Chapter 2177: In Two Short Years

After gravely injuring a high-level beast emperor with his Seven Laceration Sword, Shang Xia did not pursue the advantage. Instead, he sped away toward the direction of the Heaven Observation Star Region.

The ominous feeling in his heart grew heavier with each passing moment. The deeper he flew into the void of the Chaotic Sea of Stars, the more he sensed the thickening presence of origin qi from multiple foreign Star Fields. It was already reaching the point where it distorted and contaminated all local origin qi.

“Still, to be fair...” Shang Xia murmured to himself, “The concentration of origin qi within the Chaotic Sea of Stars has clearly risen, and the trend is still continuing.”

Yet the realization also brought confusion. The eight forbidden zones within the Chaotic Sea of Stars each connected to one of the eight foreign Star Fields. If forces from those places had broken through and invaded the Star Regions, it would make sense for their origin qi to flood in along with them.

But the strange part was just how immense that influx had become. The sheer volume of alien energy was enough to elevate the overall density of the Chaotic Sea of Stars’ void itself, something far beyond what ordinary breaches could produce.

Such an overwhelming surge could not have come from a few open spatial tunnels alone. It was as though the origin qi of those distant Star Fields were actively pouring into the Chaotic Sea of Stars, reversing the flow entirely.

The thought hovered in his mind for a moment before he pushed it aside. Speculation would not change anything. His priority was to return to the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field as soon as possible. Only then could he investigate what was truly happening.

Besides, the denser the origin qi became, and the higher the proportion of foreign Star Field’s origin qi within it, the greater the risk that the Chaotic Sea of Stars itself was undergoing a foundational shift, one that would inevitably affect every Heavenly Field within it.

No, perhaps that influence had already begun.

Shang Xia’s heart sank. The spatial channels connecting to the other Star Fields lay within the major Star Regions themselves. If the origin qi from those outer worlds had begun to reverse flow, those regions would be the first to suffer the backlash.

Changes in the void outside the Star Regions would always lag far behind what happened within them.

Still, not all of this was disadvantageous for Shang Xia. He discovered that the Crimson Soul Tablet in his sea of consciousness seemed not only unresistant to those foreign origin qi but faintly receptive to them. They even restored remaining cracks, if only slightly, as the mixed origin qis were still too thin to have a strong effect.

Pushing his speed to the limit, Shang Xia streaked across the Chaotic Sea of Stars. Aside from fending off a few foolish ambushes, he made no stops, not even when passing several Starsea Markets. He maintained his pace until the Heaven Observation Star Region came into view.

Just then, he noticed something wrong. The Star Compass he carried had gone awry. Its directional pull diverged sharply from the true location of the Heaven Observation Star Region.

Still, a Star Region was unimaginably vast. Even a deviation of several million or tens of millions of miles was negligible in such cosmic terms.

Yet the discrepancy set him on edge.

At first, he suspected the Star Lord’s interference. But soon he realized that was not the case.

Upon entering the Heaven Observation Star Region, he quickly sensed that its spatial boundaries had expanded greatly and were still continuing to grow. He could feel the signs of space itself stretching outward.

There was no time to investigate the cause. He immediately reoriented toward the general location of the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field, intending to meet Kou Chongxue first and understand the situation.

But before he could even determine the right direction, a vast shockwave rippled through the void from elsewhere, immediately seizing his attention.

The turbulence was different from the earlier quaking of the entire Chaotic Sea of Stars. This was pure, born of collision, of battle between high-level cultivators.

Judging by its magnitude, it could not possibly be the work of one or two Sages. It was the aftermath of a clash involving several of them at once.

The aftershocks spread quickly, and by Shang Xia’s estimation, the disturbance would soon ripple across the entire Heaven Observation Star Region. Not only would True Immortals sense it, but even elite Martial Dipper Realm cultivators would feel the spatial tremors, unable to ignore them even within their Heavenly Fields.

“What on earth is happening?” His expression darkened as he gazed in the direction of the disturbance.

The Heaven Observation Star Region had only a handful of Sages in total. Judging from the scale of this upheaval, it seemed that every single one of them had gathered in one place.

