Chapter 2180: I’M INEVITABLE

When the Crimson Soul Tablet rested within Shang Xia’s mind, it appeared as an enormous stone monolith. Yet whenever he summoned its phantom or wielded its true body, it always transformed in his hands into something resembling a long mace.

Now, as he wielded the tablet’s true form to unleash Star Shifting Constellation Transformation, the Crimson Stone Tablet tore through the void, turning the shattered fragments of space into flowing star currents, a shimmering phantom of the Star River descending from the heavens like a celestial waterfall over the Essence Jing World.

The Star River Stowaway, hidden within the rift, instantly recognized the terrifying might of his technique. While shouting a warning to the other Sages of the Illusory Sea of Stars cultivators, he swung out the golden anchor of his Immortal Ark to clash against the falling Crimson Soul Tablet and the descending Star River illusion.

The golden anchor collided with the tablet in midair without a sound, the impact absorbed into the silence of the void. Yet the trailing phantom of the Star River was instantly sliced apart by the shockwave, and vast portions of the phantom disintegrated into nothingness amid violent spatial ripples.

The Crimson Soul Tablet was knocked back, while the golden anchor plummeted straight to the ground, crushing half a continent beneath it. The chains that trailed behind it carved a colossal ravine into the earth, hundreds of meters deep, dozens wide, and stretching nearly across two entire continents.

Though it appeared that Shang Xia’s strike had been blocked, the shockwaves devastated two whole continents. The enormous formation being constructed above the World Origin Source that was intended to stabilize the rift, was thrown into chaos. The World Origin Source beneath the fallen anchor was completely destroyed, with the preparations shattered to dust.

“Preposterous!” The Star River Stowaway’s furious voice echoed from within the rift.

The golden anchor, which had just crashed into the ground, suddenly rose again. Amid the clattering of chains, it soared into the air, bursting into brilliant golden light. The aura of the Star River emanated from it, a sign that the powers of space and time were being manipulated.

At the same time, a deep rumbling came from within the spatial rift, like a massive vessel cutting through cosmic waves. It sounded as though an Eternal Golden Boat would burst through into the Essence Jing World at any moment.

Shang Xia was certain that the Eternal Golden Boat, wedged between the two Star Fields, could not enter the Chaotic Sea of Stars, at least not yet. Yet the sounds within the passage revealed that the Star River Stowaway, as he performed his martial intent, was manifesting his own Star River Phantom within.

A cold smile crossed Shang Xia’s face. “If you could step out of that tunnel yourself... Perhaps I might hold you in some regard. But since you can only hide within it, how very disappointing.”

The remark clearly enraged the Star River Stowaway. The anchor chains whipped upward, spinning into the air as though to ensnare Shang Xia, while the golden anchor itself hurtled toward him.

How could Shang Xia not have prepared himself after talking so much shit?

The moment the chains began to coil, he gripped the Crimson Soul Tablet upside down before his chest, and with a powerful motion, drove it downward into the ground below.

The imprisoned region around him ruptured. The tablet pierced a hole through it, and a pillar of starlight, like a phantom reflection of the tablet descended from the heavens, striking deep into the earth.

At that same moment, the golden anchor, guided by the pull of Shang Xia’s inner qi, was drawn toward the tablet instead, smashing into it with tremendous force at the handle’s base.

Boom!

A surge of dense starlight mixed with the power of the anchor poured into the ground, setting the land across several continents ablaze with energy.

The force, which should have dispersed outward, was forcibly gathered by Shang Xia and redirected toward the World Origin Sources connected to the other continents.

With the Crimson Soul Tablet as his medium, Shang Xia first unleashed Dipper Guidance to divert the incoming power, then followed with Shifting Dipper to redirect most of it into the Essence Jing World. Finally, he released Emberkindled Legacy, channeling the remaining force toward the five surrounding continents.

A deafening roar shook the world. The five World Origin Sources connected to the continents exploded simultaneously, and the sealed world origin erupted like volcanic flame, tearing through the heavenly screen above. The massive formations surrounding them were obliterated, and the Illusory Sea of Stars’ mid-level Sages who had been stationed there were forced to flee into the void to escape the backlash.

The colossal formation that the Illusory Sea of Stars and the Essence Jing World had built together, at the cost of countless resources and labor, collapsed completely.

The entire region around the spatial rift which was the Essence Jing World’s most prosperous and resource-rich heartland, lay in ruin.

Of the World Origin Sources connected to the various continents, the central one, used to support the rift itself, had long since been consumed. The other five were shattered and lost nearly 70 percent of the world origin they contained.

