Chapter 1855: The Blood Sword and the Broken Essence Wilderness World

Sage Jin's words made Shang Xia’s gaze flicker, though he maintained a calm demeanor outwardly.

"Heart Lamp Sect?"

Yuan Ping, evidently more familiar with the Essence Wilderness World than Zhuo Gudao or Shang Xia, remarked, "If I remember correctly, had you not appeared as an outlier, the title of strongest faction in the Essence Wilderness World should have belonged to the Heart Lamp Sect."

Sage Jin did not deny it. He simply nodded and said, "The Heart Lamp Sect sustained its rank seven legacy for at least three generations. Their foundation ran deep, and it possessed its own Dao Field. Back then, if not for my desire to avoid weakening the Essence Wilderness World by fueling internal strife, and thereby disrupting the Heavenly Field, I might have acted against them."

Zhuo Gudao seemed to catch on to something between Sage Jin and Yuan Ping. He subtly sent a voice transmission to Shang Xia before speaking out loud, "I see. Sage Jin, so you obtained a portion of the Heart Lamp Sect’s core inheritance?"

That was what he said out loud, but the transmission to Shang Xia was about something completely different. “Before I found them, they had already met up...”

Shang Xia’s heart stirred. He immediately understood what Zhuo Gudao was trying to imply.

Sage Jin replied, "The inheritance I speak of allows for soul fragments scattered throughout the World Origin to gradually reassemble. Of course, this depends on whether those fragments have been completely destroyed."

Shang Xia smiled. "Then, Sage Jin must be confident that at least part of your soul remains intact, and that the World Origin Source it was once anchored still exists?”

Sage Jin shook his head. "I can't be certain all of it remains. However, even reclaiming a portion would be a blessing. Besides... The Heart Lamp Sect's inheritance was never intended to retrieve every lost fragment."

Turning to Zhuo Gudao, Sage Jin continued, "Whether this journey proves fruitful or not, whether the inheritance truly works, I will still honor my promise and pass this inheritance to Sage Zhuo.”

Zhuo Gudao was taken aback. He scratched his head and smiled awkwardly. "Then I’ll be hoping for your success."

Sage Jin nodded with a smile, then turned to Yuan Ping. "Regardless of how this ends, I owe you an explanation."

Yuan Ping gave a cold nod and turned her head to the side without speaking.

Sage Jin seemed to sigh quietly and then looked at Shang Xia. "When the Essence Wilderness World was pushed into the Nebula Forbidden Region, the part that crashed most deeply into the zone began exhibiting strange phenomena... One that produces Hollow Heaven Stones."

He paused slightly. "Of course, reaching that area won’t be easy. It is also heavily monitored by the Essence Frontier World. A confrontation with their experts is extremely likely if we try. Regardless, I will do everything I can to help Sage Shang locate the Hollow Heaven Stones."

No sooner had he spoken than Yuan Ping suddenly smiled. "If Sage Shang is seeking Hollow Heaven Stones, may I join the effort as well? Of course, if we find any, Sage Shang can have the first pick."

Zhuo Gudao added, "Count me in too!"

Despite being already in possession of four high-quality Hollow Heaven Stones, Shang Xia was not one to turn down rare treasures. "Since Sage Jin says that area is riddled with danger, having the three of you would be ideal. As for the distribution of Hollow Heaven Stones... Anyone who sees it shall have a share."

With that, all four Sages made their intentions known and reached a formal agreement.

Having reached an agreement, Sage Jin finished arranging the four Ward Talisman Swords before taking out an older looking one. It looked like one of the other swords he left behind a long time ago before escaping the Nebula Forbidden Region years ago.

With the activation of all four Ward Talisman Swords and the Guardian Talisman Sword, Sage Jin forced a drop of essence blood from his fingertip onto the Guardian Talisman Sword. As the drop of blood landed on the sword, Shang Xia could clearly sense Sage Jin’s vitality weakening.

Shang Xia instantly understood. Sage Jin had not only spent a drop of essence blood, he had also severed a sliver of his soul.

Given Jin’s currently unstable cultivation at the fourth star, such a loss would greatly weaken him. Shang Xia even suspected that if Sage Jin failed to reclaim his scattered soul fragments, his cultivation might soon fall below the mid-level Martial Emptiness Realm.

Thankfully, the fact that Sage Jin had dared to invite three other Sages into the Nebula Forbidden Region meant he had some degree of certainty.

With the resonance of the Talisman Swords, a blood-red shadow of a sword emerged before carving a streak of crimson light into the void, racing toward the depths of the Nebula Forbidden Region.

"Everyone, please follow me!" Sage Jin flew ahead along the path traced by the crimson light while leaving those words behind.

Without hesitation, Yuan Ping raced after him.

Zhuo Gudao and Shang Xia exchanged glances and quickly moved to follow.

In truth, Sage Jin’s speed was slower than the crimson light’s.

The crimson light could force its way through many obstacles, but Sage Jin often had to stop to avoid danger or rely on the other three to bypass particularly hazardous zones. In some cases, they had to take detours entirely.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Fortunately, the sword projection was imbued with his essence blood and soul imprint, so they didn’t have to worry about losing track of it.

Even so, the energy contained in the crimson light had been dissipating the entire time. When passing through highly dangerous zones, it depleted even faster.

When the first crimson light fully expended its energy and vanished, Sage Jin would wait for the others to regroup before summoning another.

Shang Xia also noticed that each time a crimson light disappeared, one of the Ward Talisman Swords would disintegrate, and Sage Jin’s complexion would pale visibly.

After the second faded, Shang Xia and the others began to notice more fragmented terrain in the void. The floating landmasses around them clearly increased.

It was a sign that they were getting close to the main body of the Essence Wilderness World.

Sure enough, when the third crimson light vanished and three of the four Ward Talisman Swords had been spent, Sage Jin’s cultivation slipped entirely to the third star of the Martial Emptiness Realm.

It was also then that a shattered and severed fragment of a once-complete world abruptly appeared in their view.