Chapter 2226: Shoo Shoo Shoo

This time, Shang Xia saw it clearly. It was the Star River, or more precisely, a tributary separated from it.

That tributary was now pushing the Illusory Sea of Stars toward fusion with the Chaotic Sea of Stars.

In the past, while traveling through other Star Regions, Shang Xia had been able to sense the integration of the foreign Star Fields. Yet never before had he witnessed the Star River’s tributary exerting such a visible and direct influence on any of them.

There was no doubt about it. After Shang Xia’s series of simulated breakthroughs to the Eight Trigram Realm across the eight Star Regions, the pace of merger with the Chaotic Sea of Stars had accelerated further.

He did not know if his own actions were directly responsible, but it was undeniable that they had played a significant role in hastening the process.

When he stepped once more into the Heaven Observation Star Region, his earlier intuition grew stronger.

The Illusory Sea of Stars’ origin qi wasn’t just merging into the Chaotic Sea of Stars, but the Star Field itself.

The density of origin qi in the Heaven Observation Star Region had increased by more than 20 percent compared to when he had left. Moreover, the newly fused origin qi, the amalgamation of nine origin qi, accounted for over 60 percent of all energy in the Chaotic Sea of Stars.

At the same time, the space in the Chaotic Sea of Stars was rapidly expanding, though the rate of expansion was still slower than the Illusory Sea of Stars’ fusion.

This imbalance suggested something important. The quality of space within the Chaotic Sea of Stars, or more specifically, within the Heaven Observation Star Region, was steadily improving.

By then, Shang Xia understood that under the tide of cosmic evolution, the closer the process drew to completion, the faster it would proceed.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

The feeling became unmistakable once he entered the Heaven Observation Star Region.

Yet through his journey across all eight major Star Regions, Shang Xia had discovered something else. While the internal spaces of those Star Regions were expanding, the distances between them were shrinking.

Thus, his stint around the Star Regions had taken far less time than he had initially expected.

He also observed another change. Each Star Region’s prior tendency to converge toward the Heaven Observation Star Region had nearly vanished, likely due to the influence of the foreign Star Fields merging into the Chaotic Sea of Stars.

Still, a few independent Heavenly Fields, Essence Worlds, Spirit Worlds, or even Azure Worlds had begun drifting through the void toward the Heaven Observation Star Region, drawn by an unseen natural pull, as though the Heaven Observation Star Region had become the new center of the Chaotic Sea of Stars’ ascension.

Indeed, that was precisely the case.

After completing his journey through the eight Star Regions, Shang Xia confirmed that the Heaven Observation Star Region occupied the central position of the Chaotic Sea of Stars, while the seven encircled it like auxiliary stars.

But that configuration left one anomaly, the Illusory Sea of Stars. Its direct void passage connected it not to the border of the Heaven Observation Star Region, but to its core. Once it merged, it would occupy the central region of the ascended Chaotic Sea of Stars.

This realization left Shang Xia with a deep sense of disharmony, a visceral discomfort that only someone standing on the threshold of the Eighth Order could perceive so clearly.

Thus, upon entering the Heaven Observation Star Region, he didn’t stop by the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field. Instead, he went straight toward the Void Mirage, the former boundary between both Star Fields.

Now, no one was stationed there for surveillance. The void had become so thin and unstable, being the closest region to the Illusory Sea of Stars, that even higher-leveled cultivators could use special techniques to see through the faint spatial barrier separating both Star Fields.

From the Illusory Sea of Stars’ side, however, the view remained hazy and indistinct.

Shang Xia suspected that the asymmetry was due to the flow of the Illusory Sea of Stars’ origin qi toward the Chaotic Sea of Stars.

Still, that did not hinder what he planned to do next. He intended to completely sever the Void Mirage from the Heaven Observation Star Region, before it could become the Illusory Sea of Stars’ merging point.

For someone of Shang Xia’s current strength, it was difficult but far from impossible.

So, without informing anyone, he chose to do it alone.

Once he had adjusted his condition to its peak, Shang Xia started to draw on the power of his Dipper Star Formation from the Star River.

Boundless starlight imbued with the power of space and time descended through the void beyond the Chaotic Sea of Stars. Under his control, it condensed into a wall of radiant starlight, sharp as a blade. It fell before him, slicing open the void and creating a rift over a 100,000 miles long.

But that was still not enough.

Unleashing his Four Constellation Samsara Blade, the wall of light expanded to nearly 400,000 miles, and the chasm deepened, cutting through the void far more completely.

Soon, the Void Mirage lay isolated beyond that radiant wall.

Then, with both palms pressing upon the colossal starlight barrier, Shang Xia began to push it outward with immense force.

This time, he called upon two powerful martial intents. He unleashed both Six Harmony Supporting the Heavens and Star Shifting Constellation Transformation, stabilizing the widening rift and preventing it from closing while pushing it away from the Heaven Observation Star Region.

At that moment, Shang Xia’s eyes flickered when he detected someone appearing behind him.

Unfazed, he continued to push the Void Mirage further.

When Shang Xia had begun slicing the void, the Star Origin Lord had already sensed his intentions.

He appeared soon after, emerging from the void not far behind Shang Xia. But he did not attack; instead, his gaze lingered warily upon another figure who had arrived at almost the exact same time. It was Shang Xia’s External Avatar.

After spending great effort and using vast quantities of origin qi and rare materials to repair it, his External Avatar had been fully restored by the time Shang Xia returned from his trip around the Star Regions.

Though he could never rival the Star Origin Lord, whose power stood at the absolute pinnacle of the Martial Emptiness Realm, it could at least buy time for Shang Xia’s true self to finish severing the Void Mirage.

"Why are you doing this?"

Seeing that the deed was already nearly accomplished, the Star Origin Lord did not strike. His tone carried an odd mixture of curiosity and apprehension.

Shang Xia’s External Avatar, perfectly synchronized with his true body, turned and replied, "Don’t you find it strange? Out of eight foreign Star Fields merging with the Chaotic Sea of Stars, seven form a ring, yet the Illusory Sea of Stars alone connects directly to the Heaven Observation Star Region at the center. Doesn’t that feel... wrong?"

The Star Origin Lord’s expression grew stranger still. "Just because it looks wrong?"

Shang Xia’s External Avatar raised an eyebrow. "Isn’t that enough? Or do you think there’s another reason?"

The Star Origin Lord smiled faintly, not answering the question, but asked instead, "From what I knew, you once sought to delay the fusion of the foreign Star Fields. So why have you been tearing through Star Regions lately, accelerating it instead?"

Shang Xia’s calm voice rang in the void. It didn’t come from his External Avatar this time. "Heh. I simply thought it might be amusing to let the Chaotic Sea of Stars ascend faster than anyone expects."

Behind him, the Void Mirage drifted farther and farther away. Unless someone intervened, that section of void would soon detach completely, not only from the Heaven Observation Star Region, but from the entire region surrounding it.