Chapter 1674: First Battle In The Seven Star Realm

Shang Xia's unorthodox breakthrough to become a Sage initially alarmed Zhuo Gudao and Sage Jin's clone, causing them to instinctively pull back from the heavenly screen.

However, the Star Origin Lord's clone, which had suffered the most damage, did not retreat but advanced, charging toward the rift in the heavenly screen where the starlight was gushing outward, aiming to suppress the celestial phenomenon caused by Shang Xia's ascension.

Zhuo Gudao and Sage Jin's clone quickly reacted and followed suit, joining forces in an attempt to first resolve the situation with Shang Xia, who was completing his final transformation.

The combined effort of the 3 Sages proved to be effective despite the suppression by the World’s Will. As they approached, they quickly pushed back the starlight that came out of the heavenly screen above the You Continent. The giant tear in the heavenly screen also started to grow larger, yet no further starlight spilled out.

Meanwhile, the Star Origin Lord's clone took the lead, crossing the breach in the heavenly screen and entering the Spirit Luxuriant World.

As soon as the clone entered, the Spirit Luxuriant World trembled as though it was a fragile container that had been loaded with an immense weight.

At that moment, the Star Origin Lord's clone, whose form had been ethereal, suddenly began to transform. His aura also shifted, resonating subtly with the Spirit Luxuriant World’s Will, significantly reducing the suppression and rejection he experienced.

His transformation was strikingly similar to how Shang Xia had altered his aura when he infiltrated other worlds.

However, Shang Xia quickly noticed a difference. His method of changing his aura could completely avoid the rejection of the World’s Will if he didn’t fight, allowing him to blend seamlessly into the ranks of cultivators in the world.

On the other hand, the Star Origin Lord's clone's aura change did not completely shield him from the suppression of the World’s Will, but enabled him to maximize his combat effectiveness.

In short, Shang Xia's secret techniques focused on infiltration and concealment, while the Star Origin Lord's clone specialized in combat in foreign worlds.

Nevertheless, Shang Xia was not surprised by the change in the Star Origin Lord's clone's aura. When he discovered that the world origin of the Spirit Luxuriant World was similar to that of the Essence Ping World, he already expected the Star Origin Lord to be able to do something like that.

Also, the Star Origin Lord's clone's initiative to breach the heavenly screen was entirely within Shang Xia's expectations and was precisely what he had hoped for.

At the same time, above the heavenly screen above the You Continent, Zhuo Gudao and Sage Jin's clone, whether intentionally or not, hesitated for a moment and did not immediately follow the Star Origin Lord's clone. They evidently planned to let the Star Origin Lord’s clone test the waters first.

Unbeknownst to them, that too was exactly what Shang Xia had anticipated.

Just as the Star Origin Lord's clone completed its aura synchronization, under the starlight that completely painted the skies above the You Continent, Shang Xia suddenly appeared not far away.

The Star Origin Lord's clone, despite looking indifferent, asked Shang Xia the moment it saw him, "What exactly is your method of ascending to the Martial Emptiness Realm?"

Under the gaze of the Star Origin Lord's clone, Shang Xia merely smiled slightly. He tapped his forehead once before pulling out an ancient-looking mace that was blood-red in color.

As soon as the Star Origin Lord’s clone saw the mace, his expression changed as though he had seen something unbelievable. He was about to exclaim in shock, but Shang Xia didn’t plan to give him the chance to do so.

As soon as the whip was fully drawn, Shang Xia swung it at the Star Origin Lord’s clone.

In an instant, starlight fill the skies and the void turned to dust.

The Star Origin Lord’s clone turned blurry as boundless starlight started to gather around him in an attempt to stop Shang Xia’s strike.

Unfortunately... It was far from enough!

As the void under the starlight turned to dust, the Star Origin Lord's clone tried to stabilize the void with the energy he released. However, the energy he released was exterminated the second it appeared.

Before Shang Xia’s true body, the Star Origin Lord’s clone had no ability to resist!

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Above the heavenly screen, Zhuo Gudao and Sage Jin’s clone were nowhere to be seen. They hadn’t even tried to approach the world.

By then, the Star Origin Lord's clone realized it was unable to retreat.

As Shang Xia's mace struck, 7 bright stars loomed behind him. They seemed to have locked on to the clone’s position, leaving no escape. There was no dodging. The Star Origin Lord’s clone could only take the strike head-on and he could only live if he could withstand it.

However, the Star Origin Lord's clone knew that he had no chance.

While the clone might possess the strength of a first star Sage, his understanding and perspective came from the Star Origin Lord himself. He knew what Shang Xia’s strike entailed. No one present understood better.

"What fools!" the Star Origin Lord's clone rebuked, then fearlessly collided with the mace carrying the Power of the Stars, which contained the power to obliterate the void.

Obviously, the Star Origin Lord’s clone was chiding Zhuo Gudao and Sage Jin’s clone for their deliberate delay.

If they had rushed into the Spirit Luxuriant World along with him, they would be more than capable of taking down Shang Xia even with the suppression of the World’s Will.

Due to their ‘caution’ and schemes, intending to reap the benefits at the end while waiting for the Star Origin Lord’s clone to take the brunt of the damage, they fell right into the enemy’s trap. Shang Xia gained the opportunity to fight them one by one.

The Star Origin Lord's clone realized that he was unlikely to survive the encounter with Shang Xia, especially since the ancient and weathered mace Shang Xia retrieved gave him an extremely ominous premonition.

Shit! I need to bring news of his strange weapon back to the Essence Ping World and inform my true body!

The Star Origin Lord’s clone struggled to maintain his rapidly dissipating form. He knew he had no hope of living, but he felt that he needed to find a chance to relay the situation before he was completely destroyed.

The method of Shang Xia's breakthrough was utterly incredible, and even though he had just become a Sage, he was displaying overwhelming strength. The Star Origin Lord’s clone knew that he was hiding a massive secret, although it was unknown what kind of entity had orchestrated the entire thing...

At that moment, Zhuo Gudao and Sage Jin's clone, who had deliberately lagged behind, finally noticed that something was amiss. They might not know what was actually happening in the Spirit Luxuriant World, but their instincts told them that they had to quickly make their move. Without a second thought, they rushed at the breach in the heavenly screen.

Just as they arrived, hundreds of attacks burst forth, turning the void into a region of chaos and causing a greater tear in the heavenly screen.

Those attacks came from cultivators in the Martial Extermination Realm and Martial Dipper Realm, and they should be nothing more than the pops of firecrackers to Sages like Zhuo Gudao. However, with hundreds of them superimposing on each other, it became comparable to a powerful blast of fireworks, slightly startling Zhuo Gudao and Sage Jin’s clone who temporarily retreated.

Having already intentionally delayed their entry, they were forced to pause for yet another second. It might be a short moment, but it was enough to seal off the Star Origin Lord’s clone’s fate.

With the destruction of the Star Origin Lord’s clone’s body, the wisp of soul it contained tried to flee. However, the phantom of the Big Dipper reappeared in the void with 7 brightly flashing stars. They seemed to be unaffected by the fluctuating space as they trapped the Star Origin Lord’s soul. The next moment, they flickered once and a stream of Starfire ignited, burning the wisp of soul to nothingness.