Splitting the Heave

Shang Xia continued to circulate his Four Seasons Samsara Art while feeling his extermination origins getting nourished by the Crimson Soul Tablet. 

The feeling made him feel as though he was nourishing and refining the tablet further as it interacted with his extermination origins while he fed it world origin.

His thoughts couldn’t help but wander as he thought back to the Abyssal Blade he had obtained back then.

After suppressing the weapon spirit in the Cloud Water Gorge, it also tried to absorb Shang Xia’s extermination qi. As it did, Shang Xia’s understanding of the blade grew deeper. Eventually, he managed to bring out the full power the blade could wield. As the weapon spirit was continuously nourished by Shang Xia’s inner qi, it continued to grow stronger and so did the weapon.

The entire process looked like they were using each other and they were benefiting from said cooperation.

Of course, the Abyssal Blade was a little different. Even though he could refine it and nourish the weapon spirit, he was unable to keep it in his body. That seemed to be the case for divine weapons. He never heard of any divine weapons that could be kept in one’s body and even Kou Chongxue’s Hidden Frost Sword was no different. 

That brought another question to Shang Xia’s mind… In fact, the question has existed for a long time. He only managed to recall it now. What in the world is the Crimson Soul Tablet exactly?!

If it was a weapon, what grade would it have to be?! Since he could keep it in his body, the functionality already exceeded what divine weapons could do! Was it possible for the Crimson Soul Tablet to be better than divine weapons? 

There was also a possibility that it wasn’t a weapon! 

Shang Xia never heard of any weapons that had the ability to refine and optimize martial intents and deduce advancement formulas.

When Shang Xia’s thoughts were running wild, his inner qi finally stabilized, and the discomfort he felt finally disappeared.

A slight fluctuation appeared at the edge of his divine perception all of a sudden and he raised his head to take a look at it. He discovered a massive door that connected to the starry skies way above and a formless current emerged from it. It brought with it a majestic aura as it swept towards Shang Xia and he felt as though the world was crashing down on him.

Just as he was about to raise his defenses, the formless current started to condense into a human form. 

As his facial features became visible, Shang Xia recognized Kou Chongxue, the legendary patriarch of the Tongyou Institution.

“Hahahaha!” Kou Chongxue released a bout of laughter before nodding in appreciation. “The atmosphere here mimics that of the Beyond Heavens Pavilion. Even though it’s not as good, it’s amazing that you managed to adapt in such a short amount of time.” 

Becoming a little serious, Kou Chongxue smiled and muttered in admiration, “Kid, you’re actually pretty good!” 

Shang Xia sized Kou Chongxue up and down. The moment the patriarch appeared, he had a sneaking suspicion that the person in front of him was the real deal. However, there was also a feeling that something was different about him.

Seemingly having discovered what Shang Xia was doing, Kou Chongxue no longer spoke after praising him. He simply stood quietly while maintaining a huge grin on his face.

After some time, Shang Xia muttered with a little uncertainty, “Fate Dipper Clone?” 

Kou Chongxue nodded slightly in response, “There’s not many people with your cultivation level who understand so much about Fate Dipper Clones…” 

It wasn’t the first time Shang Xia had seen Kou Chongxue. He might not have seen the real thing before but he somewhat understood the patriarch’s temper and attitude to things. He felt that he didn’t need to bow and scrape or act too reserved. Now that he was speaking to Kou Chongxue, he spoke casually. “I’ve seen so many of them and gotten used to it. Then again, did you arrive a long time ago and were waiting to watch me embarrass myself?” 

Kou Chongxue didn’t bother hiding his actions from Shang Xia. “The chaotic space was a test for you anyway. The moment you entered, I tried doing something to see where your limits lay. In the end, you surprised me.” 

Shang Xia chuckled in response, “Did I surprise you in a good way or were you surprisingly disappointed?” 

“Make a guess?” Kou Chongxue laughed.

A helpless smile appeared on Shang Xia’s face and he shook his head slightly.

Seemingly wanting to mess with Shang Xia, Kou Chongxue changed the topic suddenly. “Damn brat, I heard that you caused a huge ruckus in the institution recently. You managed to catch everyone’s attention…”

Waving his hands, Shang Xia pretended to be taken aback by the sudden accusation. “There’s no need to make fun of me. No one can hide anything from you anyway. You should know that I was helpless in the matter!” 

“Hmm.” Grunting slightly, Kou Chongxue didn’t seem concerned at all. “At least you managed to widen their horizons and motivate them a little.” 

Shang Xia knew that Kou Chongxue was someone who spoke his mind and didn’t really give a damn about status and he quickly asked, “So are you actually a clone?” 

A light flashed in Kou Chongxue’s eyes and he shrugged his shoulders. A ripple extended down his body and he chuckled in amusement, “What do you think of my Origin Water Fate Dipper Clone?” 

Shang Xia knew that he was in no position to evaluate a Martial Dipper Realm expert’s clone and he simply asked anything that came to mind. “Back during the fight in the Taihang Mountains, Ancestor Yun Lu’s clone was destroyed again. Did you manage to obtain another fate dipper from him?” 

“Are you crazy? Do you think it’s that easy to steal fate dippers? The clone we destroyed last time was made out of his inner qi. He lost some dipper qi in the process but he will be able to recover after some time.” Kou Chongxie sneered in response.

