Chapter 2157: “He’s Definitely Plotting Something”

Sage Yuan Ling’s experiences over the past few decades could only be described as legendary.

As one of the first Sages Shang Xia had ever encountered... and crossed blows with, there had been long-standing enmity between both of them.

Back when Shang Xia’s cultivation had not yet matured, he had been hunted and nearly slain by Yuan Ling multiple times.

Later, after Shang Xia broke through to the Seven Star Realm, especially once he advanced to a mid-level Sage, their battles took a turn. The balance of power began to shift.

However, even as Shang Xia’s cultivation skyrocketed, Yuan Ling’s progress had not stagnated. Though Shang Xia often held the advantage, he had never truly gained the upper hand against him.

It was not until Shang Xia used the Dipper Star Formation to annihilate an entire Heavenly Field, gravely wounding Yuan Ling in the process, that their clashes came to a temporary halt.

Back then, Shang Xia believed Yuan Ling’s injuries were so severe that he would be crippled for decades, if not forever.

But Shang Xia had still underestimated Yuan Ling’s foundation, or perhaps the fortuitous encounter Yuan Ling had gained within the Essence World Ruins far surpassed anyone’s imagination.

When Shang Xia realized that the figure above the World Origin Source of the Essence Chang Floating Continent was Yuan Ling, he finally understood that not only had Yuan Ling recovered, but he had already crossed the threshold to reach a high-level Sage! He even reached the seventh star and was almost at the very peak of it. Now... He was using the power of the World Origin Source to comprehend his martial intent, attempting to reach the grand completion stage!

The moment Shang Xia sensed Yuan Ling’s intentions, he decided that he could not allow him to succeed.

However, Yuan Ling was no weakling. Even before Shang Xia had entered the Dao Field, he had already started to devour the origin qi of the Simple Sea of Stars. Yuan Ling had already detected his presence.

“It’s you!” Yuan Ling recognized him instantly.

For the long-standing enemies to meet face to face... Rage burned in Yuan Ling’s eyes.

Without a word, Yuan Ling raised his hand drawing a grasping motion, and the formations within and outside the Dao Field instantly responded to his calling.

At once, Shang Xia felt the world around him rejecting his existence. Layers upon layers of energy closed in, attempting to suppress him.

But such restrictions were far from enough to hold him. With a flick of his Seven Star Mace, starlight started to fill the region and formed vortexes that shredded the encroaching power into nothingness.

As he withdrew his mace, Shang Xia’s eyes instinctively swept over its body. The cracks that had once been mended now faintly reappeared. It would not withstand much more before breaking again.

The Seven Star Mace had already been heavily damaged in his previous battle with the Star Origin Lord. It was only when Shang Xia summoned the Crimson Soul Table, the so-called Eternal Artifact that the Star Origin Lord had called out, that he managed to force the enemy back.

Though the blacksmiths of the Artifacts Hall in the institution had helped him attempt repairs, the result had been far from ideal. The Seven Star Mace could still be used, but it was fragile. Shang Xia dared not unleash its full power in combat.

As expected, though Shang Xia had broken through Yuan Ling’s initial attack, the old monster quickly realized that Shang Xia seemed far weaker than expected.

Immediately, Yuan Ling started to draw on more energy, and his strikes became fiercer and more ruthless.

The moment the surrounding formations were shattered, Yuan Ling unleashed his full power as a seventh star Sage. To Shang Xia’s astonishment, he even drew upon the residual World’s Will they had been nurturing in the World Origin Source. His cultivation straddled the line between the seventh star and the grand completion stage.

In the next instant, a storm of void fragments rained down upon Shang Xia like a torrential downpour.

Shang Xia frowned slightly. Yuan Ling clearly no longer cared about their surroundings. The World Origin Source beneath him was torn apart. The Dao Field collapsed rapidly as those who survived and fled earlier were killed by the resulting shockwave of their battle.

With no room left for hesitation, Shang Xia retrieved his Seven Star Mace and clasped his hands together. In one smooth motion, he thrust them forward. A bolt of reddish-gold lightning burst from his palms, spreading like a spider’s web across the void, reducing every falling fragment to dust.

That was his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm, bearing the power befitting his cultivation realm at the grand completion stage of the Seven Star Realm!

But Yuan Ling, already holding the initiative, gave him no chance to counterattack. Taking full advantage of his control over the environment, he forcibly manipulated the fragile remnant World’s Will, even drawing upon the remaining energy of the Dao Field to strengthen himself. The shattered fragments of space, which Shang Xia had just dispersed, coalesced once again into a raging tide, sweeping toward him.

