Chapter 547: I Have a Pen, I Have an Apple

Shang Xia wanted to verify his guesses with the person in front of him, but who would have thought that his enemy would launch a sudden attack when he got to the most juicy question of all? All Shang Xia wanted to know was their purpose in entering the Manyu Continent!

Of course, Shang Xia never lowered his guard. Facing the incoming ruler, Shang Xia’s Hundred Gold Sword made a quick counterattack. 7 different pairs of sword qi converged into one before slamming into the metal ruler.

Clang!

A crisp blast tore through the air and Shang Xia seemed to suffer a heavy blow as he was thrown backwards. He only managed to stabilize himself after flying dozens of feet through the air and his Hundred Gold Sword buzzed incessantly in his hands. It nearly failed to take on the blow.

His Seven Laceration Sword possessed a horrifying amount of power when it was powered by his Four Constellation Qi. Especially when he used the Four Constellations along with the concepts of Yin and Yang. His Seven Laceration Sword reached a whole new level compared to the time he was in the Yin Yang Realm.

However, his opponent was a Martial Extermination Realm expert with deep foundations. He was comparable in strength to Liu Yu, and Shang Xia failed to gain the upper hand with his second martial intent.

With the upper hand, the ruler wielding cultivator wouldn’t let Shang Xia off easy. He pressed his advantage and tore the space between them open again. Another beam of light emerged from his ruler as it wanted to take the chance when Shang Xia was distracted by the shattered space to slice him up into several pieces.

Shang Xia kept his cool while dealing with the current situation. His Hundred Gold Sword drew beautiful arcs in the sky as seven different rays of sword light formed a net in front of him to resist the metal ruler.

With shrill scraping sounds ripping through the skies, Shang Xia’s net of sword light was torn to shreds in an instant. However, it served its purpose and weakened the power contained in his enemy’s strike by about 60 percent.

Instead of pulling back his weapon, the other cultivator roared with laughter. He continued to push his metal ruler forward, confident that he would be able to tear open the protection layer of Shang Xia’s extermination origins before slaying the man.

Unfortunately, his expression changed the moment his weapon touched the protection barrier created by Shang Xia’s Four Seasons Extermination Origins.

He saw that after forcing Shang Xia’s Hundred Gold Sword back, a semi-broken blade appeared in his other hand. It turned into a reddish-gold lightning bolt that contained a terrifying blade intent that sailed past his metal ruler and straight at him.

Shang Xia unleashed his Twenty Four Solar Terms with the Abyssal Blade and released Lightning Awakening!

Even though the raw power contained in the blade wasn’t the highest out of every move he created, it was great for catching his opponents off guard and it was something Shang Xia used often in sneak attacks. With the speed it possessed, it would allow him to gain the initiative when fighting his opponents.

Obviously, the other cultivator didn’t expect Shang Xia to wield his blade in his other hand. Neither did he expect Shang Xia to be able to unleash another attack stronger than the sword intent he used earlier. The speed of the blade strike had also surpassed his expectations. Shang Xia might have used Lightning Awakening after the metal ruler was about to arrive, but it was obvious the blade intent would arrive first.

Breaking out into full blown panic, the other cultivator knew that it was too late to pull his weapon back. Instead, he shook his weapon once and his ruler started breaking up into segments. Every time it trembled once, a portion of the ruler would separate from the main body and return to his side. It soon turned into a shield in front of him.

Unfortunately, the shield that was formed hastily was blown apart in a massive explosion. The blade light didn’t slow down in the slightest as it struck the protective barrier around Shang Xia’s enemy.

“Divine weapon!” He screamed in fright as the protection barrier around him shattered. A loud crack came from the crown on his head and a golden glow light fell from the void. It formed a screen around him and it blocked the terrifying blade light that had already arrived.

He might have lived, but a trace of fear remained in his heart. He retreated without hesitation and he tried to widen the distance between himself and Shang Xia desperately.

