Chapter 1661: Difficult Choices

As various forces began to act against the Spirit Luxuriant World's ascension, a clone had split off from Shang Xia’s true body and entered the Elysium.

Atop the Star Observatory, Yan Ming and Xin Lu were jointly using their techniques, projecting the scene in the chaotic streams onto the walls of the Elysium, guiding Kou Chongxue and the rest with Star Compasses. It would allow them to prevent being surrounded while also tracking the precise movements of those from the other factions to facilitate targeted strikes.

However, due to the chaotic and disordered nature, it was not easy to completely eliminate interference and pinpoint the accurate routes.

At the very least, Shang Xia’s clone, who didn’t know much about stargazing, felt a little dizzy after seeing the dazzling projections above the observatory. His head hurt so bad it felt like it was about to explode.

Although he was just a clone Shang Xia casually separated, he was still a True Immortal! Even at his level, he wasn’t able to look at it for long.

Of course, the reason why the Spirit Luxuriant World dared to delay the external forces in the chaotic streams was not only because of their absolute trust in their Grand Stargazers. It was also because they had long since thrown a bunch of Star Guiding Stones into the chaotic streams after the Grand Stargazers crafted them.

Despite many of those Star Guiding Stones being lost or destroyed soon after being thrown into the chaotic streams, some still remained. They drifted randomly around the void.

Yan Ming and Xin Lu were thus able to gain some control and understanding of the chaotic streams around their world through those erratically drifting Star Guiding Stones.

The primary materials for making those Star Guiding Stones were Star Beast skeletons and a type of Origin Stone from Star Beast Nests. Both materials inherently resisted the erosion of the chaotic streams, especially the Star Beast skeletons.

After a Star Beast was killed, most of its body would turn to useless stone and dirt, with only some essences forming treasures or high-tier spiritual material. Naturally, the essences that remained as skeletons were even rarer.

However, it had to be said that the Star Guiding Stone made from high-level Star Beast skeletons were ones that remained or drifted the longest in the chaotic void.

Shang Xia's original incarnation glanced over the Star Observatory and saw beneath the now flourishing Starry Tree that only Yan Ming and Xin Lu were in charge. The lower ranked Stargazers trained by the institution had not yet qualified to reach the top of the observatory and were assisting from the lower levels.

"Has Yuan Qiuyuan not awakened yet?" Although Shang Xia’s clone knew speaking might disturb Yan Ming and Xin Lu, he still felt compelled to ask.

"His condition seems quite serious. After the contact with Gu Yi from beyond the Star Curtain, it appears not only that he personally suffered a serious backlash, but his star gazing technique is also undergoing some... Transformations…" Xin Lu replied uncertainly.

"Transformations?" Shang Xia's clone gasped.

"Go see for yourself!" Yan Ming replied before Xin Lu could speak. It was clear she didn't want Xin Lu to be too distracted and didn't want Shang Xia's clone to talk too much and interfere in their actions.

However, that also directly demonstrated how much pressure Yan Ming and Xin Lu were under at that moment.

Seeing this, Shang Xia's clone didn't say more. He was fully aware of everything, but a glance was enough to roughly ascertain where Yuan Qiuyuan was placed.

Turning from the platform, he entered a secret chamber below the observatory. As soon as he opened the chamber, he sensed an intense burst of stellar brilliance emanating from within.

Shang Xia's clone's gaze sharpened, and he stretched out his hand to grasp the light that burst out as if gathering up a spread-out fabric, tightly holding it in his palm before stepping into the chamber.

In the center of the chamber, on a stone platform, Yuan Qiuyuan lay flat with tightly furrowed brows. There were 2 dried streaks of bloody tears under his closed eyes.

Looking up, Shang Xia's clone saw a bright spot above the chamber with a pure beam of starlight falling directly on Yuan Qiuyuan, enveloping his body while also suppressing some kind of transformation occurring in him.

"Is this the backlash from the power of the stars?" Shang Xia's clone was surprised by the transformation occurring in Yuan Qiuyuan, but he soon dismissed his judgment.

Looking at the beam of starlight falling from the chamber ceiling, he thought to himself, "If it were a backlash from the power of the stars, it shouldn't be suppressed by the starlight drawn by Xin Lu and Yan Ming. Wouldn’t that mean that they’re just killing him even faster? Besides, the suppression seems to be working quite well at the moment." Shang Xia's clone examined Yuan Qiuyuan more closely and soon noticed a mass of energy in his dantian, entirely different from his original Starlight Qi. It was this mass of energy that was triggering the transformation in his dantian.

Strangely, the mass of energy was not repelled by the inner qi in Yuan Qiuyuan’s dantian; instead, there seemed to be a bizarre congruence between them.

Shang Xia's clone, who was about to expel and dissolve the mysterious energy, started to hesitate.

He could sense that the connection wasn’t just between Yuan Qiuyuan’s inner qi and the mysterious energy. More importantly, Yuan Qiuyuan himself seemed not to resist the transformations induced by this strange energy, even attempting to actively accept it.

"No, he is undergoing an essence transformation, he's advancing to the Martial Void Realm!"

Shang Xia's clone's expression changed. It was indeed the best time for Shang Xia’s true body to ascend, but for other cultivators wanting to break through to the Martial Void Realm, it was extremely dangerous. In fact, it was the worst time possible!

That was where the dilemma began. If Shang Xia's clone intervened to forcibly halt Yuan Qiuyuan's ascension process, it could likely cause him to sustain severe injuries from a failed breakthrough, possibly preventing any future attempts to reach the Martial Void Realm.

But if he let the current situation continue, who could guarantee that the mass of energy, undoubtedly planted by Gu Yi, was well-intentioned?

There was no questioning it. It was another tough choice Gu Yi was forcing them to make. In a desperate attempt, he threw his final nasty scheme on Yuan Qiuyuan, the most talented Grand Stargazer of the Tongyou Institution, after he failed to affect Shang Xia.

"Unfortunately, you still underestimate me!" Shang Xia’s clone mumbled.