Chapter 738: Sacrifice

How powerful was the self detonation of a Martial Dipper Realm expert for it to cause such a massive disturbance in space?

The appearance of so many experts in the Martial Dipper Realm from the Azure Worlds with the intention to self detonate to kill those who sought to bring harm to their world really shocked the experts of the Spirit Abundance World. Those who were fighting 30000 miles deep in space were equally as surprised.

“They actually had to resort to this…” Shang Xia mumbled while glancing at his grandfather.

Shang Bo sighed softly, “The history of those holy lands stretches back for hundreds of years. There are some who existed for close to 1000 years… After an expert enters the Martial Dipper Realm, they would possess a lifespan upwards of 300 years. If they didn’t fall midway through their journey, they would basically ride out the rest of their time. Don’t tell me you think that those Holy Lands only had the 2 to 3 Martial Dipper Realm experts that have been revealed to the world…”

Shang Xia shook his head in response. “Of course not. I just didn’t think they would be willing to go that far.”

“You don’t have to think so highly of them. Those people who detonated earlier walked down the wrong cultivation path and became slightly tired of living. They were most probably burdens to their faction and all of them were seeking a way to end their life. Self detonation merely made their deaths a little more valuable.” Shang Bo explained.

Nodding his head in acknowledgment, Shang Xia could understand that those who sacrificed themselves would definitely obtain benefits from their respective factions. They might not be benefiting from it directly, but their clansmen and disciples would definitely be well taken care of.

Well, that was assuming the Spirit Abundance World’s invasion could be stopped. Their sacrifice would mean nothing if there was no world left at the end.

Several voices rang in Shang Xia’s mind the next second and he quickly shot a glance at his grandfather.

Shang Bo turned serious and he nodded lightly. “Yeah. There might be a huge chaotic brawl…”

As Shang Xia reached for the second Substitution Talisman, he wanted to pass it to his grandfather. However, he was stopped immediately. “Keep it. No matter what, I, your grandpa, entered the Martial Dipper Realm several years earlier…”

The words barely left his lips when a loud roar ripped through the air. Shang Xia didn’t know exactly who started it, but it definitely came from someone on their side. Several yells followed as the experts of the Azure Worlds prepared for battle. The next second, they threw themselves at the experts of the Spirit Abundance World.

The sudden engagement from the experts of the Azure Worlds managed to catch the other side off guard.

Unfortunately, the Spirit Abundance World still held the absolute advantage in terms of battle strength. Several super experts at the fourth and fifth element of the Martial Dipper Realm stepped up from their side and stabilized the situation. They could even spare some effort to protect their fellow cultivators who were slightly weaker or had suffered some injuries.

With the curtains of chaos falling upon the battlefield, at least 6 experts from the Azure Worlds split off and rushed towards the backlines from the other side.

“Stop them!” The experts leading those from the Spirit Abundance World roared as their countenance changed. They charged at the approaching cultivators in order to force them back.

Those from the Azure Worlds weren’t deterred. They erupted with all their might and launched powerful attacks towards their opponents to ensure they couldn’t provide assistance to their fellow cultivators.

Even people like Shang Xia and Shang Bo whose cultivation levels truly weren’t anything that stood out in a battle like that pressed forward without a second thought.

Unfortunately, of the 6 who made the initial charge, 1 of them was surrounded by 3 experts from the Spirit Abundance World and blown to bits.

The other 5 continued to rush deeper towards the backlines, but 2 of them suffered heavy injuries. They were surrounded and ultimately slain by those from the Spirit Abundance World, but they managed to force the other side to pay the price of at least 3 Fate Dipper Clones.

The final 3 broke through the defenses to arrive at the backlines. With their high cultivation levels, they were like lions who rushed into a pack of sheep. They started their slaughter and in a split second 2 experts of the Spirit Abundance World were slain. At the same time, they destroyed an additional 3 Fate Dipper Clones or so.

Their sudden charge without a care for their lives wasn’t actually aimed at killing a few members on the other side. Instead, their goal was to force the situation to turn as chaotic as possible. After sacrificing the lives of several experts on their side, they achieved it.

Their actions caught the Spirit Abundance World by surprise and the high-level experts on their side were fully occupied by the change in the situation. At the same time, the remaining experts of the Azure Worlds continued to press forward in an unstoppable wave.

With the fate of their world on the line, the 20 or so Martial Dipper Realm experts of the Azure Worlds left erupted with their final reserves of strength. Their combined might wasn’t something that could be imagined. Even the peak-tier experts of the Spirit Abundance World didn’t dare to face them head-on. They pulled out all the stops to avoid getting hit.

A sudden self detonation from an expert of the Azure Spiritual World caught a fourth element Martial Dipper Realm expert from the spirit Abundance World off guard and shifted his attention so much so that he failed to avoid the combined strike from the others. 10 or so attacks landed on him in an instant and he was blasted into smithereens. He couldn’t even sacrifice his Fate Dipper Clones in his stead before he turned into cosmic dust.

Obviously, the powerful momentum of the experts of the Azure Worlds didn’t stop after killing 1 enemy. At least 3 of them failed to escape and were killed right then and there. There wasn’t a need to mention how many Fate Dipper Clones were also destroyed in the process from those who were fleeing.

