craft medicines. They were actually well respected due to their expertise in crafting specific advancement medicines for cultivators. Naturally, Shang Xia had no use for their abilities as he had a complete advancement medicine himself. With detailed instructions, a rank three alchemist could actually produce the advancement medicine he required. Unfortunately, the grade of the alchemist couldn¡¯t really affect Shang Xia at the moment as the Shang Clan hadn¡¯t been able to produce a rank three alchemist. As such, regardless of whether Shang Xia had to look for a rank three or four alchemist, he had to do it through the institution. The moment he requested the help of an alchemist of the institution to craft the Four Seasons Samsara Wine, he knew that the institution would learn a huge part of how to craft it. Well, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t too worried about it anyway. After all, the advancement medicine came from the institution anyway. He took an incomplete advancement medicine and completed it through the Crimson Soul Tablet. At the end of the day, Shang Xia was the one who held the key to crafting the Four Seasons Samsara Wine. Other people might be able to make use of it in the future, but Shang Xia would naturally release a much weaker version after modifying it with the tablet. Actually, the Four Seasons Samsara Wine that Shang Xia was crafting was too damn special to begin with. Just the herbs required was enough to show that it was no ordinary medicine. It was almost impossible to replicate Shang Xia¡¯s method of breakthrough in the future. ¡­ The Medicine Hall was a part of the Warehouse Division in the Tongyou Institution, and it was one of those that was held in the highest regard. The ability of their alchemists to craft advancement medicines wasn¡¯t the only reason. The other reason was because they had one of the only few rank four craftsmen in the institution! Ge Muchen, a rank four alchemist, was part of their ranks! In the past, Ge Muchen ran into trouble when the world collided. Luckily, he was saved by Kou Chongxue and with that, he chose to enter the Medicine Hall of the Tongyou Institution to focus on his craft. The rise of the institution, birthing so many Martial Extermination Realm experts, couldn¡¯t have been done without him. Leaving the experts who just broke through recently aside, even Shang Bo¡¯s advancement medicine was made by Ge Muchen more than a dozen years ago! Ge Muchen¡¯s abilities in the medical field might be great, but his path of cultivation seemed to be restricted by his talent. He might be a rank four alchemist, but he had yet to step into the Martial Extermination Realm. According to rumors, Kou Chongxue tried to assist in his breakthrough personally, but they failed. That even resulted in Kou Chongxue suffering a backlash. The matter of Ge Muchen¡¯s advancement could only be dropped. It was a pretty sad story actually. The rank four alchemist who was unable to enter the Martial Extermination Realm produced a steady stream of rank four advancement medicine for others to advance and medicine to treat the injured. He allowed the Tongyou Institution to grow strong, but he couldn¡¯t do so himself. Due to the passage of time, Ge Muchen was getting old and because he injured his foundations because of the failed breakthrough back then, he didn¡¯t have much time left. At the moment, he was the spiritual support of the Medicine Hall. Other than Grandmaster Ge Muchen, there were 4 other rank three alchemists in the medicine hall. From that point alone, one could see how much deeper the Medicine Hall¡¯s accumulations were compared to the Talisman Hall or Formation Hall. Their strong foundations could be attributed to Ge Muchen¡¯s teachings. At the moment, there were 2 rank three alchemists on the Observation Peak. One of them was a veteran alchemist called Ge Wangchuan. From his name, it wasn¡¯t difficult to discern that he was related to Ge Muchen. It was also said that he was going to inherit Ge Muchen¡¯s inheritance when he was ready. The other rank three alchemist was new, and he was Liu Zhifang from the Liu Clan of the Tongyou City. He was part of the same generation as Liu Zhiyuan and Liu Zhidao, the two Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Liu Clan and that proved the deep foundations behind the great Liu Clan. When they heard Shang Xia¡¯s request, their expression turned exceptionally ugly. CH 435 ¡°Do you really need it urgently?¡± Liu Zhifang finally broke the silence after glancing at Ge Wangchuan. As Alchemists of the institution, they rarely took on a role as teachers. However, Shang Xia would still address them respectfully as teachers when he met them. Regardless of how Shang Xia addressed them, Both Liu Zhifang and Ge Wangchun knew that they couldn¡¯t easily offend the person before them. Ge Wangchun couldn¡¯t be considered too related to Shang Xia as he didn¡¯t interact much with each other. However, Liu Zhifang was an expert of the Liu Clan of the Tongyou City. With the relationship between the Shang Clan and Liu Clan, Shang Xia should actually call him ¡®Martial Uncle¡¯. As such, neither party would want to offend the other if they could help it. After hearing what Liu Zhifang said, Shang Xia knew that the two of them were facing some difficulties and might not be able to fulfill his request. He chuckled softly in response, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Teacher Ge and Teacher Liu, are you busy right now?¡± Liu Zhifang laughed helplessly, ¡°We just received an order to craft a rank four advancement medicine. The order came from Grandmaster Muchen himself and he appointed the two of us to work on it. Brother Ge and I can¡¯t possibly reject him.¡± ¡°Grandmaster Muchen? Since he gave the order, I won¡¯t put you in a spot. However, can I have the privilege of knowing who is able to get Grandmaster Muchen to give the order personally for the preparation of their rank four advancement medicine? Also, didn¡¯t Grandmaster Muchen stop crafting advancement medicines for others in the recent years?¡± Shang Xia asked. Ge Wangchun finally spoke. ¡°Uncle Muchen really hasn¡¯t personally refined any medicine in a long time. Patriarch Kou allowed him to rest easy due to his old age, but Uncle Muchen promised this medicine to the person a long time ago. Actually, Uncle Muchen wanted to personally head up to craft the medicine but the person wasn¡¯t willing to let Uncle Muchen tire himself out and thus handed the advancement formula over to us. The two of us naturally won¡¯t turn the request down.¡± This novel is available on "pawread dot com". Before Shang Xia could ask, Liu Zhifang added at the side, ¡°You definitely know that person. It¡¯s Formation Master Chu Jia from the Formation Hall.¡± ¡°It¡¯s her!¡± Shang Xia immediately understood the ugly expressions of the two when he approached them earlier. Back when Shang Xia crafted 8 Gale Thunderbolt Talismans, he caught the Formation Hall off-guard. They even lost their cool and collected demeanor as they had to carry out mass modifications to the grand formation. They worked tirelessly to finally complete the modification of the grand formation right before the stipulated deadline by the institution. The hell they were put through caused the rage of the Formation Masters to direct all their rage and frustration towards Shang Xia. Rumors came from the Formation Hall soon after, indicating the Chu Jia would likely become a rank four Formation Master in the near future. Moreover, she was extremely displeased with Talisman Master Shang Xia. No one knew if the news was real, but the further the rumors spread, the worse it became Due to how some people put it, the rumors quickly developed into a battle between the Formation Hall and the Talisman Hall. According to those shit-stirrers, Chu Jia was competing with Shang Xia on who would be able to enter the Martial Extermination Realm first. After all, that would mean that a rank four Talisman Master or Formation Master would be produced first in the institution. Clearly, Ge Wangchun and Liu Zhifang were affected by the rumors. What was even more coincidental was that they had just promised to refine Chu Jia¡¯s advancement medicine when Shang Xia came knocking on their doorsteps. That caused the two of them to feel extremely torn apart. It didn¡¯t matter if it was Chu Jia or Shang Xia. The two of them possessed extreme potential. Moreover, both sides had impressive backgrounds. They were also looked upon highly by the higher-ups of the institution. Ge Wangchun and Liu Zhifang didn¡¯t wish to offend either one of them! However, they quickly heaved a sigh of relief when they saw that Shang Xia didn¡¯t react much when they mentioned Chu Jia¡¯s advancement medicine. The two fo them might not exactly be nameless figures in the institution, but offending someone like Shang Xia and Chu Jia was enough to make them think twice. Shang Xia thought for a moment before he continued. ¡°Teacher Ge and Teacher Liu, when will you be able to complete her advancement medicine?¡± Liu Zhifang sank into silence for a moment. Eventually, he coughed lightly, ¡°If you are really in a rush, you can try going back to the Tongyou City to look for Teacher Lei and Teacher Feng. You can definitely raise your request to them. How about i?¡± As previously mentioned, there were 4 rank three Alchemists in the Tongyou Institution. Lei Xiang and Feng Yongchu remained in the instituion while Ge Wangchun and Liu Zhifang were stationed in the battlefield between the two worlds. Of course, the Tongyou Institution might have reopened a spatial tunnel to the battlefield between the two worlds, but it wasn¡¯t something Shang Xia could cross whenever he wanted to. After all, usage of the tunnel required a huge amount of resources. Other than times of emergency, the spatial tunnel would be opened during specific periods in the year. If Shang Xia wanted to return to the city before returning to the battlefield between the two worlds, iut would take him more than a month. If he failed to return by then, he would need an even longer time. After thinking about it, Shang Xia shook his head and muttered, ¡°Actually, I was only planning to let Teacher Ge and Teacher Liu know that I need my advancement medicine made. After all, I still have another herb I have yet to obtain.¡± The two of them immediately agreed to help Shang Xia the moment he gathered everything he needed. After all, that would be the best case scenario for the two of them. Shang Xia followed up once again, ¡°I should be able to obtain the herb in 40 days or so. I wonder if Teacher Ge and Teacher Liu will be available then?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Liu Zhifang answered for the two of them while heaving a sigh of relief. Ge Wangchun added, ¡°If nothing goes wrong, we should be done with her advancement medicine in a month. After that, Talisman Master Shang, you can bring your recipe over for us to take a look and make our preparations.¡± Receiving the answer he wanted, Shang Xia thanked them before taking his leave. However, the smile on his face revealed a hint of mystery when he turned to look at the Medicine Hall while walking away. After sending Shang Xia off, Ge Wangchun and Liu Zhifang felt a weight lifted off their shoulders. Of course, their expression remained as casual as could be. Returning to the hall, they saw a lady who was emitting an air of laziness waiting for them. ¡°Is he gone?¡± She giggled softly and asked for fun. ¡°Aren¡¯t you two going to thank me for not jumping out earlier and starting a play with Talisman Master Shang?¡± It wasn¡¯t hard to guess who she was. Of course it had to be Chu Jia, the rank three Formation Master of the Tongyou Institution. Previously, she had also been in the hall. However, she hid at the side using some sort of concealment formation. The conversation between Shang Xia and the two couldn¡¯t be hidden from her. Ge Wangchun stared at her blankly for a second before sighing, ¡°Little Grandaunt, don¡¯t make things difficult for the two of us¡­¡± Liu Zhifang chuckled bitterly at the side while shaking his head. From the way they spoke for each other, it wasn¡¯t difficult to tell that Ge Wangchun and Liu Zhifang were pretty good friends. Chu Jia was obviously not bothered in the slightest as she snorted indifferently. ¡°Do you really think that Young Master Shang didn¡¯t know about my presence?¡± Ge Wangchun¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°What?! You were discovered? How is that even possible?¡± Chu Jia muttered casually, ¡°That fellow¡¯s divine sense is a little perverted. I was planning to listen in on your conversation earlier and allowed my divine sense to leak out a little. He discovered me the moment I did that. If I didn¡¯t adjust my concealment formation in time, he would have discovered where I was.¡± A look of confusion appeared on Liu Zhifang¡¯s face when he heard about her concealment formation, but he quickly became in awe of her mastery in the way of formations. Ge Wangchun gasped. ¡°He actually managed to discover your presence! Didn¡¯t you say that anyone under the Martial Extermination Realm experts wouldn¡¯t be able to discover your presence?¡± The Medicine Hall might be crudely built at the moment, but there was naturally more than a single entrance. Due to the rumors going around, Ge Wangchun and Liu Zhifang didn¡¯t really wish for the two of them to meet. Unfortunately, Chu Jia adamantly chose to stay and she mentioned something about not being discovered by Shang Xia no matter what. Who would have thought that her presence would be leaked despite her confidence? Noting Ge Wangchun¡¯s displeasure, Chu Jia started to pout and use her most effective coy voice to respond. ¡°Who would expect that fellow¡¯s divine sense to be so powerful? Hmph hmph! His senses and divine sense is in no way inferior to an expert in the Martial Extermination Realm.¡± Seeing as things had already progressed to that point, Ge Wangchun could only sigh in defeat. There was no use berating Chu Jia any further. She quickly continued, ¡°By the way, what did you say that his advancement medicine was?¡± Liu Zhifang saw that Ge Wangchun wasn¡¯t in the best of mood right now and he decided to take over the conversation. ¡°We¡¯ll only know when he hands us the formula. As for the extermination origin and the way he¡¯s using to break into the Martial Extermination Realm, we won¡¯t be able to get an exact explanation through the refinement of his medicine. We can probe around, but that¡¯s about it.¡± Chu Jia huffed lightly in response. ¡°Hmph, a disciple of a great clan is truly blessed. Preparations to break through have been made for them unlike myself. In order to enter the Martial Extermination Realm, I had to collect resources for countless years while making my preparations¡­¡± Hearing what she said, Liu Zhifang suddenly felt the urge to no longer talk to her. However, she said something else after that which confused the two rank three alchemists present the next second. ¡°I wonder if he can actually make it¡­¡± ¡­ Shang Xia stood at a certain distance away from the Yuxi Peak as he stared at the mountain that was surrounded by a multicolored mist. He didn¡¯t remember how many times he had gone over ever since the incident the other time. Back when the gathering took place, Shang Xia left early to approach the Yuxi Peak only to case a giant ruckus. Even so, he didn¡¯t stop his attempts to investigate the Yuxi Peak as he would approach it from time to time. He would get closer from time to time in an attempt to agitate the multicolored mist. He wanted to learn more about the connection between the Crimson Soul Tablet, his inner qi, and the Yuxi Peak. With his multiple attempts at uncovering the truth, he discovered that the energy that was contained on the Yuxi Peak was undergoing some sort of transformation. He wasn¡¯t too sure about what was going on exactly, but at the very least, he could tell that the world origin, extermination qi, and heaven and earth qi that was contained on the mountain was starting to separate slowly. At the same time, the space surrounding the Yuxi Peak was slowly calming down. At the same time, he felt that the extent to which he could affect the multicolored mist was decreasing every time he approached. Even though the feeling of attraction was still present, Shang Xia could close the distance between himself and the Yuxi Peak without causing any adverse reaction from the Crimson Soul Tablet. Currently, Shang Xia was standing at the foot of the Yuxi Peak. He just needed to take another step before he would start ascending the mountain. It was where the screen of multicolored mist once was. Not too far away, he could feel the presence of world orign tickling his senses. Reaching out slowly, he tried to come into contact with the trace of world origin. It seemed to react to Shang Xia as it was slowly drawn over to his finger. The moment they came into contact, it was sucked dry by his Crimson Soul Tablet. A smile formed on his face, but his actions seemed to have angered the mountain as the multicolored mist started to fluctuate wildly at his intrusion. Chuckling softly, Shang Xia retreated quickly. When he was finally a distance away from the Yuxi Peak, a voice rang behind him. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve already made up your mind to enter the Yuxi Peak¡­¡± Shang Xia wasn¡¯t surprised by the voice at all. He laughed in response, ¡°Grandpa Ke, none of us weaker cultivators dared to approach the Yuxi Peak after the initial accidents. However, experts of your level should know a thing or two on what is contained on the Yuxi Peak, right?¡± Falling silent for a moment, Shang Ke arranged his thoughts before speaking, ¡°It¡¯s a chaotic mess of different qis up there. Martial Extermination Realm experts might have been able to force their way into the Yuxi Peak previously, but they wouldn¡¯t dare to remain for long. The chaotic qi on the Yuxi Peak has the ability to make Martial Extermination Realm experts lose control over their cultivation!¡± Shang Xia seemed to have heard the meaning behind his words and he continued to ask, ¡°What about now?¡± ¡°Now?¡± Shang Ke glanced at the Yuxi Peak and muttered, ¡°It¡¯s a mess up there. The situation at the top of the Yuxi Peak is really weird. It seems to experience all four seasons in the span of a day.¡± CH 436 From the moment he arrived, Shang Ke could tell that Shang Xia hadn¡¯t given up on entering the Yuxi Peak. When he saw how Shang Xia was testing his limits at the foot of the mountain, he could feel Shang Xia¡¯s resoluteness. He knew that there was no use trying to dissuade the youngster any longer. Since there was no stopping him, Shang Ke felt that he might as well introduce the situation on the Yuxi Peak to the best of his abilities. To be truly honest, Shang Ke¡¯s explanations were spurred on by Shang Bo¡¯s intention. The Yuxi Peak might be extremely mysterious and dangerous to any cultivator in the Martial Intent Realm or lower, but that wasn¡¯t the case for experts in the Martial Extermination Realm. Was the Yuxi Peak dangerous even to them? Probably. However, it wasn¡¯t anywhere as mysterious as it seemed. In the half a year or so when Shang Xia had been examining the Yuxi Peak, the way he used his Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter wasn¡¯t something he could hide from those Martial Extermination Realm experts who were stationed there. Because of that, most of them determined that he probably had some sort of special technique or monstrous treasure that could allow him to affect the chaotic qi covering the Yuxi Peak. The Martial Extermination Realm experts who discovered him realized that even most of them weren¡¯t able to do the same. When the other Martial Extermination Realm experts observed him in secret, Shang Xia¡¯s ability to detect them depended on how strong they were. However, he discovered Shang Ke¡¯s presence the moment he arrived. At the same time, he understood that his intention to enter the Yuxi Peak had already been noticed by many people. His actions seemed to be overlooked by those who noticed it and Shang Xia knew that it might be related to both Shang Bo and Shang Ke¡¯s protection. Another reason might be because he was extremely careful when testing the strange qi on the Yuxi Peak. He didn¡¯t allow it to react as violently as the first time he came. Martial Extermination Ream experts who saw him around felt that there was no point in obstructing him and chose to remain at the sidelines. Well, that was until Shang Ke arrived anyway. Shang Xia felt a lot better because of the lack of interference. At the very least, it looked as though he wouldn¡¯t be facing many obstructions when entering the Yuxi Peak. As for the possibility that anyone who could stand in his way hadn¡¯t found a way to enter and leave the Yuxi Peak safely, Shang Xia tossed it to the back of his mind. Those who couldn¡¯t enter and exit safely wouldn¡¯t pose a threat to him regardless. The Yuxi Peak seemed to be an opportunity that belonged to Shang Xia and Shang Xia alone! After informing Shang Xia about several other matters regarding the Yuxi Peak, Shang Ke turned to take his leave. He didn¡¯t plan on staying in the battlefield between the two worlds for long. Shang Xia wanted to ask about matters regarding the absence of Martial Extermination Realm experts on the Observation Peak because of what he learned from Shang Tai, but Shang Ke instructed him to focus on his task at hand instead. According to his Fifth Grandpa, there was no need for him to think of other things at the moment. Despite what Shang Ke said, that seemed to be an answer to Shang Xia¡¯s question nonetheless. His guess was basically verified. The experts of the Tongyou Institution, along with the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the great families of the Tongyou City seemed to be planning something big. In fact, they seemed to have reached a tacit understanding with the experts of the four great races of the Liao Continent and Changbai Holy Land. Since his question was answered, Shang Xia no longer bothered himself with it for the time being. Like how Shang Ke told him to focus on whatever he was doing, Shang Xia understood that his main goal was to make preparations for him to enter the Martial Extermination Realm. In the following month or so that passed, Shang Xia no longer headed out unnecessarily. He remained in his secret chamber to temper his inner qi in preparation for his breakthrough. He wanted to ensure that he was at his peak state before his Four Seasons Samsara Wine was successfully produced. As soon as Summer arrived, Ge Qingzhu delivered the Nine Leaf Lotus as promised. ¡°You¡¯re really daring¡­ You seem to be taking a path that no one has tried before!¡± Ge Qingzhu mentioned after handing the herb over to Shang Xia. Ever since he met Shang Ke the other day, Shang Xia realized that his path of cultivation had been somewhat uncovered by those Martial Extermination Realm experts. They might not know what he was doing exactly, but they seemed to be aware that he was trying to break through in an unconventional way. As such, he no longer bothered hiding his actions. Thinking about the bottle of incomplete advancement medicine he obtained from the Scripture Depository back then, Shang Xia chuckled. ¡°That might not be the case. Some people might have tried it before, but it¡¯s possible that none of them succeeded¡­¡± Ge Qingzhu shook his head in response and sighed to himself, ¡°That¡¯s a really bold move¡­ Did no one try to stop you?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change as he chuckled in response. However, a multitude of curses were running through his mind. The more he thought about it, the more he felt as though he was a fool. He thought that he had hidden his method of cultivation very well, but it seemed as though many people already knew what he was trying to do. He had no idea how deep they had dug into his cultivation. He even wondered if his entire cultivation process had been uncovered! Shang Xia didn¡¯t know the answer to the question, but he was actually starting to feel afraid of the implications if that was true. He didn¡¯t dare to ask his Grandpa Bo or even Kou Chongxue to verify the extent to which his cultivation process had been compromised. The only thing he knew from all the responses he was getting was that he was truly going to step onto a lonely path of which there were no records of anyone succeeding. While his thoughts were running wild, a snow-white lotus appeared on Ge Qingzhu¡¯s hand. ¡°This is something that might help you in your journey. It can help alleviate some of your inner injuries you might suffer if things go wrong. Please accept it. If you run into any huge issues in your cultivation, this lotus might save your foundations, giving you another chance to rise up in the future.¡± Ge Qingzhu muttered. Despite the causal way he put it, Shang Xia was extremely touched by his actions. After all, the lotus Ge Qingzhu was giving him was equivalent to a chance at a second life in case he failed while cultivating. Shang Xia was stuck in a dilemma on whether to accept when Ge Qingzhu chuckled, ¡°I told you to accept it, but I didn¡¯t say that you can keep it in the event that you succeed. If everything goes as planned, you have to return it to me when you step into the Martial Extermination Realm.¡± ¡­ With the recipe that he copied off his Crimson Soul Tablet, Shang Xia headed straight to the Medicine Hall. He brought all the herbs required, but when he arrived, he saw a familiar figure standing in the middle of the hall. She seemed like she had been standing there for quite some time while expecting his arrival. ¡°Instructor Chu?¡± Shang Xia greeted without the slightest change in his emotions. ¡°My advancement medicine was completed some time ago but I came over just to wait for you.¡± Chu Jia looked at Shang Xia with a mirthless smile on her face. Shang Xia remained neutral as he muttered, ¡°I¡¯ll have to congratulate Instructor Chu in advance for entering the Martial Extermination Realm then. Also for becoming the first rank four Formation Master of the Tongyou Institution.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to enter the Martial Extermination Realm slightly before you. Aren¡¯t you affected by it in any way?¡± Chu Jia seemed a little disappointed when she noticed his casual response. However, she realized that whatever she said didn¡¯t allow her to convey her true feelings and she quickly added, ¡°I heard that you were planning to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm with a method that has never been tested?¡± A trace of shock flashed across Shang Xia¡¯s eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that Instructor Chu would be so well-informed¡­¡± Shang Xia truly didn¡¯t expect that someone like Chu Jia who was making her preparations to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm, had also heard about what he was planning to do. ¡°I¡¯m sure you learned that the institution is planning to make a huge move soon¡­ However, from the looks of it, you won¡¯t be able to make it in time to take part in the operation. Hehe, I really look forward to working together with you in the future¡­¡± Shang Xia was slightly confused, but just as he wanted to ask for more details, Chu Jia had already turned around to leave. Not too long after she took her leave, Shang Xia caught sight of Ge Wangchun and Liu Zhifang. He quickly brought out the recipe. He handed it to them along with 8 rank four treasures and the other herbs required. The moment Ge Wangchun and Liu Zhifang laid eyes on the advancement formula, their eyes widened in fright. That wasn¡¯t all. Their jaws dropped as they revealed an expression of disbelief when they saw the rank four treasures before them. ¡°8 rank four spiritual treasures?¡± ¡°This¡­ Youre advancement formula¡­¡± The two of them gasped simultaneously. They glanced at each other subconsciously and saw the incredulous look in each other¡¯s eyes. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t too surprised by their reaction. After all, ordinary rank four advancement medicine wouldn¡¯t require so many rank four treasures. Whatever the case, he only had one worry on his mind. ¡°Teacher Ge and Teacher Liu, is there a problem with my advancement formula?¡± After a short second where they communicated with their eyes, Ge Wangchun broke the silence. ¡°There¡¯s no problem with it. However, Brother Liu and I refined several rank four advancement medicine in the past and we have never heard of any that required so many rank four treasures!¡± Shang Xia chuckled wordlessly, and he made it clear that he wasn¡¯t planning to explain further. He provided the main ingredients that were required, but because he needed to hide some secret from the two of them, he didn¡¯t tell them about the brewer¡¯s yeast he was adding. Liu Zhifang thought for a second and looked at the ingredients before him. He eventually muttered, ¡°It¡¯s not impossible for us to craft your advancement medicine. However, we would need to expend a lot of time in order to do so. Moreover, refining this set of advancement medicine would greatly affect us both mentally and physically.¡± It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". Shang Xia thought for a moment and asked, ¡°Do you need me to do anything then?¡± ¡°Talisman Master Shang, I believe you remember that there are 2 other rank three Alchemists in the Tongyou Institution. Lei Xiang and Feng Yongchu. As long as you manage to invite one of them over to help us, we would be able to get things done in half the time.¡± Ge Wangchun explained. Shang Xia quickly mentioned, ¡°This disciple will immediately get an elder from the Shang Clan to notify Teacher Lei and Teacher Feng so that one of them can come over to help you. However, I have another small request.¡± When he saw their confused gazes, he quickly added, ¡°Disciple¡¯s elder, Shang Tai, has some knowledge on medicine refinement. I hope Teacher Ge and Teacher Liu can allow him to assist you when you refine my advancement medicine. If he manages to learn a thing or two, we would be extremely grateful.¡± Ge Wangchun and Liu Zhifang exchanged another gaze and they seemed to complete a round of quick communication before Ge Wangchun gave a reply. ¡°It¡¯s not impossible for us to let him watch us refine the medicine. However, the institution has a rule and we will not explain everything we do. He will have to rely on himself to obtain insights when observing our refinement process.¡± Waving his hand before him, Shang Xia grinned, ¡°That¡¯s great! I¡¯ll head back and tell him to head over right now. I managed to obtain some herbs during my adventures in the battlefield between the two worlds. I can¡¯t make use of them to their fullest potential and I¡¯ll ask him to bring them over so that Teacher Ge and Teacher Liu can use them to warm up for the refinement process.¡± ¡­ When he was done, he sent the news back to the Shang Clan Manor. As soon as they received his report, they flew into action. Shang Ke personally went to the Medicine Hall in the Tongyou Institution to convince Feng Yongchu to head over to the battlefield between the two worlds to begin the refinement process of Shang Xia¡¯s Four Seasons Samsara Wine with Ge Wangchun and Liu Zhifang.¡± When Shang Xia returned to the Shang Clan¡¯s territory on the Observation Peak, he brought out several herbs that wouldn¡¯t be of use to him. He handed them to Shang Tai and informed him to bring them to the Medicine Hall. He also notified Shang Tai about the deal he made with Ge Wangchun and Liu Zhifang to let him observe the refinement process. ¡­ Two months passed in a flash and eventually, the 3 rank three Alchemists finally completed Shang Xia¡¯s Four Seasons Samsara Wine. Throughout the process, Ge Wangchun provided some explanations to Shang Tai despite what he said about the rules of the institution. Eventually, Shang Tai also managed to add Shang Xia¡¯s Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer''s Yeast during the brewing process. Even though the advancement medicine was complete, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t use it immediately to advance. As rank four advancement medicines were closely related to wines, they needed some time to ferment in order to bring out their best effects. Even though they weren¡¯t like actual alcohol that required years to ferment. Advancement medicine like that probably required a month at most. After a month, they would be able to bring out their optimal effects. Naturally, rank four advancement medicines could last for an extremely long time. Since the time the Medicine Hall started the refinement process of the Four Seasons Samsara Wine and with the time it took for the advancement medicine to be ready, 3 months had passed. When everything was ready, Shang Xia returned to the Yuxi Peak only to be met with a surprising figure. CH 437 ¡°Senior, why are you here?¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but stare at the person in shock. Instinctively, he released his divine sense to ensure there was no one else other than the two of them. The person who came chuckled in response. ¡°Don¡¯t bother. If there¡¯s anyone present who manages to hide their presence from me, you won¡¯t be able to detect them either.¡± The person who arrived had a clear evaluation of Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense. He knew that Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense was a lot stronger than cultivators of the same level. Retracting his divine sense, a brilliant smile formed on Shang Xia¡¯s face. ¡°Does everyone know that I¡¯m planning to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm on the Yuxi Peak?¡± ¡°Brat, you got guts alright. However, I came into the battlefield between the two worlds for something important. I only came here to look for you because the Yuxi Peak was in my path.¡± He chuckled. Regaining his ¡®serious¡¯ expression, Shang Xia muttered, ¡°Senior, I know that you have a strong cultivation base, but the battlefield between the two worlds is currently populated with people from the Changbai Holy Land and four great races. The Changbai Holy Land is already starting to get suspicious that you killed Liang Shuangren with the experts of the institution. They might even be trying to uncover your secret identity at the moment. You shouldn¡¯t show yourself in the battlefield between the two worlds at the moment¡­¡± Clearly, the person who arrived was someone Shang Xia was truly familiar with. He was a spy of the institution who killed Liang Shuangren of the Changbai Holy Land. During the War of the Tongyou Mysterious World, he worked with Shang Xia to slay the Formation Master of the White Deer Paradise in the Changbai Holy Land! He was none other than Youshang of the Azure Spiritual World! When he heard what Shang Xia said, a crafty smile appeared on his face as he replied, ¡°How do you know that this is my true appearance?¡± Watching Shang Xia¡¯s eyes widen in shock, Youshang continued, ¡°I changed into my current appearance because I didn¡¯t want you to misunderstand. Of course, the other experts of the Tongyou Institution are familiar with this face too. If I ran in here with a foreign face, I¡¯ll probably be surrounded and attacked by the cultivators of the institution before I can run into you.¡± Shang Xia was truly dumbfounded this time. However, he discovered something soaring through the air as Youshang tossed an item at him. Reaching out to grab it, he discovered a scarlet crystal-like object in his hand. ¡°What is this?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°This is called the Scarlet Blood Cone. It¡¯s a special treasure used in the Azure Spiritual World for cultivators to escape. You have to drip a drop of your essence blood on the cone in order to fully refine the treasure. In times of danger, pour your inner qi into the cone and it will turn into a cocoon of light that will wrap around you. Once you activate the Scarlet Blood Cone, you will be able to escape at an astounding speed. Even Martial Extermination Realm experts will find it difficult to catch up to you.¡± Shang Xia understood how precious the treasure was the moment Youshang explained its use. Since the first Martial Intent Realm cultivator went missing in the Yuxi Peak, many experts have been trying to uncover the mystery contained within. It was estimated that they were unable to leave after their strength was sapped away by the chaotic heaven and earth qi surrounding the mountain. With the Scarlet Blood Cone, Shang Xia would be able to flee from most dangers he might run into. In fact, he might even be able to break through the spatial restrictions created by the extermination qi around the Yuxi Peak. Looking at the precious treasure in his hand, Shang Xia¡¯s first instinct was to reject it due to how valuable it was. However, the power of reason won and he quickly thanked Youshang. ¡°This¡­ This is really precious. Many thanks, Senior Youshang!¡± A satisfied smile appeared on Youshang¡¯s face and he left behind a final word of warning. ¡°Take care of yourself and know your limits!¡± As soon as the words left his lips, he turned into a streak of light that shot into the skies. By the time Shang Xia reacted, he was nowhere to be seen. The moment he left, Shang Xia started to feel a disturbance in the void. The space behind him turned a little blurry as it transformed into the shape of a lotus flower. Ge Qingzhu¡¯s figure slowly emerged and his gaze swept across where Youshang once stood. Unfortunately for him, he failed to detect anyone¡¯s presence. ¡°Was someone here?¡± Ge Qingzhu asked with a curious look on his face. Shang Xia chuckled in response, ¡°If you didn¡¯t detect anything, how am I supposed to? I¡¯m just a Martial Intent Realm disciple!¡± Staring at Shang Xia with a deep gaze, Ge Qingzhu muttered, ¡°Alright, you need to be careful.¡± After speaking, he retreated back into the void and disappeared. The heaven and earth qi in the surroundings stopped fluctuating and it was as though he was never there in the first place. With the distance separating the Yuxi Peak and the Observation Peak, Ge Qingzhu might not have been able to detect Youshang¡¯s appearance. However, Ge Qingzhu arrived almost immediately after Youshang took his leave. With the speed at which he arrived, Shang Xia understood that Ge Qingzhu wasn¡¯t actually holing up in the Observation Peak. He set up camp somewhere he would be able to react to any problems on the Yuxi Peak or the Observation Peak. That could also only mean one thing at that point. He was protecting Shang Xia in secret the whole time! Moreover, Shang Xia could tell that there was something odd about his advancement to the Martial Extermination Realm. The institution and the Shang Clan seemed to be extremely indifferent about it on the surface. However, when he thought deeper into the matter, he realized that that wasn¡¯t the case at all! Whether it was Ge Qingzhu who was protecting him in secret or Youshang who delivered the Scarlet Blood Cone earlier, all of them seemed to be concerned about his safety. What surprised Shang Xia even more was that Ge Qingzhu, who had barely entered the Martial Extermination Realm, was already looking out for him instead of consolidating his foundations. As for Youshang, that was a whole other story. Even a spy like Youshang who shouldn¡¯t be seen interacting with members of the institution came over personally. Everything that happened made Shang Xai understand that the institution and the Shang Clan were probably trying to downplay the effects of his break through. Perhaps it had something to do with the Yuxi Peak, or the way he was planning to break through was something they had never seen before, but they were trying to keep his breakthrough as low-key as possible. ¡°From a certain standpoint, I am blazing a new path of cultivation¡­¡± Shang Xia thought to himself. ¡°Martial Extermination Realm¡­ No. it should be called the Four Constellation Realm instead!¡± With a burning sensation in his heart, Shang Xia stepped through the multicolored mist to enter the Yuxi Peak. It didn¡¯t take long before his figure disappeared completely in the mist. ¡­ That was the first time Shang Xia truly stepped onto the Yuxi Peak. Previously, he had been circling its perimeter while testing his limits. He also used the Crimson Soul Tablet to agitate the world origin contained on the mountain. He was able to run away before things got serious, but he had never been able to cause a scene like what happened when he left the gathering of Martial Intent Realm cultivators. Due to his repeated tests and attempts, his actions had long since been discovered by the institution. That was probably also the reason why they were so sure his breakthrough was going to be different from everyone else. When he finally stepped through the screen of multicolored mist, the heaven and earth qi that surrounded the mountain didn¡¯t react explosively like how he thought it would. Instead, it became a dazzling scene that laid itself out before him. He heaved a sigh of relief but he also understood that the supposed peace was because he had suppressed the Crimson Soul Tablet in his sea of consciousness with his divine sense. After a lot of experiments, he finally figured out a way to not cause the multicolored mist to go crazy! Suppressing the Crimson Soul Tablet, Shang Xia was able to prevent it from clashing with the multicolored mist around the Yuxi Peak. However, he found a delicate balance such that the tablet would still be able to point him in the correct direction. Now that he was on the Yuxi Peak, he could feel a subtle sense of danger all around him. It was true that the Yuxi Peak contained the secret to his advancement. However, all opportunities are served with a side of danger. Slowly traversing past a dense forest, a massive lake that was filled with crystal-clear water revealed itself in front of his eyes. Resplendent rays of light reflected off the water¡¯s surface and dazzled him. Staring at the picturesque scene before him, Shang Xia took a deep breath and enjoyed the dense vitality that filled the land. Opening his arms, he raised his head slightly in enjoyment. Who would have thought that he would notice the problem the moment he tilted his head upwards? There was no sun in the skies! There were times when the sun and moon would appear in the skies in the battlefield between the two worlds, but the heavens would remain in a state of boring gray most of the time. One wouldn¡¯t be able to differentiate day from night. When Shang Xia raised his head to look at the skies, Shang Xia wondered where the source of light was coming from. With his interest piqued, he quickly looked in the direction of the lake. It didn¡¯t take long for him to discover something wrong. The rays of light seemed to be shining on a certain spot on the water¡¯s surface. Only then did Shang Xia discover that the light wasn¡¯t reflecting off the lake¡¯s surface. The light came from an item under the water! Muttering something unintelligible, Shang Xia turned to look at a cluster of reeds that were located closer to the source of light. Jumping into the air, his toes tapped on the surface of the lake before he landed on the cluster of reeds. When he leaped into the air, the Crimson Soul Tablet in his sea of consciousness trembled slightly. At the same time, the tiny sword in his Spirit Extermination Gourd seemed to point directly downwards. Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" Without a doubt, there was a stand of extermination origin under the water! Actually, it didn¡¯t matter that the two treasures reacted the way they did at that point. Standing on the clump of reeds, Shang Xia could clearly see the extermination origin under the water. It was glowing with a warm white light and he quickly identified it as the Mirroring Sun Extermination Origin. Looking deep into the water, Shang Xia saw that there was a dense cloudy gray mass that remained under the water surface around the extermination origin. The light that emerged from the Mirroring Sun Extermination Origin was unable to pierce through the cloudy gray and Shang Xia quickly recognized what it was. It was a cloudy mass of world origin! CH 441 ¡°Crash!¡± After the ice boulder crumbled, a frosty wind swept across Shang Xia¡¯s body, causing him to shiver slightly. After the world origin within the ice boulder was refined by his Crimson Soul Tablet, the Spirit of Winter that caused all sorts of trouble earlier lost its protection. Shang Xia quickly weakened the Spirit of Winter before trapping it in the Spirit Extermination Gourd in his hands. A ray of milky white radiance emerged from the opening of the Spirit Extermination Gourd all of a sudden as it tried to blind Shang Xia. With a cold snort, Shang Xia opened his mouth to release a breath of hot air at the ray of freezing light. The milky light seemed to have met its greatest fear in life as it shrank by several times to become a snowflake that fell towards the land. ¡°It¡¯s actually the Spirit of Winter. Hahaha! You can probably be named the Spirit of Snow.¡± Shang Xia chuckled to himself. Reaching out slightly, he trapped the fleeing Spirit of Snow in space as it tried to struggle free in mid air. After entering the Four Constellation Realm, Shang Xia gained the ability to manipulate space however he wished. His ability to control space was leagues ahead of what he managed to accomplish in the Martial Intent Realm. In the past, he was barely able to affect space. Now, he could control it according to his will. Reaching for a spirit sealing bottle, Shang Xia casually popped the cap before shoving the Spirit of Snow into it. When he was done, he sealed the bottle casually. Next, he brought out a spirit suppressing case and did the same to the maple leaf that contained the Falling Leaf Extermination Origin. When Shang Xia killed his enemies in the past, he didn¡¯t manage to gain a lot of treasures he could make use of. He would get lucky occasionally and receive something he required for his breakthrough. However, the number of spirit sealing bottles, spirit suppression cases, spirit restraining pouches, and items similar to those were plentiful. Opening up a path in space to the fallen pavilion where he first encountered the Hundred Flowers Essence Extermination Origin, he kept the remaining extermination origin in his Spirit Extermination Gourd. Staring at the various herbs around, Shang Xia had a great battle with his sense of reason before finally suppressing his greed. Realizing that leaving those herbs would be for the best, he started to make his way down to the lake. The ball in the middle of the lake seemed to have shrunken slightly, and Shang Xia didn¡¯t store it like the other extermination origins. This time, he brought out a copper bowl that scooped up some water along with the ball of Mirroring Sun Extermination Origin. Before Shang Xia tried to refine the Mirroring Sun Extermination Origin, it had always been living quietly under the lake. As such, Shang Xia figured that keeping it in the same water was a great way to keep it sealed. With all four extermination origins collected, Shang Xia decided that it was time for some self evaluation. Comparing himself to Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Azure Origin World, Shang Xia discovered that he had two great advantages. He held an advantage over them in the sense that he was able to perfect his advancement medicine with the help of his Crimson Soul Tablet. The other was that he already gathered all 4 extermination origins when breaking through. His speed of cultivation might be lowered in the foreseeable future as he had to refine all 4 extermination origins at once, but he wouldn¡¯t face a bottleneck before he reached the large completion stage. Also, he didn¡¯t need to waste his time looking for other extermination origins! Since he had completed what he set out to do, Shang Xia found no reason to remain on the Yuxi Peak any longer. Releasing his divine sense to observe the situation around him, Shang Xia discovered that his divine sense had also undergone some sort of transformation. The feeling he had was different from before. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t examine the difference in his divine sense closely at the moment as he discovered an exchange that was taking place several miles away. A ray of reddish-gold lightning emerged from his palm and it sliced open the space before him. Stepping through the opening he created, Shang Xia¡¯s figure disappeared instantly. Several miles away from the Yuxi Peak, Ge Qingzhu and Zhang Haogu were facing Yan Su¡¯er and a Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Changbai Holy Land. ¡°The two of you should have seen whatever you came here to see. How long do you plan on staying?¡± Ge Qingzhu asked in annoyance. Because of the huge disturbance on the Yuxi Peak due to Shang Xia¡¯s breakthrough, almost everyone in the battlefield between the two worlds learned about the abnormal situation happening on the Yuxi Peak. Every time a slight fluctuation appeared, Yan Su¡¯er and the Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Changbai Holy Land would appear, causing Ge Qingzhu and Zhang Haogu endless annoyance. Shang Xia¡¯s breakthrough wasn¡¯t as short as it seemed anyway. He used several days to complete the 49 cycles of refinement, and the two experts from the Azure Spiritual World would come every day. Yan Su¡¯er¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t leave the Yuxi Peak as she chuckled happily, ¡°Oh? Things are different this time. I¡¯m afraid the little friend you¡¯re hiding on the Yuxi Peak succeeded. He should be coming out about now.¡± A flash of joy appeared in Ge Qingzhu¡¯s eyes, but he managed to hide from Yan Su¡¯er and the Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Changbai Holy Land. Without a change in expression, he tried to change the topic. ¡°Matriarch Yan¡¯s cultivation is profound indeed. I¡¯m sure you have already entered the large completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm. This Junior is a little curious. Why would the four great races of the Liao Continent and the Changbai Holy Land allow you to remain in the battlefield between the two worlds? Why didn¡¯t they send you over to that place along with the rest? Won¡¯t they be missing out on an extremely strong expert this way?¡± Yan Su¡¯er smiled and didn¡¯t seem to realize that Ge Qingzhu was trying to shift the conversation. She sighed helplessly, ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate for us, no doubt. But as the only worthless Martial Extermination Realm expert in my race, I have to stay behind. It¡¯s a shame¡­¡± Pressing his lips together, Ge Qingzhu was too lazy to respond to her nonsensical remarks. If a large completion stage Martial Extermination Realm could be considered worthless, what was he, a first layer Martial Extermination Realm? Zhang Haogu quickly stepped up and asked, ¡°It¡¯s just a breakthrough to the Martial Extermination Realm. What¡¯s the big fuss? If Matriarch Yan is so concerned about the breakthrough, I¡¯ll personally bring them over for a meeting later. What¡¯s the point of coming over here every day?¡± Before Yan Su¡¯er could say anything, Wei Yunyang, the elder of the Changbai Holy Land who was beside her, spoke up. ¡°There¡¯s no need for us to beat about the bush anyway. Our experts might not have entered the Yuxi Peak in the past, but we can guess what¡¯s inside. The person who is breaking through has to be using a new method if they can make use of the chaotic extermination qi in there to do so. It¡¯s difficult for us to see something so special and we¡¯re definitely not going to hole up somewhere and miss it.¡± Find the original at "pawread dot com". At the very least, Ge Qingzhu had some respect for Yan Su¡¯er. The same couldn¡¯t be said for the elder of the Changbai Holy Land. Turning to Wei Yunyang, Ge Qingzhu snorted coldly, ¡°Heh, do you think you can learn how to break through just by observing the surroundings of the Yuxi Peak? The cultivation systems of our worlds are completely different. Even if we taught you our way to break through from the Martial Intent Realm to the Martial Extermination Realm, do you dare to teach your disciples?!¡± Ge Qingzhu¡¯s words actually gave Wei Yunyang the confirmation he wanted, but Ge Qingzhu couldn¡¯t care less. After all, with the huge commotion Shang Xia caused, there wasn¡¯t a need to mention Martial Extermination Realm realm experts. Even some Martial Intent Realm disciples would be able to tell that Shang Xia¡¯s way of advancement was different from others. Wei Yunyang continued, ¡°Oh? I¡¯ll do it. Teach me your secrets to break through and I¡¯ll have a god at it. Are you sure it won¡¯t be of use to us?¡± ¡°Enough¡­ You two¡­¡± Zhang Haogu interrupted them with a dry cough when all four of them discovered spatial fluctuations around them. A look of joy appeared on Ge Qingzhu¡¯s face. ¡°He¡¯s here!¡± The words barely left his lips when a bolt of reddish-gold lightning emerged from the void. Ge Qingzhu might not understand the full implications of what was happening, but he discovered that the other three wore serious looks on their faces. As a frown made its way onto his face, he eventually discovered what he missed. Space manipulation¡­ As the main lightning bolt disappeared, tiny arcs flickered through the air as it turned into a stable opening in the void. The faces of all four Martial Extermination Realm experts changed instantly. A newly advanced Martial Extermination Realm expert should be familiarizing himself with his newfound strength. It was possible to affect space with their attacks after entering the Martial Extermination Realm, but one would only be able to travel through space after a period of acclimatization. From how a spatial passage was formed, none of them could believe they were looking at a newly advanced Martial Extermination Realm expert. Regardless of whatever shock they were experiencing, it didn¡¯t take long for Shang Xia¡¯s figure to emerge from the spatial tunnel he created. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Yan Su¡¯er felt something click in her mind after seeing Shang Xia. ¡°That piece of Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer''s Yeast went to you?¡± Shang Xia looked at the four of them again and ensured that a battle wasn¡¯t going to break out before replying. ¡°Many thanks for the help, Senior Yan.¡± A smile appeared on his face as he spoke. Yan Su¡¯er glanced at Wei Yunyang for a second before snorting coldly, ¡°There¡¯s no need for your cheap tricks here. You can¡¯t affect the relationship of our races with the Changbai Holy Land with a mere thanks. Anyway, it¡¯s just a rank four treasure or two. It¡¯s not like we made a loss trading it with you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid you didn¡¯t refine a single extermination origin to step into the Martial Extermination Realm, right?¡± A foreign voice interrupted them all of a sudden. Shang Xia¡¯s gaze landed on Wei Yunyang but he didn¡¯t reply immediately. Instead, he looked at Wei Yunyang from head to toe while sizing him up. Who would have thought that Wei Yunyang¡¯s expression would turn ugly as Shang Xia examined him? He could feel a sense of pressure coming from the youngster and he felt his divine sense being suppressed. He thought to himself: Was that really a newly advanced Martial Extermination Realm?! Before Shang Xia could say anything, Ge Qingzhu coughed lightly and made the introductions. Gasping lightly, Shang Xia responded, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s an Inner Sect Elder of the Changbai Holy Land! Hehe, you¡¯re not the first Inner Sect Elder I¡¯ve met.¡± Snorting coldly, Wei Yunyang turned his head away. He obviously knew what Shang Xia meant by that. From what he learned, Huang Yunxiang and Qi Yunxiu¡¯s disappearance had something to do with the youngster before him. Wait¡­ Thinking about how Shang Xia had a hand in their deaths when he was only in the Martial Intent Realm, Wei Yunyang¡¯s expression changed drastically. The Martial Intent Realm disciple was now a Martial Extermination Realm expert! ¡°Enough!¡± Yan Su¡¯er tapped her staff lightly in the air and seemed to create a formless barrier around Wei Yunyang. It stopped Shang Xia¡¯s divine sense suppression and allowed Wei Yunyang to heave a sigh of relief. Shang Xia might be stronger than experts of the same level, but facing an old monster like Yan Su¡¯er, he would lose in both experience and strength. ¡°Alright, now that we¡¯ve met and cleared up some of our doubts, there¡¯s no need for us to remain here. Congratulations on getting a unique Martial Extermination Realm expert in your ranks.¡± Yan Su¡¯er muttered before turning to leave. She took a few steps in mid air and her body started to fade into the void. Wei Yunyang¡¯s cultivation level was far from Yan Su¡¯er and he couldn¡¯t mimic her actions. He retreated backwards while keeping an eye on all three of them. After retreating for a thousand feet, he turned around to tear a passage through space to leave. Now that they had left, Shang Xia turned to Ge Qingzhu and Zhang Haogu as he cupped his fists in gratitude. ¡°Many thanks for protecting this disciple during my breakthrough! Do you know how long I was on the Yuxi Peak for?¡± Ge Qingzhu waved his hand casually in response. ¡°Let¡¯s not sweat the small stuff now. Tell me, how far can you extend your divine perception?¡± CH 442 ¡°How far can you extend your divine perception?¡± Ge Qingzhu asked impatiently now that Yan Su¡¯er and Wei Yunyang were gone. Who would have thought that Shang Xia would stare in the direction where they left with a strange look on his face? After Yan Su¡¯er and Wei Yunyang disappeared, a soft voice rang in Shang Xia¡¯s mind. ¡°Brat, this old lady¡¯s granddaughter is similar to you in age. Her appearance is heavenly and you have definitely seen her before. There¡¯s no need for me to praise her any more than that. Are you willing to take her as your wife? Hehe, if you are, I¡¯ll go talk to your grandfather Shang Bo right now!¡± Yan Su¡¯er words nearly caused Shang Xia to cry out in fright. Luckily, he didn¡¯t lose his composure after hearing what she said. Turning back to Ge Qingzhu, Shang Xia gasped softly before extending his divine perception outwards. He instantly knew how far it stretched, and he replied, ¡°Close to 8 miles. I just broke through and haven¡¯t been able to make proper measurements.¡± Widening his eyes in fright, Ge Qingzhu cried, ¡°It¡¯s no wonder you managed to locate us after your breakthrough. Then again, the range of your divine perception seems a little too large. After entering the Martial Extermination Realm, I can only detect a radius of 6 miles around myself. Even Instructor Liu thought I was pretty good. Haha, looks like my achievements are nothing compared to you.¡± ¡°Mister Ge, you¡¯re exaggerating. You can¡¯t say that!¡± Shang Xia quickly refuted. Ordinarily, one¡¯s physical body and soul would undergo a transformation when they enter the Martial Extermination Realm. That would mean that their divine sense would improve greatly. When the transformation was complete, a Martial Extermination Realm expert¡¯s divine sense would be referred to as ¡®divine perception¡¯! According to the usual standards, a Martial Intent Realm cultivator¡¯s divine sense would be able to cover a hundred feet around themselves. After entering the Martial Extermination Realm, their divine perception would be able to envelop a 5 mile radius at the very least. For experts like Ge Qingzhu to be able to cover 6 miles with their divine perception after breaking through was a testament to his deep foundations. Unfortunately, comparison was the thief of joy. Compared to Shang Xia¡¯s divine perception that could reach up to 8 miles, Ge Qingzhu felt a little overwhelmed. What Ge Qingzhu didn¡¯t know was that Shang Xia wasn¡¯t telling the truth. Shang Xia understood that his divine perception was probably a lot stronger than cultivators of the same level and he didn¡¯t wish to embarrass Ge Qingzhu who had broken through to the Martial Extermination Realm before him. Because of the Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter Shang Xia comprehended, his divine sense in the Martial Intent Realm was already leagues ahead of cultivators of the same level. Now That he had advanced, his divine perception was able to cover a distance of ten miles. ¡­ Seeing as there were no other disturbances, Shang Xia returned to the Yuxi Peak with Ge Qingzhu and Zhang Haogu in tow. Along the way, Shang Xia mentioned the process of his breakthrough briefly and introduced the current state of the Yuxi Peak. As they stood at the top of the mountain, Ge Qingzhu and Zhang Haogu finally revealed some of the institution¡¯s secrets to the youngster. Now that he had entered the Martial Extermination Realm and truly entered the upper echelons of the institution, he gained the qualifications to learn some of the secrets the institution had been hiking. Among the secrets he was told, one of them consisted of the reason behind the disappearance of the strong Martial Extermination Realm experts from the battlefield between the two worlds close to a year ago. The institution seemed to have entered an alliance with the Changbai Holy land to fight other factions over a broken continent floating deep in space. ¡°Since they have yet to return, doesn¡¯t that mean that the operation is still ongoing?¡± Shang Xia muttered softly. ¡°Yeah.¡± Zhang Haogu replied. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, will they need further reinforcements?¡± Shang Xia asked. Zhang Haogu understood Shang Xia¡¯s intentions immediately. ¡°Do you wish to go?¡± Before Shang Xia could reply, Ge Qingzhu chirped in from the side. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to head over even if you want to. Only Patriarch Kou and those old monsters in the Martial Dipper Realm will be able to force their way deep into space. If you wish to head there alone¡­¡± Ge Qingzhu shook his head slowly at the side and decided to not speak any further. Zhang Haogu took over and continued, ¡°We need some experts to remain in the Tongyou City and the battlefield between the two worlds. The battlefield between the two worlds wouldn¡¯t matter too much even if all of them left for the broken continent, but the Tongyou City is another story altogether. At the moment, our You Continent can be said to be an empty fort. ¡°That¡¯s right. You might think that we¡¯re safe because of the alliance we formed with the Changbai Holy Land, but you cannot forget that their foundations run deep. They have a lot more Martial Extermination Realm experts among them and they might play dirty to try to gain an upper hand. Now that you entered the Martial Extermination Realm, they will be forced to restrain themselves a little.¡± Ge Qingzhu added. Shang Xia nodded and realized that his request to join the expedition didn¡¯t seem too realistic. The two of them made sense and he could only agree helplessly. A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. After telling Shang Xia about the recent happenings, they shifted their attention to the Yuxi Peak. ¡°This is definitely a massive treasure trove, especially the flower garden. It is actually able to produce Hundred Flower Essence Extermination Origin¡­ Looks like the experts of the institution will be able to choose among more extermination origins now.¡± Zhang Haogu said while stroking his beard. ¡°After Shang Xia entered the Martial Extermination Realm, the chaotic extermination qi surrounding the Yuxi Peak disappeared. We need to lay down a formation if we wish to retain control over this area and someone has to be stationed to guard the place.¡± Ge Qingzhu muttered. Shang Xia laughed when he heard their concerns. ¡°Isn¡¯t this an easy problem to solve? Don¡¯t we have a Martial Extermination Realm Formation Master? Her achievements in the way of formations should increase greatly now that she advanced into the Martial Extermination Realm. She should be able to lay down a formation around the Yuxi Peak and remain here to protect the region.¡± Unfortunately, Zhang Haogu shook his head while sighing, ¡°Instructor Chu isn¡¯t in the battlefield between the two worlds at the moment. She joined the expedition to the broken continent and left with the others a while ago.¡± ¡°Huh? Didn¡¯t she just advance into the Martial Extermination Realm? Wasn¡¯t she faster than me by a few months? How did she manage to catch them before they started the operation?¡± Shang Xia gasped. ¡°Haha, do you really think we¡¯ll send all our experts beyond the heavens in one go? They went in batches. Luckily for her, the institution chose to wait for her to allow her to be part of the first group to head for the broken continent. As a rank four Formation Master, she would be extremely useful in the initial stages of the operation. Everyone else went over in batches after and everyone who was supposed to be there had already left.¡± Ge Qingzhu smiled. Zhang Haogu waved his hand to cut their conversation short. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s not rush the matter of laying down a formation around the Yuxi Peak. We might not lay down a formation now, but we still need someone to protect the region to prevent troublemakers from causing damage to our resources. The two of you can choose someone to stay behind while the other returns to the Observation Peak with me.¡± A crafty smile appeared on Ge Qingzhu¡¯s face and he turned to Shang Xia. ¡°Why don¡¯t you remain here for now?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we start by telling me how long I spend on the Yuxi Peak for my breakthrough?¡± Shang Xia hesitated for a moment before asking. ¡°Was it 49 days or was it 50 days? We¡¯re not too sure about the exact time, but it¡¯s one or the other. Anyway, we¡¯re currently in the later half of the 845th year of the Divine Martial Calendar in the Azure Origin World. You have already completed your term in the Tongyou Institution and graduated from the Upper Division. As of right now, you¡¯re no longer a student in the institution.¡± Ge Qingzhu explained. ¡°Has that much time passed?¡± Shang Xia gasped. ¡°It didn¡¯t feel that long since I started my breakthrough¡­¡± He might be expressing his doubt, but deep down, he knew that everything they were saying was true. It seemed as though every cycle he experienced after ingesting his Four Seasons Samsara Wine lasted an entire day. Zhang Haogu added, ¡°It¡¯s a common occurrence for you to forget the flow of time during your breakthrough. The moment you drink your advancement medicine, you will enter a mystical state of mind. There isn¡¯t a need to mention space and time. Even your memories might be affected.¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± Shang Xia nearly jumped in fright as he couldn¡¯t believe what he was hearing. Ge Qingzhu revealed a confused expression and it seemed as though it was also his first time hearing of something like that. Due to Zhang Haogu¡¯s reputation as a knowledgeable senior, neither of them doubted his words. They were merely confused by what he said. After thinking for a second, Shang Xia turned to Ge Qingzhu and asked, ¡°Mister Ge, would you mind staying on the Yuxi Peak for a little bit more? This disciple wishes to return to the Shang Clan for now.¡± As he refined four extermination origins to enter the Four Constellation Realm, all Shang Xia had to do was to enter seclusion and slowly cultivate in order to grow stronger. Staying on the Yuxi Peak was the most ideal situation, but Shang Xia still wished to return to the Shang Clan to notify them of his success. At the same time, he wanted to retrieve some resources that would aid in his cultivation. With a grin appearing on his face, Ge Qingzhu replied, ¡°Of course! Don¡¯t worry about it! The environment here is pretty good and I wouldn¡¯t mind staying for a little while more.¡± Bidding Ge Qingzhu farewell, Shang Xia got ready to return to the Observation Peak with Zhang Haogu. Getting ready to start their journey, Shang Xia was feeling a little worried. After all, it was his first time flying through the air by using his extermination origin. In the past, Shang Xia had been griping about the fact that he didn¡¯t possess a better movement technique than his Irregular Steps. Now that he thought about it, he was able to soar through the air with his extermination origins. There was no need to look for another movement technique. As they started to make their way back, Zhang Haogu planned to slow down a little in order to wait for Shang Xia to familiarize himself with the feeling of flight. He didn¡¯t expect for a weird light to appear under Shang Xia¡¯s feet before the youngster tore through the air at a terrifying speed. Before he could express his shock, Shang Xia had already flown several miles ahead. Circulating his inner qi, he quickly gave chase. Staring at the two of them who just left the Yuxi Peak, Ge Qingzhu¡¯s jaws were agape. He didn¡¯t know what to say but it didn¡¯t matter. He wouldn¡¯t have anyone to speak to regardless. Slowly learning how to control his flight, Shang Xia managed to slow down slightly to allow Zhang Haogu to catch up. As the two of them returned to the Observation Peak together, he bade the instructor farewell before returning to the Shang Clan¡¯s territory on the Observation Peak. Just as he landed, he saw two people staring at him with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. Looking at the two of them, a look of joy flashed across Shang Xia¡¯s eyes. ¡°Uncle Quan, you left seclusion! Did everything go smoothly?¡± The two before him were naturally Shang Tai and Shang Quan, the managers of the Shang Clan on the Observation Peak. Shang Xia¡¯s question seemed a little useless as he had long detected the change in Shang Quan before he arrived. The aura that came from Shang Quan was something that could only exist on Martial Intent Realm cultivators. Shang Xia¡¯s joy and surprise dimmed in comparison to the two when they saw him landing before them. ¡°Little Xia, you managed to enter the Martial Extermination Realm!¡± The two of them yelled in unison. Looking at each other and then back at Shang Xia, the three of them burst out laughing. CH 443 In the Shang Clan Manor on the Observation Peak. Shang Xia wore a depressed expression as he left his secret chamber after finishing a usual day of cultivation. Since the time he returned, he had been dealing with matters that popped up during his breakthrough on the Yuxi Peak. He was especially busy due to his role in the Talisman Hall. There were countless requests for him to craft a talisman for them, and those actually wouldn¡¯t be considered a serious problem as the Talisman Hall would be able to handle those on his behalf. The issue came when cultivators were seeking out Shang Xia through their connections with him either directly or indirectly. The Talisman Hall didn¡¯t know if they should reply on Shang Xia¡¯s behalf. There were even some who brought a large amount of gifts over for Shang Xia in order to request his services and that gave the Talisman Hall a huge headache. However, Shang Xia had to admit that even he was moved by some of the gifts they had brought. His heart itched slightly and it was obvious the treasures they brought were of exceptional quality. If Shang Xia reacted that way, it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine how the other members of the Talisman Hall felt. After careful consideration, Shang Xia decided that his personal cultivation came first. By telling everyone he needed to consolidate his foundations, he managed to reject a majority of those who came asking for talismans. He only accepted the request of those who had exceptionally good relationships with him or those who had brought an astounding amount of precious treasures. Naturally, he promised to fulfill their request with the prerequisite that it wouldn¡¯t affect his cultivation. With Shang Xia¡¯s fame like the sun in the midday skies, many cultivators didn¡¯t bother running over to the Talisman Hall to look for him after learning that he had returned. Instead, they ran directly to the Shang Clan¡¯s territory to look for him. Half of those who went to the Shang Clan¡¯s territory had actual requests they were hoping Shang Xia could fulfill, but a greater portion of them were merely trying to show their face around Shang Xia to form a connection with him. As long as one wasn¡¯t stupid, one would know how great Shang Xia¡¯s potential was. His talent in talisman crafting could be said to be unparalleled when he was in the Martial Intent Realm, and now that he entered the Martial Extermination Realm, it wouldn¡¯t take long for him to be able to craft rank four talismans. Other than the cultivators on the Observation Peak looking for Shang Xia, there were countless others who had their sights set on him now either openly or in the dark. He could only blame the huge commotion he caused during his breakthrough on the Yuxi Peak for that. With the constant bombardment of visitors, Shang Xia eventually announced that he would no longer be receiving guests after seeing several groups. He quickly gave Shang Quan and Shang Tai his instruction to accept some requests for talismans from those who had better relations with him before going back into hiding. It had been half a month since he had broken through, and he had been cultivating in the Shang Clan¡¯s territory ever since then. During his cultivation process, he discovered something that was slightly depressing. He had been trying to consolidate his foundation and he would try to refine the extermination origins he had from time to time. Unfortunately, he realized that he was making no headway at all while trying to refine them. When cultivating in the Shang Clan¡¯s territory on the Observation Peak, Shang Xia discovered that the extermination origins refused to form a connection with his dantian no matter how hard he tried. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that the refinement process of his extermination origins had something to do with the change in seasons and a burning desire to return to the Yuxi Peak appeared in his heart. Setting a time to return to the Yuxi Peak, Shang Xia decided to make use of the rest of his time to solidify his foundations and deal with matters on the Observation Peak. He didn¡¯t expect Ren Huan to pay him a visit on the third day after he made up his mind to return to the Yuxi Peak. Running out to the main hall, Shang Xia welcomed the talisman paper master. ¡°Brother Ren, what¡¯s up?¡± An embarrassed expression was plastered on Ren Huan¡¯s face as he muttered sheepishly, ¡°Talisman Master Shang, I am really sorry. I planned to try my hand at crafting talisman paper from the rank four rat skin you gave me back when you attempted your breakthrough on the Yuxi Peak¡­ I thought that you would become a rank four talisman master the moment you advanced and wanted to give you a huge surprise when you got back. However, I seemed to have underestimated the difficulty of crafting rank four talisman paper.¡± After not seeing each other for a few months, the status between the two of them experienced a massive transformation. Shang Xia was no longer a Martial Intent Realm cultivator! Now that he had become a Martial Extermination Realm expert, he had entered the ranks of experts in the Azure Origin World. He could be considered a powerful figure in both the Azure Spiritual World and Azure Origin World, and Ren Huan knew that he couldn¡¯t show the slightest disrespect. Shang Xia felt a wave of disappointment filling his heart, but he chuckled magnanimously in response. ¡°Brother Ren, it¡¯s alright. It¡¯s your first time crafting rank four talisman paper and it won¡¯t be easy to succeed immediately. Now that you have the experience¡­¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Ren Huan interrupted Shang Xia before he completed his sentence. ¡°Actually, I didn¡¯t fail completely¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± A frown appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he didn¡¯t know what to think anymore. Rubbing his nose, Ren Huan spoke cautiously. ¡°The hide of the giant rat you gave me in the past should produce 5 to 6 rank four talisman paper if I maximize its use. However, I wasn¡¯t careful enough and my technique wasn¡¯t good enough. I only managed to cut it into 4 parts and only made 2 rank four talisman papers from the 4 portions¡­ I apologize for wasting such precious resources¡­¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes widened in shock and he gasped, ¡°It¡¯s it just a portion less? Your success rate in crafting rank four talisman paper doesn¡¯t seem to be much of a problem either. With the experience you have, you shouldn¡¯t face any problems when you try again in the future.¡± A bitter smile appeared on Ren Huan¡¯s face when he understood that Shang Xia wasn¡¯t going to blame him for wasting the rank four giant rat¡¯s skin and he heaved a silent sigh of relief. However, he shook his head slightly as he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be given so many opportunities to craft rank four talisman paper anyway. Just the auxiliary resources required to craft a rank four talisman paper would be difficult to obtain, much less the main component of rank four talisman paper. Like the rank four giant rat skin Shang Xia gave him¡­ How many people would be able to deal with a rank four spiritual beast before skinning it? It was possible for there to be resources to craft rank four talismans in the Talisman Hall, but no matter how talented Ren Huan was, he could be considered a new face to the Tongyou Institution. He wouldn¡¯t be able to get his hands on those resources easily. Fortunately for him, he understood that there was a massive opportunity waiting for him that couldn¡¯t be controlled by the Talisman Hall. The opportunity he had was none other than Shang Xia, the new Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Tongyou Institution and someone who was destined to become a rank four Talisman Master! With his connections, he was the most likely talisman paper maker to form a better relationship with Shang Xia. Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. As long as Shang Xia gave the word, he would be able to gain a portion of resources used to craft rank four talisman paper. The more he thought about it, the more he praised himself for making the request to Shang Xia back when they met in the battlefield between the two worlds. Asking Shang Xia to pull him into the institution seemed to be the greatest decision of his life! It was true that he had his selfish reasons for asking Shang Xia to recommend him to the institution back then, but his ability to craft talisman paper couldn¡¯t be denied. Shang Xia understood that point as well and didn¡¯t mind helping him out. Ren Huan¡¯s intention to look for Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be hidden from the latter. With a smile on his face, Shang Xia asked, ¡°Brother Ren, do you have something else on your mind?¡± ¡°This¡­ I wouldn¡¯t dare to hide my thoughts from Talisman Master Shang. Actually, I came here with a request.¡± Ren Huan replied. Turning slightly serious, a sincere expression appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he continued, ¡°Brother Ren, feel free to let me know what request you might have. I¡¯ll do my best to help you out.¡± ¡°Talisman Master Shang, you probably know that the Talisman Hall itself has some rank four talisman paper¡­¡± Ren Huan started his explanation. Shang Xia nodded with a smile on his face. ¡°I believe so. Our Tongyou Institution has been established for more than 20 years now. We might not have produced a rank four Talisman Master, but we definitely managed to obtain rank four talisman paper from several sources out there. There are even some rank four talismans in storage in the institution. However, most of them have been used up over the years.¡± Pausing for a second, Shang Xia quickly continued, ¡°Actually, before I attempted my breakthrough, Teacher Gong and Teacher Fan said that I can use as many resources in the Talisman Hall as I want after I complete my advancement to become a rank four Talisman Master.¡± ¡°Talisman Master Shang, you are the pride of our Talisman Hall¡­¡± Ren Huan muttered. Shang Xia nearly burst out laughing. ¡°Brother Ren, there¡¯s no need to go through so many formalities and beat about the bush!¡± ¡°I¡­ I was planning to request for a batch of resources to craft rank four talisman paper¡­¡± Ren Huan finally got to the point while chuckling awkwardly. Glancing at Shang Xia to gauge his reaction, Ren Huan quickly continued, ¡°The Talisman Hall definitely gathered a batch of resources to craft rank four talisman paper to prepare for the birth of any rank four Talisman Masters. Even though I¡¯m being a little selfish by asking you to allocate me a portion of resources, I truly hope that you can put in a word for me to receive some of it.¡± A strange look appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he asked, ¡°Brother Ren Huan, your skills in crafting talisman paper should be clear for all to see. How can you not be part of those who are allocated resources?¡± A bitter smile appeared on Ren Huan¡¯s face but he didn¡¯t respond immediately. Shang Xia turned slightly serious before making Ren Huan a promise. ¡°Alright. I think I know what¡¯s going on. There¡¯s no need to worry, I¡¯ll deal with it.¡± Thanking Shang Xia, Ren Huan took his leave. Not too long after he left, Gong Hang and Fan Yuanhui came to pay Shang Xia a visit. They knew that Shang Xia would be making his preparations to craft his first rank four talisman now that he completed his breakthrough and had been preparing all the resources he needed. Now that they had collected most of the items he required, they came to pay him a visit. They brought him 7 pieces of rank four talisman paper, a bottle of rank four talisman ink, several strands of extermination qi, and a mid-grade brush. Gong Hang quickly approached Shang Xia with an apologetic look on his face. ¡°Our Talisman Hall was able to collect a lot more resources in the past but some of it had been used up because several Talisman Masters had overestimated themselves and tried to craft a rank four talisman. I was part of them and I regret wasting all those resources back then.¡± Shang Xia was naturally unbothered by Gong Hang¡¯s ¡®waste¡¯ of resources in the past. He couldn¡¯t be happier that the institution was providing him with so many resources to craft his first rank four talisman. He chuckled in response, ¡°Mister Gong, it¡¯s alright. If I were in your shoes, I would probably do the same. I¡¯m already thankful that the Talisman Hall is providing me with so many resources.¡± Heaving a sigh of relief, Gong Hang continued, ¡°Talisman Master Shang, everything else is up to you. You have to succeed!¡± Shang Xia could hear their sincerity and understood how earnestly they wished for him to succeed. He replied solemnly, ¡°Teacher Gong, Teacher Fan, rest assured that I will do my best.¡± With the important matters out of the way, Shang Xia exchanged pointers regarding the dao of talismans with the two of them. He was especially interested in Gong Hang¡¯s experience when he attempted to craft a rank four talisman in the past. Gong Hang wasn¡¯t stingy either as he explained everything patiently. When they were finally done, Shang Xia spoke about the matter regarding resource allocation to Ren Huan before the two of them left. It wasn¡¯t too much to ask for anyway. Now that Ren Huan had managed to craft rank four talisman papers, he would definitely be a qualified talisman paper master in the future once he managed to raise his success rate. CH 444 When he was done dealing with everything on the Observation Peak, Shang Xia finally returned to the Yuxi Peak. He discovered that he regained the ability to continue refining his extermination origins, although the speed at which he was able to was as slow as a snail crawling a tree. Even so, Shang Xia felt a lot more reassured now that he was able to continue the refinement process. After all, he couldn¡¯t refine a single bit of his extermination origins back on the Observation Peak. He wasn¡¯t afraid that his cultivation would progress slowly. He was only afraid that he couldn¡¯t improve anymore. As the refinement process of his extermination origins continued, Shang Xia discovered that he was able to consolidate his foundations a lot quicker than before. Quickly getting into the rhythm of cultivation, Shang Xia¡¯s life on the Yuxi Peak became a lot more structured than before. Other than using a set period of time to cultivate and refine his extermination origins, Shang Xia poured a huge portion of his energy into understanding the crafting process of a rank four talisman. Like the difference between a Martial Extermination Realm and a Martial Intent Realm, a rank four talisman was countless times harder to craft than a rank three talisman. Even with Shang Xia¡¯s unique way of talisman crafting, he would need to use a lot of effort to deduce each action and energy contained in each stroke. It would take a massive toll on his concentration and his inner qi as he ran through all the steps in his mind. Way before Shang Xia started his breakthrough, the Tongyou Institution had already declared the Yuxi Peak to be a forbidden region. They forbade anyone from entering the mountain, but without the threat of the multicolored qi, there were people who started to try their luck. Fortunately, Ge Qingzhu was stationed on the Yuxi Peak, and during Shang Xia¡¯s half-month absence, he personally dealt with several cultivators who refused to listen to the institution¡¯s instructions to not approach the peak. Only then did people start to take the institution¡¯s instructions seriously again. That was also the reason behind Shang Xia¡¯s peaceful days on the Yuxi Peak. During one of his cultivation sessions, Shang Xia finally cleared his mind to think about his cultivation path in the Four Constellation Realm. After a cultivator entered the Martial Extermination Realm, they would run into different opportunities and thus experience very different rates of refinement of their extermination origin. Every step forward was a challenge unless they were following a guide from someone who had done it before. Shang Xia decided that the best way forward wasn¡¯t actually charging blindly. Planning out his cultivation path was secondary. The most pressing thing at hand was to inspect the changes in his dantian after his breakthrough. Other than his stronger-than-usual divine perception, Shang Xia discovered that he could vaguely feel the presence of world origin through the extermination origin he controlled. That seemed to be something other Martial Extermination Realm experts could also do, but the difference between himself and the others was that he could feel the resonance between his extermination origins and world origin to a much clearer degree. Also, that brought about another point. After entering the Martial Extermination Realm, cultivators would be able to refine world origin directly through the void. World origin came from the source of the world and from a certain standpoint, one could say that extermination origins were merely manifestations of world origin. In order to refine their extermination origin, Martial Extermination Realm cultivators would have to draw in world origin to smoothen the process. Looking at it from another angle, Shang Xia understood that in order to increase one¡¯s cultivation at their current cultivation stage, they would have to absorb and refine world origin in their dantian while completing the transformation of their inner qi! From his experience in previous realms, he would have to obtain a corresponding secret art suitable for Martial Extermination Realm experts in order to do so. Only then would he be able to convert his Origin True Qi into Four Constellation Qi to enter the large completion stage of his current cultivation realm. Cultivators in the Azure Origin World faced a huge problem when it came to training secret arts in the Martial Extermination Realm in order to convert their inner qi as most of them had refined different extermination origins. There wasn¡¯t a method that could be used by everyone and unless one used a similar advancement medicine and refined a similar extermination origin to seniors who had broken through in the past, they wouldn¡¯t be able to follow in their exact footsteps. A fantastic example would be Shang Ke. When Shang Ke entered the Martial Extermination Realm back then, he used the same advancement medicine as Shang Bo. The extermination origin he refined was also similar to what Shang Bo used. As such, he was able to follow in Shang Bo¡¯s footsteps and cultivate the same way. It explained how Shang Ke managed to enter the second layer of the Martial Extermination Realm so quickly. With Shang Bo¡¯s experience as a guide, Shang Ke didn¡¯t have to carry out his own experiments to improve. The problem finally appeared when Shang Ke entered the second layer of the Martial Extermination Realm. The Lingkong Formless Extermination Origin was extremely suited for him, but now that he refined it, his cultivation speed was bound to take a huge hit. He was still able to learn from Shang Bo, but his progress would be a lot slower than before. In the future when Shang Ke refined his third and fourth extermination origins, the difference between himself and Shang Bo would only grow wider. His speed of cultivation using Shang Bo¡¯s guide would definitely stagnate. It might even affect his chances of breaking through to the Martial Dipper Realm in the future. With that being said, Shang Ke didn¡¯t possess much hope of entering the Martial Dipper Realm in the first place. He understood that he was almost at his limit after entering the Martial Extermination Realm. With Shang Ke¡¯s example, Shang Xia understood that Martial Extermination Realm experts would usually develop their own secret art to ensure maximum compatibility. Turning his attention back to himself, he realized that the difficulty of coming up with his unique way of training would be a lot higher than others. Others might have a way of referencing seniors to gain a stroke of inspiration, but Shang Xia was practically going in blind. There might have been people who thought of refining four extermination origins at once to enter the Martial Extermination Realm, but they didn¡¯t seem to succeed. Not a single record of them could be found, much less secret arts they created. Shang Xia¡¯s return to the Yuxi Peak was driven by his need to refine his extermination origins, but at the same time, he wanted to ponder over the problem of his secret art in a quiet location. Other than a secret art to hasten the transformation of his inner qi, he wouldn¡¯t be able to receive an inheritance like the Providence Spear Art this time. Rank four martial arts were practically developed by cultivators according to their fighting style. After reminding himself of the problems he faced in the Four Constellation Realm, Shang Xia decided that there was no point hastening the refinement of his extermination origins. Focusing on the development of his secret art and martial arts was something he had to work on too. Making a decision for one of his many problems, Shang Xia didn¡¯t stop there. Cultivation and talisman crafting weren¡¯t the only things he was focused on. Most of the time he had left was spent on comprehending his Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter that he had mostly forgotten back in the Martial Intent Realm. After entering the Four Constellation Realm, his divine sense transformed into divine perception. Shang Xia¡¯s understanding of how his divine perception interacted with the world deepened and he discovered that there was more to learn. Shang Xia had a feeling that a greater understanding of the Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter was a key in creating his own secret art and martial arts. ¡­ In the blink of an eye, Shang Xia spent more than a month on the Yuxi Peak. He had solidified his foundations in the Four Constellation Realm and after a lot of research and thinking, he felt as though he knew how to proceed further in his path of cultivation. Knowing how to proceed was one thing, actually reaching the end of that path was another. Shang Xia knew that he had a long way to go before he could come up with suitable secret and martial arts for himself. That wasn¡¯t all. He also understood the crux of crafting several rank four talismans, and it could be said that Shang Xia¡¯s time on the Yuxi Peak was extremely fruitful. It seemed as though the talismans he had been running through in his mind had something similar about all of them. It was precisely the similarity that allowed Shang Xia to save a bunch of time and energy. Making up his mind to craft his first rank four talisman, a transmission talisman shot through the air from the direction of the Observation Peak. Scanning through its content, Shang Xia realized that he would no longer be able to cultivate peacefully on the Yuxi Peak. Sighing helplessly to himself, Shang Xia could only notify Ge Qingzhu about his departure and request for him as a replacement. ¡­ Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect Ge Qingzhu to send a bunch of Formation Masters over in his stead. They started to survey the Yuxi Peak and it didn¡¯t take long for a message from Ge Qingzhu to arrive. He learned that the institution was planning to lay down another formation around the Yuxi Peak to secure it. The plan had been in the works for some time now and they barely managed to complete their preparations when Shang Xia requested to leave. With the arrival of the disciples from the Formation Hall and the peace treaty between the Tongyou Institution and the experts of the Azure Spiritual World in the battlefield between the two worlds, Ge Qingzhu didn¡¯t feel the need to personally return to the Yuxi Peak. Seeing as it was safe to leave the Yuxi Peak in the hands of the Formation Hall, Shang Xia turned into a streak of light that tore through the air as he headed straight for the Observation Peak. By the time he returned to the Shang Clan¡¯s territory on the Observation Peak, he discovered that Shang Quan and Shang Tai had been waiting for him for quite some time. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Shang Xia suppressed his voice and asked cautiously. ¡°The clan sent a secret transmission over to us requesting for you to return to the Tongyou City at the quickest speed possible after receiving the report.¡± Shang Quan explained. While speaking, he handed over a scroll. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". Reading over its contents, he turned it into dust after he was done. ¡°Who else knows about this?¡± Shang Xia asked. Shang Quan¡¯s expression turned grave and he replied, ¡°Shang Tai and myself are the only ones who know about this on the Observation Peak.¡± Nodding slightly, Shang Xia muttered, ¡°I¡¯ll head back as quickly as I can. Uncle Quan, Uncle Tai, please tell everyone that I have entered seclusion and will not be disturbed by anyone.¡± After speaking, he flicked his wrist to reveal close to 20 pieces of rank three talismans. He stacked them on the table before him and those were the talismans he had promised to make before leaving for the Yuxi Peak. Since he entered the Four Constellation Realm, Shang Xia¡¯s divine perception became much stronger than the divine sense he had in the Martial Intent Realm. He was able to craft talismans at a much quicker pace and his success rate reached a terrifying level. In order to draw inspiration from his unique talisman crafting method, Shang Xia made those talismans while thinking of the way to craft rank four talismans. At his current level, he had crafted all 6 types of rank three talismans recorded in the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture at least once. There were 3 other talismans he learned about from the records of the Talisman Hall and he succeeded in crafting them too. ¡°Other than those I promised to make, you can keep the rest for yourselves.¡± Shang Xia smiled. A wide smile appeared on Shang Quan and Shang Tai¡¯s faces when they looked at the talismans laid out before them. The rank three talismans he made seemed to contain a terrifying power. Anyone below the Martial Extermination Realm would be hard pressed to take the full blow of the energy contained within. Bidding his uncles farewell, Shang Xia separately notified Zhang Haogu and Ge Qingzhu that he would be leaving for some time before rushing towards the spatial tunnel. Throughout the process, he didn¡¯t alert anyone. As soon as he returned to the Tongyou Institution, he turned into a streak of light that flew back into the Shang Clan Manor. As Shang Ke had stated that he would be in seclusion, the responsibility of taking care of the clan landed on Shang Xi. Unfortunately, she entered seclusion not long after and Shang Jian had to take her place. ¡°Second Uncle, what¡¯s the matter? Why did you summon me back urgently?¡± Shang Xia looked for Shang Jian directly without alarming any members of the Shang Clan the moment he returned. Shang Jian was clearly shocked by Shang Xia¡¯s sudden appearance, but he quickly regained his cool. ¡°Your Third Aunt sent an urgent message back from the Taihang Mountains. She said that you need to head there as soon as possible. She also said that it has something to do with what she told you previously.¡± CH 445 Shang Jian wanted to go through the formalities of congratulating Shang Xia for his successful breakthrough to the Martial Extermination Realm. However, Shang Xia surprised him by getting straight to the point the moment he returned. After learning what had happened, Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief. Shang Jian couldn¡¯t get rid of the curiosity in his heart and he asked casually, ¡°Why is your Third Aunt looking for you so urgently anyway?¡± Shang Xia wasn¡¯t too sure either and he raised an eyebrow slightly while replying, ¡°It might be related to the appearance of a secret region. She might have noticed signs of its reappearance, hence the rush.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Shang Jian gasped before revealing an envious look. ¡°Opportunities in secret regions tend to be amazing. If you run into any of them when exploring the secret region, make full use of it.¡± ¡°Oh? Second Uncle, do you have experience entering one?¡± Shang Xia asked. A look of melancholy appeared on Shang Jian¡¯s face and he sighed, ¡°Back when I was wandering the world, I chanced upon a broken secret region. God knows how many people have already explored the place and all the good stuff had already been taken away. Luckily, I noticed a rank two sword inheritance carved on a cliff face covered in vines. There was also a corresponding rank two advancement formula beside it. At this moment, your cousins are practicing that sword inheritance.¡± Shang Xia nodded slightly before asking, ¡°Speaking of them, did they undergo a smooth breakthrough?¡± A brilliant smile lit up Shang Jian¡¯s face when he thought about the two of them. ¡°The process was a little risky, but the two of them were pretty lucky. They managed to enter the Martial Intent Realm and complete their first divine sense transformation.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! Congratulations on their breakthrough. Now, our Shang Clan has two more Martial Intent Realm cultivators. We¡¯re slowly growing stronger.¡± Shang Xia laughed. Waving his hands casually, Shang Jian muttered, ¡°The two of them are barely passable when compared to the true geniuses of the Tongyou Institution, much less yourself. There¡¯s nothing much to celebrate.¡± Shang Xia clearly didn¡¯t know how to continue the conversation from that point and he forced a smile before changing the topic. ¡°Oh right, Second Uncle, when do you plan on entering the Martial Extermination Realm?¡± Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" The expression on Shang Jian¡¯s face turned serious and he sighed, ¡°I¡¯m thinking of holding it off for a little more. Your Grandpa Bo and Grandpa Ke aren¡¯t in the clan right now and you¡¯re planning to head down south to the Taiyang Mountains. There has to be someone managing the clan¡¯s affairs.¡± With a frown on his face, Shang Xia whispered in a low voice, ¡°Second Uncle, you need to enter the Martial Extermination Realm as soon as possible.¡± Staring at him in shock, Shang Jian became even more serious. ¡°Little Xia, did you know something we don¡¯t?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t be sure, but you should prepare to enter the Martial Extermination Realm as soon as you can. You will be able to react to anything that might happen when we¡¯re gone.¡± Shang Xia explained. Without waiting for Shang Jian to respond, Shang Xia continued, ¡°Aunt Xi is probably going to leave seclusion soon. The battlefield between the two worlds is pretty calm at the moment and there¡¯s no point for her to remain on the Observation Peak. You should get her to manage the clan while you focus on breaking through.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Shang Jian was a resolute person. Shang Xia¡¯s reminder couldn¡¯t be more obvious and he quickly made the decision. Slamming the side of his fist down on his open palm, he cried, ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll notify Shang Xi to return once she exits seclusion.¡± When he was done, he wrote another message and sent out another transmission talisman towards the battlefield between the two worlds. He asked Shang Xia another question while sending out the talisman. ¡°When do you plan to leave anyway?¡± ¡°Right now!¡± Raising his head in shock, Shang Jian gasped, ¡°Is it really that urgent?¡± Shang Xia chuckled before explaining, ¡°Third Aunt told me to make a trip down to Changfeng City before heading for the Taihang Mountains. I might remain there for some time before heading south.¡± ¡°Changfeng City? Isn¡¯t that your territory?¡± Shang Jian thought out loud. ¡°What are you talking about? I don¡¯t own Changfeng City!¡± Shang Xia wanted to explain, but he was quickly interrupted. Shang Jian couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Aren¡¯t you in a hurry to head down south? Why do you need to stay in the city anyway?¡± Without a change in expression, Shang Xia muttered, ¡°Third Aunt wants me to visit Hai Min and Yuanyuan while I¡¯m there.¡± ¡­ Shang Jian might be exaggerating slightly when he said that Changfeng City was Shang Xia¡¯s territory, but he wasn¡¯t exactly wrong. After all, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t the temporary city lord there for nothing. He might have locked himself up in the city lord manor back then to focus on crafting rank three talismans, but he made arrangements to leave behind a portion of men he trusted. The power he left behind could be considered a part of the Shang Clan¡¯s hidden strength, but it belonged to Shang Xia exclusively. With his current status, Shang Xia was capable of setting up his own forces. Currently, the person in charge of the Changfeng City was Bu Jingshuang. He might be stationed in the city, but he was considered a core part of the Tongyou Institution¡¯s strength. He was definitely involved in the Tongyou Institution¡¯s plans. As the Changfeng City Lord position held too much of a strategic advantage, especially considering what Yang Hu pulled previously, Bu Jingshuang¡¯s takeover of the position came as no surprise to the others. ¡­ When Shang Xia returned to the Changfeng City and met with Bu Jingshuang, he discovered that the old expert had already reached the second layer of the Martial Extermination Realm. Speaking of Bu Jingshuang, Shang Xia had a lot of respect for the old expert. He was Kou Chongxue¡¯s sworn brother like Shang Lubing, but had infiltrated the Rose Party for more than 20 years. Bu Jingshuang was similarly surprised to see Shang Xia. Seeing the strange light under Shang Xia¡¯s feet as he descended into the City Lord Manor, Bu Jingshuang revealed a complicated expression before sighing softly, ¡°You¡­ You already entered the Martial Extermination Realm?!¡± ¡°Mister Bu, you don¡¯t sound like you¡¯re congratulating me. Hehe, you¡¯re losing your demeanor as my senior¡­¡± Shang Xia chuckled. ¡°Demeanor your ass!¡± Bu Jingshuang snapped before shooting Shang Xia with another question. ¡°Your extermination origin seems a little chaotic¡­ Which extermination origin did you refine exactly?¡± With a helpless smile, Shang Xia revealed the truth. ¡°I refined the Four Seasons Extermination Origins to enter the Martial Extermination Realm¡­.¡± Widening his eyes in horror, he pointed at Shang Xia before snapping angrily, ¡°You¡­ You¡­ Did no one try to stop you from doing that?! What the hell¡­ Where were your Grandfather and Shang Ke when you made your preparations to break through?! Wasn¡¯t Kou Chongxue aware of the matter?! There are so many Martial Extermination Realm experts from the institution and no one attempted to stop you from acting so recklessly¡­¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I succeed?¡± Shang Xia muttered under his breath. ¡°Yeah, you did, but what if you failed?!¡± Bu JIngshuang berated Shang Xia before finally changing his tune. ¡°Well, this is incredible. You actually managed to succeed! Are you trying to create your own path of cultivation? Hm¡­ Were they using you as a lab rat to see if it was possible?¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t care less if they were making use of him. With the Crimson Soul Tablet, the risk of his breakthrough was minimized. However, he could tell that Bu Jingshuang was really concerned for him and he knew it would be rude for him to brush the man off however he liked. A smile reappeared on his face and he explained, ¡°Rest assured I made adequate preparations before my attempt to break through. Both the clan and the institution provided me with life-saving treasures. Fortunately, my luck didn¡¯t let me down and I managed a smooth breakthrough.¡± Shooting Shang Xia a deep gaze, Bu Jingshuang sighed, ¡°Alright, as long as you know what you¡¯re doing¡­¡± At the end of the day, he was a Martial Extermination Realm expert. It didn¡¯t take long for him to regain his composure. He eventually continued, ¡°Damn kid, why did you come over to Changfeng City anyway?¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m just passing by. I¡¯ll stay for a few days before heading down south to the Taihang Mountains.¡± Shang Xia replied. ¡°Taihang?¡± Bu Jingshuang seemed to have thought of something. ¡°Are you going to look for Third Sister Hai?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Shang Xia laughed. Nodding slightly, Bu Jingshuang added, ¡°The situation in the Taihang Mountains is extremely complex. There are all sorts of people gathered there. Thieves, bandits, wandering cultivators, criminals¡­ They¡¯re made up of people of the You, Ji, Bing, Yan, and even the Si Continent. There¡¯s practically no orderly force in the Taihang Mountains. In fact, there¡¯s only one rule there and that¡¯s the survival of the fittest. The biggest fists win.¡± Speaking up to that point, Bu Jingshuang paused for a moment before examining Shang Xia from head to toe. ¡°I guess you won¡¯t be bullied by anyone now that you¡¯re in the Martial Extermination Realm. With the help of Third Sister Hai who has already established herself there, you should be fine. However, there¡¯s one thing you should be concerned with¡­¡± He turned serious all of a sudden before adding, ¡°Cultivation isn¡¯t everything there. Most of the people there are extremely crafty. They¡¯re no strangers to coming up with insidious plans to triumph over experts stronger than themselves. You cannot be careless, even for a moment!¡± ¡­ By the time Shang Xia left the City Lord Manor, he gained a much better understanding of the Taihang Mountains. When he returned to a small courtyard in the north of the city, he noticed a little girl who was close to 6 years old skipping down the street. A look of confusion flashed across Yuanyuan¡¯s eyes before she recalled the person in front of her. ¡°Tasty¡­ Tasty Uncle!¡± She couldn¡¯t forget how Shang Xia brought her little snacks every time she saw him. Chuckling under his breath, Shang Xia handed a bag of candied yam to the little girl. ¡°You can¡¯t call me Tasty Uncle anymore. You can call me ¡®Uncle ¡®in the future.¡± Holding the bag, Yuanyuan turned around and ran back into the courtyard happily. Shang Xia heard her cute little cries even before he stepped into the entrance. ¡°Mommy, Tasty Uncle is back!¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but burst out laughing as he entered the courtyard he left close to 2 years ago. Hai Min leaned on the doorframe beside the entrance as a gentle smile crossed her face. She looked at Shang Xia who had barely stepped into the entrance and said, ¡°Are you finally coming back?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be here for a little while¡­¡± Shang Xia chuckled. The moment he entered the courtyard, a tranquil feeling filled his heart. ¡°When are you leaving?¡± Hai MIn whispered. ¡°I¡¯ll stay for 3 to 5 days this time!¡± Nodding calmly, Hai Min turned to walk away. ¡°I¡¯ll start making dinner then.¡± ¡°... Alright.¡± Their short conversation didn¡¯t seem awkward in the slightest. Instead, a sense of harmony and peace was felt through the courtyard. ¡­ In the dead of night, the soft autumn rain drizzled softly on the lands. It paved the way for a beautiful morning that was about to come. As the first rays of light flooded the earth, a refreshing breeze blew through the lands. After eating breakfast, Hai Yuanyuan ran out of the courtyard to play as Hai Min tidied up the courtyard. Shang Xia looked at the elegant figure whose movements resembled butterflies dancing in the courtyard with a soft smile playing on his lips. ¡°I saw you training Yuanyuan in the morning.¡± Turning to glance at him, Hai Min didn¡¯t stop what she was doing as a gentle smile formed on her face. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± ¡°Have you thought of Yuanyuan¡¯s future?¡± Pausing to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ears, Hai Min whispered, ¡°I¡¯ll just send her over to the Tongyou Institution when she¡¯s of age. She can learn from the teachers and instructors there.¡± Shang Xia thought for a second before bringing up an almost absurd suggestion. ¡°Why don¡¯t you let her follow in my footsteps?¡± A complicated light flashed through Hai Min¡¯s eyes as she turned to look at Shang Xia. She started to turn serious before a brilliant smile lit up her face. ¡°Sure!¡± Only after entering the Martial Extermination Realm would one dare to declare that they had pioneered their own path of cultivation in the Azure Origin World. Settling the matter of Yuanyuan¡¯s cultivation in the future, Shang Xia returned to the quiet little room he used in the past. Talisman brush, talisman paper, talisman ink¡­ With everything in place, Shang Xia felt that he was ready to craft his first rank four talisman, the Golden Sun Inferno Talisman! He felt a mysterious sensation washing over him as he seemed to fuse with the world around him. In that state, he felt invincible! CH 446 One of the nights when Shang Xia was crafting the Golden Sun Inferno Talisman¡­ Stars twinkled in the night sky, but a raging ball of fire appeared in the air at an unknown time. Scorching heat filled the lands. Luckily, the City Lord Manor made preparations for something like that to happen. Utilizing the protection formation around the city, the ball of flame was trapped in a separate space so as to avoid causing serious damage to the city. Even so, the giant ball of fire roused the curiosity of many. There were a lot of curious souls and there were even some who were captivated by its power. Fortunately, the appearance of the giant fireball didn¡¯t last for long. After burning intensely for some time, it disappeared abruptly like it was never there. The night returned to normal. Find the original at "pawread dot com". Bu Jingshuang stood above the City Lord Manor with his hands clasped behind his back. He directed his gaze over to the north of the city as though he could see through Shang Xia¡¯s courtyard. ¡°Rank four talisman master¡­ Hehe, he actually succeeded so quickly¡­¡± Bu Jingshuang muttered to himself. A complicated light flashed in his eyes. He was slightly surprised, but he also seemed delighted at Shang Xia¡¯s progress. ¡­ Shang Xia placed down the mid-grade brush in his hand as a wave of lethargy washed over him. ¡°The Flying Goose Brush isn¡¯t good enough to craft rank four talismans. The Falling Rose Brush provided by the institution is barely capable of withstanding the burden of a rank four talisman.¡± Shang Xia thought to himself as his gaze landed on the rank four talisman on the table. It was 7 by 4 inches long, and it was emitting a dazzling golden glow. There was still a good portion of talisman ink left after he completed the Golden Sun Inferno Talisman. Shang Xia estimated that he would be able to make two more attempts with the ink he had left. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be easy to craft another rank four talisman¡­¡± Shang Xia frowned as he looked at the equipment laid out before him. He felt a headache coming after realizing the equipment he had was barely withstanding the strain of crafting one Golden Sun Inferno Talisman. Moreover, he used up quite a bit of resources trying to craft the talisman. Even though a large portion of it came from the Talisman Hall, Shang Xia knew that collecting more would pose a serious challenge. The reason a rank four talisman was more difficult to craft than rank three talismans was because of the ingredients required. Collecting enough resources for a rank four talisman was an arduous process. Naturally, the strain on the Talisman Master¡¯s body was another huge factor. Shang Xia received assistance from many factors, but he exhausted a huge amount of energy on a single Golden Sun Inferno Talisman. Fortunately, his divine perception was stronger than cultivators of the same level. He didn¡¯t need to exhaust his extermination origin during the crafting process either as he had quite a bit of extermination qi stored in his Spirit Extermination Gourd. The exhaustion he felt would recover in a short period of time and wouldn¡¯t affect his foundations at all. Initially, he didn¡¯t intend to craft the Golden Sun Inferno Talisman during his time in the Changfeng City. He wanted to head off for the Taihang Mountains after paying Hai Min and Yuanyuan a short visit, but because of the sudden stroke of inspiration, he exhausted himself quite a bit. He had no choice but to stay in the city to recover. On the second day after he crafted the Golden Sun Inferno Talisman, someone came over to pay him a visit. The newcomer was called Shang Liao, and he was Shang Quan¡¯s son. Shang Liao and Shang Xia could be said to be members of the same generation. During Shang Xia¡¯s stint as the Temporary Changfeng City Lord, Shang Quan came over once to make some dealings for the Shang Clan. He left Shang Liao in his place after he left and Shang Xia placed him to use. When Shang Xia left the city, Shang Liao became the manager of the Shang Clan¡¯s operations there. The reason behind his visit was to give Shang Xia a detailed report of the Shang Clan¡¯s activity. The two of them spent 2 whole hours in Shang Xia¡¯s study before Shang Liao took his leave. When he was gone, Shang Xia went to talk to Hai Min and Yuanyuan for some time before leaving for the City Lord Manor. ¡­ ¡°The institution finally has its own rank four Talisman Master!¡± Bu Jingshuang laughed the moment Shang Xia arrived. ¡°However, the disturbance you caused this time was massive! I¡¯m afraid the news of your advancement will spread through the lands before long.¡± Shang Xia shook his head helplessly. ¡°I had to do it. It¡¯s not every day I can enter that miraculous state. I still have to thank you for your assistance that day.¡± He didn¡¯t finish his preparations that day and he failed to lay down enough protection before starting his crafting process. If not for Bu Jingshuang¡¯s activation of the city¡¯s grand formation, he might have turned half the street into ash. Bu Jingshuang nodded in understanding before replying, ¡°It¡¯s alright. Anyway, you need to be careful now that you are a rank four Talisman Master. With your achievements, you might turn into a target other powers wish to eliminate before you grow too strong.¡± Shang Xia felt a chill running through his heart, but he understood that Bu Jingshuang wasn¡¯t trying to scare him. He nodded gratefully. Every single Martial Extermination Realm posed a huge threat to opposing powers. It was especially so for someone as talented as Shang Xia. Now that his identity as a rank four Talisman Master was revealed to the world, there would definitely be factions hostile to the institution trying to kill Shang Xia before he grew into an even bigger threat. With Bu Jingshuang¡¯s reminder, Shang Xia knew that he would have to start taking things more seriously. Bu Jingshuang was also gratified that Shang Xia was planning to heed his warning. Regardless, he could tell that Shang Xia had something on his mind. ¡°Is something up? Why are you looking for me again?¡± Shang Xia hesitated for a moment before deciding to get to the point. ¡°Mister Bu, you¡¯ve experienced a lot. Do you know anyone who has the ability to craft Spatial Pouches?¡± An unnatural expression could be seen on Bu Jingshuang¡¯s face the moment Shang Xia asked the question. He muttered, ¡°Why do you think I would know someone like that?¡± ¡°I was asking randomly¡­ I had close to 6 taels of Swallow Fur with me and I wish to craft a Spatial Pouch. However, I failed to find anyone who had the ability to do so. I was trying my luck¡­¡± Shang Xia added quickly. Bu Jingshuang revealed a deep gaze and he paused for a second before finally speaking, ¡°If you trust me, you can leave the Swallow Fur behind. You might get a Spatial Pouch after a year and a half or so¡­¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate to hand a case filled with Swallow Fur over to Bu Jingshuanng. When he was done, he bid the man farewell. ¡­ Shang Xia¡¯s men were unable to keep tabs on Bu Jingshuang himself, but they kept an eye on the City Lord¡¯s Manor. They could tell that even though Bu Jingshuang¡¯s identity had been revealed, he was still keeping in contact with the Evil Remnants of the Rose Party. Of course, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t suspect that Bu Jingshuang was a traitor just because of that. After all, things were never as they seemed. He was merely shocked that the Rose Party would still be in contact with him. The four great races of the Liao Continent had been in conflict with the institution for the past 20 odd years, but didn¡¯t they place down their grudge all of a sudden to form an alliance? As such, Shang Xia didn¡¯t really think it was wrong for him to remain in contact with the Rose Party. Also, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t too optimistic about the chances of crafting a Spatial Pouch. He was trying his luck by handing the resources over to Bu Jingshuang. However, he heard rumors from Bai Luming that the Rose Party managed to get their hands on a way to craft Spatial Pouches. They might even have a grandmaster craftsman among them. As such, Shang Xia felt that it was truly possible for his gamble to pay off. Anyway, Shang Xia returned to his courtyard after leaving the City Lord¡¯s Manor. He took a two day break and during that time, he recorded everything he could remember of his experience when breaking through to the Martial Realm and the way he trained at that cultivation level. He also took charge of Yuanyuan¡¯s training now that he was back. He might have recorded his experience, but he wasn¡¯t able to pass down his Chaos Essence Palm or Lightning Palm to the little kid. Without the institution¡¯s approval, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t pass down those techniques easily. Other than restoring his inner qi and teaching Yuanyuan, Shang Xia was also starting to ponder over how he should proceed with the development of his personalized martial arts. After leaving the battlefield between the two worlds for the Tongyou Institution, Shang Xia discovered that he was only able to refine his Falling Leaf Extermination Origin. No matter how hard he tried, none of the other 3 extermination origins would react. The sudden change shocked Shang Xia. However, he quickly came to a bold conclusion. Other than on the Yuxi Peak which experienced all four seasons in one spot, the You Continent was experiencing Autumn at the moment. He had a feeling he would only be able to refine the extermination origin corresponding to the current season he was experiencing. If that was actually the case, Shang Xia felt that he would need to develop a different martial art for each extermination origin in his body. That was his guess, but he decided that it was too early to think so deeply into the matter. After all, it was some time before the Winter season would arrive for him to verify his guess. Since he couldn¡¯t be sure of it, he decided to put off their creation. Of course, without it, Shang Xia could only refine his Falling Leaf Extermination Origin bit by bit. Progressing slightly in his path of cultivation, Shang Xia discovered another problem. If he refined his Falling Leaf Extermination Origin at the moment, he might lose balance of his extermination origins and experience cultivation deviation. At the end of the day, balance was key. Shang Xia knew he couldn¡¯t rush the creation of his martial art just to hasten the refinement of one extermination origin. Whatever the case, Shang Xia didn¡¯t have the luxury of time to be trapped in the dilemma. Time passed quickly and after bidding farewell to Hai Min and Yuanyuan on the day he had decided to leave, he turned into a streak of light that flew in the direction of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. He headed straight for the border of the Ji Continent. As Shang Pei didn¡¯t know if Shang Xia had entered the Martial Extermination Realm, she decided to estimate his speed based on his cultivation at the Martial Intent Realm. Now that he had broken through successfully, his prolonged stay in the Changfeng City wasn¡¯t a problem. After entering the border of the Ji Continent, Shang Xia decided to keep a low profile. The Tongyou Institution had a massive grudge against the White Deer Paradise and Shang Xia didn¡¯t wish to be hunted down by them. There was also the matter of the various great families of the Ji Continent. Slowing down his speed considerably, Shang Xia hid his presence by suppressing the light emitted from his extermination origins. He also chose to travel through the more deserted regions. Since he wasn¡¯t traveling with speed as his priority, he was able to place his attention on his control over his extermination origins and how he could use them nimbly in flight. CH 447 Shang Xia After breaking through to the Four Constellation Realm, Shang Xia gave up on finding a movement technique as he could fly with his extermination origins. He also learned that there were differences in speed among Martial Extermination Realm experts. From what he knew, other than special flying techniques that could increase one¡¯s speed, the main factor that affected it was the type of extermination origin one refined and their actual cultivation base. It was perfectly normal to use one¡¯s cultivation base to estimate their speed, but it became a problem when Shang Xia was the one in question. He managed to refine 4 extermination origins to enter the Four Constellation Realm, but his cultivation base obviously couldn¡¯t be regarded to be at the fourth layer at the moment. Regardless, the speed at which he flew was reasonably fast. He had seen Martial Extermination Realm experts flying through the air before. As such, he understood how quickly he flew. Experts in the first or second layer of the Martial Extermination Realm could only eat his dust if he were to compare his flying speed to theirs. If he gave it his all, Shang Xia felt that he would be able to outrun even a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert. However, he discovered that he wouldn¡¯t be able to sustain his flight for a long time if he flew at a speed much faster than ordinary cultivators. The faster he flew, the shorter he could sustain his flight. His low endurance was probably due to the fact that he hadn¡¯t refined any of his 4 extermination origins completely. One could argue that he was comparable to a first layer Martial Extermination Realm cultivator. While Shang Xia made his way through the Ji Continent, he didn¡¯t know that his movements had already been noticed. He might have been keeping a low profile ever since entering the Ji Continent, but the multicolored lights that flickered under his feet eventually caught someone¡¯s attention. Back when Kou Chongxue blew a hole in the White Deer Paradise, their prestige in the Azure Origin World took a huge hit. Their reputation was one matter, but the world origin Kou Chongxue drained actually damaged their foundations. The deaths of Wei Zhongwen and the others only served to weaken them even further. They had no choice but to rein themselves in slightly. Unlike the White Deer Paradise, the three great families of the Ji Continent didn¡¯t suffer as much. They feasted on the White Deer Paradise¡¯s misery and quickly increased their strength. The ¡®Giant Deer¡¯ Liu Family and the Zhang Family of the ¡®Yi City¡¯ managed to gain the most benefits during the chaos. That was because their territories were located closest to the border of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Rage. After Kou Chongxue wreaked havoc in the White Deer Paradise, they called back the cultivators under their command bordering the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. The Liu and Zhang Families feasted on the remains. Eventually, the Liu Family took over a small portion of the land on the west while the Zhang Family took over a small portion of land on the east. It wasn¡¯t hard to guess what the White Deer Paradise¡¯s intention was to give up control over the region near the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. Even though the Liu and Zhang Families knew that the White Deer Paradise wanted them to form a buffer layer between the You Continent and themselves, they couldn¡¯t resist the temptation of more territories and resources. Since they understood the White Deer Paradise¡¯s intention, they took their own precautions. After splitting the territory, the two families quickly gathered a bunch of experts to cross the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range to keep tabs on the Tongyou Institution. Initially, they sent an assortment of cultivators over with the exception of Martial Extermination Realm experts. However, following the institution¡¯s victory in the battlefield between the two worlds and the revelation of Ji Wenlong¡¯s breakthrough, they sent a Martial Extermination Realm expert each to guard the border. Shang Xia didn¡¯t know of the exact situation in the Ji Continent, and he obviously wasn¡¯t expecting any Martial Extermination Realm experts to be near the border where he was. When he entered the territory of the Ji Continent, he was discovered by the lower-level experts of the two families. With several secret transmissions, the 2 Martial Extermination Realm experts received the news. ¡°Hmph, a newly advanced Martial Extermination Realm cultivator. He has guts for trying to intrude on our territory.¡± Liu Chuanyi, the Martial Extermination Realm from the Liu Family who was stationed to guard the border, snorted in contempt. As those who had seen Shang Xia were not in the Martial Extermination Realm, they were unable to track him down no matter how fast they could run. They could only watch as the streak of light disappeared from their view. Shang Xia had been extremely confident in his ability to hide his presence. However, he didn¡¯t expect there to be scouts hiding around the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range and the border of the Ji Continent! Naturally, he didn¡¯t think that danger was rapidly closing in on him. ¡°Hm¡­ According to the reports from our disciples, the Martial Extermination Realm expert from the You Continent is pretty weird. His speed varies a lot while flying and his extermination origin seems to flicker unsteadily. It would change from time to time and none of them are certain of his actual cultivation level.¡± Zhang Luoxing, the Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Zhang Family, muttered. A deep frown made its way onto his face. ¡°Do you think he¡¯s bait sent by the Ji Continent?¡± Liu Chuanyi sneered in response, ¡°Not even the disciples of our families know that we¡¯re here, much less those from the You Continent. Anyway, won¡¯t we know if he¡¯s bait if we check it out ourselves?¡± Liu Chuanyi was clearly confident that they would be able to take down the intruder easily. After thinking for a second, Zhang Luoxing realized that Liu Chuanyi made sense. The possibility of it being a trap was slim to none. Moreover, they were currently in the Ji Continent. So what if they ran into a trap?! Nodding in agreement, Zhang Luoxing grinned, ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll go meet that Martial Extermination Realm cultivator from the You Continent!¡± As Shang Xia was heading south the whole way, Shang Xia estimated that Winter would have arrived by the time he met up with Shang Pei in the Taihang Mountains. When you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. While making his merry way to the Taihang Mountains while convinced that he was hiding his tracks well, Shang Xia was rudely awakened when he sensed two strong auras ten miles away. By the time he reacted, the two of them were flying his way. There was no way they were looking for him for a friendly chat. The moment he detected them, his first instinct was to run. However, he decided on another approach and quickly suppressed his extermination origin with everything he could muster. He made it as dull as possible and lowered his speed the best he could. When he was done, he used his divine perception to lock on to the two of them. He discovered that they had stopped three miles away from him. They were probably waiting to see how he would react.¡± The distance was definitely in range of a Martial Extermination Realm expert¡¯s divine perception, and the two of them were basically announcing their arrival. Shang Xia seemed to have gotten the message as he started to hide his aura while heading in the same direction. Naturally, he did it such that the two of them would still be able to detect him. ¡°Haha! He¡¯s just a newbie who entered the Martial Extermination Realm. He thinks he can hide his aura from us! Looks like he¡¯s not going to know what hit him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! This is a great opportunity to take him down!¡± Zhang Luoxing and Liu Chuanyi chuckled to each other. They seemed to have concluded that Shang Xia was of no threat to them. Circulating their inner qi rapidly, the two of them rushed towards Shang Xia with a renewed vigor. They pincered him and true to their expectation, Shang Xia revealed a shocked expression the moment they appeared. He seemed to exert himself as he flew faster in an attempt to get away. The ¡®weakling¡¯ from the You Continent before them revealed an anxious look as he ran away desperately. They would never expect that Shang Xia was merely flying at 30 percent of his maximum speed. ¡°Hah!¡± Looking at Shang Xia, the two of them were too lazy to mock him. They thought that they would be able to enjoy a good battle before taking him down. From the looks of it, it was going to be an easier battle than they thought. The excitement they had started to die down and Zhang Luoxing grunted with annoyance, ¡°Since you¡¯re already here, you can remain here forever.¡± Even though Zhang Luoxing was a bit weaker than Liu Chuanyi, he was the first to make his move. He sent a simple palm strike towards Shang Xia and the space around the young cultivator started to solidify. As he tried his best to break through the spatial restriction, a giant palm condensed from frosty qi appeared in his way. It flew at him without any intention of slowing down. Shang Xia¡¯s first reaction was to evade the icy palm. Unfortunately, the space around him had been greatly restricted by Zhang Luoxing. Even though it wasn¡¯t something that could trap him forever, Zhang Luoxing felt that it was enough to force him to take on his attack head-on. At the crucial moment, Shang Xia fumbled slightly before revealing his Scarlet Star Spear. He provided all the resources required to both repair and increase the grade of his spear a long time ago. His Scarlet Star Spear had reached the rank of a high-grade weapon, and Shang Xia was using it for the first time in battle! However, he unleashed his sixth move instead of a more powerful one when faced with the giant palm in front of him. His Flow Recompensation Spear shot straight at the threat coming his way. Even though he was facing two Martial Extermination Realm experts, Shang Xia was merely using his rank three technique to fight the two of them. Moreover, he only used the sixth of his nine moves. It came as no surprise. Shang Xia¡¯s spear slammed into the icy palm and he was forced to retreat tens of feet. Zhang Luoxing didn¡¯t intend to seriously injure Shang Xia with his previous attack as he only wanted to stop Shang Xia from running away. Who would have thought that his attack was so damn effective? Not only did he manage to stop Shang Xia from escaping, he even managed to force Shang Xia to use his spear art. From the looks of it, the Martial Extermination Realm expert from the You Continent who was standing before them hadn¡¯t developed his rank four martial arts! The excitement that had died earlier reignited in Zhang Luoxing¡¯s heart and it came back even stronger. It seemed like the possibility of them slaying a Martial Extermination Realm expert was much higher than they had thought! CH 448 It was extremely difficult to kill a Martial Extermination Realm under ordinary circumstances. Even if they had freshly broken through, it would be a tall task to end their life. Of course, that didn¡¯t seem to be the case considering how many Martial Extermination Realm experts died in Shang Xia¡¯s hands. Ever since he entered the battlefield between the two worlds for the first time, the deaths of at least 5 Martial Extermination Realm experts or existences at that level had something to do with him. Obviously, there were other factors in play when they died. They might have fallen into a trap, or they might have been weakened by others. There were also times when his sneak attacks worked. Whatever the case, none of them really died in a one on one battle. Zhang Luoxing and Liu Chuanyi were considered seasoned experts in the Martial Extermination Realm. With their combined strength, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult for them to defeat the youngster before them. Even so, the two of them were extremely careful. They kept their distance while approaching Shang Xia and probing him constantly. Throughout the entire process, Liu Chuanyi, the stronger of the two, didn¡¯t do a thing. Zhang Luoxing practically forced Shang Xia into a corner by himself. Shang Xia was cursing them in his mind when he noticed how cautious they were acting. He had been slipping up constantly so that they would lower their guard against him, but it seemed as though they weren¡¯t taking the chance. It was clear what their plan was at that point. They were trying to wear Shang Xia down before making the final move. With another Icy Jade Palm, Zhang Luoxing obstructed Shang Xia¡¯s attempt to break through their encirclement. Feeling like the time was right, his figure started to blur as he was half a mile away from Shang Xia in an instant. He released a heavy punch that went straight for Shang Xia¡¯s chest. Earlier, he used the Zhang Family¡¯s rank four martial arts, the Icy Jade Palm to stop Shang Xia from running away. Now, he changed it up slightly and unleashed his Icy Jade Fist. Like the Shang Clan, the Zhang Family was a massive entity in the Ji Continent. They had their own techniques for experts in the Martial Extermination Realm and cultivators of the family would make small changes to the inheritance to suit their fighting style. The same situation applied to the Shang Clan where Shang Ke was following in Shang Bo¡¯s footsteps. Even though Zhang Luoxing¡¯s attack seemed rather aggressive, he didn¡¯t actually plan on defeating Shang Xia with that punch. His main goal was to throw Shang Xia off balance and hopefully into Liu Chuanyi who was on the other side. Liu Chuanyi was actually the key to taking down Shang Xia. What Zhang Luoxing didn¡¯t realize was the crafty smile that appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face when he made his move earlier. Zhang Luoxing and Liu Changyi might be plotting against Shang Xia, but he also had a plan to deal with them. After all, Martial Extermination Realm experts were only hard to kill if they were hell-bent on running away. If the distance between them was tiny enough there was no way of escaping¡­ As Zhang Luoxing approached Shang Xia, the situation finally changed. Instead of trying to back away or defend himself, Shang Xia accelerated into Zhang Luoxing. Discover the complete story on pawread dot com. He might have been taken aback by Shang Xia¡¯s action, but Zhang Luoxing was a Martial Extermination Realm from a powerful family at the end of the day. He wasn¡¯t afraid to fight Shang Xia in a one-on-one battle. Since his opponent had sent himself over, Zhang Luoxing didn¡¯t mind going all out. He sent out another punch right after the first with more than two times the power. From afar, Shang Xia looked like a helpless bunny that was rushing straight into its death. A cruel smile appeared on Zhang Luoxing¡¯s face. It seemed as though he wouldn¡¯t need Liu Changyi¡¯s help to seriously injure his opponent. As his imagination were running wild, he saw something that made his blood turn cold. Widening his eyes in shock, his soul nearly left his body. What the hell was he looking at?! A four colored light surrounded Shang Xia¡¯s body in an instant and they spun around him in a mysterious cycle. The four colored lights seemed to contain the secrets of samsara. ¡°Four¡­ Four colored extermination origin! How is that possible?! He¡¯s actually a fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm¡­ He tricked us!¡± Zhang Luoxing roared as he cursed Shang Xia and eighteen generations of his ancestors in his heart. A look of fear caused his face to twist unnaturally. This asshole is scheming against us! He¡¯s playing the pig to eat the tiger! Where the hell is Liu Chuanyi anyway?! Zhang Luoxing was overwhelmed with rage and fear, but he couldn¡¯t utter a single word out of fright. The Scarlet Star Spear tore through the air and with it destroyed the frozen space in front of him in an instant. Turning into a streak of light, Shang Xia appeared several inches away from Zhang Luoxing in the blink of an eye. Retracting his arm, Zhang Luoxing crossed it in front of his chest in a desperate attempt to protect himself before being swallowed by a sea of reddish-gold lightning. ¡°Preposterous! How dare you try to harm a cultivator from our Ji Continent?!¡± A roar came from behind Shang Xia and the space around him started to fluctuate wildly. He discovered the sudden change when Shang Xia turned into the aggressor. However, he knew that he had to risk it all in order to save Zhang Luoxing. None of them expected the prey they were cornering to be a monster in disguise. They couldn¡¯t believe their eyes, but the impossible had happened. A multitude of considerations ran through Liu Changyi¡¯s mind as he made an attempt to stop Shang Xia. He regretted the fact that he didn¡¯t act earlier, and he even wondered if the relationship between the Liu and Zhang Families would be affected because of what was happening. Excuses were forming in his mind as he thought about how to give the Zhang Family a proper explanation of what happened in case something truly went wrong. Naturally, his considerations didn¡¯t slow him down as he struck at Shang Xia¡¯s back. Unfortunately, he was a little too late. After suffering a direct hit from Shang Xia¡¯s Chaos Essence Lightning Palm, Zhang Luoxing¡¯s figure drew a beautiful arc through the skies as he was blown away mercilessly. Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate to leave after heavily injuring Zhang Luoxing. As Zhang Luoxing fell to the ground, the four colored light around Shang Xia¡¯s body expanded to a terrifying degree. He shot through the skies with a speed no slower than a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert. In the blink of an eye, his figure entered the dense clouds and disappeared from view. Liu Changyi couldn¡¯t be bothered with Shang Xia now that the youngster had made his escape. He flew over to grab Zhang Luoxing¡¯s falling figure. With a burst of inner qi, Liu Changyi stopped the both of them from crashing into the ground. A huge region around him was blown to bits and a dust storm covered a ten mile radius of where he landed. No one knew how many towns were affected by the aftereffects, but Liu Changyi couldn¡¯t be bothered with them either. The only thing he could care about at the moment was Zhang Luoxing¡¯s fate. Examining his comrade carefully, he heaved a sigh of relief when he discovered that Zhang Luoxing was still breathing. Turning in the direction where Shang Xia fled, a trace of unease flashed in his eyes. No one knew what he was thinking about¡­ ¡­ By the time Liu Changyi caught Zhang Luoxing, Shang Xia had already run more than a hundred miles out. Using his divine perception to ensure that there was no one in pursuit, he finally started to calm down. Lowering his speed, he quickly restrained his aura and light emitted by his extermination origin again. When he released his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm against Zhang Luoxing earlier, he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to kill the man. Without considering the strong life force possessed by an expert at the Martial Extermination Realm, Zhang Luoxing was bound to have many life-saving means he had yet to use. If Shang Xia was truly able to threaten his life, Zhang Luoxing would have revealed them instead of trying to block the attack. Also, Shang Xia knew without a rank four martial art, he wouldn¡¯t be able to take them both on in a protracted battle. At the end of the day, he could only use his cultivation to suppress his opponents. Also, Zhang Luoxing¡¯s heavy injuries weren¡¯t caused by Shang Xia¡¯s Chaos Essence Lightning Palm. When Shang Xia revealed four extermination origins earlier, Zhang Luoxing was so scared that he pulled back all his inner qi forcefully, suffering a serious backlash. Shang Xia¡¯s Chaos Essence Lightning Palm was only the icing on the cake. His injuries weren¡¯t enough for him to die, but retracting his energy like that caused a great deal of damage to his foundations. He would be fortunate if he managed to maintain his current cultivation base. Even if he didn¡¯t regress, it would be almost impossible for him to grow stronger in the future. That was also the reason behind Liu Changyi¡¯s panic earlier. Regardless, everything that happened caused a huge grudge to form between Shang Xia and the Zhang Family. He might have even dragged the Liu Family into the picture. Despite the enmity he formed, Shang Xia was regretting one thing and one thing only. He regretted not being able to kill Zhang Luoxing earlier. The two of them were the ones who made the first move. When Liu Changyi yelled earlier, Shang Xia wanted to rain expletives down on him. He didn¡¯t think it was a problem when they attacked him. He only started screaming about hurting members of the Ji Continent when Shang Xia counterattacked. There was no reason to remain passive when one¡¯s life was at stake. As the saying goes, ¡®When you kill, prepare to be killed¡¯. ¡­ Thinking back to the battle with the two of them, Shang Xia actually wanted to thank them for their generous contributions. At the very least, he managed to see one of them in action. That was valuable practical experience that was hard to come by. Now that he entered the Four Constellation Realm, he needed a way to familiarize himself with his strength through battle. After fighting with Zhang Luoxing, Shang Xia felt a little more comfortable circulating his Four Constellation Qi in battle. It was a good start for him to come up with his unique martial art. That wasn¡¯t all. He also managed to gain a better understanding of his own strength. ¡­ As he continued on his journey south, the weather started to turn chilly. His Falling Leaf Extermination Origin seemed to enter a state of slumber as his Freezing Soul Extermination Origin started to become a little more active. He was satisfied by the changes in his body, but he remained curious about one thing. Ever since he injured Zhang Luoxing the other day, he expected the Zhang Family to send out a huge group of experts to hunt him down. However, his journey went exceedingly smoothly and he couldn¡¯t understand the reason behind it. Well, he wasn¡¯t complaining. It made his life a lot easier as he went on his merry way. Eventually, an imposing mountain range appeared in his sights. He finally caught sight of the Taihang Mountains! CH 449 The Taihang Mountains spanned vertically through the world and it cut across the Ji, Bing, Yan, and Si Continents. There were rumors that the Taihang Mountains spanned ten thousand miles across the continents, but there had been no accurate measure of how large it truly was. Shang Xia might not know how large the Taihang Mountains actually was, but he knew for a fact that it was several times longer and larger than the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. According to the location Shang Pei sent to the Shang Clan, she had established herself on one of the mountain peaks on the Sixth Pass of the Taihang Mountains. There seemed to be eight huge ravines or valley-like structures that spanned the entire mountain range and they were referred to as the ¡®Eight Taihang Passes¡¯. Shang Xia flew for several more days before he finally arrived at a major crossing that led into the Sixth Pass. Landing on the ground below, Shang Xia followed the path described by Shang Pei and entered deep into the mountains. The Taihang Mountains were pretty unique in a geographical sense and it was where all sorts of people from the four continents gathered. There were countless wandering cultivators, bandits, criminals, and hermits who populated the mountain range. If Shang Xia were to fly through the Taihang Mountains recklessly, he might attract some unwanted attention to himself. He might even offend some weird factions. To give a simple introduction to the Taihang Mountains, the deeper one went, the closer they would get to the crossroads of the four continents. That also meant that the situation got more dangerous and chaotic the deeper they were. The Sixth Pass where Shang Pei was, could be considered a pretty unsafe region. A year ago after Shang Pei broke through to the Martial Extermination Realm, she received orders from the institution and the clan to establish herself in the Taihang Mountains. According to their original plan, she only had to settle down in the Third or Fourth pass in the Taihang Mountains. Even though the situation there was pretty chaotic, it was reasonably close to the You Continent. The moment she ran into any danger, she would be able to escape to the You Continent or call for reinforcements. After receiving the orders, Shang Pei immediately brought the remaining members of the Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent to the Taihang Peak. The orders of the institution and clan were merely suggestions to her and she promptly rejected it. She quickly brought her members to the Sixth Pass to set up camp. One of the reasons behind her disobedience was that she didn¡¯t wish to be restricted by the Clan and Tongyou Institution. The other was because the Sixth Pass was closer to the secret region she had talked to Shang Xia about. After reaching where Shang Pei told him to go, Shang Xia quickly released the secret communication method she told him about. From what she said, she would send a few of her men over to meet him. Despite her promise to him, no one arrived even after several hours. A bad premonition filled Shang Xia¡¯s heart but he didn¡¯t hesitate for long. Since they weren¡¯t there to meet him, he decided to look for their stronghold himself. Shang Xia quickly suppressed his aura until he looked like he was a cultivator at the large completion stage of the Martial Intent Realm. He felt that a large completion stage Martial Intent Realm wouldn¡¯t raise too many suspicions in the Taihang Mountains. After all, Martial Extermination Realm experts wouldn¡¯t take note of someone at that level. Experts who weren¡¯t at the Martial Extermination Realm wouldn¡¯t try messing with him for no reason either. Unleashing his Irregular Steps, Shang Xia started running around the mountains. His speed might be a far cry from flight, but he understood the principle of keeping a low profile. Extending his divine perception to the best of his abilities, he tried to look for the place called the Youyan Stronghold as described in Shang Pei¡¯s letter. He scanned everywhere carefully, unwilling to miss the slightest sign of the territory. Unfortunately, the region contained in each pass was massive. Shang Xia would have to explore more than a thousand miles around him. If went around like a headless fly, god knew when he would be able to locate the Youyan Stronghold. Shang Xia quickly realized the problem and when he was thinking about what he could do about it, he discovered a strange stronghold at the edge of his divine perception. Quickly climbing a hill beside him, he leaped into the air in the direction of the stronghold. Seeing someone rumbling through the air towards them, the stronghold guards acted quickly to raise the alarm. The entire stronghold broke out into a flurry of activity. However, there were still several cultivators who emerged from their huts to yell at the guard. ¡°God damn! Why the hell are you sounding the alarm in the middle of the day¡­¡± The stronghold chief also emerged to curse at the guard and before could complete his sentence, he saw Shang Xia standing in front of him with the guard¡¯s whistle in hand. With his heart pounding in fear, the stronghold chief quickly changed his tone. He wasn¡¯t a fool. He knew that anyone with the guts to barge into a fortified stronghold like theirs wasn¡¯t someone he could mess with. Cupping his fists, he addressed Shang XIa. ¡°Young hero, may I ask¡­¡± Shang Xia appeared before him before he could react. A light with several colors flashed dangerously around Shang Xia as though it was ready to strike the stronghold chief down at any time. With his eyes widening in fright, the stronghold chief felt the world crumbling around him. However, he managed to force himself to bow to the youngster standing in front of him. An ugly smile appeared on his face and he muttered, ¡°I am Lu Sanbao of the Rocky Cliff Stronghold and I am the Yin Cave Master¡¯s subordinate. Senior, is something the matter? If you have any requests, I¡¯ll try my best to fulfill them.¡± Hearing the bearded stronghold chief who was several times older than himself calling him ¡®senior¡¯, Shang Xia¡¯s face twisted unnaturally. A wave of discomfort filled his heart. Luckily, Shang Xia was urgently looking for news regarding the Youyan Stronghold. He was about to ask his question when he noticed what several other members of the stronghold were doing. His pupils constricted slightly and he snorted in contempt, ¡°Hmph, how dare you play tricks with me?¡± A frightening pressure descended on the Rocky Cliff stronghold the moment the words left his lips. ¡°Senior, please show mercy!¡± Lu Sanbao yelled as he was forced to his knees. He was a Martial Intent Realm who had completed his third divine sense transformation at the end of the day and he managed to force the words out of his mouth despite the terrifying pressure. However, the same couldn¡¯t be said for the others. Any cultivators who had yet to enter the Martial Intent Realm fell unconscious immediately. However, they weren¡¯t the ones Shang Xia targeted specifically. Shang Xia¡¯s divine perception was locked onto one of the Martial Intent Realm cultivators in a secret tunnel and another who was close to the back entrance of the stronghold. They had transmission talismans in their hands and their intentions were obvious. ¡°Is the Yin Cave Master your backer? Is he a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s voice drifted into Lu Sanbao¡¯s ears and the pressure on him disappeared. Even so, he didn¡¯t dare to get to his feet immediately. His clothes were completely drenched in his sweat. Of course, Shang Xia¡¯s question also revealed his identity as an outsider to the Taihang Mountains. Not like that mattered to Lu Sanbao anyway. Looking around, Lu Sanbao could tell that everyone in the stronghold had been suppressed by the youngster¡¯s powerful aura. They could be killed at any time, and Lu Sanbao was no exception. Terror filled Lu Sanbao¡¯s heart when he realized how strong this newcomer was. Even the Yin Cave Master wouldn¡¯t be able to strike all the cultivators in the Rocky Cliff stronghold unconscious with a single snort. ¡°Ye¡­ Yes¡­ Senior, please spare my life! I don¡¯t know anything! I won¡¯t tell anyone about you either!¡± Lu Sanbao stammered before slamming his forehead into the ground. Coughing lightly, Shang Xia sighed, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that now. All I want to know is if you have heard of the Youyan Stronghold. Also, have you heard of the Youyan Stronghold¡¯s leader, a Martial Extermination Realm female cultivator?¡± Before Lu Sanbao could say a word, Shang Xia snorted coldly, ¡°You should think twice before answering my question. If you can¡¯t satisfy me with your reply, Everyone here will die with you.¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll talk! I¡¯ll tell you everything!¡± Lu Sanbao panicked. Glaring at Lu Sanbao, Shang Xia raised an eyebrow to signal for him to start talking. Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Lu Sanbao started, ¡°I¡­ I have not heard of the Youyan Stronghold before¡­¡± Shang Xia¡¯s snort rang in his ears like a thunderbolt as a bone-chilling frost assaulted his body. ¡°Wait! Wait! I¡¯m not done!¡± Lu Sanbao cried out desperately. The pain in his body stopped abruptly and he wasted no time to continue, ¡°Last autumn, I heard the Yin Cave Master saying something about a new female cultivator in the Sixth Pass. He said something like this. ¡®That woman who came recently dares to work with outsiders to steal the Glass Daisy Chrysanthemum from the Jingxiu Peak¡­ Is she crazy?!¡¯¡± Glass Daisy Chrysanthemum?! Last Autumn? Shang Xia narrowed his eyes but his tone didn¡¯t change. ¡°Is that it?¡± A strange light flickered in Lu Sanbao¡¯s eyes but he remained silent. Explore the extended edition on pawread dot com. ¡°Speak!¡± Shang Xia growled impatiently when he noticed Lu Sanbao¡¯s hesitation. Shang Xia¡¯s growl caused Lu Sanbao¡¯s mental defense to crumble instantly. He sputtered, ¡°That was a long time ago! However, I went to the Thousand Caves Peak to deliver some gifts to the Yin Cave Master and to pay my respects recently and saw him with several experts from the Jingxiu Peak. They seem to be gathered together to deal with that female cultivator. The only weird thing was that the Yin Cave Master said that he wouldn¡¯t join them in their effort to deal with her.¡± Shang Xia instantly understood why Shang Pei didn¡¯t send anyone to bring him over to the stronghold. Seeing as Shang Xia wasn¡¯t responding, Lu Sanbao panicked and cried, ¡°Senior, I told you everything I know! I didn¡¯t hide anything¡­ I promise!¡± ¡°Do you really not know anything about the Youyan Stronghold? Not even a guess?¡± Shang Xia asked again. ¡°I have no idea. But¡­¡± Lu Sanbao paused for a second but he quickly added, ¡°... But I know where the Jingxiu Peak is!¡± A chuckle left Shang Xia¡¯s lips all of a sudden. ¡°Hehe, From what I can tell, you¡¯re still pretty loyal to the Yin Cave Master¡­¡± ¡°Senior, The Yin Cave Master saved my life in the past. I can¡¯t possibly betray him. I hope senior can¡­¡± Shang Xia interrupted him before he could finish. ¡°I¡¯ll place a restriction in your body that seals your ability to move and talk for three days. You will still be conscious and no harm will befall you. I believe the Yin Cave Master will learn about this quickly, but he won¡¯t be able to break my restriction anyway. After three days, you can go ahead and tell him whatever happened. If the situation permits, I am really interested in meeting him.¡± Lu Sanbao realized things had gone south when Shang Xia started talking about the restriction. He wanted to beg for mercy when Shang Xia¡¯s palm came crashing down. He could tell that Shang Xia wasn¡¯t moving extremely quickly, but no matter how hard he tried, he wasn¡¯t able to dodge it. It smacked him directly in his forehead and a cooling sensation entered his sea of consciousness. He felt a sense of extreme clarity but the next moment, he discovered that he no longer had control over his limbs. His eyes were wide open, but he couldn¡¯t speak. His other senses weren¡¯t obstructed and he could still hear everything that was going on around him. He seemed to be able to feel a gentle breeze brushing against him¡­ CH 450 Shang Xia had a sneaking suspicion that Shang Pei was in danger. With the explanation from Lu Sanbao, it seemed as though his worst fears had come true. With credible news that the experts from the Jingxiu Peak were planning to band together to deal with Shang Pei, Shang Xia started to gather more information about them. Once he learned enough, he flew straight for the Jingxiu Peak at his quickest speed. This time, Shang Xia didn¡¯t hold back. He didn¡¯t plan on hiding his tracks as a four colored light flashed under his feet while he tore through the air. Shang Xia learned about the powers that populated the region around the Rocky Cliff Village and the Jingxiu Peak and knew that no one would dare to stop a suspected fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm expert. Traveling close to 700 miles without rest, Shang Xia released his divine perception in a tyrannical fashion. Just like he thought, no one tried countering it with their own. Pushing himself to his limits earlier, Shang Xia gained some insights on how to fly more effectively. He discovered that he would be able to conserve two thirds of his strength if he managed to grasp the strange rhythm of his extermination origins cycling in his body. Finally landing 300 miles away from the Jingxiu Peak, Shang Xia learned from Lu Sanbao that there was a place called the Lingfeng Stronghold nearby. It was one of the Jingxiu Peak¡¯s external powers, and Shang Xia decided to start with them. Restraining his aura, Shang Xia ensured that he was properly hidden before infiltrating the Linfeng Stronghold. Before anyone discovered his presence, he had already achieved his goal. He appeared in a desolate piece of land some distance away from the stronghold as he held an unkempt-looking man by the collar. Tossing him onto the ground casually, Shang Xia muttered, ¡°I¡¯ll count to five. Tell me everything you know about the Jingxiu Peak. One¡­ Two¡­¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll tell you anything you want! Please don¡¯t kill me! Seven days ago, Duan Liufeng, the master of the Jingxiu Peak, gathered all the leaders of the strongholds under their command. My brother said that that old¡­ I mean, he said that Duan Liufeng might be up to something big. He gathered the leaders of the strongholds so that they could form an alliance to protect the region¡­¡± The cultivator Shang Xia tossed to the ground earlier revealed. ¡°Your brother?¡± Shang Xia frowned. ¡°My brother is the chief of our Linfeng Stronghold¡­ He¡­ He¡¯s on the Jingxiu Peak at the moment.¡± Grunting softly, Shang Xia continued, ¡°So¡­ It¡¯s possible that Duan Liufeng isn¡¯t on the Jingxiu Peak at the moment, right?¡± The cultivator felt beads of cold sweat dripping down his forehead as he was too afraid to respond. Staring at the cultivator with a look of amusement, Shang Xia sneered, ¡°So¡­ You¡¯re not the chief of the Linfeng Stronghold. Didn¡¯t I drag you out from the village chief¡¯s residence? Interesting¡­ No wonder the lady in there looks a little older than you.¡± The cultivator felt his body trembling like a leaf after hearing what Shang Xia said and the look of mockery in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes grew a little stronger. However, Shang Xia¡¯s tone returned to normal when he addressed the cultivator again. ¡°I plan on heading over to the Jingxiu Peak. From what I can tell, you might have a plan for me. What do you think?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ Yes! Yes, I do!¡± The cultivator cried out helplessly. ¡­ When Shang Xia approached the Jingxiu Peak with the cultivator in tow, the situation in the Rocky Cliff Stronghold was discovered by members of other strongholds. As reports flew all around, the master of the Thousand Caves Peak, Yin Wanxiang, was alerted. ¡°Cave Master¡­¡± As one of his subordinates, Hu Guilin couldn¡¯t help but worry after seeing Yin Wanxiang standing before Lu Sanbao¡¯s body for an hour straight. ¡°Will Chief Lu be¡­¡± The cultivators who were struck unconscious by Shang Xia earlier started to wake up and they couldn''t help but stare at Yin Wanxiang in hopes that he would be able to save their chief. Yin Wanxiang was a middle aged man who had the typical looks of a strict parent. He had a slightly receding hairline and he hardly ever smiled. ¡°His methods are really impressive.¡± Yin Wanxiang sighed softly before turning to the others. ¡°I can¡¯t save him.¡± Yin Wanxiang¡¯s words caused a slight commotion, but he quickly followed up, ¡°Well, Sanbao doesn¡¯t seem to be in danger anyway. His movements and speech were sealed by that expert but his consciousness remains clear. The person who did this isn¡¯t planning on killing him. The restrictions should be gone in 3 to 5 days.¡± Collective sighs of relief filled the air after everyone heard what he said. After Hu Guilin carried Lu Sanbao back into his room and placated the rest of the members of the stronghold, he returned to Yin Wanxiang¡¯s side. ¡°Cave Master, who could it possibly be? Did he come to threaten our Thousand Caves Peak?¡± Thinking for a moment, Yin Wanxiang shook his head and muttered, ¡°He seems like a passing expert. Moreover, it doesn¡¯t look like he plans on offending us. After all, he didn¡¯t kill Lu Sanbao and the other members of the stronghold. He probably sealed Lu Sanbao¡¯s movements and ability to speak to prevent news of him leaking.¡± Hu Guilin¡¯s eyes widened in realization and he muttered, ¡°A foreign cultivator? That¡¯s why¡­ The members of the Rocky Cliff Stronghold said that a figure descended from the skies before they were all knocked unconscious. They couldn¡¯t even see the person¡¯s appearance.¡± Thinking for a second, he continued, ¡°Cave Master, is it possible to estimate the person¡¯s strength?¡± ¡°Lu Sanbao isn¡¯t the only Martial Intent Realm expert in the Rocky Cliff Stronghold. Even so, that person managed to knock all of them unconscious with the exception of Lu Sanbao. They couldn¡¯t even release their transmission talismans in time. From the strength of his divine perception, ability to focus on different targets, and his intricate restriction, I might not be his match.¡± Yin Wanxiang estimated. A look of fright flashed across Hu Guilin¡¯s eyes. ¡°Luckily, he didn¡¯t have ill intentions for the Rocky Cliff Stronghold. Lu Sanbao should recover soon and he¡¯ll be able to tell us what happened.¡± Yin Wanxiang sighed softly as he turned his gaze to the depths of the Taihang Mountains. ¡°We need to tell those outside to keep a close eye on the Sixth Pass. From his actions, that person looks to be out for revenge¡­¡± Support us at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°This¡­ Should we remind the other powers in the Sixth Pass about the foreign expert?¡± Hu Guilin wondered. Instead of replying immediately, Yin Wanxiang fell silent for a moment. Only after thinking about the various repercussions did he respond. ¡°The Sixth Pass will probably descend into chaos soon. Since it¡¯s pretty much unavoidable, we¡¯ll just let the shitshow play out.¡± Realizing his intentions, Hu Guilin cupped his fists before taking his leave. ¡­ Lin Zhixuan rushed down the Jingxiu Peak the moment he received his brother, Lin Zhishi¡¯s, urgent report. He looked at his brother¡¯s helpless expression and a frown appeared on his face. ¡°Second Brother, why are you here? Didn¡¯t I tell you that you need to tighten the protection of our Linfeng Stronghold? Currently, the Sixth Pass is¡­ Hey? Second Brother?¡± Lin Zhixuan discovered the distracted look in his brother¡¯s eyes before he finished speaking and he quickly raised his guard. A soft voice rang in his ears before he could try anything weird. ¡°I was planning to learn more during our meeting. I didn¡¯t think that your brother is a little wuss who can¡¯t maintain his composure¡­¡± ¡°Who?!¡± Lin Zhixuan yelled while retreating at his top speed. Unfortunately, a palm clapped down on Lin Zhixuan¡¯s shoulder. He felt an inexhaustible amount of qi pouring into his body, replacing his own. After scattering his inner qi, the foreign qi sealed up his dantian. Shang Xia experimented with that exact ability of his qi a long time ago. Sealing someone like Lin Zhixuan didn¡¯t pose the slightest problem. Standing dead in his tracks, he glared at his brother who had clearly led whatever monstrous existence to the Jingxiu Peak and growled, ¡°How are things back at our Linfeng Stronghold? Is my wife alright?¡± With an endless amount of guilt in his heart, Lin Zhishi didn¡¯t dare to meet his brother¡¯s gaze. He whispered in a voice comparable to a mosquito¡¯s buzz. ¡°They¡¯re fine. This¡­ This senior didn¡¯t intend to hurt anyone. He only brought me over to look for you¡­¡± ¡°Fortunately¡­¡± Lin Zhixuan heaved a sigh of relief after learning about the situation back at the Linfeng Stronghold. With the reassurance that everything was fine back at home, he didn¡¯t even turn his head to address Shang Xia. ¡°Senior, you wouldn¡¯t need to deal with someone like me personally given your strength. I believe you¡¯re here for the Jingxiu Peak?¡± ¡°Looks like you¡¯re no fool. Are you willing to help me enter the mountain?¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t beat about the bush either. Sighing softly, Lin Zhixuan replied, ¡°I apologize. I have promised the Jingxiu Peak Master to protect the Jingxiu Peak. I hope Senior can understand my decision.¡± ¡°Hehe. You better think twice then. Your brother, your wife, and everything you care about in the Linfeng Stronghold will cease to exist the moment you make the wrong decision.¡± Shang Xia chuckled softly. A wave of pain flashed through Lin Zhixuan¡¯s face. However, he forced himself to close his eyes as he suppressed the pain in his heart. Finally reaching a state of tranquility, his silence gave Shang Xia his answer. Who would have thought that Lin Zhishi would break down from the pressure at that moment? He lost control of his emotions as he crumbled to the ground. Tears gushed out his eyes and he cried miserably, ¡°Your wife¡­ Your wife is pregnant! You can¡¯t let them die like that¡­ You can¡¯t!¡± With his eyes snapping open, Lin Zhixuan looked at Lin Zhishi silently. Even though he didn¡¯t utter a word following the revelation, Shang Xia could feel the violent fluctuations in his heart. Shang Xia¡¯s voice rang in his mind once again. ¡°Fine. Since you promised Duan Liufeng to stand guard at the Jingxiu Peak, I won¡¯t make things difficult for you. I don¡¯t need you to help me infiltrate the mountain. Instead, give me detailed instructions about where Duan Liufeng went and his plans.¡± Before Lin Zhifeng could say anything, Shang Xia¡¯s tone turned chilly and he continued, ¡°You better not tell me that you don¡¯t know anything about his plans. Duan Liufeng wouldn¡¯t put you in charge of the Jingxiu Peak if he didn¡¯t trust you. This is your last chance to save the ones you love¡­¡± ¡°Brother¡­¡± Lin Zhishi felt so guilty that he couldn¡¯t say anything else. Releasing a long sigh, a helpless look flashed through Lin Zhixuan¡¯s eyes. There was a trace of disappointment and frustration and he seemed to age ten years in an instant. ¡°There¡¯s a mountain stream shrouded in dense clouds 800 miles south of the Jingxiu Peak. A new faction called the Youyan Stronghold established themselves there and the leader of the Youyan Stronghold seems to have formed a grudge with Master Duan. Because it''s difficult to locate the leader of the Youyan Stronghold, Master Duan isn¡¯t able to do anything to them. Now, it¡¯s said that the leader of the Youyan Stronghold is related to a huge opportunity that will descend on the Sixth Pass. As soon as Master Duan heard the news, he contacted several friends around the Taihang Mountains to barge into the Cloud Water Gorge. They plan on encircling and killing the leader of the Youyan Stronghold.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s it¡­¡± Shang Xia finally understood what happened. The huge opportunity Shang Pei was related to was probably the secret region that would appear soon but Shang Xia had no idea why news of that would be leaked. With the information he wanted, Shang Xia looked at Liu Zhixuan and Liu Zhishi before releasing his grip on the stronger of the two. ¡°Alright. I won¡¯t go back on my words. You can leave now.¡± After releasing the two of them, Shang Xia started to move towards the Jingxiu Peak. Lin Zhixuan¡¯s heart sank when he saw where Shang Xia was going. ¡°Senior, the Jingxiu Peak is protected by a grand formation and it won¡¯t be easy to shatter it in a short period of time. If you¡¯re here to save those in the Cloud Water Gorge, why don¡¯t you head over there directly?¡± No fool would be able to establish themselves as a leader of a stronghold in the Sixth Pass. Even Lu Sanbao could guess that Shang Xia had entered the Sixth Pass for a specific reason. Lin Zhixuan, who was a trusted aide of one of the stronger leaders, was naturally able to see through Shang Xia¡¯s intention too. His true intentions weren¡¯t to give Shang Xia advice. At the end of the day, he was still trying to protect the Jingxiu Peak. Chuckling softly, Shang Xia replied without turning his head. ¡°You¡¯re overestimating the strength of the protection formation around the Jingxiu Peak. Moreover, there¡¯s one less Martial Intent Realm cultivator now that you¡¯re here¡­¡± Shang Xia¡¯s figure disappeared the next instant but he left behind a final warning that rang clearly in Lin Zhixuan¡¯s mind. ¡°You should worry about your problems instead of the Jingxiu Peak.¡± CH 451 ¡°You should worry about your problems instead of the Jingxiu Peak.¡± A voice rang in Lin Zhixuan¡¯s mind and Lin Zhixuan¡¯s mind only, waking him up from a daze. ¡°Brother, what should we do next?¡± By the time Lin Zhixuan turned around, he saw Lin Zhishi stumbling towards him unsteadily. There was a look of fear in his younger brother¡¯s eyes. Lin Zhishi continued, ¡°You can¡¯t be thinking of returning to the Jingxiu Peak now that that person is headed there, right? He¡¯s a Martial Extermination Realm expert for god¡¯s sake! Since you¡¯re not on the Jingxiu Peak at the moment¡­¡± Lin Zhishi seemed afraid that his brother would want to return to the Jingxiu Peak and he tried to hold his shoulder to prevent him from making any stupid decisions. Lin Zhixuan¡¯s body seemed to turn powerless as he stumbled slightly towards Lin Zhishi. The concern in Lin Zhishi¡¯s eyes disappeared as a vicious look replaced it. A weird blue dagger appeared in his other hand before stabbing violently towards Lin Zhixuan¡¯s chest. ¡°Ai¡­¡± A long sigh filled the air as Lin Zhishi discovered that there was an iron-like grip on his wrist. ¡°You¡­ Brother¡­¡± By the time Lin Zhishi raised his head in panic, he was greeted with a look of disappointment and sadness in his brother''s eyes. Instinctively, he tried to struggle free as his other hand grabbed at Lin Zhixuan¡¯s neck with his claw-like fingers. With a loud crack and snap, Lin Zhishi felt the poison-coated dagger clattering to the ground as his wrist was dislocated. Two of his fingers on the hand that was trying to reach for Lin Zhixuan¡¯s neck were twisted at a weird angle. ¡°Ah!¡± Searing pain tore through Lin Zhishi¡¯s body as beads of cold sweat dripped down his forehead. Fear filled his heart as he knew what was about to come. ¡°Second Brother, most of the things you know came from me. You even followed in my footsteps when cultivating. Why are you even dreaming of killing me with the same methods I taught you?¡± The look of sadness and pain in Lin Zhixuan¡¯s eyes disappeared and all that was left was a ferocious gaze. ¡°Big¡­ Big brother, please don¡¯t kill me!¡± Lin Zhishi tried his best to stumble away from Liu Zhixuan while crying out miserably. A chilly light flashed through Lin Zhixuan¡¯s eyes and he growled softly, ¡°My wife¡¯s pregnant? Hmph, is she pregnant with your child?!¡± ¡°How do you¡­ No! Of course not! It¡¯s your child!¡± Lin Zhishi stammered in fright. Shaking his head, Lin Zhixuan sighed, ¡°Do you know what happened ten years ago? I suffered a series of heavy internal injuries while fighting against my enemies. Ever since then, there was no chance for me to leave behind an heir.¡± Lin Zhishi¡¯s jaws dropped in fright as he stared at his older brother as though that was the first time he had learned about his brother¡¯s condition. A sense of detachment was the only emotion left on Lin Zhixuan¡¯s face when he addressed Lin Zhishi again. ¡°No matter what, the baby will be of our Lin Family¡¯s bloodline. It¡¯s no different for your son to be my son. Second Brother, you can rest assured that I¡¯ll send my wife over to the underworld to meet you after I return to the Linfeng Stronghold. You won¡¯t be lonely down there.¡± ¡°You¡­ You¡­ You intentionally¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, Lin Zhishi turned around to run. Unfortunately, a huge hand appeared on his neck the next second. With a loud snap, his body turned limp and he fell to the ground. ¡°This place is about to turn messy soon¡­ Looks like I have to think of another way to survive this¡­¡± Lin Zhixuan glanced at the Jingxiu Peak for the last time before taking his leave. ¡­ Not too far away from Lin Zhixuan and Lin Zhishi, Shang Xia extended his divine perception to look at the inevitable battle that would take place after he left. After all, he pretty much expected it after leaving behind his warning. After the fight concluded, Shang Xia turned his attention back to the Jingxiu Peak. Looking at the picturesque scene before him, Shang Xia felt that the Jingxiu Peak deserved its reputation. The sights that greeted him were out of that world. Clouds were drifting around the mountain peak as colorful flowers bloomed across the land. Butterflies and bees flittered from flower to flower, enhancing their beauty. It was no wonder Shang Ke and Shang Pei went to the Jingxiu Peak to look for the Glass Daisy Chrysanthemum back then. It only made sense that a place like that would contain high grade herbs. Also, Shang Xia¡¯s actions seemed a little unorthodox. Since he learned the whereabouts of the Youyan Stronghold, his first instinct should be to head over there to look for Shang Pei. Going against all conventional approaches, Shang Xia seemed to want to attack the Jingxiu Peak alone. His actions might seem like he was backdooring his enemies when they were away, but he was putting Shang Pei¡¯s life at risk to do so. Whatever the case, Shang Xia had plans of his own. He didn¡¯t know what was happening down at the Cloud Water Gorge at the moment and he felt that the situation wouldn¡¯t be too different for those trying to hunt her down. Otherwise, Shang Pei would have been defeated a long time ago. Even if he rushed over to the Cloud Water Gorge immediately, he might not be able to locate Shang Pei before others did. Moreover, he would be running around like a headless fly. The longer he ran around the Sixth Pass, the more danger he would be in anyway. Making the calculation in his mind, Shang Xia decided to raise hell in the Jingxiu Peak as that would bring about an immediate reaction. Since Duan Liufeng had been commanding the Jingxiu Peak for so long, Shang Xia refused to believe that he wouldn¡¯t react now that his home was under attack. It wasn¡¯t hard to see that Duan Liufeng was concerned about the fate of the Jingxiu Peak. Since he had been in command for so many years, he didn¡¯t seem like the type to abandon his subordinates. There was also the matter of getting Martial Intent Realm cultivators to defend the mountain during his absence. The importance he placed on the Jingxiu Peak was commendable, to say the least. If Shang Xia turned his territory upside down, he might be able to affect the situation down at the Cloud Water Gorge. That wasn¡¯t all. Duan Liufeng called several friends at the Martial Extermination Realm to attack Shang Pei in the Cloud Water Gorge and with the Jingfeng Peak in ruins, they would have to worry about their own territories. Shang Xia might have broken through to the Four Constellation Realm some time ago, but he hadn¡¯t been able to go all out. The exchange he had with the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Ji Continent didn¡¯t count as he wasn¡¯t the slightest bit exhausted from the small skirmish they had. The protection formation around the Jingxiu Peak seemed like a good candidate for him to test out his strength. He might have entered the perimeter of the Jingxiu Peak for some time now, but none of the experts responsible for securing the Jingxiu Peak detected his presence. Since no one had been alerted to his presence, Shang Xia acted before they had the chance to react. A vicious palm landed on the protection barrier around the mountain. A giant palm condensed from a four colored light appeared close to the body of the mountain and it crashed mercilessly against the protection barrier. Cracking sounds filled the skies as several rays of light emerged from the location of impact. ¡°Pop, pop, pop¡­¡± Unexpectedly, there wasn¡¯t a massive explosion when Shang Xia struck the barrier. Space fluctuated violently, but that was it. A giant palm was imprinted into the light barrier and it wasn¡¯t because the barrier was bent from the force. Instead, the giant palm seemed to carve itself directly through the protection screen. Unfortunately, that was the extent of the damage. Shang Xia was unable to break the protection formation with a single move. The experts stationed on the Jingxiu Peak weren¡¯t there for decoration. The moment the protection barrier was struck, they reacted. Streams of inner qi rushed into the skies as it started to repair the barrier. Shang Xia didn¡¯t unleash a second attack on the barrier after failing to break it with the first. Instead, he fell into deep contemplation. The attack he released earlier allowed him to reflect and understand his Four Seasons Extermination Origins a little better. He discovered that his attacks possessed some properties of corrosion and fusion, which allowed him to greatly damage the protection formation earlier. With his experimental attack earlier, he also learned that the corrosive properties imbued in his attacks had something to do with a terrifying aspect of the world. It didn¡¯t just corrode the protection barrier by eating into its energy. The way it corroded the barrier seemed to have something to do with the flow of time! As the four seasons cycled endlessly, they brought about life as much as they took it away. When his palm struck the protection barrier earlier, Shang Xia realized that his extermination origins didn¡¯t exactly fully fuse with each other. The palm might seem impressive as it was made up of a four colored extermination light, but it was much weaker than it was supposed to be. The formidable might contained in his Four Constellation Qi and Four Seasons Extermination Origins wasn¡¯t raw power! Instead, it was the endless progression of time! Like his discovery of how to use his extermination origins efficiently while flying, they seem to possess the same principles. Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Shang Xia quickly came up with another idea. Instead of releasing all four extermination origins at once, he would use them one by one, cycling one after the other. Circulating them endlessly, Shang Xia wondered how strong his attack would be. Deciding to test it out immediately, Four Constellation Qi filled his body as his extermination origins trembled. Another giant palm appeared in the air before slamming heavily into the protection formation. This time, the palm wasn¡¯t made up of a four colored light. Instead, It flashed a different color from time to time. As the different colored lights flickered faster and faster, the palm became a shade of fleshy beige. ¡°Crack¡­ Pop!¡± The area smacked by Shang Xia¡¯s palm popped like a bubble. A huge hole appeared in the protection barrier. That wasn¡¯t all. Shang Xia¡¯s attack didn¡¯t stop there as it struck the body of the mountain. An imprint that spanned a quarter of the Jingxiu Peak¡¯s height was stamped into it. With the power contained in the palm, destruction was the only thing it caused. Fallen trees and shattered boulders lay in its wake. The pretty flowers and flourishing greenery that existed on the Jingxiu Peak were replaced with a scene that came out of a nightmare. Shang Xia¡¯s palm was like a giant scar that was carved deep into the mountain to scare anyone who laid eyes on it. The effects of his palm continued to affect the Jingxiu Peak. The mountain quaked violently and structures fell constantly. Rockslides appeared in every direction and there were even cultivators whose cries were silenced forever as they were swallowed by the merciless sea of rock and mud. Cultivators on the Jingxiu Peak who survived the destruction weren¡¯t the only ones who were taken aback by the sudden assault. Shang Xia was equally dumbstruck. He didn¡¯t expect to do so much damage with a single strike! Naturally, such a powerful palm strike came at a price. Shang Xia exhausted two-thirds of his current reserve of Four Constellation Qi. He wouldn¡¯t be able to use another attack like that in a short period of time. CH 452 800 miles away from the Jingxiu Peak in a location that was covered in dense clouds the whole year round¡­ Because of the many tiny streams that ran through the region, it was named the Cloud Water Gorge in the Sixth Pass of the Taihang Mountains. In one of the taller mountains in the region, 3 Martial Extermination Realm experts stood side by side as they looked around the ruins of a stronghold as though they were looking for something special. Of the 3, one of them was a female cultivator with a long sword strapped behind her back. A reddish-green silk ribbon hung from her head and she had a voluptuous body. A charming light swirled around her pretty eyes. She held a six-sided lantern that contained a ball of flickering flames in front of her. If anyone were to look carefully, they would discover that the clouds that had been parted around her were moving in rhythm to the flickering flames. Close to ten feet around the 3 of them had been cleared of clouds and fog and from the looks of it, the lantern was an indispensable part of the reason. That was also the reason why the other 2 Martial Extermination Realm experts had to gather around the female cultivator to conduct their search. ¡°From the traces left behind, the leader of this stronghold, Hai Pei, should have long since abandoned the area to bring her subordinates away.¡± One of the white robed experts beside the lady spoke. He looked slightly older than 30, but the weathered look on his face revealed an appearance that had been through the vicissitudes of life. ¡°We should be closing in on her location. Since she¡¯s concerned for the life of her subordinates, she will never leave the Cloud Water Gorge. It¡¯s a matter of time before we find her.¡± The middle aged cultivator on the other side spoke up. He had a short beard hanging off his chin and he seemed more like a scholar than a cultivator. The female cultivator muttered, ¡°I am not interested in your grudge at all. I only wish to hear if that secret region truly exists and the way to enter.¡± The middle aged scholarly looking cultivator chuckled in response, ¡°With Heroine Feng¡¯s treasure to help us, Hai Pei lost her greatest advantage in the Cloud Water Gorge. The moment we find her, we¡¯ll surround her immediately. She will have no choice but to give us what we want. When that happens, Heroine Feng will be able to learn everything you wish to know.¡± A light flickered in her eyes and she giggled in delight. ¡°Why do the two of you seem so indifferent to the secret region? Does it not actually exist?¡± The scholarly-looking cultivator was about to reply when his expression twisted slightly. The change in his expression couldn¡¯t go unnoticed, especially when the others were also Martial Extermination Realm experts. The older-looking cultivator asked, ¡°Master Duan, is something the matter?¡± A look of confusion appeared on Duan Liufeng¡¯s face and his expression flickered slightly. Grunting once, he replied, ¡°Someone attacked an imprint I left behind in the Jingxiu Peak¡­ My territory is under attack!¡± The 3 of them saw the look in each other¡¯s eyes and many possibilities appeared in their minds. ¡°Do you know what is happening back at the Jingxiu Peak right now? Or do you know how strong the attacker is? Could the assault be related to Hai Pei?¡± Heroine Feng asked. A bitter smile appeared on Duan Liufeng¡¯s face. ¡°I might be able to detect what is going on back there if we were outside the Cloud Water Gorge, but it doesn¡¯t matter. I expected something like this to happen and got the Martial Intent Realm cultivators under my command to gather on the Jingxiu Peak. With the protection formation, it should be able to hold out against a Martial Extermination Realm expert¡¯s bombardment for quite some time. Moreover, there should be several Martial Extermination Realm experts in the area and they shouldn¡¯t sit idly by and watch as my Jingxiu Peak falls.¡± The two other Martial Extermination Realm experts nodded slightly in response. Actually, the two of them expected as much. They knew that Duan Liufeng wouldn¡¯t leave his base undefended before starting the operation to attack the Cloud Water Gorge. The situation was as he had described. Duan Liufeng had been in command of the Jingxiu Peak for several years and the mountain had produced a ton of precious resources. There were even herbs that could only be found on the Jingxiu Peak. Even if the Martial Extermination Realm experts in the surrounding area didn''t rush to its defense, they would try to dissuade the attacker from causing more damage. Heroine Feng smiled. ¡°Even though what you said might be true, I feel that we need to pick up the pace. It¡¯s not good to have your base at the mercy of others. Master Duan, I believe that you think the same way, right?¡± ¡°Many thanks for your understanding!¡± Duan Liufeng cupped his fists and thanked. It was a shame that as soon as their short conversation ended, Duan Liufeng¡¯s expression changed drastically. A dual colored extermination light surrounded his body and a terrifying storm swept across his surroundings. The grass under his feet grew at a terrifying rate and everything else around him turned to dust. ¡°He lost control of his extermination origins!¡± The two of them retreated slightly as they quickly raised their guards. A frown appeared on the female cultivator¡¯s face and she stared at him intently. She noticed that other than the furious expression that was starting to appear on his face, he seemed as cool-headed as could be. He didn¡¯t seem to be experiencing cultivation deviation. Instead, he looked as though he was merely venting his frustrations. ¡°Master Duan¡­¡± She quickly discovered that the grass had stopped growing and Duan Liufeng became a lot calmer than a second ago. This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. The expression on Duan Liufeng¡¯s face was as ugly as could be, but he didn¡¯t lose his composure. He waved his hand once and turned the overgrown grass under his feet into ash. ¡°Could it be¡­¡± A scary guess appeared in the mind of the older-looking cultivator. Forcing a smile, Duan Liufeng muttered, ¡°I apologize for worrying you two. I didn''t suffer from cultivation deviation and I¡¯m fine. You should have guessed from my reaction that the protection formation around the Jingxiu Peak has been broken¡­¡± Even though the two of them guessed as much, hearing him admit it was a different story altogether. They couldn¡¯t believe their ears. After all, Duan Liufeng had mentioned that the Duanfeng Peak would be able to sustain itself for some time. Who would have thought that he would be slapped in the face so quickly? The protection formation was shattered by the time they were done talking. Thinking back to the effort he placed when grooming the Jingxiu Peak, Duan Liufeng felt extreme heartache. He wanted to fly back there immediately to deal with the problem. The older-looking cultivator muttered, ¡°Could there be more than one Martial Extermination Realm attacking the Jingxiu Peak?¡± The female cultivator added, ¡°Perhaps, there¡¯s a mole working on the inside¡­¡± Their guesses clearly showed that they didn¡¯t believe a single person would be able to destroy the protection formation around the Jingxiu Peak so easily. The three of them fell silent at the same time. Turning to look at Duan Liufeng, the female cultivator maintained a neutral expression as she asked, ¡°Coming into the Cloud Water Gorge to attack Hai Pei was your idea, Master Duan Feng. Now that your territory is under attack, what do you plan to do?¡± Duan Liufeng¡¯s expression flickered unsteadily but when he saw the look on their faces, he gritted his teeth and growled, Since the Jingxiu Peak has already fallen, there¡¯s no difference even if I rush back immediately. Since that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll finish what we started. We¡¯ll discuss future plans after killing Shang Pei!¡± ¡°However, I¡¯m just afraid that the people who attacked my Jingxiu Peak will attack your respective factions.¡± The two of them exchanged a gaze and understood what Duan Liufeng implied. They replied in unison, ¡°Master Duan, you might be right, but like you said. We should finish what we started. It will be a pity if we give up on killing Hai Pei now. Moreover, we might run into an ambush if we beat a hasty retreat now.¡± ¡°Master Duan might have invited us to deal with Hai Pei, but news of our involvement shouldn¡¯t have leaked to the outside world. Hai Pei doesn¡¯t know that the two of us are involved and if the person attacking the Jingxiu Peak is related to her, they might not be aware of our presence. They won¡¯t be able to locate our territories either.¡± He might be imagining it, but Duan Liufeng could hear the mockery in their words. It seemed as though the two of them were taking joy in his misfortune. Without any path of retreat, Duan Liufeng was stuck in an awkward situation since he said whatever he said earlier. Gritting his teeth, he realized that he could only regain a little bit of his losses after killing Hai Pei. At the same time, only by going all out and killing her would he be able to pacify the anger burning inside him. ¡­ The once majestic Jingxiu Peak was in a terrible state after what Shang Xia unleashed on it. The destruction was caused by Shang Xia¡¯s endless cycling of his Four Seasons Extermination Origins, but the extent of the damage might have something to do with Lin Zhixuan¡¯s absence. Whatever the case, the protection barrier was shattered and the Jingxiu Peak was like a naked woman laid bare in front of Shang Xia. The moment the protection barrier was compromised, the cultivators living on the Jingxiu Peak started running away desperately. There were a ton of them who plundered the faction¡¯s resources while doing so. Due to the sheer size of the Jingxiu Peak, Shang Xia couldn¡¯t stop everyone himself. He couldn¡¯t carry out a massacre either and he could only allow them to run away. He might have allowed them to do as they wished while running away, but his divine perception locked on to the top of the Jingxiu Peak the moment he broke the barrier. He could allow them to loot the general warehouses or herbs field, but the top of the Jingxiu Peak was where the true valuables were kept. Everything there belonged to him now that he broke through the protection barrier, and he wouldn¡¯t allow anyone to touch them! Shang Xia¡¯s figure blurred slightly and he appeared at the top of the mountain before anyone could discover him. ¡°Hehe, this is the place alright¡­¡± After entering a manor at the top of the mountain, he quickly discovered 3 individual courtyards separated from each other. A precious herb was growing in every single one of them and all of them were of the fourth rank. Unfortunately, the time wasn¡¯t ripe and none of the three could be harvested. One of them was something Shang Xia was familiar with, the Glass Daisy Chrysanthemum, and from the markings on the soil around the stalk, Shang Xia estimated that the stalk his Grandpa Ke brought back had been harvested from the same area. It was a pity the season wasn¡¯t right to harvest the Glass Daisy Chrysanthemum. The other two herbs were a rank four Empty Jade Bamboo and the other was a rank four Azure Range Black Pine. They were unique herbs that had their own uses, and they were obviously very precious. It was too bad Shang Xia wasn¡¯t able to bring the herbs away at the moment. The only way for him to take those herbs for himself was if he conquered the Jingxiu Peak directly! The thought barely formed before it was thrown to the back of his mind. CH 453 The herbs might be precious, but Shang Xia had no way of bringing them away. Unless he knew of a way to transplant them perfectly, otherwise, he would greatly damage the herbs by harvesting them out of season. He knew that he couldn¡¯t remain on the Jingxiu Peak for long anyway. He needed to locate Shang Pei urgently! Searching through Duan Liufeng¡¯s cultivation chamber twice, Shang Xia discovered several random treasures. It was a pity none of them truly interested him. Shang Xia tried to look for other secret chambers or hidden tunnels that might contain a secret stash, but he was bound to be disappointed. Didn¡¯t Duan Liufeng manage the Jingxiu Peak for tens of years?! How can he be so damn poor?! Shang Xia scoured the place reluctantly. He quickly discovered a tiny inconspicuous structure in the huge manor. The fragrance of wine quickly drifted into his nose. There was actually a fermentation room located in the manor! Forcing his way into the room, Shang Xia discovered a full set of equipment for refining wine lying around. From the looks of it, it had been some time since the equipment had been used. Shang Xia realized how much he had messed up by allowing everyone to run away. He should have captured a few members familiar with the Jingxiu Peak when he came earlier! Now, he had to look for everything himself! Extending his divine perception to the room, Shang Xia carefully examined everything within. He quickly discovered a sealed redwood case under a piece of limestone on the stove. Prying open the case, Shang Xia discovered a jade board that contained the recipe for a wine called the Hundred Flowers Spiritual Wine. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me this is the recipe for another rank four advancement medicine!¡± Shang Xia felt a trace of excitement filling his heart. He might have several rank four advancement formulas back at the Shang Clan, but he knew how precious one was! Every single rank four advancement formula was a testament to the foundation of a strong faction. However, he felt his excitement quickly dying down after reading the recipe. The recipe was for making rank four wine. It wasn¡¯t a recipe for an advancement medicine, and Shang Xia discovered that the effects of the Hundred Flowers Spiritual Wine were way different from the Monkey Wine. Whatever the case, the crafting process seemed slightly similar. The rank of wine created would be decided by the amount of time it was left for fermentation. Its effects might not be as good as Monkey Wine, but they were pretty similar in the sense that rank one, two, three, and four Hundred Flowers Spiritual Wine could be used by cultivators of corresponding levels. It seemed as though Duan Liufeng had planted many flowers and herbs on the Jingxiu Peak in order to nurture his wine. Also, the creation process of Duan Liufeng¡¯s Hundred Flowers Spiritual Wine was probably related to the extermination origins he had refined and some secret herbalism art he had practiced. It was too bad a portion of herbs growing on the mountain was destroyed when Shang Xia forced his way into the Jingxiu Peak. As the cultivators made their escape, there were even more herbs that had been trampled and looted. The Jingxiu Peak barely had half of the herbs originally growing on it. Luckily for Shang Xia, his invasion of the Jingxiu Peak wasn¡¯t wasted now that he had obtained the recipe for Duan Liufeng¡¯s Hundred Flowers Spiritual Wine. Just as he was about to leave, something caught his eye. Shang Xia saw traces of excavation in the courtyard that contained the wine-brewing hut. Lightly tapping his feet on the ground, an underground hole was blasted into the ground. Shang Xia extended his divine perception into the hole and his discovery caused his eyes to light up. The corners of his lips curled upwards to form a brilliant smile. He discovered 3 vats that were supposed to contain rank one Hundred Flowers Spiritual Wine, but 2 of them were already empty. There were also 3 large jars of rank two Hundred Flowers Spiritual Wine, but barely half was left. Another 3 earthen jars of rank three Hundred Flowers Spiritual Wine were present, but fortunately, two jars were filled to the brim while the last was bone-dry. As for rank four Hundred Flowers Spiritual Wine¡­ There were 3 bottles sitting in the middle of the room and they had obviously been properly sealed by Duan Liufeng before he left. All three bottles were full, and Shang Xia nearly broke out laughing with joy. Considering the volume contained in each storage instrument, Shang Xia profited big time. A bottle could hold a catty of wine, while an earthen jar could hold 10 catties. Those large jars that contained rank two Hundred Flowers Spiritual Wine could hold 30 catties, and the vats of rank one Hundred Flowers Spiritual Wine contained 100 catties each. When Shang Xia thought about rank four wine, he recalled that he had a tiny portion of rank four Monkey Wine on him. He was planning to drink it after entering the Four Constellation Realm in order to hasten his cultivation speed. Too bad he hadn¡¯t developed his personal rank four martial art. There was no point in drinking his Monkey Wine as he couldn¡¯t cultivate quickly without it. Drinking the wine would be a godly waste of resources. Anyway, Shang Xia quickly kept the 3 bottles of rank four Hundred Flowers Spiritual Wine into his Embroidered Cloud Case along with the 2 filled earthen jars of rank three Hundred Flowers Spiritual Wine. He only managed to store the large jar of rank two Hundred Flowers Spiritual Wine into another Embroidered Cloud Case, but there was nowhere left to store the rest. Even though it was a pity, he couldn¡¯t do much about it. Sighing softly, he emerged from the wine-storage hole in the ground before taking a single step to arrive in the skies above the Jingxiu Peak. ¡°Since fellow cultivators have already arrived, why don¡¯t you show yourselves?