Chapter 685: KNOCK KNOCK

“Jing Continent? Are they members of the Yuanchen Sect? Or should I say, the Xiangyang Holy Land?” Shang Xia heard about the Yuanchen Sect in the past and he asked.

Shang Bo seemed to have thought of something after hearing Kou Chongxue’s guess and his expression twisted slightly. “Could it be…”

Kou Chongxue nodded slightly. “Looks like the rumors are true. The Yuanchen Sect seems to have set their sights on the Celestial Remains…”

“What do we do now?” Shang Bo wore a solemn expression as he muttered. Clearly, the Yuanchen Sect’s plan had placed a huge pressure on Kou Chongxue and Shang Bo.

“We can’t avoid it now that things have already progressed to this stage. Even if we run into them, we can only go all out and fight them with them. At the very least, we have the initiative…” Kou Chongxue muttered.

A ruthless light flashed through Shang Bo’s eyes. “Should I move in the dark and…”

Kou Chongxue gestured for him to stop and he warned, “We can’t mess around right now. You’re not a match for them!”

He didn’t seem assured and he continued to instruct Shang Bo, “Your task is to protect this formation secretly and welcome us when we emerge. You have to protect yourself above all else.”

Shang Bo hesitated slightly but nodded eventually.

Turning around, Kou Chongxue started to make his way deeper into the ruins. He didn’t forget to yell, “Kid, follow me. We need to hurry up.”

Shang Xia glanced at his grandfather before running after Kou Chongxue.

After traveling for what seemed like tens of feet, Shang Xia discovered that they changed direction somewhat. He instinctively turned to look for his grandfather, but he was nowhere to be seen. In fact, the entire area seemed different.

“We’re closing in on the entrance to the Celestial Realm. Back when it collapsed, it caused the space around here to crumble and the fluctuations spread far and wide. It might seem like we only took a few steps, but we traveled an unknown distance. The difference in space is extremely hard to grasp.” Kou Chongxue explained as he expected Shang Xia to be confused.

After a moment of contemplation, Shang Xia asked, “Patriarch Kou, is the Yuanchen Sect very powerful? My grandpa… He seems to be very wary of them.”

“Are you curious about their goal here?” Kou Chongxue asked without turning his head.

Shang Xia didn't deny it, and he asked, “Aren’t they planning to enter the Celestial Remains to look for treasures and inheritances?”

Kou Chongxue sighed softly in response, “The Jing Continent is the largest continent in our Azure Origin World and the Yuanchen Sect is second only to existences like the Divine Capital Sect and Eternal Sect. The Xiangyang Holy Land is also the most likely faction to establish their own Elysium.”

Shang Xia gasped. “Is the Yuanchen Sect planning to ascend to the same level as the 3 super powers?”

“Is that strange to you?” Kou Chongxue raised an eyebrow and glanced at Shang Xia.

“Not really. I only wish to ask if there are any inheritances in the Celestial Remains capable of raising one to an Elysium…” Shang Xia replied hastily.

To that, Kou Chongxue released a strange laugh. “Hehe, you don’t have to think that far. Do you think everyone knows the method to ascend from a Mysterious World to a holy land?”

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Shang Xia paused for a second before realizing what he meant. However, the patriarch had already left and he tried to keep up the best he could. “Patriarch, could it be…”

“I entered the Celestial Ruins twice in the past. The first time I entered was over 20 years ago. The You Continent faced a massive calamity and I barely entered the Martial Dipper Realm. I managed to discover a way to raise a Mysterious World to a Holy Land. It was also then when I had the idea to establish the Tongyou Institution. I thought back to how I entered the Martial Dipper Realm in the first place and made a bold guess. Ji Wenlong and your grandfather proved me right recently and no matter how crude the method of advancement seems, our institution managed to obtain a passage into the Martial Dipper Realm. It’s one of the main criteria we need to become a holy land.”

“The second time I came, I brought your grandfather with me. Even though I was nearly killed after being surrounded by numerous enemies, I managed to pave the way for your grandfather to enter the Martial Dipper Realm.”

Kou Chongxue paused for a second and sighed, “Because of that… Second Brother Liu became discontent with us and took matters into his own hands to barge into the Coral Forest. Without enough preparations, he tried to obtain the Zhu Family’s inheritance when the time wasn’t right. Well, you know what happened next.”

After he was done speaking, he stopped suddenly before turning to stare at Shang Xia. A wide grin returned to his face and he laughed, “Also, this is the third time I’m entering the Celestial Remains!”

Seeing as Kou Chongxue had stopped, Shang Xia pretty much knew that they had arrived.

His divine perception reached for the space in front of Kou Chongxue, but he discovered it seemed to have dropped into some sort of endless abyss. He was so frightened that he violently retracted it in case it was swallowed by some sort of spatial crack or things of the sort.

Kou Chongxue revealed a look of schadenfreude when he noticed Shang Xia’s shocked expression.

Obviously, he knew what Shang Xia was experiencing as he made the same mistake before.

“This is the entrance and exit of the Celestial Remains. As the space here crumbled a long time ago, there are tons of spatial fragments in the area. They formed some sort of special spatial wall and it will only weaken once every 20 years or so. Even though it’s said to be weakened, only Martial Dipper Realm experts would possess the strength to cross the spatial barrier to enter the interior of the Celestial Remains.”

After he spoke, Kou Chongxue raised his hand to reveal the Hidden Frost Sword. It appeared at an unknown time, but he didn’t slash it down directly. Instead, he retrieved a talisman from his sleeves. It was a talisman made from beast skin and it shone a crimson red. It was precisely the Abyssal Emptiness Talisman Shang Xia made not too long ago.

When Shang Xia was calming his mind to prepare for Kou Chongxue to breach the spatial barrier, the patriarch turned around and asked, “Oh yeah, didn’t I give you 3 pieces of rank five talisman papers back then? You used 2 of them… What talisman do you plan to craft with the final piece?”

“Why the hell are you in the mood to talk about this right now?” Shang Xia growled as he was shocked by the sudden question.

Kou Chongxue sniggered softly before lightly bringing his sword down. He tapped the space before him, but his gentle movements brought about a completely different effect. The divine weapon that was well-known across the Azure Origin World resembled a slumbering beast that had awakened. A loud hum filled the area around them as a terrifying sword qi emerged.

The Hidden Frost Sword remained motionless in front of Kou Chongxue, but sword light flashed from time to time. The space around them was sliced open and tiny spatial cracks were created. With Kou Chongxue in the middle, a giant sphere of spatial cracks was formed.

It was clear to Shang Xia that Kou Chongxue was storing up power for a horrifying strike.

Not daring to venture far, he took several steps to remain close to the patriarch.

“Go!” Kou Chongxue muttered once and by the time Shang Xia raised his head, he felt a palm wrapping itself around his wrist as it dragged him through a spatial tunnel. “Follow me! Do not let go!”