Chapter 1958: Bellies Full

When Gao Qin and Xin Lu heard that the Elysiums from the Essence Chong World would be resettling in the Spirit Ruling World, and that, in addition to their Elysiums, they were allowed to bring along two damaged continents, they found it rather unbelievable.

Soon, Shang Xia explained, "The Spirit Ruling World is still a newly ascended Spirit World. Back during its promotion, it relied too heavily on external forces, which left it somewhat lacking compared to other Spirit Worlds. Its native martial force is primarily made up of the former Twin Star Pirates and though the Ying Brothers oversee it, the number of ordinary cultivators is still lacking. Its development and reconstruction efforts are far behind the others and its growth is concerning."

"Once the Elysiums from the Essence Chong World move in, those two fragmented continents will greatly enhance the Spirit Ruling World’s World Origin Source. At minimum, they could help establish two full continents, accelerating its growth. Meanwhile, the integration of the sects and some of the Essence Chong World cultivators will increase the population and help speed up development. It’s a win on three fronts."

Listening to Shang Xia’s detailed reasoning, Xin Lu suddenly added, "The inclusion of these Elysiums is indeed necessary. At the very least, it means the Spirit Ruling World's future won’t be entirely dictated by the Ying Brothers."

Gao Qin cast her a subtle glance, clearly having already noticed that angle herself.

Shang Xia wasn’t surprised they could see the long term impacts, but still emphasized, "If our Essence Luxuriant World wants to grow rapidly, we must not absorb too many external cultivators. Our Essence Luxuriant World must maintain a core base of native cultivators. Besides, we only have 27 continents so far, yet we already house 11 Elysiums. There’s simply no space to take on two more from the Essence Chong World!"

Both Gao Qin and Xin Lu nodded in agreement.

The next second, Xin Lu suddenly asked, "What about the four relatively intact continents from the Essence Chong World? How do you plan to handle those?"

Shang Xia gave her a sidelong glance and answered casually, "Naturally, they’ll be merged into our world as new continents."

He also seemed to think of something, and he added, "By the way, while I’ve been away these past few years, the development of Su Continent should be complete by now, yes?"

Shang Xia had promised Su Chi to rebuild the Heart Lamp Sect, and its new home was to be located in the Su Continent, the 27th continent of the Essence Luxuriant World.

Xin Lu reported, "It was originally going to be delayed, but when the Spirit Ruling World and Spirit Frost World were integrated into our Heavenly Field, our world was further enhanced. The solidified origin qi from the great spatial vortex also enriched the Su Continent’s World Origin Source ahead of schedule. It can now support a continent over 10,000 miles."

Gao Qin added, "One major reason why Patriarch Kou was able to break through to the third star even while you were away was precisely due to the benefits brought by that solidified origin qi." She mused, "I wonder... If he had been here when it happened, or if he returned from the Void Mirage, how far might his cultivation leap? He could very well charge straight into the mid stages of the Martial Emptiness Realm!”

Unexpectedly, Shang Xia only smiled and shook his head. Looking at the look of shock on their faces, he calmly explained, "Even if our Essence Luxuriant World Origin Source was more abundant, it still wouldn’t be enough to support the Patriarch’s breakthrough to the fourth star."

He glanced at both of them and clarified, "With just 27 continents, our Essence Luxuriant World simply doesn’t have the foundations to support his cultivation at a mid-level Sage."

This explanation clearly didn’t fully satisfy Gao Qin and Xin Lu, especially since, in their view, Shang Xia himself was the biggest contradiction to the logic he just described.

Shang Xia could likely guess what they were thinking, but saw no reason to elaborate further.

Xin Lu eventually asked, "So how many continents do you think the fragments of those four continents can yield once merged into our world?"

Shang Xia thought for a moment and said, "The World Origin Source of those continents has been heavily depleted. Initially, I estimated they could produce two continents at best. But now that our world has such strong foundations, merging them should yield two new continents over 15,000 miles."

Xin Lu frowned. "Then why not just develop each fragment into a separate continent and expand them gradually? That way, we can end up with four continents. Or perhaps combine them into three full continents instead?"

Shang Xia smiled, then responded seriously, "What you say makes sense in the long run. But right now, we urgently need another mid-level Sage. Patriarch Kou must break into the fourth star as soon as possible!"

Before Gao Qin or Xin Lu could interject again, Shang Xia added in a low voice, "We are running out of time..."

This time, the harvest had been fully contained within both Spirit Arks. Compared to the grand fleet that once towed two complete Spirit Worlds, the current four-ship fleet was returning to the Heaven Observation Star Region at great speed.

However, as they neared the region, Shang Xia, though not a professional Stargazer, could vaguely sense that the surrounding void had changed considerably. Most notably, he didn’t detect any trace of the Essence Du Heavenly Field.

"The Essence Du Heavenly Field is still drifting through the void and has now completely departed from the Heaven Observation Star Region," Xin Lu explained promptly when summoned by Shang Xia. "But its trajectory has remained under our surveillance."

"Are they heading toward the Essence Ling Heavenly Field?" Shang Xia guessed immediately.

Xin Lu nodded. "For now, it appears to be moving toward the Essence Xing World. But as you suspect, their ultimate goal is likely to seek protection from the Essence Ling Heavenly Field."

Shang Xia snorted coldly, "Dumbass."

...

After several years away, Shang Xia finally returned to the Heaven Observation Star Region.

But not long after entering, he left behind his External Avatar, instructed Gao Qin and the others to continue on toward Essence Luxuriant World, and made preparations to depart elsewhere.

"Are you heading to the Void Mirage?" Gao Qin immediately guessed his intentions.

Shang Xia grunted once without hiding anything. "Now that I’ve become a high-level Sage, it’s time I let the Star Origin Lord witness my strength."

Gao Qin quickly tried to dissuade him. "But since your breakthrough to the sixth star, you’ve fought one powerful enemy after another. You’ve barely had any time to stabilize your cultivation!"

Shang Xia chuckled. "You really underestimate the value of the Reignition Talisman!”

With that, and before Gao Qin could say anything more, his figure vanished entirely from everyone’s senses.