Chapter 403: Redwood Forest

Actually, Shang Xia had two secret transmission talismans on him. One came from the institution but the report sent by Shang Xia would be sent directly to his Grandpa Bo.

The other came from the Shang Clan and every member of the clan was given one.

Unlike the talisman provided by the institution that covered the entirety of the battlefield between the two worlds, the talisman the Shang Clan handed out would fly towards the closest cultivator who had a similar transmission talisman.

Not too long after Shang Xia sent out his report, a transmission was sent his way! With a look of confusion on his face, Shang Xia wondered if his Grandpa Bo was in the area. After all, if that was a reply, it came a little too quickly!

In all of Shang Xia’s memory, the institution - or his Grandpa Bo - never acted with such efficiency!

With doubt filling his heart, Shang Xia circulated his inner qi to pull the transmission in the air down towards him. When he finally held it, he realized that it wasn’t a reply to his report earlier. Instead, it was a transmission talisman sent by someone from the Shang Clan!

Shattering the restriction around it, he heard his Grandpa Ke’s voice clearly in his mind. “There’s a rank four Mutated Monkey in the Redwood Forest brewing some wine. Any member of the Shang Clan who receives this is to head over to provide assistance.”

Hearing what Shang Ke said, Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief. At least it wasn’t someone who ran into trouble and needed bailing out. However, Shang Ke seemed really serious about the Mutated Monkey King’s actions. From the way he behaved, it was almost certain that the wine was a rank four brew. Even if the brew wasn’t successful, the dregs would probably be of the fourth rank too.

One had to know that Shang Xia needed the Crimson Crystal Valley Brew as an assistive ingredient when creating his rank four advancement medicine. It was a rank four brew and even if whatever he obtained from the Mutated Monkey King wasn’t what he needed, it was possible to trade for it in the future.

Several thoughts flashed across Shang Xia’s mind in an instant, but he didn’t hesitate. He quickly ran in the direction of the transmission talisman.

Naturally, the Shang Clan’s transmission talisman didn’t possess unlimited transmission distance. Ordinarily, the talismans would be able to travel close to a hundred miles at its max. As such, it didn’t take long for the Redwood Forest to appear in his sights.

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Crossing a hill, he saw a figure rushing towards the forest from not too far away.

“Did someone else receive Grandpa Ke’s summons?” Shang Xia muttered to himself.

Less than ten members of the Shang Clan entered the battlefield between the two worlds and it was extremely unlikely for them to be within a hundred-mile radius of the Redwood Forest like Shang Xia. The Shang Clan Patriarch probably wouldn’t send out two transmission talismans at once. After all, he couldn’t be sure that there was more than one member of the Shang Clan nearby, or any for that matter. He was merely trying his luck.

Looking at the figure who was darting into the forest, Shang Xia felt that Shang Ke wasn’t the only one who discovered the Mutated Monkey King and his tribe.

Unfortunately, those who were running into the forest probably came after receiving a signal from another party.

One had to know that Shang Ke was a Martial Extermination Realm expert. For someone to be confident enough to call for backup would mean that the other party was confident of competing with Shang Ke.

At the moment, there was likely more than a single Martial Extermination Realm expert in the Redwood Forest.

The feeling of excitement Shang Xia had when he ran over started to die down. Calming himself down slightly, Shang Xia hid his aura by circulating his Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter. Using the vegetation and boulders lying around, he hid his tracks while making his way deeper into the Redwood Forest.

…

If forcing their way back into the battlefield between the two worlds required the cooperation of the higher-ups of the Tongyou Institution and experts in the Tongyou City, obtaining victory and securing a foothold in the battlefield between the two worlds signaled the end of the cooperation. What came next was each individual faction’s hunt for benefits.

When the war ended, Shang Ke successfully located the Redwood Forest and located a tribe of Mutated Monkeys. Due to their strong bond, Shang Xia knew that it wasn’t really possible to deal with them alone. The Mutated Monkey Tribe was somewhat similar to humans. There was also the presence of a rank four Mutated Monkey King.

While observing the tribe, Shang Ke felt that something was off as the Mutated Monkey King was directing the rest of the tribe to gather some fruits and flowers. From the looks of it, they were dumping all the ingredients into a hollowed tree trunk.

The legend of monkeys brewing wine flashed across Shang Ke’s mind and he couldn’t help but send out a transmission talisman to call for backup.

After sending out the transmission talisman, Shang Ke started to worry that he wouldn’t be able to locate any Shang Clan members nearby. If that was truly the case, the talisman wouldn’t be able to detect anything similar in a hundred-mile radius and would fly around above him like a headless fly before self-destructing. Now that it shot out successfully by turning into a streak of light that shot into the skies, Shang Ke heaved a sigh of relief. That was a sign that there was a member of the Shang Clan nearby.

The next thing Shang Ke had to do was to hide himself well. He observed the situation in the dark and tried to look for hollowed-out tree trunks the monkeys were brewing the wine in.

