Chapter 702: Who’s In Charge?
Not too long after Shang Xia left the Celestial Remains, Tao Gongming arrived at the spot where he disappeared. Unfortunately, the spot where Shang Xia tore open had already returned to normal.
“He left?!” Tao Gongming frowned. A trace of disbelief flashed across his face and he shook his head slowly, “That’s not possible… With his strength, how is he able to shatter the void and create a tunnel so quickly by himself?!”
“Did he change directions along the way?” The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was possible. However, with the final phase of fusion of both worlds, he couldn’t be bothered to give chase.
It was just…
Tao Gongming stared at the empty space before him and nearly cried out in dejection. “It seems… It seems difficult for me to tear a hole through the void to leave…”
That was especially the case after Tao Gongming lost his fate dipper clone and had his cultivation regress by a small level.
Luckily, he didn’t have to wait for long. Very quickly, other Martial Dipper Realm experts started to arrive.
Unlike when they forced their way into the Celestial Remains, going out was much easier. As such, those who arrived didn’t need to wait for the experts from the Divine Capital Sect or the Eternal Palace.
Soon after, intense spatial fluctuations came from within the Celestial Remains. The same phenomenon would happen from time to time and after 6 great fluctuations, the Celestial Remains finally regained its original calm.
What all of them didn’t know was that during the time Shang Xia carved a spatial tunnel out of the Celestial Remains, he didn’t cause such a huge disturbance.
Even Tao Gongming who arrived right after him didn’t realize that and he merely thought that Shang Xia had run somewhere else.
With everyone’s departure from the Celestial Remains, the world origin and heaven and earth spiritual qi started to grow to a much denser level than before. However, the originally clear and pure world origin seemed to become a lot more turbid.
Because of that, the interior of the Celestial Remains seemed to have turned several shades darker. A part of that reason was because of the clash and agitation between world origin and heaven and earth spiritual qi. There was also the destruction caused by the collision between many floating ruins and the damage to multiple forbidden regions. Some parts of the Celestial Remains experienced spatial collapse and the Celestial Remains became a lot more battered than before.
The fusion of the Worlds’ Will also caused changes to some of the regions within the Celestial Remains.
In the central region of the Ruined Observatory…
Layers upon layers of restrictions had been laid down by many Martial Dipper Realm experts to seal the area around the Starry Tree.
With the fusion of the Worlds’ Will and appearance of turbid world origin, the entire region that had been sealed off seemed to tremble slightly. The leaves on the Starry Tree trembled slightly and eventually, the entire tree seemed to shake. The rustling of leaves could be clearly heard in its surroundings.
A resplendent light appeared from the path of space outside the spatial barrier above the Ruined Observatory and starlight fell directly on the crown of the tree. At the rate they were gathering, the starlight seemed to turn corporeal.
The thin stream of starlight that Shang Xia followed previously rippled continuously under the constant immersion of starlight that came from the cracks between the leaves.
When the ripple finally stopped, the surface of the stream that reflected the vast nothingness previously started to reveal spots of light that flickered in the darkness.
If one were to look at the stream of starlight, one would realize that it didn’t reflect the vast sea of stars outside the spatial barrier. Instead, it seemed to reveal some sort of star diagram…
In the depths of the Void Prohibition Zone, the Stellar Cauldron that seemed a little run down when Shang Xia was present started to transform.
Along with the powerful world origin fluctuations that came with the fusion of the Worlds’ Will, the Stellar Cauldron seemed to gain a new life.
Parts of rusted metal started to fall from the cauldron and spiritual light danced about the new surface beneath. They seemed to give the lifeless cauldron a new sense of life!
…
“What the hell is going on?! What’s happening in the Celestial Remains?! Why didn’t Kou Chongxue come out with you?!” Shang Bo shot off question after question after meeting up with Shang Xia. They didn’t linger around as they immediately shot off in the direction of the You Continent. Along the way, Shang Bo couldn’t help but ask about what happened there.
Even though Shang Bo had somewhat prepared himself for it, he was still taken aback when Shang Xia recounted whatever happened in the Celestial Remains.
“What?! The Starry Tree that can assist one in entering the Sixth Order of the Primary Realm?! The Origin Holy Artifact of the Celestial Remains is called the Stellar Cauldron?!” Shang Bo gasped, bewildered. “Were you guys trapped in an illusion inside the Celestial Remains or something?! God knows how many batches of Martial Dipper Realm experts explored the Celestial Remains and they didn’t find stuff like that! How the hell did you guys run into treasures like them?! Moreover, it’s not just one supreme treasure… You guys found 2 of them! Do you think it’s believable?”
Shang Xia chuckled bitterly, “Grandpa, you’re not the only one in disbelief. Even I find it a little too shocking. Patriarch Kou is basically the main character of our Azure Origin World at this point! He ran into a massive world origin tide in the Void Prohibition Zone and got swept straight up to where the Stellar Cauldron is. Who the fuck can get luckier than that?! Even I, your grandson, had to tag on to his luck to pick up some scraps… Whatever it is, you have to believe it. After all, my cultivation can’t be faked, right?”
