Chapter 1957: Chapter 1957

The situation Shang Xia faced was quite different from when he had previously dragged the Spirit Ruling World and Spirit Frost World back from the edge of the Original Stars Corner.

Back then, most of the high-level powers of the Original Stars Corner had already been drawn in and distracted by the great spatial vortex. Their underestimation of the Essence Luxuriant Fleet allowed Shang Xia to tow two Spirit Worlds away right under their noses.

But now, although Shang Xia had managed to regroup with the fleet, it was nowhere near as formidable as the one that had been sent to the Original Stars Corner. Moreover, even though he had advanced to a high-level Sage, there was another cultivator of equal strength, Yuan Ling, on the battlefield. On top of that, several other Sages had arrived, making the current situation several times more dangerous than when he was back in the Original Stars Corner.

More importantly, there was the matter of the Essence Chong World...

Even though the Essence Chong World had been critically damaged and would likely fall to the level of a spiritual realm if it were to survive, it still had not officially been demoted.

Despite its devastation, the realm’s provincial domains were still genuine territories from Essence Worlds, and most of its foundations remained intact.

Even though Shang Xia held the upper hand with the timely arrival of his fleet, he had no intention of monopolizing the realm.

The Essence Chong World, after all, had never been a particularly advanced Essence World. Before Shang Xia’s assault, it had only just begun development of its 26th continent, its growth lagging even behind that of the Essence Luxuriant World.

Unfortunately, its location sat directly at the heart of the ladle formed by the Big Dipper Formation Shang Xia used to break through.

When Shang Xia unleashed his newly created fifth form of the Seven Star Mace Technique, Dipper Vortex, with the power of seven suns, the resulting force far exceeded what his cultivation could fully control.

The Essence Chong Heavenly Field was shattered. The Essence Chong World and the Spirit Light World began drifting helplessly in the void.

Three of the Essence Chong World’s almost 26 continents were annihilated in an instant. Seven others were heavily damaged, and the 26th, which was still under development, was reduced to scattered islands.

And that only accounted for the surface-level destruction. As for the losses in the World Origin Source... Shang Xia had an even clearer understanding of what had happened.

By his estimate, at least 40 percent of the Essence Chong World Origin Source had been lost, and it was still leaking.

If the gathered Sages did not promptly divide the world and incorporate its continents into their Heavenly Fields, then once the native cultivators completed their emergency repairs and resealed the world, they might have already lost 60 percent of their World Origin Source.

Inside the Essence Chong World, a recently summoned spatial barrier that was acting as a temporary Heavenly Screen had once again been torn open. Gazing upon the massive Star Ship looming overhead and sensing the dread transmitted through the wounded World’s Will, the cultivators of their world immediately understood the grim fate that awaited them.

The land was breaking apart, entire continents were being split and carved...

With their extensive experience in splitting up a world, the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field was able to mitigate many of the apocalyptic effects that typically accompanied such division, reducing the loss during the extraction process.

Out of the 15 relatively intact continents in the Essence Chong World, the Essence Luxuriant World instantly claimed four. They also chose the larger ones with minimal damage.

Additionally, two adjacent continents that had been partially damaged were also grabbed by them during the process.

Within the extracted territory were two Elysiums, but the True Immortals who remained showed no resistance. They surrendered the moment they realized what was happening.

As the Essence Luxuriant Fleet prepared to leave the Essence Chong World, their True Immortals were invited onto the You Continent. Shortly after, they were returned to their sects and assigned to assist the Essence Luxuriant World's high-level cultivators in suppressing the lingering World’s Will within the fragmented continents, so that the continents could be successfully absorbed into the Spirit Arks.

Only Essence Arks could fully carry fragments of an Essence World.

Unfortunately, constructing such arks was even more difficult than building super Star Ships like the You Continent.

Although the Essence Luxuriant World, under Chu Jia’s leadership, had begun building Essence Arks, completion might take decades. It would be far too late for the current situation.

If they wished to transport the fragments of the Essence Chong World using their Spirit Arks, they had to resort to special methods.

In addition to multiple True Immortals suppressing the residual World’s Will, the critical element was Shang Xia himself. Within the arks, he had to personally maintain his martial intent, Six Harmony Supporting the Heavens.

