Chapter 1839: Familiar Remnants of a Sword Qi

Inside the cabin of the large Star Ship, the You Continent...

Song Zhen respectfully asked Shang Xia, "Sage Shang, now that I’ve joined the ranks of the guardians of the 6th Starsea Market, what should I do next?"

Shang Xia thought for a moment and replied, "As for your specific duties, you can communicate with the other guardians. I doubt they’ll hide anything on that front. But apart from that, there’s one more thing. You must investigate the backgrounds of the other guardians of the 6th Starsea Market. Find out who stands behind each of them."

Song Zhen’s expression grew solemn, and he answered firmly, "Understood."

"And one more thing," Shang Xia said with a smile, "since you’re going to investigate the backers of the 6th Starsea Market, you might as well dig into the other Starsea Markets too, if opportunities arise."

"I'm quite curious to know just which powers lie behind these dozen or so markets of the Chaotic Sea of Stars."

He then turned to Song Zhen again and said, "Of course, act within your means. Your safety is the top priority."

As he spoke, Shang Xia waved his hand, and seven rank six talismans and a rank seven talisman appeared on the table. "Your current strength at the level of Dao Harmony is still a notch below the other five guardians. You can use these talismans. The seven rank six ones are pretty decent, but the rank seven talisman is the key. It’s a rank seven Origin Star Talisman and once activated, should be enough to boost your cultivation temporarily to the level of Extreme Harmonization. You can even harness a portion of Seventh Order energy. Use it with caution."

The moment Song Zhen saw the collection of high-grade talismans, he revealed a look of excitement. However, he hesitated slightly before mumbling, “Sage Shang, there are so many high-level talismans... There’s even a rank seven Origin Star Talisman. This...”

Shang Xia chuckled in response, "Take them. These are different times now. From this day onward, our Essence Luxuriant World will be stepping into the spotlight of the Chaotic Sea of Stars. Your identity represents our reputation. Without power strong enough to deter all threats either in the open or in the dark, how can you withstand the arrows flying your way? Besides, you’ll also need to manage our station in the Starsea Market."

Song Zhen no longer hesitated. He solemnly put away the talismans and said with determination, "Please rest assured, Sage Shang. I will give it my all."

Shang Xia nodded in satisfaction. He grunted softly in acknowledgment and Song Zhen turned to leave.

After he left, Shang Xia sighed helplessly. The Essence Luxuriant World still lacked enough high-level True Immortals. Even someone like Song Zhen, a fourth tier True Immortal, had to juggle multiple roles.

Not to mention that was only one Starsea Market. If the Essence Luxuriant World intended to expand its influence across the Chaotic Sea of Stars, they would inevitably need to set up stations in other markets too.

If each market required a high-level True Immortal to take charge... The Essence Luxuriant World had far from enough personnel.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t rush the process. High-level True Immortals couldn’t be produced overnight. Being too hasty would only lead to massive setbacks.

Shang Xia shook his head slightly, cleared his thoughts, and turned his attention back to the two pieces of Hollow Heaven Stones on the table.

Although he had instructed Song Zhen to secretly investigate the other guardians' backgrounds, when he saw these two pieces of Hollow Heaven Stone, he already had a suspicion about who was backing Gong Da.

The residual aura left on the split Hollow Heaven Stone immediately reminded him of someone familiar... It felt like Sage Jin’s sword qi. He coveted the Spirit Abundance World for centuries and had recently suffered defeat following the Star Origin Lord’s resurgence.

His residual sword qi remained on the pieces of Hollow Heaven Stones and from what Shang Xia could feel, Sage Jin possessed the might of an expert at the fourth star.

Originally, Gong Da had intended to give half of the Hollow Heaven Stone to Shang Xia. Beyond expressing an apology, he likely meant to use the remaining half as leverage, and even to subtly threaten Shang Xia with Sage Jin’s residual sword qi.

What he hadn’t expected was that Shang Xia had already broken through to become a mid-level Sage! His threat instantly became meaningless, so Gong Da simply handed over both halves to show his sincerity.

"Perhaps I should send these pieces of Hollow Heaven Stone back to the Essence Luxuriant World to be examined by Patriarch Kou! He would surely be able to analyze more from the residual sword qi!" Shang Xia could sense the sword intent lingering on the Hollow Heaven Stone, but it didn’t really matter to him.

What was certain, though, was that Kou Chongxue’s current swordsmanship still could not compare to Sage Jin’s. Even if their sword styles were different, the value of the sword intent would be far more useful to Kou Chongxue than to himself.

Shortly after, Song Zhen piloted the You Continent Star Ship into the 6th Starsea Market. Shang Xia didn’t accompany him this time.

Rather... Zhu Nang emerged from the Starsea Market to meet him.

"You want to return to the Essence Luxuriant World with me?" Shang Xia’s eyes widened in shock. "Although Song Zhen is now a guardian of the 6th Starsea Market, we still need someone to watch over our station here. If you leave, he’ll have even more responsibilities to juggle. That might make it harder for him to gain a foothold..."

Zhu Nang quickly explained, "Forgive me, Sage Shang, I didn’t make myself clear enough. The goods we brought for trade at our station have mostly been sold out. Even the batch just delivered that had been obtained from the Spirit Ruling World and Spirit Frost World, has been snatched up by many factions. The items from the Spirit Frost World are in exceptionally high demand!”

This news caught Shang Xia slightly off guard. He couldn’t help but ask, "Do you know why?"

Zhu Nang shook his head. "No definite answer, but I suspect it has to do with you, Sage Shang. Song Zhen also sent word that some of the factions buying up our goods might be doing so at the suggestion of several guardians, likely as a gesture of goodwill. Still, the treasures from the Spirit Frost World have always sold out the fastest.”

He hesitated, then said, "Sage Shang, do you think we should consider establishing regular trade routes with the Spirit Ruling World and Spirit Frost World?”

Shang Xia thought about it, then shook his head. "Not yet. At least not for now."

Zhu Nang seemed a little disappointed but not surprised. He somewhat expected the response. He quickly continued, "In that case, I’ll head back to our world to gather more supplies. The two large Star Ships currently under construction should be nearly finished. We can use this opportunity to test them on a long-distance journey while also delivering goods to the Starsea Market."

Shang Xia nodded and added, "While you’re back, you might as well submit a request to Patriarch Kou to initiate a large-scale beast-clearing operation."

"Our world has vast lands and a sparse population. Since we’re constantly growing, many remote wilderness regions have become breeding grounds for spiritual beasts. There are likely numerous rank five and rank six spiritual beasts... Perhaps even Beast Kings roaming freely. It's time we culled their numbers."

He added seriously, "But take care during the process. Don’t go overboard. We just need to control the beast population so they don’t trigger a massive tide or threaten inhabited areas."

Zhu Nang nodded with excitement, but then froze as realization dawned on him. He looked up and asked in surprise, "Sage Shang... Are you not returning to the Essence Luxuriant World with me?"