Chapter 1898: Cold Sweat

Mister Drama, Graceful Lady, and the others spoke with such seriousness that their divine souls conveyed how sharing such a major secret represented immense trust, implying they were even taking a loss by doing so. Little did they know, the so-called secrets they revealed held no real value in Shang Xia’s eyes.

Although they seemed to be divulging something monumental, Shang Xia could see clearly that there was no actual substance in their words. At the very least, they never once revealed the true reason why the seven Sages had been monitoring the great spatial vortex for so long.

Still, Shang Xia managed to glean some insights from their seemingly tacit conversation. For example, even though these individuals had been concealing their identities and origins, he now suspected most of them came from Heavenly Fields within the Original Star Corner.

So, Shang Xia decided to push them further. "Since that Origin Pillar contains Pseudo-Eighth Order energy, and very likely houses a spatial gate leading outside of the Chaotic Sea of Stars, what do you all intend to do next? Do you plan to destroy it and prevent powerful outsiders from descending?"

The divine souls fell silent for a moment before Mister Drama finally responded. "As Lord Seven Star said, the spatial gate lies within the Origin Pillar. If we can seize the Pseudo-Eighth Order energy within it, then the spatial gate should collapse on its own like a rootless water plant."

Shang Xia then pretended to suddenly understand. "So your true goal is the Origin Pillar itself? Forgive me for being blunt, but even if your true bodies were to arrive, approaching the great spatial vortex wouldn’t be an easy task, let alone reaching the pillar at its core."

Lord Actor objected, "It may be difficult for our true bodies to approach the great spatial vortex, but we are not acting alone. Once we work together, entering the core of the spatial vortex will not be a problem."

Shang Xia had deliberately only mentioned the Origin Pillar, intentionally avoiding any mention of the Pseudo-Eighth Order energy.

Sure enough, the other Sages stopped bringing up the term as well and instead echoed his emphasis on the importance of the Origin Pillar.

Shang Xia sneered inwardly but feigned surprise outwardly. "Oh? So your true bodies are already on their way?"

Sage Loudmouth said in a heavy tone, "Since a spatial gate has formed within the pillar, it’s possible a being from beyond the Chaotic Sea of Stars may arrive at any time. When that happens, not only will the Original Star Corner become their hunting ground, perhaps the entire Star Field will. Every Heavenly Field might become prey. Of course, our true bodies cannot sit idly by."

Shang Xia asked, "Then how did you all come to cooperate?"

With a mischievous tone, Mister Drama interjected, "Why? Does Lord Seven Star wish to join us?"

Shang Xia countered, "Heh, can you guys even trust me?"

Once again, they fell into silence. Or perhaps they were privately discussing something, excluding Shang Xia.

After a brief pause, Sage Cat finally spoke. "The strength Lord Seven Star displayed when breaking into the great spatial vortex was truly awe-inspiring. From the bottom of our hearts, we’d welcome someone like you to join. But you must understand, we are merely clones left behind by our true bodies to monitor the spatial vortex. The final decision must wait until they arrive."

Shang Xia wasn't offended by this and responded with a light chuckle. "Understandable. As it happens, I also need some time to organize the insights I gained while approaching the spatial vortex. I’ll gladly wait for their arrival."

His words subtly hinted that he had also withheld certain details during their exchange. If those Sages were sincere in their invitation, he would naturally consider full cooperation.

Just as everyone was about to disperse, Shang Xia called out, "Please wait. There’s one more thing I wish to ask."

Everyone paused, puzzled by his request.

Shang Xia spoke with a hint of awkwardness, "Earlier, when you mentioned the celestial phenomena across the Star Regions, I was truly enlightened. However, from what I know, including the newly formed Heaven Observation Star Region, there should be eight Star Regions in our Star Field. But you only mentioned seven. What is the eighth called? Where is it located? What kind of celestial phenomenon does it contain?"

His question clearly triggered a reaction. The other Sages seemed to grow wary.

Vortex Observer probed cautiously, "Lord Seven Star doesn’t seem very familiar with the various Star Regions of the Chaotic Sea of Stars?"

Shang Xia smiled. "No need to be suspicious. I am indeed a native cultivator of the Chaotic Sea of Stars. It’s just that for certain reasons, I know very little about its current state."

As previously stated, cultivators at Shang Xia’s level generally disdained lying.

Since he had openly claimed to be native to the Chaotic Sea of Stars, the others, for some reason, relaxed. Their previous subtle wariness even gave way to warmth.

That made Shang Xia all the more curious about what they had imagined from his comment.

Once again, Mister Drama answered, "No wonder Lord Seven Star isn’t familiar with the Towering Star Region. Technically, it’s the newest Star Region opened over the past few centuries as the Chaotic Sea of Stars expanded into the deeper void."

"Wait, wait a moment," Shang Xia interrupted in confusion. "Wasn’t the Heaven Observation Star Region just recently formed in the last decade? How could the Towering Star Region be newer?"

Mister Drama burst out laughing, and the other followed suit, clearly having anticipated his reaction.

"Is there something I’m missing here?" Shang Xia asked humbly, sensing no malice from them.

By now, he was certain, they had mistaken him for someone else, someone whose identity they were used to, but of which Shang Xia was completely unaware.