He had to sustain his martial intent throughout the return journey, a task that inevitably weakened his personal combat strength.

Fortunately, in his previous battle against Yuan Ling, Shang Xia had already displayed enough power to intimidate any lurking threats. With his External Avatar, a third star Sage at his side, things wouldn’t be that dangerous.

Thus, as the Essence Luxuriant Fleet gradually withdrew from the broken Essence Chong World, neither Yuan Ling nor Yan Yu, nor any of the Sages lurking nearby, made a move to interfere.

After all, half of the Essence Chong World and half of the Spirit Light World were still left for the others to divide.

"How are you holding up?" Xin Lu’s voice rang in his mind.

Gao Qin and Xin Lu arrived at the same time. Unlike Gao Qin’s rather serious demeanor, Xin Lu looked much more relaxed.

Shang Xia understood why Xin Lu asked. He smiled. "Much better than I expected. With my support, my External Avatar is maintaining my martial intent. Even though he can’t initiate my martial intent, just maintaining it is possible. As for me, my inner qi is more than enough to support my martial intent in both arks."

Xin Lu grinned suddenly and gasped, "So, you’ll soon be able to focus on stabilizing your cultivation?"

Since Shang Xia broke through to a high-level Sage, he had fought a rank seven spiritual beast, survived a two-on-one ambush by Yuan Ling and Yan Yu, and then had to oversee the world division and stabilize both arks. He hadn’t had a single moment of peace to consolidate his foundations, causing great concern among the high-level experts of the Essence Luxuriant World.

Now that he finally had time to focus on cultivating, it was great news for his world’s high-level cultivators.

Still, Shang Xia noticed something weird in their expressions and asked, "Is the situation in the Heaven Observation Star Region getting worse?"

Gao Qin and Xin Lu exchanged glances. Eventually, Xin Lu replied, "The Void Mirage appears to be expanding. Although several Sages suppressed it, we received word as we were leaving that something is trying to break out from within. The experts stationed there have already clashed with it several times."

Shang Xia’s expression remained calm, clearly unsurprised. "Has there been any word from the Patriarch?"

Gao Qin was briefly stunned but shook her head. "No instructions from the Patriarch."

Shang Xia nodded. That meant that Kou Chongxue believed the situation at the Void Mirage was still within their control.

Especially since the Star Origin Lord, the sly old fox, was there. His foresight in gathering most of the Sages in the Star Region near the Void Mirage, forming a tense equilibrium, showed he had long prepared for it.

Still, Shang Xia asked, "How is the Patriarch doing now?"

Gao Qin finally cracked a smile. "Patriarch Kou has successfully reached the third star."

Shang Xia nodded slowly. He wasn’t surprised. When Kou Chongxue allowed others to bring his Hidden Frost Sword to assist him, Shang Xia had already guessed that the old man had made significant gains. Even without his sword in hand, he had full confidence to face whatever came.

Shang Xia then asked, "By the way, how are the high-level native cultivators from the Essence Chong World doing lately?"

Gao Qin quickly replied, "That’s what I wanted to report. Most of them are quite obedient. There may be some who are resentful, but our experts present, they understand the situation clearly. With their Essence Chong World already split apart, if they want to preserve their martial heritage, they have to rely on us. They’ve also been very proactive in helping suppress the residual World’s Will."

Xin Lu scoffed, "Of course they’re proactive, they’re doing it for their own survival."

Gao Qin hesitated for a moment before asking, "What do we plan to do with the natives? Especially both Elysiums... They’ve tried repeatedly to meet you. They want to know their fate. I’ve... I’ve accepted quite a few gifts on your behalf."

Shang Xia shot her a look of amusement. A little bribery was beneath his concern. "The Elysiums must be separated from their original continents. Their core martial inheritances must be copied and handed over. As for the sects... Give them those two damaged continents and relocate them to the Spirit Ruling World."

Gao Qin raised her eyebrows in shock. "You’re giving them two continents?"

Xin Lu also added at the side, "I thought all these fragments were going to be integrated into our Essence Luxuriant World?"