Chapter 964: Pushing for an Answer!

“Can you break the grand formation of an Elysium?” Lou Yi asked Shang Xia calmly as a profound light flashed in his eyes.

Shang Xia didn’t hide his shock at the question and turned his gaze towards Huang Yu who was standing beside him.

Taking a step forward, Huang Yu muttered in fright, “Young Master, this...”

Lou Yi raised his hand to stop Huang Yu from speaking further. His gaze turned a lot more serious when he turned to look at Shang Xia. “Can you break the grand formation of an Elysium?!” Now that he repeated his question, it was clear he was pressing for an answer.

Shang Xia might not know what was happening, but he understood that he had to respond. Moreover, his reply would determine his future in the Spirit Abundance World! If he was even the slightest bit careless, he might be placed in a dangerous situation!

Huang Yu’s expression sank.

However, Shang Xia sank into thought and after thinking about it properly for a moment, he replied calmly, “I am not a Formation Grandmaster, and I only managed to grasp a special method to break formations. I can’t be certain unless I test it for myself. However...”

When Shang Xia started speaking, he could sense the disappointment in Lou Yi’s gaze even though there weren’t any obvious fluctuations in his aura. He might even be thinking of how to handle Huang Yu’s close friend now that he wouldn’t be able to do what he wanted. He was even getting lazy to listen to the rest of what the other party said. He felt that everything else that came out of Shang Jianqi’s mouth was merely to make him seem less useless.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

“... However, I have the experience of breaking the grand formation of a Holy Land.” Shang Xia concluded.

“Alright get someone to send Mister Shang here... Huh?! What did you say?! Hold up!” Lou Yi gasped.

Huang Yu reacted rapidly and a piercing light shot out of his eyes while he stared at Shang Xia. “Mister Shang is what you said true?!”

Shang Xia maintained the smile on his face and no longer spoke.

One of the middle-aged cultivators who was standing behind Lou Yi strode over with a look of disinterest. Eventually, a suspicious look appeared in his eyes as he addressed Shang Xia directly, “Alright, Mister Shang, dare I ask, where did you achieve such a feat and what was the name of the Holy Land?”

Huang Yu frowned in response. However, he was no longer as tense as when he spoke to Lou Yi and he growled, “Mister Fei, I’m afraid this isn’t appropriate...”

Huang Yu planned to help Shang Xia evade the question as he knew that wouldn’t cause Lou Yi or the others to doubt Shang Xia. They would only feel that Shang Xia was someone with great abilities and was only unwilling to share more because of some embarrassing story behind his actions.

Could he be a Great Bandit? Was he a Legendary Thief? Or could he be an expert who was chased out of his sect? He might even be some powerful expert who went into hiding due to some reasons...

The next instant, Lou Yi and the others created many stories for Shang Xia in their minds. They filled in his ‘shady’ past by themselves.

Mister Fei couldn’t help but chuckle in response to Huang Yu’s rejection. However, he quickly returned with another question. “How can this be considered inappropriate? He needs to prove himself, right?”

Huang Yu turned to look at Lou Yi and could see that the True Immortal was revealing a troubled look.

Shang Xia analyzed the emotions of everyone present and interrupted suddenly, “It’s alright. I’m willing to prove my skills anyway since there’s nothing to hide. The Holy Land was called the He Sect. I’m not comfortable revealing which world they came from, but I’m happy to show off my skills.”

Mister Fei glanced at Lou Yi before breaking the awkward silence with a bout of hearty laughter. “Oh? Mister Shang, I wonder how you wish to prove yourself?” He waved his hands in the air before he continued, “I’m afraid we won’t be able to find a Holy Land for you to show off your skills so easily.”

“Hehe... There’s no need.” Shang Xia understood what he had to do. The more they were doubting his abilities, the more he needed to show them off. Otherwise, they would start to grow suspicious if he was too compliant. He interrupted Mister Fei unceremoniously and raised his chin slightly. “Don’t we have you right here to test my skills? I wonder if you will be able to withstand it...”

“Here?” Mister Fei roared with laughter the next moment. However, he seemed to think of something as the smile on his face froze. “Wait a second...”

It was a shame it was too late. Shang Xia made his move as gray spiritual light shot out from beneath his feet. They started to ripple downwards and created a hole that was 30 feet wide in the heavenly screen without causing any noise.

“Oh shit! If you forcefully attack the heavenly screen, I’m afraid it will cause...” Before Mister Fei could finish his sentence, Shang Xia had already disappeared.

The hole in the heavenly screen wasn’t the only thing that appeared. There was a gap in the formless barrier that had been set up around the heavenly screen as a second layer of protection. The Spirit Abundance World could be clearly seen through the gap.

When everyone was still staring into the hole, the heavenly screen and the formless barrier started to restore itself without any traces it had been attacked.

