Chapter 1956: Contest Begins

Using the drifting remains of two destroyed worlds as cover, Shang Xia successfully shifted the positions of two of the suns making up the Big Dipper Formation, changing their former horizontal alignment into a vertical arrangement, with the mouth of the ladle facing the Heaven Observation Star Region.

Although the repositioning caused some misalignment in the ladle’s handle formation, the impact on Shang Xia’s overall strength was not significant.

Later, if the opportunity arose, he would only need to make some adjustments to those three stars to restore the original configuration.

The same applied to the auxiliary star near the Mizar position. It also needed adjusting.

However, Shang Xia knew that to form the proper formation, he needed to include two auxiliary stars. As such, he still needed to find one more suitable auxiliary star at some point.

Not long after finishing the repositioning of those stars, Shang Xia had not yet found time to stabilize his cultivation when two Sage-level auras appeared in the nearby void. He immediately recognized their auras.

Those who had just arrived were Yuan Ling from the Essence Ling Heavenly Field, once an ally of Pei Ji, and Yan Yu from the Essence Du Heavenly Field.

These two, along with the now-deceased Pei Ji, had been allied in their assault on the Essence Xing World over the years and had reaped substantial benefits from their combined efforts. Each of their Heavenly Fields had gained considerably from this campaign.

It was clear they had come to assist after sensing Pei Ji’s forced return to the Essence Chong Heavenly Field.

But they had arrived too late. Shang Xia had already destroyed the Essence Chong Heavenly Field, and Pei Ji had been completely annihilated.

Though their rescue failed, Shang Xia, the culprit, had not left. With existing grudges between them, their confrontation was inevitable.

This time, the first to attack was Yan Yu.

Although the Essence Du Heavenly Field had previously suffered greatly in Shang Xia’s hands, Yan Yu had since gained much by following Yuan Ling in the conquest of the Essence Xing World. Not only had he made up for his Heavenly Field’s inherent shortcomings, but his strength had nearly reached the third star.

Yan Yu’s sudden move surprised Shang Xia slightly, but he wasn’t truly concerned about that clown. The real threat was Yuan Ling, who had not acted yet.

Yuan Ling had already broken through the late-stage barrier of the Martial Emptiness Realm and reached the sixth star ahead of Shang Xia, who had only just broken through and had not stabilized his cultivation.

Yan Yu’s manipulation of the void currents was stronger than before, but lacked any substantial innovation. Shang Xia neutralized it with a casual swing of his arm while unleashing his World Establishing Art.

At that moment, Yuan Ling made his move.

He unleashed a fearsome technique, countless invisible strands of energy condensed from the empty void before whipping at Shang Xia.

Shang Xia formed a seal with both hands. Without his Seven Star Mace, he had to first gather energy from the seven suns to unleash his technique. The projection of the Crimson Soul Tablet appeared in his hand the next moment and with a single sweeping motion into the void, the writhing whip-like strands tangled and were absorbed into a vortex of starlight, vanishing completely.

This maneuver combined two moves from his Seven Star Mace Technique, Guided Dipper and Dipper Vortex got rid of the sudden assault.

At that moment, Yan Yu attacked again. But Shang Xia countered with a casual Shattered Starry Skies, breaking force with greater force, forcing Yan Yu to retreat and take cover behind Yuan Ling.

Though Yan Yu posed little real threat, his repeated attacks did disrupt Shang Xia’s rhythm.

Yuan Ling seized the opportunity and launched a wave of continuous assaults, each more intense than the last.

While Shang Xia was able to neutralize most of those offensives, Yuan Ling, as the aggressor, clearly held the initiative.

Both of them were among the top figures in the Chaotic Sea of Stars. Since neither could gain a decisive advantage quickly, their battle inevitably turned into a prolonged contest of endurance.

Despite being outnumbered, Shang Xia was fully prepared to fight a battle of attrition.

As their battle raged on, Shang Xia’s External Avatar had already begun to take action. After the integration of the Spirit Ruling World and Spirit Frost World into the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field was underway, four Star Ships led by his External Avatar set off from the Heaven Observation Star Region.

The fleet consisted of the super Star Ship, the You Continent, the large Star Ship, the Jiao Continent, and two Spirit Arks, named the Spirit Qing and Spirit Ruling, respectively. At the same time, Grand Stargazer Xin Lu took charge and steered the fleet at full speed toward the region where the seven suns were located.

However, before the fleet could arrive, several other Sages from various Heavenly Fields had already reached the battlefield.

Their arrival plunged the region into greater chaos.

Even Yuan Ling and Yan Yu, who had been teaming up to suppress Shang Xia, had to ease their attacks temporarily to avoid handing an advantage to these new arrivals.

Amid the rapidly shifting situation, the latecomers proposed a ceasefire and suggested dividing the drifting ruins of the Essence Chong World and Spirit Light World among each other.

From Shang Xia’s perspective, since he crushed the Essence Chong Heavenly Field, he naturally believed the spoils should be his. Though he knew claiming everything for himself was unlikely.

For Yuan Ling and Yan Yu, salvaging whatever remained of their former ally’s territory was their obligation, especially now that Pei Ji was dead.

As for those who arrived later... They simply hoped to get a share of the spoils, believing that even a small gain without having to fight was worth it.

Amidst the tense atmosphere, the fleet from the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field finally arrived.

Prepared for their arrival, Shang Xia quickly regrouped with the fleet and immediately seized the initiative in the negotiations and power struggle.

Earlier, the other high-level Sage, Yuan Ling, and Yan Yu held the greatest advantage when they worked together. With the fleet from the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field arriving and Shang Xia joining forces with his External Avatar, a third star Sage, the balance of power shifted.

With their giant flagship at the center of the formation, Shang Xia no longer had to negotiate with the others passively. He directly ordered the You Continent and Jiao Continent to circle the Essence Chong World while sending the Spirit Arks straight over to reap the spoils.