Splitting the Heavens

Chapter 788: Stargazer, Star Map

Chapter 788: Stargazer, Star Map

Huang Yu retrieved the crystal from Shang Xia and revealed a dazzling grin. “I didn’t think that you would have grabbed it. Hehe. I won’t have to use that much effort to recover now...”

“I might have retained a huge portion of it, but the destruction of a Fate Dipper Clone would have caused some essence to be lost. You have to think of a way to restore it yourself before refining it again...” Shang Xia muttered.

Huang Yu played with the crystal happily before replying, “It’s good enough. I was prepared to sacrifice a Fate Dipper Clone when I came over. I didn’t think that I would be able to get it back before I left. It won’t be long before I restore my cultivation!”

With a deep gaze, Shang Xia turned to Huang Yu and asked again, “What was hidden in those hideouts you destroyed? How did you come back here anyway?”

Under Shang Xia’s gaze, Huang Yu finally kept the crystal properly. After arranging his thoughts, he explained, “Those locations might hide the true location of the Spirit Abundance World in the vast sea of stars!”

With his eyes widening in surprise, Shang Xia couldn’t help but cry out in shock. “How is that possible? He’s just a Martial Dipper Realm cultivator! How does he know the exact position of the Spirit Abundance World? Did a Sixth Order expert tell him?”

“Heh. If Lu Yuanming knew a Sixth Order Ancestor, he would have been brought back to the Spirit Abundance World a long time ago! Why would he need to secretly deduce the position of the Spirit Abundance World here?” Huang Yu chuckled to himself.

“Deducing the position of the Spirit Abundance World?” Shang Xia raised an eyebrow when he noticed Huang Yu’s choice of words. “Are you here because they were trying to deduce the position of the Spirit Abundance World? How did you know they were doing something like that?”

Huang Yu displayed a gratified expression when he realized Shang Xia was able to make the connection so easily. He chuckled while giving an explanation, “Back when the Spirit Abundance World failed their invasion of the Azure Origin World and Azure Spiritual World, those who survived were given the task of maintaining surveillance over the Azure Worlds. They were told it was so that the Spirit Abundance World would be able to accurately grasp the situation during their next invasion. However, these people were actually pawns that were abandoned.”

Shang Xia nodded slightly and also seemed to understand something. He couldn’t help but laugh, “Oh right, you might not know this yet, but the Azure Origin World and the Azure Spiritual World completed the fusion and it gave itself a new name. We’re called the Azure Ascension World now.”

“Azure Ascension World?” Huang Yu muttered to himself as a strange look flashed across his face. He eventually continued, “Oh yeah, Lu Yuanming was supposed to be one of the abandoned chess pieces but he ran into some luck. He obtained a divine weapon from one of those who fell during the battle and even managed to get his hands on partial information about the location of the Spirit Abundance World in the vast sea of stars. He even knew how to draw star maps. He stayed in this asteroid belt for several years and after some deduction, he actually obtained the true location of the Spirit Abundance World.”

“Did he threaten a Sixth Order Ancestor to pick him up after getting the actual coordinates of the Spirit Abundance World?” Shang Xia gasped.

Huang Yu nodded slightly, but he suddenly shook his head after a short moment of contemplation. “It’s true that he wished to leave this place. If he wished to return, a Sixth Order expert would have to make a move to pull him back. However, he didn’t have the balls to threaten them so openly. If he did, he would suffer a fate worse than death when he returned.”

Thinking about it for a moment, Shang Xia came to a realization. “Could it be... Did he use his ability to draw star maps as a bargaining chip?”

Huang Yu nodded with a wide smile on his face. “To be able to construct a star map from mere observation, and to be able to determine the location of a world with several clues, he would be considered a Stargazer. Even in the Spirit Abundance World, there aren’t too many of them. Even though Lu Yuanming is a half-baked Stargazer and only managed to determine the location of the Spirit Abundance World with a lot of help from the information he picked up, it’s still enough to move the Sixth Order Ancestor of the Emptiness Drifting Mountain.”

“Emptiness Drifting Mountain?” Shang Xia asked while glancing at Huang Yu. “Is that the name of your faction?”

Shang Xia might have been asking a question, but he was thinking about the Observatory he discovered back in the remains of the Starry Marsh Elysium and the vast, unobstructed space separated by a strange barrier above it.

The vast space should be in the other direction of the Beyond Heavens Pavilion, and Shang Xia hadn’t discovered which part of the vast sea of stars it actually represented.

He wondered if the Starry Marsh Elysium back then also had a Stargazer and was trying to deduce the secrets that lay in the depths of space.

