Chapter 258: Risky Operation

When Shang Xia’s consciousness entered his dantian once again, he could feel his Origin True Qi running wildly through his body. A comfortable feeling swept over his soul and he felt wholly enlightened.

If Shang Xia’s breakthrough to the Martial Intent Realm allowed him to grasp the feeling of his divine sense forming, his breakthrough now gave him the full experience.

He seemed to be able to observe the full breakthrough from the space inside his dantian.

A flash of inspiration struck him when he was feeling the changes. That was probably the effects of his second divine sense transformation anyway.

𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Wanting to see the full range of his divine sense then, Shang Xia chose to conduct his experiment then and there. He extended his divine sense as far as he could, and it quickly left the wooden hut. When it did, he felt as though he had forgotten something but the thought quickly left his mind.

His divine sense went further and further as it eventually entered the courtyard from before. He could even see Shang Lubing who was preparing to pour himself another cup of tea. As the old expert raised the teapot in one hand, he seemed to have detected something amiss as he glanced at his surroundings.

Shang Xia’s divine sense didn’t stop there. It continued to extend outwards, and when he reached a radius of 30 feet from himself, he felt a wave of dizziness threatening to overwhelm him. Realizing his limits, he started to withdraw his divine sense and the sick feeling of nausea started to fade.

As his divine sense returned to his body, he discovered that Shang Lubing was nowhere to be seen.

Realizing what he had forgotten, Shang Xia tried to locate the old patriarch and eventually found him casually conversing with Shang Lubing not too far away from where he was cultivating.

He couldn’t help but recall the scene where they just arrived. None of the disciples noticed the courtyard and Kou Chongxue’s wooden hut.

They were right in front of them, yet none of the disciples noticed them!

Was that an ability of Martial Dipper Realm experts?!

His train of thought was interrupted by the conversation between Kou Chongxue and Shang Lubing. “Why is he taking so long?” Shang Lubing asked.

Turning to stare at Shang Xia, the corners of Kou Chongxue’s lips curled upwards to form a sneer, “This brat’s cultivation is higher than them to begin with. I have to spend a little more effort on him compared to them.”

Shang Xia noticed that Kou Chongxue had discovered his sneaky behavior the moment he stared at him. Deciding to test the limits of his abilities, he no longer bothered with the two old experts and his divine sense condensed around him.

He found out that not only could he observe his surroundings, he was also able to ‘see’ himself sitting in the hut.

“You shouldn’t expand any more of your fate dipper. Your injuries will only become more serious!” Shang Lubing’s voice was low, and his words were like a warning to Kou Chongxue.

In response, the patriarch chuckled. “It doesn’t matter. I can still hold on for now…”

“The kids are talented, but there’s no need for you to exhaust your fate dipper to help them! Just give them some pointers and impart several sets of martial arts to them if they’re really talented. If you want to take it a step further, you can easily give them a few advancement formulas. At the very worst, just reward them with a graded weapon. You’re a Martial Dipper Realm expert. Do you really lack stuff like that? Why do you need to exhaust your fate dipper like that?”

Kou Chongxue revealed a bitter smile in response. “You should know that the greatest effects of my Illusory Tea will only be brought out when taken in conjunction with the source energy from my Eternal Spring Fate Dipper. In order to lower the risk of anything happening during his cultivation and breakthrough, I have to use it…”

Shang Lubing muttered softly, “Don’t you know that your injuries were caused because of the imbalance between your fate dippers?! Now that you weakened it further, your injuries are only going to get worse!”

“There’s not much time left… The speed of fusion between our two worlds has reached a terrifying level. The spatial barrier is also growing too weak. The mere presence of the Rose Party in the battlefield between the two worlds is enough proof of that. In the future, entering the battlefield between the two worlds will start to become a common occurrence. We need to ensure the later generations grow as strong as possible before that happens.” Kou Chongxue sighed.

After staying silent for some time, Shang Lubing asked, “How long do we have left?”

“Soon… The fusion should be done in less than five years. In fact, it might be much sooner than we think.” Kou Chongxue revealed a bitter smile.

“How is this possible?!” Shang Lubing gasped. He only managed to suppress his shock when he noticed Kou Chongxue’s lethargic appearance. “If that’s really true, how can we be ready for it?”

Kou Chongxue’s appearance slowly returned to normal. “Even if we don’t have enough time, at least we can leave behind a seed of hope. Don’t you think so?”

Shang Lubing sucked in a long breath and continued, “It’s no wonder we took the risk to reclaim the Coral Forest even when faced with the alliance of the Rose Party and the Four Spiritual Peak… Luckily for us, the risk paid off. Today, we have complete supremacy over the battlefield between the two worlds. Even if our worlds duse together, our You Continent will be the one controlling everything.