¡± Shang Xia muttered. He folded his hands before him as his chilly gaze flashed across the space before him. His voice rang loudly in the void. Shang Xia¡¯s divine perception could detect an area of 10 miles around him. It was a range only possessed by experts who were about to reach the third layer of the Martial Extermination Realm. Back when Shang Xia had started his attack on the Jingxiu Peak, he had long since been detected by other experts. It seemed as though those experts were finally unable to sit still after realizing that Shang Xia had been plundering the Jingxiu Peak. Actually, the reason they took so long to arrive was that they didn¡¯t expect Shang Xia to blow the protection formation apart with two palm strikes. They were planning to appear to ¡®mediate¡¯ the problem between Shang Xia and the Jingxiu Peak after Shang Xia exhausted himself by blasting the protection barrier. After all, all of them had some sort of relation with the Jingxiu Peak. Duan Liufeng¡¯s Hundred Flowers Spiritual Wine was extremely famous throughout the Taihang Mountains, and he was only able to complete the fermentation of his wine every 7 years. Duan Liufeng was no fool. He''s got on good terms with many experts in the Sixth Pass with his Hundred Flowers Spiritual Wine. Now that the Jingxiu Peak was under attack, even if the other Martial Extermination Realm experts didn¡¯t head over to defend the Jingxiu Peak with their lives, they would try to soothe the situation over at least. At the very least, Duan Liufeng thought that they would be able to dissuade the attacker from causing more damage. It was a shame things didn¡¯t work out the way he thought. Shang Xia barely called them out when a Martial Extermination Realm expert appeared in the eastern direction of the Jingxiu Peak. The person who appeared was skinny to the point where his bones were protruding out of his skin, and he yelled, ¡°Who the hell are you?! Why did you attack Master Duan¡¯s Jingxiu Peak?¡± ¡°Heh, don¡¯t you know that you¡¯re supposed to introduce yourself before asking for my name?¡± Shang Xia sneered. As a foreign cultivator, Shang Xia knew that the experts in the Sixth Pass wouldn¡¯t be too friendly to him. That was precisely why he had to appear extremely tough during their first interaction. It would be for the best if the experts of the Sixth Pass would show some restraint after his initial show of strength. A trace of rage flashed in the skinny expert¡¯s eyes and he was about to start yelling at Shang Xia when he felt a terrifying pressure coming from the youngster standing in the air. A frightening aura battered against him and he desperately roused his divine perception to defend himself. He was suppressed so heavily that he couldn¡¯t utter a word. The blood also drained from his face as he stared at Shang Xia in fright. ¡°As a foreign cultivator, not only did you attack the Jingxiu Peak in Master Duan¡¯s absence. You even dare to disrespect fellow cultivator Zhong Gu in front of us. Do you really think that there¡¯s a lack of experts from our Sixth Pass to deal with you?¡± Another old expert donned in hemp cloth made his appearance. A pure stream of energy went towards Zhonggu in an attempt to assist him. Shang Xia quickly retracted his divine perception that was locked onto Zhonggu, further displaying the control he held over his strength. Zhonggu, who was desperately defending against the endless pressure on his body, flew several feet into the air when the pressure disappeared abruptly. He only managed to regain his balance after some time, causing him to humiliate himself in front of the other experts. The stream of energy the hemp clothed expert sent out was utterly wasted and he too looked like a fool. In just a short second, Shang Xia managed to mock 2 Martial Extermination Realm experts from the Sixth Pass and establish his might. ¡°Young man, your inheritance is impressive and I believe you hail from an impressive background. Aren¡¯t you afraid of angering all of us by humiliating the two of them?¡± A calm but strict voice came from behind him. Turning around, Shang Xia saw a shorter-looking cultivator glaring at him from several miles away. The person who appeared seemed to be well recognized in the Sixth Pass and the moment he appeared, the skinny expert and the hemp clothed expert cupped their fists in his direction. ¡°We greet the Yin Cave Master!¡± Soon after, two more Martial Extermination Realm experts appeared around him. With the exception of Shang Xia, there were 5 Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Sixth Pass present around the Jingxiu Peak. Looking at the formation of the 5, they perfectly encircled Shang Xia. It seemed as though they were going to gang up on him the moment he said something wrong. This novel is available on "pawread dot com". Looking at the shorter-looking cultivator, Shang Xia gasped, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the Yin Cave Master to come. Cave Master Yin Wanxiang, I have been looking forward to meeting you. I attacked the Jingxiu Peak in order to save my fellow cultivator. I mean no disrespect to anyone else.¡± Shang Xia seemed to restrain himself a lot more now that Yin Wanxiang had arrived. Since he had already shown them that he wasn¡¯t a pushover, there was no need for him to maintain his tough front. Not to mention the fact that Yin Wanxiang was a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert¡­ Shang Xia wasn¡¯t willing to offend him because of a small conflict like that. Shang Xia was wary of Yin Wanxiang¡¯s cultivation level, but Yin Wanxiang was also sizing him up all the same. In fact, Yin Wanxiang seemed a little more wary of Shang Xia¡¯s identity. Nodding slightly, Yin Wanxiang revealed an expression as if he had expected as much. After all, he guessed that the foreign cultivator had arrived in the Sixth Pass to rescue a fellow comrade. However, he continued to ask, ¡°Regardless, you don¡¯t look like you¡¯re trying to save someone after all the destruction you caused. You destroyed the Jingxiu Peak, wasting Duan Liufeng¡¯s hard work just to save someone? Who could it possibly be?¡± Shang Xia smiled in response, ¡°Yin Cave Master, you¡¯re a wise man. Can¡¯t you guess who I¡¯m really trying to save?¡± ¡°Are you talking about Hai Pei from the Youyan Stronghold?¡± Yin Wanxiang¡¯s eyelids jumped slightly as he replied. ¡°Exactly.¡± CH 454 In mid air, Shang Xia stared at the 5 of them around him with his arms folded in front of him. ¡°Last year, Hai Pei brought along another companion to infiltrate the Jingxiu Peak to steal a stalk of Glass Daisy Chrysanthemum Duan Liufeng had been carefully nurturing. May I ask if you¡¯re the one who came with her?¡± Someone among them asked. After some introductions by Yin Wanxiang, Shang Xia learned that the person who asked the question was Jiang Weiyun of the Flowing Cloud Lagoon. As the leader of the Flowing Cloud Lagoon, the other experts of the Sixth Pass would refer to him respectfully as Lagoon Master Jiang. Shang Xia chuckled in response, ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one who came to the Taihang Mountains the previous time. A senior in my clan came instead.¡± The expressions of the experts from the Sixth Pass changed the moment the words left his lips. A simple reply from Shang Xia managed to reveal a lot of information. Everyone felt their brains spinning rapidly as they tried to make sense of what they had learned. The appearance of this young Martial Extermination Realm would mean that Hai Pei had 2 other companions in the Martial Extermination Realm. In some barren land, a faction with that amount of fighting strength could be considered the strongest power in the region! Moreover, it was possible that their faction had more than 3 Martial Extermination Realm existences! Now, everyone started to get a little curious about Hai Pei¡¯s identity. From the way Shang Xia addressed the other person who appeared in the Taihang Mountains a year ago, they seemed to hail from an exceptionally strong faction! Finally came the question that truly mattered. What the hell was Hai Pei doing in the Sixth Pass of the Taihang Mountains with such tyrannical backing?! Shang Xia looked at their reactions after speaking and he was greeted with a round of silence. Even though all of them were experts in the Martial Extermination Realm, they had many considerations running through their minds. Naturally, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t be able to experience the conflict they were facing at the moment. They couldn¡¯t possibly turn to leave after hearing what he said, but they couldn¡¯t possibly start attacking the youngster either! Eventually, Gu Lingyu, the only female cultivator among the 5, broke the silence. She was the Valley Master of the Mermaid Valley, and her status was comparable to Jiang Weiyun who spoke earlier. She sounded a little annoyed when she addressed Shang Xia. ¡°Even if all of you hail from a powerful faction, you can¡¯t go around stealing resources from the Jingxiu Peak as you wish!¡± ¡°Hehe, since when did the Sixth Pass care about reason?¡± Shang Xia burst out laughing. ¡°You¡­¡± Glaring at Shang Xia, Gu Lingyu couldn¡¯t refute his argument. Finally, Yin Wanxiang interrupted, ¡°Fellow cultivator, you don¡¯t seem concerned about offending us. Aren¡¯t you afraid that we¡¯ll join hands to kill you right here and now? Even if you come from a powerful faction that has the power to hunt us down after today, you¡¯ll still be dead.¡± Killing intent filled the skies above the Jingxiu Peak the moment he spoke. It was especially so for Zhonggu and the hemp clothed expert. Completely unaffected by their change in mood, Shang Xia took a step in Yin Wanxiang¡¯s direction and snorted, ¡°You can try to kill me. Let¡¯s see if you have the ability to make me leave my life behind today.¡± A strange light surrounded Shang Xia¡¯s body and the aura that rolled off him became extremely weird. None of them could see through his cultivation base as the situation above the Jingxiu Peak became even more tense. Resisting the pressure coming from all 5 experts from the Sixth Pass, Shang Xia managed to maintain his composure as a cold light flashed in his eyes. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t be more clear about what was happening at the moment. The longer he could hold out against their combined might, the less likely it was for them to try anything funny. Moreover, he could take the chance to scare them off and steer them away from their questionable thoughts. He was right. A moment later, Jiang Weiyun coughed lightly and addressed the others. ¡°Everyone, is there really a need for us to form a grudge against him? The Jingxiu Peak has already fallen and there¡¯s nothing we can do to change that. Even if we kill him, we can¡¯t restore the Jingxiu Peak to its original state.¡± He spoke in such a timely manner that the others were quickly able to use it as an excuse to change their attitude towards the matter. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV. Shang Xia quickly felt the pressure on him receding. Even though it seemed like the danger had passed, Shang Xia still kept his guard up while looking at the others. Naturally, he wouldn¡¯t try anything stupid at that juncture. He obediently restrained his divine perception and inner qi like the others. As a smile returned to his face, Shang Xia cupped his fists towards the others. ¡°Thank you all for not making things difficult for me today. I am in a hurry to save my fellow comrade in the Cloud Water Gorge and I shall be leaving soon. As soon as I completely destroy the Jingxiu Peak, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡± The moment he completed his sentence, he raised his arm and drew a short horizontal line in the air before him. The expressions of the 5 changed immediately. Everyone except for Gu Lingyu managed to restrain themselves and she cried out in fright, ¡°Hey, stop right there!¡± Unfortunately, her yell came a little too late. Shang Xia¡¯s strike was like a formless blade that tore into one of the faces of the Jingxiu Peak, causing massive landslides that destroyed yet another portion of herbs. A look of mockery flashed in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes, but he managed to change it into one of shock before addressing Gu Lingyu, ¡°Valley Master Gu, is something wrong? Why would you stop me from destroying the Lingxiu Peak?¡± Gu Lingyu didn¡¯t know how to put it but luckily, Jiang Weiyun piped up from the side, ¡°The Jingxiu Peak is filled with precious herbs. Isn¡¯t it a waste to destroy it all?¡± Shang Xia complained helplessly, ¡°I don¡¯t have a choice, do I? Now that I have attacked the Jingxiu Peak, I have already angered Duan Liufeng. There¡¯s no point for me to leave the herbs here so that he can return for them in the future. I don¡¯t have a habit of giving free benefits to my enemies after all¡­¡± Shang Xia could feel slight fluctuations in the air and realized that the Martial Extermination Realm experts from the Sixth Pass were communicating with each other in secret. It didn¡¯t take long for Yin Wanxiang to speak up. ¡°This¡­ It¡¯s truly a waste for you to destroy heavenly resources like that. I hope you can do it for my sake, but please stop destroying the Jingxiu Peak. Of course, we won¡¯t make things difficult for you either. You might not know, but Duan Liufeng has been friendly with a lot of powers in recent years. Your faction might possess an array of experts, but you might not be able to do anything to Duan Liufeng if he cashed in on all his connections. As they say, it¡¯s better to squash enmity than to keep it alive. If you can leave without destroying the Jingxiu Peak today, we might be able to help you mediate your conflict with Duan Liufeng. What do you think?¡± The other experts from the Sixth Pass remained silent, indicating their support for whatever Yin Wanxiang said. Shang Xia snorted inwardly. There were too damn many resources on the Jingxiu Peak that he couldn¡¯t bring away and those Martial Extermination Realm experts from the Sixth Pass probably wanted to split it after he had left. They were clearly trying to benefit from the remnants of the Jingxiu Peak at his expense, and Shang Xia wasn¡¯t dumb enough to let them do as they wished. Observing the 5 experts around him, Shang Xia could tell that Yin Wanxiang, Jiang Weiyun, and Gi Lingyu were on the same side. Zhonggu and the hemp clothed cultivator seemed to not be a part of their group, but from how they were communicating with each other and the fact that they appeared to stop Shang Xia earlier, it wasn¡¯t difficult to conclude that the two of them were on better terms with Duan Liufeng. Naturally, their friendship with Duan Liufeng was limited to a certain extent. Otherwise, they would have joined him in hunting down Shang Pei in the Cloud Water Gorge. Since everyone was planning to put up a show, Shang Xia was obviously willing to play along. After ¡®thinking¡¯ for some time, he seemed to realize that it wasn¡¯t right to destroy the Jingxiu Peak. ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re right! However, I can¡¯t possibly take advantage of your goodwill to help me mediate my conflict with Duan Liufeng. Why don¡¯t you buy the remnants of the Jingxiu Peak from me at a low price and get Duan Liufeng to pay you guys back for your service? That way, I won¡¯t have to destroy the Jingxiu Peak and you guys can get Duan Liufeng to owe you a favor. At the same time, I¡¯ll use the resources to placate the Youyan Stronghold Leader so that she won¡¯t continue to make things difficult for Duan Liufeng. You guys won¡¯t have to act as a mediator between us and you can even gain some benefits from the transaction. What do you say?¡± Before they could say anything, Shang Xia continued, ¡°Naturally, if you guys are unwilling, there¡¯s nothing more to say. I¡¯ll destroy the Jingxiu Peak right now!¡± He raised his hand and pointed at the 3 courtyards in the manor at the top of the Jingxiu Peak where the rank four herbs were located as soon as he spoke. If not for the fact that he couldn¡¯t bring them away, he wouldn¡¯t even bother giving them a choice to stop him from destroying the Jingxiu Peak. ¡°Please stay your hand!¡± Yin Wanxiang yelled. Like an obedient child, Shang Xia lowered his hand slowly. The smile on his face remained as he stared at the cultivators around him. With their years of experience, how could they not understand Shang Xia¡¯s intentions? Luckily, none of them wanted to tear open the final layer of pretense. ¡°Young friend, what would it take for you to leave the Jingxiu Peak alone?¡± Yin Wanxiang returned to his original cold appearance quickly and Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but praise his award-winning performance. Chuckling softly, Shang Xia replied, ¡°Since it¡¯s a fire sale, I won¡¯t ask for too much. Yep. The 3 rank four herbs should be worth a complete rank four advancement formula. The other herbs on the Jingxiu Peak are probably worth an extermination origin. As for the rest of the mountain¡­¡± A light flashed in Shang Xia¡¯s eyes as he looked at the 5 of them. ¡°Forget it. I¡¯ll throw in the rest of the mountain for free.¡± Zhonggu roared angrily as soon as he heard Shang Xia¡¯s terms. ¡°A rank four advancement formula and an extermination origin?! Why the fuck don¡¯t you go rob other factions for it?¡± A crafty smile appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he looked at the Jingxiu Peak under him. ¡°What the hell does it seem like I¡¯m doing now?¡± ¡°You¡­¡± With a smile returning to his face, Shang Xia forced himself to look a little more serious. ¡°Since we¡¯re conducting a proper exchange, I¡¯m not forcing you to buy it from me. Brother Zhonggu, you can choose not to accept. I¡¯ll just destroy the Jingxiu Peak as per my original intentions.¡± Before Zhonggu could yell at Shang Xia again, he was interrupted by Fang Ruhai, his companion in the hemp clothes. Jiang Weiyun played the good guy card once again and he took over the negotiation process. ¡°Young friend, you¡¯re obviously not wrong to say that this is a proper exchange, however, all proper exchanges go through rounds of negotiations! That¡¯s a rank four advancement formula and extermination origin you¡¯re asking for. Even if we had it, we might not be able to give it to you.¡± ¡°Oh? What are you willing to give me then?¡± Shang Xia asked. Once again, the five of them started to communicate with each other in secret. A look of irritation appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face now that they were eating up his precious time to save Shang Pei. In her current situation, she could be attacked by a group of Martial Extermination Realm experts at any time! Sensing Shang Xia¡¯s irritation, the five of them quickly threw out their offer. ¡°We¡¯re willing to give you a high-grade weapon and a mid-grade weapon in exchange.¡± A snort left Shang Xia¡¯s lips as the Scarlet Star Spear appeared in his hand. Stabbing it into the void in front of him, he sneered, ¡°Do I look like I lack weapons?¡± The moment his spear appeared, waves battered against the hearts of the 5 Martial Extermination Realm experts from the Sixth Pass. They knew that Hai Pei was also a spear user! Moreover, the person who barged into the Jingxiu Peak with her a year ago also used the spear! Now, the youngster who was claiming that he was here to save her also wielded a spear¡­ That further confirmed the guess in their mind. The only thing they couldn¡¯t think of was a faction in the Azure Origin World that focused on the way of the spear. Shang Xia didn¡¯t realize that his unintentional actions increased his bargaining power. After another round of discussions, Shang Xia agreed to their second offer. In the end, he obtained an extermination origin and a damaged White Bone Talisman Brush in exchange for leaving the rest of the Jingxiu Peak alone. CH 455 ¡­ In one of the rocky fields in the Cloud Water Gorge, Feng Chenyi, the female expert with the Hexagonal Lantern raised it high in the air. An orange flame flickered in the lantern as the dense clouds that covered the rocky field were forced dozens of feet away. Duan Liufeng and Yu Hanglong, the two experts beside her, stood at her side as they surveyed the surroundings cautiously. ¡°Youyan Master, what¡¯s the point of hiding now that things have progressed to this point? You can only hide your tracks temporarily with your Tranquil Cape. You can¡¯t hide forever.¡± Feng Chengyi yelled and her voice rang through the air. It definitely passed through the dense clouds, but she didn¡¯t remain where she was. She signaled for the others to advance slowly. The clouds parted whenever the three of them moved in a certain direction, but the orange flame in the Hexagonal Lantern all of a sudden. Feng Chenyi¡¯s gaze turned sharp and it landed on a strange rock not too far away from them. The shape of the rock seemed a little odd and under the illumination of the Hexagonal Lantern, the texture of a cloth-like cape was revealed. ¡°There!¡± Feng Chenyi pointed at the rock while Yu Hanglong chopped down without hesitation. The cape fluttered in the wind as a figure leaped out from it. Even though the figure was several feet away from the trio, a spear emerged from the void above Feng Chenyi¡¯s head and stabbed straight for the lantern. It seemed as though her Hexagonal Lantern didn¡¯t just force the clouds away. It was also able to see through the Tranquil Cape¡¯s disguise. Of course, Shang Pei knew that too and her main goal was to break the lantern as soon as possible. Feng Chenyi didn¡¯t even need to move when a whip emerged from Duan Liufeng¡¯s waist. Two strands of extermination origin swirled around it as the phantom of a branch extended out of the void to protect Feng Chenyi and her lantern. Even though Shang Pei¡¯s spear tore through Duan Liufeng¡¯s protection, it was directed away from Feng Chenyi and her Hexagonal Lantern. Failing to kill Feng Chenyi or dealing with the Hexagonal Lantern even with the help of the Tranquil Cape, Shang Pei also had to defend herself from Yu Hanglong¡¯s attack now that her position was revealed. It seemed as though she had fallen into their trap. Shang Pei hadn¡¯t entered the Martial Extermination Realm for long, but she had a lot of experience in fights. After all, she was a member of the Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent who managed to walk sideways in the Ji Continent. She had plenty of life and death experience and she made a forward roll now that she was in danger. The Tranquil Cape extended behind her like a long snake as she ran for her life. It didn¡¯t take long for her to disappear into the dense clouds. ¡°Shit! We let her escape again¡­¡± Duan Liufeng snapped his whip while cursing. Of the three of them, his territory, the Jingxiu Peak, was the only one that had fallen. He wanted nothing more than to kill his enemy and return to salvage whatever remained. ¡°Master Duan, it won¡¯t be that easy for us to kill a Martial Extermination Realm anyway.¡± Feng Chenyi tried to calm him down. Yu Hanglong came back with some pleasant news all of a sudden. ¡°I slashed through her Tranquil Cape earlier. Even without Heroine Feng¡¯s lantern, she won¡¯t be able to hide her tracks from us!¡± Duan Liufeng¡¯s expression lightened up a lot after hearing what he said. ¡°So¡­ We¡¯re the ones holding all the advantage then?¡± Feng Chenyi glanced at him and seemed to guess his intentions. ¡°Are you thinking of splitting up to search for her tracks?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not exactly a bad idea. Without the Tranquil Cape, all of us are equally as blind in the strange clouds here. We¡¯re the ones with a numerical advantage¡­¡± Yu Hanglong muttered. Feng Chenyi didn¡¯t reject the suggestion. Instead, she turned to shout at the dense clouds around her. ¡°Youyan Master, if you still don¡¯t show yourself, we will have no choice but to start hunting down your subordinates.¡± Duan Liufeng and Yu Hanglong widened their eyes in shock after hearing what she said. Slapping his forehead, Duan Liufeng cried, ¡°Why didn¡¯t we think of this earlier?!¡± Feng Chenyi glanced at him without saying a word. To their surprise, a cry came from the dense mist around in front of them. ¡°You¡¯re despicable!¡± As soon as her voice appeared, Yu Hanglong transformed into a streak of light that flew in the direction of her voice. The sound of metal scraping rang through the air and the other two quickly caught up with him. Unfortunately, by the time they arrived, all they saw was Yu Hanglong standing there alone with a scene of destruction all around him. The corners of Yu Hanglong¡¯s lips curled upwards and he chuckled happily, ¡°She¡¯s not going to be able to escape now¡­¡± ¡­ Shang Xia left the Jingxiu Peak under the cautious gazes of the 5 Martial Extermination Realm experts from the Sixth Pass. He flew at a casual pace when he left for the Cloud Water Gorge, as though he wasn¡¯t really concerned for the life and death of the Youyan Master. Actually, Shang Xia¡¯s heart was burning with anxiety. He had to force himself to slow down in order to not reveal his true feelings to the bunch of cultivators from the Sixth Pass. Back when he broke a hole in the protection barrier of the Jingxiu Peak, he used up two thirds of his inner qi. He couldn¡¯t reveal the slightest weakness in front of the 5 of them! If they were to join forces to attack him, he would be in deep shit! He only managed to fool them earlier by relying on his extraordinarily strong divine perception. During the face-off earlier, he was desperately trying to restore his inner qi. Luckily, the heaven and earth qi around the Jingxiu Peak was sufficiently dense. He managed to hasten the rate of his recovery back then. Even though he managed to restore some of his inner qi, he had less than half his reserves when he left earlier. Now that he had left the Jingxiu Peak, he finally processed what had happened. Excitement and fear filled his heart in equal parts after he realized what he had done. Regardless, he continued to recover his inner qi the best he could. In the best-case scenario, he would be able to recover to his peak state before arriving in the Cloud Water Gorge. It might seem like he made a loss selling whatever was left on the Jingxiu Peak to the 5 of them for an extermination origin and a talisman brush, but Shang Xia had no choice. Saving Shang Pei was a priority and he couldn¡¯t waste his time negotiating with them. Luckily, he obtained some treasures when he looked through the place earlier. His main intention when attacking the Jingxiu Peak wasn¡¯t for valuables either, and getting the extermination origin and brush at the end was just a little bonus. The extermination origin he obtained was called the Smoky Earthen Fire Extermination Origin and it was something Yin Wanxiang obtained from a dangerous region that contained a lot of volcanoes. Yin Wanxiang lived up to his strength as a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert. He didn¡¯t fuss around and paid Shang Xia the extermination origin immediately. It seemed as though he was a lot richer than Shang Xia had thought. According to Yin Wanxiang¡¯s introduction, one had to talk down the path of controlling fire and poison in order to refine the Smoky Earthen Fire Extermination Origin. Otherwise, the properties of the extermination origin would cause a huge backlash to the person who absorbed it. Of course, after refinement, the cultivator would be able to control an additional earthen attribute. Their ability to control fire and poison would also greatly increase. Shang Xia was also pleasantly surprised to obtain the White Bone Brush from Zhonggu. The brush was originally a high-grade treasure, but because of some damage, the shaft of the brush cracked and some essence leaked out causing it to regress to a mid-grade treasure. Even so, a mid-grade talisman brush was pretty valuable. There was also a reason Zhonggu managed to get his hands on the brush. Because of its regression, the Talisman Master who used the brush no longer wanted it. Eventually, it ended up with the skinny old man. Naturally, Shang Xia intended to restore the brush to its peak state now that he obtained it. He had another mid-grade brush, but it belonged to the Tongyou Institution at the end of the day. As a rank four Talisman Master, it was a little embarrassing to not possess his own equipment. That was also one of the major reasons he picked the White Bone Brush out of everything they offered. 800 miles wasn¡¯t too far for a Martial Extermination Realm, especially Shang Xia whose speed was faster than normal. It didn¡¯t take long for him to approach a region covered in dense clouds. Now that he arrived, Shang Xia didn¡¯t rush to enter the Cloud Water Gorge. He flew around it and scouted the area in order to learn more about the strange clouds that surrounded the gorge. The Cloud Water Gorge could be considered a special region in the Sixth Pass. Cultivators who entered wouldn¡¯t be able to see 3 feet away from themselves and their divine sense would be greatly restricted. Even Martial Extermination Realm experts wouldn¡¯t be able to feel more than 500 feet away from themselves with their divine perception. That was why Shang Pei attacked only after she was discovered by the Hexagonal Lantern. She couldn¡¯t detect her enemies before that! Yu Hanglong discerning Shang Pei¡¯s location from her voice earlier was another matter altogether. Looking at the Cloud Water Gorge, Shang Xia noticed that the clouds that filled the region weren¡¯t exactly stuck in place. It seemed to pulsate slightly, but the extent of its expansion and retraction was limited. Experts in the Sixth Pass had speculated the reason behind the changes in the Cloud Water Gorge, but an actual reason had never been established. When Shang Xia observed the Cloud Water Gorge from the outside, he realized that there were several people who had their eyes on the region too. A bad feeling appeared in Shang Xia¡¯s heart and he quickly grabbed one of those who were watching the Cloud Water Gorge to understand their intentions. As it turned out, those people had been deployed to deal with members of the Youyan Stronghold who tried to escape. Questioning the person he caught even further, Shang Xia discovered that he hadn¡¯t received news from their leaders that the leader of the Youyan Stronghold was surrounded. Since those who went into the Cloud Water Gorge to attack Shang Pei hadn''t emerged, it could only mean that she was still holding out well. It seemed as though Shang Xia wasn¡¯t too late. Shang Xia didn¡¯t take long to find out the names of the Martial Extermination Realm experts who went into the Cloud Water Gorge to surround Shang Pei. One of them was a female cultivator called Feng Chenyi whose background was unknown. From what he learned, she seemed to be an expert from a faction outside the Taihang Mountains. The other was Duan Liufeng, and Shang Xia didn¡¯t really need an introduction to the guy. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". Finally, the last cultivator who went in was a Martial Extermination Realm called Yu Hanglong. Yu Hanglong sounded a little familiar to him and if Shang Xia wasn¡¯t mistaken, he was an asshole who came over during the War of the Tongyou Mysterious World to take advantage of the situation. Chuckling softly, Shang Xia ended the life of the cultivator he captured. Since they were there to deal with the Youyan Stronghold, there was no need to let them live. With his inner qi basically recovered, Shang Xia no longer felt the need to wait. He quickly rushed into the dense clouds that surrounded the Cloud Water Gorge. CH 456 He stepped into the dense clouds without hesitation and everything outside a 30 feet radius disappeared. His vision was extremely limited and a cloudy fog remained before his eyes. Weirdly enough, Shang Xia was able to extend his divine perception close to 1000 feet around himself. Even though 1000 feet was far from Shang Xia¡¯s usual detection radius of 10 miles, it was a lot more than what ordinary Martial Extermination Realm experts could do in the Cloud Water Gorge. The Cloud Water Gorge¡¯s restriction on one¡¯s divine sense or perception was strong, but that wasn¡¯t the only reason why it managed to gain its fame as a forbidden region in the Sixth Pass of the Taihang Mountains. There were other dangers associated with the Cloud Water Gorge and people who didn¡¯t have business there wouldn¡¯t dream of entering for fun. One of the true dangers the Cloud Water Gorge posed was that the space within was restricted. Martial Extermination Realm experts would lose the ability to fly after they entered. They would have to travel through the gorge on their feet like low-leveled cultivators. Next, the entire region was a maze. Due to the weird geography of the valleys and mountains in the region, the Cloud Water Gorge was like a maze covered in mystery. With their divine senses sealed and vision limited, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to find their way out. Finally, there were the threats of spiritual beasts! No one knew when they would be attacked by spiritual beasts hiding in the clouds and fog. Shang Xia was desperate to save Shang Pei, but he knew that he couldn¡¯t get careless. He surveyed the area around him carefully after entering the Cloud Water Gorge. After realizing his divine perception was limited, Shang Xia tried to fly. Unfortunately, he felt the space under his feet falling apart after he rose a mere inch in the air. Forcefully pushing himself 3 inches into the air, Shang Xia discovered that the weird fog around him had gathered around his body. They seemed like a massive blanket soaked in water pushing him back into the ground and Shang Xia could feel himself getting weak by the second as he maintained his flight. Even so, he tried pushing himself a little further. As the pressure increased, he felt his inner qi draining at a terrifying rate. Without a choice, he fell back onto the ground and the pressure on his body disappeared abruptly. An ambiguous look appeared on his face as he wondered to himself, ¡°Looks like it¡¯s not impossible to fly in the Cloud Water Gorge¡­ It¡¯s just a lot more taxing than usual¡­¡± That was different from what he heard before entering the Cloud Water Gorge! Getting familiar with the feeling of being in the Cloud Water Gorge, he started to make his way into its depths. In spite of being in a rush, Shang Xia didn¡¯t charge ahead recklessly. He moved at a reasonable speed. Because of how quickly experts in the Martial Extermination Realm traveled, he was afraid that he would run off a cliff if he wasn¡¯t careful. Under the dense coverage, even those who emerged from the strange region would find it difficult to make a complete map of it. Even if there were bits and pieces of the Cloud Water Gorge recorded by whoever was lucky enough to emerge unscathed, anyone who got their hands on those maps would discover that the landmarks in there were completely different from what was recorded. That was the main reason the situation in the Cloud Water Gorge was hidden from the experts of the Sixth Pass despite its many years of existence. As Shang Xia made his way deeper into the Cloud Water Gorge, he discovered some similarities between the Cloud Water Gorge and the battlefield between the two worlds. Like the battlefield between the two worlds, the Cloud Water Gorge seemed to experience shifts in space from time to time. If not for the fact that the Tongyou Institution and the four great races of the Liao Continent established a territory in the battlefield between the two worlds, there would be no way to map out anything reasonably. Of course, there were also several stark differences. Unlike the Cloud Water Gorge, the battlefield between the two worlds wasn¡¯t filled with clouds and fog that restricted one¡¯s divine sense. Not too long after Shang Xia entered the Cloud Water Gorge, he heard the sound of rushing water. Despite it sounding pretty nearby, Shang Xia failed to discover the presence of a stream or lake within a 1000 feet radius. He didn¡¯t know if he was mistaken about the sound of rushing water or if his divine perception was unable to pick it up. Determined to get to the bottom of the matter, Shang Xia started walking in the direction of the sound. However, he was forced to stop as the earth started to shift beneath his feet. The clouds surrounding him twisted violently as a result of the shift and he discovered his divine perception warping along with it. Retracting his divine perception quickly to only cover a 500 feet radius around him, Shang Xia discovered that the ground beneath him was starting to crack. The sound of rushing water became even louder and he realized that his ears weren¡¯t playing tricks on him. There was a stream, but it was located under the earth! Unwilling to make any sudden movements, Shang Xia stood where he was. He could feel the crack extending his feet and after tracking it with his divine sense, he discovered that it extended past his range of detection. He could see the crack beside him growing deeper and deeper as the sound of rushing water became softer. Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. During the time he remained motionless, a massive valley formed beside him. Before he could admire the great change that took place, he felt a familiar rush of world origin coming from deep underground. Widening his eyes in shock, Shang Xia¡¯s expression flickered unsteadily. However, he managed to remind himself of his real purpose of entering the Cloud Water Gorge. Suppressing his urge to jump down the cliff face he was standing on, he traveled deeper into the Cloud Water Gorge. Naturally, his actions didn¡¯t stop him from thinking about the world origin he felt. The strange properties of the Cloud Water Gorge, Shang Pei¡¯s decision to establish herself there, and many other reasons flew through his mind. Shang Xia¡¯s curiosity towards his mysterious third aunt was piqued once again. It seemed as though Shang Pei was also hiding some secrets. ¡­ When Shang Xia was looking for traces of Shang Pei, a flying sword tore through the fog in a secret location. A spatial passage appeared as Yu Hanglong stepped out. His divine perception covered dozens of feet around him as he scouted the area. When he was certain that there was no danger, he tossed a small sword in the air. Spinning around slightly, it pointed at a rock face nearby. Chuckling softly, a cold light emerged from his robe. It shattered the rock face before revealing a secret tunnel that led into the mountains behind. Yu Hanglong¡¯s figure blurred as he rushed into the tunnel. In the next second, he emerged from the other side. Scanning the area with his divine perception, he was shocked to discover no one there. ¡°No one¡¯s here?!¡± The traces along the tunnel and cave showed that there were definitely signs of human life. However, the entire area was empty at the moment and no one could be seen. It was clear that anyone living there had left. From the tracks they left behind, Yu Hanglong could tell that it hadn¡¯t been long since they left. ¡°Is this another one of her ploys?!¡± Yu Hanglong snorted. However, he didn¡¯t believe that he was wrong this time. After he destroyed her Tranquil Cape earlier, he believed that she wouldn¡¯t have the time to deal with her subordinates. ¡°Did they manage to leave by themselves?!¡± Yu Hanglong thought for a moment before shaking his head slightly. He knew that her experts were mere Martial Intent Realm cultivators. Without the protection of a Martial Extermination Realm expert, they would definitely lose their way in the Cloud Water Gorge. When that happened, their fates were sealed. At best, only a few of them would be able to emerge from the Cloud Water Gorge alive. ¡°Whatever¡­ I was planning to capture a few hostages¡­ Let¡¯s just hope the other two have some gains¡­¡± Yu Hanglong glanced at the hidden tunnel before leaving. Rumors had it that Hai Pei, the leader of the Youyan Stronghold, had a special treasure that could locate regions in the Cloud Water Gorge that wouldn¡¯t shift easily. That was also why she could establish a stronghold there. However, that wasn¡¯t the reason why all of them were hunting her down. Duan Liufeng seemed to be seeking her out for revenge after she stole a Glass Daisy Chrysanthemum from his Jingxiu Peak. Feng Chenyi wanted to learn about a secret region. Yu Hanglong was the one who wanted to know her secret for establishing a stronghold in the Cloud Water Gorge. Tossing his small sword in the air, it pointed in another direction and Yu Hanglong¡¯s figure disappeared the next second. Unfortunately, the small sword didn¡¯t lead him far. After some time, it spun around aimlessly in mid air. Yu Hanglong stood under his tiny sword and waited patiently. Not too much time passed when a small butterfly the size of a palm appeared beside his tiny sword. ¡°Oh? Brother Yu, did you manage to find those people from the Youyan Stronghold?¡± A voice emerged from the dense clouds nearby before Duan Liufeng¡¯s figure emerged. He seemed to be dragging someone behind him. ¡°Brother Duan, your Butterfly Trace Incense is really impressive.¡± Yu Hanglong replied before approaching Duan Liufeng. ¡°It¡¯s a shame those freaks of the Youyan Stronghold left before I could find them. I failed to¡­ Huh?¡± Seeing the figure behind Duan Liufeng, Yu Hanglong cried out in surprise, ¡°Isn''t this Fifth Brother Cen of the Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent?! Brother Duan, where did you find him?¡± ¡­ After entering the Cloud Water Gorge, Shang Xia discovered that the heaven and earth qi in the air was much denser than the outside world. He failed to find Shang Pei¡¯s tracks as he ventured deeper into the Cloud Water Gorge, but the Crimson Soul Tablet in his sea of consciousness reacted twice on his journey. One had to know that after Shang Xia¡¯s slight restoration of the tablet, it seemed to become a little less responsive. It seemed to understand that it was no longer on the verge of breaking into pieces and unless it could discover a huge portion of world origin, it wouldn¡¯t bother Shang Xia. Without question, Shang Xia ignored the callings of the Crimson Soul Tablet to look for Shang Pei. Unfortunately, he was like a headless fly running around the Cloud Water Gorge. A greater half of the day had passed, but he couldn¡¯t even find traces of Shang Pei! Just as Shang Xia was praying for luck to take over, the aura of a Martial Extermination Realm expert entered the range of his divine perception. CH 457 Shang Xia¡¯s divine perception might be able to cover a radius of 1000 feet in the Cloud Water Gorge, but he knew that it would twist along with space. Even though he felt someone¡¯s aura within the radius of his divine perception, he didn¡¯t know if they were actually 1000 feet away from him. However, that was the first clue he had gotten since entering the Cloud Water Gorge. He wasn¡¯t willing to give up any chances of finding Shang Pei and he started to move towards the person he felt. As he ran in the direction of the person he felt, he no longer bothered if he was going to run off a cliff. All he wanted to do was to locate the person in the dense clouds. After running for some time, Shang Xia realized that the feeling had disappeared. Despite unleashing his Irregular Steps with his Four Constellation Qi, he failed to discover any traces of the person he felt earlier. Not willing to give up, Shang Xia forged onwards only to be disappointed by his lack of findings. Wait¡­ Distortion of divine perception? The thought barely flashed through his mind when an idea formed in his head. He ran back to where he detected the presence. Naturally, due to the shifting of space in the Cloud Water Gorge, his surroundings changed slightly. He might not be at the exact location where he discovered the foreign aura earlier, but he was close enough. Shang Xia felt that if he wasn¡¯t imagining things earlier, the person should be moving quickly through the Cloud Water Gorge. Since they were probably both Martial Extermination Realm experts, Shang Xia decided to retrace his steps to look for that person. ¡°I won¡¯t go towards where I felt it earlier. I¡¯ll try going to the left!¡± To be fair, Shang Xia¡¯s way of thinking wasn¡¯t logical at all. However, he wasn¡¯t planning to be. He had thrown everything to luck and he hoped that the person he detected wouldn¡¯t be moving too quickly. After estimating the distance traveled by Martial Extermination Realm experts, Shang Xia ran 200 feet to the left from his original position before stopping. It came as no surprise that there was no one there. Going back to his original position, Shang Xia went 300 feet to the right. ¡°Boom!¡± A massive shockwave tore through the air and it was quickly dissipated by the thick fog. However, Shang Xia was sure he wasn¡¯t hallucinating and he knew that there were people fighting nearby. With his vigor invigorated, he started running in that direction. He didn¡¯t even bother hiding his aura as he ran as he wanted nothing more than to look at what was going on. As he approached the battle, Shang Xia could hear the manly yells and beastly growls. By the time he recognized the sounds, he had already entered the range of their battle. Since he wasn¡¯t hiding his aura, he was discovered immediately. Since neither party knew if Shang Xia was part of their group, they attacked him indiscriminately. Sweeping his divine sense over them, Shang Xia discovered that they weren¡¯t Shang Pei at all. With the frustration and annoyance of being unable to locate his aunt festering deep in his heart, he discovered two streams of attack flying towards him. Venting all his emotions at once, he released two separate Chaos Essence Lightning Palms in response. A huge explosion ensued and reddish-gold lightning bolts filled the space before him. A young man who didn¡¯t look 30 and a withered tail was sent flying from the impact. ¡°Chaos Essence Lightning Palm!¡± The young man yelled as a trace of joy could be heard in his voice. ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± Shang Xia finally recognized the young man and a smile slowly made its way onto his face. ¡°Give me a moment while I deal with that creature¡­¡± Even though he hit the young man with his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm earlier, Shang Xia knew that he wouldn¡¯t die so easily. Turning around, he attacked the giant alligator who was fighting the young man earlier. The giant alligator might seem pretty large, but it was a rank three beast at the end of the day. It knew it couldn¡¯t put up the slightest resistance against Shang Xia. However, the beast was a crafty one. Realizing that it wasn¡¯t a match for the Martial Extermination Realm expert, it dived into the stream behind it. It was truly unfortunate that Shang Xia injured its tail earlier. Without its tail, it couldn¡¯t swim as quickly as before. Shang Xia leaped into the air and skimmed the top of the water as he ran after the alligator. ¡°Wait, don¡¯t go into the water!¡± A soft voice came from behind, but the warning came a little too late. Shang Xia slapped the surface of the stream, causing a jade-colored light to flash across the water. The water that was rushing happily within the stream turned into a block of ice and the giant alligator was no exception. Shang Xia finally unleashed his Winter Extermination Origin, the Freezing Soul Extermination Origin! Flicking his wrist to reveal the Jade River Sword, Shang Xia sent a ray of sword light into the head of the frozen alligator. His Seven Laceration Sword Intent immediately turned the brains of the creature to mush. Before anyone could react, he had already returned to shore. The frozen stream didn¡¯t remain that way for long. By the time Shang Xia landed back on shore, the ice shattered into countless pieces. The body of the alligator also became food for whatever creature that lived under the water. Turning behind him, he reminded Ninth Brother Huang to avoid the stream in case he was attacked by the creatures beneath again. Walking back to collect Ninth Brother Huang, Shang Xia went to look for a safe region to settle him down. After finding a place, Shang Xia placed the injured Ninth Brother Huang down only to see him staring at Shang Xia with a strange gaze. ¡°You can still fly in the Cloud Water Gorge?¡± Shang Xia didn''t bother replying as he stared at the heavily injured Ninth Brother Huang. ¡°You¡­ You actually entered the Martial Extermination Realm¡­ Oh, are Hai Min and Yuanyuan doing alright?¡± Ninth Brother Huang threw out another question that seemed a little questionable but served nicely to confuse Shang Xia. Not knowing how to reply, Shang Xia could only change the topic forcefully. ¡°You¡¯re not bad yourself. You managed to develop your divine sense and enter the Martial Intent Realm. If you hadn¡¯t, you would have long since succumbed to your wounds¡­ Where¡¯s the rest? Where¡¯s my aunt?¡± After the events that happened in the Changfeng City during the War of the Tongyou Mysterious World, Shang Pei¡¯s identity as a member of the Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent was no longer a secret. After the battle, members who didn¡¯t betray the institution were actually given the choice to return to the You Continent and even the institution. Find the original at "pawread dot com". However, all of them made the same choice after hearing about Shang Pei¡¯s plan to establish herself in the Taihang Mountains. Evidently, Ninth Brother Huang wasn¡¯t doing too well from his internal injuries. However, he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle bitterly in response to Shang Xia¡¯s question. ¡°All of us chose to scatter throughout the Cloud Water Gorge¡­ We don¡¯t know how many of us will be able to live and your aunt¡¯s situation isn¡¯t looking too good. We abandoned our hideout and left because she didn¡¯t return at our appointed time.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Shang Xia turned serious. With a bitter expression on his face, Ninth Brother Huang continued, ¡°We¡¯ve been running around the Ji Continent in the past under the banner of the Eighteen Horsemen. We know that every cultivator¡¯s weakness is their companions or people they care about.¡± ¡°Is that why all of you chose to run away individually? Are you afraid of being taken hostage and being used to threaten my aunt?¡± Shang Xia asked. No one could tell his true emotions from the way he spoke. Because of his injuries, Ninth Brother Huang was finding it a little taxing to speak. However, he still gathered whatever energy he had left to reply, ¡°The Cloud Water Gorge is an extremely strange place. Even if we left together, we will definitely be separated eventually. As long as those hunting down Chief Shang don¡¯t find us, we¡¯ll be alright!¡± The confusion Shang Xia was feeling only grew stronger after hearing what Ninth Brother Huang said. ¡°Since you¡¯ll be separated in the Cloud Water Gorge, how did you guys gather together from the start? Also, what¡¯s the principle behind your meetings at a specific place and time? That¡¯s not possible with whatever you¡¯re saying¡­ I heard that you guys formed the Youyan Stronghold in the Cloud Water Gorge. Is establishing a stronghold a way to stop the strange spatial shifts in this place?¡± Thinking for a second, Ninth Brother Huang eventually explained, ¡°Chief Shang has a special treasure that resembles a seal. None of us knows how she got it but that¡¯s how she managed to overcome the strangeness of this place. Of course, the treasure also restricted the area of our movements. We need to obtain a talisman stamped with her seal if we wish to venture further away and it would only remain effective for some time.¡± ¡°So¡­ All of you were able to gather together because of that seal¡­ Is that why you guys scattered eventually?¡± Shang Xia kind of understood what was going on with his explanation. Nodding slightly, Ninth Brother Huang continued, ¡°Something like that. However, we didn¡¯t fully exhaust the power of our seals. As bandits who experienced tons of dangerous situations back in our time, all of us felt that something was wrong and decided to leave early.¡± The words ¡®seal talisman¡¯ caused Shang Xia¡¯s heart to tremble slightly, but it clearly wasn¡¯t the time to think about talismans. ¡°So that¡¯s what happened¡­¡± Shang Xia nodded slightly. He quickly continued, ¡°How should I go around looking for her then?¡± ¡°You can use this.¡± Ninth Brother Huang handed over a special talisman that had another special seal stamped on it. A frown formed on his face as he inspected the talisman. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that the power contained within it was exhausted? ¡°After the power in the talisman is exhausted, we won¡¯t be able to prevent the space around us from shifting. However, the seal talisman has some sort of connection to the main seal with Chief Shang. It will react and point you in her direction once you get close enough.¡± Ninth Brother Huang explained. Shang Xia gasped in shock. ¡°Is this why you guys dared to venture off into the Cloud Water Gorge yourselves?¡± Ninth Brother Huang nodded and sighed, ¡°However, it¡¯s a little difficult for our seal talismans to detect Chief Shang¡¯s main seal. It would be easier for her to look for us¡­¡± ¡°I have one last question.¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°What is it?¡± Ninth Brother Huang was slightly taken aback by his abrupt question. ¡°How long can you last in the Cloud Water Gorge in your current state?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Ninth Brother Huang raised both eyebrows in shock. ¡°What else do you think we¡¯ve been having such a long conversation? I¡¯m trying to give you more time to restore your inner qi here. Are you hoping that I¡¯ll bring you along while trying to locate Shang Pei? Don¡¯t you know that you¡¯ll just be a liability in a battle of that scale?¡± CH 458 After Ninth Brother Huang was sneak attacked by the alligator earlier, he suffered heavy internal injuries. Right after that, he had to take on another Chaos Essence Lightning Palm from Shang Xia. Even though Shang Xia looked like he was having a nice chat with Ninth Brother Huang after saving him, he had been examining Ninth Brother Huang¡¯s injuries carefully. Only when he was sure the fellow¡¯s foundations weren¡¯t damaged, Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief. He brought out a tiny flask of rank three Hundred Flower Spiritual Wine and a rank three talisman he crafted casually before handing them to Ninth Brother Huang. The main use of the Hundred Flower wine was to assist in one¡¯s cultivation, but it wasn¡¯t exactly useless when used as a recovery tool. The flask of wine Shang Xia gave him could allow him to recover a certain portion of his fighting strength. With a rank three talisman in hand, he would be able to escape even if he ran into cultivators at the same level. Holding the seal talisman in his hand, Shang Xia knew that he wouldn¡¯t have to run around the Cloud Water Gorge like a headless fly any longer. At the very least, he would be able to detect Shang Pei if she was nearby. Of course, finding Shang Pei¡¯s seal with the seal talisman was like looking for a needle in a haystack. He would have to explore the massive Cloud Water Gorge while waiting for his seal talisman to respond. It wasn¡¯t going to be easy, but at least he would know when he finally located Shang Pei. ¡­ After searching around for slightly more than 2 hours, Shang Xia discovered that his luck wasn¡¯t as bad as before. He could feel a faint sense of attraction when he filled the seal talisman with a strand of inner qi. With his spirits lifted, he rushed in the direction with renewed vigor. Running in that direction, Shang Xia could feel the distance between them increasing slightly, but Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate to continue his chase. Feeling the signs of attraction, Shang Xia continued to make his way into the depths of the Cloud Water Gorge. The speed at which it was moving away from him grew slower. It was as though Shang Pei was stopping to rest while running away. However, it couldn¡¯t be denied that she was traveling away from him. There was no way she would be moving away from him twice unintentionally. It was extremely likely that she had felt the presence of the seal talisman and she didn¡¯t wish for the user to find her. Only members of the Youyan Stronghold had the seal talisman, and in order not to drag them into the mess, Shang Pei chose not to meet up with them. She didn¡¯t wish for them to face the wrath of the Martial Extermination Realm experts hunting her down. Realizing her intentions, Shang Xia stopped running in her direction immediately. ¡­ Shang Pei, who had felt the presence of the seal talisman, traveled deeper into the Cloud Water Gorge so that they wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up to her. Every time she ran in the opposite direction, she would exert a lot of energy traveling through the dense fog. Her brotherhood with her fellow members of the Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent held indescribable importance in her heart. She didn¡¯t wish to implicate them in whatever shitstorm was going to unfold when the Martial Extermination Realm experts clashed. She wouldn¡¯t regret her decision no matter what. As she was moving away from the seal talisman that was moving in her direction, she ran into a great opportunity¡­ ¡­ Sucking in a deep breath, a four colored light emerged from Shang Xia¡¯s body and surrounded him. When he was ready, he flew quickly in the direction of Shang Pei¡¯s seal and a massive whirlwind was swept up because of his actions. A massive shockwave tore through his surroundings as he flew across the land. The fog where he traveled was blown away, but it didn¡¯t take long for dense fog to return. Shang Xia discovered that due to the suppression of the weird clouds in the Cloud Water Gorge, the fastest he could travel while ensuring his personal safety was at a speed comparable to a Martial Intent Realm cultivator unleashing their movement art. That was the speed at which he was traveling earlier, and that was probably the reason Shang Pei had been avoiding him. Now that the distance between them wasn¡¯t increasing anymore, Shang Xia felt that he had to catch up to her no matter what. He might not know what was going on or why she stopped, but it was the best chance he was going to get. To access the premium content, go to [ pawread dot com ]. What if he could show her he wasn¡¯t one of the members of the Youyan Stronghold? Disregarding the consumption of his Four Constellation Qi that seemed stronger than the inner qi of other Martial Extermination Realm experts, Shang Xia could achieve temporary flight! With the speed he was displaying, it was possible Shang Pei might understand that the person coming to help her was another Martial Extermination Realm expert. ¡­ It didn¡¯t matter if it was Duan Liufeng, Yu Hanglong, or Feng Chenyi. All three of them had been underestimating Shang Pei¡¯s strength all along. It was especially so after Feng Chenyi brought out her Hexagonal Lantern and Yu Hanglong shredded her Tranquil Cape. All of them felt that she had lost her greatest advantage against them. That was precisely the reason they had the guts to split up to look for her. As Feng Chenyi and Duan Liufeng went to hunt her down, Yu Hanglong went off to do something else. Because he destroyed her Tranquil Cape earlier, he managed to capture a trace of her aura. He managed to use it to locate the hideout of the other members of the Youyan Stronghold. His intention was to capture them all in order to force her to submit, but he arrived a little too late. The members of the Youyan Stronghold had already left. Who would have thought that Duan Liufeng would be able to capture one of the members of the Youyan Stronghold while hunting down Shang Pei? The two of them met up with each other, but they soon discovered that Feng Chenyi, the cultivator with a mysterious background, had been sneak attacked by Shang Pei. If not for the fact that they arrived in the nick of time, the Hexagonal Lantern that provided them with the largest advantage against Shang Pei in the Cloud Water Gorge would have been destroyed. When they arrived to save her, the battle was at its peak and Yu Hanglong launched a ferocious offensive to save Feng Chenyi. If not for the fact that Shang Pei reacted quickly, she would probably suffer under the assault. Her attempt to take one of them out before the others arrived failed! Seeing as she was about to force them all back and escape, Duan Liufeng roared, ¡°Hai Pei, why don¡¯t you take a look at this?¡± Slamming a figure down in mid air, the seal that was placed on him disappeared. The figure grunted in pain. Hai Pei¡¯s movements froze and she stared at the figure who rolled to Feng Chenyi and Yu Hanglong¡¯s feet. Duan Liufeng saw Shang Pei¡¯s figure fading into the fog behind, but she didn¡¯t disappear fully. They locked onto her presence when Duan Liufeng yelled, ¡°Hai Pei, are you going to abandon your comrade? If you dare to leave, I¡¯ll kill him immediately.¡± Duan Liufeng approached Yu Hanglong and nodded at the two of them to give them a signal. Yu Hanlong maintained his expressionless face while Feng Chenyi¡¯s failed to hide her fury after being sneak attacked. She was clearly still angry at being suppressed by Shang Pei whose cultivation level was lower than herself. ¡°Fourth Brother Zeng, how are you?¡± Shang Pei didn¡¯t answer Duan Liufeng and the others immediately. Instead, she addressed the figure on the ground. Shang Pei¡¯s voice was hoarse, and it seemed to ring in all directions. Fourth Brother Zeng knew exactly what situation he was in now that he had been captured. Without caring about his injuries, he yelled, ¡°I¡¯m alright! Chief, you don¡¯t have to worry about me! Leave!¡± ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re still so stubborn when you¡¯re looking at the gates of hell¡­¡± Duan Liufeng¡¯s expression sank and he kicked Fourth Brother Zeng in the stomach. As Fourth Brother Zeng doubled over in pain, Duan Liufeng stared at the dense fog in front of him and growled, ¡°Hai Pei, we might hate each other, but it hasn¡¯t reached the point where we have to kill you. Why don¡¯t we start talking terms?¡± After a moment, her voice rang through the air. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The corners of Duan Liufeng¡¯s lips curled upwards and he looked at the other two. ¡°Firstly, hand over your rank four advancement formula.¡± Next, Brother Yu is interested in your secret of establishing the Youyan Stronghold in the Cloud Water Gorge. Lastly, we heard that you hold the key to enter a secret region. Hand them all over and we¡¯ll promise not to kill your fellow cultivator. We¡¯ll leave the Cloud Water Gorge as long as you fulfill your promise and we won¡¯t mess with you in the future.¡± Duan Liufeng eagerly awaited Shang Pei¡¯s reply. After waiting for some time, they realized that they couldn¡¯t feel her presence any longer! They were even suspecting that she had run away. The more he thought about it, the more Duan Liufeng thought that something was wrong. Feeling a sense of irritation, he sneered, ¡°You really deserve your reputation as the Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent¡­ Brotherhood means nothing to you¡­¡± Before Duan Liufeng could finish speaking, he heard several coughs coming from Fourth Brother Zeng. Feng Chenyi¡¯s expression changed slightly and she cried, ¡°Not good, he wants to kill himself!¡± Fourth Brother Zeng spat out a mouthful of blood and he croaked using his last bit of energy, ¡°Don¡¯t¡­ They¡¯re lying¡­¡± Duan Liufeng tried to save Fourth Brother Zeng by pouring his inner qi into the lower-leveled cultivator. Unfortunately, Fourth Brother Zeng had detonated his dantian. There was no saving him now. No one thought that he would react so decisively. None of the 3 Martial Extermination Realm experts thought that he would choose to sacrifice himself to not be used to threaten the leader of the Youyan Stronghold¡­ ¡°Mother f¡­¡± Duan Liufeng wanted to destroy Fourth Brother Zeng¡¯s corpse in a fit of rage, but he was interrupted by Yu Hanglong. ¡°Be careful!¡± Yu Hanglong released a sword light that clashed with a phantom spear that was coming from the void. A loud blast filled the air. Duan Liufeng was caught off guard and he stumbled backwards from the impact. Fortunately for him, the shockwave wasn¡¯t strong enough to injure someone at his level. Kicking the body on the ground, he lashed his whip out at the dense fog where Shang Pei was hiding. CH 459 Duan Liufeng, Yu Hanglong, and Feng Chenyi weren¡¯t weak by any means. None of the 3 had cultivation bases lower than Shang Pei. However, Shang Pei was confident of defeating any one of them in a solo battle in the Cloud Water Gorge. If not for Yu Hanglong¡¯s interference, Shang Pei was extremely confident that she could heavily injure him when he was trying to destroy Fourth Brother Zeng¡¯s corpse. It was a shame they had quick reactions. When Fourth Brother Zeng detonated his dantian earlier and sacrificed himself, Duan Liufeng wasn¡¯t the only one who was flustered by the loss of his bargaining chip. Shang Pei nearly lost her sense of reasoning and wanted nothing more than the charge out there to take revenge on his behalf. Of the remaining members of the Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent who followed her to the Taihang Mountains, Fourth Brother Zeng felt the most distant. Even so, he resolutely detonated his dantian after realizing he was used as bait. Guilt and rage overwhelmed Shang Pei at that instant. She felt that she had to do something in his honor. That was why she sent out the final strike earlier. The moment she missed, her position was revealed. The three of them quickly surrounded her and it wouldn¡¯t be easy to escape this time. If not for the fact that they wanted to obtain her valuables and knowledge, the three of them would have ended the battle a long time ago. Facing the relentless attack of 3 Martial Extermination Realm experts, Shang Pei didn¡¯t lose her composure. She had gone through countless life-or-death situations while roaming the Ji Continent in the past and her willpower wasn¡¯t something ordinary experts could compare to. Even at such a disadvantage, Shang Pei was able to grit her teeth while resisting the best she could. She was looking for a chance to break through their encirclement the moment they made a mistake. The seal she carried on her reacted once again while she was fighting, causing her heart to sink. It seemed to be traveling in her direction at a terrifying speed, but Shang Pei didn¡¯t have time to think about how fast it was. She tried desperately to break through the encirclement as she dragged the battle away from the direction of the seal talisman. She might not know who among the members of the Youyan Stronghold was traveling in her direction, but she knew that she couldn¡¯t place their lives at risk. She barely increased the distance a little but before she could heave a sigh of relief, she felt the presence of the seal talisman once again. Without a doubt, the person holding the seal talisman was looking for her. Shang Pei couldn¡¯t help but curse in her heart. She wondered if the person who was running towards her had a death wish. Sixth Sister Gu, you fool, this better not be you! She tried to increase the distance between them with the implied meaning to not look for her, but the pressure coming from their combined assault increased once again. It became even more difficult for her to pull the battlefield in her desired direction. Even so, she didn¡¯t stop trying. Her actions seemed a little unnatural but in the eyes of Duan Liufeng and the others, she was merely struggling against the inevitable. Shang Pei desperately defended herself when she realized that something was wrong. From the reaction her seal had towards the seal talisman, the person rushing in her direction was moving too damn quickly. This¡­ This isn¡¯t a speed achievable by Martial Intent Realm cultivators! It¡­ It has to be a Martial Extermination Realm expert! To get their hands on a seal talisman from the members of the Youyan Stronghold¡­ Is that expert coming to help me? Shang Pei¡¯s heart trembled lightly. As a foreign cultivator to the Sixth Pass of the Taihang Mountains, she didn¡¯t manage to form great relationships with the experts who had already established themselves there. That was also one of the reasons she chose to settle down in the Cloud Water Gorge. Now that reinforcements were coming, she felt that it had to be someone unrelated to the Sixth Pass! She racked her brain to think of who it could possibly be when a name flashed through her mind. She recently called for Shang Xia to meet her in the Sixth Pass, and if he was the newcomer, that would mean that he had entered the Martial Extermination Realm! Of course, it was possible that the person approaching was someone who had a grudge against her. However, her situation couldn¡¯t be any worse. Even if another enemy appeared, the situation wouldn¡¯t change much. This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV. As she continued to fight back, a multitude of thoughts ran through her mind. The more she thought about it, the more likely it became for the newcomer to be Shang Xia. After all, he seemed to be flying towards her at a terrifying speed. There was only one reason for anyone to act so recklessly. They were probably allies who posed no threat to each other. If an enemy obtained the seal talisman and used it to track Shang Pei down, they would definitely approach cautiously so as not to fall into a trap she set up. With the distance between them closing rapidly, Shang Xia could detect the battle with his divine perception. Increasing his speed, he not only wanted to catch her opponents off guard. He also wanted her to act according to the situation. It would be great if they could cooperate seamlessly to deal with the 3. No matter what, there were 3 of them. Shang Xia and Shang Pei would be outnumbered if they were to engage in an all-out confrontation. Only by cooperating with each other would they be able to bring out the greatest effects of Shang Xia¡¯s arrival. After Shang Pei concluded the identity of the newcomer, a wave of relief swept through her heart. She had seen Shang Xia in action before and she knew how he killed a Martial Extermination Realm expert when he was only in the Martial Intent Realm. She was confident in his abilities now that he had broken through. Even though excitement was starting to fill her heart, there was one more thing Shang Pei couldn¡¯t understand. It was why Shang Xia wasn¡¯t restrained in the Cloud Water Gorge. Despite the question floating about in her mind, she didn¡¯t have time to worry about it as he was arriving soon. Under Duan Liufeng, Feng Chanyi, and Yu Hanglong¡¯s shocked gaze, Shang Pei changed her approach. No longer trying to break out of the encirclement, Shang Pei started a ferocious counterattack. She changed her fighting style without warning, catching them off guard. Afraid that she was attacking in a fit of desperation, they quickly lessened the pressure on her. Yu Hanglong and Duan Liufeng saw a chance to critically injure her but chose to give up at the last second. They didn¡¯t wish for her to die before giving up all her secrets! Instead of fighting all 3, Shang Pei focused her attention on Feng Chenyi and unleashed a devastating offensive against her. She no longer bothered defending herself as she unleashed the full might of the Shang Clan¡¯s Spear Art. It was the same technique Shang Bo had created but it underwent some modifications by Shang Bo and Kou Chongxue before being passed down to the rest of the Shang Clan. Their modifications allowed the original spear art developed by Shang Bo to reach a whole new level of complexity. Facing Shang Pei¡¯s maniacal assault, Duan Liufeng quickly ran beside Feng Chenyi to share the pressure. Yu Hanglong leaped to the other side in order to prevent her from escaping. At the moment, the person who was suffering the most was Feng Chenyi, and she cut a really sorry figure. ¡°Why are you guys acting like a wuss? As long as she¡¯s still breathing. She¡¯ll be able to tell us everything we want to know¡­¡± Feng Chenyi snapped. However, all of them seem to detect a powerful aura at the same time. A foreign expert entered the range of their divine perception and it didn¡¯t bother concealing itself as he charged straight for them. ¡°Who are you?¡± Duan Liufeng roared in angrily. He didn¡¯t want anyone to interfere with their business now that they were at the critical stage of taking down the leader of the Youyan Stronghold, but he didn¡¯t want to cause any misunderstandings either. The only reply he received was a blinding speck of light that emerged barely 300 feet away. The dense fog did nothing to hide its presence. ¡°Not good, the newcomer wields a spear! The two of them are on the same side!¡± Yu Hanglong roared. A sword light fell from the void towards Shang Pei as he decided to take her out before dealing with the newcomer. Duan Liufeng, who had finally realized that things were going really wrong, tried to stop the spear light headed his way. Shang Pei, who was unleashing an endless offensive against Feng Chenyi, turned around much to their surprise. Her spear slammed heavily into the sword light Yu Hanglong summoned and a loud blast filled the air. The only person among them who couldn¡¯t react appropriately was Feng Chenyi. She had been locked in bitter combat with Shang Pei earlier and she was extremely sensitive to any changes Shang Pei made. She had been on the defensive the whole time and now that Shang Pei had ditched her to deal with Yu Hanglong¡¯s attack, she was temporarily stunned by the sudden change in the situation. As rage filled her heart, she wanted to scream at Shang Pei for messing with her. However, Duan Liufeng¡¯s frightened cry brought her back to reality. ¡°Rank four talisman!¡± By the time the blinding speck of light appeared in the fog, it was too late. Duan Liufeng was prepared to take on another spear wielder after hearing Yu Hanglong¡¯s yell, but he discovered that the speck of blinding light had turned into a massive golden ball of fire. It tore through the dense fog as it shot straight for him. Surprisingly, the element of fire greatly restrained Duan Liufeng¡¯s extermination origins. His expression turned serious and he knew he couldn¡¯t be careless. Feng Chenyi never expected that they would be caught off guard despite holding the advantage. She faltered slightly when facing the danger coming from behind. By the time she turned around to face the threat, it was a little too late. Her Hexagonal Lantern emitted rays of brilliant light as the tiny flame flickering within turned into a massive ball of fire. Two giant suns could be seen in the middle of the Cloud Water Gorge at the moment. In such a high-level battle, the victor was usually determined in a single second. After tossing out his talisman, Shang Xia changed his angle of attack. Circulating his extermination origins, Shang Xia released his ninth move, Piercing Sun. As his spear soared through the air, the ¡®mini sun¡¯ created by the flame in Feng Chenyi¡¯s Hexagonal Lantern was torn to bits. Her miserable cry came soon after. The dense fog that had been blown away by the appearance of the fireball quickly returned to engulf the area. Even though an attack at that level struck Feng Chenyi, Shang Xia heard sounds of cracking coming from the space beside her. Her figure disappeared, only to reappear several hundred feet away from her original position. Ignoring her companions, she turned to flee. Feng Chenyi might be able to escape the detection range of any ordinary Martial Extermination Realm expert in the Cloud Water Gorge, but she seemed to have run out of luck. Shang Xia was able to detect anything within a 1000 feet radius around him! Tilting his body to the side, Shang Xia grabbed his Scarlet Star Spear before releasing a Void Evasion Spear into the void. Even though he was using rank three techniques, his cultivation base was at the Four Constellation Realm. Ordinary rank three techniques would be able to threaten cultivators in the same realm, but Shang Xia wasn¡¯t using any ordinary techniques! He was using his Nine Providence Spear, and Feng Chenyi ate the attack before she had time to defend herself. A wretched cry tore through the air as a giant spear created from Shang Xia¡¯s Four Seasons Extermination Origins tore a bloody hole through her chest. The destructive might quickly destroyed whatever was left of her life force. CH 460 Everyone barely had time to blink since Shang Xia entered the range of their divine perception. In a short amount of time, Feng Chenyi was killed, immediately changing the situation on the battlefield. Shang Xia predicted everything that would happen the moment he emerged. He anticipated how Feng Chenyi would react and took into account all possibilities before appearing. He was also extremely confident that Shang Pei¡¯s actions perfectly complemented his actions. Throwing out his rank four talisman to hold Duan Liufeng back, Shang Xia circulated his explosive Four Constellation Qi to unleash the exquisite strike. Naturally, releasing such a powerful attack came at a price. Shang Xia¡¯s divine perception and aura experienced wild fluctuations. He was comparable to a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert when he released the strike earlier, but due to the expenditure, he couldn¡¯t maintain his frightening strength. Even so, his combat abilities remained in the realm of Martial Extermination Realm experts. With the user of the Hexagonal Lantern dead, the fog started to close in. The advantage Yu Hanglong and Duan Liufeng had disappeared quickly. Only after the death of Feng Chenyi did Duan Liufeng manage to finally nullify Shang Xia¡¯s Golden Sun Inferno Talisman. After feeling Feng Chenyi¡¯s aura fading away, Duan Liufeng discovered that he used up a lot of inner qi in order to stop Shang Xia¡¯s talisman from injuring him severely. A feeling of light-headedness started to overwhelm him. He quickly understood that the situation had changed and they were royally fucked. Earlier, they failed to take down the leader of the Youyan Stronghold despite fighting her three-on-one. Her backup arrived, and this didn¡¯t seem to be ordinary backup. The expert who came to assist her displayed terrifying strength by killing one of them not too long after arriving. Now that Yu Hanglong and Duan Liufeng were left, they weren¡¯t confident in their abilities to fight their two opponents. The Taihang Swordsman, Yu Hanglong, also reached the same conclusion. ¡°Master Duan, we won¡¯t be able to get what we want today. We¡¯ll make our own retreat!¡± Yu Hanglong¡¯s voice barely left his lips when he drew a horizontal line in the void before him. A frightening wave of sword qi tore through the dense fog to force Shang Pei back. ¡°Don¡¯t let them escape!¡± Shang Pei roared. Going all out, she wanted to stop Yu Hanglong from running away even if it meant that she had to suffer a lot of injuries. ¡°You crazy bitch!¡± Yu Hanglong cursed angrily, but facing her ferocious assault, he couldn¡¯t turn to run. He could only continue to fight. As the battle dragged on, Yu Hanglong felt the pressure on him increasing and he quickly changed his tune. ¡°Master Duan, Hai Pei is going crazy! Please help me to get rid of her so we can break out of this damned ambush!¡± Despite his loud yell, Duan Liufeng¡¯s reply never came. Yu Hanglong maintained the last bit of hope in his heart that his companion would help him out at the last second, but he couldn¡¯t feel the slightest fluctuation of heaven and earth qi even after some time. The master of the Jingxiu Peak, the respected Duan Liufeng, ran away! As the fog around them rose and fell as the battle raged on. Shang Xia locked on to Yu Hanglong¡¯s aura within the chaos and accurately sent a Celestial Disruption Spear into the mix. A multitude of spear lights surrounded Yu Hanglong, giving Shang Pei a chance to catch her breath. At that moment, Shang Pei seemed to have lost control of her emotions from the death of Fourth Brother Zeng. When Shang Xia¡¯s spear light appeared, she wasn¡¯t appreciative at all. Instead, she snapped at him, ¡°Why did you let Duan Liufeng get away?!¡± Noticing the strange energy fluctuation around Shang Pei, Shang Xia could tell that she was on the verge of experiencing cultivation deviation. He quickly sent a voice transmission to her with his divine perception. ¡°Third Aunt, we¡¯ll kill Yu Hanglong before dealing with Duan Liufeng!¡± With a torrential wave of energy entering her mind along with Shang Xia¡¯s divine perception voice transmission, her clarity soon returned. That was one of Shang Xia¡¯s secret techniques he learned after comprehending the Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter. He was able to attack his opponent¡¯s mine directly, but it could also act as a life saving method. When he allowed Shang Pei to calm down earlier, he took away the threat of experiencing cultivation deviation. After calming down, she realized that she was acting too hastily earlier. If they split up earlier, they might not be able to kill any one of them. Not to mention the fact that she was an arrow at the end of its flight. Even if she went all out and risked her life, she might not be Yu Hanglong¡¯s opponent. It would be great if she managed to stay alive when fighting him alone. Shang Xia wasn¡¯t doing too well either. After his initial burst, he wasn¡¯t able to display the same fighting strength in a short period of time. As such, it was a much better choice to work together to kill one of the two before hunting down the other. Shang Xia didn¡¯t make a random choice to kill Yu Hanglong instead of Duan Liufeng. He did so because he had no choice! During the exchange earlier, he determined that Duan Liufeng was the weaker of the two. As such, Shang Xia wanted to rally Shang Pei to get the easy kill before moving on to Yu Hanglong. He didn¡¯t expect Duan Liufeng to be such a decisive wuss. After hearing Yu Hanglong¡¯s yell, he didn¡¯t hesitate to flee. Shang Xia couldn¡¯t chase too far either. As he remained close to the battle between Shang Pei and Yu Hanglong, Duan Liufeng quickly left the range of his divine perception. Quickly making up his mind, Shang Xia returned to help Shang Pei. With Shang Xia entering the battle, Shang Pei was finally able to catch her breath and calm down. He took the pressure away from the battle as she composed her rampaging extermination origin. While doing that, she quickly raised her vigilance towards her surroundings as she reminded Shang Xia softly, ¡°Be careful! Duan Liufeng might return to catch us off guard.¡± A smile appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face as he fought. ¡°Aunt Pei, relax. He really ran away.¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t say that blindly. Also, he didn¡¯t wish to brag, but his divine perception could reach much further than Martial Extermination Realm experts of the same level. He would be able to detect a sneak attack if Duan Liufeng returned. After he was done, he turned his attention back to Yu Hanglong and chuckled, ¡°Brother Yu, do you think he¡¯ll come back and save you?¡± Yu Hanglong¡¯s expression was as ugly as could be. When he heard the mockery hidden in Shang Xia¡¯s voice, he gnashed his teeth and growled, ¡°I don¡¯t care about that. I¡¯m more interested in your identities!¡± Shang Xia snorted in contempt. He wouldn¡¯t bother giving Yu Hanglong a proper reply as he continued to suppress the Taihang Swordsman with his exquisite spear art. He hadn¡¯t trained in any rank four martial arts, but the Shang Clan¡¯s inheritance wasn¡¯t to be trifled with. It was especially so when he unleashed his seventh, eighth, and ninth moves. When Shang Xia developed those moves, he was able to threaten a Martial Extermination Realm expert when he was merely at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm. Those moves could even be said to be comparable to ordinary rank four martial arts. Along with his third martial intent, the Divine Killing Spear, Shang Xia¡¯s combat prowess was no joke. Even though he could only fight with the strength of an early-stage Martial Extermination Realm expert, it was enough to hold his own against an experienced cultivator like Yu Hanglong. It was especially so when his third martial intent had the ability to target one¡¯s divine perception directly. After he entered the Four Constellation Realm and deepened his understanding of his Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter, he started to get a feel for which direction he should start developing his rank four martial arts. It also went without saying that the development of any technique required a platform of practice. Yu Hanglong couldn¡¯t be a better candidate for Shang Xia¡¯s whetstone. The only thing Shang Xia wasn¡¯t satisfied with was the strange feeling of incompatibility between his Four Constellation Qi, his spear, and the last three moves of his Nine Providence Spear. Even though the might of the moves grew along with his cultivation level, Shang Xia felt a little uncomfortable when using them. The feeling was unlike the time he was in the Martial Intent Realm where his spear flowed according to his will. He had a feeling his Four Constellation Qi wasn¡¯t truly suited for using spear arts and that meant that it would be nearly impossible for him to walk the same path as his grandfather. Shang Bo created his technique after comprehending 7 moves of the Providence Spear Art, and Shang Xia comprehended 9. Even then, he might not be able to develop his rank four martial arts with his Nine Providence Spear as his foundation. Yu Hanglong was no newbie cultivator. He had tens of years of experience roaming the Taihang Mountains and he could easily tell that Shang Xia wasn¡¯t comfortable using his techniques. The flames of hope rose in his heart as he tried to look for an opportunity to break through Shang Xia¡¯s offensive. Unfortunately, it was much harder than he had thought as the youngster before him was much stronger than he expected. It was especially so when the youngster grasped a way to attack his divine perception directly. Every time he tried to escape, his plans would be disrupted by a sudden blow to his divine perception. Only after several failed attempts did Yu Hanglong realize what Shang Xia was doing. The blows to his divine perception seemed to grow stronger and stronger, and his opponent was obviously using him to train himself. The moment his technique takes form¡­ Shit! I can¡¯t drag this out anymore. Yu Hanglong knew that it was impossible for him to leave unscathed. In order to escape from the two Martial Extermination Realm experts before him, he would have to pay a heavy price. With his mind made up, Yu Hanglong¡¯s sword started to dance in mid air as the void started to shatter¡­ ¡°Bear¡¯s Sword!¡± The void shattered in a tyrannical manner as sword qi filled the air. A ray of sword qi that contained raw power sailed through the air. Shang Xia was naturally unfazed. He unleashed his Startling Moon Spear as the spatial fractures in the air became even more chaotic. After that, he sent a Piercing Sun Spear straight at the incoming sword. No matter what, he decided to break Yu Hanglong¡¯s sword art before trying anything else. Yu Hanglong didn¡¯t stop there. After releasing his Bear¡¯s Sword, he followed up with another move. ¡°Tiger¡¯s Sword!¡± Another terrifying strand of sword qi emerged to greet Shang Xia¡¯s Piercing Sun Spear. As they clashed in mid air, they quickly nullified each other. Yu Hanglong acted the same way Shang Pei did earlier. He went all out in an attempt to look for a gap in Shang Xia¡¯s offensive. ¡°He¡¯s trying to escape!¡± Shang Pei saw through his intentions and yelled to remind Shang Xia. She might not have suppressed her internal injuries, but she leaped into action. She raised her spear and released a barrage of attacks in Yu Hanglong¡¯s direction. Obviously, Shang Xia understood that he couldn¡¯t retreat even the slightest bit at that moment. His Scarlet Star Spear flashed through the air like an arc of lightning as he circulated his inner qi to its limit. A four colored extermination light appeared in the air and formed a giant spear phantom that shot at Yu Hanglong to stop him. Shang Xia didn¡¯t stop there. He slammed his divine perception into Yu Hanglong. ¡°Dragon¡¯s Sword!¡± Yu Hanglong could feel danger closing in on him and he had no choice but to release the strongest of his moves. Like a giant dragon that swept through the lands, a sword qi that contained a terrifying might emerged from the tip of Yu Hanglong¡¯s blade. He leaped into the air and rose into the skies while riding on the dragon-like sword qi. The Cloud Water Gorge seemed to possess the ability to suppress flight, but it couldn¡¯t do a thing to the sword qi that emerged. With the assistance of his sword qi, Yu Hanglong managed to break through the encirclement. ¡°Hahaha!¡± As he shot through the air, Yu Hanglong imagined the helpless look in their eyes. He heaved a sigh of relief and roared with laughter, ¡°Fellow cultivators, we¡¯ll meet again! I won''t forget what happened today and you better¡­ What? Oh no! Argh!¡± Before he could finish speaking, he felt as though someone had driven a burning spike into his sea of consciousness. He managed to shake the feeling off eventually, and his figure trembled unsteadily in the air. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t fall off his sword qi and his escape attempt wasn¡¯t really affected. When he finally cleared his mind, he was greeted with an unbelievable scene. Shang Xia rose into the air with the Scarlet Star Spear in his hand. A four colored extermination light surrounded him as his figure shot through the air to arrive in front of Yu Hanglong. He didn¡¯t waste any time. The moment he arrived before Yu Hanglong, Shang Xia unleashed his third martial intent, the Divine Killing Spear! Question marks filled Yu Hanglong¡¯s mind. How can he fly?! How can he locate me so accurately a thousand feet away?! A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. How¡­ How did he overcome my Dragon¡¯s Sword?! Those questions remained in his mind as he fell slowly towards the ground below. Shang Xia¡¯s sneer rang in his mind as he fell. ¡°Dragon¡¯s Sword? You just copied the geography of the Taihang Mountains when coming up with that move. No matter how majestic it might seem, the Taihang Mountains is limited by the Eight Passes at the end of the day.¡± CH 461 Yu Hanglong¡¯s self-developed rank four martial art was called the Bestial Sword Art. It was made up of four styles, the Wolf¡¯s Sword, Bear¡¯s Sword, Tiger¡¯s Sword, and Dragon¡¯s Sword. There was nothing special about his first 3 moves as they were developed through the observation of the various beasts. The only problem came when he developed the Dragon¡¯s Sword as he had nothing to base it on. Even so, Yu Hanglong could be considered a genius in his own right. He gained some inspiration from the winding Taihang Mountains and after a lot of research, he finally developed his Dragon¡¯s Sword to complete his Bestial Sword Art. The power contained in his sword art was nothing to scoff at. His final style, the Dragon¡¯s Sword, was also a huge reason behind his title as the Taihang Swordsman. Actually, Shang Xia didn¡¯t expect that he would be able to fly through the air with the help of his sword art. After a short examination, Shang Xia discovered that Yu Hanglong wasn¡¯t flying for real. He merely parked himself on his sword qi. It was like standing on a formless mountain, and Shang Xia discovered that Yu Hanglong didn¡¯t possess the nimbleness of true flight. Yu Hanglong expected Shang Xia to attach his divine perception after learning about his abilities during the fight earlier. He prepared himself for it, but he never expected that Shang Xia would be able to locate him accurately. An even scarier fact was that the youngster was able to go against the suppression of the Cloud Water Gorge and fly! Even though it took a lot of energy to resist the suppression so that he could fly for a short while, it was more than enough! Yu Hanglong was heavily injured by Shang Xia¡¯s sudden strike. Striking Yu Hanglong down was one thing. Shang Xia used his divine perception to guide Shang Pei to where Yu Hanglong would land. As he fell from the skies, Shang Xia could feel that the energy he recovered earlier was gone again. Understanding that Martial Extermination Realm experts would usually hide a few life-saving tricks up their sleeves, Shang Xia had no choice but to call Shang Pei over despite her poor condition. He could tell that she was forcefully suppressing her injuries, but they couldn¡¯t be careless. Yu Hanglong might be on his last legs and heavily injured, but the battle wasn¡¯t concluded unless he was dead. Taking out a bottle of rank four Hundred Flower Spiritual Wine, Shang Xia took a huge swig. The inner qi in his body recovered slightly as Shang Xia rushed to where Yu Hanglong had fallen. He barely took a few steps when his expression sank. He increased his speed to rush over to where Shang Pei was. Even though he wasn¡¯t able to see them in the dense fog, his divine perception locked accurately onto their location. It didn¡¯t take long for him to arrive when he noticed Shang Pei¡¯s inner qi circulating at a frightening rate. Blood dripped down her face and she was deathly pale. Her body swayed from side to side as her breaths were shallow. When she forced her smile, Shang Xia noticed the rage contained within. She growled, ¡°Fourth Brother Zeng didn¡¯t die in vain now that we buried two Martial Extermination Realm experts with him. Duan Liufeng is the only one left!¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t bother looking at Yu Hanglong¡¯s corpse on the ground as he examined Shang Pei¡¯s condition. Yu Hanglong¡¯s body was starting to get cold and he couldn¡¯t be more dead. The only thing he noticed was the broken sword beside him. He could basically guess what happened after he struck Yu Hanglong earlier. He probably launched a desperate counterattack on Shang Pei, injuring her before he was slain. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Shang Xia frowned. From what he could tell, Shang Pei had suffered horrifying injuries. She had been forcefully holding off the 3 of them earlier, and after going all out against Yu Hanglong during Shang Xia¡¯s sneak attack, she was an arrow at the end of her flight. Now that she received Yu Hanglong¡¯s final blow, it was extremely possible for her foundations to be damaged. If she wasn¡¯t careful, she could bid farewell to her future as a cultivator. ¡°I¡¯ll live¡­¡± Shang Pei leaned on her spear in an attempt to support herself. She didn¡¯t stop Shang Xia when he rushed over to help her. Only then did Shang Xia notice the damage to Shang Pei¡¯s spear. Even the tip of the spear had a two inch dent in it. It seemed as though she was going to have to scrap her weapon¡­ ¡°Did you collect everything from Feng Chenyi¡¯s corpse? The lantern is especially important¡­ You didn¡¯t break it, right?¡± Shang Pei asked. With a smile slowly lighting up his face, Shang Xia muttered, ¡°Of course not. I collected everything.¡± Shang Pei nodded slightly and continued, ¡°The Cloud Water Gorge is a little weird. The spatial shifts here feel worse than the battlefield between the two worlds. If you put anything on the ground, it might disappear the next second.¡± Shang Xia pulled out a bottle from his Embroidered Cloud Case and handed it to her. ¡°That¡¯s what I heard too. Anyway, just focus on recovering for now in case your injuries worsen.¡± Looking at the bottle he handed over, a look of surprise flashed through Shang Pei¡¯s eyes. ¡°This¡­ This is rank four Hundred Flower Spiritual Wine. It¡¯s what Duan Liufeng used to establish himself in the Taihang Mountains¡­ Where did you get this?¡± Chuckling softly, Shang Xia recounted his experience of how he attacked the Jingxiu Peak. By the time he concluded his story, Shang Pei was roaring with laughter. She felt her insides hurting, but she couldn¡¯t stop gloating. ¡°Hehe, I can imagine that asshole¡¯s expression when he leaves the Cloud Water Gorge and returns to his Jingxiu Peak.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not all. I auctioned off the Jingxiu Peak after everyone left. Those who gave up their treasures in exchange for the remnants of the Jingxiu Peak probably won¡¯t return Duan Liufeng his treasures. When he returns, a disagreement is bound to take place. If Duan Liufeng fails to handle the situation well, he might be attacked on all sides back on the Jingxiu Peak.¡± Shang Xia sneered. Nodding for a second, Shang Pei seemed to have thought of something. She stopped nodding and shook her head while explaining, ¡°Duan Liufeng is a crafty freak. He might not fall for your trap when he returns. Well, at least he has to eat the loss of his Jingxiu Peak regardless¡­¡± She couldn¡¯t help but giggle after thinking of how Duan Liufeng¡¯s territory was backdoored during his expedition to the Cloud Water Gorge. That poor guy probably doesn¡¯t have a place to stay now! She felt a lot better even though she didn¡¯t kill him and the color quickly returned to her face. Even though they had been talking, Shang had yet to accept the bottle of rank four Hundred Flower Spiritual Wine. She eventually continued, ¡°Do you know how precious this is? Duan Liufeng is the only one with the recipe to craft it and he produces 2 to 3 bottles of rank four Hundred Flower Spiritual Wine every 7 years¡­ It¡¯s extremely beneficial for cultivation, and it¡¯s a waste to use it to recover from injuries. Now that you have entered the Martial Extermination Realm, you should use it to cultivate. Only then will you be able to bring out its full effects.¡± Shang Xia expected her to react as such. Shang Ke said pretty much the same thing when he offered the old man rank four Monkey Wine. Taking out another half-filled bottle filled with rank four Hundred Flower Spiritual Wine, Shang Xia snickered, ¡°Third Aunt, I raided that old freak¡¯s treasury. I have more wine than you might think.¡± Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV. ¡°Alright, alright! Then I won¡¯t stand on ceremony!¡± Shang Pei laughed before accepting the bottle. Grabbing the bottle, the leader of the Youyan Stronghold and the former bandit lord of the Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent seemed to make her reappearance as she took a violent swig from the bottle. The Hundred Flower Spiritual Wine might not be used to treat injuries, but it was a rank four treasure at the end of the day. After drinking some, Shang Pei felt her inner qi circulating rapidly through her body. She looked a lot better than before. After examining her body, Shang Pei turned to look at Shang Xia, ¡°Little brat, you started with all the good news of the destruction of the Jingxiu Peak and you even gave me this medicine to stabilize my injuries¡­ Are you waiting for me to recover so you can throw some bad news in my face?¡± The corners of Shang Xia¡¯s lips curled upwards and he muttered, ¡°I found this on Feng Chenyi¡¯s corpse.¡± An intricate-looking bag that was the size of his palm appeared before Shang Pei. A frown appeared on Shang Pei¡¯s face before her pupils shinked violently. She turned to stare at Shang Xia and muttered, ¡°This is definitely a Spatial Pouch, however¡­¡± Shang Xia nodded before flipping the pouch around. There seemed to be two ancient words embroidered on it, ¡®Divine Capital¡¯. ¡°Divine Capital?¡± Shang Pei muttered to herself. It didn¡¯t take long for a look of shock to appear on her face. ¡°Divine Capital Sect from the Si Continent?! Could she be from the Divine Capita Paradise?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid so¡­¡± Shang Xia¡¯s expression was as grave as could be. A trace of panic, anger, contemplation, and helplessness flashed through Shang Pei¡¯s eyes but she eventually calmed herself. She sighed softly in response. ¡°We probably won¡¯t be able to keep this a secret.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll hide it as long as we can. The most important thing for us and the Tongyou Institution is time!¡± Shang Xia replied. Getting to her feet, Shang Pei muttered, ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, Duan Liufeng has to die. We¡¯ll be able to buy some time that way. Also, I need to disappear¡­¡± Shang Xia shook his head before replying, ¡°There¡¯s no rush for now. With your injuries, you won¡¯t be able to fight any time soon. Just leave it to me.¡± Shang Pei knew that she had acted a little too hastily. She had less than a tenth of her original strength at the moment and she was in no position to do anything. ¡°It¡¯s not going to be easy for you to kill him alone¡­¡± Shang Xia knew that it wouldn¡¯t be easy, but he didn¡¯t have a choice. Duan Liufeng couldn¡¯t be left alive. The moment he left the Cloud Water Gorge, he probably wouldn''t return to the Jingxiu Peak. After all, it was true that he was a crafty old asshole. He would probably hide in some hole to observe the situation. If that happened, killing him would be a lot harder than before. Shang Xia brought out Feng Chenyi¡¯s Hexagonal Lantern and a smile returned to his face. ¡°Third Aunt, are you forgetting something? I can probably use this to hunt him down before he leaves the Cloud Water Gorge¡­¡± The Hexagonal Lantern was clearly a strange treasure. It not only managed to create an area unobstructed by the strange fog, but it also possessed offensive and defensive capabilities! Just as Shang Xia was starting to pour his inner qi into the lantern, Shang Pei yelled, ¡°Oh no! We won¡¯t make it in time!¡± Before Shang Xia could express his confusion, Shang Pei revealed a cube-like seal in her hand and started her explanation. ¡°Do you remember the secret region I told you about? It¡¯s hidden in the Cloud Water Gorge! Forget Duan Liufeng. You need to enter the secret region as soon as possible!¡± Pausing for a second, she continued, ¡°This¡­ This Abyssal Seal is the key to entering the secret region.¡± CH 462 Shang Xia didn¡¯t reach for the seal immediately. Instead, he frowned, ¡°Is it really so coincidental that the secret region would appear so suddenly?¡± A soft sigh escaped Shang Pei¡¯s lips as she tossed the seal before her. The space around the seal grew several times denser to hold the object in the air as Shang Pei started to explain, ¡°Like you thought, the Abyssal Seal is closely related to the secret region. The fog around us interacted with the seal the moment I took it out, and it¡¯s a sign that the secret region is about to appear¡­¡± Pushing the seal in Shang Xia¡¯s direction, Shang Pei continued, ¡°Only the Abyssal Seal can detect the exact location the secret region is going to appear, take it.¡± Shang Xia was a little surprised when he first saw the seal, but he gasped softly after her introduction and took out a strange six-sided object Shang Pei had given him back in the underground cavern of the Changfeng City. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that this was the key to entering the secret region?¡± Shang Pei gestured slightly and the item flew at the Abyssal Seal before fusing tightly with it. Only then did Shang Xia realize that the entire object had transformed. The Abyssal Seal¡¯s cubic shape formed the base of the seal while Shang Xia¡¯s hexagonal item turned into a handle of sorts. Looking at Shang Xia¡¯s shocked expression, Shang Pei explained, ¡°It¡¯s impossible to bring the Abyssal Seal out of the Cloud Water Gorge. The only thing I managed to bring out was the handle. Now that both items are together the complete Abyssal Seal has been reformed.¡± Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°I thought you had the seal all along¡­¡± Shang Pei nodded and continued her explanation. ¡°As long as no one obtains the other half of the seal, I would be able to find it quickly after returning to the Cloud Water Gorge. I gave you the other half as a precaution that I won¡¯t be able to come back. The special properties of the seal were probably left behind by the creator of the secret region anyway¡­¡± Shang Xia finally understood the situation at hand, but he didn¡¯t retrieve the Abyssal Seal immediately. He muttered in an incomparably serious tone, ¡°This isn¡¯t the time to look for the secret region.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Shang Pei frowned. ¡°The moment I enter the secret region, you won¡¯t hold the Abyssal Seal anymore. How are you supposed to leave the Cloud Water Gorge?¡± Shang Xia chuckled. Before Shang Pei could say anything, Shang Xia continued, ¡°You might say that you can remain in the Cloud Water Gorge, but with your current strength, you can¡¯t ensure your safety. Your fellow members of the Youyan Stronghold might also be in serious danger at the moment. Do you know how I managed to get my hands on the seal talisman to save you? I saved Ninth Brother Huang who had been seriously injured¡­¡± Shang Pei was silenced when she thought about Fifth Uncle Cen, Ninth Brother Huang, and the rest. If she was alone, she wouldn¡¯t bother with Shang Xia¡¯s rejection and would urge him to enter the secret region as soon as he could. However, the lives of her fellow companions were on the line right now. She couldn¡¯t ditch them all and leave them for dead. ¡°Right now, the most important thing is to look for them!¡± Shang Xia made the decision for Shang Pei after seeing the conflicted look on her face. Looking for them was a little easier than locating Shang Pei with the use of the seal talisman. With Shang Xia in tow, Shang Pei started to locate the remaining members of the Youyan Stronghold. Shang Xia decided to ask about matters regarding the secret region along the way. It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". ¡°I don¡¯t know! Shang Pei sighed in response. ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± Shang Xia muttered, ¡°Then¡­¡± A look of reminiscence appeared on Shang Pei¡¯s face as she started to talk about what happened that year. ¡°When I roamed the Taihang Mountains with my husband, we entered the Cloud Water Gorge by accident. We managed to obtain 2 Abyssal Seals during our adventures here, and we thought that we chanced upon some huge treasure. We kept the seals well, but we didn¡¯t think that we would accidentally open the secret region¡­¡± Shang Pei¡¯s expression sank slightly and Shang Xia couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°2 Abyssal Seals? What happened after that?¡± ¡°After we entered¡­¡± Shang Pei¡¯s eyes grew a little mistier as she continued, ¡°We appeared above a mountain that was covered in a dense layer of cloud. We saw several other mountain peaks poking out from the top of the clouds in the distance, but the heaven and earth qi in the secret region was so dense that it felt suffocating. We thought that we ran into a massive opportunity, but before we could start exploring the region, a disaster arrived.¡± Shang Pei took a deep breath before she resumed her recount of the situation. ¡°A blade light appeared from nowhere¡­ We didn¡¯t even know where it came from. From the intensity of the blade light and the power contained behind it, it wasn¡¯t weaker than a Martial Extermination Realm expert¡¯s divine perception. We thought that we were being attacked the moment we entered. After entering the Martial Extermination Realm myself, I can confirm that the attack contained the might of a Martial Extermination Realm expert. In a fit of desperation, my husband pushed me off the mountain. The blade light seemed to lose track of me, but he took on the full force of the blow. By the time I reacted, he was swallowed in a sea of blue-colored blade light. After that, I seemed to have caught a glimpse of a broken blade stuck in a giant rock on the mountain behind us. That might also be where the blade light came from¡­¡± Shang Pei paused after talking so much. Shang Xia thought for a second as he followed up with another question. ¡°What happened next? How did you escape from the secret region and did the suspected divine weapon react after that?¡± ¡°I have no clue.¡± Shang Pei muttered while shaking her head. ¡°I merely glanced at the weapon before tumbling through the clouds. The next thing I knew, I found myself back in the Cloud Water Gorge. The only thing left was the Abyssal Seal¡­¡± ¡°Tumbling through the clouds¡­¡± Shang Xia muttered to himself. ¡°Then¡­¡± From what he heard, Shang Pei barely managed to escape from the secret region. Most of her knowledge of it seemed to be conjectures that couldn¡¯t be proven. The only thing he knew for sure was that she was attacked the moment she arrived. That would most likely happen to him when he explored the secret region. That was an attack from a divine weapon they were talking about! Even after entering the Martial Extermination Realm, Shang Xia wasn¡¯t confident he could resist it completely. The divine weapon might be damaged, but Shang Xia wasn¡¯t going to risk his life and assume he could block the strike without suffering some injuries. He sank into silence as he didn¡¯t know what to say. As they searched for members of the Youyan Stronghold, Shang Xia took over the strenuous task and he took the seal from Shang Pei¡¯s hand. No matter what, Shang Pei suffered serious injuries from the battle that took place earlier. Shang Xia felt that it would be easier for him to be the one looking for them. As he sent his Four Constellation Qi into the seal, he felt a strange sensation filling his body. He felt as though the dense clouds in the Cloud Water Gorge were no longer as restrictive as they were as he became a part of them. At the same time, he felt a subtle shift in the fog around him as they seemed to become a layer of protection for him. Even though his divine perception couldn¡¯t extend freely like when he was outside the Cloud Water Gorge, he discovered that the suppression weakened. He was able to feel everything within a 2000 feet radius with the seal in hand. Shang Pei wasn¡¯t surprised when Shang Xia described the changes he felt. ¡°I know what you mean when you say that you feel like a part of the dense clouds in the Cloud Water Gorge. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to hold out against the 3 of them for such a long time. If not for Feng Chenyi¡¯s lantern, I might have defeated them without your assistance¡­¡± ¡°The vague sense of protection and the ability to feel the presence of the secret region are the other properties of the seal. Of course, a fixed area around the seal wouldn¡¯t experience spatial shifts, and that¡¯s the foundation of the Youyan Stronghold. Your range of perception within the area covered by the seal would also increase. Although¡­ Did you say that you can feel 2000 feet around you?! Doesn¡¯t that mean that you can extend your divine perception close to 1000 feet around yourself without the seal?¡± Shang Pei muttered out loud. However, she wasn¡¯t done. ¡°How far can you extend your divine perception outside the Cloud Water Gorge?!¡± Shang Xia smiled, but he didn¡¯t reply. Locating the other members of the Youyan Stronghold became a lot smoother now that Shang Xia took over. It might be because of his larger divine perception range, but he quickly located the first person from the Youyan Stronghold. Surprisingly, he found Ninth Brother Huang before the others. From the looks of it, he had been recovering from his injuries. Shang Xia also discovered that he had drunk the wine Shang Xia left him. Even though space shifted frequently in the Cloud Water Gorge, it seemed as though Ninth Brother Huang lucked out and wasn¡¯t transported too far away. After some time, Shang Xia discovered someone else¡¯s tracks. They located Sixth Sister Gu not long after and Shang Pei stopped him right after that. ¡°Do you have rank one talisman paper and ink on you?¡± She asked. ¡°Yes.¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t know what she needed them for, but he replied nonetheless. Even though Shang Xia might not have a lot of rank four talisman papers on him, at the very least, he was a rank four Talisman Master. Rank one and two talisman paper couldn¡¯t be considered too rare for him at the moment and he carried some wherever he went. Shang Pei pointed at the Abyssal Seal in his hand and continued, ¡°We¡¯ll just stay where we are and place the seal on the ground. Pour your inner qi into the seal before stamping it on some rank one talisman paper. The seal talisman will last for seven days and they can roam the Cloud Water Gorge without getting lost.¡± After speaking, Shang Pei didn¡¯t care about Shang Xia¡¯s reactions. She turned to Ninth Brother Huang and Sixth Sister Gu. ¡°I injured my foundations during the last battle and I need to enter seclusion immediately. Otherwise, I might leave behind hidden injuries in my body. My nephew has an important mission that might cause him to risk his life and he can¡¯t be disturbed either. I have to entrust the two of you to look for the remaining members of the Youyan Stronghold.¡± Sixth Sister Gu couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Third Sister, are you really going to be okay?¡± Slapping his chest, Ninth Brother Huang said confidently, ¡°Third Sister, rest assured¡­ Cough, cough¡­¡± It seemed as though he slapped himself a little too hard and his injuries weren¡¯t fully recovered as he couldn¡¯t complete his sentence. Even so, Shang Pei understood what he meant. Nodding slightly, she turned back to Shang Xia and said, ¡°Alright, do it.¡± Taking out a little more than 10 pieces of rank one talisman paper, Shang Xia dipped the seal into some talisman ink before stamping it down on the first piece. CH 463 In the Divine Capital City in the Si Continent¡­ Initially, they called themselves the Divine Capital. They wanted to show that they were the main city of the Azure Spiritual World, but as the number of people settling down in the region increased, they started to call the settlement the Divine Capital City. Despite the prosperity of the city and the rise of many factions, everyone in the Divine Capital City knew that there was only one true power that controlled the region. It was the Divine Capital Sect that had based themselves in the core of the Divine Capital City. In one of the second palaces of the Divine Capital Sect, a middle aged Martial Extermination Realm expert wearing a grave expression rushed into the main hall. He approached a withered figure sitting within who seemed to be nodding off as he whispered softly, ¡°Ninth Palace Elder, we received news from the Spirit Hall. Enforcer Feng Chenyi¡¯s life tablet shattered¡­¡± A chilly light flashed in the old expert¡¯s eyes and the tired look on his face disappeared in an instant. He growled in a hoarse voice, ¡°Where did she die?¡± Bowing even lower, the middle aged expert continued, ¡°Her life tablet didn¡¯t indicate the exact location. All we know is that she was killed in the northeastern direction. Since the tablet couldn¡¯t show where she died, she definitely left the Si Continent.¡± Grunting once, the old expert mumbled, ¡°I knew it. Who would dare to touch enforcers of our Divine Capital Sect members in the Si Continent¡­?¡± The middle aged expert hesitated slightly before speaking again. ¡°Ninth Elder, do you think¡­¡± ¡°Do what we have to do. We can¡¯t let an enforcer of our sect die without repercussions.¡± The old expert replied without raising his head. A trace of joy flashed across the middle aged expert¡¯s face and he bowed respectfully, ¡°Yes, Ninth Elder! This disciple will deal with it immediately!¡± As soon as he spoke, he got ready to leave. ¡°Wait!¡± A powerless voice came from behind, but it seemed to contain a strange charm that caused the middle aged expert to tremble slightly before stopping in place. ¡°Ninth Elder? Do you still have any instructions for me?¡± The middle aged expert turned around and lowered his head in deference, not allowing anyone to see the look on his face. Finally raising his head slightly, the old figure said plainly, ¡°You should know where the little lass went, right? Do you also know what she was up to?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± Pausing, the middle aged man didn¡¯t reply immediately. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± A hoarse laughter filled the hall and the middle aged man was afraid his back would break if the old expert laughed a little louder. With beads of sweat dripping down his forehead, the middle aged man explained, ¡°This disciple knows that Junior Sister Feng went to the Taihang Mountains. She borrowed the Misty Palace Lantern from the treasure before she left and I believe she went over to look for a secret region!¡± The old expert mumbled nonchalantly, ¡°Greedy fool!¡± ¡°Yes, yes, Ninth Elder, you¡¯re right!¡± With his eyelids fluttering slightly, the old expert continued, ¡°Go. Bring some men with you. I want to see her corpse and the lantern. Deal with whatever she started¡­ Even if she¡¯s useless, we can¡¯t let her die for nothing, especially in the hands of others.¡± The caution in his heart was replaced with joy, but the middle aged expert maintained a solemn expression while replying to the elder. ¡°Yes! This disciple understands what to do. I¡¯ll slay whoever killed Junior Sister Feng and bring back the treasure to our sect!¡± The old expert no longer bothered with him and returned to his rest while the middle aged man shuffled out of the hall with his head still bowed. He wanted to heave a sigh of relief the second he stepped out of the hall as his taut nerves finally relaxed, but he managed to hold it in. Glancing at the main hall one last time, a four colored light surrounded him as he flew into the distance. That was a fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm expert who was bowing and scraping in the hall earlier, he was a formidable expert who had refined four extermination origins! Not too long after he left, a man who wore a silver hat entered the main hall. He ran straight to the old expert and asked, ¡°Teacher, Senior Brother Sang was prepared to head off to the Taihang Mountains all along. Looks like he was sure Junior Sister Feng would run into trouble¡­¡± Maintaining his aloof appearance, the old expert acted as though he didn¡¯t hear anything the man in the silver hat said. Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" Unwilling to give up, the man continued, ¡°Teacher, I suspect that someone had been plotting against Junior Sister Feng the moment she stepped out of the sect. I hope Teacher can get to the bottom of this!¡± ¡°Do you also wish to go to the Taihang Mountains?¡± The old expert¡¯s eyes opened at an unknown time and his gaze seemed to be able to peer into one¡¯s soul. The man in a silver hat felt his muscles trembling as he replied hastily, ¡°This disciple doesn¡¯t wish to see a fellow disciple die in vain. Junior Sister Feng clearly became someone else¡¯s tool and I do not wish for Teacher to be fooled¡­¡± ¡°Fooled?¡± The old expert finally broke into laughter. ¡°Do you really think that he¡¯s the one trying to fool me? Or could you be the one¡­¡± ¡°This disciple doesn¡¯t dare! Teacher, I have never once thought of fooling you!¡± Trembling in fright, the man in the silver hat jumped in fright before bowing deeply towards the old expert. Shaking his head casually, the elder sighed, ¡°Leave. Go and do what you¡¯re supposed to.¡± The man in the silver hat felt his heart thumping slightly and he asked, ¡°Teacher, please guide me¡­¡± ¡°Go outside the heavens.¡± The old expert said as he closed his eyes slowly. He seemed as though he was about to fall asleep as he continued, ¡°Don¡¯t be like me and rot in this tiny little Azure Origin World. I¡¯m just a bag of old bones left in the Divine Capital Sect¡­¡± The man in the silver hat felt his heart trembling slightly as he replied respectfully, ¡°Yes, Teacher! Many thanks for the guidance and I will head to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion immediately!¡± After he spoke, he behaved like the middle aged man before him and left the hall. A dreamy voice rang in his mind as he took his leave. ¡°We won¡¯t be able to stop the fusion of the worlds. Hehehel¡­ In order to make old fellows like myself step down, opportunities are popping out everywhere¡­¡± ¡­ It was extremely hard to grasp the time in the Cloud Water Gorge and thus, Duan Liufeng had no idea how long he had been running through the dense fog. He had to admit one unfortunate thing. A Martial Extermination Realm expert like himself was lost! Luckily, he was still a second layer Martial Extermination Realm expert at the end of the day. As long as he wasn¡¯t surrounded by a bunch of strong creatures, he would be able to escape eventually. Despite his confidence in his abilities, he was burning with anxiety. He was afraid that the leader of the Youyan Stronghold and the mysterious expert who appeared to help her were hunting him down. He knew that the leader of the Youyan Stronghold had the ability to move about the Cloud Water Gorge as she wished. With the Hexagonal Lantern, his fate was sealed if they managed to locate him. The more he thought about it, the stronger the calling for him to leave the Cloud Water Gorge. There was a voice at the back of his head telling him to return to his old territory as soon as he had the chance. It was as though something big was about to go down. Duan Liufeng forced his divine perception to its maximum range as he continued to look for a way out. Along the way, he felt the ground below his feet giving way as he fell into a strange pit. Cursing silently, he wanted to leap out of the pit but a thin shadow appeared from the sand beneath. ¡°Hmph, I was prepared for you, you little shit.¡± Duan Liufeng growled as the shadow flew up at his face. With his index finger and thumb, he grabbed the creature 7 inches from its head. No matter how the snake tried to twist around to bite Duan Liufeng, it failed to break free. ¡°Shadow Snake!¡± Duan Liufeng¡¯s expression changed slightly after identifying the creature. Even though the snake was merely a rank three spiritual beast, its poison had the ability to threaten Martial Extermination Realm experts. Exerting some strength, he shattered the snake¡¯s heart. Duan Liufeng casually tossed the corpse to the side before resuming his journey. Ordinarily, he would definitely skin the snake and harvest all its organs. Its poison gland, gallbladder, and other parts of the body were really valuable treasures. He might have even kept it alive to brew some wine. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t feeling it at the moment. It didn¡¯t take long before the fog in front of him started to pulse wildly. As it churned, the space around him started to solidify. He could tell that the area was close to 200 feet around his body and he immediately assumed the worst. A look of fright appeared on his face as he got ready for an attack. He nearly turned to run, but he finally discovered that he was overreacting. If anyone wanted to attack him in the Cloud Water Gorge, they wouldn¡¯t have caused such a huge commotion. Moreover, the attack should have already arrived. He felt the fog around him churning faster and faster as the heaven and earth qi around him grew extremely dense. A strange wind blew across his face and he felt a sense of curiosity like never before. ¡°This¡­ Is this the birth of some special treasure?¡± Was he finally going to run into a huge opportunity to make himself stronger?! He wanted to take a step towards the twisting space, but his sense of reasoning eventually stopped him. Even if a treasure was being born, it didn¡¯t seem like it was ready to appear. He decided to wait a little, but it didn¡¯t take long for the change to arrive. In the time it took for him to drink a cup of tea, the fog started to disperse. A huge area cleared out and Duan Liufeng discovered that he could see everything in the radius of a 1000 feet. His figure was revealed to the world, but a tiny seal could also be seen sitting quietly on the ground beside his feet. ¡­ ¡°The inheritance for the Bestial Sword Art! Yu Hanglong actually carried it on him!¡± Shang Pei opened a manual made with beast skin and skimmed its contents. A pout quickly formed on her face. ¡°Damn it! That asshole Shang Jian just sits at home all day and such a great fortune is falling on his head!¡± Shang Pei looked at Uncle Cen and grumbled, ¡°Tell me I¡¯m right. What has that lazy fellow done? He barely returned from the battlefield between the two worlds and was allocated a strand of extermination origin. He didn¡¯t do shit and Shang Xia brought back a suitable advancement formula. His mighty grandaunt¡­ I mean, cousin, even found a rank four martial art suitable for him! What the fuck! This¡­ This¡­ This¡­¡± An awkward smile appeared on Fifth Uncle Cen¡¯s face and Shang Pei continued, ¡°Tell me. Doesn¡¯t he deserve to die if he fails to enter the Martial Extermination Realm?¡± The awkward smile on Fifth Uncle Cen¡¯s face turned into bitter laughter after hearing what she said. How was he supposed to respond?! Before he could react, a sharp crack came from a newly created mountain cave not too far away. Shang Pei casually glanced in that direction before starting another round of complaints. ¡°God damn it, everyone is messing with me¡­ Didn¡¯t Shang Xia say that he became a rank four Talisman Master? He even swore that he would create a Spiritual Protection Substitution Talisman before coming out of seclusion. What bullshit did he spout before? How many times has he failed since he started?!¡± CH 464 Yu Hanglong was a famous figure in the Taihang Mountains and no one could deny that he was a strong fighter. Even though his Bestial Sword Art was a little flawed, he made up for it with his fourth move, the Dragon¡¯s Sword. With the Taihang Mountains as his inspiration, he created an extremely powerful move. With his Dragon¡¯s Sword, he was able to challenge third later Martial Extermination Realm experts at the second layer Martial Extermination Realm. That was also how he managed to break through the Tongyou Institution¡¯s encirclement back during the War of the Tongyou Mysterious World. Shang Pei was extremely indignant because of how amazing the rank four inheritance was. Well, no matter how amazing it was, the inheritance Shang Pei received wasn¡¯t bad either. It was a technique developed by Shang Bo, an expert much stronger than the Taihang Swordsman. Unfortunately, the Shang Clan Spear Art developed by Shang Bo wasn¡¯t truly suited for Shang Pei. Along with the grudge she was holding in her heart, she wasn¡¯t able to unleash the full strength of her spear art. Before she adapted the spear art into something of her own, she would never be able to use it to its fullest potential. Whatever the case, she couldn¡¯t be bothered with her own techniques for the time being. After obtaining the Bestial Sword Art, she immediately realized it was extremely compatible with Shang Jian. He might not even have to modify a huge portion of it before being able to show its true strength. Damn it! This grandaunt had to suffer betrayal, capture, threats, and a lot of pain before entering the Martial Extermination Realm. I even had to come all the way over to the Sixth Pass in the Taihang Mountains to make a foothold¡­ Shang Jian, you lucky asshole! All the luck fell on you when you were lazing around back at home¡­ Shang Pei cursed inwardly, but she was merely venting her frustrations. She was also slightly depressed that Yu Hanglong¡¯s sword was ruined. The only valuable on him that could catch her eye was his Bestial Sword Art, but she couldn¡¯t even use it. The other items that Yu Hanglong had might be precious, but she couldn¡¯t be bothered as she handed them over to Fifth Uncle Cen and the others. We are "pawread dot com", find us on google. Treasures left behind by a Martial Extermination Realm expert were a huge fortune to the rest of the members of the Youyan Stronghold. After Shang Pei gave away the loot from Yu Hanglong, she focused on the Spatial Pouch Feng Chenyi left behind. Her identity as a member of the Divine Capital Sect of the Si Continent caused no small amount of worry for Shang Xia and Shang Pei. However, that also meant that as a Martial Extermination Realm expert of the Divine Capital Sect, she definitely had a lot of treasures on her. Just the fact that she had a Spatial Pouch on her was enough for Shang Xia and Shang Pei to take the risk of killing her in the first place. Not to mention the fact that she had a special treasure like the Hexagonal Lantern. With a flick of her wrist, a Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman was stuck onto the pouch. It was the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman she had used and if not for an amazing rank four Talisman Master like Shang Xia who had several Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman already made, she would never have been able to obtain so many of them. The value of a Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman was much higher than other rank three talismans, and so was the difficulty of crafting one. She estimated that after using the third Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman, she would finally be able to open the Spatial Pouch. As a Spatial Pouch was of a much higher quality than an Embroidered Cloud Case, the restrictions on it were a lot more intricate. Shang Pei had to use her divine perception in tandem with the Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman in order to wear down the restrictions on the pouch. After Shang Xia placed the Abyssal Seal down to create a stable region in the Cloud Water Gorge, Shang Pei had been focusing on recovery and opening the pouch. While she poured her divine perception into the pouch, Shang Xia¡¯s voice came from behind her. ¡°Are you still trying to open the Spatial Pouch?¡± Gasping in shock, she refocused on the task at hand before turning her head slightly to look at Shang Xia. ¡°You finally left seclusion. Did you give up on crafting your rank four talisman or something?¡± She seemed to be laughing at Shang Xia over his failed attempts. After interacting with Shang Pei for such a long time, Shang Xia basically understood what her personality was like. It might be because of her time as a bandit, but she would usually put on a tough front to hide her shrewd thoughts. Because of her recent role as the leader of the Youyan Stronghold, she developed a strange charm that allowed others to place their trust in her. Even though her words were curt, no one would take them to heart. Shang Xia chuckled in response, ¡°How do you know I failed?¡± Shang Pei widened her eyes in shock after she heard his response. She wasn¡¯t the only one as the other members of the Youyan Stronghold who overheard the conversation turned to stare at him. ¡°But¡­ That sound earlier¡­¡± Fifth Uncle Cen was the only other person in the Youyan Stronghold who was familiar with Shang Xia. After Shang Xia¡¯s identity as a Martial Extermination Realm expert was revealed, only Fifth Uncle Cen could maintain his composure to speak to Shang Xia openly. The rest seemed a little afraid of him. With a wide smile, Shang Xia opened his palm to reveal a gray talisman that was inscribed on some metallic sheet. There was an outline of a shield in the middle of the talisman made from complicated runes and it was clear he succeeded. ¡°Is this the Spiritual Protection Substitution Talisman you were talking about?¡± Shang Pei separated a tiny portion of her divine perception to probe the talisman. She felt the power contained in the talisman and gasped, ¡°You actually succeeded!¡± ¡°No shit! Third Aunt, were you hoping that I would fail?¡± Shang Xia mumbled helplessly. ¡°Of course not!¡± Shang Pei looked at the youngster standing in front of her as though it was the first time she discovered how much of a genius he was before she continued, ¡°Rank four Talisman Master! You actually became a rank four Talisman Paster! Haha! You should be the only piece of shi¡­ I mean, you should be the only rank four Talisman Master in the Tongyou Institution, right? Hehehe, who would believe them if they said that a youngster like you had become a rank four Talisman Master¡­¡± Shang Xia could only roll his eyes quietly before snapping at her, ¡°Well, many thanks for the praise! I told you before that the Golden Sun Inferno Talisman I threw at Duan Liufeng previously was the first rank four talisman I made, no?¡± Sniggering softly, Shang Pei added, ¡°Whatever. I was keeping count by the way. You failed four times before crafting this Spiritual Protection Substitution Talisman, right?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s slightly proud expression crumbled in an instant. He had used up all the resources he brought with him. He no longer had any rank four talisman paper and talisman ink as he wasted them all trying to craft the Spiritual Protection Substitution Talisman. One had to know that the Tongyou Institution had been saving up for some time in order to gather so many resources. There was also a portion of the Shang Clan¡¯s savings in there too. If he wanted to craft rank four talismans in the future, he would have to look for ingredients himself. He couldn¡¯t attempt crafting rank four talismans as he wished in the future! Since he became a rank four Talisman Master, the Talisman Hall released all its inheritance to him. Other than the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture he obtained previously, he learned 2 other rank four talismans from the institution¡¯s records. The Golden Sun Inferno Talisman he made previously came from the Zhu Family Talisman Scripture while the Spiritual Protection Substitution Talisman he had just made came from the Talisman Hall. Chasing the other members of the Youyan Stronghold away, Shang Pei turned to Shang Xia and asked seriously, ¡°Are you sure this talisman can stop the blade light from the divine weapon?¡± Shaking his head, Shang Xia chuckled bitterly, ¡°Even if it can¡¯t fully block the blade light, it should be able to weaken it slightly.¡± Shang Pei nodded slowly in response. ¡°Even so, you cannot be careless. I might have felt a blade light that was comparable to a strike from a Martial Extermination Realm expert, but a divine weapon has sentience. Who knows if it sent out that strike because it detected our cultivation realm? It might not have revealed its full power yet.¡± Shang Xia agreed. It was true that he had to take precautions. After Shang Pei had spoken, Shang Xia¡¯s expression flickered slightly and he seemed curious about something. However, he didn¡¯t say anything after a long time. Shang Pei couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Do you have something else to ask me?¡± ¡°Aunt, you said that you and your husband each had an Abyssal Seal when you entered the secret region in the past, right?¡± Shang Xia muttered. Raising her eyebrows slightly, Shang Pei continued, ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± There was no point concealing his doubts and Shang Xia finished his question, ¡°How many Abyssal Seals are there in total? Also, will your husband¡¯s seal reappear in the Cloud Water Gorge? After all, you said you obtained the seal after the fog condensed around you previously¡­¡± Shang Pei seemed a little confused, but she knew that Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t ask a question like that for fun. ¡°Did you discover something?¡± Opening his palm, Shang Xia revealed the Abyssal Seal. ¡°I was playing with the seal in between my attempts to craft the Spiritual Protection Substitution Talisman and I felt a strange resonance two days ago. It seemed to be pulling me in a certain direction, but the feeling was cut off abruptly. After that, I couldn¡¯t feel it anymore.¡± Shang Pei was afraid that Shang Xia would be too engrossed when crafting his talisman to feel the changes of the Abyssal Seal but after hearing his description, she realized that not only did he detect the slight changes, he even discovered something suspicious. ¡°Do you think that a second Abyssal Seal appeared in the Cloud Water Gorge and someone managed to obtain it?¡± Shang Pei frowned. Nodding slowly, Shang Xia continued, ¡°You said that you entered the Cloud Water Gorge 20 years ago and you felt its reappearance 10 years ago. You determined that the secret region would open once every 10 years¡­ Did you manage to feel the existence of the second seal 10 years ago?¡± Shang Pei shook her head and before Shang Xia could say anything else, She continued, ¡°My inability to feel the second seal might have something to do with the fact that no one can enter the secret region twice.¡± A look of realization appeared on Shang Xia¡¯s face and he sighed, ¡°I''m afraid that would mean that I¡¯ll be facing some competition after entering the secret region¡­¡± Shang Pei¡¯s expression lit up suddenly and she muttered out loud, ¡°Do you think¡­ Do you think it¡¯s possible for Duan Liufeng to have obtained the second seal?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be for the best?¡± Shang Xia chuckled in amusement. A strange look appeared on Shang Pei¡¯s face after hearing what he said. ¡°Are you confident that you can kill him alone?¡± Shang Pei could tell that Shang Xia¡¯s cultivation was a little weird, but at the end of the day, he had barely broken through to the Martial Extermination Realm. No matter how she looked at it, Duan Liufeng was a second layer Martial Extermination Realm expert. Before Shang Xia could reply, Shang Pei turned her attention back to the Spatial Pouch. She yelped happily as the sound of items clattering to the ground filled the skies. It seemed as though the restrictions on the Spatial Pouch had finally been broken. CH 465 After wasting 3 Bamboo Void Breaking Talisman, Shang Pei finally opened Feng Chenyi¡¯s Spatial Pouch! When the aunt and nephew duo looked at the bunch of items on the ground, their look of expectation quickly turned into shock. Glancing at each other, Shang Xia quickly turned away as his face heated up slightly. There were at least 10 cubic feet of space contained in the Spatial Pouch, and it could be considered one of the lousiest Spatial Pouches in existence. Even so, it was larger than anything Shang Xia and Shang Pei had seen before. A bunch of female products lay on the ground before them and Shang Xia could only chuckle in embarrassment, ¡°I should have known¡­ After all, ladies need to bring a lot more stuff during their travels outside¡­¡± With a strangely suspicious look on her face, Shang Pei turned to glare at Shang Xia. ¡°Oh? Looks like you know a lot about the items ladies would have to bring when they go out adventuring?¡± ¡°No¡­?¡± Shang Xia shook his hands desperately before him and tried to explain, ¡°How would I¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pretend¡­ Do you really think that I don¡¯t know anything?!¡± Shang Pei snorted coldly before addressing Shang Xia, ¡°You¡¯re no different from your father¡­¡± Shang Xia felt his heart trembling slightly when he heard her bringing up his father but before he could ask, Shang Pei had already turned around to toss the Spatial Pouch at him. ¡°Here. it¡¯s yours.¡± She started to pick out treasures from the ground after tossing the Spatial Pouch over to Shang Xia. Holding the pouch, Shang Xia seemed to have recalled something and he decided to give it back to her. ¡°Aunt, I already asked someone to head out to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion to craft me a Spatial Pouch. You should keep this one.¡± Shang Pei glanced at the feminine-looking pouch in Shang Xia¡¯s hand that clearly did not suit his looks and she chuckled, ¡°You don¡¯t want it? Have you thought it through? If you¡¯re sure, I¡¯ll keep it.¡± She didn¡¯t pretend to reject Shang Xia¡¯s gift. Eventually, she kept the pouch in her sleeves before turning back to the treasures. ¡°Hey, look at that. She¡¯s an enforcer of the Divine Capital Sect alright¡­ She has some good stuff with her!¡± She took out a pair of low-grade weapons that looked like crescent hooks before keeping it for herself. ¡°This looks pretty suitable for Sixth Sister Gu. It¡¯s hers now.¡± It was true that the quality of those hooks wasn¡¯t bad. It might not be comparable to the pair of blades Shang Xia gave Shang Xi in the past, but it wasn¡¯t that far off. Naturally, Shang Xia wouldn¡¯t care about low-grade weapons and let Shang Pei do what she wanted. Thinking a little, he asked, ¡°Aunt, do you know how many Abyssal Seals will be produced before the secret region appears?¡± Shang Pei was picking out treasures from the ground and she replied without looking up. ¡°How would I know? We entered the secret region with 2 Abyssal Seals 20 years ago. I didn¡¯t detect anything else 10 years ago and I thought that the other seal was trapped in there.¡± Shang Xia nodded slightly and recalled the strange properties of the Cloud Water Gorge. There shouldn¡¯t be many people who entered the region and the possibility of someone finding the second seal was pretty low. It was even possible that no one entered the secret region the previous time it appeared. A strange thought formed in Shang Xia¡¯s mind, but before he could ask, Shang Pei yelped softly before taking out a case that was almost a foot long. ¡°Guess what this is!¡± Shang Xia glanced at the broken spiritual seal on the case and muttered, ¡°Could it be a high-level spiritual herb?¡± Shang Pei opened the case and saw 24 glass tubes arranged neatly within. There were 7 empty ones but the remaining 17 were filled with a strange amber liquid. There was a small bean-like ball of light flickering within like a tiny candle.¡± ¡°What is this? Could it be a set of advancement medicine?¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°Do you think someone will carry so many sets of advancement medicine on them?!¡± Shang Pei rolled her eyes at Shang Xia before explaining, ¡°This is called the Divine Fire Wine. To be more exact, it¡¯s called the Divine Capital Divine Fire Wine. it¡¯s a rank four treasure that is even better than your Hundred Flower Spiritual Wine!¡± ¡°Really?! Is it really that impressive?¡± Shang Xia¡¯s eyes lit up and he gestured to Shang Pei. ¡°Give me half of them as a finder¡¯s fee.¡± ¡°What the hell for?.¡± Shang Pei closed the case and explained, ¡°You can only use one tube every month and this should be every Divine Capital Sect enforcer¡¯s two year supply.¡± Any disciple in the Divine Capital Sect would be promoted to an enforcer the moment they entered the Martial Extermination Realm. Feng Chenyi clearly possessed the qualifications to hold on to so many of them. Shang Xia pouted indignantly, ¡°Give me a few of them at least!¡± Opening the case again, Shang Pei took out a single tube and pointed at the flame flickering within. ¡°Do you see that? Every tube of Divine Fire Wine contains fire essence. The treasure is for experts who cultivate the fire element. Are you sure you can use them?¡± Shang Xia might not know what element he was cultivating exactly, but he felt that he could most probably make use of it. After all, his Mirroring Sun Extermination Origin had ¡®Sun¡¯ in its name. It was probably of the fire element, right? However, Shang Xia knew that rank four treasures were hard to come by, especially something like the Divine Fire Wine. He might have some rank four Monkey Wine and rank four Hundred Flower Spiritual Wine, but he didn¡¯t really plan to use them before he came up with his rank four martial art. Since Shang Pei wanted to keep the wine for herself, Shang Xia knew that she had other uses for it. He wouldn¡¯t go overboard by asking for a lot of them and he knew that Shang Pei wouldn¡¯t really shortchange him. He observed the flickering flame within the tube and asked suddenly, ¡°Aunt, do you think the flame in the Hexagonal Lantern uses the same fire essence contained in the wine?¡± Shang Pei raised her eyebrows slightly and tossed the tube over. ¡°Test it out later.¡± After she spoke, she picked out a few other articles of clothes and undergarments from the pile. Shang Xia stood there awkwardly as he didn¡¯t know what to do or say at that moment. ¡°Hmm, these clothes are of pretty good quality. They¡¯re made from reasonably precious materials and they possess some defensive properties when worn¡­¡± Shang Pei mumbled to herself. ¡°Too bad someone has already worn these. Hmm. Alright. I¡¯ll give them to Sixth Sister Gu and the rest and they can split them however they like.¡± Shang Xia pretended to not hear any of that. Thinking back to a question he had earlier, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Aunt, do you think the Cloud Water Gorge is the only entrance to the secret region?¡± ¡°How would I know?¡± Shang Pei sneered before picking out several handkerchief-like items on the ground. ¡°All I know is that we didn¡¯t detect anyone else in the secret region when we entered.¡± The fuck? How are you supposed to detect anyone while escaping the blade light? Obviously, Shang Xia buried the thought in his heart. He wouldn¡¯t run his mouth like a dumbass in front of Shang Pei. Her voice rang through the air again. ¡°Instead of thinking about all things that might or might not happen, why don¡¯t you focus on dealing with the blade light? Of course, you can never be too careful. When you enter the secret region, you better bring the lantern with you¡­¡± She seemed to find something interesting among the items Feng Chenyi left behind and she gasped suddenly to interrupt herself. ¡°Look! Look at what this is!¡± She raised a copper flask and shook it slightly to hear sounds of sloshing coming from within. Shang Xia¡¯s divine perception locked onto the flask immediately and he discovered a familiar feeling coming from it. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°This should be an artifact members of the Divine Capital Sect use to collect extermination qi. Could it be something similar to my Spirit Extermination Gourd?¡± Shang Pei shook the flask happily while replying, ¡°There might be a complete strand of extermination origin within.¡± Shang Xia felt a trace of excitement bubbling in his heart. ¡°What extermination origin is it? Can you use it?¡± Shang Pei shook her head and sighed with a little disappointment, ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. However, I hope Fifth Uncle Cen can make use of it to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm in the future.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ You should start making your preparations now then. The institution or the clan wouldn¡¯t reveal a rank four advancement formula to him when he tries to advance. At the very most, they will provide him with a set of advancement medicine.¡± Shang Xia thought out loud. Agreeing with him, Shang Pei no longer spoke of the matter. Instead, she started to walk towards Shang Xia. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did nothing else catch your eye?¡± Shang Xia burst out laughing. She tossed him several wooden cases and instructed suddenly, ¡°Bring these back for me.¡± Opening the cases slightly, Shang Xia noticed several intricately designed golden accessories within and joked, ¡°Aunt, why are you giving these to me? Shouldn¡¯t you give them to my future wife directly?¡± Shang Pei¡¯s expression sank and she growled softly, ¡°I told you to bring them back for me, I didn¡¯t tell you they were for your future wife. Help me give them to Min¡¯er and Yuanyuan¡­¡± Shang Xia nearly jumped in fright as he responded quickly, ¡°Oh yeah, alright, alright! I¡¯ll give it to them once I return¡­¡± Glaring at Shang Xia, Shang Pei smacked Shang Xia¡¯s face with the handkerchiefs she picked up earlier before taking her leave. With a slightly confused look in his eyes, he asked, ¡°Do you also want me to bring these handkerchiefs to them? It¡¯s just several pieces of cloth¡­¡± ¡°Are you blind? Can you even call yourself a rank four Talisman Master? Take a good look at them. Those pieces of cloth should be enough for you to turn them into rank four talisman paper¡­¡± Shang Pei replied without turning her head. Carefully examining the cloth, Shang Xia revealed a joyful expression as he stuffed them into his sleeves. However, he froze the next moment as the Abyssal Seal emerged from the same place he stuffed those handkerchiefs. It hovered in the air in front of him while spitting out faint white gas. Shang Xia could feel that the Abyssal Seal seemed to be resonating with something, and the feeling became even stronger than before. It was as though something was about to appear! ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Shang Pei quickly turned around and her gaze landed on the Abyssal Seal. Shang Xia glanced at the seal as he replied calmly, ¡°It¡¯s nothing special. The secret region is probably about to appear.¡± Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original. CH 466 The moment the secret region appeared, Shang Xia felt its presence through the Abyssal Seal. However, he wasn¡¯t in a rush to head over as he carefully stamped several pieces of talisman paper to create seal talismans for the members of the Youyan Stronghold. ¡°Relax. Even if you take the seal away, the seal talismans will last for seven days. We won¡¯t get lost during that time and you should have left the secret region by then.¡± Shang Pei chuckled. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t come out in seven days, I¡¯ll bring the rest and leave the Cloud Water Gorge.¡± Shang Xia wasn¡¯t too worried about them. After all, the Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent managed to rampage about freely in the Ji Continent for tens of years without the presence of a Martial Extermination Realm expert. Now that Shang Pei had entered the Martial Extermination Realm, there was even less for him to worry about. Turning to look at Shang Pei, Shang Xia asked, ¡°Have you completed the refinement process of your second extermination origin?¡± ¡°I¡¯m almost halfway done.¡± Shang Xia chuckled in response. ¡°Looks like you discovered it anyway.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t enter the Cloud Water Gorge because the institution told you to do so. You planned on coming here all along to gather extermination qi. Now, I wonder what your second extermination origin is called¡­¡± Shang Xia asked. ¡°I named it myself. It¡¯s called the Abyssal Cloud Water Extermination Origin.¡± Shang Pei laughed, ¡°It¡¯s a pity collecting it bit by bit isn¡¯t as exciting as refining a complete extermination origin all at once. Otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t hide here the past year¡­¡± Shang Xia smiled and sighed softly, ¡°It might not be as bad as you think. There¡¯s a benefit to refining the extermination qi in the air slowly. It might not be as quick as refining a complete strand of extermination origin, but you can familiarize yourself with your extermination origin as you go along. Refining a complete extermination origin would take you 2 to 3 years to fully comprehend and wield its power, but going slow will bring about bigger benefits in the future!¡± Shang Xia didn¡¯t just stamp enough seal talismans for those present. He even stamped a few more. Flipping the Abyssal Seal around when he was done, he muttered softly, ¡°Stamping a rank one talisman paper would actually cause it to possess the properties of a rank one talisman. I wonder if I can do the same for rank two, three, and four talisman papers¡­ If stamping talisman paper of the corresponding rank can produce talismans, there won¡¯t be a need to worry about success rate. Even non Talisman Masters would be able to produce talismans¡­¡± Of course, it sounded possible, but reality rarely worked the way he wanted it to. Shang Xia knew that the possibility of that happening was slim to none. The Abyssal Seal wasn¡¯t just a random treasure to him anyway. After examining it for such a long time, Shang Xia could tell that it was a really impressive treasure. It wasn¡¯t just used for crafting rank one seal talismans¡­ Shang Pei stared at him and the extra talismans before giving him a stern warning, ¡°Now is not the time for you to think about these matters. You should be looking for the secret region as soon as you can. If there really is someone else who entered, you need to be extremely careful. The blade light won¡¯t be the only threat you need to deal with.¡± Bidding the members of the Youyan Stronghold farewell, Shang Xia quickly disappeared into the thick fog. Fifth Uncle Cen looked at Shang Pei staring aimlessly into the dense fog and he muttered softly, ¡°Third Sister, how possible would it be for him to obtain the divine weapon?¡± ¡°If he fails to get it, no one will be able to.¡± Shang Pei replied without turning her head. Fifth Uncle Cen quickly continued, ¡°You¡¯re really confident in him. At the end of the day, it¡¯s just a damaged divine weapon. Is it really beneficial for him to obtain a treasure like that?¡± ¡°A damaged divine weapon¡­¡± Shang Pei muttered before turning to stare into his eyes. ¡°Is there anyone else other than him capable of obtaining the weapon? Did those fellows from the Tongyou City say something to you?¡± A bitter smile left Fifth Uncle Cen¡¯s lips and he sighed, ¡°I can¡¯t hide anything from you. There have been several people in the institution who hope that the damaged divine weapon can be given to the institution. Of course, your nephew is extremely talented and he has the qualifications to wield the damaged divine weapon for some time¡­¡± ¡°Just like his grandfather huh? Shang Bo had been using the Nine Firefly Lance for ten or so years. In the end, it still belonged to the institution.¡± Shang Pei snorted rudely to interrupt him. A helpless look appeared on Fifth Uncle Cen¡¯s face as he continued, ¡°You know what I mean. I¡¯m on your side on this. I¡¯m just a messenger for them.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t mind conveying my attitude to those assholes who like to stir shit while sitting comfortably back at home. I discovered the secret region and they only learned of the damaged divine weapon because of my reports. My husband died in there for it and even if anyone brings the damaged divine weapon out, it belongs to me. I can give it to whoever I see fit. When did my belongings enter the possession of some yapping dogs in the institution?¡± Shang Pei sneered. Fifth Uncle Cen sighed again as he complained softly, ¡°Indeed. The Tongyou Institution wasn¡¯t as harmonious as it once was. The attitude among several experts seems to be shifting¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s natural for that to happen. After all, the institution produced a lot of Martial Extermination Realm experts in recent years. They obtained victory after victory in the battlefield between the two worlds and they¡¯re just a step away from promoting the Tongyou Mysterious World into the Tongyou Paradise. Even the White Deer Paradise doesn¡¯t dare to let out a fart in front of the institution and those fellows think that everything is going smoothly. They feel that it¡¯s time for them to sit back and enjoy their fruits of labor and all of them started scrambling for power.¡± Shang Pei laughed coldly in contempt. Hesitating slightly Fifth Uncle Cen wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by Shang Pei once again. ¡°Hmph, you¡¯re thinking that the Shang Clan became too strong over the last two years and the balance among the great families in the city has been broken, right? That¡¯s the reason behind the institution¡¯s intentional suppression of my Shang Clan¡­¡± Shang Pei explained. Fifth Uncle Cen could do nothing but laugh helplessly at the side. Shang Pei took the words right out of his mouth. Just when he thought of something else to say, he was interrupted once again by a feminine voice behind him. ¡°Third Sister, Third Sister, Oh? Fifth Uncle Cen is here too¡­¡± Sixth Sister Gu appeared behind them and she seemed extremely excited. ¡°Advancement medicines! We found some advancement medicines! Two more Martial Intent Realm experts can be produced among our fellow brothers and sisters!¡± Fifth Uncle Cen¡¯s expression lit up immediately and he yelled, ¡°Nice! Hurry, bring us there to take a look at the advancement medicine!¡± Shang Pei finally replaced the sullen expression on her face with a smile as she followed behind the two of them. ¡­ Traveling in the direction the Abyssal Seal told him to go, Shang Xia traveled through the Cloud Water Forge at a frightening speed. He no longer bothered with the changes to the lands or the beasts hiding in the fog. Along the way, Shang Xia discovered that his divine perception became even more sensitive than before. He could even detect minute spatial fluctuations in the space around him, but that didn¡¯t cause him to slow down in the slightest. By the time the fluctuations ended and the space around him changed, he was already gone. No one knew how long had passed, but Shang Xia a dense cloud had gathered under his feet and was following him wherever he went. After even more time, Shang Xia realized that he wasn¡¯t stepping on the ground anymore. Instead, his steps landed on the cloud under his feet. Extending his divine perception slightly, he could tell that the ground beneath him had disappeared. He was also rising slowly in the air as he traveled, and it didn¡¯t take long for him to arrive 1000 feet into the air. Despite how high he was, he was still surrounded by dense fog. Before he could react, a foreign aura appeared in range of his divine perception. He barely gathered his thoughts to chase the owner of the foreign aura down when he discovered that the aura was traveling away from the direction the Abyssal Seal was guiding him. The cloud under his feet wasn¡¯t responding to his desire to chase the foreign aura down either. If he stubbornly wanted to move in a different direction, he would plunge down thousands of feet in the air. He wouldn¡¯t know what that would lead to either. Was he trapped going down that route?! Shang Xia felt helpless and a sense of annoyance soon followed. He hated the fact that he was forced to follow the will of someone else. Shang Pei never mentioned anything about that to him before and Shang Xia realized that with their cultivation level at the time they were entering the secret region, they might not even know that they had been hovering in mid air. The feeling he received from the Abyssal Seal became even clearer and Shang Xia saw a huge clearing in the dense clouds before him. The only thing that was left was a path that led to a strange cloud-like door. Taking a deep breath, Shang Xia didn¡¯t hesitate as he walked towards the door. He didn¡¯t realize that the clouds were disappearing behind him as he progressed. Bringing out the Abyssal Seal as he approached the door, it opened without warning. Before Shang Xia could react, a strong suction force pulled him through the entrance. A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. As soon as he entered the strange door disappeared. Shang Xia¡¯s presence was wiped away from where he once stood and the region quickly became covered by a layer of dense clouds. Taken by surprise, Shang Xia found the scene before his eyes changed. His divine perception was still in a state of chaos when he was transported into the secret region, but danger had already arrived. Luckily, Shang Xia received Shang Pei¡¯s reminder and he took out his Spiritual Protection Substitution Talisman before his vision cleared. He felt a strange orange light tearing through the air above him. ¡°Ah!¡± A miserable shriek rang through the air and Shang Xia¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Even so, he didn¡¯t dare to turn his head to look at the direction where the yell came from. That was because a frightening ring came from above him. Raising his head abruptly, he noticed a yellowish-orange blade light chopping straight down at him. The Spiritual Protection Substitution Talisman in his hand shattered¡­ CH 467 When Shang Xia entered the secret region, a group of hidden experts who had concealed their cultivation bases appeared around the Cloud Water Gorge. Strangely enough, none of them dared to step foot into the region. Several other experts stood around the southwestern direction of the Cloud Water Gorge. They were the only group who didn¡¯t hide their appearance. The Cloud Water Gorge was covered in dense clouds all the time. From outside, it seemed extremely quiet and peaceful. It wasn¡¯t often that the Cloud Water Gorge would experience huge changes, but that day seemed different from the rest. A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. The thick clouds that covered the Cloud Water Gorge were churning violently unlike anything anyone in the Taihang Mountains had ever seen. A middle aged expert with a dignified appearance was the leader of those experts standing in the southwestern direction and he was stepping on a four colored extermination light as he hovered in mid air. It was obvious he was a fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm expert. There were 3 other experts behind him and the weakest among them was a second layer Martial Extermination Realm expert. With his hands clasped behind his back, the middle aged man stared at the churning clouds around the Cloud Water Gorge silently. The youngest looking cultivator behind him was finally unable to resist the urge and he asked, ¡°Martial Uncle Chen Kang, we¡¯ve been waiting here for more than 2 hours now. Are we really not going to enter?¡± Martial Uncle Chen Kang replied without turning his head. ¡°Martial Nephew Chang Qing, there¡¯s no need to be hasty.¡± Chang Qing stared at Chen Kang for a moment, but he was still unable to contain his curiosity. ¡°Martial Uncle, you said that Martial Aunt Feng Chenyi was killed in his region. What¡¯s the point of waiting around? Shouldn¡¯t we hurry up and look for her belongings and the cause of death? We should avenge her immediately!¡± Chen Kang didn¡¯t bother with his outburst. Instead, he chuckled softly while looking at the violent churning of clouds. ¡°The Cloud Water Gorge is usually shrouded in clouds. Something seems different today. With the changes happening right now, a secret region might have appeared within. I¡¯m afraid Junior Sister Feng Chenyi¡¯s belongings will be affected by the sudden change.¡± ¡°Appearance of a secret region?!¡± A brilliant light flashed in Chang Qin¡¯s eyes. However, a frown quickly appeared on his face. ¡°Even a secret region really appeared, shouldn¡¯t we be charging in right now? There have to be heavenly treasures born in secret regions and there might even be huge amounts of world origin within! It would be a waste if that asshole who killed Martial Aunt Feng Chenyi entered before us.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. No one in there will be able to escape anyway.¡± The person who spoke wasn¡¯t Chen Kang. Instead, it was the cultivator standing right behind him. He was also a Martial Extermination Realm expert and he continued, ¡°Martial Nephew Chang Qing, I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t know about this, but the Cloud Water Gorge has already been surrounded. Anyone who emerges will be captured immediately.¡± ¡°Marital Uncle Chen Ming, how do you know?¡± Chang Qing asked. Touching the bamboo hat on his head, Chen Ming chuckled in a hoarse voice, ¡°Martial Nephew Chang Qing, you¡¯re a talented cultivator who managed to refine 2 extermination origins at the age of 20. However, you¡¯ve focused too much on cultivation your whole life. You¡¯re lacking experience¡­¡± A trace of rage flashed through Chang Qing¡¯s eyes but he quickly suppressed his emotions. His tone became a lot more humble when he spoke, ¡°Martial Uncle Chen Ming, please guide me.¡± Waving his hands casually, Chen Ming chuckled, ¡°I can¡¯t guide you. I¡¯m just a little more experienced because of how long I lived. Martial Nephew Chang Qing, you thought that we left the sect in haste and came here as soon as we could. However, Senior Brother Chen Kang had already dispatched a group of experts to Sixth Pass a long time ago. Our job was to stabilize the situation and deal the final blow¡­¡± ¡°Wouldn''t that mean that our disciples have already surrounded the Cloud Water Gorge? So¡­ We knew that a secret region would appear in the Cloud Water Gorge. Did someone leak the news or something?¡± Chang Qing asked. ¡°You guessed it¡­¡± A trace of displeasure appeared on Chen Ming¡¯s face, but it disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. Despite the sense of annoyance he felt, he continued his explanation. ¡°We¡¯re not the only ones who have our sights on the secret region. The disciples of our sect were deployed to watch over the region, but they had to keep their distance¡­¡± ¡°Oh! There are other powers eyeing the Cloud Water Gorge other than us¡­¡± Chang Qing seemed to turn serious all of a sudden while muttering to himself. Nodding slightly, Chen Ming sighed, ¡°Originally, Senior Brother Chen Kang had made all the arrangements¡­ Who would have thought that Junior Sister Feng Chenyi would¡­ Sigh¡­ She was overzealous and she came to the Taihang Mountains alone. She wanted to command the disciples of our sect to investigate the matter of the secret region and Senior Brother Chen Kang had no choice but to agree. She didn¡¯t stop there¡­ Before heading out to the Cloud Water Gorge, Junior Sister Feng even used a lot of favors to borrow the Misty Palace Lantern from the sect to protect herself.¡± Chang Qing nodded silently and mumbled to himself, ¡°With Martial Aunt Feng Chenyi¡¯s personality, things would get ugly if she chooses to make a scene¡­ Martial Uncle Chen Kang, things have been tough on you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Not too many people knew about the matter regarding the Cloud Water Gorge in the first place. I wonder how Junior Sister Feng managed to learn of it? Senior Brother Chen Kang was afraid that she would kick up a huge fuss in the sect causing even more people to learn of it and he could only agree to let her head over first.¡± Chen Ming sighed. He paused for a short second before he continued, ¡°Who would have thought that Junior Sister Feng would ditch the disciples of our sect the moment she arrived in the Sixth Pass? She went to work with several Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Taihang Mountain and charged into the Cloud Water Gorge¡­ Well, all of us knew what happened next.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s what happened!¡± Chang Qing gasped. He seemed to understand why they brought him along and he added, ¡°Once I understand the situation from the disciples stationed here, I will let my father know what exactly happened.¡± A joyful light flashed through Chen Ming¡¯s eyes and he chuckled happily, ¡°Martial Nephew Chang Qing, it¡¯s great that you understand! As your elders, we¡¯ll spare no expense to get you a suitable extermination origin for your cultivation!¡± A faint smile appeared on Chang Qing¡¯s face and he replied quickly, ¡°I¡¯ll have to thank martial uncles then. There¡¯s no need to force it anyway. I just refined my second extermination origin and I would need to consolidate my foundations. My father has also started looking for suitable extermination origins for me and I have a few choices at the moment.¡± ¡°A few choices¡­¡± Chen Ming¡¯s eyelid jumped violently and he realized that Chang Qing really didn¡¯t care about a strand of extermination origin or two.¡± Chen Kang finally released a bout of laughter to break the awkwardness as he turned around to address the others. ¡°Junior Brother Chen Ming, with Senior Brother Chen Gang making the arrangements, we won¡¯t have to worry about Martial Nephew Chang Qing¡¯s cultivation.¡± Chen Ming quickly forced a chuckle. ¡°Looks like I didn¡¯t think things through¡­¡± Chen Kang¡¯s gaze landed on Chang Qing once again and he laughed, ¡°Martial Nephew Chang Qing, the Abyssal Secret Region might contain some treasures, but it¡¯s not really too attractive to our Divine Capital Sect. We called you along because we discovered a treasure in there that¡¯s suited for you.¡± After hearing what he said, Chen Ming¡¯s expression changed slightly but Chen Kang shot him a gaze before he could say anything. A look of excitement finally appeared on Chang Qing¡¯s face. ¡°May I ask what treasure is it? How is it compared to the Misty Palace Lantern?¡± Chen Kang laughed heartily before turning slightly serious. ¡°It¡¯s a divine weapon. What do you think?¡± Chang Qing was slightly taken aback at the revelation, but the wide grin on his face quickly revealed his excitement at the news. ¡°Are you serious? Martial Uncle, is a divine weapon really in there?¡± ¡°Relax. If the divine weapon really appears in the secret region, we¡¯ll try our best to get it for you.¡± Chen Kang promised. Finally suppressing the elation he was feeling, he suddenly realized a question he had forgotten to ask. ¡°Martial uncles, do you know how the secret region came about? At the very least, the place had to be a mysterious world or better to be turned into a secret region. Anyone who has the ability to maintain one has to be a powerful faction. The Sixth Pass in the Taihang Mountains isn¡¯t exactly a secluded region. How did no one discover the presence of the secret region after so many years?¡± ¡°Haha, do you know how long our Origin Azure World has been around for?¡± Chen Kang chuckled in amusement. Chang Qing didn¡¯t need to think for long before he replied, ¡°It¡¯s the 845th year of the Divine Martial Calendar right now. Obviously, that¡¯s how long Azure Origin World has been in existence for.¡± ¡°What about the time before the Divine Martial Calendar started?¡± Chen Kang raised his eyebrows and asked. Looking at the look of confusion on Chang Qing¡¯s face, Chen Kang explained, ¡°Do you really believe that our history only goes back 800 or so years? The 13 vast continents of our Azure Origin World have existed for a long time before that¡­¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± Chang Qing showed an expression of revelation as his gaze turned exceptionally clear. ¡°Martial Uncle, do you mean that this secret region existed before the start of our Divine Martial Calendar?¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Chen Kang praised Chang Qing¡¯s quick reactions and understanding. With a strange look, Chang Qing turned to look at Chen Kang. ¡°Martial Uncle Chen Kang, how would you know about that? Why haven¡¯t I heard anything about the time before the creation of our Divine Martial Calendar?¡± ¡°Everything I know is limited. In the future, your cultivation will catch up to mine and when that happens, you will gain the qualifications to learn about those matters.¡± Chen Kang laughed. After a short pause, Chen Kang revealed a slightly haughty expression as he explained, ¡°Actually, there isn¡¯t any faction in our Azure Origin World that knows more about the time before the Divine Martial Calendar than our Divine Capital Sect.¡± ¡°Martial Uncle Chen Kang, why would the secret region appear now?¡± Chang Qing followed up with yet another question. ¡°The fusion between our Azure Origin World and the Azure Spiritual World is set in stone. All the secret regions that have been hidden in both worlds will start to show themselves. The Abyssal Secret Region might appear at regular intervals in the past to pass down whatever inheritance was trapped inside. However, This should be the last time the Abyssal Secret Region would appear.¡± Chen Kang mumbled. ¡°So that¡¯s it¡­¡± Chang Qing nodded. ¡°So¡­ The cloud around the Cloud Water Gorge would disappear once the Abyssal Secret Region closes. The Cloud Water Gorge would be revealed to the world when that happens. It¡¯s no wonder Martial Uncle refuses to enter the Cloud Water Gorge at this moment.¡± Watching Chen Kang nodding in acknowledgment, Chang Qing seemed to have thought of another important question. ¡°I wonder which power used to own the Abyssal Secret Region?¡± ¡°The Abyssal Sect.¡± Chen Kang replied candidly. CH 468 ¡­ the spiritual protection substitution talisman in shang xia¡¯s hand shattered instantly. it barely managed to buy him a split second after blocking the yellowish-orange blade light. the intensity of the blade light fell as it continued to chop down at shang xia but its tyrannical might remained the same. luckily, shang xia was ready for it. he started to defend himself after the blade light was obstructed. he poured the divine fire wine into the hexagonal lantern before entering the secret region. the moment he poured his four constellation qi into it, a brilliant flame was lit. with a slight intention, a pillar of flame shot into the skies. it was promptly sliced in two by the incoming blade light, but both portions of flame quickly twisted around each other to form a protective wall of fire above his head. after chopping through the pillar of flame, the energy contained in the blade light barely diminished by a third. it continued to slam heavily into the wall of fire, shattering it eventually. in an instant, shang xia lost two layers of protection. the blade light continued to fall and it quickly arrived 3 feet above him. tilting his head to look at the incoming blade light, not a trace of panic could be seen in shang xia¡¯s eyes. he didn¡¯t intend to dodge as he raised his spear. for the full version, visit pawread dot com. as his scarlet star spear shot upwards, shang xia tightened his grip on its shaft as he released his divine killing spear. his third martial intent wasn¡¯t just the strongest attack he mastered. it also possessed the weirdest properties among everything he knew. even though origin true qi was what powered the strike before he entered the martial extermination realm, it was powered by four constellation qi now that he had successfully broken through. it contained the properties of the four season samsara and made his attack much stronger than before. the blade light crumbled when the tip of shang xia¡¯s spear stabbed into it. as the energy fluctuations started to dissipate, shang xia¡¯s expression became even more serious than before. in the short exchange that happened, shang xia not only used his spiritual protection substitution talisman. he used his inner qi to power the hexagonal lantern and released his divine killing spear, exhausting half of his reserve in a short amount of time. recalling shang pei¡¯s reminder before he entered the secret region, shang xia found it a little unbelievable. it was absolutely impossible for her husband to push her away at the last second when faced with a blade light of such caliber. if they were facing the same blade light as him, there was no way either of them would be able to react in time. since she couldn¡¯t possibly lie about her experience, there was only one other possibility. the blade light he faced was several times stronger than what they had to deal with! the thought flashed through his mind as he raised his guard. he couldn¡¯t show any sign of weakness and he knew that he would have to react quickly to whatever was thrown his way. shang xia¡¯s lightning-like gaze shifted and he quickly glanced in the direction where the cry came from before. he was greeted with a shocking sight. he saw the peaks of several mountains poking above the sea of clouds and a familiar figure held his left shoulder that was missing an arm as he struggled to fly towards one of them. it was possible to fly in the secret region! however, from the speed at which the person was flying, shang xia could tell that it wasn¡¯t as easy as in the outside world. it came as no surprise that the figure flying through the air was duan liufeng and he probably obtained the other abyssal seal from god knew where. unlike shang pei and her husband who entered together in the past, duan liufeng and shang xia appeared at different locations within the secret region. looking at duan liufeng flying through the air, shang xia wondered if there were even more abyssal seals out there. could there be more people in the secret region other than the two of them? with that concern in his mind, shang xia didn¡¯t start flying around immediately. he extended his divine perception to the greatest range he could to scout his surroundings. back in the cloud water gorge, he was able to detect a radius of 1000 feet around him without the help of the seal. in the secret region, he was able to observe anything within a 2 mile radius. it seemed as though the suppression in the secret region was a lot weaker than in the cloud water gorge. as he was observing the situation around him, he discovered that a portion of his divine perception was being ground away. turning to stare at the cause, shang xia noticed a mountain peak close to 1000 feet away. he noticed a long blade with a third of its body sticking out from the boulder it was stuck in and he turned to focus his divine perception on it. when his divine perception arrived within 30 feet of the giant boulder, it started to distort violently and he couldn¡¯t feel anything in the area around the boulder. shang xia wondered if his divine perception was stopped by some sort of spatial screen or some strange formation, but it wouldn¡¯t take him long to figure it out now that he had arrived. as he thought of how he should progress, he decided to put his spear away. casually inspecting his spear while he put it away, he discovered that the tip of his scarlet star spear had been shaved away. it was 3 inches shorter than it should be! it probably happened when he blocked the blade light earlier. at the end of the day, the blade light came from a divine weapon. the scarlet star spear was merely a high-grade weapon and it wasn¡¯t comparable in terms of quality. after discovering the damage to the tip of his spear, shang xia started to inspect the weapon a little more carefully and discovered that the shaft of the spear felt a little thinner than before. thinking back to how he stopped the blade light, shang xia recalled how it shattered his spiritual protection substitution talisman instantly. when he raised his spear earlier, shang xia was half prepared for his scarlet star spear to shatter. surprisingly, the spear managed to hold out and other than becoming a little thinner and shorter than before, it still maintained its properties as a high-grade weapon. despite maintaining its grade as a high-grade weapon, shang xia knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to bring out its full strength when wielding this modified version of his scarlet star spear. actually, the blade light wasn¡¯t the full reason the scarlet star spear was damaged. shang xia¡¯s four constellation qi also had something to do with it. because he poured his four constellation qi into his weapon to unleash his divine killing spear, the destructive properties of his inner qi and the formidable power contained in the blade light caused his spear to shrink to its current form. after realizing what happened to his spear, shang xia¡¯s first thought was about how useless a high-grade weapon was to him. shang xia¡¯s four constellation qi was different from other cultivators¡¯ rank four inner qi. he discovered that when he broke through the jingxiu peak¡¯s protection formation. when he cycled his inner qi according to the seasonal sequence, he managed to produce a terrifyingly strong destructive force. that was how he destroyed the remaining energy in the blade light earlier and if he had to unleash his divine killing spear a few more times like that, the spear would definitely shatter. when that happened, he would never be able to fix it again. since a high-grade weapon wasn¡¯t good enough for him, a renewed sense of determination filled shang xia¡¯s heart. his gaze didn¡¯t falter as it landed on the blade stuck in the boulder. finally tearing his gaze away from the blade, shang xia looked at the sea of clouds around him. it didn¡¯t take long for him to discover that something was wrong. he could see several mountain peaks peeking out from the sea of clouds, but the number of peaks and their location were completely different from what he could sense with his divine perception. he could see a dozen mountain peaks but his divine perception merely detected 5 of them. that was also including the mountain peak that contained the blade stuck in the boulder. he was sure that his divine perception could detect anything within a 2 mile radius, but it failed to sense a mountain peak that was barely 2000 feet away. shang xia was staring right at it, but all he felt with his divine perception was a patch of empty clouds. is the space around the peak twisted? or is that a trap¡­ shang xia thought to himself as he tried to find duan liufeng. unfortunately, he was no longer able to locate the man. shang xia didn¡¯t even realize when he lost track of duan liufeng and that caused him to grow even more wary. everything around him seemed to regain its original calm after he dealt with the blade light and an eerie silence pervaded the region. looking down at the mountain beneath him, shang xia decided he should examine it a little more carefully. when his divine perception covered the mountain, he felt a slight fluctuation coming from below. hesitating slightly, shang xia slowly opened his palm . he felt a trace of energy emerging from the void around him before condensing into a seal that lay quietly in his hand. it became slightly hefty after it formed completely and shang xia looked at it only to discover that it was the abyssal seal he had used to enter the secret region. that was because the six sided handle he placed on it before was also present. because of all the strange happenings, shang xia didn¡¯t know if the seal in his hand was an illusion or the real thing. before he could fully make sense of what was happening, his four constellation qi seemed to stain the treasure. it formed some sort of connection with him now that it was fully formed and shang xia could feel a strange connection with something else on the mountain below. following the sense of attraction, shang xia descended the mountain. since he started on the mountain¡¯s peak, he was way above the sea of clouds. finally arriving 100 feet from the endless ocean of white, shang xia noticed an altar sitting not too far away. slowly approaching it, he discovered an empty slot in the middle of the altar that the abyssal seal would fit perfectly in. the lines on the slot were carved into the altar and the stamp on the seal fit snugly into them. staring at the slot, shang xia aimed the seal in his hand carefully before stamping down decisively. the moment he did, a strange glow surrounded the seal. under shang xia¡¯s shocked gaze, the seal started to transform into a strange liquid that flickered at strange intervals. pinching his glabella which was pulsing slightly, shang xia muttered in disbelief, ¡°this¡­ this is world origin in liquid form!¡± CH 469 ¡°this¡­ this is world origin in liquid form!¡± shang xia pinched his glabella to prevent the crimson soul tablet from jumping out from his sea of consciousness. he muttered in equal parts disbelief and equal parts joy. being extremely careful, he didn¡¯t harvest the world origin in front of him immediately. instead, he stared at the six sided handle of the seal that was floating in the pool of liquefied world origin and pondered to himself. stretching out his hand a little hesitantly, he reached out cautiously to grab the six sided handle. the liquefied world origin rose into the air with it. examining the six sided handle, it seemed to possess the ability to restrain world origin. shang xia wondered if that was what it was made for in the first place. with the ball of liquid world origin in the air in front of him, an idea popped into shang xia¡¯s mind and he sent a trace of inner qi into the six sided handle. its ability to restrain world origin was affected and the ball of liquid started to fall to the ground. a strong pulse came from the space between shang xia¡¯s eyebrow and a formless force turned the liquefied world origin into a thin stream that burrowed into his glabella. looking into his sea of consciousness, shang xia discovered the crimson soul tablet trembling gently as world origin poured into it. the last bit of crack on the third face of the crimson soul tablet quickly closed up and with the stream of liquefied world origin pouring into the tablet, the second face started to recover at an exceedingly rapid pace. the crack on the second face started to seal up and by the time he absorbed the entire ball of world origin, only two-thirds of the crack on the second face was left. shang xia¡¯s eyes widened in shock. he knew how much world origin it devoured earlier. the ball of liquefied world origin didn¡¯t seem like much, but it was a lot more than shang xia had expected. the ball of world origin he absorbed earlier seemed tiny, but it was extremely concentrated and was easily refined. he didn¡¯t know how such a concentrated ball of world origin was produced, but his gaze started to heat up as he stared at the altar. it seemed as though the abyssal seal itself was created from world origin and the handle was used to restrain and contain it. placing the seal into the slot in the altar allowed it to revert back to its original form. shang xia wondered if he could dig the altar out from the ground and bring it with him, but he was afraid that he would ruin the mountain he was standing on. thinking back to the many peaks poking out from the sea of clouds, he wondered if there was an altar like that on the rest. the thought barely flashed through his mind when he felt a slight disturbance in the air above him. raising his head, he saw a blade light soaring through the air. luckily, it wasn¡¯t aimed at him. instead, it flew straight for another mountain peak. looking closer at the blade light that was shooting through the skies, shang xia saw that it was much smaller and weaker than the one that he had to deal with when he entered the secret region. realizing the reason, shang xia quickly returned to the top of the mountain he was on to observe the falling blade light. a figure that just appeared finally noticed the danger and a yell filled the skies. ¡°not good!¡± from the voice, shang xia could tell that the newcomer was a female cultivator and the next thing he saw was her tossing out a strange handkerchief in the air. the next moment, it turned into a massive sheet that tried to stop the incoming blade light. it was a shame the sheet of cloth was sliced in two the moment it came into contact with the blade light. just like that, her first attempt at protecting herself failed. seeing as the blade light wasn¡¯t slowing down, the ornate hairpin she was using shot upwards to meet the blade light. extermination qi emerged from the hairpin as it started to grind away at the power contained in the blade light. it was a shame it was quickly destroyed by the tyrannical blade light. the hairpin she used was clearly no ordinary treasure. from the extermination qi it produced earlier, a martial extermination realm expert definitely had a hand in its creation. even though it failed to stop the blade light, the hairpin managed to weaken it to a certain extent. wasting 2 life-saving treasures, the female cultivator finally started to panic. she threw out an object in her hand in a desperate attempt to stop the blade light. shang xia might be observing everything from a different mountain peak, but he could tell that the item she tossed out was an abyssal seal! now that he knew what an abyssal seal could do, shang xia couldn¡¯t possibly allow it to be destroyed by the divine weapon¡¯s blade light. he instinctively reached for the six sided handle and pointed it at the abyssal seal flying through the air. shang xia could only stare at what happened next in a state of disbelief. the abyssal seal that the female cultivator had thrown out moved slightly in his direction. the subtle shift allowed the seal to avoid its fate of being sliced in two by the blade light, but that also caused the last bit of hope in the female cultivator¡¯s eyes to die out. she closed her eyes as she accepted her fate. at the very last second, shang xia waved his sleeves and a frosty light shot towards the blade light at a terrifying speed. it seemed to travel through the void as it smashed heavily into the blade light that was about to slice the female cultivator in two. the sound of shattering could be heard as the blade light was destroyed by shang xia. ¡°thud¡­¡± the thumping of an object falling to the ground caused the female cultivator to slowly awaken. as she slowly opened her eyes, the terrifying blade light that was threatening to take her life a moment ago was nowhere to be seen. only a small throwing knife that was in shambles lay at her feet. the fleeing wind dagger, one of the earliest graded weapons shang xia obtained, lay at her feet. after he got his hands on the weapon in the past, shang xia considered learning a set of techniques to use hidden weapons. however, there was only one fleeing wind dagger and the moment he tossed it out, his technique would be rendered useless. his cultivation skyrocketed soon after, and he couldn¡¯t really care less about a low-grade hidden weapon like that. at the very least, he managed to make use of it eventually. he used the fleeing wind dagger to block the blade light, destroying it in the process. ¡°it¡¯s true! the divine weapon sends out an attack based on the cultivation level of the person who enters. she¡¯s a mere martial intent realm cultivator and the blade light sent towards her was much weaker than the one i stopped when i first entered. of course, it¡¯s not something she can stop on her own¡­ it¡¯s no wonder third aunt¡¯s husband was killed without the slightest bit of resistance when they entered in the past.¡± shang xia muttered softly. after stopping the blade light with his fleeing wind dagger, shang xia gained a better understanding of the properties it contained. he could accurately determine that there was a trace of annihilation contained in it and would affect anyone struck by it. like duan liufeng, who was clearly struck by the blade light when he entered, had an entire arm sliced off. he might have been able to recover the arm he lost, but he was definitely suppressing the power of annihilation with his inner qi to prevent it from rampaging about in his body. speaking of duan liufeng, shang xia lost track of him in the sea of clouds¡­ ¡°junior wei qiongyi from the liang continent thanks senior for the life saving grace¡­¡± shang xia¡¯s thoughts were interrupted by the feminine cry. ¡°huh?¡± shang xia was a little awkward whenever someone called him ¡®senior¡¯. looking at her from the mountain peak he was on, he could see that the female cultivator before him was in no way younger than him. regardless, he didn¡¯t harp on the topic. instead, he asked in a slightly surprised tone, ¡°young lady, are you from the liang continent? how did you enter the taihang mountains?¡± ¡°taihang mountains?¡± she cried out in fright. it didn¡¯t matter if shang xia didn¡¯t bring it up, but she seemed extremely confused now that he did. ¡°isn¡¯t that on the eastern side of the bing continent? what has it got to do with the liang continent? senior, are you playing a prank on me?¡± discover the complete story on pawread dot com. ¡°young lady wei, do you mean to say that you were in the liang continent before this?¡± shang xia was genuinely confused as he yelled back at her. since the two of them were standing on different peaks, they could only speak loudly when addressing each other. wei qiongyi seemed to understand that someone with shang xia¡¯s cultivation wouldn¡¯t mess around with her for fun. even though she was still frightened by her previous encounter with the blade light, she forced herself to regain her composure before explaining, ¡°senior, i was patrolling the spatial barrier that separates the liang continent from the battlefield between the two worlds but the barrier cracked suddenly and a strange white mist filled the region i was in. in an attempt to investigate what had happened, i went towards the crack in the barrier, and the next thing i knew, i appeared in this place. senior, is this place really situated in the taihang mountains? how is it possible¡­¡± shang xia was starting to feel uncomfortable from the way she was addressing him and he quickly interrupted, ¡°alright, there¡¯s no need to call me your senior. i¡¯m shang xia from the you continent. anyway, did you say that you were transported here after being swept up by the white mist contained in the spatial barrier separating your continent from the battlefield between the two worlds?¡± shang xia could guess that she was hiding a whole bunch of details from the fact that she had an abyssal seal on her. however, he didn¡¯t doubt for a second that she was lying about how she appeared in the secret region. if what she was saying was true, could the secret region have something to do with the spatial barrier? thinking back to how similar the cloud water gorge and the battlefield between the two worlds were, along with the dense fog that covered the region, shang xia wondered if the secret region was located in the void somewhere outside the azure origin world. otherwise, why would the spatial barrier separating the liang continent from the battlefield between the two worlds have anything to do with her appearance in the secret region? shang xia¡¯s train of thought was interrupted by the lady once again. she seemed extremely agitated about something as she cried, ¡°you¡¯re shang xia?! are you ¡®young master shang xia¡¯ from the shang clan of the tongyou city and the chief disciple of the tongyou institution?! how¡­ how did you already enter the martial extermination realm?!¡± ¡°young master shang xia?! who the hell calls me that other than those in the shang clan?¡± shang xia muttered to himself. however, he quickly snapped out of his thoughts and replied, ¡°i didn¡¯t expect you to know who i am. however, i have already graduated from the institution and cannot be considered their chief disciple.¡± a complicated look flashed through wei qiongyi¡¯s face but a trace of dejection soon took over. she sighed, ¡°i am a deacon for the weiwu institution¡¯s outer division and i greet young master shang. young master shang, your reputation is like the sun in the midday sky among the five border institutions right now. there¡¯s no one who hasn¡¯t heard of you. once again, i would like to thank senior for the life saving grace¡­ shang xia wasn¡¯t surprised by her identity. with her cultivation level, she had to be someone important. however, that wasn¡¯t the point at the moment. waving his hands in front of him, he spoke, ¡°don¡¯t worry about it. deacon wei, there¡¯s no need to be so formal.¡± shang xia eventually gave her a little recount of what happened after he entered. he didn¡¯t actually describe much. after all, he had barely entered the secret region himself. she seemed to heave a sigh of relief after hearing his experience. she couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°young master shang, so is it true that one will be able to leave the secret region after descending past the sea of clouds?¡± shang xia nodded slightly but before he could say anything, he turned to stare in the direction of the mountain peak where the divine weapon was located. wei qiongyi was surprised by his reaction but she quickly followed his gaze. she saw another yellowish-orange blade light rising into the air before chopping down at one of the other mountain peaks. there was no doubt about it, someone else managed to enter the secret region! CH 470 shang xia was sure that anyone who entered the secret region would appear on one of the many peaks above the sea of clouds. they would also have to take on a single strike from the divine weapon the moment they appeared. from the looks of it, the divine weapon was able to discern the cultivation level of those who entered. the blade light that was sent at martial extermination realm experts was countless times stronger than those aimed at martial intent realm cultivators. that was the understanding shang xia had. however, he was shocked by the new blade light that emerged from the divine weapon. the blade light that shot at the newcomer was a lot stronger than what wei qiongyi had to face, but it was still far from what shang xia had to defend himself against! was that a sign that the person who just entered was stronger than wei qiongyi but weaker than shang xia? even if the divine weapon had sentience, it shouldn¡¯t be strong enough to discern the minute difference in cultivation level among all the experts that entered, right? just when shang xia was still feeling a little confused, an excited cry came from the mountain peak the blade light was flying towards. ¡°haha! divine weapon¡¯s blade light! martial uncle didn¡¯t lie to me! luckily, i made my preparations and suppressed my cultivation before entering.