Chapter 2217: Payback Time

Back when the Spirit Mammoth World had still existed, Shang Xia and the others had already learned that after rejecting several potential paths to the Eighth Order, the Star Origin Lord had chosen another route, one where he would replace the World’s Will with his soul, then advance alongside it!

Now, the Heavenly Field that the Star Origin Lord had managed for countless years had grown into an enormous super power encompassing seven Essence Worlds. If the World’s Will of every single one of them had already been fully replaced by the Star Origin Lord’s soul, then it had to have reached an unfathomable level.

For that very reason, ever since they evolved to the Three Essence Heavenly Field, almost no Sage from the Heaven Observation Star Region had dared enter it, including Shang Xia and Kou Chongxue.

Yet today, facing the Star Origin Lord who was on the verge of controlling seven Essence Worlds, Shang Xia had chosen to break into the Heavenly Field by force, to challenge him directly.

A vast pressure descended upon him in an instant. The oppressive power was immense, but Shang Xia was not surprised, In fact, he found the pressure to be lighter than expected.

Before he could dwell on it, the Star Origin Lord’s emotionless voice echoed through the void. "This old man is repairing the Essence Gui World and assisting its integration into the Heavenly Field. I have no time to deal with you. If you leave now, I will overlook this intrusion. If not, I don’t mind delaying the restoration of the Essence Gui World to make sure you never leave this place alive."

Shang Xia smiled faintly, unmoved by the threat. "That’s quite the coincidence. It’s been several decades since I last paid a visit to your place. I was just wondering what changes has undergone, but it seems Senior Star Origin Lord has grown rather stingy, how disappointing. Still, since you’re not being a gracious host, then allow this junior to play the role of an unruly guest and take a casual stroll through your Heavenly Field."

With that, Shang Xia ignored the oppressive pressure crushing down upon his body and soul and continued striding through the air toward the heart of the Heavenly Field.

The moment his foot moved forward, the space before him distorted and turned dazzlingly chaotic. Invisible spatial currents surged toward him like floods.

Under normal circumstances, such an onslaught would have forced any ordinary Sage to retreat, but before those currents even reached within 1,000 feet of Shang Xia, they split apart and flowed around him.

Still, he did not slow down in the slightest. Each step he took spanned hundreds or even thousands of miles. When the raging storms of space finally subsided, an immense Essence World appeared before his eyes.

At his current location, the rejection and suppression of the Heavenly Field had grown even stronger, and the pressure of the World’s Will that was fully under the Star Origin Lord’s control, had become nearly suffocating.

"It seems Senior Star Origin Lord truly is busy," Shang Xia said with a smile. "So busy, in fact, that you’ve forgotten even the most basic courtesy of receiving a guest. In that case, I suppose I’ll have to make myself comfortable."

As he spoke, he reached into the air, and the mace transformed from the Crimson Soul Tablet appeared in his hand. With a sweeping motion, endless starlight poured from the Star River through the void, converging into seven pillars of light. Seven luminous nails of condensed starlight formed and he drove it straight at seven different points in the Essence World ahead.

Had those star pillars struck, Shang Xia could have drawn upon the power of the Dipper Star Formation to dismantle the Essence World.

But at that critical moment, several brilliant streaks of light burst forth from different points in space, one of them emerging directly from the Essence World itself. They intercepted the seven pillars before they could pierce through the world, and as the lights collided, they annihilated each other in the void, leaving no trace behind.

Shang Xia’s strike, powerful enough to destroy an Essence World, had been neutralized. Or rather, dispelled by the Star Origin Lord himself.

Only, this time, there were a few ‘Star Origin Lords’.

As several figures emerged from the heavenly screen before him, Shang Xia, though not surprised, couldn’t help but feel a faint sense of melancholy. He immediately understood that the Essence World was none other than the former Spirit Mammoth World, or rather, the Essence Mammoth World now.

At the same time, from various directions in the surrounding void, more figures appeared, each one familiar to Shang Xia, though now radiating a similar overwhelming aura. Every one of them was a high-level Sage.

"So it’s true..." Shang Xia said softly, gazing at the six figures who had surrounded him. "The Sages of these Essence Worlds have all become your clones. I suppose these people, ever since they believed your promises and stepped into the Martial Emptiness Realm, were destined from the start to become vessels for your will?"

Though his tone was calm, there was a hint of pity beneath it. He then noticed something and asked curiously, "But why only six of them?"

As he spoke, countless threads of starlight cascaded down around him, expanding outward. Yet just as the light was about to extend beyond the encirclement formed by the six Starlight Clones, an invisible force sealed the area, holding the starlight within.

Even so, the six clones, who had been advancing to tighten the encirclement around him, were forced to halt their steps.

In that tense moment of stillness, the elderly-looking clone standing directly before Shang Xia finally spoke in a stiff voice, "If this old man’s seventh Essence World Clone returned... What chance would you have left to run?"

"Essence World Clone?" Shang Xia murmured, then smiled faintly. "That sounds intriguing. Might Senior Star Origin Lord enlighten me?"

"Sure. It doesn’t matter anyway. Only those who ascend to the Martial Emptiness Realm after their Essence World has been integrated into my Heavenly Field can qualify. They are the native Sages of their respective worlds and are true extensions of my will. As such, they are considered my Essence World Clones."

Hearing that, Shang Xia nodded in sudden understanding. "So that means all those other clones you sent wandering across the Star Fields were nothing more than disposable pawns?"

Another clone spoke in the same emotionless voice. "The origin of an Essence World must remain pure. My Essence World Clones must merge completely with the World’s Will I command. Only in this way can the next stage of my plan proceed without flaw."

Although their exchange sounded calm, the struggle between Shang Xia and the clones never ceased for a moment. Their contest only intensified, warping the starlight itself into twisting currents around them.

Yet Shang Xia’s expression remained relaxed, his voice tinged with light mockery.

"What a pity. Only six avatars have manifested, so the name ‘Seven-Origin Heaven Domain’ still falls a bit short of perfection. Besides, since these Origin Realm avatars are the very foundation of your path to the Eighth Tier, aren’t you afraid I might destroy one or two of them, and slow your ascension?"

The instant his words fell, the six avatars around him acted in unison. Their hands formed identical seals, and behind each of them appeared a vast reflection of an Origin Realm. The six worlds’ immense heaven-and-earth forces descended together, merging as one under their control, and the combined power of six Origin Realms crashed down upon Shang Xia like a collapsing universe.