CH 355

…

Half a year had passed since Shang Xia was stranded in the Thousand Leaf Mountain Range after the ambush he ran into after meeting Kou Chongxue for the first time. The original Tongyou City had been destroyed due to the battle for the Tongyou Mysterious World.

By the time he returned, all he saw was a newly rebuilt city. 

It hadn’t been long since Shang Xia returned to the Tongyou City when he headed towards the Scripture Depository. 

During the great war that happened, the Tongyou Institution was protected with its own protection formation and when the Tongyou Mysterious World was formed, its protection formation also defended the institution. The Tongyou Institution might be damaged, but it wasn’t too bad.

Because Dong Qianzui, the original head of the Scripture Depository was killed during the first war on the Tongyou Peak, the institution passed on his responsibilities to Instructor Zhang Haogu.

Shang Xia received Kou Chongxue’s approval previously and he was quickly led by Zhang Haogu into the secret chamber in the Scripture Depository. 

It was the first time Shang Xia was entering the legendary secret chamber that housed the institution’s highest leveled inheritances and secret arts. That explained the thick layer of mist surrounding him when he entered. Even if he used his divine sense, it would be blocked off by the gray mist around him. Shang Xia could only see the faint outline of bookshelves behind the thick mist.

“There’s no need to look at them. There are countless restrictions and formations protecting this place. Now that it’s connected to the Tongyou Mysterious World, even Patriarch Kou won’t be  able to see through the mist.” Zhang Haogu muttered without even turning back. It was as though he already knew what Shang Xia was doing.

“Instructor Zhang, since all the advancement formulas are kept here, how should we determine if we are compatible with one?” Shang Xia asked suddenly.

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Turning his head slightly to look at Shang Xia, he muttered, “Who told you that all our advancement formulas are kept here? We have more than one secret chamber in our Scripture Depository… Also, we keep more stuff in there than advancement formulas. Today, our institution has nine rank four advancement formulas…” 

“Don’t we possess only six rank four advancement formulas?” Shang Xia interrupted him suddenly.

Stopping, Zhang Haogu stared at Shang Xia and muttered, “You know quite a bit… We had six in the past. After retrieving the Mysterious Coral World, we found two more from the Zhu Family’s Inheritance. You brought back another from the Changfeng City. That makes nine.” 

Zhang Haogu didn’t forget to praise Shang Xia after mentioning what he did. “With your contributions, it’s acceptable for the institution to reward you with an advancement formula. However, you advanced too quickly and you’re still a little too young… Well, there weren’t any who were against rewarding you, but they were thinking of holding off a little while and giving the opportunity to a few of those seniors who had been waiting for quite a while now. However, you brought back a complete rank four advancement formula from the Changfeng City and Patriarch Kou personally vouched for you. No one had anything to say since then.” 

Approaching a shelf that was sealed with countless restrictions, Zhang Haogu released it so that Shang Xia could see its contents.

Shang Xia wasn’t surprised by Zhang Haogu’s revelation. Even though the Tongyou Institution was one complete entity, not everyone got along with each other. Resources were also limited. It made sense that there was some competition going around.

After the restrictions on the shelf were released, Zhang Haogu revealed a key in his hand that had been there since god knows when. He opened the shelf and revealed a stone slab that was covered in a thick layer of mist. Even though its physical body was there, Shang Xia was unable to read its contents. 

Seeing the look of confusion on Shang Xia’s face, Zhang Haogu explained, “In order to read the contents, Patriarch Kou has to appear personally to get rid of the restrictions. The three deputy patriarchs can also work together to lift the restriction for you.” 

“How am I supposed to determine if this advancement formula is suitable for my advancement?” Shang Xia asked once again.

Pulling out an inky jade bottle from under the slab, Zhang Haogu read. “This is the Multi Illusory Wine. It’s what both Shang Bo and Shang Ke used to enter the Martial Extermination Realm. As for compatibility… Our Tongyou Institution has our ways of testing it.”

After he spoke, Zhang Haogu brought out a silver needle that was thinner than a hair and close to a foot long.

Dipping the needle into the bottle, Zhang Haogu held it out before pricking Shang Xia’s finger to draw a drop of blood towards it.

A ray of light emerged from the needle before extending along its body. 

“This…” Shang Xia asked.

Casually turning his wrist, Zhang Haogu watched as the light slowly started to rise. When it reached a length of six inches, it finally stopped.

A deep frown appeared on his face. “Six inches? This old man heard that Deputy Patriarch Bo managed to get it to eight inches before the light stopped. Even your Shang Clan Patriarch Ke managed to get it close to seven inches…” 

Shang Xia understood the uses of the needle and he couldn’t help but ask. “Is that how you test for compatibility? Have you reused the needle before?” 

“This needle is named the Root Needle by the chemists in the institution. It’s actually a rank three treasure but it can only be used by one person. The longer the light extends, the greater the compatibility. The success rate will naturally increase according to how compatible one is with the advancement medicine. Six inches barely meets the requirements… Ordinarily, the institution would only recommend going through with the formula if the light reaches seven inches…” 

Shang Xia’s finger trembled as he sighed. “Alright, alright, I hope I don’t have to test it all nine times…” 

Opening another shelf, Zhang Haogu sneered without turning his head. “Nine times? If you’re really unlucky, it’s going to take a lot more than that.” 

With his eyes widening in shock, Shang Xia muttered, “What… Why is that?” 

“Look at the amount of mist in here. Do you think there are only nine shelves contained in this secret chamber?” Before Shang Xia could say anything, Zhang Haogu continued, “Other than the nine complete rank four advancement formulas we spoke about, we have a lot of other advancement medicine here. With the hard work of our students and instructors, we collected two nameless rank four advancement medicines and four questionable ones… We also have five that seem incomplete!” 

“Huh?!” Shang Xia gasped. “Nameless medicine? Are the chemists in our institution unable to identify them? Is there anyone who would dare to use them to advance?”

Zhang Haogu glanced at Shang Xia from the corner of his eye and he muttered, “At our peak, we had four nameless medicines and seven we suspect to be rank four advancement medicine. Some of those we suspect to be rank four advancement medicine has been used. Of course, no one would dare to use those that we deem incomplete.” 

Shang Xia whispered curiously, “As for those who ingested those advancement medicines…” 

“Two of them broke through successfully. One of them became a cripple and two more died instantly.”