Splitting the Heave

There were more than 10 mountain peaks poking out from the top of the sea of clouds. Every one of them was close to 1000 feet away from each other and other than the peak that housed the divine weapon, everything else was arranged in a circle around it.

Shang Xia and the silver hammer wielding Martial Extermination Realm expert clearly had the same idea in mind. They took the risk to cross over to another peak to look for Abyssal Seals that might have been left behind. 

The moment they landed wherever they were, there was only a single mountain peak that separated them.

Shang Xia stepped on the mountain peak where Duan Liufeng first appeared and started to look for the Abyssal Seal that the man probably left behind.

The moment he got his hands on it, Shang Xia expanded his divine sense to locate the altar and made his way over with practiced ease. When he arrived, he stared at the slot on the altar and hesitated slightly before placing Duan Liufeng’s Abyssal Seal into it. He managed to resist his urge to place the six sided handle on it.

The Abyssal Seal dissolved as per usual, but the changes to the altar was far from what he experienced in the past. This time, white mist emerged from its surface. Despite the huge quantity of white mist, they didn’t dissipate into the surroundings. Instead, it remained obediently above the altar.

“This…” Shang Xia’s jaws dropped in fright. He couldn’t tell what was happening, and he wondered if it was too late to stamp the six sided handle on the altar.

Amidst his confusion, the mist started to roll about and they formed a row of words. 

Reading what the mist indicated, Shang Xia discovered that it introduced some sort of flying treasure that would allow him to soar through the skies. It was called the Auspicious Cloud Boat, and other than the treasure’s origin, the mist quickly formed a paragraph of words that explained how the treasure should be used.

The greatest benefit of the Auspicious Cloud Boat was that it could allow cultivators who hadn’t entered the Martial Extermination Realm to fly through the skies. That wasn’t all. After entering the Martial Extermination Realm, they would be able to use their inner qi to allow the boat to travel quicker through the air. They could also save a lot of energy while doing so. 

However, what truly caught Shang Xia’s eye was a different property of the treasure. The Auspicious Cloud Boat could expand and shrink at will, and it was possible to transport treasures with it. According to the explanation he had read, the boat could hold 4 people in total.

There were also several auxiliary properties like allowing one to hide their tracks and avoid simple detection by divine perception, but Shang Xia didn’t really care too much about those and casually skimmed over those properties. 

The process of obtaining the Auspicious Cloud Boat went exceedingly smoothly for Shang Xia as well. As the mist turned into the shape of a ship above the altar, Shang Xia managed to refine it in a short period of time. It turned into a piece of cloud that extended across his feet and every step he took seemed as though he was stepping on clouds. It was a unique feeling and Shang Xia felt like an immortal who descended from the heavens.

With a slight intention, the cloud beneath his feet turned into a cloud pellet that flew into his hands.

After some slight contemplation, Shang Xia returned the cloud pellet to the altar and stamped his six sided handle through the faint mist that still remained above the altar directly onto the slot that was meant for an Abyssal Seal.

The moment it landed, the pellet exploded into a massive cloud that filled the air above the altar before receding violently. It condensed to form a thick layer that rose into the air when Shang Xia lifted the six sided handle. It formed some sort of cape that Shang Xia tossed onto his back with one sleek motion. 

As soon as he donned the cape, Shang Xia’s aura faded into his surroundings. He felt himself turning a lot lighter than before. He quickly discovered that the cape on his body could transform back into the Auspicious Cloud Boat with a single thought.

As it turned out, if Shang Xia didn’t use his six sided handle, the Auspicious Cloud Boat would maintain its form as a pellet if Shang Xia wasn’t using it. Now that it became a cape, Shang Xia could wear it on him wherever he went. He even wondered if traversing the secret region would be easier if he donned the cape.

Shang Xia felt that the Auspicious Cloud Cape would really come in handy when traveling through the secret region. In order to test out his theory, he wanted to soar through the skies towards another mountain peak, but he managed to suppress his impulse. 

Just as he was deciding his next course of action, a voice boomed through the skies.

“Hey, who are you anyway?” 

Shang Xia could tell that the person who spoke was the silver hammer wielding Martial Extermination Realm expert. Shang Xia couldn’t see where he was, but he knew that the question was directed at him.

Choosing to ignore the person completely, Shang Xia’s gaze returned to the mountain peak that held the divine weapon. When he was satisfied that nothing strange was going on, he turned to look at the other peaks.

“I am Tao Mosheng from the Yan Continent. I wonder how I should address fellow cultivator?” The silver hammer wielding Martial Extermination Realm expert asked again despite not receiving a reply.

Shang Xia remained silent as he contemplated his next course of action.

“Fellow cultivator, I believe that you entered this Abyssal Secret Region in order to obtain the Abyssal Sect’s inheritance like myself. I wonder if you noticed the sea of clouds under us getting thinner and thinner?” Tao Mosheng seemed a little irate that Shang Xia wasn’t responding. As such, he started to bring up another matter with slight schadenfreude.

That was Shang Xia’s first time hearing of the secret region’s actual name. Moreover, Shang Xia never heard of the Abyssal Sect before. If they were able to maintain such a powerful secret region, there was no way they were a bunch of nameless weaklings. Shang Xia couldn’t understand why he hadn’t heard of them.