Huang Yu spoke and interrupted Shang Xia’s train of thought. “Exactly. The Emptiness Drifting Mountain is one of the 9 strongest powers in the Spirit Abundance World. Its position in the Spirit Abundance World is comparable to the Elysiums on the Azure Ascension World.”

Huang Yu knew about the existence of those Elysiums and he also knew that the Azure Ascension World had 4 Sixth Order Ancestors at the moment. With the number of Sixth Order Ancestors, he could easily make the connection about how a fourth Elysium had been born.

Shang Xia followed up with another question. “The Spirit Abundance World actually has 9 Elysiums? It’s no wonder they’re a Spirit World... Even after the fusion of the Azure Origin World and Azure Spiritual World, Liu Jingsheng of the Yuanchen Sect barely managed to step into the Sixth Order of the Primary Realm. Right now, we only have 4 Elysiums...”

Huang Yu stared at Shang Xia with a strange gaze and mumbled, “Seems like you’re mistaken about something. The Spirit Abundance World has 9 Elysiums, but that doesn’t mean it only has 9 Sixth Order Ancestors.”

With a face full of shock, Shang Xia didn’t know how to respond.

Huang Yu sighed softly in his heart and handed a jade book over to Shang Xia. “This contains an overview of what I learned while living in the Spirit Abundance World. There are introductions of many powers, both big and small, but they’re mostly superficial information. I am unable to confirm many things, but I know for sure that my Emptiness Drifting Mountain has 2 Sixth Order Ancestors. Moreover, we’re ranked in the lower-middle ranks of the top 9 factions...”

Shang Xia felt the book in his hand turning incomparably heavy as he fell silent for some time. Eventually, he thought back to the main problem. “If that’s the case, why did the Spirit Abundance World’s offensive fail?”

“It’s not like the Spirit Abundance World has no enemies of their own. Moreover, the 9 Elysiums aren’t bonded together at all. The news of the Azure Worlds was locked down and only the Emptiness Drifting Mountain, Azure Island, and the Solitary Peak Heavenly Lake knew about it. They gathered a bunch of experts in secret to start the invasion. Moreover, they had to cross the vast sea of stars in order to fight, and the odds were stacked against them. With the Azure Ascension World producing a fourth Sixth Order Ancestor, their plans eventually fell through.” Huang Yu sighed.

Shang Xia personally took part in the battle and he knew that they had been pushed to their limits. Even with Liu Jingsheng successfully breaking through at the final moment to force their invaders away, the Azure Ascension World achieved a miserable victory.

Now that he learned the truth from Huang Yu that the battle that nearly destroyed the Azure Ascension World was a mere secret mission conducted by 3 Elysiums, despair nearly overwhelmed him. He even thought that they should just give up.

Fortunately, he suppressed the thought quickly. However, he knew that the moment he brought the news back to the Azure Ascension World, chaos would ensue.

Huang Yu had been observing Shang Xia’s facial expression the whole time and he spoke up once again, “After their failure, the news of the Azure Ascension World can no longer be hidden. Practically every expert in the Spirit Abundance World knows of your existence now. The Spirit Abundance World wouldn’t give up a chance to swallow a world that is closing in on a Spirit World and their next offensive will probably be a joint operation by all 9 Elysiums...”

Shang Xia sucked in a cold breath and muttered in a low voice, “I know.”

Nodding slightly, Huang Yu laughed, “Anyway, we strayed too far off topic. I was planning to tell you about Lu Yuanming and the matter of him being a Stargazer.”

“Oh right. Were you here to bring him back? But... He’s dead now...” Shang Xia laughed.

“No. A Sixth Order Ancestor creating a spatial tunnel across the vast sea of stars to bring back a single person will definitely cause a huge commotion. In order not to attract too much attention, the Emptiness Drifting Mountain’s ancestor, Lou Chongshan, made the decision to bring Lu Yuanming back to the Spirit Abundance World alone. The other ancestor has no idea. As such, I was supposed to bring Lu Yuanming to a certain location before using it as a transit point to return to the Spirit Abundance World. That way, we wouldn’t alert the other experts.”

With the revelation of the name of one of the ancestors of the Emptiness Drifting Mountain, Shang Xia recalled how the person Huang Yu saved back then in the Manyu Continent was called Lou Yi. It was said that he had a huge background back in the Spirit Abundance World. Could he be related to the Sixth Order Ancestor?

If that is true... Huang Yu wouldn’t just have grabbed onto a huge thigh in the Spirit Abundance World. He would have grabbed onto a mega golden thigh back there.

For him to be sent over to receive Lu Yuanming, it was obvious he had already gained their trust and was an important part of their faction.

