Chapter 1823: Exposed

After Shang Xia rewarded several well-informed individuals with a few essence crystals, he quickly obtained three of the hottest recent topics.

The incident where Sage Yuan Ling declared war and publicly declared his intention to retaliate against the Essence Xing World for its past invasion and plundering a Spirit World didn’t come as a surprise to Shang Xia. After all, when Sage Yuan Ling had been away, the Wanyun Association in the Essence Xing World collaborated with the Twin Star Pirates and a certain shit stirrer from the Essence Luxuriant World to plunder a Spirit World in the Essence Ling Heavenly FIeld.

As the institution’s second best shit stirrer, Shang Xia played a pivotal role and he even managed to escape from Yuan Ling’s pursuit.

More importantly, he had reaped considerable gains during the final distribution of spoils.

As far as he knew, Sage Yuan Ling had, in the years since, caused a lot of trouble for the Essence Xing World. His overwhelming strength had harassed their Sages to the point that they sought peace, even asking other Sages to mediate.

It was precisely why Shang Xia found it odd that Sage Yuan Ling would suddenly bring up the matter again after so many years.

However, after offering a few more essence crystals, he learned from a True Immortal intelligence broker that Sage Yuan Ling had recently conquered a Spirit World and absorbed it into his Heavenly Field, an achievement that propelled him into the fifth star of the Martial Emptiness Realm.

Now possessing absolute suppression in cultivation, and already known for his formidable strength, he probably felt that the time had come to settle old debts.

The moment he learned of it, Shang Xia only had one thought in mind. He had to get involved in the chaos that would be stirred up!

As for which side he would help... That would depend on the situation and his mood when the time came.

After all, whether it was the past pursuit by Sage Yuan Ling or the schemes and suppression by the Essence Xing World’s Sages against his world, Shang Xia felt that no matter which side he messed with, it was justified!

As for the second piece of news concerning the sudden expansion of the massive spatial vortex on the edge of the Chaotic Star Sea in recent years, it was something that also surprised him.

But what occupied his thoughts even more were the Spirit Worlds contained in them.

Although the ascension of the Spirit Ruling World managed to reach an agreement with the Spirit Frost World to resist the pull of the spatial vortex, the recent expansion might have overwhelmed that fragile balance.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

If either of those worlds were drawn into the vortex again, how would they save themselves? Would they seek outside help?

It was impossible for Shang Xia not to feel tempted to do something in that situation.

The third piece of news involved a rather strange claim. It was said that a single region of space in the Three Essence Heavenly Field contained 3 Essence Worlds, but what stirred the high-level powers of the Chaotic Sea of Stars was the rumor of the Star Origin Lord’s revival and possible re-emergence of the Heaven Observation Sect.

Though a millennium had passed, many of the secrets surrounding the sect’s fall had faded into obscurity. Yet the longevity of Sages meant some individuals involved back then were still alive.

And anyone who had personally survived the Heaven Observation Sect’s downfall would most definitely be a highly influential Sage in the Chaotic Star Sea.

To Shang Xia, the nature of the third rumor reeked of conspiracy. Whoever released it seemed to be testing the waters and plotting something sinister.

As he strolled through the market, Shang Xia behaved like an ordinary cultivator, wandering in and out of shops, crouching to examine trinkets laid out by peddlers, and occasionally purchasing quirky little items that intrigued him, even if they had no real use.

Unfortunately, true treasures were rare, and almost nothing caught his eye.

After leaving the market, he launched his ship and cruised leisurely through the void to the next market.

Too bad for him, the next leg of his journey was much less peaceful.

Along the way, he passed several heavily fortified Earth Stars, each guarded by complete grand formations and at least a True Immortal.

At times, passing near floating continents, his ship would be driven away by Star Ships emerging from the void.

He even encountered a Barbaric World with its native inhabitants either absent or subjugated. It was repurposed into a forward base or fortress.

Shang Xia, who was traveling alone, was mistaken for easy prey more than once.

But in most cases, his would-be assailants realized that anyone daring to traverse the void alone like him definitely possessed powerful backing. They wisely refrained from acting rashly.

As for the few foolish enough to make a move, Shang Xia showed no mercy. He destroyed them instantly before venturing to their strongholds and crushing it completely and looting anything of value. What he couldn’t carry would soon attract scavengers to clean up the remains, leaving no trace of his involvement.

Just like that, Shang Xia wandered leisurely through the heart of the Chaotic Sea of Stars. After passing through three different markets, he finally arrived where Song Zhen’s merchant fleet was known to operate. By then, a rumor had already begun to circulate among the many factions in the Chaotic Sea of Stars about a mysterious expert known only as the Lone Wanderer.

As soon as he entered the market, Shang Xia broke from his usual casual approach and headed straight for the Essence Luxuriant World’s warehouse.

As he neared the area, his brows furrowed and his pace slowed.

A crowd had gathered around the warehouse, whispering and pointing at something.

With his powerful soul, Shang Xia instantly detected multiple hidden experts in the surrounding taverns, tea houses, and inns. Though they hid themselves well, they occasionally cast greedy, impatient glances at the now-sealed warehouse, clearly waiting for an opportunity to storm in and loot it.

They had no idea their every movement was laid bare under Shang Xia’s keen perception.

Blending into the crowd, Shang Xia quickly picked up the details from the murmured conversations around him.

As it turned out, It turned out that the representative in charge of the warehouse had been recognized as a former chief of the Piercing Cloud Bandits. The news had reached the ears of the bandit group’s original leader, who was on the way with his forces.

Song Zhen was no fool. He apparently caught wind of the impending battle and acted quickly, shutting down the warehouse, dismissing nonessential staff, and fleeing into the void with key personnel and valuable goods.

Now, besides the curious onlookers, the hidden experts were waiting for confirmation that the fleeing merchant group had been destroyed. The moment the news arrived, they would swarm in and ransack the remaining stock in the sealed warehouse, taking everything for themselves.