¡± the words barely left his mouth when a terrifying aura emerged from his body. a powerful divine perception struck at the blade light that was falling on his head. the person who entered was clearly a martial extermination realm expert. however, he managed to seal off a part of his strength before entering the secret region to confuse the divine weapon¡¯s detection. what was more important were the words he spoke after entering. shang xia could tell that the person who entered the secret region wasn¡¯t as clueless as wei qiongyi. his knowledge of the secret region was even greater than shang xia. as his aura started to climb, his divine perception showed signs of overpowering the blade light coming his way. soon after, a silver light emerged from his body. it smashed heavily into the yellowish-orange blade light, shattering it completely. the silver light slowly dissipated to reveal an exquisite looking silver hammer. because of the clash and presence of the divine weapon¡¯s aura, shang xia¡¯s divine perception couldn¡¯t detect what happened on the mountain peak after the newcomer blocked the blade light. back when duan liufeng escaped his detection, shang xia learned that his divine perception wouldn¡¯t be able to sense everything in the secret region. the information he learned with his sense of sight might be different from what he felt with his divine perception. the only place where his vision matched his divine perception was the mountain he was standing on. when wei qiongyi appeared earlier, shang xia didn¡¯t move immediately. he only made a move at the last second to save her life, and he did so by throwing his fleeing wind dagger. by using the dagger, he learned that the space between the peak he was standing on and the mountain peak where wei qiongyi appeared was stable. when he learned that she came from the weiwu institution, his brain was starting to come up with a lot of ideas of how he could obtain some extra benefits from her mountain peak. who would have thought that someone else would appear before he could form a proper plan? what shocked shang xia even more was that the person who entered didn¡¯t just possess a shockingly powerful cultivation base. he also seemed really familiar with the secret region. in that instant, shang xia formed an unspoken alliance with wei qiongyi. with a gentle movement, shang xia flew off the mountain peak he originally arrived on and flew straight for wei qiongyi. the familiar sense of suppression that existed in the cloud water gorge appeared once he started to fly and his inner qi was drained at an extraordinary rate. luckily, the sense of suppression was a lot weaker than in the cloud water gorge and shang xia had a much easier time. read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" flying slowly, shang xia managed to make his way over to wei qiongyi¡¯s mountain without any accidents. wei qiongyi was clearly wary about shang xia¡¯s self-invitation over to where she was, but she decided to remain silent. the deacon from the weiwu institution wasn¡¯t a fool. she knew that she was nothing in front of a martial extermination realm expert. instead of showing shang xia attitude, she might as well work with him. at the very least, she wouldn¡¯t annoy shang xia and might even gain some benefits out of it. she was clearly someone who knew how to adapt to the situation. holding the six sided handle in his hand, shang xia first retrieved the abyssal seal that had fallen somewhere on the peak. the seal quickly fused with the handle and shang xia extended his divine perception to cover the mountain peak. nodding slightly towards wei qiongyi, he indicated for her to follow him as he started to make his way towards the sea of clouds. it didn¡¯t take long for him to locate another altar. throughout the process, the divine weapon seemed to turn dormant once again. no one knew if the person who entered earlier noticed shang xia and wei qiongyi, but shang xia guessed that with the newcomer¡¯s understanding of the region, he would probably be looking for the altar to convert the abyssal seal to world origin. ¡°this¡­¡± wei qiongyi looked at the slot on the platform and a guess quickly appeared in her heart. a trace of reluctance filled her mind after connecting the dots. according to her, the abyssal seal she tossed out earlier belonged to her. she should be the one to obtain any treasure she discovers on the mountain peak. while the multitude of thoughts ran through her mind, she casually forgot about how she was saved from certain death earlier. shang xia didn¡¯t bother with wei qiongyi as the voice at the back of his head was urging him to hurry up. he felt threatened when he first entered the secret region and the sense of threat remained no matter how many precautions he took. when the newcomer entered the secret region, the sense of danger he felt grew even stronger. shang xia could tell that something big was about to happen soon and he had to obtain all the benefits he could before the situation got worse. taking a step forward, shang xia stamped the abyssal seal into the slot and the change happened almost instantaneously. the seal started to melt, but it didn¡¯t turn into a ball of world origin like what he thought would happen. as the seal continued to dissolve, shang xia couldn¡¯t feel the slightest trace of world origin. it seemed as though his previous conjecture was wrong and under his confused gaze, the liquid started to flow onto the altar to form a string of words. it didn¡¯t take long before a short passage could be seen on the altar. ¡°this¡­ this¡­¡± wei qiongyi, who was standing behind shang xia, expressed her shock when she read the passage. there was also a trace of fear in her eyes as she glanced at shang xia from time to time as though she was afraid he would silence her in order not to prevent the contents of the passage from leaking. shang xia was clearly disappointed after skimming through its contents. however, he chuckled in amusement after seeing her reaction. ¡°deacon wei, relax. it¡¯s just a rank four advancement formula. i won¡¯t do anything stupid for something of this level¡­¡± the words on the altar formed a complete rank four advancement formula, the four essence abyssal wine and it was pretty special compared to other rank four advancement formulas. the main ingredients of the rank four advancement medicine was the essences of lightning, rain, cloud, and dew. with those essences, the advancement medicine could be crafted by mixing them with other assistive herbs. the number of rank four herbs required to craft the four essence abyssal wine was numerous, but they were pretty ordinary rank four herbs that weren¡¯t exactly hard to find. the crafting process wasn¡¯t too difficult either. what made the four essence abyssal wine special was the mild effects it had. it didn¡¯t bring about extremely violent fluctuations when used to break through and cultivators who used the four essence abyssal wine would enjoy an exceptionally high success rate when advancing to the martial extermination realm. naturally, it had its drawbacks. anyone who used the four essence abyssal wine to break through wouldn¡¯t possess frightening combat abilities. they would only enjoy a longer lifespan compared to cultivators of the same rank. they might also find it easier for them to escape in difficult situations. wei qiongyi finally relaxed after hearing shang xia¡¯s admission. all the worry she felt was replaced by a sense of joy. she might be a deacon in the weiwu institution, but there were countless martial intent realm cultivators among them. there were many who were stronger and more experienced than herself. there were also those who had a stronger background. if she had to wait for the institution to allocate her resources for her breakthrough, she might only be able to do so after dozens of years. when the time came, the weiwu institution wouldn¡¯t be any different from the tongyou institution. they would provide her with a completed rank four advancement medicine. they wouldn¡¯t show her the complete advancement formula for her breakthrough. now that the formula for the four essence abyssal wine was laid out before her, she could immediately begin her preparation to enter the martial extermination realm. with a rank four advancement formula, wei qiongyi¡¯s options were no longer as limited as before. she could even use it to trade for herbs and treasures she required. entering the martial extermination realm wasn¡¯t as unachievable as she had thought! for obvious reasons, the words on the altar wouldn¡¯t remain forever. they became a little fainter by the minute until not a trace was left. however, shang xia and wei qiongyi had long since carved the formula into their memory. shang xia might have entered the four constellation realm and wasn¡¯t lacking in rank four advancement formulas, but no one would grumble about having more rank four advancement formulas. it strengthened the foundations of any faction that had it and shang xia wouldn¡¯t mind trading it for resources he required in the future. now that the words were gone, shang xia reached over to the slot and retrieved his six sided handle. he didn¡¯t expect to detect something strange when he touched it again. flipping it around, shang xia saw a thin layer attached to it. it resembled a brewer¡¯s yeast and shang xia grunted softly when she saw the look in wei qiongyi¡¯s eyes. ¡°hah. it¡¯s actually a piece of flowing goblet brewer¡¯s yeast!¡± wei qiongyi¡¯s eyes lit up once again as it was the brewer¡¯s yeast required to complete the four essence abyssal wine. she didn¡¯t expect to find it so easily. lightly tapping the six sided handle, the brewer¡¯s yeast fell into his hands. shang xia handed it directly to her after seeing the look of anticipation in her eyes. ¡°this¡­ isn¡¯t this a little too valuable?¡± wei qiongyi knew how precious the brewer¡¯s yeast was and she was finally starting to feel a little uncomfortable. after all, she had already learned a rank four advancement formula moments ago. shang xia felt a slight disturbance within the range of his divine perception and his gaze flickered slightly. however, he maintained his composure and chuckled, ¡°no matter what, i only found this place after using your abyssal seal. also, if you have no other business here, i suggest you leave immediately. this secret region is about to become¡­ it¡¯s about to become really dangerous!¡± the moment the words left his lips, a massive blast filled the skies and shocked wei qiongyi. the space contained in the secret region started to quake violently. CH 471 ignoring the look of shock on her face, shang xia disappeared from where he stood. he appeared on the peak of the mountain in an instant. his gaze went over to the mountain peak that housed the divine weapon and he saw an exquisite little silver hammer hovering above it. half the divine weapon was revealed and it trembled violently while still stuck in its boulder. along with its movements, spatial fluctuations filled the area around the blade and shang xia felt his divine perception in the area distorting slightly. that wasn¡¯t all. a low buzz came from the vibration of the weapon. the sound directly affected shang xia¡¯s soul and he felt as though a bee was messing about in his mind. luckily, his willpower was much stronger than before. guarding his mind with his divine perception, he was quickly able to ignore the strange buzzing sound. as he continued to observe the divine weapon, shang xia saw that it seemed slightly angered at the repeated provocation and a faint yellowish-orange blade light swirled in the air above the blade. after gathering enough energy, it separated from the divine weapon. a resplendent ray of orange soared at the mountain peak where the latest newcomer appeared. this time, the blade light was a lot stronger than before. despite the power contained in the blade light, shang xia was surprised to learn that it was still weaker than the blade light that assaulted him the moment he entered. ¡°nice!¡± a trace of excitement could be heard in the newcomer¡¯s voice and the sound of metal screeching filled the air. another arrogant cry emerged from the mountain peak soon after. ¡°this is amazing! hahaha! is this the might of a divine weapon? to be honest, it¡¯s nothing much¡­¡± even though he was yelling at the top of his lungs, he didn¡¯t make any superfluous actions after blocking the blade light. the divine weapon was eerily silent and both sides seemed to be storing energy for their next exchange. shang xia was no fool. with enough time to think about what was going on, he could guess that the secret region was probably a land of inheritance left behind by a fallen power. the abyssal seal wasn¡¯t just a key to enter the secret region. it was also how they would obtain the inheritance that was left behind. the secret region that would appear every ten years might possess a strange rule that only allowed a person to enter once and was also located in a strange region like the cloud water gorge, but no one knew how long it had existed. shang xia didn¡¯t know how many people had entered the secret region before him and how much of the inheritance was left. ¡°deacon wei, you¡¯re on your own. i¡¯ll be leaving now!¡± shang xia knew that she hadn¡¯t left and he simply left behind his final warning before leaping off the mountain peak. flying through the air, he didn¡¯t bother returning to the peak he came from. instead, he went in another direction. there was another mountain peak poking out from the sea of clouds and it was barely 1000 feet from him. because of the experience he had when flying over to wei qiongyi¡¯s location, shang xia understood that as long as the region could be detected with his divine perception and sense of sight, there shouldn¡¯t be much of a risk for him to head over. at the very most, he would have to use up some of his four constellation qi to counter the suppression he felt. the heaven and earth qi in the secret region was a lot denser than the outside world. it was even better than the cloud water gorge. the cloud water gorge was already a superior cultivation ground when compared to many other regions in the outside world if they could disregard the dense fog and frequent spatial shifts. as such, it wasn¡¯t difficult to understand that the secret region could truly be considered a blessed land for cultivation. watching shang xia¡¯s leaving figure, wei qiongyi¡¯s expression flickered unsteadily. she gnashed her teeth eventually and decided to watch how things played out. however, she didn¡¯t forget shang xia¡¯s warning. she decided to head down to where the mountain peak was starting to peek out from the sea of clouds so that she could escape the moment things turned ugly. unfortunately, the situation changed before she could make her way down. turning her head to stare at the other mountain peak in fright, she saw a tiny silver hammer rising through the air. instead of going for the divine weapon, it went straight for shang xia who was still flying through the air. it seemed as though the newcomer had already discovered shang xia¡¯s existence and wanted to get rid of the competition before carrying out his plans. the silver hammer descended at a terrifying speed and it seemed even stronger than when it stopped the divine weapon¡¯s blade light earlier. from the looks of it, the newcomer had already detected shang xia and very possibly wei qiongyi. thinking back to the way he blocked the blade light earlier, he seemed to be trying to confuse shang xia about his true strength. both shang xia and wei qiongyi weren¡¯t fools. they quickly reached the same conclusion. wei qiongyi, who was originally planning to try her luck by staying in the secret region a little longer, no longer entertained her delusions. she hastened her footsteps as she ran towards the sea of clouds. she didn¡¯t forget to stare at shang xia while she was running down as she was both worried and curious about how he would deal with the incoming danger. shang xia had already crossed more than half the distance to the other peak. because he was starting to master the way to rotate his extermination origins, his consumption of inner qi wasn¡¯t as terrifying as others might think. the more he understood, the stronger his foundations became. shang xia had been thinking about how he should develop his rank four martial arts and he knew that he created a general outline when he released the palm to destroy the jingxiu peak¡¯s protection barrier not too long ago. even though he was in mid-flight and had used up a portion of his inner qi, he wasn¡¯t exactly helpless when the silver hammer crashed down towards him. back when he decided to fly over to the other peak, the worst case scenario had already run through his mind. as the silver hammer stored through the skies and passed the mountain peak the divine weapon was on, the void itself seemed to distort. the distortion only became worse as the silver hammer came crashing down on shang xia. stopping in his tracks, shang xia stood firmly in the air as the scarlet star spear appeared in his hand. he was extremely confident that the explosive strength of his extermination origins would allow him to block the hammer once he unleashed his nine providence spear. watching the space ripples travel faster than the hammer, shang xia understood what the other party was trying to do. with the immense power contained in the silver hammer and the rippling space, the martial extermination realm expert who just appeared wanted to force shang xia away from the mountain peak he was heading towards! it was even possible shang xia would be forced beneath the sea of clouds, pushing him out of the secret region entirely. that only made shang xia even more sure of his guess that the mountain peaks around the divine weapon were what he should be heading for. the space there should be relatively more stable than the mountain peaks that were further away. like duan liufeng, if shang xia got a little too far, he would probably disappear from the secret region. read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" shang xia barely managed to make sense of things after his experience in the secret region and the action of the martial extermination realm expert who just entered, but it seemed as though the newcomer was already familiar with everything there. at the crucial moment, shang xia¡¯s scarlet star spear trembled. surprisingly, he released his void evasion spear instead of his other moves. what was even more surprising was that he didn¡¯t aim his move at the silver hammer that was falling on his head. instead, he stabbed at the mountain peak he was aiming for earlier. before the spatial ripples from the hammer could reach him, shang xia¡¯s void evasion spear turned into a streak of light that pierced a hole through the mountain peak he was flying towards earlier. shang xia no longer needed to hide his cultivation level and aura now that things had progressed so far. a four colored extermination light appeared beneath his feet and they flickered unsteadily before squeezing into the void passage he created with his void evasion spear a second ago. as his four seasons extermination origins surrounded him, a spatial tunnel that was wide enough for him to pass through appeared and he quickly stepped into it. it took a long time to describe what happened, but everything happened in the blink of an eye. the silver hammer quickly arrived after the spatial ripples and smashed heavily into the location where shang xia once stood. a massive crater appeared in the sea of clouds beneath him and a strange phenomenon flashed by at the bottom of the crater. the clouds started to churn from the impact, but the crater quickly disappeared. despite the violent fluctuations in the void, it failed to force shang xia out no matter how hard it tried. shang xia¡¯s disheveled figure stumbled out from the void several feet above the mountain peak his void evasion spear pierced through and he turned to stare at the twisted space where he once stood. a trace of fear lingered in his heart. he was a little too stunned by what just happened, but he didn¡¯t realize that wei qiongyi and the martial extermination realm expert who was plotting against him was equally as surprised to see the four colored extermination light that surrounded him earlier. that wasn¡¯t all. their shock only became more exaggerated after he passed through the void to avoid the attack. regardless of what they thought, there was only a single thought in shang xia¡¯s mind. you asshole! i won¡¯t be a man if i don¡¯t respond in kind! he disregarded the fact that he exhausted a huge portion of his inner qi after what he had done earlier. he might be experiencing a bout of weakness at the moment but he didn¡¯t hesitate to push his four constellation qi into his scarlet star spear before stabbing towards the newcomer. as he unleashed startling moon, the eighth move of his nine providence spear, the skies above them lit up. shang xia¡¯s spear struck accurately at the silver hammer in mid air. shang xia was also equally adept at stirring up the void in his attacks. in fact, he had a lot of experience doing it. since the silver hammer could resist the blade light from the divine weapon, shang xia would be a fool to not understand that it was a special weapon. if he was able to send it away, he would be able to weaken his opponent even if he didn¡¯t immediately injure the other party. the person clearly didn¡¯t expect shang xia to counterattack so quickly and decisively. even though the newcomer wasn¡¯t an ordinary expert, he wasn¡¯t able to react quickly enough. shang xia¡¯s spear struck the silver hammer, forcing it to fall directly on the mountain peak where the divine weapon was located. with things progressing out of hand, the martial extermination realm expert who had attacked shang xia roared as a three colored extermination light emerged to form a giant hand. it quickly reached for the silver hammer in an attempt to recover his weapon, but his actions evidently provoked the divine weapon. even though shang xia was still standing quite a distance away from the mountain peak where the divine weapon was located, he noticed a strange spatial fluctuation that destroyed a portion of the energy contained in the giant hand as a yellowish-orange blade light started to emerge. along with violent vibrations from the divine weapon, the blade light sliced in the direction where the giant hand emerged. CH 472 shang xia¡¯s attack didn''t seem to do anything to his opponent directly, but it managed to draw the ire of the divine weapon. with the divine weapon sending another blade light towards his opponent, shang xia¡¯s actions weren¡¯t completely useless. instead of focusing on the other party¡¯s cultivation level at the third layer martial extermination realm or what happened after the blade light was fired at him, shang xia¡¯s attention was placed on the divine weapon. that was because shang xia could feel the divine weapon vibrating extremely violently after it released the latest strike. the boulder it was stuck in was trembling violently as cracks started to form on its surface. several smaller rocks started to fall and it was something shang xia had never seen before. previously, the boulder was surprisingly smooth and not a trace of imperfection could be seen. is the divine weapon about to be released from the boulder? wouldn¡¯t that mean that the boulder was used as some sort of seal to trap the divine weapon? what would happen if the divine weapon managed to struggle free from the boulder? all divine weapons possessed sentience and no one knew who sealed it, or why it was sealed in the first place. countless thoughts flashed through shang xia¡¯s mind but he didn¡¯t forget the most important thing he had to do. he exhausted a huge portion of his four constellation qi earlier and he had to recover as soon as possible. after all, traveling through the secret region would use up a lot of energy. when he was placed at risk of being thrown out of the secret region by the silver hammer earlier, shang xia even had to use his extermination origins to carve a spatial tunnel through the void. he didn¡¯t stop there. when he unleashed his startling moon spear right after that, he nearly drained his entire reserve of inner qi. if he was back in the outside world, he would only be able to recover slowly by absorbing heaven and earth qi and converting them into four constellation qi in his dantian. he could also drink several mouthfuls of hundred flower spiritual wine to hasten the speed of his recovery. however, he had experienced multiple battles with martial extermination realm experts and his understanding of his four constellation qi grew a lot deeper than before. along with the various encounters he had along the way and his constant deliberation of his rank four martial arts, he seemed to have discovered how martial extermination realm experts truly cultivated. he learned that he was able to absorb the heaven and earth qi in the air, along with the faint traces of world origin that existed within the secret region to restore his inner qi at a rate quicker than before. even though he hadn¡¯t fully made sense of how it worked, he could restore his inner qi much faster than before. that also gave shang xia the assurance that he could start testing his theories for the martial arts he had been trying to come up with. both parties weren¡¯t able to seriously injure the other in their previous exchange, but it was clear both sides had exhausted a lot of energy. as shang xia desperately tried to recover his inner qi, the wielder of the silver hammer also remained silent. find the original at "pawread dot com". the sudden quiet that pervaded the secret region only served as the calm before the storm. there was no doubt about it. it wouldn¡¯t take long before a massive battle broke out. until both sides recovered to their peak state, it seemed as though none of them would be making a move. after restoring a portion of his strength, shang xia shrouded the mountain peak he was standing on with his divine perception. he looked through every nook and cranny before locating a familiar altar. once again, shang xia¡¯s guess that the secret region was a land of inheritance left behind by a certain power was further confirmed. unfortunately, he no longer had an abyssal seal on him and he would be unable to activate the altar on the mountain peak. earlier when shang xia decided to move to another peak, he wasn¡¯t just planning on verifying his guesses. he wanted to obtain all the treasures he could while he was at it. with the peak he arrived at at the start, he traveled counterclockwise to wei qiongyi¡¯s location before arriving where he currently was. if he crossed to the next mountain peak, he would arrive where duan liufeng appeared when he entered the secret region. after duan liufeng¡¯s arm was sliced off by the blade light, he escaped in a desperate attempt to live. when shang xia noticed his escape earlier, he didn¡¯t notice an abyssal seal in either one of his hands. he probably dropped it while making his escape. of course, the further shang xia traveled, the closer he would get to the silver hammer wielding martial extermination realm expert. a strange idea popped into his mind when he approached the altar. he tried stuffing the six sided handle into the slot, but reality quickly caught up to him. clearly, it wasn¡¯t going to work. after failing to shove it into the slot meant for the seal, shang xia didn¡¯t expect much but he quickly received a surprise. something inside the handle seemed to awaken and shang xia could feel the heaven and earth qi around him swirling about. that wasn¡¯t all. the thin trace of world origin that seemed to exist all about the secret region seemed to be attracted by his actions as they swarmed over to the altar in all directions. they poured into the slot that was supposed to hold the abyssal seal and started to condense slightly. world origin was formless to begin with. one would only be able to feel its presence through their divine perception. after the world origin entered the slot on the altar, shang xia felt them condensing to form some sort of tangible object. his thoughts returned to the time he entered the secret region where the abyssal seal turned into a ball of liquefied world origin. ¡°is this six sided handle really able to gather world origin within this secret region?!¡± shang xia stared at the object in his hand and a trace of excitement was starting to bubble in his heart. ¡°hahaha! this little thing is the real treasure here!¡± looking at how the faint world origin around him was gathering around the slot in the altar, shang xia wondered if a new abyssal seal would be produced after the entire process was complete. because of his excitement, he didn¡¯t notice that the sea of clouds was starting to turn a little fainter than before. the originally calm sea of clouds started to churn and the reason behind the disturbance seemed to come from the altar where shang xia had gathered the world origin. a frown suddenly formed on shang xia¡¯s face when he felt a slight disturbance in another direction. the place he felt the change wasn¡¯t where the silver hammer wielding martial extermination realm expert was, and neither did it come from anywhere nearby. when the divine weapon emitted a soft hum that filled the skies, shang xia turned to see several thin cracks extending through the boulder that trapped the weapon. at the same time, another blade light soared into the skies and slashed at the region he felt the disturbance earlier. someone else entered the secret region! a strange feeling filled shang xia¡¯s heart but before he could make out his thoughts, a miserable cry filled the skies. the disturbance shang xia felt earlier dissipated like a cloud of smoke. it seemed as though the person who just entered wasn¡¯t too lucky. he might not even have realized what was happening before he was cut down by the blade light. only after the newcomer was slain did shang xia make sense of the strange feeling inside him. before the appearance of the last person, shang xia had seen 2 cultivators entering the secret region. one was wei qiongyi, and the other was the silver hammer wielding martial extermination realm expert. both times, he didn¡¯t notice any spatial fluctuations when they arrived. he didn¡¯t hear the soft humming from the divine weapon when the blade light was unleashed either. several things appeared to be different at the moment. the boulder that trapped the divine weapon seemed to be cracking ever so slightly, and it was the second time shang xia had noticed the change. shang xia was afraid that everything was pointing at one terrifying fact. the divine weapon was about to free itself! no one would be able to predict what would happen to the secret region the moment it did, but before any of that happened, shang xia decided that he had to get his hands on duan liufeng¡¯s abyssal seal no matter what. with no time left to lose, shang xia retrieved a flask from his sleeves and downed two huge mouthfuls of hundred flower spiritual wine. he hesitated slightly before keeping the six sided handle and the moment he raised it up, a dense clump of world origin followed. taking a deep breath, shang xia stored the clump of world origin in his dantian. he quickly determined that the amount was something he would only be able to gather after 3 days of cultivation if he didn¡¯t use the six sided handle. the clump of world origin wasn¡¯t all that he managed to obtain. there was a droplet of liquefied world origin sitting in the slot where the abyssal seal was meant to be inserted and instead of refining it to restore his inner qi, he decided to send it into the space between his eyebrows. it didn¡¯t take long for so much world origin to be gathered and shang xia was finally convinced that the six sided handle he had was the greatest treasure he laid his hands on. since the martial extermination realm expert who was wielding the silver hammer hadn¡¯t shown himself, shang xia chose to head over to look for duan liufeng¡¯s abyssal seal. as he flew over, he glanced at the mountain peak where the silver hammer wielding martial extermination realm expert was. unfortunately, the void was still slightly twisted and he was unable to accurately observe what was going on there. shang xia knew that he might face the obstruction of the silver hammer wielding martial extermination realm expert when he tried to cross over to the other peak, but he wouldn¡¯t be caught off guard this time. he was confident that he could deal with anything thrown his way. with his four seasons extermination origins pulsating around him, shang xia leaped into the air and flew towards where duan liufeng first appeared in the secret region. now that he was even more familiar with the way he could use his extermination origins, his speed was nearly 40 percent faster than before. while he flew through the air, his divine perception caught the aura of the silver hammer wielding martial extermination realm expert flying in another direction. turning to stare in the direction he thought he felt the fluctuations, shang xia saw a streak of light flying towards a peak close to the one he was heading for. both of them landed at the same time and this time, they shortened the distance between the two of them even more.` CH 473 there were more than 10 mountain peaks poking out from the top of the sea of clouds. every one of them was close to 1000 feet away from each other and other than the peak that housed the divine weapon, everything else was arranged in a circle around it. shang xia and the silver hammer wielding martial extermination realm expert clearly had the same idea in mind. they took the risk to cross over to another peak to look for abyssal seals that might have been left behind. the moment they landed wherever they were, there was only a single mountain peak that separated them. shang xia stepped on the mountain peak where duan liufeng first appeared and started to look for the abyssal seal that the man probably left behind. the moment he got his hands on it, shang xia expanded his divine sense to locate the altar and made his way over with practiced ease. when he arrived, he stared at the slot on the altar and hesitated slightly before placing duan liufeng¡¯s abyssal seal into it. he managed to resist his urge to place the six sided handle on it. the abyssal seal dissolved as per usual, but the changes to the altar was far from what he experienced in the past. this time, white mist emerged from its surface. despite the huge quantity of white mist, they didn¡¯t dissipate into the surroundings. instead, it remained obediently above the altar. ¡°this¡­¡± shang xia¡¯s jaws dropped in fright. he couldn¡¯t tell what was happening, and he wondered if it was too late to stamp the six sided handle on the altar. amidst his confusion, the mist started to roll about and they formed a row of words. reading what the mist indicated, shang xia discovered that it introduced some sort of flying treasure that would allow him to soar through the skies. it was called the auspicious cloud boat, and other than the treasure¡¯s origin, the mist quickly formed a paragraph of words that explained how the treasure should be used. the greatest benefit of the auspicious cloud boat was that it could allow cultivators who hadn¡¯t entered the martial extermination realm to fly through the skies. that wasn¡¯t all. after entering the martial extermination realm, they would be able to use their inner qi to allow the boat to travel quicker through the air. they could also save a lot of energy while doing so. however, what truly caught shang xia¡¯s eye was a different property of the treasure. the auspicious cloud boat could expand and shrink at will, and it was possible to transport treasures with it. according to the explanation he had read, the boat could hold 4 people in total. there were also several auxiliary properties like allowing one to hide their tracks and avoid simple detection by divine perception, but shang xia didn¡¯t really care too much about those and casually skimmed over those properties. the process of obtaining the auspicious cloud boat went exceedingly smoothly for shang xia as well. as the mist turned into the shape of a ship above the altar, shang xia managed to refine it in a short period of time. it turned into a piece of cloud that extended across his feet and every step he took seemed as though he was stepping on clouds. it was a unique feeling and shang xia felt like an immortal who descended from the heavens. with a slight intention, the cloud beneath his feet turned into a cloud pellet that flew into his hands. after some slight contemplation, shang xia returned the cloud pellet to the altar and stamped his six sided handle through the faint mist that still remained above the altar directly onto the slot that was meant for an abyssal seal. the moment it landed, the pellet exploded into a massive cloud that filled the air above the altar before receding violently. it condensed to form a thick layer that rose into the air when shang xia lifted the six sided handle. it formed some sort of cape that shang xia tossed onto his back with one sleek motion. as soon as he donned the cape, shang xia¡¯s aura faded into his surroundings. he felt himself turning a lot lighter than before. he quickly discovered that the cape on his body could transform back into the auspicious cloud boat with a single thought. as it turned out, if shang xia didn¡¯t use his six sided handle, the auspicious cloud boat would maintain its form as a pellet if shang xia wasn¡¯t using it. now that it became a cape, shang xia could wear it on him wherever he went. he even wondered if traversing the secret region would be easier if he donned the cape. shang xia felt that the auspicious cloud cape would really come in handy when traveling through the secret region. in order to test out his theory, he wanted to soar through the skies towards another mountain peak, but he managed to suppress his impulse. just as he was deciding his next course of action, a voice boomed through the skies. ¡°hey, who are you anyway?¡± shang xia could tell that the person who spoke was the silver hammer wielding martial extermination realm expert. shang xia couldn¡¯t see where he was, but he knew that the question was directed at him. choosing to ignore the person completely, shang xia¡¯s gaze returned to the mountain peak that held the divine weapon. when he was satisfied that nothing strange was going on, he turned to look at the other peaks. ¡°i am tao mosheng from the yan continent. i wonder how i should address fellow cultivator?¡± the silver hammer wielding martial extermination realm expert asked again despite not receiving a reply. shang xia remained silent as he contemplated his next course of action. ¡°fellow cultivator, i believe that you entered this abyssal secret region in order to obtain the abyssal sect¡¯s inheritance like myself. i wonder if you noticed the sea of clouds under us getting thinner and thinner?¡± tao mosheng seemed a little irate that shang xia wasn¡¯t responding. as such, he started to bring up another matter with slight schadenfreude. that was shang xia¡¯s first time hearing of the secret region¡¯s actual name. moreover, shang xia never heard of the abyssal sect before. if they were able to maintain such a powerful secret region, there was no way they were a bunch of nameless weaklings. shang xia couldn¡¯t understand why he hadn¡¯t heard of them. could they be a secret faction that tucked themselves away from the rest of the world? as various thoughts ran through shang xia¡¯s mind, his attention was quickly forced back to reality after hearing what tao mosheng said. he lowered his head to stare at the sea of clouds beneath him. even though they formed an endless sea of white, shang xia could tell that they were no longer as dense as before. something changed about the sea of clouds! ¡°what are you trying to say?¡± shang xia finally responded. tao mosheng responded immediately, ¡°isn¡¯t it obvious? the abyssal secret region is on the verge of destruction!¡± ¡°impossible!¡± shang xia growled. he didn¡¯t wish to say too much as he didn¡¯t know anything about the abyssal secret region. who would have thought that tao mosheng was sharp enough to realize that shang xia didn¡¯t actually know much about the secret region from the way he spoke? ¡°haha! you really don¡¯t know anything, do you? looks like you only managed to enter the abyssal secret region because you ran into some lucky encounter.¡± ¡°what do you mean?¡± shang xia couldn¡¯t contain his curiosity any longer and asked. ¡°as a martial extermination realm expert, you should know that the fusion of our azure origin world and the azure spiritual world greatly weakened the spatial barrier around our worlds. as our world origins interact during the process of fusion, huge changes would take place. regions like the abyssal secret region that remained hidden for a long time finally started to reveal themselves!¡± tao mosheng explained. falling silent for some time, shang xia eventually spoke up, ¡°are you trying to say that this abyssal secret region is finally going to reveal its true location because of the fusion of the worlds?¡± ¡°exactly!¡± tao mosheng added, ¡°you probably don¡¯t know this, but the abyssal secret region really isn¡¯t a secret among the strongest powers of the bing, ji, si, and yan continents. however, none of us knows where the secret region is actually located. if we tried to forcefully break our way in, we would most definitely ruin this place. lucky for us, the secret region will reveal itself soon. god knows how many powers have their eyes set on this abyssal secret region.¡± ¡°what exactly are you driving at?¡± shang xia could tell that tao mosheng wanted to say something but was still beating about the bush. chuckling softly, tao mosheng finally got to the point. ¡°now that the secret region is about to be revealed to the entire world, if you leave now, you might be able to escape from where you came from. the moment the secret region is fully exposed to the outside world, countless experts who had their eyes set on it would immediately make their move. i¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll be nothing more than extra loot to them.¡± a sneer appeared on shang xia¡¯s face and he mocked, ¡°are you trying to scare me away so that i don¡¯t snatch that blade from you?¡± coughing dryly, tao mosheng admitted frankly, ¡°i knew that i wouldn¡¯t be able to hide it from you. even though the abyssal blade has been damaged, it¡¯s still a divine weapon at the end of the day. anyway, everything i said earlier was true. if you don¡¯t leave now, you might not be able to run away soon¡­¡± shang xia managed to deduce a lot of things from the knowledge he just received. however, he continued to ask, ¡°since the powers of the four continents had their eyes on the abyssal secret region. you probably have someone on the outside ready to back you up once the secret region is revealed to the world, right?¡± ¡°haha! i am getting more and more curious about your identity.¡± tao mosheng roared with laughter. however, his tone changed abruptly and he growled seriously, ¡°my zhongxuan gate welcomes any expert who wishes to join our faction. are you interested in becoming an honorary elder? i¡¯m not bragging, but i¡¯m pretty respectable in the zhongxuan gate. i have a few elders on my side and i am willing to give you a recommendation.¡± ¡°no thanks.¡± shang xia rejected it without a second thought. ¡°since that¡¯s the case¡­ i won¡¯t hold back!¡± as soon as the words left his lips, the silver hammer appeared in the skies above the peak shang xia was currently at. there was no warning at all as he came crashing down. he definitely caught shang xia off guard with his sudden attack. when his silver hammer appeared in the air, shang xia was still staring at the mountain peak he initially thought tao mosheng was on when he had already moved one closer to shang xia. surprised that tao mosheng was able to hide from his divine perception, shang xia decided to ignore the matter for now. reacting as quickly as he could, shang xia poured his four constellation qi into his scarlet star spear before stabbing it at the silver hammer in the air. a massive explosion rang through the air and shang xia felt his entire body trembling from the impact. in order to reduce the force of the blow as much as he could, shang xia didn¡¯t force himself to stand his ground. instead, he flew backwards through the air. it was as though he was thrown off the mountain peak after taking that blow. the moment he did, he realized that he fucked up. he fell for tao mosheng¡¯s trick by leaping off the mountain peak. without his presence, the silver hammer slammed heavily into the rocks below. large rocks were blown apart and they fell through the sea of clouds below. the entire peak was blown apart. ¡°hahahahaha!¡± tao mosheng roared with laughter as his silver hammer rose from the dust and destruction. it rushed in shang xia¡¯s direction once again. when you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3ibfjkv. at that moment, shang xia was flying above the sea of white. the mountain peak he stood on earlier was destroyed and the only place he could land was on a peak close to 1000 feet behind him. he had to use a large amount of inner qi to maintain his flight, and that wasn¡¯t all. he had to face the assault of a third layer martial extermination realm expert! shang xia was in deep shit no matter how they looked at it. CH 474 ¡­ somewhere within the cloud water gorge¡­ shang pei stared at the dense fog around her with an exceedingly solemn expression. fifth uncle cen rushed over from behind her and before he could say anything, shang pei spoke up. ¡°is everyone here?¡± ¡°yes. third sister, did something happen for you to gather all of us so suddenly?¡± fifth uncle cen seemed extremely concerned by the sudden summons. it had been barely a day since shang xia left for the secret region when shang pei gathered them all. he wondered if something had gone wrong. ¡°did any of you notice the thinning of the fog in the cloud water gorge?¡± shang pei asked suddenly. ¡°huh?¡± fifth uncle cen turned to look all around him but failed to notice any difference. ¡°never mind.¡± shang pei knew that their divine sense wasn¡¯t as sensitive as her divine perception. moreover, there seemed to be traces of world origin hidden in the mist. only martial extermination realm experts would be able to feel it and determine the changes that happened to the cloud water gorge. a quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. ¡°tell everyone to follow me. we¡¯re leaving the cloud water gorge immediately!¡± shang pei muttered softly. a look of confusion appeared on fifth uncle cen¡¯s face. ¡°what¡¯s going on? if we leave now, what will happen to shang xia?¡± ¡°there¡¯s no need to worry about him. let¡¯s just pray that we manage to leave the cloud water gorge in one piece¡­¡± shang pei sighed in response. ¡­ in the skies above the cloud water gorge¡­ xu chenkang, the martial extermination realm expert from the divine capital sect, received a secret transmission and the smile on his face grew wider after reading it. ¡°martial uncle, how is the situation around the cloud water gorge now?¡± even though zuo changqing was younger than xu chenkang, his position in the divine capital sect was higher than any of his 3 martial uncles standing in front of him. xu chenkang handed the secret transmission over to zuo changqing directly and grinned, ¡°everything happened as we expected. as the clouds that cover the cloud water gorge start to thin out, the abyssal secret region is definitely going to appear. the strongest families and sects of the bing, ji, si, and yan continents have arrived. even the scattered cultivators of the taihang mountains formed a massive alliance to try to fight for some benefits the moment the abyssal secret region appears.¡± zuo changqing mumbled in response, ¡°i wouldn''t be surprised that the experts of the four continents arrived quicker than the rest. anyway, the yan continent is the worst of them all. they only managed to produce the zhongxuan gate with their meager talent. however, that¡¯s precisely the reason behind their unity. we cannot underestimate the zhongxuan gate no matter what. as for the bing continent, they only possess the yanmen institution which is as good as trash. there¡¯s no need to mention them at all. it¡¯s the white deer sect from the ji continent that we need to be careful with. they have strong foundations and huge accumulations. martial uncle, did the secret transmission say anything about the white deer sect?¡± zuo changqing knew that xu chenkang had his reasons for bringing him along. the unspoken connections in the sect aside, he could tell that the old expert had intentions to nurture him. since xu chenkang handed him the report, it showed that he had no intentions to hide anything. a mirthless smile appeared on xu chenkang¡¯s face after hearing the question, which slightly confused zuo changqing. ¡°did i make a mistake somewhere? martial uncle, please guide me¡­¡± xu chenkang waved his hand casually before him and laughed in response, ¡°martial nephew zuo changqing, looks like you¡¯re not a cultivation fool like what they say back in the sect. you have a slight understanding of the powers in the various continents. however¡­¡± pausing slightly, xu chenkang continued, ¡°... your understanding of the various powers seems a little outdated. what you understand of the zhongxuan gate from the yan continent is basically correct. however, the white deer sect didn¡¯t send their experts over this time. instead, the 3 great families of the ji continent are the ones who came. after the white deer sect failed their scheme to attack the tongyou institution and suffered a serious loss after kou chongxue counterattacked, they kept a low profile. the zhang, liu, and guo families of the ji continent rose swiftly to fill the gap. as for the bing continent¡­ we might have underestimated the powers in the bing continent this time¡­¡± zuo changqing gasped in shock. ¡°martial uncle chenkang, how did we underestimate the bing continent?¡± before xu chenkang could say anything, a low blast came from the depths of the cloud water gorge, attracting everyone¡¯s attention. countless pairs of eyes turned to look at the gorge and if anyone felt that the subtle changes to the cloud water gorge weren¡¯t obvious enough, it was time they were proved wrong. the dense clouds that covered the cloud water gorge started to dissipate at a rapid pace and a giant crater appeared right smack in the middle of the gorge. it seemed to be created by the explosion earlier, but it was quickly covered up by whatever fog there was left. a secondary blast echoed through the skies not too long after and huge chunks of rock started falling from the void above the cloud water gorge. loud explosions rang in succession from deep within the cloud water gorge and the heaven and earth qi in the region started to fluctuate violently. xu chenkang didn¡¯t need to remind zuo changqing and everyone in the area knew that the abyssal secret region was about to show itself soon. ¡­ no matter how they looked at it, shang xia was in deep shit. he reacted a little too late, and shang xia was nothing more than a larger target board who was exhausting his inner qi to remain in mid air. as the silver hammer rose into the skies once again under tao mosheng¡¯s control, the void trembled violently. it was obvious tao mosheng was going all out in an attempt to seriously injure shang xia. at the very last second, shang xia revealed the hexagonal lantern he had been holding all along. he made his preparations after surviving the blade light and poured what was left of the divine fire wine into the lantern. a deep orange flame flickered aggressively and shang xia poured his inner qi into the lantern without reserve. the flickering flame turned into a pillar of fire as it tore through the skies. it crashed directly into the silver hammer in the sky. ¡°misty palace lanter! you¡­ you¡¯re from the divine capital sect!¡± tao mosheng recognized the lantern the moment shang xia took it out. however, he completely missed the mark with shang xia¡¯s identity. thinking that shang xia was from the divine capital sect, a trace of fear appeared in his heart. despite his feelings, he knew that it was too late to turn back now. pouring even more energy into his hammer, tao mosheng decided that he had to get rid of the problem in front of him. ¡°swish!¡± tearing through the pillar of fire, tao mosheng¡¯s silver hammer went straight for shang xia¡¯s head. before the hammer arrived, the massive pressure along with waves upon waves of spatial fluctuations came crashing down on him. the auspicious cloud cape behind shang xia billowed violently as he prepared himself to counterattack. remaining unusually calm in the face of danger, shang xia¡¯s scarlet star spear shot into the air. releasing his celestial disruption spear, countless specks of starlight erupted in the skies above. shang xia stabbed out countless times in a split second and every single strike landed directly on the silver hammer. eventually, the hammer was forced to stop. naturally, shang xia had to deal with the recoil from the strikes and he flew even further through the abyssal secret region. ¡°oh no!¡± tao mosheng roared after noticing how shang xia flew through the air. he realized that shang xia was borrowing his strength to fly closer to the divine weapon. shang xia actually wanted to risk it all and obtain the divine weapon before tao mosheng could react. the only part tao mosheng didn¡¯t understand was how shang xia could withstand the consumption of his inner qi. one had to know that flying through the secret region exhausted a lot of energy. not to mention the fact that shang xia just defended against his attacks. with confusion filling his heart, tao mosheng stared at the cape fluttering on shang xia¡¯s back. unfortunately, he didn¡¯t manage to discover the secrets it held. he wondered if shang xia was truly risking it all. even if that was the case, he couldn¡¯t sit by idly and watch as the divine weapon fell into someone else¡¯s hands. just as he prepared to make his move, the auras of 2 martial extermination realm experts filled the skies. they came from the mountain peaks on the opposite side, and tao mosheng gasped softly in fright. ¡°how are there 2 more martial extermination realm experts hiding in here?!¡± he quickly understood that those 2 had probably entered the abyssal secret region before him. after surviving the blade light, they hid their presence so no one would be able to detect them. one could only say that the 2 martial extermination realm experts were pretty lucky. they were hiding in the opposite direction where shang xia and tao mosheng were traveling. now that shang xia was rushing at the divine weapon, the two of them had to do something. a sneer appeared on tao mosheng¡¯s face as his silver hammer went for shang xia¡¯s back. even though the distance separating them was close to 1000 feet at the moment, he didn¡¯t hold back and crazily poured his inner qi into his weapon. back when shang xia blocked tao mosheng¡¯s hammer and flew in the direction of the divine weapon, he threw caution to the wind and wanted to be the first person to get his hands on it. he didn¡¯t expect there to be experts hiding in the other mountain peaks, especially not two of them! now that the two of them had made their move, shang xia was surrounded on 3 fronts. if he was in trouble earlier when tao mosheng attacked him in mid air, his current situation was several times worse. after all, the suppression the abyssal secret region had on him was also present. quickly making a decision, shang xia didn¡¯t bother avoiding or blocking the attacks thrown his way. instead, he circulated his inner qi and pushed himself to the limit as he accelerated yet again. the auspicious cloud cape flapping in the wind seemed to fuse with his four seasons extermination origins as they propelled shang xia towards the peak that contained the divine weapon. no, more accurately, he shot straight for the boulder that held the blade. ¡°are you tired of living?!¡± shang xia¡¯s actions caught all 3 martial extermination realm experts off guard. his reckless actions would definitely provoke the divine weapon. even if the 3 of them stood off to the side now and withdrew their attacks, he would most probably be killed by the abyssal blade. in fact, that was what they were doing at the moment. they were desperately withdrawing all the energy in their attack. they couldn¡¯t be bothered with shang xia as they were afraid of drawing the ire of the divine weapon. ¡°boom!¡± under several incredulous gazes, shang xia smashed straight into the boulder that held the abyssal blade without showing the slightest trace of slowing down. CH 475 ¡­ after falling into such a dangerous situation, shang xia decided that his only course of action was to head for the divine weapon. he made the right bet. because of their fear of provoking the divine weapon, they quickly withdrew their inner qi. they didn¡¯t dare to attack him recklessly when he was in the vicinity of the abyssal blade. even though he knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to avoid taking on the blade light from the divine weapon when he made his decision earlier, he rather face the blade light than the furious attack of 3 martial extermination realm experts. there was also an essence of gambling hidden in his actions. as long as he managed to block the blade light, the divine weapon would be within reach! as he barreled through the air towards the mountain peak, shang xia would obviously not smash head-first into the boulder. his scarlet star spear was held firmly in front of him and it tore through the twisted space that was preventing his approach. a giant gash in space appeared when shang xia flew through the field of twisted space. the sea of clouds below seemed to experience the same fate as the space shang xia tore through and a huge gap appeared in the fluffy sea of white. luckily, the gap was quickly filled by several layers of clouds in an instant. shang xia was naturally too occupied to notice the changes in the sea of clouds below and the instant he broke through the layer of twisted space, he flew straight at the boulder without showing the slightest trace of slowing down. ¡°boom!¡± under several incredulous gazes, shang xia smashed straight into the boulder that held the abyssal blade. the moment he did, the abyssal blade seemed to sense danger and it seemed to be extremely riled up. it started to shake violently in the boulder while emitting a low hum. the noise it created seemed to transform into a giant sledgehammer that slammed directly into shang xia¡¯s soul. that wasn¡¯t all. the boulder that trapped the blade started to shatter. the orange glow that surrounded the abyssal blade grew even deeper in color. the light it emitted was so intense that everyone had a feeling the physical blade would be the one emerging from the boulder rather than the blade light it had been shooting out so far. ¡°not good¡­¡± ¡°hurry up and stop!¡± ¡°fuck!¡± yells came from different directions in the abyssal secret region, but with things progressing up to that point, how could shang xia back down? silently circulating his man and heaven synergy chapter, shang xia withdrew his presence to the best of his abilities. the sound waves emitted by the abyssal blade that was crashing against his soul failed to affect his state of mind in the slightest. that wasn¡¯t all shang xia did. he released his ninth move, piercing sun, directly at the divine weapon. before the abyssal blade could react, the scarlet star spear stabbed directly on its surface. ¡°clang!¡± a sharp ring ripped through the air and the tip of the scarlet star spear shattered instantaneously. shang xia stared blankly at the divine weapon after his spear crashed into it, and the 3 martial extermination realm experts also fell silent. what they didn¡¯t know was that the sound wasn¡¯t just contained in the secret region. it rang loud and true in the skies of the outside world. ¡­ shang pei, who was leading the members of the youyan stronghold away from the region, stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the sound. she seemed to be the only one to react as the other members of the youyan stronghold weren''t affected at all. she looked around with a sense of slight bewilderment but she didn¡¯t discover anything. outside the cloud water gorge, the experts of the divine capital sect stared at the spatial cracks that appeared in the air while being shocked by the sudden ring that emerged from the depths of the cloud water gorge. they weren¡¯t the only ones as the same scene was playing out in front of experts from the other factions. that wasn¡¯t all. the sound didn¡¯t just tear through the air above the cloud water gorge¡­ there were even existences in the beyond heaven pavilion who were alarmed by the sudden disturbance. ¡°so¡­ that¡¯s where it is¡­¡± god knew how many experts were paying attention to the abyssal secret region. at that moment, the true experts among them seemed to understand what was going on and their gazes transcended space and landed on a certain spot on a spatial barrier in one of the worlds¡­ ¡­ shang xia could thank his strong foundation of his soul as he managed to awaken from his dazed state quickly. he didn¡¯t know how long he had been out. he might have been in that state for a second, or he might have been unconscious for a longer period of time. regardless, his clothes were drenched in perspiration as he realized how dangerous the situation would have been. luckily, he didn¡¯t seem injured after awakening. the only strange thing about him was that he was still stuck in the posture he had been in while unleashing his ninth move¡­ wait¡­ my scarlet star spear¡­ shang xia¡¯s eyes widened in fright when he noticed that the tip was missing from his spear. all that was left was a long ass rod in his hand! raising his head violently to stare at the divine weapon, shang xia noticed that the abyssal blade wasn¡¯t vibrating anymore. it remained strangely silent. it was as though the majestic divine weapon was taken aback after shang xia attacked it with his scarlet star spear. it seemed taken aback that it was struck by an ant, and its rage seemed to be replaced by complete bewilderment. shang xia didn¡¯t dare to let his guard down regardless. instead, the feeling of death quickly returned and it got stronger by the minute. instinctively, shang xia wanted to run away. however, his rationality took over and told him that he would die an even more gruesome death if he tried to escape. withdrawing the rod in his hand, shang xia¡¯s auspicious cloud cape fluttered behind him. it allowed him to retreat backwards slightly and the moment he did, he seemed to shatter the silence that had filled the land. a shrill cry came from the divine weapon that felt as if it had been violated and the boulder that trapped it turned to dust. some were looking at the divine weapon calmly, while the others stared at it in trepidation. their attitude towards the matter couldn¡¯t change the fact that the abyssal blade had been released! the blade, which had been sealed for god knew how many years, shot into the skies after freeing itself from the boulder. another shrill cry filled the abyssal secret region. it sounded extremely excited to have left its seal, but there was also a trace of rage contained in its cry. the moment the blade was fully revealed, the space in the abyssal secret region trembled. half the boulder was left after the divine weapon freed itself, and it shook all the same. anyone who was a little observant would realize that the boulder wasn¡¯t the only thing shaking. it was merely trembling along with the mountain peak beneath it. neither shang xia nor the other 3 could give half a shit about the quaking beneath their feet at that moment. their attention was stuck on the divine weapon in the air. the blade was impressive, but a quarter of the blade was missing. a dense orange blade light emerged from the body of the blade and separated into 3 parts before flying towards tao mosheng and the other 2. even so, it wasn¡¯t time for shang xia to celebrate. the main body of the divine weapon came slicing down at him after releasing the blade light. shang xia expected to face a terrifying assault when the divine weapon was freed, and he had been storing up his inner qi ever since he made his retreat with the auspicious cloud cape. he didn¡¯t panic now that the blade was falling towards him. unlike what tao mosheng and the other martial extermination realm experts thought, shang xia didn¡¯t actually consume much inner qi when he flew at the divine weapon earlier. because of the special properties of his four seasons extermination origins when he circulated it, along with the assistance of the auspicious cloud cape, shang xia had a lot more inner qi in his dantian than anyone would expect. since he already came up with an outline of his rank four martial arts, shang xia was able to absorb the heaven and earth qi in his surroundings as well as traces of world origin in the air to recover. there was also one thing the 4 of them had overlooked. even though tao mosheng mentioned how the secret region was slowly losing its power and was on the verge of destruction, no one realized that the secret region¡¯s suppression was growing weaker by the second. as the divine weapon fell towards shang xia, he felt the world around him turning quiet. everything seemed really distant as shang xia swung the rod in his hand with all his might. he poured his inner qi and divine perception into the rod without holding back and in his hands, the scarlet star spear that was missing a spearhead still functioned as shang xia¡¯s spear! releasing his strongest spear move, the divine killing spear, the scarlet star spear that was missing a tip struck accurately against the surface of the abyssal blade. the rod that was the scarlet star spear started to break apart as inches upon inches were slowly shaved off the surface. shang xia vomited a mouthful of blood and it stained the abyssal blade as he drew a beautiful arc through the air after being thrown backwards. the abyssal sword, which was missing a quarter of its blade, didn¡¯t seem satisfied with what it had done to shang xia. it buzzed incessantly in the air, but surprisingly, it couldn¡¯t move an inch. divine killing spear¡­ a spear that could stop the strongest of existences! shang xia¡¯s third martial intent didn¡¯t gain its name for nothing. when shang xia was thrown backwards, the other 3 martial extermination realm experts were forced to block the orange blade light sent their way. they exhausted a huge amount of inner qi while doing so and they were unable to take advantage of shang xia¡¯s weakness to make their move on the divine weapon. by the time they caught their breath, shang xia had already retreated to the mountain peak he had first appeared on. the moment he landed, a low rumble filled the air around the abyssal secret region. the divine weapon shook in place and so did the various mountain peaks. a quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. as space started to twist, the sea of clouds beneath them shattered. the outside world flickered beneath the sea of clouds from time to time. it was a sign that the secret region had finally given out! it was about to shatter completely! shang xia wasted no time as he examined the condition of his body as soon as he landed. to his surprise, his inner injuries weren¡¯t as serious as he had thought. this¡­ this¡­ the lotus ge qingzhu gave me¡­ the thought flashed across shang xia¡¯s mind, but he was quickly distracted by a familiar aura nearby. with a frown appearing on his face, he turned to look at another mountain peak nearby and growled, ¡°why are you still here? what are you waiting for?¡± the person he discovered was none other than wei qiongyi from the weiwu institution of the liang continent. she had actually hidden herself the whole time! with the sea of clouds beneath them dissipating and the space around it shattering, she wouldn¡¯t be able to leave the secret region if she didn¡¯t move immediately! shang xia gave her another reminder out of the kindness of his heart. right after he spoke, the abyssal blade that was stalled by his divine killing spear finally broke out from its stupor. it tore through the air and went straight for shang xia. shang xia¡¯s scarlet star spear was basically destroyed after his previous exchange. his jade river sword was merely a mid-grade weapon and it wouldn¡¯t last a second. the divine weapon might not be as fast as before, but was he supposed to take on the blade with his bare hands?! with everything on the line, shang xia maintained his cool gaze as a sense of unprecedented calm filled his mind. facing the rage of a divine weapon that could slaughter anything in its path, shang xia launched a single palm strike without any warning. he accurately struck the body of the divine weapon! CH 476 ¡­ tearing through the air, the abyssal blade shot straight for shang xia. tao mosheng and the other 2 barely managed to block the blade light earlier after they used everything they had. shang xia unleashed his divine killing spear and dissipated a portion of the power contained in the blade. his rod, or whatever was left of the scarlet star spear after the tip shattered earlier, failed to hold out. it crumbled bit by bit until only a tiny portion remained in his hand. under such circumstances, the 3 other martial extermination realm experts had no doubt that shang xia¡¯s fate was sealed. tao mosheng and the rest were naturally happy to watch as shang xia was slain by the divine weapon. there was no way they would help him, but at the same time, they weren¡¯t stupid enough to make a move on shang xia. the reason behind their reluctance to attack was simple. the divine weapon didn¡¯t know who was who. to the abyssal blade, anyone who entered the abyssal secret region was an enemy! anyone who provoked the weapon at that moment would probably turn into its next target. that was why no one bothered attacking shang xia. they couldn¡¯t wait for him to perish under the blade. also, all 3 of them could tell that shang xia possessed extraordinary combat abilities. he might be able to struggle on death¡¯s door for some time, buying time. that was right. they were hoping shang xia could hold the divine weapon down for a little while more. as far as they could tell, the blade was the core of the secret region. now that it had emerged from its seal, the abyssal secret region lost its protection and was starting to crumble. the moment it did, it would be time for the experts outside to feast on its remains. as shang xia tangled with the abyssal blade, the 3 of them seemed to reach the same conclusion as they shot for the main peak that used to hold the divine weapon. without the protection of the abyssal blade, countless rays of light emerged from the main peak and shot into the skies. under the resplendent rays, one could barely make out several figures flashing haphazardly around the main peak. there were images of weapons and strange phenomena, and there seemed to be a pretty huge mass of world origin. it flickered in a strange fashion, but there was no doubt about it. anything that it depicted could cause martial extermination realm experts to go crazy! the protection barrier around the main peak eventually gave out and the treasures contained within seemed to want to pop out the next moment! ¡­ from what shang xia understood, every divine weapon had its own weapon spirit. that was why shang xia used his divine killing spear when he blocked the blade light after first entering the abyssal secret region. when he tried to stop the blade earlier with the tipless spear, he also unleashed the same move. with one spear to slay the gods, it could sunder the soul and destroy his target¡¯s physical body! shang xia had been targeting the weapon spirit all along! moreover, the reaction of the abyssal blade told him that his method was working. he also managed to successfully anger the divine weapon by doing so. as the abyssal blade flew at shang xia once again, he no longer had his scarlet star spear to protect himself. he seemed utterly defenseless and would be slain the next moment. earlier, shang xia had a chance to leave the secret region. back when he detected wei qiongyi, he even had enough excess energy to tell her to leave. despite the many opportunities, he didn¡¯t rush through the sea of clouds to escape. theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3ibfjkv. instead, he launched yet another move against the abyssal blade! with his inner qi poured out of his dantian like water out a broken dam, they created a giant palm in mid air. shang xia¡¯s four seasons extermination origins swirled about endlessly in the giant palm, making it increasingly solid. eventually, the palm gained a beige skin-like hue. when shang xia comprehended how to use his extermination origins back at the jingxiu peak, he released a similar palm strike that tore right through its protection formation. now, shang xia¡¯s understanding of his extermination origins grew even more. the power contained in his palm strike was clearly stronger than before. ¡°smack!¡± shang xia¡¯s palm slammed directly into the body of the blade and the scene everyone was waiting for didn¡¯t happen. shang xia wasn¡¯t torn to shreds like they expected. instead, the abyssal blade stopped in mid air and released a shrill buzz. it seemed afraid and angry at the same time. shang xia¡¯s palm strike contained the true power of the four seasons and it far surpassed the divine killing spear when it came to threatening spirits. the divine killing spear could threaten both his opponent¡¯s physical bodies and their souls. that was also how the divine weapon greatly reduced the power of shang xia¡¯s third martial intent. it greatly depleted shang xia¡¯s inner qi during their physical exchange. things were different when shang xia unleashed his four seasons extermination origins in his final palm strike. it might not be as physically powerful as his divine killing spear, but it was much more effective when it came to exterminating spirits. after all, there weren¡¯t many things that could overcome the cycle of time that was represented by the progression of the four seasons. shang xia¡¯s strike didn¡¯t merely contain the power to decay things. it had the ability to kill anything formless. it could even be argued that it directly countered the weapon spirit! buzzing incessantly, the abyssal blade seemed extremely enraged by shang xia¡¯s actions. the commotion it caused spread through the secret region and the sea of clouds continued to crumble. the giant palm shang xia created grabbed the blade without showing signs of letting go no matter how hard it struggled. the abyssal blade chopped in all directions as it tried to get rid of shang xia¡¯s palm. spatial cracks appeared all around. withstanding the tearing of space, the giant palm that held on to the blade burst open in wounds before reforming itself. the process repeated several times but shang xia¡¯s four seasons extermination origins eventually gained the upper hand. no matter how it tried, the abyssal blade failed to sever the strange hand that held on to it. the palm shang xia summoned earlier wasn¡¯t exactly moving about independently. shang xia¡¯s arm that was held out in front of him had countless wounds as blood poured out from the various cuts he suffered. even so, he refused to give up! pushing his extermination origins to the limit, they battered against the blade qi that emerged from the abyssal blade. it slowly seeped into the weapon itself to suppress the weapon spirit contained within. throughout the whole progress, shang xia didn¡¯t notice that the blood he spat onto the abyssal blade earlier was slowly being sucked into its body along with the entry of his extermination origins. all of a sudden, shang xia felt the weapon spirit of the blade weakening rapidly as his extermination origins gained the upper hand. recognizing the opportunity, shang xia stomped heavily and shot through the skies. there was no way he could run away now that the weapon spirit had been suppressed. he flew straight for the abyssal blade and he grabbed its shaft in one fluid motion. the giant palm that was holding onto the blade dissipated and shang xia took over. blood flowed down his hands and he made a terrifying decision. he wanted to refine the weapon despite the dangers that surrounded him. the blood that poured out from his wounds entered the divine weapon directly and shang xia didn¡¯t slow down in his infusion of extermination origins. with the round of simple refinement, shang xia seemed to form a basic connection with the blade. he had a feeling that the blade had become an extension of his body. perhaps it was because of his connection with the blade, but he could feel a sense of resistance from the weapon spirit despite already suppressing it with his extermination origins. even if he could use the blade currently, he wouldn¡¯t be able to unleash its full power! he was like yun jing who wielded kou chongxue¡¯s hidden frost sword in the past. he was able to bring out a portion of its strength, but it was far from what it could actually do. what made shang xia¡¯s headache was the fact that the weapon spirit was resisting his extermination origins forcefully. it would rather be destroyed than submit to shang xia! as he needed to break the stalemate immediately, he would need a chance to force the abyssal blade¡¯s weapon spirit to submit. only then would he be able to fully refine the weapon and wield its strength. it might seem like a long time since shang xia was attacked by the abyssal blade, but everything happened in several short breaths of time. the sudden change in situation caught the attention of the other 3 martial extermination realm experts hovering in the air around the central peak. there was no way they could accept the fact that shang xia managed to evade death. things were worse when they saw how shang xia was about to refine the divine weapon. ignoring the rest of the treasures that were pouring out from the main peak, they rushed towards shang xia in unison. they couldn¡¯t allow him to refine the divine weapon just like that! even if it was a damaged divine weapon, they couldn¡¯t allow it to fall into shang xia¡¯s hands. like before, shang xia was quickly surrounded by the 3 of them. back then, he rushed into the main peak and crashed into the boulder that sealed the divine weapon, avoiding their combined assault. now that the divine weapon no longer threatened them, shang xia understood that there was nothing to hold them back from going all out in their assault. the divine weapon in his hand struggled with all its might to prevent shang xia from using its full strength and if he was even slightly careless, the weapon spirit of the abyssal blade would probably break free from the restraints of his extermination origin. when that happened, he wouldn¡¯t need to care about tao mosheng and the others. he would be slain by the abyssal blade in an instant. in a fit of desperation, shang xia could only try the first idea that came to mind. he retrieved the six sided handle and the moment he did, the abyssal blade trembled violently in his hand. feeling its reaction, a trace of joy filled shang xia¡¯s heart. the abyssal blade wasn¡¯t trying to escape from him after he revealed that he was in possession of the six sided handle. instead, a sense of attraction came from the depths of the blade. heaving a sigh of relief, it seemed as though shang xia made the correct gamble. the six sided handle turned into a streak of light that attached itself directly between the blade and the handle of the sword. this¡­ a soft ¡®click¡¯ could be heard as it turned into the guard of the abyssal blade. even shang xia couldn¡¯t exactly catch what happened, but all he knew was that the six sided handle he had been playing with had been a part of the abyssal blade all along! the second it attached itself to the abyssal blade, the weapon spirit stopped resisting immediately. it quickly resonated with his divine perception and it fused with shang xia¡¯s soul! the refinement process he had been forcing to progress earlier was completed in an instant! CH 477 ¡­ in the northeastern direction of the cloud water gorge, shang pei brought the members of the youyan stronghold and charged out of the thick fog. the moment she emerged, she ran into a ground of martial extermination realm experts who had their sights on the cloud water gorge. ¡°you!¡± shang pei¡¯s expression turned frosty all of a sudden and her spear appeared in her hand as she prepared for battle. ¡°youyan chief, there¡¯s no need to get all worked up now. we didn¡¯t come here with ill intentions.¡± yin wanxiang took a step forward and observed the group. no matter how he looked at it, shang xia wasn¡¯t part of their group. shang pei wasn¡¯t a fool. she wouldn''t let down her guard because of what he said. she muttered cautiously, ¡°why are you standing in our way?¡± gesturing to the side, yin wanxiang spoke casually, ¡°we have no enmity with each other. youyan chief, feel free to take your leave.¡± shang pei stared at the group of martial extermination realm experts warily but realized that they didn¡¯t seem to be lying. with her gaze on them, she gestured to fifth uncle cen and the others to take their leave. as they were distancing themselves from the group of martial extermination realm experts, yin wanxiang asked, ¡°chief hai, i hope you can answer some of my questions before you leave.¡± with taut nerves, shang pei forced herself to remain calm as she replied casually, ¡°cave master yin, feel free to ask me anything you like. i¡¯ll answer to the best of my abilities.¡± clearing his throat, yin wanxiang asked, ¡°chief hai, did you just emerge from the secret region?¡± ¡°nope.¡± shang pei didn¡¯t hesitate at all as she gave her answer. it seemed to catch yin wanxiang by surprise as he stared at her in shock. ¡°bullshit!¡± zhonggu, who was standing behind yin wanxiang, stepped out from the group and yelled, ¡°everyone knows that you have a special item that can lead you into the secret region. now that the secret region is crumbling and the cloud water gorge is losing its protection, you guys coincidentally chose to emerge. doesn¡¯t this seem a little suspicious? are you guys trying to run away?¡± the moment zhonggu spoke, the look in the eyes of the martial extermination realm experts standing behind yin wanxiang changed. stepping towards yin wanxiang to place herself between the martial extermination realm experts and the members of the youyan stronghold, shang pei growled, ¡°heh, you guys will get mad if i refuse to say anything. now that i¡¯m telling you the truth, you refuse to believe me¡­¡± zhonggu wanted to continue, but yin wanxiang stopped him with a single gesture. he was the only one who didn¡¯t seem suspicious of shang pei¡¯s answer and a smile slowly appeared on his face. ¡°i believe you. you might not have entered the secret region, but you probably gave that young man your key to enter the secret region, right?¡± shang pei heard of what happened before shang xia found her in the cloud water gorge and she wasn¡¯t surprised by yin wanxiang¡¯s knowledge of his presence. she replied candidly, ¡°yup. didn¡¯t you guys already meet?¡± ¡°indeed¡­ he¡¯s a genius alright¡­¡± yin wanxiang muttered softly to himself, but those behind him heard him loud and clear. before anyone else could speak up, he continued, ¡°i guess this means that the 3 martial extermination realm experts who were hunting you down won¡¯t be showing their faces around here anymore, right?¡± shang pei¡¯s expression remained cold but she didn¡¯t respond to his question. seemingly having expected the outcome, yin wanxiang nodded slowly and sighed, ¡°i have asked everything i wish to know. youyan chief, feel free to leave.¡± shang pei glanced at the group of experts behind yin wanxiang before turning around to return to the members of the youyan stronghold. as they prepared to leave, yin wanxiang¡¯s voice rang in shang pei¡¯s mind. ¡°youyan chief, you¡¯ve been stationed in the cloud water gorge and you might not know about this, but the abyssal secret region has descended on the cloud water gorge and attracted the attention of experts from the si, yan. ji, and bing continents. experts from the 4 continents have gathered around the region in order to compete for the inheritance left behind by the abyssal sect.¡± ¡°abyssal sect?¡± shang pei stopped walking altogether and she muttered to herself. fifth uncle cen discovered that she wasn¡¯t walking anymore and he turned around to ask, ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°fifth brother, leave with the rest. i¡¯ll stay behind to check things out.¡± shang pei said seriously. ¡°you¡­¡± fifth uncle cen obviously didn¡¯t wish for shang pei to place herself in danger, but when he thought about how shang xia was still within the cloud water gorge, he could only sigh softly, ¡°be careful and take care of yourself.¡± noodling slightly, shang pei started to make her way back to yin wanxiang and the others. she barely took a few steps when a resounding explosion tore through the air. raising her head, she saw spatial cracks filling the skies. they were like massive spider webs that stretched across the cloud water gorge and huge landslides appeared from the void. a multitude of lights filled the skies through the cracks. shang pei didn¡¯t hesitate to fly into the skies, but a strange object that emitted a strange glow emerged from the spatial cracks and flew straight at her. pulling out her spear, she shattered the ball of light and reached for the object within. the moment she laid her hands on the item, a streak of light appeared in the distance and rushed at her. ¡°put it down right now!¡± the person who came didn¡¯t seem to care who he was up against as he formed a strange seal with his hands and pressed it down on shang pei¡¯s head. ¡­ a deafening buzz filled the abyssal secret region and it seemed to expand beyond the confines of the secret region itself to rip through the beyond heavens pavilion. the abyssal blade in shang xia¡¯s hand was no longer the tyrannical and defiant existence that it was moments earlier. instead, it seemed to be emitting endless joy as it announced its return to the entire world. unfortunately, shang xia didn¡¯t have the luxury to carefully inspect the blade. ¡°shit! i can¡¯t stay here for much longer!¡± shang xia could see that the other 3 martial extermination realm experts seemed to have reached some sort of secret agreement with each other. tao mosheng¡¯s silver hammer, a gray sword qi, and a fist intent stretched through the void as they rushed at shang xia in unison. every single one of the 3 had cultivation bases higher than shang xia. at the very least, they were experts in the third layer martial extermination realm. any one of them would be a formidable opponent if shang xia ran into them in the outside world. he would need to be extremely careful if he fought any of the 3. now that they had joined hands, he was in deep shit! clearly, the 3 of them didn¡¯t hold back. they wanted to eliminate the anomaly that was shang xia immediately now that he had obtained the divine weapon. if that happened earlier in their exchange in the abyssal secret region, shang xia would have been heavily injured, if not dead, when faced with their combined attack. if he was even the slightest bit careless, he would be blown to bits the moment the attacks connected. unfortunately for them, the situation wasn¡¯t what it was when they entered the abyssal secret region. the entire place was crumbling and shang xia got his hands on the divine weapon. facing their attacks, shang xia seemed a little indifferent. as he circulated his extermination origins through the abyssal blade, the weapon spirit didn¡¯t suffer a fate of destruction like before. the true power of his four seasons extermination origins wasn¡¯t purely for destruction. it also had the ability to nourish and strengthen the spirit. every time shang xia cycled his extermination origins through the abyssal blade, the weapon spirit recovered slightly and shang xia¡¯s connection to the blade improved. destruction or nourishment was decided by shang xia with a single thought. swinging the abyssal blade vertically in front of him, a four colored extermination light emerged and took over the orange glow that the weapon usually emits and tore the void apart. through the spatial tear, shang xia could see the clouds around the cloud water gorge receding rapidly. he also managed to make out a few human figures flying about. before he could try anything, tao mosheng¡¯s hammer crashed heavily into the spatial tear shang xia created. the moment it did, tao mosheng quickly retrieved his weapon. his silver hammer was a high-grade weapon and by the time he retrieved it, there were 2 deep marks on the face of the weapon. the majestic silver glow that surrounded the hammer earlier dimmed to the point where it could barely be seen. the strand of gray sword qi also failed to sunder the spatial tear that shang xia created. as it closed in on the tear in space, the sword qi started to distort violently. when more than half of the sword qi was torn apart by the strange fluctuations in space, the sword qi could no longer sustain itself. it eventually dissipated into its surroundings. it seemed as though only the fist intent would cause shang xia some trouble. it seemed pretty extraordinary as it forced its way towards shang xia. unfortunately, when it passed through the spatial tear, all its energy seemed to be sapped away. shang xia merely used a single slash to deal with the 3 attacks thrown his way! of course, shang xia used the destruction of the abyssal secret region to his advantage while doing so as the space contained in the secret region was extremely unstable in its current state, but he couldn¡¯t deny that his personal strength and the power of the abyssal blade also had a huge part to play. perhaps they realized that they couldn¡¯t do anything to shang xia, but they quickly flew in another direction. they planned to regroup somewhere else in the abyssal secret region as they understood that shang xia received a considerable power boost now that he had the abyssal blade. if they didn¡¯t wish to be picked off one by one, they had to work together to survive. that wasn¡¯t all. in order to fight with shang xia for the inheritance of the abyssal sect, they had to work together so as to obtain the largest benefits possible. theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ]. of course, shang xia wasn¡¯t a fool. he wouldn¡¯t take a beating without returning the favor. once he defended himself against the combined attacks of the trio, he released a slash through the air directed at tao mosheng who was flying through the air. because the 3 of them weren¡¯t weaklings, their speed was nothing to scoff at. they reacted quickly after he blocked their combined attack and shang xia had to ensure his blade light would arrive before they gathered together. with his four seasons extermination origins as the foundation of the attack he released, he combined some properties of the techniques he learned and developed before. it contained the element of lightning, along with the properties of the earlier moves of his nine providence spear. the blade light he released could be said to be powerful, accurate, and extremely ferocious. as soon as the blade light emerged from the abyssal blade, everyone in the secret region felt their hearts skipping a beat. like a streak of lightning shooting through the skies, the blade light shot straight for tao mosheng. ¡°fellow cultivators, please save me¡­¡± tao mosheng poured his inner qi into his silver hammer without holding back and swung it with all his might in front of him. ¡°clang!¡± with a loud scrape, a third of the hammer was shaven away. the other two flew in his direction as they tried their best to weaken the blade light that had arrived before tao mosheng. when they tried to help, they discovered that tao mosheng¡¯s arms were trembling violently. the stench of burning flesh assaulted their noses before long. tao mosheng¡¯s arms were fried from the power of lightning contained in the blade light! luckily, a martial extermination realm expert had a terrifying amount of life force. as long as their arms were still attached to their bodies, they would be able to do battle even if all that was left were their bones. of course, their combat capabilities would suffer to a certain extent. ¡°heh¡­¡± after releasing the blade light, shang xia pondered over the feeling he had earlier. when he unleashed his attack earlier, it seemed as though he managed to tap into his hidden potential. ¡°the blade contains the power of lightning and the rumbling it emits has the ability to affect divine perception¡­ i¡¯ll call this move ¡®lightning awakening¡¯!¡± with the experience he had previously, he finally completed the first of his rank four martial arts! even though the entire martial art only had one move so far¡­ ¡°run!¡± tao mosheng and the others were clearly seasoned cultivators. they could tell that shang xia became much stronger than before and their only course of action was to retreat. one couldn¡¯t forget that shang xia obtained the auspicious cloud cape from before. without the 3 of them to stop him, he flew straight for the central peak that was spewing out treasures non-stop. now that the 3 of them had gathered together, shang xia knew that there wasn¡¯t really a chance of him killing any one of them. even with the divine weapon in hand, he wouldn¡¯t be able to break through the defenses of 3 third layer martial extermination realm experts. since that was the case, he might as well grab all the treasures he could before the abyssal secret region crumbles. CH 478 the clouds that filled the cloud water gorge fluctuated violently as they started to dissipate at a speed visible to the naked eye. cracks in the air formed even more frequently and they were only restored after a long period of time. the cloud water gorge which had been hidden from the outside world for hundreds of years was starting to reveal itself! zuo changqing stared at the spatial cracks that were forming from time to time and managed to catch glimpses of what was happening within. the confusion in his heart grew stronger as he turned to xu chenkang behind him to ask, ¡°martial uncle, will the collapse of a secret region cause such a huge commotion?¡± sniggering softly, xu chenkang explained, ¡°not in normal cases. it¡¯s probably so noisy right now because some people are having a dogfight in there.¡± zuo changqing instantly thought about feng chenyi who entered the cloud water gorge before any of them and wondered if she was one of his pawns used to check out the secret region. a light flashed in zuo changqing¡¯s eyes, but he quickly suppressed his emotions. with a worried expression appearing on his face, he asked, ¡°martial uncle, aren¡¯t you afraid that those people within will damage the important stuff during their battle?¡± xu chenkang roared with laughter after hearing his question. ¡°martial nephew changqing, that¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. a powerful faction like the abyssal sect definitely has some sort of supreme treasure to protect their land of inheritance. no matter how hard they fight, they won¡¯t be able to affect the inheritance at all. unless the secret region decides to self-destruct, that won''t¡­¡± a feeling of unease filled zuo changqing¡¯s heart and he quickly interrupted xu chenkang before he could finish. ¡°so¡­ does that mean that martial uncle is aiming to retrieve the supreme treasure of the abyssal sect?¡± unperturbed by the interruption, xu chenkang continued, ¡°with your assistance, i should be able to retrieve the supreme treasure. everyone else who plans to fight us for it is nothing but trash.¡± with a smile returning to his face, zuo changqing continued, ¡°martial uncle chenkang, i think you should take some precautions¡­ after all, we¡¯re not the only superpower with our eyes on the abyssal secret region.¡± seemingly having understood the meaning behind zuo changqing¡¯s words, xu chenkang chuckled naturally before turning to look at the cloud water gorge. who would have thought that a terrifying blast would tear through the skies at that moment. the skies above the cloud water gorge fractured violently and dozens of rays of light emerged from it. the light rays shot in all directions. ¡°not good! someone actually opened the inheritance left behind in the abyssal secret region! how is this possible?!¡± xu chenkang, who had just regained his composure earlier, yelled in fright. he desperately gestured to the other experts behind him. ¡°quick, grab everything! those are treasures left behind by the abyssal sect!¡± the experts from the divine capital sect moved the moment they were instructed. they rushed in the direction of the light beams. zuo changqing balked silently. he thought back to how xu chenkang promised that nothing would be able to affect the inheritance and felt his heart thumping. the supreme treasure¡­ raising his head, he tried to peer into the abyssal secret region. since the inheritance was revealed to the world, wouldn¡¯t that mean that its seal was broken?! if zuo changqing had been able to understand what had happened, xu chenkang would obviously have made the connection the moment the change happened. ¡°martial nephew changqing, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s pretty funny?¡± xu chenkang sounded really calm as he spoke. ¡°i just said that there¡¯s a supreme treasure protecting the secret region and the inheritance would be safe no matter how hard they fought. hah, the secret region started breaking down and treasures spewed out as soon as i spoke¡­¡± coughing dryly, zuo changqing muttered while staring at xu chenkang¡¯s back, ¡°of course not¡­¡± ignoring him, xu chenkang continued, ¡°do you know why i never cared about the other powers who set their sights on the abyssal secret region?¡± ¡°martial uncle, you refined four extermination origins and reached the fourth layer of the martial extermination realm. from what i understand, you¡¯re invincible under the martial dipper realm. those people won¡¯t be able to do a thing to you¡­¡± zuo changqing felt that something was off about xu chenkang and his tone quickly turned serious. as he watched on, four extermination origins surrounded xu chenkang¡¯s body and he started to rise higher into the air. a spatial door appeared in front of xu chenkang and he stepped into it. his figure appeared hundreds of feet away in an instant. his voice rang softly in zuo changqing¡¯s ear even though he was already gone. ¡°that¡¯s because i can barge into the abyssal secret region before anyone else here and be the fisherman who sweeps up both the snipe and clam¡­¡± by the time the final words echoed in zuo changqing¡¯s mind, xu chenkang had already appeared in the skies above the cloud water gorge. his extermination origins fused together above his head to form a circular shaped entrance under the spatial cracks. only then did zuo changqing realize how terrifying xu chenkang was. it seemed as though every extermination origin xu chenkang refined had something to do with space. he might not know if his martial uncle had already made the final step and comprehended his fourth martial intent, but it seemed extremely likely after seeing how he sliced a spatial tunnel into the secret region. standing under the spatial tunnel he created, xu chenkang stared down at everything happening in the cloud water gorge with a look of mockery on his face. under the gazes of the experts around the cloud water gorge, he leaped into the abyssal secret region. a complicated look could be seen in zuo changqing¡¯s eyes as he stared at where xu chenkang disappeared. he could only reassure himself that he would be given what he was promised. after all, xu chenkang was his martial uncle¡­ he believed that the moment xu chenkang entered the abyssal secret region, he would definitely be able to obtain the greatest amount of benefits. as someone from the divine capital sect, he wouldn¡¯t go home empty-handed¡­ choosing to think about things like that later, zuo changqing got ready to help his other martial uncles retrieve the treasures that were spewing out from the secret region. just as he was about to move, a terrifying gash in space appeared in the skies above. ¡°argh!¡± a cry filled with bitterness and shock filled the skies. it sounded really close to those outside the cloud water gorge, but no one could make out where it came from. widening his eyes in shock, zuo changqing discovered a figure falling from the skies at an alarming speed. as it drew closer, the figure looked extremely familiar. familiar? what the fuck! that¡¯s martial uncle xu chenkang! zuo changqing really felt like facepalming at that moment. just a second ago, xu chenkang seemed extremely confident he would be able to barge into the abyssal secret region and take all the benefits for himself. he wanted to be the fisherman who scooped up everything, but he turned into a joke in the blink of an eye! ¡°junior brothers, martial nephew, hurry up and help me!¡± xu chenkang¡¯s voice broke as he yelled in desperation. for the full version, visit pawread dot com. getting over their shock from seeing xu chenkang falling through the air, they finally noticed a huge hammer made from heaven and earth qi, a gray strand of sword qi, and a horrifying stream of fist intent following closely behind him. even though zuo changqing¡¯s impression of his martial uncle was in the gutters at the moment, he had to save the man. reaching out his hand, a tiny pearl appeared in his palm. he tossed it out with no hesitation and it appeared behind xu chenkang in an instant. a two colored extermination origin rotated with the pearl as it slammed into the giant hammer that was falling rapidly. at the same time, the other martial extermination realm experts from the divine capital sect appeared beside xu chenkang to deal with the other attacks. after several blows, they managed to block the strand of gray sword qi and the fist intent that was aimed at xu chenkang. when they were finally gathered around xu chenkang, zuo changqing noticed a frightening wound that extended downward from his martial uncle¡¯s forehead. it reached all the way down his belly and it was fortunate xu chenkang wasn¡¯t cleaved in two. the injury couldn¡¯t be considered too dangerous to a martial extermination realm expert, but he instantly realized how dangerous the situation was within the secret region. a trace of fright started to rise in zuo changqing¡¯s heart. no matter what, xu chenkang was a fourth layer martial extermination realm expert. he might have even reached the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm! they couldn¡¯t understand how he was beaten so badly in the short second he spent in the abyssal secret region. moreover, xu chenkang¡¯s extermination origins had something to do with the ability to manipulate space. it was able to distort space around his body to block off a portion of the damage. if something really managed to break through his defenses, how strong would it have to be to create such a huge wound on his body? even though the questions were running through his mind, zuo changqing maintained a worried look on his face as he remained silent about the matter. chen ming, another one of zuo changqing¡¯s martial uncles, clearly didn¡¯t behave as reserved as zuo chanqing. he cried out in fright, ¡°senior brother, what happened?! could there be a martial dipper realm ancestor in the secret region?¡± with a gloomy expression, xu chenkang growled, ¡°it¡¯s the divine weapon!¡± ¡°divine weapon¡­¡± chen ming yelped. however, he quickly lowered his voice after receiving a death stare from xu chenkang. ¡°divine weapon?! senior brother, are you sure of it?¡± ¡°i¡¯m certain!¡± xu chenkang gnashed his teeth and forced the words out of his mouth. ¡°they caught me off guard earlier. before falling out of the secret region, i noticed that there were 4 martial extermination realm experts in there. even though the inheritance of the abyssal sect has been broken, the true treasures in there haven''t appeared. i¡¯ll tear open a path to the secret region in a little while and we¡¯ll charge in there together!¡± zuo changqing sneered inwardly. if xu chenkang had been willing to hold the spatial tunnel open for everyone earlier, they would have easily crushed everyone within. even if someone in there wielded a divine weapon, the 5 martial extermination realm experts from the divine capital sect would be completely fine. at the end of the day, xu chenkang got greedy and wanted to swallow all the benefits in the abyssal secret region for himself. he only suggested entering together as he was completely helpless when faced with the 4 experts already inside. ¡­ with the abyssal blade in hand and a four colored extermination light swirling around him, tao mosheng and the others had to join hands to deal with shang xia. despite his tyrannical appearance, shang xia understood that he was no fourth layer martial extermination realm expert! he was merely pretending to be one at the moment. even if he had the divine weapon, he wouldn¡¯t be able to unleash too many devastating strikes like what he did to the fleeing tao mosheng. now that the 3 had joined forces, shang xia decided to grab as many treasures as he could rather than force them into a corner. things weren¡¯t much different for the 3 of them other than the fact that they weren¡¯t pretending to be in a higher cultivation realm. they couldn¡¯t do a thing to shang xia. seeing how shang xia was going around collecting treasures instead of dealing with them, they heaved a silent sigh of relief. they pulled away from shang xia before traveling together to grab some treasures. both sides reached a certain level of understanding as they did their thing. they didn¡¯t expect to detect a disturbance in the space in the abyssal secret region all of a sudden. a foreign figure appeared from nowhere and he released his tyrannical aura in an attempt to suppress them all. his tactic might have worked if everyone in the abyssal secret region was a weakling, but the 4 of them were no pushovers! shang xia, tao mosheng, and the other two basically reacted the same way the moment they detected him. they attacked him in unison as shang xia unleashed a mighty blade light that tore apart the newcomer¡¯s defenses in an instant. the layer of twisted space around the newcomer was shredded to bits in the face of shang xia¡¯s blade light. his blade light didn¡¯t stop there as it sliced deep into the newcomer. tao mosheng¡¯s silver hammer, a gray strand of sword qi, and a frightening fist intent followed soon after. their combined strength far surpassed a fourth layer martial extermination realm expert and there was no surprise the newcomer was sent flying out of the secret region in an instant. everything happened so quickly that neither shang xia nor the other 3 managed to discern who the intruder was. CH 479 the spatial barrier that existed in the you continent also stretched through the northern region of the liang continent. strange mist would pour out from the spatial barrier from time to time and it was showing signs of thinning in recent years. even so, the reduction wasn¡¯t really obvious. wei qiongyi felt the world spinning around her after she left the abyssal secret region and after she finally stabilized herself, she noticed that she was surrounded in a ball of white mist. the only difference from the time she was transported was that she wasn¡¯t standing on the peak of a mountain like before. a sudden cold breeze blew through the land and a soft whistling followed. it scattered the mist in the area and greatly raised visibility. staring all around, a look of shock appeared in her eyes. the mist that emerged from the spatial barrier couldn¡¯t be dispersed and she knew that she shouldn¡¯t be able to hear anything if she was truly standing in the confines of the spatial barrier. the whistling sound and the presence of wind told her that something was wrong. realizing that something might be wrong, she quickly walked to where the mist in her surroundings could barely be seen. she heard the whistling of wind once again and birds chirping filled the air. she even heard the faint trickling of a stream not too far away. looking at the scene before her, wei qiongyi could basically confirm that she had emerged from the confines of the spatial barrier. excitement bubbled in her heart when she finally left the scary abyssal secret region. the worries that existed in her heart disappeared and she heaved a sigh of relief. it didn¡¯t take long for the lethargy to set in. after circulating her inner qi to keep herself awake, she retrieved a piece of cloth she had kept in her sleeves before she left the secret region. a ton of words could be seen scribbled on it and it was where she recorded the rank four advancement formula shang xia had unlocked when he first found her. it was called the four essence abyssal wine and a trace of joy flashed across her face when she looked at it. retrieving another cloth bag that was tied to her waist, she looked at the piece of flowing goblet brewer¡¯s yeast contained within. only then was she satisfied that everything that happened before wasn¡¯t a fragment of her imagination. she actually survived her trip to the abyssal secret region. ¡°rank four flowing goblet brewer¡¯s yeast¡­ looks like young lady managed to have a very fortunate encounter after being brought away by the strange mist of the spatial barrier¡­ ¡°who?!¡± the instincts of a deacon from the weiwu institution that hadn¡¯t been useful back in the abyssal secret region awakened inside of her. she extended her divine sense in the direction of the voice but failed to capture a trace of a living existence. when she raised her head to take a look, she saw a middle aged man who was around 30 years old staring at her from nearly 300 feet away. he was clad in a tattered blue robe but it did nothing to hide the extraordinary aura he emitted. he stood with his hands folded in front of him as he leaned against a giant tree. a smile could be seen on his face as he nodded to her in acknowledgment. ¡°who are you?¡± wei qiongqi had an even stronger feeling that something was wrong with her surroundings at the moment. however, she couldn¡¯t put her finger on it. the person leaning against the tree didn¡¯t move. instead, he chuckled softly, ¡°who am i? my identity is a little complicated and i go by many names. there were some people who called me yu cangze in the past but i changed my name to youshang in recent years¡­ as of right now¡­ hmm, you can call me the blue robed guest, xia cangyu.¡± discover the complete story on pawread dot com. ¡°blue robed guest, xia cangyu?¡± wei qiongyi pondered over the name and tried to think of an expert who went by it. unfortunately, she couldn¡¯t think of anyone no matter how hard she tried. moreover, she couldn¡¯t detect his presence earlier and there could only be several explanations for it. either he had some sort of treasure to hide his aura, or his cultivation was way higher than hers. it didn¡¯t matter if he had some sort of concealment treasure. the problem would come if his cultivation level was a lot higher than hers. after all, the weiwu institution was supposed to control the liang continent. it didn¡¯t make sense for them not to know about the appearance of such a terrifying character. ¡°are you not from the liang continent?¡± wei qiongyi probed. ¡°liang continent? of course not!¡± xia cangyu laughed in response. however, a look of realization appeared on his face soon after. ¡°i see¡­ so you¡¯re from the liang continent of the azure origin world¡­¡± ¡°azure origin world?! liang continent?¡± wei qiongyi¡¯s expression changed drastically after hearing what he said. ¡°why do you sound so surprised? you¡­ you¡¯re not from our azure origin world!¡± circulating her inner qi, she got ready for battle. a smile remained on xia cangyu¡¯s face when he looked at wei qiongyi and he didn¡¯t seem bothered that she was about to start throwing out attacks at him. instead, his gentle smile remained as he spoke, ¡°young lady, have you not noticed your surroundings? don¡¯t you think that it¡¯s a little different from the liang continent you¡¯re familiar with?¡± wei qiongyi felt a chilly sensation filling her heart after hearing his question. she finally realized the cause of her strange feelings. the liang continent was barren and cold. there wasn¡¯t much vegetation in the continent and it was filled with large swathes of grassland at best. looking at the lush tree xia cangyu was leaning on and the dense forest behind him, a very bad feeling appeared in wei qiongyi¡¯s heart. this isn¡¯t the liang continent! no¡­ this¡­ this isn¡¯t the azure origin world! ¡­ in the abyssal secret region, shang xia was starting to come up with ideas to retreat safely. the entry of the fourth layer martial extermination realm expert who they were starting to suspect was actually at the large completion stage gave shang xia a rude awakening. after forcing him out of the abyssal secret region with a joint attack with tao mosheng and the others, shang xia felt that it was time to leave. the abyssal secret region was on the brink of destruction and countless cracks were forming in the space it contained. those spatial cracks were extending through the secret region at an exceedingly fast pace. flying over to the nearest treasure that emerged from the central mountain, shang xia did his best to avoid all the spatial cracks that were forming in the skies. from the time he obtained the abyssal blade, shang xia had barely gathered 2 treasures from the inheritance of the abyssal sect. unlike shang xia, tao mosheng and the others managed to get 2 to 3 of them each as they started earlier than shang xia. unfortunately, the treasures were wrapped in a layer of light. none of them knew what each other obtained. regardless, one had to be alive in order to make use of the treasures they obtained. with the sea of clouds under them fully dissipated, shang xia started to see the outline of the entire abyssal secret region as the mountain peaks started to reveal themselves. he could tell that those mountain peaks were floating in the air and an endless void existed under them. if shang xia wanted to fly through the sea of clouds to leave the secret region, he would most probably be swallowed by the void. the degree of fusion of the secret region and the world outside increased and shang xia could somewhat see the situation outside. before entering the cloud water gorge, he went around the area to conduct his investigation. from the looks of it, the scene was pretty similar to the one outside the cloud water gorge and there should be no doubt about it. the moment the abyssal secret region descended and fused with the world, it would appear where the cloud water gorge was! the only thing that captured shang xia¡¯s attention was the flashes of extermination light he saw from time to time. those definitely belonged to martial extermination realm experts and from how many rays of extermination lights there were, shang xia could tell that the abyssal secret region had already been surrounded. the moment the abyssal secret region descended and was revealed to the outside world, shang xia and the others inside would be trapped like a turtle in a jar! he forced himself to slow down as he no longer chased after the treasures that were spewing out from the central mountain peak. he started to prepare himself for battle, but the other 3 didn¡¯t seem like they noticed the threat as they kept up their hunt for the treasures. conflict rose in shang xia¡¯s heart as he contemplated telling them about what he had seen outside the abyssal secret region. he felt that it would be for the best if they could reach an agreement and form an alliance to prevent themselves from getting picked off once the abyssal secret region was revealed to the world. however, he quickly discovered how stupid he was. be it tao mosheng or the other two, their actual cultivation level was higher than shang xia! they would definitely have already discovered the situation they were in. they weren¡¯t alone either. those martial extermination realm experts outside the secret region were probably there to back them up and their fearless behavior was easily explainable! the only person who was operating alone in the abyssal secret region was shang xia! as he stood in mid air, shang xia could vaguely feel the sense of hostility and mockery coming from the other 3. hehehe, the moment the abyssal secret region crumbles and fuses with the outside world, you¡¯re going to die a horrible death¡­ that was the feeling he got from the 3 of them. falling deep into contemplation, he started to think about his next course of action. what should i do¡­ what should i do now¡­ staring at the bottomless abyss, several figures became a little more refined. cloud water gorge¡­ with the weird suppression gone, shang xia felt that it was possible to hide in the complicated terrain that existed there. the biggest problem he had to overcome at the moment was to get rid of the experts who had surrounded the secret region. it didn¡¯t seem too possible for him to get rid of all the experts who had their eyes on the secret region. as the degree of fusion increased, the martial extermination realm experts gathered around couldn¡¯t wait as they pressed closer to the area where the abyssal secret region would descend. shang xia even noticed a familiar aura drawing close and recognized him as the person they forced out of the abyssal secret region earlier. it seemed as though everyone was getting impatient. those outside weren¡¯t the only ones who were getting rowdy. tao mosheng and the other 2 didn¡¯t remain idle as they approached the edge of the abyssal secret region where the space was extremely thin as they tried to contact their respective factions. they clearly wanted to help those outside to break through the sealed space that contained the abyssal secret region before it was fully revealed to the outside world. shang xia stared at the abyssal blade in his hand. the divine weapon truly gave him a huge increase in strength, but it was also what was going to turn him into target number one the moment people started to enter the abyssal secret region. he could already imagine himself getting surrounded by foreign experts the moment they entered. the inheritance of the abyssal sect might be precious, but there wouldn¡¯t be anything more precious than the abyssal blade! shang xia felt that he had already obtained the most important treasure of the abyssal sect and there was no way the experts of the various factions would let him leave with it. just when shang xia was thinking of ways to break out from his predicament, a ray of light flashed in front of his eyes. instinctively, shang xia slashed at it with his abyssal blade. ¡°oh shit!¡± CH 480 the only thing preventing the experts on the outside from observing what was happening within was a thin screen of chaotic space. in the abyssal secret region, a ball of light shot past shang xia. if the situation wasn¡¯t as dire as it was, shang xia would have thought that the ball of light was a great opportunity to gain a treasure and pounced at the chance. however, he wasn¡¯t exactly in the best state of mind at the moment. he instinctively slashed at the ball of light with his abyssal blade. the moment he swung his sword, a wave of regret washed over him. of the treasures that had emerged, there was probably nothing that could withstand a strike from the abyssal blade. one had to know that shang xia used a lot of effort to hunt down the two treasures he obtained earlier. he didn¡¯t dare to use the divine weapon for fear of damaging those treasures. indeed¡­ the second the blade came into contact with the ball of light, it popped like a bubble and the treasure within was sliced in two. at the same instant, shang xia felt a strong thump in the space between his eyebrows. his crimson soul tablet actually reacted! widening his eyes in shock, he realized what was contained within the ball of light. it was a cluster of pure world origin! that was too close! reaching out to grab both clusters of world origin, shang xia used his crimson soul tablet to direct it into his sea of consciousness. they were devoured instantly. before shang xia could care about the changes to the tablet, several low thuds rang in his mind and spatial tunnels were forcefully connected into the abyssal secret region. there were at least 3 martial extermination realm experts who barged into the abyssal secret region and their gazes landed on shang xia almost instantly. no¡­ it was more accurate to say that they stared directly at the abyssal blade in his hands. ¡°hand the divine weapon over!¡± ¡°hand it over or die!¡± at that point, more than 8 third layer martial extermination realm experts have arrived. they surrounded shang xia in all directions. looking down, shang xia could see traces of the cloud water gorge. unfortunately, it was flickering unsteadily. ¡°don¡¯t bother. you can¡¯t escape. fellow cultivator, if you¡¯re willing to submit to my zhongxuan gate, i, tao mosheng promised you before to give you a recommendation to become a guest elder. that promise still stands.¡± tao mosheng knew that his zhongxuan gate wasn¡¯t the only powerful faction on the scene. there were at least 3 of them in the abyssal secret region at the moment, but there was only a single abyssal blade! even if they killed shang xia, a bloody battle would break out. as such, getting him to join them was the most logical course of action. the moment he agreed, the divine weapon would belong to them regardless. shang xia didn¡¯t bother with what tao mosheng said. however, a frosty sneer came from another direction and it seemed to contain boundless hatred. ¡°hehe, why would the chief disciple of the tongyou institution, the grandson of the soul tearing spear, shang bo, ever agree to become a guest elder in your zhongxuan gate? hehe, young master shang, tell me if i¡¯m wrong, but i, from the zhang family, don¡¯t think i am.¡± ¡°zhang family of the ji continent?¡± shang xia recognized which faction the speaker came from instantly. close to 1000 feet away, a middle aged man wore a dark expression as he snarled at shang xia. ¡°young master shang, your memory is really good alright! too bad my grandson is useless and lost to you the other time. he managed to stay alive, but his cultivation will never be able to progress! today, i¡¯m going to take revenge on his behalf!¡± from the looks of it, the person wouldn¡¯t rest till shang xia was dead. anyone who tried to help shang xia at that moment would definitely offend the zhang family. even though the zhongxuan gate wasn¡¯t really afraid of the zhang family, it didn¡¯t seem too wise to make a strong enemy like that for a piece of broken divine weapon. the person who spoke earlier was zhang shijing of the zhang family, and tao mosheng understood his intentions the moment he appeared. even though he wasn¡¯t too happy that zhang shijing came out of nowhere to subtly tell his zhongxuan gate to fuck off, he could only remain silent at the side. discover the complete story on pawread dot com. chuckling arrogantly to himself, zhang shijing stared at shang xia as though he was looking at a dead man. his gaze became one of endless greed when he stared at the abyssal blade in the youngster¡¯s hand. ¡°tell me. how do you wish to die?¡± the zhang family of the ji continent was naturally unable to go against superpowers like the zhongxuan gate, but the alliance of the 3 great families of the ji continent wasn¡¯t for show. there had to be another great family backing them up if zhang shijing could act so arrogantly and tao mosheng was sorely aware of that. despite his threat, the look of panic that zhang shijing expected to see on shang xia¡¯s face was nowhere to be seen. instead, he was greeted with a smirk that caused his blood to boil. ¡°kill him!¡± zhang shijingroared and made his move. a three colored extermination light appeared to surround the pike he was holding in his hand. shockingly, the martial extermination realm experts of all 3 great families of the ji continent were present and they leaped into action immediately. the experts of the other powers were obviously unwilling to fall behind as they couldn¡¯t let the ji continent grab all the benefits. facing the combined assault of the various powers, shang xia revealed a brilliant smile and yelled, ¡°since everyone is here for the inheritance of the abyssal sect, i¡¯ll take it upon myself to widen your horizons! once the words left his lips, his abyssal blade drew a perfect arc in front of him. it contained the power of his four seasons extermination origins, and he didn¡¯t hold back in the slightest. a brilliant ray that could rival the intensity of the sun emerged in a tyrannical fashion. everyone that was flying at shang xia turned to flee as far as they could. when shang xia circulated his extermination origins and swung his sword earlier, a name popped into his mind. the second move he developed, grand ignite! despite their panic, shang xia wasn¡¯t aiming for any of them. ¡°oh no! he¡¯s going for the divine weapon peak!¡± tao mosheng eventually understood what shang xia was trying to do, but it was too late to stop it. the mountain peak that sat in the center of the abyssal secret region used to contain the giant boulder that sealed the abyssal blade. when the resplendent blade light landed on the mountain peak, a massive gash ran through the mountain. it might seem as though only the mountain peak was barely poking out from the sea of clouds before and shang xia and the rest could run around it really quickly. but that was because of their strong cultivation level. the part of the mountain that was peeking above the sea of clouds was hundreds of feet tall, but shang xia¡¯s strike managed to carve a deep mark on it. as the structure that maintained the inheritance of the abyssal sect, there were countless restrictions around the divine weapon peak. even if martial extermination realm experts were to fight around it, the shockwaves of their battle would barely rattle the mountain peak. even if they attacked it directly, they might not be able to cause much damage. despite its toughness, it was easily torn apart in the face of the might of the abyssal sword and shang xia¡¯s newly created rank four martial art. now that the abyssal secret region was about to be revealed to the world, everyone could clearly see the number of mountain peaks it held. there were 13 in total, and the core inheritance was naturally located on the divine weapon peak. at the same time, the divine weapon peak was also the core to maintain the integrity of the secret region. it might have lost the protection of the abyssal blade earlier, but it still stood strong as the core of the abyssal secret region. it was the sole reason the secret region hadn¡¯t completely descended onto the azure origin world. now that shang xia damaged it severely with a single slash¡­ countless rays of light shot into the skies from the core of the divine weapon peak and scattered in every direction the next instant. the experts who were ready to attack shang xia were naturally unable to sit still with the inheritance of the abyssal sect flying through the air. with the massive eruption of inheritance treasures, treasures appeared everywhere. there were even several experts who noticed several balls of light around themselves. they were so close that they only needed to reach out slightly¡­ one had to know that even after shang xia obtained the abyssal sword, there had been barely more than 10 inheritance light balls that emerged. the last ball of light shang xia sliced apart had also been counted into the batch, but now, there was a terrifying number of them that emerged! there were even several strands of extermination origins rampaging through the abyssal secret region. when that was happening, another concentrated beam of light emerged from the divine weapon peak. unlike the extermination origins, it tore straight through the abyssal secret region and shot into the beyond heavens pavilion. at that moment, the experts who had gathered around the cloud water gorge weren¡¯t the only ones paying attention to the abyssal secret region. those from the beyond heavens pavilion who didn¡¯t know what was going on before also turned to stare at the taihang mountains. ¡°origin dipper! that was an origin dipper!¡± ¡°if there are origin dippers within the divine weapon peak, there has to be a rank five advancement formula. origin dippers are far more special than fate dippers.¡± ¡°there might even be sets of rank five advancement medicine contained within!¡± ¡°the abyssal sect actually has martial dipper realm inheritances¡­¡± chaos¡­ chaos broke out the moment the origin dipper was revealed. their thoughts immediately fell into disarray. zhang shijng was flying across the air like many others through the mass of inheritance light balls as he yelled at the top of his lungs, ¡°kill shang xia! everyone, kill shang xia and retrieve the divine weapon!¡± no matter how loud he screamed, no one could be bothered with shang xia at the moment. none of them would give up on obtaining the inheritance light balls that were within reach. there were so many inheritance light balls that those martial extermination realm experts managed to grab one by just stretching out their arm. even if they failed to grab one, they just had to fly through the air a little to capture another one. in some instances, the restrictions on the inheritance light balls managed to push them back, causing a trace of annoyance to rise in their hearts. how could they allow something they were supposed to get their hands on to escape? they would re-engage the ball of light with renewed vigor. after obtaining the first inheritance light ball, a second one would enter their sights. were they supposed to let it go?! the process would repeat for the third, fourth, fifth¡­ and however many inheritance light balls. if i can¡¯t get my hands on it, what happens if someone else does?! the experts who had surrounded shang xia earlier lost sight of their objective the moment the treasures emerged. the seemingly perfect encirclement that shang xia wouldn¡¯t be able to break out of became full of holes. zhang shijing¡¯s cries to kill shang xia were blatantly ignored by everyone else. when he raised his head to look at the youngster, he was greeted with a look of mockery. shang xia was flying through the mass of inheritance light balls without anyone to stop him. just as he was about to scream for people to kill shang xia once again, a ball of light shot past him, blocking his view of shang xia. he instinctively reached out to grab it, but because he wasn¡¯t prepared, he failed to catch hold of the ball of light. wait a second, grabbing an inheritance light ball doesn¡¯t seem difficult¡­ no wonder everyone¡­ wait! by the time the ball of light disappeared from his sight, he realized that he had already lost track of shang xia. ¡°be careful! he¡¯s trying to get away!¡± zhang shijing yelled. it was a shame the echo of his voice was the only thing that replied to him. amidst the chaos, xu chenkang and the other members of the divine capital sect finally managed to create another spatial tunnel into the abyssal secret region. they were shocked by the sight of the huge amount of inheritance light balls flying through the air. ¡°what the hell happened here?!¡± zuo changqing muttered to himself. ¡°what are you waiting for?! grab them!¡± chenming was the first to react. yelling at the rest, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with them anymore as he flew towards the largest inheritance light ball closest to him. his actions caused his other two junior brothers to snap awake as they joined in the chaotic hunt for inheritance light balls. whatever xu chenkang told them earlier about someone wielding the divine weapon and whatnot was immediately thrown to the back of their minds. there was only one divine weapon. even if they managed to get it, the abyssal blade wouldn¡¯t belong to them. however, the inheritance light balls were different. everything they grabbed would belong to themselves! chenming, who quickly managed to obtain an inheritance light ball, saw another one flying past him. just as he was about to reach for it, he discovered someone else who was also eyeing the same light ball. unfortunately for him, the other person seemed a little closer. acting on instinct, he shot out an arrow made with his extermination origin. seeing how someone had attacked him out of nowhere, the other contender for the inheritance light ball countered the arrow with a punch of his own. the loud explosion that ensued the moment their attacks clashed, signaled the start of a huge brawl to see who would be able to obtain the most treasures. CH 481 just like that, the chaotic battle that was bound to happen broke out with fierce intensity. that was exactly what shang xia wanted. the messier the situation, the better! when the 5 martial extermination realm experts of the divine capital sect entered the abyssal secret region, they only served to add to the chaos. as the battle raged on, the other peaks started to crumble. even though the inheritance light balls that emerged from them weren¡¯t as plentiful as those that came from the divine weapon peak, there were still quite a few. it greatly benefited those who were in the proximity. not too long after the members of the divine capital sect entered the abyssal secret region, the experts from the other continents also managed to charge their way in. the martial extermination realm experts who entered this time had no idea who had the divine weapon. with countless inheritance light balls flying all over the place, their eyes went red with greed the next moment. none of them paid attention to the youngster who had already kept the abyssal blade as he blended in with the others who were fighting for inheritance light balls. everyone seemed too busy to realize that the greater the number of people who entered the abyssal secret region, the more that indicated that the secret region was about to fuse with the azure origin world. rocks and debris that rolled off the divine weapon peak because of shang xia¡¯s slash earlier fell through the void that finally started to stabilize and they crashed into the cloud water gorge below. looking down, the endless abyss that contained chaotic space was nowhere to be seen. the cloud water gorge could clearly be seen below. shang xia managed to hide in the falling debris as he shot straight down to the cloud water gorge. when everyone had been busy getting their hands on inheritance light balls, shang xia hid his presence to the best of his abilities before making his way over to the divine weapon peak. he didn¡¯t wish to continue fighting for treasures because he was feeling a faint trace of danger that he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on. initially, he thought that the threat came from the experts who had surrounded the cloud water gorge. however, the strange feeling in his heart didn¡¯t disappear even after those martial extermination realm experts appeared in the abyssal secret region. instead, it grew even stronger. that was why he wanted to take the chance to flee from the chaotic battle before anything unexpected happened. naturally, he wouldn¡¯t leave empty-handed. other than the 2 inheritance light balls he grabbed before everyone started pouring into the secret region. he also obtained a clump of world origin around the same time. when he was making his escape, he managed to grab another ball of light that flew past him. there might be hundreds of inheritance light balls that were flying through the abyssal secret region, but they were also split into treasures of different grades. that wasn¡¯t all. most of the treasures were flying through spatial cracks or chaotic space that existed all around them. other than those inheritance light balls that appeared not too far away from them, those martial extermination realm experts would find it difficult to get their hands on the others. the inheritance light balls didn¡¯t only fly upwards. some of them tore through the confines of the abyssal secret region and entered the depths of the taihang mountains. of course, those constituted a minor number of the light balls that escaped. a huge portion of them was either collected or flew into chaotic space before disappearing from sight. those that entered chaotic space would either be destroyed by the distortion of space, or they would fly beyond the heavens. perhaps, they might appear in some random location in the azure origin world to become some random expert¡¯s fortunate encounter. no matter what, the number of inheritance light balls in the air decreased rapidly. there were close to 20 martial extermination realm experts flying through the abyssal secret region at the moment, but most of them managed to grab 2 to 3 light balls on average. according to shang xia¡¯s plan, he would be able to leave the mess that the abyssal secret region had turned into without being detected by anyone. however, someone else in the crowd had other plans. just as shang xia¡¯s figure was about to fly past a layer of storm to enter the cloud water gorge, a damaged silver hammer appeared on his right and a roaring fist intent came from above. ¡°where the hell do you think you¡¯re going?!¡± ¡°leave the abyssal blade behind!¡± shang xia sneered after extending his divine perception to detect the both of them. as long as he wasn¡¯t surrounded by a bunch of martial extermination realm experts like before, there was no need to be afraid! especially when it was only the two of them. the only thing he was slightly concerned about was his consumption of inner qi. after all, it hadn¡¯t been long since he entered the martial extermination realm. swinging his blade behind him, he shattered the fist intent instantly. however, he didn¡¯t do the same to tao mosheng¡¯s hammer. instead, he gave it a palm strike of his own. instead of using the divine weapon, shang xia used the palm strike he used to shatter the protection barrier around the jingxiu peak. it was also the same technique he used to suppress the abyssal blade¡¯s weapon spirit earlier. by the time his palm landed on the hammer, the fist intent that was destroyed by the abyssal blade caused a massive shockwave that made the surrounding mountain peaks crumble. with rocks falling everywhere, shang xia grunted softly when he felt the massive impact on his palm. he felt as though every bone in his hand was about to shatter. at that moment, a trace of pure world origin emerged from the crimson soul tablet and filled his body. he didn¡¯t actually need to refine it to transform it into his four constellation qi due to its extreme purity, and it directly went to nourish his nearly dried up dantian. a really small portion of the world origin rushed into his hand that came into contact with tao mosheng¡¯s silver hammer and the throbbing pain he was feeling quickly subsided. tao mosheng¡¯s silver hammer wasn¡¯t the abyssal blade. facing such a terrifying strike, it wobbled violently in an attempt to fly away. it was too bad shang xia wasn¡¯t planning to let him succeed. his divine perception emerged smashed against the hammer in a tyrannical manner. ordinarily, shang xia¡¯s divine perception wouldn¡¯t be able to break apart tao mosheng¡¯s connection with his silver hammer even if it was 3 times stronger than the other party¡¯s. however, shang xia¡¯s palm strike greatly eroded the connection tao mosheng had with his hammer. with the sudden intrusion of shang xia¡¯s divine perception, he quickly achieved the impossible. ¡°no!¡± tao mosheng screamed miserably and everyone could hear the pain he felt. his silver hammer far surpassed ordinary high-level weapons and with the connection between them cut, it fell powerlessly into the cloud water gorge below. no one knew if he would ever be able to locate it again. after dealing with the two clowns who were obstructing his way, shang xia¡¯s figure continued to rush down into the cloud water gorge. as he was making his escape, the feeling of danger he felt earlier grew ever stronger. he couldn¡¯t help but slow down. he had to ensure he could deal with any unexpected matter that might arise. when he flew past the remains of a huge boulder, shang xia felt a strange sense of familiarity with it. ¡°huh?¡± he felt as though he had seen it somewhere before. looking a little closer, shang xia saw a thin line extending down the middle of the boulder and something clicked in his mind. the gap that existed in the middle of the boulder was extremely smooth and from the size¡­ explore the extended edition on pawread dot com. shang xia looked at the abyssal blade in his hand and made the connection. is this the boulder that trapped the abyssal blade on the divine weapon peak?! back when the blade emerged, a portion of the rock was damaged. however, the boulder itself remained somewhat intact. when shang xia first entered the abyssal secret region, he observed that the boulder was as tall as an adult male and nearly 3 feet across. now, it was barely two thirds of what it used to be. cracks filled one of its surfaces but even so, the stone looked pretty smooth and glossy otherwise. if not for the fact that the boulder contained the remnant aura of the abyssal blade, shang xia would have mistaken it for an ordinary rock that fell from one of the various peaks. it went without saying that a boulder that could trap the abyssal blade for countless years wouldn¡¯t be an ordinary piece of rock. not to mention it was used as the core of the formation used to maintain the secret region¡­ on the off chance that it was really a piece of ordinary rock to begin with. the nourishment from the divine weapon and the formation on the divine weapon peak would ensure that it turned into some sort of precious treasure. back when shang xia grabbed the abyssal blade, he thought of bringing the boulder away. it was unfortunate the situation back then didn¡¯t allow shang xia to do as he wished. obtaining the abyssal blade was already a massive blessing and he was immediately attacked on all sides the moment he did. he obviously couldn¡¯t bother himself with the boulder. there was also the fact that the boulder was too massive back then. he would have to empty out an embroidered cloud case if he wanted to bring it away and that was simply not happening. now that the boulder was much smaller than before shang xia didn¡¯t have to worry about where to store it. moreover, he felt that the essence of the boulder had been preserved perfectly. shang xia swung his arms once, and the auspicious cloud cape behind him covered the boulder entirely. shang xia casually looked down only to discover he was pretty close to entering the cloud water gorge. his taut nerves finally settled down slightly. when he raised his head to look at the chaotic battle taking place in the skies above, all the relief he felt earlier was washed away. something was definitely wrong¡­ when the hell did the skies above the taihang mountains become so weird? the outline of a massive pavilion could be seen in the skies above, and it resembled an immortal realm. there was no way it was caused naturally by the fusion of the abyssal secret region and the azure origin world. is that¡­ is that the beyond heavens pavilion?! the thought barely appeared in shang xia¡¯s mind when he confirmed it. there was no way it could be anything else! the descent of the abyssal secret region actually attracted the beyond heavens pavilion¡­ shang xia finally understood where the feeling of danger he felt came from. it was true that a mere secret region along with its inheritance was nothing much to those ancestors in the martial dipper realm. however, that only applied to ordinary inheritances. when the origin dipper emerged from the divine weapon peak earlier, it alerted the beyond heaven pavilion to what was happening. its appearance caused them to suspect that there might be a rank five inheritance left behind by the abyssal sect. a rank five inheritance was enough to change their stance entirely. a strange wind tore through the air as a giant palm appeared in the skies above the cloud water gorge. it ignored the spatial cracks and chaos that was going on and closed its palm, grabbing more than a dozen inheritance light balls in an instant. with the appearance of the beyond heavens pavilion, martial dipper realm ancestors finally made their move! CH 482 along with the appearance of the beyond heavens pavilion, a martial dipper realm ancestor finally made his move. the giant palm that appeared not only ignored the spatial cracks that filled the skies. those balls of light that were doing a good job at evading those martial extermination realm experts were captured without much fanfare. close to 30 of them were captured in one fell swoop. having grabbed his share of the loot, the giant palm was about to disappear when the clouds in the skies started to roll about violently. they turned into a giant heavenly river that twisted the space around it before smashing ruthlessly onto the giant palm. despite the shockingly powerful collision, not a single sound could be heard. there was no energy fluctuation that spread through the air either. the huge palm in the air trembled slightly and close to a dozen balls of light fell out from it. a long laugh tore through the skies at that moment. ¡°brother xuan shou, can¡¯t you keep your cool like everyone else? the juniors can fight all they like. why are you in a rush to seal their fortune?¡± another deep laughter boomed through the skies, but it eventually turned a little serious before responding, ¡°my zhongxuan gate is just a tiny little faction that cannot compete with your mighty power. we don¡¯t have much accumulations either. i was forced to show myself because those juniors in my zhongxuan gate couldn''t take care of themselves and failed to obtain even the slightest benefit. i am ashamed on their behalf¡­¡± the martial dipper realm ancestor who spoke first clearly didn¡¯t expect xuan shou to act so shamelessly and he didn¡¯t know how to respond. xuan shou didn¡¯t remain idle. after he spoke, his palm solidified in the air once again to make another grab for the balls of light. even though his palm seemed to cover the skies, he acted in moderation. he didn¡¯t reach for areas with martial extermination realm experts. a soft sigh filled the skies once again as yet another martial dipper realm ancestor spoke, ¡°brother xuan shou, you¡¯re making things difficult for us if you keep behaving so shamelessly!¡± as soon as the sentence was completed, the giant palm in the air trembled slightly. the fingers that were attached to the palm were sliced cleanly off without any warning and they dissipated quickly. that didn¡¯t seem to stop xuan shou as the fingerless palm started to shrink. it turned into a smaller palm with fingers intact before grabbing the balls of light that were scattered around. a stream of energy emerged from the void and pierced a hole through the palm, destroying several inheritance light balls in the process. despite their efforts, xuan shou¡¯s smaller palm withdrew into the void with whatever balls of light it still held. ¡°sigh¡­ brother xuan shou, what¡¯s the point?¡± the third martial dipper realm expert spoke again and a stream of light appeared to lock down the space xuan shou¡¯s palm disappeared. the moment the space was sealed, the heavens seemed to tremble lightly. there seemed to be another formless exchange among the martial dipper realm ancestors as the sealed space was quickly shattered. the voice of an older lady rumbled through the air like thunder, seemingly dissatisfied with the exchange that was going on. ¡°if you want to fight, just fight! what¡¯s with this elaborate show you¡¯re putting up? jiu ming, jiu sha, which one of you plans on fighting first? come at me. this old lady will take any of you on!¡± silence filled the skies for a short moment. eventually, the first martial dipper realm ancestor who spoke forced a chuckle, ¡°looks like old friend xuan chang has arrived¡­¡± after ancestor xuan chang spoke earlier, the 2 martial dipper realm ancestors from the divine capital sect no longer acted however they wished. both sides seemed to have reached an arrangement and they didn¡¯t continue their quarrel. ancestor xuan shou didn¡¯t make another move to grab the inheritance light balls in the abyssal secret region. of the 4 martial dipper realm experts who appeared, jiu ming and jiu sha were from the divine capital sect. however, they weren¡¯t the only martial dipper realm experts there. xuan chang and xuan shou were from the zhongxuan gate which was basically the only superpower in their yan continent. unlike the divine capital sect, xuan chang and xuan shou were the only martial dipper realm experts in the zhongxuan gate. the exchange between the martial dipper realm ancestors in the skies above not only caught shang xia¡¯s attention. the martial extermination realm experts who were hunting down inheritance light balls earlier were terrified by the ancestors¡¯ sudden appearance. all of them seemed to forget what they had been doing just seconds ago. this wasn¡¯t shang xia¡¯s first time watching an exchange between martial dipper realm experts. that was why he managed to gather his thoughts before the others. he quickly made up his mind to run as far away from the abyssal secret region as he could. if even martial dipper realm ancestors couldn¡¯t help but show themselves, shang xia refused to believe that they would allow the martial extermination realm experts on the scene to continue fighting for those inheritance light balls. read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" it didn¡¯t matter if those martial dipper realm experts came to a conclusion later to let the martial extermination realm experts of their respective factions split the treasures how they saw fit. after all, those martial dipper realm experts had nothing to do with his tongyou institution! they wouldn¡¯t allow someone like him to take part in the splitting of profits from the abyssal secret region! if he chose to stay, he would truly be tired of living. he didn¡¯t forget that he was holding on to the abyssal blade at the moment. even though the divine weapon was damaged and a quarter of the blade was missing, it was still a divine weapon! the martial extermination realm experts could remain in the air, but the rocks that were falling from the skies would stop. shang xia used the cover of the dust and debris to make his way down to the cloud water gorge. who would have thought that he would sense a strange fluctuation with his divine perception the moment he landed on the ground below? a ball of light flickered unsteadily amidst the dust cloud and it was so bright that nothing could hide its brilliance. treasure¡­ shang xia¡¯s body twitched slightly and a trace of hesitation appeared on his face. a weird breeze shot past him when he was still thinking about what he should do and his body froze up when he felt what caused the unwanted wind. ¡°huh?¡± a surprised cry came from deep in the dust cloud. ¡°holy shit! you¡¯re a smart kid for running away before those people up there arrived. however, you have to be pretty unlucky to run into this old man¡­¡± martial dipper realm ancestor! there was a martial dipper realm expert hiding in the cloud water gorge the whole time and shang xia managed to bump into the man the moment he escaped from the abyssal secret region! shang xia felt a sense of extreme panic but he forced himself to maintain his unflustered expression. ¡°this junior was a little too rude and bumped into you by accident. i hope senior can be generous and forget about the matter. i¡¯ll take my leave right now.¡± as soon as he spoke, shang xia turned to leave. ¡°hold it!¡± a neutral voice rang through the air. ¡°brat, hand it over.¡± a bitter smile appeared on shang xia¡¯s face and he tried playing dumb. ¡°this¡­ senior, i don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about¡­ forgive me but i have no idea what you mean. do i have something special you want?¡± ¡°enough. hand the divine weapon over. have i made myself clear?¡± the owner of the voice seemed to be getting a little impatient now. ¡°leave the blade behind and i¡¯ll be kind enough to let you leave with your life intact!¡± shang xia was obviously unwilling to hand the divine weapon over like that. thoughts spun in his mind and he pushed his divine perception to the limit in an attempt to look for ways to get out of his current predicament. finally, he noticed a faint aura close to 1000 feet away. the moment he discovered the presence, he quickly retracted his divine perception. he didn¡¯t dare to examine the strange presence even further in case he revealed himself to the other party. during their conversation, shang xia noticed what the ball of light that caught his attention earlier was. compared to his fear of the martial dipper realm ancestor, the feeling of shock that came with his discovery felt a little stronger. the item trapped in the ball of light was an origin dipper! it was what alerted the beyond heavens pavilion in the first place! due to the chaos that broke out not too long after, the origin dipper was nowhere to be seen. shang xia thought that someone had already obtained the treasure, but he didn¡¯t expect it to have fallen into the cloud water gorge. another serious question formed in his mind. why wasn¡¯t the martial dipper realm expert making use of the chance to collect the origin dipper? thinking back to how the martial dipper realm expert he ran into didn¡¯t appear during the exchange between xuan chang, xuan shou, and the ancestors of the divine capital sect, shang xia determined that the man was probably trying to hide his presence from them. it seemed as though the abyssal secret region was truly an attractive slice of pie. even martial dipper realm experts from other regions made their way over. shang xia thought even further and discovered something weird. even though the martial dipper realm ancestors of the zhongxuan gate and the divine capital sect exchanged several blows in the air above the abyssal secret region, none of them actually showed themselves. he realized that it was possible the martial dipper realm expert who was eyeing his divine weapon didn¡¯t dare to collect the origin dipper for fear of alarming the 4 in the skies above. that was probably also why he was hiding his presence to the best of his abilities. if not for shang xia¡¯s stronger than normal divine perception, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to notice the presence of the martial dipper realm expert threatening him at the moment. none of them were stupid. the presence of any martial dipper realm expert in a situation like this would definitely destroy the balance of power. he would definitely offend the ancestors of the divine capital sect and the zhongxuan gate if he was discovered. is this why he doesn¡¯t dare to straight up attack me and snatch my treasure? if he attacked the moment he detected shang xia, the abyssal blade would have fallen into his hands several moments ago. he wouldn¡¯t have to waste his time conversing with shang xia either. no matter what, shang xia was unwilling to give the divine weapon away. there was still a streak of greed in his heart and he decided to take the gamble. waving his hand in his air, he changed his approach. ¡°i wonder how i should address senior?¡± a sinister laughter rang in his ears the next moment and there was a trace of mockery in the martial dipper realm expert¡¯s words. ¡°what¡¯s the matter? are you planning to look for me in the future after your cultivation catches up with mine to retrieve your divine weapon?¡± shang xia honestly didn¡¯t care what the other party was saying. his lack of action told shang xia everything he needed to know. carefully storing the boulder that was wrapped in his cape into an embroidered cloud case, shang xia carefully draped the cape over his shoulders before drawing his blade. tilting it upwards, he pointed in the direction of the martial dipper realm expert he had detected some time ago. shang xia¡¯s attitude said everything! ¡°you¡¯re asking to die!¡± the martial dipper realm expert growled, but shang xia seemed to hear the exasperation he was feeling. pouring all the inner qi he recovered a moment ago into his abyssal blade, he swung it ruthlessly in the direction of the martial dipper realm expert! CH 483 shang xia actually unleashed his blade on a martial dipper realm expert! he definitely gave it his all, but in no way did shang xia expect to kill his target. that was because he understood that he didn¡¯t have the qualifications to harm a martial dipper realm expert, even with a divine weapon in hand. the only reason he sent out the blade strike was to give him a better chance at survival! he wanted to attract the attention of the other martial dipper realm experts and he was praying that it would be enough to scare his opponent away. the power contained in his strike displayed his strong will to live! even though the power contained in his second move, grand ignite, was stronger than his first move, awakening lightning, he still chose the latter. the rumbling of lightning tore through the lands and a massive spatial tear ran through the area shang xia¡¯s blade light approached. not even the chaos that was going on above could hide the commotion shang xia had caused. the attention of the martial dipper realm ancestors from the two factions was quickly drawn over. ¡°huh?¡± ¡°what?! feng yezi?!¡± ¡°god damn it! it has to be him!¡± the martial dipper realm ancestors communicated with each other in an instant and several horrifying pressures descended from above. when shang xia unleashed his blade strike earlier, fen yezi knew that he wouldn¡¯t be able to retrieve the origin dipper silently under the eyes of those martial dipper realm ancestors up there. with his treasure flying away because of what shang xia had done, a trace of anger and embarrassment filled his heart. he wanted to deal with shang xia, the asshole who caused it all. ¡°damn junior! how dare you plot against me!¡± feng yezi yelled while extending his withered hand that was covered in a layer of dry and dark skin. the lightning that came with shang xia¡¯s blade light was scattered in an instant. that wasn¡¯t all. when the blade light arrived, he casually tapped it with 3 fingers. every time he tapped the blade light, shang xia could feel the actual blade trembling in his hand. also, a portion of the power contained in his strike would disappear. when the third tap landed on the blade light, shang xia felt that more than 90 percent of the energy contained in the blade light had been destroyed. the rest scattered by itself after smashing into feng yezi¡¯s palm. naturally, an exchange at that level happened in the blink of an eye. feng yezi¡¯s arm didn¡¯t stop there. it continued to reach for shang xia. as he did that, a pouch flew out from his other sleeve and went straight for the origin dipper. his intentions were clear. to read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com. shang xia had once thought about the difference between himself and a martial dipper realm expert. no matter how much he tried to overestimate the difference in their strength, he realized he had downplayed it now that he was facing a martial dipper realm expert for real. he released awakening lightning earlier with all his might. even so, it was nullified by the other party with 3 simple taps. also, that wasn¡¯t all. shang xia felt as though a huge calamity was about to befall him as feng yezi¡¯s hand stretched over. no matter how desperately he retreated, the arm seemed to be able to pass through space itself to appear right before him. it didn¡¯t matter how he tried to dodge as the arm was still reaching for him. despair started to set in shang xia¡¯s heart when he realized that there was no escape. however, shang xia wasn¡¯t one to give up all hope when the situation seemed bleak. circulating his inner qi, he got ready to send out his final blow with his abyssal blade. before shang xia could gather his energy, a soft snort boomed through the air. it seemed to come from a distant land, but the voice that came soon after seemed to appear in the vicinity of the cloud water gorge. ¡°feng yezi. you¡¯re a martial dipper realm expert at the end of the day. you failed to scam a junior and tried killing him after he saw through your act. hmph, you¡¯re an embarrassment for those in the martial dipper realm!¡± a boundless divine perception descended and shattered feng yezi¡¯s attempt to grab shang xia. at the same time, shang xia heard a low voice ringing beside him. ¡°earth dragon¡¯s reversal!¡± the origin dipper that feng yezi had set his sights on disappeared the next instant. naturally unable to accept what had just happened, feng yezi slapped his pouch and a horrifying amount of energy poured out from within. a massive howl seemed to tear through space and it caused the skies above to tremble violently. the exchange between 2 martial dipper realm experts caused the space in the region to fluctuate violently. spatial cracks appeared before reforming quickly. the origin dipper they were fighting over fell through one of them and disappeared the next instant. ¡°you¡­ it¡¯s you?!¡± feng yezi roared angrily after seeing the person who came. ¡°don¡¯t tell me your tongyou institution has also been eyeing the abyssal sect¡¯s inheritance?¡± ji wenlong spoke slowly in response. ¡°i only came here to save someone.¡± a sneer appeared on feng yezi¡¯s face all of a sudden. ¡°heh, do you really think you¡¯re qualified to do that? you¡¯re just a newly ascended martial dipper realm cultivator whose true body isn¡¯t here. who gave you the courage to try to stop me?¡± earlier, shang xia thought that he would be in serious danger. he didn¡¯t think that anyone would help him at the final moment. the instant he heard the voice earlier, he recognized the expert who had come to his rescue. also, the moment ji wenlong¡¯s divine perception arrived, the feeling of suffocation he had because of feng yezi¡¯s aura subsided. several hundred feet away from shang xia, the heaven and earth qi started to condense to form ji wenlong¡¯s figure. it seemed as though it was his physical vessel for him to better unleash his divine perception. when he arrived, the dust cloud caused by the falling rocks from the abyssal secret region was blown away. the cloud water gorge¡¯s appearance was finally revealed for all to see. ji wenlong¡¯s voice came once again. ¡°feng yezi, you acted against my tongyou city in the past and we haven¡¯t held you accountable for it. now, you dare to show yourself in this part of the world again. aren¡¯t you afraid that our patriarch will personally seek you out to have a nice chat?¡± a look of shock appeared on feng yezi¡¯s face and he swept his divine perception all around. after looking around, he heaved a sigh of relief and the suspicion he had earlier disappeared. ¡°haha, as long as kou chongxue doesn¡¯t come personally, i have nothing to be afraid of even if you work together with everyone up there!¡± ji wenlong gestured slightly for shang xia to leave, and shang xia was obviously unwilling to be caught between two martial dipper realm experts. he started to run in another direction to leave the cloud water gorge. not too long after he left, he felt terrifying fluctuations in space. feng yezi and ji wenlong¡¯s battle had begun! shang xia understood that ji wenlong was probably not a match for feng yezi. ji wenlong only sent a projection over while feng yezi was there personally. luckily, ji wenlong¡¯s main goal wasn¡¯t to defeat feng yezi. he was there to buy as much time as he could for shang xia to run away from the cloud water gorge. as he was running, shang xia realized that he had underestimated the strength of the shockwaves that were produced in a fight between martial dipper realm experts. when he arrived at the edge of the cloud water gorge, a heart-chilling blast filled the skies. a giant mushroom cloud rose into the skies as spatial cracks started to extend in all directions at a frightening speed. shang xia released his extermination origins at once to defend himself against the spatial cracks that were starting to appear around him. surprisingly, a ball of light emerged from one of them. the item that emerged was precisely the ball of origin dipper that the two experts were fighting over earlier! even if shang xia was beaten to death, he wouldn¡¯t believe that things could be so damn coincidental. the ball of light appeared within his reach, but only indifference remained in shang xia¡¯s heart. he tried to turn to run in another direction. it was a shame feng yezi detected the ball of origin dipper before shang xia could fully turn his body. he was still caught up in a battle with ji wenlong in the middle of the cloud water gorge. he had the upper hand in the fight, but he clearly couldn¡¯t extract himself from the battle in a short amount of time. ¡°brother yun lu, how long do you have to wait? i¡¯ll owe you one if you do it now!¡± feng yezi yelled in annoyance. it seemed as though he was forced to make the voice. the origin dipper was too important to him and he had to obtain it no no matter what. ¡°alright.¡± a voice emerged from the voice and paused in the air slightly. a strange antler-like weapon appeared in the air and stabbed straight for ji wenlong. ancestor yun lu of the white deer sect finally showed himself. another martial dipper realm expert was added into the mix in the cloud water gorge. yun lu seemed to be waiting for a chance to attack earlier. now that ji wenlong was suppressed by feng yezi, his stab in the back was a perfect example of a sneak attack. caught by surprise, ji wenlong¡¯s avatar which was created from heaven and earth qi had half his shoulder torn off. even though he managed to restore his body, yun lu had already gained the upper hand. the pressure he put on ji wenlong was much more intense than feng yezi. the second yun lu made his move, feng yezi managed to shake ji wenlong off. his body tore through the void as he disregarded the violent spatial fluctuations. when feng yezi was making his way to the origin dipper, shang xia hadn¡¯t run too far away. after taking a few more steps, shang xia discovered that the space around him was distorted. someone was acting in the dark to force him to prance about near the origin dipper! the moment feng yezi arrived, there was no way he would let shang xia off! the expert behind the scenes was clearly placing him in the way of danger! everything happened in the blink of an eye when shang xia was cursing the person messing with him. feng yezi didn¡¯t take long to arrive and he was in shang xia¡¯s face before anyone could react. shang xia could even clearly see the indifference in feng yezi¡¯s eyes when he appeared. once again, he casually swiped at shang xia without paying him too much attention after. he was more focused on the origin dipper that wasn¡¯t too far away. to feng yezi, shang xia was an ant he could kill any time he wanted! his real goal was to obtain the origin dipper. a shrill cry from a sword caused the heavens and earth to tremble and the look of indifference in feng yezi¡¯s eyes vanished. it was replaced with a look of utter fear. sword lights rained down around shang xia and shattered feng yezi¡¯s intent to kill him as the hidden frost sword descended from the void. kou chongxue! kou chongxue had arrived! his name alone seemed to contain an endless amount of majesty, and with the arrival of the hidden frost sword, the entire region fell into silence. it was as though the world itself was getting ready for his arrival. feng yezi no longer cared about the origin dipper once the hidden frost sword appeared. instead, he became extremely serious and prepared for what was about to come next. a strand of divine spirit emerged from the hidden frost sword and it tore through layers upon layers of space like it was peeling back a piece of onion. a massive spatial tunnel that stretched across an unknown distance was created. two strong spatial fluctuations appeared in the space around them now that the hidden frost sword had arrived. the divine perception of 2 martial dipper realm experts descended from different directions and seemed to reach some sort of cooperation with feng yezi. feng yezi and the 2 new divine perceptions surrounded the hidden frost sword. heaven and earth qi tore through the lands as 3 new figures appeared in the cloud water gorge. one of them stood directly on the hidden frost sword and it was none other than the patriarch of the tongyou institution, the madman of the you continent, kou chongxue! he glanced at feng yezi and the other two as the corners of his lips curled upwards. ¡°this is a lot of effort to bait me over. don¡¯t tell me you did all this to kill a mere avatar of mine?¡± CH 484 this whole thing reeked of a trap! it was a scheme designed to kill kou chongxue¡­ or perhaps, it would be better to call it a scheme that was aiming to annihilate one of kou chongxue¡¯s avatars! ¡°it¡¯s nothing much to kill an ordinary avatar. however, you¡¯re kou chongxue! it won¡¯t be easy for us to kill you anyway.¡± one of the 3 experts who had surrounded kou chongxue stated frankly, ¡°however, killing any one of your avatars will weaken you. it¡¯s definitely worth it.¡± ¡°brother xuan lu, there¡¯s no need to waste your breath on him.¡± the other martial dipper realm expert sneered, ¡°kou chongxue, back then, you destroyed brother yun lu¡¯s avatar. it¡¯s time for you to pay the price!¡± since yun lu appeared earlier to distract ji wenlong and xuan lu explained their intentions, it wouldn¡¯t come as a surprise that the last person who spoke was hua lu. she lost really badly when kou chongxue broke into the white deer paradise in the past. the 3 deers of the ji continent had gathered together, and with their lineup, they were clearly seeking revenge for what kou chongxue did. glancing at xuan lu who wore a solemn and cold expression before turning to hua lu with a look of rage on her face, kou chongxue didn¡¯t think too much of it. he then looked at feng yezi who seemed a little anxious but helpless before chuckling in response, ¡°hehe, do you really think that you lot are enough to do anything to me?¡± hua lu snorted derisively, ¡°stop acting like you¡¯re in control of everything. you¡¯ll know whether or not we¡¯re enough to take you on once we fight!¡± she didn¡¯t wait for him to respond. a jade seal appeared in her left palm and it enlarged into the size of a small hill above her head. it came slamming down without regard for who was in the area. with hua lu¡¯s attack signaling the start of their assault, xuan lu pulled out a staff with a deer¡¯s head as its handle. feng yezi didn¡¯t remain idle as his signature pouch appeared in his hand. not a trace of fear could be seen on kou chongxue¡¯s face as he swept his gaze across the 3 of them once again. he broke out in laughter, ¡°alright. since everyone here is so interested in fighting me, i won¡¯t be a spoilt sport. i¡¯ll entertain you guys a little.¡± hua lu didn¡¯t seem satisfied with her attack earlier. she took off the golden hairpin in her hair and tore through the void in front of her to stab directly at kou chongxue¡¯s eyes. ¡°argh!¡± a miserable cry rang through the sky and hua lu¡¯s golden hairpin trembled violently in the air. xuan lu raised his head and peered through the distorted space that was caused by the clash of the aura of the 4 martial dipper realm experts. he discovered yun lu not too far away with scary wounds covering half his body as he tried to escape from the relentless ji wenlong. ¡°how did this¡­¡± search "pawread dot com" for the original. earlier, yun lu clearly had the upper hand. especially so after his sneak attack. xuan lu could tell that ji wenlong was barely holding on, but now, the situation experienced an abrupt change. the unexpected development caused hua lu and xuan lu to become slightly distracted. the second their mind wandered elsewhere, kou chongxue made his move. ¡°huh? who gave you guys the guts to be distracted when fighting with me?!¡± kou chongxue grunted once as his hidden frost sword slashed outwards. he was no newbie martial dipper realm expert who was seeking to break through the encirclement with that strike. instead, his sword light emerged to block the combined attacks from the 3 of them. rather than dealing with their assault in the most optimal fashion, kou chongxue would rather use the chance to send them a message. ¡°preposterous!¡± even someone as calm as xuan lu couldn¡¯t help but cry out in anger when he realized kou chongxue¡¯s intentions. his expression sank and he wanted to curse despite his deposition. ¡°be careful!¡± the warning came from yun lu right after xuan lu yelled earlier. instinctively, xuan lu raised his staff to protect himself. after he was sure he wouldn¡¯t be struck, he tried to look where yun lu went. to his utter shock, he noticed a blood-red bony claw ripping through the void and ji wenlong¡¯s figure appearing behind feng yezi. ¡°oh no!¡± with his expression changing drastically, xuan lu knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to warn feng yezi in time. instead, he directly smashed his staff straight down at feng yezi. ¡°xuan lu, what the hell are you doing?!¡± feng yezi had been forced by the 3 deers of the ji continent to take part in their plot against kou chongxue. he wasn¡¯t actually very willing to take part in the first place. feng yezi was one of the rare wandering cultivators in the azure origin world and he didn¡¯t join any strong factions either. when the fight broke out, he wasn¡¯t just worried about kou chongxue. he had been keeping his guard up against xuan lu and hua lu. watching xuan lu¡¯s staff fall on his location, he quickly gave up on attacking kou chongxue and he beat a hasty retreat. ¡°dumbass, look out behind you!¡± xuan lu broke off a part of his concentration to save feng yezi and took on the risk of being caught by kou chongxue. who would have thought that the fool would react so wildly and run straight into ji wenlong? no matter how annoyed he was feeling, xuan lu knew that he couldn¡¯t watch on as feng yezi was ambushed by ji wenlong. he had to help the man no matter what. kou chongxue was no fool. the moment xuan lu went out of his way to save feng yezi, he increased the power of his blows. a huge portion of his strength was directed at xuan lu. sword lights swarmed the old martial dipper realm and it forced him to focus on protecting himself instead of others. luckily, feng yezi seemed to have sensed danger as a formless wall of wind appeared around him. it was a shame the wind wall was like a piece of paper when stacked up against ji wenlong¡¯s strange claw. it was torn apart easily like it wasn¡¯t even there. the bloodied claw didn¡¯t stop and stabbed deep into feng yezi¡¯s back. ¡°ah!¡± this time, it was feng yezi who cried out in pain. he shot through the air in an attempt to escape. one had to know that ji wenlong, kou chongxue, and the 3 deers of the ji continent sent their avatars over to the cloud water gorge. even if they were destroyed, they would suffer a little setback in their combat abilities for a period of time. their cultivations may be affected, but they could eventually recover from it. feng yezi was different. his true body was the one that came. if he were to suffer any injuries or damage, it would be for real! ji wenlong¡¯s claw not only tore open his fate dipper protection, but it also left behind several nasty wounds on his back. even though he was injured, feng yezi wasn¡¯t too concerned about the wounds on his back. he cared a little more about the strange claw ji wenlong was wielding. feng yezi was probably at the bottom of the power pyramid in the martial dipper realm, but he was a true blue martial dipper realm at the end of the day. his fate dipper materialized to form the wind wall around him and even though it wasn¡¯t completely impenetrable, it shouldn¡¯t be torn apart as easily as it was! what the hell is that weapon in ji wenlong¡¯s hand?! when feng yezi retreated earlier, he tried making his way over to xuan lu and hua lu in an attempt to use them as protection. with his sneak attack attempt earlier, ji wenlong managed to insert himself into the battle. the battle became a 2 on 3, but ji wenlong and kou chongxue both held a divine weapon. that was right. the strange claw in ji wenlong¡¯s hand was a divine weapon. that was how he managed to severely injure yun lu¡¯s avatar before appearing behind feng yezi to launch a devastating attack that ripped apart his fate dipper protection. the plot the 3 deers of the ji continent had brewed to destroy kou chongxue¡¯s avatar was destroyed in an instant. the situation changed and with their divine weapons, ji wenlong and kou chongxue quickly gained the upper hand. a fight among martial dipper realm experts happened too quickly. shang xia, who hadn¡¯t gotten too far, could only see some blurry flashes when he tried to observe the battle. he might not be able to see much, but there was one thing he was certain of. feng yezi might not know what weapon ji wenlong was wielding, but shang xia immediately recognized it as the lingxuan space shattering claw that belonged to the four great races of the liao continent of the azure spiritual world! shang xia was no stranger to the weapon. in fact, most disciples of the tongyou institution would be able to recognize it. even though shang xia didn¡¯t know what kind of agreement the higher-ups of the institution made with the four great races of the liao continent and the changbai holy land for them to lend ji wenlong the divine weapon, he could clearly tell that ji wenlong¡¯s combat abilities had been greatly boosted by the weapon. a strange thought appeared in shang xia¡¯s mind all of a sudden. he turned to stare in a certain direction and saw a heavily injured martial dipper realm avatar desperately trying to absorb heaven and earth qi to replenish his energy. no longer in a rush to leave, shang xia decided on something else. he actively distanced himself from the martial dipper realm who were fighting, but his sights were set on the origin dipper that nearly cost him his life. shang xia¡¯s actions might seem too reckless, but there was a trace of irritation biting at his heart. he would be lying if he said that he wasn¡¯t annoyed by the fact that he was used as bait earlier. however, the person who was messing with him was definitely a martial dipper realm expert and he could only admit that he was unlucky to catch the eye of such an expert. now that all of them were busy fighting one another, shang xia felt that the only way to scratch the feeling in his heart was to actually do something about the origin dipper. otherwise, he will never be able to let out his frustrations. an origin dipper could allow a martial dipper realm expert to experience a huge increase in strength. despite the huge battle raging on, every martial dipper realm expert there had been paying attention to the ball of origin dipper. shang xia was naturally unable to avoid being detected by them. however, kou chongxue and ji wenlong were the ones with the upper hand at the moment. they reacted quickly and started to draw the battle away from shang xia. understanding that a chance like that wouldn¡¯t come easily, shang xia pushed himself to his limit and flew straight for the origin dipper. when he approached the item, he released a ray of blade light from his abyssal blade powered by his four constellation qi to seal it before tossing it into one of his spirit suppressing cases. the way he stored it was something he had found out after obtaining two inheritance light balls earlier. the abyssal blade seemed to possess some sort of restraining power on those inheritance treasures from the abyssal sect. that was probably the reason why it was used to guard the secret region in the first place. it was too bad he only discovered it after obtaining two of those inheritance light balls. as the target of the rest of the martial extermination realm experts who were still fighting for the treasures up in the skies, shang xia didn¡¯t have a chance to continue grabbing the light balls. whatever the case, shang xia wasn¡¯t complaining about the treasures he had obtained. he seized the abyssal blade, the boulder that held it, an origin dipper, the auspicious cloud cape, and a huge amount of world origin. it might not seem a lot when compared to the huge amount of inheritance light balls that emerged from the various peaks, but they were definitely of the highest quality among the treasures that the abyssal sect left behind. after shang xia kept the origin dipper, yun lu, who had forcefully recovered a portion of his strength, rushed into the chaotic battle without regard for his life. ¡°brother feng, i¡¯ll help you out this time!¡± the words barely left his lips when he appeared before feng yezi to block ji wenlong¡¯s claw. a trace of joy appeared in feng yezi¡¯s heart now that the pressure on him was gone. he turned and glared at shang xia before getting ready to rush over. ¡°junior, put that down and i¡¯ll let you live!¡± CH 485 ¡­ ji wenlong and kou chongxue both understood how far feng yezi was willing to go. however, they weren¡¯t the only ones. at this point, even shang xia understood that feng yezi didn¡¯t have much scruples on attacking weaker cultivators. that was why shang xia only risked it all and went for the origin dipper after seeing how feng yezi had been suppressed by ji wenlong and kou chongxue. with the same logic, kou chongxue and ji wenlong increased the pressure on feng yezi after discovering shang xia¡¯s actions. they wanted to prevent that shameless old fellow from going overboard in desperation. they might have thought they had suppressed feng yezi well, but an even more disgusting yun lu leaped out of nowhere. the martial dipper realm ancestor from the white deer paradise was obviously planning to use himself as a sacrifice to extract feng yezi from the relentless attacks. he wanted to borrow feng yezi¡¯s shamelessness to kill shang xia. after ji wenlong brought out the lingxuan space shattering claw and heavily injured yun lu earlier, the 3 deers of the ji continent knew that their schemes wouldn¡¯t succeed. they suffered greatly in the hands of kou chongxue and ji wenlong soon after. when he restored a portion of his strength, yun lu decided that they had to at least achieve something. at the end of the day, yun lu was a martial dipper realm ancestor from a holy land. he had long since noticed shang xia¡¯s actions, but he wouldn¡¯t get around to killing a junior in the martial extermination realm. just as he was at a loss of what to do, he recalled the ultra-shameless feng yezi. he forcefully inserted himself into the battle and everything that happened, happened. ¡­ ¡°feng yezi, if you dare to attack a junior, i promise i¡¯ll hunt you down and kill you!¡± kou chongxue roared. it seemed as though he was truly enraged by the actions of yun lu and feng yezi this time. however, he was stuck in the battle and could only threaten feng yezi with his words. as the words left his lips, a strange wind started to rise in the northern direction of the azure origin world. the cloud churned around violently and layers upon layers of spatial fluctuations tore through the air. the intense fluctuations even affected the martial dipper realm ancestors of the divine capital sect and zhongxuan gate in the skies above who were still dealing with the mess in the abyssal secret region. it was a sign that kou chongxue was truly enraged. there were even signs of him getting ready to charge over from the you continent. kou chongxue might be a powerful expert in the martial dipper realm, but no matter how fast he was, he wouldn¡¯t be able to make it in time. ¡°this fucking asshole is really shameless!¡± ji wenlong was equally as angry. he completely ignored xuan lu and hua lu as his claw went straight for yun lu. he was adamant about destroying yun lu¡¯s avatar even if he had to suffer some injuries in the process. kou chongxue acted the same. he increased the power behind every strike and displayed the true power of his sword art. he stopped both xuan lu and hua lu on his own and any martial dipper realm expert who was watching the battle from the beyond heavens pavilion could only gasp in amazement. the sudden outburst from the two of them was terrifying to say the least, but they couldn¡¯t stop feng yezi from snatching the origin dipper from shang xia. support us at bit.ly/3ibfjkv. feng yezi obviously heard kou chongxue¡¯s threat earlier, but there was one thing kou chongxue would never understand. that was how difficult it was to obtain resources as a wandering cultivator with no actual background! kou chongxue might carry out his threat and hunt feng yezi down, but with the opportunity to grow stronger right in front of him, feng yezi decided that it was better to obtain the origin dipper before caring about anything else. he felt that the moment he refined the origin dipper and entered the second element martial dipper realm, he might be able to find a way to escape from kou chongxue¡¯s pursuit. feng yezi wasn¡¯t just confident in his own abilities. he chose to do what he had to do because of the origin dipper in shang xia¡¯s hand. back when the origin dipper first fell into the cloud water gorge, feng yezi sensed that it was extremely compatible with himself. in fact, it was crucial to his future cultivation. that was the reason feng yezi could ignore his image as a martial dipper realm expert and snatch the treasure from a junior in the martial extermination realm. facing a martial dipper realm expert, there was no way shang xia could actually run away! ¡°fuck! this is the third time this old fart made his move on me!¡± shang xia cursed inwardly. the first time he was attacked, ji wenlong arrived and extracted him from his sticky situation. kou chongxue appeared the next time and saved him from certain death. now that the two of them were occupied, shang xia knew that he could only rely on himself. the abyssal blade seemed to notice the strong emotions churning in his heart as it started to vibrate lightly. it emitted a clear hum that rose above the noise of the battle among the martial dipper realm experts nearby. ¡°that¡­ that¡¯s an exceptional weapon spirit!¡± ¡°i¡¯m afraid this weapon is no weaker than kou chongxue¡¯s hidden frost sword¡­¡± ¡°it¡¯s a pity a quarter of the blade has been damaged and lost.¡± ¡°i wonder if he will ever be able to restore the weapon¡­¡± ¡°it¡¯s extremely difficult to do so.¡± the last sentence ended the exchange among the martial dipper realm experts who were observing the battle. it also directly shattered their imaginations where the abyssal blade would be fully restored one day. shang xia was obviously unable to notice the conversation that went on. however, that didn¡¯t bother him. even if he knew what was happening, he would choose to reveal the true abilities of the weapon. after all, he couldn¡¯t sit around and wait for feng yezi to kill him! also, there was another thing¡­ feng yezi has never once looked straight at shang xia. in his eyes, shang xia was a mere ant who didn¡¯t know what was good for him. he could wipe this ant off the face of existence anytime he wanted. however, a trace of irritation was rising in his heart when he made his move for the third time. the youngster who was unusually calm was starting to get on his nerves. he didn¡¯t possess much killing intent towards shang xia earlier as he only cared about getting his hands on the origin dipper. killing shang xia was merely something he did along the way. back when yun lu entered the battle to give him a chance to leave, feng yezi knew exactly what intentions they had. they wanted to use him to get rid of shang xia. that might be the case, but he was willing to let the youngster go as long as he handed over the origin dipper. after all, there was no need for him to thoroughly offend the tongyou institution and kou chongxue. as he flew closer and closer to shang xia, his intention changed. a nagging feeling told him that he had to kill the martial extermination realm youngster which he failed to do twice previously. he felt that he would probably regret his decision in the future if he let the youngster live. no¡­ he would definitely regret his decision if he allowed the youngster to leave today! slapping his storm pouch, swords and blades made from the wind appeared and stabbed straight for shang xia. facing the attack from feng yezi, shang xia came up with a third move in a fit of desperation. the move he came up with contained all his desire to live. it contained the power to escape death just so he could live to see another day! with the intention in mind, shang xia named his newest move ¡®pure brightness¡¯! the wind blade and wind swords that came his way were shattered and he forcefully cleaved out a path of retreat. unfortunately, shang xia barely dealt with one attack from the martial dipper realm expert. he couldn¡¯t actually do a thing to the old man. the space surrounding shang xia froze and his inner qi seemed to stop flowing through his body. shang xia felt his body rising into the air as a palm was pressed firmly on his chest. as feng yezi injected his fate dipper into shang xia¡¯s body, shang xia spat out a mouthful of blood despite not feeling any injuries. even if a martial dipper realm expert was in his place and was caught off guard like that, they might not be able to survive feng yezi¡¯s strike. with a frosty expression on his face, feng yezi reached for shang xia¡¯s chest. as a martial dipper realm expert, feng yezi could obviously tell where shang xia hid his spatial artifacts. lowering his head to take a look at what he was grabbing, feng yezi¡¯s eyelid jumped violently. he saw the ¡®innards¡¯ shang xia spat out earlier and noticed that not a trace of blood could be seen on them. instead, it resembled a piece of broken show-white lotus root. the body he thought he had grabbed turned into a streak of blood-red light and shot off into the distance. feng yezi¡¯s hand swiped through the air while trying to grab hold of the embroidered cloud case. with his heart thumping in his chest, feng yezi raised his head abruptly. he looked at the streak of light that had flown out of the cloud water gorge. how the hell is he still alive? ¡°what type of evasion art is this?! why does this look like a technique from those bloodline cultivators of the azure spiritual world?!¡± feng yezi growled. he might not know a lot about matters regarding the azure spiritual world, but he was no ignorant fool. he had some knowledge of the cultivators there. it was the first time he had seen an escape technique like that, but he quickly connected it to its source. it was true that the speed given to him by the scarlet blood cone would cause the majority of martial extermination realm experts to despair, but feng yezi was no martial extermination realm expert. the scarlet blood cone couldn¡¯t let shang xia outrun an expert like that! when all was said and done, feng yezi had the guts to take part in the war of the tongyou mysterious world back then. if he wasn¡¯t confident in his abilities, there was no way he would go ahead and piss kou chongxue off. he was more than capable of catching up to shang xia, but it seemed as though even the heavens was going against him after his repeated failure to kill the youngster. with kou chongxue holding both xuan lu and hua lu back, ji wenlong went crazy in his assault on yun lu. even though the 3 deers of the ji continent managed to stop the martial dipper realm experts of the tongyou institution from helping shang xia, they weren¡¯t doing that well themselves. ji wenlong wielded the lingxuan space shattering claw and was hell-bent on destroying yun lu¡¯s avatar. one had to know that ji wenlong had already heavily injured the man earlier. with his injuries, yun lu was no match for ji wenlong. yun lu had risked it all to give feng yezi an opportunity to leave the battle to obtain the origin dipper and to kill shang xia, but he didn¡¯t expect feng yezi to be such a useless fool. he couldn¡¯t kill a mere martial extermination realm expert, and he even allowed the youngster to escape! yun lu was figuratively about to explode with anger. however, ji wenlong turned the explosion into reality. with yun lu¡¯s mind not in the right place, ji wenlong took the opportunity and dug the lingxuan space shattering claw deep into yun lu¡¯s avatar. it destroyed whatever was left of his strength. ji wenlong was no feng yezi. after destroying yun lu¡¯s avatar, he knew what was more important. he immediately joined kou chongxue and targeted the strongest enemy they were facing, xuan lu. kou chongxue took the opportunity to send a terrifying sword slash away from their battlefield. after ji wenlong destroyed yun lu¡¯s avatar earlier, he knew that he had two options. one of them was to head over to deal with feng yezi, but with his current cultivation level, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do much to feng yezi who was an experienced cultivator at the martial dipper realm. because of the fate dipper feng yezi had already refined, he could move a lot faster than cultivators at the same level. even if ji wenlong wasn¡¯t afraid of being done in by feng yezi, he might not be able to stop the man in time. the moment he allowed feng yezi to escape, that shameless old fellow might be able to catch up to shang xia. as such, he chose the other option. with him entering the battle to exert pressure on xuan lu, he would give kou chongxue a chance to react. feng yezi might be able to move quickly, but he wasn¡¯t faster than kou chongxue¡¯s sword! the sword light kou chongxue unleashed caused feng yezi¡¯s expression to change drastically. that was the third move kou chongxue developed for his origin yang sword art, the origin yang forgotten sword! it was something he developed after getting inspiration from his attack on the white deer paradise. after refining his third fate dipper, he was fully able to unleash his third strike! the moment the sword qi emerged, it split the void down the middle. it separated space on either side and made it difficult for anything from one side to cross over to the other. facing such a terrifying sword strike, feng yezi pushed his speed to the limit as he tried to avoid getting hit. at the same time, he wanted to catch up to shang xia to finish what he started. no matter how much he tried to dodge through the air, the sword qi remained locked onto his position. it wasn¡¯t aimed directly at him, but it stood firm between feng yezi and shang xia. he could only watch as shang xia ran further and further, eventually disappearing from his range of detection. not a trace of the youngster was left! CH 486 feng yezi was obstructed by kou chongxue¡¯s sword qi for a mere moment, but it was enough for him to lose track of shang xia. since he managed to achieve his goal, kou chongxue turned to swing his hidden frost sword and took over the pressure on ji wenlong. he started to focus on xuan lu, the stronger of the 2. ji wenlong unleashed his lingxuan space shattering claw and continued his barrage of attacks on hua lu. with ji wenlong¡¯s help, kou chongxue was able to fully focus on suppressing xuan lu. the original scheme that was aimed to destroy kou chongxue¡¯s avatar was completely overturned. the 3 deers of the ji continent, along with feng yezi, not only failed to take down kou chongxue¡¯s clone. they suffered huge losses in the process. their reputation was really swept down the drain at this point. earlier, xuan lu and hua lu couldn¡¯t do a thing to kou chongxue even when they joined hands. now that kou chongxue was dealing with xuan lu alone, the usually serious and aloof leader of the 3 deers of the ji continent was being suppressed to no end. ¡°feng yezi!¡± hua lu yelled. xuan lu and hua lu were having a hard time catching their breath. if feng yezi came to assist them, the pressure on them would be alleviated immediately. most of the martial dipper realm experts present sent their avatars over. feng yezi was the only one with his true body and the longer the battle dragged out for, the greater his advantage. even kou chongxue would perish in his hands once he exhausted the energy contained in the avatar. despite hua lu¡¯s cries, feng yezi seemed a little lost at the moment. he stared blankly in the direction shang xia disappeared. with the situation turning uglier by the second, hua lu couldn¡¯t help but cry out again. this time, her tone was much more gentle. ¡°fellow cultivator feng, please give us a hand now that things have progressed up to this point. our white deer sect will definitely make it up to you in the future.¡± ¡°sigh¡­¡± releasing a long sigh, feng yezi turned to look at the battle taking place before appearing in the skies thousands of feet above the cloud water gorge. the appearance of a martial dipper realm expert in the midst of the chaotic battle taking place between martial extermination realm cultivators immediately caused everyone to scatter. no one gave half a hoot about collecting the inheritance light balls anymore. ¡°feng yezi, what do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡± a loud voice boomed like thunder. jiu ming, a martial dipper realm ancestor of the divine capital sect roared. feng yezi¡¯s actions greatly offended the martial dipper realm ancestors of the divine capital sect and zhongxuan gate. a sneer appeared on feng yezi¡¯s face as he glanced at the various martial extermination realm cultivators in the distance. ¡°there¡¯s no need to fight anymore. keeping this up will only increase the unnecessary losses of all the parties involved. since you guys are not willing to put a stop to this, i will!¡± ¡°what exactly do you want to do?¡± xuan shou growled after noticing that things were starting to get out of control. feng yezi ignored him completely. with everyone¡¯s gaze on him, feng yezi swung his sleeves and grabbed close to 30 inheritance light balls around him before disappearing into the void. ¡°indeed¡­ there¡¯s no need for us to prolong the battle.¡± kou chongxue spoke suddenly and forced xuan lu back. seeing that kou chongxue had spoken, ji wenlong did the same and withdrew the lingxuan space shattering claw to allow hua lu to take a step back. ¡°xuan lu, do you still wish to continue?¡± kou chongxue asked. facing kou chongxue¡¯s superior tone, hua lu revealed a face full of anger. she was quickly held back by xuan lu who growled, ¡°indeed. there is no need for us to fight anymore!¡± ¡°good.¡± kou chongxue released a bout of laughter as his hidden frost sword rose into the air and slashed lightly. close to 20 inheritance light balls disappeared into the void. ji wenlong did the same and casually swiped the air with his lingxuan space shattering claw. close to 10 light balls were captured by him. staring coldly at ji wenlong, xuan shou¡¯s voice boomed through the skies. ¡°hmph, you should have used a weapon that belongs to another world. you¡¯re an embarrassment to the cultivators of our azure origin world!¡± ¡°heh, you know what¡¯s truly embarrassing? you guys stood around and watched as a junior in the martial extermination realm was bullied by an expert at the martial dipper realm. i had to do something about it.¡± ji wenlong sneered in response. silence filled the land and seeing as no one could retort, ji wenlong¡¯s avatar turned into a strand of pure energy that returned to the lingxuan space shattering claw. it ripped through the space and went up north. hua lu couldn¡¯t help but mutter, ¡°senior brother¡­¡± ¡°we¡¯re leaving too!¡± xuan lu shook his head and grabbed the air before him. as he turned to leave, a little more than 10 light balls went with him. hua lu stomped her feet in anger as her jade seal grabbed several balls of light before she followed behind xuan lu. seeing as they had left, a voice rang in the minds of the experts from the divine capital sect. ¡°alright. this will be all. you guys are on your own.¡± after the person had spoken, two whirlpools of heaven and earth qi appeared in mid air and grabbed close to 30 inheritance light balls before fading away. seeing what was going on, xuan chang of the zhongxuan gate growled a little reluctantly, ¡°i didn¡¯t think that kou chongxue would be able to butt into this matter even when he¡¯s so far away¡­ the 3 deers of the ji continent set up such an elaborate plan, but alas¡­ humph!¡± xuan shou grabbed a handful of light balls, and replied to her, ¡°watch your words. the divine capital sect is extremely powerful. in the future, we still have to rely on the 3 deers of the ji continent to withstand the pressure coming from the si continent.¡± ¡°heh, after this battle, who knows how much fighting strength the 3 of them will still retain?¡± xuan chang sighed. glancing at her from the corner of his eye, xuan shou muttered, ¡°don¡¯t ever underestimate the foundations of a holy land. you can evaluate hua lu and yun lu all you want, but when xuan lu entered the martial dipper realm, he didn¡¯t receive much assistance from the white deer paradise.¡± understanding the meaning behind her senior brother¡¯s words, xuan chang asked in a low voice, ¡°senior brother, do you mean¡­ xuan lu didn¡¯t use his full strength earlier?