Chapter 431: Grand Formation and Mutated Rain Swallows

Shang Xia couldn’t deny that he was surprised to obtain the Yang Fire Stone that way.

That was because at that moment, Shang Xia collected the Spirit of the Four Seasons which he had estimated would be the most difficult of the ingredients.

As for the supplementary ingredients he required, he only managed to obtain the Jade Peach Blossom from Kou Chongxue. There were several others on their way from what he learned from his grandfather. Shang Ke sent a transmission from the Taihang Mountain not too long ago that he obtained the Glass Daisy Chrysanthemum and was locating the Dragon Headed Wintersweet.

Shang Xia was rejoicing inwardly that they managed to find so many herbs, but he also realized that Shang Ke wasn’t working alone. Since he was running around the Taihang Mountain, Shang Pei had probably rendered her assistance.

Shang Ke didn’t state where he went to look for the Dragon Headed Wintersweet in his transmission, but Shang Bo might know a thing or two about it. However, no one bothered telling Shang Xia anyway.

Despite their secrecy, Shang Xia knew that neither of those herbs would be easy to find. Shang Ke and Shang Pei might be experts in the Martial Extermination Realm but those were rank four herbs they were talking about. If finding them were so easy, Shang Ke wouldn’t have hurried to the Taihang Mountain to join forces with Shang Pei.

The only thing Shang Xia felt gratified about was that enough time should have passed so that Shang Ke’s refinement of the Lingkong Formless Extermination Origin would have been complete. With the strength of a second layer Martial Extermination Realm expert, Shang Ke’s strength would reach a new level.

After joining forces with Shang Pei, as long as they didn’t run into old monsters in the Martial Dipper Realm or became surrounded by a large number of Martial Extermination Realm experts, they wouldn’t be in too much danger.

Of the various treasures and herbs Shang Xia needed to collect, the assistive treasures were the easiest to come by. At the moment, he had collected all of them other than the Yang Fire Stone. Lo and behold, it fell straight into his lap.

Well, that left his assistive ingredient, the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer’s Yeast. That was the only thing Shang Xia hadn’t heard of since he started collecting the stuff he needed. Luckily, Shang Bo promised to help him keep a lookout for it in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion.

With the promise Shang Bo made to him, Shang Xia realized something important. Since Shang Bo was planning to head to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion soon, the situation in the battlefield between the two worlds should be more or less stable. Otherwise, Deputy Patriarch Shang wouldn’t dump his responsibilities to head out.

Also, Shang Bo might have promised to help him keep a lookout for the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer’s Yeast in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion, but that definitely wouldn’t be his true purpose in heading there.

From what Shang Xia learned previously, the main purpose of any Martial Extermination Realm expert heading to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion was to train. Shang Bo’s cultivation could be said to have experienced an explosive rise over a short ten-plus years. That was because Kou Chongxue brought him over to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion to train.

At the moment, Shang Bo’s cultivation had reached an unbelievable level and it was possible for him to step into the Martial Dipper Realm with the right opportunities. Training in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion wouldn’t be of much use to him at the moment. That was why it was a little strange for Shang Bo to be heading there.

With the current situation of the Tongyou City, Kou Chongxue should be trying to increase the strength of other Martial Extermination Realm experts. Shang Bo would probably be left to his own cultivation for the foreseeable future as even someone like Shang Xia knew that it wasn’t possible for Shang Bo to enter the Martial Dipper Realm anytime soon. Since Ji Wenlong had just broken through, the Tongyou Institution’s inventory of high-level herbs was probably wiped out already. Even if it wasn’t, a huge portion would have already been used up. There wouldn’t be enough resources for Shang Bo to advance in such a short period of time too.

Shang Xia wouldn’t question his grandfather’s purpose in going to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion, but he also wouldn’t place all his hope of obtaining the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer’s Yeast on Shang Bo. That was why he had requested for Shang Quan to keep a lookout for it around the Observation Peak. They released news that the Shang Clan was willing to trade treasures of equivalent value to obtain the Crimson Crystal Valley Brewer’s Yeast, but there was no news of it so far.

…

Looking at the rest of Sima Zhanxing’s items, Shang Xia couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Other than the Yang Fire Stone, nothing else seemed to catch his eye. In fact, the treasures Sima Zhanxing had seemed ill-fitting of his status as a Martial Extermination Realm expert.

Luckily, Shang Xia had expected as much. After picking out several treasures among them, he handed everything over to Shang Quan to deal with.

Sorting out the items he chose, Shang Xia discovered that the treasures Sima Zhanxing had on him were mostly special products from the Azure Spiritual World. Because some of them weren’t of exceptionally high grade, Shang Xia felt that Sima Zhanxing had a purpose for collecting them.

That wasn’t all. Sima Zhanxing also left behind a diary of what he had seen or experienced during his time in the Azure Spiritual World. There were some details in there that shocked Shang Xia. He even felt that the information the institution had on the Azure Spiritual World was inferior to what Sima Zhanxing had recorded.

Clearly, this member of the Rose Party went over with a clear agenda in mind. He might have used them to escape from the wrath of the Tongyou Institution, but it seemed as though he was also planning to use the chance to learn more about them.

Putting the diary aside, Shang Xia looked at the treasures that came from the Azure Spiritual World. He had seen some of them before, and he recognized several others. He discovered that the institution had been trying to nurture some of those treasures themselves, and there were some in stock in the institution’s Warehouse Division. That caused suspicion to sneak up Shang Xia’s mind. With the amount of resources in the Tongyou Institution that came from the Azure Spiritual World, Shang Xia felt that there was no way they could have gotten everything from killing and plundering cultivators from the Azure Spiritual World. There had to be another avenue the institution was getting its supply. Unfortunately, at Shang Xia’s current level of authority in the institution, he wasn’t privy to such information.

