Chapter 1923: Return Journey Pt.4

Buzz...

The once gloomy and chaotic void was instantly flooded with a boundless sword qi.

In that instant, the space surrounding the three large Star Ships from the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field fell into silence, and all those who had been secretly observing immediately held their breath.

There is actually a Sage hidden aboard those three Star Ships?

At that moment, every hidden observer cursed inwardly, yet not a single one dared to retreat.

In such a situation, staying motionless and concealed within the void might just allow them to avoid detection from the overwhelming sword aura. If they tried to run, they would basically be revealing themselves to the enemy.

Naturally, the ‘Sage’ had no intention of letting them off easily. The sword qi that had filled the void began converging around the top of the battle formation, where it swiftly condensed into a majestic, towering beam of sword light!

In the very next moment, the first Sage who had spoken earlier, intending to seize the Stargazer inheritance, immediately turned to flee. He was the first to expose his position.

The grand sword light that had already locked onto them descended without pause. The void split open, instantly closing the distance that had just been created.

The fleeing Sage’s clone felt the sharp aura closing in. Reflexively turning his head, he saw the sword light already mere inches from him!

Even though he had the power of a Sage, he still felt the chill of death running through his heart.

"Stop! I am..." The Sage’s clone tried to reveal his true identity, hoping the name of his true body would intimidate the attacker into hesitation, but Shang Xia’s External Avatar, who had retrieved the Hidden Frost Sword from Xiao Yugang and was wielding its power, didn’t care.

The Hidden Frost Sword contained a portion of Kou Chongxue’s inner qi. Shang Xia’s External Avatar had the power of a high-level True Immortal and was at his limit while controlling Kou Chongxue’s inner qi. He couldn’t have stopped it even if he wanted to.

And so, before the unfamiliar clone could even state his name, he was completely obliterated under a single strike from the Hidden Frost Sword!

Moments later, several others hidden in the void scattered in different directions and gave up on staying hidden. Fearing they would be targeted next, they all unleashed secret arts and fled rapidly away from the Essence Luxuriant World’s Star Ships’ battle formation.

Meanwhile, on the ‘Bing Continent’, one of the large Star Ships, Shang Xia’s External Avatar who just unleashed Kou Chongxue’s inner qi contained in the Hidden Frost Sword appeared visibly exhausted.

Though he was an External Avatar, not a clone who would disappear after using up all his inner qi, his weariness could no longer be hidden.

After all, he only had the strength of a high-level True Immortal. While he was more familiar with Kou Chongxue’s sword qi than Song Zhen or Xiao Yugang, making him more suited to temporarily wield the Hidden Frost Sword, it still far exceeded his limits to handle a weapon infused with Seventh Order energy.

Because of the recent appearance of the celestial phenomenon in the Heaven Observation Star Region, where Sages of many Heavenly Fields were entangled with each other, Kou Chongxue could not afford to split off a clone. As a workaround, he had sent out his Hidden Frost Sword in advance, temporarily entrusting it to Xiao Yugang as a final means of protection.

Even after Shang Xia’s External Avatar wielded the sword once, some source energy remained within it, but it could no longer be used again so soon.

To be safe, the External Avatar immediately handed the Hidden Frost Sword to Song Zhen, who was a fourth tier True Immortal for longer and had deeper foundations.

Sure enough, soon after the surrounding threats were driven off and the Star Ships once again began trying to haul the Jiao Continent out of the spatial vortex, the clones of both Sages returned once more. This time, they made no effort to hide as they observed from a distance.

Yet the three Star Ships didn’t halt their efforts. In fact, the four anchor chains grew even more taut.

Moments later, an immense and overwhelming aura suddenly descended. Judging by its aura, it was unmistakably the same as the clone that had just been destroyed by the Hidden Frost Sword.

But this time, what arrived was not a clone, it was the true body of a Sage, one who had reached the third star of the Martial Emptiness Realm!

Though he did not conceal his presence, the deep void and fractured space around him still made it impossible to discern his true appearance.

"Heh, just as I thought!" The newly arrived Sage sneered.

"I was wondering what kind of Heavenly Field could possibly support two Sages. Turns out you merely harnessed some sealed source sword qi stored in a divine weapon. I nearly fell for it!"

The three Star Ships made no response. They simply continued straining forward, dragging the anchor chains with all their might, trying to pull the trapped Star Ship from the depths of the spatial vortex.

"Hehe...” The Sage sneered again.

Seeing the Star Ships’ actions only further confirmed his suspicion. He believed their strength had reached its limit, and they now desperately hoped to extract their ally and the real Sage as fast as possible.

"Since you two have returned as well..." He said, glancing toward the two clones that had come back. "I presume you've reached the same conclusion as I have. In that case, why not join me?"

He was already poised to strike, but before launching his attack, he looked in two other directions in the void where the returned clones hovered.

However, they clearly had no intention of acting first. One declined politely with a smile, while the other simply pretended not to hear at all.

The real Sage didn’t seem to mind. He only laughed heartily and vanished from where he stood.

Recalling how this same cultivator’s clone had struck first earlier, using a dark spiritual light to both conceal his presence and blend into the void for a surprise attack, every expert of the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field felt their hearts sinking.

Almost immediately, Shang Xia’s External Avatar’s face changed. He shouted, "Be careful, he’s already..."

Before the warning was complete, the ‘Ji Continent’ Star Ship, which was to the left of the Bing Continent, and under Song Zhen’s command, was struck by a sudden and violent blast.

Though the battle formation instantly reallocated most of its defensive power to shield the Ji Continent, an all-out strike from a third star Sage was still overwhelming. The Star Ship that was hundreds of feet long was hurled several miles across the void, nearly thrown out of the battle formation.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Hmm? So you do have some tricks up your sleeves!" The Sage growled.

He had expected his strike might not destroy the Star Ship, but he certainly thought it would cripple it or at least severely damage its core systems.

Yet, although the Ji Continent had been knocked several miles away and the battle formation was disrupted, the ship itself had sustained surprisingly little damage!

Still, while the result was unexpected, to a cultivator of his rank, it simply meant he needed to attack again.

Given the current state of things, there was no way the Ji Continent could withstand another blow from him.

However... He was clear about his goal.

Instead of continuing the assault on the battle formation, he rushed to the Star Ship at the top of the battle formation, the Bing Continent.

From his earlier observations, it was clear that the most powerful source of the art of stargazing originated from that very ship.

That meant that the Grand Stargazer they sought was on the Bing Continent, where Shang Xia’s exhausted External Avatar was.

As his true body closed in, he reached out into the void, clawing down toward the front deck of the ship.

It was clear he understood that Stargazers typically built their observation platforms there.

The giant hand descended as the Bing Continent’s defensive formation, having lost the support of the battle formation, began warping under the crushing grip and seemed moments away from collapse.

At the critical moment, Shang Xia’s External Avatar flung out a talisman. Immediately, a surge of cloud and light enveloped the ship, forming a radiant fortress of clouds.

Unfortunately, it was a rank six Myriad Tinted Cloud Talisman. While it possessed excellent defensive capabilities and could even withstand attacks from Sages, it could only delay a Sage for a few precious moments.

Thankfully, those few moments were enough.

Just as the enemy increased his energy to crush the barrier entirely, the ‘Hai Continent’ Star Ship made a move. Xiao Yugang once again unleashed Kou Chongxue’s sword qi!