Chapter 686: Neutralizing Dipper Qi

The moment Kou Chongxue forced his way into the Celestial Remains, Shang Bo who looked to be several thousand feet away from the entrance raised his head in shock. He noticed the heaven-shaking sword qi and the spatial cracks that filled the region as he sighed to himself, “With such a huge disturbance, more than half the Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors on our Azure Origin World will probably be alerted to our actions here…”

A worried look flashed across Shang Bo’s face and he stared in the direction of the sword qi while clasping his hands behind his back. After a short moment, he stepped back into the region of destruction. His figure twisted slightly in the light and disappeared. The destroyed region regained its original peace and it seemed as though no one had stepped foot in it for a long time.

…

Shang Xia might have been trying to maintain his consciousness and observe the things around him, but the rapidly twisting space around him caused him to feel nothing but a blur. All he knew was that he was traveling through some sort of spatial tunnel.

“Martial Dipper… Only by entering the Martial Dipper Realm will my soul evolve again. Only then will I be able to gain a proper experience when traveling through spaces like these…” Shang Xia thought to himself.

All he could do was circulate his inner qi to prepare himself for any danger that might appear suddenly.

As he tried to circulate his Four Constellation Qi, he discovered that the sense of oppression he felt due to the twisting space around him gradually weakening.

While circulating his Four Constellation Qi, Shang Xia discovered something strange. The pressure he felt wasn’t weakening because of the increased strength of his extermination origin protection barrier around his body. Instead, his Four Constellation Qi seemed to be eating away at the strange pressure that was pressing down from the void.

One had to know that even when traveling through spatial tunnels like that, dangers were everywhere. Shang Xia was able to maintain his current state as Kou Chongxue was bearing the bulk of the pressure.

Shang Xia was shocked, and a trace of divine light flashed across his mind.

All of a sudden, Kou Chongxue’s blurry voice rang beside his ears. “You better be careful. I’m going to use the Abyssal Emptiness Talisman soon.”

As soon as he completed his sentence, a strange spatial force descended around Shang Xia. Everything in the surroundings seemed to disappear as their flying speed increased by a whole lot.

“Hahaha! Nice!” Kou Chongxue’s clear laughter rang through the spatial tunnel. Even though it was still slightly distorted due to the twisting space and sounded really strange, Shang Xia could hear the excitement he was feeling. “It truly deserves to be a rank five talisman! Our journey became so much smoother!”

“Break!” He interrupted himself with a loud yell right after he spoke, and the space nearby exploded. Countless fragments of sword qi flew in all directions and Shang Xia felt his body turning a lot heavier all of a sudden. His divine perception that was useless earlier returned, and the familiar feeling of feeling the things around him came back. He quickly discovered his current situation.

He could feel himself falling and with a quick intention, his extermination origins appeared and became a streak of light beneath his feet. His figure froze in mid air.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Shang Xia observed the area around him.

Even though he had a guess of what the interior of the Celestial Realm would look like, he was still greatly shocked at the sight.

The scene of destruction wasn’t what surprised him. Instead, it was the fact that the destroyed remains of several pavilions and structures were still hovering in mid air.

“This…” Shang Xia didn’t know how to explain his thoughts when he saw what was around him.

All of a sudden, a loose branch flew at him from a certain direction.

Shang Xia stared at the lush green leaves that grew on it along with several pinecones flying by him. He could feel a boundless aura of vitality from it.

He couldn’t help but look at the tree below where the branch came from. Examining it further, he noticed clumps of mud under the tree wrapped up in thick bunches of roots.

“Are we so lucky to run into a huge opportunity the moment we enter?” Shang Xia felt a trace of excitement bubbling in his heart.

Even if that was an ordinary pine tree when it just took root, there was no way it could remain a common pine after so many years of growing in the Celestial Remains that was filled with an abundance of heaven and earth qi. Moreover, from the vitality it was emitting, Shang Xia knew that it was something special.

He wanted to head over to examine it, but Kou Chongxue’s voice came from behind him. “That’s the Ten Thousand Needle Pine. I didn’t think we would run into it the moment we entered. You better be careful.”

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

“What?” Shang Xia’s movement froze.

Kou Chongxue drifted over from not too far away and stood beside Shang Xia before his gaze landed on the pine tree. He explained, “Haven’t you noticed the many restrictions around the tree?”

Shang Xia didn’t reply immediately. Instead, he examined Kou Chongxue from top to bottom carefully and gasped, “You… Are you a fate dipper clone?!”

“Yeah? This is one of the clones that contain one of my fate dippers. I didn’t think you would be able to notice it.” Kou Chongxue's Clone stared at Shang Xia with a trace of shock.

Shang Xia looked all around, but he failed to notice Kou Chongxue’s true body’s whereabouts.

