Splitting the Heave

He stepped into the dense clouds without hesitation and everything outside a 30 feet radius disappeared. 

His vision was extremely limited and a cloudy fog remained before his eyes.   

Weirdly enough, Shang Xia was able to extend his divine perception close to 1000 feet around himself. Even though 1000 feet was far from Shang Xia’s usual detection radius of 10 miles, it was a lot more than what ordinary Martial Extermination Realm experts could do in the Cloud Water Gorge. 

The Cloud Water Gorge’s restriction on one’s divine sense or perception was strong, but that wasn’t the only reason why it managed to gain its fame as a forbidden region in the Sixth Pass of the Taihang Mountains. There were other dangers associated with the Cloud Water Gorge and people who didn’t have business there wouldn’t dream of entering for fun.

One of the true dangers the Cloud Water Gorge posed was that the space within was restricted. Martial Extermination Realm experts would lose the ability to fly after they entered. They would have to travel through the gorge on their feet like low-leveled cultivators. Next, the entire region was a maze. Due to the weird geography of the valleys and mountains in the region, the Cloud Water Gorge was like a maze covered in mystery. With their divine senses sealed and vision limited, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to find their way out. Finally, there were the threats of spiritual beasts! No one knew when they would be attacked by spiritual beasts hiding in the clouds and fog.

Shang Xia was desperate to save Shang Pei, but he knew that he couldn’t get careless. He surveyed the area around him carefully after entering the Cloud Water Gorge. 

After realizing his divine perception was limited, Shang Xia tried to fly. Unfortunately, he felt the space under his feet falling apart after he rose a mere inch in the air.

Forcefully pushing himself 3 inches into the air, Shang Xia discovered that the weird fog around him had gathered around his body. They seemed like a massive blanket soaked in water pushing him back into the ground and Shang Xia could feel himself getting weak by the second as he maintained his flight. Even so, he tried pushing himself a little further. As the pressure increased, he felt his inner qi draining at a terrifying rate.

Without a choice, he fell back onto the ground and the pressure on his body disappeared abruptly. An ambiguous look appeared on his face as he wondered to himself, “Looks like it’s not impossible to fly in the Cloud Water Gorge… It’s just a lot more taxing than usual…”

That was different from what he heard before entering the Cloud Water Gorge! 

Getting familiar with the feeling of being in the Cloud Water Gorge, he started to make his way into its depths.

In spite of being in a rush, Shang Xia didn’t charge ahead recklessly. He moved at a reasonable speed. Because of how quickly experts in the Martial Extermination Realm traveled, he was afraid that he would run off a cliff if he wasn’t careful. Under the dense coverage, even those who emerged from the strange region would find it difficult to make a complete map of it.

Even if there were bits and pieces of the Cloud Water Gorge recorded by whoever was lucky enough to emerge unscathed, anyone who got their hands on those maps would discover that the landmarks in there were completely different from what was recorded.

That was the main reason the situation in the Cloud Water Gorge was hidden from the experts of the Sixth Pass despite its many years of existence.

As Shang Xia made his way deeper into the Cloud Water Gorge, he discovered some similarities between the Cloud Water Gorge and the battlefield between the two worlds. Like the battlefield between the two worlds, the Cloud Water Gorge seemed to experience shifts in space from time to time. If not for the fact that the Tongyou Institution and the four great races of the Liao Continent established a territory in the battlefield between the two worlds, there would be no way to map out anything reasonably. 

Of course, there were also several stark differences. Unlike the Cloud Water Gorge, the battlefield between the two worlds wasn’t filled with clouds and fog that restricted one’s divine sense.

Not too long after Shang Xia entered the Cloud Water Gorge, he heard the sound of rushing water. Despite it sounding pretty nearby, Shang Xia failed to discover the presence of a stream or lake within a 1000 feet radius.

He didn’t know if he was mistaken about the sound of rushing water or if his divine perception was unable to pick it up.

Determined to get to the bottom of the matter, Shang Xia started walking in the direction of the sound. However, he was forced to stop as the earth started to shift beneath his feet.

The clouds surrounding him twisted violently as a result of the shift and he discovered his divine perception warping along with it.

Retracting his divine perception quickly to only cover a 500 feet radius around him, Shang Xia discovered that the ground beneath him was starting to crack. The sound of rushing water became even louder and he realized that his ears weren’t playing tricks on him. There was a stream, but it was located under the earth!

Unwilling to make any sudden movements, Shang Xia stood where he was. He could feel the crack extending his feet and after tracking it with his divine sense, he discovered that it extended past his range of detection. 

He could see the crack beside him growing deeper and deeper as the sound of rushing water became softer.

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

During the time he remained motionless, a massive valley formed beside him. 

