Chapter 815: Going Too Far

Returning to the Beyond Heavens Pavilion, everyone approached the land of ruins outside the Celestial Remains above the Jiao Continent. The 6 Martial Extermination Realm experts of the Tongyou Institution couldn’t keep their eyes off the silver winged Lightning Bird on Shang Xia’s shoulders.

𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

After advancing into the fifth rank, the Lightning Bird grew much bigger. However, it was able to control its size however it wished.

When it emerged from the lightning cocoon back then, the powerful lightning bolts around it seemed unable to be controlled and it could only use the lightning energy Shang Xia summoned to suppress it forcefully.

As all of them made their way over to the Celestial Remains earlier, the Lightning Bord started to refine its control over the tyrannical lightning. A good portion of their journey passed and it was already able to control its aura without Shang Xia’s help. By the time they arrived at the land of ruins, it even managed to tap onto Shang Xia’s aura to conceal itself. No matter who it was, they wouldn’t be able to tell that the bird on his shoulder was a rank five spiritual bird unless they knew it beforehand!

“How are you able to hide its aura so well?” Chu Jia asked curiously.

The meaning of a rank five spiritual beast could easily be seen from the Yuanchen Sect. The disturbance caused by their revelation of their rank five Cloud Roc was evident of that.

Now, the Lightning Bird stepped through the same bottleneck. Martial Extermination Realm experts or Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors weren’t able to tell anything by looking at it even though they ran into many people along their way.

Shang Xia chucked at Chu Jia’s question. “That’s because it’s Lightning Fate Dipper came from me!”

Among those who followed him on his journey, Chu Jia would have to take the top spot if they were discussing who was the most familiar with Shang Xia and his cultivation.

She quickly made the connection. “Is it also walking down the path you created? Is it also training in the five elements? But... But... It’s just a Lightning Bird! When it advanced, it absorbed all the lightning back there...”

Liu Qinglan turned to look at Shang Xia in unison. No one would be uninterested in his path of cultivation.

Shang Xia didn’t try hiding anything from them and he responded honestly, “The path of the five elements consists of everything. The dao of lightning can also be considered to be in the path of the five elements.”

What he said caused those standing around him to sink into deep contemplation.

Kou Chongxue’s Fate Dipper Clone’s voice rang beside Shang Xia’s ears. “So... This is how you managed to hide me and prevent Wenlong and Fourth Brother from finding me?”

Shang Xia didn’t reply directly, but his silence basically confirmed it.

The clone asked again, “Right. You said that the dao of lightning is also a part of the path of the five elements. What’s the difference between your Five Element Origin and the Lightning Bird’s?”

Shang Xia revealed a faint smile before replying with a voice transmission. “My Five Element Origin has the potential to encompass everything, but the Lightning Bird’s Five Element Origin will only contain the power of lightning.”

Even though it could only potentially encompass everything, Kou Chongxue’s clone knew the true meaning behind how terrifying it was.

All of a sudden, Chu Jia spoke again. “Do you still need me to lay down a Guidance Formation here in case anything goes wrong?”

Shang Xia felt the weak spatial energy around him and stared at the ruins with a look of contemplation. It seemed as though the experts of the various factions were unable to hide their movements within the ruins any longer and he muttered, “If you wish to do it, go ahead. However, it might not be of much use to us.”

In the past, the various factions would keep their safe routes to get to the entrance of the Celestial Remains through the ruins a secret. However, with everything that was happening, they didn’t seem to care any longer. It was as though all of them were sure the Celestial Remains was on its last legs and it would be their last time there.

After thinking about it, Shang Xia’s gaze landed on the entrance of the Celestial Remains. He noticed that the space there was fluctuating slightly, and he could faintly see the situation within. It was as though the barrier stopping everyone from entering would pop like a bubble.

It was then that another voice rang in Shang Xia’s ears. “Brother Shang, I didn’t think that the institution would send you over personally!”

Turning to look at the person who spoke, Shang Xia noticed a familiar face waving at him from a collapsed pillar several miles away.

A smile appeared on his face the next second. “Brother Pang, it’s you. Looks like we came really early...”

Pang Jingyun shook his head in response. “The Jing Continent and the Bing Continent are close by. Our faction only managed to come so early because of that. Moreover, Martial Uncle Huang led the main forces. I only came over to join in the fun.”

Obviously, he was talking about Huang Jinghan. He was a swordsman who shared the same fame as Kou Chongxue back in the days and he was extremely famous in the Azure Ascension World.

For the Yuanchen Sect to send Huang Jinghan over only showed how seriously they were treating the matter. It seemed as though they were hell-bent on obtaining the cauldron.

Shang Xia’s expression didn’t change and he chuckled, “So Senior Huang personally led the forces. It’s a shame it’s not convenient for me to head over to greet him today.”

“We have lots of time! Brother Shang, you’re not doing too bad yourself these few years! You managed to make a name for yourself!” Pang Jingyun laughed.

Shang Xia muttered softly, “It’s nothing too special. I must have embarrassed myself in front of Brother Pang.”

“Brother Shang, why are you acting so humble all of a sudden? Feng Yezi isn’t an easy target to kill. When Martial Uncle Huang heard that he met his demise in your hands, he exclaimed that Kou Chongxue finally found a successor!” Pang Jingyun added.

Shang Xia quickly replied. “Senior Huang is too kind...”

From where he was, Pang Jingyun’s gaze landed on the little bird on Shang Xia’s shoulder and his eyes lit up. “Did you borrow the power of the spiritual bird on your shoulder in order to hunt down Feng Yezi back then?”

