Chapter 400: Joint Effort

…

“The battle should have ended the moment the Martial Dipper Realm Ji Wenlong appeared…” In the Beyond Heavens Pavilion, Ancestor Luo Baixu muttered while giving Kou Chongxue a strange stare.

Chuckling in amusement, Kou Chongxue replied, “Of course I know that there’s no point in our little skirmish. Disciples from both sides are no longer fighting with one another. Those in the Martial Extermination Realm stopped a long time ago. I believe the two of you also managed to learn of the situation down there.”

Luo Baixu looked at the short cultivator, Xu Bailing, and exchanged a gaze. Xu Bailing yelled in indignation soon after, “Why didn’t we not fight in the first place?!”

Glancing at the shorty, Kou Chongxue raised an eyebrow like he was looking at a dumbass. He was even starting to wonder if Shorty Xu only managed to break through to the Martial Dipper Realm due to some sort of compensation the heavens were giving him for being stupid.

Enraged by the way Kou Chongxue was looking at him, Xu Bailing leaped into the air and tried to charge forward. Luckily, Luo Baixu was prepared for it and dragged him back.

In a low voice, Luo Baixu growled, “Patriarch Kou, there’s no need to beat about the bush. If you have something to say, just say it. You probably haven’t given the order to stop in order to hide your true intentions, right? Why don’t we just talk normally?”

Kou Chongxue stared deeply at Luo Baixu and his expression became one of unprecedented seriousness. “Alright. I’m sure you discovered that broken continent there…”

The moment the words left his lips, the ancestors of the Changbai Holy Land froze and their expressions changed.

“How do you…” Xu Bailing couldn’t help but struggle free and he wanted to charge at Kou Chongxue. This time, Luo Baixu grabbed him firmly and increased the strength he used to hold his companion down.

A look of realization dawned on Kou Chongxue’s face when he looked at the two of them again.

“Bloody hell! You asshole! Were you messing with me?!” Xu Bailing roared when he realized that his reaction gave Kou Chongxue the answer he wanted and a smirk slowly appeared on Kou Chongxue’s face.

Xue Bailing wasn’t the only one whose expression was ugly beyond comparison. Luo Baixu didn’t look too friendly either. Silence descended between them, but Kou Chongxue seemed completely unruffled.

After a short moment, Luo Baixu sighed. “Looks like the news of you barging into the White Deer Paradise isn’t made up. It’s no wonder you managed to discover so many things so quickly!”

Nodding, Kou Chongxue replied, “Brother Luo, you’re quick to understand what happened indeed. Even today, not many people believe that I managed to kill my way into the White Deer Paradise and it’s just a rumor I made up. Haha. None of them will guess that I would be able to catch a glimpse of that broken continent above their holy land either.”

Xu Bailing glared at Kou Chongxue but he managed to remain uncharacteristically quiet this time.

Xu Bailing had always been rash, but he knew when to let Ancestor Luo do the talking when things got serious.

After staying silent for a short while, Luo Baixu sighed, “What do you plan to do?”

Understanding that his goal was pretty much accomplished after what Luo Baixu said, Kou Chongxue chuckled softly. “I heard that the Liao Continent was forcefully carved out from your Changbai Holy Land 20 years ago. Am I right?”

It didn’t seem to fit the topic he was driving at, but Luo Baixu and Xu Bailing quickly understood what he was talking about.

“Patriarch Kou seems extremely familiar with what happened back then…” Luo Baixu growled.

“Haha. Isn’t that the case with you guys too?” Kou Chongxue sneered.

Even though they knew that Kou Chongxue was trying to rile them up for fun, Xu Bailing couldn’t help but snort angrily when he thought about the events that happened 20 years ago.

Luo Baixu gave two chuckles before responding. “Patriarch Kou, your words seem to be demeaning your status a little. Why don’t you speak your mind?”

“Alright. We’ll join hands and split the benefits from that place. How’s that?” Kou Chongxue said a matter of factly.

Unable to remain silent any longer, Xu Bailing snorted in contempt, “Hmph, Kou Chongxue, you’ve been the greatest enemy of my Azure Spiritual World in the past 20 years! Do you think we’ll believe that you wish to work with us on this matter now? Haha! Go ask everyone else and see if anyone believes that you’re serious about working with us.”

This time, Luo Baixu remained quiet at the side as he allowed Xu Bailing to yell as he wished.

With his gaze sweeping across the two of them, Kou Chongxue muttered, “That was then. This is now. Times have changed.”

Luo Baixu thought for a second before responding, “So is your Tongyou Institution going to give up on the battlefield between the two worlds?”

“Huh?” Kou Chongxue seemed to have heard the funniest joke in his life and he sniggered, “The battlefield between the two worlds belongs to whoever is capable. What has that got to do with our cooperation?”

Luo Baixu and Xu Bailing stared at each other and Luo Baixu eventually spoke up. “Hehe. Patriarch Kou, I don’t think anyone will believe that you’re the one who said that. If not for the fact that we’re standing right here, we won’t believe it either.”

His words seemed a little awkward, but everyone who was present knew what he was talking about.

Nodding, Kou Chongxue understood that the two of them basically accepted his proposition with the way they were acting. He chose not to continue talking.

However, Xu Bailing spoke up once again. “Wait! If we manage to gain anything, how are we splitting it?”

“Other than what we obtain in the borders of our continents, everything else is free game.” Kou Chongxue explained.

Xu Bailing continued, “That doesn’t answer my question,”

“If we work together to get it, we’ll split it evenly. We keep whatever we get individually.” Kou Chongxue answered.

