Chapter 697: Breakthrough!

The area they were in was one of the most dangerous regions in the Celestial Remains. There were definitely some who couldn’t find it no matter how hard they tried, but those who could would definitely place special attention to the region.

Due to the fact that they had forced their way into the Celestial Remains without waiting for the spatial barrier at the entrance to weaken all the way, they paid quite a massive price.

Now that they had entered, they discovered the restrictions in every region had weakened. With renewed vigor, they couldn’t wait to explore the dangerous regions and venture deeper within. It was especially so for the most dangerous regions that had been classified as forbidden regions.

Somewhat understanding the way those Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors were thinking Shang Xia relayed his worries over to Kou Chongxue’s Mysterious Void Earth Clone. He pointed in the direction of huge spatial fluctuations and muttered, “Patriarch Kou, can you strengthen the remnant restrictions there? Make it a little more dangerous so that they will back away on their own accord… At the very least, we shouldn’t let them do whatever they want here, right?”

Kou Chongxue’s Clone glanced at him before explaining, “I have indeed gained the ability to enter and leave this specific region of space as I wish. That doesn’t mean I can do anything about the restrictions and spatial cracks around us! All of these were created due to the collapse of the Elysium. How can I possibly control something like that?”

𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“What should we do then?! Are we supposed to sit here and watch as they open a path straight to us?” Shang Xia grumbled helplessly.

Kou Chongxue’s Clone raised an eyebrow and muttered, “Kid, what do you think they’re risking their lives to enter this forbidden region anyway?”

Slightly taken aback by the question, Shang Xia replied, “Obviously, they’re trying to gather spiritual treasures or precious stuff that hadn’t been discovered!”

“If they don’t find anything, or if there’s barely anything in the region, do you think they’ll still risk their life and waste their time trying to shatter the restrictions in the area?” Kou Chongxue’s Clone added.

“Oh.” Shang Xia gasped softly. There was a trace of realization in his voice, but even more of that was shock and envy behind what Kou Chongxue did. In order for those Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors to return home empty handed by not finding anything in the area, there could only be one possibility. Kou Chongxue had already retrieved everything of value in the area! Even if there were several rank one or two treasures left, those were things Kou Chongxue couldn’t be bothered to go out of his way to collect!

Since the forbidden region had been unexplored by others, Kou Chongxue’s harvest could be imagined!

Shang Xia thought back to how Kou Chongxue threw out 5 or so fate dipper essences for him to take his pick earlier and sucked in a cold breath. He was admiring Kou Chongxue’s gains back then, but as it turned out, those should only be a tiny portion of what he obtained!

Once again, Kou Chongxue was proving himself to be the true main character of the Azure Origin World…

No one knew how long had passed, but Shang Xia started to feel the spatial fluctuations dying down.

Even though there were still people venturing deeper into the forbidden region, their speed had slowed considerably. A good portion of the Martial Dipper Realm experts seemed to have taken their leave and left to look for treasures in other parts of the Celestial Remains.

“I wonder if the Ten Thousand Needle Pine will be discovered…” Shang Xia sighed anxiously.

After speaking to Kou Chongxue’s Clone again, he understood that at least 10 Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors entered the Celestial Remains. If they sent out their clones like Kou Chongxue, there would be more than 20 experts scouring the lands. In fact, there might even be up to 30 of them!

Even though he hid the Ten Thousand Needle Pine with the assistance of Kou Chongxue’s Origin Water Fate Dipper Clone in a secure and dangerous location, it might not be able to remain undiscovered with so many Martial Dipper Realm experts running around. Their ability to observe the space around them was no joke!

When Shang Xia’s thoughts were running wild, Kou Chongxue’s shocked cry came from inside the cauldron. “Why are there 2 portions of your advancement medicine?”

“Huh?” Shang Xia turned around in shock and hadn’t realized what had happened.

“The Stellar Cauldron produced 2 sets of medicine…” Kou Chongxue explained.

Only then did Shang Xia discover what was going on. He quickly explained, “Oh yeah! There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s actually just a single set, but a portion of it has to be eaten while the other has to be applied to my body!”

“Eaten? Applied on your body?” Kou Chongxue mumbled in astonishment.

Shang Xia nodded even though he didn’t know if Kou Chongxue’s true body could actually see him and asked, “Patriarch Kou, did you already complete the advancement medicine? How did you do it so quickly?”

“What do you mean quick? We prepared everything and the only thing left to do was to refine the medicine. The Stellar Cauldron is no Alchemist Grandmaster! It’s pretty good to be able to craft the medicine in 5 days…” Kou Chongxue said.

“Only five days?! That's really fast…” Shang Xia muttered to himself. However, he quickly changed his tune. “Wait… It’s already been five days?!”

No other sound came from inside the cauldron and 2 sealed spiritual jade cases flew out from within. Shang Xia didn’t have to be a genius to know that those cases contained his rank five advancement medicine, the Five Elements Paradoxical Yin Yang Paste.

Reaching out to grab them, Shang Xia noticed Kou Chongxue’s Mysterious Void Earth Fate Dipper Clone had also gotten to his feet before transforming into a streak of light to return to the cauldron.

Kou Chongxue’s voice eventually came again. “Are you sure you don’t need to refine Origin Dippers during the process?”

After thinking about it for a second, Shang Xia nodded. “Patriarch, you can rest assured. If anything goes wrong, I still have a Vital Jade Marrow Fate Dipper.”

