Chapter 1977: Chapter 1977

Shang Xia honored his prior commitment by intercepting an attack from Yuan Ling, providing cover for the Essence Xing World’s fleet to make their escape.

At the same time, the Wanyun Association, which had already planned to defect to the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field, brought the entire continent along with their Elysium over, awaiting reception from the forces of the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field.

With the arrival of the Star Ships from the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field, Shang Xia and the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field were immediately accused of opportunistic looting and insatiable greed. They were jointly attacked by several nearby Sages.

Although the sudden onslaught caught Shang Xia somewhat off guard, as a high-level Sage, standing at the absolute peak of strength across the Chaotic Sea of Stars, he was never one to let opponents succeed easily.

Just as the starlight barrier protecting the Wanyun Continent was about to be torn apart, the starlight collapsed and twisted on its own, forming seven star vortices in the shape of the Big Dipper across the void surrounding the floating Wanyun Continent.

All attacks within the surrounding void, including that of Yuan Ling, were immediately neutralized and devoured.

That was Shang Xia’s fifth form of his Seven Star Mace Technique, Dipper Vortex!

However, even with Shang Xia’s immense strength and mastery, it still took time to fully dispel simultaneous strikes from multiple Sages.

Those hidden experts, knowing that Shang Xia was the one making his move, had already prepared to fight a high-level Sage.

Even with the element of surprise, none of them expected a single blow to succeed in stopping him.

Thus, just as Shang Xia parried the first coordinated assault, another two or three attacks tore through the void in quick succession.

But this time, the attacks were not aimed at Shang Xia, but rather at the Wanyun Continent, now temporarily without the protection of starlight! The rightful source is novel_fіre.net

Naturally... The experts of the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field weren’t there for decoration. At that moment, their Star Ships immediately shot massive chains into the Wanyun Continent.

Working in concert with the Star Ships of the Wanyun Association, the speed of the Wanyun Continent’s movement through the void abruptly surged, rapidly pulling away from the Essence Xing World.

One of the attacks, from Yan Yu, perhaps due to excessive interference from Yu Tang, failed to land precisely and missed entirely once the Wanyun Continent shifted from its original position.

But the other two strikes were unaffected by the movement. They swiftly pierced the void, catching up. One was from Yuan Ling, and the other, a more insidious strike, targeted the Wanyun Association’s fleet directly, with particular focus on their Spirit Ark.

At this critical juncture, Shang Xia clearly had no time to tend to the Wanyun Continent.

Suddenly, the aura of the Shang Xia who had been suppressing the initial combined assault from the Sages began to plummet. His cultivation, which they had felt to be at a high-level Sage, plummeted to the third star.

His Dipper Vortex, which had already dispelled much of the earlier barrage, lost much of its strength and could no longer withstand the lingering force.

Five of the seven vortices shattered instantly, releasing a residual shockwave that swept through the void, yet the position where the Wanyun Continent once floated was already long empty.

By then, the Wanyun Continent had been pulled a safe distance away by the combined efforts of the Wanyun Association and the Star Ships of the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field.

Simultaneously, the chaotic streams around the Essence Xing World began to quake and were then forcibly torn apart. To the perception of the nearby Sages, yet another powerful Sage had arrived. This time, the entire region of space, which had been greatly weakened, was brought to the brink of collapse.

But what shocked them even more was when they realized who this new arrival was. It was another Shang Xia!

If that was the real Shang Xia, then the one before was...

It was at that moment that the Sages finally realized that the previous ‘Sage Shang’ had only been a third star clone! Evidently, he had used some unknown method to borrow a portion of his true body’s strength, disguising himself as a high-level Sage.

Just that alone was enough to astonish everyone!

It wasn’t just that Shang Xia’s ‘clone’ had broken the shackles of a newly ascended Sage and possessed combat ability in the third star. It was that none of them had even detected that the Shang Xia they fought earlier was merely a clone! And if a mere clone possessed such immense strength... What kind of monstrous strength did the true Shang Xia wield?

Through many gazes that lingered around the Essence Luxuriant World, none could fully gauge Shang Xia’s real strength. But one direct comparison stood out. Yuan Ling, who was also a high-level Sage, had failed to notice the previous presence was just a clone!

Therefore, the moment the true Shang Xia descended, most of the previously restless Sages immediately ceased all movement. Some even turned their gazes away and withdrew entirely, as if afraid that meeting his eyes might spell their doom.

As for the two lingering attacks pursuing the Wanyun Continent, they were casually deflected by a wave of Shang Xia’s sleeve the moment he appeared.

It was the third form of his Seven Star Mace Technique, Guided Dipper!

Afterward, the already strained void around the Essence Xing World fell into a strange calm. The fleet dragging the Wanyun Continent encountered no further obstruction. They didn’t even need to carve open a void passage, choosing instead to directly traverse the chaotic streams and open a safer channel to return to the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field from beyond.

Meanwhile, Shang Xia’s External Avatar followed closely behind the Star Ships, continuing to protect them along their way.

As for Shang Xia’s true body, he remained suspended in the void around the Essence Xing World, scanning the surrounding space and the hidden presences lurking nearby. Only after some time did he silently turn around to leave.

Having successfully covered Emperor Chen and the core regions of the Chen Dynasty and Yu Dynasty, and securing all of the Wanyun Continent, Shang Xia, or more precisely, the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field, had clearly achieved its objective.

With Shang Xia’s true body and his External Avatar withdrawing from the Essence Xing World, the space began to stabilize. The oppressive weight over the heads of all surrounding experts lifted, and even the battles taking place inside and around their world suddenly grew bloodier and more desperate.