Splitting the Heave

When Shang Xia inhaled the fumes of the rank three Monkey Wine, he felt a little dizzy but he managed to regain his composure in a short second. 

However, this time was different. The moment he took a whiff of the mist that came from the trunk of the massive tree, he nearly fell from the branch he was standing on.

It wasn’t difficult to estimate the rank of the wine contained in the tree trunk.

Did the Mutated Monkey King actually manage to brew rank four Monkey Wine?!

The thought flashed through Shang Xia’s mind for a second but he quickly focused his thoughts. At the same time, he forced the effects of the alcohol out of his body. Next, he brought out another spirit sealing bottle. 

However, he only managed to retrieve close to three catties of wine from the massive tree after all his efforts.

Earlier, every single tree contained twenty to thirty catties of Monkey Wine. the volume of lower-ranked wine was much higher than whatever was contained in the massive tree!

Shang Xia wasn’t too surprised though. He understood that even if he added up all the wine he obtained earlier, it wouldn’t be worth more than the three catties of wine he was holding. Rank four Monkey Wine was a truly precious commodity!

When he was done, another whistle tore through the forest but this time, it sounded a lot more urgent than before. 

That was Shang Ke’s final warning for Shang Xia to tell him that the Mutated Monkey King had already managed to break free from the battle. With the rank four Mutated Monkey King racing back to the depths of the Redwood Forest, Shang Xia had to leave immediately!

This time, Shang Xia didn’t hesitate. He ran in the opposite direction of where Shang Ke was fighting the Mutated Monkey King.

The mutated Monkey King might have broken free from the battle, but Shang Ke was still trying his best to hold the creature back. After chasing for a short distance, Shang Ke changed direction all of a sudden. His extermination origin surrounded his body and he flew to where the two of them had promised to meet.

A mere second had passed since Shang Ke stopped his chase when an enraged cry came from the depths of the Redwood Forest. It didn’t stop there as the Mutated Monkey King roared multiple times to vent its anger. 

Glancing in its direction, Shang Ke didn’t plan on heading over to take a look. Instead, he continued to fly to where he was meeting the kid. It didn’t take long before he discovered Shang Xia running through the forest under him. 

Seeing as the kid was perfectly fine, Shang Ke heaved a sigh of relief.

Originally, he wanted to retrieve his extermination origins and head down to meet Shang Xia, but he discovered a powerful presence coming from the distance. Raising his head, he saw two streaks of light flying in the direction of the Redwood Forest.

Hovering in mid air, he started to prepare for battle as he didn’t know if the newcomers were friend or foe. While he was doing that, he sent Shang Xia a voice transmission to tell him to not bother with anything and leave.

With Shang Ke watching over him from the skies, Shang Xia knew that no Martial Extermination Realm expert would be foolish enough to try dealing with him. After all, the threat of Shang Ke catching them off guard was enough to ensure his safe departure.

Also, Shang Xia knew his limits. He knew that a battle of the magnitude that was about to break out wasn’t something a mere Martial Intent Realm cultivator like him could take part in, regardless of whether he could actually fight a Martial Extermination Realm expert or not. After all, there would be too many of them and there were some exceptionally powerful ones.

As the two streaks of light approached the Redwood Forest, Shang Ke’s gaze returned to the depths of the forest. He discovered that the raging Mutated Monkey King had left the core region of his territory at the moment and was headed away from him. 

Did it discover that Martial Extermination Realm experts are approaching and decided to escape before danger arrived?

Shang Ke couldn’t help but praise the Mutated Monkey King’s intelligence. If it chose to remain where it was, the numerous Martial Extermination Realm experts who were bound to arrive would definitely spare no effort in killing it to divy up its extermination origins.

Also, the extermination origins of the Monkey King weren’t the only treasure that remained in the forest. Shang Xia might have taken a portion of the Monkey Wine, but there was still some of it left in the trees. Moreover, the existence of the Mutated Monkey Tribe was a sign that there might be treasures that were nurtured in the area.

The Mutated Monkey King might be decisive enough to give it up, but it was definitely feeling heartache like never before. After all, any Martial Extermination Realm expert would be unwilling to give up on their fortune like that!

In the time it took for those thoughts to enter Shang Ke’s mind, the two streaks of light arrived. Both Martial Extermination Realm experts revealed themselves and one of them was Qi Yunxiu who had escaped earlier. The other was someone Shang Ke was familiar with, but not in a good way. He was someone from the four great races of the Liao Continent, She Dajun.

Before they entered the Martial Extermination Realm, Shang Ke had fought She Dajun more than once. Who would have thought that they would both advance and run into each other again in the Redwood Forest?

A look of contemplation flashed in Shang Ke’s eyes when he saw how they arrived. Even though the two of them were supposed to be on the same side, they flew separately and there seemed to be a clear distinction between them.

The Changbai Holy Land could be said to be the reinforcements there to assist the four great races of the Liao Continent, but it was clear that the relationship between them wasn't exactly great.

She Dajin’s expression changed when he saw Shang Ke and he yelled, “Did Lang Qingyun die?! Were you the one who killed him?” 

A sneer formed on Shang Ke’s face and he didn’t bother answering the question. His expression seemed to have said it all.

“You did it alone? How is that possible?” She Dajun frowned as he extended his divine sense to observe his surroundings. He tried to look for traces of other experts present but found nothing. Even so, his expression sank even further as a cold light flashed in his eyes when he glanced at Qi Yunxiu.

