Splitting the Heave

“Mister Ge, what request do you have? I’ll fulfill it as long as it is within my power.” Shang Xia calmed himself down as he spoke.

A satisfied look appeared on Ge Qingzhu’s face and he muttered, “Actually, I do have something I need your help with. However, now isn’t the time.” 

Seeing the look of surprise on Shang Xia’s face, he added another explanation, “I’m afraid you need to be in the Martial Extermination Realm before you can help me with it. It might not pose any danger to you, but you might find it a little difficult to accomplish. You might even need to use a lot of time to complete it.” 

With things progressing up to that point, Shang Xia couldn’t say anything else. In order to obtain the Nine Leaf Lotus, he had to agree.

Making a promise to Ge Qingzhu, he received Ge Qingzhu’s agreement to bring him to the pool of lotuses the moment Summer arrived.

With the arrangement with Ge Qingzhu, Shang Xia realized that the Tongyou Institution managed to gain control of the lotus pool Ge Qingzhu discovered. However, the new Martial Extermination Realm expert seemed to be in control of the allocation of resources there.

Even though there was still some time before he could get his hands on the Nine Leaf Lotus, Shang Xia was still pretty pumped. 

With the issue of the Nine Leaf Lotus dealt with, Shang Xia could only wait for Yan Qi to return with news about his Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer's Yeast.

The saying of good times coming in pairs didn’t come from nothing. When Shang Xia left Ge Qingzhu’s place and returned to the Shang Clan’s territory on the Observation Peak, he was quickly greeted with the news that Yan Qi had returned.

Running over to the main hall at top speed, Shang Xia saw Shang Tai conversing with Yan Qi. 

The moment he entered the hall, Yan Qi bowed respectfully only to be waved off quickly by Shang Xia. An expectant smile appeared on Shang Xia’s face. “How did it go? Did you manage to obtain the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer's Yeast?” 

Yan Qi’s expression froze slightly before he handed the case containing the Essence Bone Ember back to Shang Xia. “Young Master, my apologies. An accident occurred.” 

Looking at the case that Yan Qi held out, a wave of disappointment washed over Shang Xia. There was news from Yan Qi, but it wasn’t what he was expecting. However, he knew that he couldn’t hold something like that against Yan Qi. Forcing a smile, he asked, “It’s alright. Why don’t you tell me what happened?” 

“I brought the Essence Bone Ember Young Master gave me to make the trade and I thought that it would be extremely easy to obtain the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer's Yeast. I slipped up when talking to them and revealed that you also had the Scarlet Heart Cinnabar Wood and the other party who was interested in the trade immediately rejected the case of Essence Bone Ember. Instead, they wanted me to obtain the Scarlet Heart Cinnabar Wood if I wanted to make the trade.” Yan Qi explained.

Shang Xia received the case and glanced at the contents before sighting, “What’s up with that? From what I know, the Essence Bone Ember and the Scarlet Heart Cinnabar Wood are of the same rank. They are both rank four spiritual treasures, and the Essence Bone Ember is much more valuable!” 

Yan Qi chuckled bitterly while shaking his head. “They were unwilling to tell me the reason and I wasn’t in a position to ask about it.” 

Shang Xia kept the case containing the Essence Bone Ember before taking out another case containing the Scarlet Heart Cinnabar Wood. “By the way, are you communicating with the four great races of the Liao Continent?” 

Yan Qi received the case before revealing a thoughtful expression. “Young Master, the old patriarch didn’t allow me to talk about this. I didn’t tell you anything about this and you guessed it all on your own…” 

Yan Qi then nodded slightly while keeping a straight face.

Shang Xia knew that he shouldn’t continue his line of questioning and muttered, “Seventh Uncle, you need to be careful.” 

Yan Qi cupped his fists towards Shang Xia and said, “The next time I return, I will definitely bring the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer's Yeast with me.”

After sending Yan Qi off, Shang Xia saw that Shang Tai had yet to leave and he quickly asked, “Uncle Tai, how is Uncle Quan’s progress of breaking through to the Martial Intent Realm?” 

