Chapter 690: Observatory

Actually, there was one other thing that could confirm Kou Chongxue’s guess about the bronze cauldron.

Back then, they managed to discover the region Kou Chongxue had entered because of Shang Bo’s mistake the last time they entered.

It wasn’t a secret that the entire region posed a massive threat even to Martial Dipper Realm experts.

Back when Shang Bo was brought into the Celestial Remains, he was still in the Martial Extermination Realm and he wasn’t even as strong as the current Shang Xia. He naturally didn’t know the dangers the Celestial Remains held. By the time he discovered that something was wrong, it was too late for him to emerge with his strength alone.

Under such circumstances, he could only ask Kou Chongxue for help.

When Kou Chongxue noticed where Shang Bo was, he felt his head hurt. His scalp was tingling when he noticed the dangers all around, but he couldn’t leave Shang Bo to die!

Luckily, Shang Bo hadn’t ventured too deep, and after using up a great portion of his dipper qi, Kou Chongxue managed to save him.

During the extraction process, Kou Chongxue and Shang Bo not only managed to find several perfectly preserved extermination origins. They also obtained the Grand Silk Silver Sand Fate Dipper that Shang Bo used to enter the Martial Dipper Realm!

That was also the reason Kou Chongxue started to greatly support Shang Bo in his cultivation after returning from the Celestial Remains. He was the reason they managed to obtain so many precious resources in the first place!

It was also during the escapade that Kou Chongxue noticed the presence of the bronze cauldron.

Even though he was unable to determine its actual location, he was sure that it was located in the region of space.

Kou Chongxue also started to suspect that the bronze cauldron was the Origin Holy Artifact because of what they found back then.

As the region of space was far too dangerous for Martial Dipper Realm experts, not even Kou Chongxue had the guts to go too deep. However, the amount of treasures they found back then was just too ridiculous to pass up. Now that he managed to enter again, Kou Chongxue decided to take a little risk and explore the region again.

Even though he was back, Kou Chongxue didn’t hold high hopes of obtaining the bronze cauldron. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought Shang Xia with him and sent out 2 clones to explore the rest of the Celestial Ruins.

He only hoped to obtain another Origin Dipper after scouring the region to allow himself to take another step in his cultivation. It was especially so after Shang Xia suggested that he used an Origin Dipper of the Fire or Earth Element to advance.

As for the matters regarding the bronze cauldron…

Since Kou Chongxue could guess that the Origin Holy Artifact of the Celestial Remains was still present, there was no reason the Yuanchen Sect wouldn’t know of it.

In fact, they might even know of the presence of the bronze cauldron!

If the Yuanchen Sect wanted to ascend into an Elysium, they wouldn’t give up a chance to obtain the Origin Holy Artifact that belonged to the destroyed power!

Perhaps… That might be the best chance Kou Chongxue would get to swoop in at the last second to steal all their benefits.

Of course, it wasn’t as though Kou Chongxue had no choice but to turn the Yuanchen Sect into his enemy…

“Sigh…” Kou Chongxue carefully navigated around the regions of twisted space and the traps that lay within. When he finally found a place he thought was safe, a slurry of world origin nearby started to move. It was as though they had found a way to escape the void they were trapped in as they flowed towards Kou Chongxue’s back.

He, who had been deep in thought, was rudely interrupted. He knew that he definitely activated some sort of formless restriction earlier without noticing it.

Realizing that things were turning south, he quickly made several hand seals and tried to seal the space behind him.

Unfortunately, they were useless. The surging world origin shattered the space he was trying to seal and the current became stronger and stronger. Gaining a frightening amount of power, even Kou Chongxue was swept away.

“Oh shit!” Kou Chongxue’s heart sank. With the massive disturbance he was causing, he didn’t even have time to worry about whether the experts from the Yuanchen Sect would be able to detect what was going on. The entire region itself would probably be affected, and the change might be powerful enough to threaten him!

In no position to care if he would be discovered by others, he burst forth with a frightening amount of power and retreated away from the giant current of world origin.

The moment he moved, his divine will seemed to notice something…

Backing away from the rift in space, Kou Chongxue made a slight gesture and 3 balls of world origin were grasped tightly in his hands.

“These look like essence crystals born from the world. It might not be complete, but it’s something like a fate dipper fragment…” Kou Chongxue thought to himself.

The next second, a giant surge of world origin interrupted his thoughts. He was powerless to resist it and was swept up in the current as he flowed into the dangerous region of space.

…

Shang Xia collected several more clumps of extermination mist with his Spirit Extermination Gourd before raising his head to look at Kou Chongxue’s Clone. He noticed a serious expression hanging on the clone’s face.

Shang Xia’s heart sank and he quickly approached. “Patriarch Kou, did something happen?”

“Huh?” The clone responded. “My true body might have run into some trouble…”

“Do we need to head over to meet up with him?” Shang Xia asked.

