Chapter 1285: Probing

Shang Xia remained in the Ruined World for 6 whole months.

In the time that passed, he had been immersed in the circulation of his Six Harmony Flawless Rod Technique as he continued to absorb the energy produced by the Essence Refining Void Returning Formation.

He could tell that in 6 months of cultivation, he gained enough energy to rival 20 years of bitter cultivation. It far surpassed the effectiveness of Three Lights Water.

What he didn’t know was that after the Essence Refining Void Returning Formation was modified by Chu Jia, it was able to refine the remaining energy of the Ruined World at a terrifying pace. The speed of energy pouring into the True Immortal using the formation wasn’t something ordinary experts would be able to withstand.

Even if a similarly high-level True Immortal were to use the formation, they wouldn’t be able to fully utilize the energy produced by the formation and would waste a lot of pure energy.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

However... The monstrous Shang Xia was different. As he circulated his Six Harmony Flawless Rod Technique, not a single strand of energy went to waste!

It was a terrifying achievement!

Shang Xia had no one to compare to, and he hadn’t interacted with many high-level True Immortals. As such, he didn’t think that his Six Harmony Flawless Rod Technique was anything special.

Even though he gained 20 years of cultivation from the Essence Refining Void Returning Formation and around 6 years from his use of Three Lights Water, along with his random cultivation, he hadn’t reached the peak of the fourth tier. Of course, with such a large boost, he could also tell that he wasn’t too far away from reaching that level. As long as he continued to cultivate, it wouldn’t be long before he would be able to attempt another breakthrough.

With the Essence Refining Void Returning Formation completely extracting the essence of the Ruined World, there was no way he would be able to break through there.

Since the energy was almost used up, Shang Xia felt that there was no point in continuing to cultivate there. He left the core region and started to consolidate his strength due to his sudden increase in cultivation. At the same time, he would be able to protect Chu Jia and the others since he was no longer cultivating.

They had been making their preparations to scavenge whatever was left after he was done and now that he emerged, they quickly channeled the energy of the Essence Refining Void Returning Formation into refining essence crystals.

This time... It didn’t take Shang Xia long before he discovered experts hiding in the distance to observe what they were doing.

He quickly restrained his aura and tore through the void to rush towards where the spy was hiding.

He had to admit that the other party was extremely careful. The moment he discovered spatial fluctuations, he knew that he was exposed. He discovered the exit of the spatial tunnel the other expert created and saw that it was right beside him, indicating that they had absolute confidence in their control of space and their ability to suppress the enemy.

Not bothering to intercept the enemy as soon as they emerged, he turned to flee.

It was a shame... No matter how much he tried to prepare himself for the overwhelming strength of the expert who would appear, he still underestimated Shang Xia...

The second Shang Xia emerged, his Stone Rod was already swinging at the spy. There was no technique involved and he simply swung it with all his might. It tore through the void and came crashing down behind the spy.

The spy didn’t think that the enemy would immediately attack with their weapon the second they emerged, but he was confident he could deal with it. Turning into countless shadows, he escaped from the blow while mocking Shang Xia for even trying to hit him. Increasing his speed suddenly, he tried to leave.

While hiding back then, he discovered that some people had created a massive formation in the Ruined World around the Spirit Faith World. It was clear that those people invested a large amount of resources and manpower into it.

For them to deploy such a massive formation... The hidden expert was sure they had a huge scheme. With how he was being chased, he knew the other side truly valued the region.

Just as he was storing energy to open a spatial tunnel to flee, he heard a deep growl in his ears. “Seal!”

The void around him froze instantly. That wasn’t all. What was even more terrifying was that his body also remained stuck in space, and his inner qi came to a halt. He even lost the ability to blink.

It could be said that other than his consciousness, everything fell completely motionless.

A sense of terror overwhelmed him, but he realized he couldn’t even move his fingers.

The next thing he felt was a strange fluctuation appearing behind him before everything regained its ability to move. He didn’t even have time to turn around to launch a desperate attack when he felt a finger on his back.

The spy felt all energy leaving his body as his dantian was sealed by a strange power.

“I know the True Immortals of the Spirit Faith World and the Azure Worlds that used to be around them. However, I don’t know you. Seems like you should be from the Essence Ming World.” An emotionless voice came from behind him, and he could tell from his tone that the speaker was a young man.

The hidden spy might have lost the ability to resist, but he had vast experience as a cultivator. He didn’t lose his bearings and didn’t lose himself to panic. He slowly turned around and looked at the person hovering in the void before him. When he saw who it was, his eyes widened slightly in shock. “True Immortal Shang of the Spirit Luxuriant World?!”

A light flashed in Shang Xia’s eyes. “I didn’t think that someone from the Essence Ming World would recognize me...”

With a smile slowly appearing on his face, the spy muttered, “There are no high-level True Immortals who reached their level by simply being lucky. True Immortal Gao has already informed the True Immortals of our world of you while evaluating you at an extremely high level. Moreover... For me to remain around the Spirit Faith World... I might run into the experts of your world and I naturally chose to learn about the stronger experts.”

Shang Xia nodded slowly but continued to ask, “How can I address you? Why did you come all the way to the Ruined World? It’s the ruins of a destroyed Spirit World... Why would that require a second tier True Immortal of an Essence World to come all the way over?”

“Isn’t it worth it?” The spy might seem respectful to a high-level True Immortal like Shang Xia on the surface, but his tone was completely flat, betraying his true emotions where he didn’t give half a shit about a high-level True Immortal of a Spirit World. “Like you said, it’s where a destroyed Spirit World lay, but your world decided to lay down such a powerful formation over it. As for telling you my name... I guess it doesn’t matter since you defeated me.”

Shang Xia growled while shooting the spy a cold glance, “I don’t think you know the position you’re in right now.”

Chuckling nonchalantly, the spy continued, “Whatever you’re doing was whatever I was planning to do. You guys just managed to beat me to it.”

Shang Xia narrowed his eyes and his gaze turned sharp. “Do you know what we’re doing?!”

“How do you think Tong Yutang of the Star Origin Dao Field managed to step into the fourth tier of the Martial Void Realm?” The spy snorted in response.