Chapter 1063: Skinning and Boning

Shang Xia’s actual combat strength was a mystery among the True Immortals of the Spirit Luxuriant World. They knew he was strong, but they didn’t know exactly how strong he was!

He had shown absurd combat power in the past, but his cultivation increased yet again. His combat abilities would increase along his cultivation and none of them were sure how strong Shang Xia actually was.

Since Shang Xia took the initiative to attack the rank six Star Beast, it was clear he had given the Heavenly Star Palace a pass. It also gave everyone else a chance to understand the extent of his strength.

Naturally, even though they didn't know that Shang Xia’s true motive for fighting the rank six Star Beast was to obtain rank six talisman paper, they knew that he wouldn’t take part in the battle for fun. He definitely had a goal now that he made a move.

As soon as Shang Xia left, the True Immortals of the great powers ordered their disciples to join in the battle and start killing Star Beasts.

Since Shang Xia had chosen his target, their test for the Heavenly Star Palace came to an end.

However, from the looks of it, now that they had the Star Observatory, it seemed as though attacks from Star Beasts would be frequent going forward. Since that was the case, why not get their disciples accustomed to fighting them?

On the institution’s side, Kou Chongxue gave the indication the moment Shang Xia left. The Martial Extermination Realm and Martial Dipper Realm experts of the institution joined in the battle. With Ren Huan directing the battle, they quickly took over the fight to kill a rank five Star Beast. They also tried their hardest not to damage the skin of the creature.

All of a sudden, spatial ripples appeared in the space slightly more than 100,000 miles away. A warm, but not blazing ray of starlight filled the depths of space and a destructive aura that turned everything around it into chaotic streams could be felt.

What happened next… Oh, there was nothing that could happen after that.

Every True Immortal above the heavenly screen stared at each other in shock. They couldn’t feel the rank six Star Beast any longer, but Shang Xia’s aura also disappeared along with it.

“This…” Kou Chongxue stared at Yang Taihe, who had the highest cultivation realm among those present.

Yang Taihe hesitated for a moment before he muttered, “True Immortal Little Shang… He left!”

“Left?! Where did he go?” Liu Jingsheng asked curiously.

Grunting once, Yang Taihe didn’t seem too sure of his answer as he responded, “The Star Beast ate True Immortal Little Shang’s strike before emitting that ray of starlight. They disappeared the next moment. Not even I could feel where they went.”

Li Jidao gasped in shock, “Could the rank six Star Beast possess some strange innate talent?”

Zhang Xuansheng muttered, “For them to be able to roam the sea of stars without relying on any world, they definitely have a way to maintain their presence. At the end of the day, our understanding of Star Beasts is too little, and True Immortal Little Shang seems to have taken a huge risk without considering the consequences.”

Li Jidao frowned. “In that case, where did the rank six Star Beast bring True Immortal Little Shang? Could it have brought them both to its nest?”

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Kou Chongxue’s eyes narrowed as a frosty sword light swirled in his eyes.

Yang Taihe could vaguely feel the killing intent Kou Chongxue was hiding and he quickly spoke, “From the exchange earlier, the Star Beast took a direct strike from True Immortal Little Shang. It’s clear that the Star Beast is no match for him. No matter where it brought him, it won’t be his match! He might just come back before we know it…”

Zhang Jianzi spoke suddenly, “I’m afraid there isn’t just a single rank six Star Beast in their nest…”

Shooting Zhang Jianzi a gaze, Huang Jinghan muttered in a low voice, “The likelihood of that is small. If there really is more than 1 of them, why would only 1 come earlier?”

The battle above the heavenly screen came to an end as they were discussing with each other. The experts of the Spirit Luxuriant World were victorious, and the only thing those Star Beasts could do was struggle at death’s door with their tyrannical physique and strong vitality.

Kou Chongxue turned in a certain direction and growled, “Looks like the Heavenly Star Palace is still hiding a lot of things from us!”

After he spoke, his body trembled slightly and he rushed to where Shang Xia disappeared.

Due to the powerful spatial fluctuations from Shang Xia’s strike earlier, space was too unstable for any of them to rush over. In fact, the spatial fluctuations hadn’t completely quelled but Kou Chongxue couldn’t wait any longer.

The other True Immortals glanced at each other before deciding to head over to take a look.

They also understood that from what Kou Chongxue said earlier, even if the Heavenly Star Palace managed to pass Shang Xia’s test, they were about to face another sect-ending crisis once the mess was over.

If Shang Xia was alright, they might be able to talk things through and the crisis might be averted. However, if Shang Xia ran into an accident… The Heavenly Star Palace was definitely going to take the blame and Kou Chongxue would unleash his wrath on them without mercy.

The other True Immortals were already thinking of how they should split the inheritance in the case where the Heavenly Star Palace was destroyed. They also wondered how they would obtain the Stargazer inheritance…

Of course, all of them remained expressionless as they arrived where Shang Xia disappeared. Actually, some of them even looked a little helpless.

They could feel the chaotic streams that destroyed everything. Not a single trace of Shang Xia was left, and even their divine souls were affected and nearly devoured by the chaotic streams.

Lu Wuzi couldn’t help but grumble, “True Immortal Little Shang is extremely powerful. However, the Star Beasts’ skill is truly a little difficult for us to fathom. Nothing is left behind! We can’t even try to look for his tracks…”

Kou Chongxue glanced at him once but didn’t speak.