She Dajun didn’t need to say much and Qi Yunxiu’s face flushed red from embarrassment.

When he left the forest earlier, he quickly realized that he had been tricked. If only he stayed with Lang Qingyun and helped him slightly, Shang Ke would not have been able to get the kill.

By the time he realized his mistake, he quickly made his way back. However, he knew that Lang Qingyun would be in dire straits. Even though he felt that it was possible for the opponents to gather their strength and deal with him after they were done with Lang Qingyun, he couldn’t possibly sit back and do nothing! As such, he located She Dajun who was nearby to return to the Redwood Forest. At the same time, he sent out several secret transmission talismans to notify others of the Changbai Holy Land what had happened.

Unfortunately, by the time his transmission talismans started to shoot through the skies, the violent fluctuation of heaven and earth qi that signified the death of a Martial Extermination Realm expert filled the air. 

Qi Yunxiu understood that he was a huge part of the reason behind Lang Qingyun’s death and his action might cause the destruction of the alliance between his Changbai Holy Land and the four great races of the Liao Continent.

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In order to retain the trust of the four great races of the Liao Continent, the only way was to… 

“You… You killed Lang Qingyun!” Qi Yunxiu pointed at Shang Ke and screamed in anger. As the words left his lips, he swung his whisk through the air and silver threads filled the skies. They shot towards Shang Ke and the moment he made his move, She Dajun seemed to understand his intentions. Even though She Dajun knew that Qi Yunxiu was trying to push all the blame to Shang Ke, he had to play along. It was a two against one situation and if they managed to take advantage of the situation to take down Shang Ke…

A light flashed in She Dajun’s eyes and he started to move. He quickly went to block off Shang Ke’s route of retreat.

The two of them were comparable to Shang Ke in strength and with the two of them working together, they quickly gained the upper hand.

Unfortunately, She Dajun had barely gotten in position when the void above him trembled again. A long whip extended out from the crack and lashed at She Dajun’s body.

With his expression changing drastically, She Dajun revealed a truncheon that attempted to block the strike.

A loud smack could be heard as She Dajun’s figure was sent flying through the air. 

“What’s your problem? Do you think you can bully us because of your numbers?” Liu Qinglan’s chuckle rang through the air.

Shang Ke’s figure blurred as he left behind an afterimage. By the time he reappeared, he was standing beside Liu Qinglan.

Qi Yunxiu’s face twisted with fury as She Dajun quickly flew to his side. The two of them glared at Liu Qinglan and Shang Ke as they prepared for battle.

At that moment, another streak of light tore through the air. It moved in a tyrannical manner and even though it was approaching the Redwood Forest at high speed, it didn’t slow down in the slightest. Instead, the energy fluctuations around the beam of light increased. The light separated into two as it transformed into a giant wolf that was deep blue in color as it pounced at Shang Ke.

Slightly startled, Shang Ke swept his spear before him and summoned a huge sword light that struck the body of the wolf. Even though he was surprised by the appearance of the newcomer, Shang Ke didn’t panic.

“Lang Jingyun, how dare you!” Liu Qinglan’s voice boomed through the air as a nine-segmented whip appeared to assist Shang Xia. It flew straight towards Lang Jingyun who was close to a thousand feet away.

Noticing Liu Qinglan’s counterattack, Lang Jingyun’s figure froze in mid air and he no longer charged straight at Shang Ke. Changing directions, he headed for Qi Yunxiu and She Dajun.

The two of them went over to greet Lang Jingyun and they felt a lot more confident now that a strong expert on their side had come.

“Shang Ke, did you kill my brother?!” Lang Jingyun released the extermination origins that surrounded him for a second before glaring at Shang Ke. His eyes were completely bloodshot as he waited for an answer.

Raising his spear slightly, Shang Ke growled, “That’s right.” 

“Alright, you’ll pay for that with your life!” Lang Jingyun roared as he lashed his four-segmented whip at Shang Ke.

Unfortunately, the space around them started to solidify and Lang Jingyun’s whip was no longer able to move as it pleased. A terrifying pressure descended on the lands as the five Martial Extermination Realm experts who were present felt a massive weight pressing down on their shoulders.

Raising their heads, they discovered that the space above them didn’t crack, unlike the time they made their arrival. Instead, it trembled slightly as Shang Bo stepped out with his hands crossed behind his back. Looking around casually, the other Martial Extermination Realm experts unintentionally lowered their heads. No one dared to meet his gaze.

However, Shang Bo eventually stared at a certain spot in space before muttering, “Brother Ran, since you are already here, why don’t you show yourself?” 

A blood-red palm extended out from the void after the words left his lips and the space it shattered seemed to turn into a giant black door that Ran Kongqing stepped out from. As soon as he arrived, Ran Kongqing glanced at Qi Yunxiu, She Dajun, and Lang Jingyun before turning his attention to Shang Bo.

“Is your brother really capable of killing Martial Nephew Qingyun?!” Ran Kongqing directed the question to Shang Bo and he frowned slightly as he didn’t think that Shang Ke was capable of doing what they said he did.

Without a change in expression, Shang Bo muttered, “I’m equally as curious. If the two of them are the only ones present, my Fifth Brother shouldn’t be able to kill him.” 

Qi Yunxiu felt the blood draining from his face. He knew that those old foxes were definitely able to uncover what had happened given the information they knew! Even so, he maintained his composure as he looked into the distance, as if waiting for something to happen.