Before he could admire the great change that took place, he felt a familiar rush of world origin coming from deep underground.

Widening his eyes in shock, Shang Xia’s expression flickered unsteadily. However, he managed to remind himself of his real purpose of entering the Cloud Water Gorge. Suppressing his urge to jump down the cliff face he was standing on, he traveled deeper into the Cloud Water Gorge.

Naturally, his actions didn’t stop him from thinking about the world origin he felt. The strange properties of the Cloud Water Gorge, Shang Pei’s decision to establish herself there, and many other reasons flew through his mind.

Shang Xia’s curiosity towards his mysterious third aunt was piqued once again. It seemed as though Shang Pei was also hiding some secrets.

…

When Shang Xia was looking for traces of Shang Pei, a flying sword tore through the fog in a secret location. A spatial passage appeared as Yu Hanglong stepped out. His divine perception covered dozens of feet around him as he scouted the area.

When he was certain that there was no danger, he tossed a small sword in the air. Spinning around slightly, it pointed at a rock face nearby.

Chuckling softly, a cold light emerged from his robe. It shattered the rock face before revealing a secret tunnel that led into the mountains behind.

Yu Hanglong’s figure blurred as he rushed into the tunnel.

In the next second, he emerged from the other side. 

Scanning the area with his divine perception, he was shocked to discover no one there. “No one’s here?!”

The traces along the tunnel and cave showed that there were definitely signs of human life. However, the entire area was empty at the moment and no one could be seen. It was clear that anyone living there had left. From the tracks they left behind, Yu Hanglong could tell that it hadn’t been long since they left.

“Is this another one of her ploys?!” Yu Hanglong snorted. However, he didn’t believe that he was wrong this time. After he destroyed her Tranquil Cape earlier, he believed that she wouldn’t have the time to deal with her subordinates.

“Did they manage to leave by themselves?!” Yu Hanglong thought for a moment before shaking his head slightly. He knew that her experts were mere Martial Intent Realm cultivators. Without the protection of a Martial Extermination Realm expert, they would definitely lose their way in the Cloud Water Gorge. When that happened, their fates were sealed. At best, only a few of them would be able to emerge from the Cloud Water Gorge alive.

“Whatever… I was planning to capture a few hostages… Let’s just hope the other two have some gains…” Yu Hanglong glanced at the hidden tunnel before leaving.

Rumors had it that Hai Pei, the leader of the Youyan Stronghold, had a special treasure that could locate regions in the Cloud Water Gorge that wouldn’t shift easily. That was also why she could establish a stronghold there. 

However, that wasn’t the reason why all of them were hunting her down. Duan Liufeng seemed to be seeking her out for revenge after she stole a Glass Daisy Chrysanthemum from his Jingxiu Peak. Feng Chenyi wanted to learn about a secret region. Yu Hanglong was the one who wanted to know her secret for establishing a stronghold in the Cloud Water Gorge.

Tossing his small sword in the air, it pointed in another direction and Yu Hanglong’s figure disappeared the next second.

Unfortunately, the small sword didn’t lead him far. After some time, it spun around aimlessly in mid air. Yu Hanglong stood under his tiny sword and waited patiently.

Not too much time passed when a small butterfly the size of a palm appeared beside his tiny sword.

“Oh? Brother Yu, did you manage to find those people from the Youyan Stronghold?” A voice emerged from the dense clouds nearby before Duan Liufeng’s figure emerged. He seemed to be dragging someone behind him.

“Brother Duan, your Butterfly Trace Incense is really impressive.” Yu Hanglong replied before approaching Duan Liufeng. “It’s a shame those freaks of the Youyan Stronghold left before I could find them. I failed to… Huh?” 

Seeing the figure behind Duan Liufeng, Yu Hanglong cried out in surprise, “Isn't this Fifth Brother Cen of the Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent?! Brother Duan, where did you find him?” 

…

After entering the Cloud Water Gorge, Shang Xia discovered that the heaven and earth qi in the air was much denser than the outside world.

He failed to find Shang Pei’s tracks as he ventured deeper into the Cloud Water Gorge, but the Crimson Soul Tablet in his sea of consciousness reacted twice on his journey.

One had to know that after Shang Xia’s slight restoration of the tablet, it seemed to become a little less responsive. It seemed to understand that it was no longer on the verge of breaking into pieces and unless it could discover a huge portion of world origin, it wouldn’t bother Shang Xia.

Without question, Shang Xia ignored the callings of the Crimson Soul Tablet to look for Shang Pei. 

Unfortunately, he was like a headless fly running around the Cloud Water Gorge. A greater half of the day had passed, but he couldn’t even find traces of Shang Pei! 

Just as Shang Xia was praying for luck to take over, the aura of a Martial Extermination Realm expert entered the range of his divine perception.