After Shang Xia reached the level of Inner Fusion, he infused a part of the martial intents he comprehended in the past into his Rod Technique. Kou Chongxue knew that his strike possessed considerable power and knew it would cause serious damage.

Yang Taihe and the others looked around to not find any traces of Shang Xia before sighing helplessly, “Let’s call Yin Jingxu over. Let’s see if he has the ability of a Stargazer to be able to find where True Immortal Little Shang went.”

…

When Yin Jingxu heard that Shang Xia disappeared along with the rank six Star Beast, he felt a wave of discomfort.

“Can you find his general position in the sea of stars?” Huang Jinghan glanced disdainfully at Yin Jingxu and his tone was frosty. Yin Jingxu felt a chill running down his spine.

What was even more scary for him was that he was currently a distance away from the heavenly screen after being summoned by the True Immortals. He wouldn’t be able to draw on much power from the Star Observatory to protect himself in case anything happened, not like it would matter with 8 of them surrounding him at the moment.

“Fellow… Fellow True Immortals, please understand. I… I am merely a rank three Astronomer at the moment. I can’t… I can’t find True Immortal Little Shang at all! No… I can’t even discover the spatial fluctuations he left behind!”

The Heavenly Star Palace Master was reduced to a stuttering mess. Even after he was done speaking, he felt his clothes drenched in cold sweat.

“Rank three? Astronomer?” Lu Wuzi gasped. “How can you draw on the power of the stars to possess strength at the Martial Void Realm when you’re only a rank three Astronomer?”

The other True Immortals also turned to stare at him as they awaited an explanation.

Could the increase in strength be related to their ranks?

In other words… Yin Jingxu was a rank three Astronomer and could already draw enough energy to push himself to possess abilities in the Martial Void Realm. If he became a rank four, five… No, even a rank six Stargazer, would he be able to obtain an unreasonable amount of power?!

A light flashed in Kou Chongxue’s eyes the next moment. He seemed to have confirmed Yan Ming’s suspicion that the Heavenly Star Palace already obtained the full inheritance.

Perhaps because of the situation he was in, Yin Jingxu no longer cared too much. Even though he looked to be in a sorry state, he muttered placidly, “I didn’t draw over all the power of the stars alone. There are countless rank two and rank three Astrology Scholars and Astronomers my sect nurtured in the Star Observatory maintaining the stream of starlight…”

Zhang Xuansheng continued, “So… The increase in your combat strength has nothing to do with your rank and it’s related to the amount of power you can draw from the stars?”

Yin Jingxu nodded casually. “Yes. It’s something I discovered by accident.

“Does your Heavenly Star Palace possess any Stargazers at the moment?” Kou Chongxue asked suddenly.

Li Jidao interjected, “Palace Master Yin is merely at the third rank…”

He realized his mistake and stopped before he could finish his sentence.

Yin Jingxu was a rank three Astronomer, and he had the highest cultivation realm in the Heavenly Star Palace. However, what does one’s cultivation realm have to do with their rank as a Stargazer?!

Who could be sure that Yin Jingxu was the most talented out of the many members of the Heavenly Star Palace?

Realizing that he wouldn’t be able to hide the truth, and he didn’t have the guts to anyway, he had no choice but to admit, “We have 2 rank four Stargazers at the moment.”

However, he quickly added, “However, even rank four Stargazers wouldn’t be able to find much in an exchange between True Immortals.”

Kou Chongxue couldn’t care less and he stared intently at Yin Jingxu while speaking again, “Who are they? What are their cultivation realms and are they able to come over?”

Yin Jingxu replied honestly, “These disciples just stepped into the Martial Extermination Realm. They are able to leave the confines of the heavenly screen, but the space here is extremely unstable. The remnant Void Qi also contains destructive properties. It’s not suitable for them to head over at the moment. Patriarch Kou, I implore you, please show mercy!”

Kou Chongxue’s gaze was frosty and his expression was somber. No one knew what he was thinking about.

The other True Immortals didn’t say anything either as they were clearly waiting for Kou Chongxue to make a decision.

A moment later, the relatively more stable space a thousand or so miles away from them started to ripple. Everyone turned to look at what happened.

The next moment, Shang Xia leaped out from the strange space as he held a bone in his hand. The bone had the luster of jade and it looked to be in pristine condition.

Shang Xia looked completely fine, but the same couldn’t be said for his clothes. As soon as he appeared, a mighty aura of death spread through the area and so did the stench of blood. Even though they were a thousand or so miles away, they were able to clearly feel the shocking aura that emerged.

What did he do in the short time he disappeared?!

“Oh… Are you guys… Are you guys looking for me?” Shang Xia wondered out loud as he turned into a streak of light and flew towards them. The distance of a thousand or so miles was nothing for a True Immortal.

He swept his gaze across those present before looking at Yin Jingxu for a moment longer. He seemed to have already understood what had happened.

“Is the rank six Star Beast dead?” Kou Chongxue asked suddenly.

Waving the bone in his hand that was nearly 3 feet long, Shang Xia laughed, “I skinned the beast and cleaned the bones. The essence of the Star Beast is condensed in this specific piece. I wonder if I’ll be able to craft a divine grade brush with it!”