Splitting the Heave

800 miles away from the Jingxiu Peak in a location that was covered in dense clouds the whole year round…

Because of the many tiny streams that ran through the region, it was named the Cloud Water Gorge in the Sixth Pass of the Taihang Mountains.

In one of the taller mountains in the region, 3 Martial Extermination Realm experts stood side by side as they looked around the ruins of a stronghold as though they were looking for something special.

Of the 3, one of them was a female cultivator with a long sword strapped behind her back. A reddish-green silk ribbon hung from her head and she had a voluptuous body. A charming light swirled around her pretty eyes.

She held a six-sided lantern that contained a ball of flickering flames in front of her. If anyone were to look carefully, they would discover that the clouds that had been parted around her were moving in rhythm to the flickering flames.

Close to ten feet around the 3 of them had been cleared of clouds and fog and from the looks of it, the lantern was an indispensable part of the reason.

That was also the reason why the other 2 Martial Extermination Realm experts had to gather around the female cultivator to conduct their search.

“From the traces left behind, the leader of this stronghold, Hai Pei, should have long since abandoned the area to bring her subordinates away.” One of the white robed experts beside the lady spoke. He looked slightly older than 30, but the weathered look on his face revealed an appearance that had been through the vicissitudes of life.

“We should be closing in on her location. Since she’s concerned for the life of her subordinates, she will never leave the Cloud Water Gorge. It’s a matter of time before we find her.” The middle aged cultivator on the other side spoke up. He had a short beard hanging off his chin and he seemed more like a scholar than a cultivator.

The female cultivator muttered, “I am not interested in your grudge at all. I only wish to hear if that secret region truly exists and the way to enter.” 

The middle aged scholarly looking cultivator chuckled in response, “With Heroine Feng’s treasure to help us, Hai Pei lost her greatest advantage in the Cloud Water Gorge. The moment we find her, we’ll surround her immediately. She will have no choice but to give us what we want. When that happens, Heroine Feng will be able to learn everything you wish to know.” 

A light flickered in her eyes and she giggled in delight. “Why do the two of you seem so indifferent to the secret region? Does it not actually exist?” 

The scholarly-looking cultivator was about to reply when his expression twisted slightly.

The change in his expression couldn’t go unnoticed, especially when the others were also Martial Extermination Realm experts. The older-looking cultivator asked, “Master Duan, is something the matter?” 

A look of confusion appeared on Duan Liufeng’s face and his expression flickered slightly. Grunting once, he replied, “Someone attacked an imprint I left behind in the Jingxiu Peak… My territory is under attack!” 

The 3 of them saw the look in each other’s eyes and many possibilities appeared in their minds.

“Do you know what is happening back at the Jingxiu Peak right now? Or do you know how strong the attacker is? Could the assault be related to Hai Pei?” Heroine Feng asked.

A bitter smile appeared on Duan Liufeng’s face. “I might be able to detect what is going on back there if we were outside the Cloud Water Gorge, but it doesn’t matter. I expected something like this to happen and got the Martial Intent Realm cultivators under my command to gather on the Jingxiu Peak. With the protection formation, it should be able to hold out against a Martial Extermination Realm expert’s bombardment for quite some time. Moreover, there should be several Martial Extermination Realm experts in the area and they shouldn’t sit idly by and watch as my Jingxiu Peak falls.”

The two other Martial Extermination Realm experts nodded slightly in response.

Actually, the two of them expected as much. They knew that Duan Liufeng wouldn’t leave his base undefended before starting the operation to attack the Cloud Water Gorge.

The situation was as he had described. Duan Liufeng had been in command of the Jingxiu Peak for several years and the mountain had produced a ton of precious resources. There were even herbs that could only be found on the Jingxiu Peak. Even if the Martial Extermination Realm experts in the surrounding area didn't rush to its defense, they would try to dissuade the attacker from causing more damage.

Heroine Feng smiled. “Even though what you said might be true, I feel that we need to pick up the pace. It’s not good to have your base at the mercy of others. Master Duan, I believe that you think the same way, right?” 

“Many thanks for your understanding!” Duan Liufeng cupped his fists and thanked.

It was a shame that as soon as their short conversation ended, Duan Liufeng’s expression changed drastically. A dual colored extermination light surrounded his body and a terrifying storm swept across his surroundings. The grass under his feet grew at a terrifying rate and everything else around him turned to dust.

“He lost control of his extermination origins!” The two of them retreated slightly as they quickly raised their guards.

A frown appeared on the female cultivator’s face and she stared at him intently.

She noticed that other than the furious expression that was starting to appear on his face, he seemed as cool-headed as could be. He didn’t seem to be experiencing cultivation deviation. Instead, he looked as though he was merely venting his frustrations.

“Master Duan…” 

She quickly discovered that the grass had stopped growing and Duan Liufeng became a lot calmer than a second ago.