With his expression flickering unsteadily, he nodded slowly while Shang Xia stared at him in shock. “Now that you mention it, his luck truly is heaven-defying. Thinking back to the 20-plus years that passed, everything that happened to him was pretty unbelievable. Now that I think about it, everything was just too coincidental. Even I only managed to reach where I am today thanks to him…”
Unlike Shang Xia, Shang Bo had been interacting with Kou Chongxue for close to 30 years. He was much more familiar with the patriarch.
“Grandpa… What should we do now? Will he really be fine in there?” Shang Xia asked.
Glancing at his grandson, Shang Bo snorted, “Didn’t you just say that he’s the main character of our Azure Origin World? Do you think anything will happen to him?” Shang Bo only became a little more serious after he was done. He continued, “Relax. Since he chose not to leave with you, he probably also knows that his life won’t be in any immediate danger.”
Shang Xia mumbled in response, “But Grandpa, I have a strange feeling that things aren’t as simple as they seem. He might have said that he isn’t willing to leave the cauldron, but I feel that he’s trapped in there… Moreover, now that the worlds are finally becoming one…”
Shang Bo thought for a second before he replied, “No matter what, the Origin Holy Artifact isn’t used to kill people. Moreover, as long as he remains in there, even if the Celestial Remains were to crumble, he wouldn’t be harmed in the slightest.”
As long as Kou Chongxue remains alive, they will be able to save him eventually even if he is trapped in the Origin Holy Artifact.
Nodding slightly, Shang Xia knew what his grandfather meant. However, another thought flashed through his mind and he asked, “Grandpa, is the Origin Holy Artifact a divine weapon?”
“Maybe? … Actually, I’m not too sure either. However, there are rumors that an Origin Holy Artifact is a grade higher than a divine weapon. As the Divine Capital Sect and Eternal Palace are the only factions in our world who established their Elysiums, they’re the only ones who possess an Origin Holy Artifact. We can only throw guesses about since they refuse to say anything.”
When the grandfather and grandson duo were on their way back to the You Continent, the fusion of the Worlds’ Will caused a loud outflow of world origin. The world origin in the Beyond Heavens Pavilion had already increased by 30 percent!
By the time they closed in on the Void Abyss, they discovered that Ji Wenlong had been waiting for them for quite some time.
Deputy Patriarch Yun Jing was also present, and her cultivation had already reached the large completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm. Yan Su’er the Assistant Head Instructor of the Tongyou Institution who was at the grand completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm was also present.
Their faces changed when they saw Shang Xia and Shang Bo.
“Where’s Patriarch Kou?!” They asked in unison.
At the same time, Ji Wenlong revealed a shocked gaze as he examined Shang Xia from head to toe. No matter how he looked at it, the youngster’s aura experienced a complete transformation. He could tell that Shang Xia had already stepped through the gates of the Martial Dipper Realm.
However, he couldn’t be bothered with that at the moment as Kou Chongxue’s missing presence was of much more importance.
Shang Xia and Shang Bo could only force a laugh as they explained the situation to the others.
Next, Shang Xia took out the item Kou Chongxue handed over to him and placed it on the table before them. “Patriarch Kou told me to pass this to you guys. It has instructions on our plans for the foreseeable future. He told me to relay the message that all of you Deputy Patriarchs will be in charge of making any decision for the institution till he’s back…”
After hearing what had happened, Ji Wenlong and the others couldn’t believe their ears. Ji Wenlong couldn’t help but grumble at the side, “Right now, things are at a critical juncture. There are too many things we need him to oversee personally, and no matter how important the Origin Holy Artifact is, he can’t possibly dump the responsibility on us and go missing… Is he even treating this seriously?!”
Shang Bo didn’t say a word. After all, he wasn’t exactly happy with Kou Chongxue’s disappearance either.
It couldn’t be denied that the Origin Holy Artifact was important, but the Tongyou Institution had many plans to be carried out during the fusion of both worlds. It didn’t just concern the future of the institution. The fate of their You Continent and their standing in the new world was tied with it. Was there also a need to mention the fact that the Spirit Abundance World had their sights on the new world and was on the verge of invading?
Everything would require a supreme existence like Kou Chongxue who was practically undefeatable in the Martial Dipper Realm to take charge of matters. He was supposed to command the institution and lead the You Continent into battle. With him around, everyone would possess boundless confidence in the upcoming battles.
To put it another way, Kou Chongxue’s position in the Tongyou Institution and in the hearts of everyone from the Tongyou City was irreplaceable. He was their backbone, and their pillar of support!
“Since Chongxue decided to remain in the Celestial Remains, he definitely thought things through. Even though he made the decision to refine the Stellar Cauldron, it shouldn’t affect our plans too much.” Yun Jing spoke.
She caught everyone’s attention, and Shang Xia felt that something was off with the way she addressed Kou Chongxue. However, he seemed to be the only one who found it strange.
Whatever it was, her gaze landed on Shang Xia next. She chuckled, “What’s more, even though he might not be here to carry out our plans, we have Little Xia, our new Martial Dipper Realm expert. On the surface, our institution still has 3 Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors. It will definitely be enough to protect whatever we already have after the fusion of the worlds. Moreover, if Chongxue doesn’t show his face around for some time, others might be wary and not try anything stupid if they don’t know what’s going on. It’s a type of formless pressure we can exert on them.”
Shang Xia suddenly discovered something. When Kou Chongxue wasn’t present, it seemed as though Yun Jing was the true leader of the institution!
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