Chapter 2206: The Unfortunate Illusory Sea of Stars

Shang Xia’s martial intent, Star Shifting Constellation Transformation, an ability most cultivators of the Illusory Sea of Stars could not even fathom, instantly destroyed dozens of Star Ships of varying sizes. At the same time, it caused more than 10 Sages to slow their pursuit without realizing it, buying Shang Xia a brief, critical moment to break out.

But just as he was about to succeed, an Eternal Golden Boat suddenly tore across his escape route. The surrounding void locked down completely.

There was no doubt about it. It was none other than the Star River Stowaway Shang Xia had stopped back then.

Knowing that evasion was impossible with the opponent personally standing in his way, Shang Xia did not slow down. Instead, he accelerated and charged straight toward the golden vessel.

The so-called Eternal Golden Boat was only immortal against the erosion of the power of space and time in the Star River. That did not mean it remained indestructible in front of Shang Xia’s monstrous strength and the Crimson Soul Tablet he was wielding.

Facing the blockade, Shang Xia let out a thunderous roar. The shockwaves rippled through the supposedly sealed void. The next moment, the raised mace tore through the void in a sweeping strike.

The first form of his Seven Star Mace Technique, Shattered Starry Skies!

Though it was the first move Shang Xia had ever created, with his full strength and the assistance of the Dipper Star Formation, its might far surpassed even the martial intents of ordinary Sages who had reached the grand completion stage.

“The power of space and time... Essence of the Star River... so you really chose to place your Fate Star within the Star River!” A tall, skeletal old man stood on the deck of the Eternal Golden Boat, watching Shang Xia’s sweeping strike with a low voice.

At the same moment, the golden sail unfurled without wind. The void in front of the vessel rippled like a lake surface pushed by a gale, layer upon layer. Shang Xia’s strike shattered the ripples repeatedly, but always fell short of reaching the vessel’s hull. It was as though there was an uncrossable chasm.

The Eternal Golden Boat could resist the erosion of space and time in the Star River itself. How could it be affected by the minor traces of its power infused into Shang Xia’s strike?

Yet Shang Xia was not surprised that his attack failed.

The mace he had swung suddenly extended, shifting shape into a long four-sided staff, and he gripped it with both hands. Raising it above his head, he slammed it downward into the stacked void layers ahead!

The stacked void layers violently opened and connected, forming a separate space that expanded rapidly, until the Eternal Golden Boat fell straight into it.

That was his sixth martial intent, Six Harmony Supporting the Heavens

A split second later, Shang Xia withdrew his staff. Without its support, the enormous space collapsed instantly, completely swallowing the Eternal Golden Boat.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Moreover, because the space expanded in the void before collapsing, it squeezed out the Star Ships occupying that region. When it ruptured, torrents of spatial fragments erupted in all directions.

In mere moments, at least ten Star Ships were sliced clean through. Several more were punctured into sieves by shattered void, and countless others were seriously damaged.

If not for the rapid reaction of battle formations and several Sages calming the spatial turbulence and sealing the cracks, the casualties would have been far greater.

But even so, with the Eternal Golden Boat temporarily removed, Shang Xia finally broke through the encirclement of several dozen Sages, escaping as a streak of starlight through the void.

Before leaving, Shang Xia instinctively glanced back at the collapsing void.

The Eternal Golden Boat was trapped for the time being, but Shang Xia knew it could not be truly harmed. At most, it would be delayed.

What truly concerned him was not the vessel or the Star River Stowaway.

It was the Star Origin Lord’s clone.

Since the illusion covering the Star Region had been unintentionally shattered by him, the Star Origin Lord’s clone had never appeared and had never made a move against him.

Superficially, it looked as if Shang Xia’s remote strike in the Star River had injured the Star Origin Lord and affected his clone. But Shang Xia knew... Though surprising, that strike could not truly damage a star in the Star River, nor cripple the clone.

Looking at the Star Region that was ravaged after losing a hundred ships, mobilizing dozens of Sages, yet still continuing to move through the void at the same steady pace, Shang Xia finally understood why the clone never acted.

A streak of starlight faded in the distance, scattering into the dim void. Only then did many cultivators of the Illusory Sea of Stars breathe out in relief.

But they soon noticed that the Sages of the various Heavenly Fields were not relieved at all. Instead, each grew more tense, more suspicious, their expressions worsening by the moment.

Just then, in another direction, several medium Star Ships crossed a patch of void. Because the dim glow of a star brightened ever so slightly, those ships were swallowed silently into the darkness and vanished.

The next instant, a figure tore out of the void, only to find that patch of space had already returned to normal. The Sage who had rushed over stood frozen, his face deathly pale.

The four missing Star Ships were all from his Heavenly Field. One of them carried a personal disciple of his, three of his bloodline descendants, and dozens sect members. Now... All of them had disappeared.

But soon he realized he was not the unluckiest.

Less than the time it took to burn a stick of incense later, in another direction of this vast fleet, Shang Xia appeared again.

And with another Star Shifting Constellation Transformation, he snatched away three more Star Ships before anyone could react, then vanished.

From then on, Shang Xia became like a ghost.

Circling the massive fleet dragging an entire Star Region, he launched repeated ambushes and harassment. Relying on his overwhelming strength and unpredictable movement, he weaved between the fleet and the moving Star Region, striking only when certain of success, and fleeing instantly afterward.

Not once did he linger.

Not once were the combined forces of the Illusory Sea of Stars able to pin him down.

They could only return empty-handed, again and again, completely helpless to his random harassment.