¡± chuckling in amusement, xuan shou continued, ¡°don¡¯t forget, the white deer paradise is protected by a divine weapon. the divine deer staff has always been in xuan lu¡¯s possession¡­¡± ¡­ in the skies above the cloud water gorge, the 20 plus martial extermination realm experts had been fighting for quite some time earlier. they were fighting over the inheritance light balls that came from the abyssal sect, but after those martial dipper realm experts made their move, the numerous light balls that populated the skies became a lot more scarce. there were a little less than 300 inheritance light balls that emerged from the abyssal secret region. not counting those that flew away, those that were destroyed in the chaotic battle, or those that had already been obtained by shang xia and those who had been in the abyssal secret region before it collapsed, more than half of those that remained were obtained by those martial dipper realm experts. the battle for the inheritance light balls wasn¡¯t as eventful as the fight in the cloud water gorge where martial dipper realm experts exchanged blows, but it wasn¡¯t exactly lacking either. of the 5 martial extermination realm experts of the divine capital sect, one was killed and another was heavily injured. even zuo changqing suffered some light injuries. chenming glanced at his surroundings and saw that the dust had settled and the martial dipper realm ancestors had left. his voice trembled in indignation. ¡°what is this?! what the hell is this?! do the ancestors of our divine capital sect even care about us? what do they take us as? heh¡­ is everything we did useless?¡± zuo changqing remained quietly at the side. he might have suffered some slight wounds, but he managed to obtain one inheritance light ball and a strand of extermination origin. his trip wasn¡¯t fully made in vain. however, everything that happened earlier left a bad taste in his mouth. he also felt a sense of suppression that he couldn¡¯t put into words. the sense of suppression was what chenming was also feeling. it was the fact that they felt so weak that they weren¡¯t able to control their own fates the moment those martial dipper realm experts showed up. luckily for zuo changqing, that only served to strengthen his resolve and desire to grow stronger. xu chenkang¡¯s expression was as stiff as could be. back when he brought his fellow cultivators to the cloud water gorge, all of them came in high spirits. they even acted as though nothing could stand in their way. there was even a period where xu chenkang thought that he could use the chance to enter the martial dipper realm. now that everything had happened, he realized how much of a clown he was to think that way. theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3ibfjkv. ¡°junior brother, hold your tongue!¡± xu chenkang managed to maintain his rationality and yelled at chenming. he regained his composure and muttered, ¡°now that things have progressed to this point, there¡¯s no need for us to remain. we can talk about this after we leave.¡± very quickly, xu chenkang brought the rest of the members of the divine capital sect and left the sixth pass. they didn¡¯t stop as they made their way back to the si continent. not too long after they left, the experts from the other continents started to take their leave. ¡­ ¡°are you certain all of them had left?¡± yin wanxiang, the master of the thousand caves peak asked jiang weiyun of the flowing cloud lagoon. understanding the severity of the matter, jiang weiyun didn¡¯t dare to show the slightest displeasure even though yin wanxiang¡¯s words sounded like he was talking to a subordinate. he replied quickly and seriously, ¡°brother wanxiang, there¡¯s no need to worry. all of our factions in the sixth pass have already sent our men out to every checkpoint possible. they might not be able to detect the auras of those martial extermination realm experts, but they can observe the extermination lights that are shooting across the skies. moreover, those guys don¡¯t seem to be hiding their tracks either.¡± ¡°that¡¯s great! brother jiang, you¡¯ve worked hard.¡± yin wanxiang sounded really sincere when he thanked jiang weiyun. jiang weiyun quickly added, ¡°brother wanxiang, there¡¯s no need for such formalities. the sixth pass belongs to all of us. we tried doing things on our own in the past and allowed those outsiders to come and go as they wished. this time, they even stole the opportunity that was meant for us! brother wanxiang, if you are willing to take the lead and unify the powers of the sixth pass, we won¡¯t be worried about the threat of outsiders in the future. i, jiang weiyun, can¡¯t be happier if you agree to do so. there¡¯s no need to make things so difficult!¡± ¡°no¡­ that will make me seem unreasonable. brother jiang, i understand your good intentions¡­¡± yun wanxiang smiled apologetically before turning to look at gu lingyu who had just returned from elsewhere. ¡°fairy gu, did you manage to gain something from all of that?¡± ¡°many inheritance light balls scattered from the abyssal secret region and entered the chaotic flow of space. we don¡¯t know where they went. most of the others that remain scattered into the sixth pass. we don¡¯t have enough people to record where everything went and we only managed to keep track of close to ten inheritance light balls. there are a lot more out there and we will need to use a lot of effort to locate them.¡± gu lingyu replied. nodding, yin wanxiang muttered, ¡°that¡¯s good enough. i thought that we would only be able to get 5 or 6 of them at most with our primitive method. the results are a lot better than i thought.¡± gu lingyu wanted to say something else, but after glancing at someone in the distance, she decided to hold her tongue, yin wanxiang turned in that direction and saw zhonggu and fang ruhai. he chuckled in amusement, ¡°fairy gu, feel free to speak your mind. there are no outsiders here. everyone is a member of our sixth pass.¡± grunting softly, gu lingyu continued, ¡°the abyssal secret region contained too many inheritance light balls and we won¡¯t be able to contain the news. the stronger powers might not bother us because it¡¯s a little difficult to go around digging for them, but other members of the taihang mountains are like ravenous hyenas who will rush over to try their luck. there might be another bloodbath in the near future¡­¡± yin wanxiang smiled softly and responded, ¡°isn¡¯t that something we already predicted?¡± turning to look at zhonggu and fang ruhai, yin wanxiang continued in a friendly tone, ¡°brother zhonggu, brother fang, what do you think?¡± zhonggu turned to look at fang ruhai beside himself and after a moment of silence, fang ruhai¡¯s hoarse voice rang through the air. ¡°we¡¯re part of the sixth pass at the end of the day. we won¡¯t sit by and watch as outsiders come and seal what belongs to us! the two of us and everyone we command are willing to follow brother wanxiang¡¯s instructions!¡± ¡°great, great, great!¡± yin wanxiang roared with laughter. ¡°brother fang, brother zhonggu, rest assured. we¡¯re all members of the sixth pass and no one will be commanding anyone around. we¡¯ll settle everything with a round of friendly discussion!¡± after settling matters with the other martial extermination realm experts of the sixth pass, yin wanxiang turned serious. ¡°however, the situation is a little bit urgent at the moment. i hope you two can do what brother jiang is doing and prevent outsiders from prying into our business!¡± CH 487 ack on the yuxi peak in the battlefield between the two worlds, shang xia used a new method to enter the martial extermination realm. before his breakthrough attempt, ge qingzhi gave him the lotus root of the nine petaled lotus that would allow him to avoid all internal injuries. youshang also delivered the life saving treasure, the scarlet blood cone some time ago. when shang xia broke through to the four constellation realm, he didn¡¯t use any of them! now that he thought about it, it seemed as though he had misjudged the reason he was given those treasures. when he tried breaking through to the martial extermination realm on the yuxi peak, kou chongxue and ji wenlong probably already had their eyes on him! with the two of them paying attention to the breakthrough, there was no way shang xia would run into any danger that they couldn¡¯t just jump out and solve. the deeper he dived into the matter, the more it seemed as though the institution had their sights on the abyssal secret region a long time ago. that was probably why those exceptional treasures made their way into his hands. fleeing from the cloud water gorge with the scarlet blood cone, shang xia made his way to the border of the sixth pass before finally settling down. landing on a deserted mountain ridge, shang xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with everything that happened back at the cloud water gorge. he immediately found a hidden spot to conceal his presence. when he was finally satisfied with his hiding spot, he opened the 2 embroidered cloud cases in his sleeves. he poured every single treasure that could assist with his recovery out onto the ground below. before he could decide which medicine he should eat first, his face flushed red. spitting out a mouthful of blood, weakness overwhelmed him. the aura around him became several times weaker than before. the lotus root might have allowed him to avoid a huge amount of inner injuries, but the might of a martial dipper realm expert wasn¡¯t something it could completely nullify. earlier, the lotus root took the brunt of the damage. however, shang xia still suffered significant injuries from the remaining power contained in feng yezi¡¯s blow. when he used the scarlet blood cone earlier, shang xia was forcefully holding himself together. in the short time it took for him to escape, his injuries became even worse. the reason he did that was because he wanted to use the fastest speed possible to reach a safe place. after he spat out some blood, shang xia quickly tossed some rank three recovery powder into his mouth. chasing that down with a gulp of hundred flowers spiritual wine, he quickly circulated his inner qi. now that he started to develop his rank four martial arts, his inner qi circulation was much smoother than before. after half a day, the effects of the recovery powder were finally used up. however, it only managed to ensure that his injuries weren¡¯t getting worse. more than 10 hours had already passed since he left the cloud water gorge. looking up at the sky, shang xia was greeted by a sea of sparkling stars. looking in the direction of the cloud water gorge, he discovered that the phenomenon of the abyssal secret region¡¯s merger had already disappeared. ¡°i wonder how third aunt is doing¡­¡± the thought flashed across shang xia¡¯s mind and he wondered to himself. it would only remain a thought as he wouldn¡¯t be able to help much in his current condition. putting up a few simple warning devices in the area around the cave he was hiding in, shang xia eventually returned to swallow another portion of recovery medicine. naturally, he drank some hundred flowers spiritual wine along with it. he continued to circulate his inner qi like he did earlier. this time, he had enough energy to activate his four seasons extermination origins and they slowly aided in his recovery. eventually, he fell into a trance as he entered a deep state of cultivation. by the time he woke up, 3 days had passed. using his divine perception to inspect himself, shang xia found that his condition was indeed improving. however, he was far from his peak condition. estimating the speed of his recovery, shang xia felt that he would need 3 to 5 months before he would return to his peak state. moreover, that was because of the unique properties of his extermination origins, strong physique, and soul. that allowed his life force to be much stronger than cultivators of the same level, resulting in his speedy recovery. if anyone else at the same level was in his place, recovery would be the least of their concern. they might not even be able to survive the palm strike from feng yezi in the first place. even if they managed to live, there was a 70 percent chance they would be crippled anyway. of those that could actually recover, they would probably need 3 to 5 years of constant care in order to have a chance to return to their peak state. the time shang xia required could be said to be extremely short, but he still felt as though it was taking too long. before recovering, shang xia knew that he would be completely useless. he didn¡¯t understand the situation in the taihang mountains at the moment, and because of that uncertainty, he didn¡¯t dare to try contacting shang pei. neither did he dare to venture around wherever he was. no matter how unwilling and annoyed he was at the situation, shang xia could only return to his cave to treat his injuries. because of the descent of the abyssal secret region in the cloud water gorge, the heaven and earth qi in the sixth pass became a lot denser than before. it greatly aided shang xia¡¯s speed of recovery. without interference from the outside world, shang xia entered seclusion and tried to heal his horrendous wounds. every time he circulated his inner qi, he would enter a strange state of cultivation. not only was the state he was in great for recovery, it also allowed him to think about his self-created rank four martial arts with extreme clarity. he could observe the flow of his inner qi through his body and make adjustments that allowed him to display greater might. after 3 to 4 sessions like that, more than ten days had passed. his injuries were finally starting to take a turn for the better. at the same time, he managed to refine his rank four martial arts a little more. at the very least, he learned how to circulate his four constellation qi more effectively in his body. he no longer needed 10 hours to complete one cycle. as a result, his training efficiency rose to a whole new level. back when shang xia started to create his own rank four martial arts, he referred to many rank four martial arts that had already been created. theft is never good, try looking at [ pawread dot com ]. regardless of the shang clan or the tongyou institution, shang xia managed to gain insights from close to 10 rank four martial arts that had been recorded by the various powers. that didn¡¯t include the guidance he was given by shang bo, shang ke, shang pei, zhang haogu, ge qingzhu, and other martial extermination realm experts he had some relationship with. as such, shang xia had a pretty good grasp on how powerful each technique was and how suited they were to their cultivators. with everything he learned, shang xia tried to come up with the most ordinary technique he could after entering the martial extermination realm. that might be the case, but he quickly discovered that the martial arts he created possessed a huge potential for growth! he even had a feeling that after consolidating his foundations and securely planting his feet in the martial extermination realm, he would undergo another round of transformation to grow even stronger! however, everything would only happen in the future. he had a long way to go before that happened. in the blink of an eye, another half a month had passed. to his surprise, he was recovering slightly faster than he had expected. his development of his rank four martial arts had nothing to do with the accelerating rate of recovery, and neither did the medicine he was eating. instead, he was comprehending the true meaning of samara through the cycle of the four seasons. the progression of the four seasons through the land was eternal and through the process, life would grow and decay. with that understanding, shang xia seemed to have grown closer to the world around him. he seemed to grasp onto the logic of the four seasons and how day changed to night. even though he hadn¡¯t become one with the world, couldn¡¯t meld with the changing of the four seasons, or reach the state where he could overturn day or night, his comprehension was enough to greatly aid his speed of recovery. after learning what he did, shang xia could control his extermination origins a lot better than before. he could also accurately extract the power of spring that contained the power of life to hasten the restoration of his body. everything was progressing smoothly and shang xia continued to strengthen his dantian. his four constellation qi also continued to accumulate, and that signified the recovery of his fighting strength. at long last, he finally recovered enough to protect himself even if something unexpected were to happen. in the following days, shang xia could finally relax a little. lighting a stick of incense in his humble cave dwelling, shang xia finally found a moment to rest now that he managed to gather some four constellation qi in his dantian. he decided to start sorting out the loot he received from the abyssal secret region. but before that, he decided to check out the crimson soul tablet in his sea of consciousness. when he first entered the abyssal secret region, he received pure world origin in liquid form. that was enough for a third of the cracks on the second face of the tablet to be sealed up. after that, shang xia also received a clump of world origin after slicing apart one of the inheritance light balls that flew his way. due to the abilities of the crimson soul tablet, the world origin wasn¡¯t wasted. shang xia made use of a little bit while fighting, but it seemed as though the remaining amount was enough to restore the crack by the same amount as the first batch of world origin. obtaining both batches of world origin wasn¡¯t the only gain he made. the crimson soul tablet had been slowly refining the world origin that existed naturally in the abyssal secret region. since the effects weren¡¯t as good as devouring both batches of world origin, shang xia didn¡¯t really take notice of it. only after observing the crimson soul tablet again did shang xia discover that the second face didn¡¯t recover by a mere two-thirds. almost four-fifths of the face had recovered and there was merely a tiny crack left. it was something that really shocked shang xia. happy that the crimson soul tablet was starting to restore itself, shang xia turned to look at the most precious treasure he managed to obtain from the abyssal secret region, the abyssal blade. a quarter of the blade might be broken, but the divine weapon still commanded a respectable level of power. back during the chaotic battle in the abyssal secret region, no one in the martial extermination realm had the guts to fight shang xia when he wielded the divine weapon. what was more important, shang xia managed to rely on the abyssal blade to create the first 3 moves of his rank four martial arts! awakening lightning, grand inferno, pure brightness¡­ every single move contained a frightening amount of power! with the creation of his first 3 moves, shang xia already had the outline of his martial arts all laid out. he even thought of the name for it. his rank four martial arts would be called the divine blade of the twenty four solar terms. whether or not the abyssal blade could be fixed wasn¡¯t part of shang xia¡¯s consideration at the moment. other than the abyssal blade, shang xia also managed to obtain the rank four advancement formula, the four essence abyssal wine after saving wei qiongyi. from the name itself, it was obvious the advancement formula was part of the core inheritance of the abyssal sect. the next thing shang xia looked at was his auspicious cloud cape. it could transform into the auspicious cloud boat that could ferry 4 people through the air. during the chaotic battle that happened before, shang xia didn¡¯t bother turning it into the boat form as it was much more convenient to use its properties as a cape. when he was done, shang xia looked at the origin dipper he obtained from the jaws of death. estimating the worth of everything he had, shang xia felt that the origin dipper should be the most valuable treasure right after the abyssal blade. CH 488 looking at the origin dipper in front of him, shang xia had no idea what he should do with it. he didn¡¯t know what it was exactly either. however, from the ability it had to stir up the wind and clouds when it first appeared, to the time when it captured the attention of the martial dipper realm experts in the beyond heavens pavilion, along with the importance feng yezi placed on it, shang xia was afraid that the origin dipper in his hand was no ordinary treasure. at the very least, it was something of an exceptional grade. after he used his abyssal blade to seal it previously, shang xia hadn¡¯t actually seen its true appearance. however, that didn¡¯t seem important now that the treasure actually belonged to him. next came the boulder that trapped the abyssal blade. the boulder itself took up so much space that it nearly filled up an entire embroidered cloud case alone, and shang xia finally took it out to look at it. read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" there were countless cracks that filled its surface and there was nothing especially special about its appearance. it looked just like an ordinary rock that was larger than usual, but after hundreds of years of nourishment by the heaven and earth qi around it, it seemed a lot tougher than before. it contained dense heaven and earth qi, but unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t comparable to spiritual jades. that might be how it seemed to the outside world, but shang xia had a sneaking suspicion that the boulder wasn¡¯t as simple as it looked. an idea had formed in shang xia¡¯s mind some time ago and he had to use the boulder in order to verify his guesses. other than all the treasures that he had laid out earlier, there were still 2 inheritance light balls in his possession. he grabbed them early on in the battle and left soon after. with close to 300 inheritance light balls emerging from the abyssal secret region, treasures contained in them were split into different grades. one could only rely on their luck to see if the treasures they retrieved were precious or not. shang xia understood that his chances of getting something good were slim to none, but his heart was bubbling with excitement because of the gambling aspect of things. he wondered if he would be able to obtain another origin dipper from either inheritance light ball in his hand. retrieving one of them, a four colored extermination light surrounded the light ball. it shattered the restrictions that were producing the barrier of light and the treasure inside was eventually revealed. shang xia looked at the snowy white pearl that was filled with swirling mist in his hand and felt somewhat disappointed. after playing around with the pearl in his hand, shang xia discovered that it could be used two different ways. the first way was for him to wear the pearl on him at all times. it could ensure that he wouldn¡¯t lose his way even in thick fog or mists. not even poison miasma or hallucinogenic mist would cause him to wander off track. its use was surprisingly similar to the misty palace lantern shang xia obtained after killing the martial extermination realm from the divine capital sect back then. however, the misty palace lantern still seemed slightly more superior. other than the ability to prevent the user from losing their way, the lantern possessed offensive and defensive capabilities. the second use of the pearl was to create a sea of fog around the cultivator who used it. the scale of the fog created would depend on the cultivation of its user. weaker ones would only be able to summon a sea of fog a hundred feet wide. however, it was possible for it to go up to ten miles or larger. ¡°if i run into stronger opponents, it¡¯s possible for me to use this pearl to get away!¡± shang xia thought to himself. understanding its uses, he quickly kept it properly. the cave dwelling he was currently hiding in had no natural defenses. he could use the pearl to create a sea of fog around the region to give it some form of protection, but that would be a little too eye-catching. it would bring about negative results instead. it was especially so after the appearance of the abyssal secret region. the sea of clouds around the cloud water gorge was cleared after god knew how many years. if another sea of fog reappeared in the taihang mountains, it would immediately rouse everyone¡¯s suspicion. now that he had the experience of breaking the restriction around the balls of light, shang xia¡¯s second attempt was much smoother than before. looking at how easily his extermination origins had destroyed the restrictions on the ball of light, shang xia couldn¡¯t help but think back to how he destroyed the jingxiu peak¡¯s protection barrier. there was also the matter of suppressing the abyssal blade¡¯s weapon spirit with his extermination origins. shang xia could basically confirm that his extermination origins were extremely effective when it came to dealing with restrictions, formations, and stuff that had to do with the spirit. as the thought flashed through his mind, the second item was quickly revealed in his hand. ¡°this¡­ is this a stick of incense?!¡± shang xia stared at the cylindrical item that was close to a foot long with the thickness of his finger. flipping it around in his hand, shang xia eventually noticed a shallow carving on its surface. ¡®dao comprehension incense¡¯! ¡°dao comprehension incense? what is this? sounds¡­ it sounds pretty impressive¡­¡± it was shang xia¡¯s first time seeing anything like it. however, he could already tell that it was a precious treasure. he was no stranger to incense that could assist with cultivation. when he broke through to the martial intent realm in the past, he used the help of the intent guarding incense and after becoming a high-level talisman master, he would use it from time to time to calm himself down throughout the crafting process. it was also useful in replenishing his mental state. following the shallow carvings on the stick of incense, shang xia saw an even smaller row of words. ¡°helpful in the deduction of advancement formulas, martial arts, secret arts, and martial intent.¡± shang xia¡¯s eyes lit up the moment he saw what was written. this is good stuff! however, there was still a trace of doubt in his mind. can this thing really be so magical? even if it could do whatever it said it could, shang xia felt that there had to be a limit. it might be possible to deduce stuff of the first and second rank¡­ if he wanted to go a little higher, the limit should be somewhere close to a rank three advancement formula or one¡¯s third martial intent. as for those of the fourth and fifth rank¡­ hehehe¡­ if the incense is really that amazing, the number of martial dipper realm experts in the azure origin world should be a lot more numerous than it was. the more he thought about it, the less excited he felt about obtaining the dao comprehension incense. should i¡­ should i just light this up and test its effects right now? shang xia reached out and tapped the tip of the incense as a trace of his mirroring sun extermination origin ran through his fingers. a spark lit up the incense as a trail of smoke filled the air. the entire cave seemed to enter a strange state of silence. after ensuring there was no poison in the dao comprehension incense, shang xia placed several simple restrictions at the entrance of the cave to prevent the smoke from escaping before silently returning to his cultivation. shang xia didn¡¯t realize that he entered a deep level of focus in just a short amount of time. back when he broke through to the four constellation realm, shang xia had created a set of secret art that allowed him to produce four constellation qi in his body. he wasn¡¯t great at coming up with names and he simply based them off his advancement medicine, the four seasons samsara wine. in the end, he named his secret art the four seasons samsara art. after breaking through, he basically completed the deduction and use of his secret art, and now, he was merely refining it to be better than before. originally, shang xia felt that he would need to use at least 3 years to fully refine his four seasons samara art. only then would he be able to produce four constellation qi with maximum efficiency. 3 years might seem long, but that wasn¡¯t the case at all! cultivators at the same level would probably feel their jaws dropping to the ground if they heard that shang xia could accomplish such a feat in 3 short years. the creation and refinement of even the lowest type of secret art in the azure origin world would probably require dozens of years! in fact, it would take them dozens of years to come up with the new secret art and dozens more years to refine and polish the method before creating a complete inheritance! if they wanted to create higher-leveled secret arts for those in the martial intent realm, martial extermination realm, or even martial dipper realm, dozens of years didn¡¯t even begin to describe the unit of time required for them to create and refine such a secret art. they could even take generations before the inheritance was complete! the reason shang xia was confident he could do it in such a short amount of time was because of the slight understanding he had of the four constellation realm in his previous life. the help of the crimson soul tablet couldn¡¯t be ignored either. it produced a complete advancement formula, saving shang xia a lot of precious time. it allowed shang xia to gain an initial direction of development, unlike cultivators who had to feel their way about not knowing whether they were correct or not. the only thing shang xia had to do was to barge down the path that had been given to him by the crimson soul tablet. he might have to refine his method while barreling down the path, but it was better than nothing. during the process, he could come up with a way such that other people could follow in his footsteps. after entering a deep state of cultivation, shang xia felt his inner qi flowing much smoother than before. any obstacles he came across were quickly dealt with. the second he discovered his inner qi not flowing as he desired, he would be able to discover the problem. circulating his inner qi through his body, there were bound to be forks in the path it could take. even then, shang xia was able to accurately choose the correct path to take. a miraculous feeling overwhelmed shang xia and every single decision he made seemed correct. reality also proved that he was correct. when he started cultivating previously, he would take close to 10 hours to fully complete one cycle of inner qi circulation. it eventually went down to 8 hours or so, showing signs of improvement. every few days or so, he would become a little more familiar with the process, shortening the time taken by half an hour or so. now, he barely used 2 hours to complete a third of his inner qi cycle! at this rate, shang xia felt that as long as he had enough dao comprehension incense, he was fully confident of completing one full cycle in 6 short hours! it seemed as though his time spent in seclusion was much more effective than all the time he used in the past! one had to know that the refinement process of one¡¯s secret art would become more difficult near the end. it was even more terrifying if one were to understand that shang xia¡¯s speed of comprehension before was a lot faster than it would ordinarily be. because of his accumulation during the various battles he took part in ever since he stepped into the taihang mountains, he managed to refine his secret art at a frightening speed. however, it was even faster after he lit the dao comprehension incense! unfortunately, the stick of incense couldn¡¯t burn forever. after 2 hours, the effects disappeared. shang xia was forcefully torn out from the miraculous state, and the speed of his inner qi circulation returned to normal. even though it was still faster than it had been, the speed of his improvement was no longer as quick as before. when he ran into obstacles when circulating his inner qi, shang xia could no longer act like before. he had to carefully scout out the correct path before allowing his inner qi to flow through his body. when he finally completed the cycle, 7 hours had passed. however, shang xia didn¡¯t choose to awaken immediately. instead, he took the chance to deepen his cultivation and he only opened his eyes 3 days later. the moment he did, the world seemed a little clearer than before. the effects of his seclusion this time could be compared to the past half a month or so! not only did he manage to greatly improve his secret art, his injuries also recovered at a frightening rate. he was much better than before and his previous estimate of 3 to 5 months would have to be scrapped! he had been stuck in his cave for slightly more than a month since he first arrived, but more than half his injuries were already gone! CH 489 even though the dao comprehension incense only lasted for 2 hours, shang xia understood how overpowered its effects were. moreover, that was only a single stick of incense. having experienced the effects of the incense, shang xia knew that the incense was probably also an extremely rare treasure among the abyssal sect¡¯s collection. ¡­ two months had passed since shang xia started his recuperation in the deserted mountain ridge. the 845th year of the divine martial calendar had already passed and spring of the 846th year had already arrived. shang xia was completing his cultivation in his cave dwelling as four spheres of light condensed from his four extermination origins spun around him. with every breath he took, a trace of extermination qi would be refined. back on the yuxi peak, shang xia completed his initial refinement of each extermination origin after ingesting his four seasons samsara wine. that was how he successfully entered the four constellation realm and because he lacked suitable rank four martial arts, he was unable to continue the refinement process. after all, forcefully trying to refine his extermination origins would only cause him to waste his efforts and wear down his actual foundations. now that his four seasons samsara art was slightly more complete, shang xia realized that he could use it during his cultivation while also greatly hastening the speed of his recovery. there might be some chill left in the air, but signs of life were starting to emerge now that winter was over. the arrival of spring wasn¡¯t something that could be prevented. back then, he estimated that he would need 3 months worth of time to recover. only two months had passed and he managed to restore himself to 80 percent of his peak state. even though it was a little lacking, it would have to do. he might reopen his old injuries if he had to use more than 80 percent of his capabilities, but shang xia felt that it was enough for him to do what he had to. after all, he didn¡¯t wish to remain in his cave dwelling any longer. he didn¡¯t know anything that was happening in the outside world, and he desperately wanted to. he needed to learn about what happened in the cloud water gorge after he had left and he wanted to know the current situation in the tongyou institution. those weren¡¯t all. there was a question burning with even greater intensity in his mind and it was shang pei¡¯s whereabouts. now that he was confident he would be able to fight anyone if it came down to it, shang xia chose to leave the mountain ridge he had sought refuge in. drawing the auspicious cloud cape around him, he soared into the air and disappeared into the dense clouds above. ¡­ after leaving the cloud water gorge with the members of the youyan stronghold, shang pei separated from fifth uncle cen and the others and tried to return to assist shang xia. however, a huge explosion filled the skies and inheritance light balls came flying everywhere. one of them landed near shang pei and she managed to get her hands on it very quickly. unfortunately, there were other martial extermination realm experts in her surroundings. because of the treasure, a huge battle broke out between them. shang pei managed to hold on to the inheritance light ball eventually and the two of them went their separate ways. soon after, the huge battle broke out in the air above. when shang pei made up her mind to risk it all and join them, the martial dipper realm ancestors from the divine capital sect and zhongxuan gate arrived. with their arrival, shang pei didn¡¯t dare to act recklessly anymore. just as she was thinking about her next course of action, ji wenlong and kou chongxue appeared. with the 2 of them present, shang pei knew that joining in would only drag them down. it didn¡¯t matter if she was a part of the battle anymore. the battle quickly unfolded. the 3 deers of the ji continent worked together with feng yezi to fight kou chongxue and ji wenlong. a great half of the cloud water gorge was destroyed by the shockwaves generated from their battle. read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" however, things took an unexpected turn as feng yezi managed to gain an opportunity to leave the battle. he shamelessly appeared to attack shang xia, a junior in the martial extermination realm, before fucking up really badly and allowing shang xia to escape. the chaos didn¡¯t last for too long after that. kou chongxue and ji wenlong brought up their intentions to end the battle and all the martial dipper realm experts grabbed whatever loot they could get their hands on before leaving in disappointment. when they arrived, they thought that they would be able to gain the largest piece of the pie. reality proved them wrong. things took a huge turn for shang pei soon after that. after the martial dipper realm experts left, the martial extermination realm experts of the other factions noticed her snooping around at the edge of the cloud water gorge. someone revealed that she was related to shang xia and a group quickly gathered together to hunt her down. there were 2 factions who made up the group. one of them was from the zhang family of the ji continent and the other was from the bing continent. it was understandable that the zhang family held a grudge against shang xia after what he did to them while passing through the ji continent. shang pei learned of the matter when shang xia first met her, but she couldn¡¯t understand why ye yifan, the harmonious river master, was after her. she didn¡¯t understand what grudges she had formed with the experts of the bing continent. she racked her brains trying to think of a reason why ye yifan was after her, but from what she could remember, his name appeared in the reports on the war of the tongyou mysterious world. he appeared with yu hanglong to take advantage of the tongyou institution back then. however, both shang xia and shang pei were in the changfeng city during the war. they shouldn¡¯t have crossed paths with the harmonious river master. she wondered if shang xia managed to piss the guy off when he entered the abyssal secret region previously. in the 2 months that shang xia used to recover, shang pei had been chased through the sixth pass by a martial extermination realm expert from the zhang family and ye yifan. no matter how dire the situation was, shang pei was unwilling to leave the sixth pass as she was on the lookout for shang xia¡¯s whereabouts. she might be running away from the two of them, but she managed to gain a good understanding of what happened during the huge war that broke out over the abyssal secret region back then. after learning that shang xia had gotten his hands on the broken divine weapon, she felt a sense of relief washing over her. however, that feeling was short-lived. after she heard that he had been attacked by a martial dipper realm expert and had barely escaped while holding on to his last breath, shang pei knew that he was probably hiding somewhere to recover. from what she deduced, he definitely suffered a huge blow to his foundations and he would need some time to heal. anyone with half a brain would understand that shang xia was in an extremely feeble state right now. the moment he was found, his fate would be sealed. that was also the reason shang pei remained in the sixth pass. she wanted to locate shang xia before anyone else and escort him away from the taihang mountains. she might not be a match for the 2 martial extermination realm experts on her tail, but she was much more familiar with the layout of the sixth pass than the two of them. she made use of her connections well to avoid running into the two of them. even so, they didn¡¯t seem like they were giving up any time soon. one day, after exchanging some blows with ye yifan, shang pei took the chance to push him away and escape into the depths of the sixth pass before the expert from the zhang family arrived. there were 2 other times when ye yifan managed to join hands with the martial extermination realm expert from the zhang family. when that happened, shang pei barely managed to escape from their relentless assault. at the crucial moment, shang pei ran into the territory controlled by the five peaks alliance. with their protection, she finally managed to escape from the two of them. ye yifan and zhang luofei might be extremely annoyed that they were forced to retreat, but the five peaks alliance was nothing to scoff at. they held a huge amount of power and they were currently in their peak state. ye yifan and zhang luofei might not be afraid of the five peaks alliance, but they couldn¡¯t do a thing to the other party either. luckily for them, shang pei still remained in the sixth pass and the two of them eventually caught her tracks again. after such a long game of cat and mouse, zhang luofei and ye yifan could basically deduce that shang pei had lost contact with shang xia. from how she wasn¡¯t willing to leave the sixth pass, they could also tell that shang xia was most likely somewhere in the region. contacting the power that supported them, they arranged for more people to enter the sixth pass to look for shang xia. even though they might offend kou chongxue, they chose to take the risk as the allure of the abyssal blade was too strong! moreover, it was ordinary for people to die out there in the barren mountain ridges or valleys of the taihang mountains. even if they killed shang xia and took his weapon, no one would be able to pin the blame on them! what they didn¡¯t know was that shang pei was merely guessing that shang xia was still somewhere in the sixth pass. she had no idea where he was! they might not know where the other party was, but both of them actually had transmission talismans they could use to contact each other. despite having a way to talk to the other party, shang pei was an experienced cultivator. no matter how anxious she was, she knew that using the transmission talisman to locate shang xia would only bring him trouble. she could only wait for him to contact her on his own accord. with that thought in mind, shang pei ran around the sixth pass for two months. unfortunately, she didn¡¯t receive a transmission from him. she was starting to suspect that shang xia had forgotten about her and returned to the you continent without saying a word. of course, there was always the possibility of something worse happening¡­ shang pei wondered if there was a need for her to continue staying in the sixth pass. ¡­ when she crossed the territory of the five peaks alliance, shang pei¡¯s journey wasn¡¯t as smooth as before. she was stopped by yin wanxiang along her way. ¡°yin cave¡­ no. i should call you alliance leader yin!¡± shang pei stared at yin wanxiang and she sounded extremely polite. after all, they saved her from ye yifan and zhang luofei back then. yin wanxiang¡¯s aura was a lot different than it was 2 months ago. at the moment, he exuded an air of majesty. even though he was a little short, shang pei felt a sense of oppression coming from the alliance leader. restraining her shock, shang pei quickly addressed yin wanxiang. ¡°congratulations, alliance leader yin, for advancing in your cultivation once again. looks like it won¡¯t be long before a martial dipper realm expert is born in the alliance.¡± yin wanxiang¡¯s face twitched slightly before a smile started to form. he spoke slowly, ¡°looks like my control over my extermination origins hasn¡¯t reached an acceptable standard. lady hai managed to see through my cultivation instantly.¡± yin wanxiang could basically confirm that shang pei came from the shang clan of the you continent after everything he had experienced. he also knew that she had some sort of special connection to the tongyou institution. however, he still didn¡¯t know her actual name and her true relationship with shang xia. as such, he still retained his old way of addressing her as youyan chief. of course, there were times when he would also call her ¡®lady hai¡¯.¡± shang pei stared at yin wanxiang and understood that he definitely managed to obtain an opportunity from the inheritance the abyssal sect left behind. even though there was a trace of envy in her heart, she started to raise her guard. no matter what, she was facing a fourth layer martial extermination realm expert! composing herself, shang pei muttered, ¡°i have to thank alliance leader yin for the assistance back then. although, i don¡¯t know why you¡¯re stopping me here today¡­¡± chuckling softly, yin wanxiang explained, ¡°lady hai, are you interested in setting up your own faction in the sixth pass?¡± CH 490 ¡°lady hai, are you interested in setting up your own faction in the sixth pass?¡± shang pei stared at yin wanxiang in shock after hearing his invitation. ¡°alliance leader yin, are you joking? if i truly establish my power and join the alliance, wouldn¡¯t you guys have to change the name of your alliance to the six peaks alliance?¡± shang pei seemed a little dumbstruck by his suggestion. yin wanxiang stared at her with an incomparably serious look on his face. ¡°the six peaks alliance doesn¡¯t sound that bad. if you can join us, we¡¯ll become a lot stronger than before. seeing that yin wanxiang wasn¡¯t joking, shang pei started to turn serious. ¡°alliance leader yin, i believe you should know that i am related to the powers of the you continent, right?¡± yin wanxiang continued indifferently, ¡°so what about it? we¡¯re not in conflict with the you continent. moreover, i believe that your identity hasn¡¯t been revealed by anyone.¡± hearing what he said, shang pei finally understood that yin wanxiang was actually sincere in his invitation. his invitation for her to enter the five peaks alliance was definitely genuine, but she felt that he was probably using her as a way to form some sort of relationship with the tongyou institution. after thinking for some time, shang pei replied. ¡°establishing a power here and joining the five peaks alliance isn¡¯t a small matter. alliance leader yin, please give me some time to think about it.¡± nodding slightly, yin wanxiang muttered, ¡°of course. today, our five peaks alliance has already extended our control to more than 100 mountain peaks. lady hai, feel free to seek refuge in any one of them. i believe those outsiders won¡¯t be gutsy enough to force their way into our territory.¡± ¡°alliance leader yin, i am grateful for your kindness. however, i believe that you can guess my intentions for staying in the sixth pass. i am still looking for someone and i¡¯ve bothered you enough. i don¡¯t think i should remain here and cause more trouble for your five peaks alliance¡­¡± shang pei rejected his goodwill nonetheless. after she spoke, she cupped her fists towards yin wanxiang before turning to leave. seemingly having thought of something, she turned back to yin wanxiang and asked, ¡°i would like to extend my thanks to your five peaks alliance for the help and protection all this while. regardless of whether i form my own faction in the sixth pass or not, i will definitely repay the favor in the future!¡± a smile appeared on yin wanxiang¡¯s face. before she could turn around again, yin wanxiang started to speak. ¡°since that¡¯s the case, i¡¯ll tell you something that might help you a little. even though it hadn¡¯t been verified, there were rumors going around that ye yifan, the harmonious river master, is a nominal disciple of the martial dipper realm expert, feng yezi. ancestor feng yezi has never admitted their master-disciple relationship to the world, but¡­¡± a look of understanding appeared on shang pei¡¯s face all of a sudden and a layer of fog seemed to lift before her eyes. chuckling softly, she mentioned, ¡°alliance leader yin, you have great information sources alright. you even managed to find out something like that. i truly admire your sources!¡± ¡°with the chaotic situation all around us, having good intelligence is the key to survival. lady hai, i had to do what i had to to survive. i must have embarrassed myself¡­¡± yin wanxiang sighed. falling into silence, yin wanxiang no longer said anything else as shang pei turned to leave. no one knew what he was thinking about. sometime after shang pei left, a figure appeared behind yin wanxiang and asked, ¡°brother wanxiang, are you just going to let her leave?¡± ¡°brother fang, what do you mean?¡± yin wanxiang asked without turning his head. staying quiet for a little while, fang ruhai eventually spoke up. ¡°she should be looking for young master shang xia from the shang clan of the you continent, right?¡± a frown appeared on yin wanxiang¡¯s face and he muttered, ¡°brother fang, we¡¯re on the same boat now. we¡¯ll prosper and suffer together. there¡¯s no need to hide anything from each other. just speak your mind.¡± despite being hurried by yin wanxiang, fang ruhai continued to remain silent. however, yin wanxiang was in no rush as he silently awaited fang ruhai to continue talking. finally unable to keep it in, fang ruhai growled, ¡°brother wanxiang, aren¡¯t you thinking of using her to locate young master shang so you can obtain his abyssal blade?!¡± turning to stare at fang ruhai, yin wanxiang snapped, ¡°brother fang, why would you think of something like that?!¡± ¡°am i wrong? don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re really trying to make our five peaks alliance into the six peaks alliance.¡± fang ruhai grumbled unwillingly. ¡°why not?¡± yin wanxiang returned his question with one of his own. he paused for a second before speaking seriously. ¡°the abyssal blade isn¡¯t something you or i can covet. i hope brother fang can give up on whatever scheme you¡¯re thinking of in case you drag all of us into another disaster.¡± ¡°what¡¯s the problem?! shang xia barely entered the martial extermination realm. even if he has a divine weapon, why can¡¯t we force him to give it up?¡± waiting a little, fang ruhai continued, ¡°brother wanxiang, you have already refined your fourth extermination origin. with the inheritance of the abyssal sect, all of us experienced a huge increase in strength. even the great families of the ji continent aren¡¯t necessarily stronger than us. why can¡¯t we covet a divine weapon for ourselves?! what¡¯s more, it¡¯s just a damaged one!¡± yin wanxiang glared at fang ruhai and his tone turned cold. ¡°if kou chongxue is supporting you silently, there¡¯s no need to mention a damaged divine weapon. you can swing about 2 divine weapons and everyone can only be envious of you.¡± thinking he understood what yin wanxiang meant, fang ruhai continued, ¡°brother wanxiang, do you mean that our five peaks alliance can¡¯t possess a divine weapon because we lack a martial dipper realm expert? brother wanxiang, you cannot forget. shang xia has a piece of origin dipper on him! are you really willing to give up on a chance like that?¡± find the original at "pawread dot com". yin wanxiang¡¯s calm expression finally fluctuated slightly. however, he released a huge sigh eventually. ¡°brother fang, you don¡¯t understand anything! listen to my advice. do not get yourself involved in this matter. otherwise, even if we use the entirety of the power our five peaks alliance possesses, we won¡¯t be able to save you.¡± maybe it was because of how serious yin wanxiang was, fang ruhai finally fell silent. ¡°then why did you choose the tongyou institution?¡± another voice came from the side. turning to stare in the direction of the voice, yin wanxiang raised a single eyebrow in surprise. he was greeted with the sight of jiang weiyun stepping out from the void. ¡°what about it?¡± yin wanxiang asked. chuckling softly, jiang weiyun explained, ¡°brother wanxiang, you seem like you¡¯re planning to befriend the tongyou institution. our five peaks alliance might have established ourselves and we can exert our dominance over various powers, but we haven''t found a suitable backer. with our current strength, won¡¯t it be better for us to lean towards the divine capital sect, white deer sect, or zhongxuan gate? aren¡¯t those better choices than the tongyou institution? why are we choosing a power so far away? moreover, what¡¯s the point of showing our goodwill to kou chongxue? from what we saw, neither the divine capital sect or the zhongxuan gate likes him. he even directly offended the white deer sect and the conflict between them doesn''t seem to be resolving itself anytime soon. if we choose to befriend the tongyou institution, they won¡¯t be very happy with us either.¡± shooting jiang weiyun a deep stare, a light sigh eventually left yin wanxiang¡¯s lips. ¡°brother jiang, brother fang, it¡¯s easier to add flowers to a brocade than it is to provide help in someone''s hour of need. we should try to show our goodwill to the tongyou institution and help them precisely because they seem to be in a bad situation. our help will seem a lot more precious then. what¡¯s more, the reason we established the five peaks alliance is so that we can control our fate. the sixth pass of our taihang mountains is currently a battlefield where those powers you mentioned are using to fight against each other. if we choose to stand with any one of them, we¡¯ll be essentially declaring war on the rest!¡± ¡°brother wanxiang, do you mean¡­ do you mean that we¡¯re holding off helping those fighting in the region because they¡¯re not offering us enough benefits?¡± jiang weiyun gasped. ¡°something like that.¡± yin wanxiang regained his composure before replying. having understood his intentions, jiang weiyun and fang ruhai turned to leave. looking at their leaving figures, yin wanxiang sighed to himself, ¡°it¡¯s difficult to make strategic decisions with such far-reaching consequences¡­ this is truly a heavy burden we have to bear¡­¡± ¡­ after leaving the territory of the five peaks alliance, shang pei found a secluded land to recover her inner qi. she had been hunted down for a long time and she was exhausted both physically and mentally. she needed some time to recover, but she didn¡¯t know how long she had before ye yifan and zhang luofei caught up. it didn¡¯t take long before a disturbance appeared. she couldn¡¯t help but stop circulating her inner qi. luckily, it wasn¡¯t because of zhang luofei or ye yifan. she felt a piece of talisman trembling in her sleeves and a trace of light quickly enveloped it. with a look of excitement on her face, she rose into the air once again as she extended her divine perception as far as she could. it didn¡¯t take too long for her to discover something. sparing through the air, she saw a ray of light flying at her. she reached out to grab it and the ray of light turned into a transmission talisman that lay quietly in her hand. she skimmed its contents and saw several secret codes that she had mentioned to shang xia before. for the first time in 2 months, shang pei placed down the worries in her heart. unfortunately, the feeling of respite didn¡¯t last long. because she was looking for the talisman, she released her divine perception without inhibition. she didn¡¯t try hiding her presence at all and it was easy for anyone tens of miles away to discover her existence. she understood the situation she was in because of her outburst earlier and quickly restrained her divine perception. she knew she had to leave her current location as soon as possible. as she made her way away, the look of worry that had been stuck on her face for the past 2 months was gone. hurrying in the northern direction, shang pei tried to conceal her presence the best she could. even so, she knew that ye yifan and zhang luofei would be catching up to her soon. she was right. after hundreds of miles of travel, shang pei saw 2 streaks of light flying at her from both her left and right. it wouldn¡¯t take long before they would appear in her path. the situation seemed very different from what shang pei was used to. in the past, one of them would locate her before the other, and they would try to stall her as long as they could while waiting for the other to arrive. this time, it seemed as though they had located her at the same time! could the transmission talisman be fake? however, she quickly tossed the doubt out of her mind. since the secret code in the transmission was correct, there was no way it was fake. whatever the case, the pressing matter was to break through their encirclement. if she failed to do so, the message she received in the transmission symbol earlier would be useless. ¡°lady hai, where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± zhang luofei¡¯s figure tore through the skies in a streak of frosty light. ¡°youyan chief, why are you going north? aren¡¯t you waiting for young master shang xia? i also heard that you received some news of him.¡± ye yifan yelled as soon as he arrived. a river of heaven and earth qi seemed to extend far behind him as he flew through the air. if shang xia were to see him, he would recognize that ye yifan was the martial extermination realm expert in the abyssal secret region who fought with his fists. ¡°hey, you freaks, why the hell are you sticking to me like that? don¡¯t tell me that took a fancy to me!¡± shang pei tactically changed the topic. at the end of the day, she was part of the bandit group that wreaked havoc on the ji continent for so long. her manner of speech was extremely shameless and if they were planning to fight with words, she would be able to come up with so much bullshit that they would question their existence. ¡°heh, why are you guys in such a hurry? even if you¡¯re interested in me, we should be going at it one by one, right? from how anxious you¡¯re acting right now, are you planning to make this into a threesome?!¡± because shang pei had escaped from the two of them countless times before, they were extremely enraged and embarrassed by her actions. that was why they decided to appear together to stop her for good. they thought that victory was at hand and they wanted to use the opportunity of taking down shang pei to establish their prestige in the sixth pass of the taihang mountains. when they just appeared, they spoke extremely loudly to attract as much attention as they could. when martial extermination realm experts used their inner qi to yell, their voices would probably reach hundreds of miles away. who would have thought that shang pei would immediately twist their words and make them seem so shameless? regardless if it was zhang luofei or ye yifan, they came from prestigious backgrounds. when had they ever had to deal with someone who screamed and twisted their words to such a frightening extent? it was too late for regrets as their conversation quickly traveled through the sixth pass. no one knew how many cultivators in the sixth pass heard what they said, but those who could remain in the sixth pass weren¡¯t great people anyway. the juicy conversation among the martial extermination realm experts hit all the right spots and it was quickly spread through the lands. CH 491 shang pei immediately struck the 2 of them speechless with a few short sentences. not willing to engage in conversation with the shameless shang pei, they decided to take action instead. leaping into the air, a huge fist was created from heaven and earth qi as waves of snow appeared to sweep at shang pei. the other expert sent a palm strike through the void, shattering the space beneath shang pei¡¯s feet. a huge pulling force soon followed and it locked shang pei in mid air. they weren¡¯t weak in the slightest and with the 2 of them moving in unison, shang pei knew that a tough battle lay ahead. luckily, she made her preparations. she was extremely experienced when it came to fights. when they appeared earlier, she knew that she would only be able to find a chance to escape if she gave it her all and fought for her life. naturally, ye yifan and zhang luofei wouldn¡¯t let her do as she wished. knowing that they held the upper hand, they were clearly unwilling to fight her head-on and risk her life. all they had to do was to drag the battle out to exhaust her. too bad for them, that was exactly what shang pei wanted. she might be giving it her all to break through the encirclement, but the longer the fight dragged out, the more likely she would be able to find a chance to run. shang pei stabbed her spear under her feet, shattering the pulling force that came was locking her in place. unfortunately for her, her actions also shattered the space around her and the strange force acted upon her from all directions. her body was pulled in every single direction and she failed to stabilize herself. she staggered about in mid air as though she was drunk, but at that moment, zhang luofei¡¯s snowy waves arrived. unable to dodge the snowy waves, she could only counter it head-on. boom! a flurry of snow scattered tens of miles away, covering the region in a blanket of white. at that moment, every single cultivator in the sixth pass who was in the martial intent realm or above, could tell that there was a massive battle going on. the experts of the five peaks alliance were no exceptions. they felt the shockwaves of the battle despite being a little over a hundred miles away and they stared at the skirmish that was going on all five of them had left their territories at that moment and they were gathered together. standing at a safe distance, they continued to observe the situation. ¡°i¡¯m afraid that the youyan chief is in a pretty bad spot this time¡­¡± zhonggu muttered, with his words directed at yin wanxiang. ¡°brother wanxiang, do you think we should make our move? once we save her, she won¡¯t be able to reject our suggestion of joining our alliance.¡± jiang weiyun added. when you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3ibfjkv. ¡°wait¡­ we¡¯ll wait a little more.¡± yin wanxiang started to hesitate all of a sudden as though he was brooding over a huge decision. a frown appeared on zhonggu¡¯s face as he growled, ¡°there¡¯s no need for us to waste any more time. since we chose to save her in the past, we¡¯ll just see things through and save her again! we shouldn¡¯t wait for her to be forced into a desperate situation. our actions will seem intentional then and we¡¯ll look really bad¡­¡± jiang weiyun glanced at zhonggu with a raised eyebrow. he was thinking the exact same thing, but zhonggu beat him to it. the only reason he didn¡¯t back zhonggu up immediately was because both of them hadn¡¯t exactly seen eye to eye since the formation of the five peaks alliance. he didn¡¯t speak out immediately and chose to remain silent now that zhonggu brought up the matter. however, the two of them eventually noticed that something strange was going on with yin wanxiang. the alliance leader had his eyebrows locked tightly together as he muttered to himself. ¡°this doesn¡¯t seem right¡­ why would she be intercepted by both of them at once? something is fishy¡­¡± zhonggu and jiang weiyun looked at each other for a second before jiang weiyun spoke up, ¡°brother wanxiang¡­¡± ¡°i get it!¡± yin wanxiang yelled suddenly. unable to hide his curiosity, zhonggu asked, ¡°what do you mean?¡± with his expression changing slightly, he stared at shang pei, ye yifan, and zhang luofei and muttered, ¡°it¡¯s here!¡± zhonggu and jiang weiyun didn¡¯t understand what he meant, but after a second, they seemed to discover the anomaly. they turned to stare at the void a hundred miles away and a look of shock was left on their faces. ¡­ after slamming into the waves of snow that were thrown her way, shang pei felt her consciousness trembling slightly. the barrier of extermination light around her turned really dim and it seemed to be on the verge of destruction. however, shang pei forcefully endured the blow. even if she had to suffer some internal injuries and would be forced to spit out a mouthful of blood, she chose to eat the attack. after all, that allowed her to prevent ye yifan from striker her for fear of getting caught up in zhang luofei¡¯s attack. during the months they had been hunting her down, they failed to corner her because of her vigilance. as such, they didn¡¯t have many chances to work together. now that they were fighting shang pei, they failed to cooperate well. shang pei understood that the chances of them messing up and getting in each other¡¯s way again would be hard to come by again. at the end of the day, they were seasoned experts in the martial extermination realm. they noticed the problem and with several slight adjustments in the future, they would be able to complement each other¡¯s fighting style. when that happened, shang pei would be hard-pressed to break out of their encirclement. because of that, shang pei didn¡¯t hesitate to take on zhang luofei¡¯s attack even if she knew she had to suffer slightly. blocked by zhang luofei¡¯s waves of snow and frost, ye yifan lost an amazing chance to attack shang pei. however, he wasn¡¯t too discouraged at the moment. glancing at zhang luofei who was wearing an awkward expression, he rushed in another direction to prevent shang pei from escaping while yelling, ¡°youyan chief, you won¡¯t be able to run away!¡± ignoring him, shang pei brandished her spear masterfully and smashed through all the obstruction of snow that was in her way. she seemed like she was about to break through from the encirclement, but ye yifan appeared in her way suddenly. he got ready to release a punch at her the moment she broke through. at the exact same moment shang pei was about to emergy and ye yifan was ready to send a punch her way, a heaven-shaking change occurred. zhang luofei¡¯s snowy waves were based on his zhang clan¡¯s rank four inheritance, the icy jade palm. however, the snow seemed to melt in unison and it turned into water droplets in a single second. realizing that there was no way his technique could be broken so easily and suddenly, zhang luofei retreated hastily. at the same time, he released his divine perception to examine the area around him. even after sweeping through his surroundings 8 to 10 times, he failed to discover what had happened. without the snowy waves to stop her, shang pei easily blew her way through the droplets of water. the instant it happened, ye yifan released his punch with the energy he had been storing up for quite some time. surprisingly, the fist wasn¡¯t aimed at shang pei. instead, he turned around and sent it straight into the void behind him. ¡°huh? you actually found me!¡± shang xia gasped as he was forced out from the void several miles behind ye yifan. he got ready to counter attack. he might sound pretty casual when speaking earlier, but a serious look remained in his eyes. a four colored extermination light spun around in his palm and he slapped at the void in front of him. the moment he slapped out, countless layers of space folded together before slamming into the fist created by ye yifan. with a loud rumble followed by several deep explosions, the space between the newcomer and ye yifan was torn to shreds. in the eyes of low leveled cultivators, the destruction of space at that level would seem as though the world was splitting apart. those spectating the battle miles away might not be weak enough to think that the mere fracturing of space indicated the end of the world, but even so, their expressions changed when they saw what had happened. the river of heaven and earth qi that followed ye yifan¡¯s fist intent was shattered in that instant as it couldn¡¯t advance an inch further. any river that wasn¡¯t flowing was nothing but a mere puddle. ye yifan gained his reputation as the harmonious river master a long time ago because of his rank four martial arts, the racing current monarch fist. he comprehended it on the river banks of the harmonious river after a stroke of inspiration when observing the body of water. he was well known throughout the taihang mountains and the various continents in the surroundings because of the extraordinary power in his attacks. who would have thought that the famous fist intent would be stopped so easily? that wasn¡¯t the worst part. the palm strike that stopped ye yifan¡¯s fist intent didn¡¯t stop there. the energy it contained wasn¡¯t fully exhausted after obstructing ye yifan¡¯s attack. a huge palm condensed in mid air and went straight for the man himself. it connected the next instant and ye yifan was sent flying. ¡­ more than a hundred miles away, the 3 members of the five peaks alliance who had been watching the battle fell silent. a moment later, jiang weiyun finally spoke. ¡°brother wanxiang, how would you have dealt with ye yifan¡¯s fist intent?¡± after thinking for some time, yin wanxiang shook his head and muttered, ¡°if i went all out, i would be able to destroy his fist intent. however, if i want to slap him through the air and send him flying after¡­¡± yin wanxiang couldn¡¯t help but sigh softly as he continued to shake his head. his meaning couldn¡¯t be more obvious. on the other side, zhonggu was still a little doubtful and he muttered, ¡°brother wanxiang, you¡¯re at the fourth layer martial extermination realm. could that kid really be as strong as you?¡± jiang weiyun pressed his lips together and shot zhonggu a dirty stare, chiding him for what he was implying. yin wanxiang, who was standing between the two of them, didn¡¯t really take his words to heart. instead, he started to mutter to himself, ¡°young master shang¡¯s extermination origins seem a little strange¡­¡± despite hearing his words, a trace of disapproval flashed across zhonggu¡¯s face as he didn¡¯t think that shang xia was as strong as they think. ¡­ ¡°shang xia¡­¡± zhang luofei finally noticed shang xia after ye yifan was sent flying. however, he wasn¡¯t too flustered even with shang xia¡¯s appearance. he was a little stronger than ye yifan and he felt that his ability to flee was also a notch higher. now that the situation had turned bad for him, he turned around decisively to flee. back when the two of them joined hands to hunt shang pei down, they did so because of convenience¡¯s sake. there was no way they would risk their life for each other and now that things were going south, zhang luofei decided to run away alone. ye yifan was left to fend for himself. what no one noticed was shang xia¡¯s face turning a little pale after sending out that one strike. zhang luofei didn¡¯t see it, shang pei failed to notice anything off, and neither did yin wanxiang and the others. with shang xia¡¯s appearance, shang pei could finally vent her frustrations. they had been chasing her for the past 2 months relentlessly. now that the tables have turned, shang pei wouldn¡¯t let them run away easily! seeing how zhang luofei wanted to run, shang pei wanted to ignore her injuries to give chase. however, she was quickly stopped by shang xia. ¡°third aunt, we shouldn¡¯t chase a cornered enemy!¡± shang xia¡¯s gentle warning came from behind her. she stopped abruptly after hearing shang xia speak. she could hear the slight trace of weakness hidden within. when she was stuck at a loss of what to do, ye yifan also gathered his thoughts after being slapped. despite the extreme pain he was feeling, he also tried to escape. ¡°are we also going to let this guy escape?¡± shang pei had been holding on forcefully earlier. because of shang xia¡¯s warning earlier, her thoughts cleared up slightly and her desire to battle was quenched slightly. the aura around her also became slightly weaker. ¡°of course we can¡¯t let this guy get away.¡± shang xia¡¯s tone turned chilly all of a sudden and he flicked his sleeves violently. the water droplets that remained in the air due to zhang luofei¡¯s technique earlier were blown away in that instant. without the annoyance in their way, shang xia and shang pei started to give chase. because of his injuries, ye yifan¡¯s speed was severely impacted. he only ran slightly more than 4 miles when he felt water droplets falling on him. a sudden realization dawned on him that those were no ordinary water droplets as his clothes were starting to dot away. the droplets that were falling on him were like little blades. in fact, it was slightly more appropriate to call them tiny strands of blade qi. after tearing through his clothes, they started to cut into his bare body. disregarding his injuries, he quickly released his extermination origins to form a layer of protection around himself. it might have stopped those blade qi from stabbing into him, but his inner qi was also being used up at a rapid rate. several miles away, shang pei stood beside shang xia and stared at the blade qi rain falling on ye yifan. when ye yifan¡¯s inner qi was finally exhausted, the protection he put up disappeared. the blade qi continued to rain down on him and they sliced up his body bit by bit. even his bones and organs weren¡¯t spared as they were cut down to nothingness. a frown appeared on shang pei¡¯s face as she asked, ¡°what did you just do?¡± shrugging his shoulders, shang xia muttered, ¡°it¡¯s a new blade move i created. it¡¯s called ¡®valley rain¡¯.¡± ¡°valley rain? why didn¡¯t i see you swinging your blade when you unleashed the move?¡± shang pei continued to ask. ¡°i did it when i shattered the waves of snow earlier.¡± shang xia replied. shang pei coughed lightly and mentioned, ¡°oh¡­ anyway, your blade move seems a little disgusting¡­¡± ¡°oh? oh yeah. right¡­ it is a little¡­¡± shang xia sighed softly after seeing how the blade qi ate through ye yifan¡¯s entire body. CH 492 after dealing with ye yifan and cleaning up slightly, shang pei and shang pei continued to fly in the northern direction. only after hundreds of miles did they stop. they arrived at an unremarkable looking village. ¡°huh? when did all of you manage to construct a village here?¡± shang xia asked when he saw fifth uncle cen and the others coming out to welcome them. shang pei muttered casually, ¡°a crafty rabbit has three burrows. haven¡¯t you heard of it? it¡¯s just that we haven¡¯t been here for a long time.¡± as they made their way into the village, fifth uncle cen continued, ¡°us eighteen horsemen of the you continent have been messing around in the ji continent for more than ten years. there will be times when members suffer injuries or would have to deal with their personal matters. they could be planning to retire, they could have grown old, they could even have brought their families over to settle down. no matter the case, we need to find a safe place for them. after some time, we managed to gather enough people to form a village. this is one of the many villages we left behind and it happens to be in the sixth pass of the taihang mountains.. after they spoke, they arrived at one of the larger courtyards in the village. ¡°this is third sister¡¯s courtyard. in the past, lady hai min and yuanyuan remained here for quite some time in the past.¡± fifth uncle cen continued to introduce. of course, he was basically talking to shang xia as shang pei didn¡¯t need his explanation. after stepping into the courtyard, a look of reminiscence could be seen on shang pei¡¯s face. entering the main room of the courtyard, shang xia asked, ¡°are the rest of the members of the youyan stronghold alright?¡± ¡°haha, everything was pretty smooth when we made our way over. anyway, the things here are pretty simple and crude. if young master shang needs anything, please let me know. we¡¯ll do our best to prepare them.¡± fifth uncle cen smiled. ¡°i don¡¯t have any¡­¡± before he could complete his sentence, shang xia¡¯s expression changed and he spat out a mouthful of blood. ¡°are you alright?¡± shang pei yelled. she exhausted a lot of inner qi earlier and her countenance wasn¡¯t great, but she wasn¡¯t too heavily injured. seeing shang xia spit out a mouthful of blood came as a shock to her. extending one hand, he stopped the two from panicking and muttered a little powerlessly, ¡°it¡¯s nothing serious, just a mouthful of stale blood. i¡¯m much better after spitting it out. despite what he said, shang pei could vaguely feel that he was still injured and she frowned. ¡°you haven¡¯t fully recovered¡­ earlier, you pushed yourself too hard in the fight and caused your internal injuries to act up again. you held it in all the way and that¡¯s why you¡¯re vomiting blood now¡­¡± ¡°what can i do? there were so many people observing us in the dark. the moment we show any weakness, they¡¯ll be on to us like a pack of ravenous wolves.¡± shang xia wiped away the trace of blood flowing down his face and muttered. shang pei nodded slightly before she continued, ¡°oh yeah. i wanted to ask you earlier, but what was that palm that struck ye yifan? it seems a little too tyrannical. anyone who¡¯s a little less knowledgeable would think that it''s a rank four martial intent.¡± shang xia brought out an intricately carved flash from his sleeves before downing a mouthful of hundred flowers spiritual wine before replying. ¡°i came up with it some time ago by accident. i think¡­ i think i¡¯ll call it the four constellation palm. actually, i was in no state to release a second palm like that earlier.¡± ¡°four constellation palm?¡± shang pei found his naming sense a little weird but she didn¡¯t dig too much into it. she eventually nodded in agreement, ¡°your four constellation palm might be a lot more scary to the other experts compared to your valley rain earlier¡­¡± ¡­ finally settling down in the village, shang xia continued to recover. be it shang xia or shang pei, they needed some time to restore themselves to their peak state. it was especially so for shang xia since he hadn¡¯t fully recovered earlier. not only did he have to recuperate, he was also in the midst of developing his rank four martial arts. luckily, getting over the initial hurdle of creating the outline of his martial art was the hardest. since the time he started to comprehend the four seasons samsara art and came up with his first move, lightning awakening, all he had to do was to progress down the same path while coming up and refining his other moves. shang xia had to admit that the process was extremely complicated. there were endless trials and tests he had to come up with. however, every time he overcame a challenge, he would definitely progress and improve. the process might seem slow, but every single improvement he had gave him a sense of accomplishment. quickly getting addicted to the feeling of improvement, shang xia sank deeper into his engrossment with his comprehension. if not for shang pei who came over to disturb him in the midst of his cultivation, shang xia was seriously capable of hiding in seclusion in the tiny house for the next few years in order to fully complete the refinement of his four seasons samsara art. speaking of which, shang xia quickly discovered that it had been more than 3 months since he first arrived at the village. he had been in seclusion the whole time and it was already the middle of summer when he emerged. he could recall that it was barely spring of the 846th year of the divine martial calendar previously and he couldn¡¯t believe how quickly time flew by. it can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3ibfjkv. in the months that passed, shang xia not only managed to recover fully, he even managed to gain some insights into his cultivation. he also refined a little more of his four seasons extermination origins. shang xia had a sneaking suspicion that he couldn¡¯t confirm the whole time. back in the mountain cave, shang xia used the dao comprehension incense as a test to take a look at its effects. it only lasted 2 short hours, but he had a feeling that the effects were still lingering in his body. at the very least, he felt that his smooth cultivation in the months that passed had something to do with the dao comprehension incense. when he used the incense, he managed to shorten the time it took for him to complete one cycle of inner qi circulation to 7 hours. after that, he continued to shorten the time required. in the 3 months of cultivation in the quiet mountain village, shang xia managed to shorten it once again. despite the thinner heaven and earth qi in his surroundings, he only needed 6 hours to complete a single cycle. every time he shortened the time taken to complete one cycle, it would mean that his cultivation speed had increased slightly. ¡°is something the matter?¡± shang xia knew that unless it was absolutely necessary, shang pei wouldn¡¯t interrupt his cultivation. ¡°news came from the institution. they want you to hurry up and return to the you continent.¡± shang pei hesitated slightly after she spoke and something seemed to be caught in her throat. shang xia didn¡¯t notice the look on shang pei¡¯s face, but he understood the meaning behind her words. ¡°third aunt, are you not planning to return to the you continent with me? is something with the youyan stronghold the matter?¡± taking a deep breath, shang pei eventually explained the situation. ¡°yin wanxiang gathered the martial extermination realm experts of the sixth pass and created the five peaks alliance. he made many invitations for me to join them¡­¡± shang xia heard about how the five peaks alliance helped shang pei when she was hunted down by ye yifan and zhang luofei. he quickly understood her intentions. ¡°you don¡¯t wish to join them, do you? but you feel like you owe them a huge favor¡­¡± shang pei felt relieved that someone had said it for her, and she sighed softly, ¡°i reported the situation to the institution too. however, their intention is for me to remain here and join the five peaks alliance.¡± raising an eyebrow in shock, shang xia gasped, ¡°the institution is actually planning something? the abyssal secret region has already been destroyed¡­ could the institution be optimistic about the existence of the five peaks alliance?¡± ¡°looks like they¡¯re planning for the future. staying with the five peaks alliance might not seem like a great strategic decision since they won¡¯t be of much help in ordinary situations, but they might actually be a key to victory in case something happens¡­¡± shang pei muttered softly but she seemed to be mocking herself. a frown remained on shang xia¡¯s face as he maintained an expression of displeasure. after all, he could tell that shang pei didn¡¯t want to remain in the sixth pass. seeing shang xia¡¯s expression, shang pei eventually sighed and tried to make the situation a little better. ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter much actually. i¡¯ve been getting used to living freely out here. i don¡¯t have to care about many things and i can do whatever i want. if i were to return to the tongyou city, i''d definitely feel a little uncomfortable¡­¡± pausing slightly, shang pei continued, ¡°... besides, how well do you think the tongyou institution is faring at the moment?¡± shang xia nearly gasped in fright as he raised his head to stare at shang pei. ¡°20 years ago, our worlds collided and the battlefield between the two worlds extended to the shu, liang, bing, you, and qing continents. the cultivators of the azure spiritual world managed to invade us from time to time and the evil remnants definitely have a hand in their actions. because of the zhu family¡¯s actions and desire for their ancestor to enter the martial dipper realm, they pushed the destruction of our you continent even further. more than two-thirds of our continent was dragged into the mess. of the 5 continents, we suffered the most.¡± shang xia nodded slightly. he heard about what happened in the past. now that shang pei was bringing it up again, he knew that she had more to say. ¡°in the years that passed, the azure origin world even contemplated giving up our continent altogether before sending experts of the ji and bing continents to take over the battlefront due to the lack of resources and experts in our you continent. if not for kou chongxue messing about in the beyond heavens pavilion all these years and abandoning the proper etiquette a martial dipper realm expert should have, our you continent would have been taken over a long time ago. because of his actions, everyone had to reconsider the consequences of their actions.¡± shang pei explained. shang xia felt his heart thumping after hearing the explanation. ¡°is this why patriarch kou was injured in the beyond heavens pavilion? is the situation so bad that the institution would even choose to work together with the four great races of the liao continent in the azure spiritual world that they had been at loggerheads with for the past 20 years? they even managed to borrow the lingxuan space shattering claw!¡± shang pei nodded. ¡°even i couldn¡¯t believe that ji wenlong managed to get his hands on the lingxuan space shattering claw. there has to be more than meets the eye, but one thing is for sure. he definitely owed a lot of favors in order to get his hands on that weapon.¡± ¡°what is the reason behind the azure origin world wanting to forsake the you continent anyway? did patriarch kou offend so many people out there?¡± shang xia wondered out loud. shaking her head, shang pei muttered, ¡°how would someone like me who spent all her time outside the continent know? the only thing i can think of that is most likely the case is the distribution of world origin. that might be something that directly affects the number of martial dipper realm experts in each continent¡­¡± ¡­ they two of them spoke for quite some time after, and they even managed to exchange the fruits of their secluded cultivation. eventually, shang xia learned the other reason shang pei had to join the five peaks alliance. ¡°so¡­ you haven¡¯t completely refined your second extermination origin and you wish to join the five peaks alliance so you can get access to return to the cloud water gorge? are you planning to continue absorbing the extermination qi there?¡± shang xia asked. ¡°yup.¡± shang pei exhaled a long breath and admitted. a frown appeared on shang xia¡¯s face and he thought out loud, ¡°the cloud water gorge was mostly destroyed because of the battle between martial dipper realm experts. most of the extermination qi there has scattered. where are you going to gather enough to complete your second extermination origin? isn¡¯t there another way?¡± shang pei was equally as helpless as she sighed, ¡°let¡¯s call my second extermination origin the abyssal mist extermination origin¡­ it¡¯s hard to find to begin with, and i might not be able to find it in other locations. even if i could, i would need to use a lot of effort to scour through the lands for somewhere with the same type of extermination qi. the cloud water gorge might be damaged, but i passed it a few times in the past. i could feel the presence of some extermination qi. i just need a little time to gather enough¡­ after all, it¡¯s better than nothing!¡± ¡°this¡­ how long will it take?¡± shang xia asked. he knew that shang pei used the past two years or so to refine her extermination origin. she might have made great progress, but with the state of the cloud water gorge, her progress was sure to be greatly affected. shang pei wasn¡¯t sure at all. ¡°this¡­ i have no idea. if it¡¯s quick, i might be able to finish it in 5 to 7 years. otherwise, i might need ten years¡­¡± there was something else shang pei didn¡¯t mention. she could tell that the extermination qi was slowly dissipating from the damaged cloud water gorge and even if she remained there for 10 years, she might not be able to collect all the extermination qi she required. in ordinary circumstances, a martial extermination realm expert would need 3 to 5 years to gather enough extermination qi to obtain a single strand of extermination origin. of course, that only applied to those who had already found a source of extermination qi. for the others, they would be actively looking out for a source of extermination qi. in shang pei¡¯s case, she managed to complete a greater part of her refinement when the cloud water gorge was greatly damaged. all her efforts were basically wasted as gathering extermination qi was much more difficult than before. her morale definitely took a great hit now that she was practically at an impasse. ¡°if only i had some way to gather the extermination qi from the fog quickly¡­¡± shang pei muttered. shang xia¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard what she said. he seemed to have recalled something and he took out the pearl that was filled with mist. ¡°what about this?¡± ¡°what is that?¡± shang pei turned to look at the item in his hand, but she quickly discovered its uses. a look of joy flashed across her face and she yelled, ¡°where did you get that?¡± understanding that he might have a solution to her problems, shang xia started to talk about how he obtained the pearl and the dao comprehension incense. ¡°dao comprehension incense?¡± shang pei sank into contemplation. ¡°i seem to have heard of it before. i heard that it¡¯s an extremely precious and rare treasure. however, this pearl seems a lot more important than the incense to me right now.¡± ¡°is it really useful?¡± shang xia asked. a look of satisfaction appeared on shang pei¡¯s face and she muttered, ¡°i should be able to locate the remnant fog in the cloud water gorge with this pearl. if everything goes smoothly, i should be able to complete the refinement of my second extermination origin in half a year! when that happens, i¡¯ll break through and enter the second layer martial extermination realm. what¡¯s more, this pearl not only possesses the ability to create a sea of fog. it¡¯s something the abyssal sect used to gather extermination qi from different types of extermination mists!¡± heaving a sigh of relief, shang xia spoke. ¡°it¡¯s great that it would be of use to you. however, it looks like you will still have to enter the five peaks alliance¡­¡± chuckling in amusement, shang pei didn¡¯t seem to care too much. instead, she brought up another matter. ¡°actually, i also managed to obtain one of those inheritance light balls from the abyssal secret region. the treasure contained within should be useful for you!¡± after she spoke, she handed over a jade plate the size of a palm. holding the plate, shang xia stared at it in slight confusion. he had no idea what he was looking at. ¡°you need to use your extermination origins to activate it. only then will you be able to see its contents.¡± shang pei laughed at the side. sending a trace of his four seasons extermination origins into the plate, shang xia felt that it was reacting slightly. a ray of four colored light emerged on its surface and formed rows upon rows of words. the process of the words appearing on the jade plate was mighty similar to how a talisman would be created. ¡°abyssal emptiness talisman!¡± shang xia gasped in shock. ¡°this¡­ this is a complete set of talisman inheritance!¡± ¡°when i read its contents, i was extremely shocked by how well-recorded it was! you can call this an inheritance for the abyssal emptiness talisman, but it seems to be an entire set of talismans that lead up its creation! it starts from the rank one abyssal assistive wind talisman, followed by the rank two abyssal wind assimilation talisman. the rank three abyssal qi resistance talisman comes next. there¡¯s the rank four abyssal void shattering talisman next. finally, the inheritance for the abyssal emptiness talisman that hasn¡¯t actually been created by the person who left this inheritance behind¡­ this is truly an impressive feat!¡± shang pei mentioned. shang xia continued, ¡°that¡¯s not all. even the types of talisman paper, talisman ink, brush, ink slab, and even the time taken to craft every single talisman in the series had been recorded. every single stroke of the brush has been analyzed along with every stroke started and stopped¡­ the only thing that can beat this is the talisman master holding my hand and guiding me through the entire process!¡± shang pei paused for a second before asking, ¡°when i received this, i didn¡¯t look through it properly because i wasn¡¯t a talisman master. what exactly does the abyssal emptiness talisman do?¡± ¡°let¡¯s start from the bottom. a rank one abyssal assistive wind talisman can allow a cultivator to move a little faster. a rank two wind assimilation talisman not only increases one¡¯s speed, it can also cause a hurricane that attacks their opponent. a rank three abyssal qi resistance talisman has the ability to allow one to soar through the air like a martial extermination realm expert by using wind resistance. as for the rank four abyssal void shattering talisman, it has the ability to shatter the void. one can easily travel through mysterious worlds, holy lands, and even secret regions that exist in a separate space. also, i believe that one can directly tear through the void to arrive at the beyond heavens pavilion if they use the talisman¡­¡± ¡°what about the rank five abyssal emptiness talisman?¡± shang pei asked. after thinking about it for a second, shang xia shook his head and stated as simply as he could, ¡°i don¡¯t know.¡± CH 493 oth shang xia and shang pei left the village one after the other. shang xia went north as he headed for the you continent. shang pei traveled south as she went towards the five peaks alliance. from what she learned, the five peaks alliance was in a pretty precarious situation lately. inheritance treasures had been found one after another in the sixth pass and someone seemed to be spreading rumors that the five peaks alliance had been hiding a lot of treasures from the abyssal secret region. they turned into a huge target in the taihang mountains at the moment. members of the five peaks alliance were starting to feel restless. with the arrival of another martial extermination realm expert to help stabilize the situation, things became a lot better than before. it also served as a warning for those who had malicious intentions towards the five peaks alliance. not too long after shang pei entered the alliance, fifth uncle cen and the others also left the mountain village to join her. they quickly became a core member of the five peaks alliance. before shang xia left for the you continent, he left behind a batch of rank two and three talismans. every one of them managed to get their hands on a few of them to serve as life-saving treasures. with shang xia''s current cultivation and proficiency in the way of talismans, he could create several rank two talismans in a day as long as he had enough resources. in fact, he had the ability to craft a rank three one! of course, the crafting of rank three talismans didn¡¯t involve him cutting off a part of his divine perception. that was where fifth uncle cen and the other martial intent realm cultivators of the youyan stronghold came to use. they would take turns to help him, and they would supply the divine sense required to complete the talisman. in reality, shang xia had a vast and profound divine perception. even if he were to use it to craft rank three talismans, he would be able to complete one of them a day. however, if he did it himself, he would need to rest for a day. that was why it was more efficient to use the divine sense of the members of the youyan stronghold. after crafting the batch of talismans, he basically emptied out the accumulations of shang pei and the rest. all the treasures they had gathered painstakingly after so many years had been used up! after entering the four constellation realm, shang xia didn¡¯t have much time for himself due to the sheer number of events that required his attention. any time he could find for himself was used on crafting rank four talismans! he only managed to craft a single golden sun inferno talisman and one spiritual protection substitution talisman and he didn¡¯t think that he improved too much in the way of talisman crafting. only when he started to craft rank two and three talismans for the members of the youyan stronghold did shang xia understand how much he had actually progressed. he also managed to understand the terrifying aspect of a rank four talisman grandmaster. he was basically a talisman printing machine! ¡­ on his way back to the you continent, nothing special happened. after crossing the border, he didn¡¯t head back to the tongyou city immediately either. instead, he went to hai min¡¯s courtyard in the changfeng city. he chose to stay there for some time, and he only went to visit bu jingshuang on his second day in the city. at the moment, shang xia¡¯s identity was a mere talisman master of the talisman hall. the talisman hall wasn¡¯t exactly a major wing of the tongyou institution as it was governed by the warehouse division. as such, his status in the tongyou institution wasn¡¯t exactly too high up there. he would be comparable to ordinary instructors or high-leveled deacons, but that was it. in fact, instructors seemed to hold a higher status in the institution and were a little more respected than the others. naturally, one would be able to hold multiple posts at once as long as they don''t come into conflict with each other. shang xia could take on a role as an instructor as long as he felt like it. taking chu jia, the rank four formation grandmaster of the formations hall, ma mingzheng, or even ge wangchuan of the medicine hall as an example, all of them held posts as instructors in the institution. it also went without saying that gaining the qualifications to become an instructor was a tall task in the institution. the simplest requirement was to be at the martial intent realm, but there were several more criteria one had to meet. even with the institution increasing their recruitment, the requirements to become an instructor had never changed. obviously, it was difficult for ordinary cultivators to meet those requirements. however, there was no need to mention shang xia. he was not only a martial extermination realm expert, he was also a rank four talisman grandmaster! if shang xia was willing to take on a role as an instructor in the institution, every single teaching division would be fighting to recruit him. that might be the case, but shang xia still wasn¡¯t an instructor of the institution. his position in the institution was actually a little awkward when they thought about it. he was just too young compared to the rest! there wasn¡¯t a need to mention the martial intent realm cultivators in the institution who used to be his seniors. even some martial extermination realm experts would feel awkward when they ran into him. the irregularity caused shang xia to be placed in a very strange spot. he wasn¡¯t considered a lone existence, but there was a feeling of estrangement even if people were treating him politely. that was also one of the reasons shang xia didn¡¯t choose to return immediately. moreover, shang xia had a strange feeling that kou chongxue and the others were up to something after his breakthrough to the four constellation realm back on the yuxi peak. almost every single martial extermination realm expert in the institution, including those from the great families in the tongyou city, had either chosen to remain in seclusion in the battlefield between the two worlds or chose to fight against the experts of the azure spiritual world. either way, they disappeared in the eyes of the public. originally, shang xia thought that kou chongxue¡¯s goal was the abyssal secret region after seeing his appearance the other day. however, after the massive battle in the sixth pass, he discovered that the abyssal secret region was merely something they dealt with in passing. it appeared more like a coincidence than anything else. perhaps, it was something they were using to draw everyone else¡¯s attention away from what they were actually doing! if shang xia returned to the institution at that moment, he was afraid that not many people would be able to give him a proper answer on what was happening. at most, he would be given some half-assed task and be turned into some random tool for the institution. the only exception would be if he managed to meet kou chongxue or ji wenlong. that didn¡¯t seem too possible considering most people in the institution had no idea where either of them were. luckily, shang xia knew that he had another avenue to gain information at the moment. bu jingshuang, the changfeng city lord, was kou chongxue¡¯s sworn brother! aside from kou chongxue and the four deputy patriarchs of the institution, he should be the other person who knew the most about what was going on. bu jingshuang wasn¡¯t surprised by shang xia¡¯s arrival. however, he couldn¡¯t help but suck in a cold breath in admiration of shang xia¡¯s speed of growth. the battle that took place for the abyssal secret region shook the azure origin world since so many martial dipper realm experts took part in it. however, anyone who was paying little attention to the event would learn that other than the martial dipper realm ancestors who appeared, shang xia was actually the star of the show! obtaining the abyssal blade, origin dipper, and revealing his cultivation path where he refined four extermination origins to enter the martial extermination realm. that wasn¡¯t all. he didn¡¯t just escape from a martial dipper realm ancestor¡¯s avatar. he managed to keep his life even when up against feng yezi¡¯s true body! any one of those feats was eye-catching enough, but shang xia managed to accomplish all of them! the moment bu jingshuang saw shang xia, he wasted no time in telling shang xia that he had already entered the sights of every single superpower and super expert of the azure origin world. chuckling bitterly, shang xia muttered, ¡°do you think i should be glad or worried about them?¡± bi jingshuang was too lazy to reply to the youngster. instead, he followed up with another question. ¡°damn brat, why are you looking for me anyway?¡± adjusting his attitude, shang xia became a little more serious and asked, ¡°senior, do you know why the institution has called me back?¡± raising an eyebrow in surprise, bu jingshuang muttered, ¡°haven''t they told you?! ¡­ right¡­ you¡¯re not in the you continent and they probably wouldn¡¯t leave behind too many details since transmission talismans might be intercepted by our enemies.¡± shang xia wasn¡¯t in a rush to continue as he waited patiently for bu jingshuang to resume his explanation. after thinking for some time, bu jingshuang added, ¡°this might be a chance for you to enter the beyond heavens pavilion. you might also be sent to the foreign continent beyond the heavens.¡± shang xia heard about the foreign continent from zhang haogu and he wasn¡¯t exactly shocked to hear about it again from bu jingshuang. thinking for a second, shang xia asked, ¡°is the institution not doing too well in the foreign continent?¡± feeling a little surprised that shang xia managed to grasp the situation so quickly, he nodded, ¡°that¡¯s right. originally, the institution wanted to sneakily split a portion of benefits from the foreign continent without alerting anyone. because of that, we even formed an alliance with the changbai holy land.¡± ¡°what¡¯s going on? did something unexpected happen? did our plans get leaked?¡± shang xia asked. shaking his head, bu jingshuang explained, ¡°no. the members of the changbai holy land were the ones who were exposed! moreover, ji wenlong brought out the lingxuan space shattering claw back during the battle in the cloud water gorge¡­¡± ¡°this¡­ is this why the other powers have a reason to suspect that we sent a portion of our experts into the foreign continent beyond the heavens?¡± shang xia seemed to understand what was going on. bu jingshuang nodded. ¡°actually, the institution is really conflicted on how we should make use of your abilities. a portion of them feels that as a talisman grandmaster, you have no need to join the expedition. they feel that you should remain in a region rich in heaven and earth qi like the beyond heavens pavilion to craft talismans. your talismans would be used in the battle in the foreign continent to help members of the tongyou institution. of course, the others think that you should take part in the expedition and go out there to fight.¡± ¡°so¡­ should i go or not?¡± shang xia chuckled. bu jingshuang also laughed in amusement at shang xia¡¯s question. ¡°that is why they called you back to ask for your opinion. however¡­¡± ¡°mister bu, please enlighten me.¡± shang xia muttered in response. turning serious, bu jingshuang muttered, ¡°no matter your decision, you¡¯re a rank four talisman grandmaster of the institution. i feel that you should make your preparations to contribute. even if you choose to enter the foreign continent eventually, you will need to pass through the beyond heavens pavilion. that is where true experts gather. after all, only the beyond heavens pavilion contains enough resources for experts like us to train.¡± ¡­ when shang xia finally emerged from the city lord manor, he decided to make his way back to the tongyou city after dealing with some small matters. when he was done, he quickly returned to the shang clan manor in the tongyou city. he learned that shang jian had entered seclusion in order to break through to the martial extermination realm, and shang ke was missing on the pretext that he was in seclusion. the person in charge of the clan was shang xi who had returned from the battlefield between the two worlds. when he found her, she discovered that she was talking to shang quan about how they should send a mutated rain swallow with the shang clan¡¯s convoy that was heading to the sixth pass. with the mutated rain swallow¡¯s presence, shang pei would be able to communicate with the shang clan. it can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". looking at the bird they were talking about, shang xia realized that it was one of the 3 other birds yan ni¡¯er had taken care of. back in the battlefield between the two worlds, yan ni¡¯er laid a single egg that had golden runes on it. shang xia found 3 other mutated rain swallow eggs and got yan ni¡¯er to incubate them all. 2 years had passed since then and those young mutated rain swallows had already grown to a rank two spiritual beast after constant care. none of them was weaker than the yan ni¡¯er shang xia ran into the first time he entered the battlefield between the two worlds! their speed was also something no one could complain about. after reaching adulthood, those mutated rain swallows could give a martial extermination realm expert a run for their money! of course, they wouldn¡¯t be able to sustain flight at that speed for long, but a short burst would be enough to get them out of a lot of trouble! shang xia couldn¡¯t help but approach them to ask, ¡°can¡¯t we use transmission talismans to communicate with third aunt?¡± turning around, shang xi muttered, ¡°it wouldn¡¯t be difficult for others to intercept our transmissions if we use talismans. even though we would be writing in code, we would consume too many resources if we use transmission talismans. we would probably need to send 3 or so talismans in order for one of them to arrive safely in her hands.¡± actually, the tongyou institution made arrangements with the shang clan for the 3 ordinary mutated rain swallows after they matured. this was the last mutated rain swallow that hadn¡¯t been sent out, and once it was, the only birds that would remain in the shang clan would be yan ni¡¯er and yan lei! CH 494 ¡°aunt, is our azure origin world lacking in spiritual beasts or something?¡± shang xia asked after shang xi and shang quan¡¯s conversation came to an end. he tossed out a really interesting question, surprising everyone. without raising her head, shang xi asked, ¡°who told you that?¡± ¡°when i was in the thousand leaf mountain range, i couldn¡¯t find many wild beasts, much less spiritual beasts. that¡¯s not all. even in the taihang mountains, i failed to find traces of any spiritual beasts! the only difference between the taihang mountains and the thousand leaf mountain range was that the taihang mountains housed a lot more wild beasts¡­¡± chuckling in amusement, shang xi explained, ¡°did you come to your conclusion after exploring the thousand leaf mountain range and the taihang mountains?¡± grunting once, shang xia continued, ¡°well, there are many spiritual beasts in the battlefield between the two worlds. however, it probably has to do with the environment there. i also noticed some spiritual beasts in the cloud water gorge. that¡¯s also a special region and it might have something to do with the abyssal secret region. other than that¡­¡± shang xi laughed lightly and didn¡¯t say much more. instead, shang quan spoke up at the side, ¡°actually, there are lots of spiritual beasts in our azure origin world. before our worlds collided, they loved populating secluded regions like our you continent. there were even more of them in those mountain ranges. there were so many spiritual beasts that they could rival our human population!¡± speaking of seniority, shang quan did indeed know a lot more than shang xi. ¡°why¡­¡± shang xia paused for a second before he continued, ¡°is this because of the collision of our worlds?¡± shang quan nodded slowly. ¡°that¡¯s right. during the collision, more than two thirds of our you continent was thrown into chaos. those beasts relied on their superior instincts to tell them that a disaster was about to strike and they started to migrate to the south before it happened. because of that, the northern region of our azure origin world experienced large scale beast tides. in the end, not a single spiritual beast remained in the thousand leaf mountain range. a huge number of them even left the taihang mountains!¡± ¡°a huge number of them?¡± shang xia asked. ¡°yeah. more than half of the spiritual beasts left!¡± shang quan continued, ¡°after running to the south, they didn¡¯t return even after the situation calmed down. those that remained in the taihang mountains weren¡¯t a match for the experts who populated the area soon after and were quickly killed. after that, the taihang mountains became populated with scattered cultivators, bandits, and all sorts of cultivators. that was how your third aunt managed to establish herself and find a place to grow the eighteen horsemen of the you continent.¡± ¡°so that¡¯s what happened¡­¡± shang xia muttered to himself. seemingly having thought of something, he followed up, ¡°so, after the beasts ran south, wouldn¡¯t that make the southern region¡­¡± ¡°that is why the continents in the south never had any goodwill for us. even though the collision of our worlds is what caused the beasts to run down south, they quickly found another target to blame¡­ hehe¡­¡± shang xi piped up all of a sudden. ¡°i see!¡± shang xia basically understood what shang xi left unsaid. from the looks of it, when shang ke and shang pei went down south to obtain the herbs he needed, their journey wasn¡¯t as smooth as he had thought. ¡°why are you asking about spiritual beasts anyway?¡± shang xi muttered. pulling out a gray pouch from his sleeves, shang xia pulled out a white bone brush that was close to a feet long. originally, the brush was a high-grade treasure. however, there was a long crack that extended 3 inches along the body of the brush. because of that, the brush could no longer be classified as a high-grade treasure. it was only a mid-grade treasure at best, and the talisman master who used it would have to waste a lot of inner qi during the crafting process because it would leak through the crack. however, neither shang xi nor shang quan could be bothered with the brush at the moment. they stared at the gray pouch that shang xia pulled the brush out from. their eyes widened in fright and they gasped, ¡°spatial¡­ spatial pouch?!¡± shang xia was taken aback by their reaction. ¡°where the hell did you get that?!¡± shang xi asked immediately. ¡°how big is it?¡± shang quan followed up before shang xia could answer shang xi¡¯s question. thinking for a second, shang xia replied, ¡°i asked changfeng city lord bu jingshuang for a favor to make it¡­ it should contain 7 to 8 cubic feet of space.¡± the best spatial pouch out there contained 10 cubic feet of space. as such, the one shang xia was holding was of a pretty high grade. in the tongyou institution, only the deputy patriarchs and above were able to use spatial pouches. even so, most of them were of the lowest grade and could only contain 5 cubic feet of space. after playing around with shang xia¡¯s spatial pouch for some time, shang xi and shang quan were so engrossed in it that shang xia had to wave the brush in his hand about. ¡°aunt xi, uncle quan, i was planning to get ideas from you to see where i can obtain the bones of high-level spiritual beasts. i wish to repair this brush!¡± ¡°oh¡­¡± shang xi spoke casually while flipping the pouch around in her hand, ¡°don¡¯t waste your time on this brush. the talisman hall sent someone down here to tell us that they had obtained a fully intact high-grade brush. the only person who has the qualifications to use it is you, the rank four talisman grandmaster of the institution.¡± ¡°when did they send someone over?¡± shang xia wondered to himself. he could guess that the brush came from one of those inheritance light balls kou chongxue or ji wenlong obtained from the abyssal secret reigon and he continued, ¡°they might say that i can make use of it, but it won¡¯t belong to me at the end of the day.¡± shang xuan continued, ¡°i already kept aside the bones of spiritual beasts for you a long time ago. however, i don¡¯t think your problem can be solved because you have some raw materials. you need a proper craftsman to repair the brush.¡± nodding slightly, shang xia understood what he had to do. ¡°oh yeah, how long are you planning to say this time?¡± shang xi asked all of a sudden. ¡°who knows? i¡¯ll head over to the institution tomorrow to take a look. however, i don¡¯t think i¡¯ll be able to remain here for a long time.¡± shang xia replied before taking out several rare treasures he obtained in the taihang mountains. he handed them all to shang quan. most of the treasures there were obtained from the jingxiu peak. after all, duan liufeng had managed the place for tens of years. he gathered many treasures, and shang xia basically plundered the most precious of them when he tore through the protection barrier previously. the greatest loot he obtained was the batch of hundred flowers spiritual brew and a strand of extermination origin. after handing the lesser treasures to shang quan, shang xia brought out the boulder from the abyssal secret region that was used to hold the abyssal blade and the abyssal emptiness talisman inheritance. he also took out several treasures shang pei had entrusted him to bring back to the clan. they were valuables she had collected in the two or so years during her time in the taihang mountains. looking at shang xia who brought out several embroidered cloud cases, shang xi joked, ¡°what the hell is this?! which great family did you rob to get all of these?¡± shang xia chuckled in response. she wasn¡¯t exactly wrong. actually, he plundered 2 different factions to get his hands on so many treasures. one of them was the jingxiu peak, and the other was the abyssal sect. storing the main boulder in the shang clan treasury, shang xia left a few palm sized pieces for himself to experiment with. he had some ideas about talisman crafting and those small pieces would be enough to test them out. taking out the portion of the abyssal emptiness talisman inheritance that contained the method of crafting talisman ink, he handed it over to shang quan personally. ¡°rank four ink?!¡± shang quan stared at shang xia in shock. even though he could be considered a talisman ink craftsman, shang quan knew that he wasn¡¯t exactly very talented in the field. he barely managed to craft rank three talisman ink because of his cultivation level and position in the shang clan. he had broken through to the martial intent realm some time ago and he could be considered an expert in the you continent. however, he knew how limited his talent was. after entering the martial intent realm and being recognized as a core member of the shang clan, he relied heavily on their support to craft rank three talisman ink. in order to complete his studies in crafting rank three ink, he used nearly 5 portions of resources before he crafted his first batch. without the power of the shang clan, shang quan would never become a rank three talisman ink craftsman! however, shang xia had brought out the recipe for rank four talisman ink before he had even mastered the way to craft rank three ink! ¡°i¡­ i really can¡¯t do this!¡± a troubled look appeared on shang quan¡¯s face as he admitted. shang xia had become a rank four talisman grandmaster, and shang quan thought that his nephew was asking him to craft rank four talisman ink so that he could start crafting talismans. luckily, he was greeted with a bout of laughter from shang xia. ¡°there¡¯s no rush to create the rank four abyssal talisman ink. uncle quan, you can focus on creating rank three abyssal talisman ink for now.¡± heaving a sigh of relief, shang quan suddenly thought of another problem. ¡°do i have to make rank three abyssal talisman ink specifically?¡± previously, shang quan had been racking his brains to study the creation of another type of rank three talisman ink. if he had to start crafting another type, he would waste all his efforts! by the time their conversation got to that point, shang xi had already scanned through the inheritance. she was ready to store the entire inheritance in the shang clan treasury, but she asked, ¡°are you planning to craft the entire series of talismans?¡± shang xia nodded in acknowledgment. ¡°yes, but not really¡­ it¡¯s true that the abyssal talisman ink is extremely suitable for me to craft talismans in the series, but it can also be used for other talismans. of course, if i craft abyssal talismans with abyssal talisman ink, i would be more likely to succeed!¡± shang xi understood the situation, and shang quan could only release a bitter laugh. ¡°i¡¯m just afraid that i will end up wasting your resources¡­¡± shang xi shook the abyssal emptiness talisman inheritance in her hand and muttered, ¡°oh yeah, are you going to give the institution a copy of this?¡± ¡°no matter what, the intuition had their eyes on the abyssal secret region. i have to give them a portion of my gains no matter what, especially an inheritance like this. of course, any treasure i obtained before the appearance of the abyssal secret region, like on the jingxiu peak, has nothing to do with them¡­¡± shang xia muttered. ¡°when are you planning to head over to the institution anyway?¡± shang xi followed up with another question. ¡°should i go over tomorrow?¡± shang xia asked tentatively. ¡°maybe not. you wouldn¡¯t be able to leave easily once you return to the institution. just stay in the clan for several more days. use up all the talisman paper we gathered so far before returning to the institution!¡± shang xi quickly came up with another plan for him. obviously, she wanted to make use of the time when he was still in the shang clan manor to craft as many talismans as he could. ever since shang xia first became a talisman master a long time ago, shang quan had been gathering talisman paper on his behalf. after shang xia became a rank two talisman master, shang quan started nurturing the shang clan¡¯s own talisman paper craftsman. however, shang xia¡¯s speed of improvement was too damn quick. he didn¡¯t take long to become a rank three talisman master. the moment that happened, the shang clan basically poured all their resources into the talisman paper craftsman they were planning to nurture in hopes that he would be of use to shang xia. who would have thought that shang xia¡¯s improvement in the way of talismans wouldn¡¯t slow down in the slightest? it advanced as quickly as his cultivation and before anyone could blink, he had broken through! by the time shang xia crafted his first golden sun inferno talisman and became a rank four talisman grandmaster, the talisman paper craftsman the shang clan was nurturing had barely started making rank two talisman papers! a quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. the shang clan was both elated and helpless at the speed of shang xia¡¯s growth. by the time dawn broke the next day, shang xia managed to give the institution an excuse that he had to rest for a couple of days because of his tiring journey back to the you continent. shang xi took his place and ran to the institution to obtain the high-grade purple bamboo brush! CH 495 the zhu family talisman scripture recorded 3 rank four talismans and the golden sun inferno talisman shang xia crafted previously was part of them. as for the spiritual protection substitution talisman he crafted back in the cloud water gorge, that came from the talisman hall¡¯s collection. with the purple bamboo brush from the institution, shang xia decided to practice a little before testing it out on high-level talismans. who would have thought that the brush would feel amazingly smooth in his hands? after crafting 6 different rank three talismans in a row without making a single mistake, shang xia realized that only 3 short days had passed. taking advantage of the fact that his condition was at its peak, shang xia sealed the courtyard he was in and started crafting rank four talismans. he wasn¡¯t too surprised when he quickly succeeded in crafting a golden sun inferno talisman. of the many rank four talisman inheritance and records shang xia learned, the golden sun inferno talisman was the one he was the most familiar with. he ran through it countless times in his mind when he made it previously and he succeeded in crafting it in the past. he didn¡¯t take long to finish it! theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3ibfjkv. after he was done, shang xia could still feel that his condition hadn¡¯t deteriorated. he quickly threw himself into another round of rank four talisman crafting. it didn¡¯t come as a surprise that he failed on his second attempt. after taking a break of 2 days, shang xia reentered his peak state and managed to craft another golden sun inferno talisman taking another short break, shang xia threw himself into another round of talisman crafting. this time, he started on another type of rank four talisman, the spiritual protection substitution talisman. he succeeded in crafting it back in the cloud water gorge and he was confident he could do it again. by the time he started, shang xia had already used the purple bamboo brush for more than 20 days. the initial rush he had of obtaining a new artifact had disappeared, and the spiritual protection substitution talisman was more difficult to craft than the golden sun inferno talisman, his success rate quickly regressed to his ordinary state. after experiencing two successive failures, shang xia finally completed a spiritual protection substitution talisman with his final piece of rank four talisman paper. that was right¡­ after returning to the shang clan, shang xia discovered that shang xi and shang quan had prepared 6 pieces of rank four talisman paper for him. they used a ton of resources to purchase those talisman papers some time ago, but they only managed to obtain 6 of them. when shang xi received the golden sun inferno talismans and spiritual protection substitution talisman from shang xia along with a batch of rank two and three talismans, she revealed an expression of pure joy. ¡°you managed to craft 3 rank four talismans with 6 pieces of talisman paper¡­ that¡¯s a success rate of 50 percent! you¡¯re really amazing!¡± shang xi couldn¡¯t help but praise. the smile on her face didn¡¯t fade in the slightest. ¡°i was merely lucky this time round. the excitement from using a new high-grade brush and my optimal condition allowed me to hit such a high success rate. if i had to do it again, i might not be able to replicate this feat¡­¡± shang xia admitted. shang xi¡¯s elation faded a little after hearing what he said. ¡°hehe, i even thought that our clan would have struck it big if you managed to craft more than 2 rank four talismans this time. looks like i will have to tone down my expectations a little¡­¡± no one could blame shang xi for how she was acting as though she had never seen rank four talismans before. every single rank four talisman was a trump card that could change the tides of battle when used correctly. for a power like the current shang clan, rank three talismans were basically the highest grade talismans they could bring out. they represented the foundations of the clan, and with rank four talismans, they could finally stand their ground and threaten other factions! those rank four talismans shang xia made currently didn¡¯t seem like much, but one had to understand that every time he used one in the past, it directly changed the outcome of the exchange. bringing over several spirit suppression cases, shang xi placed the rank four talismans into them before keeping them carefully. treasures like that could only be used by martial intent realm experts of the clan, and only then, they were barely qualified to do it. ¡°how many years can these talismans last?¡± shang xi asked after keeping them. thinking for a second, shang xia explained, ¡°if you keep them as they were, they wouldn¡¯t last for more than ten years. the divine intent and extermination qi on the talisman would dissipate eventually. in fact, they should start deteriorating in 3 to 5 years. they would lose their effects completely if kept for longer. even if you use methods like spirit suppression cases to keep them, they should last for 15 years at most.¡± a sigh escaped shang xi¡¯s lips. ¡°the time they can be kept is really too short. do you have any way of extending their lifespan?¡± shang xia thought for some time before giving his reply. ¡°i¡¯ll try to look for a way if i have time. however, it won¡¯t be something i can solve easily. i might think of something¡­¡± after staying in the shang clan for close to a month, shang xia decided not to drag things out any longer and returned to the institution. as soon as he got back, he discovered that the entire palace was much more bustling than before. however, there was a foreign element to it. strolling about the area, he discovered that there were a lot more students than before, but there weren¡¯t many whom he knew. ¡°shang xia!¡± turning around when he heard his name, shang xia saw a young man who was similar to him in age and was surrounded by a group of 14 to 15 year olds. the young man was waving enthusiastically at him. taking several steps in his direction, shang xia chuckled softly, ¡°zhang jianfei? you¡­ have you become a custodian?¡± zhang jianfei laughed in response. ¡°i became a custodian of the fifth outer division. these are my students when i took over the duties of the previous custodian in the latter half of last year. right now, we have too many students, and our original 6 outer teaching divisions have expanded to 12. after speaking to shang xia, zhang jianfei turned to those around him and introduced, ¡°take a good look! he was the chief disciple when i was still a student in the institution. from the outer division to the upper division, he was the strongest disciple. today, he has already become a martial extermination realm expert! he is the true role model you should have in the institution.¡± a portion of the kids around him widened their eyes in shock. most of them had a look of curiosity, worship, and adoration. however, there was also a portion who found themselves unwilling to compare themselves to him and a trace of indignance flashed through their eyes. shang xia couldn¡¯t help but roar with laughter. thinking back, zhang jianfei was also a genius that used to be compared to shang xia. he even fought shang xia for the position of the leader of the outer divisions previously. their relationship wasn¡¯t too great back then. however, 2 to 3 years had passed since then and all the animosity they had for each other remained nothing more than a pleasant memory. shang xia felt a sense of familiarity after seeing zhang jianfei who was from the same batch of students as him. calling for the students around him to cultivate on their own, zhang jianfei finally found some time to speak to shang xia alone. ¡°we haven¡¯t been able to catch you for the past 2 years. however, we have been hearing a lot of legends you created.¡± ¡°haha, were there many students from our batch who managed to remain in the institution?¡± shang xia asked. ¡°yeah!¡± zhang jianfei continued, ¡°in the past years, the tongyou institution had been expanding rapidly. many students chose to stay on as custodians or deacons in the institution. even i managed to fluke my way to become a custodian of the outer division with more than 20 new students in my charge!¡± ¡°hahaha, you¡¯re being too humble. you¡¯re a martial intent realm cultivator and you should be able to get a job as a deacon in the institution. moreover, you were from the protection division. why did you transfer to the teaching division?¡± in shang xia¡¯s memories, the custodians of the outer division were made up of outstanding members in the upper division. most of them were in the martial extremity realm back then. only custodians in the inner and upper divisions would be in the martial intent realm. waving his hand casually, zhang jianfei explained, ¡°that¡¯s in the past. the institution expanded rapidly and everyone improved quickly. the requirements for each post increased accordingly. in order to be a custodian in the outer divisions, one has to be in the martial intent realm.¡± ¡°i see!¡± shang xia was surprised to hear that. zhang jianfei quickly added, ¡°you might be in the talisman hall now, but have you thought of becoming an instructor?¡± ¡°it shouldn¡¯t be easy to become an instructor, right?¡± shang xia raised an eyebrow as he replied. not anyone could become an instructor in the tongyou institution. other than one¡¯s cultivation, one needed to be extremely knowledgeable and accomplished in their field. after all, every instructor would be allocated resources by the institution for their service. that was why instructors held more authority than the deacons of the various divisions. staring at shang xia with a strange look on his face, he muttered, ¡°brother shang, you¡¯re the youngest and only talisman grandmaster in the institution. if you¡¯re not qualified to become an instructor, no one else is!¡± shang xia still shook his head in response, ¡°what students learn are merely the most elementary theories of talismans. instructor fan yuanhui is able to teach them everything they need to know. moreover, he has vast teaching experience and it¡¯s not something i can replicate even with my mastery in the way of talismans.¡± ¡°that¡¯s true¡­¡± zhang jianfei nodded his head in response. he didn¡¯t seem like he was planning to give up easily though. ¡°brother shang, i know that you¡¯re a busy man and you shouldn¡¯t have the time to become an instructor of the institution. why don¡¯t you come over and teach a couple of lessons when you have the time? feel free to teach those kids anything you know. after all, any one of your experiences is more than enough to widen their horizons.¡± no matter what, shang xia was a martial extermination realm expert. anything he taught the students of the outer division would be a valuable lesson. moreover, with his status, shang xia couldn¡¯t possibly come empty-handed. he would have to give out some resources in order to keep the institution¡¯s image in place. zhang jianfei might have said it really nicely, but shang xia saw through his plan with a single glance. however, he could also tell that zhang jianfei really had his students¡¯ interests at heart. realizing that he wouldn¡¯t be able to decline and that helping the institution was his goal anyway, shang xia accepted zhang jianfei¡¯s offer with a smile. he seemed to have thought of something and asked suddenly, ¡°oh right, who¡¯s in charge of the institution right now anyway?¡± staring at shang xia in surprise, zhang jianfei quickly gathered his composure again after recalling that shang xia hadn¡¯t been back for some time. ¡°patriarch kou is the same as before. it¡¯s hard to catch a glimpse of him. deputy patriarch ji has also hidden himself away. deputy patriarchs yun and shang are said to be in closed door cultivation in order to raise their strength and none of us had been able to get a hold of either of them. only deputy patriarch liu is managing the institution at the moment. as custodians, we wouldn¡¯t bother him anyway.¡± shang xia understood the outline of the situation after the short introduction. obviously, deputy patriarch liu referred to liu zhiyuan who inherited the position after liu jitang was slain back in the coral forest several years ago. because of his junior status, he has been cultivating painstakingly in order to live up to his role. after all, his position seemed pretty worthless with his current abilities. even the warehouse division that had been governed by his liu clan in the past had given up some responsibilities to zhang haogu of the scripture depository. now that kou chongxue and the others had placed their attention on the foreign continent beyond the heavens, liu zhiyuan finally found a chance to strengthen his influence in the institution. the only thing that was starting to cause shang xia a headache was what liu zhiyuan was going to do now that he had regained some power. he would definitely solidify the position of the warehouse division, and shang xia¡¯s talisman hall was precisely governed by them. CH 496 the tongyou institution looked bustling on the outside, but in actuality, all the martial extermination realm experts had been secretly sent elsewhere. to the world, the institution declared that their deputy patriarchs were in secluded cultivation while the other martial extermination realm experts remained in the battlefield between the two worlds. those in the battlefield between the two worlds were either there to deal with administrative matters, or they were sent to fight the experts of the azure spiritual world. only a tiny portion was left in the tongyou mysterious world. on the surface, zhang haogu was the person in charge of the institution in the battlefield between the two worlds while liu zhiyuan was handling matters in the azure origin world. since the time the tongyou mysterious world had formed, it had been remodeled. at the moment, it remained in the core region of the tongyou institution and it was the true headquarters of the institution. shang xia¡¯s talisman hall was also somewhere in the core region. bidding zhang jianfei farewell, shang xia headed there immediately. because the situation in the battlefield between the two worlds had stabilized, the talisman masters on the observation peak had returned to the institution. when shang xia arrived in the talisman hall, the entire place broke out into a flurry. fan yuanhui even brought several talismans masters and craftsmen out to welcome him. ¡°mister fan, this¡­ this¡­ you can¡¯t do this! it¡¯s a little too much¡­¡± shang xia jumped in fright when he saw the luxurious lineup. turning his body to the side, he tried to move away. who would have thought that fan yuanhui would turn serious the next second? ¡°talisman master shang, you¡¯re the only talisman grandmaster in our talisman hall. your accomplishments in the way of talismans are truly boundless. as the leading figure, why wouldn¡¯t you accept our greetings?¡± shang xia wanted to say something else, but fan yuanhui saw the awkward look on his face and quickly turned around to gesture to the others, ¡°alright, we have welcomed our talisman grandmaster back to the talisman hall. i believe all of you are busy. please, return to whatever you were doing.¡± after everyone had left, shang xia finally noticed someone standing beside fan yuanhui. as the two of them approached, shang xia turned to fan yuanhui and asked, ¡°mister fan, this is¡­¡± the smile on fan yuanhui¡¯s face faded slightly, but he wasn¡¯t disrespectful as he replied, ¡°i¡¯ll make the introductions. this is talisman master lou zizhang. he¡¯s a new rank three talisman master and he has been sent by deputy patriarch liu zhiyuan to take on the role as the deputy hall master of our talisman hall.¡± after the introductions, lou zizhang cupped his fists towards shang xia and greeted, ¡°i greet talisman grandmaster shang.¡± ¡°there¡¯s no need for such formalities. it¡¯s great that we have another rank three talisman master among us!¡± shang xia waved his hand casually in response. his time in the talisman hall was limited in the first place and it was the first time he was meeting lou zizhang. he might be a little suspicious in his heart, but he still nodded his head politely towards the other party. soon after, he turned to fan yuanhui with a strange smile on his face. ¡°i didn¡¯t know that our talisman hall also had a hall master and a deputy hall master. mister gong hang didn¡¯t tell me about this before either. does this mean that the original hall master of our talisman hall is mister gong?¡± ¡°no. talisman master gong is not the hall master.¡± lou zizhang replied with a smile on his face. staring at him in shock, shang xia turned to look at fan yuanhui. he seemed to understand his knowledge was a little lacking and he asked, ¡°who might the hall master be then? could it be you, mister fan?¡± fan yuanhui forced a smile and shook his hand. ¡°currently there isn¡¯t a candidate suitable to become our hall master. after all, the position of the hall master has to be approved by patriarch kou.¡± lou zizhang interrupted from the side. shang xia instantly understood what was going on and stared at lou zizhang with a look of mockery on his face. ¡°oh? wouldn¡¯t this mean that i would have to listen to your orders, deputy hall master?¡± grinning slightly, lou zizhang wanted to act a little more humbly when shang xia turned to speak to fan yuanhui. ¡°i wonder where mister gong is right now? i haven¡¯t seen him for a long time. is he still stationed in the battlefield between the two worlds?¡± shang xia¡¯s open disregard of lou zizhang caused a trace of gloom to flash across his face. fan yuanhui smiled slightly in response. ¡°even though the battlefield between the two worlds is extremely busy right now, the situation there isn¡¯t as bad as it seems. there is no need for so many talisman masters to stand guard there. he¡¯s currently living in the tongyou mysterious world.¡± ¡°mysterious world?¡± shang xia was surprised, but he quickly understood what was going on. ¡°so does this mean that the mysterious world is about to be fully open?¡± ¡°it already has. however, it won¡¯t be easy for one to get in.¡± fan yuanhui chuckled. the way fan yuanhui and shang xia spoke was too casual, and lou zizhang was feeling extremely annoyed with the difference in treatment. discover the complete story on pawread dot com. he was like an outsider as the two of them conversed, and he couldn¡¯t help but cough lightly to interrupt them, ¡°talisman master shang, may i ask if you have any reason for returning to the talisman hall at this time?¡± a smile slowly appeared on shang xia¡¯s face, and fan yuanhui didn¡¯t wait for shang xia to speak. he replied on shang xia¡¯s behalf. ¡°talisman master lou, you must be kidding. talisman master shang is from our talisman hall all along. why does he need a reason to return?¡± lou zizhang also smiled in response, ¡°brother fan, i think you misunderstood me. i wanted to ask if talisman master shang requires anything from me?¡± ¡°deputy hall master, you¡¯ve already made it clear earlier. i wouldn¡¯t dare to ask you for anything.¡± pausing slightly, shang xia continued, ¡°however, there are two important things i actually need to do. firstly, i managed to borrow the purple bamboo brush from the institution and i won¡¯t need the mid-grade brush anymore. i am here to return it¡­¡± he retrieved the mid-grade brush from his sleeves when he was done speaking. even though he had a spatial pouch, he still carried 2 embroidered cloud cases that were 3 cubic feet large on him. they contained a lot of miscellaneous items within and they also served the purpose of hiding his spatial pouch from the public.¡± lou zizhang¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight of the brush. he quickly reached out to receive the brush. ¡°wait!¡± fan yuanhui stopped lou zizhang quickly and muttered, ¡°talisman master lou, you can¡¯t take it!¡± lou zizhang¡¯s expression sank and he growled with displeasure, ¡°why not?! this brush belongs to our talisman hall in the first place. as the deputy hall master, why can¡¯t i receive it?¡± stepping between shang xia and lou zizhang, fan yuanhui explained, ¡°well, talisman master gong handed this brush to talisman master shang previously. moreover, he has been the one using it all along. as such, talisman master shang should return it to talisman master gong personally. deputy hall master lou shouldn¡¯t bother yourself with this.¡± with his expression turning slightly ashen, lou zizhang growled, ¡°i can pass it to talisman master gong on his behalf!¡± a sneer emerged from fan yuanhui¡¯s lips the next moment. ¡°talisman master lou, you don¡¯t seem qualified to enter the tongyou mysterious world. how are you supposed to give it to talisman master gong?¡± ¡°you¡­¡± a look of shame appeared on lou zizhang¡¯s face and glared daggers at fan yuanhui. it was true that the tongyou mysterious world was open, but not everyone had the qualifications to enter. other than those who had broken through to the martial extermination realm with the help of the tongyou mysterious world in the past, there were only 2 other groups of people who could enter the tongyou mysterious world. one of them was the current martial extermination realm experts of the institution, and the other was the group of experts at the peak of the martial intent realm who had great contributions to the institution. the latter group wasn¡¯t limited to experts in the institution. anyone in the tongyou city who made enough contributions was included! of course, they would only be given a set period to stay in the tongyou mysterious world. it wasn¡¯t that the tongyou institution was stingy, but the tongyou mysterious world required time to recover. they couldn¡¯t possibly allow others to absorb energy with no end. it was also somewhat detrimental for martial intent realm experts to remain in the tongyou mysterious world for a long time. after all, one had to possess extremely strong divine intent before one could continue to comprehend the world origin that exists there. those that remained for too long without strong enough divine intent might be eaten up by the world origin in the tongyou mysterious world instead. lou zizhang might not know how he gained the qualifications to become the deputy hall master of the talisman hall, but he knew that he wasn¡¯t someone from the institution to begin with. he changed his professions sometime ago and because of his abilities to craft talismans, someone recommended him into the talisman hall. moreover, he hadn¡¯t been a rank three talisman master for long. along with his tiny contributions to the institution, he was a perfect example of someone who wasn¡¯t qualified to enter the tongyou mysterious world. that was also the reason he couldn¡¯t establish his prestige as the deputy hall master of the talisman hall. fan yuanhui¡¯s words were like vicious slaps across his face and he nearly exploded in anger. ¡°talisman master fan, talisman master lou!¡± shang xia interrupted when he noticed that things were going awry. ¡°let¡¯s not embarrass ourselves outside the talisman hall!¡± as the situation finally died down slightly shang xia continued, ¡°there¡¯s no need for you two to get angry with each other. i¡¯ll personally return the brush to talisman master gong in the tongyou mysterious world.¡± ¡°of course!¡± fan yuanhui replied immediately. no matter how reluctant he was, lou zizhang knew that he couldn¡¯t do anything about it. he could only sigh helplessly, ¡°so be it¡­¡± ¡°oh right, talisman master shang, what is the other thing you need? is there anything i can do to help?¡± fan yuanhui asked. in front of shang xia, fan yuanhui truly lowered his status. a look of disdain could be seen on lou zizhang¡¯s face when he looked at fan yuanhui. but he didn¡¯t dare to mock the other party. instead, he awaited shang xia¡¯s reply. instead of replying immediately, shang xia discovered many people staring their way and he hurried, ¡°alright, we¡¯ll talk inside. let¡¯s go!¡± finally entering the inner hall, shang xia didn¡¯t wait for any of them to speak up. ¡°the second matter involves a series of talisman inheritances i retrieved from the taihang mountains. it¡¯s a series of rank five talisman inheritance and according to the rules of the talisman hall, you two have the qualifications to learn the first 3 talismans. i¡¯ll make a copy of the others and leave it with the scripture depository¡­.¡± ¡°wait!¡± fan yuanhui couldn¡¯t help but interrupt shang xia. his voice trembled slightly as he spoke, ¡°talisman master shang, did you just say a series of rank five talisman inheritance? do you mean¡­ do you mean that the talismans we¡¯re not qualified to study are of the fifth¡­ the fifth rank?!¡± it was no wonder fan yuanhui couldn¡¯t speak properly. what shang xia revealed was actually a massive bomb. even the tongyou institution only had several rank four talisman inheritances at the moment! there wasn¡¯t a need to mention a rank five talisman inheritance. gong hang and fan yuanhui hadn¡¯t even heard of the existence of one! lou zizhang was equally as shocked. however, he seemed to snap back to reality to reveal a look of excitement. with his voice still trembling, fan yuanhui continued, ¡°what¡­ what is the name of the rank five talisman?¡± lou zizhang released a strange cry all of a sudden after realizing what shang xia said. ¡°wait! shouldn¡¯t you leave the entire inheritance from the first to fifth talisman in our talisman hall?! the moment you send the remaining inheritance to the scripture depository, they¡¯ll be able to restrict the growth of any talisman master they desire!¡± CH 497 the way the tongyou institution passed down inheritance was different from the other factions and the four other border institutions. the tongyou institution didn¡¯t bother keeping their rank one and two inheritances a secret, and even trials that existed before disciples could get their hands on those inheritances were basically simple tests that ensured one was capable of learning them. the institution never planned on making things difficult for disciples to get their hands on those low-leveled inheritances. because of that, the institution was able to supplement the low-leveled cultivators of the you continent to look for anyone with enough talent and determination to walk down the path of cultivation. from a certain perspective, the tongyou institution was casting a massive net in order to catch a little more fish. of course, their approach stopped there. the moment anyone entered the martial intent realm, the tongyou institution would greatly tighten the control over their inheritances. unlike before, the tongyou institution¡¯s requirement before handing out resources would increase severalfold! if anyone wanted to obtain an inheritance from the institution from that point on, they would have to pass through countless tests. they would also need to contribute greatly to the institution in order to pass the contribution division¡¯s evaluation. even if they were successful, the inheritance they would receive would only be given to them verbally. they weren¡¯t allowed to copy anything down and they had to swear an oath to never pass it to others. that allowed the institution to prevent their secrets from leaking to the outside world. naturally, if that was how the institution passed down their inheritance all the time, the death of the expert would cause the inheritance to die out. that was why the scripture depository was established. inheritances of the institution would be marked with a special insignia and no matter what type it was, it would be copied and left behind in the scripture depository. only then would they be able to ensure that those inheritances wouldn¡¯t be lost. naturally, the scripture depository was well protected to prevent the leakage of any knowledge. the next problem as the scripture depository couldn¡¯t be opened as one pleased. if the person in charge of the scripture depository didn¡¯t wish to pass down the inheritance to someone specific, there was nothing anyone could do! if shang xia chose to copy the inheritance of the abyssal emptiness talisman to the scripture depository and if he wasn¡¯t willing to hand the inheritance over to anyone else, not a single person would be able to do a thing about it! he could also use his authority to stop anyone from learning about it from the scripture depository. if that happens, the inheritance of the abyssal emptiness talisman would disappear completely. of course, there was another way around it. that was if shang xia were to die and the tongyou institution¡¯s patriarch, or several deputy patriarchs, forcefully opened the scripture depository to pass down the inheritance. because of that, lou zizhang wanted to voice his dissatisfaction. in actuality, he was only planning to say that it was unfair for the scripture depository to control their talisman inheritance. he completely forgot that as the talisman master responsible for bringing it back, shang xia also had the authority to pass it down to fellow members. now that lou zizhang had yelled about the inheritance being withheld from the members of the talisman hall, wasn¡¯t he also implying that shang xia was a selfish person who didn¡¯t plan on giving the others a chance to learn? one had to know that shang xia had given the talisman hall a series of talisman inheritances all the way up to the fifth rank the moment he returned. now, lou zizhang was implying that he was a selfish fool who would hide the inheritance he came back with. no one would be able to take the accusation lying down. fan yuanhui saw how lou zizhang had dug his own grave and he smartly remained silent. he wouldn¡¯t chuck rocks at lou zizhang when he was down as that would only cause shang xia to look down on him. lou zizhang was no fool either. he quickly understood that his words had insulted shang xia. with his intention only to go against the scripture depository initially, he quickly muttered, ¡°talisman master shang, i¡­¡± at the end of the day, he had to try to salvage whatever reputation he had left. ¡°enough. there¡¯s no need to say anymore. i was only doing things according to the institution¡¯s rules. deputy hall master lou, if you have any suspicions regarding my actions, please look for the master of the scripture depository and the patriarch to raise your grievances!¡± shang xia waves his sleeves impatiently. he wasn¡¯t planning to continue the conversation with any of them there. raise their grievances with the patriarch?! that could only be done if they had the authority to meet kou chongxue! ¡°i¡­ i¡­ i didn¡¯t think my words thought. talisman master shang, please forgive me!¡± lou zizhang sucked in a long breath before apologizing to shang xia. shang xia didn¡¯t expect him to do that, and neither did fan yuanhui. shang xia thought that lou zizhang was someone liu zhiyuan sent over to fight for some power in the institution, but he didn¡¯t expect the man to be willing to admit his mistake so quickly and decisively. lou zizhang¡¯s evaluation in shang xia¡¯s heart immediately became a little more dangerous. ¡°if there¡¯s nothing else, i won¡¯t stay here for long.¡± shang xia glanced at the two of them indifferently and continued, ¡°please arrange for a secret chamber for me to rest.¡± he had already gotten to his feet and was ready to leave as soon as he spoke. as the only talisman grandmaster in the talisman hall, they would have long since arranged a place for him to rest and craft talismans. ¡°talisman master shang, please wait a second!¡± lou zizhang¡¯s voice rang from behind him once again. stopping suddenly, he turned to look at lou zizhang expressionlessly. the moment shang xia¡¯s gaze landed on him, lou zizhang felt as though a desolate beast had his eyes on him. his mind went blank and he couldn¡¯t move a single muscle. ¡°what¡¯s the matter?¡± shang xia growled. with the shock he experienced, lou zizhang snapped back to reality. it was as though a long time had passed since he called out to shang xia and his back was drenched in perspiration by the time he regained his spirits. with his voice that hadn¡¯t stopped trembling, he muttered, ¡°this¡­ according to the rules of the institution, talisman master shang has the responsibility to craft every single type of rank four talisman for aspiring talisman masters in the talisman hall to study.¡± it was true that the institution had such a rule. in order to ensure that inheritances weren¡¯t lost, it was their duty to leave behind examples and records once they reached a certain level. actually, that was also one of the reasons shang xia had chosen to return to the institution. by this point, shang xia couldn¡¯t be bothered with lou zizhang any longer and he snapped, ¡°of course i¡¯ll do it. all you need to do now is to prepare all the resources i need to craft the talismans.¡± shang xia no longer hid the annoyance he felt with lou zizhang. gulping slightly, lou zizhang continued, ¡°but¡­ but¡­ but¡­ we need to record the entire process of how you craft those talismans too¡­¡± ¡°when did we ever have such a rule?¡± shang xia glared into lou zizhang¡¯s eyes as though he wanted to peer into the fellow¡¯s soul after hearing what he said. under his suffocating divine perception, lou zizhang couldn¡¯t resist in the slightest. ¡°this¡­ this, the warehouse division¡­¡± ¡°liu zhiyuan?!¡± shang xia said the name in his place and harrumphed, ¡°are you trying to spy on my talisman crafting style by coming up with useless rules like these?!¡± lou zizhang could only try to explain desperately, ¡°no¡­ it¡¯s just to avoid walking down the wrong path!¡± a look of ridicule appeared on shang xia¡¯s face. ¡°get him to talk to me personally. you¡¯re not qualified!¡± lou zizhang¡¯s face flushed red with embarrassment. as the pressure that came from shang xia¡¯s divine perception disappeared abruptly. he felt his body crunching up and he looked like a fish that had been out of water for some time as he gasped for breath. terror filled his eyes. he wondered what he had said or done under the horrifying pressure earlier, and he realized that he had said everything without much filter. his divine sense was completely suppressed¡­ no, it wasn¡¯t suppressed. it seemed to have submitted to the other party without much resistance! that was why he spoke without reservation when faced with shang xia¡¯s questioning. the feeling caused a chill to run down his heart when he thought back to the lingering feeling he had. by that time, shang xia had long left the hall and so did fan yuanhui. lou zizhang was the only person left as he stood rooted to his spot as he thought of what he had just done. ¡­ as night fell, shang xia was casually resting in his secret chamber. something seemed to have caught his attention as he opened his eyes and stared at the entrance. ¡°brother ren, since you¡¯re already here, why don¡¯t you enter?¡± the entrance to his secret chamber was slowly pushed apart and ren huan¡¯s bright chuckle rang through the air. ¡°i was afraid i would disturb talisman grandmaster shang¡¯s rest! that¡¯s why i didn¡¯t dare to enter!¡± after he spoke, he quickly walked into the room. gesturing for the fatty to sit, shang xia muttered, ¡°haha, as long as i am not in the midst of talisman crafting, brother ren is welcome anytime.¡± explore the extended edition on pawread dot com. unlike before, ren huan was a lot more casual when he spoke to shang xia. that made shang xia feel a lot more refreshed when talking to the fatty. sitting down, ren huan was quickly served a cup of tea and he chuckled in amusement, ¡°brother shang, if you activated the restrictions and started crafting talismans, the entire area of more than 300 feet would be sealed off. i wouldn¡¯t be able to come over even if i wanted to!¡± shang xia laughed and indicated for the fatty to drink some tea as he continued, ¡°this place isn¡¯t really quiet. i plan to enter the tongyou mysterious world in a day or two to start crafting talismans.¡± staring at shang xia in shock, ren huan muttered, ¡°hmm, that¡¯s great too. the talisman hall is a little messy at the moment¡­ however, i heard that the restriction to enter the tongyou mysterious world is pretty high! oh wait, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for you¡­¡± shang xia didn¡¯t plan to interfere with the workings of the talisman hall. as long as they didn¡¯t affect him, he was willing to turn a blind eye to it. ren huan also understood shang xia¡¯s intentions from what he said and he knew that shang xia wanted to see what ren huan¡¯s attitude on the matter was. ¡°i guess from today onwards, i¡¯ll be someone from the talisman grandmaster¡¯s camp!¡± ren huan cheered in his heart. he felt wild joy filling his heart when he thought about it. regardless of fan yuanhui, lou zizhang, or even liu zhiyuan, all of them forgot a fact when they were fighting for power. strength was the basis of everything! no matter who controlled the talisman hall, no one would dare to mess with shang xia! they wouldn¡¯t dare to mess with the resources that belonged to him! as the only rank four talisman grandmaster in the talisman hall, shang xia¡¯s status was already set in stone. ren huan believed that he was grabbing onto a huge golden thigh now that shang xia had officially recognized him as a follower. CH 498 on the second day, the talisman hall broke out into a flurry of activity. as the only rank four talisman grandmaster in the tongyou institution, shang xia had to prepare rank four talismans for other talisman masters to study. the news of that started to spread and the members of the talisman hall got really excited. from top to bottom, batches of the best resources were delivered to shang xia¡¯s secret chamber. however, shang xia wasn¡¯t back in his secret chamber to personally pick up the delivery. he was currently chatting with zhang haogu in the scripture depository. ¡°i thought that you would be stationed in the battlefield between the two worlds¡± shang xia muttered while being led deeper into one of the secret chambers of the scripture depository. ¡°it¡¯s more than enough for us to leave ge qingzhu there. the cooperation between our institution and them is at a crucial point right now and no one will try messing around. the battlefield between the two worlds is extremely safe and the situation there is really stable.¡± zhang haogu explained while opening one of the cases in front of shang xia. watching how zhang haogu placed the inheritance of the abyssal emptiness talisman into the case before sealing it up, shang xia sighed, ¡°i didn¡¯t feel like this the last time i came here. i didn''t think that the scripture depository is one entire structure that was contained in a separate space. is it actually connected to the tongyou mysterious world?¡± zhang haogu chuckled softly but didn¡¯t reply. he eventually sighed softly before changing the topic. ¡°i didn¡¯t think that the institution would be able to gain one more rank five inheritance¡­¡± ¡°it¡¯s just a rank five talisman inheritance. how can it be compared to patriarch kou¡¯s rank five martial art and sword art?¡± shang xia asked. unable to help himself, zhang haogu pointed at shang xia and chided playfully, ¡°damn brat, are you doing this on purpose?! do you know how precious a rank five inheritance is?! it¡¯s the greatest inheritance we have in the world! every single bit of it contains the essence of our azure origin world. if you¡¯re looking down on a mere rank five talisman inheritance, do you have a rank five advancement formula or something?¡± of course this granddaddy here has a rank five advancement formula! obviously, shang xia wasn¡¯t going to say something like that. if he really did, he would probably poke a hole through the skies and cause a massive problem for the institution. when that happened, even kou chongxue was going to get a headache. shrugging his shoulders and putting on a nonchalant expression, shang xia snorted, ¡°damn it! how do you know i won¡¯t get my hands on a rank five advancement formula in the future?!¡± other than the abyssal emptiness talisman, shang xia also passed down the four essence abyssal wine to the scripture depository. the advancement medicine came from the abyssal secret region and even though he got his hands on it, he decided that he should share it with the institution. shang xia decided to hand over most of the things he learned from the abyssal secret region. how they would split up the treasures like the abyssal blade and stuff in the future would be left up to shang xia¡¯s negotiations with the institution. however, formulas and inheritances were left behind before anything else. when he was done, the two of them finally left the secret chamber and zhang haogu reactivated the defensive mechanisms and formations. when they were finally back in the scripture depository, zhang haogu seemed to have thought of something and asked, ¡°oh, i heard you were planning to craft talismans in the mysterious world?¡± shang xia knew that zhang haogu wouldn¡¯t bring up something like that for no reason and he continued, ¡°instructor zhang, is something the matter?¡± ¡°i¡¯m afraid your progress might not be too smooth¡­ you need to prepare yourself.¡± zhang haogu muttered after thinking about it. laughing involuntarily, shang xia asked, ¡°what¡¯s the matter? is there someone who will try to stop me?¡± ¡°is it really that difficult to stop you outside the tongyou mysterious world? i know that you don¡¯t really give half a shit about liu zhiyuan. i heard about what happened back in the talisman hall yesterday. however, you need to remember that he¡¯s a deputy patriarch at the end of the day. you¡¯re a talisman master of the talisman hall and even if you have already become a rank four talisman grandmaster, you have to follow the rules set by the institution! you can¡¯t do anything you wish, even if you¡¯re kou chongxue!¡± zhang haogu warned. a look of contemplation appeared on shang xia¡¯s face and realizing that shang xia understood his meaning, zhang haogu turned to leave. he didn¡¯t expect to be stopped by shang xia¡¯s cry coming from behind him, ¡°instructor zhang, is fan yuanhui an acquaintance of yours?¡± without turning around, he chuckled, ¡°nope, that old fellow, gong hang, is my old friend. i don¡¯t know fan yuanhui all that well.¡± looking at zhang haogu¡¯s leaving view, shang xia muttered to himself, ¡°so that¡¯s the case¡­¡± ¡­ when shang xia returned to the talisman hall, he saw ren huan standing before his secret chamber and he laughed happily, ¡°brother ren, what¡¯s the matter?¡± ren huan retrieved a ledger from his sleeves and quickly replied, ¡°all the good stuff in the talisman hall has been gathered. fan yuanhui and lou zizhang instructed me to tell you to let them know if you need anything else. as long as you give the command, someone will prepare the items you need.¡± shang xia looked at the ledger and revealed a look of shock. ¡°we actually have 14 rank four talisman papers? that¡¯s a lot!¡± was 14 rank four talisman paper really a lot? not at all. in fact, it was far too lacking when compared to the amount shang xia required. one couldn¡¯t think back to his experience in the shang clan where he crafted 3 rank four talismans with 6 pieces of talisman paper. his condition there and luck was amazingly good, resulting in such a high success rate. according to shang xia¡¯s estimations, he would have to raise his success rate to around 30 percent before he could be considered a qualified talisman master. that success rate wasn¡¯t considered too high, but it was enough to ensure that he would have many customers even if he didn¡¯t possess the support of a superpower. the 14 pieces of rank four talisman paper on the table truly didn¡¯t look like much now that he had to craft different types of rank four talismans. back when he just became a rank four talisman grandmaster, gong hang handed over 7 pieces of rank four talisman paper to him. back then, that was definitely all the rank four talisman paper the talisman hall had. since the time shang xia went down to the taihang mountains, several months had passed. the talisman hall actually managed to gather 14 pieces of rank four talisman paper and their efforts were commendable. rank four talisman paper wasn¡¯t cabbage that grew at the side of the road. even if they had enough material to craft them, it wasn¡¯t easy to do so. ren huan forced a bitter smile and continued, ¡°previously, brother shang might have taken away all the rank four talisman paper we had, but we still had a portion of resources used to make rank four talisman paper. in the past few months, all rank three talisman paper craftsmen joined hands to make rank four talisman paper. the institution also went outside to purchase rank four talisman paper at a high price. that''s how we gathered 14 pieces of rank four talisman paper.¡± shang xia gasped softly before looking at ren huan in delight. ¡°brother ren, have you become a rank four talisman paper craftsman? did you personally craft any of these?¡± the bitter smile on ren huan¡¯s face didn¡¯t fade as he whispered, ¡°4 of these talisman papers came from me. 6 of them were crafted by everyone else and the remaining 4 were bought from outside the institution. today, i can probably say that i have crossed the barrier to become a rank four talisman paper craftsman. i still need to thank brother shang for all the help. otherwise, a newcomer to the institution like me wouldn¡¯t be given a chance to craft rank four talisman paper to reach my current level¡­ after all, the resources that went to waste were too much!¡± shang xia roared with laughter in response. ¡°nonsense! it¡¯s great news! no matter what, brother ren is a rank four talisman paper craftsman. i would feel a lot more assured when crafting talismans. otherwise, i won¡¯t know if i will be able to get my hands on more talisman paper when crafting talismans and won¡¯t be able to completely immerse myself.¡± ren huan waved and sighed, ¡°actually, we brought out almost all our resources at this point. if you wish to use more than 10 rank four talisman papers to craft talismans in the future, you might not find a chance to do it.¡± ¡°what do you mean?¡± shang xia asked. ¡°in order to craft the rank four talisman papers, almost all the beast skins of the rank four spiritual beasts in the battlefield between the two worlds had been taken out. that is why we had the guts to try making rank four talisman paper in the first place. after all, those skins were basically half completed rank four talisman paper in the first place. the process of crafting became much easier than before. we won¡¯t get the chance to obtain so many rank four spiritual beast skins in the future.¡± ren huan explained. ¡°moreover, the process to craft rank four talisman paper is extremely complicated. it¡¯s extremely reliant on the skills of the craftsman and i am the only one who is confident in my skills. that is why i dare to call myself a rank four talisman paper craftsman.¡± ren huan completed his explanation with the simplest terms he could think of, but shang xia could hear that the entire process wasn¡¯t as easy as he had described. not only did ren huan have to care about his skills, he didn¡¯t possess any help from the other members of the talisman hall due to his status. shang xia¡¯s reputation wasn¡¯t going to help him back then. if not for the fact that shang xia gave him a chance and brought him up to gong hang and fan yuanhui back then, he wouldn¡¯t have even been given an opportunity to craft talisman papers! ren huan¡¯s explanation caused shang xia¡¯s heart to regain its original calm, and the excitement of crafting talismans was starting to fade away. after thinking for a moment, shang xia brought out a bamboo scroll that was filled with words and handed it over to ren huan. ¡°oh right, is there someone in the institution who can craft rank four talisman ink?¡± ren huan, who barely received the bamboo scroll, felt his hands trembling as he nearly lost his grip. it can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". ¡°rank four talisman ink?!¡± ren huan yelled. lowering his head to look at the scroll in his hand, he raised his head and sighed, ¡°this¡­ our talisman hall never had a recipe for rank four talisman ink!¡± this time, it was shang xia¡¯s turn to be taken aback. ¡°then¡­ would it be possible for several rank three talisman ink craftsmen to work together to craft rank four abyssal ink?¡± ¡°it¡¯s going to be difficult! talisman paper is different from talisman ink in the first place. i might not be a talisman ink craftsman, but i know a thing or two. i¡¯m afraid not many people will be able to do it!¡± ren huan muttered after thinking about it for a second. shang xia knew that he was acting a little too hastily and he could only whisper to himself, ¡°since that¡¯s the case, i¡¯ll just leave the recipe for the ink in your care.¡± ¡°sorry?¡± ren huan jumped in fright and tried to return the bamboo scroll. ¡°this is too precious¡­¡± shang xia reached out his hand to stop ren huan. ¡°brother ren, i might not remain in the institution for too long. i might not return too often in the future either. even so, i hope that i can maintain my position and not be restricted by anyone in the future. brother ren huan, i require your assistance.¡± shang xia¡¯s intentions were clear. he wanted to use ren huan¡¯s status as a rank four talisman paper craftsman now to pull even more experts over to his side in order to solidify his backing in the talisman hall! CH 499 there were 3 rank four talisman inheritances recorded in the zhu family talisman scripture but because they belonged to shang xia, he never handed them over to the institution. because of that, there were only 8 rank four talisman inheritances that belonged to the institution. one of them was the abyssal void shattering talisman shang xia just handed over to them. of the 8, shang xia only had experience in crafting the spiritual protection substitution talisman. naturally, it would be impossible for shang xia to craft all 8 different rank four talismans with the 14 pieces of rank four talisman paper he was given. from what he estimated, he would be able to craft 4 or 5 of them at best. talisman crafting was an intricate task at the end of the day. shang xia needed to make his preparations and it was especially so before he could use his unique method of talisman crafting. he needed to run through every step of the crafting process before he even moved his brush before he could be confident of success. in the following days, shang xia remained in his secret chamber to think about the crafting process for the rest of the talismans. he also waited patiently for the rest of the resources he required to arrive. like every other day, shang xia had been circulating his four seasons extermination origins while cultivating. cultivation was a long and arduous process to begin with and shang xia¡¯s increase in strength had been too rapid previously. that was why he had been taking out time every day to consolidate his foundations. he felt a disturbance from the corner of his divine perception all of a sudden and discovered ren huan approaching his secret chamber. slowly retracting his inner qi, shang xia calmed his breathing by the time ren huan arrived. ¡°brother shang, am i disturbing you?¡± ren huan¡¯s voice came from outside. his tone was extremely gentle and he didn¡¯t dare to raise his voice too much when he came. he might be able to call the martial extermination realm shang xia his fellow brother, but he knew that he had to ensure his actions didn¡¯t go overboard. shang xia chuckled in amusement, ¡°i¡¯m having a break right now. brother ren, please enter.¡± the moment ren huan entered the room, shang xia saw a wooden plate in his hands that contained several stacks of talisman paper and several chunks of solidified ink. a light lit up in shang xia¡¯s eyes and he gasped, ¡°brother ren, how did you manage to craft so much abyssal talisman paper and ink so quickly? there are even rank four talisman papers among them!¡± placing the wooden plate down, ren huan chuckled bitterly, ¡°brother shang, you¡¯re kidding. how can this be considered quick? these are rank one and two abyssal talisman paper, but i managed to make them easily due to their low rank. there are only 3 pieces of rank four abyssal talisman paper in here and there are only two chunks of abyssal ink. these are of the first and second rank. it¡¯s difficult for them to craft rank three abyssal ink¡­¡¯ back when shang xia handed ren huan the recipe for rank four abyssal ink, he also included the recipe for abyssal talisman paper. both items would be able to greatly benefit the crafting of those talismans in the abyssal series but they could also be used to craft other talismans. read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" after mentioning the ordinary talisman paper and ink that shang xia had mentioned before that should be created as soon as possible, ren huan pointed to the 2 pieces of rank four talisman paper and muttered, ¡°these are the treasures that i have been collecting for some time now. all of these are my personal property. now that you have a need, please use them first.¡± shang xia quickly rejected ren huan¡¯s goodwill, ¡°this¡­ i can¡¯t¡­¡± before shang xia could finish, ren huan interrupted, ¡°brother shang, do you think i can do anything with 2 pieces of rank four talisman paper even if i kept them?¡± shang xia stared at him in shock as he continued, ¡°i will have to get someone to turn them into rank four talismans anyway. you might as well be the one to use them.¡± ¡°these¡­ if i manage to turn them into rank four talismans, brother ren has to keep one!¡± shang xia muttered. ren huan wanted to say something else, but shang xia waved his hands in dismissal. ¡°brother rem, there¡¯s no need to say anymore!¡± after chatting for a little more, the two of them eventually started to talk about the crafting of tools. ren huan might not know anything about crafting talismans, but he knew quite a bit about talisman paper, talisman ink, brushes, the paperweight that was used to hold the talisman paper, and even the incense shang xia burned during the crafting process. shang xia¡¯s knowledge in the way of talismans was deep, but there wasn¡¯t much else. as a qualified talisman master, shang xia felt that he should at least learn a little about the others. in the end, shang xia was the person who learned from ren huan most of the time. the fatty spent almost all his time teaching shang xia everything he wished to know. luckily, ren huan was a master at keeping track of the situation. realizing that shang xia¡¯s time was precious, he chose to take his leave even though they were having such a pleasant conversation. before he left, he asked, ¡°brother shang, do you know that our talisman hall might possess 14 rank four talisman papers, but there are more in the institution?¡± ¡°huh?¡± shang xia stared at him in confusion for a moment before looking at the additional rank four talisman paper ren huan provided. a look of contemplation formed on his face. ¡­ another two days had passed and shang xia slapped the spatial pouch in his hands. he thought about how he had basically gathered all the resources he required and decided to start heading for the back mountains of the tongyou institution. that was where the entrance to the tongyou mysterious world lay and it was protected by the experts of the protection division. unfortunately, shang xia didn¡¯t run into song you, the head of the protection division when he arrived. shang xia heard that the institution had been increasing their support for martial extermination realm experts after the events that happened in the battlefield between the two worlds. yuan zhen, song you, and qian sitong who had broken through with the institution¡¯s help were probably in the tongyou mysterious world to consolidate their foundations. the person in charge of security was a martial intent realm cultivator and even he naturally wouldn¡¯t offend shang xia for the fun of it. he quickly sent shang xia on his way after some quick checks. after learning about shang xia¡¯s identity, the disciple in charge of security even had some intentions of currying favor. when shang xia arrived earlier, he had seen several familiar faces. they were students who studied in the same batch as himself but when they met him, none of them dared to meet his gaze. shang xia chose to ignore them too since he didn¡¯t wish for things to get awkward. after passing through the checkpoint, shang xia looked at the entrance of the tongyou mysterious world not too far away. a middle-aged cultivator stood close to the entrance as he approached shang xia suddenly. ¡°disciple greets deputy patriarch liu.¡± shang xia wouldn¡¯t show liu zhiyuan the slightest disrespect now. laughing in amusement, liu zhiyuan responded, ¡°martial nephew, there¡¯s no need for such formalities! there are no outsiders here and you can just call me martial uncle liu!¡± shang xia showed his respect and he wouldn¡¯t lower himself any further. he smiled in response, ¡°martial uncle, are you here to stop me from entering the tongyou mysterious world?¡± a strange expression appeared on liu zhiyuan¡¯s face as he replied, ¡°martial nephew shang, why would you think that? you have entered the martial extermination realm and you¡¯re a talisman grandmaster of the institution. i might be a deputy patriarch of the institution and the head of the warehouse division, but i can¡¯t affect your qualifications to enter the mysterious world.¡± shang xia knew that liu zhiyuan had his reasons for waiting for them there and continued, ¡°then¡­ is something else the matter?¡± liu zhiyuan grinned before handing a sealed wooden case over. opening it slightly, shang xia noticed 3 pieces of rank four talisman paper contained within. ¡°this¡­¡± shang xia stared at liu zhiyuan in confusion. even though his first instinct was to reject the gift, he wasn¡¯t willing to do so. how could shang xia not understand the most precious treasure he could receive as a talisman grandmaster was rank four talisman paper? trying to improve at his level didn¡¯t have much to do with talent. he needed to practice and rank four talisman papers and high-level resources were something he couldn¡¯t do without. at the moment, he was truly lacking in resources. every single piece of rank four talisman paper was extremely precious to him. liu zhiyuan noticed the hesitation on his face and he couldn¡¯t help but laugh in response, ¡°martial nephew shang, feel free to accept them. after all, our great families should help each other. you entered the martial extermination realm and became a rank four talisman grandmaster. i haven¡¯t given you anything to congratulate you yet and you can consider these talisman papers my blessing to you. i hope you don¡¯t think they¡¯re too little¡­¡± well, one would only give blessings when they had something to ask¡­ shang xia couldn¡¯t find a reason to reject the gift and he needed those rank four talisman papers. keeping the case, he smiled, ¡°i will have to thank martial uncle liu then. if you need anything in the future, feel free to let me know. i will try to accomplish them to the best of my abilities.¡± a satisfied smile appeared on liu zhiyuan¡¯s face. ¡°it¡¯s nothing too overboard. i heard that deputy hall master liu was a little rude and he didn¡¯t think his words through when speaking with you. he¡¯s just a little too hasty in reaching his goals and might have offended you unintentionally. he doesn¡¯t mean anything bad. i hope martial nephew shang can forgive him.¡± ¡°of course! it¡¯s nothing too serious. i only wish to craft talismans, nothing else. moreover, i still need to thank everyone in the talisman hall for getting so many resources for me.¡± ¡°that¡¯s great, that¡¯s great! it¡¯s no wonder you improved so quickly!¡± liu zhiyuan praised. shang xia had already indicated that he didn¡¯t wish to bother with the talisman hall¡¯s workings with what he just said. he was only interested in crafting talismans and even though liu zhiyuan wasn¡¯t able to gain the greatest benefit of pulling shang xia over to his side, it was enough. at least shang xia wouldn¡¯t stand against him and cause trouble. no matter what, liu zhiyuan had to admit that shang xia¡¯s position in the talisman hall was something he had to pay attention to! ¡°but¡­¡± liu zhiyuan muttered softly. at the moment, he seemed to be afraid that he would offend the youngest talisman grandmaster of the institution and he thought about his words again. ¡°oh yes¡­ this is a little difficult for me to say, but it is related to deputy hall master lou¡¯s request to leave behind recordings of you crafting talismans. that will greatly assist future generations of talisman masters¡­ of course, if you feel that this matter will hinder your progress¡­¡± ¡°it¡¯s alright.¡± shang xia broke into laughter all of a sudden. obviously, lou zizhang wasn¡¯t the one who came up with the idea of recording the talisman crafting process. the person who wanted it was probably liu zhiyuan and he clearly didn¡¯t expect shang xia to agree so quickly. staring at shang xia in shock, liu zhiyuan only managed to process what happened after some time. ¡°martial nephew shang is truly amazing! i have to thank you on behalf of all the other talisman masters of the institution!¡± ¡°martial uncle liu, there¡¯s no need to exaggerate. however, i like there to be peace when i craft talismans. i hate it when other people watch me. why don¡¯t you leave the recording to me?¡± liu zhiyuan felt that shang xia was planning to alter the recordings slightly in order to hide some crucial steps but getting shang xia to agree in the first place was already a win for himself. now that shang xia agreed, he couldn¡¯t go too far. ¡°of course. as long as you leave them a recording of your talisman crafting process, it would be enough!¡± what liu zhiyuan didn¡¯t know was that shang xia wasn¡¯t planning to let anyone observe him due to his personal habits. he wasn¡¯t afraid that they would steal his unique talisman crafting method at all. leaving a recording behind wasn¡¯t anything bad for shang xia. after all, his unique method of talisman crafting required him to become one with the talisman. how would watching a recording allow them to learn his technique? they would have to go through every stroke in their mind, along with the process of crafting the talisman from start to end. of course, they might not be able to learn his technique entirely, but they would still be able to learn a thing or two. shang xia wasn¡¯t against sharing those. after all, he felt that he was a member of the talisman hall and he should at least teach them that much. as liu zhiyuan left in satisfaction, shang xia turned to make his way into the tongyou mysterious world with 3 more rank four talisman papers in his collection. CH 500 in the tongyou mysterious world¡­ there were many secret chambers that had been arranged for experts of the institution, and shang xia chose one of the quieter ones. as he completed the last stroke with his purple bamboo brush, shang xia carefully kept his second piece of abyssal qi resistance talisman in a spirit restraining case. carefully washing off the remaining ink on his brush, shang xia heaved a sigh of relief. he used rank two abyssal ink to complete a rank three abyssal qi resistance talisman. even though the ink wasn¡¯t up to standard, it was nothing in the face of shang xia¡¯s skills. it wouldn¡¯t affect his success rate by much. the piece of abyssal qi resistance talisman he just created could allow cultivators under the martial extermination realm to fly through the air. even if martial extermination realm experts used them, they would be able to feel significant effects. shang xia spent nearly 2 months in the tongyou mysterious world since the time he entered. during the time that passed, shang xia didn¡¯t immediately start crafting rank four talismans. instead, he immersed himself in crafting rank one, two, and three talismans to prepare himself. he wasn¡¯t dragging things out on purpose. instead, he was planning to ensure he was in his peak state before crafting any rank four talismans. he wanted to use the chance to craft low-leveled talismans in order to get used to the surroundings in the tongyou mysterious world. naturally, no one would complain about having too many talismans. especially those that shang xia had already created. walking across his room, several fragments of used talisman paper could be seen. there was a small wooden table not too far away in the corner and several engraving tools sat on its surface. there were several larger pieces of racks that came from the boulder that contained the abyssal blade in the abyssal secret region sitting close to the tools and some dust could be seen in the area. even though he had already become a rank four talisman grandmaster and his cultivation had reached the martial extermination realm, shang xia found it a little difficult to achieve a 100 percent success rate even when making low-ranked talismans. when crafting his abyssal qi resistance talisman, he used 3 pieces of talisman paper only to craft 2 of them. naturally, his first time making those talismans was also a part of the reason he failed. ¡­ those carvings on the table were inspiration he received after seeing the abyssal seal in the past. he wanted to carve a talisman seal onto those pieces of rocks but it was clearly not as easy as he had thought. he had an idea of how to do them, but during the actual process, the rocks shattered time and time again. opening the restrictions in his secret chamber, shang xia eventually emerged from within. looking at the tongyou mysterious world, shang xia felt a lot more refreshed after being cooped up in his secret chamber for so long. as he took several deep breaths and circulated his four seasons extermination origins, he felt dense heaven and earth qi and world origin rushing into his body. it didn¡¯t take long for his exhausted inner qi to be replenished. that was how special the tongyou mysterious world was. not only did it contain dense heaven and earth qi, it also contained world origin. it was extremely suitable for high-level experts to cultivate. what was more important was that the tongyou mysterious world was located in the azure origin world and they were basically connected. high-level experts would be able to create their own martial arts or comprehend their divine intent all the same with the help of the world origin. they could even deduce incomplete advancement formulas like what ji wenlong did! a mysterious world could be considered a separate space that existed in the world, and any improvements would turn them into the tongyou paradise. it was rumored that there was something called the heavenly cave above that level but it was something shang xia hadn¡¯t heard of before. in the time that he spent in the tongyou mysterious world, shang xia had been using most of his time to familiarize himself with talisman crafting. however, he also spent a significant amount of time cultivating. because of that, he could feel himself growing stronger. in fact, the time required for him to complete one cycle of inner qi circulation had also shortened. the latter was much more important to shang xia. even though his improvement with it seemed extremely small and he wouldn¡¯t have detected it without a keen sense of observation, it was something he desperately needed. the improvement would benefit a cultivator after accumulation for a long time and it was one of the most remarkable aspects of the tongyou mysterious world. from what shang xia learned, there were only 3 martial extermination realm experts who were cultivating in the tongyou mysterious world. they were yuan zhan, qian sitong, and song you. with shang xia, there were no other martial extermination realm experts in the tongyou mysterious world at that time. other than them, there were only martial intent realm experts who had completed their second divine sense transformation or above. of the 4, shang xia was the only one there to craft talismans. of the other 3, yuan zhen was there to consolidate his foundations. qian sitong and song you both suffered some problems when cultivating. qian sitong suffered some internal injuries during his cultivation but song you suffered cultivation deviation. qian sitong was trying his best to recover while song you was on the verge of having his cultivation regress. when shang xia was immersing himself in the tongyou mysterious world, a streak of light tore through the skies and landed in his hands. it was a transmission talisman and he read through its contents instantly. he drew a horizontal line through the air in front of himself and connected itself to the entrance of the tongyou mysterious world in an instant. ¡°hahaha, martial nephew, i hope i didn¡¯t interrupt you with my sudden arrival!¡± a warm voice rang in his ears and a man who was slightly older than 30 stepped through the spatial tunnel. the void contained in the tongyou mysterious world was much weaker than the azure origin world, and experts in the martial extermination realm were able to control them to a much greater extent. shang xia cupped his fists and greeted, ¡°martial uncle yun, i wonder what brings you here today?¡± yun yichen chuckled in response. ¡°i heard that you don¡¯t have enough rank four talisman papers when crafting talismans. even though our yun family¡¯s foundations aren¡¯t that deep, the great families of our tongyou city should help each other. i can¡¯t sit by and watch you work without enough resources. i brought 4 pieces of rank four talisman papers for you. even though it¡¯s not much, i hope you can accept it.¡± ¡°how can i¡­¡± shang xia responded instinctively. with his expression turning indifferent, yun yichen muttered, ¡°what¡¯s the matter? martial nephew shang, do you think it¡¯s too little?¡± ¡°of course not!¡± shang xia yelped. ¡°if my crafting journey goes smoothly, i¡¯ll give you a rank four talisman when everything is done.¡± yun yichen couldn¡¯t help but break into smiles. ¡°martial nephew shang, what¡¯s the meaning of this? i only hope these talisman papers can help you out a little. i don¡¯t expect a rank four talisman in return!¡± ¡°martial uncle yun, say no more. otherwise, i wouldn¡¯t accept these talisman papers.¡± shang xia insisted. yun yichen muttered with a little embarrassment, ¡°this¡­ this¡­ look¡­ you make it seem like i¡¯m here to get a rank four talisman from you!¡± shang xia replied with a straight face, ¡°even if you wish to ask for a rank four talisman, all you need is to provide a rank four talisman paper. you really lost out big time now!¡± ¡°...