Chapter 2133: Secret Art!

In response to Shang Xia’s question, the three Sages of the Flood Star Region exchanged glances before Ting Lei spoke. “He Jiubin of the Essence Ting World recklessly tore through the heart of the Lightning Prison that connects to the Nightmare Sea of Stars. He was surrounded and his divine soul was destroyed. One of the high-level Sages of the Nightmare Sea of Stars used their secret art, Nightmare Suppression, to turn him into a living puppet and attempted to seize control of the Essence Ting World.”

“He Jiubin!”

At his name, Shang Xia’s spirit stirred. His back straightened in shock.

Ting Lei did not notice this subtle reaction and continued, “Exactly! The experts of the Nightmare Sea of Stars are proficient in the Nightmare Suppression Art. The technique allows them not only to turn a living person into a puppet but also to extract part of their recent memories, then replace them seamlessly. It is exceedingly difficult for outsiders to detect.”

Though Ting Lei hadn’t noticed Shang Xia’s change in expression, Ji Yukun and Shi Xin had already taken note.

“Sage Shang, you seem to know He Jiubin?” Ji Yukun asked.

After a moment of thought, Shang Xia saw no need to conceal the matter. He recounted how he had encountered He Jiubin upon entering the Lightning Prison, how He Jiubin had ambushed him using the power of the prison, and how, later on, Shang Xia had been surrounded by the experts of the Nightmare Sea of Stars at the passage in the heart of the Lightning Prison until the storm erupted and the passage vanished.

Even though the three were veterans who had long faced major events within the Flood Star Region, they were nonetheless dumbfounded by his account.

After a brief silence, Ting Lei sighed lightly, “I see now. When Sage Shang encountered He Jiubin, he must have already been turned into a living puppet through Nightmare Suppression...”

“The puppet’s physical body would have masked the alien soul not belonging to the Chaotic Sea of Stars. But during his unexpected clash with Sage Shang, he must have been injured, causing that foreign aura to leak out. That was likely why, before he could return to the Lightning Prison, the his World’s Will rejected him, exposing his disguise and leading us to unite in slaying him.”

Shang Xia raised his brows in surprise. “Oh? So you killed He Jiubin? He’s pretty strong... He’s at least a sixth star Sage!”

Shi Xin replied, “Strictly speaking, the real He Jiubin had already perished in the Lightning Prison. The one we slew was the Nightmare Sea of Stars’ expert who had possessed his body.”

Ji Yukun added, “Indeed, the true He Jiubin’s cultivation had only reached the third star. However, the expert of the Nightmare Sea of Stars who performed Nightmare Suppression and turned him into a puppet was a genuine high-level Sage.”

Shang Xia nodded. “Earlier, when I fought the experts of the Nightmare Sea of Stars, I captured and killed one of their mid-level Sage. In the end, all I retrieved was a corpse of a True Immortal.”

As he spoke, Shang Xia retrieved the corpse from his spatial artifact and placed it before them. “This is the corpse. Please, take a look and see if any of you recognize him, perhaps we can let him rest where he belongs.”

Though to the four Sages present, a True Immortal might seem utterly insignificant, in any Heavenly Field, a high-level True Immortal was already a supreme existence.

Sure enough, as soon as Shang Xia finished speaking, Ting Lei examined the body and said, “This man was from the Essence Jie Heavenly Field. I heard that several years ago, Sage Shou Du led a group of True Immortals into the Lightning Prison to temper themselves, but they suffered heavy losses and returned in disgrace. It seems he was among those who went missing.”

Shi Xin then continued, “Allow me to take this body back. The Essence Jie Heavenly Field lies not far from my Essence Heng Heavenly Field.”

“Many thanks.” Shang Xia nodded politely before he continued, “I’ve yet to inquire... What exactly are those lightning spheres the Nightmare Sea of Stars’ experts use to perform the Nightmare Suppression and create living puppets?”

The three exchanged glances once again. Finally, the most senior among them, and the one Shang Xia knew best, Ting Lei, replied, “Those spheres are formed when an expert from the Nightmare Sea of Stars separates a fragment of their soul and fuses it with the origin qi from their Star Field. Sage Shang, you may regard them as embodiments of their own essence. Clones, if you will.”

Shang Xia said, “That does sound much like a technique to create a clone. But if I recall correctly, the Chaotic Sea of Stars also possesses similar secret arts, does it not?”

Ting Lei seemed to have anticipated the question and shook his head. “It’s not the same.”

Before Shang Xia could ask further, he continued explaining, “The techniques known in the Chaotic Sea of Stars rely on forcibly seizing another cultivator’s body. Moreover, such techniques can only be used by Sages, and only against cultivators at the Martial Void Realm or lower.”

“The Nightmare Sea of Stars’ living puppet secret art is different. Their foundation is not a clone, but rather the will and essence of their Heavenly Field. Or more precisely, the portion of the Will of the Heavenly Field that the cultivator can command.”

At those words, Shang Xia suddenly understood. He immediately realized why, after destroying one of those lightning spheres, his Crimson Soul Tablet absorbed a trace of the Nightmare Sea of Stars’ origin qi.

He speculated further. “To wield their Star Field’s origin qi so masterfully... To use it even when far from their territory and to send living puppets into the Chaotic Sea of Stars... That would mean that they have extremely strong connections with their Heavenly Fields.”

Ting Lei nodded. “According to the records left by past Sages of our Star Region, and from our clashes with them over the years, yes, that is precisely the case.”

Shang Xia continued to ask, “Have any of you ever seen the true physical bodies of these Nightmare Sea of Stars experts?”

Ting Lei glanced at his companions before replying, “We have, though such cases are rare. From what we know, most experts from the Nightmare Sea of Stars can barely leave their home world. Only a few of their Sages can travel far from it, and even then, they’re usually newly advanced or haven’t become a mid-level Sage.”

Shang Xia silently thought about how he got it right. Ting Lei’s description of the Nightmare Sea of Stars cultivators only reinforced Shang Xia’s growing suspicion that their method bore a striking resemblance to how the Star Origin Lord had used his own soul to replace the World’s Will.