Chapter 1988: Foreign Star Fields

"It seems someone is even more impatient than we are!" Shang Xia chucked upon hearing the message relayed from Gao Qin.

Kou Chongxue nodded. "Clearly, this siege on the Essence Du Heavenly Field won’t unfold gradually like the previous plan, where the alliance of the three Heavenly Fields schemed to take over the Essence Xing World."

Shang Xia sighed softly, "What a pity!"

"It truly is." Kou Chongxue replied. "After the Essence Ling Heavenly Field successfully conquered the Essence Xing World, all parties divided 24 out of its 33 continents. However, with how quickly it was taken over, the Essence Xing World’s Will dissipated rapidly. Not even half their World Origin Source was left...”

Shang Xia nodded without a word, though in truth, he understood it all too well. Back when he destroyed the Essence Chong Heavenly Field, even though the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field held an overwhelming advantage, they only managed to extract four continents. Several others were taken by Sages who arrived quickly, while the others were wasted.

From what was going on... It seemed the Essence Du Heavenly Field would repeat the Essence Chong Heavenly Field’s fate. How much each faction could extract remained uncertain.

As they drew closer to the Essence Du Heavenly Field, both of them concealed their presence. Even the arc of starlights beneath their feet dissipated into the darkness.

Kou Chongxue turned to Shang Xia and asked suddenly, "Did your External Avatar discover anything yet?”

Shang Xia replied solemnly, "Someone is already there. My External Avatar is being restrained and hasn’t been able to send any updates, nor establish contact with Gao Qin and the others."

"What about now?" Kou Chongxue pressed, "Are we close enough yet?"

Shang Xia nodded, a flicker of surprise on his face. "It’s Sage Jin and Zhuo Gudao...”

"Why are they here?” Kou Chongxue was first stunned, then quickly realized, "Seems they’ve completed their integration into the Essence Hong Heavenly Field.”

For their integration to succeed, both of them would have needed the recognition of the Essence Hong Heavenly Field’s Will, thereby gaining legitimacy as rulers of the Heavenly Field.

That was no easy feat. Even with the two working together, it took several years and undoubtedly came at great cost.

Actually, the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field had also been closely monitoring the Essence Hong Heavenly Field. Based on reports from the fleets traveling between them, the two had been tirelessly managing the Heavenly Field's development.

The reserves in their Dao Field had long been depleted to the bare minimum needed to maintain its stability.

Both Sages took turns venturing out, running around the Chaotic Sea of Stars to secure their Heavenly Field’s growth. As a result, their cultivation levels had barely progressed in years.

Especially Sage Jin. After finally stabilizing his declining cultivation level, he postponed any plans for recovery entirely. But as the saying goes, hard work pays off.

Thanks to their relentless efforts, the Essence Hong Heavenly Field succeeded in elevating its auxiliary Azure World into a Spirit World. Internally, they also added two more continents spanning thousands of miles. That earned them preliminary recognition from both the Essence Hong World and its World’s Will.

In fact, compared to Yuan Ping, they had far surpassed her in contribution. Unfortunately, unlike Yuan Ping who was born and raised within the Essence Hong World, both of them were outsiders. To fully gain recognition and acceptance across the Heavenly Field, they needed to contribute several times more than Yuan Ping ever did.

Now, with the Essence Du Heavenly Field drawing attention from all directions, it was nothing short of a grand feast for Sage Jin and Zhuo Gudao. It was an opportunity they could not afford to miss.

As for how they discovered Shang Xia’s External Avatar, it stemmed from their close collaboration in the Nebula Forbidden Region. Sage Jin was particularly sensitive to Shang Xia’s aura, especially when it was just an External Avatar with the strength of a mere third star Sage.

Upon seeing Shang Xia’s External Avatar, the two eagerly proposed a partnership. With the three of them working together, they believed their chances of carving out a share from the Essence Du Heavenly Field would increase significantly.

Kou Chongxue asked curiously, "Didn’t they realize it was only an External Avatar? Surely your cultivation level doesn’t match?"

