Chapter 1830: Danger And Opportunity In The Spatial Vortex

When Shang Xia was forced to the edge of the great vortex in the void, he initially tried to skirt along its boundary, hoping to find an opportunity to escape in another direction.

However, Yuan Ling and the other two were clearly not going to give him that chance. The trio continued to reposition themselves with his movements, maintaining a semi-encirclement from a distance that kept applying pressure, forcing him deeper into the vortex until he had no choice but to risk entering.

Even as he neared the vortex’s edge, Shang Xia had already sensed a powerful pulling force emanating from deep within, constantly trying to drag him toward the center.

He had crossed it before, traveling between the Spirit Ruling World and Spirit Frost World. It wasn’t just once, either, but multiple times.

Back then, though he had felt the pull from the center, neither he nor the Star Ships they sent had any trouble resisting, allowing them to pass safely through the edge.

But compared to those past experiences, the force he now encountered from the vortex’s core was utterly overwhelming.

This time, the pull wasn’t just acting on his physical body. Shang Xia could clearly sense that his inner qi was also being drawn out and beginning to leak away.

Of course, with his current level of control, he was able to quickly adjust and stop the leakage. But he could still feel the disruptive influence on the flow of energy within his body.

Beyond the effects on his body and inner qi, Shang Xia soon discovered that even his soul was affected. The interference it caused was even more dangerous than the others.

The vortex’s distortion warped his perception, and on several occasions, guided by his own senses, Shang Xia had unknowingly moved closer to the vortex’s core.

Had he not noticed the increasing pull on his body and inner qi, he might have unknowingly fallen into the center of the spatial vortex.

The very thought sent chills down his spine.

As he continued crossing the vortex, Shang Xia did his best to negate its disruptive influence on his judgment and to maintain a safe distance from its center. Yet the deeper he went, the more he had to focus on resisting the vortex’s pull.

Despite his efforts to stay away, halfway through the crossing, Shang Xia suddenly realized that he was still being drawn closer to the center.

He couldn't understand why, and the rising sense of unease made him increasingly anxious.

If things continue as they were, he would inevitably be swallowed whole by the vortex.

But where exactly had he gone wrong?

He reflexively checked the Star Chart in his hand. But then, a sudden realization struck him. Since the vortex was constantly expanding and distorting the surrounding void, and interfering with his soul, how could the plotted course still be accurate?

It dawned on him that, although he had been forced into the vortex, he never truly felt he was in a desperate situation, not while he still held the routes to the Spirit Ruling World and Spirit Frost World as fallback options.

But now, with the vortex’s expansion and the distortion of surrounding space, those old paths were likely obsolete. That was probably why he had repeatedly encountered danger while attempting to cross.

Now that even his Star Chart could no longer be relied upon... How was he supposed to navigate the vortex?

Feeling himself sliding ever closer to the core, Shang Xia was momentarily at a loss.

Struggling blindly was clearly unwise. The best course would be to find a precise heading and charging over with all his might.

While he pondered the situation, his body drifted several thousand more miles toward the vortex’s core.

By then, he could clearly see with his naked eye the massive spatial distortion around him. The pull from the vortex’s center was growing stronger, and his senses were becoming increasingly scrambled.

But just then, amidst his twisted perception, he suddenly sensed something that felt remarkably similar to world origin!

Though the sensation was faint, Shang Xia felt that what he had just detected was not quite the same as real world origin. It was vast and immense, but lacked the purity typical of such energy.

He instinctively turned toward the vortex’s center. Through the chaotic streams spiraling inward, he vaguely saw a column of misty, formless energy erupting upward from the core.

As it turned out, his distorted soul had brushed against the formless pillar of energy!

On impulse, and almost instinctively, Shang Xia allowed the Crimson Soul Tablet, which was also reacting to the presence of the energy, to attempt drawing energy from that column.

A flood of chaotic, murky, but undeniably immense wave of energy was instantly captured by the tablet. The depleted reserves of world origin that had been consumed in his previous battle were rapidly replenished.

Through the Crimson Soul Tablet, Shang Xia could sense that although the energy was impure, its grade seemed slightly superior to even that of world origin from Essence Worlds!

He was truly shocked, but before he could analyze further, a sudden change occurred.

Perhaps it was due to the presence of such high-grade energy, the Crimson Soul Tablet ramped up its speed of devouring the energy after having a small taste. In an instant, the column showed signs of collapsing.

And that seemed to trigger some core mechanism within the vortex itself. The previously vast but orderly spatial vortex instantly became frenzied, inverting space around it. Caught above it, Shang Xia was instantly overwhelmed and lost control, falling rapidly toward the center!

Seeing as the mighty Sage was about to meet his end, a flash of inspiration struck Shang Xia at the very last second as the 7 suns appeared in the depths of the void, strengthening their connection with him.

In the twisted void, Star Charts were useless. He couldn’t find anything located on them! However, the 7 suns arranged in the Big Dipper formation could still act as an anchor for him as they resisted the pull and distortion of the spatial vortex.

No matter how chaotic the spatial interference, his connection to the 7 suns remained unshakable. By following the feeling of resonance with them, Shang Xia was confident he could find his way out of the great vortex!