Splitting the Heave

The clouds that filled the Cloud Water Gorge fluctuated violently as they started to dissipate at a speed visible to the naked eye. 

Cracks in the air formed even more frequently and they were only restored after a long period of time. The Cloud Water Gorge which had been hidden from the outside world for hundreds of years was starting to reveal itself!

Zuo Changqing stared at the spatial cracks that were forming from time to time and managed to catch glimpses of what was happening within. The confusion in his heart grew stronger as he turned to Xu Chenkang behind him to ask, “Martial Uncle, will the collapse of a secret region cause such a huge commotion?”

Sniggering softly, Xu Chenkang explained, “Not in normal cases. It’s probably so noisy right now because some people are having a dogfight in there.”

Zuo Changqing instantly thought about Feng Chenyi who entered the Cloud Water Gorge before any of them and wondered if she was one of his pawns used to check out the secret region.

A light flashed in Zuo Changqing’s eyes, but he quickly suppressed his emotions. With a worried expression appearing on his face, he asked, “Martial Uncle, aren’t you afraid that those people within will damage the important stuff during their battle?”

Xu Chenkang roared with laughter after hearing his question. “Martial Nephew Changqing, that’s where you’re wrong. A powerful faction like the Abyssal Sect definitely has some sort of supreme treasure to protect their land of inheritance. No matter how hard they fight, they won’t be able to affect the inheritance at all. Unless the secret region decides to self-destruct, that won't…”

A feeling of unease filled Zuo Changqing’s heart and he quickly interrupted Xu Chenkang before he could finish. “So… Does that mean that Martial Uncle is aiming to retrieve the supreme treasure of the Abyssal Sect?” 

Unperturbed by the interruption, Xu Chenkang continued, “With your assistance, I should be able to retrieve the supreme treasure. Everyone else who plans to fight us for it is nothing but trash.” 

With a smile returning to his face, Zuo Changqing continued, “Martial Uncle Chenkang, I think you should take some precautions… After all, we’re not the only superpower with our eyes on the Abyssal Secret Region.”

Seemingly having understood the meaning behind Zuo Changqing’s words, Xu Chenkang chuckled naturally before turning to look at the Cloud Water Gorge. 

Who would have thought that a terrifying blast would tear through the skies at that moment. The skies above the Cloud Water Gorge fractured violently and dozens of rays of light emerged from it. The light rays shot in all directions.

“Not good! Someone actually opened the inheritance left behind in the Abyssal Secret Region! How is this possible?!” 

Xu Chenkang, who had just regained his composure earlier, yelled in fright. He desperately gestured to the other experts behind him. “Quick, grab everything! Those are treasures left behind by the Abyssal Sect!”

The experts from the Divine Capital Sect moved the moment they were instructed. They rushed in the direction of the light beams.

Zuo Changqing balked silently. He thought back to how Xu Chenkang promised that nothing would be able to affect the inheritance and felt his heart thumping. 

The supreme treasure…

Raising his head, he tried to peer into the Abyssal Secret Region. Since the inheritance was revealed to the world, wouldn’t that mean that its seal was broken?!

If Zuo Changqing had been able to understand what had happened, Xu Chenkang would obviously have made the connection the moment the change happened.

“Martial Nephew Changqing, don’t you think it’s pretty funny?” Xu Chenkang sounded really calm as he spoke. “I just said that there’s a supreme treasure protecting the secret region and the inheritance would be safe no matter how hard they fought. Hah, the secret region started breaking down and treasures spewed out as soon as I spoke…” 

Coughing dryly, Zuo Changqing muttered while staring at Xu Chenkang’s back, “Of course not…” 

Ignoring him, Xu Chenkang continued, “Do you know why I never cared about the other powers who set their sights on the Abyssal Secret Region?” 

