Chapter 1960: Invasion From The Void Mirage

The moment the Star Origin Lord escaped almost entirely unimpeded, the Sages of the major Heavenly Fields across the Heaven Observation Star Region realized they had been played.

Or rather, it wasn’t purely deception. The Star Origin Lord had, through various means, gathered all of them deliberately.

Had they all remained trapped together, it might have been acceptable. After all, the Void Mirage truly involved the threat of incursion from external Star Fields, and suppressing the celestial phenomenon did help protect the Heaven Observation Star Region, perhaps even the entire Chaotic Sea of Stars.

However, things became clear now. The Star Origin Lord had long prepared a fallback path for himself. If not for Shang Xia’s pressure forcing him to reveal the extent of his schemes, he would likely have fled at the first sign of danger, leaving the others bound together and unable to act, sacrificed to buy him time.

That, they could not accept!

So, the moment Shang Xia and the Star Origin Lord fell into the shattered void and began their battle, the first thought on the minds of the remaining Sages was to break the mutual entanglement they had been placed under.

The consensus was nearly unanimous, even though two Sages from the Four Essence Heavenly Field hesitated, they no longer had the influence to stop the rest.

Yet once they began attempting to sever these bindings, they were shocked to find it much easier and less dangerous than expected.

At that point, they all realized the truth. The bindings that had so tightly restricted them were likely due to the Star Origin Lord’s covert manipulation all along.

But to be fair, to trap multiple Sages of the Heaven Observation Star Region on his own, even if aided by some external force, was still a terrifying feat. His cunning and ability were enough to shock them all. Truly, he was worthy of being the last survivor of the Heaven Observation Sect.

Now free of the restraints, none of them made immediate moves regarding the increasingly dangerous Void Mirage. At least not until Shang Xia and the Star Origin Lord, both high-level Sages, ended their battle. They wouldn’t risk interfering.

What a joke! If the two of them could disregard the Void Mirage, what could they hope to achieve when most of them present weren’t even mid-level Sages?

Still, although they had broken free of the entanglement, the other Sages did not flee. Instead, they spread out to a safe distance, maintaining watch over the clash between the titans.

Meanwhile, the battle between Shang Xia and the Star Origin Lord in the shattered void had reached its peak.

At their level, their battle was no longer limited to fixed techniques. They wielded their martial intents effortlessly, each movement carried the might to shatter worlds.

And yet, both maintained clear minds. Though their fight was cataclysmic, they had deliberately moved into the shattered void before it started. As destructive as it became, the damage was confined to the region and would not seriously affect the rest of the Heaven Observation Star Region. That was the real reason the other Sages were willing to stay and observe.

But as the battle continued, Shang Xia gradually began to lose ground. The Star Origin Lord’s overwhelming suppression was evident on every front.

Shang Xia wasn’t surprised. After all, he had only just broken through to the sixth star and barely had time to stabilize his cultivation. Yet, here he was engaging in a duel with the Star Origin Lord. Holding out for so long was already remarkable.

The Star Origin Lord outclassed Shang Xia both in cultivation level and combat experience.

When the Star Origin Lord constructed the Four Essence Heavenly Field, Shang Xia had initially assumed his cultivation had returned to the seventh star. But in combat, he realized the Star Origin Lord was still at the sixth star, just that he was at the peak of the cultivation level. Shang Xia, by contrast, had only just entered the sixth star. What was worse, he could tell that the Star Origin Lord could enter the seventh star any time he wanted.

This intuition was no illusion. The Star Origin Lord, during his slumber in the Essence Ping World, had actually reached the grand completion stage of the Martial Emptiness Realm.

He simply had no clear path to break into the Martial Eternity Realm, or perhaps he had tried and failed, proving his original method flawed. In the end, he severed his cultivation and rebuilt from scratch, creating a new approach by unifying multiple Essence Worlds.

In other words, the Star Origin Lord had essentially restored his cultivation from the very beginning.

Now, although he remained at the peak of the sixth star, in every other aspect of his soul, his perception, mastery of technique, and his combat experience... He was an existence just beneath an expert in the Martial Eternity Realm!

