Chapter 2190: Dipper Star Formation!

While Shang Xia was shifting and adjusting the stars within the Star River, he hadn’t expected that the violent energy waves he caused would trigger a large scale tide, displacing the very stars he had just aligned and ruining all of his earlier efforts.

Though he noticed the problem quickly, resolving it was another matter entirely.

If every adjustment of a star triggered a tsunami of energy like that, then not only would the Dipper Star Formation never be completed, but the repeated disturbances would certainly draw unwanted attention, especially from the three Star River stowaways led by the Star-Stealing Elder. They would immediately realize that Shang Xia was operating in this area.

He had chosen to construct the Dipper Star Formation in the Star River precisely for secrecy, to avoid detection. If the commotion grew too great, it would defeat the purpose entirely, he might as well rebuild it back in the Chaotic Sea of Stars.

But if he did that, his actions would easily be calculated by the Grand Stargazers of the Six Essence Heavenly Field, and once discovered, others would surely sabotage his work.

Thus, Shang Xia had to find a method to move the stars without triggering any eruption.

At first, he thought the problem would be exceedingly difficult to solve. Unexpectedly, he found a solution sooner than he ever imagined.

During his second attempt at constructing the Dipper Star Formation, he began by selecting one star as the formation’s foundation. From it, he extracted a wisp of Eternity Essence and refined it into the inner qi within his dantian.

Unexpectedly, that refined wisp of Eternity Essence, upon entering his dantian, settled upon one of the auxiliary stars orbiting his Big Dipper Star Origin.

At that moment, Shang Xia could clearly sense a mysterious connection forming between the existence in his dantian and the distant star.

He instinctively tested it, attempting to move the star, and immediately, the star responded, beginning to surge and emit blazing origin light.

Seeing the imminent eruption that would once again trigger a massive tsunami, Shang Xia felt the corresponding star within his dantian pulse in unison.

Acting purely on instinct, he channeled his will through that star to suppress the turbulence. Guided by sudden inspiration, he used the refined Eternity Essence within it to command the Crimson Soul Tablet, siphoning the erupting energy directly from the star’s surface across the void.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Suppressing the star’s tremors while simultaneously draining most of its erupting essence, Shang Xia managed to calm it down. The star merely shuddered slightly, sending minor ripples through the Star River, but no large-scale eruption followed. The nearby stars also remained unaffected.

However, the price was steep. His inner qi was nearly cut in half in an instant, leaving him uneasy about the cost to come.

That was only the first star. The next would not only require him to refine its Eternity Essence but also to move it into position. Each shift risked triggering violent spatial tremors, forcing him to expend even more energy to stabilize them.

He also had to ensure that the quakes from moving the second star would not disturb the first.

While these tremors were far weaker than a full eruption, if left unchecked, they could easily affect the aligned stars, and worse, draw the attention of Star River Stowaways if they spread too widely.

Fortunately, after setting the second star in place, the third required no relocation.

Based on his earlier observations of the region, the first star was placed in the Alkaid position within the Dipper Star Formation, while the third naturally occupied the Alioth position.

Although the star in the Alioth didn’t need to be moved, he still had to extract a wisp of Eternity Essence from it.

With that refined, three of the seven auxiliary stars within his dantian now contained the Eternity Essence.

Next came the Megrez position, which required relocating another star.

After extracting and refining a wisp of its Eternity Essence, Shang Xia began the process of shifting it. Throughout the movement, he continually suppressed and dispelled the spatial ripples spreading through the river, while his inner qi poured out like a breached dam.

Fortunately, the transfer went smoothly. Though the tremors were unavoidable, he successfully confined their reach to a small area.

With the star in the Megrez position place, the Dipper Star Formation contained five stars.

The star in the Phedca position already existed, and it was one he had identified during his early survey, making it the final pre-existing piece of his plan.

Only the stars in the Merak and Dubhe positions remained vacant.

However, by that point, his inner qi had been nearly exhausted for the second time. Even the Crimson Soul Tablet’s reserves of origin qi had been depleted by more than half.

Much of that energy had already been spent during his clashes with Sage Star Thief and the rest, his defense against the Star River eruptions, and his search through the star belt.

Thankfully, after refining several strands of Eternity Essence, the Big Dipper Star Origin within his dantian underwent a subtle transformation. His control over the energy of the Star River grew stronger, allowing him to directly draw and refine a small amount of essence from the surrounding current and from nearby stars. It greatly improved his endurance.

He didn’t know how long it took, but eventually he restored about 80 percent of his strength and began preparations to shift the sixth star into the Merak position.

However... That was when he almost made a fatal mistake.

After refining the Eternity Essence from the sixth star, he successfully suppressed its violent fluctuations. But he hadn’t anticipated that its proximity to another star would cause a resonance between them. The neighboring star suddenly began pushing Eternity Essence outwards, and the buildup was moments from eruption.

Shang Xia’s heart sank. It was too late to intervene. Even a small eruption in the dense cluster of stars could trigger a localized monstrous tide. Such a chain reaction would be catastrophic.

In desperation, Shang Xia instinctively summoned his Crimson Soul Tablet. Gripping his crimson mace, he pointed toward the unstable star and unleashed his power. 60 percent of his inner qi vanished in an instant as he executed Star Shifting Constellation Transformation with unprecedented force.

A second before the eruption, the entire star vanished from its position. It was instantly displaced, reappearing far away from the cluster of stars already arranged within the Dipper Star Formation.