Chapter 2061: Desolate Forbidden Region Pt.4

Because they added another Spirit Ark, an Azure Ark, and a bunch of medium and small Star Ships, their fleet expanded by half in an instant.

Although the return of the Chasing Wind and Welcoming Snow sped up the fleet’s reorganization, it still lacked the flawless control when Chu Jia had personally taken command.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

And while the fleet remained in slight disarray, Lu Xin, a high-level Sage from the Essence Hu Heavenly Field, arrived to seek an explanation.

The void, which looked empty, suddenly formed a massive, formless wall. It extended outwards, encircling the fleet before closing in, forming the shape of a massive urn.

The moment it was fully sealed, the fleet would be trapped like fish in a jar.

At the final moment, Shang Xia’s figure appeared at the narrowing entrance. He stepped out calmly, stopping it from closing.

"Sage Lu Xin, is that you? I am Shang Xia of the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field in the Heaven Observation Star Region. Greetings.”

His voice was not loud, but it rang in the ears of everyone present.

Behind him, the fleet remained busy with its adjustments, seemingly unaware of what had happened.

"Heaven Observation Star Region? Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field?" An old man in a golden crown stepped from the void, his expression at first lofty, then gradually cautious as he studied the youthful figure before him.

"Heaven Observation Star Region? I know only of the Star Origin Lord of the Five Essence Heavenly Field."

Unable to see through Shang Xia, he asked again, "Who exactly are you?"

Shang Xia smiled faintly. "I do hail from the Heaven Observation Star Region. But tell me, Sage Lu, why do you bar my way?" He cast his gaze across the void before snorting casually, "Are you seeking to capture my entire fleet?"

Lu Xin sneered, "The survivors of the Essence Yue Heavenly Field pledged their allegiance to my Heavenly Field. Yet you intercepted the Southern Yue Sect’s Spirit Ark and dragged it here. Some fled to me willingly, while others broke through to seek my aid. Am I supposed to ignore them? I can’t possibly watch them die without doing anything."

Shang Xia remained calm. "Strange. When the Essence Yue Heavenly Field was invaded by the Beast Tide, why did you not aid them? When their main world fell, why did you not intervene? Now, when their survivors wander homeless, clinging to their last legacies, only then do you appear as their savior?"

Lu Xin’s face darkened. "The Desolate Forbidden Region’s fall allowed Beast Tides to rampage across the Floating Star Region. Every Heavenly Field is under attack. We had no time to save everyone!”

Shang Xia snorted coldly. "No time? And yet you have time to come to the Desolate Forbidden Region?"

He shot a glance behind Lu Xin, to two distant points in the void.

Lu Xin growled, "You are no native of my Floating Star Region. You cannot understand our situation. Release the Southern Yue Sect’s Spirit Ark and their fleet. If you do so, I will not trouble you further. Otherwise..."

"Otherwise what?" Shang Xia’s faint smile enraged the Sages hidden in the dark.

"Why waste words with him? This is our Floating Star Region! Outsiders have no say. If you persist in causing trouble, we will not be polite!"

Another Sage emerged. He was a mid-level Sage, and he was already preparing to strike.

Facing a high-level Sage and a mid-level Sage, Shang Xia still seemed utterly composed. He started laughing, "You guys are really interesting. Why have all of you gathered outside the Desolate Forbidden Region instead of saving the Essence Yue Heavenly Field if you’re such saints?”

As soon as he spoke, his expression changed.

A rift split open in the void before him like a beast’s maw, seeking to swallow him whole. The person who attacked wasn’t Lu Xin, nor the mid-level Sage who just appeared. It was another fourth star Sage who was hidden in the void.

"How bold..." Startled but unshaken, Shang Xia flicked his finger, and starlight pierced the rift, scattering it completely.

The next moment, Lu Xin and the mid-level Sage struck in unison.

Their timing was perfect. The hidden fourth star Sage struck first, while the others followed like thunder, aiming to end the battle at once.

Fighting three against one would be enough to stump any ordinary Sage. In the Floating Star Region, they would be enough to crush any Sage who had not reached the seventh star.

Too bad for them... They chose to pick on the wrong guy!

When Shang Xia first appeared, he had kept his aura hidden, leaving them guessing. Lu Xin and the others were unable to feel the depths of his strength, and from how much Shang Xia was talking, they decided to call his bluff. After all... Even though there weren’t many ways of hiding their aura, after reaching the Martial Emptiness Realm, who wouldn’t possess some strange secret art or treasures to make themselves look more mysterious than they were?

Striking together, they didn’t believe anyone under the Martial Eternity Realm was their opponent!

Lu Xin’s strike caused stacked layers of space to press down against Shang Xia, planning to show his opponent his true might.

The moment Shang Xia took a step back, he would return to the region of sealed space. Nothing would stop Lu Xin from trapping the entire fleet with Shang Xia gone.

That was right. Even with Shang Xia personally showing his face to smooth the situation over, Lu Xin was still planning to take over the entire fleet.

As for the other mid-level Sage, he acted differently. He sealed the void around Shang Xia, trying to restrict his movement.

The hidden fourth star Sage, who attacked at the start, specialized in ambush, making their division of roles clear. One of them would fight Shang Xia head-on, while the others would try to control his movements and sneak attack him when he least expected it.

Even with his vast battle experience, Shang Xia was stunned for a moment. Under their fierce offensive, Shang Xia knew one thing. He couldn’t yield a single step.

Retreat would let Lu Xin seal the space and capture the fleet.

At the last second, Shang Xia swung his Seven Star Mace, unleashing the fifth form of his Seven Star Mace Technique, Dipper Vortex!

Dim stars in the void suddenly started to blaze, and they seemed to be dragged closer as if by an unseen force, illuminating the void.

The scattered starlight gathered into a vast whirlpool of radiance, grinding Lu Xin’s layered space barriers to dust before quashing the void ripples.

That wasn’t all. The void seal by the fifth star Sage was also shattered, unable to resist the might of Dipper Vortex.

With a single move, Shang Xia shattered both their strikes.

The mid-level Sages weren’t the only ones shocked at Shang Xia’s might. Even Lu Xin felt his heart pounding in fright.

Though they were stunned, they knew that they had to press on. They didn’t stop as they started to unleash even stronger attacks.

The hidden fourth star Sage struck again, this time not at Shang Xia but at the fleet itself.

Though layers of sealed space encased the fleet, Lu Xin could open up paths for his allies.

Their intention was to force Shang Xia to hold back by splitting off a portion of his focus to care about the fleet, but they crossed Shang Xia’s bottomline by targeting the fleet.

The battle should have been between equals, yet his opponents were threatening the innocent.

A horrifying divine soul swept forth as Shang Xia locked onto the fourth star Sage in an instant. Flicking his Seven Star Mace, the distant stars stirred at his call.

The fourth star Sage felt the void around him spinning, and the next thing he knew, he was staring right at Shang Xia.

That was the seventh form of the Seven Star Mace Technique, Shifting Dipper!