Shang Xia tried unleashing the fifth form of his Seven Star Mace Technique, Dipper Vortex, but without a weapon in hand, its power fell short.

Three starlit vortexes formed around him, protecting his body for the moment, but they could not completely neutralize Yuan Ling’s assault.

What puzzled Yuan Ling was that Shang Xia showed no sign of panic. Despite being forced into a situation where he could only passively defend, he remained perfectly calm, unhurried, and focused.

Something’s wrong...

Yuan Ling had fought Shang Xia many times before and knew his temperament well. Shang Xia was never one to passively defend or wait for death.

He’s definitely plotting something!

Yuan Ling extended his divine soul through the surrounding void.

Though the chaos of their battle obscured his senses, his proximity to the World Origin Source gave him an edge. Soon, he noticed that the energy within the World Origin Source was depleting unusually fast.

At first, he thought it was just collateral damage from their clash, but moments later, he realized that not only was the origin qi draining faster than expected, but even the reconstructed World’s Will he had been manipulating was also fading at an alarming rate.

This subtle change could have gone unnoticed under normal conditions, but Yuan Ling, knowing Shang Xia’s abilities, immediately sensed the irregularity.

He also knew all too well of Shang Xia’s obsessive habit of collecting world origin or origin qi from different places.

Realizing this, Yuan Ling immediately tried to suppress and force Shang Xia’s divine soul away.

If it were direct combat, Yuan Ling might still gain the upper hand through his control over the Dao Field, the World Origin Source, and the remnant World’s Will.

But when it came to a contest of divine soul, he had struck a wall. Not even the partial blessing of the World’s Will could give him an advantage.

A faint sense of dread rose in Yuan Ling’s heart.

He couldn’t help but feel regret. If only I hadn’t gone so far at the very start. If he hadn’t ignored the Martial Dipper Realm and Martial Void Realm cultivators stationed in the Dao Field, he could have used them to strengthen the formations and completely isolate Shang Xia doing whatever it was he was doing.

But those thoughts vanished as quickly as they came. Yuan Ling’s path had already been condemned by the other Sages of the Crowned Star Region. He had long been ostracized, hence his reckless intrusion into the Essence Chang Floating Continent even at the cost of offending his peers, in order to reach the grand completion stage.

Now, there was no turning back. Even if the World Origin Source collapsed, the Dao Field shattered, and the entire floating continent fell apart, he was determined to achieve his goal.

With that resolve, Yuan Ling masked his panic behind his bluster. But in truth, he had withdrawn part of his energy and refocused it on controlling the reconstructed World’s Will.

Shang Xia was momentarily surprised by the shift, but soon understood. Yuan Ling’s martial intent was likely tied to the reconstructed World’s Will.

In the past, Shang Xia would have struck immediately to disrupt his opponent’s breakthrough.

But now, he understood that their battle had already wrecked most of the Essence Chang Floating Continent. The Dao Field was nearly in ruins. The chaos they had caused must have already drawn the attention of other Sages. Transmission talismans had certainly been sent out earlier. Those pursuing him would soon arrive, and his time was limited.

Thus, when he sensed Yuan Ling’s attention shift, Shang Xia reduced the intensity of their clash as well, redirecting his focus entirely to accelerating the extraction of the Simple Sea of Stars’ origin qi from the World Origin Source.

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

In truth, his actions were striking directly at the foundation of Yuan Ling’s reconstruction project, cutting off the World Origin Source’s power at its root. Yet, in that moment, the two long-time enemies shared a brief, silent understanding.

Of course, that understanding did not last long.

As soon as the first Sage from the Crowned Star Region arrived, Yuan Ling broke the truce.

With the Dao Field already on the verge of collapse, Yuan Ling drew upon its final vestiges of power, compressing its broken space into a massive torrent that surged toward Shang Xia.

“Don’t let him escape! That man stole the World Origin Source’s essence and destroyed the Dao Field!”

With one shout, Yuan Ling cast all the blame upon Shang Xia.

But Shang Xia had no time to argue. Half of his focus was already locked on the inscriptions on the Crimson Soul Tablet in his sea of consciousness, while the other half was devoted to evading the attack.

Before Yuan Ling and the newly arrived Sage could close in from both sides, Shang Xia seized the moment, using the raging torrent of space itself to propel his body into a spatial rift, vanishing from sight.