Splitting the Heave

“Splash!” 

Shang Xia burst out from the surface before drying himself off by circulating his inner qi. “The protection screen is still active…”  

As he grumbled softly, Shang Xia retrieved the Twisting Twin Blades from his Embroidered Cloud Case and started to read through it.

After reaching the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm thanks to the Mountain and Sea Qi Convergence Formation, Shang Xia remained in the stone chamber to comprehend the sword art. It didn’t take long for him to gain some insights. 

From time to time, he would dive under to see if the protection screen had opened up so he could leave. Every time he went down, he would return disappointed.

After so many repetitions, he even started practicing the Twisted Twin Blades in the hidden chamber.

The only thing that troubled him was the fact that he needed two swords in order to practice the technique. He only had the Delicate Jade River Sword!

Luckily, he managed to find a sword among the loot he obtained from the members of the Rose Party. It wasn’t a graded weapon and neither did its length match the Delicate Jade River Sword, but it was enough for him to make do for now.

After all, he was only trying out some of the moves in the manual. He hadn’t started seriously practicing, and the blood-red tablet in his sea of consciousness hadn’t changed to signify his comprehension of the Twisting Twin Blades.

…

As one of the rank three formation masters of the Ouyang Family, Bai Luming was extremely displeased with his treatment after they entered the Coral Forest.

“Brother Zhaiyuan, the little brat from the Murong Family is a mere rank two formation master. Why should I be sent to be his assistant? He brought several disciples over to explore the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, but I’m not allowed to bring anyone. Hmph… He clearly doesn’t trust me!” 

Ouyang Zhaiyuan stared at his old friend who was about to explode. He could only try his best to comfort him. “Brother Luming, calm down. There’s no need to bicker with a member of the younger generation.” 

Bai Luming knew he went too far when he said that Murong Danran didn’t trust him. He quickly adjusted his words. “Brother Zhaiyuan, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not referring to you and I have nothing against your Ouyang Family… The Ouyang Family has never mistreated me. You even allowed me to browse through the formation collection of your family. I am truly thankful for that… Your Ouyang Family might have accepted me, but the other families might not… The Rose Party is made up of five strong families, and I didn’t come from any one of them!” 

Ouyang Zhaiyuan couldn’t hide the awkward expression on his face. Everything Bai Luming said was true, but he didn’t wish to see his old friend ostracized by the members of the Rose Party. He sighed, “Brother Luming, no matter what, my Ouyang Family will always have a place for you. However, you should understand that we don’t call the shots in the organization…” 

“I understand, but we’re currently in the Coral Forest! Every single formation here represents the peak level of knowledge in our You Continent! The Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World contains the most complex formations of them all, but a damn brat whose rank is lower than mine got the chance to explore it first! What a joke!” Bai Luming grumbled softly. 

“They still chose to send you over eventually to take charge of the situation!” Ouyang Zhaiyuan shook his head helplessly. It was true that the higher-ups have given their orders. Bai Luming was to enter the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World due to the lack of response from those who entered.

A grunt left Bai Luming’s lips, and a smile finally started to form on his face. However, his grumblings didn’t stop. “I wonder what happened to the brat after he entered the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World… The grand formation has already been abandoned for a long time. Even if it isn’t completely destroyed, what would a rank two formation master know about it?! He’s purely messing about! If he fucked it up, wouldn’t I have to bear the responsibility eventually?” 

Ouyang Zhaiyuan chose to remain silent at his comment.

After so much grumbling, the two of them finally arrived at the entrance to the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World.

“We’re finally here…” 

Ouyang Zhaiyuan was slightly taken aback at the scene before him. He looked at the giant body of water where countless rock formations were sticking into the air and sucked in a cold breath. The rock formations were connected with wooden bridges, and from the looks of it, the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World was a giant maze!

Thinking about it for a second, Ouyang Zhaiyuan muttered, “Brother Luming, if the kids ran into trouble, please try your best to save them…” 

“There’s no if. They definitely ran into trouble…” Bai Luming muttered as a frown formed on his face. He stared directly at one of the rock formations in the distance.

“How do you know?” Ouyang Zhaiyuan raised his guard instantly.

“Someone did something there. A portion of the formation has already been reactivated. We need to be careful when traveling around the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World!” Bai Luming explained as he handed Ouyang Zhaiyuan an array flag.

A compass appeared in his hand and he said softly, “Don’t lose me!” 

Ouyang Zhaiyuan looked at the array flag in his hand and followed closely behind. He didn’t forget to ask, “How can you be sure that it’s an enemy? What if it’s them?” 

“Think about it. If they were our guys, they would have appeared the moment we arrived.” 

Ouyang Zhaiyuan finally realized the problem. His thoughts couldn’t help but wander. “Do you think they discovered us yet?” 

