Splitting the Heave

Shang Xia coordinated flawlessly with Peng Lanqing, killing one of the latter’s enemies and heavily injuring the other.

As for the two Shang Xia avoided earlier, they attacked him from behind after flying into a fit of rage.

With Peng Lanqing’s timely reminder and Shang Xia’s experience in dodging sneak attacks from behind, he managed to avoid getting struck from behind. After dealing with his enemy, Peng Lanqing leaped over to Shang Xia’s original position and forced the two of them back instantly.

As Shang Xia got to his feet, he noticed that something was wrong and he quickly ran over to Peng Lanqing’s side.

A grunt entered Shang Xia’s ears and the cultivator who was forced back by Peng Lanqing just a second ago was killed by Yang Zigong who had already forced his original opponent to escape.

“How is the situation here?” Yang Zigong asked.

By the time he approached, Shang Xia had already arrived beside Peng Lanqing and he could feel violent fluctuations of heaven and earth qi coming from the instructor’s body. He didn’t know what he could do to salvage the situation.

“Instructor Peng, this…” Yang Zigong couldn’t complete his sentence when Peng Lanqing spat out a mouthful of blood and fell backwards.

Of the six Martial Intent Realm experts of the Rose Party who were attacking Yang Zigong and Peng Lanqing, three of them were dead and one of them was seriously injured. In exchange, Peng Lanqing was also on the verge of death.

Peng Lanqing’s gaze was empty as he stared into the void above. He had chosen to side with Liu Jitang, and he led a huge part of the Tongyou Peak’s strength over for the expedition to the Coral Forest. Not only did he have to suffer attacks from the members of the Rose Party the moment they entered, they were nearly wiped out completely! Moreover, he learned about what happened to the Tongyou Peak after they left and realized his actions nearly led to the fall of the Tongyou Peak! 

If Liu Jitang was the person who should be held accountable for everything that happened, he would be next in line when the time came to pursue responsibilities. 

Now that Liu Jitang had died, he would have to take the blame for everything! Like Yang Zigong, he chose to hold the enemies back in order to atone for his sins! In fact, he had no desire to live. He was planning to drag down the enemies by exhausting his life force completely.

His intentions were clear for all to see. Yang Zigong understood what was going on in his mind too.

“Brother Peng… He’s planning to leave his life behind…” Yang Zigong sighed. He was clearly saying that for Shang Xia to hear.

Those experts who entered the Coral Forest with Liu Jitang wouldn’t be able to avoid punishment after they returned to the institution.

Yang Zigong might have chosen to stay behind to hold the enemies off, but he never thought of dying! He only wished to atone for his mistakes!

Previously, he had no idea who Shang Xia was. However, he racked his brains and dug out every memory he could only to discover that Shang Xia was Shang Bo’s grandson! He had to try his best to put in some good words for himself!

In that situation, speaking up for Peng Lanqing was the same as explaining himself.

“Deacon Yang, can we do anything about his injuries?” Shang Xia asked after disregarding everything he said earlier.

“Do you have any sort of medicine on you? I used up everything a long time ago. Brother Peng’s medicine had long since been split among the rest.” Yang Zigong replied.

After thinking about it, Shang Xia retrieved four cases from his Embroidered Cloud Case. “I obtained these medicines in the Coral Forest, but I don’t recognize any of them. Deacon Yang, can you see if any of them can be used to treat Instructor Peng’s injuries?” 

Yang Zigong opened a case after Shang Xia spoke and gasped. “Life Blood Powder? Even though it’s only a rank two medicine, it should be useful.” 

He opened the jade box beside it after speaking. Looking at the inky green powder within, he raised an eyebrow in shock. “Icy Flesh Jade Bones Powder! This is good stuff! Even though cultivators possess stronger bodies than mortals, it’s difficult to strengthen them any further! This medicine can be used to temper the bodies of lower leveled cultivators! It’s used in many types of assistive medication and can even assist in cultivating some martial intents!”

Zhu Ying only focused on his escape when he was attacked by Shang Xia in the hidden chamber. He left behind all the medicines, and since Peng Lanqing couldn’t use most of them, Shang Xia kept them for himself.

Yang Zigong’s gaze was heated as he watched those cases disappear into Shang Xia’s sleeves. However, the appearance of another jade bottle stunned him. When Shang Xia popped open the cork on the bottle, he saw the look of anticipation on Yang Zigong’s face. 

That was also something Zhu Ying left behind, but as the smell filled the air, a sneaky smile formed on Yang Zigong’s face.

Shang Xia didn’t notice the abrupt change on the deacon’s face, and he asked eagerly, “What about this? Do you know how to use this medicine?” 

A strange smile hung on Yang Zigong’s face. “This… Hehe… Have you heard of the Spring Unity Powder?” 

“Spring…” Shang Xia didn’t understand it at first, but realization dawned on him and an awkward smile soon appeared on his face.

A quick look at "pawread dot com" will leave you more fulfilled.

Yang Zigong chuckled in his heart when he saw Shang Xia’s reaction and he wanted to tease the kid a little more. However, Peng Lanqing’s injuries were too serious and it didn’t seem appropriate to joke around. He could only mutter softly, “This… Just throw it away when you leave this place.” 

“Yeah… I definitely will…” Shang Xia forced himself to maintain his serious expression.

Never in his wildest imagination would he have expected Zhu Ying to possess such nonsense! Zhu Ying was barely a year older than him, but he required medicine like that to maintain his ‘power’... His situation was pretty bad in Shang Xia’s opinion.

Shang Xia could only bank his hope on the final case he obtained from Zhu Ying.

When Yang Zigong opened the last case, a flash of joy crossed his face. He didn’t wait for Shang Xia’s approval before grabbing the item within.

Shang Xia looked at the six needles sitting in Yang Zigong’s hand and raised an eyebrow.

“Rank three medicines… These are Essence Extracting Needles!” Yang Zigong explained. He immediately poked them into several points in Peng Lanqing’s chest, before continuing his explanation, “Many rank three medicines are administered through the use of needles like this. As long as we send enough inner qi through them, Instructor Peng will be able to absorb their medicinal properties. The effectiveness is a lot higher than powders and pastes!” 

“The Essence Extracting Needle can allow a cultivator to quickly recover their inner injuries. At least, Peng Lanqing’s life won’t be in danger for the time being.” 

Shang Xia saw beads of perspiration dripping down Yang Zigong’s forehead after he was done with the treatment. Clearly, it wasn’t easy to use the Essence Extracting Needles. However, Shang Xia couldn’t contain his curiosity. “Deacon Yang, are medicines for advancement to the Martial Intent Realm also administered using needles?” 

Yang Zigong nodded slowly. “Most of them are…”

After he was done, Yang Zigong pointed at his head.

Even though Shang Xia had some guesses in his heart, he couldn’t help but ask, “Do you have to poke it into your head?” 

Yang Zigong nodded yet again.

Sighing softly, Shang Xia turned his attention to Peng Lanqing who was lying on the ground. His complexion was much better than before, and his injuries had stabilized slightly.

After some discussion, the two of them decided that it was safer to bring him to the core region of the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World.

When they were discussing their plan in case they ran into cultivators of the Rose Party, two figures approached them at high speeds.

“It’s Wang Shihai and Qian Sitong! They’re here to help us! Looks like the others had already entered the core region…” Yang Zigong heaved a sigh of relief.