Chapter 2104: The Abandoned Essence Mu World

In the space around the Essence Mu World, Shang Xia and Mei Jingya conversed.

Most of the time, it was Mei Jingya who spoke, explaining the situation of the Towering Star Region and the void currents.

It was deliberate on her part.

With the Towering Star Region already covered by a great net, Shang Xia’s ability to infiltrate their Star Region showed he came with purpose, and his earlier questions clearly showed that purpose was tied to the void currents.

Though she spoke casually, Mei Jingya’s introduction contained far more detail than any intelligence Shang Xia had previously gathered.

Shang Xia, of course, realized her intentions, and both acted with tacit understanding.

Once she activated the protection formation around the floating continent, both started to lay down restrictions in the surrounding void. Shang Xia finally dumped his captive from the Gathered Sea of Stars.

"Do you have questions?" Shang Xia gestured for Mei Jingya to begin.

It wasn’t because he was polite, but recognition that she, being more familiar with the situation in the Towering Star Region, was better suited to the interrogation.

Releasing the restraints on the foreign expert temporarily, he slowly regained consciousness. Naturally, his inner qi was sealed by multiple layers of restrictions, leaving him no different from a mortal.

"Enough with useless words. You know what state you’re in. Speak. Tell us everything you know and spare us any further trouble." Mei Jingya’s tone sounded calm, but it was far from indifferent.

The cultivator of the Gathered Sea of Stars understood the rage hidden in her apparent calm. Yet rather than her threat, his eyes turned first to Shang Xia, the expert who had captured him alive.

"I thought Sage Mei had a hidden card. But so it was hidden aid instead. You... You are surely not a fellow expert of the Towering Star Region. May I know your name?"

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Compared to Mei Jingya’s menace, he was clearly more interested in Shang Xia, an opponent he could never hope to match.

Shang Xia only smiled and did not reply, as if he hadn’t heard anything.

Mei Jingya stepped forward when the expert of the Gathered Sea of Stars suddenly looked back at her. "Enough. I’ll tell you what I can. Just promise me a swift end! What do you want to know?"

She thought for a moment before raising her question. "Why my Essence Mu World?"

The man looked at her in surprise. "You don’t know? It’s because your Essence Mu World lies closest to the Essence Zhen Heavenly Field!"

Mei Jingya’s tone grew heavy. "But they already collapsed. The net laid against the void currents has been torn apart. My Essence Mu World is still a mere Essence World at the end of the day. It’s not a Heavenly Field. It cannot replace the seal."

At that, the captive froze, then laughed bitterly, "You misunderstand. Did you think the factions of your Star Region would give you the Essence Zhen World’s auxiliary worlds to help you build the Essence Mu Heavenly Field?”

Seeing Mei Jingya’s face grow darker, he sneered. "They chose your world not only for its position near the origin of the void currents, but also because of you!"

"Silence!" Though gentle by nature, Mei Jingya could not endure such insult. "Who are those you speak of?!"

Knowing he had no chance of survival, the man growled. "You already know the answer. In what kind of situation do you and your world become expendable?"

Her face grew cold, though she held her composure. "Then why you? Your cultivation may surpass mine, but with my Essence Mu World, I can risk its ruin to defeat you even if no aid comes!"

The captive grinned. "Exactly. The plan was to force you to destroy your world. Too bad..."

Shang Xia’s expression changed and he jabbed a finger at the man’s dantian.

At the same time, Mei Jingya realized the danger and stepped forward urgently. "What is their true goal?"

The captive’s body had already begun to dissolve, dispersing slowly. Even Shang Xia’s strike could not stop it, It was only enough to keep the man conscious for a little longer.

His face blurred and his voice distorted. "The goal? To... To fill the origin of the void currents..."

Mei Jingya’s expression shifted rapidly. Fear, fury, hatred, and despair. Every emotion appeared on her face.

Shang Xia saw her faltering and pressed as he melted away. "What is your relationship with the Star Origin Lord?"

Only his head remained, and even that was fading. At Shang Xia’s question, his lips formed broken words. "Currents... Star... River... Immortality..."

The last muddled syllables slipped out, then he vanished completely.

"No Sage who is determined to self-destruct can be stopped, not even if I had sealed his dantian." Shang Xia sighed and spoke to Mei Jingya, who still stared blankly at the dissipated form.

"I know." She whispered.

Seeing her shaken, Shang Xia swept his sleeve, gathering the scattered inner qi into a stream and sending it into the Essence Mu World.

The death of a mid-level Sage was nourishment for any Essence World.

Back when his Essence Luxuriant World advanced, the deaths of several clones had supplied enough energy to help them ascend.

"Thank you." Mei Jingya, who finally calmed herself, bowed. Then she channeled the World’s WIll to absorb and refine the energy she had been bestowed.

Once she had collected it, Shang Xia asked, "From what he said, you must have guessed something?"

Her eyes glittered with a deathly chill. "Nothing much, only when the origin of the void currents can’t be sealed, our Sages would reach the same conclusion. They would push my world into the origin itself! That way, everyone would be satisfied!”

Though Shang Xia had suspected as much, hearing it aloud was still hard to accept, for similar fates had befallen other Heavenly Fields before.

However, questions still swirled in his mind. "From what you mean, the Sages of your Star Region and the Gathered Sea of Stars share a goal? Aren’t you supposed to resist the invasion? Isn’t your Star Region’s great defenses meant to stop their infiltration?"

Her smile was tinged with bitter irony. "How can a single Star Region oppose a Star Field? Even within our Star Region, unity was never absolute. Voices for negotiation have always existed. To some, suppressing the origin of the void currents is worth any price, as long as it ends the immediate chaos in the Star Region.”

Shang Xia frowned before thinking aloud. "So fuelling the origin of the void currents with your world can truly stop it?"

She shook her head, uncertain. "Perhaps. At least it might bring some respite."

A deep frown formed on Shang Xia’s face. "But compared to other Star Regions I’ve visited, Your Towering Star Region is strong and disciplined. If you fought with all your might, it could..."

"Which is why it has the leverage to negotiate with the Gathered Sea of Stars!" Mei Jingya cut him off, her tone still laced with mockery. "Precisely because we are so strong, even destroying it would cost the Gathered Sea of Stars dearly. Isn’t that right?"

Shang Xia was stunned.

Regardless, Mei Jingya clearly did not wish to dwell on it. Instead, she turned to him and asked, "By now, whether their mission succeeded or not, our Sages will surely come to check on my world. You may not wish to meet them. Would you be willing to remain hidden here for a while?"

Shang Xia nodded, but asked, "What about you, Sage Mei? With the intruder slain, the truth will not stay hidden for long. Once the masks are torn away..."

She paused, just about to leave to meet the approaching Sages. Without turning back, she growled, "It is better to die in glory than to live in disgrace!"