Splitting the Heave

Shang Ke seemed to have given up increasing his own cultivation level as he chose to leave everything for the junior members of the Shang Clan.

Shang Xia could hear that his Grandpa Ke’s decision came from the bottom of his heart and as the patriarch of the Shang Clan, he truly wanted the best for them.

His heart trembled slightly and a mischievous smile eventually formed on his face. “I think the Lingkong Formless Extermination Origin still suits you the best. Grandpa Ke, you should use it to enter the second layer of the Martial Extermination Realm. As for Second Uncle’s extermination origin… He might be able to make other choices!” 

Shang Ke shook his head while chuckling bitterly. “That might not work… After all, our Tongyou Institution’s goal is only to gain a foothold in the battlefield between the two worlds. Even though we might gain a few extermination origins along the way, it won’t be enough to reward the various clans and families that came in with us. It’s not likely for us to get another extermination origin.” 

Shang Xia knew that Shang Ke had misunderstood him and he quickly retrieved his Spirit Extermination Gourd. He held it in front of Shang Ke and he asked, “Grandpa Ke, do you recognize the two extermination origins contained within?” 

“Wait a second, is that the treasure Patriarch Kou gave you to help kill Huang Yunxiang?” Shang Ke gasped. 

When Shang Xia brought out the Spirit Extermination Gourd, he thought that his Grandpa Ke would be amazed by the items within, who would have thought that the old man would focus on the treasure itself? Shang Xia felt like he was hitting air with his efforts.

“Yeah… It is.” Shang Xia could only reply helplessly. After a short pause, he added, “Actually, the real purpose of this treasure is to collect extermination origin…”

“Oh? It can actually be used to collect extermination origin?! That makes it somewhat similar to the treasures those direct disciples of the holy lands use. Looks like Patriarch Kou is truly planning to nurture promising disciples of the institution…” Shang Ke sighed.

Seeing as Shang Ke still wasn’t seeing the point, Shang Xia pointed it out directly. “Take a look inside! I collected two extermination origins and you can see if any of them are compatible with Second Uncle’s advancement medicine!” 

“Ohhh, you even started using it to collect… Collect extermination origins?!” Shang Ke’s tone changed drastically when the past few words came out of his lips. He stared at Shang Xia in disbelief. “What did you just say?! You said that you collected two extermination origins?!” 

He stared at the Spirit Extermination Gourd in his hand and shook them slightly before looking at Shang Xia. The process repeated several times before he gasped. “Are you serious?!” 

Shang Xia technically didn’t need to say anything. Shang Ke was holding the gourd and he would be able to discover the extermination origins within as long as he sent a trace of his consciousness into it.

“This… This…” Even as the patriarch of the Shang Clan who had experienced multiple trials and tribulations, he couldn’t help but suck in a long breath to calm himself down. Staring at Shang Xia, he asked seriously, “Where did you get them?”

Shang Xia had no choice but to repeat the story of how he borrowed the power of Kou Chongxue’s sword qi to slay Huang Yunxiang and the giant rat. Only then did a look of understanding appear on Shang Ke’s face. 

Even so, he couldn’t help but gasp silently.

One might be able to kill Martial Extermination Realm experts, but that didn’t mean that they would be able to collect extermination origins easily! The mutated spiritual beasts in the battlefield between the two worlds were special and cultivators could obtain extermination origins after killing them, but the Tongyou Institution and the four great races of the Liao Continent didn’t go around killing them randomly.

That was because starting a mass slaughter was a surefire way of starting a beast tide. That would cause both sides to suffer huge losses.

Also, it was difficult for individual cultivators to kill rank four spiritual beasts. Since mass killing wasn’t an option and moving alone to kill beasts wasn’t effective, there was no point in doing it.  That was also the reason behind the strength of the Tongyou Institution remaining relatively stable. They didn’t experience a moment where they experienced a sharp increase in strength. 

Of course, that was only what the Tongyou Institution thought of themselves. In the short 20 years that they had been established, with the experts of the four great clans added to the mix, the number of Martial Extermination Realm experts had numbered more than 10. In the eyes of the Azure Spiritual World and the various holy lands, the Tongyou Institution’s strength could be said to have increased at a frightening rate.

That was one of the reasons the various holy lands were trying to keep them in check!

“The dull yellow one should be called the ‘Yellow Earth Extermination Origin’. After refining it, one would experience a sharp increase in their defenses. However, it’s not really suitable for attacking others.” Shang Ke explained. He quickly identified one of them by feeling the aura of giving off.

“It’s not really compatible with our Multi Illusion Wine and we need to investigate its compatibility with the Hundred Days Longevity Intoxication. It’s actually somewhat suitable to be used with our Exquisite Muddled Liquid, but we have to look into it a little more before making a decision.” 

The Shang Clan had three rank four advancement formulas and the one they knew the best was the Multi Illusion Wine. Next came the Exquisite Muddled Liquid and they knew the least about the Hundred Days Longevity Intoxication.

They might have received the Hundred Days Longevity Intoxication first, but they were still a little more familiar with the Exquisite Muddled Liquid. After all, Shang Pei broke through with it and she left behind her experience. That was why Shang Jian chose to use the Exquisite Muddled Liquid instead of the Hundred Days Longevity Intoxication after learning that it wasn’t suitable for him.

