Chapter 1232: Holding The Fort

Perhaps because of Shang Xia’s concealment in the Essence Ping World, Gao Qin failed to recognize him.

However, Lan Zhengfeng’s reminder came in a timely manner and Gao Qin suddenly recalled something she learned from Hua Jianlou and the Star Origin Dao Field. She instantly completed her deduction on some matters.

For example, Wen Juxiang’s death!

As a high-level True Immortal of the Essence Hong World, Wen Juxiang’s death brought a huge amount of pressure onto the Star Origin Dao Field. Not to mention how he died right outside it...

Shang Xia’s expression didn’t change after hearing Gao Qin’s accusation. Instead, he chucked, “True Immortal Gao, you didn’t see it for yourself, and it’s best not to make baseless assumptions. After all, my Spirit Luxuriant World isn’t as amazing as your Essence Ming World. We can’t possibly withstand the revenge of the Essence Hong World if they were to believe what you said.”

Gao Qin’s expression also sank, and her tone became a little chilly. “You seem afraid of the Essence Hong World, but are you really not afraid of my Essence Ming World?”

Facing Gao Qin who refused to take a step back, Shang Xia spoke in an unhurried manner, “This is just a small Star Beast Nest. Why would your Essence Ming World treat it seriously? Moreover, my Spirit Luxuriant World barely ascended and it won’t be of much use to your Essence World. Why don’t you show some mercy and be more magnanimous?”

Gao Qin sneered in response, “What if I refuse?”

“Heh. In the worst case, I’ll just destroy the Star Beast Nest and wipe out all traces of the spatial tunnel and retreat back to the Spirit Luxuriant World. You won’t be able to gain anything from it anyway.” The smile on Shang Xia’s face didn’t fade.

Staring at Shang Xia from the corner of her eye, Gao Qin growled, “It’s like you said. This is just a small Star Beast Nest and it’s nothing to me, much less my world. Since we can’t get our hands on it, we might as well destroy it.”

Shang Xia took a step forward at her provocation. “Alright, since that’s the case, looks like there’s no two ways about it. True Immortal Gao, please.”

“That’s right. It’s useless to talk so much. At the end of the day, we have to rely on our fists to do the talking. However, True Immortal Shang, you are really daring indeed... You killed 2 third tier True Immortals from my world. Aren’t you going to say something about that?”

Facing a fourth tier True Immortal with deep foundations like Gao Qin, Shang Xia didn’t dare to be careless. He released his domain before snorting softly, “True Immortal Gao, what makes you think they had a chance to get away even if I didn’t kill them?”

After he spoke, he turned to glance at Lan Zhengfeng at the side.

Lan Zhengfeng’s expression changed instantly and quickly mocked, “I didn’t think that you would be so good at stirring up shit!”

“What's the matter? Was I right?” Shang Xia simply glanced at him from the corner of his eyes before ignoring Lan Zhengfeng entirely.

“There’s no need for so much nonsense!” Gao Qin yelled before taking a single step into the void. The region around her started to tremble violently.

In response, Shang Xia prepared himself for battle. He had seen Gao Qin’s fighting style with his own eyes back in the Essence Ping World. Back then, Wen Juxiang and Hua Jianlou were only capable of assisting her from the sidelines.

“Since we’re not fighting to the death, let’s just decide the victor with one move!” As soon as her words fell, the fluctuating space turned into massive tsunamis that fused with her domain. A powerful wave of energy rushed at Shang Xia the very next moment.

There was no strange technique contained in the strike. It was the most direct method of exchanging pointers, and it was the most dangerous way.

Shang Xia understood Gao Qin’s tyrannical combat style, but he didn’t think that Gao Qin would be so crazy.

Naturally, he couldn’t dodge. Behind him was the Star Beast Nest and the hundreds of cultivators from the Spirit Luxuriant World.

The next instant, the space void around him seemed to have come to life. It seemed as though he had been thrown into the middle of the ocean and turned into a solitary island that was being battered by massive tsunamis.

There was no technique to speak of. There was only direct confrontation!

During the collision, everything fell silent.

The silence was just too deafening...

What was more, even the True Immortals standing around were blinded by the horrifying collision of domains of high-level true Immortals. All of them seemed to have been swept away by powerful chaotic streams.

Even the Star Beast Nest that had been protected by them was affected by the fluctuations. The spatial barrier around it rippled violently.

Lan Zhengfeng had already run by the time the exchange started. Even so, his expression of terror was clearly etched onto his face when he turned to look behind him.

He didn’t understand how they were so fucking powerful even though they were only a single tier stronger than him!

Could this be something that can only be achieved after reaching a high-level True Immortal?

However... It was as though he had never come into contact with other high-level true Immortals. Yan Huayi was also a fourth tier True Immortal, and even though he was strong, he wasn’t so much stronger than Lan Zhengfeng! He paled in comparison to the 2 monsters before him!

Maybe... Even among fourth tier True Immortals, there are different levels of strength...