Under such circumstances, Shang Xia being at a disadvantage was entirely expected.

Though the fight took place deep in the shattered void, the Sages who had been observing the battle could tell that the Star Origin Lord clearly held the upper hand. That came as no surprise. One of the Sages even commented to Kou Chongxue, who was also observing, "Your disciple is still too young and too impulsive. If he had waited to consolidate his cultivation and prepared properly, this fight wouldn’t have been so one-sided."

Gu Yi of the Essence Ming World added with a sneer, "Isn’t it obvious? Kou Chongxue’s disciple has already surpassed his reach. No one can restrain him anymore."

Shi Guan of the Essence Jing Heavenly Field, who had spoken first earlier, merely chuckled and withdrew from the conversation.

Although the Sages of the Heaven Observation Star Region had grown familiar with each other during years of being trapped near the Void Mirage, it was far from enough to say they shared deep trust.

Kou Chongxue, unfazed by Gu Yi’s sarcasm, immediately retorted, "Right. Sage Gu, when will you become a high-level Sage? Should I offer my congratulations in advance and lend a helping hand?"

Gu Yi’s face darkened as he snorted coldly, "Let’s wait until your disciple manages to retreat safely from the Star Origin Lord before we talk!"

Once again, the group turned to the battle unfolding in the void.

But then, something unexpected occurred.

The shattered void suddenly turned to chaos and began expanding violently. As it spread, it devoured the surrounding space, turning more of the void into a chaotic region of space.

The battle had escalated again!

"This is bad. If they continue like this, the chaos will spread to the space around the Void Mirage!" Shi Guan yelled.

He was one of the only mid-level Sages present, aside from Gu Yi. His warning immediately drew the attention of the others.

Gu Yi added, "Shang Xia... He just suffered a hidden blow from the Star Origin Lord!"

"The space there has already been dangerously eroded. If this keeps up, it might collapse completely, opening a breach for foreign experts in other Star Fields to invade!" Hong Jing of the Essence Xia Heavenly Field warned..

They hardly needed the reminder. Every Sage was aware of the looming crisis.

But the real question was... Who among them dared to intervene in a duel between two high-level Sages? What was more, those two were fucking monstrous!

Gu Yi wasn’t the only one staring at Kou Chongxue. The others did the same.

At that moment, the chaos in the shattered void changed again. A strange stream of starlight surged through the chaos, resonating with something deep in the void.

Before anyone could react, a beam of starlight shot into the chaos.

"A weapon, it’s a weapon! Shang Xia summoned his weapon... I’m afraid he is struggling to hold on against the Star Origin Lord!" Yu Kun of the Essence Yuan Heavenly Field yelled.

"Honestly, the fact that he’s lasted this long against the Star Origin Lord is already incredible.” Zhuo Gudao’s voice rang suddenly in everyone’s ears.

Zhuo Gudao had once served as a commander of the Star Origin Guards before Zhuge Xiang. After advancing to the Martial Emptiness Realm, he escaped the Star Origin Lord’s control, struck his own deals, and ultimately took over the Essence Hong Heavenly Field after Yuan Ping’s death. His intelligence and tactics were extraordinary.

And among all the Sages present, none knew the Star Origin Lord better than Zhuo Gudao.

"What worries me..." Shi Guan spoke again, voice heavy with concern, "... Is that if the fight continues, the aftermath could engulf our Star Region!"

And as if to confirm his fears, a massive collision erupted in the chaotic void. Even the chaos itself couldn’t conceal the explosion. The rift spread outward, approaching the void around the Void Mirage.

"This is bad!"

"We’re in trouble now!"

No longer caring about merely spectating, the Sages scattered through the void rushed at the Void Mirage.

But before they could act, the surrounding void abruptly weakened. Sensing the instability, the Void Mirage, long sealed and silent, began to stir.

The once-still illusory void began to ripple. The sealed mirages started shifting into reality. This time, they no longer remained projections as they threatened to solidify and descend directly into the Heaven Observation Star Region.