Splitting the Heavens

Chapter 1132: The Fourth Page

Chapter 1132: The Fourth Page

After getting the coordinates from Yi Jingxu, Shang Xia didn’t head over immediately. Instead, he returned to the Tongyou Elysium and went to their Star Observatory which also happened to be their Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar.

Even though the spatial barrier around the Elysium separated the Star Observatory from the outside world, it didn’t block the Star Observatory from being able to peer into the vast sea of stars.

If there were high-level experts present, they would be able to see that the faint starlight pouring down from the depths of space was gathered on a small tree that was several feet tall somewhere in the Star Observatory. The faint starlight caused the small tree to possess a faint ethereal aura.

Looking at the Starry Tree that was swaying slowly even in the absence of wind, Kou Chongxue sighed, “This… This will be the foundation of our institution!”

Shang Xia looked at the tiny tree and chuckled bitterly, “Who knows how many years it will take for the Starry Tree to start bearing fruits?”

Kou Chongxue laughed softly and he didn’t seem to mind too much.

It was then that both rank three Astronomers of the Tongyou Institution hurried over after receiving orders from Kou Chongxue.

Handing the coordinates to Yan Ming, Kou Chongxue smiled, “Take a look at this place in the void. See if you can discover anything.”

Receiving the coordinates from Kou Chongxue, Yan Ming handed it directly over to Yuan Qiuyuan.

A light flashed in the eyes of Kou Chongxue and Shang Xia, but they didn’t say anything.

Due to it being bathed in the power of the Elysium, Kou Chongxue quickly activated the Star Observatory so the Astronomers could do their thing.

The True Immortals stood at the side as they watched the Astronomers complete the verification. Surprisingly, Yuan Qiuyuan, the Martial Intent Realm disciple, took the lead while the Martial Dipper Realm Yan Ming stood at the side to assist him.

Yuan Qiuyuan was a student in the Upper Division of the Tongyou Institution, but he was soon discovered because of his talent in the ways of a Stargazer. He received huge support from the institution and his cultivation soared to the peak of the Martial Intent Realm. Unfortunately, he was stuck and hadn’t broken through to the Martial Extermination Realm.

Shang Xia observed their movements and could see the twisting starlight landed on the Star Observatory. It produced a pretty, mirage-like scene, and other than that, he failed to notice the intricacies behind their methods.

After the time it took to steep a pot of tea, the beautiful scene was nowhere to be seen as starlight started to scatter. Shang Xia felt a sense of regret at the loss.

It was then that Yan Ming and Yuan Qiuyuan started to approach.

“How is it? Did we find anything?” Kou Chongxue asked while laughing.

Yan Ming didn’t respond immediately. Instead, she indicated for Yuan Qiuyuan to explain.

Yuan Qiuyuan might have been heavily nurtured by the institution such that his cultivation realm soared quickly and his status in the institution rose sharply, he was an introvert and wasn’t the best when it came to speaking to others.

Now that Yan Ming gave him a chance to present himself to Kou Chongxue and Shang Xia, the True Immortals of the Tongyou Institution, he was too terrified to speak. If not for the encouraging look on her face, he wouldn’t have been able to continue.

“This… It’s nothing much… Actually… Everything seems normal there!” Yuan Qiuyuan mumbled. After noticing that the True Immortals didn’t look impatient, he heaved a sigh of relief.

Glancing at Yan Ming for support, he felt a lot more reassured and he muttered, “This… I mean to say that there isn’t anything around the coordinates that was given. The region of space looks all clear to me.”

Kou Chongxue and Shang Xia didn’t seem to react much until Yuan Qiuyuan spoke the second time. Frowns started to form on their faces as they looked at each other.

Yuan Qiuyuan didn’t know what was going on, but Yan Ming seemed to discover something from their abnormal expressions. She couldn’t help but ask, “Patriarch Kou, Brother Shang, is something the matter?”

Shang Xia glanced at her, but he eventually turned to address Yuan Qiuyuan. “Relax. There’s no need to panic here. What do you mean by the region of space looks all clear? Also, are the coordinates close to your calculations back then?”

Yuan Qiuyuan glanced at Yan Ming before nodding slowly. “The coordinates are located within the region of space we calculated back then, and we have been observing it all this time. We didn’t discover anything amiss and we can be sure this is the location.”

After he was done, Yuan Qiuyuan looked at Yan Ming once more as though hoping she would back him up.

However, Yan Ming seemed to fall deep into thought and started to shake her head, Yuan Qiuyuan didn’t know what was going on.

Seeing how confused Yuan Qiuyuan was, Shang Xia couldn’t help but ask, “Is something else the matter?”

Yuan Qiuyuan shook his head after thinking for some time. However, he also asked, “Anything else? I don’t think so. Other than the fact that the location is somewhat close to the Spirit Abundance World, there shouldn’t be anything else…”

Kou Chongxue and Shang Xia’s eyes widened slowly at his explanation. Yan Ming’s expression turned ugly after hearing the way he spoke and she pinched her glabella helplessly.