“Martial Uncle, you refined four extermination origins and reached the fourth layer of the Martial Extermination Realm. From what I understand, you’re invincible under the Martial Dipper Realm. Those people won’t be able to do a thing to you…” 

Zuo Changqing felt that something was off about Xu Chenkang and his tone quickly turned serious.

As he watched on, four extermination origins surrounded Xu Chenkang’s body and he started to rise higher into the air.

A spatial door appeared in front of Xu Chenkang and he stepped into it. His figure appeared hundreds of feet away in an instant. 

His voice rang softly in Zuo Changqing’s ear even though he was already gone. “That’s because I can barge into the Abyssal Secret Region before anyone else here and be the fisherman who sweeps up both the snipe and clam…” 

By the time the final words echoed in Zuo Changqing’s mind, Xu Chenkang had already appeared in the skies above the Cloud Water Gorge.

His extermination origins fused together above his head to form a circular shaped entrance under the spatial cracks.

Only then did Zuo Changqing realize how terrifying Xu Chenkang was. It seemed as though every extermination origin Xu Chenkang refined had something to do with space. 

He might not know if his martial uncle had already made the final step and comprehended his fourth martial intent, but it seemed extremely likely after seeing how he sliced a spatial tunnel into the secret region.

Standing under the spatial tunnel he created, Xu Chenkang stared down at everything happening in the Cloud Water Gorge with a look of mockery on his face. Under the gazes of the experts around the Cloud Water Gorge, he leaped into the Abyssal Secret Region.

A complicated look could be seen in Zuo Changqing’s eyes as he stared at where Xu Chenkang disappeared. He could only reassure himself that he would be given what he was promised. After all, Xu Chenkang was his martial uncle…

He believed that the moment Xu Chenkang entered the Abyssal Secret Region, he would definitely be able to obtain the greatest amount of benefits. As someone from the Divine Capital Sect, he wouldn’t go home empty-handed…

Choosing to think about things like that later, Zuo Changqing got ready to help his other martial uncles retrieve the treasures that were spewing out from the secret region. Just as he was about to move, a terrifying gash in space appeared in the skies above. 

“ARGH!” A cry filled with bitterness and shock filled the skies. It sounded really close to those outside the Cloud Water Gorge, but no one could make out where it came from.

Widening his eyes in shock, Zuo Changqing discovered a figure falling from the skies at an alarming speed. As it drew closer, the figure looked extremely familiar.

Familiar? What the fuck! That’s Martial Uncle Xu Chenkang!

Zuo Changqing really felt like facepalming at that moment. 

Just a second ago, Xu Chenkang seemed extremely confident he would be able to barge into the Abyssal Secret Region and take all the benefits for himself. He wanted to be the fisherman who scooped up everything, but he turned into a joke in the blink of an eye!

“Junior Brothers, Martial Nephew, hurry up and help me!” Xu Chenkang’s voice broke as he yelled in desperation.

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Getting over their shock from seeing Xu Chenkang falling through the air, they finally noticed a huge hammer made from heaven and earth qi, a gray strand of sword qi, and a horrifying stream of fist intent following closely behind him.

Even though Zuo Changqing’s impression of his martial uncle was in the gutters at the moment, he had to save the man.

Reaching out his hand, a tiny pearl appeared in his palm. He tossed it out with no hesitation and it appeared behind Xu Chenkang in an instant. A two colored extermination origin rotated with the pearl as it slammed into the giant hammer that was falling rapidly.

At the same time, the other Martial Extermination Realm experts from the Divine Capital Sect appeared beside Xu Chenkang to deal with the other attacks.

After several blows, they managed to block the strand of gray sword qi and the fist intent that was aimed at Xu Chenkang.

When they were finally gathered around Xu Chenkang, Zuo Changqing noticed a frightening wound that extended downward from his martial uncle’s forehead. It reached all the way down his belly and it was fortunate Xu Chenkang wasn’t cleaved in two.

The injury couldn’t be considered too dangerous to a Martial Extermination Realm expert, but he instantly realized how dangerous the situation was within the secret region.