Luo Baixu who had been silent for quite some time spoke all of a sudden, “Deal!”

Xu Bailing wasn’t in any position to say anything else and he could only agree to the terms. In the space above the battlefield between the two worlds, the three Martial Dipper Realm experts came to an agreement and silence fell upon the space again.

…

In the border of the battlefield between the two worlds, under the other cliff face…

Shang Xia and Ren Huan noticed clusters of silvery grass swaying in the wind as they emitted soft chimes.

“It really is the Windchime Grass!” Ren Huan yelled. However, he wasn’t the only person whose eyes lit up when he saw the grass.

“Congratulations, Brother Ren!” Shang Xia cupped his fists towards Ren Huan and revealed a trace of envy in his eyes. Regardless of the type of rank four advancement medicine, obtaining the main ingredient was always an accomplishment for its user!

Ren Huan might not have reached the peak of the Martial Intent Realm, but he had already located the main ingredient for his advancement medicine. His preparation wouldn’t be easy, but he lucked out on that day!

Unlike Ren Huan who seemed to know what he was looking for, Shang Xia who was standing at the peak of the Martial Intent Realm had no idea what he was going for. His mind was basically all over the place. From the preparation of both parties, he was far too lacking when compared to Ren Huan. The longer he took to locate all his ingredients, the longer it would take for him to enter the Martial Extermination Realm.

“There might seem to be a bunch of Windchime Grass here, but only the one in the middle of each cluster can be considered the true Windchime Grass.” Ren Huan explained. The way he spoke became a lot more spry than before. He continued, “Only one of them can be produced in each cluster. There are only two of them that matured out of so many clusters out there. I’ll take one and Brother Shang, you can keep the other one well. In the future, you might be able to trade with others for something you need. We can only leave the four remaining stalks to the institution as they’re nowhere near maturing.”

When he was done, Ren Huan harvested both stalks of Windchime Grass before handing one over to Shang Xia.

Perhaps it was because he was in an amazing mood after harvesting the herb, he went ahead and gave Shang Xia another nugget of information. “Brother Shang, it’s said that the Spirit of Wind will appear where Windchime Grass grows. Looking at how there are six clusters around, it’s really likely for the spirit to be somewhere in the area.

The person who spoke might not know the implications, but Shang Xia seemed to have thought of something.

He was still confused about the Spirit of the Four Seasons recorded on the Crimson Soul Tablet, but after hearing what Ren Huan said about the ‘Spirit of Wind’, something clicked in his mind.

“Brother Ren, what is the Spirit of Wind?”

“The Spirit of Wind is the essence of wind itself. I haven’t seen it myself as it’s rumored to be something formless. It’s said to only exist in windy locations but unlike an extermination origin, it’s something that doesn’t contain the source of wind.” Ren Huan explained.

Shang Xia seemed slightly disappointed, but he still thanked Ren Huan for the explanation. At the same time, the evaluation he had for Ren Huan became higher. The fatty should possess some impressive inheritance or backing for him to know so much.

After the two of them were chatting, a loud cry tore through the air and caught their attention.

Raising their heads, they saw the Lightning Bird soaring through the skies as he made beautiful arcs through the howling winds.

“Hey! Brother Shang, doesn’t the Lightning Bird look like he’s chasing something?” Ren Huan asked curiously.

Shang Xia also discovered that the Lightning Bird was flying a little weirdly and he seemed to be chasing some sort of prey.

Releasing a loud cry, thin bolts of reddish-gold lightning surrounded the Lightning Bird’s body and he accelerated at a frightening speed. He reached out his claws and grabbed before opening his wings to soar high into the air.

“He seems to have caught something!” Shang Xia was more aware of the Lightning Bird’s situation than Ren Huan and he explained. “Brother Ren, did you notice any changes in the wind? There seemed to be some sort of change before the Lightning Bird grabbed the object and soared into the skies…”

Ren Huan raised both his eyebrows at Shang Xia. He was shocked that Shang Xia’s divine sense was able to make sense of the situation even through the violent wind. At his level, he was unable to discover a thing, much less discover the change Shang Xia was talking about.

Before he could say anything, a loud cry came from above. By the time both of them raised their heads, they saw the bird rushing down at a terrifying speed with something in his claws.

Shang Xia grunted once and the Scarlet Star Spear appeared in his hands.

It trembled slightly as he stabbed outwards. The tip of the spear miraculously avoided the bird before causing an explosion with a rampaging gust of wind behind him.

As the flow of the wind was disrupted, it swept out in all directions.

Shang Xia unleashed his sixth move earlier, the Flow Recompensation Spear to protect the Lightning Bird from the hidden threat that was following behind!

Without anything threatening his life, the Lightning Bird became a lot more relaxed. However, he didn’t perch on Shang Xia’s shoulders this time. Instead, he started circling slowly in the air above. Chirps left his lips from time to time.

Shang Xia noticed the anomaly as the Lightning Bird would extend his claws from time to time before retracting them quickly. He seemed to have caught something, but Shang Xia couldn’t see shit!

“Did you catch something for me?” Shang Xia asked.

The Lightning Bird chirped twice as it tried to indicate for Shang Xia to keep the item he caught properly.

A light flashed in Ren Huan’s eyes and he exclaimed, “Spirit of Wind! The thing in the Lightning Bird’s claws is formless but it seems to resemble the Spirit of Wind!”

Shang Xia’s heart trembled slightly and he asked quickly, “How should I store it?”

“Brother Shang, do you have any sort of spiritual restraining pouch or spirit containing bottles?” Ren Huan replied without delay.