Compared to Lan Zhengfeng who still had the luxury to think about random matters like that, Kou Chongxue and the rest couldn’t be distracted. The powerful fluctuations could flip the Star Beast Nest upside down if they didn’t weaken them.

Everything happened in a split second, but Kou Chongxue and the rest felt like an eternity had passed. The world turned upside down around them. Eventually, the disturbance settled down.

Turning to see Shang Xia standing in mid air, everything seemed to return to its original calm. The only difference was that Gao Qin was nowhere to be seen.

She might be gone, but Gao Qin’s voice rang in Shang Xia’s ears. “The Star Curtain around the Star Origin Dao Field is riddled with holes... True Immortal Shang, you and your Spirit Luxuriant World better prepare to take care of yourselves...”

Kou Chongxue couldn’t see Gao Qin, and didn’t know the outcome of the exchange. No one dared to approach Shang Xia for the time being.

Only after a few seconds did Kou Chongxue approach him cautiously. “Did the high-level True Immortal of the Essence Ming World leave?”

Shang Xia snapped back to reality. Turning around, he smiled, “Yeah... The Star Beast Nest should be safe.”

Kou Chongxue nodded slowly before asking again, “What about the exchange...”

“Luckily, I managed to gain the upper hand. However, True Immortal Gao Qin is really strong... She managed to leave unscathed in the end...” Shang Xia sighed as he thought about the exchange earlier.

Only after hearing that did Kou Chongxue heave a sigh of relief. He turned to nod at Lu Wuzi and Yin Jingxu, indicating that danger had passed.

When Shang Xia turned back to look at them, he also noticed that be it Yin Jingxu or Lu Wuzi, there was a strange look in their eyes. It looked as though they were a little more respectful of him.

Lu Wuzi couldn’t help but ask, “True Immortal Little Shang, the members of the Essence Ming World won’t come again, right?”

“Nope. This Star Beast Nest is a lot smaller than the one around the Essence Xing World. A single True Immortal would be enough to protect it. Moreover, Formation Grandmaster Chu Jia of our institution has already completed the Five Element Teleportation Formation. Once we replace the spatial tunnel with it, anyone in the Star Beast Nest will be able to retreat without revealing the location of our world.”

Lu Wuzi felt a sense of relief washing over him.

As the 4 True Immortals of the Spirit Luxuriant World returned to the Star Beast Nest, they noticed many cultivators panicking. It was clear they felt the disturbance earlier, but when they saw the return of the True Immortals, they immediately calmed down.

Lu Wuzi might still be feeling a trace of lingering fear, but he didn’t stop Shang Xia and the rest from leaving.

Surprisingly, Yin Jingxu chose to stay behind and defend the Star Beast Nest with Lu Wuzi.

When Shang Xia and Kou Chongxue returned to the Spirit Luxuriant World through the spatial tunnel, they informed Yang Taihe and the rest about what happened.

After Shang Xia described the exchange between himself and Gao Qin and promised everyone else that the first Star Beast Nest would be safe, Liu Jingsheng could no longer hold back his worry and hurried Shang Xia to quickly return to the second Star Beast Nest to take over Huang Jinghan.

Before anyone could respond, Yang Taihe swept his gaze across everyone present and muttered, “There’s no rush for True Immortal Little Shang to return. There’s something we have been dragging on for some time and if we still fail to give a response, the Spirit Thistle World would probably think that we are no longer interested in working with them. It’s fine if we don’t work together, but if they turn against us, things might get bad.”

“If my Junior Brother Huang hadn’t headed over to the Star Beast Nest around the Essence Xing World, we would have settled it by now!”

“It’s fine. With Patriarch Kou’s return, if he agrees to head over with True Immortal Huang, it will only serve to show our sincerity.” Yang Taihe stopped him from saying anymore.

The other True Immortals also nodded slowly.

Clearly, those who had stayed behind had already discussed their terms of alliance.

Kou Chongxue might have understood a part of the situation from Shang Xia when they were returning, and he quickly chuckled after hearing Yang Taihe’s suggestion. “Of course. I will definitely head over with True Immortal Huang. However, please give me a few days. I won’t hide it from you guys. I was hunted down by experts of other worlds in the sea of stars and I am completely exhausted. I need some time to recover.”

“Patriarch Kou, rest assured. Even though we agreed to form an alliance with them, we still need some time to iron out the details... Hmmm... Is 10 days enough?” Yang Taihe asked.

Eventually, the True Immortals left the heavenly screen above the Jiao Continent.

After Shang Xia and Kou Chongxue returned to the Tongyou Institution, Kou Chongxue entered seclusion to recover immediately.

This time, he didn’t mess around. He entered seclusion for real.

Shang Xia didn’t waste time either. With the guidance of the Star Observatory, he opened a spatial tunnel to the second Star Beast Nest.

However... As soon as he returned, he released his divine soul to inspect the secret region before frowning.