After thinking about it, Kou Chongxue’s Clone muttered, “Not for the time being… My true body isn’t in any danger.”

Shang Xia heaved a sigh of relief at his response. “That’s good to hear…”

“Have you collected everything in the area?” Kou Chongxue’s Clone swept his gaze around before chuckling in amusement.

He was met with a nod from Shang Xia as the youngster continued, “This place truly deserves its position as an Elysium of the past. There are treasures everywhere!”

Kou Chongxue’s Clone broke out in laughter, “It’s just several small clumps of extermination mist. They’re not fate dipper essence… If you had 10 more years, you would be gathering extermination origins!”

“If we had to wait, I’m afraid I won’t be able to get any of them…” Shang Xia mumbled.

Kou Chongxue’s Clone shook his head and chuckled, “That might not be the case. You should be able to enter the Martial Dipper Realm soon and when the time comes, you will definitely be qualified to enter the Celestial Remains when it opens for real.”

Shang Xia tutted softly in response, “Well, at least I’m able to keep all of these treasures for myself now!”

“Heh, you’re only a little faster than the others. Now that those people have entered, there will be even more following behind them. Your time to loot the Celestial Remains alone is drawing to a close.” Kou Chongxue’s Clone shook his head and broke down the situation for Shang Xia immediately.

Shang Xia could only sigh softly, “It’s a pity we haven’t seen a fate dipper essence after so long, much less an Origin Dipper.”

Kou Chongxue’s Clone pressed his lips together and sneered, “Even when everyone enters the Celestial Remains during its occasional opening, they will have to look for stuff like that in the more dangerous regions. Damn brat, you gained a lot so far. Stop acting like you’re poor or something…”

Shang Xia’s eyes lit up the next second. “Patriarch Kou, did your true body and the other clone head to those dangerous regions? Can you bring me to look for those places too?”

“Don’t bite off more than you can chew! Do you think you can go to those places however you like? No matter how strong you are now, you won’t be able to enter those places without the cultivation at the Martial Dipper Realm!” Kou Chongxue’s Clone snapped at him.

Not deterred, Shang Xia continued, “Patriarch Kou, aren’t you here? Actually, it’s a waste for you to bring me around. If we don’t head over to those dangerous regions, what’s the point of bringing me into the Celestial Remains?”

Shang Xia had long since discovered that Kou Chongxue’s Clone had only been protecting him the entire time. He wasn’t leading the way to anywhere that posed significant threat to the life of a Martial Extermination Realm expert.

In a collapsed Elysium, the only thing it didn’t lack was areas of extreme danger.

God knew how long ago the Celestial Remains had been discovered, and there were countless batches of Martial Dipper Realm experts who came to look for treasures. There wasn't much left in those safer areas.

Even if there were, those treasures were probably left behind by the Martial Dipper Realm experts because of their ability to continuously produce treasures.

Shang Xia’s main goal when he risked his life to follow Kou Chongxue into the Celestial Remains was to obtain the spiritual treasures and fate dipper essences he needed, but he only managed to find the treasure so far!

The Yi Wood Fate Dipper Essence and Gui Water Fate Dipper Essence was nowhere to be seen!

Seeing how determined Shang Xia was, Kou Chongxue’s Clone chuckled, “What a coincidence. If my memory serves me right, we’re close to one of those dangerous regions. Since you wish to take a look, let’s make a trip over.”

The Celestial Remains no longer had any fixed spaces. Other than those dangerous regions that were fixed in their positions due to the many remnants of powerful formations in them, the rest of the space could shift around any way it liked.

Since they knew that there weren’t many Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors in the Celestial Remains at the moment, Kou Chongxue’s Clone and Shang Xia were much more bold when it came to their exploration. They had no need to be afraid that they would walk straight into an ambush.

With Kou Chongxue’s Clone leading the way, they quickly made their way around a pile of random shattered rocks. The moment they did, the scene before Shang Xia’s eyes changed. A sky full of stars stared him in the face and gave him a great shock.

“This… This shouldn’t be a gap in the Celestial Remains that leads to the outside world, right?!” Shang Xia blabbered instinctively.

Kou Chongxue’s Clone laughed, “That’s not possible. If it’s truly a gap to the outside world, why would I need to go to such great lengths to blow a hole through the entrance? There’s a formless spatial barrier here and if it’s possible to create an entrance, someone would have done it a long time ago.”

“So, this is…” Shang Xia turned to stare at Kou Chongxue’s Clone.

Turning around to look at the pile of rocks they passed earlier, Kou Chongxue’s Clone explained, “There are some who suspect that this was an observatory built in the Elysium.”

“Observatory?” Shang Xia mumbled softly. “What are they observing?”

“I would also like to know what they were observing, alas…” Kou Chongxue’s Clone sighed.

He pointed at the pile of rocks and continued, “It’s a pity it crumbled a long time ago!”