Chapter 2168: Shine Star World

Shang Xia replaced the position once occupied by the shattered tower, using the Crimson Soul Tablet to draw in the foreign origin qi gathering from the surrounding void.

During the process, he gradually realized that the tower he had destroyed was only one node within a vast network of interconnected origin qi flows.

As the Crimson Soul Tablet’s absorption surpassed what the tower could once contain, the void around him began to develop widening gaps where energy had been drained away. The nearby towers, which had been absorbing origin qi on their own, started to funnel their flow toward his position to compensate for the missing origin qi.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

If it had lasted only a short while, it might not have mattered. But as he continued to draw more origin qi, and more energy was pulled to fill the growing void, the disturbance would inevitably draw the attention of whatever lurked behind the whispers deep within the Pagoda Forest.

The first to react were naturally the nearest of those corpse-like beings.

Those entities had previously tried to surround him. Though Shang Xia had broken through their encirclement, it was unclear whether they had continued tracking him. Now, however, they were clearly converging once again.

Strangely, when they reached a certain distance from him, they stopped, wandering in circles at the perimeter as if unable to take another step closer.

Shang Xia felt a flicker of curiosity. Perhaps it was another peculiarity of the Pagoda Forest that those creatures, born from the towers themselves, could not stray too far from their own or enter the range of another.

The thought reminded him of the withered cultivator who had blocked his path earlier, repeating the same words again and again.

“Leave! This tower is mine!”

Yet those mindless husks were no true threat to him. What truly concerned Shang Xia was the stirring from deeper.

While the Crimson Soul Tablet continued drawing in the foreign origin qi, he extended his divine soul through the immense web linking the towers, each one a node of that mysterious network. He sought to uncover the Pagoda Forest’s hidden truth.

But before he could probe far, countless strands of spiritual will surged from every direction along the network, converging upon him to blockade and crush his intrusion.

There was no doubt about it. By inserting his awareness into the network of origin qi flow, Shang Xia had become an outsider, instantly provoking the rejection and counterattack of all who belonged to it.

Even with the strength of his divine soul, he was forced to retreat before the onslaught.

Yet as he withdrew, those other consciousnesses only pressed harder, swarming to trap him completely, intent on suppressing or even erasing his soul from existence.

Having prepared for it, it was them who were bound to suffer.

Though he pulled back, he did not abandon his ability to fight back. He held his ground within the void once occupied by the tower, defending it fiercely.

Each wave of spiritual will that came was shattered. He broke several apart before fortifying his position. The remaining forces struck against his defenses, rebounding into nothing.

However, even though Shang Xia had solidified his position in the battle of souls, those clashes had exposed his location. The entities behind those consciousnesses had found him.

Moments later, several streaks of light erupted from the depths of the Pagoda Forest, speeding toward him from different directions.

With no better choice, Shang Xia activated a rank seven Myriad Tinted Cloud Talisman, which unfolded into a massive cloud fortress surrounding him, shielding the nearby void.

He knew the barrier would not last long against so many Sage-level attacks, but talismans were exactly what he wasn’t lacking in.

At the same time, the whispers that had been echoing faintly around him surged again, slamming directly into his soul.

It was as if before, they had murmured throughout the Pagoda Forest in general, but now, all those voices had focused solely on him, shouting in his mind.

He couldn’t help but retract his divine soul, fortifying his defenses to their limit.

His passive defense, however, had purpose. It was to buy time for the Crimson Soul Tablet to siphon even more origin qi from the vast network spanning the Pagoda Forest.

Eventually, those deep within the forest realized what he was doing. Several mighty auras suddenly burst from afar and rushed swiftly toward his position.

By then, the Crimson Soul Tablet had nearly reached the limit of what it could contain. Perceiving it, Shang Xia immediately abandoned the energy node he occupied and turned sharply, fleeing at full speed toward the outer reaches of the forest.

The corpse-like creatures roaming nearby lunged as he passed, but all he did was unleash Shattered Starry Skies to send them all tumbling to the side. Before they could react, he vanished beyond their reach.

Even as he escaped, the whispers still pursued him, echoing endlessly in his mind. Figures chased him through the dark void, but none could catch him.

What disappointed him, however, was that during all his time in the Pagoda Forest, he had met no one capable of rational speech. Thus, even after such a long time, he did not know which Star Field the Pagoda Forest was connected to.

After resting briefly outside the region, he prepared to depart from the Aligned Star Region, only for his presence to be sensed by another expert.

The moment he was detected, a powerful aura approached him.

“Were you the one who shattered a tower deep within the Pagoda Forest?” A calm, emotionless voice reached his ears across tens of thousands of miles of void.

Shang Xia turned his gaze toward the source, as though he could see through the distance to the speaker’s true form.

The next moment, the void rippled, and a figure stepped across the vast distance to appear not far from him.

Upon seeing Shang Xia, the newcomer froze slightly before speaking again. “Oh! It’s actually Sage Shang from the Heaven Observation Star Region... I am Nan Fu of the Essence Jing World. It’s an honor to meet you!”

“Sage Nan Fu, greeting.” Shang Xia returned the greeting with a polite nod. “I hadn’t expected you to know my name.”

Nan Fu smiled faintly. “In recent years, Sage Shang has traveled across many Star Regions, leaving behind countless tales. Among the experts of our major Star Region, your name is already well known.”

Shang Xia smiled in return and asked, “Sage Nan, what brings you here?”

Nan Fu chuckled, “I received reports that there were disturbances within the Pagoda Forest. I intended to investigate personally, but I did not expect to encounter you here. I imagine the cause of those disturbances has now been found.”

Shang Xia chuckled softly. He did not believe it was a coincidence. For Nan Fu to locate him so precisely, and to know of his actions so quickly, meant that this man’s understanding of the Pagoda Forest far exceeded his own and that he commanded an exceptionally swift means of gathering intelligence.

Shang Xia had no intention of lingering. The way Nan Fu appeared before him felt almost like an attempt to delay him.

“In that case...” Shang Xia said simply, “I have urgent matters to attend to. Let us meet another time.”

Nan Fu’s expression stiffened. He raised a hand as if to speak, then let it fall again, making no move to stop him.

Not long after Shang Xia departed, two or three more streaks of light arrived from different directions.

“Why did you let him go?” A high-level Sage demanded sharply.

Nan Fu answered casually, “Because I am not his match.”

The other man stared in disbelief, while a third asked in puzzlement, “He’s truly that strong? You couldn’t even delay him?”

Nan Fu only shook his head silently. That alone was answer enough.

The last of them murmured under his breath, “No wonder he could contend with the Star Origin Lord of the Heaven Observation Sect... But if that’s the case, doesn’t it mean he’s discovered our secret dealings with the Shine Star World?”

Nan Fu mumbled indifferently, “And if he has, so what? His cultivation is already at the peak of the Martial Emptiness Realm. After all these years of traversing the Star Regions, his true goal must be to break through to the Eighth Order. We have never hindered his path of cultivation, so long as we don’t interfere with each other, there’s nothing to fear. We’ll do our thing, while he does his!”