Sage Cat's ethereal voice rang out. "The Heaven Observation Star Region may be newly formed, but the Heaven Observation Field has long existed. As for the Heaven Observation Sect... Surely Lord Seven Star has heard of them?"

Shang Xia’s divine thought conveyed a look of realization. "Of course I know the Heaven Observation Sect. In fact, I can confirm that the Star Origin Lord’s strength has already returned to the high-level of the Martial Emptiness Realm."

"That’s no surprise." Mister Drama chuckled and continued, "Back to the Towering Star Region. Since it’s recently developed, the number of Heavenly Fields it contains is the lowest among the Star Regions. It even lags behind the Heaven Observation Star Region."

At that, Lord Actor seemed to disagree. "The Heaven Observation Star Region only includes a few Heavenly Fields near the original Heaven Observation Field. Without that, it would just be the Four Essence Heavenly Field and the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field...”

Sage Loudmouth countered, "Don’t forget, the Four Essence Heavenly Field under the Star Origin Lord contains four Essence Worlds!"

Sage Cat’s hazy voice interjected, "Fellow Sages, there will be plenty of time to debate later. For now, let Mister Drama finish answering Lord Seven Star’s question."

Sage Loudmouth grunted but fell silent.

Mister Drama resumed, "Because the Towering Star Region is newly established, not only are the number of Heavenly Fields few, but their distances from each other are also vast, some even nestled deep among the stars."

Shang Xia appeared thoughtful and sent out a grunt to show his understanding.

Mister Drama continued, "As for the celestial phenomenon in the Towering Star Region, it’s a Void Forest. However, its appearance and location shift constantly, so very few have seen it."

After the divine thoughts of the Sages withdrew, Shang Xia didn’t immediately start to cultivate. Instead, he used the faint resonance between the seven suns and his External Avatar to locate the latter’s current position.

According to their prior agreement, his External Avatar was supposed to head toward the depths of the void near the Essence Chong Heavenly Field.

Shang Xia now understood that while the Essence Chong World sat in an empty, remote void and had no other worlds nearby for tens of millions of miles, it still technically belonged to the Towering Star Region.

Because the Towering Star Region was newly developed, the realms formed there weren’t very mature. Even their guardians were weak. For example, The Essence Chong World only had the subordinate Spirit Light World, and their Sage, Pei Yuanji, was only at the second star!

Soon, Shang Xia sensed the whereabouts of his External Avatar. From its position, he deduced that he had already entered the Towering Star Region and was currently hidden near the Essence Chong World, exactly where the suns of the Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, and Megrez positions were located.

It was precisely by harnessing the power of these four suns that his External Avatar could openly spy on the Essence Chong World without fear of being detected by Pei Yuanji or other local experts.

However, at that moment, just as Shang Xia was using the seven suns to locate his External Avatar, his Avatar, far away in the Towering Star Region, suddenly shivered and turned sharply toward the void behind him.

He had assumed that only existences like the Origin Star Avatar could maintain a connection through the seven suns.

But unexpectedly, even as a high-level True Immortal, he could still sense the true body across realms via the seven suns.

That meant that in a moment of crisis, he would be able to borrow the true body’s strength or even channel part of the newly developed fourth form of his Seven Star Mace Technique, Emberkindled Legacy

For an External Avatar venturing alone into a Heavenly Field guarded by a Sage, this significantly increased his odds of survival.

What his External Avatar didn’t know, however, was that Shang Xia had initially intended to call him back from the Essence Chong World to resume monitoring the great spatial vortex.

But because he had just learned that the true bodies of the other Sages were on their way, and that they seemed confident in destroying and dividing the Origin Pillar, they had now earnestly invited Shang Xia to join them. That made him change his mind.

Aside from testing whether communication between his true body and External Avatar could span Star Regions, Shang Xia had one more crucial reason...

"Heh, as expected, this void shows signs of being recently searched!"

Thanks to the seven suns, Shang Xia could vaguely sense a wide area around them, and within it, he detected traces of the Star Origin Lord’s aura!

"No doubt, as the last inheritor of the Heaven Observation Sect, possibly even its most accomplished, the Star Origin Lord was able to pinpoint this void just from the few times I drew on the strength of the seven suns."

Shang Xia couldn’t help but feel a bit of fear.

"But it’s a pity the Star Origin Lord made a fundamental error from the start. Who says there can only be one Fate Star? Who says exposing it equates to revealing one’s weakness? And who says it can’t be rebuilt after it was destroyed?"

More importantly, Shang Xia was now curious, how did the Star Origin Lord find the suns in the Towering Star Region?

After all, his true body was still back in the Heaven Observation Star Region, locked in a tense standoff with other Sages. He shouldn’t have had the time to spare.

"Could it be... The Star Origin Lord also possesses a clone capable of independent movement across Star Regions?"

Shang Xia never believed he was the only one capable of developing and employing such techniques.

Let alone anything else, just the Origin Star Robe itself had nearly led him into the trap the Star Origin Lord had prepared.

Just then, a ghostly voice suddenly came from behind his External Avatar. "You were looking for me?!"

In that instant, not only did the External Avatar freeze, but even Shang Xia’s true body, far away beyond the great spatial vortex in the Original Star Corner, broke out in a cold sweat.