Chapter 553: And the Oscar Award Goes To

It was clear she would never be able to guess the reason as she breathed her last while trying to turn her head.

Huang Yu’s energy started to eat away at her life force the moment he pulled his spear out and the process didn’t take long.

As she fell, her body started to disappear under their gazes. Her inner qi was released at a terrifying rate but before it could produce a heavenly phenomenon, it was swallowed by the heaven and earth qi storm outside. Not even her bones were left.

“Even a Martial Intent Realm cultivator would be able to leave a complete corpse when they die. The things Martial Extermination Realm experts can leave behind after their death is getting less and less…” Shang Xia stared at the female cultivator’s clothes which was all that was left of her and he kicked it out into the heaven and earth qi storm outside. It disappeared instantly.

“Everything returns to the origin. If you are truly able to step into the Martial Dipper Realm, you might be able to leave behind a corpse when you pass on. In fact, your corpse might exist for a long, long time!” Huang Yu muttered, but he sounded a little strange.

Staring at him from top to bottom, Shang Xia muttered, “I have to say, your ability to disguise yourself truly leaves me in awe. Didn’t you take my Jade River Sword back then? Why are you still using your broken spear? Well… At least it still looks like a spear…”

Huang Yu yelled helplessly, “I have no choice! Initially, I planned to disguise myself as Su Jinyuuan. However, he comes from an extremely powerful background. The matter where we joined hands to kill him was known by the others and I nearly messed up. Luckily, I got lucky and ran into a scattered cultivator from the Spirit Abundance World. The fact that he doesn’t have a background is a slight plus, but that isn’t the main point. He turned out to be a spear user too… Hehehe…”

“So that’s why you disguised yourself as ‘Huang Yu’?” Shang Xia asked.

Nodding his head, Huang Yu continued, “It’s been a little more than 2 months and I used a greater portion of my time in disguise to deal with his identity.”

Shang Xia asked with concern, “There shouldn’t be any problems, right? Your identity shouldn’t be exposed so easily…”

“Well, I’m dancing on the tip of a blade anyway. There’s no way to be 100 percent sure. After all, we can’t assume that everyone else is a dumbass, right?!” Huang Yu chuckled.

Shang Xia sighed softly after hearing what he said. “Haven’t you been doing all these things for many years now? When will Patriarch Kou allow you to return and reassume your true identity?”

Stunned by the sudden question, a complicated gaze flashed in his eyes before he laughed softly, “I’ve long gotten used to this life. Moreover… Hehe, there’s no one to bother and order me around. My life isn’t as bad as you think.”

Shang Xia nodded slowly and asked another question. “Oh yeah, that lady talked about the Spirit Abundance World…”

Raising his hand to stop Shang Xia, Huang Yu whispered. “Wait. Let’s join hands to deal with this rat before we talk more about this.”

“...”

“How dare you stand in my way?! Eat my spear!” Huang Yu roared suddenly and his spear stabbed at Shang Xia with terrifying speed.

He attacked for real, but Shang Xia didn’t plan on resisting it with all his might. His wrist trembled slightly and he summoned the Abyssal Blade that had flown away and kept it in his sleeves. Next, he raised his Hundred Gold Sword with his left hand slightly and tore open the void in front of him.

As wild spatial fluctuations filled the area, Shang Xia retreated hastily. The Misty Palace Lantern above his head shook violently and the space it carved out from the chaotic heaven and earth qi storm outside nearly shattered.

“Who the hell are you?! Why are you attacking me out of nowhere?!” Shang Xia screamed in anger. While using his Hundred Gold Sword to stop Huang Yu’s advance, he tried to sense the other attacker in the heaven and earth qi storm outside.

Even though his divine perception was twisted the moment it encountered the heaven and earth qi storm, he could at least discover any traces of danger that would be approaching.

“Fellow cultivator, there’s no need to panic. I am Tang Lisong of the Three Rivers Sect in the Azure Spiritual World. I hope we can join hands to deal with this foreign expert.”

A muffled cry came from the heaven and earth qi storm and as per usual, no one could tell which direction it came from.

While locked in ‘intense’ combat with Huang Yu, Shang Xia shot him a gaze to ask what they should do.

Ignoring Shang Xia, Huang Yu continued his ferocious offensive. In fact, his blows started to grow stronger and Shang Xia’s defenses were showing signs of breaking down.

“Fellow cultivator, do not allow him to escape! That man isn’t a native cultivator of the Manyu Continent! Neither is he a member of our Azure Spiritual and Azure Origin World. He’s a foreign cultivator who entered the Manyu Continent secretly!” The voice sounded a little louder and even though they were still unable to pinpoint his location, it was clear he was rapidly approaching.

By the time he completed his sentence, a streak of light finally entered the space carved out by the Misty Palace Lantern.

The person who arrived was really short, but he also had a skinny figure. His voice was hoarse and heavy, contrary to his appearance.

Shooting a glance at the Misty Palace Lantern above Shang Xia’s head, the newcomer didn’t say anything else. He summoned a flail and slammed it down at Huang Yu.

“Little friend, there are a lot more of them and they caused the heaven and earth qi vortex. The person you are fighting is merely one of those stationed outside to stop people like you and me. It’s clear that they’re planning something huge. Our Azure Spiritual World and your Azure Origin World might be separate entities right now, but the fusion of our worlds cannot be stopped. Let’s join hands and destroy their nasty scheme!” Tang Lisong immediately chose Shang Xia as someone he could work with and he celebrated silently to have found such a powerful ally.

