Splitting the Heavens

Chapter 1169: Origin Spring, Power of Frost, Power of the Stars

In the past, the giant dome in the ice was probably where a human settlement was. Something probably happened and everything was destroyed... It might even have been exterminated because of some outside force...

The space contained in the dome was massive, and it seemed to be created with the connection of multiple underground ice caves. Every single cave had its own formation that was operating with minimal power by absorbing the heaven and earth qi it could in the ground below.

When Shang Xia first arrived, he discovered that the area was actually a blessed land for cultivation and it wouldn’t be too difficult to transform the dome into a Mysterious World for cultivation.

The dome seemed to be the main structure, while the many ice caves connected to it were split up carefully into many different regions. There were spiritual gardens, smeltery, places for cultivation, and others.

When Shang Xia strolled about in the dome, he could feel a faint wind that contained the power of frost. The entire underground structure didn’t seem to be completely sealed off, and the wind could originate from a certain spot that contained running water...

Traveling along the source of the wind to attempt to find water, Shang Xia passed through several ice caves before encountering a passage that was blocked by collapsed debris.

As he made his way through the ice caves, Shang Xia noticed a lot of destruction and he couldn’t help but deduce that it was the reason the ice cave was abandoned.

Looking at the half-buried passage, Shang Xia was wondering if he should blow it to look for the source of water when he discovered that everything turned unnaturally quiet.

The next moment, two loud thumps filled his ears and when he turned to look in the direction it came from, a trace of shock flashed in his eyes.

No longer caring about whether there would be flowing water past the blocked passage, Shang Xia seemed to have realized he missed something.

Raising his head to look at the dome, he discovered a faint starlight covering the thick layers of ice above.

Comparing the starlight to the mirage he had seen when he just arrived in the world of frost, Shang Xia could tell that the starlight he was looking at seemed a lot more gentle than what he had seen before. The power of frost in the dome contained faint traces of the power of the stars or the energy contained in Starfire Refinement. The only difference was that it was a lot more concealed.

If Shang Xia’s attention wasn’t drawn to finding the source of the wind, he might not have been able to discover the faint traces of the power of the stars all around him.

Like the power of frost, the power of the stars seemed extremely faint and it wasn’t enough to restore all of Shang Xia’s energy even if he made the Crimson Soul Tablet absorb it all.

Of course, it wasn’t time for Shang Xia to care about all that. The two loud thumps that came from behind him clearly indicated that there was an unknown creature or object moving in his direction.

Is this a type of beast that lives in the world of frost?” Shang Xia mumbled to himself.

Even though he heard the loud thumps earlier that resembled footsteps, he discovered that he wasn’t able to easily discover its presence if not for his powerful divine soul.

Just as Shang Xia was about to rush into another ice cave, 2 streams of frosty qi attacked him from 2 different directions from above.

“They have pretty chaotic extermination origins... Are they rank four spirit beasts?” Shang Xia thought to himself. Of course, his thought process didn’t affect his ability to react to the sudden attack.

Even though he was feeling strong suppression from the World’s Will, and he would only be able to display a portion of the effects with the same amount of effort, those were merely 2 rank four spirit beasts. They were struck by 2 lightning bolts Shang Xia released with a wave of his arm and they crashed into the massive ice walls in the distance. Along with the smell of burnt flesh, they convulsed and were unable to stand again.

Shang Xia looked at them and saw their strange appearance before muttering to himself, “What are they...?”

He frowned and stared at the creatures that looked like dogs but were at least 3 times larger than any dog he knew. There were also many ulcers on their body, and a good portion of their torso was covered in ice. The ice even looked like a strange set of transparent armor.

“Are they living creatures? Why do they look like frozen zombie dogs?” Shang Xia mumbled to himself before walking over to look at the creatures. He kicked the ice on their body that resembled some sort of armor and discovered there were faint bloodied lines in them.

The layer of ice around their body not only fused with their flesh but it was also connected to their blood vessels or meridians...

Hmm... Blood vessels...

If blood was still flowing through them, Shang Xia felt that it would be a little inappropriate to call them zombie dogs.

He moved too hastily earlier and killed them off. Otherwise, he could examine them to see if their hearts were actually beating.

Well... If blood was flowing through their bodies, their hearts should be beating, right?!

Extermination qi quickly drained from the bodies of the 2 corpses as Shang Xia continued to inspect them.

Not only were the extermination qi that emerged extremely chaotic, but after Shang Xia casually split them apart by their characteristics, he discovered that they could be placed into 2 categories. The first was extermination qi of the frost attribute, while the other contained the power of the stars.

Shang Xia was no stranger to extermination qi that contained the power of the stars. The first time he saw it was when the Tongyou Institution first started cultivating their own Stargazers with the inheritance they obtained.

When Shang Xia first saw the world of frost, he experienced the power of frost it contained. However, he eventually noticed the faint power of the stars it contained, and that probably explained the reason behind the chaotic extermination qi in those strange creatures.

The only thing he didn’t know was if the creatures managed to evolve into their current form because of the faint power of the stars or if there were other reasons behind it.

