Splitting the Heave

After Shang Xia left the chamber, the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl hovered in front of Shang Ke.

The instant the entrance to the chamber closed, the rock formation started to light up.  

“I hope Grandpa Ke can successfully enter the Martial Extermination Realm…” Shang Xia whispered in his heart.

According to his grandfather, there were only six known advancement formulas to the Martial Extermination Realm. Three of them came from the Ji, Liu, and Yun Clans.

The Multi Illusion Wine was the most suitable medicine for members who practiced the Shang Clan’s Spear Art.

That didn’t mean that it was the best advancement formula available out there. Shang Bo and Shang Ke could only choose the one that suited them the most…

Not too long after Shang Xia exited the chamber, a misty figure started to condense in front of him. It quickly took the shape of Chu Jia.

“Hey, that’s pretty good!” Shang Xia gasped. “It hasn’t been long since I gave you the core diagram! Instructor Chu, you’re really impressive!” 

Well, he couldn’t go wrong leaving things up to the professional. Not to mention the fact that Chu Jia wasn’t just a professional. She was an absolute beast in the field of formations.

Shang Xia sighed in defeat. When he held the diagram, he could only observe the situation passively through the blinking lights. His use was elementary compared to what Chu Jia could do!

The image of Chu Jia sniggered happily after she heard Shang Xia’s praise. However, she quickly suppressed the joy on her face and she turned her head to the side. Pretending that she didn’t care too much about his compliment. “Hey, the four hidden chambers are the source of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Grand Formation. It's good to be hiding in one of them.” 

“Are there any dangers lying about?” Shang Xia’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I discovered that the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World would transform from time to time. It’s part of a bigger structure.” 

“What do you mean? Can you simplify it for a normal human to understand?” Shang Xia muttered grumpily.

Rolling her eyes at him, she continued, “In the Coral Forest, the positions of the four spiritual lands can change! If you’re not hiding in one of the four chambers or a location that won’t move, you might be tossed to some other region when the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World teleports!” 

“Shit! You should have said so earlier!” Shang Xia snorted. “However, the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World is massive… Even if it’s possible for it to change positions with the other regions, it won’t be easy, right?!” 

“I told you what I learned! I don’t care if you believe me or not!” Chu Jia snapped.

“Relax! Which one of the four chambers is empty right now?” Shang Xia followed up.

“Why do you care? It’s not like you believe me.” Chu Jia pouted in annoyance.

Chuckling softly, Shang Xia responded, “I’m just being careful!” 

As Chu Jia’s figure started to fade, her voice rang in his ears. “Senior Shang closed off one of the chambers and Instructor Gu chose one to treat his injuries. Junior Sister Sun is currently cultivating in the qi condensation formation and I’m in the last one. Hmph. There’s none left for you!” 

Before Shang Xia could start complaining, Chu Jia’s voice rang through the air. “I’m able to control the region contained between the four chambers. As long as you don’t leave this region, you won’t be thrown out of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World when it teleports…” 

After speaking, she disappeared completely without giving Shang Xia the chance to complain to her.

“Oi! Shit! This daddy over here brought you guys into the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World! Now, all of you kicked me out of the stone chambers… Fine! I’ll just take the time to train my sword techniques!” Shang Xia cursed loudly as he walked around one of the stone formations contained within the boundary described by Chu Jia.

He didn’t walk too far when he turned around to stare at one of the rock formations. “Crap… Everything looks similar here. I didn’t lose my way in the past because of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Diagram… Now that I don’t have it anymore, I better not venture too far. If I leave the region by accident and the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World really teleports… I’m screwed…” 

Shang Xia looked for a suitable region to train but he quickly recalled that Shang Ke was in seclusion not too far away. 

“Oh well… I’ll walk a little more in case I disturb Grandpa Ke…”

As he had been reading through the Twisting Twin Blades before Ouyang Zhaiyuan and Bai Luming arrived, he gained a basic understanding of it.

As long as he practiced it slightly, he would be able to familiarize himself with the sword art. After trying it out in battle a few times, he was confident that he could reach the large completion stage of the sword art.