Even if the continents survived, they would remain barren wastelands for centuries to come.

Yet the battle was not over. Shang Xia himself was not unscathed.

That last strike, three chained techniques executed in succession, had cost him a lot to execute. Though he had seemingly deflected the Star River Stowaway’s martial intent, the immense burst of power had strained his body.

No matter how refined his Seven Star Mace Technique wasn’t actual martial intents. Even with his mastery, Shang Xia could not completely nullify the power contained in the Star River Stowaway’s strike. Some of the impact had to be absorbed directly, and his inner qi churned violently, leaving him lightly injured.

But that strike had created the foundation for victory.

With the surrounding continents destroyed and the formation shattered, the rift linking the Chaotic Sea of Stars and the Illusory Sea of Stars became unstable.

Still, perhaps due to the Immortal Ark’s presence and the Star River Stowaway’s desperate effort to maintain it, though the rift trembled, it did not collapse.

Ignoring his injuries, Shang Xia flew straight at it again.

The Star River Stowaway’s voice came from within. "You let five or six mid-level Sages... Do you really think your allies outside can hold them off?"

Shang Xia replied coldly, "I’ll destroy this rift first, then deal with them after! It won’t be too late anyway."

The Star River Stowaway countered, "This rift was built upon the World Origin Source. Destroy it, and the entire world will collapse. The Heavenly Field will crumble with it!"

Shang Xia showed no hesitation. "That is the price of their choice. They should have foreseen the consequences. Besides..."

He paused briefly, then continued, "Had that super formation been completed, it might have bound the Essence Jing World, and perhaps even the Heavenly Field, to you. But now that I’ve destroyed it, the Essence Jing World will be crippled, not annihilated."

“Heh...” The Star River Stowaway’s laughter came, with his mockery completely unhidden. "After all this, do you still believe this Heavenly Field deserves to exist?"

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

The Crimson Soul Tablet rose again in Shang Xia’s hands. His tone was cold as ice as he mumbled, "The affairs of our Star Region... Do not concern an outsider like you!"

With that, he swung. Countless streams of sword light condensed, cutting straight into the rift. Shang Xia’s Seven Laceration Sword manifested in layers of Yin Yang sword qi, sweeping wildly within the collapsing rift.

Even with the power of an Eternal Golden Boat sustaining it, the passage began to crumble.

"So it truly is an Eternal Weapon..." The Star River Stowaway’s tone shifted to awe, as if resigned to the inevitable. His voice echoed faintly from within the chaos. “I see now... Yes, it’s an Eternal Weapon indeed.”

Shang Xia’s heart stirred. "You’ve seen one before?"

The voice answered softly, fading amid the distortion: "No, but legends of Eternal Weapons have long spread through the Star River. Every stowaway dreams of owning one..."

Shang Xia pressed on. "Then what exactly is an Eternal Weapon? Why do all of you desire it?"

A faint laugh came from within, distorted by the collapsing void, yet still discernible. "Because only an Eternal Weapon... Is truly immortal..."

The passage’s collapse accelerated, dragging the ground beneath it into ruin. Within moments, half a continent had been reduced to rubble. The tremors spread across the entire world, shaking the Essence Jing Heavenly Field to its core.

Suddenly, Shang Xia felt a shift in the void and turned sharply.

A figure emerged from the fractured space. It was a man wearing a different face, yet unmistakably another clone of the Star Origin Lord, his aura radiating the strength of a grand completion stage Sage.

Narrowing his eyes, Shang Xia said in a deep voice, “Is this someone from the Illusory Sea of Stars?”

The figure smiled as the Star Origin Lord’s voice rang through the air. "I see I’ve arrived a bit late. The rift has already been destroyed."

Shang Xia’s tone was cold, and he snapped, "What, have you come to aid that Star River Stowaway and the Illusory Sea of Stars in invading our Star Region? Bringing only a single clone... Aren’t you afraid your new allies will turn on you?"

The Star Origin Lord’s incarnation chuckled lightly, "Everyone seeks fortune in their own way. This is merely a vessel carrying a fragment of my power, hardly enough to draw their ire. But you, young friend... You’ve cut off everyone’s chance at seizing opportunity. I daresay you’ll become the thorn in the side of not only the Illusory Sea of Stars, but all the other Star Fields invading the Chaotic Sea of Stars."

As he spoke, his face twisted into a grin, filled with malicious delight, far more vivid than any of the Star Origin Lord’s previous clones Shang Xia had ever seen.