Could they be a secret faction that tucked themselves away from the rest of the world?

As various thoughts ran through Shang Xia’s mind, his attention was quickly forced back to reality after hearing what Tao Mosheng said.

He lowered his head to stare at the sea of clouds beneath him. Even though they formed an endless sea of white, Shang Xia could tell that they were no longer as dense as before.

Something changed about the sea of clouds!

“What are you trying to say?” Shang Xia finally responded.

Tao Mosheng responded immediately, “Isn’t it obvious? The Abyssal Secret Region is on the verge of destruction!”

“Impossible!” Shang Xia growled. He didn’t wish to say too much as he didn’t know anything about the Abyssal Secret Region.

Who would have thought that Tao Mosheng was sharp enough to realize that Shang Xia didn’t actually know much about the secret region from the way he spoke? “Haha! You really don’t know anything, do you? Looks like you only managed to enter the Abyssal Secret Region because you ran into some lucky encounter.” 

“What do you mean?” Shang Xia couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer and asked.

“As a Martial Extermination Realm expert, you should know that the fusion of our Azure Origin World and the Azure Spiritual World greatly weakened the spatial barrier around our worlds. As our world origins interact during the process of fusion, huge changes would take place. Regions like the Abyssal Secret Region that remained hidden for a long time finally started to reveal themselves!” Tao Mosheng explained.

Falling silent for some time, Shang Xia eventually spoke up, “Are you trying to say that this Abyssal Secret Region is finally going to reveal its true location because of the fusion of the worlds?” 

“Exactly!” Tao Mosheng added, “You probably don’t know this, but the Abyssal Secret Region really isn’t a secret among the strongest powers of the Bing, Ji, Si, and Yan Continents. However, none of us knows where the secret region is actually located. If we tried to forcefully break our way in, we would most definitely ruin this place. Lucky for us, the secret region will reveal itself soon. God knows how many powers have their eyes set on this Abyssal Secret Region.” 

“What exactly are you driving at?” Shang Xia could tell that Tao Mosheng wanted to say something but was still beating about the bush.

Chuckling softly, Tao Mosheng finally got to the point. “Now that the secret region is about to be revealed to the entire world, if you leave now, you might be able to escape from where you came from. The moment the secret region is fully exposed to the outside world, countless experts who had their eyes set on it would immediately make their move. I’m afraid you’ll be nothing more than extra loot to them.” 

A sneer appeared on Shang Xia’s face and he mocked, “Are you trying to scare me away so that I don’t snatch that blade from you?” 

Coughing dryly, Tao Mosheng admitted frankly, “I knew that I wouldn’t be able to hide it from you. Even though the Abyssal Blade has been damaged, it’s still a divine weapon at the end of the day. Anyway, everything I said earlier was true. If you don’t leave now, you might not be able to run away soon…”

Shang Xia managed to deduce a lot of things from the knowledge he just received. However, he continued to ask, “Since the powers of the four continents had their eyes on the Abyssal Secret Region. You probably have someone on the outside ready to back you up once the secret region is revealed to the world, right?” 

“Haha! I am getting more and more curious about your identity.” Tao Mosheng roared with laughter. However, his tone changed abruptly and he growled seriously, “My Zhongxuan Gate welcomes any expert who wishes to join our faction. Are you interested in becoming an honorary elder? I’m not bragging, but I’m pretty respectable in the Zhongxuan Gate. I have a few elders on my side and I am willing to give you a recommendation.”

“No thanks.” Shang Xia rejected it without a second thought. 

“Since that’s the case… I won’t hold back!” 

As soon as the words left his lips, the silver hammer appeared in the skies above the peak Shang Xia was currently at. There was no warning at all as he came crashing down.

He definitely caught Shang Xia off guard with his sudden attack. When his silver hammer appeared in the air, Shang Xia was still staring at the mountain peak he initially thought Tao Mosheng was on when he had already moved one closer to Shang Xia.

Surprised that Tao Mosheng was able to hide from his divine perception, Shang Xia decided to ignore the matter for now. 

Reacting as quickly as he could, Shang Xia poured his Four Constellation Qi into his Scarlet Star Spear before stabbing it at the silver hammer in the air.

A massive explosion rang through the air and Shang Xia felt his entire body trembling from the impact. In order to reduce the force of the blow as much as he could, Shang Xia didn’t force himself to stand his ground. Instead, he flew backwards through the air. It was as though he was thrown off the mountain peak after taking that blow.

The moment he did, he realized that he fucked up. He fell for Tao Mosheng’s trick by leaping off the mountain peak. Without his presence, the silver hammer slammed heavily into the rocks below.

Large rocks were blown apart and they fell through the sea of clouds below. The entire peak was blown apart.

“Hahahahaha!” Tao Mosheng roared with laughter as his silver hammer rose from the dust and destruction. It rushed in Shang Xia’s direction once again.

When you're just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

At that moment, Shang Xia was flying above the sea of white. The mountain peak he stood on earlier was destroyed and the only place he could land was on a peak close to 1000 feet behind him.

He had to use a large amount of inner qi to maintain his flight, and that wasn’t all. He had to face the assault of a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert!

Shang Xia was in deep shit no matter how they looked at it.