Splitting the Heave

“That is called the Void Abyss and it’s also what we dub the Dual World Vortex. It’s also called the Region of Fusion Between the Two Worlds.” Kou Chongxue continued to introduce the region to Shang Xia. “This is the place where our Azure Origin World meets the Azure Spiritual World. The world origin of our worlds is also experiencing fusion in this area.”

“All of us came from the Azure Origin World and would naturally have the urge to return to the embrace of the world origin. Due to the heavy obstructions, cultivation wouldn’t be able to come into contact with it until they reach the Martial Extermination Realm. Moreover, they would only be able to tap into a little bit. Anyone who comes here for the first time will definitely be attracted to the Void Abyss due to the fusion of world origins. If they fail to overcome the urge to jump into the Void Abyss, they will disappear and become world origin that returns to the world.” 

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

Shang Xia knew that Kou Chongxue obviously wouldn’t sit by and watch if he failed to overcome the urge to jump into the Void Abyss. However, it was clearly a test for him.

If Kou Chongxue had to make a move, the old patriarch might start to view him in a different light. Luckily, he managed to save himself.

“Let’s go. This old man’s true body isn’t too far away right now. You should head over and take a look at it.” Kou Chongxue muttered.

Hurrying behind Kou Chongxue, the two of them trudged through space seemingly slowly. However, that was only how things looked on the surface. They traveled extremely quickly as they crossed a massive distance. 

Throughout the process, Shang Xia noticed some differences between the Beyond Heavens Pavilion and the Azure Origin World.

Thanks to the Tongyou Mysterious World, Shang Xia felt a familiar feeling when he finally arrived in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion. The thick heaven and earth qi made his surroundings slightly suffocating, but he adapted quickly. 

Feeling the heaven and earth qi around him, Shang Xia could tell that it was several times denser than that in the upper region of the Tongyou Mysterious World. Moreover, he could also feel his extermination origins resonating with the world origin surrounding him. That wasn’t all. As he continued to walk around, he subconsciously reached for his glabella. 

“What’s the matter? Are you losing control of your inner qi?” Kou Chongxue asked and slowed his pace slightly. Turning back to look at Shang Xia, a look of contemplation could be seen in his eyes.

Laughing softly, Shang Xia shook his head and explained, “Not really. However, my divine perception seems a lot more active than before.” 

“Is that it?” Kou Chongxue was a little surprised. He even felt a little curious about Shang Xia’s condition. “Do you need to take a break?” 

Shang Xia waved his hand and rejected the suggestion. “There’s no need. It’s just a little discomfort. I have everything under control…” 

Shooting Shang Xia a deep glance, Kou Chongxue eventually nodded his head slowly. He continued to head to their destination and Shang Xia followed closely behind. Shang Xia laughed bitterly in his heart.

He didn’t really lie to Kou Chongxue about the matter. The Crimson Soul Tablet’s fluctuations actually caused his divine perception to be slightly affected.

The reactions of the Crimson Soul Tablet might be resonating with the world origin around him, but it wasn’t pointing in a definite direction this time. That was because world origin was dense everywhere around him! The Crimson Soul Tablet was dying to emerge from Shang Xia’s sea of consciousness but was forcefully suppressed at the moment. 

Luckily, he had the ability to force it down. His better control over the Crimson Soul Tablet might have something to do with how it interacted with his extermination origins. Because of that, the tablet was stained with his brand allowing him to slightly affect how the tablet was used. 

He was able to slightly influence the tablet, but he had to use his divine perception to forcefully tie it down at the end of the day. During the entire process, he could still feel it pulsating in his sea of consciousness.

As they continued to make their way forward, a massive platform appeared in their view. It was located 300 feet away from the Region of Fusion Between the Two Worlds. A slovenly dressed middle-aged man who was clad in white robes sat crossed-legged on the platform with his eyes closed. 

The person sitting over there seemed to be the true body of the great Martial Dipper Realm Kou Chongxue, the legendary patriarch of the Tongyou Institution.

Even though it was his first time seeing Kou Chongxue’s true body, Shang Xia felt a sense of familiarity with him. The clone might be leading the way, but Shang Xia didn’t need to use his divine perception to know that the middle-aged man sitting over on the platform was the real Kou Chongxue.

When they finally arrived not too far away, the clone that was leading the way transformed into tiny streams that returned to the main body.

Everything that happened when the clone brought Shang Xia over was relayed into Kouu Chongxue’s mind and the patriarch opened his eyes in shock. 

“Your method of advancing by refining 4 extermination origins at once isn’t too bad!” Kou Chongxue yelled and gestured for him to approach. When he closed in on the platform, he continued, “You were able to pass through the barrier of the upper region of the Tongyou Mysterious World and shake off the attraction from the Region of Fusion Between the Two Worlds. Did you refine your extermination origins to around 60 percent of what they are?” 

“A little closer to 50 percent…” Shang Xia replied vaguely.

Widening his eyes even more, Kou Chongxue looked more surprised. He sighed softly, “Looks like refining 4 extermination origins is more powerful than I had thought. Could that be the actual way to cultivate?” 

Shang Xia remained silent as the patriarch thought out loud.

Raising his head to stare at Shang Xia, Kou Chongxue obviously wasn’t going to let him keep quiet. “What do you think?”

