Splitting the Heave

Shang Xia was sure that anyone who entered the secret region would appear on one of the many peaks above the sea of clouds. They would also have to take on a single strike from the divine weapon the moment they appeared.  

From the looks of it, the divine weapon was able to discern the cultivation level of those who entered. The blade light that was sent at Martial Extermination Realm experts was countless times stronger than those aimed at Martial Intent Realm cultivators. That was the understanding Shang Xia had. 

However, he was shocked by the new blade light that emerged from the divine weapon. The blade light that shot at the newcomer was a lot stronger than what Wei Qiongyi had to face, but it was still far from what Shang Xia had to defend himself against!

Was that a sign that the person who just entered was stronger than Wei Qiongyi but weaker than Shang Xia?

Even if the divine weapon had sentience, it shouldn’t be strong enough to discern the minute difference in cultivation level among all the experts that entered, right?

Just when Shang Xia was still feeling a little confused, an excited cry came from the mountain peak the blade light was flying towards. “Haha! Divine weapon’s blade light! Martial Uncle didn’t lie to me! Luckily, I made my preparations and suppressed my cultivation before entering.” 

The words barely left his mouth when a terrifying aura emerged from his body. A powerful divine perception struck at the blade light that was falling on his head. 

The person who entered was clearly a Martial Extermination Realm expert. However, he managed to seal off a part of his strength before entering the secret region to confuse the divine weapon’s detection.

What was more important were the words he spoke after entering. Shang Xia could tell that the person who entered the secret region wasn’t as clueless as Wei Qiongyi. His knowledge of the secret region was even greater than Shang Xia.

As his aura started to climb, his divine perception showed signs of overpowering the blade light coming his way. Soon after, a silver light emerged from his body. It smashed heavily into the yellowish-orange blade light, shattering it completely. The silver light slowly dissipated to reveal an exquisite looking silver hammer.

Because of the clash and presence of the divine weapon’s aura, Shang Xia’s divine perception couldn’t detect what happened on the mountain peak after the newcomer blocked the blade light. 

Back when Duan Liufeng escaped his detection, Shang Xia learned that his divine perception wouldn’t be able to sense everything in the secret region. The information he learned with his sense of sight might be different from what he felt with his divine perception.

The only place where his vision matched his divine perception was the mountain he was standing on. When Wei Qiongyi appeared earlier, Shang Xia didn’t move immediately. He only made a move at the last second to save her life, and he did so by throwing his Fleeing Wind Dagger. 

By using the dagger, he learned that the space between the peak he was standing on and the mountain peak where Wei Qiongyi appeared was stable.

When he learned that she came from the Weiwu Institution, his brain was starting to come up with a lot of ideas of how he could obtain some extra benefits from her mountain peak. Who would have thought that someone else would appear before he could form a proper plan?

What shocked Shang Xia even more was that the person who entered didn’t just possess a shockingly powerful cultivation base. He also seemed really familiar with the secret region.

In that instant, Shang Xia formed an unspoken alliance with Wei Qiongyi. 

With a gentle movement, Shang Xia flew off the mountain peak he originally arrived on and flew straight for Wei Qiongyi.

The familiar sense of suppression that existed in the Cloud Water Gorge appeared once he started to fly and his inner qi was drained at an extraordinary rate. Luckily, the sense of suppression was a lot weaker than in the Cloud Water Gorge and Shang Xia had a much easier time.

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Flying slowly, Shang Xia managed to make his way over to Wei Qiongyi’s mountain without any accidents. 

Wei Qiongyi was clearly wary about Shang Xia’s self-invitation over to where she was, but she decided to remain silent.

The deacon from the Weiwu Institution wasn’t a fool. She knew that she was nothing in front of a Martial Extermination Realm expert. Instead of showing Shang Xia attitude, she might as well work with him. At the very least, she wouldn’t annoy Shang Xia and might even gain some benefits out of it.

She was clearly someone who knew how to adapt to the situation.

Holding the six sided handle in his hand, Shang Xia first retrieved the Abyssal Seal that had fallen somewhere on the peak. The seal quickly fused with the handle and Shang Xia extended his divine perception to cover the mountain peak. Nodding slightly towards Wei Qiongyi, he indicated for her to follow him as he started to make his way towards the sea of clouds. It didn’t take long for him to locate another altar. 

Throughout the process, the divine weapon seemed to turn dormant once again.

No one knew if the person who entered earlier noticed Shang Xia and Wei Qiongyi, but Shang Xia guessed that with the newcomer’s understanding of the region, he would probably be looking for the altar to convert the Abyssal Seal to world origin.

“This…” Wei Qiongyi looked at the slot on the platform and a guess quickly appeared in her heart. A trace of reluctance filled her mind after connecting the dots. According to her, the Abyssal Seal she tossed out earlier belonged to her. She should be the one to obtain any treasure she discovers on the mountain peak. While the multitude of thoughts ran through her mind, she casually forgot about how she was saved from certain death earlier.

