Chapter 1784: The Disappearing World Origin Source

"Sage Jin, are you going back on your word?" Though Zhuo Gudao was locked onto by the other’s aura, his expression showed no fear.

Sage Jin replied coldly, "We had an agreement. Once the six continents were split from the Essence Ping World, you were to receive a third of them. But now, only 5 continents have been seized, and yet you still want to take 2? That’s excessive."

Zhuo Gudao chuckled lightly. "Sage Jin must be joking. A third? What I recall agreeing to was 2 continents. It seems you’re the one going back on your word."

Sage Jin said in a low voice, "Words are meaningless. If you want to take 2 continents, then you’ll have to face my sword!"

Before he even finished speaking, his Five Element Sword Qi slashed through the void toward Zhuo Gudao.

Zhuo Gudao immediately reacted as though he was facing a life-threatening strike. In an instant, he erupted with power that not only matched what he had used against the Star Origin Lord’s Starlight Clone earlier, but even surpassed it by a margin.

Though Zhuo Gudao’s actual cultivation was far below Sage Jin’s, he had mastered the art of borrowing power from many sources. Meanwhile, Sage Jin’s strength seemed to have declined somewhat since his immediate descent into the space around the Spirit Abundance World following the collapse of the Star Curtain.

The disparity gave Zhuo Gudao a chance to fight back against Sage Jin, or at least to hold him off temporarily.

Seeing Zhuo Gudao withstand his sword strike, Sage Jin’s expression turned grim. "You rely on the power of a world harmonization, Dao Field fusion, and realm harmonization, dojo fusion, and coordinated power from hundreds of other cultivators. All of them are external forces and yet you dare to hold them in your body. Such a path is a disgrace to the martial way!"

Zhuo Gudao dismissed the accusation. "The martial path is one of forward progress. Any hesitation will mean death. I’d rather not entangle myself with these chaotic powers, but if I don’t, how else can I fight you people?"

As his words fell, the clash in the void reached its conclusion.

Sage Jin’s elusive, formless sword energy was intentionally redirected by Zhuo Gudao. A powerful slash split the 5 continents they just retrieved from the Essence Ping World. 3 remained in the hands of those from the Spirit Abundance World while Zhuo Gudao seized the other 2. They were quickly enveloped by his energy and dragged towards the Spirit Observation World.

During the process, dozens of streaks of lights rose from the continents Zhuo Gudao seized and fled toward the Spirit Abundance World.

Zhuo Gudao could have easily wiped out those cultivators but chose not to. Instead, he allowed them to return to the Spirit Abundance World’s fleet. Perhaps he didn’t want to burn every bridge, or maybe he simply didn’t consider them worth his attention.

Meanwhile, from the 3 continents still in the Spirit Abundance World’s possession, several cultivators also rose into the skies in panic, searching the void for something.

Xiong Xin, who looked significantly older, flew out from a ship. He frowned as he saw their reaction and he asked, "Why are all of you so worked up?!”

A True Immortal spotted him and immediately rushed over as if he had found a lifeline. "It’s the World Origin Source! The World Origin Source is gone!"

Xiong Xin’s expression sank but he continued to ask cautiously, "Don’t panic. Explain. What do you mean the World Origin Source is gone?”

Calming down at the sharp rebuke, the True Immortal was about to explain when his gaze shifted behind Xiong Xin.

Sensing something amiss, Xiong Xin was about to turn when Sage Jin’s voice rang out behind him. "How can the World Origin Source be gone?"

Xiong Xin drew a deep breath and steadied his expression, just about to turn and salute when a figure suddenly flashed past him. Sage Jin closed in directly on the True Immortal and barked, "Speak! What happened to it?"

The True Immortal instantly crumbled under Sage Jin’s oppressive aura. Not just physically, but his entire martial will was crushed. Before he could even speak, blood gushed from his mouth. He stammered, "S-Sage... We really don’t know what happened... It was... It was when Zhuo Gudao seized the continents... Y-Yes. At that moment, the World Origin Source was completely drained!”

Xiong Xin glanced at the True Immortal from his world and silently sighed. Whether intentional or not, Sage Jin had just dealt a blow that likely ruined this cultivator’s martial path forever.

Sage Jin’s face flickered with uncertainty. He clearly didn’t believe Zhuo Gudao was behind it, at least not directly. After all, they had just fought head-on, and he didn’t believe Zhuo Gudao could pull something off under his nose.

Still, the loss of the World Origin Source was real.

The Essence Ping World had 36 continents, and it was a near perfect Essence World. Even though some of the world origin had been lost in the void during the split, the World Origin Source connected to each continent still held an immense amount of energy. The disappearance of even one was enough to make someone of Sage Jin’s stature feel extreme heartache.

Yet, after searching every corner of that continent where the World Origin Source had vanished, he still found nothing.

...

Back in the Talisman Pagoda of the Tongyou Institution in the Essence Luxuriant World...

Shang Xia had been monitoring the changes in the Heaven Observation Field following the fall of the Star Curtain. At the same time, he was also keeping an eye on the World Origin Source where his fourth Spirit Calming Vessel was placed. The instant the continents were split, he activated it instantly and world origin poured into the fourth star in his dantian.

He didn’t refine the world origin beforehand, and no matter how much flowed in, he couldn’t use it directly to cultivate.

As the fourth star began to bloat dangerously from the overload, Shang Xia didn’t choose to divert the energy to the rest of the stars. Instead, he had completed his preparations and forced a stream into the World Origin Source connected to the You Continent. Another stream was sent to the Crimson Soul Tablet that devoured it instantly.

Of course, throughout the process, he also activated his incomplete rank seven arts.

The extraction of the World Origin Source happened in the blink of an eye. Roughly 70 percent of the energy was funneled into the You Continent while 25 percent was absorbed by the Crimson Soul Tablet. Everything that was left remained in his dantian and was eventually refined into energy for his Big Dipper Star Origin.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

After he completed the process, his attention was drawn to the talisman brush that was supposed to be his fourth Spirit Calming Vessel.

He clearly remembered that when he had cast the brush into the south of the Essence Ping World, it was only a high-quality artifact.

But now, he could clearly sense that the brush had evolved. Not only had its quality transcended that of Divine Artifacts, but it reached the level of a Holy Artifact, comparable to his Heaven Supporting Jade Pillar that once supported the Spirit Ruling World.

"Although... To call it a Holy Artifact might not be entirely accurate."

Shang Xia sensed the emerging spirituality within the brush and realized it was intimately tied to the wisp of soul he had stored within it long ago. Though not fully fused, his soul had undeniably birthed the brush’s sentience.

The current state of the brush was peculiar. If handed to someone else, it would function merely as a superior Divine Artifact. Only in his hands would it be able to unleash the power of a Holy Artifact!

Even more incredibly, the brush could remain within the fourth star in his dantian and continued to be nourished. It might even grow along with his cultivation!

Perhaps most precious of all was its sustainability. In the hands of a Talisman Grandmaster like Shang Xia who had an extremely high success rate, even Divine Brushes might be worn out quickly. The brush that could be nourished by his inner qi could slowly restore itself, even after heavy use!