“It’s going to be a difficult problem for you to think about…” Shang Xia didn’t give a proper reply and chuckled in response. 

Staring at the kid who was barely older than 20 and had already stepped into the Martial Extermination Realm, Kou Chongxue fell silent for a moment. He felt waves battering against his heart. 

Shang Xia said that he managed to refine his extermination origins to around 50 percent, but despite all his improvements, his refinement process barely reached the 35 percent mark not too long ago. 

Ever since he entered the Four Constellation Realm, Shang Xia has been trying to develop his unique martial art. Without comprehending his martial arts, he wasn’t able to refine his extermination origins properly, and neither could he progress as he wanted. 

During the past year, Shang Xia’s comprehension improved by leaps and bounds and he finally managed to raise his refinement rate to close to 40 percent.

As for the reason behind Kou Chongxue’s estimation of his refinement completion rate, he had observed Shang Xia’s strength in the Tongyou Mysterious World and felt that the kid was comparable to a third layer Martial Extermination Realm expert.

Facing Kou Chongxue’s questions, Shang Xia decided to hide a little bit of his strength. However, that was already enough to shock the patriarch.

“So… Did you manage to develop your rank four secret art?” Kou Chongxue changed the topic and asked.

Ready for the question, Shang Xia also prepared his answer a long time ago. “I still have to refine and correct it a little, but it’s getting there.” 

Shang Xia wasn’t lying. After all, rank four secret arts would allow a cultivator to complete a cycle of their inner qi circulation in 4 hours. Shang Xia’s Four Seasons Samsara Art was a little complicated and he needed a little longer to complete the process. He might be closing in on his goal, but it was still a little lacking.

That might be the case, but Kou Chongxue was still a Martial Dipper Realm expert at the end of the day. He quickly zoomed in on the key point. “You actually managed to develop your secret art so quickly?” A trace of suspicion could be heard in his voice.

“Yeah…” Shang Xia muttered softly and continued, “Disciple obtained a stick of Dao Comprehension Incense back in the Abyssal Secret Region. After burning it, I managed to reach a special state of comprehension. My thoughts became exceptionally clear and I quickly refined my secret art…” 

“WHAT?” Kou Chongxue leaped to his feet from the platform and stared at Shang Xia with a trace of shock and loss.

At the same time, a strange fluctuation appeared in the distance and another figure appeared. Ji Wenlong quickly appeared and he addressed Shang Xia directly. “You managed to obtain a stick of Dao Comprehension Incense and you used it?! This… This… This is truly a waste of heavenly resources…” 

Turning to look at Kou Chongxue once again, Shang Xia could see that the patriarch was about to start pounding his chest as he raised his head to stare blankly at the stars above.

With Ji Wenlong’s sudden appearance, it was obvious that he had been paying attention to their entire exchange.

With their reactions, Shang Xia obviously knew that the Dao Comprehension Incense wasn’t an ordinary treasure. It seemed as though he underestimated the treasure in the first place.

When Kou Chongxue finally got over his grief, he sighed softly and stopped Ji Wenlong from speaking any further in case they hurt Shang Xia’s feelings.

Even so, he couldn’t hide the look of regret and loss on his face. Only after some time became a little more serious as he gave an explanation. “If you left the Dao Comprehension Incense for your grandfather, our institution would definitely produce our third Martial Dipper Realm Ancestor! Who would have thought that you would… Well, never mind, if you’re the one who used it, at least the Dao Comprehension Incense wasn’t wasted.” 

Shang Xia stared at Ji Wenlong in shock. A trace of delight started to form in his heart when he heard what they said. From their words, it seemed as though they were sparing no expense to push his grandfather into the Martial Dipper Realm!

If the Tongyou Institution produces their third Martial Dipper Realm expert, they would be comparable to the White Deer Paradise in strength almost in an instant. Their foundations might be a little weaker, but they would immediately become one of the top powerhouses in the Azure Origin World regardless.

Obviously, they were already getting ready for the fusion of the Azure Origin World and the Azure Spiritual World that was bound to happen.

With hopes of entering the Martial Dipper Realm, Shang Bo should have chosen to enter seclusion and cultivation relentlessly while strengthening his foundations. However, he chose to head over to the foreign continent nonetheless. That could only mean one thing. The foreign continent contained the key to his breakthrough!

Kou Chongxue and Ji Wenlong didn’t know that Shang Xia had deduced so many things from all the information he had received, but Kou Chongxue interrupted his train of thought.

“Brat, hand it over!” Kou Chongxue sighed softly and chose not to think of the Dao Comprehension Incense.

“Huh?” Shang Xia raised his eyebrows in fright. He didn’t know what they were talking about and looked at them with confusion in his eyes.

“What the hell do you think? Hand the Abyssal Firmament Fate Dipper Over! Without it, how is your grandpa going to enter the Martial Dipper Realm?” Ji Wenlong snapped. “Don’t tell me you thought that the two of us were helping you to obtain the origin dipper…” 

With a thousand alpacas running through his heart, Shang Xia nearly started cursing. That was actually his thoughts but he didn’t think that the two of them merely left it with him for safekeeping.

Regardless, he could only hand it over like an obedient child. Was he supposed to watch as his grandfather failed to enter the Martial Dipper Realm just because he didn’t have the origin dipper he obtained?