“Alright.” Shang Xia obviously wouldn’t reject the offer. Moreover, there was no reason for him to reject after considering his current situation. He didn’t forget to introduce himself, “You can call me Shang Xia. I’m a disciple of the Tongyou Institution.”

“Oh, it’s you, Young Master Shang…” Tang Lisong gasped in shock. Even though he was taken aback, he didn’t stop attacking Huang Yu with his flail. Next, he said excitedly, “... I have long since heard of you!”

Shang Xia worked together with Tang Lisong to suppress Huang Yu and revealed a look of confusion. “Senior Tang, why would you hear of me?”

Roaring with laughter, Tang Lisong replied, “Why wouldn’t I? The Changbai Holy Land suffered at the hands of your Tongyou Institution multiple times. The experts of the Tongyou Institution are extremely well known in our Azure Spiritual World. It’s especially so for you, Young Master Shang. I really admire you for having such an accomplishment at your age.”

Shang Xia could hear a sense of schadenfreude in his voice when he spoke. However, it wasn’t directed at the Tongyou Institution or himself. Instead, he seemed to be gloating over the Changbai Holy Land’s misfortune.

It seemed as though Tang Lisong’s faction, the Three Rivers Sect, was a power comparable to the Changbai Holy Land. Also, the two factions seemed to be at odds.

As they had a joyous conversation, Tang Lisong didn’t realize that their amazing cooperation had already suppressed Huang Yu completely. From the looks of it, it wouldn’t take long before they would be able to deal a decisive blow to end his life.

“Young Master Shang, the treasure above your head seems really impressive!” Tang Lisong noticed the Misty Palace Lantern a long time ago. He also understood how useful it would be when braving the heaven and earth qi storm while getting to the vortex.

From the time he formed an alliance with Shang Xia to all the praises he was showering, a huge part of the reason was to form a better relationship with Shang Xia and to get on his good side. His plan was to work together with Shang Xia after taking care of their enemy so that he could enjoy the benefits of the Misty Palace Lantern.

While he was praising the treasure, he didn’t notice the subtle and strange smile that appeared on Shang Xia’s lips.

“Yeah… This treasure is amazing indeed…”

That seemed to be the signal and Huang Yu launched a desperate counterattack on Tang Lisong without caring about the potential injuries he would suffer.

Circulating his inner qi to the limit as he got ready to resist Huang Yu’s final stand, Shang Xia who had been covering his back all along summoned the flame from the Misty Palace Lantern all of a sudden and created a long rope that went to wrap around Tang Lisong.

Taken by surprise, Tang Lisong was about to fly into a fit of rage as he summoned his extermination origins to protect himself. He wanted to push the fire rope away but Huang Yu arrived. The sound of something shattering on Tang Lisong’s body could be heard and it was clear the protective treasures on him had been broken. Huang Yu’s ‘spear’ which was missing a spearhead at that point tore through Tang Lisong’s defenses and slammed directly into his chest. Tang Lisong suffered extremely heavy injuries.

As his flail continued to slam down at Huang Yu, a strange barrier made from sword qi crashed into it, reducing it to a mere 30 percent of its original strength. The remaining energy failed to shatter Huang Yu’s defenses.

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“You…” Tang Lisong was a high-level expert at the Martial Extermination Realm with really thick foundations. He naturally wouldn’t trust his teammate completely in a battle of that scale. He took precautions against Shang Xia in case the youngster backstabbed him at the end of the fight, but he never expected them to be working together.

Even so, he was at the large completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm at the end of the day. He wasn’t completely out of options if something went horribly wrong.

It was a shame he never thought that the other 2 would be hiding their strength. They were fighting an intense battle earlier and revealed their strength at the Martial Extermination Realm. Even with the fierce battle taking place, they managed to conceal their actual combat capabilities!

During the entire battle, Huang Yu was forced into desperate straits by Tang Lisong. Huang Yu was supposed to be at the peak of the fourth layer Martial Extermination Realm while Shang Xia barely stepped into the fourth layer. However, both of them revealed strength no weaker than his own at the very last second.

Taken by surprise, Tang Lisong was heavily injured by Huang Yu even though they had the same cultivation level.

He didn’t plan to give up just like that. Spitting out a mouthful of blood onto his extermination origin protection barrier, it bloomed like a blood lotus. It directly shattered the fire rope Shang Xia created.

At the same time, he took the chance to escape from their encirclement as he tried to escape back into the heaven and earth qi storm. As he was about to approach the edge of the region protected by the Misty Palace Lantern, Huang Yu tossed away the headless spear in his hand before turning into a streak of light that shot at Tang Lisong. That wasn’t all. The wind whistled as a sword tore through it.

A chilly light lit up the void and a hole appeared at the back of Tang Lisong’s head. He was pinned into the air by the Jade River Sword that appeared in Huang Yu’s hand.

By the time the sword light died down, another blade light appeared while carrying the power of lightning and fire.

It soared through the air and detached Tang Lisong’s head from his shoulders.

Shang Xia’s figure appeared not too far away as he kept his Abyssal Blade once again.