Chapter 88

For this battle to breach the Mystic Peak, the Four Spirits Mountain had dispatched six Fourth Heaven martial artists in succession.

If one were to include Yuwen Shengjie, who secretly intervened later, it would total seven!

On the Mystic Peak side, even counting Dong Qianzui, who was forcibly elevated to a pseudo-Fourth Heaven through secret techniques, there were only five in total by the time Shang Bo hurriedly arrived.

However, as the battle progressed, it became clear that the Mystic Peak side was gaining the upper hand!

When Yan Que was instantly killed by Shang Bo's unexpected spear strike, the Four Spirits Mountain side still harbored hopes of victory.

But when Shang Bo's spear injured the hidden Yuwen Shengjie, initially displaying near Fourth Heaven Fourth Layer cultivation, the Four Spirits Mountain martial artists, seeing Yuwen Shengjie fleeing, finally realized they were about to lose!

"This guy only arrived now, it seems he was in a crucial stage of seclusion. It looks like he originally intended to cultivate the Four-Color Life Essence, but ultimately broke through his seclusion prematurely!"

Liu Qinglan and Shang Lubing easily gained the upper hand in their battle with Ran Bi Luo, who was still somewhat shaken. Seeing their side's favorable situation, Liu Qinglan's thoughts began to wander.

"It's just a bit strange where he found the Earthly Fiends, and even two types at once?"

Liu Qinglan's mind wandered, and her eyes flickered as she thought of something: "Could it be..."

Shang Lubing, the chief of the Merit Department, quickly noticed Liu Qinglan's distraction.

"Hey, hey, is it really a good time to be distracted?"

Liu Qinglan smiled awkwardly and quickly refocused to assist Shang Lubing in suppressing Ran Bi Luo.

In a sense, the sudden display of Shang Lubing's Fourth Heaven cultivation was less impactful than the shock of his true identity being revealed to the Mystic Academy.

Before the fall of Youzhou, the "Three Cold Ones of Youzhou" — Snow, Ice, and Frost — were well-known among Youzhou's martial artists.

Now, Kou Chongxue, who established the Mystic Academy and has become a formidable figure in the Two Realms War Zone, has a sworn brother who is hiding his identity and suppressing his cultivation to serve as the chief of the Merit Department at the Mystic Academy.

For twenty years, the Mystic Academy has grown from nothing to a powerful institution under Kou Chongxue's leadership. His courage, boldness, wisdom, and methods have deeply impressed every high-ranking martial artist in the academy.

No one believes that Kou Chongxue is unaware of Shang Lubing's seclusion within the academy; they only think that the Dean must have a deeper purpose.

With Liu Qinglan's serious focus, Ran Bi Luo's situation under the suppression of two Fourth Heaven martial artists became even more dire.

...

On the other side, on Kaiyuan Peak, after Shang Bo's appearance, Shang Xia finally sat down and began to stabilize the chaotic essence energy within his body.

Shang Xia's level after advancing to the Two Instruments Realm was extremely high. Normally, extraordinary elixirs like the Crimson Crystal Powder, even with their fierce properties, would not significantly affect his stable essence energy structure.

However, Shang Xia was fighting for his life at the time. The fierce essence energy from the Crimson Crystal Powder, instead of being gradually refined and absorbed, was used directly as a restorative to continue the battle, and against an opponent he had no chance of defeating!

Shang Xia didn't even have time to maintain the balance of Yin and Yang essence energy within him, and the fiery essence energy from the Crimson Crystal Powder disrupted the balance, causing the essence energy to become almost uncontrollable.

Fortunately, his grandfather Shang Bo's timely appearance gave him the chance to adjust.

Shang Xia activated the Taiji diagram in his dantian. As the Taiji diagram slowly rotated, the nearly uncontrollable essence energy began to be suppressed, then gradually returned to a balanced state.

Apart from the internal injuries caused by the essence energy disturbance, his cultivation actually improved slightly.

This was because most of the essence energy from the Crimson Crystal Powder had already been wasted; otherwise, the extraordinary elixir would have had a more significant effect on his cultivation.

Footsteps approached, and Shang Xia emerged from his meditation to see Yun Yifei walking over.

"Xia, how are you?"

Perhaps the crisis had passed, or perhaps Shang Xia's performance had impressed her, but Yun Yifei's tone was noticeably warmer.

"Yun Auntie, I'm fine!"

Shang Xia stood up. He wasn't lying; after suppressing the essence energy disturbance, everything seemed like a false alarm.

Yun Yifei was slightly surprised but quickly became enthusiastic. "That's good. Let's go down the mountain and fight the enemy, we can't let this anger go unavenged!"

Shang Xia hurriedly followed behind her. "Yun Auntie, isn't the Head of the Merit Department coming?"

Yun Yifei didn't look back. "Even in a counterattack, we can't leave the mountain unguarded. Besides, Kaiyuan Peak is unstable and needs a fully accomplished Martial Realm expert to remain here!"

The connection between Kaiyuan and Mystic Peaks was now just a single iron chain, but this didn't pose a problem for the two of them.

Yun Yifei used the Yun Family's "Graceful Cloud" technique, walking gracefully on the iron chain, giving a sense of purity.