Following their tracks, Shang Xia quickly found where they came from.

He saw claw marks that had been left behind along the surface before looking up at the hole he created in the dome. He seemed to be the reason they came. However... Everything above was an endless wasteland of ice. Shang Xia didn’t know where they were hiding when he first arrived.

Seems like the formation around the dome wasn’t just to prevent the ice from collapsing above them... It’s also to guard against the attacks of those beasts...

Shang Xia thought to himself and he wanted to follow their tracks to see where their nest was in order to gain a better understanding of the world, but just as he was about to leave, he turned to look at the blocked passage.

He wanted to see what was really contained behind it. After all, the collapse seemed to have been created by humans and the region that contained flowing water might contain the reason behind the destruction of the stronghold beneath the ice.

Since he was able to replenish his energy with the heaven and earth qi in the area, he wasn’t exactly running on empty despite only being able to replenish a small portion of his reserves. Facing the blocked passage, Shang Xia no longer bothered acting like a mere mortal with a shovel as he forced a path open with his inner qi. The passage that he opened up was just enough for him to travel through.

After walking several feet into the passage, Shang Xia felt his domain slamming into some sort of obstruction.

Runes flashed on the walls in the distance but because the ice wall at the end wasn’t too thick, Shang Xia was able to see through it to see a cave that was sparkling with light.

That wasn’t all. The ice wall didn’t seem too strong and some spots on it had already been eaten away by some strange energy. The wind Shang Xia was feeling came from behind the wall.

Strangely enough, even though there were many spots on the wall that had been corroded, the formation still maintained its effects. Other than the wind that emerged from it, the formation blocked off everything in the outside world.

Of course, Shang Xia wouldn’t let it stop him. He could also guess that there would be dangers hiding behind the wall... Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been built.

Shang Xia was curious about the secrets hiding in the ice caves in the first place, and there wasn’t even the slightest doubt in his mind that the dangers hiding behind the ice wall could threaten him.

Forcing his domain forward, it quickly ate away at the formation and the ice wall in its way.

It was then that powerful light started to swirl around the walls before forming words that started to line up in front of Shang Xia’s vision. They eventually formed 3 complete sentences.

“External invasion and inner conflict... What else can we do?”

“Changes to the Origin Spring... We only hope we can stay alive in the chaos...”

“Members of the future generation, stay away from this place!”

After the sentences hovered in the air for some time, they started to scatter and they transformed back into runes along the ice wall.

Shang Xia narrowed his eyes as he thought about what he had just seen. He wasn’t afraid of the implications of those words, but he was trying to deduce what happened for it to be written.

Thinking from the perspective of those who wrote it, they had to be inhabitants of the world of frost.

For them to be able to leave behind a word of warning for those who came later proved that not only did they learn the way of cultivation, but they also had an impressive knowledge of the art of formations.

As for the first sentence that had been left behind... Shang Xia wondered what type of invasion they faced, and what inner conflict they suffered.

Also, he didn’t know if the invasion referred to their world being invaded or just their stronghold!

He had to think long and hard about the possibilities, but he was able to reach a conclusion after thinking about everything he experienced since entering the world of frost.

From the second he tumbled out of the spatial tear created by his Six Harmony Teleportation Talisman, Shang Xia detected 2 different types of energy contained in the world. The first was the power of frost that was everywhere. The second was the power of the stars. Even though the power of the stars wasn’t as widespread as it seemed, it still filled every nook and cranny of the world.

As for the second sentence... Shang Xia might not have seen what they meant by the Origin Spring, but he could guess that it experienced some sort of transformation. Which was probably caused by both the foreign invasion and the inner conflict...

Due to the changes in the Origin Spring, the members of the world were no longer able to live on it.

From how they deployed a formation to stop the dome from tumbling and how they blocked off the passage, to how they left behind warnings, it was clear that the original inhabitants of the world weren’t completely exterminated. A portion of them probably left.

Of course, from how old the tracks were, Shang Xia could tell that everything happened a long time ago. No one knew if those original inhabitants were able to live after leaving their world, and it was truly hard to determine if they were doing alright.

At the very least, Shang Xia didn’t seem too optimistic about their fate from how their world looked.

Even though the predecessors had left behind some sort of warning, from the way they did it, Shang Xia was able to roughly tell how strong they used to be.

The change that could wipe out whoever lived in the dome and ice cave truly might not be able to threaten Shang Xia.

The only thing Shang Xia found a pity at that moment was that he couldn’t find any living native cultivators or learn about any martial inheritance they left behind. Otherwise, he would be able to transform his aura and attempt to shake off the suppression of the world.

His domain continued to push forward as it quickly got rid of the formation on the ice wall.

Surprisingly, what he expected to happen after he got rid of the formation didn’t happen. Other than a burst of heaven and earth qi and some vapor, all he heard was the sound of running water.

Faint starlight that emitted a magnificent flow also filled the region of space after he got rid of the formation on the ice wall.