Shang Xia thought about it for a moment and said seriously, “For so much effort to be put into him... Looks like Lu Yuanming is really important!”

Huang Yu chuckled, “He’s not what’s truly important. It’s the inheritance of the Stargazer that’s of value.”

Casually flipping through the treasures he obtained from Lu Yuanming’s corpse, Shang Xia muttered, “Oh, everything is here. Feel free to take a look at them.”

Huang Yu already knew what he was looking for, and he quickly retrieved a piece of yellow jade that was covered in a thick layer of patina. He laughed, “Right. This is the item I’m looking for. Lu Yuanming showed it to me back then and he was stronger than me. He had a divine weapon and he wasn’t too wary of me.”

After he spoke, he tossed 2 pieces of somewhat broken stone plaques to Shang Xia. “These are the fruits of his labor. I secretly kept them after destroying the hideouts.”

He couldn’t help but laugh after he had spoken. “Luckily, you guys arrived with perfect timing. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be easy to hide what I have done from Lu Yuanming!”

Shang Xia finally understood that Huang Yu had a plan all along and he heaved a sigh of relief. He didn’t continue down the line of questioning even though he had many doubts.

Huang Yu glanced at their surroundings before turning back to Shang Xia. “Oh yeah, we’ve been here for some time now. If you don’t leave soon, they might start to suspect something.”

“Senior, are you really not able to return to the institution and regain your old identity?” Shang Xia sighed suddenly.

The gaze in Huang Yu’s eyes softened when he looked at Shang Xia, but it only lasted for a split second. It transformed to one of complete freedom and he sniggered, “I’m not doing too bad myself in the Spirit Abundance World. Even though I’m not a direct disciple of the Emptiness Drifting Mountain yet, the Lou Family trusts me. At the very least, I wouldn’t have been able to enter the Martial Dipper Realm so easily if I had been in the institution. If I’m not mistaken, Kou Chongxue hasn't been able to fully restore his rank five advancement formula, right?”

“It’s too dangerous...” Shang Xia shook his head while replying.

Huang Yu didn’t seem too surprised. “One can only find an opportunity in the cracks of danger. If I manage to bring back the Stargazer inheritance, I will definitely be greatly rewarded.”

As he spoke, he tossed the jade that contained the inheritance back to Shang Xia. “Here. Make a copy of the information recorded within. Anyway, the jade book I passed you earlier contains the cultivation method of those in the Spirit Abundance World. It’s especially so for those in the Martial Dipper Realm. I hope it can help to supplement the Tongyou Institution’s inheritance...”

Pausing slightly, he continued, “It’s a pity. The Spirit Abundance World’s cultivation system might be relatively more perfect, but the rank five inheritances are strictly confidential among the various sects. I only managed to act as Lou Yi’s faithful subordinate, but all they gave me was a complete advancement medicine when I tried to break through. They are keeping their rank five advancement formulas as confidential as possible...”

Huang Yu took the chance when Shang Xia copied the information from the piece of jade over to inform him of many things he had been through.

Even though he made the time he spent in the Spirit Abundance World as a spy seem as casual as possible, Shang Xia knew that he had to endure unimaginable pressure.

Now that he found an outlet to vent his feelings, he never stopped talking.

Only until Shang Xia completed copying the Stargazer inheritance and tossed the piece of jade back to him did he stop. Shang Xia said, “Senior Wei and her son are living a good life. Everyone is taking good care of them and there’s nothing for you to worry about.”

Shang Xia’s sudden reminder caught Huang Yu by surprise. A slightly awkward smile eventually appeared on his face when he thought about them. “Is that so? That’s great! I really troubled you then...”

Shang Xia naturally didn’t think so. “It’s what we should do. I’m not the only one taking care of them. There are several close friends and relatives in the institution who are very friendly towards them. The only thing is... Your son chose to follow his mother’s family name for now. He’s called Wei Zheng. Actually... My aunt, Shang Xi, chose the name for him.”

“Oh? Hahaha! That’s a great name! It’s a good name indeed!” The awkward look on Huang Yu’s face was quickly covered up as he roared with laughter. “I’m relieved...”

“Are you leaving right now for the location of transit back to the Spirit Abundance World?” Shang XIa asked.

Wiping the smile off his face, Huang Yu nodded. “Yeah. I imprinted the location of the land of transit onto the back of your palm back then. It’s a central location that leads to many worlds. You should head over for a look when you get the chance. I also recorded the way to get over there in the jade book.”

A longing sigh escaped his lips the next moment. “It doesn't matter if it’s the Azure Ascension World or the Spirit Abundance World... We’re too small in the limitless sea of stars...”