Anyone who understood anything about the world and how the heavenly screen worked knew what Shang Xia’s actions represented. Even Huang Yu, an imposter, was shocked at the feat.

Another expert who seemed comparable to Lou Yi in age also appeared the next moment and looked at the recovering heavenly screen and clicked his tongue softly. “Looks like someone really capable has arrived. I’m afraid even those on patrol wouldn’t be able to discover such a small disturbance... I’m afraid if he didn’t do it in front of all of us, we would need to wonder if he’s a spy sent by other worlds to infiltrate us!”

The person who spoke earlier turned to stare at Huang Yu before asking casually, “Where did you manage to find such a wonderful talent?”

He didn’t wait for Huang Yu to respond before turning to Lou Yi. “Third Brother, this guy is a talent indeed. Shouldn’t you be trying to get this guy...”

Huang Yu hastily reminded at the side, “Young Master Zhe, his name is Shang Jianqi!”

“Oh, right, Shang Jianqu!” Lou Zhe slapped his forehead before resuming his conversation with Lou Yi. “You should hurry and find him! He ran through the heavenly screen earlier and if anyone else runs into him and takes him to be a spy... We’ll have a massive misunderstanding on our hands!”

Like every other world, one would cross a large distance after passing through the heavenly screen. One couldn’t see how Shang Xia made a small hole and ran into the Spirit Abundance World. If someone ran after him after the gap closed, they might appear thousands of miles away!

Lou Yi finally reacted. He understood that Huang Yu truly brought back a terrifying existence and he stared apologetically at Huang Yu for doubting him earlier. “Brother Huang, I’m afraid you will have to...”

Before he could finish speaking, every single one of them discovered space ripples appearing in the distance. They turned to stare at a spot in space a dozen miles away.

Mister Fei chuckled suddenly, “Looks like we won’t have to go looking for him. He already emerged from the heavenly screen.”

“This is truly...” Lou Yi forced a chuckle while shaking his head. He couldn’t help but shoot a glance at Lou Zhe.

Understanding his intention, Lou Zhe smiled and looked at Huang Yu. “Brother Huang, let’s go meet up with him!”

“Alright.” Huang Yu didn’t say too much as he went with Lou Zhe to where the spatial rubles were appearing.

Because Shang Xia barged out of the heavenly screen, he was unable to conceal his presence and caused a massive disturbance. As they were currently in the Emptiness Drifting Mountain’s territory, many high-level experts detected his presence and locked on to him. There were even 2 streaks of light that tore through the air from their camp towards Shang Xia.

The next moment, the streaks of light were called to a halt by Lou Zhe as he made his way over to Huang Yu. “Brother Pang, this is a misunderstanding! The cultivator who did this is a friend my Third Brother invited. Would you please allow me to handle matters here?”

The streaks of light stopped and 2 figures were revealed. The leader of the other two stared at Huang Yu before revealing a disgusted look. He growled, “What is Lou Yi up to now? This is the heavenly screen above the Emptiness Drifting Mountain, not your Lou Family’s backyard!”

Lou Zhe chuckled dryly in response, “Senior Brother Pang, there’s no need to take it so seriously...”

With a sneer, Senior Brother Pang turned to return to where he was stationed.

Lou Zhe stared at their leaving figures with a profound light in his eyes before muttering to Huang Yu who was standing silently behind him. “Let’s go.”

Both of them rushed towards where Shang Xia appeared, and Shang Xia also discovered their presence as he made his way over. A moment later, they returned to where Lou Yi was waiting.

Now that Shang Xia was back, Lou Yi and the others stared at him with a face full of shock.

Huang Yu was the only one who seemed a little distracted as he wanted to say something but stopped himself at the last moment.

“Brother Huang, there are no outsiders here. Do you have something you wish to ask? Go ahead.” Lou Yi noticed the strange look on Huang Yu’s face and mentioned.

Huang Yu shot him a respectful nod before muttering softly, “Young Master Yi, what exactly are we planning to do?!”

Lou Yi laughed, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, Mister Fei spoke in his place. “Let me explain!”

Stepping forward, he nodded slightly at Shang Xia with a smile on his face before he continued, “The situation has changed. I believe you noticed all the Star Ships gathering when you were on your way back from the Star Origin City. Do you know what happened to the Azure Oddity World?”

Huang Yu felt his heart stirring slightly, but he nodded in response. “I heard about what happened through a sheer coincidence.”

Mister Fei nodded as though he wasn’t surprised at all. His explanation continued, “Because we failed twice when invading the Spirit Luxuriant World, the various powers here suffered a pretty big blow. It even affected some of our plans in the vast sea of stars. As such, we decided to go all out against the Azure Oddity World, leaving them no chance to resist. With the exception of the Solitary Peak Heavenly Lake, all the other great powers are preparing for war!”

Huang Yu stared at Lou Yi and Lou Zhe in shock. “Young Masters, are you also going on the expedition?”

