Chapter 1516: Equilibrium

Shang Xia had two purposes for his visit to the Spirit Frost World. The first was to take advantage of the Ape King's severe injury to try to hunt it down. The second was to scheme against the Spirit Frost World itself, using them for his plans to advance to the Seven Star Realm in the future.

The fundamental reason for the first objective was to weaken the strength of the Spirit Frost World, creating opportunities for the Azure Ruling World's safe advancement and to catch up.

Apart from the Ape King, the other high-level spiritual beast kings in the Spirit Frost World aimed to replace its position, hoping to compete for further transformation in the future, taking advantage of the Ape King's injuries.

But upon discovering Shang Xia, a sixth tier True Immortal outsider, the high-level spiritual beast kings of the Spirit Frost World immediately united without hesitation to confront the external threat.

For them, the Ape King was a barrier to their further advancement, and Shang Xia would also be a problem in the future.

That was why when Shang Xia was exposed and surrounded by the other high-level spiritual beast kings, the Ape King chose not to kick him while he was down. It hoped that both sides would fight and suffer before it swooped in at the very end to take advantage of the situation.

However, Shang Xia obviously had no intention of fighting to the death against the five high-level spiritual beast kings on their turf and chose to retreat immediately.

That was not what the Ape King had hoped for, but there was nothing it could do about it.

To extricate itself from its predicament as much as possible, Shang Xia's presence was the best opportunity for the Ape King.

If Shang Xia were allowed to escape, there was no doubt they would turn on it the very next moment.

If they got rid of its soul brand in the Spirit Frost World, the Ape King might not die, but it would suffer another serious blow in its already weak state. It would definitely miss the chance to advance to the seventh rank in the future with the loss of support from the Spirit Frost World!

As such... Even though it wasn’t the best time to appear, the Ape King had no choice but to act to weaken its opponents. When the Rust Bear King returned to the Spirit Frost World earlier when the others were busy taking care of Shang Xia, it launched a daring attack despite its injuries.

The sudden appearance and assault from the Ape King threw the others into chaos. They could no longer care about Shang Xia as they turned to head back into the Spirit Frost World.

Shang Xia's original intention to hunt the Ape King was to weaken the overall strength of the Spirit Frost World and buy time for the Azure Ruling World. Although the Ape King had shown itself, it was not easy for Shang Xia to strike within the Spirit Frost World.

Since he couldn’t kill the Ape King, severely injuring or killing other high-level spiritual beast kings would serve the same purpose. He didn’t think further and acted instantly. Not only did he stop the Purple Plume Crane King from returning to the world, but he also dragged the Worm King into a massive beatdown.

While that went down, the Ape King intercepted the Stag King and Gray Eagle King from returning to their world.

Both sixth tier True Immortals seemed to have reached an understanding at that very instant and they moved in perfect unity.

Although the Purple Plume Crane King might have escaped Shang Xia’s Breaking World, almost all its feathers were stripped away. The intensity of the lightning it released was also greatly weakened.

The Worm King had a third of its body sliced off as well.

Were it not for the Worm King's unusual talents, which allowed it to survive even if a portion of its body was cut off, it would have likely perished in Shang Xia’s hands.

Nevertheless, the Worm King, having lost a third of its body, was severely injured and would need decades of recovery to return to its peak state.

Above the heavenly screen, the Stag King had its antlers broken by the Ape King, causing an imbalance in its inner qi. It was staggering around like a drunkard.

Although the Gray Eagle King managed to take advantage of the situation to attack the Ape King, it was ambushed by the Arc-Winged King.

While it wasn't severely injured, the Gray Eagle King's strength largely depended on its wings, and with one wing injured, the power it wielded was reduced by at least 30 to 40 percent.

After such a chaotic battle, whether it was the Ape King and the Arc-Winged King below the heavenly screen, the 4 high-level spiritual beast kings above it, or Shang Xia a few tens of thousands of miles away, all three sides were stuck in a delicate situation.

Even in such a standoff, Shang Xia was more than capable of leaving whenever he wished. As long as he wanted to, he could flee from the Spirit Frost World immediately.

No high-level spiritual beast king dared intercept him at this moment, nor could they stop him.

Some might even hope he would leave quickly!

After some consideration, Shang Xia decided to leave in the most high-key way possible.

Under the watchful eyes of the high-level spiritual beast kings, he first retreated tens of thousands of miles before tearing a spatial channel open to step into it. The next second, he disappeared.

He decided to no longer care about anything that would happen to the Spirit Frost World.

No matter what happened, they were bound to be significantly weakened. At least for the next few years or the next few decades, it was unlikely they would be able to organize another expedition against the Azure Ruling World.

With over a decade as a buffer, if the Ying Brothers didn’t mess around, they should be able to push the Azure Ruling World into a Spirit World.

Once that happens, even without Shang Xia and the others, they should be able to defend themselves.

If there was anything he would regret, Shang Xia could only complain about the fact that his expedition brought him no personal progress or benefits. He even had to embarrass himself by escaping in such a sorry state.

After Shang Xia reached the edge of the stable space and returned to the Star Ship, Song Zhen immediately asked about his experiences and his next plans.

Shang Xia could only helplessly shake his head. After briefly explaining what happened, he planned to return to the Azure Ruling World.

Since the Ape King had already appeared in the Spirit Frost World and Shang Xia had already alerted them to his presence, the chance to hunt the Ape King was virtually gone.

Song Zhen hesitated slightly upon hearing what happened.

After Shang Xia noticed his reaction and asked, Song Zhen finally spoke his mind. "Lord, I don’t really understand why you’re so dedicated to the Twin Star Pirates’ cause. Even though you had an agreement, you already fulfilled your promise. In fact, you did far more than you agreed on.”