¡± after sending yun yichen away, shang xia looked at the four pieces of rank four talisman papers in his hand before keeping them with the rest. at that moment, the number of rank four talisman papers shang xia had in his secret chamber was far from the original 14 the talisman hall gave him. there were a total of 35 rank four talisman papers ready for him! when the news of shang xia entering the tongyou mysterious world started to spread, the scene that played out with yun yichen happened several times. ji yu of the ji clan sent 3 pieces of rank four talisman paper and zhang haogu personally gave him 2 pieces. ge qingzhu got someone to send over 2 pieces from the battlefield between the two worlds and bu jingshuang of the changfeng city sent 2 more pieces. zhao fengchun of the zhao family brought 1 on orders of zhao hengchun, and huo wuji, the deacon of the protection division sent another piece. sun haiwei, an instructor of the outer division of the tongyou institution, also got someone to send another piece over. every single one of those rank four talisman papers can be considered a favor they were doing him. only the liu, ji, and yun clans sent relatively more rank four talisman paper and shang xia promised all of them a piece of rank four talisman. shang xia expected that some people would send him rank four talisman paper in return for a favor or two, but he didn¡¯t expect to receive so many. one had to know that even the talisman hall only managed to gather 14 pieces of rank four talisman paper for him. shang xia couldn¡¯t help but sigh to himself. he definitely underestimated the power of the other superpowers of the you continent! he might have owed a lot of favors because of the talisman papers, but he had to admit that he would be able to improve a lot because of them. one had to say that the collective ability of the experts of the you continent truly soothed shang xia. not only did they provide him with the pressure to do better, he was also starting to feel a sense of excitement when it came to crafting talismans. the feeling caused shang xia to feel tons of motivation. he could finally not worry about the resources and go all out when crafting talismans! with the excitement and stimulation he felt, shang xia returned to his secret chamber and activated the restrictions. he fully immersed himself in the process of talisman crafting. he knew that a chance like this wouldn¡¯t come by often and with a strange feeling in his heart telling him it''s the best time to craft talismans, he didn¡¯t hesitate to do so. without any intention to save resources, he immediately brought out rank three talisman ink. that was one of the best batches of ink the talisman hall provided and he dipped his purple bamboo brush into the ink while counting something with his left hand. the image of the ink slab on his table remained in his mind as he started the crafting process. shang xia¡¯s attention was placed on his brush and talisman paper before him and without taking a break for 3 days straight, he used a fifth of rank three ink to complete his first rank four talisman, the spiritual protection substitution talisman. with his opening success, shang xia took a day to rest before capitalizing on the feeling that was still flowing through his veins to start his second attempt. this time, he was going for a rank four talisman called the space shattering golden blade talisman. it was his first time crafting the talisman and it didn¡¯t come as a surprise after his first attempt ended in failure after half a day. despite the failure, shang xia immersed himself in the strange state he was in, and taking a break of half a day, shang xia started another attempt. this time, he failed after one entire day of drawing the talisman. falling deep into contemplation, shang xia¡¯s left hand danced about as he made his calculations. after another day had passed, shang xia picked up his purple bamboo brush and the process of crafting the space shattering golden blade talisman ran perfectly through his mind. 3 days later, shang xia successfully crafted a new type of rank four talisman, the space shattering golden blade talisman! a quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. CH 501 shang xia managed to maintain the special state he was in for close to 15 days. in the days that passed, shang xia used 6 pieces of rank four talisman papers to successfully craft 3 rank four talismans. he managed to achieve a 50 percent success rate, but it was different from the time he did the same in the shang clan. back in the shang clan, shang xia managed to achieve such a high success rate because he obtained the high-grade purple bamboo brush. back then, he crafted two pieces of golden sun inferno talismans and one spiritual protection substitution talisman. those were talismans he had crafted before. now, with the exception of the spiritual protection substitution talisman, shang xia managed to craft one space shattering golden blade talisman and another snow spike ice radiance talisman. what he did was much more difficult! finally, when the miraculous feeling disappeared, shang xia felt a wave of lethargy wash over him. he needed some time to restore himself to his peak state and he quickly lit up a stick of idleness incense. according to the talisman hall, it was a new rank three incense they managed to create. it was useful for restoring and rejuvenating one¡¯s divine perception. the effects might not be as pronounced for someone like shang xia who had an exceptional amount of divine perception, but it was useful nonetheless. it allowed him to quickly enter his slumber. at that moment, all shang xia wanted to do was to take a good rest. just like that, shang xia slept for 2 straight days and nights. by the time he woke, he felt completely refreshed. the divine perception he exhausted while crafting talismans was close to fully recovered. shang xia wouldn¡¯t start crafting talismans immediately. he would only resume after returning to his peak state. stopping the restrictions that filled his secret chamber, shang xia once again emerged to enjoy the view of the tongyou mysterious world. he circulated his four seasons samsara art as he walked out and continued his recovery process. when he had finally completed one cycle of his inner qi circulation, shang xia discovered that the time he required was greatly reduced. one had to know that crafting talismans was the only thing that could come between shang xia and his cultivation. he thought that his continuous attempt to craft talismans would affect his cultivation a little, but he didn¡¯t think that he would actually improve slightly! that caused shang xia to think a little deeper into the matter. could crafting talismans actually cause his cultivation to improve? back when he was only a rank three talisman master, shang xia¡¯s divine sense was extremely strong and he was able to craft rank three talismans without rest for several days. of course, there was a limit to how much he could do. he required close to 4 days to complete one talisman. after entering the martial extermination realm, the difficulty of crafting talismans went up and he would require 7 days to craft a single talisman. thanks to his superior cultivation method, he could reduce his inner qi consumption and complete one talisman in 6 short days. now that he entered the tongyou mysterious world, the rich heaven and earth qi allowed him to recover even faster. with the multitude of factors added together, shang xia could maintain his terrifying pace of crafting one rank four talisman every five days! that was the absolute peak state he could be in and unless he was able to maintain a 100 percent success rate, he would never be able to keep himself in that perfect state forever. that was why shang xia would use 6 pieces of rank four talisman paper in 15 days in the first place while failing several times. after a long 5 day break, shang xia finally resumed on the 21st day after he crafted his first space shattering golden blade talisman. luckily, the break he took wasn¡¯t completely void of good news. the talisman hall sent over another batch of liquid rank three ink and even though they weren¡¯t as useful as the hardened batch he used previously, they were still rank three ink nonetheless. ink that had been left in the liquid form couldn¡¯t be kept as long, but shang xia wasn¡¯t exactly in a position to choose the form of ink they gave him currently. choosing a new type of talisman called the mist concealment dissipation talisman, shang xia decided to start on it. it was just a fancy concealment talisman used by martial extermination realm experts at the end of the day but was still considered pretty useful. it had the ability to hide one¡¯s divine perception, and shang xia wondered if he would be able to detect when someone used the talisman in his detection range. after all, his divine perception used to be stronger than others. by the time he started the crafting process again, shang xia had already forgotten the miraculous state he had been in previously. luckily, the experience and lessons he had when he succeeded before stayed with him. his abilities to craft talismans continued to improve. that might be the case, but shang xia failed not too long after he started crafting the mist concealment dissipation talisman. he had been working on it for half a day before he failed. it was true that the longer one worked on the talisman before failing, the greater their loss, but it was a step in the direction of success. being able to reach that point alone was evidence that shang xia¡¯s ability to craft rank four talismans was already improving. unfortunately, his improvement didn¡¯t translate directly into success as he failed twice more when crafting the mist concealment dissipation talisman. theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3ibfjkv. feeling slightly dispirited by the failure, shang xia decided to take a 3 day break. when he finally restarted the crafting process, shang xia didn¡¯t make the same mistake. with 3.5 days of progress, he completed the mist concealment dissipation talisman. the institution had a total of 8 rank four talisman inheritances. shang xia completed 4 of them so far and managed to use 10 pieces of rank four talisman papers. a total of 33 days had passed since he started crafting rank four talismans, and he felt that it was good progress. taking 2 days off to rest, shang xia continued to develop his martial arts. during that time, he also received good news from the institution. the talisman hall managed to work together to complete a small bottle of rank three abyssal ink. the quality might not be the very best, but shang xia felt that it wasn¡¯t time to complain about anything. ever since he started crafting talismans, the talisman hall had been pushed to their limits to craft rank three talisman ink. shang xia didn¡¯t dare to waste any time as he started to craft the rank four abyssal void shattering talisman. this time, his luck wasn¡¯t too bad. he wasted 2 pieces of rank four talisman paper before succeeding on his third attempt. this time, the talisman papers he used weren¡¯t rank four abyssal talisman paper and even though he succeeded, shang xia felt that the success rate was slightly affected. it was a shame he couldn¡¯t do much about it. ¡­ the sixth talisman was somewhat of a special case compared to the previous ones. it was called the thousand mechanism extermination guidance talisman and it wasn¡¯t exactly powerful. instead, it was used to extract extermination qi from chaotic heaven and earth qi so that cultivators could refine them easily. after extracting the chaotic extermination qi from wherever it was, it would still need to undergo several layers of refinement and purification. as such, the thousand mechanism extermination guidance talisman wasn¡¯t really useful for martial extermination realm experts. shang xia was taken aback by the utility of the thousand mechanism extermination guidance talisman, but he wasn¡¯t exactly too surprised that the institution actually had a talisman like that. he thought back to the windy tunnel back in the battlefield between the two worlds where he obtained the spirit of wind previously and realized that using the talisman there would bring about impressive results as all the extermination qi in the air were wind attributed anyway. it seemed as though he was even luckier when crafting the thousand mechanism extermination guidance talisman. he succeeded on his second attempt. even though he successfully crafted it, he had no idea how effective it would be when extracting extermination qi. he didn¡¯t know how long the effects of the talisman would last either. without a reason or a need to test out the talisman, shang xia could only leave it to anyone else who wished to play with the thousand mechanism extermination guidance talisman. with 6 of the 8 rank four talismans recorded in the institution, shang xia was only left with the needle extermination light talisman and the divine restraint talisman. he left the two of them to the end as he felt that those 2 talismans would be the most difficult to craft. the needle extermination light talisman possessed the properties of extreme poison and a sky full of light needles would appear after the talisman was used. it could shatter a cultivator¡¯s extermination origin defense and it would definitely catch one¡¯s opponent by surprise. moreover, one would need to use their extermination qi to maintain the effect of the talisman. after piercing into their target, the poison needles wouldn¡¯t disappear. instead, the poison would fuse into the target¡¯s blood and affect the heart. during the entire process, the user has to maintain those poison needles no matter what. otherwise, a backlash might occur and cause the user to lose control over their inner qi and experience cultivation deviation. crafting the talisman itself wasn¡¯t free from harm either. if they failed, one would have to ensure that the poison light needles that appeared wouldn¡¯t harm themselves! during the crafting process, shang xia became exceptionally serious. he could usually complete a rank four talisman in a little under 4 days, but he used 6 long days in order to craft the needle extermination light talisman. because he failed 3 times before successfully crafting a needle extermination light talisman, he used close to 20 days before he was done. the needle extermination light talisman was the talisman that wasted the most rank four talisman papers so far and shang xia decided to take a long 5 day break after he was done. ensuring he was in his optimal state, he finally decided to craft the divine restraint talisman. the moment he started, he realized that the divine restraint talisman was definitely the most difficult rank four talisman he ever attempted to craft. CH 502 estraint talismans weren¡¯t anything rare in the azure origin world. rank one and rank two restraint talismans were seen all the time and users would slap it onto their target directly. discover the complete story on pawread dot com. a rank three restraint talisman could be activated from a distance away, but not too far. at the very least, one would have to ensure that their target wasn¡¯t moving before using it on them. due to the frequency of how cultivators would be moving all of the time, it was extremely difficult to use a restraint talisman on them. unless they directly slapped it on their opponents, there was not much point in using them. rank three restraint talismans were usually used in sneak attacks to force their targets into situations where they could be slain in one move or something like that. from what shang xia understood, the tongyou institution didn¡¯t possess a recipe for rank three restraint talismans. as such, he never had the chance to craft one. it couldn¡¯t be denied that a restraint talisman was useful, but the weakness was painfully obvious. moreover, talismans couldn¡¯t work on stronger cultivators. rank two restraint talismans couldn¡¯t affect a martial intent realm expert, and similarly, rank three restraint talismans couldn¡¯t work on martial extermination realm experts. the talisman was greatly unlike those of other types. if shang xia tossed out 5 rank three golden spear talismans at a martial extermination realm expert, they would have to run no matter how much they didn¡¯t feel like it. similarly, a rank two golden sword talisman might be able to affect a martial intent realm cultivator when used properly. whatever the case, it was a little strange for the institution not to possess a rank three restraint talisman inheritance when they had a rank four one.it was true that coming up with a rank three restraint talisman from rank one and two ones was extremely difficult, but the reverse wasn¡¯t true. with a rank four restraint talisman, it was much easier to deduce a rank three restraint talisman. of course, that was only true for a rank four talisman grandmaster like shang xia. the institution was probably waiting for an opportunity for shang xia to come up with it when he had nothing else to do after crafting his rank four talismans. the production of the rank four divine restraint talisman was no easy task as shang xia had deduced before. however, he knew that the power contained in the talisman was terrifying. other talismans might possess strong offensive or defensive abilities and allow one to turn the tides when the situation becomes desperate. the divine restraint talisman wasn¡¯t like that. it would come in handy very often as it could restrain martial extermination realm experts when it was used. even though the time it could immobilize the target depended on their cultivation base, a fight between martial extermination realm experts could be decided in the blink of an eye. despite thinking over the way to craft the divine restraint talisman over and over again, shang xia still felt that the difficulty of crafting the talisman had already exceeded his expectations. the reason the rank four divine restraint talisman got its name wasn¡¯t because it would only be able to physically restrain its target. the ¡®divine¡¯ in its name wasn¡¯t for show! it had the ability to freeze the soul! not only would the crafting process require an inordinate amount of inner qi to craft, but it would also require close to 3 times the amount of divine perception. the second criterion would be enough to force many rank four talisman grandmasters away. the crafting process also posed a huge problem. not only would the creator of the talisman not be able to use extermination qi from outside sources, but they would only be able to use their own extermination qi in order to craft the talisman. only when the divine perception and extermination qi came from the same person would the talisman be fully effective. one had to know that shang xia could craft rank four talismans in a little under 4 days if he was successful. a huge part of the reason he could continue to do so was because he had been using extermination qi from other sources so that he wouldn¡¯t have to exhaust his own extermination inner qi. now, shang xia had to change his approach and could only exhaust his divine perception and four constellation qi produced by his extermination origins. because of that, the time shang xia needed to craft the divine restraint talisman would be greatly increased. he wasted 4 pieces of rank four talisman papers before finally succeeding on the fifth try. moreover, his success was mostly because of luck. in order to craft the final rank four talisman recorded in the tongyou institution¡¯s records, shang xia used close to 30 days. when he was finally done, shang xia felt a huge weight lifted off his heart. however, the lethargy he felt didn¡¯t disappear. he fell into a state of exhaustion he had never felt before. without having the chance to tidy up the area, shang xia sank into a chair nearby and fell asleep. just like that, 5 whole days and nights passed. by the time he woke, he was a lot less tired than before. he felt slightly more energized, but that wasn¡¯t all. circulating his four seasons samsara art, he found that his inner qi was flowing extremely smoothly through his body. the time taken for him to complete one cycle had fallen even further. upon further inspection, shang xia discovered that the degree of fusion between his divine perception and his inner qi became even stronger. it didn¡¯t take long for him to discover what caused the change. it was the divine restraint talisman he just crafted. during the crafting process, shang xia had been fully focused on ensuring his divine perception was properly fused with his inner qi in the talisman. when he woke up from his slumber, he managed to subconsciously fuse them together. the fact gave shang xia a pleasant surprise and he felt that the benefits were comparable to when he used a stick of dao comprehension in the past. after circulating one cycle of his inner qi, shang xia discovered that the time he needed had already shortened to 5 hours! getting to his feet, shang xia looked at the messy chamber before him. even though it was a mess, a sense of achievement filled his heart. it had been a little more than 3.5 months since he started crafting rank four talismans in the tongyou mysterious world. he used 24 pieces of rank four talisman paper in total and managed to complete 8 different pieces of rank four talismans. his success rate of crafting talismans was about a third, but shang xia felt that he had improved significantly since he first started. he was confident that he could do better and he currently had 11 pieces of rank four talisman papers left. deciding against crafting more rank four talismans immediately, shang xia chose to calm down and digest his gains. he felt that he needed some time to properly absorb what he learned during his talisman crafting process. at the same time, he needed to adjust his mental state. he had been crafting talismans non-stop for the past few months and the talisman hall had also been sparing no expense in supplying him with resources. taking a break would give them a chance to rest. ¡­ just like that, shang xia took a break for half a month. of course, it wasn¡¯t that shang xia chose to do nothing during the entire time. other than recording his experience when crafting the different rank four talismans and some lessons he had learned, he continued to develop his four seasons samsara art. because of the increased degree of fusion between his divine perception and inner qi, he felt that he managed to grasp onto something special in the four constellation realm. he had recalled shang bo¡¯s advice to him a long time ago that the degree of fusion was the key to comprehending his fourth martial intent in the martial extermination realm. the stronger the fusion, the easier it would be for him to comprehend his martial intent in the future! moreover, shang xia also realized that martial extermination realm experts would be able to circulate their inner qi for one full cycle in around 4 hours or so. the better the cultivation method, the shorter each cycle would take! well, there were naturally exceptions. the amount of inner qi one could circulate was also a serious factor when it came to cultivation. now that shang xia shortened the time it took for him to circulate his inner qi to 5 short hours, he was getting closer and closer to his goal of 4. with the rest of the time he had when not crafting talismans or cultivating, shang xia continued to play with the pieces of rocks he broke off from the boulder that held the abyssal blade before. unfortunately, the gains he had didn¡¯t make up for the losses when trying to craft seals with those pieces of rocks. when time was finally up half a month later, shang xia found that his mental state had finally returned to its peak. he got ready to craft more talismans to use up the rest of his talisman papers. this time, he wasn¡¯t restricted by the type of talisman he needed to craft. shang xia felt that he could craft anything he liked now and his success rate would experience a sharp rise because of the experience he had. it was a shame he only had 11 pieces of rank four talisman papers and the increase in success rates wouldn¡¯t be too obvious. now that he was crafting any talismans he desired, he decided to go for the one he was the most familiar with, the golden sun inferno talisman. succeeding on his first try would also greatly boost his confidence, and going with something he was good at was a good choice. it didn¡¯t come as a surprise that he completed the golden sun inferno talisman 3 days later. with the golden sun inferno talisman complete, shang xia chose to start a different rank four talisman recorded in the zhu family talisman scripture. the new talisman was called the thousand yang sword talisman and even though it wasn¡¯t part of the talismans recorded in the institution, shang xia decided that it was a little bonus he was giving to the talisman hall. after all, he was using their resources to strengthen himself. the way to craft his thousand yang sword talisman was slightly similar to the thousand mechanism extermination guidance talisman, but it was a lot easier. even though it was a new talisman, shang xia quickly succeeded on his second attempt. next, shang xia chose the third and last rank four talisman recorded in the zhu family talisman scripture, the extermination lightning attracting talisman. it was the most difficult rank four talisman recorded in the scripture, and it caused shang xia to waste 3 pieces of rank four talisman papers before finally succeeding. when he was finally done, shang xia had a total of 11 rank four talismans! with the talismans laid out in front of him, shang xia felt extremely content with his achievements. what he didn¡¯t understand was what the number of rank four talismans he knew how to craft represented! CH 503 in the tongyou mysterious world¡­ shang xia¡¯s secret chamber was filled with multiple layers of restrictions, stopping anyone from coming close to it. those restrictions were powerful and they had the ability to shield strange fluctuations from emerging from the chamber. even so, they couldn¡¯t fully prevent the energy fluctuations from exiting shang xia¡¯s secret chamber. after the successful creation of every rank four talisman, a strange phenomenon would appear. especially when they were in the tongyou mysterious world with such dense heaven and earth qi. back when shang xia crafted his first rank four talisman in the changfeng city in hai min¡¯s courtyard, he caused a massive disturbance because he failed to place down enough restrictions. if not for bu jingshuang¡¯s quick reactions to activate the city protection formation, half the street in the city would have been incinerated by the ball of fire shang xia created. because of the secret chamber he was in, the restrictions greatly reduced the disturbance to the tongyou mysterious world every time he succeeded. even so, heaven and earth qi would still gather around his secret chamber to cause some slight commotion when he succeeded. sometimes, a huge gust of wind would be swept up or the temperature around the secret chamber would rise sharply. there were also times when the region would be filled with a thin layer of mist and sounds of metal scraping would fill the air. rumblings of lightning could also be heard from time to time. as the youngest martial extermination realm expert in the tongyou institution and the only talisman grandmaster, shang xia¡¯s every action would be closely scrutinized. it was especially so when he had chosen to enter seclusion to craft talismans. the tongyou mysterious world could act as a layer of protection from prying eyes, but there were still several experts training in there. they couldn¡¯t possibly train forever as they had to take breaks from time to time. every time they took a break in the tongyou mysterious world, they would gather together and shang xia would naturally be a part of their discussions. they spoke about shang xia¡¯s talisman crafting the most and they were even discussing how many he would be able to craft. too bad for them, the results would only be shown after shang xia emerged from seclusion. since the results weren¡¯t immediately available, there were several geniuses among the cultivators in the tongyou mysterious world who came up with betting on how long shang xia would take to craft a rank four talisman. arranging the time they cultivated, someone would keep an eye on shang xia¡¯s secret chamber to look for any strange signs of successful talisman creation. they even added those experts from the talisman hall into their plans. they went to ask if shang xia had been asking for more talisman papers in the meantime. because of the irregular breaks he had been taking, along with his cultivation, shang xia caused those watching him to misjudge the situation. when he resumed his talisman crafting journey, the phenomena that happened outside his secret chamber became a great source of entertainment for those outside. several instructors, custodians, and seniors of the institution had been taking part in the bets. as time went by, their initial excitement when he managed to craft a talisman turned into admiration. then, admiration turned into shock as he succeeded frequently. eventually, the shock wore off and they became numb to his success. one day, wu tianfang even appeared to proclaim to the rest, ¡°this¡­ everyone, it looks like we have witnessed a miracle happening in front of us.¡± ¡­ when shang xia took his breaks throughout the time he crafted talismans, he had long since noticed those people observing him. he didn¡¯t care too much about it though, and he took it as though they were merely curious about him. after all, they were in the tongyou mysterious world. anyone who had the qualifications to enter the mysterious world was definitely a member of the institution. no one would try harming him in the tongyou mysterious world and he couldn¡¯t care less about them. because he didn¡¯t care about them, their bets had already spread through the outside world. the members of the talisman hall started it when they came over to deliver resources, and the news quickly made its rounds around the institution. initially, not too many people paid attention. they merely took shang xia¡¯s success as some sort of passing comment but with more and more stories of how shang xia had been succeeding, cultivators started to pay more attention. there were some cultivators who left the tongyou mysterious world from time to time and with their input, news of shang xia¡¯s success became even more widespread. quickly, a huge craze started over how often shang xia had been crafting rank four talismans in the outside world. shang xia didn¡¯t know what was happening, and after completing an extermination lightning attraction talisman, shang xia received another delivery of resources from the talisman hall. ¡°brother ren, why are you personally sending the resources this time?¡± shang xia asked when he noticed who had come. he was surprised to see that they had sent ren huan, a good friend he had in the talisman hall, to deliver the resources. as a rank four talisman paper craftsman, along with shang xia¡¯s trust, ren huan¡¯s position in the talisman hall wasn¡¯t low! he could stand shoulder to shoulder with the rank three talisman masters, fan yuanhui and gong hang! ren huan stared at shang xia with a strange gaze before breaking out into a bout of laughter, ¡°it¡¯s nothing much. i was just curious about your progress! you went into seclusion for almost half a year now and i asked lou zizhang for the role of the delivery boy so i could come in here to take a look!¡± grunting softly, shang xia wondered out loud, ¡°lou zizhang didn¡¯t make things difficult for you, right?¡± shang xia knew that ren huan¡¯s authority out there wasn¡¯t actually too impressive. even if he was a rank four talisman paper craftsman, he wouldn¡¯t be qualified to send resources into the tongyou mysterious world. sniggering to himself, ren huan replied, ¡°relax. everyone knows that brother shang is my backer now. moreover, they only allowed me to enter to deliver some items. i have to leave as soon as my task is complete. i won¡¯t get to cultivate in the tongyou mysterious world. no one would take the risk to offend you by denying me entry for such a simple reason.¡± because a bulk of his attention was still placed on those pieces of rocks that he failed to turn into seals, shang xia didn¡¯t hear the meaning behind ren huan¡¯s words. unwilling to trouble shang xia, ren huan quickly changed the topic. he chuckled, ¡°guess what good stuff i brought you this time?¡± shang xia¡¯s attention turned to the fatty and he guessed, ¡°did you manage to make several more pieces of rank four talisman paper?¡± shang xia realized that the lack of resources was what was stopping him from making progress and rank four talisman paper was exactly what he needed. ren huan shook his head in response. without letting shang xia wait for a long time, he added, ¡°i brought rank four talisman ink!¡± ¡°what?!¡± shang xia was pleasantly surprised. leaping out of his chair, he stared at the fatty. nodding his head happily, ren huan continued, ¡°you didn¡¯t hear wrong. i brought rank four ink with me!¡± ¡°how is this possible?¡± shang xia asked, ¡°don¡¯t tell me someone in the talisman hall became a rank four ink craftsman?¡± ¡°rank four grandmaster alchemist, ge muchen, personally made this.¡± ren huan explained. ¡°huh?¡± shang xia stared at ren huan in fright. ¡°senior¡­ how did senior¡­ no, senior ge is an alchemist! how does he know how to craft rank four talisman ink?¡± ren huan shook his head and muttered, ¡°maybe rank four talisman ink is similar to making medicine¡­ i don¡¯t know? all i know is that master ge muchen appeared in our talisman hall¡¯s ink room all of a sudden and used the assistance of several rank three ink craftsmen to make this bottle of abyssal ink!¡± ren huan carefully handed over a small jade bottle to shang xia as he spoke. ¡°please thank master ge muchen for helping me. no. after i leave the tongyou mysterious world, i¡¯ll personally go over and thank him!¡± shang xia said as he received the bottle of rank four ink. he stared at the bottle that was glistening reddish-black in color. shaking his head suddenly, ren huan continued, ¡°master ge said that all you need to do is to focus on talisman crafting. he said that there was no need to pay him a visit to thank him. he won¡¯t be receiving visitors anyway.¡± shang xia stared at the fatty in shock and ren huan quickly added, ¡°it¡¯s true! that¡¯s what he said!¡± shaking his head helplessly, shang xia could only keep the bottle before glancing at ren huan. he saw that the fatty seemed to be hesitating about something and he quickly broke out into a smile, ¡°brother ren, you don¡¯t have to hide anything from me. just speak your mind.¡± ¡°brother shang, this¡­ our talisman hall basically used up all our resources.¡± ren huan sighed. widening his eyes in shock, shang xia broke out into laughter the next moment. ¡°did lou zizhang send you to tell me this?¡± ren huan shook his hands helplessly in response. ¡°i know, i know. however, it¡¯s true that we¡¯re out of resources. originally, we prepared 14 pieces of rank four talisman papers for you and no one thought that the other experts of the institution would be able to gather so many more when they heard that you were planning to enter seclusion. in the end, you managed to gather 35 pieces of rank four talisman papers! in the months that passed, master lou and master fan had been arguing all the time just to gather more resources for you!¡± ¡­ after he finally sent ren huan away, shang xia decided to end his period of rest. now that he managed to obtain rank four talisman ink, he couldn¡¯t wait to start crafting even more talismans. rank four abyssal ink was naturally used to craft rank four abyssal void shattering talismans and shang xia could feel a sense of urgency deep in his heart. he could tell that something was about to go down and those talismans might be of great use in the near future! in his state of excitement, shang xia managed to succeed on the first attempt. after crafting his abyssal void shattering talisman, shang xia could tell that the talisman ink really made a difference. compared to the abyssal void shattering talisman that he made with rank three ink, his new talisman boasted stronger effects and could last a little longer! quickly continuing, shang xia managed to craft another abyssal void shattering talisman in 2 attempts. finally switching to a spiritual protection substitution talisman, shang xia managed to complete one after wasting a piece of rank four talisman paper. with two-thirds of his rank four abyssal ink left, shang xia felt that he could still attempt 10 pieces of rank four talismans before he ran out. explore the extended edition on pawread dot com. by that time, shang xia had already completed 14 rank four talismans, far surpassing a success rate of 33 percent if he factored in all the talisman papers he used. CH 504 talisman grandmaster shang was finally about to emerge from seclusion! the news caught the attention of many cultivators in the institution. especially so for those who had been betting in the tongyou mysterious world. all of them wanted to know how many talismans shang xia actually managed to craft. ¡°heh! brother huo, how many rank four talismans do you think grandmaster shang managed to craft?¡± someone seemed to have received information that huo wuji had a pretty good relationship with shang xia in the institution and they decided to ask him for some insider information. chuckling in amusement, huo wuji replied, ¡°brother shan, all of us have been watching grandmaster shang¡¯s secret chamber. don¡¯t you have an idea of how many talismans he made?¡± deacon shan broke into laughter the next moment. ¡°no matter what, we¡¯re separated by a layer of restrictions! there might be some talismans that manage to evade our detection¡­ if that happens, we won¡¯t be able to accurately tell!¡± ¡°deacon shan, looks like you bet quite a large amount if you¡¯re so concerned about this¡­¡± huo wuji joked. a helpless smile appeared on deacon shan¡¯s face and he sighed, ¡°i got carried away and bet nearly 10 pieces of gold in one shot!¡± 10 pieces of gold were the same as 10 gold coins. cultivators weren¡¯t usually willing to use the word ¡®gold coins¡¯ to quantify their money and they simply substituted them by calling gold coins pieces of gold instead. 10 gold coins were equivalent to 1000 silver essence. the amount deacon shan bet was more than enough to gather 2 portions of rank two advancement medicine! as a deacon of the tongyou institution, 1000 silver essence wasn¡¯t exactly a small amount. it was close to several months of his pay. fortunately, the institution didn¡¯t just pay them a standard amount every month. there were still bonuses and ways for them to earn a little more. huo wuji grunted softly after hearing how much was on the line. ¡°you¡¯re really willing to party with your money¡­¡± ¡°what are we talking about? there are so many more people out there who bet more than myself¡­ they even bet on the exact number of talismans he would manage to craft!¡± deacon shan muttered. wu tingfang, who was nearby, interrupted, ¡°how many talismans do you think grandmaster shang managed to craft?¡± ¡°we don''t know the exact number, only an estimate. at the very least, we know that he managed to complete 12 rank four talismans. our highest estimate is that he managed to complete 17 of them!¡± deacon shan muttered. ¡°17?! that¡¯s not possible!¡± wu tingfang shook his head. ¡°grandmaster shang only has 35 pieces of rank four talisman paper to work with. if he really managed to complete 17 talismans, wouldn¡¯t that mean that his success rate is over 50 percent? those are rank four talismans we¡¯re talking about! a rank four talisman grandmaster only needs to succeed a third of the time. a 50 percent success rate only applies to rank three talisman masters!¡± huo wuji also agreed. ¡°17 is pushing it a little. even though i¡¯m extremely confident in grandmaster shang¡¯s skills, i wouldn¡¯t dare to think that he managed to craft 17 rank four talismans.¡± deacon shan added immediately, ¡°who knows, that might actually be the case! didn¡¯t you hear that the changes around his secret chamber have been getting more frequent in the past month? i heard that a rank four talisman paper craftsman and grandmaster shang¡¯s friend came to deliver a bottle of rank four talisman ink a little more than a month ago. that might help to push his success rate to a whole new level!¡± huo wuji and wu tingfang shook their heads slightly in disbelief. rank four talisman ink might be useful when crafting talismans, but crafting rank four talismans depended on the talisman masters themselves. external reasons were also important when it came to crafting talismans, but a mere bottle of rank four talisman ink wouldn¡¯t help too much. ¡°actually, 17 rank four talismans might be a stretch, but it¡¯s not exactly impossible¡­¡± someone else interrupted. turning around to look at the person who arrived, the 3 of them chuckled. ¡°chief mu!¡± deacon shan seemed extremely interested in any possibility that shang xia could craft more talismans than they had thought and quickly asked, ¡°chief mu, why do you think that? is there a reason you would believe that grandmaster shang would be able to craft the talismans? please advise us¡­¡± mu jianyin broke out into laughter and explained, ¡°even though our institution has around 8 rank four talisman inheritances, he might not have to make all of them.¡± a light lit up in deacon shan¡¯s eyes. ¡°chief mu, do you mean¡­¡± mu jianyin continued to laugh. ¡°every talisman master is good at something. the institution might have different types of talismans, but those talismans are not related to each other. no matter how talented one is, one might not be able to craft them all. he should be able to craft 5 or 6 of them¡­ alright, let¡¯s not look down on him. after all, we¡¯re in no position to ensure he crafts all of those talismans anyway.¡± her explanation was correct. regardless of who it was, none of them found it in themselves to disagree with her. mu jianyin continued, ¡°... because of that, he might have familiarized himself with several types of talismans. if he focused on those, he would greatly increase the success rate of crafting rank four talismans.¡± deacon shan couldn¡¯t hold himself back and yelled in agreement, ¡°that sounds reasonable!¡± mu jianyin smiled softly and completed her explanation, ¡°of course, crafting 16 or 17 rank four talismans seems a little over the top. i believe he should be able to craft 14 of them or so¡­¡± deacon shan failed to contain his happiness after hearing her explanation. ¡°talisman grandmaster shang has already left the tongyou mysterious world and returned to the talisman hall!¡± a yell came from somewhere, attracting the attention of everyone present. mu jianyin followed the source of the voice and heard that it came from the outside world and quickly turned to leave. she might not have entered the martial extermination realm, but she was one of the four heads of the outreach division. her status was a little higher than huo wuji and the others and it was a little more convenient for her to enter and leave the tongyou mysterious world whenever she wished. a quick look at bit.ly/3ibfjkv will leave you more fulfilled. seeing how much of a rush mu jianyin was in, wu tingfang couldn¡¯t help but yell, ¡°chief mu, did you also place some bets on the kid?¡± she didn¡¯t turn around, but one could hear the awkwardness in her voice, ¡°haha, i also wagered a few gold pieces¡­ i¡¯ll head back and take a look. i don¡¯t think it will take long for the truth to be revealed!¡± ¡­ after leaving the tongyou mysterious world, shang xia casually made his way back to the talisman hall. along the way, countless people stared at him and some fearless ones even pointed at him as they spoke. too lazy to bother with them, shang xia quickly returned to the inner hall in the talisman hall where he discovered many people already waiting for him. other than lou zizhang and fan yuanhui, gong hang who had been in seclusion the whole time was also present. everyone else in the talisman hall who had some sort of status was also present. naturally, ren huan was also waiting expectantly for him and so was everyone else. that wasn¡¯t all. even liu zhiyuan, the head of the warehouse division and a deputy patriarch of the institution was present. he also brought important members of the halls affiliated with the warehouse division. zhang haogu from the scripture depository was also present, but he came alone. other than the two martial extermination realm experts who had been outside the tongyou mysterious world, yuan zhen and qian sitong had left their seclusion to head over. shang xia could feel that they were consciously trying to hide their auras as though they were hiding their cultivation level. spreading his divine perception out, shang xia could tell that other than those present in the hall, there were many who were paying attention to everything that was happening. with his heart trembling slightly, shang xia chuckled, ¡°what¡¯s the matter? what¡¯s with the huge lineup? is this really important or something?¡± of those who were present, shang xia seemed to be one of the most junior members of the institution. however, regardless of whether it was his cultivation level or his status as a talisman grandmaster, no one else seemed qualified to talk to him other than liu zhiyuan and zhang haogu. even qian sitong and yuan zhen were desperately trying to suppress their presence. finally breaking the silence, liu zhiyuan took a step forward and laughed, ¡°it¡¯s nothing too much! however, everyone here is a little curious about what happened during your seclusion in the tongyou mysterious world. we would also like to know martial nephew shang¡¯s progress when it comes to talisman crafting.¡± ¡°oh?¡± shang xia grunted softly and continued, ¡°it took half a year, but thanks to everyone¡¯s support, i managed to achieve what i had. i would like to thank everyone here before anything else.¡± after speaking, he cupped his fists and turned to everyone in the hall. his actions were genuine as no one was clearer about it than he was. almost everyone present had a hand in assisting his progress in the way of talismans. gong hang, fan yuanhui, lou zizhang, and everyone in the talisman hall silently accepted his gesture. as silence fell upon the hall once again, no one dared to breathe loudly. only the martial extermination realm experts dared to stare at shang xia with expectation burning in their eyes. realizing that the situation had returned to a relative calm, gong hang spoke suddenly, ¡°why don¡¯t you present the talismans you crafted? let¡¯s not keep everyone in suspense any longer!¡± the moment the words left his lips, attendants emerged from one of the side entrances. all of them held a jade platter in their hands and the first of them approached shang xia. with a smile on his face, shang xia brought out a sealed case and placed it on the platter after personally opening the case to reveal its contents. all of a sudden, gong hang¡¯s voice rang clearly through the air. ¡°a rank four spiritual protection substitution talisman!¡± the moment he spoke, the attendant brought the platter around the hall to show off the talisman to everyone in the hall. when he was done, he went over for another expert to seal the case. standing at the side, the talisman was displayed for everyone to observe and learn from. in the middle of the hall, shang xia gestured for the second attendant. when he arrived, shang xia placed another talisman on the jade platter. with a calm look in his eyes, gong hang declared, ¡°a rank four space shattering golden blade talisman!¡± the attendant took the same route the first one did before arriving at the back of the hall. shang xia continued to gesture for the next attendant as gong hang continued to introduce the talismans shang xia presented. ¡°rank four snow spike ice radiance talisman!¡± ¡°rank four mist concealment dissipation talisman!¡± ¡­ ¡°it has already been four types of talismans! grandmaster shang managed to craft 4 different talismans!¡± ¡°grandmaster shang is truly talented indeed. he took out half of the talisman inheritances recorded by the institution.¡± ¡°shh, it¡¯s not over yet. grandmaster shang is gesturing for the next attendant!¡± voices spread through the hall and cheers could even be heard coming from outside. ¡­ everyone stared at shang xia who was gesturing for the next attendant. as the oldest and most experienced talisman master other than shang xia, gong hang was trying his best to maintain his indifference when introducing the talismans. coughing lightly, he continued, ¡°rank four abyssal void shattering talisman!¡± ¡°rank¡­ rank four thousand mechanism extermination guidance talisman!¡± CH 505 among the experts who had gathered in the talisman hall, mu jianyin¡¯s expression seemed to be a little more awkward than the rest. she previously estimated that shang xia would only be able to craft 5 or so unique talismans and that he had focused on crafting them in order to raise his success rate. now that the name of the sixth talisman had left gong hang¡¯s lips, shang xia had destroyed her initial estimations and she felt her face heating up slightly. even though huo wuji, shan tong, and the others weren¡¯t around, they weren¡¯t the only ones who heard her ¡®explanation¡¯ back in the tongyou mysterious world. that wasn¡¯t all. mu jianyin¡¯s cultivation was close to the martial extermination realm and she was a little stronger than most of the experts present. she could tell that gong hang was far from done! ¡­ ¡°rank¡­ rank four thousand mechanism extermination guidance talisman!¡± gong hang hadn¡¯t stopped, and his voice seemed to crack a little. as he pulled his tone longer and longer, he sounded like he was singing rather than introducing those talismans. shang xia had pulled out 6 different rank four talismans at that point! many experts of the institution couldn¡¯t contain the ripples spreading through their hearts and they started discussing among themselves. the whispers started to spread through the air and it echoed endlessly through the hall. even the martial extermination realm experts turned deadly serious as they stared at shang xia in the middle of the hall as they awaited his next action. outside the hall, cheers broke out the moment shang xia brought out his sixth talisman and gong hang made the announcement. ¡­ in the inner hall, shang xia once again gestured towards one of the attendants who was holding a jade platter in his hand. a huge smile could be seen on shang xia¡¯s face as he placed another talisman on it. ¡°rank four needle extermination light talisman!¡± gong hang announced. his voice was raised by a few pitches, catching many people by surprise. after getting over their initial shock, many of them sighed in admiration and maintained a smile on their face. they could hear that the old talisman master¡¯s voice was starting to break when he made the announcement. the well-known talisman master who had been doing his best for the past twenty or so years had established the talisman hall and poured everything he had into it. at that moment, he was more excited than anyone present. ¡­ ¡°that¡¯s the seventh rank four talisman!¡± no one knew who gasped loudly, but a single sentence was enough to suppress every other sound in the hall. that wasn¡¯t seven rank four talismans they were talking about. that was the seventh unique rank four talisman shang xia brought out! ¡°yeah¡­ it¡¯s already the seventh rank four talisman¡­ how many talisman grandmasters in our azure origin world grasped so many different types of rank four talismans?!¡± someone muttered softly. ¡°talisman grandmaster shang has only become a rank four talisman grandmaster for slightly more than a year!¡± ¡°could there be¡­ could there be an eighth?¡± ¡­ with their jaws dropping to the ground, shang xia gestured for the attendant once again. he placed an eighth rank four talisman onto the jade platter. ¡°rank¡­ rank four¡­ rank four divine restraint talisman!¡± gong hang gasped. his voice cracked this time. not a single person dared to joke about this time. those standing around even seemed to forget to discuss among them sleeves. looks of shock were plastered on their faces. as the attendant walked across the hall with the completed talisman in his hand, it was so silent they could hear a pin drop. ¡°this¡­ this is truly¡­ this is too¡­¡± deputy patriarch liu zhiyuan was the person who finally broke the silence. he didn¡¯t know how to express himself at that very moment and he stuttered softly, ¡°this is truly a blessing to our institution!¡± ¡°that¡¯s right!¡± the experts in the hall finally snapped back to reality and cheers started to fill the hall. ¡°incredible!¡± ¡°this is amazing!¡± ¡°eight unique rank four talismans¡­. how many talisman grandmasters will be able to do something like that?¡± ¡°no! from what i know, grandmaster shang didn¡¯t only learn 8 inheritances from the institution. he probably knows even more!¡± ¡°everyone, grandmaster shang definitely still has rank four talismans on him. don¡¯t you wish to find out how many he actually crafted?¡± ¡­ ¡°he did it¡­ he actually did it¡­¡± mu jianyin muttered softly to herself and a look of melancholy appeared in her eyes. it was as though she had recalled something that happened a long time ago. chief mu jianyin of the outreach division seemed to reach some sort of conclusion that very instant. all the excitement in her heart disappeared and despite the very heated discussions around her, she turned to leave. there were many experts who stood beside her earlier who continued to discuss among each other, ¡°grandmaster shang managed to craft all 8 talismans recorded in the talisman hall¡­ i wonder how many talismans he actually crafted! he can¡¯t possibly craft 8 rank four talismans with 35 pieces of rank four talisman papers, right?¡± ¡°what do you know?!¡± ¡°it¡¯s amazing for grandmaster shang to grasp one type of rank four talisman after becoming a rank four talisman grandmaster. it¡¯s amazing for him to learn how to craft 8 different talismans already!¡± ¡°brother, you¡¯re right. other rank four talisman grandmasters might not be his match at all. the difficulty of crafting a different talisman is on a whole different scale when it comes to rank four talismans. a rank three talisman master might craft one talisman 100 times in order to know the process well enough to achieve a respectable success rate. however, a rank four talisman grandmaster might not be able to achieve a one-third success rate even if he attempts to craft a rank four talisman 100 times!¡± ¡°that¡¯s a little low¡­¡± ¡°i heard that everyone would come knocking once a rank four talisman grandmaster¡¯s success rate reaches one-third. otherwise, they would have to look for resources to train themselves until they actually manage to reach such a high success rate. of course, they could also choose to work for a certain superpower to receive enough resources to train themselves. those who try to gather resources for themselves would take an extremely long time to raise their success rate. on the other hand, working for a power means that they basically sold themselves away. they might be able to receive a huge amount of resources to craft resources and hone themselves, but they would basically become talisman crafting slaves for the next 20 years or so¡­¡± ¡°then, grandmaster shang¡­¡± ¡°obviously, he doesn¡¯t fall into either category! even if he was willing to craft talismans without end, no one would dare to treat him like a tool!¡± ¡°no¡­ i mean¡­ i¡¯m trying to ask how high grandmaster shang¡¯s success rate is!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡­ ¡°since everyone wishes to know and it¡¯s not easy for so many of us to gather here¡­¡± zhang haogu¡¯s gaze landed on shang xia and he chuckled, ¡°grandmaster shang, i don¡¯t wish to sound rude, but would you like to widen everyone¡¯s horizons? can you tell us how many rank four talismans you actually crafted during your time in the tongyou mysterious world?¡± shang xia released a soundless laughter. by that time, he had no idea how many people in the institution had been betting on him or against him. however, from their reactions, he could tell one thing. the number of talismans he could craft had long since exceeded the reasonable betting scope those people were playing with. his achievements even brought the attention of the institution to himself. it seemed as though the greater his success rate, the larger the intentions the institution would have for him! shang xia knew as much as he wasn¡¯t exactly bothered by it. his gaze turned to land on the attendants who were looking at him expectantly. with a smile resurfacing on his face, he gestured to them. the moment they received the signal, one of them brought another jade platter over to shang xia. they didn¡¯t expect to see another different type of rank four talisman hitting the plate. ¡°rank four golden sun inferno talisman!¡± gong hang¡¯s voice rang through the hall. he was familiar with the talisman because of what he heard from bu jingshuang in the past. a quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. ¡°this is his ninth talisman!¡± a voice rang through the hall. ¡°that¡¯s his ninth unique talisman!¡± someone else corrected the person who spoke earlier. shang xia waved his hand and placed yet another different rank four talisman onto the plate in the next attendant¡¯s hand. ¡°this is the thousand yang sword talisman. it is also a rank four talisman.¡± shang xia mentioned after placing the talisman down. he was afraid that gong hang wouldn¡¯t be able to recognize it as it was the first time it was appearing in the talisman hall. ¡°rank¡­ rank four¡­ rank four thousand yang sword talisman!¡± the attendant repeated immediately. even though the voice was nowhere as commanding as gong hang¡¯s deep and resounding articulation, no one in the hall was under the martial extremity realm. another round of gasps filled the air while a third attendant approached shang xia. ¡°rank four extermination lightning attracting talisman!¡± ¡°eleventh¡­ that¡¯s the eleventh unique rank four talisman he brought out!¡± a terrifying thought flashed through the minds of those present when they stared at shang xia expectantly. will there be more? under their strange gazes, shang xia waved his hand to call for another attendant. as everyone was getting numb to the number of surprises they had received, the attendant announced, ¡°this is another rank four abyssal void shattering talisman!¡± the talismans were finally starting to repeat! those standing in the hall were surprised that shang xia was no longer bringing out new talismans, but a terrifying thought filled their minds. talisman grandmaster shang actually grasped the method to craft 11 different rank four talismans! 11 talismans! a huge portion of rank four talisman grandmasters wouldn¡¯t even see 10 types of rank four talismans in their lives, much less learn how to craft 11 of them! now, even those ordinary folks in the hall managed to see 11 different types of rank four talismans! ¡­ no one knew when, but the cultivators outside the hall had been cheering non-stop since shang xia brought out his unique talismans. when the word ¡®another¡¯ finally emerged from the hall, someone outside was keeping track of the number of rank four talismans that appeared. ¡°it¡¯s the 12th talisman!¡± soon after, shang xia placed another rank four abyssal void shattering talisman onto a jade platter. ¡°a third abyssal void shattering talisman!¡± the attendant yelled. from outside the hall, an excited cry followed, ¡°the 13th talisman!¡± shang xia placed the last talisman he crafted onto the final platter and the attendant yelled after confirming with shang xia, ¡°this is the final piece of rank four talisman, a rank four spiritual protection substitution talisman!¡± a heavenly roar came from outside the hall at that instant, ¡°the 14th talisman! wow!¡± CH 506 standing in the middle of the hall, shang xia looked around after handing over his 14th talisman. of the 35 pieces of rank four talisman paper he used, he managed to craft 11 unique talismans and 3 repeated ones for a total of 14. even though several months had passed since shang xia started crafting talismans in the tongyou mysterious world, the rumors that surrounded his talisman crafting spree didn¡¯t seem to stop. ¡­ of the 14 talismans that shang xia crafted, he had long decided to leave behind those that came from the institution¡¯s inheritance. deep down, he and everyone else present knew that the 14 pieces of talisman papers provided by the talisman hall would never be enough for him to craft all the talismans he did. they weren¡¯t even enough to craft the 8 talismans recorded in the institution¡¯s inheritance. because he used the talisman papers that had been given to him by the various factions and his friends, he was bound to owe some of them favors. however, now that he managed to craft so many talismans, leaving a portion of them in the institution would allow him to transfer a portion of the burden of favor to the talisman hall. everyone present knew what shang xia¡¯s intentions were if he chose to leave the talismans in the talisman hall for future generations of experts to study, but it was an open plot. the talisman hall would gain an exceptional amount of benefits and they were open to accepting shang xia¡¯s favor. now that he had settled the talisman hall, it was time to return all the favors he received. other than the 8 talismans that came from the institution, he had 6 more rank four talismans on him. of them, he had 2 abyssal void shattering talismans, one golden sun inferno talisman, a thousand yang sword talisman, an extermination lightning attracting talisman, and a spiritual protection substitution talisman. of course, there were a bunch of rank two and three talismans he crafted before working on the rank four ones and those weren¡¯t given to the institution. thinking back to the talisman papers he received, other than the 14 from the talisman hall, he received 21 from different sources. when he first gathered them all, he was even worried that all the rank four talisman papers in the you continent had been swept clean. looking at a list he made for the source of the 21 pieces of rank four talisman papers, shang xia decided to return the favor by giving them 1 rank four talisman for every 3 talisman papers he received from them. the worth would be adjusted to however many pieces of rank four talisman papers they gave him. there was also no question about it. he wouldn¡¯t have enough rank four talismans to go around and he decided to replace them with 2 to 3 rank three talismans depending on the situation. with the plan in mind, shang xia brought out the thousand yang sword talisman and went to visit liu zhiyuan, the current patriarch of the liu clan and the head of the warehouse division in the tongyou institution. because liu zhiyuan and zhang haogu had been vying for their authority in the institution, shang xia was almost dragged into their power battle in the past. luckily, he managed to remain neutral because of his personal strength and prestige. liu zhiyuan decided to give in and he came over to express his goodwill to shang xia by giving him 3 pieces of rank four talisman papers. things might have been concluded between them on the surface, but shang xia knew that there were many underlying manners that he had to follow. even if they ignored their status in the institution, the liu and shang clans were great clans of the tongyou city. they had to keep up appearances on the surface and shang xia was a crucial part of the show this time. when shang xia paid his visit to the liu clan manor, liu zhiyuan welcomed him enthusiastically. after a bunch of formalities, shang xia handed the rank four thousand yang sword talisman over as a signal of his goodwill and they parted ways happily. next came the ji clan. shang xia went to deliver a golden sun inferno talisman as thanks for their support. the last of the great clans shang xia visited was the yun clan. the yun clan delivered 4 pieces of rank four talisman papers when shang xia said that he was going into seclusion, more than any other faction. in the end, shang xia gifted them with an abyssal void shattering talisman along with 2 other rank three talismans he crafted personally. when he was done visiting the 3 great clans, shang xia didn¡¯t need to personally show his face to the rest of the factions anymore. he could send someone in his stead to give his thanks. even though rank three talismans couldn¡¯t be compared to rank four talismans, shang xia¡¯s compensation rate made up for the difference. he would give them 2 rank three talismans for every rank four talisman paper they provided him. at the end of the day, one rank four talisman was somewhat comparable to 6 rank three ones and shang xia felt that his rate of compensation was fair. for most martial extermination realm experts, using a rank four talisman was a waste of heavenly resources. the moment one tossed out a rank four talisman, they would lose it forever. at the very least, getting rank three talismans from shang xia made up for the difference in quality with quantity. of course, having a rank four talisman would make all the difference when it came to a life or death situation¡­ but that was another problem that honestly didn¡¯t affect shang xia. he might have given the other great clans rank four talismans as thanks, but he didn¡¯t plan on substituting the rest of his favors with rank three talismans. there were exceptions to every rule and one of them was ge qingzhu who was stationed by the institution in the battlefield between the two worlds. he might have only given shang xia two pieces of rank four talisman papers back when shang xia wanted to enter seclusion, but he assisted shang xia a lot during his quest to craft his four seasons samsara brew in the past. he even gave shang xia a piece of the nine petaled lotus root which had the ability to take on some damage in shang xia¡¯s stead. it was a treasure that directly contributed to shang xia¡¯s escape from feng yezi back in the cloud water gorge. because of that, shang xia especially left behind an extermination lightning attracting talisman that was one of the strongest rank four talismans he made for ge qingzhu. he looked for shang tai personally and requested him to hand the talisman over to ge qingzhu when he entered the battlefield between the two worlds again. next came zhang haogu of the scripture depository. the old master had given shang xia a lot of pointers and guidance. shang xia understood that he had to express his goodwill for the old master and he decided to give zhang haogu a piece of spiritual protection substitution talisman in case anything happened. speaking of old friends, bu jingshuang was also one of those shang xia was extremely grateful for. the old man who helped him since they were preparing for the war of the tongyou mysterious world sent over 2 pieces of rank four talisman papers when he heard shang xia¡¯s intentions. unfortunately, shang xia didn¡¯t plan to give him the last rank four talisman. one of the reasons behind his actions was his reluctance to give away his last piece of rank four talisman. next, bu jingshuang couldn¡¯t be compared to either ge qingzhu or zhang haogu. not only did shang xia not owe bu jingshuang much, it was the other way around. if one had to mention who was the most qualified to take on the role of the changfeng city lord, shang xia would rank way higher than bu jingshuang. one could even say that shang xia was the one who gave bu jingshuang the position of the changfeng city lord. because of their unique relationship, shang xia looked for shang quan to request for him to hand over 4 rank three talismans in appreciation of his contributions. the next person who was on the list was ren huan, and with the relationship between the two, shang xia knew that there was no need for him to give the fatty a rank four talisman. ren huan wouldn¡¯t be able to make use of it to its fullest no matter how hard he tried. giving him several lower-ranked talismans would benefit him a lot more. after he was finally done, shang xia was left with 1 rank four abyssal void shattering talisman and a bunch of rank two and three talismans. the reason he kept the abyssal void shattering talisman wasn¡¯t because of other reasons. he was merely curious about the limits of the talisman. one couldn¡¯t think that shang xia understood everything there was about the abyssal void breaking talisman even though he had crafted a few of them. he didn¡¯t know the true extent of the talisman¡¯s power and he had a sneaking suspicion that if he managed to uncover the truth of the abyssal void shattering talisman, he would be pointed in the correct direction of the abyssal emptiness talisman in the future. the gates of a rank five talisman grandmaster would slowly open before him. unfortunately, he had no idea where to even start. pondering endlessly over the abyssal void shattering talisman, shang xia felt that the secret had to do with the abyssal talisman paper he was supposed to craft it on. the abyssal void shattering talisman he kept for himself was crafted with rank four abyssal ink, but he didn¡¯t make it from abyssal talisman paper. the talisman hall had basically been emptied out by shang xia during his talisman crafting spree, and shang xia felt that they wouldn¡¯t be able to provide him with any rank four talisman papers in the near future, much less abyssal talisman paper. having spent a larger half of the year in the tongyou mysterious world to craft talismans, shang xia felt an unprecedented sense of loss when he saw that he was only left with a single rank four talisman. a quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. it might look like a massive loss, but shang xia knew that it was a trade off for his improvement in the way of talismans. during the entire process, he also managed to make strong progress in his cultivation and he refined his four seasons samsara art to a whole new level. he could tell that he wasn¡¯t far off from reaching the large completion stage of his secret art, and that was a blessing indeed. his personal cultivation also improved. even though it wasn¡¯t that obvious as cultivation tended to stagnate slightly in the martial extermination realm, shang xia could tell that he had grown stronger. there was also the matter of world origin in the tongyou mysterious world. it might not be enough to tempt shang xia¡¯s crimson soul tablet to start devouring wildly, it was enough for shang xia¡¯s comprehension of his twenty four solar terms divine blade art. that was the name of his rank four martial arts, and it was making slow progress. those weren¡¯t all. shang xia actually gained a little knowledge on how to craft talisman seals. his progress in it might be the smallest of all of them, but there was still progress nonetheless. at the very least, he managed to carve a seal out of the chunks of rock to create a prototype of the seal he had in mind. it was able to stamp out rank one talismans, but the time those talismans could be maintained was short. it would quickly lose its effect and those rank one talismans it produced weren¡¯t of much use. ¡­ with santa shang xia giving out all the goodies he had, he didn¡¯t expect liu zhiyuan and zhang haogu to come looking for him so soon. the battle for power between the two of them seemed all the more obvious with the rest of the higher-ups of the institution missing. of course, one had to know that liu zhiyuan was the one who had been launching an offensive to take back his authority in the institution. he wanted to have a larger say in the institution and the only person in his way was zhang haogu. now that the two of them had paid him a visit, shang xia felt a sense of pride filling his heart. however, he also seemed to understand that they had their reasons for doing so. ¡°the patriarch passed down his instructions. you are to head for the beyond heavens pavilion as soon as possible!¡± liu zhiyuan got down to business the moment he saw shang xia. he sounded exceptionally serious. staring at zhang haogu who also had a serious expression on his face, shang xia understood that the situation wasn¡¯t as casual as he had hoped it would be. it seemed as though things were pretty serious. ¡°when should i leave?¡± shang xia asked. ¡°right now. we need to head to the tongyou mysterious world right now!¡± zhang haogu muttered. shang xia didn¡¯t ask anything about how to head over to the beyond heavens pavilion. instead, he followed the two of them obediently. the moment they emerged from the talisman hall, liu zhiyuan waved his hand and hid their presence. throughout their journey to the tongyou mysterious world, no one noticed them. kou chongxue¡¯s order arrived right after shang xia emerged from seclusion and if someone told him it was a coincidence, shang xia would smash his head into a block of tofu to kill himself. when they entered the tongyou mysterious world again, shang xia was quickly brought to an unknown location by the two of them. standing at the side, zhang haogu explained, ¡°you will learn that our tongyou mysterious world is broken up into different regions. unlike the coral forest which was split into four different regions, our tongyou mysterious world is a lot larger and it¡¯s split up like a pyramid. we¡¯re in the bottommost region at the moment and it¡¯s further split up into 3 different areas. martial intent realm disciples of the institution would train there from time to time as they are unable to come into contact with world origin. the area they train in contains dense heaven and earth qi but that¡¯s about it.¡± ¡°heading above the 3 areas, we¡¯ll arrive at the region martial extermination realm experts of the institution train in. it¡¯s further split into two parts and one of them is used for seclusion. the other can be used to craft talismans, advancement medicine, or formation testing. experts can even craft weapons there if they¡¯re talented enough. world origin is mixed into the heaven and earth qi and they¡¯re useful for martial extermination realm experts like us.¡± CH 507 now that shang xia had entered the tongyou mysterious world again, he discovered that he had missed the bigger picture the last time he was there. back then, he entered the tongyou mysterious world with a single purpose and it was to craft talismans. in the months that passed, he didn¡¯t venture too far from his secret chamber even though he was already in the tongyou mysterious world. there were countless spatial restrictions around the area he was in and he only managed to observe a small portion of the tongyou mysterious world. the rules the institution had for the tongyou mysterious world were too numerous to count and shang xia didn¡¯t wish to accidentally break some of them in the past. that was why he didn¡¯t mess around any way he liked back then. looking at shang xia, zhang haogu introduced in excitement, ¡°grandmaster shang, this part of the tongyou mysterious world is where your secret chamber is located. however, the tongyou mysterious world is a little messy at the moment and this area seems a little affected. luckily, this place won¡¯t pose any danger to any disciple who accidentally wanders in. at the very most, they¡¯ll lose their way and walk around for a bit before they are found.¡± chuckling softly, zhang haogu continued, ¡°also, no one would randomly roam around the tongyou mysterious world for nothing. only those who aren¡¯t dedicated to their cultivation would lose their way here. they would waste their precious cultivation time if they venture off and get trapped in the illusions¡­¡± shang xia nodded his head and laughed softly. zhang haogu placed it nicely, but there was one reason and one reason only people were ¡®getting lost¡¯ in the tongyou mysterious world. there weren¡¯t enough members of the formation hall maintaining the place! no matter which part of the organization of the tongyou mysterious world they were talking about, the formation hall had a hand to play in it. since the tongyou mysterious world was founded, the tongyou institution has carried out massive expeditions to regain their footing in the battlefield between the two worlds. a huge portion of the manpower from the formation hall was sent to the observation peak causing them to be unable to keep up with the arrangements to the tongyou mysterious world. since the grand formation had been completed around the observation peak, the newly ascended chu jia of the formation hall was immediately deployed away. the main pillar of strength of the formation hall was gone just like that, and the other members could only delay the arrangement of the tongyou mysterious world as they dealt with bigger problems. with zhang haogu and liu zhiyuan leading the way, shang xia finally arrived before a patch of cloudy space. the feeling he was getting from it was strange as he felt a faint sense of danger from within. however, he found it a little familiar at the same time. liu zhiyuan and zhang haogu stopped in unison the moment they arrived before the cloudy space. shang xia, who was following closely behind them, broke out into laughter, ¡°let this disciple make a guess. will going past this screen bring me to the upper part of the tongyou mysterious world?¡± liu zhiyuan nodded without trying to build the suspense. he quickly explained, ¡°that¡¯s right. this leads to the upper region of the tongyou mysterious world. actually, you can say that it¡¯s the deepest layer of the mysterious world. when they split the regions initially, this place was meant for cultivators who had reached the third layer martial extermination realm or above. you can even say that it was specially prepared for experts who had reached the martial dipper realm.¡± hearing the words ¡®martial dipper realm¡¯ come out of liu zhiyuan¡¯s lips, shang xia suddenly realized why he was finding the cloudy space so familiar. he found it extremely similar to the region that existed outside the strange windy cave shang xia discovered back in the battlefield between the two worlds. when he first saw it, shang xia felt an extreme sense of danger coming from it. now, shang xia was staring at something similar and was still getting a bad feeling. however, he felt that it wasn¡¯t actually as threatening as before. it seemed somewhat manageable. looking at how zhang haogu and liu zhiyuan didn¡¯t intend to continue, shang xia couldn¡¯t help but laugh, ¡°aren¡¯t you two planning to head in to take a look?¡± staring at each other, zhang haogu eventually broke the awkward silence. ¡°brat, are you messing with us? there¡¯s no need to try to watch us embarrass ourselves. we can¡¯t pass through this screen!¡± initially, shang xia thought that experts who hadn¡¯t reached the respective cultivation level were merely prohibited from entering the region because of a rule from the institution. now, it seemed as though they were physically unable to pass. he started to hesitate. ¡°this¡­¡± glancing at shang xia, liu zhiyuan explained, ¡°the patriarch said to enter if you are strong enough. if you¡¯re not, wait here for him to pick you up.¡± shang xia didn¡¯t seem to care about the test by kou chongxue. instead, he changed the topic and asked, ¡°is there a path connecting our tongyou mysterious world to the beyond heavens pavilion?¡± zhang haogu shook his head slowly and sighed, ¡°the two of us have not been to the beyond heavens pavilion. we don¡¯t know much about the details. however, patriarch kou never seemed to use the tongyou mysterious world when he went to the beyond heavens pavilion in the past.¡± actually, zhang haogu was equally as curious and wanted to know how to get to the beyond heavens pavilion. shang xia nodded slowly in response and walked past the two of them. staring at the screen of gray before him, he muttered, ¡°should i give it a try?¡± zhang haogu and liu zhifei retreated immediately as shang xia continued to approach the screen. stepping through the chaotic space, shang xia couldn¡¯t see a path beneath his feet. everything around him was a strange gray color. his extermination origin appeared under his feet the moment he stepped down and it seemed to form a steady platform to support his weight. at the same time, a frightening pressure pressed against shang xia from the unassuming gray space. shang xia¡¯s extermination origins seemed provoked by the pressure coming from the chaotic space and a four colored extermination light started to expand around him, resisting the pressure coming from all directions. eventually getting used to the surrounding pressure, shang xia continued to take several steps out. with every step he took, the four colored extermination light supported him as it opened a path before him. when shang xia got far out into the blurry space, the four color extermination light that came from his extermination origins started to form an image of a door which he finally stepped through¡­ zhang haogu and liu zhiyuan stared at shang xia¡¯s leaving figure as he went deeper and deeper into the chaotic space. ¡°how does he do it!¡± liu zhiyuan muttered. there was a trace of jealousy in his voice as he stared at the blurry figure getting further and further away. to be really honest, he tried entering the chaotic space in the past. however¡­ well, everyone knew what happened. because of his advanced age, zhang haogu¡¯s blood didn¡¯t boil as hot as liu zhiyuan. rather than jealousy, he seemed to admire shang xia¡¯s strength even more. he glanced at liu zhiyuan after hearing his question and he muttered, ¡°his strength might have something to do with the way he advanced to the martial extermination realm¡­¡± ¡°is it about how he refined all four extermination origins simultaneously?¡± liu zhiyuan asked after hesitating slightly. looking at liu zhiyuan, zhang haogu muttered placidly, ¡°is there any other explanation you can think of?¡± liu zhiyuan shook his head and sighed, ¡°this is too¡­ even if he managed to develop four seeds of extermination origins before entering the martial extermination realm, everyone¡¯s dantian is just so big! even if he entered the martial extermination realm with a different method, that wouldn¡¯t affect his improvement speed, right?!¡± zhang haogu extended both his arms and shrugged his shoulders. ¡°who knows? it might be a special trait only those who refined 4 extermination origins together obtain. it might also be because of other factors. the only way to understand what¡¯s going on is to replicate the way he entered the martial extermination realm¡­¡± staring at zhang haogu in fright, liu zhiyuan revealed a bitter smile and shook his head. refining 4 extermination origins at once was something only a madman would do! no one knew why kou chongxue even agreed to let the kid do something like that. shang bo was another one they had to talk about after bringing up shang xia¡¯s breakthrough. he watched as his grandson tried such a dangerous method of breakthrough! anyone who didn¡¯t know the full situation would think that shang xia wasn¡¯t related to shang bo at all! liu zhiyuan balked silently as negative thoughts continued to fly through his mind. ¡­ shang xia didn¡¯t know how long he had been walking for, but throughout the process, he could feel the exhaustion of his extermination origins. just as he was about to use up all his strength and thoughts of how he wasn¡¯t qualified to pass through the chaotic space were forming in his mind, a burst of light caught him by surprise. he stepped out from the chaotic space and entered a sea of white. there was a massive structure that looked like a building that had just been built standing in front of him. it seemed completely bare as shang xia scanned it from top to bottom. the heaven and earth qi in his surroundings was also surprisingly thin. in contrast, the world origin seemed a little thicker than other regions in the tongyou mysterious world. heaven and earth qi which was 2 to 3 times thicker in the middle segment of the tongyou mysterious world than the outside world was evidently unable to fill the top segment. that might explain why shang xia was feeling a little suffocated when he made his way over earlier. that wasn¡¯t all. shang xia felt his inner qi leaking out bit by bit as he stood there in the empty space. even his extermination origins were showing signs of going berserk. those might be what he experienced, but shang xia couldn¡¯t help but admire the tongyou mysterious world. turning his attention inwards, he started to calm his inner qi down. he used the chance to familiarize himself with his surroundings. theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3ibfjkv. throughout the process, shang xia discovered that his inner qi was starting to circulate faster. he also clearly felt a deeper understanding of his four seasons samsara art. everything he felt only meant one thing. his cultivation was already rising as he stood there. his cultivation was one thing, but the crimson soul tablet also started to tremble in his sea of consciousness. splitting apart a little bit of his consciousness, shang xia went to observe the tablet. one had to understand that since his time in the abyssal secret region, shang xia had been able to absorb world origin bit by bit. he tried refining it back then, but the crimson soul tablet never reacted as strongly. from what shang xia knew, the crimson soul tablet wouldn¡¯t feel the urge to devour world origin unless it was exceptionally pure. he felt that the tablet was some sort of foodie who would only act up when the food was delicious enough. it also showed that the crimson soul tablet seemed to possess some sort of consciousness. because of those reasons, shang xia felt that he managed to form a deeper connection with the tablet. back when he first transmigrated, he had already formed a link with the tablet. however, the connection was a little one sided as the tablet seemed to have no other choice. now that shang xia had refined so much world origin, the feeling of familiarity he felt with the tablet became stronger and stronger. having discovered what had happened, a look of realization appeared on his face. didn¡¯t it seem as though he was further refining the crimson soul tablet as he fed it with world origin? CH 508 shang xia continued to circulate his four seasons samsara art while feeling his extermination origins getting nourished by the crimson soul tablet. the feeling made him feel as though he was nourishing and refining the tablet further as it interacted with his extermination origins while he fed it world origin. his thoughts couldn¡¯t help but wander as he thought back to the abyssal blade he had obtained back then. after suppressing the weapon spirit in the cloud water gorge, it also tried to absorb shang xia¡¯s extermination qi. as it did, shang xia¡¯s understanding of the blade grew deeper. eventually, he managed to bring out the full power the blade could wield. as the weapon spirit was continuously nourished by shang xia¡¯s inner qi, it continued to grow stronger and so did the weapon. the entire process looked like they were using each other and they were benefiting from said cooperation. of course, the abyssal blade was a little different. even though he could refine it and nourish the weapon spirit, he was unable to keep it in his body. that seemed to be the case for divine weapons. he never heard of any divine weapons that could be kept in one¡¯s body and even kou chongxue¡¯s hidden frost sword was no different. that brought another question to shang xia¡¯s mind¡­ in fact, the question has existed for a long time. he only managed to recall it now. what in the world is the crimson soul tablet exactly?! if it was a weapon, what grade would it have to be?! since he could keep it in his body, the functionality already exceeded what divine weapons could do! was it possible for the crimson soul tablet to be better than divine weapons? there was also a possibility that it wasn¡¯t a weapon! shang xia never heard of any weapons that had the ability to refine and optimize martial intents and deduce advancement formulas. when shang xia¡¯s thoughts were running wild, his inner qi finally stabilized, and the discomfort he felt finally disappeared. a slight fluctuation appeared at the edge of his divine perception all of a sudden and he raised his head to take a look at it. he discovered a massive door that connected to the starry skies way above and a formless current emerged from it. it brought with it a majestic aura as it swept towards shang xia and he felt as though the world was crashing down on him. just as he was about to raise his defenses, the formless current started to condense into a human form. as his facial features became visible, shang xia recognized kou chongxue, the legendary patriarch of the tongyou institution. ¡°hahahaha!¡± kou chongxue released a bout of laughter before nodding in appreciation. ¡°the atmosphere here mimics that of the beyond heavens pavilion. even though it¡¯s not as good, it¡¯s amazing that you managed to adapt in such a short amount of time.¡± becoming a little serious, kou chongxue smiled and muttered in admiration, ¡°kid, you¡¯re actually pretty good!¡± shang xia sized kou chongxue up and down. the moment the patriarch appeared, he had a sneaking suspicion that the person in front of him was the real deal. however, there was also a feeling that something was different about him. seemingly having discovered what shang xia was doing, kou chongxue no longer spoke after praising him. he simply stood quietly while maintaining a huge grin on his face. after some time, shang xia muttered with a little uncertainty, ¡°fate dipper clone?¡± kou chongxue nodded slightly in response, ¡°there¡¯s not many people with your cultivation level who understand so much about fate dipper clones¡­¡± it wasn¡¯t the first time shang xia had seen kou chongxue. he might not have seen the real thing before but he somewhat understood the patriarch¡¯s temper and attitude to things. he felt that he didn¡¯t need to bow and scrape or act too reserved. now that he was speaking to kou chongxue, he spoke casually. ¡°i¡¯ve seen so many of them and gotten used to it. then again, did you arrive a long time ago and were waiting to watch me embarrass myself?¡± kou chongxue didn¡¯t bother hiding his actions from shang xia. ¡°the chaotic space was a test for you anyway. the moment you entered, i tried doing something to see where your limits lay. in the end, you surprised me.¡± shang xia chuckled in response, ¡°did i surprise you in a good way or were you surprisingly disappointed?¡± ¡°make a guess?¡± kou chongxue laughed. a helpless smile appeared on shang xia¡¯s face and he shook his head slightly. seemingly wanting to mess with shang xia, kou chongxue changed the topic suddenly. ¡°damn brat, i heard that you caused a huge ruckus in the institution recently. you managed to catch everyone¡¯s attention¡­¡± waving his hands, shang xia pretended to be taken aback by the sudden accusation. ¡°there¡¯s no need to make fun of me. no one can hide anything from you anyway. you should know that i was helpless in the matter!¡± ¡°hmm.¡± grunting slightly, kou chongxue didn¡¯t seem concerned at all. ¡°at least you managed to widen their horizons and motivate them a little.¡± shang xia knew that kou chongxue was someone who spoke his mind and didn¡¯t really give a damn about status and he quickly asked, ¡°so are you actually a clone?¡± a light flashed in kou chongxue¡¯s eyes and he shrugged his shoulders. a ripple extended down his body and he chuckled in amusement, ¡°what do you think of my origin water fate dipper clone?¡± shang xia knew that he was in no position to evaluate a martial dipper realm expert¡¯s clone and he simply asked anything that came to mind. ¡°back during the fight in the taihang mountains, ancestor yun lu¡¯s clone was destroyed again. did you manage to obtain another fate dipper from him?¡± ¡°are you crazy? do you think it¡¯s that easy to steal fate dippers? the clone we destroyed last time was made out of his inner qi. he lost some dipper qi in the process but he will be able to recover after some time.¡± kou chongxie sneered in response. however, shang xia didn¡¯t seem to understand the entire situation and he continued to ask, ¡°what¡¯s the difference between ancestor yun lu¡¯s clone that was made out of dipper qi and the one back in the war of the tongyou mysterious world?¡± he quickly received a reply from kou chongxue. ¡°clones are created using a martial dipper realm expert¡¯s inner qi. it also contains a little divine soul. it might possess the cultivation of a martial dipper realm expert and the corresponding fighting strength, but it¡¯s an exhaustible object at the end of the day. the clone will disappear once the dipper qi is used up. it wouldn¡¯t affect a cultivator¡¯s cultivation and they would suffer a period of weakness at best if the clone is destroyed. it wouldn¡¯t take long for their inner qi to be replenished.¡± ¡°a clone that contains a fate dipper is a different story. other than the fact that it can act as a secondary body, everything else will seem the same. they possess an independent ability to think for themselves. brat, you should have already discovered it. if this clone of mine were to be destroyed, my cultivation would regress by a small realm. i would fall from the third element of the martial dipper realm to the second.¡± when you''re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3ibfjkv. ¡°so that¡¯s it!¡± shang xia¡¯s doubt was finally cleared. ¡°kid, it¡¯s not time for you to be thinking about all these. i¡¯m here to bring you to the beyond heavens pavilion.¡± kou chongxue changed the topic yet again. shang xia frowned in response. ¡°aren¡¯t you bringing me to the foreign continent that exists outside the heavens?¡± glaring at shang xia, kou chongxue snorted loudly, ¡°you¡¯re a damn talisman grandmaster. just stay in the beyond heavens pavilion and craft your talismans. that would be much better than you personally entering the foreign continent, no? even if you go there, you might not be able to change the overall situation. it¡¯s a different story if you manage to craft several rank four talismans. you will be able to help out a lot more of our cultivators by doing so.¡± shang xia sighed helplessly, ¡°hah¡­ even if we talk about the entire you continent, it¡¯s going to be difficult to look for a single rank four talisman paper. how am i supposed to craft anything?¡± a crafty smile appeared on kou chongxue¡¯s face soon after. ¡°you don¡¯t have to worry about that. you¡¯ll be getting busy once you arrive in the beyond heavens pavilion.¡± gesturing for shang xia to follow, he turned to walk away. shang xia chased after him with haste while yelling, ¡°where¡¯s the beyond heavens pavilion anyway? how are we going to get there?¡± the words barely left his lips when he felt the space around him changing. kou chongxue¡¯s figure that was walking in front of him seemed to carve a formless spatial tunnel out of nothingness, but shang xia had no idea where it led. without turning around, kou chongxue chuckled, ¡°we¡¯re already on the way there.¡± gasping in fright, shang xia hurried to follow behind kou chongxue. he tried to extend his divine perception to its maximum range to feel the changes around him. at the same time, he continued to ask kou chongxue questions. ¡°patriarch kou, is it true that only martial dipper realm experts can head to the beyond heavens pavilion?¡± ¡°yeah. it¡¯s almost impossible for martial extermination realm cultivators to break through the spatial barrier. however, the moment our tongyou mysterious world becomes the tongyou paradise, the barrier might become thinner and make it such that martial extermination realm cultivators would be able to head over whenever they wish.¡± kou chongxue said after a short pause. ¡°does that mean upgrading to become a paradise would weaken the spatial barrier around our world?¡± shang xia followed up with another question. ¡°you can say that¡­¡± kou chongxue smiled in response. ¡°is that a good thing or a bad thing?¡± shang xia didn¡¯t know if the spatial barrier actually benefited the azure origin world. still walking forward, kou chongxue replied without turning back. ¡°a paradise is like a small bubble that exists outside the azure origin world. the more of them we make, the weaker the strength of the spatial barrier that covers our world. that is the reason we will face a huge obstacle when advancing. once a paradise is created, it will weaken the spatial barrier around our world. at the same time, those paradises that have been established will serve as a line of defense for our azure origin world¡­¡± shang xia nodded to indicate his understanding, but he didn¡¯t know if kou chongxue could actually see it. taking a short moment to organize his thoughts, shang xia continued, ¡°patriarch, does that also mean that our tongyou mysterious world is established in a location where the spatial barrier around our azure origin world is the thinnest?¡± kou chongxue explained, ¡°our location is where our azure origin world collided with the azure spiritual world. you can say that the entire region is a weak point in the spatial barrier to begin with.¡± shang xia seemed to have realized something after hearing what kou chongxue said and he became incomparably serious. ¡°patriarch, you said that paradises would become a line of defense for the weakened parts of the spatial barrier around our world. does that mean that we¡¯ll be facing some sort of danger when the spatial barrier weakens?¡± ¡°not bad¡­ you actually managed to think of this.¡± kou chongxue spoke while making his way forward. his voice continued to transmit into shang xia¡¯s mind. ¡°you can start by thinking about where your shang clan¡¯s providence spear art came from.¡± shang xia¡¯s eyelids jumped slightly and a thought flew through his mind. all of a sudden, the sea of white they were walking through disappeared and shang xia discovered that he was standing right under the starry skies. not too far away from where his feet were situated, a massive ravine extended to infinity. it seemed to possess some sort of magical attraction that was pulling shang xia over and alarm bells started going off in his mind. he quickly pulled himself away from the strange feeling and retreated away from the endless ravine in the void. turning around suddenly, shang xia discovered kou chongxue laughing at him from not too far away. CH 509 ¡°that is called the void abyss and it¡¯s also what we dub the dual world vortex. it¡¯s also called the region of fusion between the two worlds.¡± kou chongxue continued to introduce the region to shang xia. ¡°this is the place where our azure origin world meets the azure spiritual world. the world origin of our worlds is also experiencing fusion in this area.¡± ¡°all of us came from the azure origin world and would naturally have the urge to return to the embrace of the world origin. due to the heavy obstructions, cultivation wouldn¡¯t be able to come into contact with it until they reach the martial extermination realm. moreover, they would only be able to tap into a little bit. anyone who comes here for the first time will definitely be attracted to the void abyss due to the fusion of world origins. if they fail to overcome the urge to jump into the void abyss, they will disappear and become world origin that returns to the world.¡± it can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3ibfjkv. shang xia knew that kou chongxue obviously wouldn¡¯t sit by and watch if he failed to overcome the urge to jump into the void abyss. however, it was clearly a test for him. if kou chongxue had to make a move, the old patriarch might start to view him in a different light. luckily, he managed to save himself. ¡°let¡¯s go. this old man¡¯s true body isn¡¯t too far away right now. you should head over and take a look at it.¡± kou chongxue muttered. hurrying behind kou chongxue, the two of them trudged through space seemingly slowly. however, that was only how things looked on the surface. they traveled extremely quickly as they crossed a massive distance. throughout the process, shang xia noticed some differences between the beyond heavens pavilion and the azure origin world. thanks to the tongyou mysterious world, shang xia felt a familiar feeling when he finally arrived in the beyond heavens pavilion. the thick heaven and earth qi made his surroundings slightly suffocating, but he adapted quickly. feeling the heaven and earth qi around him, shang xia could tell that it was several times denser than that in the upper region of the tongyou mysterious world. moreover, he could also feel his extermination origins resonating with the world origin surrounding him. that wasn¡¯t all. as he continued to walk around, he subconsciously reached for his glabella. ¡°what¡¯s the matter? are you losing control of your inner qi?¡± kou chongxue asked and slowed his pace slightly. turning back to look at shang xia, a look of contemplation could be seen in his eyes. laughing softly, shang xia shook his head and explained, ¡°not really. however, my divine perception seems a lot more active than before.¡± ¡°is that it?¡± kou chongxue was a little surprised. he even felt a little curious about shang xia¡¯s condition. ¡°do you need to take a break?¡± shang xia waved his hand and rejected the suggestion. ¡°there¡¯s no need. it¡¯s just a little discomfort. i have everything under control¡­¡± shooting shang xia a deep glance, kou chongxue eventually nodded his head slowly. he continued to head to their destination and shang xia followed closely behind. shang xia laughed bitterly in his heart. he didn¡¯t really lie to kou chongxue about the matter. the crimson soul tablet¡¯s fluctuations actually caused his divine perception to be slightly affected. the reactions of the crimson soul tablet might be resonating with the world origin around him, but it wasn¡¯t pointing in a definite direction this time. that was because world origin was dense everywhere around him! the crimson soul tablet was dying to emerge from shang xia¡¯s sea of consciousness but was forcefully suppressed at the moment. luckily, he had the ability to force it down. his better control over the crimson soul tablet might have something to do with how it interacted with his extermination origins. because of that, the tablet was stained with his brand allowing him to slightly affect how the tablet was used. he was able to slightly influence the tablet, but he had to use his divine perception to forcefully tie it down at the end of the day. during the entire process, he could still feel it pulsating in his sea of consciousness. as they continued to make their way forward, a massive platform appeared in their view. it was located 300 feet away from the region of fusion between the two worlds. a slovenly dressed middle-aged man who was clad in white robes sat crossed-legged on the platform with his eyes closed. the person sitting over there seemed to be the true body of the great martial dipper realm kou chongxue, the legendary patriarch of the tongyou institution. even though it was his first time seeing kou chongxue¡¯s true body, shang xia felt a sense of familiarity with him. the clone might be leading the way, but shang xia didn¡¯t need to use his divine perception to know that the middle-aged man sitting over on the platform was the real kou chongxue. when they finally arrived not too far away, the clone that was leading the way transformed into tiny streams that returned to the main body. everything that happened when the clone brought shang xia over was relayed into kouu chongxue¡¯s mind and the patriarch opened his eyes in shock. ¡°your method of advancing by refining 4 extermination origins at once isn¡¯t too bad!¡± kou chongxue yelled and gestured for him to approach. when he closed in on the platform, he continued, ¡°you were able to pass through the barrier of the upper region of the tongyou mysterious world and shake off the attraction from the region of fusion between the two worlds. did you refine your extermination origins to around 60 percent of what they are?¡± ¡°a little closer to 50 percent¡­¡± shang xia replied vaguely. widening his eyes even more, kou chongxue looked more surprised. he sighed softly, ¡°looks like refining 4 extermination origins is more powerful than i had thought. could that be the actual way to cultivate?¡± shang xia remained silent as the patriarch thought out loud. raising his head to stare at shang xia, kou chongxue obviously wasn¡¯t going to let him keep quiet. ¡°what do you think?¡± ¡°it¡¯s going to be a difficult problem for you to think about¡­¡± shang xia didn¡¯t give a proper reply and chuckled in response. staring at the kid who was barely older than 20 and had already stepped into the martial extermination realm, kou chongxue fell silent for a moment. he felt waves battering against his heart. shang xia said that he managed to refine his extermination origins to around 50 percent, but despite all his improvements, his refinement process barely reached the 35 percent mark not too long ago. ever since he entered the four constellation realm, shang xia has been trying to develop his unique martial art. without comprehending his martial arts, he wasn¡¯t able to refine his extermination origins properly, and neither could he progress as he wanted. during the past year, shang xia¡¯s comprehension improved by leaps and bounds and he finally managed to raise his refinement rate to close to 40 percent. as for the reason behind kou chongxue¡¯s estimation of his refinement completion rate, he had observed shang xia¡¯s strength in the tongyou mysterious world and felt that the kid was comparable to a third layer martial extermination realm expert. facing kou chongxue¡¯s questions, shang xia decided to hide a little bit of his strength. however, that was already enough to shock the patriarch. ¡°so¡­ did you manage to develop your rank four secret art?¡± kou chongxue changed the topic and asked. ready for the question, shang xia also prepared his answer a long time ago. ¡°i still have to refine and correct it a little, but it¡¯s getting there.¡± shang xia wasn¡¯t lying. after all, rank four secret arts would allow a cultivator to complete a cycle of their inner qi circulation in 4 hours. shang xia¡¯s four seasons samsara art was a little complicated and he needed a little longer to complete the process. he might be closing in on his goal, but it was still a little lacking. that might be the case, but kou chongxue was still a martial dipper realm expert at the end of the day. he quickly zoomed in on the key point. ¡°you actually managed to develop your secret art so quickly?¡± a trace of suspicion could be heard in his voice. ¡°yeah¡­¡± shang xia muttered softly and continued, ¡°disciple obtained a stick of dao comprehension incense back in the abyssal secret region. after burning it, i managed to reach a special state of comprehension. my thoughts became exceptionally clear and i quickly refined my secret art¡­¡± ¡°what?¡± kou chongxue leaped to his feet from the platform and stared at shang xia with a trace of shock and loss. at the same time, a strange fluctuation appeared in the distance and another figure appeared. ji wenlong quickly appeared and he addressed shang xia directly. ¡°you managed to obtain a stick of dao comprehension incense and you used it?! this¡­ this¡­ this is truly a waste of heavenly resources¡­¡± turning to look at kou chongxue once again, shang xia could see that the patriarch was about to start pounding his chest as he raised his head to stare blankly at the stars above. with ji wenlong¡¯s sudden appearance, it was obvious that he had been paying attention to their entire exchange. with their reactions, shang xia obviously knew that the dao comprehension incense wasn¡¯t an ordinary treasure. it seemed as though he underestimated the treasure in the first place. when kou chongxue finally got over his grief, he sighed softly and stopped ji wenlong from speaking any further in case they hurt shang xia¡¯s feelings. even so, he couldn¡¯t hide the look of regret and loss on his face. only after some time became a little more serious as he gave an explanation. ¡°if you left the dao comprehension incense for your grandfather, our institution would definitely produce our third martial dipper realm ancestor! who would have thought that you would¡­ well, never mind, if you¡¯re the one who used it, at least the dao comprehension incense wasn¡¯t wasted.¡± shang xia stared at ji wenlong in shock. a trace of delight started to form in his heart when he heard what they said. from their words, it seemed as though they were sparing no expense to push his grandfather into the martial dipper realm! if the tongyou institution produces their third martial dipper realm expert, they would be comparable to the white deer paradise in strength almost in an instant. their foundations might be a little weaker, but they would immediately become one of the top powerhouses in the azure origin world regardless. obviously, they were already getting ready for the fusion of the azure origin world and the azure spiritual world that was bound to happen. with hopes of entering the martial dipper realm, shang bo should have chosen to enter seclusion and cultivation relentlessly while strengthening his foundations. however, he chose to head over to the foreign continent nonetheless. that could only mean one thing. the foreign continent contained the key to his breakthrough! kou chongxue and ji wenlong didn¡¯t know that shang xia had deduced so many things from all the information he had received, but kou chongxue interrupted his train of thought. ¡°brat, hand it over!¡± kou chongxue sighed softly and chose not to think of the dao comprehension incense. ¡°huh?¡± shang xia raised his eyebrows in fright. he didn¡¯t know what they were talking about and looked at them with confusion in his eyes. ¡°what the hell do you think? hand the abyssal firmament fate dipper over! without it, how is your grandpa going to enter the martial dipper realm?¡± ji wenlong snapped. ¡°don¡¯t tell me you thought that the two of us were helping you to obtain the origin dipper¡­¡± with a thousand alpacas running through his heart, shang xia nearly started cursing. that was actually his thoughts but he didn¡¯t think that the two of them merely left it with him for safekeeping. regardless, he could only hand it over like an obedient child. was he supposed to watch as his grandfather failed to enter the martial dipper realm just because he didn¡¯t have the origin dipper he obtained? CH 510 ¡°so this origin dipper is actually called the abyssal firmament fate dipper¡­ hehehe!¡± shang xia handed over the sealed origin dipper and kou chongxue retrieved it with a simple gesture. he examined the abyssal firmament fate dipper in his hand and discovered that it was in perfect condition. ji wenlong was still sulking at the side as he couldn¡¯t get the dao comprehension incense out of his mind. ¡°damn it! if we still had the dao comprehension incense, we¡¯d be able to further perfect the rank five advancement formula patriarch kou has. with that, your grandpa would be able to enter seclusion to break through immediately¡­¡± realizing that he spoke his thoughts out loud, ji wenlong quickly turned silent and turned to look at kou chongxue. a satisfied smile appeared on kou chongxue¡¯s face after he examined the origin dipper. he raised his head and looked at ji wenlong while sighing, ¡°don¡¯t worry about it. this kid knew that my advancement formula wasn¡¯t complete a long time ago¡­ ¡± seeing the awkward look that had appeared on shang xia¡¯s face, ji wenlong raised an eyebrow in surprise. all of a sudden, shang xia recalled the first time he met kou chongxue and the time difference between that and when ji wenlong entered the martial dipper realm. since he made the connection about how his grandfather had entered the foreign continent in order to break through, he couldn¡¯t help but yell, ¡°world origin! patriarch kou wants to use world origin to replicate how you entered the martial dipper realm in the past! if i didn¡¯t guess wrong, deputy patriarch ji, you also used that method to break through because you didn¡¯t have the dao comprehension incense!¡± bursting into laughter, kou chongxue sighed, ¡°damn, you actually guessed it. however, the risks of that method are pretty huge. it would be much better to perfect the advancement formula¡­¡± ¡°is there actually world origin on the foreign continent?¡± shang xia took the chance to push for an answer. ¡°no matter which world it is, even if it¡¯s on the brink of destruction and the world origin it contains has already withered to the point of no return, will possess enough world origin for someone to break through to the martial dipper realm. the only question is if they would be able to find the world origin. as for the method they use to break through, that¡¯s another story altogether. moreover¡­¡± kou chongxue paused for a moment before shooting a glance at the void abyss nearby. a strange smile formed on his face as he continued, ¡°even if he can¡¯t find world origin in the foreign continent, the world origins of both worlds are contained here¡­¡± ji wenlong gasped while looking at kou chongxue, ¡°isn¡¯t it a bit too early for him to learn all these things?¡± the corners of kou chongxue¡¯s lips twitched awkwardly and he muttered, ¡°that¡¯s why i called him over here¡­ no one will be able to spy on us here¡­¡± shang xia couldn¡¯t help but feel a chill running down his spine after hearing what kou chongxue said. the patriarch might have said that to make things a little less awkward, but there was definitely some logic behind his words. from what kou chongxue unintentionally revealed, shang xia knew that some people had their sights set on him at the moment. ¡°this little brat might seem young and has low seniority in his clan, but his cultivation level has undeniably reached the requirements. he definitely has the qualifications to learn about the high-level secrets of the institution.¡± shaking his head helplessly, ji wenlong turned to shang xia and sighed, ¡°kid, you¡¯re on your own¡­¡± ji wenlong¡¯s figure started to dissipate after he was done speaking. shang xia wanted to ask about the people who were eyeing him, but after thinking about how kou chongxue had called him over to the beyond heavens pavilion where his true body was, it was clear that anyone who had the ability to plot against him was at the martial dipper realm. since that was the case, there was no point asking since he wouldn¡¯t be able to do a thing about them other than worry unnecessarily. choosing to change the topic, shang xia chuckled, ¡°patriarch kou, i remember when you and deputy patriarch ji arrived in the taihang mountains back then. it was such a majestic entrance and you suppressed all your enemies¡­¡± ¡°don¡¯t give me that bullshit. there¡¯s no need to kiss my ass here. what do you want to ask?¡± kou chongxue interrupted him. ¡°alright!¡± shang xia immediately got to the point. ¡°when you two grabbed the inheritance light balls back in the abyssal secret region, did you not manage to find any origin dippers among them?¡± shang xia immediately ratted his intentions out. seeing through shang xia¡¯s question, kou chongxue muttered, ¡°do you really think that the abyssal sect has a shit ton of origin dippers or something?¡± ¡°they wouldn¡¯t just possess one abyssal firmament fate dipper, right?¡± shang xia pouted. ¡°oh? damn brat, do you think that old man ji and i hid an origin dipper and aren''t giving it to shang bo?¡± ¡°no¡­? i wouldn¡¯t dare¡­¡± shang xia muttered. ¡°are you probing me right now? are you trying to get me to give you an origin dipper?¡± kou chongxue raised an eyebrow and pouted. ¡°patriarch kou, you¡¯re a genius! actually¡­¡± ¡°fuck you! go away!¡± kou chongxue snapped at shang xia before he could finish his sentence. ¡°alrighty then!¡± turning around, shang xia pretended to walk away. after taking two steps, he turned around again. ¡°patriarch kou, can¡¯t you give some clues as to what you obtained from those inheritance light balls?¡± looking at the shameless expression on shang xia¡¯s face, kou chongxue burst out laughing. he tossed a jade pendant over and waved his hand with practiced annoyance, ¡°find a safe place before taking a look at it. anyway, don¡¯t stray too far away. always remain within a ten mile radius from my true body.¡± with the jade pendant in hand, shang xia knew that he should make himself scarce. he bowed once before taking his leave. after leaving the platform kou chongxue was on, shang xia started to make his way towards the void abyss. as he approached, he noticed fluffy clouds appearing in the distance and straw huts popping out from their surface. shang xia could basically guess that those huts were where martial extermination realm experts who were brought to the beyond heavens pavilion used to enter seclusion. there were simple restrictions around those huts, but it seemed as though none of them were active at the moment. randomly choosing one of them, he entered only to see an empty but clean space. clearly, the hut had been unpopulated for some time. walking towards the deepest pillar that held the grass hut up, shang xia pressed his hand against its surface and poured his inner qi into the structure. the restrictions around the hut activated immediately and separated the hut from the outside world. the restrictions weren¡¯t of much use and were more of a formality when he thought about it. anyone who could enter the beyond heavens pavilion was a martial extermination realm expert. they could tear a restriction like that apart easily. locating a mat somewhere in the hut, shang xia chose to sit down on it before inspecting the pendant kou chongxue handed to him. as his divine perception entered the pendant, information quickly streamed into his mind. shang xia gasped in fright before turning serious as he read through the content. originally, shang xia thought that kou chongxue would record his gains from the abyssal secret region in the pendant. at the very least, he thought that kou chongxue would give him a little bit of whatever he gained. after all, that was why he shamelessly pestered kou chongxue. who would have thought that the patriarch would actually give him something like that?! after reading the contents, shang xia felt a complicated feeling filling his heart. the jade pendant didn¡¯t contain any special formula or recipes. instead, it contained a conjecture. it was the experience of a grandmaster blacksmith from the abyssal sect. it contained his theory on how the abyssal blade should be repaired! the way of crafting a divine weapon was extremely strange. even kou chongxue didn¡¯t know how his hidden frost sword became a divine weapon. after all, it managed to advance with him when he entered the martial dipper realm. the abyssal blade became a divine weapon in the past because of a coincidence. throughout the entire process, too many indescribable things happened. as such, even the blacksmiths who were in charge of crafting the sword didn¡¯t know what happened. because of the abyssal sect¡¯s long history, the records the blacksmith had were starting to degrade. the abyssal blade was damaged because of an accident and they had been looking for a way to fix it ever since. after suffering countless setbacks, one of the grandmaster blacksmiths leveraged the experience of his predecessors to come up with an idea they could use to fix the abyssal blade. unfortunately, the abyssal sect had already started to decline. the experts of the sect fell and they couldn¡¯t carry out the plan even if they used the full power of the sect. in the end, the idea of fixing the abyssal blade was sealed in the treasury. ¡°star essence!¡± shang xia couldn¡¯t help but repeat the name again and again after reading through the contents of the pendant. according to the records, the abyssal blade required a lot more material to be repaired. however, star essence seemed to be the key ingredient. if what was recorded was real, one had to travel beyond the heavens. at the very least, they would have to be in the martial dipper realm. also, shang xia wasn¡¯t a fool. he knew that extracting star essence wasn¡¯t going to be an easy task. one would need an exceptionally long time in order to extract some star essence. the time period required could be several years or even dozens of years! that was assuming the entire process went smoothly. the fact of the matter was that even martial dipper realm ancestors couldn¡¯t be exposed for a long time under the sea of stars. unless there were multiple martial dipper realm ancestors who took turns to extract star essence, they wouldn¡¯t be able to gather so much in a short period of time. it was no wonder the abyssal sect felt that the difficulty of restoring the abyssal blade was so damn high. even if they were in their peak state back then, the martial dipper realm ancestors would probably be cursing and swearing if all they had to do was to extract star essence. after staying in his straw hut for several days and not being able to think of anything he could do with the information he learned from the jade pendant, shang xia decided to take things slow and started to cultivate. the heaven and earth qi in the beyond heavens pavilion was basically non-existent at that point. instead, world origin was extremely concentrated and it was countless times denser than anywhere he had seen. the crimson soul tablet in his sea of consciousness wanted to leap out a few times, and it seemed to be hurrying him up to cultivate. it wanted to use the world origin in the surroundings to restore itself as soon as possible. normally when a martial extermination realm expert went into seclusion, they would be able to absorb both world origin and heaven and earth qi. a martial extermination realm cultivator, or a four constellation realm cultivator in shang xia¡¯s case, was supposed to start transitioning from heaven and earth qi to world origin. because of the dense world origin in the beyond heavens pavilion, it greatly benefited cultivators of the martial extermination realm. as shang xia went about his day to day life, he didn¡¯t just focus on circulating his inner qi. he placed most of his attention on perfecting his secret art. it can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". ¡­ one fine day, kou chongxue¡¯s voice tore through the restriction and rang in shang xia¡¯s mind. ¡°come meet me in the pavilion right now!¡± CH 511 ¡°did you take a look at the information in the jade pendant?¡± kou chongxue spoke the moment he saw shang xia. from the time shang xia left previously, it seemed as though the patriarch hadn¡¯t moved a muscle. with a weary heart, shang xia sighed, ¡°yeah, i saw it.¡± kou chongxue looked at the helpless expression on shang xia¡¯s face and broke out into hysterical laughter. it was as though he was relishing in shang xia¡¯s misfortune. glaring at the patriarch who was nearly doubled over in laughter, shang xia snapped, ¡°don¡¯t tell me you called me here to laugh at me.¡± read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" waving his hands casually, a ray of light shot towards shang xia. he might not know what the item was, but he knew that kou chongxue wouldn¡¯t actually harm him. reaching out, the ray of light started to condense in his palm. ¡°this¡­¡± shang xia looked at the cluster of soft light that had appeared in his hand and noticed that it was merely several specks that were emitting a soft glow. he felt a strange sense of attraction to it and something clicked in his mind. excitement filled his heart as he raised his head to look at kou chongxue again. ¡°that¡¯s right. this is star essence. it¡¯s something that you need to repair your abyssal blade.¡± kou chongxue confirmed his guess. ¡°but¡­ you better not get too excited. how much do you think this small bit of star essence will help? do you know how long i had to stay out there in order to obtain this?¡± his second sentence was like a bucket of cold water that was splashed over shang xia¡¯s head. even though he was prepared for it, hearing that the amount of star essence wasn¡¯t enough from kou chongxue really stung. with the small amount of star essence he had, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do much to his abyssal blade. moreover, from what kou chongxue was saying, he had been gathering star essence for some time now¡­ ¡°ever since i discovered this jade pendant in the taihang mountains, i have been risking it all to collect star essence from beyond the heavens. it¡¯s been close to half a year but i only managed to obtain so little.¡± kou chongxue paused for a moment before he continued, ¡°of course, this might be because i didn¡¯t venture too far. the efficiency of collecting star essence might have been greatly reduced because of that¡­¡± shang xia sighed helplessly, ¡°it¡¯s alright. if it¡¯s that difficult to gather star essence, why would you give them all to me?¡± ¡°hmph, i was only afraid you wouldn¡¯t recognize star essence if you ran into it in the future.¡± kou chongxue snorted derisively. ¡°patriarch, do you mean¡­¡± shang xia hesitated for a moment as he asked. he was interrupted by kou chongxue before he could finish. ¡°it is difficult to extract star essence from beyond the heavens, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t plunder them from other cultivators. it¡¯s also possible that someone will obtain star essence without knowing what it is and you can trade it with them or something¡­¡± with his spirits all perked up, shang xia asked, ¡°patriarch, do you know if any other ancestors have star essence on them?¡± ¡°how the hell would i know? do you think i have great connections everywhere in the beyond heavens pavilion? or do you think all the martial dipper realm ancestors in our azure origin world have the ability to travel beyond the heavens to harvest star essence? even if they do, do you think they have nothing better to do than to waste their efforts to gather star essence they may or may not be able to use?¡± kou chongxue snorted in contempt. as he mocked the other martial dipper realm ancestors, he didn¡¯t forget to make himself look good. raising his thumb, shang xia said something that kou chongxue was fishing for. ¡°guess you¡¯re a pretty fucking awesome old man¡­¡± once he said that, it seemed as though the conversation of star essence had ended. kou chongxue started to talk about something else, ¡°how is your cultivation these days in the beyond heavens pavilion? have you gotten used to the environment here?¡± shang xia seemed like he adapted to the beyond heavens pavilion not too long after he arrived and his inner qi wasn¡¯t showing any signs of going out of control. however, that was only what it looked like on the surface. he might have been forcefully suppressing his inner qi and kou chongxue wanted him to properly familiarize himself with the environment before calling for him. after several days of cultivation, shang xia could finally say that he had completely acclimatized to the surroundings. ¡°is something the matter?¡± shang xia asked. ¡°obviously¡­ it¡¯s the matter about talisman crafting. didn¡¯t my clone already explain everything?¡± kou chongxue stated casually. helpless, shang xia could only respond accordingly, ¡°even if i want to craft rank four talismans, i need rank four talisman paper to do so! you¡¯ve been here the whole time and you might not know about the situation back in the you continent. i probably emptied out the you continent of rank four talisman papers with what i did in the tongyou mysterious world. even the greatest chef can¡¯t cook a good meal without rice¡­¡± ¡°are you sure you wiped the collection of rank four talisman paper clean?¡± kou chongxue muttered strangely. ¡°do you think i can benefit from lying to you or something?¡± shang xia muttered. before he could continue, he saw the crafty smile on kou chongxue¡¯s face and his heart skipped a beat. ¡°patriarch kou, don¡¯t tell me that you¡­¡± kou chongxue ignored him and gestured into the air beside him. ¡°old man ji, come here!¡± once again, a storm of heaven and earth qi appeared on the platform and ji wenlong¡¯s clone appeared. he held a bunch of items in his hand and he casually waved his hand to toss it over to shang xia. ¡°since our institution produced our own talisman grandmaster, patriarch kou and i have been looking for rank four talisman paper. you said that the you continent was out of rank four talisman paper, but you forgot about us!¡± ji wenlong glanced at kou chongxue after speaking. ¡°it¡¯s true that his connections in the beyond heavens pavilion aren''t too good¡­ the matter of gathering rank four talisman paper fell on my shoulders¡­¡± with the subtle slight from ji wenlong, kou chongxue could only shoot him a dirty look before revealing a self mocking smile. receiving the item from ji wenlong, shang xia discovered that it was an embroidered cloud case that looked pretty large on the outside. however, it only contained 1 cubic feet of space. despite that, it seemed to contain some special uses and shang xia quickly peeked at its contents. ¡°hey! that¡¯s a lot of stuff!¡± shang xia yelled. he noticed 30 rank four talisman papers, a block of solid rank four talisman ink, and other items that he would need when crafting talismans. even the miscellaneous items looked pretty precious. ji wenlong explained, ¡°back when you kicked up such a ruckus in the tongyou mysterious world, the entire city went crazy looking for rank four talisman papers. the two of us heard about it and you seem to forget that a bunch of martial extermination realm experts went to the foreign continent. the treasures they have on them should be the best of the best among those in the you continent.¡± shang xia nodded his head slowly in response. pointing at the case in his hand, ji wenlong continued, ¡°of the 30 pieces of rank four talisman papers in there, we got a good half from them. of the other half, your patriarch contributed 5 pieces from his personal collection. i obtained the rest from other members of the beyond heavens pavilion.¡± shang xia thought about it for a second before speaking. ¡°i managed to improve because of the talismans i crafted back in the tongyou mysterious world. with a one-third success rate, i should be able to craft 10 rank four talismans.¡± ¡°12.¡± kou chongxue, who hadn¡¯t said anything for some time finally spoke up. he directly set a target for shang xia this time and he didn¡¯t seem to be taking no for an answer. ¡°what?¡± shang xia stared at him in fright. a look of displeasure appeared on his face. ¡°that would mean that i would have to succeed 40 percent of the time! how long has it been since i became a rank four talisman grandmaster? aren¡¯t you just making things difficult for me?¡± any rank four talisman grandmaster would be confident enough to craft talismans for others once they achieved a one-third success rate. a success rate of 40 percent might seem small, but it was an exceptional increase for a rank four talisman grandmaster. every percent they raised their success rate was harder than becoming a rank four talisman grandmaster from a rank three talisman master. one could even say that it was a cause for celebration if a talisman grandmaster raised their success rate by even a little bit! even though shang xia improved tremendously since he last crafted rank four talismans, he wasn¡¯t confident enough to say that he could reach a success rate of 40 percent. ¡°alright. i won¡¯t change the minimum requirement for you. however, i can promise you that any talisman you craft after the twelfth will belong to you.¡± kou chongxue muttered. shang xia pouted in response, ¡°you¡¯re just dangling a carrot in front of me to mess with me. it¡¯s still a 40 percent success rate we¡¯re talking about here!¡± ignoring shang xia¡¯s complaints, kou chongxue continued, ¡°hah? are you acting indignant with me right now? you used the institution¡¯s resources to practice your talisman crafting art and you even crafted all the talismans you knew other than those recorded in the institution. do you think i¡¯m stupid or something?¡± ¡°that¡¯s because i was trying to leave behind an example of every talisman for them to take reference to¡­¡± shang xia tried to argue. snorting derisively, kou chongxue continued, ¡°don¡¯t think i don¡¯t know anything about crafting talismans. you don¡¯t have to leave any examples behind for anyone now that you¡¯re crafting talismans. you just need to craft those you¡¯re the most familiar with. this old man doesn¡¯t believe that you can¡¯t achieve a 40 percent success rate when crafting all the talismans you¡¯re good at!¡± shang xia wanted to say something else, but ji wenlong coughed softly at the side, ¡°ahem, dao comprehension incense¡­¡± what the fuck does this have to do with the dao comprehension incense?! that was what shang xia thought, but he couldn¡¯t say it in front of the two of them. unfortunately, his gaze betrayed his thoughts. ji wenlong continued, ¡°yeah, yeah, if the dao comprehension incense can only be used like how you used it, it won¡¯t be called the dao comprehension incense. when it is used, the dao comprehension incense might seem effective for a set period of time. however, its lingering effects are what deserves praise.¡± seeing the look of contemplation on shang xia¡¯s face, ji wenlong¡¯s explanation didn¡¯t stop there. ¡°if i¡¯m not mistaken, your improvement in all aspects seemed really smooth after you used the dao comprehension incense¡­ it might not be as obvious as when you used the dao comprehension incense, but it should be much smoother than if you cultivated previously, right?¡± shang xia thought back to everything that happened and realized that ji wenlong was correct. ever since his recovery session in the taihang mountains, he has experienced an all-rounded improvement. seeing the look on shang xia¡¯s face, ji wenlong knew that his prediction was spot on and he chuckled, ¡°that was why your improvement in the way of talismans was so terrifying. right now, you might have already achieved a 40 percent success rate. we need you to verify that for us.¡± kou chongxue added from the side, ¡°you drank my dao comprehension tea in the past and you should understand the difference between the tea and the incense.¡± shang xia knew that nothing he said would matter anymore and obtaining any more benefits from the two of them was a pipe dream now that they had given him so many talisman papers. he quickly came to a decision. ¡°all of you have already said everything that should be said. i would be rude. i¡¯ll do my best!¡± ¡°at least you know what¡¯s good for you¡­¡± kou chongxue snarled before waving his hand like he was chasing a fly away. CH 512 on kou chongxue¡¯s platform in the beyond heavens pavilion, ji wenlong stared at him and asked after shang xia had left. ¡°aren¡¯t you rushing things a little? it sounds like you¡¯re making things difficult on him on purpose.¡± ¡°hmph, there¡¯s no need to underestimate that brat. he called out all the difficulties here in order to fish for benefits from the both of us.¡± kou chongxue snorted as he reached into the void beside him to pull out 5 rank four talismans. if shang xia was still present, he would definitely be able to recognize that those were the talismans that he gave away to the other 3 great clans, zhang haogu, and ge qingzhu. ¡°you should send these talismans and the abyssal firmament fate dipper over to that place¡­¡± after speaking, the talismans flew over and landed in ji wenlong¡¯s hand. with a deep frown on his face, ji wenlong muttered, ¡°what¡¯s wrong? are things not going well there?¡± ¡°all of us arrived a little later and a lot more hurriedly than anyone else. our preparations cannot be compared to the others! those that enter later would usually be suppressed by those who came before them and the situation is definitely worse than we think. this batch of rank four talismans is extremely important to the martial extermination realm experts of our institution. they will be able to save their lives when the situation calls for it!¡± kou chongxue sighed. ¡­ originally, shang xia thought that kou chongxue summoned him to the beyond heavens pavilion to cultivate. it was that or he would be sent to the foreign continent beyond the heavens. who would have thought that kou chongxue and ji wenlong managed to gather 30 pieces of rank four talisman papers for him to craft talismans? thinking about it, ji wenlong and kou chongxue were martial dipper realm experts. they were monsters who stood at the peak of the power pyramid in the azure origin world. it wasn¡¯t a stretch to gather a batch of rank four talisman papers. when he returned to his straw hut, shang xia felt a wave of helplessness slamming against his heart. however, he also knew how important the talismans were and he had to start as soon as possible. after adjusting his condition for several days, shang xia felt that he had basically fused with the space around him. he was ready to start crafting talismans! this time, he brought out an inkstone from his spatial pouch with an extremely serious look on his face. it was made from the boulder that sealed the abyssal blade before and because he got a craftsman from the tongyou institution to turn it into an inkstone, it managed to reach the standard of a mid-grade treasure! it had an amazing property of gathering spiritual qi in the air and it could distribute it evenly to the ink it contained. it could be considered an exceptional piece of equipment for crafting talismans! next, shang xia took out a chunk of rank three talisman ink he had been given by kou chongxue and ji wenlong. speaking of talisman ink, they were usually classified under 2 different amounts. a small bottle would contain enough ink to craft 5 talismans while a big bottle would contain enough ink to craft 10 talismans. regardless of the quality of the ink, it would only be enough to craft 10 talismans in total. whatever the case, shang xia took out a cup of spiritual water he obtained from the spiritual vein under the changfeng city before pouring it onto the ink slab to dilute the ink. lightning up a stick of incense, shang xia started to personally grind the ink. it was an intricate process, but it also helped him get ready for the process of talisman crafting. when he was done, shang xia dipped his purple bamboo brush into the ink to test it out a little. he discovered that it was much smoother than before and the extermination qi that flowed through it was a lot more well distributed. unlike before when he had to craft new talismans, there would be no huge fluctuation of success rates. it was a true test of his skills. in the days he took to adjust his mental condition, he thought of which talismans he should be crafting. as kou chongxue said, there was no need to craft all sorts of talismans. he just had to craft those he was familiar with. one of those he chose was the golden sun inferno talisman. even though it wasn¡¯t exceptionally powerful out of all the rank four talismans he could craft, it was good enough. it was mainly used as an area of effect attack as its effects were huge. in a battle between experts of the same level, it was the best talisman they could use to escape from encirclements or being trapped by their enemies. read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" as he crafted a bunch of them in the past, one could say that it was the talisman he was the most familiar with. his brush flowed like water and it didn¡¯t take long for him to craft his first talisman. it didn¡¯t take long for him to use up 8 pieces of rank four talisman paper. he managed to craft 4 golden sun inferno talismans in total, and his success rate was a terrifying 50 percent. however, he didn¡¯t seem too pleased with himself. shang xia was sure that if he continued crafting golden sun inferno talismans, his success rate would continue to increase. unfortunately, he only had 30 pieces of rank four talisman papers to work with. he couldn¡¯t possibly only craft golden sun inferno talismans¡­ the next talisman he chose was the spiritual protection substitution talisman. the difficulty of crafting it was a little higher than the golden sun inferno talisman, and shang xia used 7 pieces of rank four talisman paper to craft 3 of them. he managed to barely cross the requirement of 40 percent given to him by kou chongxue. only then did shang xia feel his improvement from the previous time he was crafting talismans in the tongyou mysterious world. at the same time, he confirmed whatever ji wenlong said. the effects of the dao comprehension incense were long-lasting indeed and it also affected the way he crafted talismans. using up half the rank four talisman papers given to him, shang xia planned to craft 2 other types of talismans with the rest of the talisman paper he had. the third talisman he chose was the mist concealment dissipation talisman as it was one of the easiest talismans to craft of the 11 rank four talismans he knew. the talisman didn¡¯t possess any offensive or defensive properties when used in battle, but it allowed cultivators to conceal themselves from everyone else. regardless if they were setting up an ambush or running away, the mist concealment dissipation talisman would play a huge role in what they wanted to do. actually, shang xia wanted to choose the abyssal void shattering talisman for his third talisman. not only would the talisman increase an expert¡¯s flight speed and ability to tear through space, but it could also shatter restrictions and formations in their way. moreover, it was the key to comprehending the rank five abyssal emptiness talisman. unfortunately, shang xia did not possess any rank four abyssal ink and after thinking about how many talismans he could successfully make, he chose the mist concealment dissipation talisman. the crafting process went exceptionally smoothly. even though shang xia was more familiar with the golden sun inferno talisman and the spiritual protection substitution talisman, the lowered difficulty of the mist concealment dissipation talisman made it much easier to succeed. with 7 pieces of rank four talisman paper, shang xia managed to craft 4 mist concealment dissipation talismans, surpassing a success rate of 50 percent! when he was done, he used 22 pieces of rank four talisman papers to craft 11 rank four talismans. he merely needed to complete another one to hit the target kou chongxue set for him! with 8 more pieces of talisman papers in his hands, it seemed as though he would definitely be able to surpass the requirements. since completing whatever kou chongxue had set out for him was basically set in stone, all he had to do was to see how many pieces of rank four talismans he would be able to keep for himself! with his final 8 chances, shang xia surprisingly chose to craft divine restraint talismans. the choice was obviously not the best if he wished to maximize the number of talismans he completed. not only was the divine restraint talisman the most difficult talisman of the 11 he knew, but it was also one of the most difficult talismans to craft among all the rank four talismans out there! now that his task was basically complete, shang xia didn¡¯t plan to craft as many talismans as he could so that he could keep some for himself. instead, he chose to craft the most difficult talisman he knew so that he could increase his proficiency! moreover, shang xia could tell that the divine restraint talisman was exceptionally powerful. facing any ordinary martial extermination realm expert, all one had to do was to use the divine restraint talisman and the battle was as good as over! ¡°eight pieces of rank four talisman papers¡­ even if i only manage to craft 2 divine restraint talismans in total, it would mean that two enemies at the martial extermination realm will die. shit, this is basically free profit!¡± shang xia muttered to himself as he took out another chunk of solidified talisman ink. this time, he was using rank four talisman ink. the ink he crafted was known as blood guidance and it contained some sort of essence blood. shang xia couldn¡¯t help but guess if the talisman ink came from the azure spiritual world. after all, the cultivators there were bloodline cultivators and it made sense for the valuable treasures they possessed to contain essence blood. not only was divine restraint talisman extremely difficult to craft, but it was also extremely taxing on the creator. it would take him a long time to craft the talismans. every time shang xia completed one of them, he would have to take a long break to recover. when shang xia used up 22 pieces of rank four talisman paper previously, he barely used 100 days. however, using up the last 8 pieces to craft divine restraint talismans ate up close to 50 more days of his time. the divine martial calendar trudged on relentlessly and the 846th year crossed over to the 847th year¡­ in the end, shang xia managed to complete 3 divine restraint talismans. even though the success rate wasn¡¯t exceptionally high, it exceeded shang xia¡¯s lowest estimate of 2 talismans. now that he completed 14 talismans in total, he was touching on the 50 percent success mark. according to the agreement he had with kou chongxue, he could take 2 talismans for himself. sighing helplessly, shang xia chose a mist concealment dissipation talisman and a divine restraint talisman before getting ready to hand the rest over to kou chongxue. in the face of absolute power, one had to submit! shang xia could bitch all he wanted, but kou chongxue was a martial dipper realm ancestor and he was also the one who provided the resources! shang xia had to hand 12 rank four talismans in no matter what! if they agreed on the regular success rate of a rank four talisman grandmaster, shang xia would at least be able to keep 4 talismans for himself¡­ if the talisman grandmaster was a stingy bastard, they would probably keep 6 to 7 talismans for themselves. no one would be able to fault them for it! that was the power and authority a talisman grandmaster possessed! unfortunately, shang xia was no ordinary talisman grandmaster and the person watching over him was no ordinary expert asking him to craft talismans¡­ now that he was done, he was in no rush to head over to the platform to hand the talismans over. instead, he needed to rest to recover his inner qi. after all, crafting talismans non-stop was an exhausting process. it took 5 months for him to use up all 30 pieces of talisman papers and even though he had been focused on talisman crafting the whole time, he spent any extra time he could find on perfecting his secret art. now, the time taken to complete one cycle of inner qi circulation had shortened a little more. he only needed to take a small step before reducing the time needed to 4 hours or less. when that happened, his secret art would finally be considered a complete product. ¡­ when shang xia was finally done, he went over to the platform to hand the talismans over. both kou chongxue¡¯s true body and ji wenlong¡¯s clone were present and they listened intently to shang xia¡¯s explanation of the effects of the 4 types of talismans shang xia crafted. actually, they understood the effects even without shang xia¡¯s explanations. they were ¡®listening¡¯ intently because they were absolutely gobsmacked by shang xia¡¯s higher-than 40 percent success rate. it was especially so for kou chongxue. he basically watched the entire process of shang xia crafting talismans and knew that shang xia actually had 2 more rank four talismans on him. CH 513 ¡°you did well.¡± after hearing shang xia¡¯s introductions, kou chongxue muttered softly with a trace of admiration in his voice. waving his hand, the 12 talismans flew over to ji wenlong. ¡°hurry and send these to the foreign continent¡­¡± kou chongxue nodded at ji wenlong and commanded. clearly, ji wenlong was the person in charge of taking care of the path to the foreign continent. ¡°are things really that urgent? it has barely been half a year since i last opened the spatial passage. opening it so often will definitely affect its stability¡­¡± ji wenlong frowned. kou chongxue sighed softly in response, ¡°we can¡¯t care about that now¡­ the continent is about to self-destruct. there might be a final burst of world origin and a huge battle will definitely take place. we entered later than the others and our preparations weren¡¯t as good. the moment the chaotic battle breaks out, we¡¯ll be forced away from the good stuff by the other parties there. this batch of rank four talismans will allow us to display the might of close to 9 more martial extermination realm cultivators. it¡¯s enough to scare the other powers away and make them wary of us.¡± thinking about it for a moment, ji wenlong eventually agreed. ¡°i¡¯ll get to it right away.¡± after he was done, his clone started to fade away with the talismans in hand. seeing as ji wenlong had disappeared, shang xia finally asked the question that had been burning in his heart for a long time. ¡°why don''t the two of you act and join in the fight in the foreign continent?¡± having long anticipated shang xia¡¯s question, kou chongxue thought of his answer some time ago. he wanted to teach shang xia something about the foreign continent and he chuckled while explaining, ¡°brat, how do you know we didn¡¯t do anything? are you able to find a way to carve out a spatial tunnel to the foreign continent and sustain it for a long time? without the two of us, who¡¯s going to send our experts over to the foreign continent? if not for our guidance, how would we attract the broken pieces of the continent over to the azure origin world?¡± ¡°that wasn¡¯t my question! i mean to ask, why don¡¯t the two of you personally enter the foreign continent? even if you did the same thing back in the cloud water gorge by sending your clones down, it would be much better than not providing actual assistance!¡± shang xia replied helplessly. he knew that kou chongxue understood his question and was intentionally avoiding it. pressing his lips together, kou chongxue muttered, ¡°i want to head in there and have a huge fight with the others. however, the foreign continent lost too much world origin and can¡¯t sustain the spatial barrier around it. how can it possibly withstand the strength of a martial dipper realm cultivator like myself? if i step into the foreign continent, it¡¯s going to shatter immediately¡­¡± widening his eyes in shock, shang xia sucked in a cold breath. ¡°you¡­ you¡­ you¡¯re already strong enough to destroy an entire continent just by stepping into it. this disciple really looks up to your amazing strength¡­ ahem¡­¡± ¡°why the hell do you sound so suspicious?¡± kou chongxue frowned. ¡°no, it¡¯s nothing! i wanted to ask, why will that be the case?¡± shang xia replied hastily. kou chongxue sighed in response, ¡°every single world has a limit to the burden it can withstand. no one knows why the world out there lost its spatial barrier and was revealed to the rest of the worlds. because of its lost spatial barrier, its world origin is leaking excessively. there¡¯s no saving the continent. it¡¯s going to be destroyed eventually. without the protection of the spatial barrier, the continent will only be able to withstand the might of martial extermination realm experts at best. a martial dipper realm expert would exceed the limit of what it can hold¡­¡± shang xia thought about it for a second and asked, ¡°does that mean that the difference between the foreign continent out there and our azure origin world is a mere spatial barrier?¡± kou chongxue stared at shang xia in shock and thought about it for a second before he replied. ¡°actually, before the fusion of our world and the azure spiritual world¡­ yeah, i guess you can say that. however, our azure origin world has its own foundations. from a certain standpoint, a martial dipper realm cultivator is the limit our world can produce. the stronger the world becomes, the more martial dipper realm cultivators a world can contain. the number of martial dipper realm cultivators a world can hold tells us how deep its foundations run.¡± from that, kou chongxue revealed a lot of information shang xia previously didn¡¯t know. carefully thinking about everything he just learned, shang xia eventually asked, ¡°do you mean to say that worlds are split into different levels? would that also limit the upper limit of cultivation there? wouldn¡¯t that mean that both our azure origin world and the azure spiritual world are merely a little stronger than the foreign continent out there?¡± ¡°so¡­ that would mean that if our worlds fuse, the world origin that is contained in both our worlds will also combine. would that allow us to upgrade to become a higher-level world?¡± ¡°that is why even after so many years of fighting with the azure spiritual world, you chose to work with them now¡­ that is because you finally learned the secret behind the fusion of the worlds¡­¡± ¡°once our world grows stronger, that would mean that the limit of cultivation realms would increase from the martial dipper realm to the next level! you would be able to break through then and grow even stronger!¡± shang xia fired off without stopping. no one knew when, but kou chongxue¡¯s back had straightened while he was listening to shang xia¡¯s rambling. a fire lit up in his eyes as he addressed shang xia. ¡°you¡¯re more perceptive than i thought!¡± ¡°so what if i know all these now? it¡¯s something martial dipper realm ancestors like yourself have to deal with¡­¡± shang xia sighed. kou chongxue sighed together with him. ¡°yeah¡­ that¡¯s exactly why our worlds collided in the first place¡­¡± with a frown on his face, shang xia asked, ¡°are you saying that the collision of our worlds is orchestrated by martial dipper realm ancestors? could it be because of the evil remnants who make up the rose party¡­¡± kou chongxue sneered when he heard what shang xia had said. ¡°the five families that make up the evil remnants don¡¯t have a single martial dipper realm expert among them. they can¡¯t even break through the spatial barrier around our world, how would they communicate with those outside? they¡¯re just the scapegoat those assholes put out there. they don¡¯t even know that they were used!¡± shang xia sucked in a cold breath and continued, ¡°when our worlds collided, the five continents that bordered the battlefield between the two worlds suffered serious damage and countless lives were lost¡­ our you continent was nearly completely destroyed¡­ could everything be because of those martial dipper realm ancestors out there?¡± ¡°do you feel extremely frustrated at their cold-blooded actions?¡± kou chongxue revealed a look of mockery as he continued, ¡°before anyone knew it, the fate of our continents were decided. in their eyes, everything that was destroyed and everyone that was killed were mere sacrifices in the grand scheme of things. the moment our worlds fuse, we would experience a qualitative upgrade. when that happens, our martial path will be extended to the next level and the limit to the sixth order of the primary realm will be broken. because of that, a bunch of useless existences in those unlucky continents would be sacrificed without hesitation. heh¡­¡± shang xia¡¯s voice dropped several tones as he growled, ¡°you entered the martial dipper realm over 20 years ago¡­ it¡¯s a little hard to believe that you only learned of this now¡­¡± glancing at shang xia from the corner of his eye, kou chongxue continued, ¡°obviously i knew about stuff like how worlds would be upgraded a long time ago. i always thought that the azure spiritual world was behind everything. at the very least, i thought that their martial dipper realm ancestors were the ones driving the whole matter¡­¡± a lightbulb lit up in shang xia¡¯s mind. ¡°is that why you established the tongyou institution to protect the you continent from the azure spiritual world back then? were you trying to prevent our you continent from being annexed by them?¡± ¡°yeah¡­ moreover, i did a really good job at it. in the end, i became an eyesore¡­¡± kou chongxue muttered. shang xia seemed to understand a little more of what was going on with every additional statement kou chongxue made. ¡°the higher-ups of our worlds have already reached a conclusion that our worlds would fuse no matter what¡­ however, you were trying to stop it and got in their way. is that why they sneak attacked you in the 843rd year of the divine martial calendar?¡± ¡°yes.¡± kou chongxue nodded. shang xia wasn¡¯t done. ¡°because of that battle, you learned everything that you told me earlier¡­ that was when you realized there was no stopping the fusion of our worlds, right? even as the patriarch of the tongyou institution, you can¡¯t stop them alone. is that why you threw away your anger and worked with the changbai holy land of the azure spiritual world?¡± there was even a trace of anger in shang xia¡¯s voice when he spoke of the cooperation with the azure spiritual world. breaking out into laughter, kou chongxue asked, ¡°do you think that i¡¯m starting to collude with them?¡± this time, the way kou chongxue was speaking to shang xia was surprisingly as equals. shang xia calmly analyzed, ¡°since the azure spiritual world wasn¡¯t the one who caused our continents to fall into disarray, there has to be an even stronger power behind everything. those martial dipper realm ancestors who caused the whole series of events are the ones to blame but because of their terrifying strength, you won¡¯t be able to gain the upper hand even with your shockingly powerful combat prowess. that is why you wish to enter the sixth order of the primary realm. because of that, you need the help of as many people as you can get. that is why you spared no expense to help deputy patriarch ji and my grandpa and those around you to grow stronger.¡± clapping his hands, kou chongxue chuckled, ¡°amazing¡­ absolutely amazing! who would have thought that you would understand everything that i¡¯ve been doing?!¡± ¡°since that¡¯s the case, please allow me to head over to the foreign continent.¡± shang xia asked out of the blue. ¡°absolutely not!¡± kou chongxue rejected him the moment the words left his lips. ¡°you need to craft as many rank four talismans as you can in order to contribute to our efforts in the foreign continent.¡± ¡°are you still able to get your hands on rank four talisman paper?¡± shang xia pulled a difficult question out of nowhere. ¡°no one said that you had to craft rank four talismans. even rank three talismans can be extremely useful in the hands of martial extermination realm experts when used correctly.¡± kou chongxue mentioned. ¡°patriarch kou, what do you think of my current strength?¡± shang xia changed the topic once again. staring at shang xia with a raised eyebrow, kou chongxue muttered, ¡°you probably have the combat strength of a second layer martial extermination realm cultivator. if you push it, you can probably reach the standard of a third layer martial extermination realm cultivator.¡± unable to deny kou chongxue¡¯s evaluation, shang xia continued, ¡°what if i was using the abyssal blade?¡± ¡°this¡­¡± kou chongxue thought back to the time in the cloud water gorge when shang xia released two slashes against feng yezi. even though his cultivation was still low back then and his slashes couldn¡¯t affect feng yezi in the slightest, there was one thing he couldn¡¯t deny. those two slashes shocked every single martial dipper realm expert present. to read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com. taking the chance when kou chongxue was still impressed with him, shang xia added, ¡°patriarch kou, you know the situation with the martial extermination realm experts of our institution the best. other than my grandpa and deputy patriarch yun, is there anyone with a cultivation level of the third layer or above? the difference between a second layer and third layer martial extermination realm expert is massive. of everyone we sent into the foreign continent, they¡¯re basically noobs led by 2 ultra-strong experts.¡± seeing as kou chongxue hadn¡¯t said anything yet, shang xia continued, ¡°even if they receive a batch of rank four talismans, they would only be able to threaten experts in the second layer and below. if they run into a martial extermination realm expert who refined 3 or more extermination origins, those talismans wouldn¡¯t be extremely useful when dealing with the situation.¡± ¡°alright, alright, go! just take care of yourself and act appropriately!¡± kou chongxue finally relented. CH 514 taking everything he needed in his spatial pouch, shang xia entered seclusion for a short while in order to restore himself to his peak state. when he was done, he approached the void abyss to look for ji wenlong after obtaining kou chongxue¡¯s permission. along the way, he played with the spirit extermination gourd in his hand. a quick look at bit.ly/3ibfjkv will leave you more fulfilled. in the past, kou chongxue modified the gourd once and stored a jade green sword qi within. it contained enough power to rival one of kou chongxue¡¯s strikes, but because of how shang xia used it previously, it became extremely blurry as though it was about to disappear. after shang xia became stronger, he tried to restore the jade sword but to no avail. seeing as shang xia had volunteered to enter the foreign continent, he took the chance to pester kou chongxue to restore the jade sword. it once again regained the might of a full powered strike of a martial dipper realm expert. of course, kou chongxue gave him a serious warning to not use the sword qi unless he was in trouble. unless it was a matter of life and death, he wasn¡¯t to release the full power of the sword qi. the moment he did, the entire continent would shatter. with some pointers from the patriarch, shang xia learned how to separate the sword qi into two. he could release them separately, and every one of them would be comparable to a full powered strike from a fourth layer martial extermination realm expert. obviously, splitting the sword qi would greatly reduce its strength. after all, a huge amount of energy would be wasted during the splitting process. two strikes from a fourth layer martial extermination realm expert were far from an attack from a martial dipper realm expert. of course, with no other martial dipper realm expert in play, those sword qis could be said to be shang xia¡¯s strongest trump cards on the foreign continent. when ji wenlong noticed shang xia, he sighed softly, ¡°kid, have you thought it through?¡± it was clear he knew that shang xia was coming. ¡°senior ji, rest assured i know what i¡¯m doing.¡± ¡°alright.¡± ji wenlong didn¡¯t try to dissuade shang xia. however, he handed the 12 talismans he crafted back to him along with several embroidered cloud cases that were filled with resources. ¡°since you¡¯re heading over, you can bring these to them.¡± accepting the items, shang xia couldn¡¯t help but feel a little curious. ¡°i heard the patriarch say that exposing our bodies to the space beyond the heavens poses great risks. how did you and patriarch kou open a path to the foreign continent then? wouldn¡¯t they have to pass through the space beyond the heavens?¡± without turning around to look at him, ji wenlong replied, ¡°do you know how those holy lands and secret regions were established?¡± shang xia heard kou chongxue bringing it up before and he replied, ¡°disciple heard that they were situated at the weak spots in the spatial barrier around the world. after they take their positions, they would be able to absorb world origin from the world. at the same time, they will act as fortresses to protect those weak spots in the spatial barrier.¡± grunting with approval, ji wenlong continued, ¡°martial dipper realm experts might not be able to carve out the spatial tunnel through the space beyond the heavens with our own power, but we are able to do so with the assistance of the world origin from our holy land¡­¡± widening his eyes slightly, shang xia felt that he learned another secret. ¡°our tongyou mysterious world hasn¡¯t upgraded to the tongyou paradise. our foundations aren¡¯t as deep as them. is that why we chose to work with the changbai holy land?¡± shang xia might be forcing himself to remain calm, but his voice was a little harsh. at the end of the day, the tongyou institution had been at war with the cultivators of the azure spiritual world for the past 20ish years. the number of lives both sides lost couldn¡¯t be counted and the lives that were lost when the worlds collided were countless times more. shang xia understood that the fusion of their worlds was inevitable and the culprit behind everything wasn¡¯t the azure spiritual world from what kou chongxue was saying. he even learned about kou chongxue¡¯s plan from the patriarch himself. however, it was a little difficult to get over his mental barrier that everyone from the azure spiritual world was an enemy. actually, kou chongxue and ji wenlong were both extremely surprised shang xia could still keep his cool after learning what he did. evidently, kou chongxue, ji wenlong, even shang bo and yun jing who established the tongyou institution might have learned of the matter not too long ago. that was why kou chongxue kept everything under wraps as best he could and he was unwilling to leak too much information on the matter to let more people join their cause. now that kou chongxue had personally revealed what was going on to shang xia, it meant that shang xia had formally stepped into the core of the tongyou institution. shaking his head slowly, ji wenlong replied to shang xia¡¯s previous question. ¡°that¡¯s actually not true.¡± ji wenlong saw the confusion in his eyes after turning around and his gaze shifted to the void abyss. a strange circular entrance to the void appeared. shang xia¡¯s spiritual perception wasn¡¯t weak and he felt it the moment the entrance appeared. he could also tell that it was absorbing energy from the void abyss. the world origin that came from the void abyss was much denser than anything shang xia felt in the beyond heavens pavilion. it also contained a foreign energy that shang xia had never felt before. if he wasn¡¯t mistaken, the strange energy was world origin from the azure spiritual world. which was to say, the spatial tunnel was sustained from the world origin of both worlds! ¡°the longer i keep this open, the larger the disturbance. the consumption of energy is extremely high and i can¡¯t keep it open for long.¡± ji wenlong explained while gesturing for shang xia to enter the tunnel. taking a deep breath, shang xia leaped into the circular shaped entrance immediately. in that instant, a huge amount of world origin poured into his body. the space around him twisted unnaturally. after he entered, ji wenlong waved his hand to shatter the connection that kept the entrance open and everything returned to normal. at the same time the connection was cut off, ji wenlong felt a strange fluctuation nearby and a short cultivator appeared on the opposite side of the void abyss. ¡°did you just open the spatial door?¡± xu bailing stared at ji wenlong with an expressionless face. ¡°old friend xu, do you have any pointers for me?¡± ji wenlong didn¡¯t deny it at all. ¡°if i¡¯m not mistaken, didn¡¯t you just open the spatial door half a year ago? why did you open it again? it takes up a lot of world origin from the void abyss and aren¡¯t you afraid that someone will detect the fluctuations here and disrupt what we¡¯re doing?¡± ji wenlong chuckled in response, ¡°you¡¯re thinking too much. i have my limits. moreover, the patriarch¡¯s true body is sitting right here. there won¡¯t be any accidents!¡± xu bailing nodded slowly and muttered, ¡°looks like senior brother luo is right. the situation in the foreign continent isn¡¯t too good. no wonder you have to send reinforcements so soon¡­¡± ji wenlong¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change as he replied, ¡°i believe you guys should be more concerned about yourselves. i heard that you guys are having an internal problem at the moment and it¡¯s affecting the stability of your holy land. wasn¡¯t that why you guys agreed to work with us in the first place to open the spatial tunnel?¡± xu bailing finally snapped and he snorted, ¡°when did martial dipper realm ancestors start to spread rumors around? i heard that there was a martial dipper realm ancestor from your azure origin world who lowered himself like an animal to make a move on a junior. he¡¯s truly a disgrace to all martial dipper realm ancestors. i believe you will agree with me, right?¡± just like that, the two of them probed each other with the sharpest words they could use before parting ways on bad terms. ji wenlong¡¯s figure appeared on kou chongxue¡¯s platform not too long after. ¡°as the degree of fusion increases, all of us will know more about each other¡¯s world¡­ isn¡¯t that the case?¡± kou chongxue smiled at ji wenlong. clearly, he had seen everything that happened when ji wenlong opened the spatial tunnel earlier. ¡°the two of them seem to have realized something¡­¡± ji wenlong¡¯s clone looked for a random place on the platform to sit down as he spoke to kou chongxue. completely unaffected, kou chongxue muttered, ¡°so what?¡± ¡°everyone else other than members of the institution is our enemy! they might have chosen to work with us, but they can¡¯t wait to break the agreement we have. the moment something happens in the foreign continent, they¡¯ll probably be the first to betray us!¡± ji wenlong growled. the smile on kou chongxue¡¯s face faded and it was replaced with a serious expression. ¡°there¡¯s no doubt about it. those assholes won¡¯t keep to our agreement. neither party will allow the other to easily grasp their weakness. we can only see whose scheme is better when the time comes.¡± CH 515 ¡°after that battle, the spatial barrier around our worlds will probably shatter, right?¡± kou chongxue muttered to himself as he got to his feet suddenly. he arrived at the corner of the platform and stared at the void abyss not too far away. ji wenlong¡¯s gaze followed where kou chongxue was looking, but his expression was one of unprecedented seriousness. ¡­ shang xia didn¡¯t know anything that happened after he left. when he leaped into the spatial tunnel earlier, he tried turning his head to look in the direction of the azure origin world. the sight that greeted him was shocking. he saw two worlds that were squished together like two yolks in an egg. is this¡­ is this the azure origin world and the azure spiritual world? the azure origin world and azure spiritual world were like dual yolks as the spatial barrier around the worlds and the beyond heavens pavilion resembled the egg whites that surrounded them. a quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. looking at them, they were pressed together to the point where they couldn¡¯t be separated anymore. even the beyond heavens pavilion of both sides had connected with each other. there was only one thing that was a little strange. even though the azure origin world and azure spiritual world were pressed close together, they were unable to touch. after seeing the worlds, shang xia¡¯s first thought was that they seemed a little too small. as he traveled through the spatial tunnel, the worlds became smaller and smaller and they lost their luster. those worlds seemed to be hidden in a certain location among the stars and when shang xia finally turned back, he discovered that his surroundings had already changed. there was a strange sense of attraction that affected him. shang xia never felt so close to the stars in his life and as he traveled through the tunnel, the massive stars in the distance seemed to fly directly at him. the spatial tunnel was like a massive river that tore through space as shang xia flowed through it without the slightest bit of resistance. extending his divine perception, shang xia had a feeling he was walking on a cliff¡¯s edge. danger was all around, but luckily for him, as long as he didn¡¯t fuck around, he wouldn¡¯t run into any of them. shang xia didn¡¯t retract his divine perception throughout the entire process. he felt the changes around him and managed to gain some slight comprehension of his surroundings. no one knew how long the spatial tunnel extended, but shang xia felt some strange fluctuations coming from a certain direction and he quickly raised his head to take a look. he saw an ungodly large continent drifting slowly in space. as he got closer, the continent expanded in his vision. at the same time, shang xia started to feel the spatial tunnel growing a little more unstable around him. he even needed to use his extermination qi to sustain the tunnel as he traveled through it. he was afraid that if he was slightly careless, he would be thrown into the vast expanse. forcing the spatial tunnel to remain stable, shang xia realized that even if he managed to arrive on the foreign continent, he wouldn¡¯t be able to land on his original destination. because of the instability, he was bound to appear thousands of miles away. only then did shang xia notice that the foreign continent really didn¡¯t actually possess a spatial barrier like the azure origin world or the azure spiritual world. unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t able to spend too much time thinking about it as he passed through a formless screen. chaotic qi appeared in his surroundings and slammed against him, greatly affecting his falling figure. feeling the thin barrier from before, shang xia understood that the foreign continent wasn¡¯t actually missing their spatial barrier. it was just too thin that it couldn¡¯t prevent anyone from entering. it couldn¡¯t stop the world origin from leaking either. stabilizing his figure as he continued to fall, shang xia lowered his head only to see massive craters that seemed to be caused by meteorites that fell from beyond the heavens. looks like an apocalypse happened¡­ shang xia thought to himself. the closer he got to the ground below, the clearer he could see what was happening below. the instant things became a little clearer, shagn xia saw several large scale energy fluctuations in the surroundings. could it be a battle among martial extermination realm experts? no! from the looks of it, it was an all-out brawl among multiple martial extermination realm cultivators! from the looks of it, the battle would be on shang xia¡¯s right after he landed. even though the destination of the spatial tunnel opened by the tongyou institution would differ slightly, the overall location would be pretty much the same. according to their plan, the experts of the institution would set up camp near the exit of the spatial tunnel. from there, they would expand their influence bit by bit and the entire process was similar to what they did in the battlefield between the two worlds. the most important thing they had to do was to protect the area where their reinforcements would appear. they would spare no expense to hold the fort. seeing as a large-scale battle had broken out near the core of where the tongyou institution¡¯s experts were, shang xia understood that their enemies had come knocking. if anyone were to tell shang xia that his current landing place was a coincidence, he would slap them into oblivion. touching his spatial pouch to ensure that it was with him, his hand eventually went over to the embroidered cloud cases that ji wenlong entrusted him with. personally, he had 3 rank four talismans. the other 12 remained in those embroidered cloud cases he brought with him. if he ran into serious trouble the moment he arrived and failed to deliver those talismans to the experts of the institution, the ones who would be in trouble wouldn¡¯t actually be him. after all, he would have 15 rank four talismans at his disposal. of the 15 talismans, 3 of them were divine restraint talisman. he had 4 mist concealment dissipation talisman, 1 abyssal void shattering talisman, 4 golden sun inferno talismans, and 3 spiritual protection substitution talismans. getting ready to be thrown into battle anytime, shang xia felt the guidance of the spatial tunnel around him disappear. he seemed to be hurled through the air like a cannonball and he had to endure spatial fractures that appeared around his body. clearly, he was discovered by his enemy. since he noticed the chaotic battle happening before he arrived, he took precautions and slapped a spiritual protection substitution talisman before he emerged from the spatial tunnel. with a barrier of extermination qi surrounding him, they prevented the spatial cracks from coming into contact with his body. however, the barrier gradually dimmed as it started to lose its power. at the same time, a whitish-gold sword light tore through the void and locked onto shang xia. it cut down viciously but shang xia noticed it right away. the remaining extermination qi that formed the barrier around him gathered at a certain point and greeted the falling sword qi. with the sound of metal scraping against each other, the energy that protected shang xia was completely used up. the spiritual protection substitution talisman shattered. because some of its energy was used up earlier, the spiritual protection substitution talisman couldn¡¯t stop the sword qi. as the sword qi slashed into the protective layer made from shang xia¡¯s extermination origins, all the energy it contained scattered. right after shang xia dealt with the sword qi, a roar tore through the skies. ¡°xiao wubai, you¡¯re looking to die!¡± shang xia could tell that the person who was yelling was shang ke, his fifth grandfather. as shang xia retracted his extermination origins slightly, he released them with renewed vigor as the shattered void around him was quickly forced back into its original state. standing in mid air, shang xia¡¯s gaze swept across the dozen or so experts who were fighting not too far away. the second he stood in place, at least 3 attacks came from different directions. a short left shang xia¡¯s lips as he circulated his heaven and man synergy chapter to its limit. retracting his aura to his limit, shang xia used the abyssal void shattering talisman to tear the void that he just restored. taking a single step in, he disappeared completely. as the attacks lost their target, they could only strike the area shang xia had been in. as the shockwaves tore the void apart, shang xia was nowhere to be found. ¡­ there was one point shang xia guessed wrong even though he had to face so many attacks in the time he appeared. the chaotic battle that was taking place wasn¡¯t really directed at him. 5 months ago when the tongyou institution started their operations in the foreign continent, shang bo chose to enter seclusion in secret and yun jing became the only one in charge of matters. at first, everything went smoothly as they carried out their plans for the foreign continent. however, the situation started to shift as a group of experts on the manyu continent started to band together in secret. without any warning, they launched a large-scale attack on the tongyou institution. the experts of the tongyou institution were caught off guard and the territory they painstakingly fought for was taken over. they had no choice but to return to where they were but luckily, all of them were martial extermination realm experts. they reacted quickly and not too much was lost. even though they were in an extremely sorry state after the assault, they didn¡¯t take too much damage as they retreated successfully. their hard-fought territory was taken over and they were forced to retreat back to where they arrived. they only controlled a 200 to 300 mile radius, and after they gathered together, they realized that there was nowhere else to go! the moment they lost the final region they controlled, they would lose their way of retreat. they wouldn¡¯t just waste the efforts of the past few years, they would be unable to return to the azure origin world forever! they might even be trapped on the continent until it was completely destroyed in the sea of stars after exhausting all its world origin. in order to protect their way out of the manyu continent, the experts of the tongyou institution went all out. similarly, in order to get rid of the outsiders, the experts of the manyu continent didn¡¯t hold back. the chaotic battle erupted almost immediately. the experts of the manyu continent wanted to kill the outsiders even if they knew that their fates were sealed. during the climax of the battle, the spatial tunnel that appeared in the skies above attracted the attention of the experts present. realizing that the newcomer was most likely reinforcements sent by the outsiders, they quickly directed their attacks over. that was the reason the spatial tunnel was affected near the end of shang xia¡¯s journey. when he popped out from the void, he was also immediately targeted by a few of them. in order to attack shang xia, the experts of the manyu continent ignored their opponents and risked being suppressed to try to kill the other side¡¯s reinforcements before he could arrive. CH 516 shang xia never thought that he would be greeted with such a bombastic party the moment he arrived. without the abyssal void shattering talisman, shang xia wouldn¡¯t have been able to avoid the assault of at least 4 martial extermination realm experts at the same time. even if he managed to avoid the first wave of attacks, there was no way he would be able to dodge the second wave. that was because those experts of the manyu continent were hell-bent on killing the reinforcements the tongyou institution sent. they were afraid that they would have to face a new batch of experts, but never in their wildest imaginations would they expect only one person to appear. shang xia immediately chose to back down when faced with the attacks of so many martial extermination realm experts. he chose to enter the void to avoid their combined attacks. a martial extermination realm expert had the ability to affect the void and create spatial paths, but without the help of a martial dipper realm expert, entering the void and staying there was the same as seeking death. even though shang xia tried something like that back in the abyssal secret region, the space there was extremely weak as the secret region was breaking down. he lowered the risks as much as he could. even so, he emerged with countless wounds on his body and he looked to be in a sorry state. now that he was facing the combined wrath of several martial extermination realm experts at once whose strength he had no clue of, he decisively chose to enter the void. even though the manyu continent was walking down the path of destruction, it could still be considered a complete world. the space it contained was a lot more solid than the abyssal secret region. to shang xia, he would rather risk the void than risk being heavily injured by taking those attacks. in the eyes of everyone present, it was the only choice shang xia could make if he didn¡¯t wish to die immediately. now that the experts of the manyu continent had seen the reinforcements of the tongyou institution, they no longer cared about him since there was only one person. they continued to focus on their original opponents. the assault they launched on the tongyou institution was a chance that wouldn¡¯t come often. moreover, they had no choice but to give their all to take the tongyou institution down. that was because they received a piece of intelligence that stated that there was a super expert from the tongyou institution who was hiding on their manyu continent to get ready to break through to the martial dipper realm. the current manyu continent could no longer bear the burden of birthing another martial dipper realm expert. their entire continent would be at risk and it would shatter into countless pieces that would disappear into the sea of stars. to prevent their continent from destruction, the powers of the manyu continent formed a huge alliance to launch a deadly offensive on the tongyou institution. to the members of the manyu continent who were split into countless different powers, it was a chance that was hard to come by. after countless days of fighting, they finally gained the upper hand. the experts of the tongyou institution were tenacious and they put up strong resistance. even so, their fates were sealed from the way things were playing out. what made it even better for the experts of the manyu continent to eliminate the tongyou institution was the fact that other powers were willing to provide them with a batch of cultivation resources. the batch of resources that was promised to them wasn¡¯t a small amount. the white and gold swordsman was one of the martial extermination realm experts of the manyu continent who was part of the operation to destroy the tongyou institution. even though he was only a second layer martial extermination realm expert, the extermination origins he refined were extremely compatible with himself. he had a high-grade sword, the hundred gold sword, as his main offensive weapon, and not many people in the same cultivation realm were his opponent. he could even rival those in the third layer of the martial extermination realm. he was the one who went deep into the core territory of the tongyou institution. he suppressed shang ke with his oppressive strength and he was the one who released the sword qi at shang xia the moment he emerged from the spatial tunnel. because of his frightening strength, shang ke didn¡¯t even have time to stop him. originally, shang ke was so angry that he sneak attacked the person the institution sent to back them up. when shang ke saw that the person who emerged was shang xia, the rage in his heart increased severalfold. he immediately clashed with the white and gold swordsman. at the same time, the various attacks slammed into the space where shang xia was and his figure disappeared from view. shang ke¡¯s divine perception had no way of telling that shang xia had jumped into the void to avoid the attacks and all he saw was shang xia disappearing after being ¡®struck¡¯ by those attacks. with anger filling his heart, he went crazy and he rushed at xiao wubai with the intention to risk it all. seemingly having confirmed that shang xia was dead, xiao wubai roared with laughter. he quickly avoided all the attacks thrown his way. with the absolute advantage, he wouldn¡¯t go crazy and risk a life-or-death battle with shang ke when he could wear the other party down slowly. shang ke, who was an arrow at the end of his flight when fighting against xiao wubai, allowed his opponent to notice a battle not too far away where 3 experts of the manyu continent were surrounding a female cultivator. xiao wubai thought if he should jump in to lend a helping hand when he felt a strange fluctuation behind him. ¡°huh?¡± with his years of experience, xiao wubai could tell that he was in danger. with his plentiful combat experience and cold sweat streaming down his back, the hair on his body stood erect. unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t able to react when the dull rumbling of lightning reached his ears. the void tore open and a blade light that was wrapped in lightning emerged and shot at xiao wubai with a shocking speed. the distance of a few miles was crossed in an instant as the blade light appeared before him. by the time he heard the thunder rumbling in his ears, the blade light had arrived! that was one of shang xia¡¯s moves from his twenty four solar terms, lightning awakening! the instant the blade light arrived, xiao wubai felt that death had come. in the final moment of his life, he didn¡¯t even have time to think about how someone could travel through the void with their physical body to arrive behind him without forming a proper spatial tunnel. neither could he think of why the person who entered the void wasn¡¯t on the verge of death and had the strength to fire off an attack at him. this¡­ that wasn¡¯t an attack¡­ he basically released his ultimate move! xiao wubai couldn¡¯t care about shang ke who was right in front of him as he turned around to release a hurried slash from his hundred gold sword. with the shadow of death encroaching on him, he released everything he had and unleashed the strongest white gold sword qi in his life. the sword qi shone a musty white as it contained a frightening amount of power. it smashed into shang xia¡¯s lightning awakening and strands of lightning blade qi tore across space. those strands of blade qi were intercepted by the sword qi xiao wubai released and they destroyed each other in mid air. the space around them was destroyed as chaotic air whipped all around. with a trace of fear lingering in his heart, xiao wubai nearly cried out loud as he felt that he had crawled back from the gates of the netherworld. it seemed as though he managed to block the terrifying blade light that came from behind him. he felt that the region of chaotic space that was created from the clash of their attacks could easily serve as a barrier that would stop any threat from reaching him. he had always kept shang ke at the back of his mind and now that he had stopped the threat, he turned around to face his original opponent. when he turned around, a youngster who was brimming with killing intent appeared in the chaotic space xiao wubai was so confident in. holding a blade in his hand, he rushed at xiao wubai while swinging his blade. ¡°die!¡± with the abyssal blade in hand, shang xia¡¯s yell seemed to strike directly at xiao wubai¡¯s soul. read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" the attack on his opponent¡¯s soul was something shang xia had been working on for a long time. with his mental state in tatters, xiao wubai could no longer rely on his full strength to swing his hundred gold sword any longer. pouring whatever strength he had left into his weapon, he slashed at shang xia¡¯s abyssal blade. ¡°clang!¡± the sound of metal scraping against each other filled the air and xiao wubai¡¯s hundred gold sword was severely damaged. it was also sent flying from his grasp. an overbearing energy flowed directly into xiao wubai¡¯s body and he was sent flying through the air. he felt his organs shifting as blood sprayed from his lips without any signs of stopping. luckily for him, a martial extermination realm expert had a terrifying amount of life force. he managed to remain conscious through the entire process and he tried to use the chance when he was sent flying to escape. ¡°hmph.¡± a soft snort rang in his ears and his figure stopped in mid air. slowly lowering his head, he opened his mouth only for no words to emerge. the tip of a spear poked out of his chest and it was torn away forcefully the next instant. shang ke¡¯s extermination origins poured into his body and destroyed his innards and his life force with it. CH 517 as a martial extermination realm expert fell, the skies were filled with heaven and earth qi, and a natural phenomenon appeared where xiao wubai was killed. ¡°kid¡­¡± shang ke stared at shang xia with shock in his eyes. however, his expression changed the next moment. ¡°why did you appear so suddenly?¡± shang xia took out a piece of spiritual protection substitution talisman, a golden sun inferno talisman, and a mist dissipation concealment talisman and passed them to shang xia. receiving them carefully, he sighed, ¡°hoho? that¡¯s a lot of rank four talismans.¡± ¡°fifth grandpa, how is grandpa bo?¡± shang xia couldn¡¯t wait for shang ke to finish admiring the talismans and he asked. staring at shang xia in shock, shang ke quickly regained his composure. ¡°not to worry. we might look like we¡¯re losing right now, but we won¡¯t affect your grandpa¡¯s cultivation.¡± briefly introducing the talismans and their uses to shang ke, shang xia turned serious. ¡°you can rest assured that we¡¯ll be turning the tides really soon.¡± after speaking, he disappeared into the void once again. even shang ke was barely able to notice how he moved. ¡°entering the void with his physical body¡­ this kid¡­¡± shang ke sighed to himself. taking out a copper flask, he took a violent swig. blood returned to his face as he muttered solemnly, ¡°using rank four monkey wine to restore some inner qi¡­ this is a fucking waste of resources¡­¡± read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" after speaking, he turned into a streak of light before slapping a mist dissipation concealment talisman on his body. the surrounding air was already filled with chaotic heaven and earth qi due to the battles going on everywhere, but a strange mist emerged. within the mist, shang ke¡¯s presence was greatly reduced. even experts at the same level wouldn¡¯t be able to detect him easily. his figure turned blurry and it was hard to actually see where he was. noticing the state he was in, shang ke felt a lot more confident in his plans. touching the other two rank four talismans shang xia gave him, he started to close in on another battle nearby. he needed to end as many fights as he could as the mist dissipation concealment talisman would only work for a limited time. the stronger the shockwaves that struck him, the faster the mist dissipation concealment talisman would be exhausted. the other person who was moving as quickly as he could was shang xia. with the abyssal void shattering talisman he used earlier, he managed to enter the void with his physical body. he avoided the combined attacks of several martial extermination realm experts and even took the chance to ambush xiao wubai. working together with shang ke, they managed to kill the white and gold swordsman. because of that, the abyssal void shattering talisman nearly lost all its energy. after giving shang ke the talismans, shang xia extended his divine perception to cover 30 miles around himself. due to the chaotic battle that was taking place, the shockwaves greatly affected his divine perception. luckily, he managed to gain a quick understanding of the situation. when he tore apart the void once again, he was a little more familiar with the process. he made his preparations and chose the weakest part of the void to tear open in order to reduce the consumption of the remaining energy in his abyssal void shattering tisman. it was great that he did as the moment he emerged from the void, the abyssal void shattering talisman was exhausted and it shattered completely. shang xia thought back to the talisman and made some quick evaluations. the talisman was crafted from ordinary rank four talisman paper and ordinary rank four talisman ink. if he used rank four abyssal talisman paper and rank four abyssal talisman ink to craft it, the talisman might be usable for a much longer time. after noticing everything that was going on, shang xia understood that things weren¡¯t looking too well for the institution. with shang bo in secluded cultivation and yun jing being surrounded by 3 experts of the manyu continent, liu qinglan was actually the fighter in the institution with the greatest combat capabilities despite her cultivation being at the second layer martial extermination realm. she might not be the only one with the cultivation level, but no matter who she was compared to, none of them was a better fighter than the instructor of the upper division. when the battle erupted previously, liu qinglan had been racing around to help everyone she could. that also meant that she had to fight multiple opponents and exhaust her inner qi. after she got tired, 2 martial extermination realm experts from the manyu continent set their sights on her and launched a furious offensive, pushing her into an extremely dangerous situation. when she was barely holding on against the attacks of two experts from the manyu continent, the void split open not too far away from them. the disturbance obviously attracted the attention of the 3 and they quickly turned to look at the newcomer. who would have thought that the newcomer was a massive asshole who revealed a crafty grin while tossing an item at the experts of the manyu continent the moment he appeared? the smile on shang xia¡¯s face turned a little nasty when he looked at the experts of the manyu continent. in the next instant, a massive fireball that seemed to contain the power of the sun appeared above the 3 of them. they were engulfed in a sea of flames that concentrated its power on the 2 experts of the manyu continent. because of its wide area of effect, even liu qinglan was affected. that was a golden sun inferno talisman! liu qinglan was no stranger to the talisman as some of them arrived as part of the previous delivery of resources half a year ago. she heard that those talismans were crafted by shang bo¡¯s grandson and learned that their tongyou institution produced their very own talisman grandmaster! when the previous batch of rank four talismans were delivered, there were 5 in total and they were placed to great use. the tongyou institution might have been caught off guard by many things in the foreign continent, but they were able to remain standing due to those talismans. with those rank four talismans, they injured many cultivators of the manyu continent and forced them to retreat. if they had to complain about anything, it was that there were far too few rank four talismans. now that shang xia appeared and threw out a golden sun inferno talisman before anyone could react, the experts of the manyu continent were caught off guard. speaking objectively, even liu qinglan was surprised by the sudden change in events. however, she gathered her thoughts quickly and charged into the sea of flames. ¡°oh?¡± shang xia didn¡¯t expect liu qinglan to act in such a tyrannical fashion. the moment she leaped into the sea of flames, he knew what she wanted to do. the power contained in a golden sun inferno talisman was frightening, but even if shang xia caught them by surprise, it wouldn¡¯t be enough to take the lives of both experts from the manyu continent. seeing as liu qinglan had dove into the sea of flames, it was evident she wanted to harvest both their lives. even if she was injured to the point where she would lose her ability to fight, she felt that it would be worth it if she managed to kill both of them. obviously, shang xia wouldn¡¯t watch as liu qinglan risked her life to kill both of them. in the blink of an eye, he rushed into the sea of flames behind her. his speed had already reached a terrifying level. in a battle among martial extermination realm experts, the moment one side caught the other side¡¯s weakness, they would act swiftly to end the battle. with shang xia¡¯s speed, it went without saying that he would be able to deal with either of liu qinglan¡¯s enemies the moment he spotted them. a miserable cry came from the sea of flames and a soft grunt followed. from the sound of it, one of the experts of the manyu continent was dead but liu qinglan suffered some injuries after killing him. ¡°you¡¯re seeking death!¡± shang xia roared and rushed in a certain direction. the flames that were within a 30 feet radius of him became forcefully suppressed as he shot forward. a miserable figure was trying his best to escape from the sea of flames as liu qinglan¡¯s body trembled unsteadily as she forced herself to remain standing. as shang xia brushed past her, he gestured lightly and a gentle force pushed her out of the sea of flames. at the same time, shang xia circulated his four constellation qi along with his mirroring sun extermination origin to send a trace of life force into liu qinglan¡¯s body to stabilize her injuries. despite doing all that, shang xia didn¡¯t slow down in the slightest. with the abyssal blade in hand, he quickly closed in on the escaping martial extermination realm expert. he didn¡¯t hesitate to slash at his target. the expert who ran out of the sea of flames was no inexperienced fool. he felt a sense of danger coming from behind and he quickly tossed an item in that direction. surprisingly, it was a rank four talisman and it quickly ignited behind him to form a three-layer barrier that spun around the martial extermination realm expert from the manyu continent. raising an eyebrow in surprise was all the response shang xia had. his blade didn¡¯t slow down in the slightest. this time, he unleashed a new move, autumn¡¯s separation! the triple-layered barrier was sliced cleanly in two under shang xia¡¯s horrifying blade qi which was boosted by the power of the abyssal blade. cutting through the barriers took some energy, but the remaining blade light cut accurately into the man¡¯s back. ¡°ah!¡± a severed arm flew through the air as blood sprayed out from his wound uncontrollably. the cultivator screamed as he tried to press his other hand against the wound. despite his reaction, his speed wasn¡¯t affected in the slightest as he disappeared before shang xia could release another strike. it hadn¡¯t been long since shang xia appeared and of the 2 enemies liu qinglan was facing, one was dead and the other was heavily injured. the phenomenon that occurred after the death of a martial extermination realm cultivator suppressed the sea of flames that was produced by shang xia¡¯s golden sun inferno talisman. turning back, shang xia could see that liu qinglan wasn¡¯t in a great state at the moment. her injuries might not be serious, but because of the continuous battles she had been taking part in, she was completely exhausted. she wouldn¡¯t be able to fight anytime soon. ¡°how are you?¡± shang xia asked as he approached her. he was actually really respectful when addressing her. after all, she was part of the first batch of students his grandpa bo personally taught when the institution was first established. liu qinglan forced a smile in response. ¡°i won¡¯t die anytime soon. don¡¯t bother about me, go help the rest!¡± shang xia understood that the situation was extremely dire and after examining her once more, he chose to leave behind a mist concealment dissipation talisman and a flask of hundred flowers spiritual wine. even though he obtained quite a bit of hundred flowers spiritual wine, he used up a huge portion of it to treat his injuries and restore his inner qi. if he was being honest, it was a colossal waste of resources. the spatial fluctuations in the area became more intense as the battles raged on and shang xia didn¡¯t dare to enter the void without an abyssal void shattering talisman. as such, he stuck a mist concealment dissipation talisman on himself and traveled tens of miles to the next battlefield. there, shang lubing was running away desperately from another martial extermination realm expert. there was another expert coming from another direction to try to stop shang lubing, but the old expert was extremely agile. he was able to scurry away every time they closed in, not allowing them to trap him. all of a sudden, shang lubing froze in mid air before flying in a certain direction. seeing as his movements finally became slightly more predictable, the two experts who were trying to box him in nearly broke out into celebration. they hastily tried attacking him from both directions. from their speed, the two of them would be able to intercept him before he arrived at his destination. when that happened, they would finally be able to fight him 2 against 1. when they were closing in on him, shang lubing did the unthinkable. not only did he not slow down, he even accelerated towards them. ¡°are you tired of living?¡± one of them roared as he gathered energy to attack shang lubing who was running straight to his death. who would have thought that a terrifying wave of heaven and earth qi would emerge in front of them the moment they were assured of victory? CH 518 shang lubing seemed to have lost control of his emotions as he rushed at the two of them. excited that their target was finally running to his death, the two of them got ready to harvest the life of the expert from the tongyou institution. the two of them didn¡¯t realize that shang lubing was looking at them like he was looking at two dead men. shang xia, who was hidden with the mist dissipation concealment talisman appeared behind them as his abyssal blade drew a beautiful arc through the skies. even though his slash looked simple, it contained a terrifying amount of power! unlike the attack he unleashed against liu qinglan¡¯s opponents back then, he released another move this time. however, the name just appeared in his mind not too long ago and in order to differentiate it from his previous attack, he called it the spring equinox. if autumn¡¯s separation was a single blade light that split its target in two, spring equinox allowed him to split his blade light in two before attacking multiple opponents! because of how simple the strike was, shang xia gave it an uncomplicated name. however, the strike was anything but. with the sudden change in the situation, the two experts who wanted to pincer shang lubing entered shang xia¡¯s direct line of fire. the tables turned instantly! the question the two of them should be asking themselves at that moment was how shang xia appeared 1000 feet behind them without either of them noticing. if the two of them continued with whatever they were planning, they might be able to heavily injure shang lubing. however, they would have to pay the price of having their backs completely exposed to shang xia. at the critical moment, they changed their approach. one of them continued to rush at shang lubing while the other turned to deal with shang xia. their choice was appropriate for the situation they were in as they could prevent either side from capitalizing on their weakness if they weren¡¯t prepared. unfortunately, their approach couldn¡¯t make up for their lack of strength. the choice they made had long since been anticipated by both shang lubing and shang xia. if the two of them split up the moment shang xia appeared, they might be able to avoid their sorry fates. at the very worst, one of them would be slain while the other one would be able to get away. right now, shang xia and shang lubing had the same goal. they wanted to eliminate the fighting strength of the experts of the manyu continent. killing one of them was far from enough. if they were going to make a move, they were going to kill both of them! ¡°die!¡± shang lubing roared as his extermination origins split off into two directions. he forced the space around them to freeze so neither of them would be able to run. from his actions, it was clear that he gave up on defending himself. he was basically sacrificing himself to give shang xia a chance to kill the enemy! ¡°die!¡± shang xia¡¯s abyssal blade tore through the air as three blade lights emerged. ¡°are you fucking crazy?!¡± ¡°hmph, at the very worst, we¡¯ll die together!¡± the two experts from the manyu continent roared and they knew it was too late for them to do anything. the expert who was rushing at shang lubing increased his speed and he seemed as though he would drag shang lubing to hell with him. facing the maniacal attacks of the expert from the manyu continent, shang lubing noticed shang xia¡¯s actions and he roared with laughter at the fact that his death would be duly compensated with the lives of 2 experts of the manyu continent at the martial extermination realm. at the very last second, a talisman drifted before shang lubing and turned into streaks of light that surrounded him. heaven and earth qi condensed around him to form sturdy shields. a total of three barriers appeared in front of shang lubing. a copper axe arrived the moment the barriers formed and shattered the first layer instantly. it slammed heavily into the second layer but failed to destroy it. the space beside shang lubing tore apart but before breaking through the second and third barriers around him, it lost all its power and started to seal up. shang lubing, who had gathered some of his inner qi to put up his last bit of resistance, blinked forcefully before tugging at his beard. he was shocked that he wasn¡¯t killed, but he was greeted with an amazing sight. both experts of the manyu continent released miserable cries as their bodies were split in two by shang xia¡¯s blade light. they fell towards the ground below as their life force was drained. ¡°senior shang, are you alright?¡± shang xia kept his blade before approaching shang lubing. with a trace of regret in his eyes, shang lubing sighed, ¡°i was ready to die with them¡­¡± ¡°hahaha! a spiritual protection substitution talisman for the life of chief shang lubing¡­ it¡¯s a worthy trade indeed!¡± shang xia chuckled in response. pressing his lips together, shang lubing realized that he was supposed to thank the kid for saving his life but he changed his tune right before the words left his lips. ¡°shit! your strike was really ruthless. it nearly sliced me in half too!¡± glancing at the two who fell, shang xia muttered, ¡°even though my blade light can split, it might not be enough to kill them¡­ let¡¯s call that move spring equinox¡­¡± ¡°so¡­ with that logic, is there also a move called autumn¡¯s separation?¡± shang lubing asked. shang xia laughed in response, ¡°that¡¯s a move where i can¡¯t split the blade light in two...¡± nodding seriously, shang lubing continued, ¡°so that¡¯s the case¡­ anyway, the two of them should be close to death after falling down from here.