Chapter 645: Discovery

“Is the news reliable?” Shang Xia couldn’t help but ask. The news that he just received from Zheng Chang was just too shocking.

With no intention to hide anything from Shang Xia, Zheng Chang told him everything he knew. “Back when the various factions brought their islands back to the Azure Origin World and the Azure Spiritual World, they suffered varying degrees of attack from the experts of the Spirit Abundance World. In order to prevent any hidden methods the members of the Spirit Abundance World might have left behind to locate us, the 3 super factions suggested for all of us to leave our islands outside the Beyond Heavens Pavilion.”

Shang Xia nodded slightly. He heard the same news from Kou Chongxue and he felt that it had something to do with the imminent fusion of the worlds and their subsequent upgrade. Now, it seemed like there was another reason.

Zheng Chang continued, “Unfortunately, the various factions brought back experts from the Manyu Continent and integrated them into the world… There is news coming down to us that there might be experts disguised as members of the Manyu Continent to infiltrate our world…”

A frown appeared on Shang Xia’s face and he interrupted Zheng Chang. “That doesn’t seem right. No matter which faction it was, the cultivators they brought back from the Manyu Continent were screened by a Martial Dipper Realm Ancestor after coming back. How would a cultivator from the Spirit Abundance World avoid detection?”

“That’s precisely the reason why no one would suspect them…” Zheng Chang replied.

Seeing how Shang Xia was still confused, he continued his explanation. “If those cultivators used some sort of secret method to hide themselves, or were in possession of a secret treasure that could suppress their cultivation and conceal their aura, it wouldn’t matter if they hid themselves among the aboriginal cultivators. There would be a chance for us to locate them. What if they sent ordinary mortals over?”

Shaking his head, Shang Xia rejected the possibility. “That’s not possible. Even if they had a Martial Dipper Realm expert to help them, they would have to possess the cultivation of a Martial Extermination Realm expert if they wish to…”

“What if they weren't assisted by a Martial Dipper Realm Ancestor? What if there was an expert at the Sixth Order of the Primary Realm acting behind the scenes?” Zheng Chang interrupted before Shang Xia could finish. “Who would know how powerful an existence in the Sixth Order of the Primary Realm could be or their true abilities? At the end of the day, the Spirit Abundance World is a world that outranks us. There might be more experts in the Sixth Order of the Primary Realm than we think! Moreover, the Manyu Continent was separated from the Spirit Abundance World to begin with. I believe Young Master Shang already knows that.”

“What are you trying to say?” Shang Xia asked.

Now that he finally regained the initiative by revealing something Shang Xia didn’t know, Zheng Chang felt a lot better. He even felt like he was teaching a clueless junior as he continued, “Is there anyone who can be sure that the experts of the Spirit Abundance World only discovered the Manyu Continent at the same time as us? They might have found it a hundred or so years ago. With the time they had, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to integrate themselves and leave some offspring behind. Our takeover of the Manyu Continent might have been a giant scheme! Don’t you think that the appearance of the experts of the Spirit Abundance World on the Manyu Continent was too coincidental?”

Shang Xia turned serious and he muttered, “Are you trying to say that the Spirit Abundance World used the Manyu Continent as bait and our Azure Origin World and the Azure Spiritual World were the fishes who took it?”

Zheng Chang muttered, “The Spirit Abundance World is a Spirit World at the end of the day. Even if they reclaimed the Manyu Continent, what benefits would they gain? They might as well treat it as trash and use it as bait. If they managed to draw an Azure World or two over, they would gain a whole lot more by invading them!”

Shang Xia finally nodded in agreement. Even though a large portion of whatever Zheng Chang said was mere speculation, he couldn’t help but agree that the logic made sense. Moreover, Shang Xia had a feeling that whatever he said might actually be true.

He only wondered if Kou Chongxue and the others were truly kept in the dark about the matter.

A trace of suspicion bloomed in Shang Xia’s heart. Even if Kou Chongxue and the others weren’t notified, they definitely had to have made some guesses.

Shang Xia thought back to the time in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion when Kou Chongxue gave him a ‘hint’ to craft more Abyssal Void Shattering Talismans. It seemed as though there was a hidden meaning behind his words!

Also, Shang Xia knew the method to craft the rank five Abyssal Emptiness Talisman that was ranked even higher than the Abyssal Void Shattering Talisman!