Shang Xia couldn’t help but chuckle helplessly in response. "It started as something I couldn't control, and later I had no choice but to continue."

Seeing Song Zhen's puzzled expression, Shang Xia explained with a wry smile, "During the process of repelling the invasion from the Spirit Frost World, I had some insights into advancing to the next realm. It should be linked to the ascension of the Azure Ruling World...”

No further explanation was needed. Looking at Song Zhen's stunned expression was enough for Shang Xia to understand how much shock he caused the man.

After recovering from the initial shock, Song Zhen’s lips trembled lightly. He realized what was going on and asked, “Is that why you didn’t retrieve your Stone Rod? Um... My apologies...”

Quickly realizing his mistake, Song Zhen sincerely apologized.

Shang Xia smiled and waved his hand. "It’s not so easy to reach the next level. The Azure Ruling World is merely a small experiment for now. There’s no need to take it so seriously.”

Song Zhen quickly agreed. "I will definitely not let a second person know about this matter."

The next second, Shang Xia seemed to discover something. He turned to the side and instructed Song Zhen, “Stop the ship for now, it seems we have friends coming for a visit."

Song Zhen was slightly startled but soon realized what was happening. His expression changed instantly.

Just then, Xin Lu hurriedly came into Shang Xia's cabin. As soon as she entered, she started yelling, "The... The... The spiritual beast kings of the Spirit Frost World are coming! From the looks of it, they seem to be chasing us down. They locked onto us already.”

Song Zhen exclaimed in surprise, "Did they resolve their internal conflicts so quickly? Are they really joining forces to hunt us down?"

Shang Xia revealed a soft smile. "No need to panic. We have already entered the chaotic streams. The best opportunity for them to hunt us down has already passed. If I’m not mistaken, they aren’t here to fight with us. Of course... I am curious to see who is coming!"

Xin Lu said matter-of-factly, "No matter who it is, the Arc-Winged King is definitely involved. Without it, those spiritual beast kings wouldn't be able to find us so easily."

Song Zhen asked from the side, "Then can you interfere with its tracking?"

Xin Lu casually replied, "Yes! But before, I didn't think they had the guts to chase us, and there was also no need to hide our tracks too much!"

Song Zhen nodded, obviously agreeing with Xin Lu's initial judgment.

Seeing as it was about time, Shang Xia mumbled, "I'll go meet them!"

As soon as he spoke, his figure flickered a few times and a shadow seemed to peel off from his body to enter the chaotic streams.

Song Zhen and Xin Lu weren't even sure if the person left with them was Shang Xia's true body or a clone.

In the chaotic stream some distance from the ship, Shang Xia's figure stood in the void. The fragile space around him started to solidify to form a region of stable space.

A stream of starlight fell like a star as the Arc-Winged King hovered cautiously outside the stable space around Shang Xia.

Instead of looking at the Arc-Winged King, Shang Xia looked to the side and laughed, "Looks like you came to find me, Lord Ape King. I pay my respects.”

With that, Shang Xia bowed slightly and performed a simple greeting.

A beam of white light rose from behind the Arc-Winged King and entered the region of stable space. It slowly condensed to form the figure of the Ape King.

The leader of the spiritual beast kings of the Spirit Frost World also mimicked Shang Xia's gesture somewhat awkwardly, his voice slow as he said, "This king... This king shows my respect!"

As it turned out, the Ape King that came with the Arc-Winged King was a clone. However, it seemed different from the clones of human cultivators.

Shang Xia smiled and got straight to the point, "May I know the purpose of your visit?"

The clone of the Ape King thought for a moment, seemingly pondering the meaning of Shang Xia's words, then slowly said, "You... Very strong. Ceasefire... How about it?"

Shang Xia's expression immediately became serious, and he replied solemnly, "That’s straightforward. It’s a deal.”

"De-al!" The clone of the Ape King repeated slowly before adding, “Pity, the world is slipping... the great vortex... How about joining forces?"

The Ape King gestured between himself and Shang Xia, clearly inviting Shang Xia or the Azure Ruling World to join forces with the Spirit Frost World to resist the attraction of the spatial vortex.

Clearly, the Ape King was also aware that the world was being drawn into and slowly sliding toward the great spatial vortex, and the reason it led the invasion was to hasten the speed of growth of the world so as to counteract the pull of the spatial vortex.

Raising an eyebrow, Shang Xia chuckled softly, "This is not something I can decide alone."

The Ape King looked puzzled, apparently not understanding how as the strongest being in that world, Shang Xia could not decide such a matter.

"You... You lack sincerity!"

In response to the Ape King's accusation, Shang Xia did not get angry but instead pointed at himself and then at the Ape King. "The Azure Ruling World has human cultivators and beast communities, it's hard to unite! Moreover... Did you already subdue the other spiritual beast kings?”

Actually, the Ape King had a misunderstanding, thinking that Shang Xia, like the Twin Star Pirates, also wanted to occupy the Azure Ruling World and consider it as his own.

In reality, Shang Xia was just an invited guest, ready to leave at any time.

However, facing the Ape King’s misunderstanding, Shang Xia didn’t try to correct it. After all, the Azure Ruling World had already become his chess piece for his ascension to the Seven Star Realm. It was necessary to ensure the safety and future advancement of the Azure Ruling World for a certain period.

Faced with Shang Xia's explanation and questioning, the Ape King fell silent for a moment. Eventually, it sighed, "Pity! I am helping the world... But they... They always want to challenge me. They are causing trouble!"

Shang Xia, feeling a certain respect for the Ape King, thought for a moment before he added, "There is still time, perhaps there are other ways!"

The Ape King shook its huge, somewhat ethere-looking head before turning to Shang Xia. "I must leave now, I will make them listen soon! And please, act quickly, then... Let's cooperate!"