Shang Xia's "Staggered Steps" technique was far from perfect, but he managed to cross the iron chain without much difficulty.

On the other side, Shang Xi and Yan Qi seemed to have had the same idea and were waiting for them.

Yun Yifei glanced at Yan Qi and then looked at Shang Xi. "Together?"

Shang Xi glanced down the mountain. "It would be best to find some mounts."

The four of them headed down the mountain. Shang Xi asked, "Attendant Yuan..."

Yun Yifei sighed. "His life force is exhausted; he won't survive."

Shang Xi's figure paused slightly, and he sighed softly.

Strictly speaking, Yuan Zilu could be considered half a disciple of his father, Shang Bo.

He had a natural talent for spear techniques, which earned him Shang Bo's favor.

Shang Bo had once carefully guided him in practicing spear techniques, and Yuan Zilu had always been grateful for this.

At this moment, many martial artists on Mystic Peak were rushing down the mountain to join the pursuit of the Four Spirits Mountain martial artists.

It wasn't that they only fought when the tide was in their favor; many had specific duties, guarding the various array points on Mystic Peak and the six subsidiary peaks.

With the Mystic Peak side gaining the upper hand and preparing to counterattack, the Four Spirits Mountain martial artists no longer posed a threat, so fewer people were needed to guard the array points.

Shang Xia, following behind Shang Xi and Yun Yifei, suddenly saw someone approaching and his eyes lit up. "Instructor Sun?"

Sun Haiwei was about to go down the mountain to join the battle when she heard someone call her. She saw it was Shang Xia.

Before Sun Haiwei could respond, Shang Xia asked, "How is Senior Brother Tian?"

Sun Haiwei's face darkened. "He barely survived, thanks to your Heart Stirring Talisman. However, his essence energy was severely damaged, and it's uncertain when he will recover. Even if he does, his cultivation progress will be significantly delayed."

Shang Xia felt a slight regret but also a sense of relief. "As long as he's alive, anything is possible."

Sun Haiwei nodded, and her previously gloomy expression brightened.

Shang Xi knew that Sun Haiwei had already cultivated a Martial Realm martial art. Seeing her alone, he said, "We happen to be one person short. Instructor Sun, would you like to join us?"

He looked at Yun Yifei, who smiled and nodded.

Sun Haiwei quickly replied, "Thank you, Senior Sister Shang and Senior Sister Yun. You're too kind, just call me Haiwei."

Shang Xi chuckled. "Alright, Junior Sister Sun. We five will form a complete patrol squad, and it's perfect that you have a student here who doesn't know the patrol formation. You can teach him!"

Sun Haiwei nodded and smiled. "That's a good idea!"

The five of them quickly reached the foot of the mountain. The Four Spirits Mountain martial artists besieging Mystic Peak had already realized the situation was dire and were retreating in an orderly manner under the guidance of some Martial Realm experts.

The Mystic Peak side was also organizing a counterattack. Although both sides had casualties, it was a fact that the Mystic Peak had been besieged and engaged in a chaotic battle.

It was impossible for them not to be angry, so the martial artists at the foot of Mystic Peak were highly agitated, and many were even competing for trained mounts to join the counterattack.

However, when Shang Xi, Yun Yifei, and the others appeared, no one dared to compete with them, and some even offered their mounts.

The reason was simple: three Martial Realm and two Martial Extreme experts formed a patrol squad that was virtually invincible below the Fourth Heaven.

Even a fully accomplished Martial Realm expert would be doomed if accidentally surrounded.

The five mounted the Crimson Cloud Beasts and charged out from the foot of the mountain.

The traces of the battle were still visible, with many dead martial artists from both Mystic Peak and Four Spirits Mountain lying on the ground.

Shang Xia even saw two people, both outstanding students who had advanced to the Martial Essence Realm within a year. Though they weren't close, they definitely knew each other.

Shang Xia and the others were heading through the Ling and Kaiyuan Peaks to leave the valley, and it was already difficult to see any Four Spirits Mountain martial artists along the way.

"Deputy Dean Shang's strike was right above our heads. The Four Spirits Mountain martial artists who rushed here should have been the most numerous, but now they are terrified and are probably the first to collapse."

Yun Yifei said this to Shang Xi, with a hint of flattery.

Yan Qi's mount was at the back, while Sun Haiwei, in the middle, was explaining the details of the patrol formation to Shang Xia.

Shang Xi smiled. The Yun Family had no need to flatter the Shang Family, and this conversation seemed more like a probe.

Shang Xi suddenly pointed ahead. "Look there!"

Everyone looked and saw a dense cluster of small holes, like a beehive, on the ground.

In the area covered by these holes, there were seven or eight Four Spirits Mountain martial artists lying dead.

"This must be the residual energy from Deputy Dean Shang's Nine Firefly Spear, which pierced through the Fourth Heaven expert's body and then dissipated here, where many Four Spirits Mountain martial artists were gathered."

Yun Yifei described the scene and checked the dead. "Unfortunately, there are no Martial Realm experts here. They must have avoided it or blocked it."

Shang Xi added, "Third Heaven martial artists have a strong will; they're not easy to kill."

The five turned their mounts and sped towards the mountain pass. At this moment, Shang Xia's eyes lit up, and he shouted, "Look, that black cloak!"