Shang Xia looked around curiously as he discovered that the ice cave he just opened didn’t seem too different from the rest.

From how serious the warnings were, Shang Xia didn’t think that it was a prank. However, nothing actually seemed too dangerous.

It was then that Shang Xia’s gaze was attracted to a unique pillar of starlight that emerged from the ice walls within. When he looked at where the starlight fell, his scalp started to feel a little numb.

The ice cave he just opened up resembled a giant bowl, and it could be said to be an inverted crater that was carved into the thick layer of ice beneath the surface of the world. The entrance he created for himself was like a tiny crack on its side. It pointed straight into the center of the cave.

The sound of rushing water came from the center of the cave, and it looked to be the source of an underground spring.

Dense heaven and earth qi came from the gushing spring and as Shang Xia approached, he discovered that other than the dense heaven and earth qi, it also contained the power of frost.

That was also where Shang Xia was starting to feel a little strange.

The power of frost covered the world of frost, but it couldn’t actually freeze the spring in the middle of the cave. No matter how he looked at it, it didn’t make sense, but the truth was displayed right in front of him.

After thinking about it for a moment, Shang Xia seemed to eventually discover the problem. It might be because of the pillar of starlight that fell on it.

Thinking about the power of the stars he had seen since stepping into the world, Shang Xia found it a little strange. The power of the stars he observed before was extremely scattered, but it was concentrated into a beam of light that fell on the mouth of the spring in the ice cave he just entered.

Be it the power of frost that emerged from the spring or the power of the stars in the surroundings, all of them were energies that surpassed the Sixth Order!

Who would be able to control a power like that to create what Shang Xia was seeing? If someone told him that it happened naturally, Shang Xia would rather beat himself to death than believe it. There was no way the power of starlight could be so coincidentally gathered to land directly onto the mouth of the spring that was barely the size of a fist in the ice cave!

It was also impossible for the original inhabitants who left the warning to be the ones to do so. If they truly had the ability to achieve something like that, they wouldn’t have abandoned the place.

Shang Xia carefully inspected every part of the ice cave, but he couldn’t find any traces of human activity no matter how hard he tried. It was truly as though everything happened naturally.

However... The more it looked as such, the more Shang Xia wouldn’t believe it.

Since he couldn’t find the reason even after looking multiple times, he decided to place his attention elsewhere first and he turned focus to the mouth of the spring in the middle of the cave.

The power of frost that emerged intersected with the power of the stars, and they seemed to cancel each other out while co-existing in the spring water. That was also why Shang Xia didn’t feel any sense of danger after he opened up the cave.

However, that brought another question to Shang Xia’s mind. He wondered why the original inhabitants believed that the danger within would be able to threaten their existence.

That would mean that some people ran into trouble there, and it was one they were powerless to solve. That was probably why they left.

From the looks of it now, Shang Xia could only deduce that the balance of power was only achieved after they left their original dwelling.

The only question was what, or who had the ability to affect both energies that surpassed the level of anything Martial Void Realm experts could deal with to reach a state of balance like that?

Shang Xia felt that even true Seventh Order experts wouldn’t be able to do it and leave no traces behind.

Could it actually be the World’s Will?

If it was truly as he had thought and the world adjusted it to ensure balance, he could chalk it up to the state of the world restoring its balance.

However, the only problem was that Shang Xia could tell the region had only been abandoned for hundreds of years. To be able to balance the 2 Seventh Order powers in a matter of hundreds of years... That would mean that the World’s Will's ability to affect the inner workings of the world of frost was too powerful.

If that was truly the case, Shang Xia would be even more shocked than if he ran into an actual Seventh Order expert.

As he entertained the thought in his mind, he even had an urge to run away immediately.

However, he eventually suppressed the feeling. After all, he had already come so far...

Slowly walking to the edge of the mouth of the spring, Shang Xia looked into it with a curious gaze. He could see that a pool of spring water that was close to 4 feet wide had formed around the mouth of the spring, but it didn’t continue to expand.

Shang Xia could tell that both energies were merely coexisting in the water, and they hadn’t truly fused together. Even so, the Crimson Soul Tablet wasn’t reacting much when faced with the Seventh Order energies before his eyes.

That was clearly something strange as one had to know that the Crimson Soul Tablet had been responding to the power of frost and the power of the stars earlier.

Could they have reached a state of equilibrium due to the way they cancel each other out?

If that’s the case...

Shang Xia bought out a low-grade essence crystal from his sleeves before sending a bit of Six Direction Qi into it before tossing it into the pool

The second it landed, the water seemed to bubble as white smoke started to rise from the pool. The power of frost burst forth and filled the cave, but boundless starlight also started to sparkle. Hundreds of twinkling spots appeared on the surface of the pool and they seemed to turn to look at Shang Xia in unison. It was a strangely terrifying feeling.

Shang Xia couldn’t be bothered about the power of frost and the strange flickering lights that seemed to be staring at him at that moment because the faint figure of the Crimson Soul Tablet leaped out of his glabella and started to devour both types of energies that seemed to have lost control.