¡± shrugging nonchalantly, shang xia snorted, ¡°that¡¯s not my problem.¡± since the experts of the tongyou institution were still in the midst of battle, the two of them exchanged simple pleasantries before they had to deal with other matters. seeing as shang xia was in great condition, shang lubing simply told him to take care of himself before taking his leave. because of his seniority and years of experience, shang lubing was like liu qinglan. he had been running around the battlefield to help out wherever he could. he even managed to hold off 2 martial extermination realm experts of the manyu continent. his contributions were extremely significant. it hadn¡¯t been long since shang xia entered the manyu continent and the time taken to boil a pot of tea hadn¡¯t passed when he jumped into 3 different battles. shang ke, liu qinglan, and shang lubing were saved from a sticky situation regardless of the method shang xia used. it didn¡¯t matter if he carried out sneak attacks or joined forces with them directly, but they managed to kill 2 second layer martial extermination realm experts of the manyu continent and 1 first layer martial extermination realm expert. one more was seriously injured. on the side of the tongyou institution, liu qinglan was too exhausted to fight and would have to retreat from the battlefield for some time. no matter how strong both sides were, 5 martial extermination realm experts were forced to leave the conflict. the overall situation was immediately affected as shang lubing and shang ke quickly inserted themselves into other skirmishes to stabilize the situation. the pressure on the other martial extermination realm experts of the institution was greatly reduced. with the sudden change, the situation seemed to tilt in the favor of the institution. shang xia basically shifted the tides of battle himself! of course, he had to pay the corresponding price after doing so much. of the 15 talismans he brought with him, he used up 2 spiritual protection substitution talisman and he gave the last one to shang ke. of the 4 golden sun inferno talismans he brought, he used 2 of them. the only abyssal void shattering talisman he brought was also gone. as for the mist dissipation concealment talismans, he brought 4 of them but he was down to his last one. the only talismans he hadn¡¯t used or given out were the divine restraint talismans! he might have used a shit ton of rank four talismans, but shang xia felt that it was more than worth it. the reason he went to help shang ke, liu qinglan, and shang lubing was that they were in range of his divine perception when he first entered the manyu continent. another reason was that other than yun jing, the 3 of them were the strongest experts the institution possessed! the moment he freed the 3 of them from their predicament, they would immediately be able to hold off 4 to 5 experts of the other side. it was a shame liu qinglan was too exhausted to continue. with shang lubing and shang ke running to help the others, they fell short of his original estimates. at most, they would be able to hold 3 martial extermination realm experts back. whatever the case, shang xia had surpassed everyone¡¯s expectations. when it came down to it, shang ke and shang lubing were both experts in the second layer of the martial extermination realm. shang lubing possessed stronger combat abilities with his additional experience, but shang ke had 2 additional rank four talismans on him and was still a force to be reckoned with in the chaotic battle. even with his advantages, shang ke knew that he had already used up all his potential when he entered the martial extermination realm when he was only at the large completion stage of the martial intent realm. he knew that fighting cultivators of the same level was pretty pointless and with the concealment provided by the mist dissipation concealment talisman, he went to the outer regions of the battlefield to mount a sneak attack on gu shou¡¯s opponent. as gu shou¡¯s opponent was only at the first layer of the martial extermination realm, the combined strength of shang ke and gu shou was enough to kill him. it was a shame the expert from the manyu continent detonated his dantian during the final moments of his life and heavily injured gu shou who was already exhausted from the long battle. even though gu shou had entered the martial extermination realm 2 years ago, the inner division instructor suffered serious injuries before and his foundations were already damaged. now that he suffered another heavy injury, his path of cultivation had basically ended. even if he managed to recover in the future, he wouldn¡¯t be able to improve! because he had to check on gu shou after he was injured, shang ke was slightly delayed when going out to help the others. he couldn¡¯t possibly leave gu shou alone in case anything happened. he decided to settle gu shou down in a safe location before returning to the battles. unfortunately, the phenomenon that appeared during the fall of a martial extermination realm expert attracted the attention of those from the manyu continent. gu shou and shang ke¡¯s movements were discovered and they were pursued relentlessly. shang ke was prepared and activated his spiritual protection substitution talisman in time and defended himself from the first round of attacks. gu shou wasn¡¯t so lucky. because of the shockwaves, he was thrown through the air like a lump of meat. by the time he landed, his body was split into countless pieces and heaven and earth qi started to fluctuate wildly in the area he was killed. the first casualty of the tongyou institution was gu shou, the faithful inner division instructor! with anger clouding his judgment, shang ke used the advantage he had from the spiritual protection substitution talisman to rush his opponent. however, the expert from the manyu continent wasn¡¯t a pushover. he managed to hold their ground against shang ke. the two of them decided to not fight in the air as they landed on the ground to carry out their offensive on each other. as soon as the battle started, two mountain peaks crumbled and a massive river collapsed. at the same time, 7 to 8 massive rifts tore through the forest around them. it quickly became clear that shang ke wasn¡¯t his opponent. the moment the effects of his spiritual protection substitution talisman ran out was the time he would suffer a fierce counterattack. even under such fearsome circumstances, shang ke continued to tangle with the experts of the manyu continent. even if he was enraged by gu shou¡¯s death, he wouldn¡¯t do something like that for nothing. just as the battle was approaching its climax, shang ke took out the golden sun inferno talisman and threw it in his opponent¡¯s face. the power it displayed was slightly above average, but it was extremely effective in covering a huge area! the massive sea of flames engulfed the expert from the manyu continent and attempted to incinerate his body. it can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3ibfjkv. the moment the expert from the manyu continent emerged from the sea of flames, shang ke charged at him with the intention of stalling him as long as possible. because of the effects of his spiritual protection substitution talisman, shang ke wasn¡¯t affected by the sea of flames and retained his combat capabilities. CH 519 with the protection barriers around him, shang ke tossed out a golden sun inferno talisman when they were locked in close quarters combat and they were engulfed in a sea of flames at the same time. the expert from the manyu continent didn¡¯t expect shang ke to fight so shamelessly and he desperately defended himself from the flames while trying to retreat. shang ke wouldn¡¯t let him do as he wished. putting his life on the line, he rushed at the expert from the manyu continent. the expert from the manyu continent might be a little stronger than shang ke, but that was about it. because of the sudden explosion caused by the golden sun inferno talisman and shang ke¡¯s relentless attacks, he was caught off guard and his weapon was sent flying with a flick of shang ke¡¯s spear. it can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com". it was a shame the barriers around shang ke lost their energy and dissipated after he did that. that might be the case, but the expert from the manyu continent was on his last legs. the layer of protection around him made from his extermination origins was starting to falter. the residual flame from the golden sun inferno talisman might not be able to harm him directly, but he couldn¡¯t stop the heat from affecting him. countless blisters formed on his skin due to the heat. with his weapon flung away, the expert from the manyu continent was in no state to continue the fight. releasing a fist at shang ke haphazardly, he didn¡¯t care how it affected his opponent as he turned around to flee the scene. easily shattering the energy flying at him, shang ke¡¯s spear shot directly at his opponent¡¯s back. at the crucial moment, the expert from the manyu continent twisted his body unnaturally and the spear missed his heart. however, it still tore a hole through his body under his left rib, blowing apart several of his inner organs. even his bones were revealed after shang ke pulled back his spear. that wasn¡¯t all. shang ke¡¯s extermination origin entered his opponent¡¯s body and wreaked havoc everywhere. the expert from the manyu continent spat out a mouthful of blood with pieces of his organs mixed into it. ¡°argh!¡± the expert from the manyu continent released a miserable cry before pressing his hand against his wound. he was a step away from leaving the sea of flames and at the very last second, a sharp whistle tore through the air and a chilly breeze ripped through the land and suppressed the sea of flames. the expert from the manyu continent who was a step away from escaping froze and his eyes widened in fright. however, it wasn¡¯t long before the light drained from his eyes. as his body flopped, the tip of a spear could be seen sticking out from his chest. it managed to hold the corpse slightly upright as shang ke stared strangely at his enemy. at the very last moment, shang ke tossed his spear with some inspiration from shang xia¡¯s third martial intent, the divine killing spear! ¡°... you¡­ you played dirty¡­ i¡­ i¡­ i won¡¯t accept this!¡± the expert from the manyu continent spat as blood dripped from his chin. he forced himself to turn to stare at shang ke and he growled as his vision grew blurry. ¡°you got lucky¡­ our world is about to fall and we barely have any resources¡­ otherwise¡­¡± ¡°you¡¯re right. your cultivation is slightly higher than mine but why would i not use the rest of my advantages to kill you?¡± shang ke sighed while shaking his head slowly. there was no saving the manyu continent. they couldn¡¯t produce a martial dipper realm expert and because of the leaking world origin, they barely had any resources left. they could only pass down whatever weapons and talismans they had left as they weren¡¯t really craftable with the state of the world. that was a reason many of the martial extermination realm experts of the manyu continent were using low-grade weapons. the number who could use high-grade weapons was few and there was practically no one who could act as tyrannically as shang ke who used 2 talismans in succession. adding the talisman he used previously, shang ke killed 2 martial extermination realm experts from the manyu continent. one was at the first layer of the martial extermination realm and another was at the second layer. because of the battle, the tongyou institution lost a first layer martial extermination realm cultivator, gu shou. shang ke didn¡¯t know if the institution actually benefited from the exchange. whatever the case, he knew that gu shou was a spent force. he had been holding on desperately and it was a matter of time before he was defeated. even if he managed to live, he would take a long time to recover. in the end, his foundations would be heavily affected and he wouldn¡¯t be able to improve. however, a dead martial extermination realm expert and a seriously injured martial extermination realm cultivator were 2 different concepts. at least one of them was still alive and kicking! thinking about the resources they commanded on the manyu continent, shang ke sighed to himself. actually, even if he managed to save gu shou earlier, they wouldn¡¯t have enough resources to keep him alive. even shang ke himself had become like liu qinglan. he was exhausted and he wouldn¡¯t be able to fight in the near future. when shagn ke was evaluating his situation and feeling extremely vexed, the situation changed once again. shang lubing deserved his reputation as a wily old fox. the way he responded to the battlefield was several times better than shang ke or liu qinglan! after shang xia left earlier, shang lubing was free to rampage around the battlefield. with his plentiful experience and ability to adapt, he was running circles around the experts of the manyu continent! at the same time, he was buying time for the experts of the tongyou institution. he might be saving fires everywhere he went, but he was just a side character. the person who held the key to saving the members of the tongyou institution was shang xia! after leaving shang lubing, shang xia didn¡¯t rush to the outer regions of the battlefield. instead, he used the final piece of mist dissipation concealment talisman to rush into the core of the territory controlled by the tongyou institution. the battle taking place there was the key to everything. at the same time, it was also the most violent one that was taking place. the outcome of the battle would decide the fate of the tongyou institution. 3 experts of the manyu continent with cultivation bases in the third layer martial extermination realm and above were working together to deal with deputy patriarch yun jing! when shang xia arrived, he discovered that the number of experts the manyu continent sent to deal with yun jing wasn¡¯t a mere 3. there were 4 of them! the fourth person was using his extermination origins to suppress a certain location not too far away from the battle and shang xia made his way over undetected. when he arrived 3 miles away from the battlefield, he finally saw what the fourth expert was doing. he was actually dealing with a protection formation! a name immediately popped up in shang xia¡¯s mind. there was only one person in the tongyou institution at the moment in the manyu continent who had the ability to lay down a formation to distract a third layer martial extermination realm expert from the manyu continent, chu jia! shang xia quickly realized what was going on. it was no wonder he hadn¡¯t seen a large-scale protection formation around the tongyou institution¡¯s territory when he entered. he thought that the experts of the manyu continent managed to break through the protection formation a long time ago with their numbers advantage. however, it seemed as though there was something strange about the formation chu jia made. she seemed to have planned for things to go bad and there was another protection formation where she was. sneakily approaching the region, shang xia didn¡¯t make his move immediately. instead, he started to observe the surroundings. he noticed that deputy patriarch yun jing, the patriarch of the great yun clan of the you continent, had already refined her fourth extermination origin. under the combined assault of a fourth layer martial extermination realm expert and 2 third layer martial extermination realm experts, she seemed to be in a sorry state. however, her life wasn¡¯t in danger. shang xia also knew that it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to insert himself into a battle of that level to immediately turn the situation around. in order to increase the chances of succeeding, shang xia knew that he had to go closer. circulating his heaven and man synergy chapter to his limit, he concealed his presence even further. with the talisman, he basically erased his existence from the world. under such circumstances, shang xia also found it difficult to fly through the air. his speed would be greatly affected, but luckily he had the auspicious cloud cape to help hide his presence while boosting his movements. throwing it on, the region around him started to turn foggy as the cape became a sea of mist that hid his presence. he then traveled carefully across the chaotic energy fluctuations of the battle. his auspicious cloud cape couldn¡¯t compare to the tranquil cape when it came to hiding presence, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to move if he used the tranquil cape. at the very least, he could approach the battlefield with the auspicious cloud cape on his back. just like that, he quickly advanced by close to 300 more feet. when he was barely a mile away from the fight, the strong shockwaves battered against him. he risked being revealed to those fighting nearby. shang xia knew that he couldn¡¯t waste any more time. even though he risked being discovered, he sent a voice transmission to yun jing. at the same time, the mist around him condensed to form the cape behind him as a four colored extermination light gathered around him. bursting forth with the greatest speed he could muster, he charged straight into battle. ¡­ when he sent the voice transmission to yun jing earlier, the fourth layer martial extermination realm expert from the manyu continent detected a strange fluctuation in the range of his divine perception and he yelled, ¡°who goes there?! get the hell out here!¡± his words served as a warning for his companions, but his sudden yell shocked everyone else. even yun jing was taken aback when she received shang xia¡¯s voice transmission earlier. her shock was one thing, and the surprise the experts of the manyu continent felt was another. however, none of those mattered as shang xia didn¡¯t give yun jing time to hesitate as he carried out his plan instantly. neither did he give the experts of the manyu continent time to react. ¡­ by the time shang xia¡¯s presence was revealed, he was already charging at one of them! everyone widened their eyes in fright. even yun jing couldn¡¯t believe how close shang xia had gotten to them! the newcomer managed to get so close without any of them discovering his presence! their shock that shang xia managed to get so close was quickly replaced by fright. they were frightened by how quickly he was flying! kou chongxue had once said that because of the way he entered the martial extermination realm, he could rival a third layer martial extermination realm expert even though he hadn¡¯t refined his extermination origins to a high level. however, that was before factoring in the abyssal blade! a battle among martial extermination realm experts might span several dozen miles. however, the true exchange would be contained within a radius of 1000 to 2000 feet. shang xia moved extremely quickly, but yun jing wasn¡¯t slow either. neither were the martial extermination realm experts from the manyu continent. of the 3, one of them broke off and tried to intercept shang xia. it took a long time to describe everything that happened, but with their speed, everything happened in the blink of an eye. even though a martial extermination realm expert was flying at him, shang xia made a surprising decision to hide his abyssal blade! instead, a talisman fluttered through the air and landed directly on the forehead of the cultivator from the manyu continent. ¡°gotchu¡­¡± shang xia muttered and the cultivator from the manyu continent widened his eyes in shock as his body and mind froze. CH 520 how long could a divine restraint talisman stun a third layer martial extermination realm expert? that was the real question, but shang xia didn¡¯t really give a damn. as long as he stopped moving for the time it took to blink, it was more than enough! the divine restraint talisman didn¡¯t just stop his opponent¡¯s movements. it directly froze their divine perception and soul. with their mind going blank, they wouldn¡¯t be able to react to anything that was thrown their way. actually, even if they could break out from the mental stupor immediately, they wouldn¡¯t be able to move their bodies because of the effects of the divine restraint talisman. facing the immobilized martial extermination realm expert of the manyu continent, shang xia¡¯s abyssal blade slashed directly through his body. his head was separated from his body but not a drop of blood could be seen. a thin layer of frost could be seen where his head was severed as it restricted his blood from spraying out of his wound. that was a move shang xia developed from the 18th of the 24 solar terms, frost descent! the other experts of the manyu continent couldn¡¯t believe what they were seeing. they couldn¡¯t understand why their companion stopped moving at the very last second and allowed the enemy to decapitate him instantly. thinking back to what happened, they seemed to recall seeing a talisman appearing before their companion froze in mid air. anything that could stop one¡¯s thoughts and body had to be a powerful talisman. ¡°don¡¯t let him use that talisman again!¡± the stronger of the two remaining experts of the manyu continent roared. before his other comrade could do anything, yun jing, who had been suppressed the whole time, sprang into action. as a deputy patriarch of the tongyou institution and one of the patriarchs of the five great clans of the tongyou institution, yun jing didn¡¯t seem to stand out from any of the others. putting it simply, she gave off the impression that she didn¡¯t possess terrifying combat abilities! she would be taking care of the institution most of the time in kou chongxue¡¯s place and from shang xia¡¯s perspective, she was more of an administrative deputy patriarch unlike shang bo and ji wenlong. she might be able to use the hidden frost sword to control the situation inside the tongyou city and the regions around it, and she was also able to hold the tongyou institution¡¯s position in the battlefield between the two worlds previously. however, everyone¡¯s attention was placed on the hidden frost sword instead of yun jing¡¯s true abilities. one had to know that even liu jitang, the previous deputy patriarch who was killed in the coral forest, had the guts to come up with a huge scheme to get his hands on the zhu family¡¯s inheritance. that alone proved his confidence in his own strength. because of that, his presence also overshadowed yun jing. other than liu zhiyuan who was recently given the position of deputy patriarch, if everyone had to rank the original group of deputy patriarchs of the tongyou institution, yun jing would be ranked dead last. with shang bo¡¯s extreme increase in strength and ji wenlong¡¯s ascension to the martial dipper realm, the distance became even bigger. even kou chongxue, the patriarch himself, managed to gain the origin water fate dipper and become a third element martial dipper realm expert. yun jing¡¯s lack of achievements caused everyone¡¯s impression of her to fall even further. however, reality seemed a little different. yun jing could hold off the combined attacks of 3 martial extermination realm experts of the manyu continent who were at the third layer or higher! now that yun jing made her move, shang xia realized that his evaluation of her was too far off the mark. she seemed to be in a bad state as she fought the 3 of them, but she was in no danger at all! she had merely been stalling them so that they wouldn¡¯t be able to affect the other battles. she didn¡¯t expect shang xia to appear so suddenly and change the tides of the battle, but she wasn¡¯t going to hold her punches now that he was here. deputy patriarch yun jing, who had been dragging the battle out to look for opportunities to deal with her opponents, received the greatest chance she would get to end the fight! she could finally reveal her strength without any reservations! her extermination origins emerged from her body and formed a massive pillar of four colored light. it covered half the skies and from afar, it looked like a beautiful lady spider who was flaunting her pretty figure. not only did yun jing refine four extermination origins. from the aura she had released, she completely suppressed the fourth layer martial extermination realm expert from the manyu continent. the four colored lights started to fuse and they seemed to trap her in their midst. to read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com. shang xia couldn¡¯t help but suck in a cold breath. even when shang bo first appeared to display his strength at the fourth layer martial extermination realm, he didn¡¯t seem stronger than the current yun jing! despite everything that was happening, shang xia felt that something was wrong. he failed to put his finger on what was going on until he discovered that yun jing¡¯s tyrannical might could only suppress one person. she left the third layer martial extermination realm expert alone. ¡°...¡± shang xia¡¯s abyssal blade cut through the air as it sent a ray of blade light at the other guy. even though the weapon in the hands of the third layer martial extermination realm expert of the manyu continent wasn¡¯t as good as shang xia¡¯s abyssal blade, he was still strong enough to repel the attack coming his way. shang xia¡¯s combat abilities might be terrifying because he refined 4 extermination origins at once, but his opponent was no weakling. he was a true blue third layer extermination realm expert. ¡°hah, seems like you really think highly of me.¡± shang xia grunted once. he wasn¡¯t talking to his opponent. instead, his words were directed at yun jing. shang xia might be comparable to a third layer martial extermination realm expert if he gave it his all, but killing someone at that level the moment he appeared caused a chill to run down yun jing¡¯s spine despite her cultivation level. however, the method he used couldn¡¯t be replicated easily. he caught his opponent by surprise this time and he used a powerful talisman to do so. he couldn¡¯t do that in all his battles. now that he didn¡¯t use another divine restraint talisman, shang xia wielded the abyssal blade to its maximum potential and perfectly unleashed his twenty four solar terms. he quickly suppressed his opponent and it was a one sided battle. the expert from the manyu continent could barely hold on. at the moment, shang xia was looking for a chance to use the divine restraint talisman again. the talisman might be extremely powerful, but it had many limitations. like rank one and two restraint talismans, he had to stick it directly on the body of his target. in the case of the divine restraint talisman, the user would have to use his divine perception to suppress the opponent¡¯s soul. naturally, the talisman would greatly boost the suppression but that was the best way to use the divine restraint talisman. with what happened earlier, the experts of the manyu continent knew that shang xia had some terrifying trump card hidden. he might not know what it was, but he knew that he shouldn¡¯t tangle with shang xia in close combat especially since he was at a disadvantage. that wasn¡¯t all. his divine perception and gaze were locked firmly on shang xia. he was afraid that he would suffer the same fate as his dead comrade if he became a little careless. because of how careful he was, shang xia was unable to find a chance to release his divine restraint talisman. his combat abilities were limited since he was finding an opportunity to release his talisman and he could only run away while enduring some attacks. what shang xia didn¡¯t know was that even his current strength had exceeded yun jing¡¯s expectations. realizing that he would be fine, she no longer bothered about him and focused on suppressing her current opponent. now that shang xia had joined in the battle, the longer things dragged out, the worse it would get for the members of the manyu continent. chasing after shang xia, the expert from the manyu continent yelled at his other companion who was suppressing the member of the tongyou institution in the protection formation. ¡°elder zhuang, stop what you¡¯re doing and help me get rid of this kid!¡± ¡°are you sure?¡± the figure in the distance didn¡¯t seem willing to help, but he wasn¡¯t exactly unwilling either. ¡°elder hu¡¯s caught up with something. we¡¯ll join hands to get rid of this kid right now before going over to support him! ignore the formation master for now! she won¡¯t be able to do anything in such a short amount of time.¡± the cultivator chasing after shang xia seemed extremely anxious as he felt elder hu¡¯s aura growing weaker by the second. his opponent, the deputy patriarch of the tongyou institution, seemed to be getting stronger and stronger! if things kept up, elder hu wouldn¡¯t be able to last for long. ¡°fine!¡± elder zhuang leaped into the air as his extermination origins surrounded him. instead of intercepting shang xia, he went for yun jing. ¡°since mister ren is currently at an advantage, i¡¯ll go save elder hu first!¡± elder zhuang left behind a simple statement before racing towards the other battlefield. shang xia¡¯s opponent cursed under his breath but his comrade had already left. he could only hope that all of them manage to deal with yun jing before coming back to give him a hand. as soon as elder zhuang joined the battle, the tides turned yet again. shang xia thought that since they had already obtained the advantage earlier, all they had to do was wear their opponents out and they would win eventually. however, he was in for a rude awakening after elder zhuang left. even though they had a rank four formation grandmaster on their side, the protection formation wouldn¡¯t be restored anytime soon. as long as the other party kills or seriously injures yun jing before the protection formation is restored, they would still win! even if the protection formation was restored after, they could band together to destroy it in an instant. the martial extermination realm expert who was chasing shang xia also stopped suddenly. he didn¡¯t attack shang xia immediately as he was still a little afraid of the way his comrade was killed. seeing as his opponent was a wuss, shang xia charged at him instead. mister ren might feel a little uncomfortable now that shang xia was rushing at him, but he wasn¡¯t afraid of clashing with his opponent. he wasn¡¯t willing to give up a chance to take this strange foreigner down, but he was also wary of the weird talisman his opponent could use. he thought he guessed correctly when shang xia tossed a golden talisman at him the next moment. with alarm bells ringing in his head, he couldn¡¯t be bothered to fight the person in front of him. he retreated as quickly as he could and he even gathered his divine perception back into his body in case his opponent had some weird ability to affect it. the very next moment, the golden talisman turned into a ball of fire that filled the area with a ferocious sea of flames. it surrounded mister ren immediately. ¡°hmph, it¡¯s just a fire talisman!¡± mister ren immediately relaxed when he detected the amount of power it contained. he couldn¡¯t help but curse under his breath, ¡°what do you think you can achieve with this?¡± mister ren released his extermination origins to suppress the flame around him while making his way forward. a path was forcefully carved out from the sea of flames. before he could emerge from the sea of flames, shang xia tossed a golden talisman in his direction. a second sun appeared in the skies before mister ren extinguished the first sea of flames. terrifying amounts of energy blasted against mister ren and he felt that it became even hotter than before. the path he carved out earlier reignited and his advance wasn¡¯t as smooth as before. superimposing 2 golden sun inferno talismans on top of each other might not cause their power to double, but it was enough to stall mister ren in the sea of flames. shang xia didn¡¯t expect the talismans to keep him down anyway. like when shang ke unleashed it on his enemy previously, his main aim was to drag the battle out. with his four seasons extermination origins surrounding his body, shang xia pushed himself to his limit as he sent an attack at elder zhuang. ¡°anyone who stands in my way will die!¡± elder zhuang growled in mid air as he released a horrifying punch into the void. fist intent ripped through the air and flew straight at shang xia. at the same time, shang xia sent out a formidable palm strike that contained his comprehension of his four seasons extermination origins. when the attacks clashed, the skies above them changed color as cracks appeared in the void around them. a massive shockwave sent both of them flying. elder zhuang was thrown thousands of feet away before he managed to stabilize his footing. by the time he gathered his thoughts, he noticed that the foreign cultivator he sent flying earlier was thrown into the heart of the battlefield between the 2 fourth layer martial extermination realm experts. ¡°shit! he tricked me!¡± elder zhuang¡¯s expression changed drastically as a bad feeling welled up in his heart. CH 521 with 2 golden sun inferno talismans, shang xia stopped mister ren for a moment. shang xia released a four seasons palm at elder zhuang. with that palm strike, he stopped elder zhuang from interfering with the battle between elder hu and yun jing. at the same time, he was sent flying in their direction. if anyone else was in his position, they would be turned to mush by the shockwaves of the battle between 2 fourth layer martial extermination realm experts. even so, elder zhuang who was sent flying in the opposite direction felt a bad premonition filling his heart. he suddenly realized that everything the foreign cultivator did might have been part of his master plan. it was possible he wanted to use the collision of their attacks to send himself into the other battlefield! for the full version, visit pawread dot com. as he soared through the air, shang xia could feel two different auras pushing him away! that was what he was looking for in the first place! he ignored the fact that his extermination origins were forced back into his body from the pressure and the fact that there were 8 different strands of extermination origins corroding his body. gnashing his teeth, he retrieved his abyssal blade and released another move from his twenty four solar terms, blaze resolution! he was inspired by the 14th solar term and it forcefully carved out a region void of any foreign qi in the middle of such a high level battlefield. even though it only provided a temporary respite from the shockwaves of the battle, it was enough! with nothing to stop him, shang xia tossed out another divine restraint talisman. elder hu had already been suppressed to the point he couldn¡¯t breathe under yun jing¡¯s terrifying offensive and he had been pushed to his limit a long time ago. he couldn¡¯t split apart his divine perception to care about anything else! it was basically a forgone conclusion that shang xia¡¯s divine restraint talisman would hit its target because of the state elder hu was in. he might have felt a sense of danger approaching, but he couldn¡¯t pull back any part of his energy to deal with it. the moment he did, yun jing would immediately rain down blows on him. with her current strength, it would mean death! he was in serious trouble whether he retracted his energy to deal with the threat that just appeared, he would die! if he didn¡¯t he would probably also die¡­ in an instant, the expert from the manyu continent was thrown into a massive dilemma. eventually, he chose to ignore shang xia¡¯s talisman. striking its target, shang xia¡¯s divine restraint talisman activated immediately and froze elder hu¡¯s physical body and soul. the extermination light around yun jing¡¯s body ripped apart his defenses in an instant and stabbed deep into all four of his limbs. from afar, it seemed as though a massive spider made from heaven and earth qi appeared in the air before trapping elder hu. it even looked like it would devour his brain the next instant. because of his superior cultivation realm, elder hu managed to shatter the restraint the moment yun jing tore through his extermination origin defense earlier. the divine restraint talisman might be powerful, but its effects were greatly weakened against experts with exceptional cultivation. it was a pity that getting rid of the restraints on him didn¡¯t stop his opponents¡¯ attacks. the very next instant, terrifying rays of light that resembled stabbed into his limbs. ¡°argh!¡± the intense pain caused him to release a loud roar as a strong wave of inner qi emerged from his body to shatter the four colored extermination lights that turned him into a human skewer earlier. four massive holes were left in his body. a soft breeze emerged from nowhere the next moment and blade light fell against him in a torrential downpour. every one of them contained a frightening power and before elder hu could react, they entered his wounds and went into his bloodstream. the attack arrived silently and without any warning. it was a move shang xia had performed back in the sixth pass of the taihang mountains, valley rain! ¡°preposterous! you¡¯re despicable!¡± elder hu was heavily injured by yun jing because of shang xia¡¯s talisman, and he had to take on shang xia¡¯s sneak attack the next moment. he could tell that the extermination qi that entered his body was going to be a pain in the ass to remove. his wounds grew larger and larger and his injuries became worse at a speed visible to the naked eye. the flow of his inner qi was also disrupted by shang xia¡¯s valley rain and he seemed to be on the brink of losing control of his energy. after everything that happened, assistance finally arrived. mister ren finally dealt with the massive sea of flames created by 2 golden sun inferno talismans and elder zhuang managed to destroy any remnant energy in shang xia¡¯s four seasons palm before heading over. the two of them arrived beside elder hu one after another and they regrouped quickly. at the very least, they could rely on each other and wouldn¡¯t lose so easily. with the battle progressing up to such a point, there was no stopping till the experts on one side were eliminated. neither side would show mercy! yun jing succeeded in her attack earlier and heavily injured elder hu, but she was similarly exhausted. suppressing her injuries, yun jing forcefully circulated her extermination origins and sent two beams of light at elder zhuang and mister ren. shang xia, who was injured by the shockwaves of the battle when he inserted himself into the battlefield earlier, was vomiting out mouthfuls of blood as he retrieved a green-colored talisman. the moment he revealed the existence of another rank four talisman, elder hu nearly lost control of his inner qi and was a step away from entering cultivation deviation. even yun jing couldn¡¯t believe her eyes as she nearly lost control of her attack. everyone present was actually terrified of shang xia and his talismans at that point in time. there was no need to mention elder hu, elder zhuang, or mister ren. even yun jing who was from the tongyou institution never experienced someone throwing out several rank four talismans in a single fight. rank four talismans were basically extinct in the manyu continent, but even in the azure origin world, they weren¡¯t cabbages that grew by the roadside. from kou chongxue¡¯s explanation before they entered the manyu continent, the azure origin world was barely a little bit stronger! yun jing realized that no matter how high her evaluations of shang xia were previously, she had still underestimated the kid. he basically turned the entire war around the moment he arrived! she knew that the number of rank four talismans he used was far from what she witnessed. however, the members of the manyu continent soon realized that they had been played by shang xia. with close to 8 talismans flying at them, they knew that there was no way all of them were rank four talismans. at best, they were rank two or three talismans. even if shang xia had so many rank four talismans on him, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use them all at once! after all, he needed to activate them with his inner qi... the inner qi they consumed was no small amount! despite those being lower-leveled talismans, the countless wind blades, ice swords, fireballs, and lightning bolts that filled the air before descending on the experts of the manyu continent was like the straw that broke the camel¡¯s back. elder hu, who had been forcefully holding on to wait for the others¡¯ assistance, couldn¡¯t circulate his inner qi any longer. as the mighty fourth layer martial extermination realm expert, he would never expect to be slain by an enemy who pelted low-ranked talismans on him! he could no longer use his extermination origins to protect himself and mustering everything he had, he struggled to stop the attacks raining down on him. because of his lack of concentration, shang xia¡¯s extermination qi continued to wreak havoc in his body and it eventually arrived at his heart. blood poured out from every orifice of elder hu¡¯s body but a vicious look remained in his eyes. even at the very last second when blood started to seep out from pores, he was still trying to glare at shang xia. he died a miserable death and shang xia paid a similarly large price for it. after elder hu¡¯s death, shang xia used up so much inner qi that he was nearly unable to maintain his ability to fly. he relied solely on the ability of his auspicious cloud cape to approach elder hu before beheading him with the abyssal blade. gathering all the remnant four constellation qi, he roared, ¡°this asshole hu is dead! what the hell are you guys still doing?!¡± ¡°hu wendao is dead and so is zhang tianji. are you guys still planning to fight us?!¡± yun jing¡¯s roar also ripped through the air. and it spread hundreds of miles away. clearly, she knew the names of their enemies. hu wendao was the fourth layer martial extermination realm expert of the manyu continent and zhang tianji was the third layer martial extermination realm expert who was killed by shang xia the moment he appeared. after yelling, yun jing¡¯s gaze was locked on elder zhuang and mister ren. the scene of shang xia holding hu wendao¡¯s head struck a blow in elder zhuang and mister ren¡¯s hearts. looking at shang xia and yun jing who looked like they were about to fall over from exhaustion, they felt that they would be able to win the battle after dragging it out a little more. however, what if something went wrong? what if the 2 of them could last a little longer and were merely putting up an act to fool them? even hu wendao was killed! no one knew how much elder zhuang and mister ren tried to convince themselves, but their train of thought was broken by a cold chuckle from yun jing. her extermination origins continued to circle around her to prevent the 2 of them from approaching. shang xia also snorted coldly as he retrieved a flask from his sleeves before taking a huge swig. before any of them could decide on what to do next, shang lubing¡¯s voice rang through the air from 20 miles away. he sounded pretty excited as he spoke. ¡°guo feng, yu jiayu, and li chunlan have been slain by us too! do you guys still wish to fight?!¡± shang lubing¡¯s voice seemed to come from the east, and another yell quickly came from the south. liu qinglan might sound like she was trying to catch her breath, but her voice rang loud and clear in the ears of everyone present. ¡°wu taikun is dead too! do you guys still wish to fight?!¡± the cries didn¡¯t stop there. from the west, shang ke¡¯s voice rumbled like thunder. ¡°xiao wubai. cai lianshan, and lan xuanyang have fallen. do you guys still wish to fight?!¡± a powerless voice also arrived from a different direction. even though he sounded like he was utterly exhausted, he couldn¡¯t hide the trace of delight he felt. ¡°haha¡­ hahaha! fan degong is also dead! do you guys¡­ still wish to fight?!¡± the person who spoke was definitely someone from the tongyou institution. from his voice, it wasn¡¯t hard to hear that he was heavily injured. he was heavily injured, but at least he was alive. ¡°the woman in the red dress is also dead! do you guys still wish to fight?!¡± it seemed as though the woman in the red dress wasn¡¯t an extremely well-known cultivator from the manyu continent. however, a dead expert was a dead expert. every single one of their voices rang through the air. they might sound exhausted, but their words were like sledgehammers slamming into the hearts of those from the manyu continent. moreover, those from the tongyou institution had a strange sense of pride after calling out the names of the experts they had slain. it was as though they were ready to claim their victory the next moment. rumble¡­ a deep sound came from the distance as the earth started to tremble along with it. formless barriers appeared in the air as it continued to expand, covering the territory owned by the tongyou institution. at the same time, enemies of the institution felt a sense of pressure descending upon them. the protection formation of the tongyou institution had been reactivated and it was expanding at a rapid pace! elder zhuang and mister ren understood that the war had concluded and after shooting each other a glance, they knew what they had to do. turning in different directions, they fled without hesitation. they knew that they couldn¡¯t remain in the tongyou institution¡¯s protection formation for long. CH 522 with the reactivation of the tongyou institution¡¯s protection formation, the assault on the tongyou institution by the experts of the manyu continent finally came to an end. be it shang xia or yun jing, they were completely exhausted. it was no exaggeration to say that they were arrows at the end of their flight. shang xia transformed his auspicious cloud cape into the auspicious cloud boat and it became a soft cloud which he collapsed into. waves of exhaustion washed over him and he became too lazy to lift a finger. as the cloud slowly drifted around, shang xia fell into a deep sleep. he was able to do that, but yun jing couldn¡¯t do the same. she was a deputy patriarch of the institution and despite being more tired than shang xia, she still had to ensure that everyone from the institution entered the range of their protection formation. the tongyou institution might have won by a landslide in terms of cultivators slain, but it couldn¡¯t be denied that they paid a huge price to do so. all remaining experts of the tongyou institution quickly returned to the safety of the protection formation to recover. the cloud shang xia was on was still swaying in the wind and everyone who returned noticed him. even so, no one wanted to disturb him at that moment. only when the cloud landed on a mountain peak not too far away did it turn into a sea of mist that surrounded the peak. shang xia, who was in a deep sleep, didn¡¯t know what was happening around him. he might be out cold, but his extermination origins were working on their own. his four constellation qi circulated through his body like how he would if he actively trained in his four seasons samsara art. a week passed, then two¡­ shang xia, whose inner qi was nearly exhausted from the battles before started to recover. as his four seasons samsara art allowed his inner qi to circulate even more smoothly through his body, the time required for every cycle was reduced bit by bit. even though he was asleep, shang xia seemed to enter a mystical state. the path his inner qi took as it cycled through his body appeared in his mind. every time he ¡®reached out¡¯ to modify it a little, the path would change accordingly. sometimes, his inner qi would circulate a little quicker but sometimes it would slow down slightly. the amount of inner qi that could flow through his body would also change depending on what changes he made. in such a strange state, shang xia managed to modify and perfect his four seasons samsara art. no one knew how long had passed, but shang xia achieved his goal. he could complete one cycle in 4 short hours! the moment he achieved it, his extermination origins seemed to resonate with the world around him. they started to produce pure spiritual extermination that fused with his body at a frightening rate. eventually, they condensed in his body as pure four constellation qi that gathered in his dantian that strengthened his foundations. back when he exhausted himself, shang xia didn¡¯t know how long it would take for him to recover. who would have thought that his cultivation would rise without him knowing it? the refinement of his four seasons samsara art didn¡¯t top there either as it continued to perfect itself. that strange phenomenon didn¡¯t happen out of the blue. instead, it was based on shang xia¡¯s accumulations. all his thoughts and ideas about how he should have been improving his secret art allowed him to refine his secret art even further without his conscious control. as the time it took for him to complete each cycle of inner qi circulation decreased, his efficiency of refining his extermination origins took a huge step forward. shang xia¡¯s cultivation also increased accordingly. since he was growing stronger even in his sleep, the fluctuations of heaven and earth qi around the mountain peak he was on started to grow stronger. in the initial stages, the fluctuations merely caused the flow of heaven and earth qi to hasten in the area surrounding the mountain peak. it eventually evolved into a strong breeze, and eventually, it became a frightening storm that whistled endlessly. that wasn¡¯t all. as shang xia¡¯s refinement of his four seasons extermination origins deepened, every breath he took caused a huge amount of heaven and earth qi to enter his body. when he took his first breath, his vitality increased at a terrifying rate, and the area around him that became void of heaven and earth qi due to his current state turned barren. it was as though autumn had come early. all of a sudden, a huge change occurred. when shang xia sucked the air around him into his lungs, his surroundings changed. every single sign of life around him faded away and winter seemed to arrive. as his inner qi continued to travel through his body, he exhaled the turbid qi left in his body. as it emerged, the frost that was starting to cover the mountain peak thawed and life force seemed to return to the world as spring began. as he continued to exhale dense heaven and earth qi, the life force in his surroundings grew abundant and a beautiful scene that could only be seen in the summer appeared in his surroundings. when he took his next breath, the cycle continued. the mountain peak shang xia was on was finally noticed by someone. it was originally covered in dense mist but because of the huge heaven and earth qi fluctuations, the mist eventually dissipated. at the same time, all four seasons cycled continuously on the mountain peak and it eventually spread down to the foot of the mountain. the progression of the four seasons eventually evolved into the four seasons samsara cycle. every breath shang xia took signified the cycle of the four seasons! if shang xia¡¯s breath signified day and night, the mountain peak would experience a change in its daily cycle with every breath he took! on the 49th day of his deep sleep, the mountain peak experienced 36 cycles of the four seasons. with a final exhale, shang xia finally woke up. the instant he opened his eyes, the strange phenomenon that shrouded the mountain disappeared. all the clouds and mist that drifted about the mountain peak scattered and the heaven and earth that was rampaging about calmed down. a quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. in an instant, the chaotic world up there returned to normal. the next moment, shang xia, who had just woken up, closed his eyes again. he was savoring the feeling he felt the past 49 days and he reflected on whatever had happened. the four constellation qi in his dantian was full to the point of bursting and he never felt so content before. his foundations grew incomparably solid in the time he was asleep and his divine perception had also reached new heights. everything seemed to progress perfectly and shang xia discovered that he would take less than 4 hours to complete a cycle of his inner qi. he finally stepped through the gates of creating a proper rank four secret art and he could leave behind an inheritance if he so desired. with the achievement that signified he was capable of leaving behind an inheritance, shang xia felt that he had hit a significant milestone. not to mention the fact that his secret art was extremely intricate. he felt that it would be possible to reduce the time even more such that it would only take 2 hours for one cycle. the time it took for him to circulate his inner qi didn¡¯t affect the amount of four constellation qi flowing through his body in the slightest! in fact, he could circulate even more of it! with the reduction in time taken per cycle and the increase in inner qi he could circulate, his training efficiency didn¡¯t just double, it increased to a terrifying level! other than that, shagn xia felt his heart trembling slightly when he looked at the extermination origins around him. he eventually retracted them into his body as he thought about what had happened. when entering the four constellation realm, shang xia made use of his advancement medicine to refine 30 percent of his extermination origins. in the 2 years that passed, shang xia had been trying to improve his four seasons samsara art and he didn¡¯t focus too much on refining his extermination origins. he was far from completing 50 percent of the refinement process but from what he was observing, he seemed to have crossed that mark after waking up. back when he met kou chongxue in the beyond heavens pavilion, the patriarch believed that he had already refined 50 percent of his extermination origins. in order not to embarrass the patriarch, shang xia didn¡¯t deny it as he hid the true extent of his refinement process. now, he has reached the level kou chongxue described back then! he refined 50 percent of his extermination origin, but it seemed as though his strength would take a huge leap forward! he might have slept for 49 days, but everything that happened was fresh in his mind after he woke up. lying on the ground on the mountain peak, a thin layer of fog remained around his body. he used a little more than half a day to examine the changes in his body and when he finally opened his eyes again to look at the world around him, he saw a pair of shoes in his sights. slowly raising his head, shang xia raised his brows slightly. there was a strange look in his eyes when his gaze finally landed on her face. ¡°there¡¯s a strange look in your eyes¡­¡± chu jia felt a little uncomfortable by the way shang xia was looking at her, but she couldn¡¯t put her finger on what was making her feel that way. in the end, she decided to conclude that it had something to do with how shang xia just completed his cultivation session. casually placing his hands behind his head, shang xia stared at the pretty face that combined the great aesthetics of a mature, confident, and charming lady before muttering, ¡°i didn¡¯t think that instructor chu would be the one to come!¡± the frown on chu jia¡¯s face grew a little deeper. she pouted helplessly and complained, ¡°you took a really good nap¡­ do you know how bad the situation became in the past month and a half?!¡± shang xia yawned nonchalantly and chuckled, ¡°there¡¯s nothing for me to worry about with your protection formation active.¡± annoyance filled her heart when she saw the mischievous grin on shang xia¡¯s face and she snarled, ¡°everyone has been working tirelessly for the past few weeks! since you¡¯re awake, you should take over and bear some of our burdens! moreover, you should be the strongest expert present before deputy patriarch yun jing recovers¡­¡± CH 523 anyone could guess shang xia¡¯s strength with the disturbance he caused on the mountain peak he was on. however, they could only guess how far shang xia¡¯s cultivation had gone. they didn¡¯t know how strong he actually was if he were to go all out in a fight. after all the experts from the tongyou institution made their evaluations, all of them came to the same conclusion. they would sigh softly while staring at the mountain, ¡°he¡¯s definitely stronger than me!¡± ¡­ shang xia stared at chu jia with a strange look in his eyes. hearing that there was a problem, he quickly restrained his lazy attitude. ¡°is deputy patriarch yun¡¯s injuries really serious?¡± thinking about it for a second, chu jia responded, ¡°it¡¯s serious, but her foundations aren¡¯t damaged. the only problem is that she has to oversee everything here and prevent any disturbance from the other powers and she can¡¯t take a break to recover properly.¡± ¡°is my grandfather in the core region you were defending against that expert from the manyu continent back then?¡± shang xia asked another question. shaking her head, chu jia muttered, ¡°i don¡¯t know. only deputy patriarch yun knows where he is. however, she hasn¡¯t said anything about him recently. no news is good news and he should be doing alright.¡± shang xia nodded slightly and felt a weight lifted off his heart. he might be a little more reassured hearing that his grandfather was safe, but he had a sneaking suspicion that his grandfather wasn¡¯t cultivating in seclusion in the range of the protection formation. yun jing should be clear on the matter, but so should kou chongxue and ji wenlong. shang xia asked another question. ¡°how are the others right now? what about the statistics of the war that happened? did anyone on our side die? from your description, things don¡¯t seem to be going well¡­¡± chu jia¡¯s expression sank immediately. ¡°if we count you, there are 14 martial extermination realm experts on our side in total¡­¡± ¡°wait, wait, wait! slow down. are you sure we have 14 martial extermination realm experts on our side? when did our tongyou institution produce so many martial extermination realm experts?¡± shang xia gasped. even though he knew that the institution deployed a huge number of martial extermination realm experts to the manyu continent, the number he was hearing now had far exceeded his expectations. he suspected that the institution had hidden the breakthrough of several experts among them, but he never thought that kou chongxue would send so many of them to the manyu continent at the same time. facing shang xia¡¯s question, chu jia understood his confusion. ¡°i was also surprised when i heard about them. even senior shang ke was shocked at the revelation. from what he heard, mister lu siyuan was said to have resigned from his post after the tongyou institution was established and after a few years of teaching. stories have it that he went to wander the world after he left. mister fang kewei is another expert who was said to have fallen in the outside world. who knew that he had been brought to the beyond heavens pavilion by patriarch kou a long time ago? he had been in hiding all this time and there are 2 other second layer martial extermination realm experts and 1 who just entered the martial extermination realm who joined us.¡± ¡°what about the other 3?¡± shang xia continued. ¡°there¡¯s ji wenbin, a member of deputy patriarch ji¡¯s clan. according to the records, he died in the battlefield between the two worlds a long time ago. liu jikun is also present. he¡¯s a part of the liu clan and it¡¯s said that he¡¯s a cousin or brother of the late deputy patriarch liu jitang. back when deputy patriarch liu jitang lost his life in the coral forest, liu jikun didn¡¯t appear to take his place. there¡¯s another senior called yun shu. even though she¡¯s said to be a member of the yun clan, she was deputy patriarch yun¡¯s personal maidservant in the past.¡± the 3 of them were obviously members of the great clans and they were possibly the hidden experts who would only take action in times of need. shang xia rubbed his temples slowly and groaned, ¡°5 martial extermination realm experts¡­ that¡¯s basically the power of a great clan in our you continent! for patriarch kou and the deputy patriarchs to keep them hidden¡­ hehe, all of them are really sinister old bastards¡­ i mean¡­ they have great foresight and planned well for the future¡­¡± shang xia added another question even though he knew that the possibility of it happening wasn¡¯t high. ¡°since the other great clans of the tongyou city have hidden experts, does my shang clan possess any hidden martial extermination realm expert?¡± resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the member of the shang clan who was asking her about matters regarding his own family, chu jia forced herself to reply to him in the calmest tone possible. ¡°nope!¡± shang xia nodded his head as though he was confirming the information he had learned while giving off an ¡®i knew it¡¯ look. ¡°yeah¡­ that makes sense. my shang clan rose to prominence after the ji, yun, and liu clans. our foundations are a lot weaker than them and we obviously can¡¯t be compared to any of them¡­¡± finally unable to control herself, chu jia chuckled sinisterly. ¡°there¡¯s deputy patriarch shang bo, senior shang ke, and it¡¯s said that your shang clan has an expert roaming the world who has already entered the martial extermination realm. you, the great young master shang of the shang clan, have also entered the martial extermination realm. oh right, there¡¯s also shang jian who can break through at any time¡­ heh, your shang clan truly has ¡®shallow¡¯ foundations¡­¡± ¡°what the fuck? how are you so familiar with my shang clan?!¡± shang xia revealed an incredulous look before shaking his butt slightly. ¡°why are you spying on us? are you plotting something?! what are your intentions?!¡± chu jia didn¡¯t know how far she could roll her eyes back and she snapped at him instantly, ¡°stop with your nonsense. do you think i have the time to be messing around with you here?¡± shang xia sighed helplessly in response, ¡°alright, alright, enough. tell me about the number of dead or injured. i don¡¯t think you came all the way here to chat with me, right?¡± staring at shang xia with a fiery gaze that made it seem like she wanted to punch his teeth out, chu jia thought to herself: what the hell?! you¡¯re the one who was messing about! how is this my fault?! as the most talented formation grandmaster of the tongyou institution, chu jia was extremely celebrated and she was the center of attention everywhere she went. those around her would treat her with respect all the time and she never had to endure such treatment from anyone. finally thinking about how she was still shang xia¡¯s senior at the end of the day, she decided not to lower herself to his level and she managed to suppress the anger burning in her heart. adjusting her tone slightly, she explained, ¡°during the war, we killed many martial extermination realm experts from the manyu continent¡­¡± she paused for a moment before glancing at shang xia. after all, the annoying little bugger standing in front of her was the key they used to win the war. with the terrifying number of rank four talismans he brought over¡­ thinking back to the amount of talismans he used in the war, even chu jia felt her heart ache slightly. however, it quickly disappeared after she thought about how many lives he saved because of his wanton use of talismans. if he didn¡¯t do what he did, there might be even more casualties from the institution! there was also a need to mention the fact that the other powers of the azure origin world and azure spiritual world had their eyes on the manyu continent at the moment. the tongyou institution seemed to be going against both sides from what they were doing and they were staking it all on their actions! other than the 2 martial dipper realm ancestors who were waiting to pull them out in case things went south, it wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say that the core of the tongyou institution had gathered in the manyu continent! ¡°... however, of the 14 martial extermination realm experts we sent, 4 are dead and 4 are injured.¡± even with chu jia¡¯s aloof personality, her expression darkened when she mentioned the institution¡¯s loss. widening his eyes in shock, shang xia yelled, ¡°what?! 4 of us died?!¡± chu jia nodded solemnly and explained, ¡°that¡¯s right. of the 4, one of them was instructor gu shou of the inner division. lu siyuan, yun shu, and ji wenbin were the others killed. of them, only mister lu siyuan was a second layer martial extermination realm expert, the others are all in the first layer.¡± shang xia only knew gu shou of those who died, but it was enough for him to feel an ache in his heart. chu jia continued, ¡°other than the 4 of them, there are 4 others who received heavy injuries. they¡¯re liu zhidao of the liu clan, chief shang lubing of the contribution division, fang kewei of the beyond heavens pavilion, and your grandpa ke.¡± a quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. ¡°how are my grandpa ke¡¯s injuries?¡± shang xia asked immediately. ¡°his injuries aren¡¯t the problem. however, he exhausted too much of his inner qi during the battle and his foundations were injured. i¡¯m afraid he won¡¯t be able to grow stronger in the future.¡± grunting softly, a look of regret appeared on shang xia¡¯s face. he regretted separating from shang ke back then. if the two of them remained together, shang ke definitely wouldn¡¯t have suffered such serious injuries. of course, deep down, shang xia knew that shang ke had used up most of his potential when entering the martial extermination realm. there wasn¡¯t much hope of him progressing in the martial extermination realm anyway, but hearing his state from chu jia caused him to be slightly depressed. after all, having little hope of progressing was completely different from having his foundations damaged. ¡°is there nothing we can do about it?¡± shang xia asked with reluctance. to that, chu jia didn¡¯t reply. she only shook her head silently. if it was anyone else who suffered the same injuries, there might be a little hope for them. however, shang ke¡¯s foundations weren¡¯t strong in the first place! he was only able to enter the martial extermination realm back then because of his luck. now that he suffered greatly in the war, he could only hope to recover to whatever state he was in before. shang xia fell silent for some time before finally speaking again. ¡°do we know who leaked out information to the members of the manyu continent?¡± ¡°we are only sure that there are greater powers behind their actions and have been instigating them to target us.¡± chu jia replied. she might as well have not said anything as anyone with half a brain would know that was the case. ¡°have we passed the news of this back to the beyond heavens pavilion? what did patriarch kou say?¡± shang xia wondered out loud. ¡°he said that our actions might have been revealed because of the events back in the cloud water gorge. he said that you should know what happened.¡± chu jia told him what kou chongxue said while staring at him intently in order to gauge his reaction. after some time, shang xia sighed softly, ¡°yeah¡­ it¡¯s because of the abyssal firmament fate dipper¡­¡± chu jia was no fool. she was a genius in her own right and that was how she managed to progress so far in the way of formations in the first place. she quickly connected the dots. ¡°so¡­ you obtained the abyssal firmament fate dipper and many people learned of it. deputy patriarch shang also entered seclusion not too long after coming into the manyu continent and didn¡¯t show his face often. is that why they managed to guess that deputy patriarch kou is planning to use the abyssal firmament fate dipper to enter the martial dipper realm?¡± shang xia nodded in response. ¡°that is most likely the reason, but that¡¯s not the whole explanation.¡± shang xia recalled the conversation he had with kou chongxue about the fusion of the worlds back in the beyond heavens pavilion. shang xia didn¡¯t wait for chu jia to continue asking and he added, ¡°in order to prevent my grandfather from entering the martial dipper realm, those people behind the scenes came up with a plan to wear the experts from the manyu continent and our tongyou institution out by instigating a war. they wish to reduce our strength and prevent us from obtaining any benefits from the manyu continent. they also wish to use the chance to warn patriarch kou not to mess with them. hmph, their intentions should probably be to kill multiple birds with one stone!¡± when he was done, shang xia fell back on his butt and remained lying on the fluffy cloud formed by his auspicious cloud cape. his gaze turned a little hazy but countless thoughts flashed in his mind. he might be thinking hard, but his image was completely different in chu jia''s eyes. with an indifferent expression, she lashed out at him, ¡°are you really going to continue sleeping here?!¡± with a listless look in his eyes, shang xia responded immediately, ¡°what¡¯s our current situation right now?¡± ¡°the territory we¡¯ve controlled for the past 2 years has been lost to the various powers that attacked us. if we don¡¯t do anything, all we have left will be this tiny region of land!¡± chu jia explained. shang xia didn¡¯t move in the slightest and he muttered, ¡°there¡¯s no point in telling me this. you should report this to deputy patriarch yun.¡± ¡°but¡­ but deputy patriarch yun said that there¡¯s no rush to counterattack! she said that we should only talk about taking back our territory after our experts recover.¡± chu jia lamented. ¡°she¡¯s right.¡± shang xia sighed. ¡°but¡­ but after they recover, there won¡¯t be much left in the manyu continent for us!¡± chu jia complained. ¡°so what?¡± the light returned to shang xia¡¯s eyes and he growled, ¡°losing some land is better than us losing our martial extermination realm experts! moreover, who knows if those powers who came to occupy our land are prepared for us to launch an attack on them. we might fall into their trap if that happens.¡± chu jia frowned. ¡°what if they¡¯re not satisfied with what they have and come knocking on our doorsteps?¡± ¡°huh?¡± shang xia finally turned to stare at chu jia while waiting for her to continue. CH 525 eturning to where he stood previously, shang xia and chu jia made their way to visit deputy patriarch yun. along the way, the way chu jia looked at shang xia felt a little weird. unable to endure the way she was looking at him, he sighed softly, ¡°are you curious about something? can you ask whatever you want to ask?¡± ¡°i heard that you refined four extermination origins simultaneously. is it true?¡± chu jia asked right after shang xia spoke. she had obviously been holding in her curiosity for a long time. ¡°what stage have you reached in your cultivation? are you in the third layer of the martial extermination realm or are you in the fourth layer?¡± shang xia shook his head and sighed, ¡°strictly speaking, i should be considered a first layer martial extermination realm cultivator.¡± ¡°are you kidding?!¡± chu jia raised her head slightly and snorted with disdain. ¡°even if you want to act arrogantly in front of me, you need to restrain yourself! first layer of the martial extermination realm¡­ hehe, do you think your grandaunt here believes that we have the same cultivation realm but a huge difference in combat strength?¡± chu jia entered the martial extermination realm several months earlier than shang xia, but she was still stuck at the first layer of the martial extermination realm. my dear young lady chu, you¡¯re thinking too much into it¡­ that was what shang xia wanted to say. however, he stopped the words from coming out his mouth and he quickly changed his tone. ¡°alright, alright, you can consider me as a third layer martial extermination realm expert.¡± even though shang xia didn¡¯t interact much with chu jia, he had a pretty good understanding of her personality. after looking past her arrogance and desire to win, he knew that she didn¡¯t like people to go against whatever she said. as long as there was no point in arguing with her, it was best to just go with whatever she said. ¡°hmph! that¡¯s more like it.¡± chu jia looked at shang xia with a look like she expected as much. the next moment, she continued with a trace of jealousy in her voice, ¡°does refining four extermination origins at once make you so much stronger? how long has it been since you entered the martial extermination realm? i thought that you were only able to kill so many of them because you caught them by surprise and you used rank four talismans like they were free¡­ also, i thought that those you killed were already exhausted from the prolonged battle with our experts. who would have thought that you would heavily injure a third layer martial extermination realm expert in a head-on clash earlier?¡± the more she spoke, the greater the sense of dejection in her voice. both of them were considered geniuses of the tongyou institution. one of them was a talisman grandmaster and the other was a formation grandmaster. originally, they were supposed to be stars shining at the same level. from a certain perspective, chu jia was close to 10 years older than shang xia and she became an instructor of the institution a long time ago. she could be considered his senior and she felt that she was supposed to be superior to him. if she wasn¡¯t slightly superior in some way, wouldn¡¯t the term ¡®dual star of the tongyou institution¡¯ be somewhat of an insult to her since she started cultivating before him? that was also one of the reasons she had been ¡®purposely¡¯ making things difficult for him when he was crafting talismans back on the observation peak. as the two of them strolled over to the core region, shang xia recognized it immediately. it was where chu jia had been defending during the war. stopping suddenly, chu jia raised her head to look at the spirit extermination gourd in the air and muttered, ¡°i really admired the way you chased those freaks who harbored bad intentions for us away. however, that would mean that we offended every one of them. is it really worth it to offend the other powers who are also on the manyu continent at the moment?¡± shang xia chuckled in response, ¡°do you think they won¡¯t plot against us if i don¡¯t threaten them? who should we pin the deaths of our comrades on? do you think we should blame those experts of the manyu continent for getting them killed?¡± chu jia was at a loss for words and she didn¡¯t know how to respond to shang xia¡¯s question. before she could say anything else, shang xia had already entered the core region and he was making his way towards yun jing¡¯s cultivation chambers. after receiving yun jing¡¯s approval, shang xia entered the chamber only to be greeted with a strange sight. the elegant and poised deputy patriarch of the tongyou institution was looking really haggard. from her fluctuating aura, shang xia could also feel that she wasn¡¯t in her best state at the moment. liu qinglan was also in the room to make the report and shang xia could see the worry in her eyes. after noting the situation, shang xia couldn¡¯t help but ask despite chu jia¡¯s reminder. ¡°deputy patriarch yun, you shouldn¡¯t be dealing with all of these. you should be resting.¡± yun jing nodded at shang xia and chu jia slightly with a smile on her face. she gestured for them to sit before replying to shang xia, ¡°you¡¯re right. i should be recuperating¡­¡± shang xia nodded and didn¡¯t speak of the matter any longer. it seemed as though the two of them established some sort of understanding with each other with a single sentence. turning to liu qinglan, yun jung muttered, ¡°i will hand the matter of taking care of our territory. i should be able to recover in 3 months to half a year.¡± liu qinglan agreed and a solemn expression remained on her face as she replied, ¡°don¡¯t worry about anything else and focus on recovering. since grandmaster shang brought out that gourd, we shouldn¡¯t be running into any problems in the short term.¡± chu jua thought that shang xia¡¯s wanton provocation would cause a huge backlash from the other powers and even those from the manyu continent, but from what liu qinglan was saying, it seemed as though she agreed with shang xia. even yun jing was showing signs that she agreed with what shang xia did. chu jia sighed helplessly in her heart and chose not to speak of the matter. yun jing finally turned to shang xia again before asking curiously, ¡°what stage have you reached in your cultivation? you forced zhuang youwei back with a single palm and heavily injured lu sanyin earlier. even i might not be able to do what you did and break his leg in a head-on clash.¡± shang xia hadn¡¯t gotten the chance to reply, but chu jia¡¯s jaws had dropped at the side. she thought that shang xia was incredible for reaching the third layer of the martial extermination realm but from what she heard, she was still underestimating his strength. thinking about it for a moment, shang xia muttered, ¡°i refined four extermination origins at once and it is difficult for me to gauge my own strength. according to the official classifications, my cultivation should be at the first layer of the martial extermination realm.¡± asshole! he¡¯s starting this all over again! chu jia cursed inwardly. she thought that shang xia was messing around with her earlier, but with liu qinglan and yun jing present, he probably wasn¡¯t spouting nonsense. but if that is the case, could it be? chu jia wasn¡¯t the only one who had a hard time believing him. liu qinglan frowned in confusion. ¡°are you really at the first layer? i thought that you were hiding your true cultivation and aura. but your combat abilities¡­ they¡¯re truly an eye-opener!¡± yun jing sighed at the side, ¡°refining four extermination origins at once¡­ if you¡¯re still considered a first layer martial extermination realm cultivator, that would mean that you hadn¡¯t fully refined any one of your extermination origins.¡± shang xia nodded and acknowledged. ¡°that is correct.¡± yun jing clearly understood shang xia¡¯s cultivation method a lot more than the other two. liu qinglan also connected the dots and she mentioned, ¡°wouldn¡¯t that mean that you would have to refine any one of your extermination origins right now? or¡­ if you refine them all at once, will your cultivation immediately jump to the fourth layer martial extermination realm? would you be able to step into the large completion stage once you complete the refinement process?¡± only then was chu jia convinced that shang xia wasn¡¯t bullshitting her. she couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°can others replicate the way you cultivate?¡± shang xia hadn¡¯t opened his mouth when liu qinglan replied in his stead. ¡°i¡¯m afraid that wouldn¡¯t be possible. even if it was, the probability of it happening will be slim to none.¡± read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" glancing at shang xia from the corner of her eye, liu qinglan muttered, ¡°even without talking about the advancement formula, the cultivator would need to find 4 extermination origins ready to be refined at the same time. that alone would eliminate 90 percent of anyone trying to break through the same way. even if they managed to gather 4 extermination origins, they would need to ensure that they are compatible.¡± ¡°it is true that the way i entered the martial extermination realm involved a lot of risks. there was an element of luck behind my breakthrough, and it won¡¯t be easy to replicate.¡± shang xia finally added. after all, he was afraid he was the only one with enough knowledge of the four constellation realm at the moment to try what he did. liu qinglan might have deduced a little bit of how shang xia managed to break through, but nothing would beat him admitting it for himself. yun jing nodded slightly before changing the topic. ¡°do you have any insights into your fourth martial intent?¡± liu qinglan and chu jia turned to stare at shang xia with faces full of shock as soon as the question left yun jing¡¯s lips. even shang xia was taken by surprise. ¡°why would you ask that suddenly?¡± shang xia asked. shang xia was walking down the path of the blade in the martial extermination realm and his twenty four solar terms was already starting to take form. when he entered the large completion stage in the future, his martial intention would definitely have something to do with the blade. yun jing chuckled with amusement. ¡°the palm strike you used to deal with lu sanyin earlier seems really special. does it have a name?¡± ¡°disciple called the strike the four seasons palm. i developed it through a series of flukes in the past and looked into it a little more. i never thought of improving it to the point it would become my martial intent¡­¡± shang xi explained. ¡°four seasons palm?¡± yun jing pressed. ¡°what does it have to do with the four constellations?¡± sighing in his heart, shang xia finally understood what they meant by ¡®with age comes wisdom¡¯. yun jing went straight for the crux of his skill. ¡°disciple merely made a guess. i thought that all the four seasons represented the four constellations and the 4 main directions. i could see a trace of the four constellations in the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind¡­¡± shang xia stopped speaking suddenly. he wasn¡¯t trying to hide anything, but his understanding of the four constellations couldn''t be put into simpler terms. he would be going too far if he started talking about the azure dragon, white tiger, vermillion bird, and black tortoise. they wouldn¡¯t understand a thing anyway. liu qinglan released a surprised gasp after hearing his explanation. ¡°since you refined the four seasons extermination origins back then, wouldn¡¯t that mean that you would become the embodiment of the four constellations?¡± shang xia sighed in his heart once again. he knew that they would be able to make the connection with the small hint he gave them. there was even a possibility they would deduce a lot of things from the information he gave him and their understanding of the four seasons would immediately reach a point he hadn¡¯t comprehended. whatever the case, shang xia found no reason to hide anything from them. he chuckled softly, ¡°yeah. back then, i didn¡¯t know too much and decided to try it out. luckily for me, my gamble succeeded.¡± in front of others, shang xia had always attributed his success to luck so as not to make himself seem too arrogant. back when he wanted to refine all four extermination origins, only kou chongxue, shang bo, and other core members of the institution knew what he was up to. however, the commotion he created was too large back in the battlefield between the two worlds. the phenomenon that covered the mountain peak he fell asleep on in the manyu continent was also a dead giveaway. the peak he was on experienced 36 seasonal cycles in 36 days and anyone from the institution who wasn¡¯t blind saw what happened. there was no point for him to hide anything. yun jing added suddenly, ¡°anyway, i know that you¡¯re training in the way of the blade after entering the martial extermination realm. i noticed your blade art during the war and discovered that it possesses extraordinary power. the profoundness of your blade art is extremely deep, but i would like to give you a piece of advice. if you give up on the way of the blade now and start to comprehend the principles behind that palm of yours, the path to comprehending your fourth martial intent will be much smoother in the future.¡± after a short pause, she continued, ¡°from what i can tell, the moment you complete your refinement of your extermination origins, you would be able to step into the grand completion stage of the martial extermination origin with your four seasons palm.¡± a trace of envy appeared in the eyes of liu qinglan and chu jia when they heard what he said. shang xia was shocked and a frightening thought entered his mind. he wasn¡¯t willing to give up in the way of the blade and he asked, ¡°do you know if anyone managed to comprehend two martial intents when stepping into the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm?¡± ¡°never heard of it.¡± yun jing shook her head decisively in response. even though he guessed as much, shang xia was still a little disappointed after hearing her answer. he chuckled bitterly, ¡°disciple still thinks that i should focus on the way of the blade¡­¡± CH 527 up till that point, shang xia gained a pretty in-depth understanding of the tongyou institution¡¯s foundations. in fact, he knew about the number of martial extermination realm experts in the you continent. when he saw the 4 of them appearing in the manyu continent, shang xia finally came to the conclusion that kou chongxue was probably risking it all to obtain benefits from the manyu continent. thinking back to the battlefield between the two worlds, shang xia was afraid that the only martial extermination realm expert of the institution left was ge qingzhu. other than deputy patriarch liu zhiyuan in the tongyou institution, there was probably only song you whose condition was unknown. the tongyou city wasn¡¯t much better. ji yu of the ji clan and yun yichen were the only 2 martial extermination realm experts other than those from the shang clan. as for the shang clan, there was shang jian who might or might not have broken through. there was also shang pei who was in the taihang mountains. there was also zhao hengchun from the zhao clan who seemed to disappear ever since the tongyou instituion¡¯s expedition to the battlefield between the two worlds. no one knew if he was healing from his injuries or sent off by kou chongxue on a secret mission. along with the appearance of the 4 newcomers, a new batch of resources was delivered. a portion of them was medicine used to treat injuries and restore inner qi. it was said that in order to craft the new batch of medicine, grandmaster ge muchen had to personally take action. liu qinglan received the resources before taking out the best of them for yun jing. after the medicine was passed into yun jing¡¯s hands, liu qinglan received great news. deputy patriarch yun estimated that she would be able to greatly reduce her recovery time because of the medicine. the experts of the tongyou institution would were too heavily injured would also be able to quickly restore their combat capabilities. of course, liu qinglan wouldn¡¯t wait for everyone to be fully recovered before starting the next phase of their plan. that was because the tongyou institution had shang xia¡¯s spirit extermination gourd to threaten the experts of other factions. at the very least, no one would dare to make a move on the members of the tongyou institution as long as they were 200 miles away from the protection barrier. well, shang xia¡¯s mission wasn¡¯t to reclaim those regions where they were sure wouldn¡¯t be under threat. he was supposed to go even further to deal with troubles there. ¡­ when shang xia first emerged from the tongyou instituion¡¯s territory, he was extremely cautious. he was afraid that experts from the other factions had set up a trap for him. only after he arrived hundreds of miles away without any mishap did he start to relax. he realized he had underestimated the threat he made. no matter which power it was, their main goal was to split up the benefits of the manyu continent. they wouldn¡¯t waste more time messing with the tongyou institution after learning that the new madman shang xia was ready to blow up the entire continent. in fact, their operation to wipe out the tongyou institution back then seriously delayed their progression of plans for the manyu continent. of course, from a certain perspective, one could say that they achieved their goal. regardless if they were trying to take advantage of the situation or if they wished to beat the tongyou institution when they were down, those factions who wanted to mess with the tongyou institution succeeded. it was a pity shang xia had to appear at the last second to throw a wrench in their plans. the moment the jade sword emerged from the spirit extermination gourd, everyone knew that they had miscalculated. if the tongyou institution went crazy and decided to drag everyone down with them, no one would benefit. as such, they chose to retreat. since there was no possibility they could take advantage of the tongyou institution any further, they found no reason to remain in the region. shang xia was being too careful. moreover, shang xia¡¯s divine perception was no joke. it could cover a massive range and it was extremely sensitive. it wouldn¡¯t be easy for anyone to conceal themselves to try to set up an ambush for him. originally, shang xia was curious about how they were going to draw the fragments of the manyu continent to the azure origin world after it was destroyed. now that he had left the core region of the tongyou institution on liu qinglan¡¯s orders, he understood what they had been doing the whole time they were there. they had been laying down a massive formation that went deep into the ground. with the core region as the center, the tongyou institution laid formations every 100 miles. it went deep into the earth below and it maintained a faint connection with the main formation back in the core region. because they had been on the manyu continent for the past 2 years or so, they managed to progressively implement their mega large-scale formation. currently, it spanned close to 1200 miles from the main core region of the tongyou institution. according to chu jia¡¯s calculations, the moment the manyu continent shatters, the tongyou institution would be able to rely on their formation to hold a land mass with close to a 200 mile radius! that should be how large the tongyou institution was planning to expand for the moment in the manyu continent. find the original at bit.ly/3ibfjkv. also, if they manage to bring back such a huge swathe of land to the azure origin world without losing much of it in the process, the you continent would probably double in size! when that happened, the you continent would be restored to around 40 to 50 percent of its original size! one had to know that the current you continent was actually really tiny. it was barely passable if they counted the thousand leaf mountain range into their calculations, but otherwise, the you continent controlled by the tongyou institution was actually a mere blip on the map of the azure origin world. moving the entire land mass they had planned for back to the azure origin world with the least amount of loss would be the best-case scenario. however, reality had its way of dealing with people who only prepared for the ideal outcome. at the end of the day, the tongyou institution could only blame their lack of preparation on the fact that they entered the manyu continent too late. chu jia already made some estimations. she could tell that those holy lands with huge foundations who started their operations a long time ago would have already expanded their formations to cover 2500 to 3000 miles! the larger the area they wanted to control, the weaker the connection between the formations used to hold the land mass together. because of that, they would have to make up for the weak connection with a huge quantity of formations. if one formation wasn¡¯t enough, they would lay down a second one! if a second one didn¡¯t provide a satisfactory connection, they would just lay down a third! because of that, they used a huge amount of resources. even the powerful holy lands would have to pay a massive price to lay down so many formations. the tongyou institution was considered a pauper in front of those massive existences that had existed for hundreds of years. even if they learned about the manyu continent back then, they wouldn¡¯t have been able to throw so many resources at it. those holy lands might be powerful and rich, but it seemed as though a radius of 3000 miles was the limit. they weren¡¯t able to expand their control further than that. now that shang xia was strolling around the territory controlled by the tongyou institution, his true mission was revealed. he had to check the regions where the formations they laid down were located. if he ran into any other experts who had malicious intentions for the tongyou institution or those who wanted to destroy the formation, he was to deal with them immediately. he could choose to chase them away, or he could even kill them if things came down to it! it was possible that the martial extermination realm experts of the other factions would try to cause trouble in the tongyou institution¡¯s territory, but it was more likely for the experts of the manyu continent to be involved. shang bo, yun jing, and chu jia were the only 3 members of the tongyou institution who knew where the formations were laid down before shang xia was given the information, but it wasn¡¯t difficult for others to find out where those formations were. as long as they paid a little attention, it was possible to notice some anomalies in the area that contained the formations. of course, experts of other factions would need a lot of time if they wished to do something like that. as the sayings went, burying a mine was a lot easier than finding one. that was also why yun jing wasn¡¯t in a rush to send the experts of the institution out to check on those formations. she dragged things out for more than a month before finally sending shang xia on a mission to inspect them. as shang xia went around to check the formations, he had to take some precautions. he couldn¡¯t follow the map chu jia drew for him directly. if he did and was tracked by other experts, the location of all their formations would be revealed! he eventually decided to visualize the location of the next formation he wanted to inspect in his mind before flying in its general direction. along the way, he would stop at random places whenever he felt like it. sometimes he would stop miles away from the actual formation. with his powerful divine perception that could cover tens of miles, there was no need for him to check out the formation with his eyes. as long as the formation didn¡¯t look destroyed, shang xia wouldn¡¯t even bother flying over to the actual area where the formation was laid. that would ensure that anyone who had the ability to observe him in the dark wouldn¡¯t be able to locate the formations easily. nearly 300 miles away from the core region of the tongyou institution, shang xia hadn¡¯t found any formations that had been destroyed. however, that might be because those were located closer to the core region the tongyou institution controlled. when shang xia arrived 500 miles away, he could see several large holes in the ground in random locations. they were close to where some formations were situated, but luckily, they didn¡¯t affect its operation. examining the holes, shang xia could tell that martial extermination realm experts weren¡¯t behind the destruction. in fact, those holes didn¡¯t seem to be made by martial intent realm experts either. they were most likely dug by some martial extremity realm cultivator or something. with his extermination origins swirling around his body, shang xia created a massive gale that flattened the earth. the soil and dirt that had been dug out returned to the pits and the region returned to its original state. finally arriving 600 miles away from the core region, shang xia¡¯s flying figure paused as he detected one of the formations deep in the ground damaged. extending his divine perception to its limit, everything within a 50 mile radius could be felt by shang xia. he didn¡¯t detect any high-level experts. instead, he noticed several villages in his surroundings. when he used his divine perception earlier, he didn¡¯t expect to find the culprit. instead, he wanted to ensure that no one had their eyes on him before he went to where the destroyed formation lay. satisfied that no one was spying on him, he quickly pushed a formation chu jia made in advance deep into the ground. when he was done, he resumed his journey and started to fly around. it didn¡¯t take long to discover that those villages he noticed with his divine perception had been abandoned. from the looks of it, not only did those villagers move away a long time ago, they even brought everything they could with them. after traveling hundreds of miles out, shang xia finally cleared away a small portion of his doubts. however, there were still huge question marks that filled his mind. he wondered what would happen to the ordinary citizens of the manyu continent when it was destroyed. disregarding those high-level cultivators of the manyu continent, shang xia wanted to know what would happen to the millions or even billions of mortals on the manyu continent. were they just going to wait for the apocalypse to happen? shang xia didn¡¯t dare to let his thoughts wander any further than that. he refused to wonder if the azure origin world and the azure spiritual world were behind the destruction of the manyu continent. eventually, he thought about his grandfather shang bo and how he was trying to break through to the martial dipper realm by borrowing the world origin that would emerge when the manyu continent was destroyed. from the current looks of things, the tongyou institution chose a secluded region to take over. they might have also shifted the aboriginal mortals away from their villages in order to prevent them from getting caught up in the crossfire. from that, shang xia could tell the attitude of the tongyou institution. they didn¡¯t wish to kill wantonly and cause mass destruction, but they weren¡¯t exactly trying to turn the situation around either. ¡°huh?¡± a sudden thought filled shang xia¡¯s mind the next instant. CH 530 shang xia had always expected that the reason behind the sneak attack by the experts of the manyu continent was because news of shang bo trying to break through to the martial dipper realm was leaked to the outside world. he thought that the experts of the manyu continent attacked them in a last-ditch effort to prevent their world from being destroyed by shang bo¡¯s breakthrough. that was also the reason shang xia sympathized with the experts of the manyu continent even though they were enemies. after learning that the original residents of the manyu continent weren''t going to be exterminated along with the destruction of the manyu continent, his feeling of guilt lessened slightly. now that ren bainian revealed even more information, shang xia started to get curious again. the cultivators of the manyu continent knew that their fates were sealed. why would they waste their strength to eliminate the tongyou institution by launching a joint attack? the members of the tongyou institution used to think that the mastermind behind their actions were from the azure origin world and azure spiritual world. they thought that those who wanted to get rid of the tongyou institution were from the various holy lands in the 2 worlds, but from what ren bainian was saying and the intelligence gathered by the tongyou institution, those holy lands were busy controlling their territory and accepting powers of the manyu continent under their banner. the situation seemed to be in complete contrast to what the tongyou institution was doing. the territory controlled by the tongyou institution was barren! it seemed as though the tongyou institution truly entered the manyu continent a lot later than others and was not privy to the secret behind the destruction of the manyu continent. that didn¡¯t seem to be the case for the other powers¡­ moreover, from the time the factions of the azure origin world and azure spiritual world stepped into the manyu continent, they didn¡¯t face any resistance! that should be because the high-level cultivators of the manyu continent probably knew what would happen in the future. their aversion to clashing with the various powers was proof of that! the destruction of the manyu continent signified the destruction of the land mass alone. it didn¡¯t mean that all life would be eliminated! since that was the case, there was absolutely no reason for them to work together to attack the tongyou institution! unless¡­ unless there was an even deeper conspiracy behind their actions¡­ now that ren bainian had chosen to give up and surrender to the tongyou institution to bring them the piece of news, he managed to uncover a little bit of the mystery that was going on. there was another power in the manyu continent! ¡°have you seen them before? do you know how deep their foundations run?¡± liu qinglan asked. ren bainian nodded slightly before shaking his head violently. with a trace of displeasure in his heart, shang xia snapped, ¡°why are you nodding and shaking your head? what do you actually mean?!¡± ren bainian was like a meek cat in front of shang xia after being beaten. a look of confusion could be seen on his face as he started to speak. ¡°i don¡¯t know what method they used, but they were able to disguise themselves to look exactly like us. their cultivation, dressing, and items they carried became exactly like ours. i wasn¡¯t able to accurately see through their veil of deception.¡± liu qinglan looked at bi jingshuang and saw the solemn look in each other¡¯s eyes. shang xia continued to ask, ¡°then how are you able to be certain they¡¯re from a different power and come from outside the manyu continent?¡± ¡°as long as a martial extermination realm cultivator doesn¡¯t fall in battle, they would be able to live for 200 years or so easily. in the past 100 years, there have been fewer martial extermination realm experts appearing from our manyu continent. in the past 50 years, there were less than 10 experts who broke through to the martial extermination realm among cultivators of our manyu continent. in the previous 10 years, when outsiders like yourself started to arrive, not a single martial extermination realm expert was born.¡± a look of despair appeared on ren bainian¡¯s face out of the blue. even though he knew that the manyu continent was going to be destroyed, talking about it still made him feel bad. shang xia and the others fell silent after hearing what had happened to the manyu continent. such a massive continent was comparable to several continents of the azure origin world. for no one to enter the martial extermination realm for 10 years made things seem truly desperate. one had to know that because the manyu continent was about to face destruction, it underwent its final radiance and emitted a huge amount of heaven and earth qi in the past few years. the density of heaven and earth qi in the entire continent rose significantly and it should promote the growth and break through of many cultivators. it didn¡¯t make sense that there were no martial extermination realm experts born. ren bainian sighed softly. adjusting his mental state, he continued, ¡°that is why in the years that passed, all of us martial extermination realm cultivators became familiar with each other. however, those strange cultivators with similar features to us appeared out of nowhere!¡± ren bainian glanced at shang xia from the corner of his eye as an indescribable feeling flashed through his eyes. ¡°a huge portion of them looked really young and no matter how i look at it, they should have stepped into the martial extermination realm in the past 20 to 30 years. actually, their age is pretty similar to the foreign cultivators who entered our manyu continent. since they looked almost like us and seemed to be members of the manyu continent, things started to get suspicious. if they really are members of the manyu continent, there¡¯s no way we wouldn¡¯t recognize them. moreover, they couldn¡¯t have hidden from all of us for so many years. after all, there haven''t been many breakthroughs to the martial extermination realm in so many years¡­¡± a thought flashed through shang xia¡¯s mind and he asked, ¡°could there be a hidden holy land thriving in a mysterious world somewhere in your manyu continent?¡± ren bainian shook his head and chuckled bitterly, ¡°that¡¯s not possible. a holy land is sustained as they absorb world origin endlessly. our manyu continent is on the brink of destruction and if a holy land in a mysterious world still exists, the manyu continent would have devoured it.¡± that was the first time shang xia heard of anything like that. thinking again, he felt that whatever ren bainian said was extremely possible. as the saying goes, without the skin, there¡¯s nowhere for the hair to grow. like the azure origin world, holy lands relied on world origin to sustain its mysterious world. the manyu continent was about to be destroyed and there was no way a mysterious world could still exist. looking at liu qinglan and bu jingshuang, shang xia realized that they weren¡¯t surprised by the news. clearly, they knew about the theories behind the destruction of worlds. since they accepted ren bainian under their banner, he quickly gathered the members of his race to enter the area close to the core region of the tongyou institution. during the process, the tongyou institution sent several martial extermination realm experts to escort the clan over. according to the tongyou institution¡¯s original plan, they wanted to share in some of the profits during the destruction of the manyu continent. they didn¡¯t plan to interfere with the lives of the aboriginals at all. a quick look at bit.ly/3ibfjkv will leave you more fulfilled. that was also one of the main reasons they chose such a secluded region. it was basically void of any human presence. there were several villages in the surroundings, but to the experts of the tongyou institution, it was a matter of swatting their sleeves to chase those villagers away. the reason they chose to do that was because they only gained intelligence of the manyu continent not too long ago. they didn¡¯t know the true secret behind the destruction of a world and they were also afraid that they would become an open target for the other powers in the manyu continent. they wanted to avoid conflict as much as possible. it didn¡¯t matter if they counted themselves as the power of the you continent or just the tongyou institution. nothing would change the fact that they had shallow foundations. it wasn¡¯t easy for them to support the war effort in the manyu continent with what they could produce back in the azure origin world. if they had to accept the aboriginal cultivators under their banner, they would have to give up a portion of their already scarce resources. even if they disregarded that, assimilating the cultivators of the manyu continent back into the azure origin world would be a tall task and there might be several issues along the way. however, the situation had changed. because of the massive war that took place back then, 4 experts of the tongyou institution fell. it seriously affected their overall strength. kou chongxue might have gathered 4 more experts on short notice, but the damage was done. the addition of a native martial extermination realm expert who was at the third layer was going to be an extremely precious power boost to the institution. there was also another reason liu qinglan accepted ren bainian¡¯s surrender other than the oath he swore on the martial dao. during their ambush on the tongyou institution, he had been working together with several others to try to suppress yun jing. he didn¡¯t actually injure anyone else from the tongyou institution. if he did, the other experts of the institution would probably rise up to refuse liu qingland and bu jingshuang¡¯s decision. as for ren bainian¡¯s clan members, they numbered less than 300. they wouldn¡¯t be able to cause great waves even if they entered the you continent. ren bainian¡¯s actions might be selfish as he wanted to save his clansmen, but his intentions allowed him to gain shang xia¡¯s respect. ¡­ it went without saying that a massive clan with a martial extermination realm expert like ren bainian at its helm would be a famous existence in the manyu continent. there was no way his clan only consisted of 300 people or less. for a superpower like that, it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say that their clan manor could be comparable to a palace, and the number of servants they had was too numerous to count. to them, luxury was nothing! despite all that, almost 300 of them dropped everything and followed ren bainian to the tongyou institution¡¯s territory without a word of complaint. they even started building their houses in the area. that point alone made the ren clan respectable in the eyes of the members of the tongyou institution. ¡­ during the time the ren clan was settling down, shang xia completed his inspection of the formations around the core region. the other martial extermination realm experts of the tongyou institution were also progressively sent out to maintain the territory containing their formations. they managed to progressively deepen their control over those regions and they were starting to discuss expanding a little more. during the process, liu qinglan had also sent several experts out to infiltrate the manyu continent. they started to interact with experts there to gain a better understanding of the world they were in. ren bainian became an integral part of their operation as they went to assimilate themselves with the manyu continent. when 2 months had passed, yun jing finally emerged from seclusion. the moment they received the news, liu qinglan, chu jia, and shang xia rushed over to look for her. liu qinglan gave her a report of what happened in the time she spent in seclusion. she especially emphasized how ren bainian submitted to the tongyou institution and the information he brought with him. after hearing everything, yun jing nodded to express her approval. when they spoke about their guess that a third faction was behind the attack on the tongyou institution, yun jing listened quietly without revealing too much shock. shang xia was still too young if he wanted to catch an abnormal reaction from old foxes like yun jing. ¡°looks like we were too conservative. we wanted to gain some benefits from the manyu continent without interacting too much with the other factions. however, it seems like those people won¡¯t let us off easily.¡± yun jing said with indifference but shang xia didn¡¯t know if he was mistaken, but he heard a trace of killing intent in her voice. ¡°should we inform the rest about the mysterious third faction?¡± liu qinglan asked. glancing at her casually, yun jing muttered, ¡°if our tongyou institution managed to gain information about the third faction, what makes you think the others won¡¯t find out? they might even have guessed as much.¡± ¡°this¡­¡± liu qinglan hesitated slightly but decided not to comment any further. yun jing turned to look at chu jia and asked, ¡°you can continue to enlarge the scale of the formations, but focus on what we already have. strengthen the connection between our existing formations. our you continent doesn¡¯t have much land to begin with and it will be a little difficult to find a place to integrate the land mass we bring back. no matter what, our true goal lies in fighting for world origin when the manyu continent is destroyed.¡± chu jia pressed her lips together and looked slightly uncomfortable as she replied, ¡°we will need a lot more resources for that. i¡¯m afraid we have already emptied out the tongyou institution¡¯s accumulations in recent years.¡± yun jing didn¡¯t seem to care and she spoke casually. ¡°that guy already sent yuan zhen and qian sitong over. they barely entered the martial extermination realm and he¡¯s obviously planning to risk it all. do you think he will feel the pinch from the resources you require?¡± chu jia hesitated slightly. ¡°but¡­ but¡­ if we make even the slightest mistake during the shifting process, we¡¯ll lose everything!¡± yun jing didn¡¯t address her concerns immediately. instead, she sighed, ¡°after this is done, our azure origin world and the azure spiritual world will probably complete its fusion. i wonder what would happen when our world origins fuse. will there be one that suppresses the other? will the rest of our you continent reappear and will we be able to pry into the secrets of the worlds?¡± she might be thinking out loud, but her words caused waves to ruse in shang xia¡¯s heart. before he could say anything, yun jing¡¯s gaze landed on him. ¡°i need you to go look for someone¡­¡± ¡­ after several days, shang xia arrived at the location yun jing pointed out. he flew thousands of miles through the manyu continent before arriving on a snowy peak to look for the person yun jing instructed him to find. when they finally met, shang xia stared at the person in shock. ¡°senior youshang?! why are you here?¡± CH 531 shang xia clearly didn¡¯t expect he would meet youshang in the manyu continent, and neither did he expect the person yun jing told him to find would be the strange senior he met in the past. a chuckle left youshang¡¯s lips when he saw the shock on shang xia¡¯s face. ¡°what¡¯s the matter? is this strange to you?¡± shang xia nodded in response. one not only had to borrow the power of a world to open the spatial tunnel, but they also needed the help of a martial dipper realm ancestor! if kou chongxue and ji wenlong weren''t behind sending youshang to the manyu continent, that would mean that he managed to gain the trust of another martial dipper realm ancestor! a quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. one had to know that the martial extermination realm expert standing before him was a true blue spy for the tongyou institution! it was shocking enough for him to remain undetected in the azure spiritual world, much less gain the support of a martial dipper realm ancestor there. seeing the look of admiration on shang xia¡¯s face, youshang seemed even more pleased with himself. however, he quickly got back to the topic at hand. ¡°did yun jing tell you to find me? what did she tell you to tell me?¡± shang xia found it slightly strange that youshang knew what he was doing there already but he did whatever yun jing told him to do regardless. he told youshang about ren bainian¡¯s conjecture that there might be a third faction on the manyu continent and explained the situation. when he was done, shang xia stared at him with a look of confusion. ¡°actually, that¡¯s all deputy patriarch yun jing told me to convey. she didn¡¯t say anything else.¡± shang xia noticed that youshang seemed to be deep in thought after his recount earlier. unfortunately, youshang¡¯s expression didn¡¯t allow shang xia to grasp what he was thinking of. while observing youshang¡¯s lack of reaction, shang xia seemed to have thought of something and he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°don¡¯t tell me deputy patriarch yun hopes for you to go undercover and infiltrate the third faction if there really is one?¡± it sounded absurd, as every world had its unique cultivation method. no one could fake their cultivation method and youshang¡¯s use of the azure spiritual world¡¯s cultivation style would be exposed immediately! from ren bainian¡¯s description of the group of foreign experts, they seem to disguise themselves as cultivators of the manyu continent. however, they were still exposed by ren bainian the moment he laid eyes on them. youshang, who had been thinking about something, raised his head abruptly and stared at shang xia with a strange smile on his face. the aura around him started to change and the qi of a cultivator from the azure spiritual world started to transform. it didn¡¯t take long for him to give off the aura of a cultivator from the manyu continent. if shang xia wasn¡¯t as familiar with youshang as he already was, he would start to suspect that the man was actually a cultivator from the manyu continent! shang xia¡¯s jaw dropped as he stared at the horrifying scene in front of him. moreover, shang xia felt a trace of the azure origin world¡¯s unique aura of cultivation when youshang was changing his aura earlier. in other words, youshang wasn¡¯t just able to replicate the unique cultivation aura of the cultivators from the azure spiritual world. he could do the same for cultivators from the azure origin world. however, that wasn¡¯t the main point. when youshang was changing his aura, he failed to conceal his true strength. shang xia managed to detect a terrifying fact. youshang had already entered the fourth layer of the martial extermination realm! thinking back to the events in the changfeng city during the war of the tongyou mysterious world, youshang was only a second layer martial extermination realm cultivator! it seemed as though shang xia wasn¡¯t the only one who experienced a meteoric rise in strength in the past 3 years. there were also others who were progressing at a rapid pace. as the heaven and earth qi fluctuations around youshang finally stabilized, a mischievous look could be seen in his eyes when he opened them again. ¡°do you want to work together with me again?¡± staring at him in shock, shang xia quickly recovered as a crafty smile appeared on his face. ¡°of course!¡± ¡­ shang xia was still curious why he would be able to see youshang in the manyu continent, but as they ran through several snowy peaks, shang xia¡¯s thoughts started to wander elsewhere. he could feel a faint presence of world origin where they were. back in the azure origin world, shang xia volunteered to enter the manyu continent for one main reason. he heard that during the destruction of the manyu continent, world origin would emerge and spill out of the world. that was a great opportunity for him to obtain world origin! it wasn¡¯t something that would happen often, but he was slightly disappointed after he arrived. the heaven and earth qi was abnormally dense due to a final burst from the manyu continent, but shang xia couldn¡¯t sense much world origin among it during his cultivation sessions. if he had to wait till the destruction of the manyu continent to obtain world origin, things would get a little messy. it wouldn¡¯t take a genius to know that the martial dipper realm ancestors of the various powers would appear the moment the manyu continent was destroyed. they would be the ones taking part in the battle to obtain world origin and when that happened, martial extermination realm experts like himself wouldn¡¯t be able to meddle in the slightest. shang xia didn¡¯t hold high hopes for obtaining world origin when the manyu continent was destroyed and he chose to focus on the tongyou institution¡¯s mission. it could be said that his contributions were already at a terrifying level after saving them from complete annihilation. he might not be thinking about world origin any longer, but the presence of some on the snowy peaks made him rethink his choices. looking at youshang who was flying in front of him, shang xia couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°senior, where are we going?¡± without turning his head, youshang replied, ¡°there were people flying around this area recently. this time, i won¡¯t let them run away! i¡¯ll teach them a good lesson!¡± ¡°senior, are you in charge of protecting this region?¡± shang xia asked. ¡°what do you think?¡± youshang chuckled in response. a thought flashed through shang xia¡¯s mind suddenly and he seemed to recall a matter that had been on his mind since he entered the manyu continent. ¡°senior, are you¡­ are you protecting someone in this region?¡± pausing for a second, he continued, ¡°is my grandfather cultivating in seclusion here?!¡± shang xia had long since suspected that shang bo wasn¡¯t cultivating in the core region of the tongyou institution. otherwise, he would have been alerted by the massive shockwaves during the assault back then. there were maybe 30 or more martial extermination realm experts fighting during the massive offensive launched by the experts of the manyu continent! no matter how strong chu jia¡¯s protection formation was, it wouldn¡¯t be able to block off the powerful shockwaves! shang xia was waiting expectantly for youshang¡¯s reply, but the extermination light under the older cultivator¡¯s feet dimmed the next instant as he growled, ¡°we¡¯re here. this should be the area¡­¡± shang xia raised his eyebrows in surprise and released his divine perception. it quickly expanded to cover a radius of 50 miles from him and youshang seemed to notice the powerful divine perception fluctuation as he turned to stare at shang xia in shock. ¡°there¡¯s no one here!¡± shang xia spoke before bringing out another spirit extermination gourd. after using a secret art to gather the thin extermination qi in the air, he spoke again. ¡°there seems to be a trace of a frost extermination in his region.¡± nodding slightly, youshang smiled, ¡°you¡¯re right. however, the extermination qi hasn¡¯t reached its peak density. occasionally, there would be a wave of frost covering the snowy peaks. when that happens, the extermination qi in the air would become tens of times denser than now.¡± ¡°is there really such a blessed land in the manyu continent?¡± shang xia gasped. in the next second, shang xia realized something. he asked curiously, ¡°why hasn¡¯t the manyu continent produced a martial extermination realm expert in the past 10 years even though there is such an amazing place for cultivation? the extermination qi here is pretty thick too!¡± ¡°did you forget something?¡± youshang replied casually. ¡°did you refine extermination origins first when entering the martial extermination realm or did you do something else? maybe you forgot how you consumed your rank four advancement medicine?¡± shang xia finally discovered the problem. ¡°senior, are you saying that they aren¡¯t able to gather enough herbs to create any advancement medicine?¡± extermination origins were born from world origin and they would appear under specific conditions. ordinarily, extermination origins would only be produced in regions where there was world origin. that might be the case for extermination origins and extermination qi, but nurturing herbs wasn¡¯t that easy. it took a long time for the herb to be ready for collection but the manyu continent wouldn¡¯t be emitting heaven and earth qi for long. after satisfying his curiosity, shang xia saw youshang hovering in mid air and he asked, ¡°senior, is the person you wish to deal with going to appear here?¡± ¡°no. he¡¯s already here.¡± youshang chuckled. with his eyes widening in shock, shang xia expanded his divine sense once more to do an even more detailed sweep of the area. however, he still failed to detect traces of anyone. seeing the look of disbelief on shang xia¡¯s face, youshang couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°the snow is extremely thick here. there might be dozens of feet of snow covering him and if he managed to find a naturally formed mountain cave to seek refuge in, you won¡¯t be able to find him.¡± shang xia finally understood why he couldn¡¯t sense anyone. worry soon set in. ¡°did that person discover our presence?¡± youshang shook his head in response. ¡°probably not. go hide somewhere. find a chance to make your move when we start fighting later.¡± shang xia nodded once before draping the auspicious cloud cape over himself. soft mist filled the area and shang xia¡¯s figure started to turn blurry. ¡°huh?¡± youshang couldn¡¯t help but turn to look at where shang xia was standing. he clicked his tongue several times while muttering to himself, ¡°damn, this brat really has a lot of good shit on him. that treasure is almost comparable to the tranquil cape!¡± shang xia couldn¡¯t hear what youshang was mumbling and he continued to keep himself hidden while asking, ¡°senior, what is the other party¡¯s cultivation level and strength?¡± coughing once, youshang replied, ¡°he¡¯s extremely powerful. when the time comes, you need to go all out. before he leaves this region of snow-covered peaks, we need to look for a chance to seriously injure him. if an opportunity arises, don¡¯t hold back!¡± shang xia agreed readily but youshang turned serious and gave him another warning. ¡°of course, your safety comes first. only go all out and try to injure him without risking yourself.¡± thinking back to the aloof youshang of before, shang xia discovered that he had become a lot more talkative. he might be slightly naggy, but shang xia understood his good intentions. as youshang continued to remind him to be careful, shang xia also understood that the opponent they were dealing with his time might be a handful. acknowledging youshang¡¯s warnings, shang xia lightly touched his sleeves. not only was his abyssal blade in there, but the last piece of his divine restraint talisman was also ready to be utilized. with shang xia hiding properly, youshang made his move. a copper colored spear appeared in youshang¡¯s hand as blood light started to swirl around its tip. it was as though a strange beast had taken over the body of the spear. when the power stored in the spear reached its peak, youshang stabbed ruthlessly at the ground below. the beast that was made from blood extermination emerged with a heaven shaking roar before burrowing deep into the ground. ¡°crash!¡± a loud disturbance came from deep in the ground and rumblings filled the air. a total of 8 mountain peaks beneath youshang collapsed as landslides spread for tens of miles. the entire mountain range quaked violently. the mountain peaks that were covered in snow for tens, even hundreds of years, crumbled. flurries of snow filled the air before slowly starting to expand outwards. ¡°it¡¯s coming¡­¡± youshang, who was still standing in the air, muttered. there was actually no need for his reminder. shang xia discovered the other party with his divine sense the moment the snow collapsed. a powerful aura emerged from below and charged into the air above with frightening speed. ¡°bang!¡± snow, dirt, rocks, and everything that could gather below erupted with a massive explosion. the rocks that flew from below had the ability to seriously injure a martial intent realm cultivator. even ordinary martial extermination realm cultivators would have to retreat. ¡°who! who are you?!¡± an enraged cry tore through the air and the avalanches that were happening all around sped up because of it. that wasn¡¯t all. the loud roar slammed into shang xia¡¯s divine perception and it was like a giant tornado that continued to batter his consciousness. the person locked onto youshang instantly and rushed at him with a horrifying momentum. from the way he emerged, it wasn¡¯t difficult to tell that the person possessed a powerful divine perception. he even had an exquisite art that allowed him to affect others¡¯ divine perception. CH 532 when the horrifying divine perception arrived 3 feet away from youshang, it was stopped by a formless barrier. as it continued to increase in power as it smashed against youshang¡¯s barrier, the barrier retracted slightly. it failed to affect youshang directly, but he was still forced to retreat. moving back several feet, youshang gnashed his teeth together as he forced himself to maintain the barrier. even so, it wasn¡¯t difficult to see that he was having a hard time doing so. eventually, he managed to resist it with all his might. during their clash, the shockwave blew the clouds in the air away. only the region around youshang seemed immune to the shockwaves. clouds remained around youshang and they seemed to grow denser with every passing second. eventually, they turned into a dark thundercloud. ¡°it¡¯s you again!¡± realizing his divine perception wasn¡¯t able to injure the other party, the expert who emerged from underground stabilized himself in the air around youshang without any injuries either. from the trace of anger in the other party¡¯s voice, anyone could tell that the two of them knew each other. as if that wasn¡¯t enough, they definitely had some enmity against each other. ¡°brother su jinyuan, we meet again!¡± youshang cupped his fists towards the other party and chuckled after he caught his breath. ¡°hmph!¡± the other party harrumphed coldly before he growled, ¡°i told you before, this region of snow-covered peaks is large enough for the both of us. i only wish to train here for some time! didn¡¯t we come to an agreement not to mess with each other? i didn¡¯t expect you to go against your words! are you really trying to find trouble with me?¡± youshang raised an eyebrow in response. ¡°hold up, hold up, you definitely proposed an arrangement where we wouldn¡¯t interfere in each other¡¯s business, but i didn¡¯t agree! it¡¯s your wishful thinking that i wouldn¡¯t attack you!¡± a sneer appeared on su jinyuan¡¯s face and he mocked, ¡°is that so?! looks like i really forgot that you didn¡¯t agree with me back then. right, i also forgot that you were beaten by me and were running for your life back then. you probably didn¡¯t hear my suggestion properly in your haste to escape.¡± rumble¡­ a deep sound came from the thunderclouds beside youshang and traces of reddish-gold lightning churned within. as the 2 high-level martial extermination realm experts continued to probe each other, su jinyuan¡¯s aura continued to expand. even though youshan remained motionless under the horrifying pressure that was descending on him, he was pushing himself to the limit. the mist around youshang seemed to be compressed by su jinyuan¡¯s aura as they gathered close to him. thick thunderclouds filled the air as it created a majestic sight above the snowy peaks. youshang snorted after hearing su jinyuan¡¯s mockery. ¡°you can talk all you want. i enjoyed myself thoroughly in the last battle we had and i gained some insights because of that. my cultivation has grown stronger since then and i¡¯m back to ask for more guidance!¡± after he spoke, he pointed his ancient copper spear at su jinyuan. the spear seemed to resonate with the rumbling thunderclouds around youshang as lightning bolts surrounded the tip of the weapon. it was as though he could command the power of lightning. because of his actions, youshang, who had been forced into a passive state since su jinyuan¡¯s appearance, finally seized the initiative by using his weapon and the lightning around him. ¡°whatever.¡± su jinyuan snorted loudly. ¡°since this is what you want, we¡¯ll decide a victor today! only one of us will be leaving alive.¡± after he spoke, su jinyuan swiped his hand in the space before him as a 3 foot long sword appeared in it. his sword seemed to possess its own spirituality as it spun around his head with its tip pointing at youshang¡¯s position. his weapon seemed to possess the special characteristics of a divine weapon and he was even able to control it with a rarely-seen sword controlling art. it was obvious that youshang had taken a beating from the man before. however, that also allowed him to understand su jinyuan¡¯s fighting style. when the sword appeared, youshang sprang into action. he needed to make the first move in order to gain the upper hand. as his ancient copper spear emitted a brilliant radiance before piercing into the void, streaks of lightning danced around its surface as they followed the trajectory of the spear. those lightning bolts weren¡¯t there for decoration either. they allowed youshang to increase the speed of his spear by at least 30 percent. the distance of several miles was covered in an instant as the tip of youshang¡¯s spear arrived before su jinyuan in the next second. by the time his spear emerged from the void, the skies around them had already turned a deep crimson red. facing youshang¡¯s sudden attack, su jinyuan didn¡¯t panic in the slightest. a cyan colored extermination origin above his head entered his sword. the sword started to tremble slightly as it released a hum that caused the hearts of those around it to tremble. it disappeared suddenly and the sound of metal scraping against each other tore through the skies the next moment. his surroundings were dyed a blood-red like the air above and a giant tear appeared in the space before him. ten miles away, shang xia was hiding in whatever cloud that remained. he started to accumulate the power of lightning in the thunderclouds in the area with some assistance from the world around him while observing the battle. when the cyan colored extermination origin appeared above su jinyuan¡¯s head, shang xia¡¯s eyes widened to the size of saucers. there was only a single strand of cyan colored extermination origin above su jinyuan¡¯s head, but shang xia wasn¡¯t stupid enough to think that the man was a first layer martial extermination realm expert. he recognized that su jinyuan was a terrifying expert who had already managed to fuse his extermination origins together to enter the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm! when shang xia discovered youshang¡¯s strength to be in the fourth layer of the martial extermination realm, he had already prepared himself to face a strong enemy. despite all the mental preparations he made, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh to himself after noticing su jinyuan¡¯s cultivation level. ignoring shang xia¡¯s feelings for the time being, youshang wasn¡¯t exactly in a great situation. his strike was easily nullified by his opponent and his ancient copper spear was sent flying through the air. an arm emerged from nowhere and grabbed the end of the spear. with a slight tremble, youshang¡¯s spear resembled a python as it made a beautiful arc through the air before crashing down on the flying sword. su jinyuan turned serious as youshang went to retrieve his spear. he became slightly more cautious as his hand started to move in his flowy robes. his sword controlling art was displayed to its greatest extent as his sword danced in the air like a butterfly fluttering through space. it avoided the attack from the spear while finding gaps in youshang¡¯s attack to launch a decisive counterattack. the clash of weapons caused a flurry of echoes to ring through the air. only the phantom of a spear was left in mid air as the space surrounding youshang and su jinyuan fractured to a frightening extent. horrifying heaven and earth qi storms that were kicked up from the battle ravaged everything for dozens of miles. with a loud roar from youshang, he tried another approach. he ignored the never-ending sword qi around him and shook his spear once. four extermination origins that covered his spear split away and stabbed at su jinyuan from every direction. his sudden strike placed great emphasis on power but he would have to take on his enemy¡¯s attack head-on. it seemed as though he was on the losing end when unleashing it, but if he managed to injure his opponent with it, the relentless attacks would stop and he would immediately gain an absolute advantage over his enemy. when that happened, he would be able to unleash a ruthless counterattack against his opponent. youshang was betting on the fact that with su jinyuan¡¯s cultivation and strength being higher than his in all aspects, he would retract his energy to defend himself against youshang¡¯s technique. after all, such a way of fighting didn¡¯t benefit the stronger party at all. read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" unfortunately, he heard a cold snort along with a chuckle from su jinyuan. at that moment, youshang knew that he was wrong. su jinyuan seemed extremely confident that he could take on youshang¡¯s desperate attack without suffering any sort of injury! raising his arms, his hands finally poked out from his sleeves as he controlled his sword with all his might. the sword qi that surrounded youshang started to condense into 1 massive cyan colored sword that stabbed straight for his head. youshang¡¯s plan to force su jinyuan to retract his energy failed, and now, he would have to take on a terrifying blow from his opponent! the world around them turned silent in that instant. the four different spear lights made from youshang¡¯s extermination origins, along with another giant spear above him that was sustained with his inner qi clashed with su jinyuan¡¯s giant sword in an instant. 2 of the 5 spear qis were destroyed immediately and another 2 shattered the next moment. finally, only the spear above him was left and he raised his ancient copper spear along with it to resist the cyan sword crashing down on him. the robes he wore were turned into shredded confetti under the earth-shattering might of su jinyuan¡¯s blow. youshang looked as rugged as could be but his spear continued to resist nonetheless. he didn¡¯t back down as his posture remained steady but he was forced to retreat several feet as he forcefully blocked the sword. the space around him distorted violently but eventually, the cyan sword ran out of energy and dissipated. releasing a clear ring, su jinyuan¡¯s sword returned to his side. ¡°haha, you can¡¯t control your extermination origins perfectly yet and you tried to use them individually to attack me. looks like you were planning to use this battle to train yourself!¡± su jinyuan chuckled but he didn¡¯t remain idle. his sword started to split apart in the skies above him and at first, it separated to become 2 swords. then, they split again, and again, and again! by the time he was done talking, the entire sky was filled with sword lights that were pointing straight at youshang. facing the skull-numbing sight, youshang wasn¡¯t afraid in the slightest. he snorted coldly, ¡°we¡¯re all walking down the same road of cultivation. why shouldn¡¯t i try to take this chance to make the final step to enter the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm?¡± ¡°since we all have our reasons, let¡¯s just enjoy the battle to our fullest! experience my star river sword art!¡± su jinyuan gestured once and the sword lights that filled the air flew at youshang like meteors through space. they came in all directions with the intention of swallowing youshang in a river of sword lights. youshang reached his peak state after fighting for so long and as he tightened his grip on his ancient copper spear, it started to dance about in the air before him. every time he moved, the tip of his spear would leave behind a brilliant ray of light in the air. as youshang¡¯s movements sped up, the light rays that appeared before slowly dissipated before regenerating as more light rays were produced. eventually, they seemed to form a ball of light around him. when he was ready, he took several steps back and the ball of light extended in a single direction to create a vortex. when the sword lights approached youshang, they would be sucked into the vortex he created before disappearing completely. it was too bad for him that the sword lights su jinyuan summoned seemed endless. youshang might be able to hold on for now, but he couldn¡¯t last forever. eventually, his energy would run dry from maintaining the vortex and he would fall into a disadvantageous position. if su jinyuan kept it up, it was a matter of time before he won. however, he didn¡¯t seem satisfied with the current situation. he retrieved a fist-sized pearl from his sleeves and it shot out a strange light that ignored all obstructions to head straight for youshang¡¯s eyes. CH 533 the battle between su jinyuan and youshang was reaching its climax when su jinyuan brought out some weird pearl that shot a suspicious radiance at youshang¡¯s eyes. at the final moment, youshang wielded his spear with one hand while raising his sleeves to cover his eyes. unfortunately, the radiance was a lot stronger than youshang¡¯s clothes. with a low ¡®clang¡¯, youshang spat out a ball of golden light at the last second to scatter the radiance. read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "[pawread.com]" ¡°hehe, brother su, that¡¯s a wrong path you¡¯re going down if you¡¯re trying to comprehend your martial intent.¡± youshang seemed composed after stopping su jinyuan¡¯s sneak attack. not a trace of panic could be heard in his voice. instead, he sounded like a completely different person. su jinyuan wasn¡¯t disappointed that his sneak attack failed. instead, he chuckled casually, ¡°heh, i nearly fell for your schemes. our battle had been going on for a while now. i¡¯m afraid i¡¯ll soon be besieged on all sides. moreover, it¡¯s not like i gained nothing with my previous attack. at least now i know that you¡¯ve been hiding your identity. looks like you don¡¯t have good intentions either.¡± youshang didn¡¯t bother with whatever su jinyuan said at the end. instead, he replied sarcastically, ¡°brother su, you¡¯re confusing me. this is the mnayu continent and as the master of the east, you have both the geographical advantage and the support of the people. why would you be besieged on all sides? unless¡­ you¡¯re hiding a secret¡­¡± shang xia¡¯s heart trembled slightly when he heard what youshang said. from what youshang was saying, he seemed pretty sure that su jinyuan wasn¡¯t a member of the manyu continent. he wondered if youshang managed to confirm that su jinyuan was one of the members of the mysterious third faction because of what he said when they first met. shang xia experienced a large-scale battle against the experts of the manyu continent when he arrived. after that, there was an exchange with ren bainian. he was familiar with the aura of experts from the manyu continent but he couldn¡¯t feel any difference coming from su jinyuan. he didn¡¯t know how youshang managed to determine that su jinyuan was a foreign cultivator but all of that didn¡¯t matter. shang xia had been gathering energy the whole time he was ready to launch his sneak attack once the opportunity came. the situation got worse after their short conversation. they didn¡¯t stop fighting even as they talked earlier and the battle became even more dangerous and intense. the two of them might be fighting in mid air, but the shockwaves of their battle greatly affected the mountain range below. dozens of miles around their battlefield, the mountain peaks that used to exist had been flattened completely. without a change in expression, su jinyuan spoke, ¡°what are you talking about? i don¡¯t understand. right now, our manyu continent is on the verge of destruction and the foreign powers are waiting to divide our assets. all of us can¡¯t do anything but wait to be devoured by the others. we¡¯re a pile of scattered sand at the moment. there¡¯s no advantage for me to make use of it any longer.¡± youshang hissed in response, ¡°brother su, why are you trying so hard to defend yourself? your explanation is just making it more obvious.¡± after he spoke, youshang didn¡¯t bother with the sword qi around him. pushing forward with the giant vortex at the tip of his spear, he charged straight at his opponent. su jinyuan¡¯s sword revealed itself again as it clashed with the approaching youshang. at the same time, he pointed at the pearl he brought out earlier. it emitted a resplendent ray of light that shot at youshang¡¯s head. this time, he didn¡¯t really bother if the light ray the pearl emitted struck youshang. instead, he casually retrieved another ornament from his belt and tossed it into the air. the ornament turned into a battle axe that was 3 feet long and it cleaved down at youshang without mercy. youshang was clearly able to handle the sneak attack from the pearl even under the assault of su jinyuan¡¯s sword. however, the axe this time seemed a lot more powerful than the ray of light. even if youshang was prepared to charge forward with everything he had, he changed his decision at the last second and chose to protect himself. a sneer appeared on su jinyuan¡¯s lips as he gestured to the air. with his weapon controlling art, his sword and battle axe flew at youshang. ¡°fellow cultivator, how will you deal with this now?¡± su jinyuan roared with laughter. for the first time, he finally moved as he stepped in youshang¡¯s direction. unfortunately for him, the heavens above seemed to explode the moment he took his first step. whatever he wanted to say next was drowned in the deafening rumble that came next. raising his head, a reddish-gold lightning bolt tore through the heavens and appeared right above him. ¡°how daring¡­¡± su jinyuan snorted coldly but he didn¡¯t panic. the pearl that was used against youshang appeared above his head the next moment to greet the lightning bolt that was striking down. surprisingly, the pearl only managed to stop the lightning bolt for a moment before it was sliced in two. ¡°who¡¯s there?!¡± su jinyuan¡¯s expression finally changed when the pearl was split in two. he immediately realized that the lightning bolt that fell on him wasn¡¯t youshang¡¯s doing. instead, it came from someone hiding in the thunderclouds. also, the reddish-gold lightning bolt that fell didn¡¯t just contain the power of lightning. its flashy appearance only served to hide the terrifying blade light beneath! with the lightning bolt and blade light still descending on him, su jinyuan raised his palm in front of his chest. with a loud cracking sound, another object cracked and a barrier of light appeared around him. ¡°bang!¡± the lightning bolt slammed into the barrier and scattered in all directions. it failed to do a thing to the barrier but the lightning wasn¡¯t what su jinyuan was concerned about. he was defending himself against the hidden blade light that was concealed in the lightning earlier. that was shang xia¡¯s lightning awakening, a move in the series of his twenty four solar terms. su jinyuan might have defended against the blade light that appeared out of nowhere, but it cost him dearly. most of his attention was drawn away from youshang and the pressure lessened immediately. by the time su jinyuan had dealt with shang xia¡¯s strike, youshang roared as his ancient copper spear slammed heavily into the battle axe and sent it flying. without caring if his weapon would be damaged from the violent way he was using it, he closed the distance even more as he struck a heavy blow on su jinyuan¡¯s sword. now that he was closer to his opponent, he didn¡¯t hesitate to stab his spear at the man again. ¡°with your strength, there¡¯s no way you¡¯re a nameless figure. why do you have to hide and launch sneak attacks?¡± su jinyuan yelled in the direction shang xia was hiding before dealing with youshang¡¯s new assault. this time, he tossed out a talisman that turned into a wheel of light that spun rapidly to approach youshang. a rank four talisman was obviously unable to stop an expert at youshang¡¯s level for long. su jinyuan also didn¡¯t expect his talisman to do much. he only wished to use it to buy some time for himself to catch his breath after receiving shang xia¡¯s hidden attack. the moment shang xia made his move earlier, both sides knew that the situation had shifted. shang xia¡¯s grasp on the battle to launch his blade light at the most opportune moment, along with his ability to sense the flow of battle, in addition to the strength he exposed, su jinyuan understood that determining a victor against youshang and the other party wasn¡¯t going to be his main problem. whether or not he would be able to escape was the issue at hand! youshang also realized what happened and the moment shang xia made his move, he, who had been suppressed all that time, didn¡¯t take the chance to catch his breath. instead, he risked it all to close the distance between himself and su jinyuan in order to prevent him from escaping immediately. no matter what, su jinyuan was terrifyingly strong. from the treasures he had used so far, it was also obvious that he wasn¡¯t poor at all! he used a rank four talisman to buy him a moment from youshang and he quickly tossed out another talisman. the second talisman turned into thin smoke that surrounded him. with the second talisman, his evasion arts became 30 percent more effective and it increased his chances of escaping by 30 percent. using the talisman was one thing, but increased chances didn¡¯t mean that he would definitely be able to escape! the thunderclouds in the air shattered suddenly and shang xia, who had been accumulating the power of lightning the whole time revealed himself. he turned into a streak of light that could cross dozens of miles in an instant. he might be moving extremely quickly, but there was something even faster. shang xia released a refreshing slash that seemed to sunder the shackles of the world. it was another move he developed with the inspiration from the 14th solar term, fiery demise! the talisman su jinyuan used earlier was vaporized under shang xia¡¯s blade. staying calm, su jinyuan knew that he still had the barrier of light around him and would be able to block one of the two strikes headed his way. tapping the air in front of him, the battle axe that was sent flying by youshang earlier started to make its way back to him. as the axe was returning, shang xia arrived. with a flip of his wrist, shang xia revealed a rank four talisman in his hand. that was his last divine restraint talisman and it didn¡¯t seem to be a waste to use it on an expert like su jinyuan. due to the extreme chaos that was happening all around, su jinyuan failed to notice the strange aura around the talisman in shang xia¡¯s hand. the next moment, a burst of light blinded him and his thoughts froze for a second. in the split second su jinyuan¡¯s thoughts froze, shang xia¡¯s abyssal blade made a horizontal slash that sent su jinyuan¡¯s sword flying. without the sword in his way, youshang released a roar and his blood exterminations condensed at the tip of his spear. as they converged, there were signs of them fusing. now that shang xia had sent the annoying sword flying, his spear stabbed directly into the barrier of light around su jinyuan. alas, su jinyuan¡¯s cultivation at the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm wasn¡¯t for show. he recovered in the blink of an eye and he no longer bothered with his weapon he recalled earlier. biting down viciously on his tongue, he spat out a mouthful of blood onto the light barrier around him. when he didn¡¯t run away immediately after using his talisman, allowing shang xia to destroy it with his blade technique, there was only one way things would turn out. with escape no longer an option, it was a battle to the death. his blood landed on the barrier at the same time youshang¡¯s spear arrived. youshang¡¯s spear landed on a pretty tricky spot as it stabbed straight into the point shang xia¡¯s blade light landed earlier. a piercing scrape rang in the ears of everyone present and layers were scraped off youshang¡¯s ancient copper spear. however, he managed to break through the barrier eventually as his spear stabbed straight for su jinyuan¡¯s body. the calm and collected su jinyuan moments ago was nowhere to be seen at the moment. he was forced to retreat by youshang¡¯s spear and he looked to be in an extremely sorry state. he couldn¡¯t even hold his weapons properly! he might have suffered some light disadvantages from their joint attack, but su jinyuan didn¡¯t dare to turn and run. he noticed that shang xia was waiting for him at the side. it seemed as though the young cultivator was waiting for him to run so that he could launch another devastating blow and he quickly decided against showing his back. at the moment, there was only one option left for him since he couldn¡¯t run. he if held on desperately against their combined attacks, it would be a matter of time before he was exhausted. ¡°why are the 2 of you making things difficult for me? even if you can kill me, you¡¯ll have to pay a huge price to do so!¡± su jinyuan still held on to the last bit of hope that they would let him go. the only reply he received was youshang¡¯s frenzied attacks. the barrier of light around him shattered completely and he knew that there was nothing else left to say. he unleashed a maniacal offensive of his own. shang xia, who had been waiting for his chance, made his move again. as his abyssal blade rose into the air, a flurry of blade lights emerged and it fell like snow around su jinyuan. they formed a massive cage that tried to box him in. that was a move shang xia used previously against another enemy, lesser snow. ¡°ahahaha!¡± releasing a burst of crazed laughter, the last hope of leaving alive evaporated from su jinyuan¡¯s mind. he could only give it his all and hope that he heavily injures his opponents before leaving the world of the living. he rushed at youshang with all his might but he caught sight of a strange frosty glow not too far away. in the next instant, he realized that he had chosen the wrong target and despair filled his heart. when shang xia unleashed lesser snow, he didn¡¯t stop when the blade lights fell. instead, he used all his might to throw his divine weapon at his target! who would have thought that shang xia would treat his divine weapon like a common concealed weapon and toss it at his enemy?! CH 536 ¡°i¡¯m afraid i need you to guard a 50 mile radius of this place for some time.¡± youshang ordered before he took his leave. 1 shang xia guessed that something like that might happen, but he had to ask, ¡°senior, is my grandfather cultivating in seclusion here?¡± 0 youshang shook his head and sighed, ¡°even though i wish to give you a confirmation, i truly have no idea. all i received was a transmission from yun jing to guard the area. she didn¡¯t tell me who i was protecting and i didn¡¯t ask further.¡± 0 shang xia could only nod and laugh, ¡°from the looks of it, senior hasn¡¯t been disturbed by anyone during your time here.¡± 0 ¡°that¡¯s not actually true. everyone is just very wary of each other. they would leave after probing me slightly. the snowy peaks mountain range is large and even though some areas might be better than others, it¡¯s not worth fighting to the death for. the only reason we killed su jinyuan wasn¡¯t to steal his territory. it was just that his death would aid in our mission.¡± youshang explained.0 shang xia asked another question, ¡°senior, if you leave now, are you going to change your name and appearance again? how should the deputy patriarchs of the institution and i contact you?¡± 0 youshang chuckled mysteriously in response. ¡°we¡¯ll play everything by ear. it¡¯s too early to contact each other anytime soon. in the future, i¡¯ll take the initiative to get in touch with all of you if anything comes up. there would be no need for you guys to look for me anyway.¡± 0 after he spoke, youshang turned to leave. he didn¡¯t hesitate at all.0 staring at youshang¡¯s figure that was getting further away at a frightening speed, shang xia muttered softly, ¡°take care!¡± 0 even though youshang indicated for shang xia to protect a certain region before he left, shang xia noticed that the region was close to 50 miles in diameter. the boundary that contained the region he had to defend wasn¡¯t exact, and shang xia decided to make a physical trip around the area.0 because of his increase in cultivation, the area his divine perception could cover became larger proportionally. he could easily examine a 50 mile radius around himself and he didn¡¯t need to run around the mountain every day in order to make his inspections. as such, he could free up a lot of time for cultivation.0 because it was his first time flying about the region to look for any anomalies, he also expanded his divine perception to his limit to try to look for traces of his grandfather.0 he might not know if shang bo laid down countless restrictions to prevent his aura from leaking out, or if he found a truly secret place to train, but he failed to discover anything.0 to be truly honest, if shang xia really wanted to find anyone in the snowy peaks mountain range, he could do what youshang did when they first located su jinyuan. he just needed to slam a four seasons palm into the ground below and disturb the entire region. anyone in seclusion wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand the fluctuation even if they were protected by several layers of restrictions.0 of course, there was no reason for shang xia to do that.0 not too long after youshang left, shang xia sent a secret transmission from the tongyou stronghold.1 in his report, he recorded in detail everything that happened after he met youshang. he also told yun jing that he had taken over the protection of the region. at the same time, he asked if that was where his grandfather was.0 it didn¡¯t take long for him to receive a reply. it was sent personally by yun jing, and after opening it, shang xia saw that she was ordering him to do whatever youshang said. she also reminded him to not forget about his cultivation during his time there. however, she didn¡¯t send any cultivation resources or anything.0 there was also news about the manyu continent in her reply. ever since ren bainian brought them news of the mysterious third party, the tongyou stronghold changed their approach. they started to interact with the natives with the help of ren bainian, a local martial extermination realm expert! because of that, the tongyou institution managed to gain an initial understanding of the situation.0 no matter how long the report he received of the situation on the manyu continent, he could summarize it in one word, ¡®chaotic¡¯.0 after the manyu continent¡¯s assault on the tongyou institution, the thin balance that existed on the manyu continent was completely shattered.0 the experts of the manyu continent clashed with the various foreign factions and experts were dying left and right. however, the various foreign factions were like the tongyou institution and only sent martial extermination realm experts over. as such, the ones who were at a disadvantage were the aboriginals of the manyu continent! they were the ones who suffered the greatest loss.0 with doomsday hanging over their heads like a blade ready to descend at any moment, rumors were spreading like wildfire. the low-leveled aboriginals of the manyu continent developed a hatred for foreign powers like never before.0 the locals who had already submitted to the foreign powers were also part of those who reacted to the rumors. betrayal, suspicion, testing, revolts, crazed retaliations¡­ those were what happened on a daily basis. before the manyu continent faced destruction, it was as though doomsday had already arrived.0 behind the veil of chaos, the situation seemed to become a lot more confusing than they had thought.0 yun jing could only vaguely put her conjecture in words and shang xia couldn''t gain any insights from what she said. he could only use them to update himself on the current situation.0 in her reply, she also told shang xia to report everything that happened in the region under his charge from time to time. she would also inform shang xia of the changes in the manyu continent when he was there.0 after reading her reply several times over and not obtaining any other information, shang xia tossed it to the side and no longer bothered with it.0 he was planning to use youshang¡¯s cave as a place for cultivation but after inspecting the area, he discovered a better place to cultivate.0 heading towards a tall mountain peak in the distance, shang xia could tell that the density of heaven and earth qi wasn¡¯t exactly much greater than the other spots. it was also located near the border region of the snowy peaks mountain range and the extermination qi he could gather was relatively thin. those were obviously not the reasons shang xia found the place a good place to train. instead, the vegetation and climate that spanned from the base to the top of the mountain seemed to resemble the changes in the seasons.0 it was a place he had found unintentionally when making his way around the region and he immediately thought of the yuxi peak back in the battlefield between the two worlds when he saw it.0 the yuxi peak might be taller than a lot of mountains out there, but it was far from comparable to the one he had chosen.0 the changes in the seasons on the yuxi peak could be attributed to the presence of the four seasons extermination origins it held, but the mountain shang xia chose was different. it truly experienced the difference in seasons due to its sheer size. because of the elevation of the mountain, different parts experienced different climates.0 when shang xia arrived at the peak of the mountain, he extended his divine perception to cover the entire structure. next, he sent his extermination origins to the respective areas that suited them and he felt himself becoming one with the mountain the next instant.0 circulating his four seasons samsara art, he felt as though he was experiencing the changes in seasons at the same time. the way he refined his extermination origins, absorbed heaven and earth qi, and swallowed world origin was as though he was the mountain itself.0 in other words, his speed of cultivation would far surpass what he could do ordinarily.0 even in such an environment where there was thin heaven and earth qi and world origin, shang xia felt that it was theoretically possible to increase his cultivation speed to four times its original level.0 of course, that was only in theory. reality was a bitch and there was no way shang xia could increase his cultivation speed to the maximum.0 even so, shang xia could tell that he would be growing a lot stronger in the near future.0 ¡­1 scanning the surrounding dozens of miles with his divine sense, shang xia finally received another transmission from yun jing after several days.0 this time, she sent him 2 different pieces of important news. the first stated that the manyu continent was experiencing an epidemic, causing massive amounts of death in the general mortal population. from the looks of it, the epidemic was also spreading extremely quickly.0 the other was the situation of the manyu continent after the huge unrest among the cultivators. a huge portion of aboriginal cultivators came into contact with the azure origin world and azure spiritual world as they wanted to seek refuge after the manyu continent was destroyed.0 none of them could do a thing about the first piece of information. there was no need to mention shang xia as even the strength of the tongyou stronghold wouldn¡¯t be able to assist the manyu continent in stopping a major pandemic that had already spread across a huge portion of the continent. 0 the second matter didn¡¯t actually affect the tongyou stronghold much either.0 the reason was simple. because of the joint assault on the tongyou stronghold, more than 10 martial extermination realm experts of the manyu continent were killed. the aboriginals held a massive grudge against the institution and not many would try to seek refuge with them.0 also, the tongyou stronghold was established in a secluded part of the continent. the aboriginals were no fools. they managed to obtain information about the tongyou institution through various means and discovered that the tongyou institution was considered a weak faction among everyone who came. as such, they weren¡¯t willing to throw in their lot with the tongyou institution of the you continent!0 of course, the tongyou institution¡¯s strict attitude when it came to interacting with the local powers was also a huge factor in why they didn¡¯t accept a lot of people. even with ren bainian¡¯s clan who had successfully submitted to the institution, yun jing and liu qinglan didn¡¯t go around promoting the tongyou institution to every power out there. they even ensured that ren bainian acted cautiously when engaging with his fellow local cultivators so that he wouldn¡¯t divulge too much information about the tongyou stronghold.0 shang xia agreed with their approach entirely. 0 regardless if it was the you continent, the tongyou city, or the tongyou institution, they were truly too damn small. their accumulations were also too shallow. it wasn¡¯t possible for them to accept so many experts anyway. 0 after understanding the recent happenings in the manyu continent, shang xia went to the top of the mountain he was currently on and whipped his auspicious cloud cape behind him. it turned into a massive cloud that shrouded the top of the mountain.0 shang xia returned to his cultivation as he became one with the mountain again as the different seasons experienced on different parts of the mountain became even more obvious.0 to access the premium content, go to [ pawread.com ]. the longer shang xia cultivated on the mountain, the further the cloud from the auspicious cloud cape spread. eventually, half the mountain was covered in dense clouds.0 CH 537 shang xia had a guess when he first started cultivating there. under ideal circumstances, he would be able to raise his cultivation speed to 4 times its original. he was extremely excited about the possibility, but he clearly understood that there were too many criteria he needed to clear in order to cultivate so quickly. it was extremely difficult for him to even reach a 3 times efficiency in cultivation but that itself was a shocking feat. 0 one had to know that ordinarily, anywhere that could increase cultivation speed by 10 to 20 percent was already considered a prime location that could incite great wars. an example of such was the battlefield between the two worlds.0 a location that could increase cultivation speed by 30 to 40 percent was where powers established themselves, like the region where the tongyou institution was built.0 if a faction found a secret region that could increase cultivation efficiency by 50 percent, they would definitely defend it with their lives. they would obtain a blessed land of cultivation and they could immediately call themselves a holy land.0 it was practically unimaginable for shang xia to be able to raise his cultivation speed by 3 times!0 with the help of his four seasons extermination origins and his powerful perception, shang xia merged himself into the mountain with his understanding of the heaven and man synergy chapter. because of that, he could absorb a massive amount of heaven and earth qi and world origin. whatever he lacked in quality he made up for in quantity.0 that might be the case, but he wasn¡¯t able to reach a 3 times increase in cultivation speed as he had hoped. instead, he forcefully maintained it at around 2 times his normal speed.0 2 times the speed of cultivation might shock ordinary people, but for shang xia who had extremely high hopes for himself, it was a little disappointing.0 there were many factors that caused the ¡®weak¡¯ increase in cultivation speed, but 2 main reasons stood out.0 to access the premium content, go to [ ?aw?ead.com ]. the first was that the heaven and earth qi in the region was just too damn thin. one had to know that he went through a complicated process to refine 4 extermination origins at once. because of that, his speed of cultivation had been limited since a long time ago.0 the second reason was that even though the mountain was massive and could absorb a lot more heaven and earth qi and world origin than a tiny shang xia, it was a problem for shang xia to properly control the flow of energy due to the huge area it covered.0 actually, the second reason could be solved easily. he could just lay down a giant formation around the mountain to replicate what happened to the yuxi peak. that would stop the energy in the surroundings from leaking.0 even though he couldn¡¯t completely prevent heaven and earth qi and world origin from being wasted, it would be able to increase the speed of his cultivation regardless.0 however, a formation that could cover the entire mountain he was on was bound to be a grand formation. it wasn¡¯t possible to lay one down willy-nilly, and it would require a huge amount of resources. even without mentioning whether it was worth it or not, shang xia wouldn¡¯t be able to lay down such a huge formation even with the aid of the institution.0 he also discovered another huge problem after he started cultivating. moreover, that was something he was absolutely helpless about.0 he discovered that his way of cultivation would cause great damage to the mountain. his four seasons samsara art might be extremely special as it possessed extraordinary properties, it came at a price. he could cause the unending cycle of the four seasons in the various locations on the mountain, but that went against the natural laws of the world. shang xia might be able to replace the cycle of time in those regions and cause the various life forms to wither before regaining their vitality for various cycles, he wasn¡¯t able to fully replicate the cycle of life and death. since it wasn¡¯t perfect, it greatly damaged the vitality of the area and it was almost impossible for it to ever return to its natural state.0 after prolonged cultivation, shang xia might experience a huge increase in strength. however, the entire mountain would have its vitality completely exhausted. it would turn into a massive piece of rock at best with no ability to support life. in the coming tens, even hundreds of years, it wouldn¡¯t recover.0 using the vitality of the mountain in exchange for personal strength seemed like a reasonable trade on the surface. after all, with shang xia¡¯s current strength, he could level a mountain like that with a single thought. however, there was a tiny voice in the back of his mind telling him that it was best to avoid doing things like sucking the vitality from things.0 that was also a reason shang xia was unable to unleash the full power of his extermination origins to refine his four seasons extermination origins.0 while holding back slightly, shang xia managed to raise his cultivation speed to twice its original level and the speed at which he refined his four seasons extermination origins increased to a great extent. his cultivation and combat abilities naturally followed.0 2 months passed just like that and throughout the period, shang xia would patrol the surrounding dozens of miles every 3 to 5 days or so. the rest of his time was spent cultivating in the huge mountain that was covered in a thick layer of clouds.0 not everything was peaceful during his time there. during his first month there, he ran into an expert of the manyu continent on one of his patrols.0 the 2 sides moved extremely quickly and by the time shang xia discovered that the other side had entered his range of perception, he couldn¡¯t react in time and the distance between both sides had closed to around 30 miles. at that distance, the other party also detected shang xia¡¯s presence.0 the expert of the manyu continent slowed down immediately and shang xia tried changing his direction subtly. however, he didn¡¯t deviate too much from his original path as he planned to mark out his territory.0 from the other party¡¯s reaction, shang xia could tell that the other party was starting to retract their aura. however, they maintained a distance of 30 miles or so as they flew. eventually, they flew in a semi circle around the region shang xia was protecting before the expert from the manyu continent left.0 neither of them communicated with each other throughout the whole process. instead, they merely probed each other with their divine perception. after the expert of the manyu continent left, shang xia finally realized what had happened. the other party might have been sent there to feel him out.0 the expert who came might possess the same aura as experts from the manyu continent, but no one could be sure that he wasn¡¯t a part of the mysterious third party!0 if youshang¡¯s judgment was correct, su jinyuan was a member of the mysterious third faction that entered the manyu continent. with his cultivation at the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm, there was no way he would be a nameless expert. the moment anyone noticed his death, they would carry out a detailed investigation immediately! every single martial extermination realm expert on the snowy peaks mountain range was a suspect.0 luckily, when they joined hands to kill su jinyuan back then, they crossed a huge portion of the mountain range to do so. their battle took place extremely far away and shang xia¡¯s ability to conceal his strength was no joke. he was sure the experts on the other side wouldn¡¯t be able to discover his strength just by probing him the way they did earlier.0 they might not be able to determine if shang xia was involved in su jinyuan¡¯s death, but if shang xia¡¯s guess was right and they were really investigating the matter, one thing was certain. youshang wouldn¡¯t be able to impersonate su jinyuan any longer!0 thinking of the possibilities, shang xia¡¯s heart sank. of course, with shang xia¡¯s understanding of youshang, even if his disguise was seen through, he would be able to escape unless they laid out an elaborate trap for him.0 the appearance of the strange ¡®expert from the manyu continent¡¯ caused shang xia to experience several days of unrest. after realizing that everything remained as peaceful as it was, shang xia tossed his worries to the back of his mind as he focused on his cultivation.0 during the second month of his cultivation, shang xia ran into 2 martial extermination realm expats. one of them was scared away by shang xia before they could get close. the other exchanged a blow with shang xia before leaving in defeat.0 the person who came to blows with shang xia was a member of the azure origin world and shang xia had no idea where the other party came from. he also didn¡¯t know if he managed to recognize shang xia. 0 other than those interesting encounters, shang xia received 2 transmissions from the tongyou stronghold during his time there.0 the first informed him about the chaotic situation on the manyu continent and the fact that the tongyou stronghold was about to expand their territory. they planned to increase the scope of their grand formation from the 1200 mile mark to the 1500 mile mark.0 if everything went well and the expansion continued smoothly, they would be able to expand their territory to cover an area of 2000 miles before the destruction of the manyu continent. when that happened, the tongyou institution would be able to obtain a massive island after the manyu continent crumbled.0 shang xia couldn¡¯t help but look at the dense clouds around him and his gaze swept over the region he was defending. 0 without a holy land to guide the huge landmass after the destruction of the manyu continent, the martial dipper realm ancestors would have to take on the entire burden themselves. shang xia felt that kou chongxue and ji wenlong made their estimations a long time ago and after careful consideration, they chose to maintain the tongyou stronghold at 1200 miles. 0 now that they were expanding again, there were 2 possibilities. one of them was that the tongyou institution managed to gain the assistance of another martial dipper realm expert, and the other was that the tongyou institution had upgraded themselves to the tongyou paradise.0 the possibility of the latter happening wasn¡¯t too large, and that left the other explanation.0 currently, shang bo was the only expert of the tongyou institution who had hopes of breaking through to the martial dipper realm. shang xia thought that he had been protecting the region his grandfather was in seclusion all along but he hadn¡¯t detected anything. 0 that begged another question. how in the world would kou chongxue and ji wenlong know about shang bo¡¯s current situation if shang xia failed to detect anything? moreover, they were confident that they could expand the size of the tongyou stronghold¡¯s territory.0 clearly, shang bo had another way of contacting kou chongxue and the rest who were outside the manyu continent. also, there was no way shang xia would fail to detect any large scale fluctuations if his grandfather experienced an increase in cultivation around the snowy peaks mountain range. 0 since shang xia brought the abyssal firmament fate dipper to the manyu continent under ji wenlong¡¯s orders, shang bo had to be on the continent.0 adding up every single factor and explanation, shang xia knew that there was only one possibility. shang bo wasn¡¯t cultivating in the region he was protecting. it didn¡¯t matter if it was youshang or shang xia. both of them were mere pawns tossed out by the institution to bait the enemy.0 being the institution¡¯s pawn again¡­0 a deep frown formed on shang xia¡¯s face. if everything he thought about was true, that would mean one thing. it was pretty obvious at that point, but shang bo¡¯s whereabouts were only known by 3 people! kou chongxue, ji wenlong, and yun jing!0 at the end of the day, those old fellows were still keeping their own secrets!0 now that shang xia had reached his own conclusion, he suddenly lost the urge to cultivate. with a trace of irritation in his heart, he unleashed the fruits of his comprehension as he chopped downwards. snow descended upon the layer of dense clouds and it grew heavier and heavier. each snowflake was like a blade that fell mercilessly to the ground below.0 with the inspiration taken from the 21st solar term, shang xia developed another move, greater snow!0 CH 538 standing quietly on the peak of the mountain, shang xia stared past the dense layer of clouds and observed the situation dozens of miles away.0 the flurry of snow descended as they exhibited the frightening power of his blade art.0 the abyssal blade might not be in his hand, but his blade art seemed to be contained in every snowflake that fell.0 sighing softly, the entire region seemed to be affected as the falling snow scattered in all directions. they started to fall everywhere, bringing the essence of frost to the entire land. even so, it didn¡¯t seem like the chill wanted to swallow everything in its path. 0 read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at [ pawread.com ] it might exude a somber aura, but it didn¡¯t possess the intent to annihilate everything in its way.0 his previous move, greater snow, ended when the snowflakes were summoned and fell to the ground. now that they were flying through the air with a chilly blade intent filling the world, shang xia chose to classify it as another move. he gained inspiration from the 23rd solar term, and he named the move elementary frost!0 extending his arm out in front of him, shang xia understood that as long as he made a gentle swipe, he would be able to raise the power of frost to its limit instantly. he could freeze everything in his surroundings and end all life.0 after unleashing elementary frost to shower the world with a hint of frosty intent, shang xia gained inspiration from the last of the 24 solar terms and immediately developed his next move, extreme frost!0 in the end, shang xia decided against sending his blade intent into the area around him. he slowly lowered his hand.0 turning around, he retrieved a spirit extermination gourd he placed 2 months ago and shook it casually.0 hearing the sloshing within, shang xia could tell that there should be close to 20 strands of extermination qi contained in the gourd.0 if he separated them and purified them properly, he might be able to obtain close to 10 different types of frosty extermination qi. he could easily use them to craft talismans in the future.0 most cultivators gathered extermination qi the same way as shang xia. after separation and purification, they would fuse strands of similar extermination qi together. after a long time and multiple fusions, they would finally obtain a complete strand of extermination origin.0 that was the main method cultivators gathered extermination origins. 0 shang xia¡¯s method of refining naturally born extermination origins was extremely rarely seen!0 speaking of the collection of extermination qi, shang xia couldn¡¯t help but think back to the second transmission he received. he learned that liu qinglan was entering seclusion to refine her third extermination origin!0 if they had to talk about the extermination origin she was going to refine, a huge reason she obtained it was because of the institution¡¯s collective efforts to gather a wind-attributed extermination origin from the extermination qi in the special valley shang xia discovered back in the battlefield between the two worlds. after purification, they were close to obtaining a complete extermination origin. the other strands of extermination qi were obtained from trades in the beyond heavens pavilion.0 ¡­0 a clear distinction had always existed among the martial extermination realm experts of the institution. thinking back to the earliest times, the gap was extremely large.0 taking kou chongxue out of the equation as he was a martial dipper realm expert, the various deputy patriarchs were third layer martial extermination realm experts at the very least. the rest of the martial extermination realm from the tongyou institution were in the first layer! 0 that was back when shang xia stepped into the battlefield between the two worlds for the first time and since then, liu qinglan became the first to refine her second extermination origin. bu jingshuang, shang lubing, shang ke, and several others eventually caught up, but now that yun jing had entered the fourth layer of the martial extermination realm, the divide grew even larger.0 there wasn¡¯t a single third layer martial extermination realm expert in the tongyou institution!0 as for shang xia who refined 4 extermination origins simultaneously and had a weirdly powerful combat strength, he could be taken out of the equation directly.0 stepping into the third layer of the martial extermination realm from the second was a monumental task. it was a massive test for any cultivator trying to break through. one could even say that the moment liu qinglan succeeded, the tongyou institution would finally be able to claim that the new generation had finally matured.0 liu qinglan¡¯s attempt to break through was actually of supreme importance to the tongyou institution.0 shang xia secretly did some calculations and felt that with liu qinglan¡¯s current accumulations and the institution¡¯s help, she wouldn¡¯t face many problems when stepping into the third layer of the martial extermination realm.0 however, if she chose to break through at that moment, the tongyou stronghold on the manyu continent would lose a key expert. 0 the more shang xia thought about it, the more he realized that there was definitely a deeper reason behind yun jing¡¯s actions of letting liu qinglan make her breakthrough at that moment.0 ¡°in other words, kou chongxue, ji wenlong, and yun jing feel that the manyu continent would be pretty peaceful in the coming future. at the very least, nothing huge should happen when liu qinglan breaks through and consolidates her foundations. also, the continent shouldn¡¯t be in danger of destruction any time soon. 0 rubbing his chin, shang xia looked at the mountain beneath his feet that was experiencing the different seasons endlessly and thought to himself, this is a great chance for me to put everything down and cultivate in peace.0 keeping his spirit extermination gourd, shang xia started to walk down the mountain. 0 the huge cloud layer fluctuated behind him as they gathered to form the auspicious cloud cape again. the rest of the clouds that gathered there dissipated slowly.0 as he made his way to the foot of the mountain, the vegetation that grew everywhere folded away from him as they created a path he could walk through.0 even though the mountain looked unaffected by shang xia¡¯s four seasons samsara art, he knew that the life force contained within the mountain had been greatly exhausted after experiencing close to 60 seasonal cycles.0 if he continued to train on the mountain, the entire region would be sapped of life force before long.0 from a certain standpoint, the four seasons samsara art is a way to steal essence from nature. shang xia knew that he couldn¡¯t go too far with it.0 before completely sapping the life away from a location, shang xia could stop and look for another place to train. 0 speaking of cultivating, in the short 2 months that he stationed himself on the mountain, shang xia managed to refine his four seasons extermination origins by 10 more percent even though he had to patrol the area from time to time.0 he refined more than 60 percent of his extermination origins by that point and his strength experienced a huge increase.0 that wasn¡¯t all. in the time he spent there, he continued to refine and perfect his four seasons samsara art. he needed even less time to complete one cycle of inner qi circulation and it was quickly approaching the 3 hours mark.0 as he tried looking for suitable locations to cultivate, he heard a dull noise coming from the ground below. soon after, the entire region started to quake.0 turning all around him, shang xia noticed that the trembling had spread to countless mountain peaks and some spots had started to crumble.0 was an earthquake happening?0 pausing in mid air, shang xia could feel that the heaven and earth qi in his surroundings was growing denser by the second. extermination qi had also leaked out from the ground and so did world origin. the crimson soul tablet in his sea of consciousness reacted the instant it felt the increase in world origin.0 extending his divine perception to its limit, shangxia tried to find the source those energies were pouring out from but he soon learned that it was coming from everywhere!0 ¡°looks like this isn¡¯t a sign of someone entering the martial dipper realm. this doesn¡¯t seem to be caused by shockwaves of a battle either. the snowy peaks mountain range is truly experiencing an earthquake!¡± shang xia muttered to himself. ¡°that¡¯s a pity¡­ it¡¯s impossible to gather all the leaking world origin¡­ even with the crimson soul tablet, it¡¯s not likely i would be able to absorb everything¡­¡± 0 shang xia might have been grumbling to himself, but his expression was solemn.0 the manyu continent might not be crumbling immediately, but the earthquake he was seeing was undoubtedly a sign of things to come. he could tell that the day the manyu continent crumbled was marching closer and closer.0 when the trembling finally stopped, the snowy mountain peak was in an extremely sorry state. luckily, the area shang xia had been sent to protect showed no signs of movement. 0 shang xia¡¯s suspicion that his grandfather wasn¡¯t there became even deeper.0 well, the large scale destruction also affected shang xia¡¯s plans for future cultivation. he wanted to find another mountain that could experience all four seasons at once, but because most of them had crumbled, it was going to be more difficult to look for a suitable location.0 when he was thinking about how to find another place to train, his train of thought was interrupted by violent energy fluctuations in the distance. a loud blast tore through the air soon after. 0 there was no doubt about it, there were people fighting in the distance. from the power of the shockwaves, shang xia could tell that the battle was happening hundreds of miles away and none of those involved were weak.0 shang xia had half a mind to check it out, but he eventually shelved the thought. he decided to send a transmission back to the tongyou stronghold to ask about matters there before deciding on his next course of action.0 while waiting for his reply, shang xia went even further out to look for a suitable cultivation spot. unfortunately, he found nothing.0 he was even starting to regret sending out the transmission too early. if he knew that it was so difficult to find a proper spot for seclusion, he would have told yun jing that he was going much further out.0 whatever it was, he failed to find a suitable mountain that was experiencing all the seasons at once. however, the heaven and earth qi and world origin became a lot denser after the earthquake. that itself improved the whole area for cultivation.0 helpless, shang xia decided to make do with a random spot. just as he chose a site to enter seclusion, he was interrupted by a massive explosion and an intense heaven and earth qi fluctuation.0 instinctively, shang xia turned to look in the direction of the battle and saw a giant light pillar extending to the skies.0 before he could react, a sharp thump came from the space between his eyebrows. the crimson soul tablet nearly forced its way out.0 was that¡­ was that world origin?!0 CH 539 was that¡­ was that world origin?! shang xia stared at the pillar of light with an expression of disbelief. he wondered if his earlier estimation was wrong and if the manyu continent was about to meet its end. no longer concerned with finding a spot to cultivate, shang xia rose into the air and a multicolored light surrounded him. his auspicious cloud cape boosted his speed and he flew towards the pillar of light. read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" after refining another 10 percent of his extermination origins, shang xia discovered that every single aspect of his experienced an improvement. his speed when he flew was much faster than before! soaring close to 300 miles without slowing down, shang xia realized that the location where the battle was taking place was a lot further than he had estimated. he also discovered something while making his way over. the closer he got to the pillar of light, the denser the world origin around him. that was enough to motivate shang xia to increase his speed even more. he couldn¡¯t believe how much world origin was spewing out from the light pillar every second. all of it was going to waste! what made shang xia even more anxious was the fact that the pillar of light was extremely massive. it could be seen thousands of miles away and it wouldn¡¯t take long for the martial extermination realm experts of the manyu continent to start gathering. when that happens a chaotic battle might break out eventually. the only thing shang xia was curious about at the moment was what caused such a huge disturbance. when his thoughts were spinning rapidly through his mind, shang xia discovered another presence with his divine perception. it was rushing straight at him and it wasn¡¯t hard to tell that it was a martial extermination realm expert. instinctively, shang xia slowed down and concealed his aura to make himself look like a cloud that was drifting slowly in the wind. as the expert approached, a look of surprise appeared on shang xia¡¯s face for a split second before a strange look took over. the person who was approaching was someone he was familiar with! the next second, shang xia became slightly more solemn. right after he detected the familiar presence, he also discovered someone chasing behind. ¡°hehe, little lady, you can¡¯t escape from me. if you keep this up, there won¡¯t be a need for me to continue chasing you. you¡¯ll run out of energy soon. when that happens, anyone can trample on you. why don¡¯t you just stop right now so that you have a little energy left? we¡¯ll have a great 300-round battle and i¡¯ll let you feel what heaven is like. how about that?¡± the brute chasing behind her looked somewhat decent and dignified, but he spouted a bunch of nasty bullshit while chasing behind her. a strong contrast was formed between his appearance and his manner of speech. the lady who was escaping with all her might had a darkened expression, but she continued to soar through the skies. she ignored whatever the man was saying. ¡°hehe, you¡¯re really heartless. your grandmother¡¯s life is in danger right now and you can obviously help her if you return. however, you chose to escape alone, leaving your grandmother there to die. what has this world come to? does familial ties mean nothing anymore?¡± his words rang through the air, stabbing straight into her sore spot.0 the lady stopped abruptly and turned to glare at the brute behind her. ¡°oh? what¡¯s the matter? have you decided to stop running and throw yourself into your big brother¡¯s strong arms? are you finally ready to become my thirteenth concubine?¡± the brute with tanned skin teased, but his gaze was cold. despite his disgusting manner of speech, he was ready to fight any time. opening her palms, a pair of crescent knives appeared in the hands of the female cultivator and she cried, ¡°yeah, you¡¯re right!¡± pointing one of her knives at the man, her chilly voice rang through the air. ¡°since i can¡¯t run away, i¡¯ll just risk my life and bring you down with me! that beats being captured alive after i run out of energy!¡± ¡°hehe, young lady, you finally came to your senses. looks like you¡¯re worthy to be trained by me!¡± the tanned brute roared with laughter as a cruel glint flashed through his eyes. with a soft grunt, the female cultivator swung her silver moon crescent knives and they turned into a silvery light wheel that rushed at the tanned brute. ¡°nice!¡± the tanned brute released a loud roar as a pitch-black spiked mace that was 5 feet in length appeared in his hand. it came crashing down mercilessly on the silvery light wheel in the next instant. the deafening sound of metal scraping against each other rang through the air and the silvery light around her blades dimmed. suffering a backlash from her failed attack, her hair scattered behind her and she looked extremely haggard. of course, the tanned brute had to pay a price for blocking that attack too. blood stained his arms and he was obviously cut by the random blade lights that emerged earlier. unfortunately for the female cultivator, the injuries the tanned brute suffered were merely superficial injuries. it couldn¡¯t greatly affect his combat abilities. ¡°hahaha! young lady, you sure are feisty, i love it!¡± the tanned brute roared before charging at the female cultivator again. taking the chance where she was stuck by the backlash and was motionless in mid air, his extermination origins gathered around himself and he shot towards her. as her defenses were affected earlier and her inner qi was in a state of disarray, she could only put up a desperate defense against her enemy. once again, loud metal scraping sounds rang through the air and her silver moon crescent knives were sent flying. the web between her forefingers and her thumb were torn to shreds and she was thrown hundreds of feet into the air before she stabilized herself. ¡°pfff¡­¡± spitting out a mouthful of blood, the light barrier around her formed by her extermination origins shattered. even the extermination light that was keeping her in the air started to flicker as she stumbled unsteadily through the air. it was as though she was going to fall back to the ground the next instant. the tanned brute lowered his head to look at a wound on his chest where blood was slowly seeping from before raising his head to look at the female cultivator hundreds of feet away. a trace of coldness flashed through his eyes and he growled, ¡°young lady, you managed to force me into such a state even though you just entered the extermination realm. it¡¯s really scary for you to become my enemy, but that¡¯s exactly what i like. heheh, rest assured, i¡¯ll take really good care of you from now on!¡± the injuries on his body didn¡¯t scare him in the slightest. instead, he seemed even more pumped up for the battle with her. licking his lips, he raised his spiked mace before slamming it down in her direction. a horrifying qi caused the space between them to twist and it went straight for her head. by the time he unleashed his attack, the female cultivator looked extremely exhausted. her body was also riddled with injuries and she was nearly out of energy. his strike looked ruthless, but it was obvious he was holding back as his intentions of capturing her alive were as clear as day.0 facing his attack, the female cultivator knew that there was no escape. unwilling to be humiliated after being captured alive by the tanned brute, she released the newly formed barrier of light around herself and she chose not to resist. the strike coming at her was more than enough to eliminate her existence completely. as she was prepared to meet her end, a soft sigh rang beside her ears. ¡°why are you making things so hard on yourself?¡± her eyes were closed as she prepared herself for death to arrive, but her eyes snapped open in shock after hearing the sigh. she seemed a little dazed, but she saw a figure standing in front of her to block the spiked mace from turning her into mush.0 ¡°be careful!¡± the female cultivator found the voice somewhat familiar, and she yelled instinctively. the extermination qi around her feet disappeared suddenly as she ran out of energy and she started to fall from the skies. she was prepared to hit the ground below, but she found herself falling into a ball of fluffy clouds. it might seem slow, but everything happened in the blink of an eye. the tanned brute stared at shang xia who was standing in his way and his eyelids jumped nervously. however, he maintained his domineering attitude when speaking to him. ¡°heh, young man, are you trying to learn from those stories out there where the hero saves the damsel in distress? are you not afraid that you¡¯ll lose your life in the process?¡± shang xia didn¡¯t even bother looking at the man as his gaze was firmly fixed on the light pillar in the distance. he replied casually, ¡°oh by the way, do you know what happened there? i just came from another direction and i have no idea what¡¯s going on.¡± 0 after shang xia spoke, the tanned brute¡¯s eyelids weren¡¯t the only things that were twitching. his temples were pulsating as he felt completely humiliated by how he was ignored by the other party. suppressing his rage, he examined shang xia again. even though he looked like someone who just entered the martial extermination realm from his age alone, there was a strange veil that was preventing the tanned brute from seeing through shang xia¡¯s cultivation level. with his many experiences toeing the line of life and death, shang xia was giving off a strong sense of danger. ¡°you can go take a look yourself. i¡¯m a little busy and i shall take my leave.¡± the tanned brute chose to back down after listening to his instincts and got ready to escape. the female cultivator behind shang xia yelled all of a sudden, even though it seemed a little inappropriate for her to do so. ¡°be careful of him! he¡¯s working with a few others and they ambushed my grandmother earlier¡­¡± shang xia¡¯s voice rang through the skies the next moment. ¡°oh yeah¡­ both of you came from the direction of the light pillar. it doesn¡¯t matter who i ask¡­¡± as soon as the words left shang xia¡¯s lips, the tanned brute felt an unprecedented sense of danger. he pushed himself to his limit as the extermination light beneath his feet burst forth with great intensity. the space around him twisted as he tried to make his escape. however, shang xia clearly understood his intentions. there was no way he would allow the tanned brute to escape so easily. waving his hand casually through the air, a flurry of snow started to fall and they formed a cage in mid air, trapped the tanned brute within. unwilling to give up just like that, the tanned brute slammed his spiked mace into the layer of frost that was forming around him in an attempt to shatter the snowy cage. every time he seemed close to destroying it, another wave of snow would blow over to form several more layers. even though he was making a little progress of freeing himself from the cage, he exhausted a huge amount of inner qi every step he took. before he could get 3 miles away from shang xia, his body was already covered in a thick layer of snow. only then did the female cultivator regain some of her energy. with an extermination light appearing under her feet, she rose into the air once again. when she arrived beside shang xia, a complicated expression could be seen on her face. she obviously recognized him and she only turned to look at the tanned brute after some time. staring at the man who was struggling to escape, she gave shang xia a quick reminder. ¡°you need to be wary of him. not only has he refined 2 extermination origins, but he¡¯s also extremely crafty. he doesn¡¯t hold back either and he has a ton of sinister ideas up his sleeves. be careful that he turns around to¡­¡± 0 before she could finish, a loud roar emerged from the tanned brute¡¯s lips. he turned around abruptly and swung his spiked mace in shang xia¡¯s direction. not a trace of panic could be seen on shang xia¡¯s face and he even had the energy to turn to smile at the female cultivator. ¡°looks like you¡¯re right!