As he escaped, his experience as a seasoned cultivator took over. He didn't waste the power of his life saving treasure. Since it blocked Shang Xia’s strike, the fragments of his metal ruler reformed in mid air and slammed into the protection barrier around Shang Xia.

Without any way to block the sudden attack, it was the first time Shang Xia was relying on the protection barrier created by his extermination origins to protect himself. Since there was no way about it, Shang Xia took the chance to test out its limits.

When the metal ruler slammed into his protection barrier, it started to corrode due to the unending cycle of the four seasons. In a short moment, it was completely drained of energy!

“You…” His opponent stared at him in fright and gasped, all while retreating. He wanted nothing more than to run away from this abnormal freak.

A soft chuckle escaped Shang Xia’s lips and he understood the other party’s intentions. The Hundred Gold Sword in his hand shot forward to release another seven pairs of sword qi to deploy the Yin Yang Sword Formation to prevent his opponent from leaving in the direction he intended. Next, his Abyssal Blade cleaved horizontally. A blade light emerged before splitting into two strands of light that had the power to shatter the space around them as they extended towards his enemy.

Clearly, the cultivator who appeared earlier wanted to return to the safety of the inner formation.

Naturally, Shang Xia wouldn’t let him do as he wished. His Yin Yang Sword Formation was actually a decoy. The true threat came from his blade strike as he had unleashed a powerful strike with his Abyssal Blade, Spring Equinox!

The cultivator fighting against Shang Xia wasn’t a fool. He could obviously tell that the blade strike was much stronger than the sword formation.

At the critical moment, the metal ruler that returned to his hand at an unknown time tapped quickly at the void before him. Every time it did, it would tap accurately at the tip of the blade lights flying at him. Every time he did, the blade lights would slow down slightly.

However, every time his ruler tapped at the tip of the blade lights, it would be slightly damaged by the strange power contained within.

This time, the corrosion didn’t just affect his inner qi that powered the metal ruler. Even the weapon itself started to get damaged.

Because he managed to stall the blade lights for a split second, he managed to pull out a purple crystal in his other hand. He pushed it in the direction of the spatial cracks that formed around the blade lights.

As soon as it entered, it caused widespread destruction to the void around. The violent fluctuations managed to stop Shang Xia’s Spring Equinox.

Even though the chaotic streams that came from the shattered void caused Shang Xia’s heart to tighten slightly, he didn’t feel a trace of fear.

Even if he didn’t use his brains, he would be able to guess that the purple crystal was no ordinary treasure. As such, it wasn’t likely for his opponent to bring out another one.

Without hesitation, Shang Xia raced towards his enemy. The distance between them shortened and his blade came crashing down again.

Once again, a terrifying blade light emerged from his Abyssal Blade but this time, it didn’t split up. Shang Xia unleashed Autumn’s Separation in an attempt to slay his opponent.

The other cultivator revealed a look of fright. He no longer had any means to protect himself against the next strike and he could only use the half damaged metal ruler in his hands to resist it.

…

After entering the Martial Intent Realm and developing one’s divine sense, combat between cultivators of the same level would usually involve the clash of their divine senses. One’s techniques and special arts were usually not the focus of the battle as one would quickly come out on top the moment they suppressed the other party with their divine sense. Unless the other party had extraordinarily powerful techniques to overcome the suppression, the battle was as good as over.

If the way of fighting wasn’t obvious enough in the Martial Intent Realm, the difference would be clearly felt in the Martial Extermination Realm. After one’s divine sense transformed into divine perception, it would become their primary method of fighting. As long as they managed to suppress the other party with their divine perception, they would be able to advance and retreat as they pleased.

…

Because of Shang Xia’s superior divine perception, the ruler wielding cultivator was feeling a massive sense of pressure on him the entire time. Shang Xia’s suppression of his divine perception was much more intense than the disadvantage he fell to during their battle.

Since Shang Xia had locked on to him using his divine perception, it was nearly impossible for him to escape unharmed. He could only endure blade strike after blade strike.

Now that the battle had progressed up to that point, they could only see who ran out of inner qi first.

