Splitting the Heave

Yu Hanglong’s self-developed rank four martial art was called the Bestial Sword Art. It was made up of four styles, the Wolf’s Sword, Bear’s Sword, Tiger’s Sword, and Dragon’s Sword. 

There was nothing special about his first 3 moves as they were developed through the observation of the various beasts. The only problem came when he developed the Dragon’s Sword as he had nothing to base it on.

Even so, Yu Hanglong could be considered a genius in his own right. He gained some inspiration from the winding Taihang Mountains and after a lot of research, he finally developed his Dragon’s Sword to complete his Bestial Sword Art. The power contained in his sword art was nothing to scoff at.

His final style, the Dragon’s Sword, was also a huge reason behind his title as the Taihang Swordsman.

Actually, Shang Xia didn’t expect that he would be able to fly through the air with the help of his sword art. 

After a short examination, Shang Xia discovered that Yu Hanglong wasn’t flying for real. He merely parked himself on his sword qi. It was like standing on a formless mountain, and Shang Xia discovered that Yu Hanglong didn’t possess the nimbleness of true flight.

Yu Hanglong expected Shang Xia to attach his divine perception after learning about his abilities during the fight earlier. He prepared himself for it, but he never expected that Shang Xia would be able to locate him accurately. An even scarier fact was that the youngster was able to go against the suppression of the Cloud Water Gorge and fly!

Even though it took a lot of energy to resist the suppression so that he could fly for a short while, it was more than enough! Yu Hanglong was heavily injured by Shang Xia’s sudden strike.

Striking Yu Hanglong down was one thing. Shang Xia used his divine perception to guide Shang Pei to where Yu Hanglong would land. As he fell from the skies, Shang Xia could feel that the energy he recovered earlier was gone again.

Understanding that Martial Extermination Realm experts would usually hide a few life-saving tricks up their sleeves, Shang Xia had no choice but to call Shang Pei over despite her poor condition. He could tell that she was forcefully suppressing her injuries, but they couldn’t be careless. Yu Hanglong might be on his last legs and heavily injured, but the battle wasn’t concluded unless he was dead.

Taking out a bottle of rank four Hundred Flower Spiritual Wine, Shang Xia took a huge swig. The inner qi in his body recovered slightly as Shang Xia rushed to where Yu Hanglong had fallen.

He barely took a few steps when his expression sank. He increased his speed to rush over to where Shang Pei was.

Even though he wasn’t able to see them in the dense fog, his divine perception locked accurately onto their location.

It didn’t take long for him to arrive when he noticed Shang Pei’s inner qi circulating at a frightening rate. Blood dripped down her face and she was deathly pale. Her body swayed from side to side as her breaths were shallow.

When she forced her smile, Shang Xia noticed the rage contained within. She growled, “Fourth Brother Zeng didn’t die in vain now that we buried two Martial Extermination Realm experts with him. Duan Liufeng is the only one left!” 

Shang Xia didn’t bother looking at Yu Hanglong’s corpse on the ground as he examined Shang Pei’s condition. Yu Hanglong’s body was starting to get cold and he couldn’t be more dead. The only thing he noticed was the broken sword beside him. He could basically guess what happened after he struck Yu Hanglong earlier. He probably launched a desperate counterattack on Shang Pei, injuring her before he was slain.

“How are you feeling?” Shang Xia frowned. From what he could tell, Shang Pei had suffered horrifying injuries. 

She had been forcefully holding off the 3 of them earlier, and after going all out against Yu Hanglong during Shang Xia’s sneak attack, she was an arrow at the end of her flight. Now that she received Yu Hanglong’s final blow, it was extremely possible for her foundations to be damaged.

If she wasn’t careful, she could bid farewell to her future as a cultivator. 

“I’ll live…” Shang Pei leaned on her spear in an attempt to support herself. She didn’t stop Shang Xia when he rushed over to help her.

Only then did Shang Xia notice the damage to Shang Pei’s spear. Even the tip of the spear had a two inch dent in it.

It seemed as though she was going to have to scrap her weapon…

“Did you collect everything from Feng Chenyi’s corpse? The lantern is especially important… You didn’t break it, right?” Shang Pei asked. 

With a smile slowly lighting up his face, Shang Xia muttered, “Of course not. I collected everything.” 

Shang Pei nodded slightly and continued, “The Cloud Water Gorge is a little weird. The spatial shifts here feel worse than the battlefield between the two worlds. If you put anything on the ground, it might disappear the next second.” 

Shang Xia pulled out a bottle from his Embroidered Cloud Case and handed it to her. “That’s what I heard too. Anyway, just focus on recovering for now in case your injuries worsen.” 

Looking at the bottle he handed over, a look of surprise flashed through Shang Pei’s eyes. “This… This is rank four Hundred Flower Spiritual Wine. It’s what Duan Liufeng used to establish himself in the Taihang Mountains… Where did you get this?” 

Chuckling softly, Shang Xia recounted his experience of how he attacked the Jingxiu Peak.

By the time he concluded his story, Shang Pei was roaring with laughter. She felt her insides hurting, but she couldn’t stop gloating. “Hehe, I can imagine that asshole’s expression when he leaves the Cloud Water Gorge and returns to his Jingxiu Peak.” 

