Splitting the Heave

“Senior, why are you here?” Shang Xia couldn’t help but stare at the person in shock.

Instinctively, he released his divine sense to ensure there was no one else other than the two of them.

The person who came chuckled in response. “Don’t bother. If there’s anyone present who manages to hide their presence from me, you won’t be able to detect them either.” 

The person who arrived had a clear evaluation of Shang Xia’s divine sense. He knew that Shang Xia’s divine sense was a lot stronger than cultivators of the same level.

Retracting his divine sense, a brilliant smile formed on Shang Xia’s face. “Does everyone know that I’m planning to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm on the Yuxi Peak?”

“Brat, you got guts alright. However, I came into the battlefield between the two worlds for something important. I only came here to look for you because the Yuxi Peak was in my path.” He chuckled.

Regaining his ‘serious’ expression, Shang Xia muttered, “Senior, I know that you have a strong cultivation base, but the battlefield between the two worlds is currently populated with people from the Changbai Holy Land and four great races. The Changbai Holy Land is already starting to get suspicious that you killed Liang Shuangren with the experts of the institution. They might even be trying to uncover your secret identity at the moment. You shouldn’t show yourself in the battlefield between the two worlds at the moment…” 

Clearly, the person who arrived was someone Shang Xia was truly familiar with. He was a spy of the institution who killed Liang Shuangren of the Changbai Holy Land. During the War of the Tongyou Mysterious World, he worked with Shang Xia to slay the Formation Master of the White Deer Paradise in the Changbai Holy Land! 

He was none other than Youshang of the Azure Spiritual World!

When he heard what Shang Xia said, a crafty smile appeared on his face as he replied, “How do you know that this is my true appearance?” 

Watching Shang Xia’s eyes widen in shock, Youshang continued, “I changed into my current appearance because I didn’t want you to misunderstand. Of course, the other experts of the Tongyou Institution are familiar with this face too. If I ran in here with a foreign face, I’ll probably be surrounded and attacked by the cultivators of the institution before I can run into you.”

Shang Xia was truly dumbfounded this time. However, he discovered something soaring through the air as Youshang tossed an item at him.

Reaching out to grab it, he discovered a scarlet crystal-like object in his hand.

“What is this?” Shang Xia asked. 

“This is called the Scarlet Blood Cone. It’s a special treasure used in the Azure Spiritual World for cultivators to escape. You have to drip a drop of your essence blood on the cone in order to fully refine the treasure. In times of danger, pour your inner qi into the cone and it will turn into a cocoon of light that will wrap around you. Once you activate the Scarlet Blood Cone, you will be able to escape at an astounding speed. Even Martial Extermination Realm experts will find it difficult to catch up to you.” 

Shang Xia understood how precious the treasure was the moment Youshang explained its use.

Since the first Martial Intent Realm cultivator went missing in the Yuxi Peak, many experts have been trying to uncover the mystery contained within. It was estimated that they were unable to leave after their strength was sapped away by the chaotic heaven and earth qi surrounding the mountain.

With the Scarlet Blood Cone, Shang Xia would be able to flee from most dangers he might run into. In fact, he might even be able to break through the spatial restrictions created by the extermination qi around the Yuxi Peak.

Looking at the precious treasure in his hand, Shang Xia’s first instinct was to reject it due to how valuable it was. However, the power of reason won and he quickly thanked Youshang. “This… This is really precious. Many thanks, Senior Youshang!” 

A satisfied smile appeared on Youshang’s face and he left behind a final word of warning. “Take care of yourself and know your limits!” 

As soon as the words left his lips, he turned into a streak of light that shot into the skies. By the time Shang Xia reacted, he was nowhere to be seen.

The moment he left, Shang Xia started to feel a disturbance in the void. The space behind him turned a little blurry as it transformed into the shape of a lotus flower. Ge Qingzhu’s figure slowly emerged and his gaze swept across where Youshang once stood. Unfortunately for him, he failed to detect anyone’s presence.

“Was someone here?” Ge Qingzhu asked with a curious look on his face.

Shang Xia chuckled in response, “If you didn’t detect anything, how am I supposed to? I’m just a Martial Intent Realm disciple!”

Staring at Shang Xia with a deep gaze, Ge Qingzhu muttered, “Alright, you need to be careful.” 

After speaking, he retreated back into the void and disappeared. The heaven and earth qi in the surroundings stopped fluctuating and it was as though he was never there in the first place.

With the distance separating the Yuxi Peak and the Observation Peak, Ge Qingzhu might not have been able to detect Youshang’s appearance. However, Ge Qingzhu arrived almost immediately after Youshang took his leave. With the speed at which he arrived, Shang Xia understood that Ge Qingzhu wasn’t actually holing up in the Observation Peak. He set up camp somewhere he would be able to react to any problems on the Yuxi Peak or the Observation Peak.

