Chapter 253: Depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range

“Senior Brother Tian, Junior Brother Zhang! You came back from the battlefield between the two worlds!”

Shang Xia chuckled softly.

Zhang Jianfei was Shang Xia’s competitor for the position of the leader of the outer division in the past. He was a genius in his own right, and now, he had entered the large completion stage of the Martial Extremity Realm. He was on the cusp of comprehending his martial extremity intent.

However, his confidence took a huge hit when he thought about how Shang Xia had already entered the Martial Intent Realm.

Hearing Shang Xia’s greeting, he couldn’t help but sneer in response, “Hah, we had to clean your ass after you caused all that trouble back then. Do you know how unreasonable that was?”

Zhang Jianfei’s main purpose in returning was to comprehend his martial extremity intent in peace. He didn’t expect for so many challengers to come knocking on the Tongyou Institution’s door. Because of the constant battles, he managed to advance his cultivation to a huge degree. He benefited greatly from it, but he still wanted to mess with Shang Xia a little. Regardless, they had been rivals in the outer division and a small bicker like that was nothing out of the ordinary.

Compared to Zhang Jianfei who communicated with Shang Xia in his own unique way, Tian Mengzi acted a little more differently. A bitter smile appeared on his face. “Junior Brother Shang, your cultivation speed really leaves me in awe.”

“Senior Brother Tian, if not for the fact that you took some time off to recuperate, you would have already stepped through the gates of the Martial Intent Realm!” Shang Xia smiled in response.

Tian Mengzi chuckled bitterly in response.

“Senior Brother Shang.”

Compared to the rest, Shang Xia couldn’t help but feel a little awkward when facing Mu Qingyu. Back in the Zhu Family Manor, he ditched her in the hidden chamber and forgot about her completely.

Only when the Tongyou Institution attained victory did someone rescue her from her precarious predicament. She spent countless nights trapped in the secret chamber, unable to take even a step outside.

“Junior Sister Mu, I am truly sorry about the incident in the Coral Forest. I should not have left you there alone.” Shang Xia said.

Mu Qingyu replied with a soft chuckle. “Senior Brother Shang, there’s no need to apologize. If not for your help, I would have suffered a fate worse than death. It’s nothing more than spending a few more days trapped in a room. Moreover, you left so many resources back there for me to enter the Martial Extremity Realm. It can be considered some sort of fortunate encounter for me.”

It was true that the resources belonged to him. Zhu Ying didn’t keep all of them due to the lack of space in his Embroidered Cloud Case, and Shang Xia gained ownership of them after chasing the man away. It was too bad his spatial artifact was also limited in space and after taking a few herbs and treasures that caught his eye, he left everything else in the room.

After that, Shang Xia went out to hunt down Zhu Ying and left Mu Qingyu behind. Due to her limited strength, she couldn’t leave due to the presence of the undead corpses. Helpless, she could only choose a few resources to continue her cultivation. Eventually, she broke through.

Shang Lubing finally interrupted their pleasant conversation. “Since all of you know each other, things will become much easier! Let us proceed!”

After he spoke, he led the way into the secret region as the five disciples followed closely behind.

Shang Xia looked at all of them and saw the looks of confusion on their faces as well, but no one dared to ask Shang Lubing anything. He chose to take one for the team and asked, “Instructor, has Patriarch Kou always been in the institution?”

That was a question many people wanted to know the answer to.

Turning around to look at everyone, the smile on Shang Lubing’s face remained, “You’ll know when we arrive.”

After hearing his reply, no one dared to continue with their questions. They could only follow obediently behind Shang Lubing deeper into the secret region.

Along the way, they saw lush greenery and several creatures roaming around freely. It seemed like paradise compared to the outside world.

“This is a good place to enter seclusion indeed…” Shang Xia gasped softly in his heart. When he looked around, he could even see several birds flying from tree to tree.

“I haven’t been here all my life. Seems like only the true upper echelon members of the institution will be allowed to enter this place. The heaven and earth qi here is definitely comparable to the Coral Forest…” Shang Xia continued.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

However, he felt that something was off the deeper they went.

As they traveled deeper into the secret region, the trees in the surrounding got taller and thicker. From the looks of it, they were at least hundreds of years old.

The ground beneath their feet also turned rugged, and their pathways became more and more narrow. It was clear that not many people came and went.

Shang Xia noticed several structures cultivators used for seclusion when he first entered the secret region, but there was nothing since. The dense forestry blocked out most of the sunlight as they ventured deeper, and only spots of light could be seen.

The six of them traveled more than a dozen miles since they entered, and there was no way the institution was so huge. Even if they had a space expanding formation around the area, Shang Xia felt that there was no way they could expand it to such an extent. Even the four spiritual lands in the Coral Forest weren’t as large as that!

There were only two possibilities left. One, the Tongyou Institution was like a mysterious world comparable to the Coral Forest. Two, the group of them had already left the Tongyou Institution at an unknown time.

It wasn’t exactly possible for the first option to be true. That left the second. They left the Tongyou Institution at an unknown time and arrived in a foreign land!

After realizing what had happened, Shang Xia turned to look around him. Dou Zhong, Mu Qingyu, and Zhang Jianfei were equally as surprised. The only person who seemed to have grasped an understanding of the situation was Tian Mengzi.

Noticing the species of the wood around them, Shang Xia couldn’t help but ask, “Instructor Shang, have we entered the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range?”

Shang Lubing didn’t bother turning his head, but he hesitated for a second before replying, “What makes you think so?”

“Instructor Shang might have forgotten. I entered the Coral Forest previously. Don’t tell me our institution had the ability to contain a mysterious world?” Shang Xia smiled in response.

Without slowing down, Shang Lubing continued, “Alright, since you already figured it out, there’s no point in hiding it. We are currently in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range.”

Dou Zhong gasped in shock, “Has Patriarch Kou always been away from the institution?”

Shang Lubing snickered in response, but he didn’t give an exact reply. However, the silence was all they needed.

At that moment, the faces of the others changed drastically. The Tongyou Institution had always been putting up an act!

As thoughts swirled around in their minds, Shang Lubing stopped and whispered softly, “We’re here.”

His words were like a giant sledgehammer that slammed into their minds to bring them back to reality.

The elusive figure that no disciple of the institution had ever met before was finally about to appear!