Splitting the Heave

“Preposterous!” Dongfang Mingyu roared with rage when he saw how Shang Xia killed one of his guards under his very eyes. Pushing himself off the ground, he chased after Shang Xia. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” Dongfang Mingyu yelled as his divine sense covered his body. As his body turned a lot lighter, he shot after Shang Xia.

Covered by his divine sense, the rocks on the ground beside him rose into the air.

He thought that he would be able to catch up to Shang Xia instantly, but he couldn’t be more wrong.

Shang Xia’s body seemed to turn weightless as his speed became even faster! In the blink of an eye, he ran several dozen feet! He left the area controlled by Dongfang Mingyu’s divine sense instantly! 

“You… You actually managed to counter my qi!” Dongfang Mingyu gasped in fright and yelled, “The Triple Mystery Polarity Art doesn’t contain a way to transform heavy and light qi! How did you do it?!” 

Shang Xia might not know how to utilize heavy and light qi in battle, but he was able to nullify it with his Yin Yang Diagram. As long as he transformed it into another type of qi, he wouldn’t be restricted!

Naturally, he wasn’t going to tell Dongfang Mingyu how he did it. Ignoring the question, he increased the distance between them again. He ran towards a location where the rock formations were the most concentrated and he made use of them to hide his tracks.

“I said it before, and I’ll say it again! You can’t escape!” Dongfang Mingyu’s voice rang through the air. Tapping lightly on the ground, he closed the distance again. However, he was unable to lock on to Shang Xia because of the obstructions.

“I’m getting more and more interested in the secrets you’re hiding!” Dongfang Mingyu yelled and he signaled for his other subordinate to assist him in surrounding Shang Xia.

Shang Xia couldn’t be bothered with the man and he pushed himself to the limit. The Irregular Steps was perfect for moving quickly in close range, and Shang Xia’s body flashed from side to side as he took cover behind the various rock formations.

Despite that, the distance between them was closing fast. No matter how good his movement technique was, it was difficult for him to sustain the speed against a Martial Intent Realm expert!

A sense of foreboding filled Shang Xia’s heart when he realized that he had run into a dead end.

A bottomless cliff stood in his way, and a dense layer of mist filled the abyss.

Shang Xia stared at the opposing side and gasped silently. As if the appearance of a bottomless abyss wasn’t shocking enough, there was a huge platform on the opposite side of the cliff!  

The shocking part was that the platform wasn’t connected to anything else! It was a sole island that stood in the middle of nothingness!

Turning to look behind him, Shang Xia realized that the two of them had already arrived.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

“This is the Unstable Region. We’re also standing on another huge platform right now. Do you really think you can leave?” Dongfang Mingyu sneered. “You can try… Go ahead, jump!” 

Of course Shang Xia wasn’t going to jump off. Since he wasn’t willing to jump, he could only risk his life and go all out against Dongfang Mingyu!

A sudden whistle that rang through the air interrupted him.

“Who?!” 

An enraged cry rang through the air, and Shang Xia felt the entire platform shaking under his feet. 

Dongfang Mingyu’s expression changed too. He turned his head in a certain direction as if he was able to see what was going on.

The only remaining bodyguard approached Dongfang Mingyu and whispered, “Young master, we need to hurry over! There seems to be some disturbance going on where the old man of the Murong Family is breaking through…” 

Dongfang Mingyu snorted in response, “Isn’t this bastard here also one of those who intend to disrupt Murong Gaofeng?” 

“Exactly… The Tongyou Institution probably has some sort of sinister plan…” 

Before he could finish, a giant explosion ripped through the air.

Shang Xia, Dongfang Mingyu, and Dongfang Mingyu’s bodyguard turned to stare in the direction of the blast. They saw one of the floating islands crumbling to bits.

At the same time, two streaks of light tore through the air. One of them was clearly chasing the other, and they disappeared into the horizon.

