Chapter 2211: Void Mirage

Several Heavenly Fields suddenly detached from the Star Region and began migrating through the void on their own. This shocked not only the Illusory Sea of Stars lords who had been following the star-river smuggler, but even Shang Xia found himself stunned when he saw it.

Though Shang Xia had been charging wildly through the Illusory Sea of Stars and had thrown the entire Star Region migration into chaos, exhausting everyone involved...

In truth, if the Illusory Sea of Stars had been willing to ignore all losses and insist on pushing the Star Region forward while standing united, there was no way Shang Xia alone could have truly stopped them. At most, he would destroy another Heavenly Field, like the one earlier, or force them to lose a few hundred more Star Ships.

However... Something no one expected to happen... Actually did.

Shang Xia was forced to consider whether a deeper motive lay behind the sudden development.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The Star Origin Lord’s clone, or rather, the Star Origin Lord himself, had grown desperate!

Since the migration of the Star Region had been slowed, hampered, and disrupted at every turn, he chose to tear the Star Region apart, allowing each Heavenly Field to migrate individually!

There was no doubt about it... He was pressed for time!

That also showed something else. To hasten the Illusory Sea of Stars’ integration and push the Chaotic Sea of Stars toward an overall advancement, the required origin qi might not be as vast as expected!

Shang Xia’s gaze immediately locked onto the very first Heavenly Field that had broken free, also the one traveling the fastest.

A Star Region contained many Heavenly Fields, but each Heavenly Field was already an enormous, self-contained system. Even if migrating individually was faster than dragging the entire Star Region as one piece, they could not possibly move that fast.

Shang Xia swept his senses across them, trying to locate the Star Origin Lord’s clone among the migrating pieces.

But each Heavenly Field clearly had a Sage guarding it now. With the space around each Heavenly Field strengthened, it was difficult for Shang Xia to sense anything inside.

In the end, he chose the simplest approach. He decided to target the fastest-moving Heavenly Field.

But his movement was quickly noticed. Dong Jin and his Eternal Golden Boat burst forth from the void to intercept him.

Glancing at the vessel from the corner of his eye, Shang Xia turned into a streak of starlight and vanished again.

Dong Jin was not discouraged and continued chasing with several Sages of the Illusory Sea of Stars.

The reason they had changed their tracking method lay in their earlier failures. Every time they were on the verge of surrounding Shang Xia, they would mysteriously slip up by an instant.

Ultimately, Dong Jin, who had deep familiarity with the power of space and time, pointed out the truth.

Shang Xia’s mastery of the power of space and time far exceeded their expectations. By the time they approached him, they would unknowingly slow down as they were caught in his manipulation.

That was why many of the Sages of the Illusory Sea of Stars gathered on Dong Jin’s Eternal Golden Boat. It was both for the speed boost and because the vessel offered powerful protection against spacetime distortion.

It protected not only their speed, but also the speed at which their vitality drained.

Yes.

Only after prolonged engagements did they realize that their life force was leaking faster than normal. To Sages, longevity was sacred. Even the slightest abnormal loss caused panic.

Shang Xia approached three Heavenly Fields in succession, but each time, their Sage would use the power of their Heavenly Field to repel him. Then Dong Jin and his group would arrive to surround him, forcing Shang Xia to retreat.

However... It wasn’t long before the Sages of the Illusory Sea of Stars sensed something wrong.

He clearly knew that breaking into a Heavenly Field guarded by a Sage was impossible, and that lingering too long risked being trapped. Yet he kept charging different Heavenly Fields, one after another, as though he wanted to look for something.

“He is searching for the Star Origin Lord’s clone!” Dong Jin exposed Shang Xia’s intent in a single sentence.

But as soon as he said it, a Sage from the Illusory Sea of Stars objected. “Sage Dong, if this Shang Xia insists on hunting the Star Origin Lord’s clone, then we can simply push these Heavenly Fields into the Chaotic Sea of Stars. Why let him drag us around?”

Another added, “Let that clone deal with him. It’s only one of the Star Origin Lord’s clones. Even if it’s destroyed, it won’t hurt the true body. We shouldn’t waste time over such a thing.”

Dong Jin’s expression shifted slightly. Clearly, he was unsettled. His Eternal Golden Boat slowed just a little.

That delay meant that when Shang Xia examined the fourth Heavenly Field, the pursuers failed to arrive in time.

Fortunately, Shang Xia seemed focused only on finding the Star Origin Lord’s clone. Once he sensed that the guardian inside was not the clone, he immediately left.

But the next second... A sudden, violent spatial quake erupted without warning. It carried a peculiar signature. A surge of mixed world origin rapidly intensified.

Shang Xia instantly realized. Another void passage connecting to the Chaotic Sea of Stars had opened!

No, it wasn’t a new passage.

Void Mirage!

The void passage at Void Mirage had been reopened.

That meant that the massive seal that had been on the other side... It had been broken by someone!

What disturbed Shang Xia even more was that the Void Mirage had been under covert surveillance. It was watched by several Sages of the Heaven Observation Star Region, and his External Avatar!

Who could have slipped past all of them and unlocked that void passage?

Just as Shang Xia’s mind reeled with this realization, a phantom-like spatial portal appeared nearby.

And then... From the drifting debris of the earlier collapsed Heavenly Field, the Essence World that had been Shang Xia’s main target earlier had somehow traveled here without anyone noticing.

The next instant, the damaged Essence World was swallowed whole by the spatial gate.