Chapter 2224: Who’s That Pokemon?

Shang Xia’s attempt to break through to the Eight Trigram Realm by uniting the origin qi of the nine Star Fields had caused an impact far greater than he had ever anticipated.

According to the estimates of the Star Origin Lord and Dong Jin, the amount of energy that had gathered within that temporary pocket of space he created, though composed of the combined origin qi of all nine Star Fields, was equivalent to no more than half of the World Origin Source of an Essence World.

Yet when that temporary space shattered and the energy it contained dispersed into the Heaven Observation Star Region, it acted like a catalyst, directly triggering the origin qi of the different Star Fields across the void to begin fusing together at an accelerated rate.

The Star Origin Lord and Dong Jin soon noticed this as well. Though both agreed the phenomenon would further hasten the Chaotic Sea of Stars’ evolution, they understood that compared to the size of the Star Fields, the Heaven Observation Star Region, encompassing only a handful of Heavenly Fields, was but a drop in the cosmic ocean. The ascension might arrive a bit sooner, but not by much.

Even so, once the Star Origin Lord realized Shang Xia had already slipped beyond his reach, he swiftly parted ways with Dong Jin and returned to his Heavenly Field. There, he began focusing on accelerating the integration of the seventh Essence World, while also overseeing the recovery of the severely damaged Essence Mammoth World.

The previous battle within the Six Essence Heavenly Field, combined with Shang Xia’s recent attempt to advance, had left the Star Origin Lord with an unmistakable sense of urgency.

Dong Jin, meanwhile, had been unsettled by the Star Origin Lord’s parting words. Instead of leaving immediately, he lingered near the site, deeply intrigued by the eight spatial channels that once connected to the other Star Fields but were closed.

As for Shang Xia, he had departed just moments before the Star Origin Lord and Dong Jin arrived. He did not return to the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field. Instead, he left the Heaven Observation Star Region entirely.

Yet, not long after setting out toward the Towering Star Region, his figure abruptly emerged from the void. He raised his gaze toward the distant depths of the void.

Beyond sight, deep within the Star River, where countless stars burned with blinding light and searing heat, within that ocean of radiance and unstable temporal spatial currents, lay Shang Xia’s Dipper Star Formation. It was the complete Dipper Star Formation, comprising all 10 stars.

At that moment, however, the surfaces of those ten suns flickered irregularly, pulsing faintly like a rhythmic breath.

Soon, the fluctuations across the stars began to synchronize. A vast, unseen field took shape, extending outward and merging seamlessly into the boundless sea of light and heat, dissolving into the invisible temporal forces that pervaded the Star River itself.

Once the invisible field stabilized, the stars settled into stillness once more, appearing utterly identical to the countless other solar giants surrounding them.

Time and distance were meaningless within the Star River, so it was impossible to tell how long had passed when, amidst the dense cluster of stars, a single golden streak of light darted through, vanishing swiftly into the brilliance.

Far away, within the Chaotic Sea of Stars, Shang Xia, who had been hovering motionless in the void as he made his way to the Towering Star Region, lowered his gaze. His expression was calm, betraying nothing. Then he resumed his journey forward.

Though his Dipper Star Formation resided deep within the Star River, he could still sense its surrounding region through his link to it.

Just moments earlier, he had felt something pass near that area, an unfamiliar presence slicing through space. If his instincts were correct, that presence had been an Eternal Golden Boat.

The Dipper Star Formation was located in one of the most perilous, energy-dense regions of the Star River, a zone where the concentration of solar giants and temporal distortions made even seasoned navigators wary.

Even for those who owned Eternal Golden Boats, the ship’s shielding could only slow the erosion of the currents of space and time. It could not completely negate them.

Thus, most Star River Stowaways, no matter how powerful their vessels, stayed near the outer edges or the gentler tributaries of the Star River. Few dared to enter the core flow, where the suns burned most densely, unless they had a reason too important to ignore.

For instance, to locate the Fate Star of a mighty Sage at the grand completion stage.

If the intruder’s purpose truly had been to find Shang Xia’s Dipper Star Formation, then although the searcher had ultimately failed, the fact that they had passed through its vicinity meant they had already narrowed down its location through calculation. They must have determined a probable range. It was not a random attempt, but a targeted one.

Even considering the two occasions when Shang Xia had drawn heavily upon the power of the Dipper Star Formation to fight, pinpointing it among the innumerable stars of the Star River was something no rank six Grand Stargazer could ever accomplish.

Shang Xia had already confirmed this through Yuan Qiuyuan, the most gifted Stargazer of the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field, who had long since reached the peak of the sixth rank and admitted that even his sight could not reach into the Star River itself.

That left only one possibility, there was a rank seven Grand Stargazer attempting to deduce the location of Shang Xia’s Dipper Star Formation. That expert was undoubtedly located within the Six Essence Heavenly Field, and he was most likely none other than the Star Origin Lord himself.

Fortunately, Shang Xia had learned from the destruction of his original Dipper Star Formation. The reconstructed formation was now hidden deep within the main body of the Star River, in the densest region of stars. The new configuration itself formed a massive stellar array that Shang Xia could command even across the barrier separating the Star River from the Star Fields, allowing him to respond instantly and mask his presence.

Thus, when that unidentified Eternal Golden Boat passed nearby, its pilot, no matter how skilled, sensed nothing unusual.

Still, another possibility lingered in Shang Xia’s mind. Perhaps the rank seven Grand Stargazer of the Six Essence Heavenly Field was simply incompetent, or perhaps even a true expert at that level lacked the precision to locate a Fate Star buried that deep within the Star River.

After all, even the Star Origin Lord’s Fate Star, or at least one of them, was known to reside only near the edge of the Star River, not within the core.

Another detail also caught Shang Xia’s attention. The fact that the Star Origin Lord had sent someone willing to enter the main current of the Star River on his behalf meant the Star River Stowaway was no ordinary subordinate. Their relationship had to be close.

And most importantly, this person was not Dong Jin.

That meant the Star Origin Lord was collaborating with multiple Star River Stowaways, not just one or two.

𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

As the thoughts passed through his mind, the vast expanse of the Towering Star Region appeared in the distance.

Shang Xia’s journey there had not taken long. He had followed the connection to the foreign Star Field that was connected to their Star Region, the same channel that once connected to the Heaven Observation Star Region.

Though the channel itself had collapsed, its fragile void structure had not fully healed. For others, rediscovering and traversing it would have been nearly impossible, but for Shang Xia, it was effortless.

However, as he neared the outskirts of the Towering Star Region, his eyes reflected the faint light of the Dipper Star Formation, allowing him to see what ordinary vision could not. There was an immense and unfamiliar Star Field casting its shadow across the entire Star Region, as though it might descend at any moment and swallow everything beneath it.

He blinked lightly, the starlight fading from his pupils, and the vision vanished. Yet he understood what it meant. Just like the Illusory Sea of Stars and the Heaven Observation Star Region, which were separated by nothing but a paper-thin barrier, the Gathered Sea of Stars was now only a breath away from fully merging into the Towering Star Region.

Without hesitation, Shang Xia transformed the Crimson Soul Tablet into a mace and struck the void before him.

The blow pierced through the barriers of space, linking the Chaotic Sea of Stars and the Gathered Sea of Stars once more.

As he withdrew his Crimson Soul Tablet, a torrent of pure origin qi from the Gathered Sea of Stars surged violently through the narrow void passage, flooding into the Chaotic Sea of Stars once again.