Chapter 684: Entering in Advance

When Shang Xia was feeling a little excited about the gathering between Martial Dipper Realm experts, Shang Bo returned with a piece of news that doused the buzz in Shang Xia’s heart.

“You’re not going to be able to take part in the gathering. Prepare to enter the Celestial Remains ahead of time!” Shang Bo glanced at Shang Xia before turning to Kou Chongxue, “There are others who have set their sights on the Celestial Remains and are planning to break into it forcefully.”

“Who are they?” Kou Chongxue asked. He, who looked like an ordinary mortal, suddenly burst forth with a frightening aura. It was so sharp it could pierce the skies and the air around him changed. He seemed to have transformed into a sword that could sunder the heavens as the space around him twisted unnaturally.

Shang Xia wasn’t too far away from him and the instant Kou Chongxue released his aura, he felt a giant pressure crushing him. It was so strong that he found it hard to breathe.

He couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed in that instant. That was the true power of someone at the peak of the Martial Dipper Realm! Due to his increased cultivation and soaring strength, Shang Xia was starting to become a little arrogant. He even managed to escape from several Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors in the past and that also served to boost his ego. However, everything evaporated the moment he was suppressed by Kou Chongxue’s aura.

Shang Bo, who was also in the Martial Dipper Realm, frowned. He quickly looked at Shang Xia who was even closer to Kou Chongxue than himself and he noticed that his grandson’s face had turned completely red.

One had to know that an expert like Shang Xia would be able to hold his breath for hours without the slightest problem. However, he was finding it hard to withstand Kou Chongxue’s aura even for a little bit.

The news might have shocked Kou Chongxue and he failed to control himself, but he quickly regained control and managed to stop his aura from leaking out of his body. That demonstrated his great control over his fate dippers and dipper qi, but he turned to look at Shang Xia with a look of amazement.

The kid wasn’t actually forced off his feet by the pressure. Hehe, looks like I still underestimated him…

With Shang Bo’s appearance and the information he brought back, Shang Xia knew what his grandfather had been doing the whole time. He had been keeping an eye on the Celestial Remains the entire time!

“Do you know who they are?” Kou Chongxue asked.

Shang Bo shook his head slowly and muttered, “They’re extremely cautious. However, I can be sure of one thing. They’re experts from our Azure Origin World.”

Kou Chongxue’s voice sank as he said softly, “There aren’t many people who have the ability to force their way into the Celestial Remains before it opens naturally…”

“Could they be borrowing other sources of strength like us? I was able to craft the Abyssal Emptiness Talisman that can ease our travel through the void, but others might also be able to come up with other methods like it. Moreover, the talisman I made might be useful when it comes to breaking through formations and spatial barriers, but it might not be a perfect fit for what we’re doing…” Shang Xia muttered.

“It doesn’t matter. We can’t drag this out any longer. We have to move now.” Kou Chongxue muttered.

Turning to Shang Bo, he continued, “Once we make our move and force our way into the Celestial Remains, we will most likely cause a huge disturbance. Many people will be drawn over but regardless, we would have the upper hand as we managed to act first. Protect the formation used to receive us, but if you fail to do so, don’t worry about it. Give it up if you have to.”

“Relax. Nothing unexpected will happen. The moment someone barges into the Celestial Remains, everyone will understand what has happened. No one will bother looking for me,” Shang Bo mentioned.

What he said allowed Shang Xia to understand that Kou Chongxue seemed to have many other plans when he entered the Celestial Remains. Of course, he wasn’t surprised. For existences like Kou Chongxue who stood at the peak of the Azure Origin World and Azure Spiritual World, every step he took had to be calculated. The schemes and considerations he had when making any move were massive!

Just like that, Kou Chongxue, Shang Bo, and Shang Xia started to make their way over.

Shang Xia quickly discovered that neither Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors were flying while controlling their fate dippers under their feet. It was completely unlike Martial Extermination Realm experts who had to push their extermination origins beneath their feet when they flew. Instead, they seemed to be walking normally while the space around them twisted unnaturally.

Is this the way Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors travel? Do they bend the space around them directly?

Shang Xia was greatly taken aback.

With their protection, Shang Xia realized that he had been brought into a sort of special space controlled by the two. They used their fate dippers to maintain the bubble around them as they moved and Shang Xia managed to grab a free ride.

Seeing how Shang Xia was looking left and right confusedly, Kou Chongxue chuckled softly and started to explain something. “The Azure Origin World and Azure Spiritual World contain more than a dozen continents. It could be said that we own an extensive area. Even so, the space we occupy in the vast sea of stars could barely be considered a speck of sand. The Beyond Heavens Pavilion is like a giant curtain covering the worlds and it’s what we see when we raise our heads to the skies while in them. If we look at the Beyond Heavens Pavilion from the vast sea of stars, it would resemble an entrance to our worlds… Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Shang Xia nodded and thought about it for a second before asking, “Would that mean that we would be able to save a lot of travel time if we didn’t travel across the continents themselves and use the Beyond Heavens Pavilion as a transit point instead?”