Grunting once, Kou Chongxue continued, “Alright. You can start preparing for your breakthrough right now.”

“Now?! Over here?!” Shang Xia was greatly taken aback and he couldn’t help but ask.

Advancing to the Martial Dipper Realm was no small matter. It would mean that he would attempt to enter the pinnacle of strength in their world! Anyone who could succeed would be an existence who had the ability to hold their own and carve out their own path.

They had to be extremely careful during the attempt and no amount of preparation could be enough.

Now, Kou Chongxue was telling him to make the breakthrough directly and his expression sank when he noticed the slight spatial fluctuations in the distance.

Kou Chongxue understood that Shang Xia wasn’t in the best situation at the moment, but he could only sigh helplessly, “It’s my fault for not making the appropriate plans. I didn’t think that it would still be so difficult for me to refine the Stellar Cauldron even after weakening its spirituality…”

Shang Xia turned a little serious after hearing what he said. “Patriarch Kou, how long would you need to refine the cauldron?”

“This is no longer a matter of time…” Kou Chongxue sighed.

With a frown on his face, Shang Xia couldn’t understand what he was referring to and asked, “Patriarch Kou, what do you mean…”

Kou Chongxue seemed to be in a predicament as he explained what was going on. “I need to borrow the power when the worlds fuse to fully suppress the spirituality of the Stellar Cauldron in order to fully refine it.”

Shang Xia was dumbfounded and he stood there in shock. He only reacted after he had some time to think of what had happened. “Patriarch Kou… if you’re unable to fully refine the cauldron… Are you trapped in there?”

Kou Chongxue didn’t respond immediately. Only after a period of silence did his voice ring in Shang Xia’s mind again. “Yes…”

“What are we supposed to do then?! You need to take charge of the institution! There’s still the matter of the invasion by the Spirit Abundance World. Our Tongyou Mysterious World also needs to complete the ascension to a Holy Land… The Tongyou Island that has been hovering around the Beyond Heavens Pavilion also needs to be merged with our continent after the fusion of our worlds… Patriarch Kou, you’re supposed to lead every one of those events!” Shang Xia gasped as a multitude of considerations flashed through his mind.

Ignoring him completely, Kou Chongxue brought up yet another problem. “Kid… There’s something else you forgot… Without my assistance, you won’t be able to leave the Celestial Remains…”

Only then did Shang Xia understand why Kou Chongxue told him to prepare to breakthrough to the Martial Dipper Realm despite not being in the best environment. “So that’s why…”

“That’s why you need to enter the Martial Dipper Realm immediately. Only then will you be able to protect yourself and leave the Celestial Remains. You have to relay my current situation to your grandfather and the others. Otherwise…” Kou Chongxue didn’t finish his sentence, but Shang Xia could pretty much guess what he meant.

If there was no news from Kou Chongxue and Shang Xia after the rest of the Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors exited the Celestial Remains, the institution would be in actual deep shit. Their plans would inevitably be delayed, but that would be the least of their problems. As long as news of Kou Chongxue’s disappearance were to spread, the Tongyou Institution might collapse entirely!

Shang Xia sucked in a long breath before releasing a huge sigh. “Looks like I have no choice…”

Kou Chongxue knew that Shang Xia understood the repercussions of everything that would happen and he spoke quickly, “I will provide assistance from inside the cauldron to ensure that nothing from the outside world can affect you. Unless someone destroys the restrictions to arrive at our very location, no one will be able to interfere with your advancement. Moreover, the world origin here is extremely abundant…”

Shang Xia forced a smile near the end of Kou Chongxue’s sentence. “Looks like that’s the only upside of being here…”

Helpless, he could only open the cases to reveal his Five Elements Paradoxical Yin Yang Paste. As he examined the medicine, he felt a formless screen forming around the cauldron. It covered hundreds of feet and any sort of spatial or energy fluctuations outside were blocked off completely.

Looking closely at the paste, Shang Xia noticed that one of them was dark and extremely viscous. It seemed to absorb any sort of light around it. Shang Xia knew that it was the Five Elements Paradoxical Yin Paste and he would have to ingest it during the advancement process.

The other case contained the Five Elements Paradoxical Yang Paste that was similar in color to the skies in the Azure Origin World. It was much less sticky and pasty than the Five Elements Paradoxical Yin Paste, and he would have to apply it on his body during the advancement process.

Taking a deep breath, Shang Xia looked at the advancement formula on the Crimson Soul Tablet once again. Eventually, he poured the Five Elements Paradoxical Yin Paste into his mouth.

He felt a strange slimy feeling sliding down his throat and a wave of nausea hit him. It was a disgusting feeling that made him want to throw up, but he managed to suppress the feeling and swallow the portion of advancement medicine.

After feeling it enter his stomach, he could no longer bother with the changes that were happening inside his body. He quickly dug out a portion of the Five Elements Paradoxical Yang Paste before applying it to his chest where his heart lay. He repeated his actions and applied the paste to his body where his liver, spleen, lungs, and kidney were next.

When he was finally done, a thick layer of Five Elements Paradoxical Yang Paste remained on his skin and he started to feel the changes around him. He sensed that his entire being was undergoing some sort of profound transformation. However, it was accompanied by excruciating pain. It was as though his bones were being corroded from the insides of his body!