From how the tribe was acting, there seemed to be more than a single spot where they were brewing the wine. If he managed to locate other tree trunks where they had already completed the brew, he would have struck the jackpot!

He eventually managed to find two of them but he noticed another streak of light shooting out of the Redwood Forest while he was at it. That could only mean that there was another expert in the Redwood Forest!

With his heart sinking slightly, the aura around Shang Ke trembled slightly despite his best efforts to suppress it. At the same time, he started to look for signs of other experts who were going to enter the forest because of the newly released transmission talisman.

At the same time, he rejoiced silently that he was the first to send out his transmission talisman. Otherwise, the other party would have discovered him like how he spotted them.

While paying attention to the surroundings to look for the other party who was also in the Redwood Forest, Shang Ke prayed silently that the person who received his summons would come a little later to catch whichever party it was who sent out the second transmission talisman off guard.

His prayers seemed to have worked. He could feel the aura of a Martial Intent Realm expert rushing into the Redwood Forest and he heaved a sigh of relief.

Examining the newcomer with his divine sense, Shang Ke could tell that it wasn’t a member of his Shang Clan.

The Martial Intent Realm cultivator ran straight into the forest and his voice rang through the air. “Elder Qi, this disciple received your summons and has arrived! Please allow me to greet you in person.”

Shang Ke’s heart trembled slightly and he thought to himself. “Elder Qi? Don’t tell me it’s Qi Yunxiu from the Changbai Holy Land… Wasn't that the asshole who brought the Changbai Holy Land’s divine weapon into the battlefield between the two worlds and caught the attention of Ji Wenlong?”

Since the battle had ended, the experts of their respective worlds started to exchange information with those in their faction and the identities of their opponents had basically been revealed.

No matter how loud the disciple called out, he received no response which caused Shang Ke to be slightly taken aback. There could only be one reason for Elder Qi to not respond. His tracks might have already been discovered!

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Shang Ke extended his divine sense to inspect the area closest to him but failed to discover anyone.

When he tried to locate the Martial Intent Realm cultivator of the Changbai Holy Land again, he discovered that the disciple had already retracted his aura. Unfortunately, he was unable to hide his presence from a Martial Extermination Realm expert.

After not getting a response from ‘Elder Qi’, the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land also discovered that something was off. He quickly hid his aura in case he ran into any trouble. Too bad for him, he couldn’t hide from Shang Ke regardless.

Despite still being able to find the Martial Intent Realm disciple, Shang Ke started to turn serious. If his presence wasn’t discovered, why would Elder Qi not respond to the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land? Shang Ke couldn’t find any traces of Qi Yunxiu either. It didn’t make sense for the elder to leave after he discovered the actions of the Mutated Monkey Tribe.

There could only be one more possibility. The disciple who came wasn’t summoned by the transmission talisman Shang Ke saw! If that were the case, that would mean that there was another Martial Extermination Realm cultivator in the Redwood Forest! The Qi Yunxiu Shang Ke had been thinking about probably came even earlier than him!

That would mean that Qi Yunxiu had summoned the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land before Shang Ke, and someone else sent out a transmission talisman after Shang Ke. Qi Yunxiu probably noticed both attempts and he chose to hide his tracks from the two of them!

That would also mean that Qi Yunxiu knew that there were two Martial Extermination Realm experts in the Redwood Forest other than himself.

Well, that didn’t mean Shang Ke was stupid either. Now that the situation had played out, he also guessed that there were two other Martial Extermination Realm experts in the Redwood Forest. The only person who was kept in the dark was probably the last person who sent the transmission talisman. The last person might have learned that Qi Yunxiu was hiding somewhere in the forest, but he had no idea Shang Ke was also present.

Carefully evaluating the situation, Shang Ke realized that even though he was the second to arrive, he held an advantageous position.

The only question was how long he could hold that advantage. The moment a member of the Shang Clan arrives, Shang Ke’s identity would be revealed if the person behaved like the disciple of the Changbai Holy Land!

Shang Ke could only hope that the Shang Clan member who received his summons wouldn’t rush over recklessly. Or at the very least, he hoped that the Shang Clan member wouldn’t run into either Martial Extermination Realm expert on his way over.

Other than his worries, he was starting to become concerned about the identity of the third Martial Extermination Realm expert.

If the third expert was from the Azure Origin World, that would be for the best. After all, they would definitely be on the side of the institution. They would either be someone from the other three great clans or a newly ascended Martial Extermination Realm expert like Zhao Hengchun.

If the third expert was a member of the four great races of the Liao Continent, things might get ugly.

As for whether the third person could be another elder of the Changbai Holy Land, Shang Ke didn’t even think of the possibility. After all, he would have revealed himself the moment the disciple came over calling for Elder Qi.

Just as Shang Ke’s head was starting to hurt as he thought about the possible identities of the third Martial Extermination Realm expert, a familiar voice entered his ears. “Fifth Grandpa!”