Shang Xia’s Four Constellation Qi continued to cycle in his dantian. Because of their properties, he could restore his inner qi extremely quickly and he wasn’t afraid of fighting against someone of the same level. A battle of attrition was something he was completely unafraid of! Moreover, he was wielding a divine weapon…

Under Shang Xia’s continuous assault, his opponent was barely holding on.

Now that he released Autumn’s Separation, his opponent could only resist it forcefully with his weapon. The metal ruler trembled violently and the impact went straight into the cultivator’s body. His innards were shaken and he spat out a mouthful of blood. However, he eventually managed to resist the strike.

After stopping Autumn’s Separation, he seemed to have reached his limits.

There was no way Shang Xia would give his opponent a chance to catch his breath. With the special properties of his Four Constellation Qi, Shang Xia would always be able to gain the upper hand by striking out at the key moment when he fought against opponents of the same level. With the Hundred Gold Sword in his right hand, he slashed at the fleeing cultivator and knew that the moment it connected, he would deal his opponent a grievous blow.

This time, the other cultivator no longer had any special life-saving treasures on him. Even his weapon had been severely damaged by Shang Xia’s blade intent. His inner qi was a mess as circulating it became really difficult due to the repeated injuries he suffered.

Right before he could succeed, Shang Xia discovered a slight fluctuation nearby. An ancient looking copper spear tore extended from the void and slammed into his Hundred Gold Sword.

Clink!

Not only did the sudden attack interrupt Shang Xia’s sword art, it also managed to pull Shang Xia’s divine perception away from his target. The escaping cultivator discovered a ray of hope and his original intention to accept his fate disappeared. Shaking off the suppression, he retreated hastily to regroup with the person who saved him.

The cultivator who was saved at the last second was shocked, but so was Shang Xia. It was especially so after he noticed the damaged Ancient Copper Spear that interrupted him.

“Brother Lou Yi, are you alright?” A familiar voice rang through the air as an unfamiliar face emerged from the void. The person who just appeared wielded the Ancient Copper Spear and was clearly the person who stopped Shang Xia at the last moment.

“Brother Huang Yu, it’s you… Ahem… I didn’t think that you would arrive so quickly. Many thanks for saving me!” Lou Yi heaved a sigh of relief.

Holding the Ancient Copper Spear in his hand, ‘Huang Yu’ stood between Shang Xia and Lou Yi as he replied, “Brother Lou Yi, please hang on a little longer. Let me deal with this!”

“Brother Huang Yu, please wait!” Lou Yi tried to stop him. “This person possesses extremely formidable strength. However, this isn’t the time for us to mess about. The appearance of the pillar of light spewed out world origin at a frightening rate. It greatly accelerated the destruction of the Manyu Continent. We need to meet up with Cen Yu and Liu Yu as soon as possible to protect this area!”

“Alright…” Huang Yu who wanted to exchange pointers with Shang Xia ‘reluctantly’ chose to hold Shang Xia back while Lou Yi ran in the direction of the inner formation.

Shang Xia understood that despite Lou Yi’s injuries, there was no point in fighting anymore now that reinforcements had arrived. He stared at Lou Yi and Huang Yu who were about to enter the inner formation and he took several steps forward as if he wasn’t willing to let them leave easily.

“Brother Lou, you should enter the formation first. I’ll deal with this!” Huang Yu growled.

The moment Shang Xia moved, the 2 of them felt as though another huge battle was about to break out. Huang Yu immediately stopped moving as he turned to face Shang Xia in mid air. Of course, he was still moving towards the protection formation.

Lou Yi opened the formation without much difficulty and maintained the opening until Huang Yu arrived. Only after they entered the barrier did they quickly restore the opening.

Lou Yi and Huang Yu started conversing inside the barrier in low voices, and Shang Xia couldn’t hear a thing. They seemed to ignore Shang Xia who was outside when they were done talking and they rushed towards the pillar of light.

Before they left, Huang Yu turned to stare at Shang Xia as a strange smile flashed across his face for a split second.