After a brief hesitation, Shang Xia turned and flew swiftly toward the source of the shockwaves.

The reason for his choice was simple, just moments ago, he had successfully reestablished faint contact with his External Avatar.

Although the distance between them was vast, and the destruction of the Dipper Star Formation prevented him from receiving detailed information, he could still confirm that the avatar remained stationed safely within the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field.

If the avatar was unharmed, then Essence Luxuriant was likely not in immediate danger.

That meant the true crisis lay at the site of the ongoing battle. Given the sheer number of high-level combatants involved, the major Heavenly Fields of the Heaven Observation Star Region could not possibly stay uninvolved. Shang Xia was almost certain that Kou Chongxue was among those fighting.

He sped toward the battlefield, concealing his aura as much as possible.

But the closer he drew, the more he realized he had underestimated the scale of the conflict. The number of Sages involved far exceeded those of the Heaven Observation Star Region alone. The waves of origin qi flooding the void carried the unmistakable essence of the Illusory Sea of Stars, meaning that part of those fighting had come from there, and the battlefield itself must contain a spatial passage linking to that realm.

Yet that was precisely what made it so strange. The direction he was heading toward was not where the Void Mirage had been sealed by him.

Even though spatial expansion and displacement had shifted the Heaven Observation Star Region somewhat, the general positions of its Heavenly Fields had not changed drastically. The direction he was moving toward aligned with where the Essence Jing Heavenly Field had once been.

As he drew nearer, he saw the shattered outline of the Essence Jing World. The turbulent barrier that should have surrounded it was riddled with gaping holes. The Heavenly Field lay completely exposed to the void.

When he approached closer still, he realized the entire interior of the world had become a battlefield. The Heavenly Field’s structure had collapsed entirely, its boundaries torn apart by the war raging across it.

Amid the chaos, Shang Xia finally located Kou Chongxue’s presence. It was sharp, resolute, and fierce as ever.

Not only that, he also recognized the aura of the Giant Ape Emperor beside him.

However, the Giant Ape Emperor had advanced too recently, and its strength was barely sufficient to survive such a battle. It seemed to be fighting mainly in support, staying close to Kou Chongxue to avoid being overwhelmed.

Passing the wreckage of two massive starships torn in half by the battle, their fragments disintegrating into the swirling void, Shang Xia plunged through the turbulent barrier and entered the Essence Jing World.

In that instant, his concealment shattered.

The void around the Essence Jing Heavenly Field was already shredded beyond repair by the clash of multiple Sages. The arrival of a high-level Sage broke what little stability remained. The surrounding void fractured once again, opening wider and deeper rifts that were a testament to his immense strength.

For a brief heartbeat, the entire battlefield fell into eerie silence. Then came an even greater explosion and roaring chaos.

In that instant of stillness, over a dozen divine souls swept toward him from across the Essence Jing World. Some extended their aura in intimidation, some watched warily from afar, others retreated in haste, and a few sent gestures of respect.

Kou Chongxue’s consciousness reached him first, linking directly with his. “Shi Guan has defected to the Illusory Sea of Stars.” Kou Chongxue’s concise report came instantly. “The Void Mirage was merely a ruse to deceive the Heaven Observation Star Region, the true spatial passage to the Illusory Sea of Stars is within the Essence Jing Heavenly Field!”

The moment they connected, Kou Chongxue relayed everything in as few words as possible.

Shang Xia frowned slightly. His divine soul erupted outward without restraint, sweeping across the entire battlefield.

In an instant, the full situation was laid bare before him.

It was a reckless act, almost a direct challenge to both sides, but he did it anyway. Even with many trying instinctively to block him, none could stop his probing.

At that moment, within the Essence Jing World, no one could prevent Shang Xia from seeing the truth.

There, deep within its fractured core, he sensed the spatial tunnel that led directly to the Illusory Sea of Stars.

And within that very place was a presence so powerful that even Shang Xia himself felt a twinge of apprehension to fight.

That aura... It was uncannily similar to that of Sage Star Thief!

A stowaway from the Star River?!