That could also only mean one thing at that point. He was protecting Shang Xia in secret the whole time!

Moreover, Shang Xia could tell that there was something odd about his advancement to the Martial Extermination Realm. The institution and the Shang Clan seemed to be extremely indifferent about it on the surface. However, when he thought deeper into the matter, he realized that that wasn’t the case at all! Whether it was Ge Qingzhu who was protecting him in secret or Youshang who delivered the Scarlet Blood Cone earlier, all of them seemed to be concerned about his safety.

What surprised Shang Xia even more was that Ge Qingzhu, who had barely entered the Martial Extermination Realm, was already looking out for him instead of consolidating his foundations. As for Youshang, that was a whole other story. Even a spy like Youshang who shouldn’t be seen interacting with members of the institution came over personally.

Everything that happened made Shang Xai understand that the institution and the Shang Clan were probably trying to downplay the effects of his break through. Perhaps it had something to do with the Yuxi Peak, or the way he was planning to break through was something they had never seen before, but they were trying to keep his breakthrough as low-key as possible.

“From a certain standpoint, I am blazing a new path of cultivation…” Shang Xia thought to himself. “Martial Extermination Realm… No. it should be called the Four Constellation Realm instead!” 

With a burning sensation in his heart, Shang Xia stepped through the multicolored mist to enter the Yuxi Peak. It didn’t take long before his figure disappeared completely in the mist.

…

That was the first time Shang Xia truly stepped onto the Yuxi Peak.

Previously, he had been circling its perimeter while testing his limits. He also used the Crimson Soul Tablet to agitate the world origin contained on the mountain. He was able to run away before things got serious, but he had never been able to cause a scene like what happened when he left the gathering of Martial Intent Realm cultivators. 

Due to his repeated tests and attempts, his actions had long since been discovered by the institution. That was probably also the reason why they were so sure his breakthrough was going to be different from everyone else. 

When he finally stepped through the screen of multicolored mist, the heaven and earth qi that surrounded the mountain didn’t react explosively like how he thought it would. Instead, it became a dazzling scene that laid itself out before him.

He heaved a sigh of relief but he also understood that the supposed peace was because he had suppressed the Crimson Soul Tablet in his sea of consciousness with his divine sense. After a lot of experiments, he finally figured out a way to not cause the multicolored mist to go crazy!

Suppressing the Crimson Soul Tablet, Shang Xia was able to prevent it from clashing with the multicolored mist around the Yuxi Peak. However, he found a delicate balance such that the tablet would still be able to point him in the correct direction.

Now that he was on the Yuxi Peak, he could feel a subtle sense of danger all around him. It was true that the Yuxi Peak contained the secret to his advancement. However, all opportunities are served with a side of danger. 

Slowly traversing past a dense forest, a massive lake that was filled with crystal-clear water revealed itself in front of his eyes. Resplendent rays of light reflected off the water’s surface and dazzled him.

Staring at the picturesque scene before him, Shang Xia took a deep breath and enjoyed the dense vitality that filled the land.

Opening his arms, he raised his head slightly in enjoyment. Who would have thought that he would notice the problem the moment he tilted his head upwards? There was no sun in the skies!

There were times when the sun and moon would appear in the skies in the battlefield between the two worlds, but the heavens would remain in a state of boring gray most of the time. One wouldn’t be able to differentiate day from night.

When Shang Xia raised his head to look at the skies, Shang Xia wondered where the source of light was coming from.

With his interest piqued, he quickly looked in the direction of the lake.

It didn’t take long for him to discover something wrong. The rays of light seemed to be shining on a certain spot on the water’s surface.

Only then did Shang Xia discover that the light wasn’t reflecting off the lake’s surface. The light came from an item under the water!

Muttering something unintelligible, Shang Xia turned to look at a cluster of reeds that were located closer to the source of light.

Jumping into the air, his toes tapped on the surface of the lake before he landed on the cluster of reeds.

When he leaped into the air, the Crimson Soul Tablet in his sea of consciousness trembled slightly.

At the same time, the tiny sword in his Spirit Extermination Gourd seemed to point directly downwards.

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Without a doubt, there was a stand of extermination origin under the water!

Actually, it didn’t matter that the two treasures reacted the way they did at that point. Standing on the clump of reeds, Shang Xia could clearly see the extermination origin under the water. It was glowing with a warm white light and he quickly identified it as the Mirroring Sun Extermination Origin.

Looking deep into the water, Shang Xia saw that there was a dense cloudy gray mass that remained under the water surface around the extermination origin. The light that emerged from the Mirroring Sun Extermination Origin was unable to pierce through the cloudy gray and Shang Xia quickly recognized what it was. It was a cloudy mass of world origin!