Chapter 2249: Shattering the Seven Essence. Phantom of the Nine Palaces

In all the clashes between Shang Xia and the Star Origin Lord, it was the first time that the Essence Ping World had been breached by an outside force, against the Star Origin Lord’s will.

In the past, the Essence Ping World had also faced invasions from other worlds, and several of its continents had even been taken. Yet those incidents had unfolded within the Star Origin Lord’s control. Indeed, some had even been orchestrated by him deliberately.

But this time was different. This time, everything had spiraled beyond the Star Origin Lord’s grasp.

If the earlier division of the Essence Abundance World and the collateral damage to the surrounding worlds had been like slow bleeding, wounds whose effects would take time to appear, then the direct breach of the Essence Ping World was like a dagger driven straight into the Star Origin Lord’s abdomen.

The Star Origin Lord roared in fury. Behind him, the Essence Ping World’s Will, which was basically his soul, roared as well, its anger echoing within the plane of divine consciousness.

A vast tide of energy surged toward Shang Xia in a direct assault on his soul.

It was the most primal clash of souls, the most perilous confrontation of martial wills. It was a kind of life-and-death struggle that cultivators usually reserved for the very brink of their annihilation.

Normally, the stronger side could evade such suicidal blows. By widening the distance, the effects of the weaker party’s desperate attack could be greatly reduced.

Thus, among high-level cultivators, such final gambits were rarely effective except when the stronger side was caught unprepared. Though they could sometimes lead to mutual destruction, or even reversal of defeat, more often than not, they were avoided entirely.

Indeed, the Star Origin Lord’s apparent desperation was not meant to perish together with Shang Xia. His true goal was simply to force Shang Xia out of his Heavenly Field.

The strike was formidable indeed. The depth of his 1,000 year accumulation was not something to be underestimated.

When that pure torrent of energy came rushing toward him, attempting to crush his soul, Shang Xia did step back immediately.

Yet he did not choose the method he had once used, isolating himself in the void by stepping out of the Seven Essence Heavenly Field. Instead, he simply retreated, pulling distance between himself and the Star Origin Lord, between himself and the Essence Ping World. He never left the boundary of the Seven Essence Heavenly Field.

The Star Origin Lord knew, however, that if he could not drive Shang Xia out this time, what awaited him next would be his death.

As Shang Xia continued to retreat, a radiant sun-like star slowly rose from the depths of the Heavenly Field.

Its blazing light struck Shang Xia’s divine soul directly, and he immediately felt an unbearable burning. His soul seemed to melt like wax under a flame.

"This is an Eternity Treasure!"

At the very instant that blazing orb emerged, Shang Xia recognized it. It was a Star Core from the Star River, the treasure that had allowed the Star Origin Lord to ascend to the Eighth Order.

During their previous battles, Shang Xia had repeatedly tried to locate the Eternity Treasure that fueled the Star Origin Lord’s breakthrough. He had thought the core had vanished after the ascension, but now he realized the Star Origin Lord had fused it directly into his soul.

Shang Xia had to admit... It was a brilliant move.

By using his soul to replace the various Worlds’ Will, the Star Origin Lord had placed immense strain upon himself. Even with his vast preparation, replacing a single World’s Will was already a monumental feat. Replacing seven in such a short span would have been unbearable for most beings.

Had it been any other cultivator, even Shang Xia himself, they might have faltered.

This was likely why, within the Seven Essence Heavenly Field, only the Essence Ping World was truly under the Star Origin Lord’s control. The other six remained governed only indirectly through his Essence World Clones.

The fusion of the Star Core with the Star Origin Lord’s soul had caught Shang Xia off guard, but he wasn’t helpless against it.

Ever since his cultivation had reached the Triple Command Realm, he had been diligently practicing his Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter. His soul was purer and denser than that of any expert of the same level, having been long tempered by countless trials.

Even when faced with the searing radiance of the sun, he withstood it without flinching.

In the very next instant, Shang Xia hurled the Crimson Soul Tablet.

The Star Origin Lord’s Star Core was an Eternity Treasure, but Shang Xia’s weapon was an Eternity Artifact.

The Star Origin Lord had refined the Eternity Treasure into his soul, but the Crimson Soul Tablet had resided in Shang Xia’s sea of consciousness since the beginning.

The Star Origin Lord’s radiant sun existed only as a spiritual manifestation. It was illusory. Whereas, Shang Xia’s weapon was real. It could strike both physically and at his enemy’s soul.

When the Star Origin Lord realized the danger and hastily tried to scatter his strike, the Crimson Soul Tablet still struck home, dissipating the blow that came.

The true terror of that strike lay in the fact that once the Star Origin Lord’s attack was nullified, the Star Origin Lord’s soul would be wounded.

And since his soul had already merged completely with the Essence Ping World’s Will, the Essence Ping World couldn’t remain unscathed.

Outside the heavenly screen, the Star Origin Lord’s manifested body flickered and nearly disintegrated.

Shang Xia’s condition was hardly better. Though he had endured both the searing blaze of the Star Core and the backlash from his strike, his soul was affected.

But crucially, he had not been forced out of the Seven Essence Heavenly Field.

Once again, the advantages of his Man and Heaven Synergy Chapter showed its worth. Even with his soul damaged, his combat strength diminished, he still managed to summon the power of the Dipper Star Formation. Drawing upon the power of the Dipper Star Formation, Shang Xia unleashing her martial intents once again, directed straight at the Essence Ping World.

This time, the Star Origin Lord was a moment too late to react.

His scattered body had not yet fully reformed when the unstoppable might from Shang Xia’s martial intents came crashing down, tearing through the void and engulfing him entirely.

The flood did not stop there, it smashed through the heavenly screen and, for the first time, crashed into the continents of the Essence Ping World.

With its arrival, the world trembled. Storms roared across the sky as lightning raged. Powerful hurricanes howled through the air and dust filled the heavens. On land, magma burst forth, mountains shattered, and fissures split the earth. Out at sea, waterspouts twisted upward like mega serpents of the deep sea.

Whether by the Star Origin Lord’s command or by the world’s instinct to defend itself, was a desperate effort to resist the rampage of Shang Xia’s martial intents.

The devastation looked like the end of the world had come, yet ironically, these upheavals shielded the world origin from being directly destroyed by the invading power.

Even so, by the time the divine torrent finally dissipated, Shang Xia’s figure had already passed through the heavenly screen and a mighty figure stood within the Essence Ping World.