Splitting the Heavens-Chapter 2215: The Plot

Shang Xia realized that the Star Origin Lord had once again outmaneuvered him, but the result was not entirely disadvantageous.

The Star Origin Lord had been working to merge all eight Star Fields, awaiting the Chaotic Sea of Stars’s ultimate ascension. Yet, was Shang Xia himself not striving for the same goal?

Still, that earlier strike from the Star Origin Lord had bought his clone enough time. The broken Essence World, under the clone’s control, had already vanished beyond Shang Xia’s perception. However, his immediate concern was not the Star Origin Lord nor the soon-to-be Seven Essence Heavenly Field, it was his External Avatar and the current state of the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field.

As the spatial turbulence around him gradually subsided, Shang Xia sensed that the connection between himself and his External Avatar had strengthened slightly compared to when he had been in the Illusory Sea of Stars. That meant that his External Avatar had not been destroyed. Yet that realization made his heart sink even further.

Because if the resonance between them had only grown slightly despite his return to the Chaotic Sea of Stars, it could only mean that his External Avatar was gravely wounded. Once he moved clear of the unstable void, he discovered that his External Avatar was currently within the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field itself.

A dark light flashed through his eyes. Ignoring the exhaustion and internal strain left by the earlier battles, as well as the dangers of traversing unstable space, he tore through the void at full speed toward Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field.

When he arrived at the edge of the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field, he saw that the turbulent streams surrounding the realm remained undisturbed. Only then did his tense mind ease slightly. Upon entering the Heavenly Field, he was met by the Giant Ape Emperor.

But before it even spoke, Shang Xia had already sensed the changes occurring and asked, "What happened?"

The Giant Ape Emperor’s deep, rumbling voice rang in Shang Xia’s ears. "The Star Ship fleet dispatched by the Six Essence Heavenly Field was a trap. Senior Kou and his forces fell for it. Fortunately, our agent within the Six Essence Heavenly Field sent a timely warning. Senior Kou led the feet and broke out, but they were repeatedly ambushed on their return, suffering heavy losses. Senior Kou himself was gravely injured after successive battles."

"At the most critical moment, your External Avatar arrived with me to provide support. We managed to return to the Heaven Observation Star Region, but right then, the Star Origin Lord of the Six Essence Heavenly Field struck across space. Your External Avatar intercepted the attack and was severely wounded..."

The Giant Ape Emperor paused, glancing at Shang Xia’s expressionless face before adding, "Half his body was destroyed. But he bought us enough time for the fleet to make it back to the Heavenly Field safely."

Shang Xia noticed that the Giant Ape Emperor’s enormous body was covered in wounds, and its aura fluctuated as it spoke, showing that it too was badly injured, though its monstrous vitality still kept it standing. Shang Xia nodded slightly. "Since I’m back, there will be no further danger. Return to the Spirit Frost World and rest."

After dismissing the Giant Ape Emperor, Shang Xia returned to his residence in the void of the Essence Luxuriant World. He immediately sensed that Kou Chongxue had entered seclusion within the Tongyou Dao Field, deeply immersed in meditation. Unless the entire Heavenly Field suffered catastrophic damage, it would be impossible to wake him.

As for his External Avatar, it had been placed by Kou Chongxue into the World Origin Source connected to the You Continent, where he was slowly healing using world origin. It seemed Kou Chongxue, too gravely injured to personally help Shang Xia’s External Avatar, had sealed him there for recovery before entering seclusion.

Shang Xia’s External Avatar’s cultivation was equivalent to a high-level Sage at that point. At full strength, he could rival a Sage at the grand completion stage. When only lightly injured, he could heal on his own, but in serious cases, only powerhouses like Shang Xia or Kou Chongxue could assist in the recovery.

That was why Kou Chongxue had placed him in the World Origin Source instead of entrusting anyone else with watching over him.

At the same time, the interference from the World Origin Source was also the reason why Shang Xia’s connection with his External Avatar had weakened earlier. He could have summoned it across the void at that moment, but after some thought, he decided to wait.

Moments later, Sun Haiwei arrived with a report, allowing Shang Xia to finally learn the full story of Kou Chongxue’s failed expedition.

"So..." Shang Xia said quietly, "The Star Origin Lord realized there were spies within the Six Essence Heavenly Field secretly communicating with us. He used the Star Ship expedition to look for an Essence World as a cover, baiting those spies into sending false intelligence, and thus set a trap for an ambush."

Sun Haiwei nodded. "Fortunately, we had more than one agent there. When one of them realized it was a setup, they risked everything to send a warning. But by then, we were already inside the enemy’s encirclement. Patriarch Kou immediately ordered a breakout, yet we still suffered heavy losses. During the retreat back to the Heavenly Field, we were ambushed several more times. In total, over 20 Star Ships were destroyed, including three large Star Ships and an Azure Ark. We had nearly 1,000 casualties. More than 10 True Immortals were killed and over 300 Martial Dipper Realm cultivators were slain or wounded. It was the worst defeat we’ve suffered in decades."

“Still, the enemy had to use a bait to actually trick us into going there. In that region, we managed to recover several massive land fragments. They were remnants of a world from a foreign Star Field, each the size of a continent of a Spirit World. They were likely debris from a foreign Star Field merging into the Chaotic Sea of Stars. In the future, they might serve as the foundation for a sixth auxiliary Spirit World in our Heavenly Field.”

Shang Xia nodded faintly, his face calm as he asked, "Who participated in the ambush? And what news do we have of our spies who remain inside the Six Essence Heavenly Field?"

Sun Haiwei replied, "The main force came from within the Six Essence Heavenly Field itself. Many of the True Immortals were old faces from the Spirit Abundance World and Spirit Mammoth Worlds. The Sage-level combatants were the few long-time cultivators of the Six Essence Heavenly Field whose strength had always hovered at the early stages of the Martial Emptiness Realm. On the way back, we also encountered other Sages trying to intercept us, though most only wanted to pick up some spoils. They didn’t fight to the death."

Shang Xia’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Just them?"

Sun Haiwei understood what he was asking and explained, "They were borrowing the Star Origin Lord’s strength. They could wield it, yet they were not like his clones. They retained their own consciousness. They were not puppets and the ability they used was like your Emberkindled Legacy."

Shang Xia nodded and asked again, "When they borrowed that power, did their strength increase all at once, or did it happen one after another?"

"One after another..." Sun Haiwei answered immediately. "Each time one of them received the borrowed power, their strength would surge temporarily to suppress Patriarch Kou, while the others supported from the side. It was a rotating assault. After many rounds of such exchanges, Patriarch Kou’s injuries accumulated until he was finally overwhelmed. Even with the Giant Ape Emperor’s aid, they were vastly outnumbered."

Shang Xia’s expression grew grim as his thoughts deepened. No one could tell what he was thinking of.

Sun Haiwei seemed to have recalled something as she added, "But there was one strange incident. During the breakout, one of the experts of the Six Essence Heavenly Field who had borrowed the Star Origin Lord’s power suddenly lost control of his body. His energy went into disarray, and his combat strength, which had risen to rival a high-level Sage, collapsed. Patriarch Kou seized the moment and struck him down. If he hadn’t been focused on leading our retreat, he might have expanded that opening and slain the man."