Chapter 466: Secret Region

The moment the secret region appeared, Shang Xia felt its presence through the Abyssal Seal.

However, he wasn’t in a rush to head over as he carefully stamped several pieces of talisman paper to create seal talismans for the members of the Youyan Stronghold.

“Relax. Even if you take the seal away, the seal talismans will last for seven days. We won’t get lost during that time and you should have left the secret region by then.” Shang Pei chuckled. “Even if you don’t come out in seven days, I’ll bring the rest and leave the Cloud Water Gorge.”

Shang Xia wasn’t too worried about them. After all, the Eighteen Horsemen of the You Continent managed to rampage about freely in the Ji Continent for tens of years without the presence of a Martial Extermination Realm expert. Now that Shang Pei had entered the Martial Extermination Realm, there was even less for him to worry about.

Turning to look at Shang Pei, Shang Xia asked, “Have you completed the refinement process of your second extermination origin?”

“I’m almost halfway done.” Shang Xia chuckled in response. “Looks like you discovered it anyway.”

“I’m sure you didn’t enter the Cloud Water Gorge because the institution told you to do so. You planned on coming here all along to gather extermination qi. Now, I wonder what your second extermination origin is called…” Shang Xia asked.

“I named it myself. It’s called the Abyssal Cloud Water Extermination Origin.” Shang Pei laughed, “It’s a pity collecting it bit by bit isn’t as exciting as refining a complete extermination origin all at once. Otherwise, I wouldn’t hide here the past year…”

Shang Xia smiled and sighed softly, “It might not be as bad as you think. There’s a benefit to refining the extermination qi in the air slowly. It might not be as quick as refining a complete strand of extermination origin, but you can familiarize yourself with your extermination origin as you go along. Refining a complete extermination origin would take you 2 to 3 years to fully comprehend and wield its power, but going slow will bring about bigger benefits in the future!”

Shang Xia didn’t just stamp enough seal talismans for those present. He even stamped a few more. Flipping the Abyssal Seal around when he was done, he muttered softly, “Stamping a rank one talisman paper would actually cause it to possess the properties of a rank one talisman. I wonder if I can do the same for rank two, three, and four talisman papers… If stamping talisman paper of the corresponding rank can produce talismans, there won’t be a need to worry about success rate. Even non Talisman Masters would be able to produce talismans…”

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Of course, it sounded possible, but reality rarely worked the way he wanted it to. Shang Xia knew that the possibility of that happening was slim to none.

The Abyssal Seal wasn’t just a random treasure to him anyway. After examining it for such a long time, Shang Xia could tell that it was a really impressive treasure. It wasn’t just used for crafting rank one seal talismans…

Shang Pei stared at him and the extra talismans before giving him a stern warning, “Now is not the time for you to think about these matters. You should be looking for the secret region as soon as you can. If there really is someone else who entered, you need to be extremely careful. The blade light won’t be the only threat you need to deal with.”

Bidding the members of the Youyan Stronghold farewell, Shang Xia quickly disappeared into the thick fog.

Fifth Uncle Cen looked at Shang Pei staring aimlessly into the dense fog and he muttered softly, “Third Sister, how possible would it be for him to obtain the divine weapon?”

“If he fails to get it, no one will be able to.” Shang Pei replied without turning her head.

Fifth Uncle Cen quickly continued, “You’re really confident in him. At the end of the day, it’s just a damaged divine weapon. Is it really beneficial for him to obtain a treasure like that?”

“A damaged divine weapon…” Shang Pei muttered before turning to stare into his eyes. “Is there anyone else other than him capable of obtaining the weapon? Did those fellows from the Tongyou City say something to you?”

A bitter smile left Fifth Uncle Cen’s lips and he sighed, “I can’t hide anything from you. There have been several people in the institution who hope that the damaged divine weapon can be given to the institution. Of course, your nephew is extremely talented and he has the qualifications to wield the damaged divine weapon for some time…”

“Just like his grandfather huh? Shang Bo had been using the Nine Firefly Lance for ten or so years. In the end, it still belonged to the institution.” Shang Pei snorted rudely to interrupt him.

A helpless look appeared on Fifth Uncle Cen’s face as he continued, “You know what I mean. I’m on your side on this. I’m just a messenger for them.”

“Then I’m sure you won’t mind conveying my attitude to those assholes who like to stir shit while sitting comfortably back at home. I discovered the secret region and they only learned of the damaged divine weapon because of my reports. My husband died in there for it and even if anyone brings the damaged divine weapon out, it belongs to me. I can give it to whoever I see fit. When did my belongings enter the possession of some yapping dogs in the institution?” Shang Pei sneered.