A complicated expression appeared on Bai Luming’s face. He didn’t know why Ouyang Zhaiyuan asked so many questions. What were they going to do if the enemy hadn't noticed their presence? Lower their defenses and walk around announcing their presence?! Of course they had to act as if their movements were already compromised! 

However, Ouyang Zhaiyuan’s simplemindedness was the reason the two of them could become friends in the first place. With Ouyang Zhaiyuan’s continuous recommendation and reassurance to his family, Bai Luming managed to obtain a lot of benefits! 

He reminded softly, “It’s better to be careful. After all, the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World is guarded by its grand formation. There has to be some sort of protection mechanism here. I can feel that we’re being watched by something the moment we arrived. The person observing us is too clumsy! There’s no way our enemy is a formation master…” 

“Why would you say that?” Ouyang Zhaiyuan caught no ball and he continued his line of questioning.

Bai Luming explained defeatedly, “That’s because any proper formation master would ensure that I would be unable to detect their observation!” 

Lowering his head all of a sudden, a sinister smile appeared on his face. The needle on his compass pointed straight towards one of the rock formations.

“Buzz!” 

As the rock formation it pointed to started to tremble, a trace of heaven and earth qi emerged. It extended down into the water and strange fluctuations appeared on the surface. It started to expand slowly.

…

In the third hidden chamber, Shang Xia stared into the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl. He looked at the two figures who just arrived. However, he soon saw a strange smile on one of the newcomer’s faces and the image in the pearl started to turn blurry.

“Too bad. I still have the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram!” Shang Xia opened the scroll and saw two yellow dots moving across the diagram. Without thinking too much, he dove into the water again.

He went towards the fourth hidden chamber and according to the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram, it should be in the center of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World.

“They probably haven’t discovered me yet. However, I have to play safe. They’re experts at the Martial Intent Realm, and the person leading the way is definitely a formation master. Since he was able to disrupt my spying, his skill is definitely above Murong Danran!” Shang Xia muttered to himself. 

All of a sudden, both yellow dots disappeared from the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram. Shang Xia’s heart thumped loudly and he realized that things were going south real fast. He tried to keep the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram in his Embroidered Cloud Case, but he discovered that the scroll wouldn’t enter his spatial artifact! Helpless, he could only roll it up with the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl before stuffing them into his sleeves.

Shang Xia didn’t enter the fourth hidden chamber as planned. Instead, he dove all the way down to check on the protection screen. If it was still shut, he would have to think of another way to leave.

After all, the formation master who just entered the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World gave Shang Xia a sense of danger.

Even with the core diagram and the key to the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World in his hands, he knew he wouldn’t be a match for the opponent! Moreover, there was another expert following closely behind the formation master. They might be able to discover his presence very soon!

Using his newly transformed heavy qi to increase the weight of his body, he sank quickly towards the bottom.

We are bit.ly/3iBfjkV, find us on google.

Just as he traveled tens of feet, a strong wave of qi tore through the body of water and struck heavily at the bottom. A huge empty passage of air was formed through the water body.

Shang Xia stumbled before finally stabilizing his body.

Raising his head, his gaze clashed with the two newcomers who were standing on a bridge nearby.

Bai Luming chuckled happily. “Look. I told you he would escape underwater. Looks like there are a lot of secrets down there!” 

Realizing that there was no way of escaping undetected now, Shang Xia increased his speed and dove straight down.

Bai Luming seemed to have anticipated his actions. He signaled to Ouyang Zhaiyuan who sent another column of energy down to obstruct Shang Xia’s movements.

“Brat, you better come up and explain what happened to Ouyang Fengxuan. If I’m satisfied with your explanation, I’ll spare your life!” Ouyang Zhaiyuan’s voice rang in Shang Xia’s ears.

Shang Xia’s mind started to work in overdrive. There were two Martial Intent Realm experts at the surface waiting for him! How was he going to survive?! 

However, his train of thought was disturbed by a tiny burst of light that came from underneath him. Thinking back to how Murong Yuntian’s strike tore a hole through the barrier, he realized that the same thing must have happened when the expert up there tried to stop him.

Without a second thought, he continued to head down.

“Hmph. Since you’re still delusional and think you can escape from us, go to hell!” Bai Luming sneered and pointed at Shang Xia.

Ouyang Zhaiyuan released a cold snort and he sent a punch in Shang Xia’s direction.

Two massive energy currents cleaved a clear passage through the water before slamming heavily into the bottom.

Cracks started to form on the protection screen separating the Coral Forest from the essence qi stone mine, and a tiny gap formed. As water gushed out of the opening, Shang Xia used the opportunity to squirm his way out!