When Shang Xia lingered around outside the protection barrier, the cloud that ferried Yan Su’er and Yan Ming was escorted back to the Tongyou Stronghold by Bu Jingshuang and Liu Jikun.

“It’s been long since we last met. Elder Yan, I trust you have been well.” Shang Bo greeted them the moment they arrived. He wasn’t the only one there as Yun Jing also looked like she had been expecting their arrival. 

Yan Ming was greatly taken aback when she saw Shang Bo. Even Yan Su’er failed to control her emotions as a trace of shock ran through her eyes when she saw him. She couldn’t help but ask, “How… Why… Oh right… Hehe, looks like you’ve been cultivating in your Tongyou Stronghold the whole time!” 

Shang Bo nodded with a slight smile on his face, but he didn’t comment any further.

Feeling the subtle change in the aura Shang Bo emitted, Yan Su’er snorted, “I heard that you guys had been attacked by a huge group of aboriginal cultivators. Your Tongyou Stronghold was nearly razed to the ground. A few of you even died. Were you able to continue cultivating despite the massive disturbance taking place?” 

Shang Bo’s expression changed slightly, and the smile on his face started to fade.

At the side, Yun Jing quickly interrupted, “Elder Yan, you might not know about this, but Deputy Patriarch Shang was at a crucial point in his cultivation back then. He sealed his senses and we concentrated our defensive formation around him to prevent him from being affected. Unless our protection formation was completely destroyed during the battle, he wouldn’t be able to discover anything.” 

Actually, Yan Su’er couldn’t be bothered by Yun Jing’s explanation. After she discovered the unique aura coming from Shang Bo, there wasn’t much else that could interest her. 

After comprehending his fourth martial intent, Shang Bo entered the grand completion stage of the Martial Extermination Realm. He couldn’t hide the powerful presence he was giving off any longer. 

In other words, Shang Bo had entered the Half-Step Martial Dipper Realm! There was no way for him to increase his cultivation any further from that point unless he stepped into the Martial Dipper Realm.

Yan Su’er voice was laced with envy and unease as she sighed, “Your Tongyou Institution is really fortunate… A barren continent like yours actually managed to produce 3 Martial Dipper Realm Ancestors!” 

Shaking his head, Shang Bo muttered, “It’s extremely difficult and dangerous to enter the Martial Dipper Realm. Even though I’m a step away from breaking through, it’s going to be extremely difficult to take that step. No one can be certain that I can break through successfully until I actually do it.” Pausing slightly, Shang Bo’s tone changed and he chuckled, “Anyway, from what I can see, Elder Yan has also stepped through the gates of the grand completion stage. In the future, it’s very possible for you to enter the Martial Dipper Realm too.” 

Yan Su’er shook her head and laughed bitterly in response, “I’m afraid not. I only managed to fuse my extermination origins at the final moment of my battle. Because of that, I damaged my foundations and unless there is an opportunity in the future, I will never be able to advance past the grand completion stage of the Martial Extermination Ream.” 

“Did something like that really happen? It… It’s a shame…” Shang Bo and Yun Jing couldn’t help but look at each other before revealing a look of pity.

“Everyone has their own path. We can’t force things that are not meant to be. Compared to many other cultivators, I am extremely fortunate to have reached my current level.” Yan Su’er didn’t seem to mind too much and she was pretty open-minded about it.

“Elder Yan, you have seen through life and in the future, it’s always possible for an amazing opportunity to appear in the future. After all, nothing is set in stone.” Yun Jing reacted immediately to comfort her.

With a soft chuckle, Yan Su’er didn’t say anymore. 

As Yun Jing’s gaze turned to the Auspicious Cloud Cape that returned to its original form after sending them back, she couldn’t help but stare at Bu Jingshuang strangely. The next moment, she changed the topic entirely. “Why didn’t you come back with our Talisman Grandmaster?” 

Shooting each other a strange look, Bu Jingshuang and Liu Jikun didn’t know how to react immediately. Eventually, Bu Jingshuang started to narrate Shang Xia’s plan to everyone present. He spoke about how Shang Xia wanted to catch them off guard as they probably weren't expecting him to return so quickly after saving Yan Su’er.

Shang Bo’s expression sank instantly. “Preposterous!” 

Find the original at "pawread dot com".

Yun Jing’s countenance wasn’t looking too good either. “He’s too reckless!” 

However, Yan Su’er destroyed the strange atmosphere in the air the next second. “Forgive my sudden interruption but Young Master Shang’s strength should have already exceeded anything you can think of. From what I can tell, even if he’s unlucky enough to run into a Martial Extermination Realm expert at the grand completion stage, he should be able to fight back and retreat unscathed. He’s extremely sharp too. You don’t have to worry about him.” 

Yan Su’er might have surprised Shang Bo and Yun Jing with her evaluation of Shang Xia’s strength, but they didn’t doubt her judgment at all.

“Did the kid’s cultivation improve again in 2 short months?!” Yun Jing muttered to herself.

Shang Bo shook his head at the side. “The situation on the Manyu Continent is changing too rapidly. I just left seclusion and I haven't gotten a proper grasp of what is going on…” 

“Right, we can’t stand here all day and keep talking. We should invite Elder Yan in for some tea. Let’s talk about everything that has been going on over some refreshments.” Yun Jing interrupted Shang Bo suddenly.

Slapping his forehead, Shang Bo chuckled, “Oh yes! Elder Yan, please.” 

Seemingly having felt something, Yan Su’er decided not to accept the invitation immediately. “I haven’t fully recovered and I need to adjust my condition. Let’s talk about the situation in a bit.” 