Shang Xia maintained his expression but let out a mirthless chuckle. “Exactly. As it turns out, my little friend here has already made a name for itself! Here I was thinking that no one knew what happened.”

Pang Jingyun praised, “Even I know a spiritual bird that can do something like that is a special existence... Brother Shang, you’re really lucky!”

“Brother Pang, you’re exaggerating. However, all it can do is fly a little faster than ordinary birds. At the end of the day, Feng Yezi was too careless.” Shang Xia hastily added.

Nodding, Pang Jingyun finally concluded, “Brother Shang, after the opening of the Celestial Remains, I hope we have a chance to work together again.”

“Of course!”

After their conversation, Shang Xua turned around and wore a serious expression on his face.

Liu Qinglan asked, “Was he testing you?”

Shang Xia nodded slightly and he quickly relayed what they spoke about earlier.

A frown formed on Liu Qinglan’s face. “Huang Jinghan... Pang Jingyun... I didn’t think that the Yuanchen Sect would send the 2 of them. In the past, Huang Jinghan rose to fame earlier than Patriarch Kou and he’s one of the strongest Martial Dipper Realm Ancestor in the Azure Ascension World. You told us about Pang Jingyun back then too, and he’s an expert in the second element of the Martial Dipper Realm. We cannot underestimate him at all!”

Shang Xia’s nods slowed down slightly and he eventually started shaking his head. “No. The Yuanchen Sect didn’t just send the 2 of them. They sent 3!”

“Who else is there?” Chu Jia asked cautiously. However, she gasped after processing what he said. “Are you able to feel their presence?”

Even though the area the experts of the Tongyou Institution were located was several miles away from the Yuanchen Sect, things weren’t as simple as it seemed. Shang Xia and Pang JIngyun looked like they had a conversation easily, but their divine wills had to pass through countless regions of shattered space and spatial cracks. Their divine wills were also greatly suppressed. Moreover, the Yuanchen Sect definitely had methods of concealing their aura and Shang Xia was still able to sense the third Martial Dipper Realm Ancestor under such circumstances. That was a shocking feat. Chu Jia wasn’t the only one who was surprised. The others were equally as taken aback. Even Yan Ming and Dou Zhong who had been keeping quiet the whole time turned to look at Shang Xia with a strange gaze.

Shang Xia turned to look at the collapsed pillar where Pang Jingyun was and he mumbled, “It’s Gong Xinlan... Looks like she’s really close to the Yuanchen Sect...”

The others might not know anything and were still feeling curious, but they didn’t try to interrupt his train of thought when they saw that he had sunk into silence.

With none of them knowing what to do, Chu Jia called the others to help her construct a hidden Guidance Formation. Then again, looking at the lineup of Martial Extermination Realm experts from the institution, with the exception of Liu Qinglan, the others could be considered her students.

From how many experts had appeared, one could easily see how great the impact of the phenomenon above the Celestial Remains was.

The Tongyou Institution didn’t arrive too early. By the time they got there, many other factions were present. Those who came had great cultivation levels and combat strength.

Of course, the arrival of the Tongyou Institution wasn’t something people would overlook. All of them knew that Shang Xia killed Feng Yezi and he could be considered a powerhouse in the institution among the Martial Dipper Realm experts.

However... When they saw that Shang Xia came alone with several Martial Extermination Realm experts with varying cultivation bases in tow, many people no longer paid much attention to them.

Shang Xia didn’t think too much about it as he communicated with Kou Chongxue’s clone in secret.

“Even Huang Jinghan came over! Who knows which other famous expert is going to come next? Damn old man! You’re going overboard! Can you even hold on?” Shang Xia grumbled as he felt waves battering against his heart.

After staying silent for a moment, Kou Chongxue’s clone mumbled, “I think that the phantom of the Stellar Cauldron would appear...”

Still annoyed, Shang Xia growled, “Are you sure your true body didn’t cook this up?”

“I... I... I don’t know anymore... But from what I think, he doesn’t have anything to do with this.” The clone replied.

Sighing in disappointment, Shang Xia continued, “If push comes to shove, can you hold out against Huang Jinghan?”

Kou Chongxue’s clone heard the meaning he was trying to convey and he quickly promised, “Relax. When the time comes, none of them will be able to do a thing. All you have to do now is to think of what to do after you enter the Celestial Remains. If the Yuanchen Sect can discover the matter of the Lightning Bird, they will also know that you broke into my cultivation grounds. Well... If the Yuanchen Sect knows, the Divine Capital Sect and the Eternal Palace definitely know too. There will be a lot of people who will have their eyes on you!”

Shang Xia wanted to say something, but he heard Sun Haiwei’s voice. “There are experts from the Azure Spiritual World coming over too...”

Even though the new world was born and it called itself the Azure Ascension World, cultivators of both sides hadn’t changed the way they addressed each other.

Shang Xia raised his head to look at the ruins in the distance again. Rather than looking for the experts of the Azure Spiritual World, he started to look for the members of the Five Mountains Alliance. The person leading the way was their alliance leader, Yin Wanxiang, and Shang Pei was among those who came.

Liu Qinglan mumbled in a low voice, “Should we tell them to come over here?”

“It’s too late. I’m afraid there are some who can’t wait any longer and will force their way in soon.” Shang Xia’s gaze landed in another direction and he sighed.

When they turned to look in the same direction, they saw 3 Martial Dipper Realm experts from the Yuanchen Sect, Divine Capital Sect, and Eternal Palace standing before the entrance.