Chapter 791: Kou Chongxue’s Disappearance?!

As the Tongyou Paradise continued to perfect itself, the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the institution were able to travel to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion and back more frequently.

Because of that, the use of the pavilion became a lot more widespread as many new structures were constructed around it. At the very least, Martial Extermination Realm experts who were cultivating in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion wouldn’t have to stay in those straw huts any longer.

Shang Xia didn’t hide his presence when he returned. Also, he brought 2 asteroids back with him and anyone who wasn’t blind would discover him. He was noticed when he was still hundreds of miles away from the Beyond Heavens Pavilion.

“Is there something special about these asteroids?” The person who discovered Shang Xia waved his hand to dismiss the others behind him before approaching.

“Oh! Instructor Zhang... Why are you here?” Shang Xia immediately recognized Zhang Haogu and he yelped in fright. “Aren’t you supposed to be stationed in the Scripture Depository? How did you get the time to come all the way up here to enjoy the scenery?”

Shang Xia knew that the Scripture Depository was a core part of the Tongyou Institution and it contained all the inheritance they had. The head of the Scripture Depository wasn’t allowed to leave their post no matter what. Now that Zhang Haogu showed up in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion...

Sniggering softly, Zhang Haogu explained, “Now that the space in the Tongyou Paradise has completely stabilized, a portion of our inheritance has been copied over. The rest were brought over directly. After all, this is the most secure location our institution possesses at the moment. Now, the responsibility of being the head of the Scripture Depository has reduced by a whole lot and it can actually be considered a true land of inheritance. This old man has been stationed there for some time now and I decided I needed a change in scenery. I wanted to head to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion to take a look at what lies outside the Azure Ascension World. Well, the institution naturally has someone ready to take my position.”

Shang Xia cupped his fists respectfully towards Zhang Haogu and muttered, “Disciple truly admires Instructor Zhang’s contributions to the institution.”

“Haha!” Zhang Haogu laughed. “This old man is getting on with age and all my potential was used up when I entered the Martial Extermination Realm. The institution is growing by the day and I naturally have to make way for the next generation...”

“Instructor Zhang, you might be getting older, but you’re still bursting with vigor. You possess profound knowledge and juniors like me have a lot to learn...”

Waving his hands casually, Zhang Haogu interrupted him. “Let’s not go there for now. Let’s talk about these asteroids you brought back. I heard that you were patrolling the space outside our Azure Ascension World tens of thousands of miles away. For you to bring them back uses up a lot of effort. What’s their deal?”

Shang Xia chuckled and explained, “Most of the asteroids we saw when patrolling the sea of stars contain some sort of precious resource or spiritual herbs. However, these asteroids are worth the most out of everything I ran into.”

Those asteroids he brought back weren’t even of the same size. The larger of the two had a strange rhombus-like shape and was close to 200 feet tall. The smaller one was round but barely five feet tall.

Zhang Haogu was a learned man, and he quickly inspected the chunks after Shang Xia mentioned their worth.

Shang Xia didn’t say anything as he waited for Zhang Haogu’s evaluation.

Flying several rounds around the larger chunk, Zhang Haogu didn’t even touch it once. He turned to Shang Xia and asked, “Is this a Mysterious Gold Ore deposit? Why did you drag an ore deposit all the way back? That’s tens of thousands of miles you’re talking about! Even if it’s of pretty high quality... Oh? Wait. Is the Mysterious Gold Ore deposit capable of nurturing Mysterious Gold Extermination Origins?”

Shang Xia revealed a look of admiration and he praised, “Instructor Zhang, your eyes are really sharp. That’s right. This deposit is really pure and it contains several strands of Mysterious Gold Extermination Origin. It’s able to nurture more, and there isn’t just a single one inside...”

Of the common currencies used in the You Continent, gold coins were made from Mysterious Gold.

Now that the Azure Ascension World was progressing to essence crystals as a currency, the currency used by the You Continent naturally started to get phased out.

However, the uses of Mysterious Gold are extremely widespread. Even if they’re no longer used to make gold coins, their value didn’t drop by a whole lot.

To obtain such a pure deposit of Mysterious Gold Ore, they would be able to refine tens of thousands of tons of Mysterious Gold if they melted it down. Just the value of it was astronomical!

Not to mention the fact that the deposit could nurture extermination origins!

Mysterious Gold Extermination Origin was considered a high-grade extermination origin and because Kou Chongxue refined a strand of Mysterious Gold Extermination Origin when he was in the Martial Extermination Realm, it possessed a special meaning to cultivators of the Tongyou Institution.

One could imagine how many people in the institution would fight for the Mysterious Gold Extermination Origin once news of it got out.

Unfortunately, the Martial Intent Realm cultivators in the institution who had the qualification to advance into the Martial Extermination Realm were pretty unlucky. They probably had no fate with the Mysterious Gold Extermination as Kou Chongxue once left a warning to not recommend anyone from entering the Martial Extermination Realm by refining the Mysterious Gold Extermination Origin.

Eventually, Zhang Haogu turned his attention to the second chunk that was five feet tall. He was surprised as he touched the surface of the rock. “Isn’t this supposed to be from the asteroid belt? Why does it feel like a piece of raw jadestone?”