Calling Chu Jia over hastily, Yun Jing got their Formation Grandmaster to bring Yan Su’er and Yan Ming to their quarters.

After they left, Yun Jing whispered, “Let’s send another transmission talisman and get ‘him’ to make another trip over. Also, we should get Ren Bainian to meet up with him in the outer regions… Forget it. I’ll personally make a trip over. You can stay here and have a nice chat with that old fox. Since we invited her over, there’s no chance for her to regret. She should be extremely clear about what she has to do. We don’t have to be in a rush to press her for all the benefits right now.” 

Shang Bo shook his head and stopped her. “Relax. There’s no need to tell ‘him’ to go over. He won’t miss such a big commotion out there. If I’m not mistaken, he should already be there. In fact, those two brats might have already reached an agreement and are working together as we speak.” 

“The situation in the Manyu Continent is changing too rapidly and it might shatter suddenly. Neither of us can leave the Tongyou Stronghold. Moreover, we need to quickly reach an agreement with Yan Su’er about working together with her Yan Race.” Pausing slightly, Shang Bo continued, “The moment we bring a part of the Manyu Continent back with us, the fusion of the worlds will start immediately…” 

Sighing helplessly, Yun Jing muttered, “Who would have expected that our worlds would be split into different ranks? Even if our Azure Origin World fuses with the Azure Spiritual World, we’re still no match for the Spirit Abundance World!

…

Shang Xia didn’t know that the situation on the Manyu Continent experienced a massive change during the time he spent in seclusion.

Even though the Tongyou Stronghold would send news from time to time, it was impossible for them to learn everything that happened to the Manyu Continent with their limited resources! Moreover, they also chose to hide many things in their report to Shang Xia.

Standing on the other side of the protection barrier of the formation, Shang Xia widened his eyes in shock.

“What the fuck? He blended in with them just like that?!” Shang Xia muttered to himself when he saw them leaving for the pillar of light.

No matter how surprised he was, Shang Xia had to admit that when ‘Huang Yu’ stopped him earlier, the aura he emitted was exactly the same as Cen Yu and the others. If not for the fact that he recognized the weapon and voice, Shang Xia wouldn’t have doubted that Huang Yu was an enemy!

Shang Xia wondered what type of transformation art would allow one to change their appearance and aura so perfectly into another person. They even allowed Youshang to maintain the disguise for a long period of time without being seen through by others!

There was something else that Shang Xia didn’t understand. After entering the inner formation, neither of them stopped to observe the situation outside. Were they not afraid that he would take the chance to shatter the protection barrier?

Thinking up to that point, Shang Xia realized that it wouldn’t hurt to try and he swung his Abyssal Blade at the barrier.

The barrier lit up as his blade light slammed into it, and a tiny crack he could fit through appeared. 

Shang Xia, who was about to step through the crack, stopped halfway.

He recalled how Xue Cangling barged into the formation earlier. Since the time he went in, things had been eerily silent.

One had to know that Xue Cangling was a top-tier expert who was even stronger than Liu Yu. Even if he entered the inner formation, he should be able to raise massive waves. In the event of the worst case scenario where he was surrounded by a bunch of enemies, he should fight back violently, causing huge shockwaves to spread through the lands. However, none of that could be felt!

There was only one other possibility. The inner formation wasn’t as simple as it looked. It was definitely concealing many strange mechanisms.

It was no wonder Lou Yi would be so relaxed the moment he entered the protection of the inner formation. 

Looking at the crack that was starting to close, Shang Xia fell into deep contemplation. Eventually, he decided not to waste the chance as he chose to do something.

Of course, he wouldn’t be crazy enough to waltz straight into the inner formation where he knew traps were waiting. Instead, he went to the location where he first grabbed the array flag before gathering a massive palm in the air and imbuing it with his Four Constellation Qi. He pressed it against the protection barrier that had restored itself without hesitation.

Since the array flag was missing, Shang Xia was able to strike at the weak point of the barrier. 

Shang Xia was in no rush to enter the inner formation. With the power of corrosion his Four Constellation Qi possessed, he planned to slowly eat away at the formless barrier.

Ever since Shang Xia destroyed the protection barrier around the Jingxiu Peak and discovered the properties of his Four Constellation Palm, he understood that it was extremely effective against things like restrictions and arrays. 

Ordinarily, protection barriers would be able to restore themselves because of the formation that powered it. Unless one destroyed the core of the formation, one wouldn’t be able to stop the recovery of the protection barrier. Even if one shattered the barrier completely, it would restore itself eventually. If one wasn’t careful, the protection barrier that recovered would serve as a cage to stop them from leaving, placing them in an extremely precarious situation where they would have nowhere to go while being attacked by their enemies.

Now that Shang Xia was destroying the barrier bit by bit, he would also be able to waste the energy of the formation that powered it. It was an extremely clumsy way, but no one could deny that it worked.

With the disappearance of the array flag, the powerful formation couldn’t operate as efficiently as before. The speed at which the protection barrier recovered was extremely slow. The hole that Shang Xia created with his Four Constellation Palm grew larger and larger as time went by.

Shang Xia wanted to use that way to get rid of the protection barrier entirely to see what was happening within.

As the gap grew bigger, Shang Xia could detect more and more of what was happening within the second layer of formations. Even though he wasn’t doing much outside, those hiding within finally couldn’t hold themselves back and decided to make a move.

Without any warning, the Phoenix Wing Halberd tore through the void and shattered Shang Xia’s Four Constellation Palm before flying straight at him.

Cen Yu…

Shang Xia gasped in fright and turned to flee. He didn’t hesitate when faced with such a powerful enemy.