However, Shang Xia didn’t seem to understand the entire situation and he continued to ask, “What’s the difference between Ancestor Yun Lu’s clone that was made out of dipper qi and the one back in the War of the Tongyou Mysterious World?” 

He quickly received a reply from Kou Chongxue. “Clones are created using a Martial Dipper Realm expert’s inner qi. It also contains a little divine soul. It might possess the cultivation of a Martial Dipper Realm expert and the corresponding fighting strength, but it’s an exhaustible object at the end of the day. The clone will disappear once the dipper qi is used up. It wouldn’t affect a cultivator’s cultivation and they would suffer a period of weakness at best if the clone is destroyed. It wouldn’t take long for their inner qi to be replenished.” 

“A clone that contains a fate dipper is a different story. Other than the fact that it can act as a secondary body, everything else will seem the same. They possess an independent ability to think for themselves. Brat, you should have already discovered it. If this clone of mine were to be destroyed, my cultivation would regress by a small realm. I would fall from the third element of the Martial Dipper Realm to the second.” 

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

“So that’s it!” Shang Xia’s doubt was finally cleared. 

“Kid, it’s not time for you to be thinking about all these. I’m here to bring you to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion.” Kou Chongxue changed the topic yet again.

Shang Xia frowned in response. “Aren’t you bringing me to the foreign continent that exists outside the heavens?” 

Glaring at Shang Xia, Kou Chongxue snorted loudly, “You’re a damn Talisman Grandmaster. Just stay in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion and craft your talismans. That would be much better than you personally entering the foreign continent, no? Even if you go there, you might not be able to change the overall situation. It’s a different story if you manage to craft several rank four talismans. You will be able to help out a lot more of our cultivators by doing so.” 

Shang Xia sighed helplessly, “Hah… Even if we talk about the entire You Continent, it’s going to be difficult to look for a single rank four talisman paper. How am I supposed to craft anything?” 

A crafty smile appeared on Kou Chongxue’s face soon after. “You don’t have to worry about that. You’ll be getting busy once you arrive in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion.” 

Gesturing for Shang Xia to follow, he turned to walk away.

Shang Xia chased after him with haste while yelling, “Where’s the Beyond Heavens Pavilion anyway? How are we going to get there?” 

The words barely left his lips when he felt the space around him changing. Kou Chongxue’s figure that was walking in front of him seemed to carve a formless spatial tunnel out of nothingness, but Shang Xia had no idea where it led.

Without turning around, Kou Chongxue chuckled, “We’re already on the way there.” 

Gasping in fright, Shang Xia hurried to follow behind Kou Chongxue. He tried to extend his divine perception to its maximum range to feel the changes around him. At the same time, he continued to ask Kou Chongxue questions. “Patriarch Kou, is it true that only Martial Dipper Realm experts can head to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion?” 

“Yeah. It’s almost impossible for Martial Extermination Realm cultivators to break through the spatial barrier. However, the moment our Tongyou Mysterious World becomes the Tongyou Paradise, the barrier might become thinner and make it such that Martial Extermination Realm cultivators would be able to head over whenever they wish.” Kou Chongxue said after a short pause.

“Does that mean upgrading to become a paradise would weaken the spatial barrier around our world?” Shang Xia followed up with another question.

“You can say that…” Kou Chongxue smiled in response.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Shang Xia didn’t know if the spatial barrier actually benefited the Azure Origin World.

Still walking forward, Kou Chongxue replied without turning back. “A paradise is like a small bubble that exists outside the Azure Origin World. The more of them we make, the weaker the strength of the spatial barrier that covers our world. That is the reason we will face a huge obstacle when advancing. Once a paradise is created, it will weaken the spatial barrier around our world. At the same time, those paradises that have been established will serve as a line of defense for our Azure Origin World…” 

Shang Xia nodded to indicate his understanding, but he didn’t know if Kou Chongxue could actually see it. Taking a short moment to organize his thoughts, Shang Xia continued, “Patriarch, does that also mean that our Tongyou Mysterious World is established in a location where the spatial barrier around our Azure Origin World is the thinnest?” 

Kou Chongxue explained, “Our location is where our Azure Origin World collided with the Azure Spiritual World. You can say that the entire region is a weak point in the spatial barrier to begin with.” 

Shang Xia seemed to have realized something after hearing what Kou Chongxue said and he became incomparably serious. “Patriarch, you said that paradises would become a line of defense for the weakened parts of the spatial barrier around our world. Does that mean that we’ll be facing some sort of danger when the spatial barrier weakens?” 

“Not bad… You actually managed to think of this.” Kou Chongxue spoke while making his way forward. His voice continued to transmit into Shang Xia’s mind. “You can start by thinking about where your Shang Clan’s Providence Spear Art came from.” 

Shang Xia’s eyelids jumped slightly and a thought flew through his mind. 

All of a sudden, the sea of white they were walking through disappeared and Shang Xia discovered that he was standing right under the starry skies. 

Not too far away from where his feet were situated, a massive ravine extended to infinity. It seemed to possess some sort of magical attraction that was pulling Shang Xia over and alarm bells started going off in his mind. He quickly pulled himself away from the strange feeling and retreated away from the endless ravine in the void.

Turning around suddenly, Shang Xia discovered Kou Chongxue laughing at him from not too far away.