Mister Fei shook his head and replied in their stead, “No. That has nothing to do with our plan against the Solitary Peak Heavenly Lake. True Immortal Chong Xu was the one who stopped us.”

“Why...?” Huang Yu let out an involuntary gasp.

Finally, Lou Zhe replied, “That’s because True Immortal Chong Xu felt that before we deal with the Azure Oddity World, we cannot stir up chaos within our world.”

A frown appeared on Huang Yu’s face as he muttered softly, “They’re just a mere Azure World. They have 2 True Immortals, and the stronger one suffered heavy injuries. Is there a need to be so careful?”

Lou Zhe remained indifferent and he muttered, “There have been rumors mentioning how the divine weapon of the rank six Formation Grandmaster hasn’t been as heavily damaged as we once thought. There were also some people saying that he already managed to find a way to repair his weapon and has already completed its restoration...”

“That’s something concerning those True Immortals. What has our mission against the Solitary Peak Heavenly Lake got to do with that? Moreover, if we manage to succeed, Young Master Yi will be able to take the final step and our Emptiness Drifting Mountain will possess another Martial Void Realm True Immortal! Wouldn’t it be a good thing for all of us? Why are we dragging things out?” Huang Yu grumbled softly.

Mister Fei sighed, “The reason is simple... We got ourselves a competitor. Moreover, they seem to have gotten the support of True Immortal Chong Xu...”

Lou Zhe didn’t forget to add, “That's not all. True Immortal Chong Xu is using the excuse that the Spirit Oddity World is great at using formations to recruit all the Formation Grandmasters in our Emptiness Drifting Mountain. All of them were deployed and we don’t have their assistance. Even if we have someone on the inside, I’m afraid it’s...”

Huang Yu was too stunned to speak after hearing what had happened. When he finally reacted, he couldn’t help but ask, “How can True Immortal Chong Xu do this?! Isn’t he afraid...” He noticed the looks of disappointment on the faces of the others before he could finish.

“What’s going on?!” Huang Yu’s expression turned grave.

Lou Zhe glanced at Lou Yi, before finally turning back to Huang Yu. “The Old Ancestor... He... He... He’s about to reach the end of his lifespan!”

“Huh?” Huang Yu gasped in fright. However, he connected all the dots the next instant.

Finally, Lou Yi took a deep breath and muttered with a determined look. “That’s exactly why we can’t give up! The matter regarding the Solitary Peak Heavenly Lake has been directed by the Old Ancestor the entire time. Now that someone wishes to butt in to snatch our spoils of war, my Lou Family will never agree to it!”

“That’s right!” Lou Zhe growled. “Our Lou Family’s rank six inheritance can never be broken! Otherwise, everything we have done to take over the Solitary Peak Heavenly Lake will only benefit others!”

Mister Fei also seemed pretty down at the moment and he continued his explanation without being prompted, “Fortunately, it’s not as though we’re not prepared for this. The Lou Family has a long history and powerful foundations. Our Young Masters have also prepared many things in the dark and sending you over to the Star Origin City to look for Brother Shang is also one of them. However, they didn’t think that you would be able to find such an exceptional expert...”

Huang Yu quickly turned to Lou Yi to express his stance on the matter. “I will follow Young Master Yi’s orders!”

To that, Lou Yi simply chuckled, “Brother Huang, there’s no need to say more. I understand your loyalty.”

“Mister Shang, I wonder if you have any opinions on what we just said?” Mister Fei turned to Shang Xia whose expression was one of utter confusion by that point.

With calculated hesitation, Shang Xia stuttered, “This... This matter involves True Immortals?! Brother Huang didn’t mention anything about this...”

Shang Xia’s wariness made him look a lot more credible in the eyes of Lou Yi and the others. After all, which Martial Dipper Realm cultivator wouldn’t be afraid to mess with True Immortals? All the suspicion they had dissipated even further, Mister Fei chuckled, “Mister Shang, please rest assured. We naturally have everything under control. In fact, we’re sure to succeed. Don’t forget, we also have the support of True Immortal Chong Shan from the Lou Family. The moment Young Master Yi breaks through, you will be protected by 2 True Immortals. You don’t have to be afraid of anything else! Moreover, Young Master Yi has always treated others with sincerity. It’s your first meeting, but he already told you the entire plan...”

Naturally, Mister Fei didn’t need to say more for Shang Xia to understand that if he refused to go along with their plan, things would take a drastic turn. He knew too much and there was no way they would allow him to leave in case he ratted them out.

Of course, he never thought of backing out in the first place! After all, that was the reason he came!

As if on cue, Huang Yu stepped in. “Brother Shang, do you not trust me?”

A flash of determination crossed Shang Xia’s face and he seemed to have made up his mind. He muttered in a low voice, “Alright! Since I came all the way here, I can’t back out so easily!”

Looks of joy appeared on the faces of Lou Yi and the others with his agreement.