¡± ¡°you¡­¡± she was shocked to see how nonchalant shang xia was acting and she wanted to remind him that there was an attack flying his way as they spoke. before she could say anything, a jaw dropping scene greeted her. the tanned brute shattered into a thousand pieces without any warning! CH 540 that¡¯s it?! he shattered?0 the person who had forced her into desperate straits just exploded into a thousand pieces in front of her!0 the female cultivator was in a state of disbelief. it was especially so when the person who caused the abrupt change was the person standing beside her.0 ¡°how¡­ how did you do that?¡± the female cultivator turned to look at shang xia. she even warned him to be careful earlier.0 ¡°um¡­¡± shang xia closed his palm and gestured to grab the items and a flurry of snow swarmed towards him. the spiked mace that flew through the air after the tanned brute¡¯s death appeared in shang xia¡¯s palm before he turned to smile at the female cultivator. ¡°it¡¯s a blade art i came up with. this move is called lesser snow¡­¡± 0 shang xia paused for a second and realized such a gentle name seemed inappropriate for a move that killed his opponent in such a nasty way. he quickly added, ¡°actually, you can call it ¡®lingering death¡¯ too¡­¡± 0 the female cultivator raised her hand to tuck her messy hair behind her ear and the heroic air she was emitting earlier changed to one of charm as she laughed, ¡°it¡¯s been a few years since we last met. i didn¡¯t think that you would become so strong in such a short amount of time¡­¡± 0 obviously, the female cultivator wasn¡¯t a random nobody. she was yan ming, the cultivator from the wind swallow race. when shang xia first entered the battlefield between the two worlds, she was the person who hunted him down and forced him into a corner.0 she was also the granddaughter of the mighty yan su¡¯er, the leader of the wind swallow race.0 shang xia raised an eyebrow slightly and he deliberately brought up what happened back then. ¡°hey, hey, hey, i didn¡¯t forget what happened back in the battlefield between the two worlds. i was really pitiful when you tried chasing me down back then¡­¡± 0 giggling softly, no one knew what yan ming was thinking about. however, her face flushed red the next moment while she turned serious. ¡°thank you!¡± 0 shang xia waved his hand to scatter the phenomenon in the air that appeared after the tanned brute¡¯s death before chuckling softly, ¡°i think this counts as me requiting your evil deeds with kindness, don¡¯t you think?¡± 0 yan ming clearly knew he was joking around with her and she chose to ignore what he said. instead, she asked another question. ¡°why are you here?¡± 0 staring at the pillar of light in the distance, shang xia replied, ¡°any fool can see that something big is going on here. why shouldn¡¯t i try to grab some benefits?¡± 0 examining shang xia from top to bottom, yan ming yelped suddenly, ¡°don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re also here to protect your grandfather from breaking through to the martial dipper realm.¡± 0 staring at her in shock, shang xia eventually revealed a smile. ¡°what do you mean ¡®also¡¯? oh? looks like senior yan is also in seclusion here. hmm¡­ wait a second, did senior yan cause that huge commotion over there?¡± 0 shang xia stared at the pillar of light in shock.0 seeing as shang xia had already guessed what happened, yan ming didn¡¯t deny what happened. instead, she tried to change the topic again. ¡°is senior shang really in the area?¡± 0 read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" shang xia glanced at her from the corner of his eye before shaking his head. ¡°hehe, i can guess what you want to do, but i¡¯m sorry. i really don¡¯t know where my grandfather is.¡± 0 a look of disappointment filled yan ming¡¯s face but she held on to the last thread of hope as she asked again, ¡°can you contact the high-leveled experts of your tongyou institution to help my grandmother? my wind swallow race will definitely return the favor in the future.¡± 0 shang xia stared at her with a strange look on her face. ¡°why don¡¯t you look for the changbai holy land for help? there are other great races of the liao continent too. even though my tongyou institution joined hands with the changbai holy land because of the manyu continent, we¡¯re from different worlds at the end of the day. even if we agree to help, are you really going to trust us so easily?¡± 0 biting her lips, yan ming seemed to have made up her mind. ¡°yes, we¡¯ll trust you!¡± 0 curiosity filled shang xia¡¯s heart after he heard her answer. ¡°have you thought it through? senior yan is probably trying to break through to the martial dipper realm during her seclusion here , right? do you think my tongyou institution will be willing to witness the birth of a martial dipper realm expert from the four great races of the liao continent?¡±0 yan ming growled, ¡°are you willing to help or not? if you don¡¯t wish to help us, there¡¯s no need to waste my time! of course, i¡¯ll still repay the favor for saving my life in the future, but that¡¯s a separate matter!¡± 0 ¡°you have to tell me what¡¯s going on if you wish to ask for help. do you think anyone will help you without any details on the situation?¡± shang xia snorted softly.0 with anxiety filling her heart, yan ming had to admit that what shang xia said made sense. the tongyou institution, changbai holy land, and the four great races might have formed an alliance, but every side still had their guards up when facing the other parties.0 after staying silent for some time, yan ming sighed and told shang xia everything that happened.0 the changbai holy land wanted to nurture a third martial dipper realm ancestor during their trip to the manyu continent. obviously, the difficulty of producing a martial dipper realm expert was through the roof. the resources they would need to provide would also be a terrifying amount.0 even with the changbai holy land¡¯s foundations and accumulations, they wouldn¡¯t be able to give out too many chances like that.0 under such circumstances, the changbai holy land could only choose someone with the greatest foundations and hope to break through to the martial dipper realm.0 when the martial extermination realm experts of the changbai holy land broke out into a massive conflict of who should be given the chance, the higher-ups of the changbai holy land had their own plans. in order to pull the four great races of the liao continent over to their side, they decided to choose someone among us with the highest potential to break through. yan su¡¯er, who possessed the strongest individual strength of those in the four great races, but led the weakest of the races, was chosen.0 the changbai holy land wasn¡¯t afraid of sending their experts into the manyu continent, and there were also experts of the four great races among them. however, yan su¡¯er didn¡¯t trust any of them.0 after obtaining some information on where the greatest concentration of world origin would be from the changbai holy land, yan su¡¯er secretly chose the snowy mountain peaks and silently brought yan ming over to protect her.0 shang xia basically understood what had happened up to that point after hearing her explanation and he asked, ¡°are you afraid that the changbai holy land or the other races were the ones who leaked her location, causing her to come under attack?¡± 0 yan ming didn¡¯t reply, but it was clear those were her thoughts. 0 ¡°how many people came to attack her? do you know their origins?¡± shang xia asked again.0 only then did yan ming reveal a strange expression while breaking down the situation for shang xia. ¡°there were 4 of them who came and they seem to be local cultivators of the manyu continent. 3 of them were in the third layer of the martial extermination realm or higher, and the last one died in your hands¡­¡± 0 yan ming couldn¡¯t hide her thoughts from shang xia and another question quickly emerged from shang xia¡¯s lips. ¡°do you think something strange is going on?¡±0 with a frown on her face, she muttered, ¡°when we entered the manyu continent, the changbai holy land gave us an estimation of the strength of the local cultivators. they seem pretty weak and they don¡¯t have a lot of high-level experts. even if they fight against cultivators of the same level, they might not gain the upper hand easily. however, those experts who came to ambush my grandmother¡­ they don¡¯t seem weak at all!¡± 0 shang xia¡¯s heart trembled slightly and he seemed to have thought of something. ¡°how is your grandmother right now?¡± 0 ¡°she made a lot of arrangements before and their ambush failed. they changed their approach and surrounded her but she forced a path through their assault for me to escape. not too long after i ran, the pillar of light appeared.¡± yan ming explained.0 slightly taken aback, shang xia muttered, ¡°so¡­ the light pillar was really created by senior yan?¡± 0 yan ming shook her head and sighed, ¡°i didn¡¯t see her do it and i have no idea.¡± 0 shang xia nodded and no longer harped on the topic. he stood in his spot for some time with no reaction and no one knew what he was thinking about.0 looking at shang xia who didn¡¯t seem like he was going to do anything, anxiety ate away at yan ming¡¯s heart. she couldn¡¯t hold back and she yelled, ¡°if you¡¯re still holding a grudge against me for trying to kill you back then, you can do whatever you want to me! i¡¯m begging you, please send a transmission to your seniors and request them to save my grandmother!¡± 0 shang xia seemed to snap back to reality after she yelled at him, but a trace of mischief filled his heart. ¡°oh? are you really going to let me do anything i want to you?¡± 0 glaring at shang xia who had a look of schadenfreude on his face, she eventually chose to lower her head. ¡°as long as you can save my grandmother¡­¡± 0 she didn¡¯t complete the last of her sentence as a resolute look remained on her face. she might have chosen to give in, but that was her last attempt at not humiliating herself.0 breaking out into laughter, shang xia saw that yan ming was about to fly into a fit of rage because of her shame and he gestured for her to relax. pointing to her sides, he asked, ¡°take a look at where we are.¡± 0 raising her head in shock, yan ming gasped, ¡°this¡­ where the hell are you going?! hurry up and stop!¡± 0 because of her exhaustion from the last battle, yan ming released her control of her extermination origins and returned to the support of the cloud beneath her feet after the battle. 0 during their conversation, the auspicious cloud cape that had transformed into the ball of cloud they were standing on had been advancing towards the pillar of light. 0 because of her worry for her grandmother, yan ming only cared about asking shang xia to contact the tongyou institution for support. she didn¡¯t pay attention to her surroundings and didn¡¯t notice they were moving.0 after receiving shang xia¡¯s reminder, she finally realized that they were rapidly closing in on her grandmother¡¯s battlefield. 0 looking at yan ming who was about to break out into full-blown panic, shang xia chuckled, ¡°where else do you think i¡¯m going? obviously we¡¯re going to see if we can help your grandmother out.¡± 0 ¡°are you tired of living? there are at least 3 experts there with cultivation of the third layer of the martial extermination realm or higher. you might not be weak, but how much help will you be?¡± 0 shang xia sniggered softly and didn¡¯t give her a proper explanation. instead, he continued to make his way over. they were close enough to start hearing the loud explosion in the distance due to the battle and yan ming tried to force herself to calm down before persuading shang xia again, ¡°i managed to survive the pursuit because of your help, and i know that you¡¯re pretty strong. you could kill a second layer martial extermination realm expert, and i believe you¡¯re thinking of obtaining some world origin from the pillar of light. however, you need to understand that the gap between a second layer martial extermination realm expert and a third layer martial extermination realm expert isn¡¯t small! one can only be considered a high-level expert after refining 3 extermination origins or more and the gap isn¡¯t something that can be crossed with some amazing martial art or better weapons!¡± 0 ¡°shang xia, are you even listening to me?! the best way to help is to contact the experts of your tongyou institution. even if it¡¯s just for the world origin spewing out from the pillar of light, you should still call them! you can¡¯t overestimate yourself! this¡­ this is for your own good¡­!¡± 0 shang xia¡¯s smile never faded since he informed her that they were heading to the battlefield. yan ming, who still held onto the hope of persuading him to turn back, started to grow anxious the closer they got. in the end, her emotions got the better of her and she started to scream at shang xia.0 ¡°hehehehehehe¡­¡± shang xia couldn¡¯t help but chuckle and it quickly erupted into laughter.0 seeing how casually shang xia was treating it, yan ming finally snapped. ¡°what the hell are you laughing at?! can your laughter defeat high-level experts in the martial extermination realm?!¡± 0 ¡°well, it might.¡± shang xia replied nonchalantly before jumping off the cloud. his voice rang beside her ears while he left. ¡°stay here! do not leave the cloud no matter what.¡± 0 ¡°hmph! i¡¯m not going to stop you from rushing to your own death if that¡¯s what you want.¡± yan ming snorted coldly before turning her head away.0 however, she quickly turned back. extending her divine perception, she made a tiny gap in the giant cloud she was on before staring in the direction shang xia had gone.0 CH 541 the four great races of the liao continent hoped that they could produce their first martial dipper realm ancestor. that person would be able to act as their spokesperson and protect their interests against foreign powers. as such, they chose yan su¡¯er who had the highest individual cultivation among them.0 in order to pull the four great races over to their side, changbai holy land decided to choose yan su¡¯er as their candidate. of course, breaking through to the martial dipper realm was extremely difficult and they required an expert with her cultivation.0 the difference in foundations between the tongyou institution and changbai holy land was clearly displayed at that point.0 nurturing a martial dipper realm expert placed a huge burden on the changbai holy land, but they could at least choose who they wanted to give the chance to. the tongyou institution was different. shang bo was given the opportunity to break through because he was the only one with the appropriate cultivation level.0 even though the changbai holy land and other great races had a reason for her to succeed in her breakthrough, yan su¡¯er didn¡¯t trust any of them.0 she would rather bring her granddaughter who had just broken through to the martial extermination realm to protect her in secret while laying down restrictions on her own than to let anyone else know where she was. she didn¡¯t even invite the experts of the changbai holy land to protect her even though they were pretty strong and would provide an impressive layer of defense.0 with the current situation she was facing, yan su¡¯er couldn¡¯t take the slightest risk. obviously, she didn¡¯t expect to fully rely on yan ming to protect her in case anything serious happened.0 because of that, she laid down countless restrictions and ways to protect herself. everything she did saved her from the sneak attack from 3 martial extermination realm experts of the third layer or higher. 0 also, if yan su¡¯er hadn¡¯t forced open a path for yan ming to escape, she would have been able to retreat the moment their sneak attack failed. she wouldn¡¯t be surrounded by them and have to fight a prolonged battle.0 it seemed as though those weren¡¯t the only precautions she had taken. she might be surrounded by several high-level experts, but she managed to activate her restrictions to shatter the earth vein beneath her to cause the leakage of world origin.0 her actions were extremely risky. if she wasn¡¯t careful, she might cause a chain reaction that led to the destruction of the manyu continent. if that happened, she would immediately become public enemy number 1.0 yan su¡¯er might not have immediately caused the destruction of the manyu continent, but the leaking world origin would hasten the process no matter what. it might even affect the plans the various powers had for the manyu continent. 0 but with things progressing up to that point and her life in immediate danger, yan su¡¯er couldn¡¯t care less. the experts who had surrounded her became extremely flustered with the appearance of the pillar of light.0 under such circumstances, they had to send their expert to suppress the pillar of light the best they could to prevent world origin from leaking. during the process of suppression, they also had to find a way to collect the world origin for themselves.0 that greatly reduced the pressure on yan su¡¯er and she managed to catch her breath and last all the way through the battle.0 she tried breaking through their encirclement a few times, but the 3 of them were like glue that stuck to her. 0 the moment she tried to break through their encirclement, they would ignore the pillar of light and suppress her in unison.0 their actions seemed a little weird and yan su¡¯er couldn¡¯t help but yell, ¡°what enmity do you have with me?! since you wish to harvest the world origin, why are you still so interested in keeping me here?¡± 0 the expert among them who wore a jade crown sneered in response, ¡°world origin is important and we definitely have to obtain as much as we can. however, you shouldn¡¯t dream of escaping today!¡± 0 yan su¡¯er could tell that the person who spoke was the weakest among the 3 with his cultivation at the third layer of the martial extermination realm and she retorted immediately, ¡°is there a reason for that? after i leave, you can join hands and suppress the pillar of light to obtain all the world origin you want. with me wasting your time here, you can only watch on as world origin is wasted.0 the crowned cultivator growled in response, ¡°old lady, let me ask you a question. did you kill su jinyuan?¡± 0 yan su¡¯er was shocked by his response but she stared at them with a face full of doubt. ¡°who is su jinyuan? i have no idea who that is.¡± 0 a chilly voice left the lips of the crowned cultivator. ¡°hmph, old lady, you¡¯re still refusing to admit it even though you¡¯re about to die. don¡¯t think that we¡¯ll let you off just because you pretend to not recognize him.¡±0 yan su¡¯er¡¯s pupils shrank and she retorted, ¡°why are you so sure that i was the one who killed your friend?¡± 0 ¡°2 months ago, a massive battle broke out close to 1200 miles away. brother su disappeared right after that. you better not tell me you didn¡¯t know about the battle.¡± the crowned cultivator sneered.0 ¡°2 months ago?¡± yan su¡¯er turned serious as she thought back to what happened. it was true that a battle broke out and the disturbance was massive. as an expert who was about to break through to the martial dipper realm, yan su¡¯er naturally felt the shockwaves.0 ¡°i don¡¯t care if you believe me or not, but i was in seclusion during that time. a battle did break out, but because it didn¡¯t affect me, i didn¡¯t check it out. i have no idea what happened.¡± yan su¡¯er muttered.0 ¡°hmph! you did a really clean job alright!¡± the crowned cultivator snorted in response.0 finally, the female cultivator among the 3 who wore feathered robes finally spoke up. ¡°wang guan, why are you wasting your breath on her? she can¡¯t kill brother su alone. there has to be other people involved in this!¡± 0 after she spoke, she launched another round of attacks on yan su¡¯er.0 throughout the entire assault, yan su¡¯er could tell that the female cultivator attacked the most enthusiastically. even when the world origin started to emerge from the pillar of light, the female cultivator didn¡¯t give 2 shits about it and continued to tangle with yan su¡¯er.0 as they fought, the feathered robes lady¡¯s scream rang through the skies. ¡°tell us about your accomplices and i¡¯ll give you a quick death!¡± 0 yan su¡¯er waved her staff in the air and was forced to retreat slightly. even so, she snorted coldly, ¡°oh? do you really think you have the ability to kill me?¡± 0 the feathered robes lady wanted to say something else, but the last of the 3 experts finally spoke up. he was the strongest of the 3 and he had been splitting his attention between suppressing yan su¡¯er and collecting world origin earlier. ¡°liu yu, we dragged things out for too long. it¡¯s impossible to hide the light pillar from the rest of the continent and there should be people rushing over soon. take her down right now so we don¡¯t waste our efforts.¡± 0 as soon as he spoke the other 2 reacted instantly. wang guan and liu yu no longer spoke to yan su¡¯er. their attacks intensified instantly.0 when the strongest cultivator entered the fray, yan su¡¯er felt the pressure rising immediately. she found it hard to move around and she was quickly falling to a disadvantage.0 ¡°end it fast!¡± the last expert was experienced. he knew that the longer things dragged on, the more possible it was for uncertainties to occur.0 all of a sudden, a change occurred on the battlefield. a huge blizzard seemed to arrive as snowflakes filled the skies. even though the snowstorm would slightly affect the battle, it was great cover for the light pillar in the distance.0 if one could see the light pillar when they were 1000 miles away previously, they would only be able to notice the light pillar when they arrived 500 miles away from it now that snow was falling.0 the strongest expert swung his phoenix wing halberd at yan su¡¯er and she was forced to retreat hundreds of feet before she stabilized herself.0 unfortunately, she entered wang guan and liu yu¡¯s attack range the moment she found her footing.0 circulating her inner qi, a four colored extermination light surrounded her before splitting off and turning into a streak of light that shot straight for liu yu.0 a huge portion of the light barrier around her disappeared and wang guan found an opening to toss a spirit binding rope at yan su¡¯er. 0 when everything was going on, yan su¡¯er¡¯s ears twitched slightly.0 read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "[pawread.com]" ¡­0 a feeling of unease appeared in the heart of the strongest expert among the 3. only after some time did he realize that something was wrong.0 from the shockwaves of their battle, the space around them should be extremely unstable. with the countless spatial cracks that were forming, there was no way a blizzard would affect them.0 not only was the snow still falling as though nothing had happened, but it was getting more and more intense as it blew against them from all directions.0 not good! someone is interfering with the battle!0 the strongest expert might not have detected anyone in his surroundings, but he was extremely confident in his instincts. he yelled immediately, ¡°be careful, someone else is here!¡± 0 ¡­0 yan su¡¯er whose extermination origin barrier had been torn apart, quickly retreated.0 wang guan who had been watching for a chance to strike roared with laughter after tossing out his spirit binding rope. it spun around yan su¡¯er and his intentions were clear. he wanted to capture her alive.0 seeing the rope spinning around her, yan su¡¯er swung her staff at the very last moment, allowing her to escape her fate of being bound.0 only then did the warning from the strongest expert among the 3 arrive. the battlefield around yan su¡¯er and wang guan crumbled instantly. snowflakes swarmed them and the air around them gave off a strange whistle. their vision was blocked by a screen of white and that wasn¡¯t all. the veil of snow seemed to possess a strange intent behind it as it affected the divine perception of everyone present.0 ¡°who the hell are you?! you despicable being, how dare you carry out sneak attacks? show yourself!¡± the strongest expert of the 3 roared and his phoenix wing halberd swept out mercilessly. a huge flurry of snow was sliced cleanly in two and a gap formed. however, he was greeted with a frightening sight.0 the snow in the surroundings seemed to have gained sentience as they spun around wang guan in a terrifying vortex. 0 of course, wang guan was no weakling. he took precautions when he first heard the warning. however, he could only yell when faced with such a roaring mess of snow. he summoned his extermination origins to create a light barrier around himself while trying to scatter the mess.0 as soon as he struck, the seemingly harmless snowflakes in his surroundings transformed into terrifying rays of pure blade light that slammed into the light barrier around him. 0 it shattered in an instant as even more snowflakes gathered around him.0 panicking, wang guan waved his arm to try to recall the spirit binding rope as his last line of defense, but he felt a powerful resistance coming from it.0 peering through the gap in the snow around him, he saw yan su''er holding on to the rope even though blood was leaking from the corner of her lips. she refused to let him pull it back as another round of snow covered his body.0 shattering a jade pendant on his waist, another layer of light appeared around him to resist the blade light around him. unfortunately, it didn¡¯t take long before it shattered.0 when the third wave arrived, wang guan felt that the pure-white snowflakes falling on him were like the devils from hell.0 ¡°senior cen yu, save me!¡± wang guan screamed in fright but he was quickly swallowed by the final wave of snow.0 3 pillars of light appeared at the very last second to tear open the cocoon of snow from the inside, but the gaps were quickly filled with even more snow.0 everyone stared at the cocoon in shock. however, cen yu reacted quickly and he blasted apart the ball of snow, along with the thick snowstorm with a powerful swing of his phoenix wing halberd. destroying the thick layers of snow that covered wang guan, everyone was shocked to see that not a trace of the expert was left. not even his bones remained.1 ¡°who the hell are you?!¡± 0 CH 542 ¡°who the hell are you?!¡± 0 cen yu scattered the snowstorm but failed to find the culprit. he roared with rage as he vented his feeling son yan su¡¯er who just freed herself from wang guan¡¯s spirit binding rope. ¡°hmph, whatever the case, you can go to hell!¡± in his eyes, no matter what the situation was, the person who killed wang guan definitely had something to do with yan su¡¯er. he refused to believe that the person wouldn¡¯t appear if he forced yan su¡¯er into desperate straits. earlier, liu yu had a chance to carry out a devastating attack on yan su¡¯er. however, due to her shock at how wang guan died, she failed to act. instead of fighting yan su¡¯er, she quickly retreated to cen yu¡¯s side for protection. lin yu was clear. even if wang guan was completely unprepared for a sneak attack and she was the one carrying it out, she would never have been able to kill him so easily. the newcomer was clearly stronger than her. perhaps, only cen ye was able to fight evenly against him! cen yu might be enraged by how lin yu retreated at such a critical time, but the situation had already blown out of proportion. he could only swing his phoenix wing halberd down ferociously at yan su¡¯er. finally given a chance to catch her breath, yan su¡¯er regained her composure. no matter how sorry she looked from their previous assault, she was an expert at the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm at the end of the day. she was a force to be reckoned with and none of her opponents would look down on her. raising her staff in the air, a four colored extermination light gathered around her again. at the same time, a huge amount of heaven and earth qi was swept up as it blocked the falling phoenix wing halberd. before yan su¡¯er could heave a sigh of relief, a sharp snap came from her staff, and under her surprised gaze, the weapon she had been using for tens of years cracked.0 since her weapon broke, she had to take on a portion of the energy contained in the blow and she spat out a mouthful of blood. she was sent flying and she barely managed to stabilize herself in mid air. naturally, cen yu couldn¡¯t give up a chance like that to follow up. now that he caused yan su¡¯er to lose her combat strength, he was ready to rush up to carry on the fight. he didn¡¯t expect lin yu who finally regrouped with him to stare wide-eyed in another direction while stuttering, ¡°senior¡­ senior cen, look over there!¡± noticing her reaction, cen yu didn¡¯t need to hear her reminder to turn in the other direction. several miles behind him, the majestic pillar of light had shrunk by a third! a figure could be seen not too far away from the pillar and he seemed to be absorbing world origin at a terrifying rate. he didn¡¯t seem to be controlling the world origin with any special methods but they were pouring into him endlessly. ¡°it¡¯s him!¡± cen yu¡¯s expression sank and he couldn¡¯t be bothered with yan su¡¯er. lightly tapping the space before him with his phoenix wing halberd, a freakish flame bloomed in mid air. it expanded to form an entrance and he entered the void through the entrance he made. lin yu couldn¡¯t even react to stop him. passing through the void with his physical body! that was something shang xia did in the past with the assistance of his abyssal void shattering talisman. now, he finally saw someone who wasn¡¯t a martial dipper realm ancestor doing the same! stopping the crimson soul tablet from devouring world origin anymore, shang xia waved his abyssal blade and messed up the space around him. he also made use of the geography around him to summon a stronger snowstorm. this time, snow fell everywhere. frosty qi pervaded the lands and the feeling of death entered the hearts of everyone present and it started to climb steadily. it was as though energy was being stored up somewhere. shang xia retreated slightly and he quickly suppressed the resonance his crimson soul tablet had with the pillar of light. the next instant, cen yu¡¯s figure emerged from the void. even though he looked a little haggard, he managed to lock on to shang xia the moment he appeared. cen yu might be taken aback at how shang xia anticipated his moves, but the small distance shang xia retreated wasn¡¯t enough to escape from him. a shrill whistle tore through the air and his phoenix wing halberd trembled violently. a strand of extermination origin that was created after a cultivator fused all 4 extermination origins entered the halberd and shang xia saw a semi-illusory flame covering his weapon. drawing a horizontal line through the air with his halberd, the illusory flame remained burning even after his halberd was withdrawn. it resembled a massive wing made from fire in mid air. to access the premium content, go to [ pawread.com ]. cen yu drew another line in the other direction and in the next instant, the pair of wings appeared. as soon as the fiery wings were formed, they seemed to resonate with the space around him. with a light flap, they tore apart the void and left behind a strange streak of light in mid air before rushing at shang xia. ¡°martial intent?! that¡¯s the martial intent of a martial extermination realm expert!¡± yan su¡¯er¡¯s scream came from behind shang xia and the terror in her voice couldn¡¯t be hidden. shang xia also felt a sense of danger approaching. heavenly flame tearing the void! that was the name of the martial intent cen yu coined after he comprehended it to step into the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm. the power in a martial intent was immense, and it was extremely difficult for experts in the martial extermination realm to comprehend one. even if they did, it would be difficult to unleash their martial intent to its full potential. they would require the assistance of a weapon that was extremely compatible with their cultivation in order to do so. that might be the case, but unless cen yu was using a divine weapon to unleash his martial intent, he would greatly damage whatever weapon he was using. even his phoenix wing halberd, which could be considered a peak-tier high-grade weapon, could only release 5 heavenly flame tearing the void before it would be destroyed. moreover, every time cen yu used his martial intent, it would grow weaker due to the declined durability of his halberd. that was why cen yu didn¡¯t dare to use his martial intent however he wished when he was in the fight before. he chose to release his heavenly flame tearing the void at that moment not because he was afraid of shang xia¡¯s strength. instead, he wanted to end the battle as quickly as he could so that he could return to deal with the pillar of light. liu yu, who was watching how cen yu released his martial intent, gasped in fright. ¡°since senior cen has used his martial intent, that person is dead! haha! no¡­ both of them are dead!¡± liu yu stared at yan su¡¯er as though she was looking at a dead person. she knew that there was no need for her to do anything useless at that point as cen yu¡¯s heavenly flame tearing the void would destroy their opponents. ¡­ even without yan su¡¯er¡¯s reminder, shang xia knew that he was in deep shit. in the past, shang xia once heard shang bo mention how a cultivator¡¯s strength would take a huge leap forward when they went from the second layer to the third layer of the martial extermination realm. however, that was merely a small increase when compared to when they improved from the large completion stage to the grand completion stage! it could even be said that ascending to the grand completion stage would mean that the cultivator in question had experienced a fundamental transformation in their cultivation. the transformation was possibly related to breaking through to the martial dipper realm and from a certain perspective, one could call those in the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm ¡®half-step martial dipper realm¡¯ experts. shang xia never doubted his grandfather. that was because shang bo had also comprehended his martial intent and became a half-step martial dipper realm expert. after experiencing the increase in strength, he was more than qualified to make those judgments. staring at the flaming wings headed his way, shang xia felt a sense of danger like never before. the wings looked utterly magnificent, but no amount of beauty could cover up the threat it posed. when shang xia was planning to go all out to defend himself, the world seemed to stop. with a frosty expression on his face, shang xia slowly pushed his palm out before him. 0 shang xia renamed the strike to the four constellation palm from the four seasons palm and the moment he sent it out, the space before him distorted violently. it didn¡¯t stop there as the space started to fracture before eventually crumbling altogether.0 shang xia witnessed everything that happened clearly and the next moment, his four constellation palm which contained the might of his four seasons extermination origins clashed with the fiery wings in the shattered void.0 the earth shattering explosion that everyone expected to happen didn¡¯t. instead, both attacks slowly ate each other up. the void suffered yet another blow and it was a mind-numbing scene to watch it collapse on itself again. unfortunately, shang xia¡¯s four constellation palm wasn¡¯t enough to stop cen yu¡¯s attack and the pair of wings continued to fly at him. although after their exchange, the wings no longer looked as lively as before. despite not being able to stop the attack, not a trace of despair could be seen on shang xia¡¯s face. instead, a trace of hope appeared. that was because in the short second the collision between both attacks happened earlier, shang xia saw that his four constellation palm definitely stopped the fiery wings for a split second. what did that mean?! that meant that even though shang xia¡¯s four constellation palm was suppressed, it wasn¡¯t destroyed immediately. even though the effects of the two weren¡¯t really different as his four constellation palm disappeared without stopping the fiery wings, they actually represented very different things. if his palm was destroyed in an instant without hindering the fiery wings, that would only mean that the principles behind his four constellation palm were far worse than cen yu¡¯s heavenly flame tearing the void. however, because it was able to stall for a split second, shang xia knew that the difference between them lay in their cultivation realm and the power they unleashed. like how yun jing and youshang were both surprised when they saw his four constellation palm back then, they felt that it had the capability of turning into shang xia¡¯s martial intent. in other words, shang xia¡¯s four constellation palm was comparable to cen yu¡¯s heavenly flame tearing the void. the only difference lay in their difference in their cultivation realm. because shang xia understood the principles behind cycling his extermination origins and the true meaning of the four seasons, he quickly released a second and third palm in succession. unfortunately for cen yu, it was impossible for him to release so many heavenly flame tearing the void at once. at the same time, he actually wasn¡¯t too bothered by shang xia releasing multiple palm strikes. instead, he knew that the old lady would do something as she was also trapped within the range of his attack. a loud chirp filled the skies all of a sudden and shang xia felt a familiar blood extermination soaring into the skies. the phantom of a giant rain swallow appeared several feet behind yan su¡¯er and it flew past shang xia and slammed heavily into the fiery wings that had been weakened by shang xia¡¯s four constellation palm earlier. CH 543 as an old monster who has lived for over a hundred years, yan su¡¯er didn¡¯t need to hear shang xia preaching about how they would both be in danger if one of them were to die. moreover, yan su¡¯er also recognized shang xia and his intentions the moment he arrived. the azure spiritual world and the azure origin world had been fighting for the past 20 years or so. the enmity that existed between them couldn¡¯t be eliminated in such a short amount of time, but because of that, they had a great understanding of how cultivators of the other world fought. even though shang xia and yan su¡¯er were working together for the first time, their cooperation was seamless!0 to access the premium content, go to [ ?aw?ead.com ]. yan su¡¯er¡¯s cultivation was at the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm, but she knew the difference between herself and someone in the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm. she also knew how powerful cen yu¡¯s martial intent was. the crimson wind swallow slammed into the fiery wings. even though it was quickly incinerated and failed to push the wings back, it managed to waste a lot of its energy. unlike shang xia¡¯s palm strike which was on the same level as cen yu¡¯s heavenly flame tearing the void and could resist it head-on but failed to because of its lack of energy, yan su¡¯er¡¯s crimson wind swallow contained a huge portion of her inner qi. it greatly exhausted the power contained in the fiery wings.0 at the end of the day, shang xia¡¯s move was impressive, but his foundations were nowhere as solid as yan su¡¯er. after all, yan su¡¯er was merely a step away from reaching the same level as cen yu. shang xia retreated slightly and with yan su¡¯er¡¯s assistance, he managed to buy a little time to send out another four constellation palm. this time, the fiery wings became a lot more illusory than before. however, becoming less corporeal didn¡¯t mean that it disappeared. from the looks of it, it wasn¡¯t as nimble as before. that wasn¡¯t the end. shang xia saw yan su¡¯er spitting out a mouthful of blood mist not too far away. her blood extermination congealed before her and it was countless times smaller than the phantom of the wind swallow that appeared earlier. compared to the illusory wind swallow earlier, it was much more solid and it seemed to possess its own consciousness. it dove into the void before slamming into the fiery wings in the void. a look of shock appeared on shang xia¡¯s face when he noticed the tiny blood swallow flying past him. he could tell that the blood swallow contained a huge amount of yan su¡¯er¡¯s essence blood. it was impossible to recover essence blood and it would definitely harm her foundations. also, shang xia could tell that the tiny blood swallow was created by a fusion of yan su¡¯er¡¯s extermination origins. in fact, yan su¡¯er seemed to touch on the gateway of the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm after sending out her attack. with the fiery wings greatly exhausted, there was no suspense as the blood swallow destroyed them completely during their collision. from the time cen yu unleashed his heavenly flame tearing the void, to the time shang xia and yan su¡¯er joined hands to destroy it, merely a moment had passed. despite the short time it took, shang xia and yan su¡¯er paid a huge price in order to resist his attacks. yan su¡¯er greatly exhausted her inner qi and she even damaged her foundations by sending out the last strike. as for shang xia, he used up a great deal of his inner qi and he entered a state of weakness. he could still fight, but he wouldn¡¯t be able to display the strength he had at his peak state. if an expert who just entered the martial extermination realm were to attack them now, yan su¡¯er could only allow herself to be killed. luckily, something like that didn¡¯t happen. liu yu fucked up yet again. she was extremely confident that cen yu would be able to kill both of them when he unleashed his martial intent, the heavenly flame tearing the void. she never expected him to fail and missed another opportunity to kill her enemies. shang xia clearly wouldn¡¯t give them a chance to capitalize on the weakness any longer as he grabbed yan su¡¯er to fly away. after realizing what had happened, liu yu, who was hell-bent on killing yan su¡¯er earlier, charged at them. she tried to make up for all her mistakes and she wanted to stop them from running away. too bad for her, shang xia¡¯s abyssal blade came crashing down while he made his escape. the blade intent and death aura that had been gathering in the area erupted at once. blade lights filled the air around them and their space around them turned blurry. any signs of vitality from the world were extinguished as frost covered thousands of miles around them. shang xia unleashed the latest blade art he comprehended, extreme frost! if he could rank the power extreme frost possessed to be 10/10, shang xia¡¯s use of elementary frost before and the favorable conditions with snow all around them only served to boost the might of his move. adding everything up, shang xia¡¯s extreme frost would be ranked 12/10 on the power scale!0 extreme frost was his final insurance against cen yu¡¯s heavenly flame tearing the void. if yan su¡¯er hadn¡¯t risked her life and comprehended her final technique, shang xia would have used extreme frost to destroy the fiery wings.0 however, it seemed as though there was a better use for it now. liu yu failed to read the situation and delivered herself directly into his range of fire. as they said, ¡°i won¡¯t beat the hard workers and i won¡¯t beat the lazy bums. i¡¯ll just beat the one who overestimates themselves!¡± when liu yu finally approached shang xia and noticed his falling blade, she discovered what was going on. at the end of the day, liu yu was a fourth layer martial extermination realm expert. she was no fool! realizing she wouldn¡¯t be able to resist the terrifying blade art that had been unleashed, panic filled her heart and she desperately tried to resist while screaming, ¡°senior cen, please¡­ please save me!¡± ¡°hmph!¡± cen yu nearly spat out a mouthful of blood in anger. with a useless teammate like liu yu, who needed enemies?! he wanted nothing more than for her to be swallowed by the terrifying blade lights so that she couldn¡¯t annoy him and mess up his plans any longer. however, that was merely a thought. he chose to save her in the end. after unleashing his martial intent, heavenly flame tearing the void, earlier, his body would have to bear a huge burden. if he forcefully made another move, he might risk his inner qi getting out of control. regardless, he couldn¡¯t watch on as liu yu was slain by the other party¡¯s blade art without doing anything! in his mind, he was cursing her to no end. if she acted dumb the whole way and remained by his side silently, the situation would be much better! there was only one slightly more fortunate point about everything that was playing out currently. luckily for her, she hadn¡¯t moved too far away from cen yu, giving them enough time to react. in order to save liu yu, cen yu had to take on the blade strike shang xia had been gathering for some time now. while making his move, cen yu found it extremely strange. he couldn¡¯t understand how the young cultivator was able to release so many palm strikes earlier and even a final blade strike under the pressure of his divine perception. cen yu might not have seen through the principles of shang xia¡¯s four seasons samsara art and how it could cycle without end, but he could tell that shang xia¡¯s extermination origins were pretty special. it was a pity he wouldn¡¯t get a chance to clear things up. as his phoenix wing halberd tore through the air with a whistle, the space that had been frozen by shang xia¡¯s frosty qi shattered instantly. the powerful frosty aura immediately receded but cen yu felt a strong backlash from his continuous overexhaustion. even his innards felt like they had shifted. ¡°divine weapon!¡± a strange light flashed in cen yu¡¯s eyes and a wave of impulse filled his heart. however, both shang xia and yan su¡¯er were nowhere to be seen. he eventually suppressed his thoughts on the divine weapon seeing as his enemies were gone. ¡°pfft¡­¡± blood sprayed from liu yu¡¯s lips when the blade intent finally faded. she had been holding on forcefully all along as she fought back against shang xia¡¯s extreme frost. fear lingered in her heart even after she was saved by cen yu. ¡°where did they go?!¡± liu yu roared with reluctance as a ruthless light flashed in her eyes. too lazy to glance at her, cen yu felt a wave of exhaustion overwhelming him. a huge part of it was because of his shitty teammate. turning around, he returned to the pillar of light that had become significantly thinner. liu yu also started to make her retreat, and she glanced at the clouds in the air while muttering something to herself. only after a period of time did she quickly rush after cen yu. earlier, when shang xia grabbed yan su¡¯er, the cloud yan ming was on started approaching them at a rapid speed. after cen yu shattered the layers of frost created by shang xia¡¯s extreme frost, the 2 of them were swallowed by the fluffy cloud created by the auspicious cloud cape. the next moment, they blended in with the clouds in the distance and disappeared. after they arrived tens of miles away, shang xia was no longer in a rush to leave. instead, he controlled the cloud to drift casually through the air. he started to adjust his condition and recover his exhausted inner qi while resting on the cloud. earlier, the battle was extremely risky. shang xia and yan su¡¯er¡¯s lives were threatened and shang xia used up a great deal of his inner qi. luckily, he didn¡¯t suffer any injuries or long lasting effects and he would be able to restore himself to his peak state after recovering his energy. thinking back to the exchange he had with cen yu, an expert at the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm, a trace of lingering fear remained in his heart. the entire process was extremely dangerous and if he was slightly careless, he would have gone down a path of no return. luckily for yan su¡¯er, she managed to improve at the very last second. it was also fortunate that shang xia refined a little more of his four seasons extermination origins in the past months, raising his combat capabilities. the abyssal blade also played an important part in their escape. like they said, a broken divine weapon was still a divine weapon!0 after recovering slightly, shang xia thinned the veil of mist around him and 2 figures quickly appeared in front of him. seeing the pale yan su¡¯er circulating her inner qi, shang xia turned to look at yan ming before asking in a low voice, ¡°how is senior yan¡¯s condition?¡± yan ming shook her head and her worries were displayed on her face as she replied, ¡°she has been vomiting blood the moment she sat down. however, she said that her life was not at risk.¡± shang xia nodded slightly and he tried to comfort her, ¡°relax. senior yan¡¯s cultivation foundations are strong and she came into contact with the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm. the moment she recovers, she will improve and reach a new level of personal strength. you can say that she managed to profit from this disaster.¡± a look of joy flashed across yan ming¡¯s face when she heard shang xia¡¯s evaluation, but her worry quickly returned. just as shang xia thought about leaving them to continue his recovery journey, yan su¡¯er opened her eyes. she stared straight at shang xia and muttered, ¡°i¡¯ve seen you before. you¡¯re shang bo¡¯s grandson.¡± not a trace of emotion could be seen in her eyes, but shang xia felt a trace of danger hidden in her gaze. ¡°i greet senior yan! the situation was too urgent earlier and i didn¡¯t explain myself properly before entering the battle. i hope senior yan will forgive my reckless actions.¡± shang xia was naturally willing to lower himself in the face of this super senior. after all, she was a famous expert in the older generation and even the old ji wenlong, shang bo, and the rest showed her a lot of respect. yan su¡¯er continued to look at shang xia while speaking in a neutral tone, ¡°brat, let me ask you something. why did you appear in this region?¡± shang xia wasn¡¯t surprised that she would ask that question and he replied truthfully, ¡°i was ordered by the institution to guard the area.¡± ¡°there was a massive battle that broke out in the southwestern direction of this place 2 months ago. do you know who did it?¡± yan su¡¯er asked another question. chuckling softly, shang xia replied, ¡°senior yan, are you suspecting that i killed that person?¡± CH 544 the reason cen yu and the others went knocking on yan su¡¯er¡¯s doorsteps had long since been discovered by shang xia. he also had his guesses when he saved her earlier. 0 su jinyuan was indeed killed by shang xia and youshang. yan su¡¯er was merely dragged into the mess they made, but shang xia couldn¡¯t admit it so easily. it wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t dare to own up to what he did. however, there were massive considerations he had to make after killing su jinyuan. there were too many factors at hand and shang xia couldn¡¯t admit his actions easily.0 that might be the case, but shang xia didn¡¯t deny it completely. instead, he chuckled in response, ¡°senior, are you really suspecting that i killed that guy?¡± yan su¡¯er¡¯s gaze remained on shang xia for a little longer but she shook her head eventually. ¡°you can¡¯t kill him alone.¡± anyone who chose to enter seclusion in the snowy peaks mountain range could obviously detect the strange behavior of the world origin in the area. those that had the qualifications to lust for the world origin there had to be in the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm or above. the strength shang xia displayed earlier was shocking. he wasn¡¯t just comparable to an expert at the fourth layer of the martial extermination realm. even if he ran into an expert at the large completion stage, he would be able to protect himself. however, that wasn¡¯t enough. if that was the extent of his skills, yan su¡¯er knew that it was impossible for shang xia to kill an expert in the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm. shang xia could guess the meaning behind yan su¡¯er words and knew that he was still a part of her suspect list. at the same time, he could also tell that she wasn¡¯t planning to treat him as an enemy. he chuckled in response, ¡°senior yan, i¡¯m afraid you greatly damaged your foundations when you used your final move earlier. you need to rest and i won¡¯t stay around to interfere with your recovery. the cloud we are on might not be large, but it has an effect of concealment. i believe there wouldn¡¯t be any fools who would try to mess with us.¡± seeing as shang xia was about to head back to wherever he came from, yan su¡¯er spoke up again. ¡°young master shang, you said that you were sent here on orders. is your grandfather cultivating within the snowy peaks mountain range too?¡± shang xia chuckled, ¡°i won¡¯t hide anything from senior yan. to be honest, i had my suspicions that my grandfather was somewhere here too. however, the institution refused to give a confirmation and i have no idea where he is.¡± a strange light flashed through yan su¡¯er¡¯s eyes and she seemed to have thought of something. falling silent for a moment, she eventually continued, ¡°i¡¯m afraid you will discover the truth soon¡­¡± ¡°yeah¡­ i guess we¡¯ll know soon.¡± shang xia felt a throb coming from his glabella and a smile appeared on his face. both of them turned to stare in a certain direction in the void and shang xia reached out to grab a transmission talisman. it was a reply to what he sent out earlier when he experienced the earthquake.0 in front of yan su¡¯er and yan ming, shang xia shattered the restriction on the talisman and he quickly read through the contents. ¡°assist yan su¡¯er to break out from her predicament with all your might. protect yan su¡¯er and her granddaughter and return to the stronghold. experts on our side will meet you along the way!¡± a sneer left yan su¡¯er¡¯s lips when she read its contents, ¡°indeed¡­¡± yan ming was slightly confused, but her grandmother was not. of course, shang xia also managed to guess what was going on after receiving the reply. one had to know that he had been ordered to protect the region around the snowy peaks mountain range. because yun jing didn¡¯t mention the person who was cultivating under the snow, youshang and shang xia thought that they were acting as guards for shang bo. now that the latest transmission talisman had arrived, shang xia knew that he was mistaken. if shang bo was truly cultivating in seclusion in the snowy peaks mountain range, the tongyou stronghold wouldn¡¯t request for him to assist yan su¡¯er out of nowhere. they wouldn¡¯t tell him to bring her back to the stronghold either. that was the only reasonable explanation shang xia could come up with. if he was mistaken, there was only one other possibility. it didn¡¯t matter if it was youshang or shang xia, both of whom might not be stationed there to protect anyone. instead, they might have been sent there to deal with yan su''er¡­0 youshang seemed to have uncovered the truth sometime during his mission, and he decided to join hands with shang xia to kill su jinyuan. because of their successful mission, they managed to kill 3 birds with 1 stone.0 after confirming that su jinyuan was a member of the third mysterious faction on the manyu continent, youshang immediately found a partner to end his life. with that, they managed to shave away at the mysterious power¡¯s strength in the manyu continent. because of their exchange with su jinyuan, youshang also managed to gain a better understanding of the aura those from his faction emitted and their fighting style. it allowed him to make better preparations to blend in with them. finally, and most importantly, he managed to plot against yan su¡¯er who was cultivating nearby. ¡­ with su jinyuan¡¯s death, the experts of the third faction quickly went to find trouble for yan su¡¯er. from how quickly they arrived and how decisive they were in their actions when flipping her secret cultivation location upside down, there was no question about it. someone went to feed them the news. at the end of the day, the tongyou stronghold wanted to make something clear. they didn¡¯t play a crucial part in the ambush on yan su¡¯er. they were mere side characters who merely took advantage of the situation. they weren¡¯t the ones who leaked the news nor gathered the experts to attack her. those who schemed against yan su¡¯er were someone else.0 moreover, those people¡¯s intentions were even more devious than anyone could imagine. they wanted yan su¡¯er and yan ming to perish in the attack and they even went so far as to pull the experts of the manyu continent into the picture. unfortunately, cen yu and the others who came to attack yan su¡¯er weren¡¯t aboriginal experts of the manyu continent. no one would know if those behind the attack knew if cen yu and the others were from a mysterious third power and were colluding with them, or if they really thought cen yu and the others were actually just stronger local experts. whatever the case, the tongyou stronghold¡¯s plan merely sped up their plans. because of shang xia¡¯s presence, they managed to save yan su¡¯er, getting her to owe them a huge favor. a life-saving grace was a life-saving grace at the end of the day. they had to repay the favor. connecting the dots, shang xia realized why youshang and himself were the ones who were sent to ¡®guard¡¯ the region. search bit.ly/3ibfjkv for the original. yun jing and the others couldn¡¯t be more clear that the moment yan su¡¯er ran into danger, she would have to resist the attacks of extremely high-leveled experts. in the manyu continent, youshang and shang xia were the only ones who had the ability to interfere in a fight of that level. finally, that brought everyone to the main question of the day. why would the tongyou institution go through so much trouble just to get yan su¡¯er and yan ming to owe them a huge favor? do they want senior yan and yan ming to change their alliance? the thought flashed through shang xia¡¯s mind. however, he quickly denied it. after all, the 2 of them were merely high-leveled experts of their race. the decision of the race still mattered. oh! shang xia recalled something that he hadn¡¯t thought of for a long time. the tongyou institution couldn¡¯t possibly instigate the rebellion of an entire race against their world, but what would happen after the azure origin world and azure spiritual world merged? an unstoppable wave of thoughts appeared in shang xia¡¯s mind. the moment the spatial barriers around the worlds disappeared, both worlds would complete their final stage of fusion¡­ countless possibilities ran through his head. fortunately, or unfortunately, shang xia¡¯s train of thought was interrupted by a disturbance with the appearance of 2 people in the range of his divine perception. waving his hand to get rid of the concealment effect, their figures appeared on the fluffy cloud that his auspicious cloud cape had transformed into. the 2 auras he discovered earlier seemed to notice them and started making their way over in the next moment. it didn¡¯t take long before bu jingshuang and another second layer martial extermination realm expert arrived. the other expert glanced at shang xia once and nodded his head in greetings before turning to stare at yan su¡¯er and yan ming. ¡°yan su¡¯er, it really is you!¡± the old expert seemed to have come to ascertain yan su¡¯er¡¯s identity, and his tone quickly returned to one of calm. yan su¡¯er looked at the newcomers and muttered, ¡°you guys look familiar, but i don¡¯t remember you.¡± ¡°it¡¯s been more than 10 years since we last met. back then, i was merely a shadow of my patriarch. it¡¯s normal for you not to recognize me.¡± the old expert spoke. after pausing slightly, he muttered, ¡°you can call me liu jikun. liu jitang was my brother.¡± yan su¡¯er finally recalled where she saw him. unlike liu jikun whose attention was placed on yan su¡¯er and yan ming the moment he arrived, bu jingshuang seemed a lot more casual. he arrived on the patch of cloud they were standing on and looked around before addressing shang xia, ¡°hey brat, where the hell did you find this? it¡¯s pretty good stuff!¡± a massive grin appeared on shang xia¡¯s face and he snorted, ¡°this is the auspicious cloud cape and i obtained it back in the abyssal secret region.¡± ¡°damn, that¡¯s pretty good!¡± bu jingshuang raised his thumb in praise before changing the topic. ¡°oh yeah, you moved pretty quickly to save the two of them!¡± bu jingshuang didn¡¯t bother hiding his words from yan su¡¯er. now that things had progressed up to that point, he felt that there was no need to act all shady and prevent others from listening to their conversation any longer. shang xia laughed in response. ¡°senior yan reacted quickly and caused a huge burst of world origin. she also managed to force the martial extermination realm grand completion stage expert back herself. that was how i found an opportunity to save her.¡± he didn¡¯t forget to gesture at the pillar of light in the distance. only then did he realize how far they had drifted through the air. they were almost unable to notice the shrunken pillar of light from where they were. liu jikun and bu jingshuang heard about the appearance of the pillar of light from shang xia¡¯s report earlier. however, they were still shocked after hearing that yan su¡¯er was the one who caused it to happen. they silently admired how decisive and bold she was. as they slowly digested what shang xia said, liu jikun was sharp enough to catch what shang xia said earlier and he asked, ¡°wait. did you just say that lady yan managed to repel an expert at the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm?¡± bu jingshuang stared at shang xia quietly as though trying to verify the piece of news. shang xia nodded in response. ¡°if i wasn¡¯t mistaken, senior yan seemed to have stepped through the final gateway herself. the moment she recovers, she will enter the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm!¡± complicated emotions filled the hearts of liu jikun and bu jingshuang. there was even a trace of discomfort when they glanced at yan su¡¯er. yan su¡¯er, who had closed her eyes earlier when the experts of the tongyou institution started to converse, finally spoke up, ¡°hey kid, stop exaggerating and making me look stronger than i actually am!¡± her gaze landed on liu jikun and bu jingshuang and she continued, ¡°the reason i could force him back was mainly due to young master shang¡¯s help. i might have reached a state of enlightenment at the last moment, but i damaged my dantian¡¯s foundations during the battle. i only have a slight hope of recovery in the future. even if i manage to enter the grand completion stage, it should be impossible for me to break through to the martial dipper realm.¡± liu jikun and bu jingshuang¡¯s gaze flickered with uncertainty but eventually, shang xia sighed softly before nodding slightly. only then did the 2 of them relax. bu jingshuang chuckled, ¡°lady yan, you can rest assured that once we return to the stronghold, we will treat your injuries to the best of our abilities. we won¡¯t give up as long as there is hope for you to recover.¡± 0 yan su¡¯er¡¯s lips twitched slightly and she revealed a strange smile before she replied. ¡°i guess my old bones will have to thank you then?¡± bu jingshuang roared with laughter and tried to hide the awkwardness that was quickly forming. ¡°there¡¯s no need, there¡¯s no need! we¡¯re just doing our part!¡± ¡°seniors, please bring senior yan and yan ming back to the stronghold. i have something i need to do and i¡¯ll return in a bit.¡± shang xia interrupted all of a sudden. obviously, his strange reaction attracted the attention of everyone around him. ¡°where are you going?¡± bu jingshuang asked. ¡°aren¡¯t you going to follow us back to the tongyou stronghold?¡± yan ming asked instinctively¡­ ¡°are you planning to head back to where we left where that pillar of light¡­¡± yan su¡¯er guessed shang xia¡¯s intentions immediately. CH 545 leaving the auspicious cloud cape with bu jingshuang to send everyone back to the tongyou stronghold, shang xia started to head back alone. the pillar of light in the distance grew bigger in his sight as he flew closer. 0 without the snowstorm shang xia summoned before, the pillar might seem a little thinner than it was, but it wasn¡¯t obstructed by anything anymore. ¡°this is strange¡­ those people might not have the crimson soul tablet to absorb world origin like i do, but their speed of absorption shouldn¡¯t be this slow either. it has been some time since we left and the pillar of light is still shining bright. aren¡¯t they just waiting for others to come fight them for it?¡± shang xia frowned and he couldn¡¯t understand what was going on. because of that, he deliberately slowed down and he was no longer in a rush to show himself to fight for world origin. concealing his aura, he started to move slowly in the direction of the light pillar. back when shang xia saved yan su¡¯er from her predicament, he distracted them by heading to the pillar and sucking up a third of the world origin it emitted. however, he didn¡¯t check on the crimson soul tablet¡¯s condition after he was done as the situation was too urgent. search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. now that he wasn¡¯t in a rush to get back, he turned his attention to his sea of consciousness only to be greeted with a shocking sight. the crimson soul tablet was glowing red, and as he inspected the tablet from all 4 directions, he discovered that 3 faces had been perfectly restored. not a trace of its previous damage could be seen. the only crack that remained was on the first face of the tablet. it was pretty intense as the crack spanned the entire face with no signs of healing at all. shang xia couldn¡¯t understand why that was the case. a third of the world origin contained in the pillar of light wasn¡¯t a small amount! moreover, the world origin contained in the light pillar was extremely pure and refined! it was countless times better than whatever world origin he absorbed during the origin tide in the battlefield between the two worlds back then. according to shang xia¡¯s estimations, such a huge influx of world origin would at least be able to restore the first face of the tablet. even if it couldn¡¯t restore most of it, at least the crack should start to show signs of closing up. he thought that at least a third of the crack would be gone but from the looks of it, the world origin didn¡¯t seem to affect the first face of the tablet at all. something seemed strange and he couldn¡¯t put his finger on it. where in the world did the world origin he absorbed go?! shang xia continued to observe the crimson soul tablet and he examined the glow that was covering its entire surface. is this where all the world origin went? as the thought flashed through his mind, shang xia tried to touch the layer of light that surrounded the tablet but to no avail. an impulsive thought filled shang xia¡¯s mind suddenly and his divine perception landed on the cracked face of the tablet before burrowing its way in. ¡°boom!¡± shang xia felt as though his divine perception had fallen into a bottomless abyss and was swallowed by some strange beast without so much as dregs of it being left. his entire body trembled as beads of perspiration filled his forehead. unable to suppress the fear that was spouting in his heart, shang xia felt it pounding wildly in his chest. only after inspecting the tablet again and making sure that he was in no danger from what just happened, his divine perception once again covered the tablet. to be more exact, he sent it back into the ¡®bottomless abyss¡¯ through the crack. with his previous experience, shang xia managed to suppress his emotions as he tried to inspect what was in the crack. the further his divine perception extended, the more shang xia realized what was going on. the bottomless abyss wasn¡¯t actually an abyss. instead, it resembled a crack that formed naturally inside a mountain due to multiple factors from its environment. the more he looked through the crack, the more he realized that it was spreading out in all directions on the surface of the tablet. it resembled some sort of natural maze that was created by the world. finally, shang xia was struck by an epiphany. the crack didn¡¯t extend all the way to the abyss. what he was looking at was the insides of the crimson soul tablet! the giant ridges were the cracks that existed on the surface, and the more shang xia examined it, the more he realized the extent of damage the crimson soul tablet suffered. even the insides were damaged! the world origin he absorbed in the past might allow the cracks on its surface to recover, but that didn¡¯t mean that it would restore the damage to the core of the tablet. because he absorbed so much world origin from the pillar of light, it seemed as though the core of the crimson soul tablet was finally starting to recover. other than sealing the crack on the second surface of the tablet, a huge portion of the energy was probably used to repair the insides! if shang xia only cared about restoring the cracks on the tablet and ignored repairing its core, the strange treasure that shang xia hadn¡¯t fully wrapped his head around would definitely suffer a ton of hidden damage in the future. also, if he restored the cracks on all four surfaces before discovering the damage to the crimson soul tablet¡¯s core, he might not even have discovered it! going back to why the first face of the tablet wasn¡¯t restored, shang xia had nothing to do with it! it was probably a move by the tablet itself to prevent shang xia from missing the crux of the problem. also, the power that devoured shang xia¡¯s divine perception in the tablet was in no way weak. he was only able to barely withstand it after entering the martial extermination realm and that was why he only discovered its damage now. as his refinement of his extermination origins grew stronger, so did his divine perception. shang xia understood that he would eventually be able to withstand the devouring power within the crimson soul tablet after he got stronger and stepped through the gates to a higher power. finally uncovering a part of the mystery, shang xia retracted his divine perception and sighed heavily while looking at the crack on the first face of the tablet. even though he only inspected it for a split second, shang xia was sure that restoring the core of the tablet was going to be much more difficult than the cracks on the surface. the amount of world origin he would require would be massive! he was afraid he was going to be on the hunt for world origin for a long, long time. what in the world is the crimson soul tablet anyway?! ¡­ finally throwing the matter of the crimson soul tablet to the back of his mind, shang xia continued to advance in the direction of the pillar of light. before he knew it, he was merely 200 miles away. several fluctuations that didn¡¯t seem too powerful brushed against him and he could tell that a battle was happening to his left, tens of miles away. with a sudden thought, shang xia carefully started heading over. ¡°is that a formation?!¡± shang xia gasped in shock. however, he quickly noticed something strange about it. ¡°no, that doesn¡¯t seem right. it seems to be a trap made up of countless restrictions!¡± shang xia muttered to himself before making his way over slowly. the closer he got, the clearer the fluctuations. ¡°there really is a battle among martial extermination realm experts! however, the restrictions from before aren''t really a trap! it seems to be a double layer formation with intricate restrictions working within¡­ the way they set it up is truly amazing! not only did it trap a martial extermination realm expert within, it can also suppress the shockwaves and energy fluctuations of the battle!¡± shang xia muttered to himself. the closer shang xia got to it, the more wary he became. if the enemy could set up a trap like that, they definitely had the ability to set up another one. if he stepped into it unknowingly, things would get messy. at the same time, he sighed to himself. not too much time had passed since he left with yan su¡¯er, but those people had already laid down such powerful formations around the pillar of light. they definitely had extremely powerful foundations and a ton of resources if they were able to act so quickly. aboriginal cultivators of the manyu continent would never be able to do something like that. to them, mid-grade weapons were like absolute treasures. they couldn¡¯t possibly take out so many resources to lay down a double layer formation in such a short amount of time.0 if shang xia had a strong suspicion that cen yu and liu yu were from the mysterious third faction before, there was no room for doubt anymore. now that he had seen the double layer formation, shang xia was certain that they were part of the mysterious third faction. realizing they were from the mysterious third faction was one thing, but with the strange actions they were taking, shang xia wondered what their goal was. with a multitude of thoughts running through his mind, shang xia decided to shatter the formation to see how things would play out. raising his palm, he sent his four constellation palm barreling straight for the intricate double layer formation. shang xia was extremely familiar with his four constellation palm at that point. every time he refined his four seasons extermination origins a little more, he would grow stronger. the power his four constellation palm contained grew with him. ¡°pop¡­¡± there wasn¡¯t a heaven-shaking explosion when shang xia¡¯s four constellation palm slammed into the formation. the basic light barrier that protected the formation dissolved quickly and the energy fluctuations it concealed quickly filled the surroundings. this time, a blast that shook the earth was produced and the snowy peaks mountain range that was around the formation started to crumble. destroying the suppression layer wasn¡¯t the only thing shang xia¡¯s four constellation palm did. it struck directly into the eye of the formation and even though it failed to shatter the formation completely, its effects were apparent. with the endless cycle of the four seasons, the formation seemed to age rapidly and its potency was no longer as great as before. ¡­ to be able to last so long in the double layer formation, the martial extermination realm expert who was trapped was no weakling. he quickly discovered the weakening formation and knew that his chance to break out had arrived. pushing his inner qi to the limit, he smashed a hole directly through the formation to escape. a loud explosion resounded through the skies when the expert broke out from the formation. he looked to be in an extremely bad state and he quickly swept his gaze across his surroundings. he didn¡¯t see anyone, but that didn¡¯t stop him from raising his truncheons to assume a defensive stance. he yelled in the direction of the formation, ¡°bitch! who the fuck are you?! how dare you plot against me? i was almost done in by your nasty schemes¡­¡± the screen of light that formed the other formation layer where the man broke out from flickered and a familiar face appeared. liu yu glanced at her surroundings suspiciously before staring at the first layer of the formation that had been greatly corroded. her expression turned extremely ugly. when shang xia saw liu yu emerging from the second formation layer, he was equally as shocked. at the same time, his curiosity about the other person who emerged peaked. liu yu was no weakling. she was an expert at the fourth layer of the martial extermination realm. even though she was a little timid and frequently failed to catch the best opportunity to make her move, she was merely a little weaker than yan su¡¯er. from the looks of both parties when they emerged, shang xia could tell that even with the help of the formation, liu yu could barely gain an upper hand against the other cultivator. that wasn¡¯t all. the expert who emerged after detecting the weakening of the first layer broke out with his own strength! it was clear he wasn¡¯t weak at all. instinctively, shang xia concentrated even more to conceal his presence. CH 547 shang xia wanted to verify his guesses with the person in front of him, but who would have thought that his enemy would launch a sudden attack when he got to the most juicy question of all? all shang xia wanted to know was their purpose in entering the manyu continent! 0 of course, shang xia never lowered his guard. facing the incoming ruler, shang xia¡¯s hundred gold sword made a quick counterattack. 7 different pairs of sword qi converged into one before slamming into the metal ruler.0 clang!0 a crisp blast tore through the air and shang xia seemed to suffer a heavy blow as he was thrown backwards. he only managed to stabilize himself after flying dozens of feet through the air and his hundred gold sword buzzed incessantly in his hands. it nearly failed to take on the blow.0 his seven laceration sword possessed a horrifying amount of power when it was powered by his four constellation qi. especially when he used the four constellations along with the concepts of yin and yang. his seven laceration sword reached a whole new level compared to the time he was in the yin yang realm. 0 however, his opponent was a martial extermination realm expert with deep foundations. he was comparable in strength to liu yu, and shang xia failed to gain the upper hand with his second martial intent.0 with the upper hand, the ruler wielding cultivator wouldn¡¯t let shang xia off easy. he pressed his advantage and tore the space between them open again. another beam of light emerged from his ruler as it wanted to take the chance when shang xia was distracted by the shattered space to slice him up into several pieces.0 shang xia kept his cool while dealing with the current situation. his hundred gold sword drew beautiful arcs in the sky as seven different rays of sword light formed a net in front of him to resist the metal ruler.0 with shrill scraping sounds ripping through the skies, shang xia¡¯s net of sword light was torn to shreds in an instant. however, it served its purpose and weakened the power contained in his enemy¡¯s strike by about 60 percent.0 instead of pulling back his weapon, the other cultivator roared with laughter. he continued to push his metal ruler forward, confident that he would be able to tear open the protection layer of shang xia¡¯s extermination origins before slaying the man.0 unfortunately, his expression changed the moment his weapon touched the protection barrier created by shang xia¡¯s four seasons extermination origins.0 he saw that after forcing shang xia¡¯s hundred gold sword back, a semi-broken blade appeared in his other hand. it turned into a reddish-gold lightning bolt that contained a terrifying blade intent that sailed past his metal ruler and straight at him.0 shang xia unleashed his twenty four solar terms with the abyssal blade and released lightning awakening!0 even though the raw power contained in the blade wasn¡¯t the highest out of every move he created, it was great for catching his opponents off guard and it was something shang xia used often in sneak attacks. with the speed it possessed, it would allow him to gain the initiative when fighting his opponents.0 obviously, the other cultivator didn¡¯t expect shang xia to wield his blade in his other hand. neither did he expect shang xia to be able to unleash another attack stronger than the sword intent he used earlier. the speed of the blade strike had also surpassed his expectations. shang xia might have used lightning awakening after the metal ruler was about to arrive, but it was obvious the blade intent would arrive first.0 breaking out into full blown panic, the other cultivator knew that it was too late to pull his weapon back. instead, he shook his weapon once and his ruler started breaking up into segments. every time it trembled once, a portion of the ruler would separate from the main body and return to his side. it soon turned into a shield in front of him.0 unfortunately, the shield that was formed hastily was blown apart in a massive explosion. the blade light didn¡¯t slow down in the slightest as it struck the protective barrier around shang xia¡¯s enemy.0 ¡°divine weapon!¡± he screamed in fright as the protection barrier around him shattered. a loud crack came from the crown on his head and a golden glow light fell from the void. it formed a screen around him and it blocked the terrifying blade light that had already arrived.0 he might have lived, but a trace of fear remained in his heart. he retreated without hesitation and he tried to widen the distance between himself and shang xia desperately.0 as he escaped, his experience as a seasoned cultivator took over. he didn''t waste the power of his life saving treasure. since it blocked shang xia¡¯s strike, the fragments of his metal ruler reformed in mid air and slammed into the protection barrier around shang xia.0 without any way to block the sudden attack, it was the first time shang xia was relying on the protection barrier created by his extermination origins to protect himself. since there was no way about it, shang xia took the chance to test out its limits.0 when the metal ruler slammed into his protection barrier, it started to corrode due to the unending cycle of the four seasons. in a short moment, it was completely drained of energy!0 ¡°you¡­¡± his opponent stared at him in fright and gasped, all while retreating. he wanted nothing more than to run away from this abnormal freak.0 a soft chuckle escaped shang xia¡¯s lips and he understood the other party¡¯s intentions. the hundred gold sword in his hand shot forward to release another seven pairs of sword qi to deploy the yin yang sword formation to prevent his opponent from leaving in the direction he intended. next, his abyssal blade cleaved horizontally. a blade light emerged before splitting into two strands of light that had the power to shatter the space around them as they extended towards his enemy.0 clearly, the cultivator who appeared earlier wanted to return to the safety of the inner formation.0 naturally, shang xia wouldn¡¯t let him do as he wished. his yin yang sword formation was actually a decoy. the true threat came from his blade strike as he had unleashed a powerful strike with his abyssal blade, spring equinox!0 the cultivator fighting against shang xia wasn¡¯t a fool. he could obviously tell that the blade strike was much stronger than the sword formation. 0 at the critical moment, the metal ruler that returned to his hand at an unknown time tapped quickly at the void before him. every time it did, it would tap accurately at the tip of the blade lights flying at him. every time he did, the blade lights would slow down slightly.0 however, every time his ruler tapped at the tip of the blade lights, it would be slightly damaged by the strange power contained within.0 this time, the corrosion didn¡¯t just affect his inner qi that powered the metal ruler. even the weapon itself started to get damaged.0 because he managed to stall the blade lights for a split second, he managed to pull out a purple crystal in his other hand. he pushed it in the direction of the spatial cracks that formed around the blade lights.0 as soon as it entered, it caused widespread destruction to the void around. the violent fluctuations managed to stop shang xia¡¯s spring equinox.0 even though the chaotic streams that came from the shattered void caused shang xia¡¯s heart to tighten slightly, he didn¡¯t feel a trace of fear.0 even if he didn¡¯t use his brains, he would be able to guess that the purple crystal was no ordinary treasure. as such, it wasn¡¯t likely for his opponent to bring out another one.0 without hesitation, shang xia raced towards his enemy. the distance between them shortened and his blade came crashing down again.0 once again, a terrifying blade light emerged from his abyssal blade but this time, it didn¡¯t split up. shang xia unleashed autumn¡¯s separation in an attempt to slay his opponent.0 the other cultivator revealed a look of fright. he no longer had any means to protect himself against the next strike and he could only use the half damaged metal ruler in his hands to resist it.0 ¡­0 after entering the martial intent realm and developing one¡¯s divine sense, combat between cultivators of the same level would usually involve the clash of their divine senses. one¡¯s techniques and special arts were usually not the focus of the battle as one would quickly come out on top the moment they suppressed the other party with their divine sense. unless the other party had extraordinarily powerful techniques to overcome the suppression, the battle was as good as over.0 if the way of fighting wasn¡¯t obvious enough in the martial intent realm, the difference would be clearly felt in the martial extermination realm. after one¡¯s divine sense transformed into divine perception, it would become their primary method of fighting. as long as they managed to suppress the other party with their divine perception, they would be able to advance and retreat as they pleased.0 ¡­0 because of shang xia¡¯s superior divine perception, the ruler wielding cultivator was feeling a massive sense of pressure on him the entire time. shang xia¡¯s suppression of his divine perception was much more intense than the disadvantage he fell to during their battle.0 since shang xia had locked on to him using his divine perception, it was nearly impossible for him to escape unharmed. he could only endure blade strike after blade strike.0 now that the battle had progressed up to that point, they could only see who ran out of inner qi first.0 shang xia¡¯s four constellation qi continued to cycle in his dantian. because of their properties, he could restore his inner qi extremely quickly and he wasn¡¯t afraid of fighting against someone of the same level. a battle of attrition was something he was completely unafraid of! moreover, he was wielding a divine weapon¡­0 under shang xia¡¯s continuous assault, his opponent was barely holding on.0 now that he released autumn¡¯s separation, his opponent could only resist it forcefully with his weapon. the metal ruler trembled violently and the impact went straight into the cultivator¡¯s body. his innards were shaken and he spat out a mouthful of blood. however, he eventually managed to resist the strike.0 after stopping autumn¡¯s separation, he seemed to have reached his limits. 0 there was no way shang xia would give his opponent a chance to catch his breath. with the special properties of his four constellation qi, shang xia would always be able to gain the upper hand by striking out at the key moment when he fought against opponents of the same level. with the hundred gold sword in his right hand, he slashed at the fleeing cultivator and knew that the moment it connected, he would deal his opponent a grievous blow.0 this time, the other cultivator no longer had any special life-saving treasures on him. even his weapon had been severely damaged by shang xia¡¯s blade intent. his inner qi was a mess as circulating it became really difficult due to the repeated injuries he suffered.0 right before he could succeed, shang xia discovered a slight fluctuation nearby. an ancient looking copper spear tore extended from the void and slammed into his hundred gold sword.0 clink!0 not only did the sudden attack interrupt shang xia¡¯s sword art, it also managed to pull shang xia¡¯s divine perception away from his target. the escaping cultivator discovered a ray of hope and his original intention to accept his fate disappeared. shaking off the suppression, he retreated hastily to regroup with the person who saved him.0 the cultivator who was saved at the last second was shocked, but so was shang xia. it was especially so after he noticed the damaged ancient copper spear that interrupted him.0 ¡°brother lou yi, are you alright?¡± a familiar voice rang through the air as an unfamiliar face emerged from the void. the person who just appeared wielded the ancient copper spear and was clearly the person who stopped shang xia at the last moment.0 ¡°brother huang yu, it¡¯s you¡­ ahem¡­ i didn¡¯t think that you would arrive so quickly. many thanks for saving me!¡± lou yi heaved a sigh of relief.0 holding the ancient copper spear in his hand, ¡®huang yu¡¯ stood between shang xia and lou yi as he replied, ¡°brother lou yi, please hang on a little longer. let me deal with this!¡± 0 ¡°brother huang yu, please wait!¡± lou yi tried to stop him. ¡°this person possesses extremely formidable strength. however, this isn¡¯t the time for us to mess about. the appearance of the pillar of light spewed out world origin at a frightening rate. it greatly accelerated the destruction of the manyu continent. we need to meet up with cen yu and liu yu as soon as possible to protect this area!¡±0 to read the uncut version, go to pawread dot com. ¡°alright¡­¡± huang yu who wanted to exchange pointers with shang xia ¡®reluctantly¡¯ chose to hold shang xia back while lou yi ran in the direction of the inner formation.0 shang xia understood that despite lou yi¡¯s injuries, there was no point in fighting anymore now that reinforcements had arrived. he stared at lou yi and huang yu who were about to enter the inner formation and he took several steps forward as if he wasn¡¯t willing to let them leave easily.0 ¡°brother lou, you should enter the formation first. i¡¯ll deal with this!¡± huang yu growled.0 the moment shang xia moved, the 2 of them felt as though another huge battle was about to break out. huang yu immediately stopped moving as he turned to face shang xia in mid air. of course, he was still moving towards the protection formation.0 lou yi opened the formation without much difficulty and maintained the opening until huang yu arrived. only after they entered the barrier did they quickly restore the opening.0 lou yi and huang yu started conversing inside the barrier in low voices, and shang xia couldn¡¯t hear a thing. they seemed to ignore shang xia who was outside when they were done talking and they rushed towards the pillar of light.0 before they left, huang yu turned to stare at shang xia as a strange smile flashed across his face for a split second. 0 CH 548 when shang xia lingered around outside the protection barrier, the cloud that ferried yan su¡¯er and yan ming was escorted back to the tongyou stronghold by bu jingshuang and liu jikun. ¡°it¡¯s been long since we last met. elder yan, i trust you have been well.¡± shang bo greeted them the moment they arrived. he wasn¡¯t the only one there as yun jing also looked like she had been expecting their arrival. yan ming was greatly taken aback when she saw shang bo. even yan su¡¯er failed to control her emotions as a trace of shock ran through her eyes when she saw him. she couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°how¡­ why¡­ oh right¡­ hehe, looks like you¡¯ve been cultivating in your tongyou stronghold the whole time!¡± shang bo nodded with a slight smile on his face, but he didn¡¯t comment any further. feeling the subtle change in the aura shang bo emitted, yan su¡¯er snorted, ¡°i heard that you guys had been attacked by a huge group of aboriginal cultivators. your tongyou stronghold was nearly razed to the ground. a few of you even died. were you able to continue cultivating despite the massive disturbance taking place?¡± shang bo¡¯s expression changed slightly, and the smile on his face started to fade. at the side, yun jing quickly interrupted, ¡°elder yan, you might not know about this, but deputy patriarch shang was at a crucial point in his cultivation back then. he sealed his senses and we concentrated our defensive formation around him to prevent him from being affected. unless our protection formation was completely destroyed during the battle, he wouldn¡¯t be able to discover anything.¡± actually, yan su¡¯er couldn¡¯t be bothered by yun jing¡¯s explanation. after she discovered the unique aura coming from shang bo, there wasn¡¯t much else that could interest her. after comprehending his fourth martial intent, shang bo entered the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm. he couldn¡¯t hide the powerful presence he was giving off any longer. in other words, shang bo had entered the half-step martial dipper realm! there was no way for him to increase his cultivation any further from that point unless he stepped into the martial dipper realm. yan su¡¯er voice was laced with envy and unease as she sighed, ¡°your tongyou institution is really fortunate¡­ a barren continent like yours actually managed to produce 3 martial dipper realm ancestors!¡± shaking his head, shang bo muttered, ¡°it¡¯s extremely difficult and dangerous to enter the martial dipper realm. even though i¡¯m a step away from breaking through, it¡¯s going to be extremely difficult to take that step. no one can be certain that i can break through successfully until i actually do it.¡± pausing slightly, shang bo¡¯s tone changed and he chuckled, ¡°anyway, from what i can see, elder yan has also stepped through the gates of the grand completion stage. in the future, it¡¯s very possible for you to enter the martial dipper realm too.¡± yan su¡¯er shook her head and laughed bitterly in response, ¡°i¡¯m afraid not. i only managed to fuse my extermination origins at the final moment of my battle. because of that, i damaged my foundations and unless there is an opportunity in the future, i will never be able to advance past the grand completion stage of the martial extermination ream.¡± ¡°did something like that really happen? it¡­ it¡¯s a shame¡­¡± shang bo and yun jing couldn¡¯t help but look at each other before revealing a look of pity. ¡°everyone has their own path. we can¡¯t force things that are not meant to be. compared to many other cultivators, i am extremely fortunate to have reached my current level.¡± yan su¡¯er didn¡¯t seem to mind too much and she was pretty open-minded about it. ¡°elder yan, you have seen through life and in the future, it¡¯s always possible for an amazing opportunity to appear in the future. after all, nothing is set in stone.¡± yun jing reacted immediately to comfort her. with a soft chuckle, yan su¡¯er didn¡¯t say anymore. as yun jing¡¯s gaze turned to the auspicious cloud cape that returned to its original form after sending them back, she couldn¡¯t help but stare at bu jingshuang strangely. the next moment, she changed the topic entirely. ¡°why didn¡¯t you come back with our talisman grandmaster?¡± shooting each other a strange look, bu jingshuang and liu jikun didn¡¯t know how to react immediately. eventually, bu jingshuang started to narrate shang xia¡¯s plan to everyone present. he spoke about how shang xia wanted to catch them off guard as they probably weren''t expecting him to return so quickly after saving yan su¡¯er. shang bo¡¯s expression sank instantly. ¡°preposterous!¡± find the original at "pawread dot com". yun jing¡¯s countenance wasn¡¯t looking too good either. ¡°he¡¯s too reckless!¡± however, yan su¡¯er destroyed the strange atmosphere in the air the next second. ¡°forgive my sudden interruption but young master shang¡¯s strength should have already exceeded anything you can think of. from what i can tell, even if he¡¯s unlucky enough to run into a martial extermination realm expert at the grand completion stage, he should be able to fight back and retreat unscathed. he¡¯s extremely sharp too. you don¡¯t have to worry about him.¡± yan su¡¯er might have surprised shang bo and yun jing with her evaluation of shang xia¡¯s strength, but they didn¡¯t doubt her judgment at all. ¡°did the kid¡¯s cultivation improve again in 2 short months?!¡± yun jing muttered to herself. shang bo shook his head at the side. ¡°the situation on the manyu continent is changing too rapidly. i just left seclusion and i haven''t gotten a proper grasp of what is going on¡­¡± ¡°right, we can¡¯t stand here all day and keep talking. we should invite elder yan in for some tea. let¡¯s talk about everything that has been going on over some refreshments.¡± yun jing interrupted shang bo suddenly. slapping his forehead, shang bo chuckled, ¡°oh yes! elder yan, please.¡± seemingly having felt something, yan su¡¯er decided not to accept the invitation immediately. ¡°i haven¡¯t fully recovered and i need to adjust my condition. let¡¯s talk about the situation in a bit.¡± calling chu jia over hastily, yun jing got their formation grandmaster to bring yan su¡¯er and yan ming to their quarters. after they left, yun jing whispered, ¡°let¡¯s send another transmission talisman and get ¡®him¡¯ to make another trip over. also, we should get ren bainian to meet up with him in the outer regions¡­ forget it. i¡¯ll personally make a trip over. you can stay here and have a nice chat with that old fox. since we invited her over, there¡¯s no chance for her to regret. she should be extremely clear about what she has to do. we don¡¯t have to be in a rush to press her for all the benefits right now.¡± shang bo shook his head and stopped her. ¡°relax. there¡¯s no need to tell ¡®him¡¯ to go over. he won¡¯t miss such a big commotion out there. if i¡¯m not mistaken, he should already be there. in fact, those two brats might have already reached an agreement and are working together as we speak.¡± ¡°the situation in the manyu continent is changing too rapidly and it might shatter suddenly. neither of us can leave the tongyou stronghold. moreover, we need to quickly reach an agreement with yan su¡¯er about working together with her yan race.¡± pausing slightly, shang bo continued, ¡°the moment we bring a part of the manyu continent back with us, the fusion of the worlds will start immediately¡­¡± sighing helplessly, yun jing muttered, ¡°who would have expected that our worlds would be split into different ranks? even if our azure origin world fuses with the azure spiritual world, we¡¯re still no match for the spirit abundance world! ¡­ shang xia didn¡¯t know that the situation on the manyu continent experienced a massive change during the time he spent in seclusion. even though the tongyou stronghold would send news from time to time, it was impossible for them to learn everything that happened to the manyu continent with their limited resources! moreover, they also chose to hide many things in their report to shang xia. standing on the other side of the protection barrier of the formation, shang xia widened his eyes in shock. ¡°what the fuck? he blended in with them just like that?!¡± shang xia muttered to himself when he saw them leaving for the pillar of light. no matter how surprised he was, shang xia had to admit that when ¡®huang yu¡¯ stopped him earlier, the aura he emitted was exactly the same as cen yu and the others. if not for the fact that he recognized the weapon and voice, shang xia wouldn¡¯t have doubted that huang yu was an enemy! shang xia wondered what type of transformation art would allow one to change their appearance and aura so perfectly into another person. they even allowed youshang to maintain the disguise for a long period of time without being seen through by others! there was something else that shang xia didn¡¯t understand. after entering the inner formation, neither of them stopped to observe the situation outside. were they not afraid that he would take the chance to shatter the protection barrier? thinking up to that point, shang xia realized that it wouldn¡¯t hurt to try and he swung his abyssal blade at the barrier. the barrier lit up as his blade light slammed into it, and a tiny crack he could fit through appeared. shang xia, who was about to step through the crack, stopped halfway. he recalled how xue cangling barged into the formation earlier. since the time he went in, things had been eerily silent. one had to know that xue cangling was a top-tier expert who was even stronger than liu yu. even if he entered the inner formation, he should be able to raise massive waves. in the event of the worst case scenario where he was surrounded by a bunch of enemies, he should fight back violently, causing huge shockwaves to spread through the lands. however, none of that could be felt! there was only one other possibility. the inner formation wasn¡¯t as simple as it looked. it was definitely concealing many strange mechanisms. it was no wonder lou yi would be so relaxed the moment he entered the protection of the inner formation. looking at the crack that was starting to close, shang xia fell into deep contemplation. eventually, he decided not to waste the chance as he chose to do something. of course, he wouldn¡¯t be crazy enough to waltz straight into the inner formation where he knew traps were waiting. instead, he went to the location where he first grabbed the array flag before gathering a massive palm in the air and imbuing it with his four constellation qi. he pressed it against the protection barrier that had restored itself without hesitation. since the array flag was missing, shang xia was able to strike at the weak point of the barrier. shang xia was in no rush to enter the inner formation. with the power of corrosion his four constellation qi possessed, he planned to slowly eat away at the formless barrier. ever since shang xia destroyed the protection barrier around the jingxiu peak and discovered the properties of his four constellation palm, he understood that it was extremely effective against things like restrictions and arrays. ordinarily, protection barriers would be able to restore themselves because of the formation that powered it. unless one destroyed the core of the formation, one wouldn¡¯t be able to stop the recovery of the protection barrier. even if one shattered the barrier completely, it would restore itself eventually. if one wasn¡¯t careful, the protection barrier that recovered would serve as a cage to stop them from leaving, placing them in an extremely precarious situation where they would have nowhere to go while being attacked by their enemies. now that shang xia was destroying the barrier bit by bit, he would also be able to waste the energy of the formation that powered it. it was an extremely clumsy way, but no one could deny that it worked. with the disappearance of the array flag, the powerful formation couldn¡¯t operate as efficiently as before. the speed at which the protection barrier recovered was extremely slow. the hole that shang xia created with his four constellation palm grew larger and larger as time went by. shang xia wanted to use that way to get rid of the protection barrier entirely to see what was happening within. as the gap grew bigger, shang xia could detect more and more of what was happening within the second layer of formations. even though he wasn¡¯t doing much outside, those hiding within finally couldn¡¯t hold themselves back and decided to make a move. without any warning, the phoenix wing halberd tore through the void and shattered shang xia¡¯s four constellation palm before flying straight at him. cen yu¡­ shang xia gasped in fright and turned to flee. he didn¡¯t hesitate when faced with such a powerful enemy. CH 549 the moment shang xia saw the phoenix wing halberd, he already decided to run. moreover, the moment the halberd smashed into his four constellation palm, shang xia felt 3 other auras appearing behind him when he turned to run. if he so much as hesitated, he would have been surrounded by 3 martial extermination realm experts. it would be too late for him to escape then. if he wasn¡¯t wrong, the protection formation was made up of an extremely rarely seen dual formation! xue cangling, who broke into the inner layer of the formation that was protected by the dual protection formation was probably in deep shit. it was extremely likely he was dead by now. the only question shang xia still had was if ¡®huang yu¡¯ was able to maintain his disguise in their protection formation. he hoped that no one would be able to see past it. what shocked shang xia was the amount of high-level combatants the mysterious third party on the manyu continent had. from the time they dealt with su jinyuan to the time he fought lou yi, shang xia had already fought against 7 high-leveled experts on their side. with the exception of the tanned brute who was chasing after yan ming, the rest were at the third layer martial extermination realm or stronger! of the 3 auras that appeared earlier when cen yu¡¯s phoenix wing halberd shattered his four constellation palm, shang xia could tell that the other 2 weren¡¯t people he had fought before. that meant that there were 2 other strong experts present in the formation! moreover, they weren¡¯t weak by any means. from the aura they released earlier, one of them was in the third layer of the martial extermination realm while the other was in the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm. there was no need to compare them to the you continent. even in the azure origin world, just the 3 of them alone would be enough to establish a massive faction. that was ignoring all the other experts shang xia had seen previously. even if he gathered all the experts of a single faction that was dispatched into the manyu continent, they wouldn¡¯t be enough to contend against the mysterious third faction. ¡°it¡¯s a shame we allowed him to get away!¡± cen yu looked at the leaving figure and sighed. the other cultivator beside him who had a leopard-like face and wide round eyes growled, ¡°that person will definitely leak the news of our dual formation. it won¡¯t be easy to kill him even if we run into him again.¡± ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter. because of the attraction of the pillar of light, 3 high-leveled martial extermination realm experts have already fallen into our hands. now, all we need is to gather the energy in the surroundings to power our dual formation. we can use the rest of the time to slowly harvest fate dipper fragments¡­¡± cen yu said. everyone couldn¡¯t help but turn to look at the pillar of light after mentioning the fate dipper fragments. the flames of desire appeared in their eyes. ¡­ running dozens of miles in a single breath, shang xia finally slowed down when he realized no one was after him. with his unusually powerful divine perception, he could even feel that they were returning to the safety of their protection dual formation. they might have left shang xia alone, but shang xia didn¡¯t dare to return to the vicinity of their formation right away. staring in that direction, shang xia discovered that the light pillar was gone! is it concealed by their formation? however, shang xia felt that it wasn¡¯t too likely for that to be the case. after all, he came into contact with the pillar of light before. it was something that truly connected the heavens to the earth. if the formations were truly able to conceal the pillar, that would mean that it was also connected to the heavens and the earth! shang xia was starting to regret leaving his auspicious cloud cape with them. otherwise, he could try to approach the location of the light pillar again. it might be a little dangerous, but he would still stand a chance with the concealment ability of the cape. looking back in the direction of the protection dual formation, shang xia flew around to inspect it while thinking of what to do. he couldn¡¯t come up with anything, but the change that happened the next moment shocked him. an intense earthquake swept through the whole region. from where he stood, he saw countless mountain peaks crumbling one after the other. that wasn¡¯t all. the approximate area where the pillar of light appeared earlier caved in and the destruction didn¡¯t stop there. it continued to spread outwards. along with the destruction of countless mountain peaks and the widespread collapse of the ground below, the entire region became a giant crater. it didn¡¯t stop there as the crater grew wider and deeper with every passing moment. due to the collapsed land, cracks started spreading out in all directions. massive rifts started to extend away from the area where the pillar was and it formed a giant spiderweb-crack in the earth. every single vein of water under the area erupted as geysers filled the air. the vapors quickly turned into dense mist that filled the skies and the entire region looked like it just experienced an apocalypse. despite the widespread destruction, shang xia could feel the density of heaven and earth qi growing rapidly. it was like the final spurt before one¡¯s death. the terrifying heaven and earth qi caused a huge vortex to appear in the air. countless bolts of lightning fell from the skies as though some special treasure was about to be born. under the cover of the dense fog that already formed, shang xia could feel several foreign auras as extermination lights filled the air. they soared in the direction of the vortex that formed. along with a thunderous blast, shang xia understood that a massive battle had broken out in the distance. the shockwaves that were produced easily spread thousands of miles and from the intensity of the battle he could feel, shang xia could tell that the protection dual formation wasn¡¯t in play. he might not know the reason why everything was happening, but even if he was a brainless fool, he would know that it had something to do with the mysterious third party that was on the manyu continent. he also felt that the protection dual formation was something they used to protect themselves before their plan was complete. now that they achieved what they wanted, shang xia thought that there was no point in maintaining the formation. with such a big commotion, shang xia wasn¡¯t willing to leave without checking out what was going on. especially after seeing several experts rushing into the massive vortex, shang xia felt his heart itching. hovering in the air, shang xia tried to inspect the insides of the vortex with his divine perception. unfortunately, the deeper it went, the stronger the obstruction it faced. shang xia felt a familiar feeling when his divine perception was stopped by the vortex of heaven and earth qi and quickly made the connection to the time he spent in the cloud water gorge of the taihang mountains. when shang xia got ready to charge into the massive vortex, a loud buzz resounded in the ears of everyone present. he felt his heart clenching and he took a step back involuntarily. not stopping there, he started to retreat rapidly. he wanted to get as far away from the vortex as possible. at the same time, a formless shockwave emerged from the vortex and spread outwards rapidly. the space around was twisted and the earth that was devastated before suffered yet another round of ravaging. the shockwave didn¡¯t stop after reaching the edges of the snowy peaks mountain range. instead, it continued to sweep outwards. while rapidly retreating, shang xia grunted loudly as his blade came slashing down to stop the impact from hitting him directly. find the original at "pawread.com". a resplendent blade light that was several feet in length appeared above him. as it fell, it grew longer and longer. it gained a terrifying momentum as it came crashing down on the formless shockwave and by the time they clashed, the blade light had already extended to the length of several miles. the space that was twisted because of the shockwave split apart layer by layer, and the massive shockwave that spanned countless miles was split open as a gap for shang xia to pass was formed. shang xia¡¯s blade light didn¡¯t just split apart the shockwave that was about to slam into him. the resplendent blade light cut deep into the ground below, creating a huge rift that was tens of miles long at the edges of the huge crater that was formed. after releasing the huge shockwave, the vortex of heaven and earth qi seemed to have cleansed itself. not only did all the dirt and rock fragments inside the vortex get pushed out, but even the slightly chaotic heaven and earth qi seemed to become a lot more pure. heaven and earth qi continued to gather into the vortex as it slowly increased in size. without any sudden threats to stop him, shang xia no longer hesitated. turning into a streak of light, he charged into the vortex. after the shockwave, all the debris was swept away. the underground water veins didn¡¯t suffer the same fate and the vapor that emerged turned into a thick mist that filled the skies. it clouded one¡¯s vision and the heaven and earth qi vortex caused the distortion of one¡¯s divine perception. the entire region was becoming more and more like the cloud water gorge. with his experience in cloud water gorge, shang xia didn¡¯t panic even though he couldn¡¯t see too far away and his divine perception was limited. instead, he felt a strange sense of calm. currently, his divine sense could cover close to 300 feet around him if he pushed himself all the way. comparing the suppression of the heaven and earth qi vortex to the cloud water gorge, the heaven and earth qi vortex was still slightly superior. maintaining his divine perception around him all the time placed a considerable burden on shang xia¡¯s body. luckily, an epiphany struck him at that moment and he quickly retrieved the hexagonal lantern. after everything he had been through, shang xia also learned the name of the lantern. it was called the misty palace lantern and it had the ability to repel mists and fog. it would clear out an area hundreds of feet away from the individual using it and it had some sort of properties that allowed it to stabilize the spatial knots around. it could even be used to defend against attacks and it possessed some sort of offensive property. all in all, the misty palace lantern was an exceptional treasure. the moment shang xia brought out the lantern which he had fully fueled with divine fire wine, he sent some of his four constellation qi into it. the flame flickered violently as a yellowish-blue glow emerged from the lantern. an area that spanned hundreds of feet around him cleared up instantly but that wasn¡¯t all. a strange power suppressed the chaotic twisting space that affected one¡¯s divine perception within the area it cleared out, and shang xia resembled a moving island. the area around him was free from the chaos and mist that existed around the heaven and earth qi vortex. holding the abyssal blade in one hand and the misty palace lantern in the other, shang xia casually strolled through the obstruction caused by the heaven and earth qi vortex. he wasn¡¯t afraid he would lose his way as he started walking straight for the heaven and earth qi vortex in the distance the moment it emerged, the crimson soul tablet discovered traces of world origin within. it accurately pointed him in the correct direction. CH 550 after the death of a martial extermination realm expert, their inner qi would return to the world. that was the cause of the world phenomenon that resulted after their death. 0 in the central region of the heaven and earth qi vortex where the pillar of light once stood, a region of calm could be seen as the chaos that happened all around seemed to not affect the area in the slightest. within a thousand mile radius, tranquility pervaded the lands. of course, the heaven and earth qi there was so dense that it was suffocating. it even showed signs of condensing to form a thick heaven and earth qi mist. a ray of light emerged from the collapsed land below but was quickly surrounded by the revolving heaven and earth qi in the surroundings. as the heaven and earth qi wrapped itself around the ray of light, it seemed to provide some sort of protection.0 as it turned out, that was the pillar of light that was there before. after shang xia absorbed a third of its energy, it condensed and shrank tens of times to become a thin ray of light. however, in its current form, it became somewhat corporeal and turned into something physical. if shang xia was able to enter the region that very second, he would be able to tell that even though the ray of light seemed thin, it contained a frightening amount of world origin! in fact, it might even contain more world origin than when it first appeared! as it turned out, the world origin the ray of light contained wasn¡¯t all natural. in fact, there were several reasons why it managed to regain the world origin shang xia had absorbed earlier and a little more. as heaven and earth qi was sucked into the heaven and earth qi vortex relentlessly and purified by the celestial phenomenon, there was a massive formation acting rapidly to transform the pure heaven and earth qi into something resembling world origin that supplemented the pillar of light. the heaven and earth qi vortex perfectly covered the formation that was prepared below, and the massive operation had to be carried out by at least 3 high-leveled martial extermination realm experts. that wasn¡¯t all. in 3 different points of the formation lay 3 corpses, and they were the bodies of the high-leveled martial extermination realm experts who barged into the protection dual formation earlier. if shang xia was present, he would recognize one of the corpses to be xue cangling who ignored him after he was freed and charged into the inner formation that contained the protection dual formation without warning. the other 2 were experts who were drawn over by the pillar of light and were killed by cen yu and the others. a quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled. ¡­ ¡°this formation goes against the normal operation of the world. we can only use it in the manyu continent that¡¯s about to be destroyed.¡± cen yu, the strongest expert among those powering the formation, explained. ¡°hehe¡­¡± a cultivator clad in black from head to toe chuckled in a hoarse voice. ¡°it¡¯s not that we can¡¯t use this formation in our world¡­ we just have to kill a martial dipper realm expert or two to get enough energy!¡± as soon as the words left his lips, the other cultivator beside him whose inner qi wasn¡¯t flowing too smoothly due to some injuries he sustained sneered, ¡°mister black makes it seem extremely easy. with the restriction of our world¡¯s will, even if we manage to offer martial dipper realm experts as sacrifices, it might not suffice. after all, the formation to transform heaven and earth qi already goes against the natural laws. we¡¯re sucking thousands of miles of land of their life essence and even if we manage to survive the backlash of the world¡¯s will, we¡¯ll definitely become public enemy number 1 for causing such widespread destruction. ahem¡­ cough, cough¡­¡± the person who spoke was lou yi, and he was clearly injured. from the way he spoke, he was clearly disgusted by the black robed man. he didn¡¯t mince his words and his tone was really unfriendly. ¡°brother lou, your injuries are serious. you should use the fate dipper fragments we obtain to quickly recover.¡± cen yu said and shattered the tension between the two immediately. he stopped the argument that was about to break out. he also managed to get on lou yi¡¯s good side by offering him a fate dipper fragment, getting a lot of thanks in return. with their petty squabble settled, cen yu spoke again. ¡°actually, the two of you missed a crucial point to the successful deployment of our reversal formation. because the manyu continent was originally a part of our world, the disturbance caused by our special reversal formation hasn''t caused the entire continent to shatter.¡± everyone agreed with him but he didn¡¯t stop there. cen yu continued, ¡°the manyu continent was a part of our world initially, but now that it has exhausted its world origin and has reached the end of its lifespan, there is no point trying to reincorporate it into our world. if only it wasn''t, we might be able to raise the strength of our world¡­¡± the black robed man chuckled sinisterly, ¡°if the manyu continent wasn¡¯t on the verge of destruction, why would we gather fate dipper fragments from it?¡± cen yu tacitly decided to change the topic. ¡°i hope that the others will be able to last a little longer. unfortunately, su jinyuan died a wrongful death. no one knows how he died even now¡­ wang guan and xiong lei were also slain by our enemies. otherwise, our chances of success will be much higher than before.¡± the black robed man piped up yet again. ¡°well, there¡¯s nothing much to be said about lin chai. huang yu¡¯s strength is impressive too. as for lin yu¡­ hehe¡­¡± ¡°a fragment has emerged!¡± lou yi yelled all of a sudden. cen yu and the black robed man quickly cut their conversation short as they turned to stare at the ray of light in the middle of the heaven and earth qi vortex. ¡­ the crater that was created after the collapse of the snowy peaks mountain range continued to grow deeper as it expanded slowly. a violent quake, along with the expansion of the spider web-like cracks all around it, followed by even more destruction caused the heaven and earth qi to be squeezed out from the ground below. they gathered in the heaven and earth qi vortex and strengthened the storm even more. shang xia, who had the experience of sapping the vitality off an entire mountain, noticed what was going on. he could tell that the entire region would turn into a dead zone after all its life force was sucked by the heaven and earth qi vortex. unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t do a thing about it. the manyu continent was on the brink of destruction anyway. everything that was happening there merely hastened the process. despite the chaotic streams and foggy air around him, shang xia was unperturbed. he made his way over to the core of the heaven and earth qi vortex. with the misty palace lantern in his hand, he was like a tiny boat that was unaffected by the huge waves and storms as he sailed to his destination. the closer he got, the clearer the feedback from the crimson soul tablet. it could clearly feel the presence of world origin within. despite the twisting space and the dense fog around him, shang xia could clearly feel the traces of a huge battle taking place. obviously, there were several experts who had the same idea as shang xia. unfortunately for them, they made their move a little earlier and were intercepted by the experts who caused everything. shang xia was really interested in who would be coming to stop him. he was truly hoping for huang yu to appear as his understanding of the situation was truly not up to par. he wanted to learn what was going on from someone on his side. since the world didn¡¯t revolve around shang xia, he didn¡¯t get his wish. moreover, his luck was pretty bad as he seemed to have gotten a pretty strong opponent. under the storm of heaven and earth qi, a trade of danger slowly approached. moreover, shang xia couldn¡¯t pinpoint its exact location. his divine perception covered the area under the control of his misty palace lantern, but the moment it tried extending outwards, it would be twisted mercilessly by the storm of heaven and earth qi. it was so bad that the space he could feel with his divine perception wouldn¡¯t align with his sense of sight. luckily, the twisted space didn¡¯t affect the crimson soul tablet¡¯s resonance with world origin. that was what allowed shang xia to not get lost in the first place. as the crimson soul tablet¡¯s resonance with world origin grew stronger the closer shang xia approached the heaven and earth qi vortex, so did the feeling of danger. shang xia couldn¡¯t help but suspect that those experts from the mysterious third party had some way to ignore the twisted space and lock on to other experts in the area. shang xia was never one to underestimate his opponent. leaving the misty palace lantern to float above his head, his hundred gold sword appeared in his left hand and he immediately released seven pairs of sword qi. he deployed his yin yang sword formation and kept it around himself.0 because of his battle with lou yi, shang xia discovered that the combination of his yin yang sword formation and his twenty four solar terms were extremely compatible. when he used both of them at the same time, his combat capabilities would reach a whole new level. ignoring the consumption of his four constellation qi by maintaining the seven pairs of sword qi around him, shang xia knew that he was in no position to be stingy with his inner qi in his current situation. he was ready to defend himself at any time. the person hiding in the mist might not understand what exactly shang xia was doing, but he could tell that shang xia was ready for a big fight. he could sense danger coming from shang xia and he didn¡¯t dare to make any reckless moves. perhaps they were probing each other, or maybe both sides had their own considerations, the situation immediately entered into a stalemate. one of them was moving slowly towards the heaven and earth qi vortex while the other was hiding in the mist, ready to strike. even though he was using his four constellation qi to maintain the sword formation around him, his expressionless face didn¡¯t give anything away. no one knew how long had passed, but shang xia felt the storm outside the range of his misty palace lantern growing stronger. the heaven and earth qi vortex was spinning counterclockwise, and the area cleared out by the lantern was starting to get suppressed. shang xia didn¡¯t care about the consumption of his inner qi as he inserted even more of it into the lantern, causing it to glow brilliantly. it quickly resisted the suppression from the heaven and earth qi storm and the cleared area returned to its original size. at that moment, the expert hidden in the mist finally made his move. hundreds of essence shattering needles shot at shang xia from unexpected angles, and each one of those needles was a treasure. they weren¡¯t exactly crafted from a special type of mineral, but it was created with one¡¯s extermination qi. after gathering heaven and earth qi in the surroundings, the user would turn them into tony needles using some sort of secret art. it was specially used to break their opponent¡¯s extermination origin protection barrier. unfortunately, every single needle was pressed down by a formless pressure the moment they entered the range shang xia¡¯s misty palace lantern covered. that wasn¡¯t all. every inch they progressed, the pressure on them increased onefold. they were also forced to slow down even more. secret attacks like that that made use of hidden weapons to break one¡¯s extermination origin protection barrier would usually be used to catch someone off guard. they would also travel at a frightening speed. too bad for the mystery man, his sneak attack was obstructed by shang xia¡¯s misty palace lantern, giving him enough time to react. shang xia strengthened the protection barrier around him before sending the flickering light in the misty palace lantern out. it turned into a long fire whip that incinerated the needles. when shang xia¡¯s attention was placed on stopping the sneak attack, a pale lady suddenly barged into the area covered by the lantern and sent a golden hairpin flying straight at shang xia¡¯s eyes. CH 551 was that a fucking distraction? 0 it wasn¡¯t something new, but diverting someone¡¯s attention like that was a surefire way to ensure that one would be able to launch a successful sneak attack. unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t enough to deal with shang xia. even without using his hundred gold sword, shang xia casually released a chaos essence lightning palm at the hairpin that was flying at him. a reddish-gold lightning bolt appeared and crashed directly into it. that wasn¡¯t all. after stopping the golden hairpin, the tiny streaks left in the air continued to fly at the pale lady who sneak attacked him. with a listless look on her face, the clothes of the lady cultivator lit on fire and she turned into a paper figure. going up in a blaze, the paper figure disappeared in the next second. a quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. ¡°so that¡¯s it¡­¡± shang xia wouldn¡¯t believe that the person hidden in the mist would reveal themselves so easily and still fail to land a proper hit on him. if he were in their position and had a grasp on his own location, he would think of how to cause the greatest amount of damage without revealing himself. that would allow him to gain an advantage by paying the lowest price possible. the thought barely flashed through his mind when he detected another disturbance in his divine perception. raising his head violently, he saw that the space that had been blocked out by the misty palace lantern deformed violently as it was pressed inwards. 5 huge fingers made from heaven and earth qi tore through the formless layer that prevented shang xia from being affected by the storms and fog. in the next instant, a violent heaven and earth qi storm swept through the area and a soft silvery light also entered from the gaps. a frown appeared on shang xia¡¯s face and blew with all his might. he used his four constellation qi while doing so and the fingers quickly scattered. however, the silvery light separated themselves from the fingers of heaven and earth qi and continued to fall on him. with his expression changing slightly, a brilliant glow surrounded his body. the misty palace lantern spun around above his head and topped itself upside down. the pressure it emitted changed directions and pushed everything upwards. the silvery lights that were approaching him quickly earlier started to slow down and their true appearances were revealed. they were actually 5 silver hairpins and shang xia waved his sleeves casually to send them flying. the moment he did, 3 bronze hairpins broke through the formless layer as well and they came from 3 different directions. they shot towards him from the front, back, and one of them came from below.0 the bronze hairpins were clearly different from the golden and silver ones from before. they blended into the void the moment he noticed them. with a slight intention, shang xia finally raised his hundred gold sword. the yin yang sword formation he had been maintaining around himself was revealed. seven pairs of sword qi rampaged about the void around him and caused the bronze hairpins to reveal themselves. after that, they started to split and a dazzling 49 rays of sword lights appeared to grind the 3 bronze hairpins into dust. even though shang xia stopped the mysterious person¡¯s third offensive, his final trump card, the yin yang sword formation was also revealed. a sarcastic laughter came from outside the range of the misty palace lantern¡¯s protection. perhaps it was because shang xia had to deal with the repeated attacks and couldn¡¯t place much attention on the misty palace lantern. the area that it covered shrunk to less than half its original size. when shang xia was surprised that the area was reduced by such a huge amount, the formless screen was broken yet again. this time, he failed to detect what exactly it was. a formless weapon?! shang xia expanded his divine perception to try to lock onto the location of the threat but he failed. all he could feel was the approximate point they were at. at the last second, shang xia swung his abyssal blade, and blade lights fell in the form of snow. 3 wooden hairpins were revealed by the pure-white snow that covered the area. this time, they were several times stronger than the gold, silver, and bronze hairpins that flew at him earlier. before they arrived, shang xia felt a sense of pressure coming from them. a fierce aura locked onto the 3 main acupoints on his body and his movements started to turn sluggish. alarm bells went off in his mind and shang xia pushed his four constellation qi to the limit. he poured it into the abyssal blade desperately before swinging it in front of him. due to his desperation, he came up with another move on the spot with inspiration coming from the 10th of the 24 solar terms. summer solstice! ¡°bang! bang! bang!¡± 3 explosions rang through the air as the 3 wooden hairpins flying his way shattered. they turned into broken splinters that flew through the air. shang xia¡¯s expression was exceptionally ugly at that point. the person who was making a move on him seemed extremely familiar with his methods. moreover, they were slowly forcing him to reveal his trump cards one by one. the mocking laugh rang in his ears once again and the flames of fury burned even brighter in his heart. obviously, that was no time to be getting angry. because of how he had to defend himself twice, he had to slow down to catch his breath. the person hiding in the shadows wouldn¡¯t give shang xia a chance to recover. in fact, that might be the person¡¯s plan all along. after the wooden hairpins shattered, two figures rushed at him from two different directions. each one of them held a white-jade bone hairpin in their hands before stabbing at shang xia. the sharp bony hairpin tore through the void and a strange whistle ripped through the air. the sound was extremely jarring and it affected shang xia¡¯s divine perception. two of them? no¡­ this has to be an illusion art! it¡¯s an illusion created by that strange whistle! shang xia¡¯s accomplishment in his heaven and earth synergy chapter was high and his soul was unaffected. he quickly discovered that one of the figures rushing at him was full of vitality while the other was nothing but an empty body. if the danger only came from one side¡­ shang xia ignored the fact that his inner qi was still churning violently in his body as he released another blade strike. an intense explosion appeared as he unleashed grand ignite, one of the moves of his twenty four solar terms. clang! shang xia¡¯s abyssal blade clashed with the white-jade bone hairpin in mid air. their inner qi collided and formed a concentrated ball of energy that shattered the void between them. a powerful shockwave was released from the huge concentration of energy and destruction. it directly flipped over the misty palace lantern above shang xia¡¯s head and continued to spread thousands of miles away. due to the pushing force of the shockwave, the area covered by the misty palace lantern was forcefully transformed into a strange oval shape. both of them were blown away from the impact and the cultivator who tried to sneak attack shang xia was forced to retreat. the exchange between them looked even due to shang xia¡¯s use of his divine weapon and the other cultivator''s deep foundations. however, shang xia wasn¡¯t out of options even though he was sailing through the air. he tossed the hundred gold sword in his hand at the ¡®dead¡¯ image that came to attack him along with the cultivator earlier. he didn¡¯t throw it out for fun either. he used the principles of piercing sun, one of the moves of his nine providence spear art, when flinging his spear. clang! even though the ¡®dead¡¯ image was supposed to be made from an illusion, a loud ringing sound tore through the air when his sword arrived. a white-jade bone hairpin that was half a foot long appeared from beneath the image to block shang xia¡¯s sword. because it was struck by shang xia¡¯s sword, the hairpin spun about in the air before finally returning to the mysterious cultivator who sneak attacked him earlier. even though shang xia felt that the other figure was a lifeless image who attacked him, that didn¡¯t mean that it didn¡¯t pose a threat. from what it seemed, the white-jade bone hairpin came as a pair. with one of the hairpins in his hand, the person launched a devastating sneak attack on shang xia. his other hairpin was thrown out along with the ¡®dead¡¯ image to carry out an even sneakier sneak attack. ordinarily, after cultivators saw through the illusion, they would think that all the danger came from the actual enemy. they would completely ignore the other image and thus fail to detect the white-jade bone hairpin that was coming at them. moreover, the mysterious cultivator already carried out 3 sneak attacks on shang xia before entering the fray personally. no one would expect him to layer his sneak attack into one where he was physically present. if his target wasn¡¯t shang xia¡¯ he would have a much higher chance of success. unfortunately for him, he had to run into a monster who had an unusually sharp divine perception and a shocking recovery speed. not only did he discover the true danger hidden in the attack, but he even had spare energy to deal with it. he didn¡¯t even forget to pull his misty palace lantern when he retreated. the mysterious expert who came to intercept him on his journey to the heaven and earth qi vortex quickly left the area covered by the misty palace lantern and was swept away by the heaven and earth qi storm outside. CH 555 even though the heaven and earth qi storm outside could distort one¡¯s senses, causing them to be unable to differentiate the direction they were moving in, shang xia was a special case. 0 because of the twisted sense of direction, other cultivators would hardly be able to locate the vortex. unlike them, the members of the spirit abundance world could communicate with each other with some sort of secret art. they could even accurately pinpoint the locations of the foreign experts who were trying to break into the heaven and earth qi vortex! due to the limited divine perception range, sneak attacks were particularly effective. 0 as such, the experts of the spirit abundance world held an absolute advantage. 0 huang yu wanted to bring shang xia in the correct direction as he knew that shang xia¡¯s goal was also the fate dipper fragments. however, shang xia had the crimson soul tablet. it pointed him in the direction of the pillar of light, and locating the pillar of light was equivalent to arriving at the heaven and earth qi vortex.0 unfortunately, that was as far as shang xia could go. he could tell where the central region of the vortex was after he arrived, but he wouldn¡¯t know where the 3 of them were. that was where he needed huang yu¡¯s help.0 ¡­0 the moment he tore through the vortex to enter, he felt as though he had fallen into a paradise of cultivation. the heaven and earth qi surrounding him was really dense. 0 what shocked him wasn¡¯t the density of heaven and earth qi. instead, it was the purity of the qi.0 due to the presence of the vortex, the heaven and earth qi contained within seemed to have passed through countless filters and had been refined to the absolute purest it could be. shang xia could even directly absorb the heaven and earth qi to replenish his depleted reserves.0 he felt the pores of his body expanding as it tried to suck in the dense heaven and earth qi around him. the speed at which his inner qi circulated actually increased by close to 30 percent! all the energy he used earlier was starting to recover at a terrifying pace¡­0 well, that wasn¡¯t the time to be thinking about all that.0 ¡­0 shang xia¡¯s sudden appearance and attack shocked everyone present, but they weren¡¯t exactly caught completely off guard.0 when lou yi pressed himself to the ground and scurried away, cen yu and hei lian reacted. as they moved in unison, the formation under their feet started to transform. a formless wave appeared to block shang xia while wearing down his extermination origin protection barrier.0 even though the self-preservation function of the formation they had laid down wasn¡¯t strong, it had the ability to absorb energy and convert it into something else. it could gradually grind down a cultivator¡¯s energy without them noticing it. 0 luckily, shang xia¡¯s senses were sharp. the control he had over his extermination origins and inner qi far outranked cultivators of the same level. the moment he stepped into the vortex, he already discovered his inner qi draining from his dantian.0 everything happened in a split second, but recalling what huang yu told him outside the vortex, the abyssal blade came crashing down once again.0 ¡°outrageous!¡± 0 ¡°stop!¡± 0 cen yu and hei lian yelled at the same time, but their next action differed slightly.0 cen yu left his position and rushed at shang xia directly.0 after getting over his initial shock, he recognized shang xia and how strong he was. he also knew that shang xia had a secret art that would allow him to quickly devour world origin. that wasn¡¯t all. with his estimation of shang xia¡¯s strength, he understood that the injured lou yi wouldn¡¯t be the youngster¡¯s opponent. as such, lou yi wouldn¡¯t be able to stop him from approaching the pillar of light.0 another reason he left his position to stop shang xia was because after harvesting his fragments earlier, he knew that the world origin was nearly exhausted. it wasn¡¯t possible for them to go for another round and since he already obtained his benefits, he didn¡¯t care about the stability of the formation. 0 hei lian acted completely differently. he had been taking the last fragment produced every round and he wasn¡¯t willing to give up the slightest chance of obtaining the last fragment. fate dipper fragments were extremely rare treasures to him, and he would give it his all to obtain another piece.0 seeing that shang xia was threatening the stability of the formation by giving up on his opportunity to heavily injure lou yi, hei lian poured his inner qi crazily into it as he forcefully sustained the formation even with cen yu¡¯s departure.0 a layer of light emerged from the ground below to meet shang xia¡¯s blade light and they were slowly ground away by the terrifying amount of energy contained in the attack.0 he might have resisted shang xia¡¯s blade light, but the violent shaking that was created from the clash affected the operation of the formation to some extent. lou yi, who arrived in front of the pillar of light, failed to locate a fragment even after feeling around for some time.0 hei lian, who was maintaining the formation alone, spat out a mouthful of blood. 0 with the other 2 absent and shang xia¡¯s blade light pressing against the formation, he suffered a severe backlash and received heavy internal injuries.0 after shang xia¡¯s failed attempt to destroy the formation failed due to hei lian¡¯s efforts, cen yu arrived in front of him.0 shang xia¡¯s head started to hurt when he saw cen yu again. that fellow had already comprehended his martial intent and was a step away from entering the martial dipper realm. his weapon, the phoenix wing halberd, was a pseudo divine weapon and shang xia knew that he wasn¡¯t an opponent for the old expert.0 fortunately, huang yu and shang xia ran through several scenarios before he entered and this was one of them.0 shang xia, who had the experience of unleashing different techniques with both his hands after his life threatening battle earlier, had been storing up energy in his left hand the whole time. when cen yu appeared with the halberd in hand, shang xia released a powerful four constellation palm in his face.0 the dense heaven and earth qi in the air rippled and the space between shang xia and cen yu bent heavily. his four constellation palm appeared in front of cen yu who was still a thousand or so feet away in an instant.0 shang xia¡¯s palm was infinitely close to a rank four martial intent and it was one of shang xia¡¯s strongest trump cards.0 although the raw power contained in the palm strike was enough, it hadn¡¯t undergone the fundamental transformation to truly become a rank four martial intent. what was more, there were differences in levels even among rank four martial intents.0 cen yu was stopped by the sudden appearance of shang xia¡¯s four constellation palm, and he grunted loudly while waving his phoenix wing halberd. a pair of scarlet wings bloomed in the void and tore shang xia¡¯s four constellation palm to shreds.0 it didn¡¯t matter to shang xia. after all, his main purpose of releasing his four constellation palm was to buy some time.0 his true goal was the pillar of light in front of him and lou yi, who had an unresigned expression as he continued to dig for the fate dipper fragment.0 shang xia¡¯s abyssal blade changed direction and slashed out once again, releasing a blade qi that contained the will to destroy everything in its path. 0 he unleashed pure brightness, a move in the series of his twenty four solar terms.1 ¡°be careful!¡± 0 right after shattering shang xia¡¯s four constellation palm, cen yu witnessed the terrifying blade light traveling towards lou yi and he couldn¡¯t help but roar after understanding the intricacies behind shang xia¡¯s techniques.0 with lou yi¡¯s current condition, cen yu knew that if the blade light found its target accurately, lou yi was going to take a trip down to the netherworld.0 at the crucial moment, lou yi raised his metal ruler in an attempt to protect himself as he tried to resist shang xia¡¯s pure brightness.0 a loud snap was heard as his high-grade metal ruler was broken in half by the blade light.0 spitting out another mouthful of blood, lou yi felt a tyrannical energy invading his body. he retreated hundreds of feet thanks to the impact of the collision between his weapon and the blade light and avoided the deadly blow.0 the blade light that struck his weapon earlier scattered and lou yi felt the weight on his right arm disappear. sparkling cubes scattered into the air above him.0 ¡°oh no!¡± lou yi panicked and he couldn¡¯t care less about the injuries he suffered as the fate dipper fragments he collected earlier flew into the skies.0 he tried to grab the 2 closest to him. cen yu rushed to grab another one that flew close to him and the last one ended up in shang xia¡¯s hands as he continued to make his way to the pillar of light.0 staring at the piece in shang xia¡¯s hand, lou yi¡¯s eyes widened in shock. if he wasn¡¯t mistaken, that was the fragment he obtained during the first harvest.0 not only was it the first piece he obtained, but it was also the first fragment that was produced by the light pillar! of the fate dipper fragments they obtained, that was the piece with the highest quality!0 that wasn¡¯t all. when shang xia grabbed the fate dipper fragment earlier, the remnant energy of his blade light destroyed the already dim pillar of light!0 the moment it was shattered, the fate dipper fragment lou yi had been desperately trying to find earlier fully formed. it started to fall to the ground below and shang xia reached out instinctively to grab it. since he was already headed in the same direction to begin with, it wasn¡¯t a surprise he managed to get his hands on it. of course, the piece he grabbed was of extremely low quality. there were cracks on its surface and it didn¡¯t look too great.0 ¡°sacrifice him and continue the harvest!¡± hei lian roared as he left his position. he approached from another direction and tried to surround shang xia.0 seeing how shang xia shattered the light pillar that was supposed to produce the last fragment, hei lian felt all his hard work going down the drain. he burst into rage and he wanted nothing more than to cut shang xia up into a million pieces.0 even though shang xia¡¯s blade light crashed into the pillar of light, it didn¡¯t actually cause any destruction. when the blade light came into contact with the pillar of light, all the world origin was absorbed into shang xia¡¯s crimson soul tablet.0 after obtaining 2 fragments out of nowhere, shang xia discovered that he couldn¡¯t shove them into any of his spatial artifacts.0 it was no wonder they would fly out from lou yi¡¯s sleeves.0 shang xia could only shove them into his sleeves helplessly before rushing back in lou yi¡¯s direction. 0 with the current situation he was stuck in, shang xia seemed to have reached the conclusion that his action of charging into the heaven and earth qi vortex was a little reckless.0 a quick look at bit.ly/3ibfjkv will leave you more fulfilled. he wouldn¡¯t be a match if he ran into cen yu alone. with an additional hei lian at the side, his chances of escaping weren''t too high. 0 however, he didn¡¯t choose to run immediately. instead, he continued to rush at lou yi. that was because he could already feel the killing intent coming from cen yu and hei lian and he knew that escaping wasn¡¯t really possible at the moment.0 luckily, there was still an injured fellow who just lost his weapon and suffered even heavier injuries. he could capture one of them before deciding on his next course of action!0 ¡°you scoundrel! how dare you act so brazenly?¡± 0 ¡°brother lou yi, run!¡± 0 cen yu and hei lian approached shang xia from both directions. even though they seemed to be yelling to remind lou yi to be careful, neither of them actually cared about his life or death.0 right before lou yi, someone with a pretty impressive background from the spirit abundance world could be taken hostage by shang xia, the heaven and earth qi vortex tore open and a sorry figure rushed in. 0 ¡°brother lou yi, don¡¯t panic, i, huang yu, am here!¡± 0 as soon as the words rang in their ears, a spear that was lacking a spearhead shot straight for shang xia.0 at the same time, huang yu took out a weird short sword in his hand that he clearly wasn¡¯t used to in his hands. he brandished it menacingly, but it was clear to all of them he was an amateur at swordplay, as he inserted himself between lou yi and shang xia.0 shang xia was caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the new enemy and he gasped in fright before stopping abruptly. the abyssal blade in his hand changed its trajectory and it smacked the headless spear towards cen yu, who was the closest to him.0 seeing as he was surrounded by his enemies, shang xia stabbed his sword into the ground below in a state of desperation as he poured his inner qi into it crazily.0 with a low explosion, the formation shattered and the ground below collapsed. that wasn¡¯t all. when the formation broke down, the heaven and earth qi vortex that formed a wall around them started to disappear at a frightening speed.0 CH 556 after the disappearance of the pillar of light, there was no point in keeping up the formation. however, all of them seemed to forget that the formation was the one that produced the heaven and earth qi vortex in the first place. when hei lian left his post to surround shang xia, the final guardian of the formation was gone! there was no way the formation could withstand a strike from shang xia¡¯s blade with no experts around to control it. the moment shang xia stabbed his sword into the ground below, the heaven and earth qi vortex went completely out of control. the vortex that gathered heaven and earth qi in the thousands of miles surrounding it had already reached a diameter of more than 10 miles. now that it went out of control, heaven and earth qi came crashing down and those at its core weren¡¯t spared. with a wall of heaven and earth qi crashing down on them, cen yu and the others didn¡¯t even need to think about killing shang xia. they had to ensure they could get out of there alive. ¡°oh no! brother lou yi, careful¡­¡± huang yu reacted before anyone else. he knew that lou yi had suffered multiple injuries and he wouldn¡¯t be able to resist the terrifying current of heaven and earth qi that was about to arrive. standing in front of lou yi, huang yu didn¡¯t care about the consumption of his inner qi as he created a protection barrier with his extermination origins to shield both of them. at that moment, lou yi¡¯s impression of huang yu changed. originally, he only planned to make use of huang yu¡¯s strength when they were on the manyu continent. he never thought that huang yu would go so far as to protect him and he couldn¡¯t help but stutter, ¡°brother huang, i¡­¡± ¡°there¡¯s no need to say anything! circulate your inner qi and brace yourself. the heaven and earth qi current is coming¡­ it¡¯s here!¡± huang yu focused entirely on the horrifying current that was rushing down from the skies and he failed to hear the rest of lou yi¡¯s sentence. understanding that he was in no state to resist the incoming torrent of heaven and earth qi, lou yi decided to remain obediently behind huang yu. with the protection of his new ally, lou yi started to circulate his inner qi to stabilize his inner injuries the best he could. he hoped that he would be able to regain some combat capabilities in the event he had to assist huang yu. whoosh¡­ the area in the vortex instantly turned into a sea of concentrated heaven and earth qi. everyone in there was swept away by the powerful waves that spread in all directions and the huang yu, lou yi duo had no idea where the others were. huang yu grabbed lou yi¡¯s arm tightly to prevent the man from being swept away. for the full version, visit pawread dot com. despite his preparations, lou yi was knocked unconscious by the formless shockwave after the heaven and earth qi current bashed into huang yu¡¯s protection barrier. cen yu and hei lian could definitely protect themselves with their level of strength, but they were still swept away by the horrifying current. the only person who remained in place throughout the entire ordeal was shang xia. he half-kneeled in his position and didn¡¯t seem to be affected by the strong current of heaven and earth qi. when he destroyed the formation earlier, he already expected that to happen. as such, he shoved his blade deeper into the ground. desperately holding on to his blade, he wasn¡¯t swept away like the others. even though shang xia broke the formation, the heaven and earth qi that was starting to disperse passed through it before leaving the area. there seemed to be some sort of strange reason behind the flow of heaven and earth qi, and shang xia had to withstand their ferocious battering the whole time. the protection barrier made from his extermination origins trembled endlessly and it was like a tiny flame flickering in a massive storm. luckily, he managed to hold out till the end. however, the situation wasn¡¯t exactly bad for shang xia. every time the heaven and earth qi slammed into his protection barrier, it seemed to undergo a round of tempering. the energy contained in his protection barrier became purer and it became a little stronger. the effects became extremely obvious near the end of the heaven and earth qi baptism. the strength of his barrier was several times stronger than it was initially and withstanding the streams of heaven and earth qi no longer drained as much inner qi. eventually, the sea of heaven and earth qi started to drain off and the strong currents ceased to exist. without the formation to direct the flow of qi, they returned to the region nearby where they had been sucked away from. the huge disturbance caused a massive heavenly phenomenon to appear in the skies. when that happened, shockwaves appeared from multiple regions and it was extremely possible that cen yu and the others started fighting with other experts after being swept away. shang xia wondered if huang yu would be able to successfully protect lou yi. squatting where he was, shang xia didn¡¯t start moving immediately. from afar, he looked like a statue locked in place. it wasn¡¯t as though shang xia wasn¡¯t to remain in that spot. after he stabbed his blade into the ground, the crimson soul tablet in his sea of consciousness sucked up all the world origin around him endlessly. it was like a massive black hole that ate everything up. throughout the process, shang xia could also feel that the degree of refinement he had of his four seasons extermination origins increased significantly. originally, he refined close to 60 percent of his extermination origins. after stabbing the abyssal blade into the ground and destroying the formation, world origin poured into him in an endless tide. adding the remnant effects of the formation that attracted the heaven and earth qi for one last time, shang xia, who entered the martial extermination realm by refining four extermination origins at once, received a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity. as world origin streamed into the crimson soul tablet, shang xia was able to absorb a small portion of it to cultivate. the sheer amount of world origin coupled with its purity greatly accelerated the refinement of his extermination origins. at the same time, the pure heaven and earth qi that was battering against him endlessly was directly absorbed into his dantian. he no longer needed to slowly collect, refine, and convert the heaven and earth qi into his four constellation qi. when everything was happening, shang xia continued to circulate his inner qi. he improved his four seasons samsara art once again, shortening the time required to complete one cycle. the heavenly opportunity that befell shang xia would last only as long as the sea of heaven and earth qi remained. it might take 2 hours to dissipate, or it might remain for several more hours. no one knew how long it would take for the entire sea of heaven and earth qi to drain. the skies that had been blocked off by the super dense heaven and earth qi started to clear up and it eventually started to turn bright again. it was a sign that the sea of heaven and earth qi was about to disappear and shang xia¡¯s opportunity was about to come to an end. as that was happening, shang xia examined the crimson soul tablet in his sea of consciousness and discovered that the core had recovered to a certain extent. his cultivation also rose sharply as his degree of extermination origins refinement passed the 70 percent mark. with the tempering of the heaven and earth qi, the defensive strength of his extermination origins protection barrier increased significantly. the time taken for him to circulate his inner qi according to the four seasons samsara art decreased and he could complete a full cycle within 3 hours. clang! finally pulling his blade out of the ground, shang xia felt the earth beneath his feet giving out as the entire region collapsed. floating in the air with his extermination origins, shang xia finally noticed that he was situated in a deep rift in the ground. it was as though he had entered the core of the manyu continent. the location he was squatting on earlier was the center region of a huge basin that was created and the rift extended so far he couldn¡¯t see its end. rising tens of thousands of feet into the air, above the huge crack in the earth, shang xia surveyed his surroundings yet again. he finally saw the ends of the basin. the majestic snowy peaks mountain range that spanned thousands of miles was nowhere to be seen and its very existence seemed to be erased. a low rumbling came from the ground below when shang xia was still comprehending the damage that was done. it was as though the continent itself was crying. hovering in the air, shang xia saw the earth shaking violently. the massive rifts in the ground extended in all directions and the manyu continent which was close to the end of its lifespan finally started to break down. the actions of those from the spirit abundance world tipped it past its breaking point. shang xia was helpless to do anything about it and he quickly locked on to a certain direction before turning into a streak of light that sped into the distance. after flying for the time it took a stick of incense to burn, shang xia left the huge basin and noticed 2 rays of light approaching him from his left and right. they rushed at him menacingly and they didn¡¯t seem too friendly. CH 557 the moment the two streaks appeared, shang xia knew that they weren¡¯t friendlies. indeed¡­ the moment they arrived within 10 miles of shang xia, they attacked in unison. two rays of frosty light tore through the void and went straight for shang xia. unfortunately, the two of them seemed to have found the wrong target to mess with. because of shang xia¡¯s strange cultivation method, others would not be able to accurately determine his strength by detecting his cultivation base. before he fully refined any extermination origins, he would be a first layer martial extermination realm expert in the eyes of others. the 2 who arrived suddenly clearly thought that shang xia was some weakling they could bully as they wished. because of the opportunity he received earlier, shang xia managed to refine a large portion of his extermination origins and his combat abilities soared through the roof. he hadn¡¯t consolidated his foundations as he wasn¡¯t exactly in the best of spots to do so and his control over his extermination origins wasn¡¯t as refined as before. seeing those 2 idiots jumping him as though they were tired of living, shang xia released his aura after they released their attacks. the skies that cleared up earlier due to the dissipation of heaven and earth qi fluctuated intensely as a heavenly phenomenon appeared. before the chilly lights that were sent out by the 2 attackers could close in on shang xia, they were destroyed. the extermination lights that surrounded their weapons shook unsteadily. ¡°large completion stage of the martial extermination realm!¡± ¡°grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm!¡± they immediately realized they kicked a metal board now that shang xia revealed his cultivation. however, they evaluated his cultivation level a little differently from each other. whatever the case, they couldn¡¯t afford to offend shang xia regardless if he was at the large completion stage or the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm. ¡°senior, it¡¯s a misunderstanding¡­¡± ¡°senior, please spare our lives!¡± they pleaded for mercy in unison and the person on shang xia¡¯s right immediately called his weapon back and positioned it in front of himself. he circulated his inner qi and prepared to defend himself if shang xia were to try anything. the other expert acted more decisively. after pleading for mercy, he didn¡¯t bother about his weapon. turning around, he transformed into a streak of light that tore through the skies to escape. when shang xia released his aura earlier, he didn¡¯t do it just to scare them. reaching out, shang xia¡¯s hand entered the void. 4 rays of extermination light gathered in the air dozens of miles away to form a massive palm. it slapped at the fleeing figure. ¡°this¡­ this¡­ fusion of extermination origins and divine intent¡­ this is the martial intent of an expert of the martial extermination realm!¡± the cultivator who didn¡¯t run away immediately screamed. the looks of fear deepened and he understood that his companion was probably dead the moment the palm landed. he couldn¡¯t be more correct. a miserable scream rang through the skies before being cut short abruptly. everything returned to normal the instant after that as though nothing had happened. the cultivator who stood in his place turned his head to take a look. when he turned back, shang xia had already appeared before him. gasping in fright, he instinctively wanted to retreat. however, he suppressed the urge after regaining his calm. ¡°i am zheng chang from the yang continent. i greet senior!¡± after he spoke, he gave shang xia a deep bow. even though shang xia only made a single move earlier, zheng chang was able to determine that he was an expert of the azure origin world. looking at the man before him expressionlessly, shang xia muttered coldly, ¡°yang continent? are you from the lushan sect?¡± the lushan paradise of the yang continent was one of the holy lands in the azure origin world and cultivators from the lushan paradise would call themselves members of the lushan sect. that was why shang xia didn¡¯t bother calling out the actual name of the faction. ¡°yes!¡± even though zheng chang came from a huge power like the lushan paradise, he didn¡¯t think that it would be enough to save him. his head lowered even further. in the manyu continent, there were experts from many different superpowers. the moment he was killed, there would be no evidence to back the claim of who the culprit was. his lushan sect wouldn¡¯t be able to do a thing! ¡°was that one of your fellow members?¡± shang xia asked. he was still contemplating if he should kill the fellow in front of him. ¡°no¡­ he is not!¡± zheng chang replied immediately. ¡°that person is ma sheng of the zhengyang sect of the xu continent. we ran into each other coincidentally and decided to join forces. we didn¡¯t think that we would be ignorant and foolish enough to offend senior!¡± waving his hand, shang xia muttered, ¡°stop calling me your senior. i¡¯m much younger than you.¡± only then did zheng chang examine shang xia properly. he discovered that shang xia was a youngster in his twenties. the next second, the giant palm that shang xia unleashed earlier appeared in his mind. he instinctively went to compare shang xia to the 2 geniuses in his lushan sect and realized that they might not be comparable to the youngster before him! in fact, they were far comparable! after thinking about it, zheng chang hastily replied, ¡°i wouldn¡¯t dare to!¡± with a frown forming on his face, shang xia asked, ¡°what exactly happened here? from how you 2 appeared, it seems like you were waiting to ambush someone.¡± cold sweat dripped down zheng chang¡¯s forehead and he quickly explained everything he saw during his time there. when cen yu and the others used the formation to draw all the heaven and earth qi in the surrounding thousands of miles over, the huge disturbance drew the attention of many powers in the manyu continent. because shang xia wasn¡¯t too far from the region, he was one of the first to arrive. soon after that, the experts of the azure origin world, azure spiritual world, and the manyu continent arrived. for the full version, visit [ pawread.com ]. too bad for them, cen yu and the others were nearly done by the time they came. moreover, those experts who arrived eventually didn¡¯t seem too strong. they were afraid of barging into the heaven and earth qi storm due to the terrifying power it contained, and they were also afraid that they would be running around like headless flies in there. that was why a huge portion of them didn¡¯t dare to charge in. with lin chai, huang yu, and liu yu protecting the perimeter, none of them could do what shang xia did. only after shang xia met up with huang yu and destroyed the formation from the inside did the heaven and earth qi storm subside. with the crumbling of the heaven and earth qi vortex, cen yu and the others were washing away. cultivators like hei lian, liu yu, and those of the same cultivation level suffered injuries when they were pushed away by the heaven and earth qi currents. experts who were too afraid to enter the heaven and earth qi storm earlier set their sights on these cultivators who were swept away. taking the opportunity when those who emerged were injured, they attacked immediately and a huge battle broke out. during the entire process, an accident happened. as fate dipper fragments couldn¡¯t be stored in spatial artifacts, they were pretty cumbersome to bring around. moreover, they weren¡¯t exactly small in size either. cen yu and the others were greatly inconvenienced when they brought it around and their existences were revealed during the chaos. some were even shattered, causing world origin to leak to the surroundings which only added fuel to the fire. no one knew if someone managed to obtain a piece of the broken fragment or if they already knew what it was, the use of a fate dipper fragment was revealed to everyone present. in an instant, the battlefield shifted and everyone targeted the experts from the spirit abundance world. in the end, the experts of the spirit abundance world shattered several fragments and tossed them away to distract their attackers. other experts of the spirit abundance world arrived soon after to assist them and they eventually managed to get away. shang xia understood 2 things from what zheng chang said. after the battle, the spirit abundance world was no longer able to hide in the dark. they were exposed to the azure origin world, azure spiritual world, and the experts of the manyu continent. also, the pursuit after the chaotic battle that took place was clearly not because of the fate dipper fragments. there were several experts who thought of dealing with the experts of the spirit abundance world before they could leave the manyu continent. shang xia also knew that the reason everyone learned of the use of the fate dipper fragments had something to do with huang yu. whatever huang yu did didn¡¯t matter. as long as he managed to protect lou yi all the way, he should be able to gain the trust of the superpower standing behind him. when that happened, his infiltration of the spirit abundance world would go a lot smoother. after thinking about it, shang xia couldn¡¯t help but admire the shit-stirring expert whose true name was still unknown. there was no way shang xia would believe youshang was his actual name. his ability to disguise himself was definitely unparalleled! the thought flashed through shang xia¡¯s mind in an instant and he quickly turned his attention back to zheng chang. ¡°so¡­ you joined hands with ma sheng in order to obtain fate dipper fragments from others?¡± no fucking shit¡­ that might be what zheng chang thought, but he didn¡¯t dare to say it out loud. instead, he spoke loudly, ¡°we¡¯re mere weaklings compared to everyone present. neither of us had the qualifications to join in the chase for the experts from the spirit abundance world and we wanted to look for the broken fragments left behind¡­¡± pausing for a second, he continued, ¡°the largest pieces had already been obtained by the other experts. we were merely looking for the shards that the others might have overlooked. well, as it happened, senior appeared¡­ we were blinded by greed and after seeing that you were only a first layer martial extermination realm cultivator, we¡­¡± shang xia nodded and replied, ¡°so, you should have gathered a few shards, right?¡± zheng chang¡¯s face twisted in pain as he obediently took out his spatial artifact. after receiving the artifact, shang xia realized that the restrictions on it had already been lifted. he couldn¡¯t help but nod to himself in appreciation. with a wave of his arm, the spatial artifact of the dead guy also flew into his hand. zheng chang couldn¡¯t help but reveal a look of admiration after seeing the item in shang xia¡¯s hand. when shang xia released the giant palm earlier, he completely eradicated ma sheng. however, he perfectly preserved the spatial artifact and that could only mean that shang xia had amazing control over his strength. a soft glow appeared around ma sheng¡¯s spatial artifact in shang xia¡¯s hand and after some time, the restriction on it came undone. his¡­ his extermination origins can actually destroy restrictions! zheng chang screamed in his heart and saw shang xia retrieving several fragments the size of fingernails. looking at his gains, shang xia nodded once. those shards definitely contained world origin. one couldn¡¯t judge those shards by their size. every single piece contained concentrated world origin and it would be enough for second layer martial extermination realm experts like zheng chang to enter seclusion for a month or so. during that time, they would gain an extraordinary amount of energy and it could be equivalent to 3 months worth of cultivation. if a few shards contained that amount of world origin, how much would one entire fate dipper fragment contain?! it was no wonder the experts who gathered around earlier went after the cultivators of the spirit abundance world. shang xia instinctively reached for his world origins and he touched his sleeves subtly. there were 2 fate dipper fragments earlier, but now that he was feeling for them again, there was only one left! CH 558 ¡°i do not wish to kill you.¡± shang xia raised his hand and pushed it in the gloomy zheng chang¡¯s direction. ¡°i¡¯ll lay down a restriction in your dantian and i won¡¯t let you do as you wish from now on. if you leak any news of ma sheng¡¯s death to the members of the zhengyang sect of the xu continent, you can¡¯t blame me for being ruthless.¡± 0 after playing bad cop, shang xia¡¯s tone changed for the better. ¡°naturally, you can try to undo the restriction on your dantian yourself. you can also look for experts of other factions. as long as you manage to get rid of it, you can go ahead. i won¡¯t try to stop you.¡± when he was done, the extermination light under shang xia¡¯s feet flashed and he disappeared from zheng chang¡¯s sight instantly. only then did zheng chang heave a sigh of relief. turning his attention to his dantian, he noticed a ball of strange extermination qi hovering in the center of it. even though he was extremely annoyed by it, he couldn¡¯t do anything. he even thought that shang xia was merely scaring him by telling him he could look for anyone to try destroying the restriction, but his doubts didn¡¯t last long. when shang xia turned around to leave without the slightest hesitation, zheng chang felt that the youngster wasn¡¯t messing with him. however¡­ zheng chang didn¡¯t understand where shang xia got his confidence from. his cultivation was at the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm, but the lushan sect had hundreds of years of foundation. they had knowledge of countless martial intents and there was even a martial dipper realm ancestor present. zheng chang refused to believe that they would be unable to get rid of the restriction in his dantian eventually. using his divine perception to probe the restriction, zheng chang¡¯s expression eventually changed when he noticed the intricacies behind it. his cultivation might not be comparable to shang xia, but he was a disciple of the lushang sect. the knowledge he had was vast, and that was precisely why he understood that the restriction in his dantian was absolutely terrifying. unless he was willing to destroy half his foundations to get rid of the restriction shang xia placed, there was no chance he could free himself from it! if he really had to do that, there was no need to talk about advancing in the future. he would have to thank the gods if his cultivation didn¡¯t regress to the martial intent realm. ¡­ shang xia didn¡¯t know zheng chang¡¯s inner thoughts, and even if he did, he wouldn¡¯t give a shit. since they joined forces to kill him, they should be prepared to put their lives on the line. there was no heavenly law stating that they were the only ones allowed to do the killing. others could easily do the same to him. in the end, zheng chang might have kept his life, but he became one of shang xia¡¯s chest pieces. shang xia wasn¡¯t even afraid that he would return to the lushan sect to look for help. returning to the tongyou stronghold, shang xia had a peaceful journey. a quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled. the only thing out of the ordinary he discovered was the dwindling traces of life around the manyu continent. shang xia wasn¡¯t too surprised by that. because of the huge disturbance caused by the experts of the spirit abundance world, the heaven and earth qi in the surrounding thousands of miles were sapped up. the huge mountain range that used to exist nearly disappeared and the giant crater in the ground was also extremely obvious. their actions caused earthquakes, volcano eruptions, and floods for thousands upon thousands of miles. countless aboriginals were killed because of that and the others quickly brought their families to escape the region. when shang xia finally returned to the tongyou stronghold, everyone had already heard about the actions of the spirit abundance world. of course, all they heard was the outline of what happened. only experts like shang xia and huang yu, who personally took part in the battle within the heaven and earth qi vortex, and the battles that happened before that, would be able to give real details of what happened. because huang yu¡¯s identity couldn¡¯t be publicly revealed to the other members of the institution, shang xia sent everyone away before recounting his experiences. only yun jing, shang bo, and liu qinglan were left.0 liu qinglan¡¯s aura showed signs of fluctuation and it seemed as though she hadn¡¯t fully consolidated her foundations. one could say that she had finally entered the gateway to become a high-level martial extermination realm expert but hadn¡¯t planted her feet firmly in her cultivation realm. after telling the 3 about huang yu¡¯s plan to infiltrate the spirit abundance world, shang xia waited for their reactions. however, the 3 of them were clearly experienced cultivators who had seen many things during their time. they didn¡¯t seem too shocked with his approach. ¡°oh right. did you manage to obtain a fate dipper fragment?¡± shang bo asked. his question immediately drew the attention of the others. the disturbance the experts of the spirit abundance world created was too large. the pillar of light that was created in the snowy peaks mountain range wasn¡¯t the only one that appeared. news of the fate dipper fragments were flying all around and no one knew what was true and what was false. however, there was one thing in common with all the rumors going around. the fragments were extremely precious. otherwise, the experts from the spirit abundance world wouldn¡¯t cause such a huge ruckus to obtain them. they basically pushed the manyu continent to the brink of destruction with their actions. shang xia naturally wouldn¡¯t hide anything from his grandfather. he brought out the crystal-like cube from his sleeves and handed it over. shang bo didn¡¯t say much after receiving the cube. closing his eyes, he used his divine perception, extermination origins, and inner qi to explore the uses of the cube. looking at yun jing and liu qinglan whose gazes never left the cube, shang xia brought out 2 different cases from his sleeves and handed it to them. those cases contained the dozens of shards he obtained from zheng chang and ma sheng. after yun jing and liu qinglan examined them, their expressions changed drastically. it was especially so for liu qinglan. the moment she touched a fragment, she felt world origin pouring into her body. her foundations which had not yet stabilized started to make some progress.0 liu qinglan didn¡¯t absorb all the world origin in the shard. instead, she placed it back into the case. shang xia chucked when he saw her actions. ¡°instructor liu, you''re at a crucial point of cultivation. feel free to take a few. i believe you noticed their effects earlier. i have quite a few of these¡­¡± 0 tossing the case back to him, liu qinglan muttered, ¡°i¡¯m about to fully refine my extermination origin and all that¡¯s left is for me to work a little harder. it¡¯s too wasteful if i use up these precious treasures.¡± when she returned the case to shang xia earlier, she felt that the world origin contained in those shards was starting to grow unstable. that was why she tossed them back into the case and closed it immediately. she didn¡¯t wish to be wasteful.0 yun jing returned the case to shang xia after hearing what liu qinglan said. ¡°qinglan isn¡¯t wrong. the world origin contained in these shards is extremely pure. you should save them in case they prove to be the difference in a crucial moment. moreover, you obtained them after fighting with others. you should keep them for yourself.¡± shang xia kept the cases helplessly. shang bo, who had been examining the fate dipper fragment, opened his eyes suddenly. a ray of light shot out from his eyes and he gasped, ¡°that¡¯s it!¡± the other 3 turned to stare at him in shock, but they didn¡¯t say a word. they eagerly awaited his explanation. he didn¡¯t address their concerns immediately. instead, he turned to shang xia and asked, ¡°didn¡¯t you obtain a broken fate dipper in the past?¡± widening his eyes slightly, shang xia replied, ¡°yeah. i gave it to the institution after.¡± the broken fate dipper shang bo was talking about was from zhu tong of the zhu family back in the battlefield between the two worlds. shang xia was sure that ji wenlong¡¯s breakthrough to the martial dipper realm had something to do with that broken fate dipper he obtained. even though the broken fate dipper was damaged, it was still a supremely important factor in ji wenlong¡¯s breakthrough. of course, a rank five advancement formula was also important, but that wasn¡¯t the point. shang bo weighed the cube in his hand and sighed, ¡°this fragment isn¡¯t just used for cultivation. martial extermination realm experts can make use of it when cultivating, but so can experts in the martial dipper realm. this cube is extremely useful when it comes to refining a divine weapon too. however, none of those are the main points. most importantly, this can be used to gather fate dipper essence!¡± ¡°fate dipper essence?!¡± yun jing gasped as a look of excitement appeared on her face. she clearly knew what fate dipper essence was. shang xia and liu qinglan might have been hearing it for the first time, but they revealed looks of contemplation as though they had already guessed something. shang bo quickly followed up, ¡°that¡¯s right. it¡¯s fate dipper essence. the purer the fate dipper fragment, the higher the quality of fate dipper essence it can collect. that will also affect the quality of the fate dipper produced eventually.¡± thinking about it for a moment, shang xia asked, ¡°wouldn¡¯t that mean that a fate dipper fragment has the same function as a spirit extermination gourd? the only difference being the type of energy it collects¡­¡± shang bo didn¡¯t need to explain anything at that point. instead, yun jing shook her head and laughed, ¡°nope! without talking about the huge difference between a fate dipper and an extermination origin, there are a lot of treasures like the spirit extermination gourd that has the ability to collect extermination qi to form a complete extermination origin. a fate dipper fragment is really different. not only has the fragment itself already reached the level of a rank five treasure, it only requires a single strand of fate dipper essence to transform into a complete fate dipper.¡± liu qinglan was shocked after hearing her explanation. ¡°it transforms automatically?¡± shang xia gasped. ¡°i¡¯m afraid fate dipper essence is a lot harder to find than these fragments¡­¡± liu qinglan wasn¡¯t delusional. at least she understood how precious those things were. snapping back to reality, shang xia asked, ¡°fate dipper essence should be a hundred times more difficult to obtain than fate dipper fragments, right?¡± however, he failed to hide the look of excitement on his face as he continued, ¡°well, at the very least, obtaining a fate dipper fragment means that we already obtained half a fate dipper! oh yeah! how long will the transformation take after it successfully receives fate dipper essence?¡± shang bo shook his head and smiled while listening to shang xia¡¯s rant of excitement. yun jing laughed too, but she soon spoke, ¡°it¡¯s the first time we¡¯re seeing this too. how are we supposed to know how long it will take or how rare a fate dipper essence is? from what i can see, the more fate dipper essence you manage to gather in one fate dipper fragment, the faster it will complete its transformation.¡± nodding slowly, shang xia started to think of ways to obtain fate dipper essence. seemingly having thought of something, shang xia muttered, ¡°oh yeah! grandpa, this item might help you when you refine your fate dipper in the future!¡± shang bo¡¯s attempt to break through to the martial dipper realm on the manyu continent was no secret to the higher ups of the institution. however, shang xia¡¯s offer was met with roaring laughter from shang bo. ¡°brat, keep the fragment! i have no use for it! hahaha!¡± with a trace of delight filling his heart, shang xia understood that his grandfather didn¡¯t need the fragment because he already had an origin dipper with him. from the looks of it, his grandfather was extremely confident in breaking through too. as such, the delight didn¡¯t stem from receiving his fate dipper fragment back from shang bo. instead, he was happier that his grandfather was ready to break through! the smile on shang bo¡¯s face eventually subsided and he turned serious. ¡°even though i¡¯m pretty sure how the fate dipper fragment works, we have a problem. this brat obtained a piece of complete fate dipper fragment from the experts from the spirit abundance world. does that mean that they have a way to produce fate dippers?! why else would they hasten the destruction of the manyu continent for these fragments otherwise?¡± CH 559 a fate dipper fragment could transform into a complete fate dipper after absorbing a fate dipper essence, and if the experts of the spirit abundance world were so determined to get their hands on them, they would most likely possess a way to create fate dippers! 0 if that was really true, how many martial dipper realm experts would the spirit abundance world possess?! the faces of shang xia and the others immediately turned unsightly as they thought of the same problem. from the situation on the manyu continent, the spirit abundance world didn¡¯t seem too friendly to the azure origin world and the azure spiritual world. with the sights of a behemoth like the spirit abundance world set on them, they felt a heavy weight pressing down on their hearts. yun jing forced a laugh eventually. ¡°we shouldn¡¯t be so pessimistic¡­ it¡¯s true that the spirit abundance world is much stronger than us. however, obtaining fate dipper essence shouldn¡¯t be something they can do easily. they definitely need to use some sort of secret art to obtain it and even if they¡¯re stronger than us, fate dipper essence shouldn¡¯t be cabbages that grow by the side of the road¡­¡± ¡°i also managed to learn something about these fragments. the secret art of harvesting these fragments is forbidden in the spirit abundance world. it¡¯s been jointly banned by all the superpowers there. the reason those experts came to the manyu continent in the first place was because it was about to be destroyed. that is why they had the guts to use the forbidden art to exhaust the vitality of the world to harvest the fate dipper fragments.¡± shang xia mentioned. staring at the 3 of them who were looking at him strangely, he continued, ¡°also, fate dipper fragments are split into different grades. from senior huang yu, i learned that only the fragments produced during the first harvest would be of the highest quality. the purity of the fragments produced subsequently will drop and there would be impurities residing in them causing complicated lines to appear on their surface. cracks might even be present for those of extremely low quality. those low-quality fragments cannot be used to produce fate dippers. even if they infuse a strand of fate dipper essence into those, it would be wasted.¡± 0 liu qinglan¡¯s expression became a little better, but she sighed softly, ¡°let¡¯s hope that is the case. i didn¡¯t think about it before, but it seems like the disappearance of many martial extermination realm experts and the epidemic that killed countless people had something to do with them. it might have something to do with their secret art¡­¡± silence quickly descended after she spoke. feeling the suffocating air around, shang xia finally spoke up. ¡°oh right, i once heard patriarch kou talk about something regarding the collisions of our worlds. the azure spiritual world smashed into our world back then as some people were trying to bring our world to the next level. i also heard that our azure origin world is considered an azure world and the spirit world is considered a spirit world. spirit worlds are ranked above an azure world but there¡¯s one thing i don¡¯t quite understand. what exactly splits the world into different ranks? the fusion of our azure origin world and the azure spiritual world is basically set in stone by now, but will we become a spirit world after the fusion is complete?¡± shang xia looked at the 3 of them with a questioning gaze after he was done speaking. after a short moment, shang bo coughed lightly and muttered, ¡°i¡¯ll be the one to talk about this. from what we know, the universal sea of stars is limitless. no one knows how many worlds exist, but from what we know, we are able to split the worlds into 3 different ranks. or more specifically, 4 different ranks.¡± shang bo took a deep breath and arranged his thoughts before he continued, ¡°the manyu continent can be considered a world, but it is walking towards destruction and it can be considered the most elementary of the 4. we can call them barbaric worlds. one level higher would be the azure worlds. that is where our azure origin world and the azure spiritual world would be classified. spirit worlds rank higher than that. as for worlds that rank above spirit worlds¡­ we guess that they exist! however, none of us understand what type of existence they are and we are unable to make any estimates.¡± ¡°as for the classification of these worlds¡­¡± shang bo coughed and his voice lowered slightly. ¡°... every world can be ranked based on the amount of world origin they can nurture. if we look a little deeper into it, we can link that to their sizes. we can also look at it by the number of continents a world contains. the number of experts in the world also seems to be related. especially the batch of high-level cultivators of the world as they might have the ability to directly affect the origin will of the world.¡± 0 shang xia fell silent for some time before asking another question, ¡°there are 13 continents on our azure origin world but all of them are of different sizes. the azure spiritual world has 14 continents¡­ the manyu continent has 9 land masses in total¡­¡± ¡°let¡¯s make a guess here¡­¡± yun jing chirped all of a sudden. she seemed to have reached a new level of understanding after their conversation and she explained, ¡°now that we look at it this way, a world can be considered a barbaric world if it contains 9 continents. a world probably needs to hold 12 continents to be considered an azure world. to be classified as a spirit world, one might need 18 or even 24 continents! i¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll only know after huang yu sends some information back.¡± ¡°our azure origin world might be classified as an azure world, but before the collision of our worlds, our 5 border continents had yet to establish a holy land. we can¡¯t consider these 5 continents as part of our world¡¯s true strength without the presence of a holy land and that should be the same for the azure spiritual world. half of their strength is concentrated in the 7 or 8 southern continents and the northern region is basically a wasteland. they¡¯re covered in ice and snow all year round and life rarely exists¡­¡± a bitter smile appeared on yun jing¡¯s face after she spoke. ¡°actually, like what kou¡­ like what patriarch kou said would happen if the collisions of our worlds didn¡¯t take place, after at most 300 years, our azure origin world and the azure spiritual world would no longer be able to produce enough world origin to sustain the world. when that happens, we might be reduced to a barbaric world¡­¡± shang bo¡¯s lips twitched slightly but he chose not to say anything. shang xia didn¡¯t notice his grandfather¡¯s reaction as he was thinking about everything yun jing said. everything she spoke about earlier revealed a lot of information and he needed some time to digest it properly. at the same time, many questions appeared in his mind. ¡°deputy patriarch yun, you said that the 5 border continents cannot be considered a part of our world¡¯s true strength earlier as we hadn¡¯t established our holy lands. does this concern the ascension of our world?¡± shang xia asked. yun jing explained patiently, ¡°it¡¯s not that the five border continents hadn¡¯t established our holy lands. we didn¡¯t possess the foundation and ability to do so. to put it simply using our you continent as an example, the continent itself does not produce enough world origin for us to transform into a holy land.¡± there was one thing shang xia was sure of at that point. the tongyou institution was doing all they could to upgrade to a holy land, to become the tongyou paradise! 0 if the you continent didn¡¯t possess the foundations to support the birth of a holy land¡­ where would kou chongxue and the others find world origin?! shang xia¡¯s eyes widened slightly as he felt that he had understood what their plan was. also, shang xia knew that yun jing and the others wouldn¡¯t tell him anything more about the topic if he continued to ask and he decided to shift his focus to something else. ¡°after the destruction of the manyu continent, what would happen to the mortal population after the azure spiritual world and our azure origin world split up the continents? is doomsday really about to fall on them?¡± without yun jing and shang bo saying anything, liu qinglan laughed and replied shang xia¡¯s question. ¡°what¡¯s the matter? haven¡¯t you seen all the celestial bodies that existed when patriarch kou sent you to the manyu continent?¡± seeing how shang xia was getting a little tongue-tied, liu qinglan continued, ¡°the manyu continent will definitely suffer a huge disturbance when the time comes. many mortals will also lose their lives in the process, but that¡¯s something we cannot stop. however, a huge portion of them should still be able to live. as the manyu continent breaks down, the land masses that remain after everything else has been taken away will gather around a fixed star and live on. however, they will no longer be able to cultivate due to the disappearance of heaven and earth qi. those mortals there will never be able to step onto the path of cultivation and they will forever remain a world full of mortals.¡± after recovering from his shock, shang xia decided not to dig deeper into the topic. he muttered to himself, ¡°that would be for the best¡­ that¡¯s good¡­¡± seeing how his grandson seemed a little distracted, shang bo was a little curious. however, he didn¡¯t think too much about it. instead, he decided to end the conversation right there. ¡°alright. brat, if there¡¯s nothing else, you should head out and focus on your cultivation. the next thing you know, we should be back on the azure origin world.¡± with a multitude of questions in his heart, he got ready to leave. as he stepped out of the entrance, he seemed to have thought of something and he turned around again. ¡°oh yes, senior huang yu instructed me with another matter¡­¡± after he was done, he immediately threw the shameless asshole under the bus. he spoke about how huang yu, or youshang, got wei qiongyi pregnant and the lady¡¯s background. he also mentioned how she ended up in the azure spiritual world. after the lengthy explanation, he finally got to the main point. ¡°disciple thinks that senior huang yu has been sent undercover for so many years and he has been toeing the line between life and death¡­ he should be rewarded for his hard work and now, he¡¯s even taking the risk to infiltrate the spirit abundance world. we should take care of his family however we can and i agreed to help him when he brought the matter up. seniors, please give me the permission to bring her back at once¡­¡± what shang xia didn¡¯t realize was that the expressions of the 3 became extremely colorful when he spoke of the matter. by the time he said that he wanted to head out to bring her back and turned to stare at them, he discovered the strange looks in their eyes. without receiving any confirmation from any of them, shang xia started to panic. he hoped that the institution wouldn¡¯t be so cold blooded¡­ clearing her throat aggressively, liu qinglan spoke on the others¡¯ behalf. ¡°this¡­ since you already agreed, there¡¯s no need for us to make another decision. hehe¡­ hehe.. ahem!¡± shang xia could feel that there was something strange about liu qinglan¡¯s reaction, but seeing as shang bo and yun jing had no reaction, he didn¡¯t say anymore. turning around he wanted to leave. however, he thought of something yet again and he turned back to ask, ¡°oh yeah, i recall that yan su¡¯er of the wind swallow race and her granddaughter are also in our tongyou stronghold¡­ i wonder how they¡¯re doing? is the institution¡­¡± ¡°is this something you should be asking?!¡± shang bo¡¯s calm attitude was gone and he seemed wholly annoyed by something at that point. irritated, he immediately cut off shang xia and yelled, ¡°leave! go away! scram! why are you worried about them? with us here, nothing can go wrong!¡± the moment shang xia left, yun jing couldn¡¯t hold back her laughter anymore. she even stared at shang bo with a look of schadenfreude. a quick look at "pawread.com" will leave you more fulfilled. shang bo clenched his fists and furrowed his brows, but all that was left on his face was a resigned expression. staring at the 2 of them, liu qinglan smiled at shang bo, ¡°that little brat is really something else. he even came up with an idea to get the kid to preach that story to us. hehe, i don¡¯t even know whether to laugh or cry at that point. are we supposed to ignore the matter?¡± yun jing tried to suppress the wide smile on her face as she continued, ¡°can¡¯t you tell? that little brat is doing it on purpose. oh yeah, shang bo, aren¡¯t you going to consider elder yan su¡¯er¡¯s suggestion? why don¡¯t you agree to the marriage and link your families¡­¡± shang bo turned to stare at her and anyone could see the fire burning deep in his eyes by that point. yun jing immediately followed up, ¡°... pretend i didn¡¯t say anything¡­ hey¡­ my inner qi is getting a little restless and my extermination origins seem unstable. i better enter seclusion for a period of time¡­¡± CH 560 after getting the permission of the higher ups, shang xia quickly went to the location huang yu left behind and brought the pregnant wei qiongyi back to the tongyou stronghold. he also assisted her by finding her a temporary place to rest. during the entire process, yun jing had to show her face to settle some matters as she was the person in charge of the tongyou stronghold. liu qinglan also helped out a lot and brought wei qiongyi around the stronghold. after getting used to the environment, she also helped wei qiongyi familiarize herself with the martial extermination realm experts present. her actions could express the tongyou institution¡¯s acceptance and how much they valued her. from the start to the end, shang bo didn¡¯t show his face. wei qiongyi didn¡¯t even know that there was another deputy patriarch of the institution in the stronghold. as for shang xia, he learned that his grandfather had entered seclusion and would emerge a little later. after dealing with all the matters at hand, shang xia decided to also enter seclusion for some time. he could take the chance to digest all his gains so far and prepare for his return to the azure origin world. returning to his original cultivation cave he established on the small mountain, he calmed himself down and started to cultivate. his initial plan was to make the most of his time in the manyu continent and look for another super peak that contained signs of all four seasons to continue refining his extermination origins. however, he noticed the changes to the manyu continent when bringing wei qiongyi back and the multiple natural disasters that destroyed the lands. it seemed as though apocalypse had come early and there were no traces of the four seasons anywhere. naturally, there was nowhere suitable for him to cultivate. read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at [ pawread.com ] that was the reason he headed back to the tongyou stronghold. at the very least, there was a grand formation to protect the region from the changes to the manyu continent. because of his presence and cultivation, the small mountain he was on started to show signs of the four seasons once again. from a certain perspective, the small mountain had been transformed into half a spiritual land of cultivation. if low-leveled cultivators were to cultivate there in the future, they would be able to achieve twice the results with half the effort. shang xia¡¯s extermination origins easily fused with the mountain he had cultivated on before and it was once again shrouded in his extermination lights. different locations experienced different seasons and each region was separated clearly. due to his recent experiences, shang xia¡¯s degree of refinement of his extermination origins took a huge leap forward. the phenomenon of the four seasons didn¡¯t just cover the mountain he was on. it showed signs of extending outwards. the phenomenon of the four seasons cycle extending past the mountains continued for a month before it finally started to recede. it returned to the mountain shang xia was on, and it didn¡¯t show any signs of extending past the foot of the mountain. with that, it wasn¡¯t difficult to determine that shang xia¡¯s control of his extermination origins had strengthened once more. currently, shang xia had already surpassed the 70 percent mark of refinement. when he was out in the manyu continent, he wasn¡¯t able to fully concentrate on cultivation as danger might arrive at any second. he always maintained 30 percent of his consciousness in case trouble came knocking. now that he was back in the tongyou stronghold, there were many seniors to protect him and there was even a grand formation to provide additional defenses. many other martial extermination realm experts of the institution were also patrolling the area to keep things safe and shang xia could finally place down all his worries and immerse himself in cultivation. in less than one month, shang xia managed to consolidate his foundations and strengthen his control over his extermination origins. even though he didn¡¯t increase his refinement of his extermination origins by much, his stronger control over them allowed his combat prowess to rise by 30 percent! ¡­ after some time, ren bainian brought back a piece of news to yun jing. in his report, he mentioned everything they learned about the manyu continent recently. after he was done, he quickly returned to a small village his clan had built. ¡°do you see that small mountain over there?