Chapter 2210: RUN

Shang Xia naturally understood the risks of charging alone into the Star Region. Thus, before entering, he had already left behind several contingencies in the surrounding void, ensuring that even if surrounded, he could still retreat safely.

The second he exited the Star Region, he immediately flew at the Star Ship fleet dragging the Star Region forward.

At this point, Shang Xia once more moved ahead of the Sages still trapped inside the Star Region. To him, the Star Ships outside were nothing more than fragile toys he could destroy at will.

Yet this time, Shang Xia did not attack the ships directly. Instead, he swung his mace and released Guided Dipper, summoning a drifting field of meteors in the void. Dozens of Star Ships had the chain and anchors linking them to the Star Region severed in an instant.

Freed of the anchors, those ships immediately fled. They didn’t fly to Shang Xia, nor the Star Region behind them. Instead, they fled into the distance as quickly as they could.

Shang Xia dragged in another meteor shower again. Another wave of Star Ships had their connections cut.

Only then did the Star River Stowaway, followed by several Sages of the Illusory Sea of Stars, burst out from the Star Region in pursuit.

Shang Xia sneered, unleashed Guided Dipper a third time, and another wave of meteors tore through the void.

This time, because the Sages had arrived, most meteors were shattered before reaching the ships.

But then Shang Xia noticed something interesting.

All three times he had used Guided Dipper, the Star Ships themselves had never taken initiative to intercept.

In truth, as long as a True Immortal was stationed on it, they could use the ship’s defensive formations to withstand at least one meteor strike.

That could only mean one thing. Those controlling the ships did not want to drag the Star Region forward!

Most of those on board were elite cultivators from the many Heavenly Fields inside the Star Region.

Could that mean that those in the Star Region... Never wanted to be dragged into the Chaotic Sea of Stars?

Thinking back to the attitudes of the Sages earlier, Shang Xia faintly understood the truth.

Most cultivators, and even Sages, within the Star Region were not willingly participating in the wholesale migration or in the plan to prematurely fuse their homeland into the Chaotic Sea of Stars.

Now that Shang Xia had disrupted the grand operation and even gravely injured the Star Origin Lord’s clone, their resolve had collapsed.

Some acted passively while others scattered like frightened birds.

With fewer and fewer Star Ships capable of dragging the Star Region, and with the force coming from the Heavenly Fields growing half-hearted, the Star River Stowaway’s expression became downright ugly. The Sages of the Illusory Sea of Stars behind him looked equally demoralized.

“This man refuses to give us even a chance to surround him! Even with more people, even with greater overall strength... Out in the endless void, we are helpless!”

“His strength is far beyond an ordinary Sage at the grand completion stage. Even if two or three high-level Sages joined hands, we still wouldn’t stop him. And if the Star Origin Lord’s clone refuses to fight head-on, then relying solely on Sage Dong Jin...”

The speaker stopped abruptly when nudged by a friend, realizing he had said too much.

All of them stood on the Eternal Golden Boat, behind the one they addressed as Sage Dong Jin, the Star River Stowaway.

Dong Jin kept his eyes on the void ahead and said quietly, “No need to hide it. Shang Xia’s strength exceeds mine. Without this Eternal Golden Boat, I would have already been defeated.”

His admission left the experts of the Illusory Sea of Stars exchanging blank looks.

“But...” Dong Jin’s tone shifted suddenly, “The merging of the eight Star Fields into the Chaotic Sea of Stars is inevitable. The opening of the path to the Eighth Order cannot be stopped. What he does is nothing more than a useless effort.”

A mid-level Sage of the Illusory Sea of Stars hesitated, then asked, “Sage Dong Jin... If the path to the Eighth Order is inevitable, why is he resisting so desperately? Does he not want to enter that realm himself?”

Dong Jin glanced at him. The man lowered his head immediately, and several other Illusory Sea of Stars’ Sages also avoided his gaze. Clearly, it was a question that troubled all of them.

Dong Jin did not answer directly.

He looked forward again and said softly, “When the time comes, you will understand.”

The Illusory Sea of Stars’ Sages silently exchanged troubled looks. They were dissatisfied, but they didn’t dare to press the matter further.

Just then, a light streaked out from the Star Region behind them, landing in Dong Jin’s hand.

After reading it, he said in an even tone, “Dragging the entire Star Region is now beyond us. In that case, we shall move several Heavenly Fields first.”

The Sages of the Illusory Sea of Stars were stunned.

Move them... First?

Didn’t that sound absurdly reckless?

But before they could speak, massive spatial ripples erupted from the Star Region behind them.

They turned back only to see at least two Heavenly Fields detaching from the Star Region and drifting forward in a steady trajectory.

And from several other directions, larger waves of spatial turbulence showed that more Heavenly Fields were about to break loose.

“Let’s go.” Dong Jin’s cold voice rang out, and the Eternal Golden Boat set off.

At the same time, four or five Heavenly Fields had already separated from the Star Region.

The 200 to 300 Star Ships that had previously been cut free from their anchors streaked back from all directions, racing toward their respective Heavenly Fields.