Fifth Uncle Cen sighed again as he complained softly, “Indeed. The Tongyou Institution wasn’t as harmonious as it once was. The attitude among several experts seems to be shifting…”

“It’s natural for that to happen. After all, the institution produced a lot of Martial Extermination Realm experts in recent years. They obtained victory after victory in the battlefield between the two worlds and they’re just a step away from promoting the Tongyou Mysterious World into the Tongyou Paradise. Even the White Deer Paradise doesn’t dare to let out a fart in front of the institution and those fellows think that everything is going smoothly. They feel that it’s time for them to sit back and enjoy their fruits of labor and all of them started scrambling for power.” Shang Pei laughed coldly in contempt.

Hesitating slightly Fifth Uncle Cen wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by Shang Pei once again.

“Hmph, you’re thinking that the Shang Clan became too strong over the last two years and the balance among the great families in the city has been broken, right? That’s the reason behind the institution’s intentional suppression of my Shang Clan…” Shang Pei explained.

Fifth Uncle Cen could do nothing but laugh helplessly at the side. Shang Pei took the words right out of his mouth. Just when he thought of something else to say, he was interrupted once again by a feminine voice behind him.

“Third Sister, Third Sister, Oh? Fifth Uncle Cen is here too…” Sixth Sister Gu appeared behind them and she seemed extremely excited. “Advancement medicines! We found some advancement medicines! Two more Martial Intent Realm experts can be produced among our fellow brothers and sisters!”

Fifth Uncle Cen’s expression lit up immediately and he yelled, “Nice! Hurry, bring us there to take a look at the advancement medicine!”

Shang Pei finally replaced the sullen expression on her face with a smile as she followed behind the two of them.

…

Traveling in the direction the Abyssal Seal told him to go, Shang Xia traveled through the Cloud Water Forge at a frightening speed. He no longer bothered with the changes to the lands or the beasts hiding in the fog.

Along the way, Shang Xia discovered that his divine perception became even more sensitive than before. He could even detect minute spatial fluctuations in the space around him, but that didn’t cause him to slow down in the slightest. By the time the fluctuations ended and the space around him changed, he was already gone.

No one knew how long had passed, but Shang Xia a dense cloud had gathered under his feet and was following him wherever he went.

After even more time, Shang Xia realized that he wasn’t stepping on the ground anymore. Instead, his steps landed on the cloud under his feet.

Extending his divine perception slightly, he could tell that the ground beneath him had disappeared. He was also rising slowly in the air as he traveled, and it didn’t take long for him to arrive 1000 feet into the air.

Despite how high he was, he was still surrounded by dense fog. Before he could react, a foreign aura appeared in range of his divine perception.

He barely gathered his thoughts to chase the owner of the foreign aura down when he discovered that the aura was traveling away from the direction the Abyssal Seal was guiding him. The cloud under his feet wasn’t responding to his desire to chase the foreign aura down either. If he stubbornly wanted to move in a different direction, he would plunge down thousands of feet in the air. He wouldn’t know what that would lead to either.

Was he trapped going down that route?!

Shang Xia felt helpless and a sense of annoyance soon followed. He hated the fact that he was forced to follow the will of someone else.

Shang Pei never mentioned anything about that to him before and Shang Xia realized that with their cultivation level at the time they were entering the secret region, they might not even know that they had been hovering in mid air.

The feeling he received from the Abyssal Seal became even clearer and Shang Xia saw a huge clearing in the dense clouds before him. The only thing that was left was a path that led to a strange cloud-like door.

Taking a deep breath, Shang Xia didn’t hesitate as he walked towards the door. He didn’t realize that the clouds were disappearing behind him as he progressed.

Bringing out the Abyssal Seal as he approached the door, it opened without warning. Before Shang Xia could react, a strong suction force pulled him through the entrance.

As soon as he entered the strange door disappeared. Shang Xia’s presence was wiped away from where he once stood and the region quickly became covered by a layer of dense clouds.

Taken by surprise, Shang Xia found the scene before his eyes changed. His divine perception was still in a state of chaos when he was transported into the secret region, but danger had already arrived.

Luckily, Shang Xia received Shang Pei’s reminder and he took out his Spiritual Protection Substitution Talisman before his vision cleared.

He felt a strange orange light tearing through the air above him.

“Ah!” A miserable shriek rang through the air and Shang Xia’s eyes widened in shock. Even so, he didn’t dare to turn his head to look at the direction where the yell came from.

That was because a frightening ring came from above him. Raising his head abruptly, he noticed a yellowish-orange blade light chopping straight down at him. The Spiritual Protection Substitution Talisman in his hand shattered…