A trace of fright started to rise in Zuo Changqing’s heart. No matter what, Xu Chenkang was a fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm expert. He might have even reached the large completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm! They couldn’t understand how he was beaten so badly in the short second he spent in the Abyssal Secret Region.

Moreover, Xu Chenkang’s extermination origins had something to do with the ability to manipulate space. It was able to distort space around his body to block off a portion of the damage. If something really managed to break through his defenses, how strong would it have to be to create such a huge wound on his body?

Even though the questions were running through his mind, Zuo Changqing maintained a worried look on his face as he remained silent about the matter.

Chen Ming, another one of Zuo Changqing’s martial uncles, clearly didn’t behave as reserved as Zuo Chanqing. He cried out in fright, “Senior Brother, what happened?! Could there be a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor in the secret region?”

With a gloomy expression, Xu Chenkang growled, “It’s the divine weapon!” 

“Divine weapon…” Chen Ming yelped. However, he quickly lowered his voice after receiving a death stare from Xu Chenkang. “Divine weapon?! Senior Brother, are you sure of it?” 

“I’m certain!” Xu Chenkang gnashed his teeth and forced the words out of his mouth. “They caught me off guard earlier. Before falling out of the secret region, I noticed that there were 4 Martial Extermination Realm experts in there. Even though the inheritance of the Abyssal Sect has been broken, the true treasures in there haven't appeared. I’ll tear open a path to the secret region in a little while and we’ll charge in there together!” 

Zuo Changqing sneered inwardly. If Xu Chenkang had been willing to hold the spatial tunnel open for everyone earlier, they would have easily crushed everyone within. Even if someone in there wielded a divine weapon, the 5 Martial Extermination Realm experts from the Divine Capital Sect would be completely fine.

At the end of the day, Xu Chenkang got greedy and wanted to swallow all the benefits in the Abyssal Secret Region for himself. He only suggested entering together as he was completely helpless when faced with the 4 experts already inside.

…

With the Abyssal Blade in hand and a four colored extermination light swirling around him, Tao Mosheng and the others had to join hands to deal with Shang Xia.

Despite his tyrannical appearance, Shang Xia understood that he was no fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm expert! He was merely pretending to be one at the moment. Even if he had the divine weapon, he wouldn’t be able to unleash too many devastating strikes like what he did to the fleeing Tao Mosheng.

Now that the 3 had joined forces, Shang Xia decided to grab as many treasures as he could rather than force them into a corner.

Things weren’t much different for the 3 of them other than the fact that they weren’t pretending to be in a higher cultivation realm. They couldn’t do a thing to Shang Xia. Seeing how Shang Xia was going around collecting treasures instead of dealing with them, they heaved a silent sigh of relief. They pulled away from Shang Xia before traveling together to grab some treasures.

Both sides reached a certain level of understanding as they did their thing. They didn’t expect to detect a disturbance in the space in the Abyssal Secret Region all of a sudden. A foreign figure appeared from nowhere and he released his tyrannical aura in an attempt to suppress them all. 

His tactic might have worked if everyone in the Abyssal Secret Region was a weakling, but the 4 of them were no pushovers! Shang Xia, Tao Mosheng, and the other two basically reacted the same way the moment they detected him. They attacked him in unison as Shang Xia unleashed a mighty blade light that tore apart the newcomer’s defenses in an instant. The layer of twisted space around the newcomer was shredded to bits in the face of Shang Xia’s blade light. His blade light didn’t stop there as it sliced deep into the newcomer.

Tao Mosheng’s silver hammer, a gray strand of sword qi, and a frightening fist intent followed soon after. 

Their combined strength far surpassed a fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm expert and there was no surprise the newcomer was sent flying out of the secret region in an instant. 

Everything happened so quickly that neither Shang Xia nor the other 3 managed to discern who the intruder was.