Shang Xia chuckled, "He concealed his cultivation aura. As long as no fighting breaks out, they won’t see through his disguise."

Kou Chongxue raised an eyebrow and then smiled. "So you plan to work with them for now?”

Shang Xia mumbled, "My External Avatar will cooperate for now, and take the chance to see what those two have cooked up in the Essence Hong Heavenly Field all these years."

Kou Chongxue only had to ponder briefly before understanding what Shang Xia had planned. "It’s about the Star Origin Lord?"

Shang Xia smiled. "He’s long been the common enemy, but very few dare confront him directly. After all, he was the last survivor of the Heaven Observation Sect. Not even the massive siege 1,000 years ago across the Chaotic Sea of Stars could kill him."

Kou Chongxue nodded and asked seriously, "Then how confident are you if you have to face him?"

Shang Xia grinned. "That is exactly why I never planned to go alone. Isn’t Yuan Ling also involved in this? Maybe even Gu Yi will make a move.”

Kou Chongxue’s expression sank and he spoke solemnly, "There are plenty in the Chaotic Sea of Stars eager to test the Star Origin Lord’s strength. If you act now, won’t you just become their pawn?"

Shang Xia laughed, "Patriarch Kou, have you forgotten that we share the Star Region with the Star Origin Lord?"

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Kou Chongxue fell silent and only spoke again after a moment, "What’s your plan?"

Shang Xia answered, "I’ll handle the Star Origin Lord. Patriarch Kou, you can just strike when the time is right. Just make sure our Heavenly Field’s newly built Essence Ark doesn’t return empty."

With that, Shang Xia gave Kou Chongxue a slight nod and vanished into the void.

"This guy is determined to sever all ties with our Heavenly Field..." Kou Chongxue mused. "I just don’t know, without our Heavenly Field’s support, how does he plan to break through to the Eighth Order in the future? Or maybe the Star Origin Lord truly discovered another path, which is why he willingly cut his own cultivation and changed directions?"

He stood in silent contemplation for a moment, then flicked his sleeve and sent several secret transmission talismans flying in different directions.

While Kou Chongxue was busy organizing the Essence Luxuriant Fleet, along with the True Immortals who came, Shang Xia had already pierced through the void and arrived at a place glittering with starlight.

Beneath this void, which looked as though the entire starry sky had been drawn in close, a figure stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the stars.

"I didn’t expect you to be the first to arrive, Young Friend Shang." The man slowly turned around. Who else could it be but the Star Origin Lord?

Shang Xia shot him a wary glance before smiling, "To think I’ve crossed paths with you so many times, and yet this is one of the rare few where I get to see your true body."

The Star Origin Lord smiled in turn, hinting at something deeper. "You’ll be seeing me often in the future."

But Shang Xia’s gaze shifted past him, looking toward the devastated void behind. Eventually, he asked, "Where is this? It doesn’t look like the Chaotic Sea of Stars."

"Oh?" The Star Origin Lord’s eyes lit up. "You’ve seen this place before? What makes you say it isn’t part of our Chaotic Sea of Stars?"

Shang Xia was momentarily surprised by the Star Origin Lord’s strong reaction and laughed, "Surely you haven’t forgotten all the times you tried to trace my Fate Star? I may not practice the arts of stargazing, but I’m familiar with the radiance of stars. Something seems off about the starlight here...”

The Star Origin Lord didn’t respond immediately. He gave Shang Xia a long, probing look before finally mumbling, "Seems your martial inheritance is indeed extraordinary."

Previously, the Star Origin Lord had believed Shang Xia’s martial lineage originated from the Heaven Observation Sect. Now... His words hinted that he was reconsidering that notion.

Shang Xia didn’t care about him and asked, "I wonder... Where is this place?”

The Star Origin Lord grunted softly as though he was about to answer, but nothing followed.

When Shang Xia looked again, puzzled, he found that the void behind the Star Origin Lord had somehow vanished.

A sudden hunch made Shang Xia turn in another direction. Moments later, as the void rippled, a spatial gate opened, and Yuan Ling stepped out.