The institution’s sources might have been a secret Shang Xia was unable to access, but he was sure that the Azure Spiritual World had contact with the Tongyou Institution. In the gathering that happened not too long ago, Shang Xia was sure that there was a huge group of cultivators from the Azure Spiritual World who attended. He was extremely confident that he could pick them out one by one given enough time. If he could do it, there was no doubt the Martial Extermination Realm expert from the Tongyou Institution could also do it.

Thinking deeper into the matter, Shang Xia realized that the higher-ups of both parties reached some sort of silent agreement.

From a certain standpoint, the Tongyou Institution’s view seemed to be shifting subtly. Which brought about Shang Xia’s confusion. He knew that it was happening, but he had no idea why.

At the end of the day, everything could be chalked up to his low authority in the Tongyou Institution.

Fortunately, Shang Xia had a sneaking suspicion that all those secrets that he couldn’t access would be unraveled the moment he entered the Martial Extermination Realm.

He had 3 more rank three talisman jades on him, and 3 more spatial cases. His days of crafting Bamboo Void Breaking Talismans were far from over.

After resting for a few days, Shang Xia planned to start his next round of crafting when he was interrupted by messy chirps that came from all over the Observation Peak.

With his eyes widening slightly, he dumped his brush back on the tablet before running out to take a look. The moment he did, he saw hundreds of Mutated Rain Swallows circling the skies above the Observation Peak.

As they flew around in a giant flock, they were led by a larger, fatter bird who was emitting golden streaks of lightning as he flew. He seemed to be slightly showing off as he soared through the air.

The Lightning Bird was back with his flock of Mutated Rain Swallows!

Even though Shang Xia had his suspicions, it seemed as though the Lightning Bird really managed to refine both the wind and lightning attributed extermination origins to enter the fourth rank. He couldn’t help but be happy for the Lightning Bird from the bottom of his heart.

The appearance of a rank four spiritual beast with a flock of Mutated Rain Swallows quickly alerted the Observation Peak. Panic broke out immediately as many cultivators prepared for battle. Luckily, Shang Bo hadn’t left and along with 2 other Martial Extermination Realm experts, they conveyed the news that the Lightning Bird was back to nest on the Observation Peak along with the Mutated Rain Swallows.

The panic quickly developed into newfound respect and trust in the Tongyou Institution.

Naturally, Shang Xia was discovered by the Lightning Bird the moment he emerged from his secret chamber.

A clear chirp tore through the skies as the Lightning Bird broke away from the flock. Turning into a streak of light, he landed on Shang Xia’s shoulders.

After completing his breakthrough, the Lightning Bird definitely grew even bigger. However, he started to shrink when he was flying towards Shang Xia. By the time the Lightning Bird perched, he returned to his old tiny figure.

“Chirp, chirp! Chirp, chirp!” The now-little Lightning Bird chirped in excitement but Shang Xia could hear the slight arrogance he was feeling. The Lightning Bird seemed to be saying:?Look at me! I broke through to the fourth rank but look at you! You’re still stuck in the Martial Intent Realm!

Shang Xia chuckled in response, “Well, congratulations. Hahaha, don’t be too excited about it. I’ll be catching up to you soon!”

When the Lightning Bird flew down earlier, he attracted the gaze of many cultivators on the Observation Peak. However, he was too damn fast and not many people managed to see where he went.

Only several cultivators from the Talisman Hall who were close to Shang Xia’s secret chamber noticed that the Lightning Bird was perched on Shang Xia’s shoulders. They stared with wide eyes at the little bird that was emitting a greenish-golden glow.

That was a rank four spiritual bird they were talking about! It wasn’t everyday they got to see one up close!

“Chirp, chirp, chirp! Chirp, chirp, chirp…” As the Lightning Bird called out several times, Shang Xia seemed to have caught the meaning behind his cries. After advancing, the Lightning Bird developed his intelligence and was finally able to convey his thoughts to Shang Xia a little more clearly than before.

Shang Xia thought about it for a moment before asking, “Are you concerned about Yan Ni’er and her children?”

“Chirp!” Flapping his wings violently, the Lightning Bird confirmed Shang Xia’s guess and seemed to be hurrying him for an answer.

“Hmmm, I’ll bring them over in a little bit and you can take a look for yourself. How’s that?” Shang Xia replied after thinking about it for a second.

The Lightning Bird seemed satisfied with the answer and started chirping incessantly. Even the lower-leveled cultivators standing around could tell that the bird was extremely happy with Shang Xia’s answer.

Leaping into the skies, the Lightning Bird made a perfect arc above his head before releasing several loud chirps. Without warning, he released several streaks of lightning that tickled Shang Xia.

Chuckling softly, Shang Xia circulated his inner qi and transformed it into a ball of lightning. Lightly tossing it at the Lightning Bird, the ball of lightning entered his body without much resistance.

“Chirp…” The Lightning Bird absorbed the ball of lightning instantly but before he could do anything else, a low chime seemed to fill the air above the Observation Peak.

Shang Xia felt his divine sense trembling slightly from the sudden disturbance, but he wasn’t the only one who was affected. The flock of Mutated Rain Swallows quietened down suddenly, and Shang Xia raised his head to be greeted by pillars of heaven and earth qi extending around the Observation Peak.

Gasps quickly escaped the lips of everyone on the Observation Peak as a thin barrier of light seemed to extend out from those pillars of heaven and earth qi to encircle the Observation Peak.

The grand formation of the Observation Peak was completed at that moment!