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

The expression on Duan Liufeng’s face was as ugly as could be, but he didn’t lose his composure. He waved his hand once and turned the overgrown grass under his feet into ash.

“Could it be…” 

A scary guess appeared in the mind of the older-looking cultivator.

Forcing a smile, Duan Liufeng muttered, “I apologize for worrying you two. I didn't suffer from cultivation deviation and I’m fine. You should have guessed from my reaction that the protection formation around the Jingxiu Peak has been broken…” 

Even though the two of them guessed as much, hearing him admit it was a different story altogether. They couldn’t believe their ears.

After all, Duan Liufeng had mentioned that the Duanfeng Peak would be able to sustain itself for some time. Who would have thought that he would be slapped in the face so quickly? The protection formation was shattered by the time they were done talking.

Thinking back to the effort he placed when grooming the Jingxiu Peak, Duan Liufeng felt extreme heartache. He wanted to fly back there immediately to deal with the problem.

The older-looking cultivator muttered, “Could there be more than one Martial Extermination Realm attacking the Jingxiu Peak?” 

The female cultivator added, “Perhaps, there’s a mole working on the inside…” 

Their guesses clearly showed that they didn’t believe a single person would be able to destroy the protection formation around the Jingxiu Peak so easily. The three of them fell silent at the same time.

Turning to look at Duan Liufeng, the female cultivator maintained a neutral expression as she asked, “Coming into the Cloud Water Gorge to attack Hai Pei was your idea, Master Duan Feng. Now that your territory is under attack, what do you plan to do?” 

Duan Liufeng’s expression flickered unsteadily but when he saw the look on their faces, he gritted his teeth and growled, Since the Jingxiu Peak has already fallen, there’s no difference even if I rush back immediately. Since that’s the case, we’ll finish what we started. We’ll discuss future plans after killing Shang Pei!” 

“However, I’m just afraid that the people who attacked my Jingxiu Peak will attack your respective factions.” 

The two of them exchanged a gaze and understood what Duan Liufeng implied. They replied in unison, “Master Duan, you might be right, but like you said. We should finish what we started. It will be a pity if we give up on killing Hai Pei now. Moreover, we might run into an ambush if we beat a hasty retreat now.” 

“Master Duan might have invited us to deal with Hai Pei, but news of our involvement shouldn’t have leaked to the outside world. Hai Pei doesn’t know that the two of us are involved and if the person attacking the Jingxiu Peak is related to her, they might not be aware of our presence. They won’t be able to locate our territories either.”

He might be imagining it, but Duan Liufeng could hear the mockery in their words. It seemed as though the two of them were taking joy in his misfortune.

Without any path of retreat, Duan Liufeng was stuck in an awkward situation since he said whatever he said earlier. Gritting his teeth, he realized that he could only regain a little bit of his losses after killing Hai Pei. At the same time, only by going all out and killing her would he be able to pacify the anger burning inside him.

…

The once majestic Jingxiu Peak was in a terrible state after what Shang Xia unleashed on it.

The destruction was caused by Shang Xia’s endless cycling of his Four Seasons Extermination Origins, but the extent of the damage might have something to do with Lin Zhixuan’s absence. 

Whatever the case, the protection barrier was shattered and the Jingxiu Peak was like a naked woman laid bare in front of Shang Xia.

The moment the protection barrier was compromised, the cultivators living on the Jingxiu Peak started running away desperately. There were a ton of them who plundered the faction’s resources while doing so.

Due to the sheer size of the Jingxiu Peak, Shang Xia couldn’t stop everyone himself. He couldn’t carry out a massacre either and he could only allow them to run away.

He might have allowed them to do as they wished while running away, but his divine perception locked on to the top of the Jingxiu Peak the moment he broke the barrier. He could allow them to loot the general warehouses or herbs field, but the top of the Jingxiu Peak was where the true valuables were kept. Everything there belonged to him now that he broke through the protection barrier, and he wouldn’t allow anyone to touch them!

Shang Xia’s figure blurred slightly and he appeared at the top of the mountain before anyone could discover him.

“Hehe, this is the place alright…” After entering a manor at the top of the mountain, he quickly discovered 3 individual courtyards separated from each other. A precious herb was growing in every single one of them and all of them were of the fourth rank. Unfortunately, the time wasn’t ripe and none of the three could be harvested.

One of them was something Shang Xia was familiar with, the Glass Daisy Chrysanthemum, and from the markings on the soil around the stalk, Shang Xia estimated that the stalk his Grandpa Ke brought back had been harvested from the same area.

It was a pity the season wasn’t right to harvest the Glass Daisy Chrysanthemum. 

The other two herbs were a rank four Empty Jade Bamboo and the other was a rank four Azure Range Black Pine. They were unique herbs that had their own uses, and they were obviously very precious.

It was too bad Shang Xia wasn’t able to bring the herbs away at the moment. The only way for him to take those herbs for himself was if he conquered the Jingxiu Peak directly! 

The thought barely formed before it was thrown to the back of his mind.