Chapter 1854: Regroup, Ruins of the Essence Wilderness World

Following the guidance of the Ward Talisman Sword, Shang Xia avoided several dangerous regions along the way before finally shaking off the threat of the void torrent. He arrived at a stretch of relatively stable space.

Even with the replenishment of superior world origin absorbed by the Crimson Soul Tablet, Shang Xia felt thoroughly exhausted, both physically and mentally.

The Nebula Forbidden Region truly lived up to its name. Every step he took might place him in a trapped space, and danger lurked in every breath.

But just as he managed to catch his breath, the tip of the Ward Talisman Sword floating before him began to quiver violently, as if it was severely disturbed.

Startled, Shang Xia immediately dismissed his fatigue and raised his guard as he quickly retrieved the sword and prepared for battle.

The very next instant, three familiar auras descended from different directions, showing faint signs of surrounding him.

"Sage Shang, is that you?” Sage Jin's voice came first from afar, though distorted somewhat by the interference of the forbidden void.

Though Shang Xia realized he might have been too hasty in his response, he did not relax. Instead, he responded solemnly in the general direction of Sage Jin’s voice. “Yeah.”

The broken layers of void were gradually pushed aside as Sage Jin’s presence grew clearer. His voice also became clearer as he spoke, “It truly is Sage Shang! At last, we’ve found you!"

As he spoke, his figure came into view.

At the same time, two other figures appeared from different directions, Zhuo Gudao and Yuan Ping also showed themselves.

On the surface, Shang Xia seemed to relax and smiled. "Looks like I was the unluckiest one."

Zhuo Gudao, observing Shang Xia’s weariness, commented, "It seems Sage Shang has had quite the journey through the Forbidden Region." From how tired Shang Xia looked, Zhuo Gudao could imagine that he had run into a lot of trouble.

Shang Xia gave a wry smile and replied, "The Nebula Forbidden Region lives up to its name. I encountered danger more than once, narrowly escaping death each time."

Sage Jin laughed. "As they say, good fortune follows upon disaster. If you faced so many trials, you must have gained something in return?"

Shang Xia waved the comment away, but his gaze fell upon Yuan Ping, whose appearance carried a faint pallor. Seizing the moment to change the topic, he asked, "Sage Yuan Ping, you don’t look well. Did you also encounter danger in the Nebula Forbidden Region?"

Unexpectedly, she merely smiled and replied with a startling truth that shocked both Shang Xia and Zhuo Gudao. "Not particularly. However, the Spirit Mannoth World, having just completed its ascension, was forcibly severed from my Essence Hong Heavenly Field. I suffered backlash from the Heavenly Field as a result."

Her tone and expression were calm, almost detached, as though she were speaking of something unrelated to herself.

Shang Xia was stunned and instinctively turned to Zhuo Gudao.

Zhuo Gudao appeared unfazed, clearly having learned the news earlier. He met Shang Xia’s gaze and shrugged with a wry smile. "I only found out when I ran into Yuan Ping."

Shang Xia nodded, then looked back at her and asked curiously, "You don’t seem particularly anxious, or even surprised?"

Yuan Ping’s pale face bore a peculiar smile. "If I hadn’t left the Essence Hong Heavenly Field and entered this Nebula Forbidden Region where I can’t project my soul back to my Heavenly Field, how will the Spirit Mammoth World dare to initiate its ascension? And how could the Star Origin Lord have torn it away from my Heavenly Field?"

Shang Xia looked baffled. "Why would you agree to that?"

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Her odd smile remained. "Because I didn’t want to die."

Seeing his continued confusion, Yuan Ping added, her words tinged with deeper meaning, "With the Essence Mammoth World’s ascension to the Essence Mammoth World, and its integration into the Star Origin Lord’s control, the Three Essence Heavenly Field should now be called the Four Essence Heavenly Field. With his newfound strength, the Star Origin Lord will likely recover his cultivation to the late-stage of the Martial Emptiness Realm."

As Shang Xia’s expression shifted from shock to deep unease, Yuan Ping seemed pleased with herself. "Sage Shang, several Spirit Worlds from the former Heavenly Observation Field have completed their ascension. Now... Your Essence Luxuriant World is the closest to the Four Essence Heavenly Field...”

After a moment’s thought, Shang Xia smiled appreciatively. "Many thanks for the reminder, Sage Yuan Ping.”

At that moment, Sage Jin cleared his throat. "Although there were setbacks, we’ve successfully regrouped. Let’s now discuss our next steps and plans."

Shang Xia, having already obtained not one but four Hollow Heaven Stones, each of exceptional size and quality, had more than fulfilled his objective in entering the Nebula Forbidden Region. On top of that, he had uncovered secrets from the Essence Wilderness World’s past. In a good mood, he smiled and said, "Among the four of us, only Sage Jin has experience traversing the Nebula Forbidden Region. And since the Essence Wilderness World was under his control, he should be far more familiar with it than any of us. I think we should let him take the lead from here."

Sage Jin chuckled with satisfaction but remained modest. "The Nebula Forbidden Region is riddled with danger. I survived last time mostly by luck. Moving forward, we’ll need to rely on each other."

Though Sage Jin had organized this expedition, only he and Shang Xia were mid-level Sages. Their opinions held the most weight.

Given that Shang Xia’s strength now surpassed Sage Jin, whose strength had waned, Sage Jin needed Shang Xia’s support. Or at the very least, their opinions couldn’t be conflicting.

The first thing Sage Jin did after regrouping was to have everyone bring out their Ward Talisman Swords, including the Guardian Talisman Sword he carried.

Zhuo Gudao raised a brow. "Are you hoping to enhance the chance of locating the other Talisman Swords with this?

Sage Jin nodded. "Yes, but more precisely, I’m hoping to locate the main landmass of the Essence Wilderness World that had been thrown in here.”

Zhuo Gudao asked with confusion, "But didn’t you escape the Nebula Forbidden Region because the Essence Wilderness World was thrust into it? Did you make contact with it back then?"

Sage Jin shook his head. "No. But each of these Ward Talisman Swords contains my soul imprint. They may resonate with my soul that was once branded in the World Origin Source of the Essence Wilderness World. Well, that’s if the World Origin Source hasn’t completely dissipated.”

"Wait," Yuan Ping interjected while frowning. "Wasn’t your soul already shattered by Sage Qin Ming? How can your Talisman Swords still sense it?"

A light flickered in Shang Xia’s eyes as though he had thought of something.

Sage Jin showed no intention of hiding anything and he quickly revealed, "That’s thanks to a special inheritance I once received from the Heart Lamp Sect."