“You got it. However, only Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors are able to use methods like that. That is because Martial Extermination Realm cultivators aren’t able to return to the world without guidance from a Martial Dipper Realm expert. Of course, one would be able to return if they had the assistance of their holy lands but that only applies to those who belonged to the same faction. No power would allow others to enter their territory easily.” Kou Chongxue roared with laughter.

Shang Xia seemed to have thought of something and asked, “If that was the case, back during the battle on the Taihang Mountains, did you and Deputy Patriarch Ji manage to send your Fate Dipper Clones over in time because you traveled through the Beyond Heavens Pavilion?”

“Of course. How else do you think you’re still alive?” Shang Bo answered the question in Kou Chognxue’s stead.

By the time their conversation concluded, they arrived in a certain spot in space. According to Shang Xia’s calculations, they should be somewhere above the Jiao Continent.

Seeing several massive spatial cracks and crumbled remains of some strange structure, Shang Xia gasped, “Is this where the Celestial Remains are located?”

Kou Chongxue didn’t answer the question as he started walking towards the ruined land.

Shang Bo lagged behind a little bit as he warned Shang Xia seriously, “Follow behind us and don’t wander around. There are many dangers hidden in the ruins and stuff like hidden spatial cracks have the ability to kill you.”

Shang Xia nodded like a chicken pecking on rice grains. He also asked, “Grandpa, are we in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion somewhere above the Jiao Continent? Was there a faction there who managed to establish their own Elysium?”

Shang Bo turned to look at where Kou Chongxue was walking before shaking his head to respond to Shang Xia, “I have no idea. I only know that the Celestial Remains existed before the Divine Martial Calendar. Only the Divine Capital Sect and Eternal Sect might know anything about it.”

Again, the time before the Divine Martial Calendar was brought up. How much did 800 years of time cover up?

Shang Xia leopard over a bunch of debris and the edges of his clothes were ripped apart without any warning.

“Hey! Be careful! Don’t let your thoughts run wild and pay attention to where we’re walking!” Shang Bo turned back and instructed again.

Shang Xia’s expression was a lot more solemn. His divine perception swept across the space where his clothes were torn and he discovered a tiny fluctuation in space.

When he tried to stretch his divine perception into it, he discovered that it was sliced off clearly before disappearing into the crack.

“Hiss…” Shang Xia sucked in a cold breath. The spatial crack actually had the ability to sever divine perception! Half the reason behind his hiss was because he was shocked, the other half came from the intense pain brought about after his divine perception was sliced away.

Shang Bo turned to look at him again, and the look of concern and warning in his eyes deepened.

No longer daring to play around, Shang Xia started to follow behind them obediently as they made their way deeper into the remains.

After some time, Shang Xia, who had been holding back for a long time, couldn’t help but ask, “Grandpa, is this just the outskirts of the Celestial Remains?”

“Something like that. I know what you wish to ask. These ruins probably come from the original structures that belonged to the Elysium. When it was destroyed back then, these suffered massive damage. As time passed, it eventually became what we see here.” Shang Bo explained without turning his head.

Even existences like Kou Chongxue had to make their way into the ruins carefully.

No one knew how long had passed, but after Shang Xia cried out in shock several times, Kou Chongxue stopped abruptly. “We’re here. Fourth Brother, I’ll leave this to you!”

Shang Xia reacted quickly and realized they should have arrived at the location where Chu Jia laid down her formations.

All he could see was a scene of destruction, and he quickly extended his divine perception outwards again. He only managed to feel an odd spatial fluctuation that seemed to be resonating with something on Kou Chongxue’s body.

It seemed as though Chu Jia’s methods of laying down formations were getting more and more profound.

Shang Xia could probably guess that Chu Jia’s formation managed to fuse perfectly with the strange scene of destruction before him.

Turning around suddenly, Kou Chongxue stared at Shang Xia, “Kid, do you remember the way we took to get in?”

Surprised, Shang Xia ran through the route they took to enter the ruins before nodding in affirmation. “I do.”

“Remember, every faction has their own safe path to take into the ruins. Every one of them was discovered after paying a huge price. You cannot reveal the route we took to anyone.” Kou Chongxue warned in a deep voice.

Shang Xia immediately nodded in response. However, he quickly asked another question of his own. “Patriarch Kou, did you explore the route we took yourself?”

“Heh, I have my own methods… Why the hell do you have so many questions anyway?” Kou Chongxue snorted in response.

He didn’t care about Shang Xia and turned to Shang Bo the next moment. “Fourth Brother, where did you notice the other party back then?”

“I didn’t see who it was and they probably concealed their presence. I only managed to discover a slight trace of their remnant energy after they left. That is how I learned of their presence.” Shang Bo pointed in several different directions while explaining.

Kou Chongxue connected the points they took and mumbled thoughtfully, “Could they be from the Jing Continent?”