“As for the other one…” Shang Ke fell into deep contemplation. He frowned slightly before he continued, “It seems to resemble the Cloudy Gale Extermination Origin. If that is truly the case, it should be compatible with your Second Uncle’s sword art!” 

Shang Xia thought back to the battle between the giant rat and Huang Yunxiang. The scene where the rat seemed to borrow the power of wind to dodge Huang Yunxiang’s attacks played out in his mind and Shang Xia muttered, “That’s probably it…” 

Shifting the topic, Shang Xia asked, “So how about it? Grandpa Ke, you can go ahead and refine the Lingkong Formless Extermination Origin now, right? There’s nothing else to fear!” 

A complicated feeling rushed through Shang Ke’s heart and Shang Xia’s image in his mind became much more imposing. He couldn’t help but sigh, “Looks like I’m going to owe you a lot for this…” 

Handing the bottle of rank four Monkey Wine over to Shang Ke with a smile, Shang Xia laughed, “There’s no need for such formalities, we’re all family here! Grandpa Ke, when you become even stronger, our clan’s foundations will become even more stable. It’s amazing news for us!” 

“I’ll probably only need a catty or so of the wine here…” Shang Ke quickly gave an estimation. Seeing as Shang Xia was about to say something else, he quickly waved his hands in response. “My cultivation should be able to improve with a catty of Monkey Wine. Even if I use up the rest, I won’t be able to push my cultivation even higher. Since it won’t be able to help me, you should keep it and use it for yourself.” 

Nodding in acknowledgment, Shang Xia no longer harped on the matter.

Since he met up with his Grandpa Ke, Shang Xia decided to no longer roam around the battlefield between the two worlds. Returning to the institution’s territory to digest his gains wasn’t a bad idea.

Along the way, Shang Ke seemed to have thought of something and he asked, “Oh yeah. Did you manage to make any progress in finding the herbs for your advancement medicine? Or did you find any remnant world origin?” 

A bitter smile appeared on Shang Xia’s face. “I gained a little, but I didn’t manage to make much progress…” 

“That’s unfortunate… The resources and world origin contained in the battlefield between the two worlds is like a drop in the ocean compared to what we received in the Origin Tide. In order to completely recreate the formula of that incomplete advancement medicine you took from the institution, you will need a lot more world origin…” Shang Ke muttered.

It was true that Shang Xia required a huge amount of world origin, but it had nothing to do with the recreation of his advancement medicine. However, he wouldn’t correct Shang Ke’s misunderstanding.

In the next moment, Shang Ke said something that gave Shang Xia a pleasant surprise. “Actually, I know of a location that contains world origin. However…”

“Where is it?” Shang Xia was so excited when he heard the news that he completely ignored the change in Shang Ke’s tone at the end of his sentence. 

This novel is available on bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

A forced chuckle escaped Shang Ke’s lips. “There’s no need to get impatient. Even though there’s quite a bit of world origin there, it’s extremely difficult for you to approach it. Not even Martial Extermination Realm experts are confident of leaving in one piece after they enter…” 

It was as though a bucket of cold water was poured over Shang Xia and his excitement quickly died. However, he didn’t forget to ask, “Where exactly is it?” 

“You should be pretty familiar with the place. It’s the Yuxi Peak that once made up our Tongyou Peak.” Shang Ke explained.

“Yuxi Peak? Does our Tongyou Peak still exist in the battlefield between the two worlds?” Shang Xia frowned.

“Of course not. The only peak left is the Yuxi Peak…” Shang Ke whispered.

Shang Xia followed up with another question. “What’s the matter with the Yuxi Peak at the moment? Why don’t Martial Extermination Realm experts dare to enter?” 

“It’s not that they don’t dare to enter the Yuxi Peak. Did you not hear what I say?! They might not return safely if they enter…” Shang Ke snapped. “I can’t explain it in a few sentences. Just go back and take a look and you’ll know what I mean.” 

Now that the Tongyou Institution was back in the battlefield between the two worlds, they established themselves on a place called the Observation Peak. Shang Ke and Shang Xia left the Redwood Forest as they made their way back.

Shang Ke seemed to have thought of something again and he reminded, “Oh yes, you might need a lot of herbs and treasures to carry out experiments when you’re trying to complete the recipe for your advancement medicine, but if you are sure that some herbs are used in your recipe, you can start to collect them. Otherwise, you’ll waste a lot of time gathering more when you’re ready to refine your advancement medicine.” 

Shang Xia nodded in response and he added, “Grandpa Ke, there’s something else I need to ask you. Have you heard of the Spirit of the Four Seasons?” 

Slightly taken aback, Shang Ke chuckled softly. “Why are you asking about the Spirit of the Four Seasons all of a sudden? Do you need them to make your advancement medicine?” 

“You actually know about them? Grandpa Ke, hurry up and tell me more about them!” Shang Xia felt a rush of joy when he saw Shang Ke’s reaction.

“Wait, you actually need them?” Shang Ke stared at him strangely and was greeted with an expectant expression. He quickly followed up, “Alright, alright. The Spirit of the Four Seasons can be said to be the essence of the various seasons. It’s born naturally and it has some sort of intelligence. Even though it’s rare, it can’t be used everywhere. As such, it’s not too precious. From what I know, Patriarch Kou has collected a flower spirit that contains the essence of spring. It can be considered the Spirit of Spring.”