Shang Xia smiled and didn’t respond. He allowed Zhang Haogu to continue his evaluation.

Noticing Shang Xia’s reaction, Zhang Haogu didn’t dally. He started to inspect the piece of rock carefully. Even so, he failed to come to a proper conclusion. He wondered out loud, “This is a piece of jadestone. Is it soft jade? Or is it warm jade? I can’t be sure of its quality, but I know it's no lower than the fourth rank.”

Shang Xia laughed and revealed what he knew. “At the very least, this should be Yang Jade and it might even be considered a Flame Jade Essence.”

“Oh?” Zhang Haogu revealed a look of surprise. He flew two rounds around the chunk of rock again before muttering to himself, “Incredible...”

That wasn’t to say that Zhang Haogu’s knowledge of spiritual treasure couldn’t be compared to Shang Xia. It was because of their difference in cultivation that Shang Xia could see through what it was.

As a cultivator in the Martial Dipper Realm, Shang Xia’s divine will far surpassed those of the same level. Zhang Haogu was merely a Martial Extermination Realm cultivator.

Moreover, Shang Xia refined fate dipper essences of all five elements. From a certain standpoint, one could say that it was all-encompassing. He could tell what the spiritual treasure was by feeling its essence.

When he first tried feeling out the chunk that contained the Mysterious Gold Ore deposit, the Geng Metal Element in his body seemed to become a lot more active. When he felt the chunk of jade, the Bing Fire Element showed signs of activity.

Zhang Haogu asked again, “If this really is Yang Jade, or even Flame Jade Essence, what do you plan to do with it?”

“Let’s see how much we can actually extract. I plan to try carving a rank four talisman seal from it if possible.” Shang Xia muttered.

Zhang Haogu was one of those who knew the source of the talisman seals. He couldn’t help but gasp in shock. “Wasn’t it said that only the Impaled Stone can be used to craft talisman seals? Can Flame Jade Essence also be used?”

Shang Xia chuckled in response. “I’m just going to test it out. After all, the Impaled Stone is limited. It’s good to save it as much as possible. After all, I haven’t found anything similar to it.”

Zhang Haogu grunted once before speaking again, “You’re right. The Impaled Stone is indeed a rare treasure. I recall Patriarch Kou talking about it once. You better hide the fact that you crafted those talisman seals. We shouldn’t allow others to know the secret of crafting them, and the other is to not expose the Impaled Stone. Also, Patriarch Kou seems to know something about the stone but he isn’t fully sure... Then again, Flame Jade Essence is an extraordinary material anyway. If you fail, it will be an astronomical loss. Are you really willing to part with the treasure?”

“I can use the Impaled Stone to craft any type of talisman seal, but if I change a material, I might have to care about their elemental properties. If I craft a certain talisman seal with a specific type of material, it’s possible to succeed.” Shang Xia chuckled.

Zhang Haogu continued to ask, “Alright, in the case Yang Jade or Flame Jade Essence is contained in this chunk, what talisman seal do you plan to craft?”

“The Golden Sun Inferno Talisman of course!” Shang Xia declared matter of factly. “I will need to trouble Instructor Zhang to look for a good stone carver though...”

Zhang Haodu didn’t bother raising his head as he continued to inspect the material when he replied, “Of course. Just leave those things to me. I promise there won’t be much wastage when carving out the pieces you need.”

A light flashed in Shang Xia’s eyes and he thanked, “Looks like I really will have to trouble you then.”

Zhang Haogu waved casually and muttered, “Alright, go look for Ji Wenlong and your grandfather. In recent years, there have been some changes to the situation in our You Continent. You should try to assimilate yourself into it.”

Even without Zhang Haogu’s reminder, Shang Xia was planning to look for them next. It was especially so since he brought back the jade book from Huang Yu. It recorded a lot of information related to the Spirit Abundance World and he even had a broken Stargazer inheritance. He needed to hand them over to the higher-ups of the institution as soon as he could.

Even so, he asked casually, “Instructor Zhang, do you know if Patriarch Kou has left seclusion?”

Who would have thought that his casual question would catch Zhang Haogu off guard? The old expert revealed a solemn expression as he seemed to hesitate whether to tell Shang Xia the news.

Realizing something was up, Shang Xia released his divine will and covered an area tens of miles around him. “Instructor Zhang, did something happen?”

Keeping his voice low, Zhang Haogu whispered, “There has been a rumor going around in the Azure Ascension World that Patriarch Kou has perished in the Tongyou Paradise ever since the battle back then...”

Shang Xia’s eyebrows jumped slightly and he roared with laughter. “Is there anyone who believes in that?! Hasn’t the patriarch been in seclusion this whole time?”

“It’s been more than 7 years since the battle... Patriarch Kou hasn’t shown himself since then.” Zhang Haogu sighed.

A sneer left Shang Xia’s lips. “There’s nothing strange about that. After someone reaches Patriarch Kou’s level of cultivation, they would enter seclusion for years at a time. Even tens of years won’t seem like an exaggeration.”

Shang Xia wasn’t making things up. At his current level, he knew that something like that was indeed possible.

Eventually, he was met with another sigh from Zhang Haogu. “Since the creation of the Tongyou Institution more than 30 years ago, have you heard of Patriarch Kou entering seclusion for more than a year or two?”