As thoughts ran through his mind, Shang Xia opened another sealed spirit case absentmindedly.

The moment he did, he saw something that resembled fine sand and had a deep brown color. Extermination qi filled the air around him the moment the box was opened.

“Hey! Hurry up and close that! It’s the Mysterious Sea Scale Sand Extermination Origin. Don’t let the extermination qi escape!” Zheng Chang reminded with haste when he saw what Shang Xia had done.

Shutting the case immediately, Shang Xia muttered, “Mysterious Sea Scale Sand Extermination Origin? I haven’t heard of anything like it. Did it come from the sea?”

Zheng Chang stared at him and explained, “That’s right. It was gathered after they collected the trace of extermination qi from the sand at the bottom of the sea. It took the effort of several dozen cultivators in the Martial Extremity Realm and the Martial Intent Realm. Moreover, they only managed to collect it after several years.”

Nodding, Shang Xia understood that that was how extermination origins were usually gathered.

In actuality, there was a batch of disciples from the institution working under the Protection Division and the Outreach Division responsible for gathering extermination qi.

Seeing as Shang Xia had sealed the case and shoved it back into his sleeves, Zheng Chang raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked, “Don’t you need that?”

Shang Xia picked up the last case nonchalantly and muttered, “No one would hate gathering more extermination origins. However, I won’t be able to use it. The treasures I have should be used to trade with others during the trade fair for things I really need. I can only give up on the extermination origin for the time being.”

The next second, Shang Xia raised his head and stared directly into Zheng Chang’s eye. “What’s the matter? Brother Zheng, are you feeling generous right now? Are you thinking of giving me the extermination origin to prove your sincerity? I won’t hesitate to accept it.”

Shaking his head violently, Zheng Chang refused immediately.

Holding the last case in his hand, Shang Xia didn’t open it directly. Instead, he asked, “What’s in here?”

Zheng Chang hesitated slightly before replying, “It contains a high-grade needle called the Tongyang Needle.”

“For it to be classified as a high-grade weapon, it shouldn’t have been easy for you guys to craft this, right?” Shang Xia gasped.

“Indeed… However, the number of experts who can make use of it are few and far between. The needle has been left in the sect for more than a hundred years now and some mid-level personnel would borrow it from time to time. They would only do so in a pinch and the moment they find a more suitable weapon, they would return it to the armory. As such, our sect plans to use it to trade for other treasures during the trade fair.” Zheng Chang sighed.

Opening the case, Shang Xia examined it carefully. A deep frown could be seen on his face, but no one knew what he was thinking.

Noticing his expression, Zheng Chang asked quickly, “Are you interested in it? Do you want to make a trade?”

Before he replied, Shang Xia went to look at everything in his Spatial Pouch. Because of Chu Jia’s persistence to open the Tongyou Hall, most of his low-leveled treasures had been swept away by her. The only treasures he had left were of a pretty impressive level and he planned to use them to trade for items he needed in the upcoming trade fair.

Thinking about it for a moment, Shang Xia took out a rope that was close to 10 feet from all the spoils of war he obtained after killing many opponents in the past.

“This is called the Spirit Binding Rope. It’s effective at restraining the flow of one’s inner qi and it’s a high-grade weapon…” Shang Xia introduced.

“Deal! I’ll trade it with you!” Zheng Chang yelled without hesitation.

“Nonsense! Do you think the needle alone is enough?” Shang Xia snapped.

Zheng Chang grumbled, “Young Master Shang, your Spirit Binding Rope might be pretty good, but my Tongyang Needle is also a high-grade weapon! There are differences between high-grade weapons and if we consider the quality of the needle, it’s a lot better than your rope…”

A chuckle left Shang Xia’s lips. “That’s true, but you best not forget that it’s been lying in your armory for more than a hundred years. The Spirit Binding Rope is something many people can make use of. So what if your weapon is of superior quality? It’s useless if no one can make use of it.”

“If both treasures are of similar worth, it doesn’t make sense for me to give you anything more.” Zheng Chang replied.

The smile on Shang Xia’s face didn’t fade. “Well, it doesn’t matter. I said it’s not enough.”

“What do you want then?!” Zheng Chang growled helplessly.

