Chapter 2161: I’m Baaack

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Shang Xia had already begun his deep dive into the starry expanse beyond the edge of the Chaotic Sea of Stars.

After several years, the path he had once taken no longer existed.

Venturing once again into the starry void was no different from forging an entirely new route, and dangers arose one after another along the way.

Fortunately, compared to his previous journey, Shang Xia’s current strength and cultivation had advanced beyond comprehension. With his profound foundation and vastly enhanced strength, he could press forward alone despite the perils ahead.

He did not know how long he had been traveling when he suddenly sensed a subtle fluctuation in his dantian. Alerted, he extended a finger, drawing a rank six talisman in the void before him to carve out a temporarily stable region before projecting his consciousness into his dantian to observe what was happening.

𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

In truth, the moment he sensed a disturbance in his dantian, he had already guessed what had happened.

He was only examining it closely out of curiosity, to see exactly what kind of effect it would have on him if one of the stars in the Dipper Star Formation were attacked or displaced, breaking the constellation’s formation.

Within his dantian, the star in the center, the Big Dipper Star Origin, the core of his internal cosmos, still shone brilliantly. It didn’t even tremble.

The seven auxiliary stars orbiting it in the shape of a ladle remained stable, except for the one corresponding to the Alkaid position at the end of the handle, which appeared slightly dimmer and seemed to have shifted a little.

Seeing the change, Shang Xia immediately understood that the star corresponding to the Alkaid position must have been displaced, and perhaps also struck, causing it to dim.

However, in the vast starry sea, the distance between two stars could span millions, or even tens of millions of miles. If the star in the Alkaid position had shifted by merely a thousand miles, its impact on the Dipper Star Formation as a whole was negligible.

From that alone, Shang Xia could surmise it had to be a simple test, likely initiated by the Star Origin Lord’s clone.

In fact, not only did the Star Origin Lord want to know what would happen. Shang Xia himself had long been curious about the implications if the stars in the Dipper Star Formation were damaged.

Although he had run countless simulations before and was nearly certain that even if they were attacked or destroyed, his cultivation and strength would remain fundamentally unaffected, he still wanted to confirm it for himself.

Theory was theory. Only direct experience could settle the matter.

Now, he finally had his answer.

After comparing the state of his Big Dipper Star Origin in his dantian and the stars that surrounded it, he assessed the true extent of the effect.

First of all, though the star seemed dimmer, the energy within it had not diminished, it had merely become restrained. Even when circulating his inner qi, Shang Xia could still direct it with perfect precision.

Secondly, the link between him and the Dipper Star Formation still existed. While that connection had weakened somewhat, it was mostly due to the disorderly void he was traveling through, rather than any real severance caused by the star’s displacement.

Thirdly, apart from the natural spatial interference, his ability to draw on the essence of the Dipper Star Formation had been affected slightly, and that was only because one star had shifted slightly.

From what happened, he could infer that if the Dipper Star Formation were ever fully disrupted, he would likely lose the ability to channel their essence altogether.

That, it seemed, would be the greatest consequence of the stars’ destruction.

In addition, his communication with his External Avatar would grow weaker, and perhaps even be lost entirely.

The same applied to his Emberkindled Legacy Talisman, and its series of supporting secret techniques, all of which would be impacted.

However, to speak fairly, those were not truly losses. They were simply a return to what would be otherwise normal.

After all, the ability to draw the essence of his Dipper Star Formation at will, to instantly replenish his inner qi, to maintain contact between himself and his External Avatar through massive distances, and to channel power through his talisman across absurd distances were feats that defied reason.

Losing the support of his Dipper Star Formation merely meant that Shang Xia’s capabilities as a grand completion stage Sage had returned to its natural limits.

Once he had confirmed what he had always wondered, it was as though a weight that had long pressed upon his heart was suddenly lifted. A sense of quiet joy rose within him, and with it, his lingering bottleneck of his Six Harmony Supporting the Heavens finally broke through.

On the Crimson Soul Tablet, the list of his seven martial intents showed five that had met the conditions for advancement.

Only two remained incomplete. They were his Seven Laceration Sword and his Five Element Annihilation Yin Yang Ring.

Yet what intrigued him was why had only the star corresponding to the Alkaid position been attacked or displaced, while all the other stars, including the auxiliary ones, remained untouched?

From his earlier perception of that region of space, Shang Xia knew that any strikes by the Star Origin Lord would instantly trigger a chain reaction from the many Sages who were also watching.

Could it be that all those hidden observers had suddenly restrained themselves?

Surely the Star Origin Lord’s clone hadn’t blocked

every

probing attack on his behalf?

Shang Xia smiled silently and shook his head, then prepared to continue his journey deeper into the starry void in search of the Star River.

But just as he dispersed the stabilized region around him, the chaotic void beside him suddenly tore open. With a thunderous roar, a massive, misshapen claw covered in scales thrust out from the rift, slamming straight down at his head.

Such sudden ambushes no longer startled Shang Xia. Instinctively, he hurled the reforged Seven Star Mace and unleashed his recently perfected Six Harmony Supporting the Heavens.

The cracked, weathered mace stood firm in midair, bracing against the monstrous claw. No matter how hard it pressed down, it could not advance even an inch.

Shang Xia showed no surprise. He merely flicked his sleeve, and the Seven Star Mace, which had been suppressing the creature’s palm in place, suddenly shot forward, striking the very rift from which the claw had emerged.

The blow sealed the opening and trapped the claw, preventing it from retreating.

The next moment, Shang Xia rushed forward. He wanted to see for himself what kind of creature dared attack him.

The being on the other side seemed to realize it had provoked a dangerous foe. The trapped claw struggled violently, tearing open its scales and flesh until blood poured forth, turning into a crimson rain that spread through the void.

Too bad for it, Shang Xia’s sixth martial intent reached a state of perfection. With the might of his cultivation at the grand completion stage of the Seven Star Realm, the claw failed to retract. The more the creature struggled, the worse its wounds became.

As Shang Xia’s presence drew closer, his aura surged like an unfathomable ocean.

Knowing it had messed up big time, the creature immediately chose to sever its limb to escape. With a violent burst of blood from the far end of the rift, the claw suddenly went still.

When Shang Xia approached the rift, he saw the severed appendage floating before him, ripped clean off the creature’s body. Peering through the rift, he caught a glimpse of a colossal tail, crocodilian in shape yet magnitudes larger, whipping once through the chaotic void before vanishing from sight.