Unfortunately, that was as far as the experts of the Azure Worlds could go. After facing their combined strike, the experts of the Spirit Abundance World managed to regroup and organize a counterattack.

Those from the Azure Worlds were unable to maintain their formation and quickly fell into disarray. They had to face their opponents individually and a chaotic battle quickly broke out.

Surprisingly, those from the Azure Worlds weren’t immediately suppressed. The experts from the Spirit Abundance World lost too many Fate Dipper Clones earlier and their cultivation took a huge hit. Their combat abilities dropped significantly.

The losses suffered by the Azure Worlds were significantly lesser than the other side and those who were part of the battle could maintain a portion of their fighting strength with the threat of the world looming over their heads. They also outnumbered the experts of the Spirit Abundance World and could hold out for quite some time.

Whatever it was, the experts from the Azure Worlds were merely buying time for the Xiangyang Holy Land’s ascension.

With the battle reaching a critical point, even if the Spirit Abundance World managed to send their experts over, they wouldn’t be able to leave for the Beyond Heavens Pavilion.

“I didn’t think that we would have experts like that on our side…” Shang Xia sighed. He was obviously referring to the 6 who sacrificed themselves to create the opening for their counterattack.

“Those seniors were nearing the end of their lifespan and don’t have much hope of progressing any further…” Shen Baisong’s voice came from the side and suddenly interrupted what was supposed to be a conversation between Shang Xia and Shang Bo.

Shang Xia quickly glanced at him and wondered out loud, “Was there a senior of your Changbai Holy Land among them?”

Shen Baisong didn’t respond immediately but it was enough to verify Shang Xia’s guess.

Not too far away from Shen Baisong, Luo Baixu chuckled softly, “You don’t have to lament his death. Your Martial Uncle Qu managed to fulfill his wish by doing what he did. No one forced him to rush in earlier. He’s exhausted after living for more than 200 years without a chance to advance…”

Shen Baisong nodded slightly but remained somber nonetheless.

Shang Bo and Shang Xia exchanged a glance and understood what each other was thinking. Indeed, the Changbai Holy Land actually had hidden experts like that…

Forcing a laugh, Shang Xia looked around him. Luo Baixu’s cultivation was at the third element of the Martial Dipper Realm and his cultivation far surpassed the other 4. It was a shame the dipper qi used by the others was too complicated and Shang Xia couldn’t fully amplify their strength. However, his mastery of transforming different qi reached an extremely high level and he was able to increase their combat strength by 30 percent or so.

That was right. Shang Xia and Shang Bo actually regrouped with the experts of the Changbai Holy Land in the midst of their charge earlier.

The alliance between the Changbai Holy Land and Tongyou Institution was still active and they cooperated pretty well during the fusion of the worlds. They managed to establish a certain level of trust between them and in such a dangerous situation, they naturally chose to work together.

Of course, there was still a problem. After counting the number of experts on their side, they only had 4 experts. Namely, Luo Baixu, Shen Baisong, Shang Bo, and Shang Xia. In the end, Shang Bo went to drag Yin Wanxiang of the Five Mountains Alliance in the Taihang Mountains over to form a temporary battle formation.

The reason why they chose Yin Wanxiang was also pretty interesting. Even though the Changbai Holy Land and the Tongyou Institution had an alliance, Bai Luoxu’s cultivation was just far too high compared to the others. With the cautious nature of those from the Tongyou Institution, they had to pull someone else reliable in order to protect themselves. Both sides understood the other side’s consideration, and neither of them said anything about it.

Yin Wanxiang was pretty special too. He entered the Martial Dipper Realm after Shang Xia, and according to Shang Xia, he didn’t exactly stand out in terms of combat abilities. Even so, he didn’t seem to have suffered any sort of serious injuries.

One had to know that even Shang Bo used up his Substitution Talisman in the battle earlier. He was also greatly exhausted after the sudden counterattack. Looking at Yin Wanxiang, Shang Xia couldn’t help but grow a little more curious.

Among the 5 of them, Shang Bo’s Grand Silk Silver Sand Fate Dipper belonged to the Metal Element. Shen Baisong’s fate dipper was of the Wood Element and Bai Luoxu’s frosty dipper qi could somewhat be said to correspond to the Water Element. The problem came when Yin Wanxiang was added to the mix. The space around him would be filled with countless mirages when he made his move and his figure looked illusory. Shang Xia had no idea what element his fate dipper aligned with.

If not for the fact that he was part of their battle formation, Yin Wanxiang wouldn’t have revealed the location of his true body amidst the illusions around him. Shang Xia wouldn’t have been able to complete the cycle of qi and amplify everyone’s strength.

Because of their battle formation, the 5 of them managed to stabilize the situation after the chaotic battle broke out. They were able to kill an expert from the Spirit Abundance World at the second element of the Martial Dipper Realm before holding off a pair of experts at the second and third element of the Martial Dipper Realm after that.

Too bad good things never last and 8 more experts from the Spirit Abundance World poured out from the spatial tunnels to shift the situation against the Azure Worlds.