“Hah. If only things are so simple. Don’t forget, the Qing, Bing, Shu, and Liang continents are right beside us. That’s how we formed the five border institutions anyway. Even if our You Continent managed to gain control of the battlefield between the two worlds now and we formed an alliance with the other four institutions, there are many other continents out there in the Azure Origin World… No matter how great our accomplishments are now, we might not be the eventual winner!”

Kou Chongxue’s words were like a bucket of cold water that was splashed over Shang Lubing’s head.

“Even so, it’s better than doing nothing.” Kou Chongxue added after noticing the look of exasperation on Shang Lubing’s face. “Once we merge the Coral Forest into our institution, we’ll be able to gain another trump card. Even if the situation takes a turn for the worst, we will have another way out.”

“If that’s true, won’t you have to…” A worried look appeared on Shang Lubing’s face after hearing what he said.

Raising his hand to stop Shang Lubing from saying anymore, Kou Chongxue turned to stare in Shang Xia’s direction. “Brat, since you’re done, it’s time to come out. Why are you learning all your dad’s bad habits? Stop eavesdropping on your elders!”

Opening his eyes, Shang Xia turned to look at Kou Chongxue in shock. “My father?”

“How’s your breakthrough? Was it smooth?” Kou Chongxue changed the topic suddenly, diverting Shang Xia’s attention.

Turning his attention to his dantian, Shang Xia noticed that the amount of Yin Yang Essence Qi left in there decreased once again. The feeling of becoming one with the world grew stronger. Nodding his head, he replied to Kou Chongxue’s question. “It went amazingly smooth…”

“Oi brat, did you spy on me with your divine sense earlier?” Shang Lubing interrupted all of a sudden.

“I was trying out my abilities… I failed to restrain myself because of the sudden increase in strength…” Shang Xia explained himself hastily.

Before Shang Xia could complete his explanation, he saw Shang Lubing’s expression changing. “It really is you! Are you crazy? You expanded your divine sense and fused it with the heavens and earth to observe your surroundings the moment you completed your breakthrough. Aren’t you afraid that you would lose your mind and turn into an undead corpse?”

With his jaws dropping in fright, Shang Xia didn’t know what he should say.

Luckily, Kou Chongxue stepped in. “It probably has something to do with the Shang Clan’s Triple Loop Coalescence Needle. It strengthened his soul during his advancement to the Martial Intent Realm.”

Shang Lubing nodded slowly in response.

However, Shang Xia felt that the Triple Loop Coalescence Needle was only a part of the reason behind his strengthened soul. After the optimization by the blood red tablet, his advancement to the Martial Intent Realm was significantly different from those who used it before.

A smile appeared on Shang Lubing’s face as he decided to talk about something else. “Kid, your cultivation was the highest among the five and the reward you received was the greatest. What are you still doing here? Why aren’t you returning to the institution to consolidate your foundations?”

Pausing for a second, Shang Xia explained, “Disciple heard from Instructor Shang that Patriarch Kou’s injuries are getting worse. I wonder if there’s anything I can do to help him?”

“Haha, your intentions might be good, but your cultivation isn’t high enough. He’s a Martial Dipper Realm expert and even I can’t do anything about his injuries, much less you.” Shang Lubing chuckled.

Despite what he said, Shang Xia could tell that Shang Lubing wasn’t really mocking him for having a low cultivation. As such, he decided to try again. “This disciple heard that Patriarch Kou’s injuries were due to the imbalance between his fate dippers. One of his fate dippers is called the Eternal Spring Fate Dipper and it’s the one that allowed me to break through to my stage. I wonder what the other one is called?”

The moment the words left his lips, Shang Lubing’s expression turned weird. “Kid, you’re a sneaky one alright, What else did you hear?”

Shang Xia shook his head and sighed. “That’s about all I heard.”

Naturally, that’s not all he heard. However, there was no need to reveal it explicitly. Anyway, Shang Lubing’s question was merely a formality.

Glancing at Kou Chongxue, Shang Lubing asked, “Kid, do you know that anything regarding the patriarch’s cultivation shouldn’t be revealed to anyone else? Even if you’re Shang Bo’s grandson, it doesn’t matter. What if the secrets are revealed to our enemies? When that happens, our patriarch will be in a great deal of trouble!”

“Of course I understand.” Shang Xia muttered without a change in expression.

Snorting softly, Shang Lubing intentionally turned a little more serious. “Since you understand, why aren’t you leaving?! Don’t tell me you’re thinking of asking even more questions about your patriarch’s injury?”

Any other student of the institution would have given in to the formless pressure coming from Shang Lubing and left. However, Shang Xia was no ordinary student. He looked at Kou Chongxue dead in the eye and asked, “I wonder if Patriarch Kou is willing to share more?”