¡± ren bainian spoke to several disciples the clan had high hopes for. he pointed at the mountain that was experiencing all four seasons simultaneously and he continued, ¡°remember this well. if our clan manages to integrate ourselves smoothly on the azure origin world after this, that will be where we establish ourselves!¡± the disciples of the clan didn¡¯t understand why their ancestor would choose such a strange place and one of the disciples, ren lianheng, was the first to ask, ¡°lord ancestor, that¡¯s just a tiny mountain. it couldn¡¯t be more ordinary. no matter what, our clan is a massive existence with hundreds of years of history. with an expert like lord ancestor at the helm, no one will take us lightly. even those experts from the tongyou faction show you a lot of respect. even if we¡¯re not from the azure origin world, we won¡¯t have to suffer such grievances, right?¡± ren lianheng was a disciple at the martial intent realm and he was one of the seeds of the family looked highly upon by ren bainian. as such, he had the guts to speak up. staring at the grandson he had the highest hopes for, ren bainian sneered, ¡°what the hell do you know?! this tiny mountain has already become a spiritual land!¡± ren lianheng felt that his grandfather was lowering his head to the tongyou institution by choosing such a random plot of land and he couldn¡¯t help but try to give his advice. ¡°lord ancestor, you don¡¯t have to do that, right? it¡¯s a mere spiritual land. moreover, it¡¯s a plot of land that just formed. there shouldn¡¯t be a need for us to look so highly on a mere piece of spiritual land, right? also¡­¡± before the kid could finish speaking, ren bainian smacked the back of his head. ignoring his cries of pain, ren bainian knocked on his head a few more times before finally letting him off amidst roaring laughter from those around. ¡°all of you foolish kids¡­ today, your ancestor will show you the true path!¡± ren bainian pointed to each and every one of them before turning to look at the small mountain in the distance. ¡°let me ask you guys a question. was that small mountain a spiritual land before?¡± watching them shake their heads, ren bainian asked again, ¡°do you think our manyu continent possesses the ability to birth another spiritual land?¡± the group of disciples shook their heads in unison. who were they kidding? the manyu continent was on the brink of destruction. even though they were giving off the last rays of life and experiencing a short burst of heaven and earth qi, everything was scattered into the endless space around the manyu continent. it wasn¡¯t possible to gather enough heaven and earth qi in one location to create a new spiritual land. after ren bainian¡¯s repeated questions and after he heard their replies, he finally decided to explain it to them. ¡°because young master shang cultivated on the small mountain for a few months, it gathered enough heaven and earth qi to transform into a spiritual land!¡± seeing the tongue-tied expressions on their faces, ren bainian continued, ¡°the moment our clan enters the azure origin world, we will need to be protected by the tongyou institution. no matter what, we¡¯re from an external power and the residents of the azure origin world wouldn¡¯t accept up so easily. also, the tongyou institution will probably restrict our movements for some time and if we choose to establish ourselves on the mountain there, we will not only be able to find a good place to start, but we will also be able to rest and recover. it¡¯s a chance that is hard to come by. moreover¡­¡± ¡°moreover?¡± ren lianheng asked. now that ren bainian was talking to the disciples of his clan about their future, it was a test for them. he also wanted to explain how their clan would survive in the future and seeing all of them deep in thought after everything he mentioned, he couldn¡¯t help but nod inwardly. ren bainian laughed after hearing ren lianheng¡¯s question and chided him, ¡°damn brat, can¡¯t you be patient and let me finish? you¡¯re reckless and you always lose your cool¡­ as i said, young master shang is really exceptional. the age gap between you guys isn''t that large either and it¡¯s very possible that he¡¯s younger than any of you! if he¡¯s able to create a spiritual land himself on our decaying manyu continent, can you imagine what he can do back in the azure origin world? with the dense heaven and earth qi there and the strong vitality of the world, he might even be able to transform the small mountain there into a mysterious world. if that truly happens, our ren clan will be able to rise up in the azure origin world with that as our foundation!¡± ¡­ shang xia who had been cultivating all along, didn¡¯t know that a random location he chose would be eyed by the ren clan who was planning to make it their stronghold in the future. after strengthening his foundations after a month of cultivation, shang xia controlled his extermination origins to only influence the area he was in. before he could continue cultivating, he was interrupted by the appearance of someone. ¡°i heard that you managed to get your hands on several pieces of treasure that can contain a large amount of world origin?¡± chu jia went straight for shang xia¡¯s cultivation chamber in the mountains. the moment they met, she got straight to the point. ¡°several pieces?!¡± shang xia stared at her in shock. however, he quickly understood that she was talking about the fate dipper fragment shards and he chuckled, ¡°instructor chu, why would you bring this up suddenly?¡± that was how shang xia addressed her back in the institution and even though he was also a rank four talisman grandmaster with the same status as her, that was how he addressed her. after all, she was once his teacher. also, shang xia knew that he couldn¡¯t afford to offend her because of her nasty temper. that was why he had always lowered himself in front of her. at the very least, that was how it seemed on the surface. widening her eyes slightly, chu jia muttered, ¡°if it wasn¡¯t because of you¡­ i mean, people like you who fought everywhere in the manyu continent, causing widespread loss of world origin, our formation would still be operating properly! right now, the spirit veins that connect the various formations are turning unstable. it¡¯s especially so for those in the outer regions. we need a huge amount of heaven and earth qi and world origin in order to stabilize the grand formation so as to ensure minimal loss when bringing the landmass back to the azure origin world. nodding slowly, shang xia asked, ¡°how many shards do you need?¡± ¡°let me take a look at one before i give you an estimate.¡± chu jia reached out one hand and muttered. shang xia didn¡¯t waste time as he handed over 3 different pieces of different sizes. ¡°are these shards of a fate dipper fragment?¡± chu jia asked curiously. she examined the pieces carefully and felt the pure world origin contained within before gasping, ¡°this is really amazing!¡± she picked out the middle-sized piece and gave her evaluation. ¡°7 or 8 of these would be more than enough.¡± without a second word, shang xia tossed out 10 shards of that size. one had to know that he only obtained 17 shards in total from the 2 of them. seeing how shang xia brought out so many pieces at once, chu jia became a little embarrassed. she knew how valuable those shards were after she inspected them earlier and she quickly tried to reject them. ¡°i don¡¯t need so many! in fact, i already accounted for accidents with my previous estimates¡­¡± waving his hands, shang xia chuckled, ¡°the sea of stars is limitless and anything is possible. no one can be sure they planned for all possibilities. it¡¯s good to be prepared and if there are leftovers, please keep them. take it as a token of my respect.¡± chu jia covered her mouth and giggled softly in response. ¡°alright! i won¡¯t stand on ceremony then! with these fate dipper fragment shards, i am confident i will be able to bring an island measuring 2000 miles in diameter back to the azure origin world!¡± CH 561 after chu jia explained the situation to shang xia, they chatted a little while more. after exchanging cultivation pointers, shang xia seemed to have thought of something. ¡°instructor chu, you¡¯ve been in the institution longer than i have. do you know the weapons hall has any high-ranked talisman brush?¡± ¡°high-ranked talisman brush? those blacksmiths there would be hard-pressed to craft a mid-grade brush. there isn¡¯t a need to think about a high-grade one! otherwise, the talisman masters of the institution wouldn¡¯t be so desperate to treasure a mid-grade brush¡­¡± of course, the weapons hall wasn¡¯t as shoddy as chu jia had made it out to be. it was possible for them to craft a high-grade weapon if they went all out. however, a high-grade brush was comparable to a peak high-grade weapon. it would be close to something of a pseudo divine weapon and even though the blacksmiths of the institution were good, crafting ordinary high-grade weapons was their limit. pausing slightly, chu jia asked, ¡°what¡¯s the matter? are you planning to get your hands on another? isn¡¯t the purple bamboo brush the talisman hall received from patriarch kou not good enough? didn¡¯t he get it from the abyssal secret region?¡± ¡°of course not! the purple bamboo brush is the most important treasure of our talisman hall. if i actually spoil it, talisman master gong will most definitely hold me accountable and go all out to deal with me!¡± shang xia replied. pressing her lips together, chu jia sneered, ¡°him? heh, he won¡¯t try to hold you accountable. well, he wouldn¡¯t but there will be someone who will try. he¡¯ll probably get those under him to risk their lives to deal with you.¡± shang xia chuckled and brought out his white bone brush. ¡°i¡¯m asking because of this. this brush was a high-grade weapon but because of the damage it suffered, it can only display the power of a mid-grade weapon. also, the difference between the purple bamboo brush and this white bone brush is that this brush belongs to me.¡± when he was one, shang xia took out 2 white-jade bone hairpins. ¡°i thought that i would only be able to fix this brush with the bones of high-leveled beasts and extremely rare treasures. i didn¡¯t expect to fight with an expert of the spirit abundance world and obtain this pair of white-jade bone hairpins. after examining the material, i feel that it¡¯s compatible with the brush. that was why i thought of fixing it¡­¡± staring at the pair of hairpins, chu jia couldn¡¯t help but gasp in surprise, ¡°damn! you¡¯re actually willing to fork out so much! these hairpins are high-grade treasures to begin with. in order to fix a high-grade brush, you plan on destroying a pair of high-grade treasures?!¡± shang xia chuckled in response, ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter if they¡¯re destroyed. they¡¯re just high-grade treasures at the end of the day¡­¡± tutting instinctively, chu jia stared at shang xia from the corner of her eye and sneered, ¡°you¡¯re really a lucky guy alright¡­ from what we learned, ren bainian knows how to repair weapons. you should look for him if you wish to fix your brush¡­¡± ¡°who? ren bainian?!¡± shang xia nearly yelled out loud as he revealed a look full of shock. his reaction wasn¡¯t because he looked down on ren bainian, but the manyu continent was truly too lacking in terms of heaven and earth qi. cultivation was difficult, and the inheritance cultivators of the manyu continent could receive was deteriorating at a rapid pace. even if people managed to leave behind their inheritances, no one would be able to work on them. it was hard to believe that a barbaric world lacking in weapons would allow ren bainian to be adept at working with them. ¡°you better believe it¡­ both of us might understand the current situation of the manyu continent, but have you thought about it another way? if you¡¯re a cultivator of the manyu continent and your weapon has been heavily damaged, would you choose to look for ways to repair it or look for a new one?¡± chu jia explained. ¡°oh¡­ that¡¯s why¡­ i understand now!¡± shang xia muttered. with the current situation in the manyu continent, if there was one thing they actually made improvements in, repairing weapons would definitely be one of them. after all, the difficulty of repairing weapons was much lower than finding a new one! as the sayings go, you¡¯ll use something till it''s old, and keep using it till it spoils. patching it up, you¡¯ll still be able to use it for some time. even though some weapons had been greatly worn down, it was still passed down in the powers of the manyu continent. the reason they could still use those weapons was because of the amazing ways the experts used to repair them. after learning that it was possible for his brush to be fixed, shang xia was ecstatic. chatting a little more, chu jia finally got ready to take her leave. before she actually did, she seemed to have thought of something and reminded, ¡°oh right, there¡¯s one thing our great talisman grandmaster shang probably doesn¡¯t know yet. i heard that someone went over to deputy patriarch shang to arrange a marriage. i think she¡¯s probably trying to marry her granddaughter off to you!¡± giggling softly, chu jia left without turning her head. shang xia stared at her as a dumbfounded expression hung on his face. when he finally regained his senses a moment later, he released a mirthless chuckle. he understood that what chu jia said was true, but there was no way his grandfather would agree. that was because yan su¡¯er was still someone from another world! even if their worlds were about to merge, it wasn¡¯t complete. ¡­ when ren bainian knew that shang xia had sent him an invitation to meet, he quickly rushed over to the small mountain shang xia was cultivating on. read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" when he arrived and saw how the mountain experienced all four seasons simultaneously, he failed to hide his shock. even though he felt that he had already overestimated shang xia¡¯s strength, he realized that he was wrong. ¡°how long has it been¡­¡± ren bainian recalled how he was accepted into the tongyou stronghold on the manyu continent. it was because of shang xia¡¯s introduction and during that time, the strength shang xia displayed was barely at the level of a third layer martial extermination realm expert. the moment he stepped onto the mountain, he understood that unless a cultivator stepped into the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm and achieved absolute control over their extermination origins, they would never be able to do something like that. reaching his conclusion, ren bainian even started to doubt himself. he couldn¡¯t believe how quickly shang xia had improved. when he finally met shang xia, all his doubts were dispelled. when he felt the unfathomable aura the kid exuded that gave him a sense of pressure, he knew that his doubts were unnecessary. shang xia didn¡¯t beat about the bush and handed the brush and hairpins over to ren bainian. there was a trace of anticipation in his voice as he asked, ¡°senior ren, do you think if there is a chance for this weapon to be restored?¡± looking at the pair of high-grade white-jade bone haripins before him, ren bainian felt his eyelids twitching uncontrollably as his heart started to ache intensely. that was a pair of high-grade weapons! shang xia wished to use them to repair a single talisman brush! finally forcing a smile from his stiff face, ren bainian chuckled, ¡°young master shang, are you sure you¡¯re not kidding? these hairpins are more than enough to repair your brush, but to use 2 high-grade weapons to fix a brush, this¡­¡± shang xia waved his hand nonchalantly in response, ¡°all i wish for is to restore the brush. nothing else is of concern. senior, feel free to do as you wish with the rest of the materials.¡± seeing as shang xia was serious, ren bainian also became solemn as he accepted the task. ¡°young master shang, you can rest assured. in 2 months at most, i will definitely return with a high-grade brush! if everything goes smoothly, i¡¯ll be able to finish it in a month!¡± ren bainian was someone who knew how to read the room. since he accepted the task, he knew that there was no reason for him to remain and he took his leave. now that he was gone, shang xia could consolidate all the gains he made in his cultivation. from the time he left the tongyou stronghold, many things happened. first, he joined hands with youshang to slay su jinyuan of the spirit abundance world. their gains were plentiful after the battle. even though youshang left to disguise himself as a member of the spirit abundance world and took a lot of emergency supplies, shang xia managed to get his hands on a battleaxe, made a copy of the flying sword art and object controlling art, and he also obtained su jinyuan¡¯s record of his cultivation journey. in the past, shang xia had been extremely focused when training in his martial arts. back in the martial realm, he only practiced 2 palm arts. in the yin yang realm, he trained in the way of the sword. in the triple command realm, shang xia focused on the shang clan¡¯s providence spear. now that he entered the four constellation realm, he developed a blade art on his own. the reason he only used one type of martial arts in each realm was that he didn¡¯t wish to be distracted. also, he understood that the way of cultivation passed down in the azure origin world wasn¡¯t perfect. most of the time, all their martial arts were based on the raw use of their inner qi. the purity of one¡¯s inner qi was also different from the others depending on what type of secret and martial arts they trained in. that was why shang xia placed great emphasis on the martial arts he chose. he didn¡¯t wish to affect the purity of his inner qi by training in a crappy technique. after entering the four constellation realm, things took a slight shift. shang bo, yun jing, youshang (huang yu), and even kou chongxue had given him pointers on more than one occasion. they taught him that after entering the martial extermination realm, he should focus on the exploration of the use of world origin rather than his inner qi. there were countless possibilities when discovering the uses of world origin and it was a path one could never find the end of. however, the main use of the exploration was to look for ways to improve themselves so as to strengthen their techniques or secret arts. most experts in the martial extermination realm would train another martial art after refining their second extermination origin. that way, they would be able to learn more about the use of world origin. the reason why shang xia wasn¡¯t following what other people did was because of several reasons. one of the main reasons was that he wanted to create his own rank four martial art. he couldn¡¯t afford to be distracted by other techniques. of course, his unique way of breaking through by refining 4 extermination origins at once was another reason. the latter point was why kou chongxue and the others didn¡¯t continue pelting him with advice. they wanted to see how far he could go and if it was possible for him to pioneer a different path of cultivation. shang xia might be their human lab rat and he might feel a trace of annoyance due to that, he managed to receive a lot of assistance from the institution. cultivation resources were given to him in large amounts and treasures he might require were supplied endlessly. despite the trace of irritation in his heart, he had to admit that obtaining so many resources for free was pretty satisfying. looking at the copies of the flying sword art and object controlling art he copied from su jinyuan, shang xia came up with another idea. he wanted to look more into it. his divine perception extended much further than cultivators of the same realm, and he wanted to use those arts to capitalize on the advantage he held. those were the gains he obtained from killing su jinyuan, but that wasn¡¯t all he had. he managed to obtain a spirit binding rope from wang guan who used it against yan su¡¯er. the spirit binding rope had really unique properties. it was pretty similar to liu qinglan¡¯s nine segment whip but the spirit binding rope focused on restraining one¡¯s opponent whereas liu qinglan¡¯s whip placed an emphasis on offensive abilities. next came the loot he obtained after killing lin chai. other than the pair of white-jade bone hairpins, shang xia also managed to obtain a complete talisman inheritance for the substitution talisman! CH 563 even though the crimson soul tablet was no longer acting up and his inner qi had regained its calm, shang xia still felt his heart thumping against his chest. the crimson soul tablet and his dantian might not be the cause of his heart palpitations, but shang xia just had a feeling deep down in his heart that something was wrong. his divine perception couldn¡¯t sense anything either but he felt off nonetheless. as the feeling got stronger, the crimson soul tablet started to react. it started to resonate with the surroundings and a desire to devour could be felt clearly. shang xia knew that there was only one thing that could cause the tablet to react that way, and it was the appearance of world origin. with his understanding of the crimson soul tablet, shang xia also knew that a small amount of world origin would never be able to rouse its attention. even when the pillar of light appeared back in the snowy peaks mountain range, the tablet merely pointed him in the correct direction. it didn¡¯t reveal its desire for world origin as heavily as it was currently! with the strong desire of the crimson soul tablet and the bad feeling in his heart, shang xia realized that something big was about to happen. there was definitely an appearance of a huge amount of world origin, but danger was also rapidly approaching. a single thought flashed through shang xia¡¯s mind when he reached a startling conclusion. the manyu continent was finally about to be destroyed! there might have been no evidence for his deduction, but the feeling he got from the crimson soul tablet and his instincts were enough for him to be sure he was correct. he stopped cultivating immediately as he left the small mountain he was on. he didn¡¯t bother to hide his aura or the extermination lights that surrounded him as he rose into the air above the mountain. a terrifying pressure descended on the tongyou stronghold as the samsara of the four seasons extended through the whole area. the effects and pressure were unstoppable as it smashed into the central hall where the higher-ups of the institution were. practically every single expert in the stronghold was alerted by the sudden disturbance. after noticing the progression of the four seasons around them, a name immediately popped into their minds. they could guess the cause of the disturbance, but that also fuelled their shock at shang xia¡¯s speed of progress. ¡°for him to cause such a huge disturbance, even deputy patriarch yun jing might not be¡­¡± ¡°did the shang clan actually produce another martial dipper realm expert candidate?!¡± ¡°how old is he?!¡± complicated emotions filled the hearts of the martial extermination realm experts in the tongyou stronghold. it didn¡¯t take long for another question to appear in their minds. as their gazes went to the central hall, they wondered why shang xia would cause such a huge disturbance. ¡­ ¡°are you sure that the destruction of the manyu continent is imminent?¡± yun jing got to her feet and her expression turned solemn after shang xia barged in and relayed the news. deputy patriarch yun jing was a seasoned expert in the martial extermination realm and she served as the deputy patriarch of the institution for a long time. with her experience, she didn¡¯t bother asking how shang xia received the news. instead, she only asked him to confirm it again. it took mere moments for him to fly over to the central hall from the small mountain he was on. during that short period of time, the sense of unrest in his heart grew stronger and he felt his heart thumping harder in his chest. nodding solemnly, shang xia responded, ¡°disciple is sure! i hope you and grandpa bo can start your preparations soon!¡± just as the words left his lips, yun jing tapped the air in front of her. a four colored extermination light emerged from the void before shooting into the skies above. as it exploded overhead, the wonderful lights lit up hundreds of miles around the central hall. yun jing acted decisively and the other reason shang xia came up with to convince her were no longer needed. ¡°right now, you possess the strongest combat abilities among all of us. head over to the border region with our formations immediately!¡± yun jing nodded at shang xia after sending out the signal. ¡°the moment the continent crumbles, we need to control the formations to keep the landmass in shape. once we do, it will turn into an individual island floating in the sea of stars. you need to protect the island from any external danger!¡± shang xia knew how serious things were and he nodded his head before turning to leave. as he made his way out, he heard yun jing¡¯s voice in his mind. ¡°remember, your safety is of the utmost priority. if the situation turns desperate, just give up a portion of our island. ensure that you do not get too far away from the island and expose yourself out there¡­¡± opening the doors of the central hall to carry out his mission, he saw liu qinglan and chu jia rushing over. their gazes met and shang xia nodded once before rushing past them. ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡± liu qinglan asked the moment she entered the hall. extermination light covered shang xia¡¯s body after he made his way past them and he turned into a streak of light that shot straight for the outer regions of the tongyou stronghold. as he left, he vaguely heard yun jing¡¯s voice commanding liu qinglan and chu jia, ¡°... activate the formation!¡± ¡°what? why are we¡­ it¡¯s too sudden¡­¡± shang xia seemed to hear snippets of the debate going on in the central hall as he rose thousands of feet into the air. sweeping his gaze across his surroundings, he noticed that the clouds in the distance were rolling about unsteadily as a gray haze surrounded the lands. flocks of birds flew into the skies in confusion as beasts rampaged about their respective regions. other than that, he also noticed several streaks of light shooting into the sky from different directions to their respective stations. it went without saying that all of them were experts of the institution. they received their missions a long time ago and with yun jing¡¯s signal, all of them sprang into action. they understood that the time had come and even though they were a little confused, they chose to obey the orders they had been given. all of them knew that the manyu continent was on its last legs some time ago. the only thing they didn¡¯t know was when it would be destroyed. to access the premium content, go to [ pawread dot com ]. like the tongyou institution, the various powers that arrived were pretty much in the same situation. they could only make their preparations and wait for the inevitable to happen. none of them wanted to activate their grand formation in advance as it would cause their landmass to detach from the manyu continent and use up a huge amount of heaven and earth qi. in fact, it would even exhaust world origin which might render their grand formation useless when the manyu continent actually crumbled. the world origin required to power the formation was also the reason chu jia shamelessly went to look for shang xia after hearing about the fate dipper fragment shards. those shards that contained world origin were also the reason why yun jing didn¡¯t hesitate to activate the formation the moment shang xia¡¯s warning came in. when the manyu continent started to crumble, the spatial barrier around the world would still be present. the world barrier might be thin, but it didn¡¯t exactly disappear. it stopped the intervention of the martial dipper realm ancestors of the various factions. even if they could, the consumption of energy would sap the martial dipper realm ancestor dry before long. that was how terrifying the energy consumption was to maintain their individual island after the destruction of the manyu continent. as such, many factions had been prepared to suffer some losses when the manyu continent was destroyed. unless they could accurately grasp when the manyu continent would crumble, they wouldn¡¯t be able to activate their grand formation in time. unlike the others, yun jing chose to trust shang xia¡¯s judgment the moment he brought it up. yun jing wasn¡¯t the only one who seemed to have unconditional trust in shang xia. every other martial extermination realm expert didn¡¯t think that shang xia was mistaken. they also obeyed yun jing¡¯s orders and sprang into action immediately. if everything happened as shang xia had expected, the tongyou stronghold would be able to reduce their losses to the lowest level. they would also gain an advantage in the final fight for world origin. on the other hand, if shang xia was wrong¡­ rumble¡­ a deep blast came from the depths of the earth as the ground beneath their feet started to shake. lowering his head, shang xia could see the landmass that stretched 2000 miles in diameter controlled by the formations of the tongyou stronghold starting to shake. that wasn¡¯t caused by the destruction of the manyu continent. instead, it was because of the effects of their grand formation and multiple smaller assistive formations scattered all around. the landmass was separating from the manyu continent to become an island that hovered in the air above! it was a majestic sight as a giant island 2000 miles in diameter separated from the earth below! the moment they separated themselves from the manyu continent, cracks started to form across the mainland below. those cracks started to extend and widen as giant rifts in the earth ripped through the lands. not too long later, shang xia arrived at the edge of their floating island and felt the feeling of unease in his heart disappearing. looking into the distance, he was greeted with a horrifying sight. the earth shattered and the skies changed color. armeggedon arrived as natural disasters triggered by the destruction of the continent ravaged the lands. the manyu continent finally reached the end of its lifespan! CH 564 by the time everyone else realized that the manyu continent was crumbling, it was too late for the other powers to separate themselves from the mainland. the first thing they had to endure was the final backlash of the world as they forcefully maintained their landmass with their grand formation. fortunately for the tongyou stronghold, they separated themselves in the nick of time and could avoid the final backlash of the manyu continent. their floating island was practically the exact structure they planned for. no unnecessary losses were suffered. read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at "pawread dot com" the other powers weren¡¯t so lucky. thousands of miles in a certain direction from the tongyou island, a cultivator wearing a silver crown on his head sat in the middle of the territory controlled by the divine capital sect. he exuded an air of elegance as he directed the experts of the divine capital sect to deal with the cracks in their landmass caused by the destruction of the manyu continent. as everyone ran around to deal with the issues that were arising, one of the martial extermination realm experts from the divine capital sect approached the silver crowned cultivator and muttered softly. he failed to hide the panic in his voice. ¡°senior brother chen yu, we might be pushing it too far. even though our sect is powerful, we won¡¯t be able to make up for our losses if we keep up the consumption¡­¡± chen yu hesitated slightly and the other expert quickly added, ¡°from the time we entered the manyu continent, senior brother chen yu, you have taken charge of the situation and you have outstanding achievements. you don¡¯t have to try so hard to obtain more merits. sometimes, you should quit while you¡¯re ahead. otherwise, the mistakes you make might cause some blemishes to your record.¡± seeing as chen yu was starting to nod slightly, he continued with his advice. ¡°now that the manyu continent is crumbling, the final eruption of world origin is about to happen. if senior brother chen exerts too much energy because of what is happening right now, it might affect your fight for world origin that is bound to happen later¡­¡± the final reason seemed to convince chen yu. the person in charge of the experts of the divine capital sect in the manyu continent rose to his feet and arranged the silver crown on his head before growling, ¡°junior brother chen hai, tell everyone to shrink our territory by 500 miles. at the same time, let the aboriginal cultivators of the manyu continent who chose to submit know that if they wish to establish themselves on the azure origin world, they should do their best to assist our divine capital sect!¡± chen hai cupped his fist and received chen yu¡¯s order before turning to leave. a soft sigh escaped chen yu¡¯s lips as a trace of reluctance flashed across his face. eventually, he regained his calm before leaving the hall with an expressionless face. staring into the distance, he noticed that the skies were in chaos. shattered fragments of the manyu continent started to fall in different directions. when meteorites traveling through the sea of stars slammed into the earth, they burst into flames. burning chunks of earth fell like rain but when they approached 600 to 700 miles of the divine capital sect¡¯s territory, they would be stopped by an invisible barrier. the barrier started to tremble violently when it was struck, and it seemed like it would break the next second. before that could happen, the barrier started to shrink at a rapid pace. because of chen yu¡¯s command earlier to shrink their territory so as to save energy, a huge number of aboriginals who chose to side with the divine capital sect found themselves outside the protection formation. almost all of them were powerless to deal with the chunks of flaming earth falling from the heavens and they didn¡¯t even have time to beg for help from other experts. they suffered huge losses and miserable screams filled the air. since the divine capital sect withdrew their territory, everything that wasn¡¯t protected by their grand formation started to break down along with the rest of the manyu continent. of course, the protection barrier that was no longer needed to protect such a huge area immediately solidified and became a lot stronger. no more threats could affect the stability of the barrier as it held steady even as chunks of flaming earth pelted it constantly. ¡­ amidst the loud rumble caused by the destruction of the continent, the experts of the white deer paradise made the same decision as those of the divine capital sect. ¡°the backlash from the world is much stronger than we expected!¡± ¡°those assholes from the spirit abundance world are to blame for this! they used live sacrifices to obtain world origin from the manyu continent and enraged the world¡¯s will!¡± ¡°hmph, they won¡¯t be doing too well either because of their actions. they will have to suffer the backlash from the world¡¯s will directly and they should suffer a fate far worse than ours.¡± ¡°enough of that! what are we going to do now? during the early phase of the manyu continent¡¯s destruction, we¡¯ll definitely suffer losses to our territory because of the constant collisions from the crumbling land mass¡­ we expected as much, but¡­¡± ¡°do you mean¡­¡± ¡°senior brothers, junior brothers, please ensure that you remain safe. we have to give it our all during the battle of world origin that is soon to come. our white deer sect isn¡¯t lacking territory at the moment. what we need is another martial dipper realm expert!¡± ¡°alright. gather our experts and get them to protect the core region. after shrinking our protective formation, those left outside shall be left to fend for themselves.¡± loud explosions tore through the skies once again and the landmass that the white deer paradise controlled which was slightly more than 2000 miles suffered another serious blow. the landmass shook violently and a report came from the formation grandmaster of the white deer paradise the next moment. according to the report, a chunk of earth that was 500 miles large detached from the island. the spiritual veins that were used to connect the multiple formations around the landmass turned unstable and it wasn¡¯t difficult to determine that they were going to lose even more territory in the near future. ¡­ in the territory controlled by the zhongxuan gate, hu molin, their person in charge, stared at the various experts before growling in a low voice, ¡°our yan continent lacks land and our foundations are poor. that is also a reason we¡¯re greatly restricted in everything we do. as such, we cannot give up any more of the landmass we control!¡± ¡°senior brother hu, if we go all out to preserve the land we planned for, we will have to pay a hefty price¡­¡± ¡°the protection formation has already stretched to its limit. the area we control now is close to 2500 miles in diameter and the formation masters are finding it extremely difficult to keep everything in check. they¡¯re enduring a massive amount of pressure as we speak!¡± hu molin¡¯s expression changed slightly but he eventually sighed heavily, ¡°we have no choice. every single talisman master of our zhongxuan gate who reached the martial extermination realm has been sent to the manyu continent. do you still not understand the intentions of our ancestors?¡± ¡°in that case¡­¡± hu molin raised his finger to interrupt the person who was about to speak. ¡°i made up my mind. no matter what happens next, i¡¯ll bear the consequences. i hope that all of you can lend me your strength and bring this landmass back to the yan continent!¡± during their conversation, several resplendent streaks of light appeared in the air above them. the reactions of hu molin and the various experts before him weren¡¯t slow by any means. they rose into the air in unison and shattered the meteors that were about to smash into the protection barrier. unfortunately, their efforts were limited. several chunks of rocks sailed past them before hitting the protection barrier around the zhongxuan gate¡¯s territory. after some shaking and flickering, the barrier returned to normal and the heavens seemed to calm down. hu molin and the others returned to the confines of their protection barrier but they kept their guards up nonetheless. when they returned, they learned that 2 formation masters were injured from the impact earlier. hu molin¡¯s expression sank as he knew that that wasn¡¯t the last threat they would be facing. no one knew how long those formation masters could last under the constant pressure. ¡­ the martial extermination realm experts of the changbai holy land felt their hearts pounding in their chests as worry threatened to overwhelm them. ¡°the destruction of the manyu continent came a lot earlier than expected¡­¡± ¡°hehe, everyone out there has their own plans. all of us are plotting against each other and the members of the spirit abundance world even made their way here. they used some sort of strange art to suck away world origin from the manyu continent, speeding up the destruction process. it¡¯s not strange for everything to progress so quickly.¡± ¡°hmm¡­ unfortunately, we haven¡¯t completed our preparations. we can¡¯t carry out the plan we came here with, otherwise, our chances of success would be much higher than it is currently.¡± ¡°what a joke. if we¡¯re unable to complete our preparations, what makes you think every other faction out there managed to finish theirs? all of us are going to have to play it by ear.¡± ¡°now that we look at it again, our ancestors are wise indeed. they chose to work with kou chongxue, greatly increasing our chances of returning with the landmass. we were fools to question the ancestors¡¯ decision to work with our enemy¡­¡± ¡°so what? even if we look like we have 4 martial dipper realm ancestors helping us because of the cooperation, the tongyou institution will have to care about themselves once the manyu continent crumbles. when that happens, kou chongxue and the other martial dipper realm ancestor of the institution will have to deal with things on their side. at the end of the day, the situation remains the same.¡± ¡°junior brother, that¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. with the tongyou institution¡¯s foundations, how large do you think their landmass can be?¡± ¡°oh yeah¡­ they might not need so much help to direct their smaller landmass when the time comes and we should be able to borrow the strength of their martial dipper realm ancestor when the time comes! even if we disregard ji wenlong, kou chongxue¡¯s strength is nothing to scoff at. he¡¯s too damn strong!¡± ¡°wouldn¡¯t our changbai holy land be the only ones benefiting from the cooperation if that¡¯s the case? why would kou chongxue agree to an alliance in the first place?¡± ¡°hehe, it¡¯s simple. if kou chongxue didn¡¯t agree to it, the tongyou institution wouldn¡¯t be able to benefit from the manyu continent at all! of course, that works both ways¡­ if our ancestors didn¡¯t agree to the cooperation, kou chongxue could easily force them to remain in the beyond heavens pavilion when the time comes. after all, our worlds are merely separated by the void abyss. with his strength, he would be able to stop our ancestors from helping us.¡± ¡°enough of this talk. how much land do you think the tongyou institution can bring away?¡± ¡°right, don¡¯t forget, they were plotted against by those aboriginal experts of the manyu continent¡­¡± ¡°hehe, they should be able to maintain a landmass of a thousand miles or so. with the strong backlash from the world, they wouldn¡¯t be able to last as long as us! i refuse to believe that their preparations can be better than our changbai holy land. after suffering the recoil from the world¡¯s will, they would be lucky if they maintain a landmass of 800 miles.¡± ¡­ with shang xia¡¯s timely warning, the tongyou landmass detached itself from the manyu continent before its destruction, becoming the tongyou island. aside from chu jia who was controlling the formation back in the core of the tongyou island, everyone else flew above the island to ensure its safety. CH 565 shang xia suddenly realized that the world barrier not only protected the world from threats that came from beyond the heavens, but it also had the ability to provide concealment from everything that lay beyond the heavens. that was a conclusion he came to after thinking for some time. the sea of stars that lay beyond the heavens might be limitless and no one knows how far it stretches, but there was no way a massive existence such as the manyu continent could remain undiscovered for hundreds of years after separating from the spirit abundance world. now that they were on the brink of destruction, the experts of the spirit abundance world finally located it again and squeezed out the last of its value. the only explanation shang xia could think of that would allow the manyu continent to remain undetected for so long would be the abilities of the world barrier! casually swinging his blade and shattering a massive meteor that came a little too close to the tongyou island, a sea of flames emerged from the destruction. the random fragments that remained could no longer threaten the tongyou island. however, shang xia didn¡¯t have time to heave a sigh of relief when he heard someone scream a hundred or so miles away, ¡°we need help! we¡¯re about to be struck by a huge landmass!¡± shang xia¡¯s expression changed as he charged in the direction of the yell. with shang xia¡¯s speed, he crossed the distance of a hundred or so miles in the blink of an eye. he saw fang kewei and shang lubing gathered together as they stared at a spot in the void some distance away from the tongyou island. relief washed over them and smiles appeared on their faces when they saw that shang xia had arrived. when he came to a stop, the extermination light around him disappeared. he didn¡¯t need them to tell him anything as he noticed a giant chunk of land 100 or so miles in diameter rapidly approaching the tongyou island. by the time he arrived, it was merely 30 miles away from impact! fang kewei looked like he had exhausted a lot of his inner qi and he gasped for breath with a pale face. ¡°young master shang, please make your move and destroy that landmass. if it smashes into us, a huge portion of our land would crumble.¡± shang lubing also had a look of resignation on his face as he addressed shang xia. ¡°the incoming landmass is too big. even if i gave it my all, i wouldn¡¯t be able to do much. i need reinforcements in order to deal with this threat. young master shang, we¡¯re lucky you showed up!¡± by the time their conversation ended, the landmass had already closed in by several miles. the situation was absolutely dire. fang kewei yelled in fright, ¡°quick, quick! it¡¯ll be too late if we don¡¯t do it now!¡± glancing at him, shang xia¡¯s gaze quickly shifted to the space behind him and muttered, ¡°someone else is coming¡­¡± widening their eyes in shock, they were surprised that shang xia could discover the presence of someone else before themselves. however, it made sense after they thought about it. seeing shang xia¡¯s reaction, fang kewei thought that he wasn¡¯t confident of shattering the landmass alone and wanted to wait for someone else. he added, ¡°it¡¯s good that someone else is coming. with all of us working together, it will be much easier to destroy the landmass¡­¡± turning to look in the direction of shang xia¡¯s gaze, shang lubing raised an eyebrow in shock. he didn¡¯t agree with fang kewei as he gasped softly, ¡°it''s him¡­¡± ¡°mister fang, when you were trying to stop the landmass earlier, did you notice how many mortals were living on it? were they begging for help?¡± taken aback by shang xia¡¯s question, fang kewei sighed. ¡°of course i noticed them. however, we don¡¯t have the power to save them. we can¡¯t do anything about it now that things have progressed up to this point. if they smash into our tongyou island, they wouldn¡¯t be able to live anyway. we¡¯ll suffer a huge loss if that;¡¯s the case and in order to lower our losses¡­¡± read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at [ pawread.com ] shang xia shook his head and interrupted the man before he could finish. ¡°no matter what, a life is a life. even if we don¡¯t save them, we shouldn¡¯t be the ones to kill them or decide their fate.¡± as soon as he spoke, he left behind a dumbfounded fang kewei as he shot into the skies towards the giant landmass. ¡°this kid¡­ what is he doing?¡± fang kewei wouldn¡¯t dare to do what shang xia did and leave the confines of the protection formation around the tongyou island. he wouldn¡¯t dare to venture deep into space for long either. he turned to look at shang lubing for an explanation of what shang xia was doing. sighing, shang lubing explained, ¡°the kid probably doesn¡¯t want to watch them lose their lives because of our actions¡­¡± before he could finish, he was interrupted by the person who just arrived. his voice came from behind the both of them. ¡°young master shang truly has a benevolent heart. i have to respect his attitude but it¡¯s a shame i am too weak to help him. i am unable to assist those on that landmass¡­¡± when fang kewei turned to look at the newcomer, he saw ren bainian approaching with a helpless but guilty expression. a trace of contemplation flashed across fang kewei¡¯s eyes but he quickly added, ¡°in the face of the destruction of the world, it¡¯s already an impressive feat to protect the foundations of your clan. brother ren, there¡¯s no need to blame yourself¡­¡± shang lubing yelled in shock as he disrupted both of them. ¡°what¡­ what is the kid trying to do?!¡± fang kewei and ren bainian turned to look at the incoming landmass and their eyes widened to the size of saucers as they gasped in fright. tens of miles away, shang xia arrived before the landmass and he sucked in a long breath. his four seasons extermination origins which had been refined past the 80 percent mark were pushed to their limits as the extermination light around him started to pulsate rapidly. after some time, only a thin layer of extermination light surrounded him but the color wasn¡¯t so varied any longer. they seemed to have fused together, and that was what caught shang lubing¡¯s attention. the fusion of one¡¯s extermination origins, and subsequently extermination light, indicated that one had already reached the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm. having noticed that, shang lubing became even more curious about what shang xia was going to do. when the words left his lips, he saw shang xia slowly raising his right hand and pushing forward. that was shang xia¡¯s four seasons palm, which he renamed the four constellation palm not too long ago! after the refinement of his extermination origins crossed the 80 percent mark, shang xia¡¯s four constellation palm already possessed the power of a rank four martial intent! with the endless cycle of the four seasons as its base, a giant palm appeared in space as it pushed against the incoming landmass. buzz¡­ rumble¡­ crack¡­ weird sounds came from the huge landmass and as they echoed through the lands, shang lubing, fang kewei, and ren bainian stared at shang xia in shock. they were completely dumbfounded by what was happening. as shang xia¡¯s four constellation palm pushed against the landmass, its trajectory started to change. however, it wasn¡¯t exactly an easy process either. because of shang xia¡¯s giant palm, a huge imprint was created on the bottom of the landmass. huge valleys and mountains were created as shang xia¡¯s palm sank deep into it. due to the sheer size of the landmass, shang xia was sent flying backwards due to the impact. he flew back several miles, but he eventually managed to find his footing. standing firm, he maintained the giant palm in space as it pushed against the landmass. ¡°this¡­ this¡­ this¡­¡± fang kewei could no longer describe what he was feeling, or what was happening. ren bainian¡¯s eyes lit up and he praised, ¡°young master shang¡¯s martial intent is truly incredible! it actually possesses such power!¡± shang lubing was the only one who seemed worried at the side as he muttered softly, ¡°should we¡­ should we head out there to help him?¡± after he spoke, a loud roar escaped shang xia¡¯s lips. staring at him, they saw the extermination light around him expanding violently as the giant palm turned a little more corporeal. shang xia, who seemed to be at his limit, started to push his right arm out slowly. the giant palm pushed the landmass back a little. by the time shang xia extended his hand fully, the landmass had been pushed tens of miles away in the opposite direction. its momentum continued as it flew away from the tongyou island. slowly retracting his arm, the giant palm turned a little more blurry as it disappeared. the landmass drifted further and further away¡­ even after the landmass had drifted out of view, shang xia didn¡¯t return to the tongyou island immediately. instead, he circulated his inner qi and regained some of his energy before doing so. by the time he entered the protection barrier around the tongyou island, he noticed 3 strange looks boring right into him. feeling a little uncomfortable, he asked, ¡°about this¡­¡± ¡°young master shang is truly incredible!¡± ren bainian started bootlicking immediately. he seemed extremely sincere about it. ¡°what is the name of that move?¡± fang kewei asked in a daze. ¡°have you reached the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm?¡± shang lubing followed up and he maintained a deep frown on his face. a deep gaze could be seen in his eyes as he awaited a response. shang xia turned to ren bainian first. ¡°i¡¯m still severely lacking when it comes to my personal abilities. i am unable to save too many people from the manyu continent and i hope senior does not blame me for that. however, these land masses would eventually drift off before gathering back together to form a planet where these mortals can continue to live. senior ren, you don¡¯t have to worry that the original inhabitants of the manyu continent would go extinct.¡± waving his hand, ren bainian replied, ¡°of course i wouldn¡¯t blame you. due to the destruction of the continent, death is inevitable. young master shang, your actions have already saved countless lives!¡± ¡°it all boils down to my lack of cultivation. i am only able to protect the tongyou island at the moment and ensure that your ren clan doesn¡¯t die out. at the very least, your ren clan will be able to carry on the mantle for the manyu continent!¡± after he spoke, he nodded at the 3 of them without answering fang kewei or shang lubing¡¯s question before turning to leave. seeing as the matter had ended and shang xia had left, shang lubing and ren bainian bade fang kewei farewell before returning to their respective posts. by the time shang xia returned, he noticed that a deep rift had already formed in the earth below. it spanned 5 miles or so and went 2 to 3 miles deep into the ground. he had barely been gone for a few minutes when that happened. he had no idea if the island itself was unable to hold on or if someone smashed into it. as he turned around and got ready to look around to find the cause of the damage, he noticed something with his divine perception and he turned to stare at the giant rift in the ground. a cold snort left his lips. ¡°who¡¯s there? get out here right now!¡± a streak of light emerged beneath his feet as it tried to rush deeper into the tongyou island. shang xia ignored it as he continued to stare into the distance while maintaining a smirk on his face. a minute, yet strange fluctuation appeared in the void nearby which caused shang xia¡¯s haughty expression to turn a little serious. waving his abyssal blade, he slashed the space before him apart. clang! CH 566 shang xia originally thought that the other party was using some sort of concealment art to hide themselves. however, he realized that he was wrong after sundering the void before him with his abyssal blade. he discovered that the newcomer was physically hiding in the void! without any external assistance, being able to travel through the void with their bodies alone was something only martial dipper realm experts were supposed to be able to do. however, due to the destruction of the manyu continent, there couldn¡¯t be any martial dipper realm experts present. there had to be one other possibility and that was that the person before shang xia had utilized a treasure like the abyssal void shattering talisman beforehand or something like that to be able to enter the void for a short period of time. whatever the case, their ability to enter and stay in the void already spoke volumes about their cultivation and strength. what was more important was the fact that the newcomer definitely wasn¡¯t an aboriginal cultivator from the manyu continent. no aboriginal cultivator would possess precious treasures like that. moreover, there was no reason for the experts of the holy lands or other factions of the azure origin world and azure spiritual world to take the risk of doing a solo infiltration into the tongyou island. unless the person who arrived was a death warrior who was planning to sacrifice themselves to damage the tongyou island, there was no point for any of them to send an expert over. they could easily wait for the fusion of the worlds before sending another spy over to the tongyou institution, ensuring the largest possibility of success. since there were so many reasons to say that the person who arrived wasn¡¯t from the manyu continent, azure origin world, or azure spiritual world, there could only be one other explanation. the person who came was most likely from the spirit abundance world! as the spirit abundance world ranked above azure worlds in the hierarchy, they were the ones with enough reason to send someone to enter the various islands controlled by the many factions of the azure origin world and azure spiritual world. it was also very possible they would have means to avoid detection by the martial dipper realm ancestors on the way back. everything flashed through his mind instantly and after understanding the situation, shang xia felt lucky that he detected it in time. also, it was pretty coincidental that the person who chose to hide in the tongyou island chose the region he was protecting. if that wasn¡¯t the case¡­ shang xia felt a chill running through his heart before staring at the sorry figure who had been forced out of the void by his abyssal blade. killing intent filled his mind as he thought of the many repercussions that might happen if the spy was allowed to enter the azure origin world through their tongyou island. ¡°are you from the spirit abundance world?¡± shang xia growled. even though he already deduced the other party¡¯s identity, he wanted to see if he could get any more information from the other party. however, the person who came was clearly a shrewd cultivator who experienced a lot of things and he sneered coldly in response to shang xia¡¯s question. he might be frightened by shang xia¡¯s strength, but he remained silent. understanding that he wouldn¡¯t be able to get any information out of the intruder, shang xia didn¡¯t dare to be careless. he raised his abyssal blade and unleashed his exquisite blade art against his enemy. because it was a new blade art he had been developing, he didn¡¯t seem to have full control over his strength. the moment he used it, extermination qi started to leak everywhere, causing the power contained in the attack to drop sharply. ¡°hehe!¡± a soft laughter left the intruder¡¯s lips and a ray of light emerged from his sleeves. shang xia could see that the person before him had already fused his extermination origins and reached the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm. the spirit abundance world sure has a lot of experts who reached the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm¡­ the thought appeared in shang xia¡¯s mind uncontrollably. the next moment, a loud clang rang through the air. sparks flew as his abyssal blade was nearly flung out from his hands by the impact. the expression of the expert from the spirit abundance world changed drastically. his plan was to infiltrate and hide in the depths of the tongyou island. he didn¡¯t think he would be stopped right at the border. moreover¡­ a terrifying thought appeared in his mind when he clashed with shang xia¡¯s blade strike earlier. his blade strike already possesses such power even though it¡¯s incomplete¡­ examining shang xia again, a light flashed in his eyes and he realized the problem. ¡°that¡¯s a divine weapon! so that¡¯s why¡­¡± he felt that shang xia was merely relying on the power of a divine weapon to stop him. even though he was stopped earlier by shang xia¡¯s strike, his battle intent started to rise after noticing the weapon. a trace of greed appeared in his gaze. ¡°a mere lowly cultivator from a lower world dares to hold on to a divine weapon?!¡± the cultivator sneered and the ray of light that clashed with shang xia¡¯s abyssal blade turned into a chain of ice. with a flick of his wrist, the cultivator entered the void again, leaving behind some crashing sounds. shang xia¡¯s expression twisted as he slashed the void open again. unfortunately, he still didn¡¯t seem in control of his blade art as 30 percent of its power leaked away. the void exploded suddenly as the ice chain smashed ruthlessly into the abyssal blade. the resulting soundwave slammed into their divine perception and shang xia held the trembling abyssal blade in his hand. he forcefully managed to stop the other party¡¯s offensive. with the battle dragging on, the cultivator from the spirit abundance world felt his expression sinking by the second. he needed to get rid of the person stopping him as soon as he could and obtain the damaged divine weapon. otherwise, the disturbance they were causing would definitely draw over reinforcements. he might be a cultivator from a higher ranked world and had an advantage in terms of techniques and cultivation against ordinary cultivators from lower worlds, but he knew that he could defeat someone like shang xia quickly. whipping his ice chain around, he drew a wonderful arc in the skies as the chain went straight for shang xia¡¯s wrists. obviously, shang xia wouldn¡¯t let the man do as he wished. cutting down, it slammed into the chain. however, this time, it was even weaker than before. it might be due to his repeated use of the same technique, or the lack of inner qi, but the dissipation of energy got worse. ¡°what a pity the person using the blade isn¡¯t suited for it!¡± the cultivator from the spirit abundance world grumbled in his heart and pointed into another spot in the void as his extermination origin emerged. it transformed into 4 silvery strands before turning into ice awls that shot at shang xia. in a panic, shang xia¡¯s blade art became extremely messy. the ice awls tore through space and arrived before him. pulling out the hundred gold sword with his left hand, he accurately struck 3 of them before allowing the final one to strike the protection barrier his extermination origins formed around him. it was eventually stopped, but his actions seemed to have been anticipated by his enemy. another 4 ice awls shot at shang xia with a single gesture but this time, his fingers danced about in mid air as they controlled his weapons. those ice awls fused to form a single beam of light that shot at shang xia. the next moment, the cultivator from the spirit abundance world felt his divine perception trembling slightly and the frosty light in his hand shifted as he pressed his palm into the void on his left. a pale shang xia was forced to reveal himself and it was struck directly by the frosty light. turning into a frozen statue, it didn¡¯t take long before the statue split apart to reveal remnants of a paper talisman. in the short time it appeared, the pale ¡®shang xia¡¯ that appeared managed to toss out the jade battleaxe in his hand at his opponent. ¡°paper figure talisman?!¡± the cultivator of the spirit abundance world screamed as he stared at the battleaxe that was cleaving down mercilessly at him. ¡°ningzhi battleaxe! you¡­ you killed su jinyuan!¡± forming a seal with his left hand, he easily sent the battleaxe flying. however, a sense of unease quickly filled his heart. ¡°if he managed to kill su jinyuan¡­¡± when he came to his conclusion, shang xia¡¯s abyssal blade seemed to miss its target as the ice chain wrapped itself around his wrist. not thinking too much about it, the cultivator from the spirit abundance world tugged at his ice chain seeing that it had connected. he felt that even if he couldn¡¯t force the weapon out of shang xia¡¯s hand, he would be able to partially cripple his opponent. however, his worst fears were realized when he raised his head only to be greeted by a mocking smile on shang xia¡¯s face. discover the complete story on pawread dot com. ¡°oh no!¡± the cultivator from the spirit abundance world might not know the reason, but he felt his heart sinking the moment he saw shang xia¡¯s expression. moreover, he discovered that shang xia wasn¡¯t moving when he pulled on his ice chain earlier. shang xia released his grip on the abyssal blade, but the ice chain failed to take it away. that was because shang xia had twisted his wrist to grasp the chain firmly in his hands. without shang xia holding onto the abyssal blade, it started to rise slowly into the air before pointing at the cultivator of the spirit abundance world. shang xia was using his newly acquired object controlling art on the blade. with the blade hovering in mid air, shang xia didn¡¯t control it to strike at his enemy immediately. instead, he glanced at his palm that had been cut open by the sharp ice shards on the chain. his blood flowed down the chain but was quickly frozen solid by the icy qi coming from it. the cultivator from the spirit abundance world finally discovered what was wrong. his quadruple frost extermination origins was not only unable to freeze his opponent, his extermination qi that entered his opponent¡¯s body from the wounds were wiped out completely! the cultivator roused his extermination origins again as he wanted to pull his chain away from shang xia¡¯s grasp, but he was interrupted by a deep growl from shang xia. ¡°explode!¡± countless fluctuations appeared in the space around him and they started to sprout like germinating seeds. however, they grew rapidly and turned into rays of blade light that formed a web. closing in rapidly, it was clear the blade light would cut him up into countless pieces if they landed. that was shang xia¡¯s next move in the series of his twenty four solar terms, harvesting light. CH 567 earlier, those strikes that shang xia sent out that were leaking extermination qi were actually part of his new move, harvesting light. each one of his 3 strikes was weaker than the last due to the leaking extermination qi but every single bit of qi that leaked out contained a portion of shang xia¡¯s divine perception. they gathered in the space around the cultivator from the spirit abundance world. during their exchange, due to the clash of their weapons and conflict of their divine perceptions, the cultivator from the spirit abundance world never expected shang xia to use such a devious blade art. shang xia gained inspiration for harvesting light from the substitution talisman inheritance he obtained a while ago. he got it from lin chai, and there were 3 different levels of talismans in total. when he was cultivating in seclusion, he crafted the rank three paper figure talisman during his free time. it was nothing too difficult for him as it was a mere rank three talisman, and he even made a few extras. he used one a moment ago. it was a shame he had no rank four talisman paper and wasn¡¯t able to craft a rank four clone talisman. he could only run through the crafting process in his mind over and over. throughout the process, shang xia managed to comprehend a blade art that was focused on misdirection and deception. that was how harvesting light was born. in order to act a little more cautiously, shang xia used it thrice in front of the cultivator from the spirit abundance world. reality proved him right. harvesting light was especially effective. the moment he used it, he forced the cultivator from the spirit abundance world into a desperate situation. with countless blade lights closing in on him from all directions, there was no dodging. he could only block it with all his might! however, the cultivator from the spirit abundance world definitely had life-saving methods since he could be sent on a mission like that. forming a seal with one hand, he pressed it directly on himself. a blast of chilly air appeared to form a thick ice armor around him without affecting the protection barrier created by his extermination origins. it even looked like he turned himself into an ice sculpture with his move. the blade lights slammed into the barrier created by his extermination origins, and the sound of ice shattering came soon after. the next moment, the cultivator from the spirit abundance world emerged from the shards. he managed to block shang xia¡¯s harvesting light with his unique method, but his face was deathly pale. no one knew if it was because of the consumption of his inner qi that allowed him to do it or if his pale face was caused by the cold. before he could stabilize himself in mid air, he felt his body being tugged to the side ruthlessly. he flew in shang xia¡¯s direction without being able to control himself. he seemed to have forgotten that his ice chain was still connected to him and the other end was held firmly in shang xia¡¯s grasp. with a violent tug, the cultivator from the spirit abundance world lost control over his body. a soft grunt left shang xia¡¯s lips as he threw his hundred gold sword out like a hidden weapon. unfortunately, he hadn¡¯t created a special move for throwing swords. he was using his spear art with the hundred gold sword and he released piercing sun while powering the sword with his four constellation qi. discover the complete story on pawread.com the sword ripped the space around it apart as it shot at the bewildered cultivator from the spirit abundance world, causing him to turn even paler in fright. reaching around his chest, the cultivator from the spirit abundance world brought out an ice mirror and pointed it straight at the hundred gold sword coming his way. when the hundred gold sword appeared as a reflection in the mirror, a sword qi emerged from within and it seemed to contain the same amount of energy. it flew at shang xia instantly. after the sword emerged, a loud shatter was heard as the hundred gold sword destroyed the ice mirror. it continued on and pierced into the palm of the cultivator from the spirit abundance world. stabbing into the man¡¯s palm, the hundred gold sword used up all its power and it couldn¡¯t advance another inch. as for the sword qi that came from the mirror, it was destroyed by the abyssal blade that was hovering around shang xia before it could come close. despite the exchange, shang xia didn¡¯t plan on letting up. the abyssal blade returned to his hand as he sent a devastating slash at his enemy. in his current state, the cultivator from the spirit abundance world had no way of avoiding it. releasing a desperate roar, the cultivator from the spirit abundance world shattered the ice chain that he had refined for a long time. spraying out a mouthful of blood, the little droplets transformed into bloodied shards of ice that scattered in the wind. after shattering the chain, the cultivator from the spirit abundance world contained control of a seventh of the original weapon. the remaining portion was left with shang xia. swinging the remnant ice chain violently, he smacked the abyssal blade in mid air and shifted its trajectory. he managed to avoid shang xia¡¯s attack but his ice chain was sacrificed in the process. fortunately for him, the impact pushed him away from shang xia and with that, he managed to regain his freedom of movement. instinctively, he turned to run. in the blink of an eye, he ran for over 10 miles. his actions and reaction earlier had been anticipated by shang xia. he knew that experts of the spirit abundance world had tons of life saving methods and treasures. it was extremely difficult to kill any one of them and that was why he decided to use harvesting light previously. even though his opponent managed to narrowly escape death every time, shang xia was prepared to follow up with another attack as long as the cultivator from the spirit abundance world didn¡¯t turn into a corpse under his relentless assault. he wasn¡¯t going to let his enemy off so easily. seeing as the cultivator from the spirit abundance world had turned to run and exposed his back to shang xia, he knew an opportunity had arrived. placing his abyssal blade away after he failed to kill his enemy with it, he unleashed his four constellation palm the next second. he might not have stored up power in his strike and it contained far less power than when he pushed the landmass away from the tongyou island previously, it was more than enough to deal with the problem before him. the cultivator from the spirit abundance world who had been seriously injured by shang xia would never be able to withstand the strike. as the palm sailed closer to the cultivator from the spirit abundance world, shang xia noticed something like a paper boat the size of a palm emerging from the other party¡¯s sleeves. the moment it appeared, it transformed into a flying boat that was several feet long. it positioned itself under his feet and the cultivator from the spirit abundance world spat out another mouthful of blood. as the crimson droplets rained down on the flying boat, he quickly settled in it. with his essence blood powering the flying boat, it ripped the space around him apart before disappearing into the void. shang xia obviously didn¡¯t account for the cultivator from the spirit abundance world to possess a way to escape like that. his four constellation palm slammed into the location where the boat disappeared and turned the region into shattered space. he managed to rip through half the boat that was stained crimson red but it turned into a streak of light that soared away at a speed shang xia couldn¡¯t keep up with. shang xia held the absolute advantage throughout the entire battle and heavily injured the intruder. he even forced his opponent to damage his foundations twice by spitting out essence blood to protect himself. it could be said that shang xia single-handedly destroyed the cultivator from the spirit abundance world¡¯s hope of ever entering the martial dipper realm. however, shang xia wasn¡¯t satisfied. he felt a sense of regret. if he was a little stronger, the cultivator from the spirit abundance world would have to leave his life behind! alas, he got away¡­ it was truly difficult to kill an expert from the spirit abundance world. they had a much more refined way of doing battle compared to cultivators of the same realm who came from lower worlds, and they had many different types of weapons! the amount of treasures they had was also a lot more abundant than shang xia and the rest. whatever the case, shang xia managed to gain a better understanding of his current strength. he was slightly stronger than experts in the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm and it was very possible he could contend with experts who had comprehended their fourth martial intent. however, that was the limit of his abilities. compared to experts like cen yu who was firmly in the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm and had mastered their martial intent, shang xia had to admit he was weaker. of course, being weaker didn¡¯t mean that he would be killed by them. he was confident that even if he ran into peak existences in the martial extermination realm, he would be able to leave unscathed. it would be another story if his opponent had entered the martial dipper realm. after evaluating his current strength and abilities, he finally got over the fact that he allowed the cultivator from the spirit abundance world to escape. clearing his mind, shang xia suddenly realized that he seemed to have forgotten something. oh shit! slapping his forehead, he thought back to the time when he discovered the cultivator from the spirit abundance world. when he was discovered, he sent a streak of light into the depths of the tongyou island! however, the battle erupted the next instant and shang xia didn¡¯t manage to stop the mysterious ray! CH 568 shang xia guessed their motives for infiltrating the tongyou island a long time ago. however, there were only 2 reasons for them to do so. one of them was to interfere with the tongyou institution¡¯s plan when they brought back the landmass to the azure origin world. the other was to infiltrate the azure origin world and spy for the spirit abundance world. if the cultivator from the spirit abundance world was planning to interfere with the institution¡¯s plan, shang xia felt that his chances of success were slim to none. with super experts like yun jing and shang bo holding the fort, along with the assistance of chu jia¡¯s grand formation, there wouldn¡¯t be any chance of him affecting the tongyou institution¡¯s plan. moreover, the experts on the tongyou island were on extremely high alert at the moment and there was no way they would allow anyone to disrupt their plans. not to mention the fact that the cultivator from the spirit abundance world was a pretty unlucky soul. he hid himself in the region where shang xia was stationed, causing him to be exposed immediately. he failed to get past the first line of defense into the tongyou island! if his plan was to infiltrate the azure origin world¡­ there was a chance for him to succeed. all he had to do was to avoid being detected by any experts on the tongyou island. in that case, he wouldn¡¯t have to fight with any of them and with the island measuring 2000 miles in diameter and a dozen or so martial extermination realm experts guarding their posts, it was possible for him to remain hidden. however, there was another key point he would have to take note of if he wanted to infiltrate the azure origin world. how was he going to avoid being discovered by kou chongxue and ji wenlong?! those were martial dipper realm ancestors they were talking about! perhaps, he would have left some sort of mark on the tongyou island. even if he was forced to flee because of the martial dipper realm ancestors, he might be able to locate the tongyou island and return after everyone let their guards down. if shang xia¡¯s guess was correct, the ray of light that was shot into the depths of the tongyou island wasn¡¯t a simple distraction the man sent out. using the opportunity when there were no other threats to quickly recover his inner qi, shang xia landed on the island before heading to the location where he first discovered the intruder. he wanted to look for anything that might have been left behind like a secret mark or something. he failed to locate anything, but it seemed reasonable considering they were at the border of the tongyou island. it was highly possible for the region they were located to be destroyed during their voyage back to the azure origin island. the ray of light he sent out before their battle was probably what shang xia was looking for. when he emerged from the cultivator from the spirit abundance world¡¯s hiding spot, he saw a streak of light appearing before him. the disturbance caused by the battle between them was massive. even though the exchange happened for a very short period of time and the victor had already been decided, other experts on the tongyou island decided to take a look at what was going on. as soon as she arrived, liu qinglan heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that shang xia was alright. ¡°what happened here?¡± she asked. describing what happened a moment ago and his conjecture that the opponent would leave behind some sort of mark on the tongyou island, shang xia didn¡¯t hide anything from liu qinglan. her expression turned solemn after hearing what he said. she decided to follow him and track down the ray of light that was sent out. ¡°are you sure you can find traces of it?¡± liu qinglan asked. according to what shang xia said, the ray of light would be extremely difficult to locate if it was meant to leave behind a secret mark on the tongyou island. however, she quickly changed her mind after following shang xia. they took several winding routes and changed direction twice along the way. watching how confident shang xia was, she knew he had a way of tracking it down. eventually, shang xia stopped and tapped the spot in front of him. frosty mist emerged from his fingertips and frost filled the area they were in. with enough mist in the air, shang xia flicked his finger to stop the process. he chuckled, ¡°the cultivator from the spirit abundance world specializes in frosty qi and i secretly suppressed a portion of it in my body during our battle. since his secret mark should be made from the same type of qi, they should resonate with each other, allowing us to find it easily.¡± shang xia might have made it seem extremely easy, but liu qinglan knew that things weren¡¯t as straightforward as he described. suppressing and retaining a portion of his enemy¡¯s extermination qi would mean that shang xia¡¯s enemy hand-delivered his greatest weakness to shang xia. after some research, shang xia would be able to learn all of the man¡¯s weaknesses! under normal circumstances, extermination qi would slowly dissipate and transform back into heaven and earth qi that filled the lands after they left a cultivator¡¯s dantian. unless their opponent made preparations for it, it was almost impossible to retain a portion of the extermination qi. however, shang xia managed to do exactly that and from what he was saying, it didn¡¯t seem too difficult for him. his ability came as a great shock to liu qinglan. ¡°how did you do it?!¡± liu qinglan couldn¡¯t help but ask. chuckling in response, shang xia explained, ¡°my four constellation qi has the ability of samsara as the four seasons cycle endlessly. my freezing soul extermination origin is considered my winter extermination origin and it has the same properties as his four frost extermination origins. even though it¡¯s not exactly similar, it¡¯s close enough. it might not be able to replicate all his abilities, but it¡¯s more than enough to track down his secret mark.¡± ¡°four constellations? wasn¡¯t it the four seasons qi or something?¡± liu qinglan followed up with another question. ¡°it¡¯s just a way i refer to my extermination origins. the four constellations don''t only refer to the four seasons, but they also refer to the four directions. they also signify the four divisions of time. it¡¯s also¡­ anyway, it''s just some guesses i came up with.¡± it wasn¡¯t that shang xia wasn¡¯t willing to tell liu qinglan too much about his cultivation method. after all, he wasn¡¯t exactly an expert on the matter and he didn¡¯t understand everything he was doing. moreover, he couldn¡¯t possibly tell liu qinglan the origin of where he gained his knowledge from and he could only attribute it to luck. glancing at shang xia from the corner of her eye, she didn¡¯t press deeper into the matter. instead, she got back on point. ¡°if what you said was true, wouldn¡¯t that mean that you would be able to suppress and retain any type of qi as long as it is related to the elements contained in the four seasons?¡± ¡°theoretically speaking, that is possible. however, there are many factors involved in retaining a portion of someone else¡¯s extermination qi. i can¡¯t be sure of anything at the moment as this occurrence might have something to do with luck. also, the other party was too careless.¡± shang xia didn¡¯t deny what liu qinglan had said, but he also provided a proper explanation of what he was capable of. liu qinglan chuckled in response, ¡°relax, that¡¯s your trump card and i won¡¯t tell anyone about it. you don¡¯t have to downplay it¡­¡± laughing to herself, she seemed to be thinking of what shang xia could do with his ability. search bit.ly/3ibfjkv for the original. however, she got one thing wrong. shang xia wasn¡¯t downplaying his abilities or he wasn¡¯t being humble. he truly wasn¡¯t confident of doing anything! it was his first time using his four seasons samsara art to do what he did anyway! ¡­ it didn¡¯t take long for them to locate traces of the ray of light as shang xia brought liu qinglan into a small pool located in a valley not too far away. ¡°here?¡± liu qinglan looked at the still pool incredulously. ¡°from the amount of frosty qi you released earlier, if the ray of light he sent out landed in the pool, it should have frozen over completely!¡± shang xia nodded his head in response, ¡°well, who would expect there to be a cluster of extremely yin and frost hidden in a pool like that?¡± he stabbed his blade directly into the pool after he spoke. even though his abyssal blade sank into the water, not a ripple could be seen. liu qinglan gasped in shock as a strange expression appeared on her face. ¡°this¡­ what blade art is this?¡± ¡°lesser totality.¡± shang xia said as he retracted his blade. even though liu qinglan was still confused, she discovered the water in the pool rising before she could ask him another question. it didn¡¯t take long before all the water was pushed upwards and drained off into the surroundings. eventually, the bottom of the pool was revealed and the cluster of yin and frost was revealed. the area around them dropped by several degrees and it felt as though they entered deep winter in an instant. shang xia snorted once before slapping at the air before him. the palm cycled through the seasons in mid air before a giant burning fireball appeared in it. it burned off the frosty qi emerging from the cluster below, causing a thick white mist to fill the valley they were in. liu qinglan waved her sleeves and a powerful gust ripped through the valley, scattering the mist. when she was done, she discovered a silk-cloth-like item that measured a foot long in shang xia¡¯s hand. ¡°is this¡­¡± liu qinglan asked. ¡°this is the item hidden in the cluster of yin and frost. i suspect that it¡¯s something that can transform into a secret mark that allows the experts of the spirit abundance world to locate our azure origin world!¡± shang xia explained before handing the cloth over. looking at the rune lines on the cloth, liu qinglan raised an eyebrow in confusion. ¡°is this¡­ is this a type of talisman?¡± causally bringing out the pieces of the flying boat shang xia ripped apart with his four constellation palm when his opponent was escaping earlier, he examined it along with the cloth. ¡°i feel like these things are made from a combination of weapons and talismans¡­ i guess we can call them talisman artifacts for now¡­¡± CH 569 ¡°talisman artifact?¡± liu qinglan looked at the remains of the flying boat in shang xia¡¯s hand and the cloth before nodding her head. ¡°it truly looks like someone tried to make a weapon but there are traces of talisman crafting on it too. how do you think they did it?¡± ¡°i can¡¯t tell much from it at the moment. however, it seems a lot more flexible when compared to our graded weapons. it can also be used multiple times, unlike our talismans¡­¡± shang xia replied. nodding slightly, liu qinglan asked, ¡°how do you plan to deal with these 2 items?¡± shang xia held the cloth that might be some sort of secret mark in his hand and circulated his inner qi. it started to emit rays of light as it broke down and eventually, it turned into a pile of smoke. he might have destroyed the cloth-like talisman artifact, but he didn¡¯t plan on doing the same for the broken flying boat. he chuckled and put it away. ¡°i¡¯ll bring this back and examine it properly. i¡¯ll see if i can learn something from it.¡± ¡°do as you wish. right now, you need to return to your post as soon as possible and i have to get back to mine to prevent any accidents from happening.¡± liu qinglan said. seeing as she was about to leave, shang xia quickly asked another question. ¡°instructor liu, do we not need to report this to the deputy patriarchs and inform the others to take more precautions?¡± a smile appeared on liu qinglan¡¯s face and she responded casually, ¡°there¡¯s no need to worry about that. i won¡¯t forget to tell them, but there¡¯s not much use even if i did.¡± ¡°why is that?¡± shang xia raised an eyebrow in confusion. with a helpless look on her face, liu qinglan explained, ¡°do you think we¡¯re the only ones that will be infiltrated? ever since we discovered the presence of a third party on the manyu continent, factions on our azure origin world and the azure spiritual world knew that things like that would be bound to happen. the spirit abundance world has been flaunting their status as a higher world and it¡¯s true that they¡¯re stronger than us. they definitely wouldn¡¯t give up the chance to annex both our worlds.¡± shang xia understood the problem after her explanation and a deep frown appeared on his face while muttering to himself, ¡°i guess that means that they¡¯re not just targeting our tongyou institution. they should be carrying out the same operation on the various islands hoping for one of them to succeed. as long as they make one successful infiltration, the rest wouldn¡¯t matter. after all, our worlds are about to fuse, and locating one is the same as locating the other¡­¡± he turned to look at liu qinglan to throw out another bomb. ¡°does that mean that an invasion from the spirit abundance world is inevitable?¡± liu qinglan could only sigh in response, ¡°even i have no idea what will happen right now. you should head over to the beyond heavens pavilion after you return and ask patriarch kou personally.¡± with a mind full of questions, shang xia returned to his post. watching countless meteors approaching the tongyou island, he shattered them all with his chaos essence lightning palm. from what he learned after hearing liu qinglan¡¯s analysis, the moment the experts of the azure origin world and azure spiritual world were discovered by the experts of the spirit abundance world on the manyu continent, the two worlds were already exposed to the spirit abundance world. without mentioning the fact that the factions of both worlds wouldn¡¯t be able to get rid of the experts of the spirit abundance world completely, even if they could, the martial dipper realm experts of the spirit abundance world and experts who surpassed the martial dipper realm would probably be able to determine the location of the worlds after seeing the trajectory of the islands through the sea of stars. all that was left to do was to search in the general direction and it would be a matter of time before the worlds were located. the spirit abundance world might not give a damn about the manyu continent, but the azure origin world and azure spiritual world were juicy pies in the eyes of the spirit abundance world. perhaps they were aiming for the new world that would be produced after the fusion of the 2 worlds as that might be a rare opportunity for them. in the following period of time, the tongyou island ran into several slightly dangerous encounters. however, none of them occurred around the area shang xia was protecting. that allowed him to greatly restore his exhausted inner qi. he also took the chance to refresh his understanding of his current cultivation. putting aside his solar term blade art, shang xia had a clearer idea of how to use his four seasons samsara art. it allowed him to shorten the time to cycle his inner qi by a little. the battles he had been through gave him enough experience to improve himself even further. what was more, during his last battle against the cultivator from the spirit abundance world, he obtained a portion of the flying boat-type talisman artifact. he also obtained the ice chain, albeit in 2 parts. if he was able to find a master blacksmith and repair the chain, it would immediately become a peak-grade weapon. for cultivators who utilized frost qi, the worth of the ice chain was no lower than a pseudo divine weapon. shang xia wasn¡¯t exaggerating as that was his true feeling after fighting with the cultivator from the spirit abundance world. ¡­ currently, the tongyou island was floating around space along the destroyed manyu continent. there were uncontrolled landmasses, huge meteors, and spatial storms raging all around them but the martial dipper realm ancestors of the tongyou institution showed no signs of doing anything. kou chongxue and ji wenlong who were in the beyond heavens pavilion made no attempt to control the tongyou island. search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original. at the same time, the tongyou island didn¡¯t seem like they were trying to communicate with the ancestors either. they casually drifted around the ruins of the manyu continent. if one were to stare at the current state of the manyu continent from above while they were sufficiently far away, they would discover that the tongyou island might seem like they were drifting about aimlessly, but they were avoiding all the dangers they could. they seemed to be making their way to a certain location. the tongyou island wasn¡¯t the only one. there were at least 20 islands floating in space as they traveled in the same direction. if shang xia wasn¡¯t mistaken, it would be where the final eruption of world origin would occur. the location wasn¡¯t exactly in the center of the surface of the once massive manyu continent. instead, it was deep down in its core. the islands that were controlled by the many factions from other worlds maintained most of the manyu continent¡¯s essence. if any of the factions wanted to obtain a portion of the world¡¯s will that used to govern the manyu continent, the islands they were controlling were their key. it also seemed as though the larger and more complete the island was, the more likely they were to obtain the favor of the world¡¯s will. with that, they would be at an advantage when fighting for the world origin that would be released. that was one of the reasons why factions of the 2 worlds went to manage a territory of their own after entering the manyu continent. they wanted to expand their territory to the greatest extent not only to benefit themselves back in their respective worlds. the fight for the world¡¯s will was the other reason. shang xia stood guard above the tongyou island and he was conveniently placed at the head of whichever direction they were flying in. a reason why the tongyou island didn¡¯t run into much trouble along the way was also because of the twisting path they were following. they spun around from time to time to ensure that shang xia remained at the tip of the island. with the crimson soul tablet, shang xia could clearly point out the general direction where they would be heading in. following yun jing¡¯s order, chu jia, the formation grandmaster in charge of directing the tongyou island, basically drove the island in whatever direction shang xia was pointing in. because of their actions, the grand formation¡¯s consumption of energy couldn¡¯t be ignored. chu jia managed to use that as an excuse to obtain the rest of the fate dipper fragment shards shang xia got his hands on. they might not be traveling in a straight line because of shang xia¡¯s directions, but the speed at which they were approaching the world¡¯s will was greatly increased. the tongyou island also managed to escape a lot of initial conflicts as they had chosen a deserted part of the manyu continent to establish their stronghold. with that, they were able to maintain the integrity of their island, unlike many other factions. their quick separation from the manyu continent right before its destruction also helped. they avoided the backlash from the world¡¯s will after the continent crumbled, which coincidentally happened to be the strongest one of them all. due to all those factors, the tongyou island managed to remain relatively intact. it was a huge advantage they obtained when fighting over the world¡¯s will in the near future. CH 571 when the tongyou island was barreling through the debris, another island charged over. they weren¡¯t in the tongyou island¡¯s way, but they were pretty close behind. because of that, the debris that was cleared out by the other party would quickly shift to cover up the path the tongyou island took. when the tongyou island was busy clearing out a path ahead of them, they didn¡¯t let their guards down. they had been observing the situation around the island. the second they discovered an anomaly, liu qinglan came to look for shang xia. yun jing was stationed in the core of the tongyou island at the moment and she was assisting chu jia by supporting the grand formation that had been laid down. no one knew when shang bo would be emerging from seclusion to take the final step. the only experts on the tongyou island who had the ability to deal with the situation at hand were shang xia, ren bainian, and liu qinglan. of the 3, liu qinglan was the weakest as she had barely consolidated her foundations after refining her third extermination origin. rising into the air, they went to get ren bainian before leaving the confines of the island into the space beyond the protection formation. they entered the path they cleared out earlier but it didn¡¯t take long before several fragments of the manyu continent were pushed their way. glancing at each other, they didn¡¯t say a word to each other as they turned into streaks of light that charged in the direction of the incoming debris. as they tried to locate the source of the disturbance, they noticed something after flying for 3000 miles or so. ¡­ ¡°even though we¡¯re so close to them, we¡¯re fortunate they hadn¡¯t noticed us¡­¡± liu qinglan sighed after they finally regrouped. ren bainian muttered, ¡°oh yeah, i recognize the geography on that island. i came into contact with the experts there once. they call themselves cultivators from the northern sea holy land or something¡­¡± a quick look at bit.ly/3ibfjkv will leave you more fulfilled. ¡°northern sea?¡± shang xia said while glancing at liu qinglan. ¡°isn¡¯t that a sect from the azure spiritual world?¡± liu qinglan nodded as she turned serious. ¡°it¡¯s them. their northern sea mystic sect is extremely prominent in the azure origin world. they might even be stronger than our world¡¯s divine capital sect¡­¡± sucking in a cold breath, shang xia¡¯s eyes widened in shock. not knowing what to do at the moment, liu qinglan fell deep into thought. seeing as neither liu qinglan nor shang xia was speaking, ren bainian remained silent to wait for their decision. shang xia looked at the 2 of them before gritting his teeth to make a decision. ¡°the stronger they are, the more we have to delay their entry to the final showdown. the moment they enter the fray, we¡¯ll definitely be the first to be affected. also, if they manage to discover us on the way there, they will definitely try to deal with us. they wouldn¡¯t give us a chance to fight for the world¡¯s will¡­¡± after a slight hesitation, liu qinglan nodded in affirmation. shang xia immediately spoke of his plan once he saw her reaction. ¡°luckily, we discovered their tracks before they could detect us¡­ we can¡¯t let them catch up to us easily. why don¡¯t we¡­¡± after laying out his plan, they decided what they had to do. liu qinglan remained in place as ren bainian soared higher into space. he hid himself in a broken landmass directly above the northern sea island¡¯s path and shang xia hid himself on the other side. the northern sea island was basically doing the same thing the tongyou island did while passing through the area as they got their experts to open a path for their island to pass through. according to shang xia¡¯s plan, even if an accident occurred, there would be enough buffer for them to react. they chose a good hiding spot as they were sure the northern sea island hadn¡¯t passed by them. after another round of communication and confirming when they would take action, they left simultaneously. they started to push huge fragments of land into the northern sea island¡¯s way. they might not be able to damage the northern sea island that way, but they would greatly slow their progress. when shang xia was making his way to the other side, he flew under the path the northern sea island would take and an inspiration struck him. there was no need for him to launch an attack on the other side. striking the northern sea island from the underside was also extremely effective. after they separated, the time to boil a pot of tea barely passed when the massive northern sea island approached. rays of extermination light flashed through space as the deep rumbling of the moving island rang in their ears. it was obvious the protectors of the northern sea island were moving whatever fragments in their way away, and it was clear at a glance that the northern sea island was a lot larger than the tongyou island. it spanned past a 3000 mile diameter, but because of their sheer size, they suffered tons of damage from the falling debris and the first backlash from the destruction of the manyu continent. there were deep craters in many areas of their island. it might be larger than the tongyou island, but they looked a lot worse. it didn¡¯t have the spirited vibe of the tongyou island and their liveliness. a short moment later, the island started to sail past the 3 of them. however, they didn¡¯t take action immediately. only after a third of the island had passed her location did liu qinglan burst into action. her nine-segmented whip which had been upgraded to a high-grade weapon by that point swung out while separating into 9 different segments. it flew into the path of the northern sea island and wrapped itself around several smaller land masses. she yanked it violently to the side. 5 chunks of land of varying sizes were dragged over by her whip and they quickly gained speed. as they flew at the northern sea island, they smashed into several smaller fragments on their way there dragging them along. eventually, over a dozen earth fragments flew at them. it was also obvious to liu qinglan that those fragments wouldn¡¯t trouble the northern sea island in the slightest. as such, she swung her whip out again and she ignored her inner qi consumption as she dragged over more fragments of land. doing it again and again, liu qinglan caused over 50 huge fragments to fly in the direction of the northern sea island. as they crashed into other fragments and dragged them along, there were a total of 80 or so chunks of earth ready to crash into the northern sea island. in a short period of time, liu qinglan swung her whip 5 times in total. she nearly exhausted her inner qi and she only reserved enough for her to make her escape. she didn¡¯t bother looking at the results of her actions as she turned into a streak of light that disappeared into the sea of debris. she moved according to the route they had planned earlier and flew about in a strange manner before disappearing completely. liu qinglan might be comparable to a speck of dust in terms of size when they took the northern sea island into account, but the disturbance her actions caused couldn¡¯t be hidden from the experts stationed there. several beams of light shot into the skies from the island to block those fragments from crashing into them. there were some who flew out into space and avoided those fragments before getting ready to give chase to whoever was causing trouble. they clearly knew that a disturbance of such a scale didn¡¯t come naturally. unfortunately, dozens of earth fragments that were much larger in size than the ones liu qinglan pulled appeared from the other direction of the northern sea island. they sailed straight for the core region of the island. turning around immediately, those experts who wanted to fly after liu qinglan returned to defend their island. they quickly intercepted those huge fragments but before they could heave a sigh of relief, dozens of smaller fragments appeared and raced towards the northern sea island. the experts of the northern sea mystic sect who just stopped the larger fragments were too tired to do a thing. even if they had to take the collision of those smaller fragments head-on and suffer a little, the advancement of the northern sea island wasn¡¯t affected at all by the attacks of liu qinglan and ren bainian. they might have caused a little damage and fright to the experts of the northern sea mystic sect, but that was it. what none of them realized was after enduring those 2 sneak attacks, the endless belt of earth fragments below the island was slowly rising as they quickly approached their target. CH 572 the northern sea mystic sect placed great emphasis on the manyu continent. that was why they went to conquer a piece of land rich in resources that was more than 3000 miles in diameter. they planned on bringing it back to their azure spiritual world to enhance their foundations. at the same time, they could use it to deal with the change that would occur after the fusion of the worlds. the larger the island they wished to bring back to the azure spiritual world, the greater their preparations had to be. it could be said that they spent a lot more time than the other factions in their preparation to bring back the landmass from the manyu continent. due to the massive size of their island, the losses they suffered during the destruction of the manyu continent weren¡¯t small at all. because everything happened so suddenly, they hadn¡¯t been able to fully activate their grand formation. their plans were affected and they experienced another round of losses. despite that, the northern sea mystic sect wasn¡¯t the strongest holy land in the azure spiritual world for nothing. the number and quality of martial extermination realm experts they sent to the manyu continent far surpassed the other holy lands. with them to hold the fort, they managed to limit the damage they took. there were at least 6 to 7 experts on the northern sea island who had the ability to rival, or even suppress ren bainian or liu qinglan at the moment. that was how powerful the northern sea mystic sect was! however, those numbers alone weren¡¯t enough to deal with the trouble liu qinglan and ren bainian caused. their actions managed to draw out even more martial extermination realm cultivators from the northern sea island. with the final blast earlier after the larger fragments were taken care of, smaller chunks that spanned 3 to 5 miles each came raining down on the island. as such, a majority of the experts on the island had to be activated. in order to block off the sudden attack, they weren¡¯t able to chase after the culprits. it wasn¡¯t difficult for them to shatter chunks of earth that were 3 to 5 miles in diameter, but they had to ensure that the debris didn¡¯t land on the island as it would cause more destruction. that wasn¡¯t all. since they suffered attacks from their left side and from above, they wondered if there was anyone else hiding in the other direction waiting to launch another sneak attack. they didn¡¯t have a lot of manpower left after sending out most of their experts. however, they had to send out a portion to prevent future attacks. they paid special attention to their right side as it was the most obvious location for the next round of attacks. not paying too much attention to the bottom side of the island as it seemed a lot more peaceful, they casually scanned it with their divine perception before turning their attention back to the other side. a loud whistle tore through the skies of the northern sea island the next instant. a formless barrier emerged from the core region of the island and covered a region of 300 miles or so. three tyrannical auras emerged at the same time and 3 rays of extermination light shot into the air. they split into 4 separate beams each in mid air and shattered the 12 largest chunks of earth headed their way. they simultaneously whipped up a terrifying storm in space that pushed everything above them away. the 3 rays of light were obviously produced by experts who had reached the fourth layer of the martial extermination realm. it was even possible for them to be experts in the large completion stage! ¡°raise your guard and protect your respective regions! we have to leave the area as soon as possible. those people who came are merely here to cause a little trouble. there¡¯s no possibility of an all-out attack!¡± a powerful expert on the northern sea island saw through the actions of liu qinglan and ren bainian immediately. the island which was larger than 3000 miles started to speed up as they sailed through space. they didn¡¯t care that they were crashing into the floating debris, causing large pieces of land to drop off their edges. in order to drive a behemoth the size of the northern sea island, any single change would consume a large amount of energy. no matter how strong their foundations were, the experts on the island would have to bear some of the burden. who would have thought that the moment they sped up, trouble would arrive? an enraged yet panicked cry came from the core region of the island. ¡°stop! stop right now! move upwards! be careful!¡± the roar shocked every single expert on the island. however, they quickly snapped back to reality to carry out whatever the voice said. taking on massive backlashes, several formation grandmasters spat out mouthfuls of blood as they pushed the grand formation to its limit. not only were they trying to decelerate the island, they were also trying to push it upwards. after speeding up earlier, how could it be so easy for the island that was over 3000 miles wide to slow down? experts who came out earlier didn¡¯t hesitate to stop trying to resist the huge chunks of earth that were flying their way as they returned to the core region of the island to provide backup. unfortunately, those chunks of earth that would fall on the island due to their dereliction would cause massive damage. with the hard work of the experts of the northern sea island, the island finally started to rise. two powerful auras that caused everyone¡¯s heart to palpitate emerged from the core region of the island. clearly, those 2 experts had already reached the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm. they were experts who were one step away from entering the martial dipper realm! with their appearance, the number of experts on the northern sea island whose cultivation was at the fourth layer of the martial extermination realm or higher increased to 5! the northern sea mystic sect definitely deserved their name as the strongest superpower in the azure spiritual world! ¡°fellow cultivator, who are you and why are you messing around with my northern sea mystic sect?¡± one of the experts who revealed themselves earlier spoke. his voice ripped through the island and rang out in space as he gave the culprit a stern warning. after feeling his aura, one would understand why the many experts on the northern sea island followed his order and forced the island to rise despite not knowing what was going on. not receiving a response, the other expert in the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm growled, ¡°go! go to the bottom of the island!¡± the words barely left his lips when he and the other expert turned into 2 streaks of light that flew in different directions. their intentions were clear as they wanted to approach from both sides. experts of the northern sea island who were situated at the tip of the island couldn¡¯t help but gasp in shock when they looked down. unbeknownst to them, the many fragments of earth below had gathered to form a giant chunk that was tens of miles in diameter. it created a massive obstacle that blocked the northern sea island¡¯s path. we are "pawread dot com", find us on google. no one detected its presence before, but it was barreling towards the island at a frightening pace. no matter how much blood the formation grandmasters were spitting out, they couldn¡¯t decelerate the island in time. they were also trying to push the island upwards, but they also faced a little opposition that way. smaller fragments were pelting against them and they could only resist forcefully with whatever protection barrier they could put up. as for the rest of the experts on the island, they were sent to attack the giant obstacle created by an amalgamation of smaller fragments. despite their best efforts, it was too late! ¡°rumble¡­¡± the northern sea island crashed into the obstacle that was made up of hundreds of smaller fragments. even though none of the individual pieces that made the obstacle could hinder the northern sea island, there were hundreds of them concentrated in one spot. during the collision, the northern island trembled violently. swathes of land started to crumble and break off from the island as the earth veins that connected the grand formation to the auxiliary formations shattered. in an instant, the grand formation suffered catastrophic damage. unfortunately, that was not the worst of their worries. an even more terrifying situation was about to descend on them. the northern sea island was like a giant running at top speed into a humongous boulder in his path. smashing into it, it lurched forward and was about to flip over. blood drained from the faces of those experts stationed at the tip of the island and they couldn¡¯t be bothered with the responsibilities any longer as they retreated at top speed. ¡°what are you panicking for?!¡± a struck growl came from the side of the island. the 2 martial extermination realm experts in the grand completion stage appeared on both sides of the giant obstacle. one of them held a 3-foot-long palm-leaf fan in his hand and swung it violently before him. a horrifying storm of extermination qi emerged, carving out a rift dozens of miles long in the huge obstacle. chunks of earth flew everywhere. on the other side, the other expert made a complicated seal with his hands before pressing downwards. debris filled the space around him as he forcefully blasted out an empty space that spanned dozens of miles. after making several moves, they finally got rid of the obstacle in their way. with the help of every single formation grandmaster on the island, the northern sea island finally maintained its balance. CH 573 actually, shang xia was taking a huge risk to do what he did. after he gained a stroke of inspiration to attack the northern sea island from underneath, he flew further and further into space until he was tens of miles below. realizing that time wasn¡¯t on his side, shang xia knew that he had to make his move as quickly as possible in case he missed the chance to affect the island. he wasn¡¯t actually confident he could carry out what he was thinking of anyway, but since things were already at that point, there was no point in giving up. he couldn¡¯t back out any longer and decided to give it a shot. raising his head, shang xia could see countless tiny fragments of land floating above him. they bumped into each other endlessly. there were many pieces floating about in space as the northern sea island cleared a path for themselves, and with the experience of pushing away a landmass hundreds of miles wide, shang xia had an idea. using both hands, he created 2 giant palms in space and pushed them against each other before raising them high above his head. smaller fragments of land started to rise and gather between the two palms. it didn¡¯t take long for him to gather all the fragments around him to form a huge cluster that was hundreds of miles wide. slowly pushing upwards, even more fragments were gathered together. however, that also meant that shang xia would have to endure a lot of pressure while pushing the cluster. the inner qi in his dantian gushed out like water out a dam and he easily discovered his consumption of inner qi. since things had already progressed up to that point, shang xia didn¡¯t intend to give up halfway. forcefully withstanding the consumption and pressure, he forged on. it didn¡¯t take long for the cluster of fragments to start rising in the direction of the northern sea island. shang xia stared at it in amazement as he admired the huge cluster that was created from hundreds of smaller fragments. there were several pieces that were tens of miles wide in it, but shang xia knew that he merely bundled all of them up with his four constellation palm. the cluster was far from comparable to a solid giant fragment that was dozens of miles wide, and it was far less terrifying. even so, if anyone under the martial dipper realm were to witness what shang xia did, they would be tongue-tied by his achievements and strength. pushing the palms in space higher and higher, the number of fragments that gathered together continued to increase. eventually, they started to grind against each other to create a somewhat crumbly and defective island that was dozens of miles wide. because of the way shang xia ¡®created¡¯ the large island, there was no way for anyone to detect it as they would have noticed something so large while surveying the area. liu qinglan and ren bainian gave him a great distraction and by the time the 2 grand completion stage martial extermination realm experts discovered that something was wrong, the giant continent had already arrived. they could only watch as it rose to block their path. after slamming into it, their northern sea island tilted dangerously forward and it nearly tipped over. ¡­ by the time he was done, shang xia felt that he only had a tiny trace of extermination qi left in his dantian. he finally experienced what true exhaustion was. even with his strong foundations, shang xia was nearly completely drained of inner qi. with his final shred of inner qi, shang xia turned to leave. he used the cover of whatever fragments were left floating around to hide his tracks. he started to distance himself from the northern sea island while he used his divine perception to learn what was going on. at the same time, he circulated his four seasons samsara art to the best of his abilities to recover some inner qi. after some time, he managed to regain some strength. however, he didn¡¯t plan to fight anyone in his current state. instead, it was to escape if anything went wrong. everything that happened next far exceeded his expectations. or perhaps, even shang xia never thought that his actions would lead to such a disastrous, or miraculous ending, depending on how one looked at it. the obstacle he made nearly caused the monster of an island to lose its balance! one had to know that shang xia¡¯s initial plan was to damage the northern sea island slightly and delay them from fighting for the world¡¯s will. when shang xia felt the presence of the 2 grand completion stage martial extermination realm experts and saw how they worked together to clear out the cluster of fragments he made, he started to make his escape. what a joke. even in my prime, fighting one of them will be a pain in the ass. no fucking way i¡¯m fighting two¡­ at the moment, shang xia was running on empty. if he hadn¡¯t taken the chance when they were distracted by the aftermath of whatever happened to run, he might never be able to get away. his expectation was correct. he barely left his hiding spot when two terrifying beams of light landed on the position. staring at the fluctuating void caused by shang xia when he made his escape, one of the experts at the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm yelled, ¡°i wonder which cultivator chose to go against my northern sea mystic sect. if you have the guts, leave your name behind! we, zhui fengzi and chen yuanzi, of the northern sea mystic sect, will definitely return the favor in the future!¡± he used his inner qi to propel his voice deep into space. he tried to locate the hidden cultivator by doing so, but it was a shame shang xia fled with his tail tucked between his legs the moment he sensed danger. he might have heard what the man said, but he would be a fool to return. ¡°what¡¯s the matter? are you too much of a wuss to admit what you did after doing this?!¡± the other cultivator yelled. from the way they addressed themselves, the person who spoke earlier was probably called zhui fengzi and the person speaking now was chen yuanzi. his voice echoed in the void and it swept out with an even more terrifying force. neither zhui fengzi nor chen yuanzi believed that the giant cluster of fragments was created by a single person, and they were trying to get hints of the faction causing trouble for them. when chen yuanzi yelled earlier, zhui fengzi wanted to stop him but it was too late. chen yuanzi used a secret art of the northern sea mystic sect that was great for tracking down enemies when he screamed. he used a portion of his source energy in order to display the full power of the secret art. however, doing so would waste a portion of chen yuanzi¡¯s core energy and it would be detrimental to their plans. one had to know that they had been hiding in the northern sea island the whole time. they were martial dipper realm candidates like shang bo, and they were making their final preparations for when the northern sea island went to fight for the world¡¯s will. if not for the fact that shang xia nearly caused their island to tip over with his antics, the two of them wouldn¡¯t have shown their faces no matter how big the disturbance caused by liu qinglan and ren bainian. in order to look for the asshole who caused everything, chen yuanzi didn¡¯t hesitate to exhaust his source energy. he basically lost his qualifications to enter the martial dipper realm the moment he yelled. from his actions, one could realize how much damage shang xia caused. chen yuanzi¡¯s hatred for the culprit had already reached a terrifying level. we are "pawread.com", find us on google. ¡°hmph! you can¡¯t escape from me now!¡± chen yuanzi sneered before his figure started to blur. zhui fengzi also became really solemn as he turned into another streak of light that followed behind chen yuanzi. at the moment, shang xia had already left the range of their divine perception. he would never have expected them to be able to locate him using some sort of secret art! not only were they able to locate him, they could also see the ¡®traces¡¯ he left behind! of course, shang xia might not have expected them to be able to do so, but he was no newbie cultivator. he destroyed all traces of himself while making his escape despite having to slow down a little. he only heaved a sigh of relief after running out of their divine perception¡¯s range. feeling a lot more assured, he wanted to increase his speed. the moment he did, he would leave behind slight energy and spatial fluctuations. those were the ¡®traces¡¯ chen yuanzi was looking for. with his secret art, those tiny insignificant fluctuations were captured perfectly. CH 580 strictly speaking, yun jing¡¯s threat of mutually assured destruction was enough payback against the great observation island. she also managed to scam huo guanzhang once, and it could be said that they were even in that aspect. if they took the powers they represented into account, the great observation sect actually suffered a lot more than the tongyou institution. even so, yun jing couldn¡¯t accept the fact that she was duped so easily. now that the tongyou island was safe, the first thing she did was to cause some more trouble on the great observation island. shang bo wanted to stop her, but he didn¡¯t make it in time. seeing how yun jing flew into space away from the tongyou island, shang bo didn¡¯t personally head out there with her. instead, he shot a glance at liu qinglan and the others and signaled for them to get ready to help her in case anything happened. yun jing charged over aggressively, but the experts on the great observation island weren¡¯t exactly willing to show any weakness either. huo guanzhang shot out from the great observation island and they came to blows between the islands. a terrifying storm of chaotic air ripped through space and the extermination lights they emitted obscured the vision of nearly every single expert on their respective islands. shang bo¡¯s expression changed slightly and he growled, ¡°oh no! you guys should hurry and head over. beware, they might be scheming something against you.¡± liu qinglan and ren bainian quickly rose into space and went straight for both yun jing and huo guanzhang. at almost the exact same time they moved, the experts from the great observation island also made their move. the battle immediately reached the next level. multiple strands of extermination light and violent energy fluctuations ripped through space and it affected the vision of those taking part in the battle. even their divine perception started to twist. despite a majority of experts on the islands having their senses blocked and unable to detect what was happening in there, shang bo could clearly see that yun jing and the others were slowly being forced into a disadvantageous position. it wasn¡¯t that yun jing and the others were weaker in terms of individual strength. instead, it was because of the sheer number of experts the great observation sect sent out to fight. at the end of the day, the tongyou institution could never rival a holy land like the great observation sect which had hundreds of years of foundations. ¡°oh yeah, do we have life-saving methods like the space connecting light cord like the great observation sect? our grand formation has some sort of skill like that too, right?¡± shang xia asked. no one knew when, but he appeared beside shang bo as he stared directly at the battle that was happening up there. with his current strength, he could also clearly see everything that was going on. glancing at shang xia from the corner of his eye, shang bo muttered, ¡°life-preserving methods like that should only be used when it concerns our life and death. we can¡¯t use it whenever we like. just because the great observation sect used their space connecting light cord earlier, they have already placed themselves at a disadvantage when it comes time to fight for the world¡¯s will.¡± shang xia nodded his head as though he had expected as much. ¡°so¡­ we do have special skills like that¡­¡± ignoring whatever he said, shang bo changed the topic. ¡°hey, deputy patriarch yun and the others are at a pretty bad disadvantage. aren¡¯t you going to help them?¡± even though shang bo didn¡¯t say anything about their special skill, his silence already indicated that shang xia¡¯s guess was right. widening his eyes slightly, shang xia stared at the chaotic battle going on in space. ¡°hehe, do you need me to pretend to be you?¡± read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "pawread dot com" ¡°do whatever you want.¡± shang bo chuckled. the corners of shang xia¡¯s lips curled up in a weird smile and he sniggered under his breath, ¡°as the saying goes, an eye for an eye!¡± the words barely left his lips when he disappeared from his spot. the moment he did, a terrifying fluctuation appeared from the tongyou island and it shot deep into space. the void started to twist and shake as the majestic aura that belonged to an existence that had surpassed the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm arrived. with the extermination origins that seemed to fuse back to the origin and the imposing manner in which it emerged, the experts of the great observation island felt that the half-step martial dipper realm expert on the tongyou island was about to make his move! ¡°hahaha! the martial dipper realm candidate from the tongyou island is about to make his move!¡± the experts on the great observation island weren¡¯t frightened at all. instead, they seemed a little excited. in their minds, there was no doubt that the person who possessed such strength was the tongyou institution¡¯s martial dipper realm candidate. 2 magnificent rays of light emerged from the great observation island as they flew at shang xia, the source of the disturbance. from the power contained in those streaks of light, shang xia could tell that one of them had reached the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm while the other had cultivation comparable to yun jing at the fourth layer of the martial extermination realm. at the same time, there was another expert from the great observation sect who pulled himself away from the battle against yun jing and the rest. he flew at shang xia from another direction to box him in. that was the moment the great observation sect showed the tongyou institution the true extent of their hundreds of years of foundations. 3 experts who were in the fourth layer martial extermination realm or above went to surround shang xia who they had confirmed to be the tongyou institution¡¯s martial dipper realm candidate. throughout the entire process, the great observation sect¡¯s martial dipper realm candidate was nowhere to be seen. in the eyes of the great observation sect, sending out an expert at the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm and 2 experts at the fourth layer of the martial extermination realm were more than enough to deal with shang bo. even though the tongyou institution raised huge waves in the azure origin world and the great observation sect heard rumors of how they caused the white deer sect to suffer a huge loss, the institution was nothing more than an upstart power in their eyes. they felt that the institution could only act so arrogantly because of kou chongxue who managed to step into some dogshit luck and become a super expert in the martial dipper realm. due to yun jing¡¯s reckless actions of sending the tongyou island into the great observation island earlier, forcing them to use their ultimate skill to avoid the collision, they suffered a huge loss. however, if they managed to take the chance to injure shang bo, not only would they be able to regain their dignity. they could also force the tongyou institution to lose their chance of producing another martial dipper realm expert during the final battle for the world¡¯s will. estimating that the 3 experts they sent out would be able to injure shang bo was because they had absolute confidence in their combat abilities. the way they fought with yun jing and the others was also enough for everyone to reach that conclusion. yun jing was stuck in battle with a third layer martial extermination realm expert from the great observation sect and she couldn¡¯t force her opponent away no matter how hard she tried. as for liu qinglan and ren bainian, they were also fighting with experts in the third layer of the martial extermination realm. unlike yun jing, they were forced into a disadvantageous situation. shang xia saw how he was about to be surrounded by the 3 experts of the great observation sect and instead of retreating, he charged forward. releasing a loud roar, shang xia slashed out twice with his abyssal blade. they were aimed at the experts running directly at him from the great observation island. even though he might have sent out both strikes in succession, they were extremely weird. they possessed completely different blade intents as one of them contained endless heat as it entered and fused with the void. the other contained a chilly intent and caused the void around it to shatter like tiny ice shards. shang xia released both summer solstice and winter solstice at the same time! the experts charging at him were obviously no fools. they were experienced cultivators and discovered that the blade lights rushing at them were no ordinary attacks the moment they were unleashed. they didn¡¯t dare to take them lightly. ¡°space shattering heart devastating fist!¡± ¡°four exterminations floating palm!¡± they didn¡¯t hold back as they displayed their intricate rank four martial arts at the same time in order to nullify shang xia¡¯s blade lights. it didn¡¯t take long for their expressions to change. after looking at the twisted and shattered space where their attacks slammed into shang xia¡¯s blade lights, they discovered that they couldn¡¯t eliminate the threat coming their way. ¡°be careful!¡± ¡°watch his blade!¡± they seemed to warn each other at the same time as they unleashed another round of attack. this time, they seemed to be working together. at the same time, the third expert from the great observation sect arrived behind shang xia. ¡°senior brothers, there¡¯s no need to worry! i¡¯m here!¡± after he spoke, he pointed at the space before him, causing it to shatter as a beam of light shot at shang xia¡¯s back. even though shang xia¡¯s blade lights exceeded their expectations, the 2 of them managed to react quickly. the moment shang xia¡¯s blade lights were stopped by the other party, he would be attacked on both sides. he would have no choice but to split apart some of his attention to deal with the expert behind him. as soon as that happened, the 3 of them would immediately launch a fierce offensive on him. it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to escape if that happened. obviously, shang xia wouldn¡¯t allow himself to be forced into such a passive state. facing their attacks from both his front and back, shang xia¡¯s blade art transformed suddenly. earlier, he sent out summer solstice and winter solstice separately, but they fused with each other the next instant. a massive explosion ensued and the terrifying power contained in it stopped the 2 experts in front of him from standing in his way. not afraid of the region of unsteady space in front of him caused by the explosion, shang xia stepped directly through it. a look of hesitation appeared on the face of the expert behind him. after a moment of contemplation, he decided to skirt around the region of unsteady space and not do what shang xia did. the 2 experts who were forced back by the sudden explosion would never have expected shang xia to appear before them by passing through the region of unsteady space. they panicked and couldn¡¯t be bothered with their original mission. turning around, they started to retreat. they hadn¡¯t gotten too far when they looked behind to see shang xia slowly raising his left hand in the air. he slowly pushed his palm out and the next moment, they felt as though calamity was about to befall them. CH 581 for an ordinary cultivator, the limit of one¡¯s extermination origins was related to the strength of their physique. only with a powerful physique would one be able to withstand the huge amount of power contained in their extermination origins, and that was an extremely logical explanation. with the same line of reasoning, the purer one¡¯s extermination origins, the more obvious the effects were when it nourished one¡¯s physique. it worked both ways. shang xia¡¯s physique was stronger than cultivators of the same level before he entered the martial extermination realm. however, that only reached a certain extent and there was still a limit to how much stronger it could be. after breaking through to the four constellation realm by refining 4 extermination origins at once, that was no longer the case. his physical body reached a terrifying level. he learned about the extent of how strong it actually was after he entered and stayed in the void for a period of time back in the abyssal secret region. even though the space there was already weak and he used an abyssal void breaking talisman to complete the process, it was enough for him to understand how far his physical body had actually progressed. that was exactly the reason why he had the guts to cross through the region of unsteady space to catch the 2 of them off guard. the space might be unsteady, but it hadn¡¯t reached the point where it was shattered and fragmented. since that was the case, shang xia was willing to take the risk to rush through it. even though his actions might seem like he was acting out of desperation because he was nearly surrounded by the enemy, shang xia was 70 percent confident he would succeed. after catching them off guard and forcing them back with the fusion of his blade lights earlier, shang xia¡¯s four constellation palm arrived. back when he crossed the 80 percent mark of refinement on his extermination origins, his four constellation palm could already push a giant land mass that was tens of miles in diameter. now that he crossed the 90 percent mark of refining his extermination origins, his combat abilities and every other attribute could be said to have taken a huge leap forward. now that he unleashed his four constellation palm again, the 2 of them felt its might long before it arrived. they felt as though their organs were splitting apart and it was like a calamity was about to fall on them. ¡°be careful! it¡¯s the martial intent of a martial extermination realm expert!¡± the experts of the great observation sect warned each other hastily and started to use all their trump cards. they knew they had to stop the extraordinary martial intent no matter what. a rank four silver scale talisman was ripped apart by shang xia¡¯s palm instantly and a bronze clock that was filled with intricate sculpture carvings failed to stop the falling palm. when shang xia displayed his four constellation palm back when he refined 70 percent of his extermination origins, it could barely be considered a martial intent of the fourth rank. after refining his extermination origins even further, the might of his four constellation palm could rival the martial intent of many grand completion stage experts. now that he refined them even further, his four constellation palm had the ability to rival top tier martial intents like cen yu¡¯s heavenly flame tearing the void. the 2 of them wanted to throw out even more life-saving techniques and items, but shang xia clearly wouldn¡¯t give them a chance. his four constellation palm arrived and in a last-ditch attempt to survive, they fused their extermination origin protection barrier into a single entity and actually managed to resist shang xia¡¯s four constellation palm. even though they looked extremely haggard after the exchange and the extermination origin protection barrier around them was worn down to a pitiful bubble of light, they managed to gain a little more time to make their escape. it went without saying that the way they combined their extermination origin protection barriers was a secret art from the great observation sect. shang xia¡¯s four constellation palm was strong, but he failed to kill them with a single slap. by the time the exchange was over, the third expert had crossed the region of unsteady space and he quickly flew over to provide support for his comrades. unfortunately, before he could even get close to shang xia, he was forced away by a casual swing of the blade. rising high above them, shang xia shot past the 3 of them. the light trail he left behind showed that he was making his way over to the great observation island. ¡°how dare you!¡± ¡°we¡¯re your opponents!¡± shang xia¡¯s actions caused the 3 experts of the great observation island to feel humiliated and angered at the same time. because of the battle that was kicked off by yun jing earlier, the great observation sect managed to show off their deep accumulations and foundations by sending out 3 experts who were at the fourth layer of the martial extermination realm or higher. however, those 3 were the only ones with that level of strength! not every faction would be as crazy as the tongyou institution to send close to 90 percent of their experts to the manyu continent. the great observation island might still have several martial extermination realm experts to hold the fort, but not a single one of them was in the fourth layer or higher! in other words, shang xia would be able to do as he wished the moment he arrived on the island. unless the great observation sect¡¯s expert at the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm made a move, no one would be able to stop shang xia! if that were to happen, shang xia would have achieved his goal. the 3 experts of the great observation island raced after shang xia while screaming at him. they didn¡¯t hesitate to use some sort of treasure to increase their flying speed in an attempt to intercept him. unfortunately, shang xia also had his own treasure to boost his flying speed, the auspicious cloud cape. he also came up with a type of secret art through the cycling of his extermination origins previously and his speed reached a whole new level. despite the yells that came from behind him, the distance between shang xia and his pursuers increased. the experts on the great observation island also understood shang xia¡¯s intentions. a few martial extermination realm experts approached the direction where shang xia was and launched attacks against him to prevent him from stepping foot onto the great observation island. facing the attacks of several martial extermination realm experts, shang xia didn¡¯t cower in the slightest. with a loud grunt, the abyssal blade in his hand came crashing down. before the blade light could arrive, the blade intent already did. the instant it did, everyone who felt it had a feeling as though they wanted to sever everything in their past to relive a new life. the blade that shang xia released didn¡¯t just aim to kill. it intended to sever one¡¯s will! not only could it shatter his opponent¡¯s techniques, it could also eliminate his opponent¡¯s killing intent! the blade intent had the ability to scatter an expert¡¯s desire to do battle and those weaker than the user would just extend their necks to wait for death. it had the ability to end everything, but it also seemed to signify a new beginning. as a new year begins, everything starts anew. finally, shang xia unleashed the move he comprehended from the first of the twenty four solar terms, spring origin! as soon as he did, the defensive line formed by 1 third layer martial extermination realm expert and 5 experts who were in the first and second layer crumbled. without anything or anyone in his path, shang xia could march straight into the great observation island unchallenged. swinging his blade down, he created a massive rift in the earth that continued to extend deep into the lands. along with a loud explosion, a massive chunk of land that was close to 30 miles and 10 miles wide fell from the island and drifted away. ¡°you¡¯re not shang bo! who the hell are you?!¡± a chilly voice rang in shang xia¡¯s ear as though the person who spoke wasn¡¯t too far away from him. even so, shang xia didn¡¯t panic in the slightest. a crafty smile appeared on his lips as though his plan had already succeeded. read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the "[pawread.com]" CH 582 ¡°you¡¯re not shang bo! who the hell are you?¡± when the voice rang out in shang xia¡¯s mind, he knew that his scheme had already succeeded. shang xia wasn¡¯t boasting about his achievements and abilities. that was because in his current state, he already possessed the confidence to do so. there was no one left on the island to stop him other than the great observation sect¡¯s martial dipper realm candidate who had remained hidden all that while. shang xia¡¯s true motive for causing widespread destruction on the great observation island was to force that person out of hiding. he wasn¡¯t surprised that the person knew about shang bo either. there were only so many martial extermination realm experts in the tongyou institution, and anyone with half a mind to find out who the tongyou institution was planning to promote to the martial dipper realm would realize that there was only one candidate available. search "pawread dot com" for the original. well, whatever the case, shang xia wasn¡¯t foolish enough to stop whatever he was doing to answer the question. neither was he planning to track the source of the voice to dig out where the expert was hiding. after all, there were 3 strong experts of the great observation sect chasing him. the moment he stopped, he would be surrounded on all sides. shang xia knew he was in the great observation sect¡¯s territory at the moment. they might have exhausted a great deal of power by using their space connecting light cord, but their grand formation was still active. he would be placed in a much more dangerous situation if he was surrounded on the great observation island than if he was surrounded back in space earlier. shang xia didn¡¯t hold back as he continued to run about the great observation island. every time he found a crack in their defenses, he would swing his abyssal blade down at the region to cause a giant rift that was several miles, if not tens of miles long. if the huge crack in the ground extended close to the edge of the island, a massive chunk of land would detach from the great observation island and drift off into space. in the time it took to prepare a pot of tea, shang xia had taken control of the situation. he went wherever he wanted, with a huge group of experts chasing him from behind. none of them managed to catch up to him and he refused to fall into their encirclement. noticing how shang xia was messing with them, the experts of the great observation island roared with rage and cursed him endlessly. despite their anger, they couldn¡¯t do a thing to him. under shang xia¡¯s relentless assault, their island was getting more and more damaged as time passed. everything might seem safe for the time being as no one could catch up to him, but shang xia didn¡¯t let down his guard for a second. the martial extermination realm expert at the grand completion stage of the great observation island didn¡¯t show his face despite asking shang xia a question earlier, and his aura was completely hidden. a trace of worry couldn¡¯t help but form in shang xia¡¯s heart and it was growing as time passed. it might have something to do with shang xia¡¯s caution, but the expert at the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm seemed to have lost his patience. of course, his anger might also have something to do with the destruction shang xia caused. after shang xia separated another chunk of land from the great observation island, a terrifying aura emerged close to 100 miles from him. with the range of divine perception exceeding 100 miles, shang xia couldn¡¯t help but feel a trace of worry. that was because he didn¡¯t discover the trace of the grand completion stage expert in the slightest! he had no intention to exchange pointers with the man and his first course of action was to leave the great observation island. he started to run as quickly as he could. shang xia¡¯s reaction was fast, but the grand completion stage expert made his preparations. he wouldn¡¯t have emerged unless he was ready, and he wouldn¡¯t allow shang xia to escape easily. the 3 experts who were racing behind shang xia changed their course the moment the super expert appeared. they moved to the space above the island in an attempt to block off his routes of retreat. in fact, they were trying to push him deeper into the core region of the great observation island. just as they were about to intercept the retreating shang xia, the void behind them tore open as 2 strands of extermination lights emerged. they resembled giant spider legs that only aimed for huo guanzhang¡¯s back. yun jing, who was held back by the great observation sect¡¯s third layer martial extermination realm expert was actually hiding her strength! in the critical moment, she went all out and went to assist shang xia in breaking through the encirclement. with his sharp senses, huo guanzhang clearly felt the sneak attack. he couldn¡¯t be bothered with shang xia and had to take care of himself. as for the other 2, they were already beaten black and blue by shang xia earlier when he broke through their encirclement and they were obviously not enough to stop him. slashing out with his blade, a huge amount of blade lights filled the space around him and every single one of them had a slight trace of chill in the air. it was as though the world was experiencing the chill of spring. the move he unleashed was slightly different from valley rain and he released another move based on his comprehension of the twenty four solar terms, torrential rain. they were no stranger to how terrifying shang xia was. seeing the amount of blade lights raining down on them, they instinctively decided to protect themselves. they might have reacted quickly, but when their fist and palm intent finally stopped torrential rain, shang xia had already broken past their obstruction. unwilling to be played by shang xia like how he went past them to cause widespread destruction on the great observation island earlier, they quickly gave chase. they sent out multiple palm strikes and punches that caused a huge explosion in space as they refused to allow shang xia to run away that easily. seeing as his prey was about to escape from his intricately planned trap by busting through the obstruction made by the cooperation of 2 high-leveled experts from the great observation sect, the super expert at the grand completion stage no longer cared about the consumption of his inner qi. he left the great observation island and rushed at shang xia. the moment he made his move, shang xia caught a whiff of his aura. he understood that the expert at the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm was likely one level stronger than him. of course, shang xia wasn¡¯t exactly afraid of him if they had to fight. it was just that they were currently on the great observation island and there were many helpers on the opponent¡¯s side. he was no fool. he wouldn¡¯t go around making his life difficult. with his speed, he managed to leave the great observation island before long. the worry in his heart disappeared by a third and even though he was still being relentlessly pursued by the 2 experts at the fourth layer of the martial extermination realm and large completion stage, he felt that it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to probe at the baseline of the great observation sect. turning around abruptly, shang xia pressed his palm down. the power contained in his four constellation palm wasn¡¯t too powerful, and compared to the previous one he unleashed it was basically only used to scare his enemies. that was because shang xha had concentrated a huge amount of extermination qi into his abyssal blade. after sending out the hoax four constellation palm, he released the real killing move, spring origin! that was the second time he used the blade technique and it was much smoother than the first. not only was the power contained in the strike stronger by 30 percent, but the blade light that appeared seemed more majestic than before. when shang xia was developing his moves based on the twenty four solar terms, he discovered that every single move corresponded to a certain season. the deeper his understanding of the blade art, the more he realized that even though that was the case, none of the seasons seemed to correspond to the 4 blade techniques that signified the start of the seasons. spring origin, summer origin, autumn origin, and winter origin seemed different from the rest of his techniques. eventually, he realized it wasn¡¯t a coincidence that things were that way. it was especially so after he developed so many moves and comprehended the meaning behind each blade move. he eventually understood that every single move that signified the beginning of the seasons could be used in 5 different ways. in other words, spring origin alone had 5 different variations to how it could be used! when shang xia unleashed spring origin on the expert at the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm from the great observation sect, he could follow through with brute force and fused the moves into one. he could also react to the changes made by his opponent and catch them off guard by the suddenly changing blade technique. no matter how they looked at it, spring origin had surpassed the other 5 transformations it could turn into and it could even be said that the move alone had stepped to the ranks of a rank four martial intent! spring origin was the strongest move shang xia could unleash at the moment, but because his target was at the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm, he discovered that there weren''t many changes in the other party¡¯s aura. spring origin might be able to transform into 5 different blade techniques, but there was no use when up against an expert of that level. since he couldn¡¯t find any weakness, shang xia could only rely on brute force. clang! even though shang xia wasn¡¯t forced into a complete disadvantage after spring origin was resisted by the other party, he was sent flying backwards from the impact. when the expert at the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm resisted his blow earlier, shang xia could see that the man was using a strange looking polearm. the expression of the expert at the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm from the great observation sect was as ugly as could be when he saw how shang xia was flung away from the impact. CH 583 without a doubt, shang xia ended up worse off in the exchange earlier as he was sent flying after their moves collided. however, that couldn¡¯t be better for shang xia. even though he used up a lot of inner qi during their one and only confrontation with each other, he managed to push himself away from the experts of the great observation sect. actually, the grand completion stage martial extermination realm expert¡¯s expression didn¡¯t just change because shang xia was thrown further away from the great observation island. it was because he noticed what was contained in the space around shang xia. the huge chunks of land that had been carved out from the great observation island were drifting around in the same direction shang xia was flying. none of them knew if it was intentional or not, but almost every single piece of land shang xia cut off from the great observation island was gathering in the same spot. feeling a sense of unease in their hearts, the 2 experts from the great observation sect who were sent to obstruct shang xia earlier wanted to rush at him in order to stop him from whatever he was planning to do next. however, they hesitated slightly when they saw shang xia pressing his palms together while slowly pushing downwards. shang xia was no stranger to what he was currently doing. it was almost the exact same thing he did when he created the massive cluster of land fragments to stall the northern sea island. the only difference was the amount of land fragments he could gather. previously, there were hundreds of them. now, there were only a dozen or so pieces of land fragments he could use. also, he caught the northern sea island off guard by raising the obstruction from under them, but now, he was basically slamming them down on the great observation island. a dozen or so chunks of land that were several miles long flew through space like meteors as they flew at different parts of the great observation island. every single fragment contained a portion of shang xia¡¯s strength. however, every piece of land avoided the core region of the great observation island that held its grand formation. the expert at the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm swung his polearm and pushed 3 fragments away from the great observation island, while the other 2 experts pushed away a fragment each. at the same time, they managed to destroy another in the process. huo guanzhang, who was fighting with yun jing, managed to free himself for a moment to smash another fragment into pieces. of course, the shattered fragments weren¡¯t completely harmless. there were still meteors that were still raining down on the great observation island. it was too late for anyone to sweep them away at that point. other than that, there were still several larger chunks of land crashing down on the great observation island. the martial extermination realm experts on the island might be trying to intercept them, but those low-leveled martial extermination realm cultivators couldn¡¯t even shatter the larger fragments even if they tried. they could only try to chip away at them to reduce the damage. throughout the process, several experts suffered injuries of varying degrees. by the time the rain of destruction stopped, the great observation island suffered greatly. craters of different sizes could be seen on the island and they looked extremely worn out. when everything was happening, shang xia had already turned into a streak of light that escaped. he met with yun jing, liu qinglan, and ren bainian before returning to the tongyou island. everything might seem to have happened in a short period of time, but both islands had been pulling away from each other the moment the great observation island used their space connecting light cord. the islands were already thousands of miles apart. with the experts of the tongyou institution gone, huo guanzhang and the rest of the experts from the great observation sect met up with their grand completion stage expert. staring in the direction the tongyou island was, huo guanzhang couldn¡¯t help but growl, ¡°senior brother guan yun, should we go cause trouble for them?¡± guan yun, the expert at the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm, twisted his head violently to glare at huo guanzhang. the latter felt his hair standing on end under his senior brother¡¯s gaze and a light flickered unsteadily in his eyes. a cold snort eventually left guan yun¡¯s lips. ¡°are you confident you can retreat from the tongyou island in one piece?¡± huo guanzhang and the others were instantly silenced. they knew that things weren¡¯t as easy as shang xia made it out to be. of the 4 high-level martial extermination realm experts, excluding guan yun, none of them would be able to run around the tongyou island and cause widespread destruction if they were being chased by their enemies. neither would they be able to retreat unharmed like shang xia did. one of them eventually tried to say something, but his words drifted off in the end. ¡°unless senior brother guan yun personally makes a move¡­¡± no one else tried to back him up as they remained quiet. search "pawread.com" for the original. guan yun was the great observation sect¡¯s martial dipper realm candidate who was sent to the manyu continent. that was the reason why he tried to avoid fights in order to reduce his energy consumption. he had to maintain his peak state in order to increase his success of breaking through, but things went south and he had to reveal himself because of shang xia. not only did shang xia manage to force him out of hiding, but he even wasted the other party¡¯s energy. ignoring the fact that his chances of a successful breakthrough were lowered, the main point was that he even allowed the other party to escape! if he ran over to the tongyou island to seek revenge in order to make himself look better, he had to think about shang bo, who hadn¡¯t shown his face since the very start. seeing how guan yun remained silent, huo guanzheng couldn¡¯t help but snap at the person who made the suggestion earlier, ¡°junior brother guan lin, you can¡¯t ask senior brother guan yun to do that! it¡¯s easy for him to bring us all over to take revenge on the tongyou institution right now, but he will have to consume a great deal of inner qi during the entire process. it will definitely affect his chances of breaking through to the martial dipper realm in the future and we won¡¯t be able to make up for that even if we die a hundred times over!¡± guan lin was also an expert at the fourth layer martial extermination realm and after being scolded by huo guanzhang, his face flushed red. anger filled his heart but he didn¡¯t dare to act out of line in front of guan yun and he eventually grunted once to end the conversation. ¡°senior brother guan yun, heading over to the location of the world¡¯s will is the most important thing. the tongyou island is definitely headed there too and we can deal with them when the time comes.¡± huo guanzhang added. the next second, a sneer appeared on guan yun¡¯s face. ¡°hmph, i¡¯m afraid they won¡¯t be able to find their way there anymore¡­¡± only then did huo guanzhang and the others realize that the giant flaming ball was nowhere to be seen. huo guanzhang roared with laughter, ¡°senior brother, you¡¯re a genius! the tongyou institution is really lacking in foundations. the region we¡¯re in is obviously a sealed space. it might just be a spatial maze for all we know. it¡¯s almost impossible to leave the area without guidance from our holy land. by the time they emerge, the world¡¯s will might have already been sucked clean.¡± guan yun also chuckled while looking at the tongyou island that was drifting away. ¡°alright. we¡¯ll head back to the island. prepare to contact the great observation paradise. we¡¯ll get our ancestor to point us in the correct direction.¡± ¡­ ¡°we seem to be lost¡­¡± when shang xia and the others returned to the tongyou island, they weren¡¯t exactly met with looks of shock. instead, they were greeted with a piece of bad news. ¡°lost?¡± a frown appeared on yun jing¡¯s face as she turned to look at shang bo. she didn¡¯t seem to understand what was going on. with a helpless look on his face, shang bo explained, ¡°haven¡¯t you discovered that the giant sun that contained the world¡¯s will is no longer out there?¡± yun jing¡¯s pupils shrank and despite knowing that shang bo wouldn¡¯t lie to her, she quickly raised her head to verify the news. unfortunately, she failed to discover any traces of the great sun. ¡°is there anything we can do now?¡± liu qinglan asked anxiously. shang bo shook his head and sighed, ¡°i received news from little chu that we have to leave this region of space before we can do anything. however, we don¡¯t know where we¡¯ll appear after we leave. we don¡¯t know if the source of the world¡¯s will will appear again, and we don¡¯t know how far away we¡¯ll be.¡± ¡°are we leaving it up to chance?¡± yun jing gasped. ¡°we¡¯re leaving it up to chance.¡± shang bo nodded. they were basically leaving everything up to fate. the initiative they seized before by leaving the manyu continent early and starting their journey to the source of the world¡¯s will would go up in smoke the moment they appeared further away. all of a sudden, liu qinglan seemed to have thought of something. ¡°what about those from the great observation sect? if we can¡¯t find the source of the world¡¯s will, wouldn¡¯t that mean that they won¡¯t be able to either?¡± ¡°i¡¯m afraid they have their ways of locating it. the great observation sect is a holy land based in the yu continent. their martial dipper realm ancestor can borrow the power of their great observation paradise to point them in the correct direction.¡± yun jing sighed. ¡°what about us? can¡¯t patriarch kou do the same?¡± liu qinglan asked reluctantly. unfortunately, shang bo shook his head in response and explained, ¡°our tongyou mysterious world hasn¡¯t upgraded to the tongyou paradise. otherwise, it won¡¯t be so difficult for us to enter the beyond heavens pavilion. we won¡¯t need a martial dipper realm ancestor to lead the way every time.¡± ¡°what if¡­ what if we turn around now and follow behind the great observation sect?¡± liu qinglan suggested. staring at the great observation island that was starting to fade away into the distance, yun jing muttered, ¡°it¡¯s too late. we won¡¯t be able to catch up. moreover, it¡¯s too dangerous even if we manage to follow them. the great observation sect isn¡¯t made up of fools. the moment we make it out of this sealed space will be the best time for them to attack us. if that truly happens, we won¡¯t be able to react in time.¡± ren bainian, who had been silent all the while, couldn¡¯t hold back and he asked, ¡°are we really going to have to leave everything up to luck?!¡± yun jing and shang bo didn¡¯t answer the question as they remained silent. out of nowhere, the other person who hadn¡¯t been talking finally spoke up. shang xia muttered, ¡°actually, we might not have to¡­¡± CH 584 ¡°actually, we might not have to¡­¡± shang xia¡¯s voice caused strange expressions to appear on the faces of the other martial extermination realm experts beside him. ren bainian was completely bewildered while liu qinglan was overjoyed by shang xia¡¯s sudden declaration. yun jing had a trace of surprise on her face, and shang bo stared directly at shang xia with a raised eyebrow. there was also a serene gaze well hidden in shang bo¡¯s eyes when he looked at his grandson, but no one could tell what he was thinking about. seeing as shang bo hadn¡¯t said anything, yun jing decided to break the silence. ¡°oh right, i almost forgot. we managed to activate our grand formation and leave the manyu continent before it started to crumble, allowing us to avoid the strongest backlash produced during the destruction.¡± liu qinglan glanced at shang bo before looking at yun jing. finally, her gaze landed on shang xia. ¡°do you really have a way?¡± nodding his head, shang xia smiled. ¡°i should be able to feel its general direction, but that¡¯s about it. this region of sealed space is really effective at isolating us from the outside world¡­¡± liu qinglan¡¯s jaws dropped slightly and she wanted to ask how he was able to do something like that. however, she eventually decided against it and kept silent. ¡°look for chu jia and bring us in the right direction!¡± shang bo¡¯s voice finally rang through the air. turning to shang xia, he warned, ¡°take care of yourself and be more serious about this. the safety of the entire island rests in your hands.¡± shang xia could hear the concern his grandfather had for him through the short warning, and he couldn¡¯t help but chuckle in response, ¡°well, it¡¯s perfect timing then. i used up a lot of energy when messing with the great observation sect previously. it was especially difficult to deal with the expert at the grand completion stage. he¡¯s really strong¡­ i felt my organs shifting when he countered my blade strike earlier and i can use this chance to recover!¡± after he spoke, he waved his hand at yun jing and the others before turning into a streak of light that went towards the core region of the tongyou island. glancing at his leaving figure, yun jing laughed, ¡°hehe, the damn brat is trying to tell us that he¡¯s a lot stronger than we think. he probably surpassed me in terms of combat abilities and the expert from the great observation sect at the grand completion stage of the martial extermination realm might not be much stronger than him¡­¡± shang bo looked at yun jing and asked another question that was completely unrelated to whatever they were talking about. ¡°how much longer till you reach the large completion stage of the martial extermination realm?¡± ¡­ ¡°how did you do it?!¡± chu jia stared at shang xia who was sitting not too far away from her with an incredulous look as she asked. they were both situated at the heart of the grand formation and chu jia had countless questions running through her mind. she knew that the tongyou island was able to avoid the damage caused by the backlash when the manyu continent was destroyed because of shang xia¡¯s warning. as such, when he appeared and told her that he was going to guide the tongyou island, she didn¡¯t doubt him in the slightest. she might be curious, but she followed his every command. shang xia proved that he was right as they continued their journey. even though the experts on the tongyou island couldn¡¯t see the giant sun that was the source of the world¡¯s will, and neither could they feel the origin qi it produced, they could tell that the island didn¡¯t run into any obstruction along the way. their journey was surprisingly smooth and it was something they hadn¡¯t experienced before. shang xia broke out into a hollow laugh and mentioned, ¡°it probably has something to do with how i refined 4 extermination origins at once. it greatly increased my perception of world origin¡­¡± he naturally wouldn¡¯t reveal his secret about the crimson soul tablet. as such, he used his cultivation method to explain his abilities. after all, his cultivation method wasn¡¯t a secret among the higher-ups of the tongyou institution and no one would dare to try the same method he used to break through anytime soon. chu jia gasped after hearing his explanation. ¡°is refining 4 extermination origins at once really so special? if not for the fact that i am already in the martial extermination realm, i might want to consider breaking through the same way you did.¡± ¡°i only managed to succeed through sheer luck. in all honesty, i wouldn¡¯t recommend anyone to follow my path of cultivation. i have no idea how i managed to cross the final barrier and enter the martial extermination realm back then. everything was a blur¡­¡± shang xia responded. glancing at shang xia, chu jia snorted once, ¡°oh, you¡¯re really lucky alright¡­¡± ¡°of course!¡± pointing in a certain direction, shang xia added, ¡°look there. i¡¯m feeling a strong fluctuation of world origin in that direction. i think we¡¯re going to leave this region of sealed space soon. looks like my luck is still working well¡­¡± shang xia wasn¡¯t the only one who felt the sudden spike in world origin. shang bo, yun jing, liu qinglan, and ren bainian also turned to stare in a specific direction. without shang xia and chu jia¡¯s reminder, yun jing quickly arranged for everyone on the island to prepare themselves. no one knew what was behind the spatial screen. they might immediately return to the path they were taking to the source of the world¡¯s will earlier, but they might also run into another floating island controlled by another power. whatever the case, they were going to leave the region of sealed space and they had to prepare for everything. yun jing¡¯s transmission came quickly. the tongyou island completed their preparations quickly and chu jia started to meddle with the jade formation disc beside her. shang xia could feel the protection formation expanding rapidly to cover 500 miles around the core region. shang xia chuckled with amusement, ¡°500 miles? is this what we planned for in the first place?¡± because of all the ordeals they had along the way and collisions with smaller land fragments that couldn¡¯t be avoided, the tongyou island was reduced to a size of 1700 miles. without raising her head, chu jia replied, ¡°not really, i can extend the protection formation 300 more miles, but there¡¯s no need for that. it will only increase the consumption of our energy needlessly.¡± before they could speak any further, they could feel the tongyou island approaching a thin spatial barrier. immediately holding their tongues, the experts on the tongyou island also retreated into the protection barrier while maintaining their readiness. as they came into contact with the spatial barrier, ripples appeared and started to spread out from the point the island first came into contact with the barrier. they only stopped when the entire tongyou island had passed through the formless screen. once again, the world seemed to flip around. shang xia tried his best to control his inner qi while maintaining his divine perception to observe what was happening, but he failed to extend it past his body even the slightest bit. no one knew how long had passed, but the strange feeling and dizziness finally disappeared. shang xia quickly pushed his divine perception to the limit while allowing his inner qi to calm down. before he could heave a sigh of relief, he discovered that the world origin in the space around them had increased to a ridiculous degree. the island started to tremble violently all of a sudden and a deep rumbling sound came from far away. ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡± chu jia, who had barely gotten to her senses, noticed shang xia standing beside her seemingly unaffected. even though she hadn¡¯t regained total control of her divine perception to observe the situation outside the core region, shang xia looked perfectly fine. as such, she decided to just ask him what had happened. unfortunately, shang xia disappeared from his spot as soon as the question left her lips. staring at where he once was, she wriggled her nose slightly and pouted, ¡°hmph, why are you acting so mysteriously? didn¡¯t you just increase your cultivation faster than me¡­¡± the complaints barely left her lips when the entire island shook. several loud blasts ripped through the air. discover the complete story on pawread dot com. ¡°meteorites?!¡± chu jia gasped before placing her attention back on the jade formation disc. she noticed that the protection barrier was starting to weaken and it looked like it would be shattered the next second. hastily placing several polished objects into several spots on the formation disc, the protection formation finally started to turn solid again. if shang xia was still present, he would immediately recognize those items chu jia placed onto the formation disc as his fate dipper fragment shards. of course, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with what chu jia was doing to the formation. he was wholly focused on the great sun that appeared after they emerged from the region of sealed space. when they emerged, the tongyou institution appeared under the great sun that was the source of the world¡¯s will. unlike the time when they just laid eyes on it, the great sun looked much closer than before. the brilliant rays of light it emitted lit up the tongyou island intensely. from where they were, shang xia wasn¡¯t the only one who felt the difference in his surroundings. yun jing, liu qinglan, shang ke, zhang haogu, and the others could clearly feel the dense world origin around them. CH 585 almost every single expert on the tongyou island had their heads raised as they stared at the majestic great sun hanging above. with a formless wave of world origin washing across the space they were in, everyone felt as though they had entered a holy land for cultivation. even the low-leveled cultivator from the manyu continent who received the tongyou institution¡¯s grace and protection could feel the difference. the moment they circulated their inner qi, they could feel themselves getting stronger. however, that clearly wasn¡¯t the time to bother about cultivation. other than the meteorites that were shooting in all directions, there was also something else they had to take note of. there were already 3 floating islands in different positions around the great sun. thousands of miles above the tongyou island, there was a floating island that was close to a third of their size. it was almost at the same level as the great sun, but the distance between the small island and the great sun was similar to that of the tongyou island and the great sun. chu jia¡¯s transmission quickly reached yun jing. after scanning through it, yun jing muttered, ¡°that island up there belongs to the azure spiritual world. i wonder which power they belong to¡­¡± thousands of miles on the other side, an island that was close to 2000 miles in diameter hovered in mid air. it was slightly closer to the great sun than the tongyou island. as chu jia was in charge of the grand formation, she seemed to possess the ability to notice the situation thousands of miles away from the island without using her divine perception. that was why a second transmission quickly reached yun jing. the second island also belonged to the azure spiritual world, and this time, she managed to deduce which faction it belonged to. it belonged to the three river sect, a power comparable in strength to the tongyou institution¡¯s old rival, the changbai sect. after looking at the 2 islands, everyone¡¯s gaze landed on the third and final giant that was hovering above the tongyou island. it looked mighty majestic, and just by looking at it, everyone knew that the island was 3000 miles in diameter or larger! ¡°that¡­¡± shang xia was no stranger to giant islands like that. the northern sea island which he had a hand in plotting against, was also a colossal beast that had exceeded the 3000 mile mark. as the strongest faction in the azure spiritual world, it made sense that they had the ability to control such a huge island. however, shang xia knew that the island above them was no northern sea island. as someone who personally went to mess with them before, shang xia would recognize them if they appeared. that might not be the northern sea island, but from their size, it definitely belonged to a faction comparable in strength to them. in that case, there were only so many powers they could choose from. ¡°if that¡¯s not the divine capital sect¡­ it can only be the eternal sect of our azure origin world!¡± shang bo turned incomparably serious. yun jing nodded without saying a word. the divine capital sect and the eternal sect were the strongest holy lands that existed in the azure origin world. their foundations ran the deepest and they possessed unfathomable strength. in the azure origin world, there was a saying that went ¡®divine capital reigns in the east, worshiping the eternal in the west¡¯. that alone spoke volumes about the prestige and strength of those factions. contrary to the serious look shang bo and yun jing were wearing, liu qinglan seemed a little more excited. ¡°there¡¯s one super island from our azure origin world, and 2 small islands from the azure spiritual world. we¡¯re the fourth to arrive and we¡¯re definitely not late to the party. at the very least, we¡¯re the second ones from the azure origin world to arrive!¡± shang bo forced a smile and yun jing eventually squeezed out a chuckle, ¡°since that¡¯s the case, we better make full use of our time. chu jia is almost done with her preparations. the more we obtain this time, the better¡­¡± the experts on the tongyou island scattered and went to their respective formation nodes. they had clearly received instructions on what to do. the only people left were shang xia and ren bainian who stared at each other blankly. it seemed as though they were the only ones with nothing to do at the moment. ¡°hey, what should we do?¡± shang xia asked yun jing who wasn¡¯t too far away. yun jing was standing on one of the most important formation nodes on the tongyou island, while shang bo had left to enter the core region to meet with chu jia. discover the complete story on pawread.com a great half of yun jing¡¯s attention was placed on the formation node as she poured her inner qi crazily into it. without raising her head, she replied, ¡°just go patrol the surroundings or something. don¡¯t leave an 800 mile radius around the core region. if anyone is unable to hold on, you 2 are responsible for taking their place!¡± earlier, shang xia learned from chu jia that the maximum area the protection barrier could cover was 800 miles from the core region. it seemed as though yun jing didn¡¯t wish for him to leave the safety of the tongyou island no matter what. after she spoke, she ignored them completely. she focused solely on pouring her inner qi into the formation node under her and she adjusted her control such that it strengthened chu jia¡¯s control over the core region and the other formation nodes. the entire time, ren bainian didn¡¯t say much. however, he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°young master shang, what is our sect actually trying to do here?¡± only members of the tongyou institution would address themselves as such. outside the you continent, not many people addressed them as the tongyou institution. it was more common for them to be called the tongyou sect. even for cultivators from the manyu continent like ren bainian, the words ¡®tongyou institution¡¯ were a little foreign to him. he would occasionally refer to them as the tongyou sect and such. shang xia didn¡¯t give him a direct answer. instead, he gave ren bainian a suggestion on what he could do. ¡°senior ren, you can just observe the 2 smaller islands from a distance and figure out what we¡¯re all trying to do here¡­¡± even though he was a little confused, he still sent a trace of his extermination origins into his eyes. a strange light filled them and he saw a light vortex rotating above each island. a pillar of light extended from the vortex and connected to the great sun that was the source of the world¡¯s will. a complicated expression appeared on ren bainian¡¯s face. ¡°this¡­ is this¡­¡± shang xia could understand what he was feeling and he sighed softly, ¡°those are origin light pillars that connect the islands to the great sun. it can absorb the purest world¡¯s will that used to belong to the manyu continent and the final bit of world origin left¡­¡± seeing how ren bainian was keeping silent, shang xia continued, ¡°when the great sun that is the source of the world¡¯s will is finally sucked dry, that would mean that the manyu continent would truly disappear forever. senior ren¡­¡± ¡°sigh¡­ i understand!¡± ren bainian interrupted shang xia before he could finish. ¡°that¡¯s how the situation is and i can¡¯t change anything alone. at the very least, i managed to preserve the foundations of my ren clan and that¡¯s good enough for me. i can¡¯t hope for too much¡­¡± shang xia wanted to comfort him a little more, but the skies above the tongyou island started to change suddenly. ripples formed in the air before spinning around, twisting the space around it. it eventually formed a huge vortex that covered close to 500 miles and it increased in speed the more it spun. the dense world origin that came from the great sun was quickly sucked in by the vortex, and after the world origin around the tongyou island had been absorbed fully, the vortex increased in intensity. it pulled world origin from even further away and a pillar of light gradually formed above the tongyou island. it stretched into the great sun and the scene was similar to what was happening on the other islands. CH 586 along with the completion of the light pillar, the tongyou island started to absorb the world origin that made up the manyu continent¡¯s world¡¯s will. shang xia and ren bainian raised their heads to observe the pillar of light above the island with complex emotions running through their hearts. after some time, the light pillar finally stabilized and shang xia gasped in shock as though he discovered something new. ren bainian heard the astonishment in shang xia¡¯s voice and he couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°young master shang, is something the matter?¡± shang xia wore a grave expression as he replied, ¡°senior ren, can you feel that the light pillar above our island is a little thinner than the others?¡± widening his eyes slightly, ren bainian turned to observe the other islands. even though the tongyou island and the other islands were thousands of miles apart, the pillars of light above each island could be clearly seen. it didn¡¯t take long before ren bainian noticed the difference. ¡°the pillar of light above the island that is larger than us is indeed a little thicker. however, there isn¡¯t much difference between us and the smaller island¡­¡± by that time, ren bainian had also noticed the problem. shang xia muttered in a deep voice, ¡°clearly, the thickness of the pillars determines how quickly we are absorbing world origin. taking our island¡¯s size into account, we¡¯re actually the slowest!¡± ren bainian opened his mouth slightly, but he didn¡¯t know what to say. shang xia was right. they weren¡¯t absorbing world origin as quickly as compared to the other islands. it was also then they realized why yun jing and shang bo didn¡¯t look too excited even though liu qinglan was celebrating that they were one of the first to arrive. they definitely knew that the tongyou island¡¯s grand formation wasn¡¯t that great and their speed of absorption would be much slower than the rest. even though the size of the island directly determined the amount of world origin they could eventually absorb, there was a limited amount of it! if the tongyou institution''s speed of absorption was slow, the moment other islands arrived, they would be placed at a massive disadvantage. their gains might barely be able to rival those smaller islands out there. at the end of the day, the tongyou institution had far too weak foundations. chu jia was the one and only formation grandmaster of the institution and she was a newly promoted one at that. they couldn¡¯t possibly expect her to do more than she already has. of the various factions that entered the manyu continent, the tongyou institution was also one of the latest ones! the time they spent to lay down their formations and refine their workings paled in comparison to other powers. for them to be able to achieve so much was already a remarkable achievement. the experts on the tongyou island could only hope that the other islands would appear as late as possible. only then would they be able to absorb the most world origin they could. unfortunately for them, it wasn¡¯t quite possible for that to happen. not too long after the light pillar above the tongyou island formed, another island that was comparable in size arrived. they appeared the same way the tongyou island did, and the space ripples around their location eventually died down to reveal their true appearance. shang xia narrowed his eyes and observed the island that just arrived, taking special attention to the protection barrier in their core region before muttering a second later, ¡°seems to be a power from the azure spiritual world.¡± when they finally arrived, the newcomers quickly adapted themsleves to what was happening. they immediately started their preparations to absorb world origin. looking at the island, shangxia could tell that they seemed to have suffered some serious damage on their way over. they used a lot more time than the tongyou institution to complete their preparations. moreover, the light pillar that emerged from that island didn¡¯t seem too much larger than the one above the tongyou island. shang xia and ren bainian felt a lot better after seeing that. unfortunately, their relief didn¡¯t last long. perhaps it was because they managed to strengthen their grand formation or something with the world origin they absorbed, the light pillar above the island that just arrived started to grow and surpass that of the tongyou island. ¡°this¡­ this¡­¡± ren bainian didn¡¯t know what to say as he witnessed the change on the island. he felt a sense of belonging to the tongyou institution after fighting alongside them for so long, but he might also be putting on an act to seem more involved with the tongyou institution. whatever the case, he truly hoped that the tongyou institution could obtain more benefits from their endeavors. ¡°at the speed they¡¯re going, it won¡¯t take long before they absorb more world origin than us!¡± shang xia muttered. however, his gaze was drifting about as he spoke and he seemed to be thinking of something. all of a sudden, ren bainian yelped in shock. he pointed at the great sun that was the source of the world¡¯s will above them and exclaimed, ¡°young master shang, hurry up and take a look! the source of the world¡¯s will is shrinking!¡± shang xia was startled and he quickly raised his head to see what was going on. he discovered that the great sun was definitely smaller than what he originally remembered. one had to know that there were probably more than 15 factions from both the azure origin world and azure spiritual world that had plans for the manyu continent and its destruction. less than a third of them had arrived, but the source of the world¡¯s will was already visibly shrinking due to their absorption. the moment any other islands arrived, the speed at which world origin would be devoured would increase. there wouldn¡¯t be enough to go around! once the source of the world¡¯s will was sucked dry, those islands that came later would definitely not give up easily. when that happens, a massive battle will definitely break out. the tongyou island might not have arrived late, but the speed at which they absorbed world origin was too damn slow! ¡°we can¡¯t keep this up¡­¡± shang xia muttered to himself. raising an eyebrow in shock, ren bainian asked, ¡°do you have a plan?!¡± ¡°i don¡¯t know, yet¡­¡± shang xia¡¯s reply truly confused ren bainian. he quickly added, ¡°i don¡¯t know if my plan will be useful at all¡­¡± with a truly puzzled look, ren bainian wondered out loud, ¡°are you for real?¡± shang xia nodded and left after leaving behind one last sentence. ¡°i¡¯ll go test it out. i¡¯ll hand everything here to you.¡± he turned into a streak of light and left without waiting for a response. ren bainian couldn¡¯t help but but look around himself as he was at a loss for what to do. eventually, he muttered to himself, ¡°they really left me in charge of the massive tongyou island¡­ they really do trust in me¡­¡± rising into the air, he started to patrol the area around the protection formation in case experts of other powers came to cause trouble. the moment he moved, another disturbance happened around the great sun. the sixth island eventually appeared. explore the extended edition on pawread dot com. ¡­ arriving at one of the less important formation nodes that the tongyou institution placed throughout the entire island, shang xia decided to start his plan. even though he was currently on one of the more remote formation nodes, there was no problem connecting to the grand formation. as soon as he made the connection, he felt that he could assist the grand formation by pouring his inner qi into the formation node. he could also clearly feel the vortex above the island as well as the pillar of light that was absorbing world origin. the tongyou island¡¯s grand formation was operating at its limit and even if shang xia joined in, his input of extermination qi wouldn¡¯t allow them to suck up even more world origin. of course, using his inner qi to power the grand formation was never his goal. after familiarizing himself with how the grand formation worked, shang xia pressed his hand against the formation node while circulating his extermination qi crazily. a trace of world origin escaped from the confines of the grand formation and entered his body before being devoured completely. CH 587 ever since the stunt he pulled with the great observation sect back in the region of sealed space, which resulted in him coming to blows with several high-level martial extermination realm experts and the martial extermination realm expert in the grand completion stage from the great observation sect, guan yun, shang xia hadn¡¯t fully recovered. even though his injuries weren¡¯t serious, he still hasn''t fully replenished his exhausted inner qi. his combat strength had actually been affected but due to the urgency of the situation, he had no choice but to carry on with his duties without fully recovering. that was also why yun jing didn¡¯t arrange for him to power the grand formation. she hoped that he could take the time to recover his lost inner qi. what none of them knew was that shang xia was feeling a super intense throbbing in the space between his eyebrows as he directed the tongyou island towards the great sun that was the source of the world¡¯s will. after absorbing world origin so many times in the past, shang xia¡¯s understanding towards the crimson soul tablet had reached a much deeper level. he could restrain it to a certain extent even though the source of the world¡¯s will was right here. and of course, no one could tell the peculiar situation shang xia was in except for himself. he was able to suppress the feeling back then, but he could tell that if he didn¡¯t find an excuse to run away from ren bainian, he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold back the crimson soul tablet¡¯s desire for world origin for long. rather than thinking of a reason to explain what was happening when the crimson soul tablet started to absorb world origin at a crazy rate, he would rather use an excuse and hide the commotion it caused with the help of the grand formation. he didn¡¯t think that the moment he sank his consciousness into the grand formation, the crimson soul tablet would pull a strand of world origin over and devour it. when he fused his consciousness with the grand formation earlier, it was hard for chu jia to detect him unless she was paying attention to everyone who was connected to it. however, he was quickly discovered the moment the strand of world origin was extracted. chu jia wasn¡¯t the only person he needed to care about. yun jing, shang bo, and liu qinglan managed to feel the disturbance and they immediately sent several voice transmissions over to ask him what the hell he was up to. ¡°what are you doing?!¡± yun jing¡¯s voice rang in his mind. she sounded slightly angry and she continued to yell at him, ¡°don¡¯t you know that the world origin we absorb concerns your grandfather¡¯s advancement to the martial dipper realm? it will also determine if our tongyou mysterious world manages to upgrade to the tongyou paradise!¡± ¡°sorry, it was a mistake, an honest mistake!¡± shang xia apologized immediately and continued, ¡°i was trying to help. i¡¯ll fix it, don¡¯t worry!¡± ¡°don¡¯t mess around! it¡¯s not the time for you to act recklessly. our grand formation isn¡¯t good enough to absorb a huge amount of world origin and we can¡¯t waste a single bit of it!¡± yun jing¡¯s voice came again, and she was exceptionally serious this time. there was even a trace of warning in them. ¡°alright, alright¡­¡± shang xia might have said that, but he remained motionless on his formation node. it was obvious he wasn¡¯t going to listen to her. he was trying his best to communicate with the crimson soul tablet in his sea of consciousness after speaking to yun jing as he suddenly discovered that there was something else contained in the strand of world¡¯s will he absorbed. ¡°why were you thinking?! also, what do you plan to do?¡± shang bo¡¯s voice arrived just in time to calm yun jing who was about to burst with rage. splitting off a bit of his consciousness, shang xia replied, ¡°the sixth island has arrived. there will be even more islands coming and our speed of absorption puts us at too much of a disadvantage!¡± shang bo continued while still remaining relatively calm. ¡°you think you have the ability to hasten the speed we absorb world origin?¡± ¡°most likely.¡± shang xia answered. ¡°did you feel your divine perception clashing against the world¡¯s will earlier?¡± shang bo changed the topic suddenly. ¡°huh?¡± raising his head, shang xia seemed to have noticed something. unfortunately for shang bo and yun jing, they were unable to see his expressions as they were merely sending voice transmissions to each other. sighing softly, shang bo felt that his guess was correct and he hurriedly explained, ¡°you were too rash! the world origin we¡¯re absorbing is of the highest purity left behind after the destruction of the manyu continent. it also contains the final condensed will of the world. there¡¯s no need to mention it if you try to refine it directly¡­ even coming into contact with it will cause you to suffer a backlash from the world¡¯s will! why else do you think everyone is absorbing it with their grand formation? wouldn¡¯t it be more convenient for cultivators to directly absorb it?¡± shang xia finally understood what he felt earlier. he didn¡¯t suffer any backlash from the world¡¯s will in the slightest! instead, it was all directed at the crimson soul tablet. he could also vaguely feel that even though the tablet was slightly affected after it devoured the strand of world origin, he merely felt dizzy for a moment before the tablet returned to normal. he even felt a trace of joy that was transmitted over by the tablet. without a doubt, the world¡¯s will contained in the strand of world origin had also been completely refined by the crimson soul tablet. seeing as shang xia had remained silent for a while now, shang bo continued, ¡°do you know how powerful the world origin here is now? why are you still here? hurry up and leave!¡± ¡°is that why you have to remain in seclusion to prepare yourself? do you also have to resist the impact of the world¡¯s will on your soul?¡± shang xia asked suddenly. ¡°it¡¯s different. after our grand formation absorbs the world origin here, there will be a process of refinement before its being filtered to our core region. when that happens, i can absorb world origin that barely contains any world¡¯s will.¡± shang bo explained. with his sharp senses, shang xia felt that he learned something and he continued to ask, ¡°as for world¡¯s will that is refined away and filtered¡­¡± ¡°that¡¯s the key to our tongyou mysterious world¡¯s ascension to the tongyou paradise. do you understand now?¡± shang bo muttered. shang bo seemed to have cleared the fog in front of shang xia. many things he didn¡¯t understand back then no longer troubled him. ¡­ it seemed as though the formation of a holy land like the tongyou paradise would need something similar to the world¡¯s will at its core. there was nothing more similar than world¡¯s will itself. also, it was the reason why the various powers had been suppressing the institution. they didn¡¯t wish for the tongyou institution to forcefully plunder the azure origin world¡¯s will. back during the war of the tongyou mysterious world, the institution obtained a huge amount of world origin from the origin tide. shang xia thought that they had a chance to ascend into the tongyou paradise in one go, but they forcefully cut off the connection at the last second. as it turned out, no matter how much world origin they obtained, they were unable to take the final step as they couldn¡¯t get world¡¯s will from either the azure origin world or azure spiritual world. in a last-ditch effort, the tongyou institution turned their sights to the world¡¯s will on the nearly destroyed manyu continent. the various other powers also needed the manyu continent¡¯s world¡¯s will to strengthen their holy lands, which led to everything that was happening. back when shang xia drew over the strand of world origin, it hadn¡¯t passed through the stages of refinement and hadn¡¯t been filtered yet. as such, the impact of the world¡¯s will should be the greatest! one had to understand that that was the world¡¯s will of a barbaric world they were talking about. even though it hadn¡¯t gained sentience yet and could be considered really weak, that was only in comparison to other worlds. it wasn¡¯t something one person could withstand. that was also why yun jing was so angry with shang xia¡¯s reckless actions after discovering what he had done. she wouldn¡¯t give half a shit about the strand of world origin. she was worried that he would experience cultivation deviation and lose his life because of the impact of the world¡¯s will! if that were to happen, the institution would lose a massive source of strength. ¡­ ¡°since you know what is going on now, why are you still here?¡± yun jing couldn¡¯t help but snap at shang xia once again. who would have thought that not only did shang xia not leave, he planted his feet firmly into the ground and started to fuse with the workings of the grand formation. an even greater strand of world origin escaped from the light pillar and went towards shang xia, but this time, it didn¡¯t stop there. it entered his body in an unending stream. ¡°what the hell are you doing?! are you tired of living?!¡± yun jing screamed before barking an order at chu jia. ¡°chu jia, hurry up and destroy the pathway of world origin through our grand formation!¡± ¡°deputy patriarch yun, there¡¯s no need to panic. i have a way to nullify the impact of the world¡¯s will.¡± shang xia¡¯s voice rang in her mind all of a sudden. ¡°what do you¡­¡± yun jing was initially shocked that he could still respond, but she quickly flew into another fit of rage. ¡°can¡¯t you see the bigger picture here?! even if you can resolve the impact of the world¡¯s will on you, you¡¯re taking so much world origin! have you thought about the foundations of the institution and your grandfather¡¯s breakthrough to the martial dipper realm?!¡± explore the extended edition on pawread.com. facing yun jing¡¯s scoldings, shang xia released a soft chuckle. ¡°hehe, what i mean to say is that i have a way to hasten the absorption speed of world origin!¡± a horrifying attractive force fused with the grand formation the very instant the words left his lips. the vortex above the tongyou island started to speed up as world origin poured into the island at an even higher rate than before. ¡°what¡­¡± yun jing couldn¡¯t even finish her sentence when the light pillar that connected the island to the great sun as the bridge by which they were absorbing world origin suddenly expanded by one quarter of its original size.