Shaking his head, Shang Tai sighed, “Brother Quan returned to the Tongyou City and I have no idea how he is actually doing right now. I only saw him before he entered seclusion, but he seems pretty confident of his accumulations in the battlefield between the two worlds in the years that passed. He once said that he was around 80 percent sure that he could advance. Who knows? He might already be consolidating his foundations back in the Shang Clan Manor as we speak.”

Shang Xia nodded in acknowledgement. “That would be for the best…” 

Originally, he wanted to take his leave now that he asked the questions that were on his mind. However, he noticed the unnatural expression on Shang Tai’s face and he realized that his uncle probably still had something to say to him.

“Uncle Tai, what’s the matter?”

Hesitating slightly Shang Tai finally sighed, “I might be mistaken, but from what I observed on the Observation Peak, the Tongyou Institution seems to be making some sort of secret plan. They even seem to be getting ready for something.” 

“Uncle Tai, did you discover something out of the ordinary?” Shang Xia frowned. He knew that as the person in charge of the Shang Clan in the battlefield between the two worlds at the moment, Shang Tai probably came into contact with many things on a daily basis. He might have figured something out through all the tiny traces of information he came across.

Taking some time to arrange his thoughts, Shang Tai continued, “All the Martial Extermination Realm experts on the Observation Peak seemed to have gone somewhere. I suspect that all of them have already left the battlefield between the two worlds.” 

A deep frown appeared on Shang Xia’s face. “Do you mean that our Observation Peak is like an empty shell right now?! Is the institution playing some empty city stratagem with our opponents?!” 

“No, no, no!” Shang Tai shook his head, but his expression sank slightly the next second as he couldn’t be sure of what was actually happening. “At the very least, we’re not employing some empty city stratagem. The experts of the four great races of the Liao Continent and the Changbai Holy Land have also become a lot quieter. It’s as though we’re all trying to protect the peace of the battlefield between the two worlds for the time being.” 

A guess had long since formed in Shang Xia’s mind about the sudden change that was happening to the battlefield between the two worlds. Since a long time ago, the fights had stopped. Shang Xia was even thinking the higher-ups of both worlds had reached some sort of agreement. 

Now that Shang Tai brought the matter up, his guess was basically verified. 

“Uncle Tai, start gathering the power of our clan and start placing a stronger emphasis on the Yuxi Peak.” Shang Xia said all of a sudden.

Nodding quietly, Shang Tai acknowledged the order. However, he couldn’t help but ask, “Our experts have always been stationed near the Yuxi Peak. Are you…” 

“I plan on entering the Yuxi Peak soon.” Shang Xia admitted.

With a shocked expression finding its way onto Shang Tai’s face, he yelled, “Shang Xia, you cannot act recklessly! Less than 10 people from our side and the Azure Spiritual World entered the Yuxi Peak since the abnormality was discovered and not a single one of them returned. Not even Martial Extermination Realm experts dare to take their chances to enter the forbidden region!” 

Shang Xia shook his head slightly and sighed, “The Yuxi Peak might hold the key to my breakthrough to the Martial Extermination Realm. I have to make a trip over.” 

Shang Tai wanted to say something else, but Shang Xia quickly interrupted him. “Uncle Tai, there’s no need for you to worry. Even if things reach the worst-case scenario, I have a way to retreat unharmed. No matter what you say, my decision is made. The moment Seventh Uncle returns with the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer's Yeast, I’ll make my move. Uncle Tai, there’s no need to try to dissuade me any further.” 

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Knowing that he didn’t possess the ability to change Shang Xia’s mind, Shang Tai muttered helplessly, “Since that’s the case, I can only report this matter to the patriarch…” 

…

This time, Yan Qi didn’t make Shang Xia wait for a long time. He returned on the third day after Shang Xia passed him the Scarlet Heart Cinnabar Wood. This time, the case that he passed to Shang Xia contained the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer's Yeast he so desperately needed.

At that moment, Shang Xia could be said to have collected all the components required for his rank four advancement medicine, the Four Seasons Samsara Wine.