She couldn’t hold herself back and she growled the next moment, “Why didn’t you say that first?! Are you really sure that is the case? Anyway, there are chaotic streams in space and we can’t be sure the location is truly as close to the Spirit Abundance World as we think.”

Since the Tongyou Institution nurtured disciples in the arts of Stargazers, Shang Xia and Kou Chongxue provided the coordinates of the worlds they knew. They also instructed the Astronomers to pay attention to those worlds from time to time.

Yuan Qiuyuan nodded in affirmation and confirmed, “There is no mistake about this. Did you forget that Instructor Shang informed us to take note of space outside the Spirit Abundance World whenever we can? It’s said that there might be a huge secret region hidden there. I once looked around the Spirit Abundance World to find it and realized I’ve seen this place before…”

Shang Xia looked at Kou Chongxue, but he saw the patriarch shaking his head slightly.

Shang Xia quickly broke out into a smile and praised, “You’ve done well. In the future, you will need to continue paying attention to the Spirit Abundance World.”

Soon after, the Star Observatory started to deactivate. Yan Ming brought Yuan Qiuyuan away.

Only then did Kou Chongxue speak again. “Yan Ming said that Yuan Quiyuan reached the limit of what an Astronomer can achieve. His abilities have already surpassed hers. However, we don’t have an inheritance for a Stargazer…”

“What about his cultivation?” Shang Xia asked.

Kou Chongxue continued, “That kid is already standing at the border of the Martial Extermination Realm. From what the Heavenly Star Palace revealed today, the remnant inheritance from the Heaven Observation Sect they obtained most likely contains a way to advance. That is why that kid isn’t planning to refine his extermination origin immediately and is planning to wait to see if we can get our hands on it.”

“Do we have a general plan on how to proceed?” Shang Xia asked.

Kou Chongxue shook his head while sighing. “We have to try every method available, but it doesn’t seem hopeful we will be able to get our hands on it. After all, every faction places great importance on the Stargazer Inheritance.”

Shang Xia wasn’t surprised at all. Instead, he continued, “An inheritance that can allow one to find other worlds in the vast sea of stars will definitely be well protected. The Star Observatory that the Heavenly Star Palace has revealed to the world is an exception because they have no way of hiding it, and they have no way of restoring it themselves either if not for our help. The Star Observatory the Star Origin City chooses to reveal is because they have sufficient strength to protect it.”

Kou Chongxue continued, “However, we have to admit that Yi Jingxu made the correct bets. Even though he compromised back then and allowed a portion of the inheritance to leak, he quickly entered the Martial Void Realm and took charge of the Heavenly Star Palace. Now, they are an indispensable part of our Spirit Luxuriant World and no one will touch them easily.”

Shang Xia chuckled in response, “After saying all these… Other than verifying the coordinates they have given us, you have something else you wish to tell me, right?”

Kou Chongxue smiled and slowly walked over to the Starry Tree that was taller than him, albeit slightly. He casually tapped the void as a bronze book appeared from the puddle of Star Essence Liquid below.

Kou Chongxue chuckled and pushed the book over to Shang Xia. “Try it. See if you can open another page.”

“Haven’t you tried?” Shang Xia replied with an amused chuckle.

“I did, but I failed to open the next page. However, I can’t be sure you will fail too.” Kou Chongxue sighed helplessly.

Casually flipping through the first 3 pages, Shang Xia slowly poured his inner qi into the bronze book when he arrived at the fourth page. Eventually, the book that seemed to be made of a giant block of bronze started to separate as the fourth page slowly revealed itself.

The bronze book was most likely the famed Star Map that was created by the Heaven Observation Sect. Just like that, Shang Xia managed to flip open the fourth page.

Kou Chongxue and Shang Xia stared in unison as they wanted to see its contents.

Like the third page, there were similar markings on it. The only difference was that the space it seemed to describe was a lot larger than the region of space depicted on the third page. There were a lot more stars and it was clear there were several special ones marked out on it.

To Shang Xia and Kou Chongxue who had no idea what they were looking at, confusion filled their minds.

There were several special carvings on the page and the location of those stars seemed really strange. Even though they were all inscribed on the same page, it gave off a feeling that the positions marked were actually very different from each other.

Both True Immortals felt utterly bamboozled when looking at it and they could only retract their gazes helplessly.

Shang Xia eventually mumbled, “Should we show the information to Yan Ming and Yuan Qiuyuan?”

Kou Chognxue and Shang Xia had long since thought about it. In order to unravel the mysteries of the bronze book, they would eventually have to give it to their Stargazers.

However, because the first three pages were too easy to understand, they didn’t think that it was necessary. That was also why only a secret number of people knew about its existence in the institution.

However… From the fourth page onwards, it seemed as though they needed to get help.

Kou Chongxue seemed to have his considerations and he rejected the idea. “We’re in no rush to decipher the information on the fourth page. At the very least, we don’t have to do it now. We can wait.”