Chapter 1679: Probes

Shang Xia turned to look in a certain direction in the void, his penetrating gaze finding its way through a gap in the Star Curtain, coincidentally meeting a bloodshot eyeball.

Gu Yi, who suffered a slight setback against Shang Xia earlier, once again shifted his gaze to the Heaven Observation Field. He stared straight in the direction of the Spirit Luxuriant World and towards Shang Xia himself.

It was a shame for him. At his current level, Shang Xia was no longer afraid.

As for whether the Gu Yi would again send a clone to the Spirit Luxuriant World... Shang Xia actually hoped he would do so. To complete its ascension to an Essence World, the energy contained in 2 Martial Emptiness Realm clones was far from enough to fill the deficit in the World Origin Source.

However, it seemed like Gu Yi didn’t have any intention of doing so. He simply stared straight at Shang Xia. When Shang Xia met his eyes, he didn’t avert his gaze.

However, Shang Xia had no intention of locking eyes with an unusually large eyeball and he quickly looked in another direction.

It was also a gap in the Star Curtain where Star Beast Nest No.2 used to lie. From there, Shang Xia could also feel a concealed gaze looking straight at him.

From how weak the feeling was, Shang Xia could tell that the Sage was far inferior to Gu Yi.

As Shang Xia turned his head, he heard Zhuo Gudao say, "How about it? What I said was true, right?"

After pondering for a moment, Shang Xia asked, "What do you propose?"

Zhuo Gudao suggested, "Let's join hands. The Essence Ping World is massive and there are too many outsiders coveting it. We don’t have too much time either. If we want to truly possess the power to protect ourselves before the Star Curtain falls, we have to work together.”

With a profound light flashing in his eyes, Shang Xia inquired, “How much do you know about the current state of the Star Origin Lord?"

Zhuo Gudao, realizing Shang Xia had essentially agreed to his proposal, replied immediately, "The Star Origin Lord's cultivation has already reached the peak of the Martial Emptiness Realm. Whether he can complete the takeover and replacement of the Essence Ping World’s Will is key to his potential advancement to the Eighth Order."

"Eighth Order..." Even though Shang Xia had anticipated this, he couldn't help but feel shocked. He thought for a moment before he continued, “So, the key is whether the World’s Will will be destroyed by the Star Origin Lord, right?”

Zhuo Gudao chuckled, "Perhaps the Star Origin Lord himself is currently in doubt!"

Before Shang Xia could inquire further, Zhuo Gudao explained, "For the Star Origin Lord, the best way is naturally to complete the absorption and integration of the Essence Ping World’s Will. However, the intervention of so many forces greatly diverts his attention. Perhaps allowing the native will to leave the Essence Ping World would also be a good choice. The only problem with that is that a greatly weakened Essence World’s Will can hardly satisfy the Spirit Abundance World’s appetite.”

Picking up on Zhuo Gudao's line of thought, Shang Xia frowned. "Does the Spirit Abundance World still plan on obtaining the southern continents of the Essence Ping World?”

Zhuo Gudao glanced at Shang Xia before replying, "Sage Shang, it’s true indeed what the rumors say. You have a profound understanding of the Essence Ping World..."

Shang Xia shook his head. "It’s just that ever since the existence of the Frost Tide hundreds of years ago, I feel like the Spirit Abundance World should have been scheming against the Essence Ping World. Their aspirations are most likely significant."

Zhuo Gudao scoffed, his tone dripping with sarcasm, "They’re overestimating their capabilities and their actions will probably end up benefiting others.”

A strange light flashed in Shang Xia’s eyes. “Do you mean... Sage Jin?”

Zhuo Gudao laughed ambiguously. "Perhaps, perhaps..."

As Shang Xia pondered about the similar origin shared by the Essence Ping World and the Spirit Abundance World, along with the Star Origin Lord’s clone and the Spirit Luxuriant World, he decided not to delve further since Zhuo Gudao clearly wasn’t willing to share more. He simply followed what Zhuo Gudao did and mumbled, “I’m really curious... Even though the Spirit Abundance World and the Spirit Mammoth World have allies outside the Star Curtain, in the event their allies can’t come into our Heaven Observation Field, True Immortal Xiong Xin and True Immortal Yuan Chan, who are at the grand completion stage...”

He paused, seeming to realize something suddenly.

Seeing his reaction, Zhuo Gudao burst into laughter, "Sage Shang, looks like you figured it out? Didn’t Sage Jin’s clone just appear outside your world?”

Shang Xia mused, "Even if these foreign True Immortals can send their clones through the Star Curtain, with Xiong Xin and Yuan Chan’s strength and their ability to gain support from their world, they shouldn’t submit so easily.”

Zhuo Gudao knew Shang Xia was trying to extract as much information as possible, but he didn't mind. Now that Shang Xia had truly become a Sage, he would understand these matters soon enough. It was better to inform him now, for Shang Xia to owe him a favor, and eliminate any barriers between them for their upcoming collaboration.

Zhuo Gudao explained, "Sage Shang, you probably want to know how Cang Xuangao and Zou Shanhai managed to call the shots in their world, right?”

Without waiting for Shang Xia to respond, Zhuo Gudao continued, "It's quite simple. Sage Jin and Yuan Hong are able to send a portion of their soul and energy to take over the bodies of Cang Xuangao and Zou Shanhai.”

"Even though descending that way still uses their energy and a strand of their soul, because they have actual bodies hosted by high-level True Immortals, they can unleash a lot more of their true power compared to a Martial Emptiness Realm clone.”

"Xiong Xin and Yuan Chan might be able to use the advantage of their world to temporarily gain enough strength to confront a Sage, but when facing experts of their world who have the power of a Sage, they are helpless to resist.”

"By the way, after the descent of those Sages into the bodies of Cang Xuangao and Zou Shanhai, the rejection of the World’s Will will be minimal.”

Listening to Zhuo Gudao's explanation, Shang Xia's expression fluctuated greatly.

Before Zhuo Gudao and the other Sages arrived, Shang Xia faced off against Gu Yi of the Essence Ming World who had taken over a high-level True Immortal of the Essence Ming World.

With Zhuo Gudao’s explanation, Shang Xia realized that the methods used by those Sages were somewhat similar to his Heaven Liberation!

Looking at Shang Xia’s rapidly changing expression, Zhuo Gudao chuckled to himself. He felt that even though the young Sage had somehow succeeded in his breakthrough, his lack of a rank seven inheritance was evident.

The next second, Shang Xia asked again, “Are there any disadvantages to the Sage who uses this method to transmit their power?”