Not too long after he found the perfect spot to practice his sword art, he heard a dull buzzing sound all around him.

A terrifying wave of heaven and earth qi came from all directions and formed a massive whirlwind. It swept through the rock formations around Shang Xia and a loud whistling sound filled his ears.

Ever since Shang Xia and the others entered the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, the sounds of conflict in the outside world got louder and louder. The only thing that could lead to a disturbance at that level was an exchange between experts at the Martial Extermination Realm, but there was something different about it this time. The entire Coral Forest seemed to be breaking out into combat and the commotion seemed to flip the region upside down!

“This… The Martial Extermination Realm experts on our side started to fight with the Rose Party?” Shang Xia guessed as a chilly light flashed through his eyes. Every time his blades crossed, streaks of frosty light would fill the air. 

“No… The disturbance is too large this time! Could the experts of the Four Spiritual Peak be here too?” Shang Xia guessed. His thoughts started to run wild as he practiced.

The Rose Party had a deal with the Four Spiritual Peak! Moreover, both sides were enemies of the Tongyou Peak!

The Tongyou Peak was superior to either party no matter how they looked at it. In that case, Shang Xia felt that there was no way the Four Spiritual Peak would refuse to work with the Rose Party! 

Now that the disturbance was getting larger and larger, not even the restrictions around the Coral Forest could block off the signs of battle. The sky had been dyed a multitude of colors.

Shang Xia even felt that the rock formation below him was trembling from the impact. Waves were starting to rise from the once-calm surface, and the bridges connecting the rock formations shook slightly.

“This can’t be happening… How will Fifth Grandpa cultivate and breakthrough?! Won’t he experience cultivation deviation?!” Shang Xia tried to suppress his worries. His hands had already stopped moving as it was obvious he wasn’t in the right state of mind to continue practicing his sword.

Keeping his blades, he returned to where Shang Ke was.

However, he paused after taking a single step. Didn’t Chu Jia say that she could control everything within the four chambers? She could stop any energy fluctuations from affecting their cultivation!

One had to know that in the four chambers, four cultivators were doing everything they could to grow stronger. One of them was trying to advance, and another one was treating his injuries. There was one more strengthening her foundations, and the last was studying the art of formations.

None of them could be disturbed!

That was also the reason Shang Xia was left outside like an abandoned child.

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Looking all around him, a frown formed on Shang Xia’s face. If Chu Jia could block off all the energy fluctuations in the region, why was he affected by it? How were the rest supposed to cultivate in peace?

Unless… He had already left the region controlled by Chu Jia!

There was no way…

Shang Xia’s eyes widened as he observed the area around him.

Where did he come from?! Where was the rock formation with the hidden chamber his Grandpa Ke was cultivating in?!

Which bridge did he come from?!

Shang Xia turned around abruptly and ran in the direction he thought he came from. However, the huge energy fluctuations caused the rock formations to quake around him. The waves that crashed against the rock formations rose to become giant tsunamis, and Shang Xia realized that something was horribly wrong.

A howl came from the depths of the Coral Forest in that instant, and his mind went completely blank.

Hearing the howl, the heaven and earth qi in his surroundings quietened down instantly. 

The sky around the Coral Forest that was filled with multi-colored lights from the battle between the Martial Extermination Realm cultivators returned to normal.

The battle between the experts seemed to be suppressed too. Only the howl remained.

Shang Xia suddenly saw the rock formations around him distort as some grew taller and some shrank in size.

The water around him rose and fell, and the world spun around him.

However, everything returned to normal in the next instant and he staggered about, trying to stabilize himself.

When he finally caught his footing, he felt his soul returning to his body and his mind finally started to work again.

Wait a second… If I moved around so much, I would have already fallen into the water below!

Shang Xia looked at his surroundings, and he realized that everything he was familiar with had disappeared! He appeared in a whole new area!

“Hiss…” 

A whistle came from behind him and Shang Xia’s scalp started to tingle. He could feel something stabbing him from behind.

Reacting instinctively, his sword shot out to block the sneak attack.

“Hey! What sword technique is that?! It’s really weird!”