Chapter 2152: Effortless Again

The few crystals in Shang Xia’s hand, each filled with different types of Dipper Essence, could more accurately be described as Dipper Crystals.

After picking out a few of the best-quality ones, Shang Xia felt a sudden impulse. He extended his divine soul into the cliff face filled with the different energies, wanting to see whether he could find a crystal containing all five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth in relatively balanced proportions.

He did not place much hope in it. After all, the energy leaking from the bottom of the ravine was extremely chaotic. It was already rare for a Dipper Crystal to contain the five elements, let alone one that could maintain a delicate balance among them.

As for a Dipper Crystal capable of forming a self-sustaining system where the five elements complemented one another, Shang Xia did not dare to dream of such a thing.

After all, before his cultivation had reached the Five Element Realm, he had never even encountered the true principles of the propagation and restraint of the five elements.

As expected, Shang Xia searched carefully along both sides of the ravine for several hours. With the strength of his divine soul, he practically scanned the cliff walls twice over. Although he collected many high-quality Dipper Crystals and even found a few that contained the essences of all five elements, none of them showed any meaningful balance among the elements within.

Just as Shang Xia was about to leave in disappointment, his divine soul suddenly picked up something unusual. Instantly, his figure melded into the surrounding void and disappeared from the ravine above.

Meanwhile, several hundred miles away in the void, a burst of distorted turbulence rippled from a spatial fracture, and several cultivators tumbled out. Their auras were unsteady, their appearances haggard, yet none of them seemed seriously injured.

“Found it! Look, over there!”

One of the stronger True Immortals fared slightly better off than the others. He recovered enough to spot the enormous floating island in the distance.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s move!”

A hot-tempered third tier True Immortal leapt up immediately, preparing to activate his movement art to rush toward the island.

“True Immortal Qiu, wait!”

The one who had first noticed the island, True Immortal Fang, a high-level True Immortal, quickly extended his arm to stop him. Seeing True Immortal Qiu’s displeasure, he explained, “The Huashi Floating Island is vast, but look, though it seems only three to five hundred miles away, doesn’t it appear oddly hazy, its full outline unclear?”

True Immortal Qiu froze for a moment, while another fourth tier True Immortal spoke up. “So True Immortal Fang means... This island is an illusion?”

True Immortal Fang blinked and instinctively shook his head. “Of course not! What I mean is that the space between us and the island is distorted. If we recklessly force our way through, we may end up going nowhere, or worse, get swept into another space entirely.”

“True Immortal Fang is absolutely right!” A second tier True Immortal immediately chimed in, his tone full of agreement and gratitude toward True Immortal Fang.

Then the last of the five, a fifth tier True Immortal spoke calmly. “Regardless, we must reach Dipper Island as soon as possible. The spatial currents in the Essence World Ruins are unstable, other experts from nearby Heavenly Fields might appear around the island at any moment. It’s even possible that cultivators from the Simple Sea of Stars could show up to meddle.”

The impatient True Immortal Qiu quickly agreed. “True Immortal Huang is right. The importance of Huashi Floating Island speaks for itself. Before we came here, even our sect’s Sages specifically warned us that this mission cannot be delayed!”

The fourth tier True Immortal added, “Who could have guessed that before entering the Essence World Ruins, True Immortal Jing from the Essence Bing World would clash with a master from the Simple Sea of Stars? Ever since True Immortal Yuan Ling gained his immense fortune here and advanced rapidly, the conflicts between Sages from our Star Region and those of the Simple Sea of Stars have decreased. Even though we still encounter cultivators of the Simple Sea of Stars below the Martial Emptiness Realm in our expeditions, actual battles have become rarer. I have no idea what triggered the confrontation this time. It’s said that two mid-level Sages went all out. A part of the ruins must be in chaos by now.”

The second tier True Immortal, the weakest of the five, said, “What else could it be? For two such experts to fight, there must be something incredible born deep within the ruins, perhaps a rank seven treasure capable of helping one of them break through to a high-level Sage!”

He paused, then continued, “They say True Immortal Jing from the Essence Bing World is already at the fifth star, only a step away from breaking through. The Simple Sea of Stars expert who fought him on equal footing must be no weaker. Since the ruins are on our side, cultivators of the Simple Sea of Stars will be suppressed when they enter, meaning their cultivation may even surpass Sage Jing’s! That means he might be a high-level Sage!”

True Immortal Fang chuckled. “True Immortal Luo speaks with reason.”

The second tier True Immortal Luo smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.

True Immortal Huang then mused, “Have any of you noticed that over the past few decades, while our confrontations with Simple Sea of Stars cultivators in the ruins have lessened, they seem to be growing stronger rapidly?”

The fourth tier True Immortal Zhou replied, “It’s not that they’re growing stronger rapidly. The suppression our Star Field has on them is weakening!”

True Immortal Huang’s eyes brightened. “So True Immortal Zhou feels the same? Should we report this to the Sages?”

True Immortal Zhou sighed. “If we can sense these changes in the ruins, then surely the Sages of the various Heavenly Fields have noticed as well. But for some reason, they’ve never mentioned it, almost as if they’ve chosen to ignore it.”

The irritable True Immortal Qiu snapped, “What’s the point of all this talk? How could we possibly fathom the thoughts of Sages? I say we’ve rested long enough, it’s time to prepare to land on the island!”

As soon as he finished, the other four exchanged glances. None refuted his urgency. Instead, each took their position, and together they cautiously began to fly toward the floating island.

Their formation was interesting. Both strongest fifth tier True Immortal Fang and True Immortal Huang led the group. One flew on the left, while the other on the right. The fourth tier True Immortal Zhou and the weakest True Immortal Qiu covered the rear. Strangely enough, the third tier True Immortal Qiu was positioned in the center, protected by the other four on all sides.