“Don’t bother finding me. The moment we entered, 2 fate dipper clones were created. I’m here to ensure your safety while the other and my true body enter the depths of the Celestial Remains. After all, we would be able to work more efficiently once we split up,” the fate dipper clone beside Shang Xia muttered. However, his gaze never left the Ten Thousand Needle Pine.

“This… How should I…” Shang Xia hesitated slightly as he was afraid of offending the patriarch even though it was just a clone.

The clone seemed to know what Shang Xia wanted to ask, and he muttered, “I was a clone created from the Water Origin Fate Dipper. You can just call me ‘Patriarch Kou’,” Pausing for a second, he continued, “I know you’re still looking for a rank five spiritual treasure and two fate dipper essences. Some of them are of the Water element and I’m here to help.”

“Many thanks, Patriarch Kou.” Shang Xia cupped his fists before turning to look at the Ten Thousand Needle Pine that had drifted closer to them. “Patriarch, you said that there were restrictions around the tree. I managed to notice them too. Doesn’t that mean that the tree is something special?”

Kou Chongxue’s Clone seemed a little cold and he muttered in a chilly voice, “Can’t you tell that these restrictions have been made recently?”

Shang Xia’s eyes widened in shock. He scanned the tree with his divine perception again and understood what he meant. “Patriarch Kou, do you mean to say that someone placed those restrictions when they entered 20 years ago?”

Obviously, Kou Chongxue's Clone’s sense of time was different from Shang Xia. With the reminder, Shang Xia also understood that the Ten Thousand Needle Pine might pose some threat to him, but the real danger would be the layer of restrictions around it. After all, it was laid down by a Martial Dipper Realm Ancestor.

Only Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors could enter the Celestial Remains when it opens. Unless there were Martial Extermination Realm experts like Shang Xia who were brought in by their Ancestors.

Despite becoming a little more serious, Shang Xia didn’t plan on giving up the treasure. He asked, “Wouldn’t the restrictions on it mean that the pine tree isn’t something ordinary? Patriarch, do you know what the Ten Thousand Needle Pine actually is? Is it a rank five treasure?”

Kou Chongxue's Clone shook his head and muttered, “Don’t bother with it. The Ten Thousand Needle Pine is originally a rank four spiritual treasure. The only upside to it is that it can live for a long time. From how it’s still full of vitality, it should be able to last for countless years. Right now, it can be considered a treasure at the peak of the fourth rank. It’s close to turning into a rank five spiritual treasure. That’s probably why those people who entered the Celestial Remains back then chose to place restrictions around it instead of harvesting the tree.”

Shang Xia seemed a little disappointed, but he still chuckled, “At the very least, we should take those pinecones. They have to be precious treasures.”

Kou Chongxue's Clone nodded. “Remember the rank four spiritual wine recipe you brought back from the Taihang Mountains? You’ll be able to make it with them.”

Shang Xia didn’t plan on getting Kou Chongxue's Clone to make a move. Instead, he wanted to see if he could break through restrictions himself.

A light flashed in Kou Chongxue's Clone’s eyes when he saw what Shang Xia was doing and he didn’t say anything more.

Gathering his Four Constellation Qi in his palm, he slammed it into the restriction around the Ten Thousand Needle Pine.

Massive fluctuations came from the surface of the Ten Thousand Needle Pine and it seemed as though a layer of qi was about to bounce back on to him.

“Be careful!” Kou Chongxue's Clone’s warning came from behind Shang Xia.

By the time the words left his lips, the four colored extermination light around Shang Xia’s palm spun rapidly. Every time it made a complete revolution, a portion of the restriction would be shaved away.

Several dozen circulations were complete in the blink of an eye and the restriction was almost fully destroyed. Before the energy rebound could happen, it was already dealt with.

With the power to force Shang Xia away, all that was left was the tiny bit of obstruction that was no match for Shang Xia’s Four Constellation Qi.

Instead of shattering it completely, Shang Xia created a small hole in the barrier enough for him to pass through.

Once again, his methods had far surpassed what Kou Chongxue's Clone expected.

“Hey, take care of yourself…” Kou Chongxue's Clone’s warning came again. This time, the danger came from the Ten Thousand Needle Pine. Without the protection of the restriction around it, it managed to sense Shang Xia’s approach. Hundreds of pine needles shot at Shang Xia from the hole he created.

A frown appeared on Shang Xia’s face and he rotated his arms in a giant arc. His Four Constellation Qi transformed into a giant vortex around him and sucked those pine needles into its core.

Obviously, Kou Chongxue's Clone knew about the defense mechanism of the Ten Thousand Needle Pine. From the name alone, it wasn’t hard to learn that the tree would shoot pine needles whenever it faced a threat. Even so, Kou Chongxue's Clone didn’t remind Shang Xia earlier.

Turning around to stare at Kou Chongxue's Clone, Shang Xia revealed a fake expression of displeasure. However, he was met with a face full of shock.

Kou Chongxue's Clone didn’t seem to understand what had happened and he asked, “Can your extermination origins actually dissolve dipper qi?!”