Of course, he couldn’t actually break through immediately. He still had to invite an alchemist to brew his advancement medicine. Rank four alchemists weren’t exactly impressive because of their ability to craft medicines. They were actually well respected due to their expertise in crafting specific advancement medicines for cultivators.

Naturally, Shang Xia had no use for their abilities as he had a complete advancement medicine himself. With detailed instructions, a rank three alchemist could actually produce the advancement medicine he required.

Unfortunately, the grade of the alchemist couldn’t really affect Shang Xia at the moment as the Shang Clan hadn’t been able to produce a rank three alchemist. As such, regardless of whether Shang Xia had to look for a rank three or four alchemist, he had to do it through the institution.

The moment he requested the help of an alchemist of the institution to craft the Four Seasons Samsara Wine, he knew that the institution would learn a huge part of how to craft it. 

Well, Shang Xia wasn’t too worried about it anyway. After all, the advancement medicine came from the institution anyway. He took an incomplete advancement medicine and completed it through the Crimson Soul Tablet. 

At the end of the day, Shang Xia was the one who held the key to crafting the Four Seasons Samsara Wine. Other people might be able to make use of it in the future, but Shang Xia would naturally release a much weaker version after modifying it with the tablet.

Actually, the Four Seasons Samsara Wine that Shang Xia was crafting was too damn special to begin with. Just the herbs required was enough to show that it was no ordinary medicine. It was almost impossible to replicate Shang Xia’s method of breakthrough in the future.

…

The Medicine Hall was a part of the Warehouse Division in the Tongyou Institution, and it was one of those that was held in the highest regard. The ability of their alchemists to craft advancement medicines wasn’t the only reason. The other reason was because they had one of the only few rank four craftsmen in the institution! Ge Muchen, a rank four alchemist, was part of their ranks!

In the past, Ge Muchen ran into trouble when the world collided. Luckily, he was saved by Kou Chongxue and with that, he chose to enter the Medicine Hall of the Tongyou Institution to focus on his craft.

The rise of the institution, birthing so many Martial Extermination Realm experts, couldn’t have been done without him.

Leaving the experts who just broke through recently aside, even Shang Bo’s advancement medicine was made by Ge Muchen more than a dozen years ago! 

Ge Muchen’s abilities in the medical field might be great, but his path of cultivation seemed to be restricted by his talent. He might be a rank four alchemist, but he had yet to step into the Martial Extermination Realm.

According to rumors, Kou Chongxue tried to assist in his breakthrough personally, but they failed. That even resulted in Kou Chongxue suffering a backlash. The matter of Ge Muchen’s advancement could only be dropped.

It was a pretty sad story actually. The rank four alchemist who was unable to enter the Martial Extermination Realm produced a steady stream of rank four advancement medicine for others to advance and medicine to treat the injured. He allowed the Tongyou Institution to grow strong, but he couldn’t do so himself.

Due to the passage of time, Ge Muchen was getting old and because he injured his foundations because of the failed breakthrough back then, he didn’t have much time left. At the moment, he was the spiritual support of the Medicine Hall. 

Other than Grandmaster Ge Muchen, there were 4 other rank three alchemists in the medicine hall.

From that point alone, one could see how much deeper the Medicine Hall’s accumulations were compared to the Talisman Hall or Formation Hall. Their strong foundations could be attributed to Ge Muchen’s teachings. 

At the moment, there were 2 rank three alchemists on the Observation Peak. One of them was a veteran alchemist called Ge Wangchuan. From his name, it wasn’t difficult to discern that he was related to Ge Muchen. It was also said that he was going to inherit Ge Muchen’s inheritance when he was ready.

The other rank three alchemist was new, and he was Liu Zhifang from the Liu Clan of the Tongyou City. He was part of the same generation as Liu Zhiyuan and Liu Zhidao, the two Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Liu Clan and that proved the deep foundations behind the great Liu Clan.

When they heard Shang Xia’s request, their expression turned exceptionally ugly.