Shang Xia didn’t bother with Wei Qiongyi as the voice at the back of his head was urging him to hurry up. He felt threatened when he first entered the secret region and the sense of threat remained no matter how many precautions he took. When the newcomer entered the secret region, the sense of danger he felt grew even stronger.

Shang Xia could tell that something big was about to happen soon and he had to obtain all the benefits he could before the situation got worse.

Taking a step forward, Shang Xia stamped the Abyssal Seal into the slot and the change happened almost instantaneously. The seal started to melt, but it didn’t turn into a ball of world origin like what he thought would happen. As the seal continued to dissolve, Shang Xia couldn’t feel the slightest trace of world origin. 

It seemed as though his previous conjecture was wrong and under his confused gaze, the liquid started to flow onto the altar to form a string of words. It didn’t take long before a short passage could be seen on the altar.

“This… This…” Wei Qiongyi, who was standing behind Shang Xia, expressed her shock when she read the passage. There was also a trace of fear in her eyes as she glanced at Shang Xia from time to time as though she was afraid he would silence her in order not to prevent the contents of the passage from leaking.

Shang Xia was clearly disappointed after skimming through its contents. However, he chuckled in amusement after seeing her reaction. “Deacon Wei, relax. It’s just a rank four advancement formula. I won’t do anything stupid for something of this level…” 

The words on the altar formed a complete rank four advancement formula, the Four Essence Abyssal Wine and it was pretty special compared to other rank four advancement formulas. The main ingredients of the rank four advancement medicine was the essences of lightning, rain, cloud, and dew. With those essences, the advancement medicine could be crafted by mixing them with other assistive herbs.

The number of rank four herbs required to craft the Four Essence Abyssal Wine was numerous, but they were pretty ordinary rank four herbs that weren’t exactly hard to find. The crafting process wasn’t too difficult either.

What made the Four Essence Abyssal Wine special was the mild effects it had. It didn’t bring about extremely violent fluctuations when used to break through and cultivators who used the Four Essence Abyssal Wine would enjoy an exceptionally high success rate when advancing to the Martial Extermination Realm.

Naturally, it had its drawbacks. Anyone who used the Four Essence Abyssal Wine to break through wouldn’t possess frightening combat abilities. They would only enjoy a longer lifespan compared to cultivators of the same rank. They might also find it easier for them to escape in difficult situations.

Wei Qiongyi finally relaxed after hearing Shang Xia’s admission. All the worry she felt was replaced by a sense of joy.

She might be a deacon in the Weiwu Institution, but there were countless Martial Intent Realm cultivators among them. There were many who were stronger and more experienced than herself. There were also those who had a stronger background. If she had to wait for the institution to allocate her resources for her breakthrough, she might only be able to do so after dozens of years.

When the time came, the Weiwu Institution wouldn’t be any different from the Tongyou Institution. They would provide her with a completed rank four advancement medicine. They wouldn’t show her the complete advancement formula for her breakthrough.

Now that the formula for the Four Essence Abyssal Wine was laid out before her, she could immediately begin her preparation to enter the Martial Extermination Realm. With a rank four advancement formula, Wei Qiongyi’s options were no longer as limited as before. She could even use it to trade for herbs and treasures she required. Entering the Martial Extermination Realm wasn’t as unachievable as she had thought!

For obvious reasons, the words on the altar wouldn’t remain forever. They became a little fainter by the minute until not a trace was left. However, Shang Xia and Wei Qiongyi had long since carved the formula into their memory.

Shang Xia might have entered the Four Constellation Realm and wasn’t lacking in rank four advancement formulas, but no one would grumble about having more rank four advancement formulas. It strengthened the foundations of any faction that had it and Shang Xia wouldn’t mind trading it for resources he required in the future.

Now that the words were gone, Shang Xia reached over to the slot and retrieved his six sided handle. 

He didn’t expect to detect something strange when he touched it again.

Flipping it around, Shang Xia saw a thin layer attached to it. It resembled a brewer’s yeast and Shang Xia grunted softly when she saw the look in Wei Qiongyi’s eyes. “Hah. It’s actually a piece of Flowing Goblet Brewer’s Yeast!” 

Wei Qiongyi’s eyes lit up once again as it was the brewer’s yeast required to complete the Four Essence Abyssal Wine. She didn’t expect to find it so easily.

Lightly tapping the six sided handle, the brewer’s yeast fell into his hands. Shang Xia handed it directly to her after seeing the look of anticipation in her eyes. 

“This… Isn’t this a little too valuable?” Wei Qiongyi knew how precious the brewer’s yeast was and she was finally starting to feel a little uncomfortable. After all, she had already learned a rank four advancement formula moments ago.

Shang Xia felt a slight disturbance within the range of his divine perception and his gaze flickered slightly. However, he maintained his composure and chuckled, “No matter what, I only found this place after using your Abyssal Seal. Also, if you have no other business here, I suggest you leave immediately. This secret region is about to become… It’s about to become really dangerous!” 

The moment the words left his lips, a massive blast filled the skies and shocked Wei Qiongyi. The space contained in the secret region started to quake violently.