Grabbing another item out from Zheng Chang’s pouch, Shang Xia grinned. “It’s fine. You can just make up for it with a single essence crystal.”

“What the fuck! That’s my only mid-grade essence crystal! A hundred low-grade essence crystals is enough to buy a mid-grade weapon. Do you think the price difference between your Spirit Binding Rope and my Tongyang Needle is worth a mid-grade weapon?!”

Shang Xia was too lazy to care about him. He could tell that Zheng Chang had 1000 essence crystals on him, and he was merely taking away a tenth of that. If Shang Xia decided to play dirty, he wouldn’t mind finding a way to retrieve the other 900.

Obviously, Zheng Chang realized what was going on and he simply shut his mouth after grumbling about it slightly. There was a trace of grievance in his eyes when he glared at Shang Xia again.

It was a shame he wasn’t done. Taking out a pair of intricately carved bottles that were completely identical, Shang Xia asked, “What’s in this?”

Seeing how Zheng Chang was hesitating, Shang Xia decided to open the bottles to take a look for himself.

Right before he could open them, Zheng Chang yelled, “Wait, don’t do that! Those are rank four advancement medicine!”

The grin on Shang Xia’s face threatened to split it apart and he chuckled. “I guessed as much. You guys even brought rank four advancement medicine to the trade fair. What were you planning to trade them for?”

“Do you want it? If you do, make an offer.” Zheng Chang didn’t give him an answer. Instead, he skillfully shifted the topic.

“Alright? What do you want?” Shang Xia responded.

With a trace of mockery in his voice, Zheng Chang snapped, “I want an Origin Dipper. Do you have it?”

The look of anger on Zheng Chang’s face changed after he yelled at Shang Xia. It seemed as though he gave Shang Xia the reply he wanted anyway.

Muttering to himself, Shang Xia returned the bottles under Zheng Chang’s worried gaze.

Even though he got the advancement medicine back, he was greatly taken aback. He couldn’t help but ask, “Wait, you don’t want them?”

“How many Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors are there in your Lushan Sect?” Shang Xia tossed out a bomb suddenly.

“Two… Wait. Why do you want to know that?!” Zheng Chang stared at Shang Xia warily.

Bursting out into a chuckle, Shang Xia replied, “Looks like the expert who was trying to make a breakthrough on your island failed!”

“Do you think you can conclude something like that because we’re trying to get our hands on an Origin Dipper? Is there any faction who will complain about having too many of them?” Zheng Chang retorted immediately.

Shang Xia didn’t continue to harp on the topic. Instead, he spoke about something else. “I took both your talisman papers and talisman ink. However, you got my rank four Abyssal Void Shattering Talismans in exchange. Even though I took a teeny bit of advantage from that deal, you managed to find another source of rank four talismans for your sect. No matter what, you should be able to give them a reasonable explanation of why you didn’t profit much from the deal. The same goes for your Tongyang Needle. As for the mid-grade essence crystal, you can just make up for it yourself. You’re a proper expert in the high-level Martial Extermination Realm and that shouldn’t pose too much of a problem for you. Of course, if I take away your advancement medicine now and give you something of equal value, your Lushan Sect will definitely start getting suspicious of how you managed to trade so many items before the fair started.”

Shang Xia became a little more serious and he continued, “I do not wish to let the Lushan Sect learn about our little cooperation.”

“Oh wow! I’m really thankful for your consideration! What a considerate man!” Zheng Chang snorted in response.

Shang Xia didn’t mind his tone at all. Returning the pouch, Shang Xia muttered, “The others definitely have other treasures they brought for the fair. If any of them has fate dipper essence or rank five spiritual treasures, you can introduce them to me to make a trade. This time, I promise I’ll give you a fair offer.”

“Heh, looks like you actually know you took advantage of me earlier.” Zheng Chang continued to grumble.

After he had spoken, he turned to leave without giving him a proper answer. He started to walk in the direction of the pagoda.

Scratching his chin, Shang Xia muttered sinisterly to himself, “Should I have pushed him further? Was that not enough? Why do I feel like this asshole is hiding something important from me? Looks like the Lushan Sect’s failure to produce a third Martial Dipper Realm Ancestor affected them greatly. Hmm… They seem to feel some sort of crisis though. I wonder if it’s from the other factions or from within… External factors might also have something to do with it…”