Chapter 324: Underground Spiritual Vein

… (time skip backward in case you’re confused)

Outside the Changfeng City in the depths of the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range…

After giving Shang Xia the Water Repulsion Pearl and leaving behind a few sets of instructions, Youshang left him behind and rushed back to the Changfeng City.

According to Youshang’s calculations, Shang Xia had turned into the key to destroying the White Deer Paradise’s plans. That might be the case, but he would be taking on the greatest risk. Not only would he have to distract Gao Yun when he returned, but he would also have to take the risk of being killed by the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise at any time!

When Shang Xia heard the plan earlier, he found it a little surprising. Youshang was a cultivator from the Azure Spiritual World regardless. Who would have thought that he would place his life on the line for the Tongyou Institution?

Shang Xia was so shocked that he brought up the stupidest suggestion in his life. “Senior, why don’t you stay here while I return to the city?”

Staring at Shang Xia like he was looking at the biggest clown in the Azure Origin World and asked, “Are you going to fight Gao Yun when you get back to buy time for me?”

Coughing drying in response, Shang Xia paused for a good minute to reflect on his stupidity before speaking. “If I stay here, how would I know when to head into the underground river to carry out the plan?”

“Relax. When their Martial Dipper Realm ancestor descends, the commotion they will create will be massive. That will be your signal to carry out the plan.”

After he spoke, Youshang felt that he said enough. He turned into a streak of light that left Shang Xia behind as he flew back to the city.

Watching Youshang disappear into the horizon, Shang Xia frowned. There was nothing for him to do while waiting. Plopping his butt down on a giant rock nearby, Shang Xia started to circulate his inner qi. He exhausted a huge amount of it earlier and there was no better time to recover. He also started reflecting on the battle before.

There was also the matter of his third divine sense transformation. He also had to digest the gains he received after the transformation and refine his seventh move.

Even though he experienced his third divine sense transformation during the battle earlier and seemed to turn the tides of battle easily, the situation was much more dangerous than actually described.

If not for his already sturdy foundations and accumulations, he might not have been able to complete his third divine sense transformation so quickly and easily!

Feeling the changes to his divine sense, he discovered that the greatest improvement to it was the degree of fusion to the heaven and earth qi around him. He could use it to a greater degree by manipulating a larger amount of heaven and earth qi. He could also imbue his inner qi into them.

The feeling was exceptionally clear when he unleashed Celestial Disruption earlier. If he had to rank and explain his spear technique and the moves he came up with, he would say that the first three moves allowed him to show off his exquisite technique while possessing many strong killing properties. The following three moves were more combat-oriented, and they allowed him to kill his enemies effectively. His seventh move, ‘Celestial Disruption’, didn’t fall into either category perfectly. Instead, it focused more on the spiritual aspect. It was an extremely powerful move that also allowed him to tear his opponent’s divine sense apart!

He couldn’t help but think about Shang Bo’s title as the Soul Tearing Spear. Shang Bo seemed to have gained his title after comprehending his seventh move, ‘Tearing Soul’.

The power contained in Shang Bo’s seventh spear was unquestionable. But from the name, it wasn’t difficult to imagine the damage he could cause to his opponent’s divine sense. After all, one’s divine sense was related to one’s soul.

The next thing to flash across Shang Xia’s mind was Shang Ke’s title as the Suspended Spear. With his newfound comprehension, he realized that Shang Ke’s title was more of a mockery by his opponents. Since Shang Ke only managed to come up with five moves due to his limited comprehension of the Providence Spear Art, they were probably mocking the fact that his technique couldn’t really be considered strong. Of course, it wasn’t that weak either, thus the name ‘suspended’. His comprehension wasn’t high nor low, and it could only be considered to be suspended somewhere.

That was proven by the fact that Shang Ke’s strength wasn’t comparable to Shang Bo.

Next, Shang Xia thought back to the times he saw Shang Ke fighting. If he had to be truly critical, Shang Xia felt that he was already a match for a Martial Intent Realm Shang Ke before he experienced his third divine sense transformation. A wave of anxiety struck Shang Xia after realizing the fact. He discovered how risky his actions were when he handed the Fantasy Spiritual Pearl Shang Ke.

With Shang Ke’s weak foundations back in the Mountain and Sea Fantasy Spiritual World, it was truly a miracle that he managed to break through to the Martial Extermination Realm!

There was nothing more to say since Shang Ke successfully entered the Martial Extermination Realm and became a second pillar of strength for the Shang Clan. However, Shang Xia was still feeling a tinge of guilt.

After finally getting over his feelings, he continued to ponder over his gains in the previous battles. God knew how long had passed when he finally felt a change in his surroundings.

With his eyes snapping open, Shang Xia noticed that the entire mountain range seemed to have come to life. The earth was shifting as a deep rumbling came from down below.

Suppressing the shock in his heart, Shang Xia steadied his breathing.

When he was able to think clearly again, Shang Xia discovered that the boulder he was sitting on was vibrating slightly.

“Not good… It’s the underground river!” He discovered the source of danger the next second. The changes happening to the mountain range had something to do with the underground river! The river seemed to have experienced some agitation and it was flowing much more violently than before. According to what he learned from Mister Bu and Youshang, along with the inferences he had after hearing the conversation between Gao Yun and Wei Zhongwen, Shang Xia knew that the underground river containing the spiritual vein was a key to the descent of the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise.

He might not know the exact method the ancestor was using to appear on the You Continent, but there was no doubt about it. The underground river was going to play a key part in it!

Moreover, the descent of a Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise would greatly affect Shang Xia! If things were to go ugly, he wouldn’t be able to keep his life!

Realizing the severity of the situation, he regulated his breathing again before transforming his inner qi according to the dao of weight. He filled himself with heavy qi before pressing himself down on the boulder he was on.

The boulder was heavy to begin with, and with Shang Xia’s addition, it managed to remain in place. It resisted the pressure building up from the underground river and its attempt to burst out into the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range. After all, he couldn’t allow Gao Yun to discover any anomalies before they carried out their plan.

With Shang Xia’s interference, the boulder sank several inches into the ground.

Before he could heave a sigh of relief, an even stronger blast came from down below. He knew it wasn’t an illusion when the mountain range started trembling before his eyes.

The sound that came from the underground river increased in volume as the boulder below him started shaking frantically. Something was moving closer and closer towards him, and it was moving extremely quickly!

Could it be… Could it be the Martial Dipper Realm ancestor of the White Deer Paradise?!

Shang Xia’s eyes widened in fright.

As the sound got closer and closer, it got so loud that Shang Xia nearly lost his hearing. He felt the trembling under him getting more and more intense as the boulder started to bounce up and down.

Furiously circulating his inner qi and transforming it to possess the properties of weight, Shang Xia couldn’t think of anything else.

As the deafening rumble reached its peak, Shang Xia felt something traveling through the underground river at a terrifying speed. He was too scared to speak, but he could tell that something was moving quickly towards the Changfeng City.

Discovering that his back had been drenched in his perspiration, Shang Xia quickly leaped off the boulder. Before he could hit the ground, the boulder exploded into countless pieces.