“Not good! It’s a Martial Extermination Realm expert! How did they enter this place?!” Dongfang Mingyu’s subordinate exclaimed in shock.

Shang Xia’s attention returned to the bottomless abyss when he saw rays of light emerging from the darkness below. Different scenes appeared in the abyss, and Shang Xia swore he saw something that resembled the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World.

“The Coral Forest is starting to move! We have to capture him right now before returning to the Unstable Island!” Dongfang Mingyu released his divine sense to the limit as he raised his sword towards Shang Xia.

With his scalp going numb from the pressure emitted by Dongfang Mingyu, he knew that he was in deep shit.

He could tell that Dongfang Mingyu was about to release his sword intent!

Deciding to risk it all, Shang Xia leaped off the cliff. As the winds whistled in his ears, Shang Xia turned around only to see his original location surrounded by rays of light. The edge of the cliff was sliced into countless pieces.

Shit! That was a sword formation!

Something clicked in his mind, and he realized that Dongfang Mingyu’s sword intent was also a type of sword formation! Moreover, it was one that was used to trap and kill his opponents! 

It was no wonder Dongfang Mingyu was so confident that he wouldn’t be able to escape! 

His thoughts suddenly turned to the Tempering Meridian Powder Dongfang Mingyu had on him. Did the medicine have something to do with his sword formation?

As the thought flashed across Shang Xia’s mind, he was swallowed by rainbow-colored lights. His vision went dark for a second, and when the light finally returned, he saw endless plains stretching as far as he could see.

This doesn’t make sense… I fell backwards! 

Shang Xia couldn’t be bothered to reason with the strange happenings that he experienced in the Coral Forest anymore. He reached his hand out to stop his fall as he transformed his inner qi into light and heavy qi. Sending out a palm strike, a giant imprint appeared on the grasslands below. The opposing force allowed him to slow his descent and he twisted his body gracefully to land safely on the ground below.

…

Outside the Zhu Family Manor that was situated in the Willow Forest…

Two huge bronze doors stood tall as they resisted the attacks of those outside. Giant palm prints and fist marks were all over the bronze gate.

A rock that seemed to be shrunk several times hovered in the air before the majestic gates.

Under the rock sat a giant formation that seemed to cover the entire Willow Forest.

On both sides of the rock stood an old man with a head full of white hair. Despite facing the giant bronze gate, they seemed extremely cautious of the other party.

“Roar!” A deep howl came from behind the gates, causing it to tremble unceasingly. The gates weren't the only thing that shook. The Willow Forest quaked slightly when the howl was released.

The expressions of the two old experts sank and they turned their focus back on the bronze gate. 

“Rumble…” a formless palm came from behind the gates and two distinct palm prints appeared on it. 

The massive gates showed signs of opening and even though only a tiny gap opened, a gust of cold wind tore through the lands.

The floating rock in front of the gates shook when it was blasted by the cold air, and rays of light emerged from the formation underneath. The entire region turned into a giant rainbow-colored lightbulb.

When the light eventually faded, the formation seemed to shift a little and a portion of it seemed to intertwine with each other.

The two old experts glanced at each other before grunting loudly. They reached out to push against the massive bronze gate.

Three colored lights surrounded one of the doors while four colored lights flashed on the other. The gates that started to open up were slammed shut.

“Ahem… Heheh, Old Man Liu, your cultivation isn’t as high as mine… I don’t think you will be able to hold out much longer…” One of the old experts who was clad in exquisite-looking robes muttered. There was a scholarly air around him, but when he spoke, his voice was raspy and hoarse.

“Heh. Old Freak Murong, we’re both trapped in the same situation now. Once I die, your end will come soon enough.” The other old expert snapped. He seemed pretty haughty despite being stuck in such a bad situation.

“Who would have thought that we’ll end up like this? Greed truly came to bite us in the ass.”

As perspiration soaked their clothes, they looked utterly worn out.

“Who would have thought that he would use that method to take the final step?!”

“He’s no longer the person he once was!”