“That’s not all. I auctioned off the Jingxiu Peak after everyone left. Those who gave up their treasures in exchange for the remnants of the Jingxiu Peak probably won’t return Duan Liufeng his treasures. When he returns, a disagreement is bound to take place. If Duan Liufeng fails to handle the situation well, he might be attacked on all sides back on the Jingxiu Peak.” Shang Xia sneered.

Nodding for a second, Shang Pei seemed to have thought of something. She stopped nodding and shook her head while explaining, “Duan Liufeng is a crafty freak. He might not fall for your trap when he returns. Well, at least he has to eat the loss of his Jingxiu Peak regardless…” 

She couldn’t help but giggle after thinking of how Duan Liufeng’s territory was backdoored during his expedition to the Cloud Water Gorge. That poor guy probably doesn’t have a place to stay now! She felt a lot better even though she didn’t kill him and the color quickly returned to her face.

Even though they had been talking, Shang had yet to accept the bottle of rank four Hundred Flower Spiritual Wine. She eventually continued, “Do you know how precious this is? Duan Liufeng is the only one with the recipe to craft it and he produces 2 to 3 bottles of rank four Hundred Flower Spiritual Wine every 7 years… It’s extremely beneficial for cultivation, and it’s a waste to use it to recover from injuries. Now that you have entered the Martial Extermination Realm, you should use it to cultivate. Only then will you be able to bring out its full effects.” 

Shang Xia expected her to react as such. Shang Ke said pretty much the same thing when he offered the old man rank four Monkey Wine.

Taking out another half-filled bottle filled with rank four Hundred Flower Spiritual Wine, Shang Xia snickered, “Third Aunt, I raided that old freak’s treasury. I have more wine than you might think.” 

Theft is never good, try looking at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

“Alright, alright! Then I won’t stand on ceremony!” Shang Pei laughed before accepting the bottle.

Grabbing the bottle, the leader of the Youyan Stronghold and the former bandit lord of the Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent seemed to make her reappearance as she took a violent swig from the bottle.

The Hundred Flower Spiritual Wine might not be used to treat injuries, but it was a rank four treasure at the end of the day. After drinking some, Shang Pei felt her inner qi circulating rapidly through her body. She looked a lot better than before.

After examining her body, Shang Pei turned to look at Shang Xia, “Little brat, you started with all the good news of the destruction of the Jingxiu Peak and you even gave me this medicine to stabilize my injuries… Are you waiting for me to recover so you can throw some bad news in my face?” 

The corners of Shang Xia’s lips curled upwards and he muttered, “I found this on Feng Chenyi’s corpse.” 

An intricate-looking bag that was the size of his palm appeared before Shang Pei. A frown appeared on Shang Pei’s face before her pupils shinked violently. She turned to stare at Shang Xia and muttered, “This is definitely a Spatial Pouch, however…” 

Shang Xia nodded before flipping the pouch around. There seemed to be two ancient words embroidered on it, ‘Divine Capital’.

“Divine Capital?” Shang Pei muttered to herself. It didn’t take long for a look of shock to appear on her face. “Divine Capital Sect from the Si Continent?! Could she be from the Divine Capita Paradise?!” 

“I’m afraid so…” Shang Xia’s expression was as grave as could be.

A trace of panic, anger, contemplation, and helplessness flashed through Shang Pei’s eyes but she eventually calmed herself. She sighed softly in response. “We probably won’t be able to keep this a secret.” 

“We’ll hide it as long as we can. The most important thing for us and the Tongyou Institution is time!” Shang Xia replied.

Getting to her feet, Shang Pei muttered, “Since that’s the case, Duan Liufeng has to die. We’ll be able to buy some time that way. Also, I need to disappear…” 

Shang Xia shook his head before replying, “There’s no rush for now. With your injuries, you won’t be able to fight any time soon. Just leave it to me.” 

Shang Pei knew that she had acted a little too hastily. She had less than a tenth of her original strength at the moment and she was in no position to do anything. “It’s not going to be easy for you to kill him alone…”

Shang Xia knew that it wouldn’t be easy, but he didn’t have a choice. Duan Liufeng couldn’t be left alive. The moment he left the Cloud Water Gorge, he probably wouldn't return to the Jingxiu Peak. After all, it was true that he was a crafty old asshole. He would probably hide in some hole to observe the situation. If that happened, killing him would be a lot harder than before.

Shang Xia brought out Feng Chenyi’s Hexagonal Lantern and a smile returned to his face. “Third Aunt, are you forgetting something? I can probably use this to hunt him down before he leaves the Cloud Water Gorge…” 

The Hexagonal Lantern was clearly a strange treasure. It not only managed to create an area unobstructed by the strange fog, but it also possessed offensive and defensive capabilities!

Just as Shang Xia was starting to pour his inner qi into the lantern, Shang Pei yelled, “Oh no! We won’t make it in time!” 

Before Shang Xia could express his confusion, Shang Pei revealed a cube-like seal in her hand and started her explanation. “Do you remember the secret region I told you about? It’s hidden in the Cloud Water Gorge! Forget Duan Liufeng. You need to enter the secret region as soon as possible!” 

Pausing for a second, she continued, “This… This Abyssal Seal is the key to entering the secret region.”