Splitting the Heavens

Neither Sage Jin, Zhuo Gudao, nor even Qin Ming himself had anticipated just how swiftly Shang Xia could pilot the Spirit Ark out of the Nebula Forbidden Region.

By the time Qin Ming forcefully traversed the spatial tunnel and returned to his world, at the cost of nearly a third of the World Origin Source that housed his soul, Shang Xia, aided by Su Chi, had already piloted the Spirit Ark out of the Nebula Forbidden Region.

Though the opportunity to trap Shang Xia inside the Nebula Forbidden Region had been missed, the Spirit Ark was still within the influence of the Essence Frontier Heavenly Field.

Unfortunately, upon his return to the Essence Frontier World, Qin Ming hadn't fully refilled his dantian with inner qi. After all, drawing world origin to be refined required some time.

It was during the brief recovery window that the Spirit Ark, under Shang Xia and Su Chi's control, charged a million miles away from the Essence Frontier Heavenly Field.

Yet in the very next moment, a flash of origin qi burst from the direction of the Essence Frontier Heavenly Field. A spatial tunnel tore through the void, materializing ahead of the ark's.

At the same time, Shang Xia handed the control of the Spirit Ark over to Su Chi. Both his clones disappeared as they fused back into him as he rushed out of the Spirit Ark. With the Seven Star Mace in hand, he unleashed the first form of his Seven Star Mace Technique, Shattered Starry Skies. He smashed the newly opened spatial tunnel into a region of chaos.

That didn't stop Qin Ming. The space that had just been obliterated by Shang Xia was suddenly torn open by an even greater force. A disheveled, but mostly unscathed, Qin Ming staggered out.

Even though Shang Xia and the Spirit Ark had traveled a million miles from the Essence Frontier Heavenly Field, this region was no Nebula Forbidden Region. Qin Ming could draw on the full support of his world, making him even stronger than he was inside the Nebula Forbidden Region.

Shang Xia's initial ambush had failed to inflict significant damage, leaving him frustrated. But he dared not let up. He instantly followed up with Falling Dipper, denying his opponent any breathing room.

He had noticed Qin Ming's unstable aura, sensing that his reserves might be insufficient.

Combined with the fact that Qin Ming had intercepted him from the direction of the Essence Frontier Heavenly Field, Shang Xia surmised that the man had forcibly returned using his connection with his world, a feat any Sage was capable of doing.

It was just that Shang Xia was surprised that Qin Ming would go to such lengths.

Then again, perhaps the man had misunderstood his intentions. Maybe he thought Shang Xia would use his absence to retaliate against the Essence Frontier Heavenly Field?

Well, to be fair, Shang Xia had indeed entertained that very idea. In fact, he was actually seriously considering it.

But he also knew that the Essence Frontier Heavenly Field had spent centuries, maybe even longer, fortifying the nearby void around the Nebula Forbidden Region. Qin Ming himself had maintained exclusive control over the safest passage for over three centuries. That alone was proof that the Heavenly Field was no pushover, even without a Sage personally present.

Otherwise, wouldn't Qin Ming have been nothing more than a sitting target confined to the Essence Frontier Heavenly Field?

More importantly, Shang Xia was still an outsider to the Original Star Corner. Having already gained so much from the Nebula Forbidden Region and now successfully escaped, he was more eager to shake off all pursuit and return to the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, Qin Ming had acted with ruthless decisiveness. Despite Shang Xia gaining full control of the Spirit Ark and doubling its speed, he had still been intercepted.

Shang Xia's Falling Dipper was impressive. Seven meteoric lights streaking across the void crashed into Qin Ming.

But although Qin Ming's inner qi was slightly depleted, he wasn't exactly helpless. Thanks to the power of the Heavenly Field reinforcing him, he had surpassed the threshold of the mid-level Martial Emptiness Realm. He boasted strength well into the high-level, far beyond what he had displayed within the Nebula Forbidden Region.

Qin Ming formed hand seals, releasing bursts of radiant spiritual light that intercepted and detonated each falling meteor.

Shang Xia remained unfazed. His strikes only grew faster and more ferocious.

As Qin Ming was shattering the third meteor, Shang Xia no longer cared about the consumption of his inner qi. He pointed straight at the hand seals Qin Ming had formed. A beam of starlight shot straight at him.

But before the beam could land, a jade Ruyi flew from Qin Ming's side and scattered the beam.

It didn't stop there. The Ruyi continued to fly at Shang Xia in a ferocious counterattack.

When Shang Xia was ensuring the final two meteors landed on Qin Ming, another stream of inner qi entered the Seven Star Mace. With a crack, he unleashed the third form of his Seven Star Mace Technique, Guided Dipper!

As the power he unleashed through Guided Dipper superimposed on each other, the void started to twist, intercepting the trajectory of the jade Ruyi. Though Qin Ming poured his inner qi into his attack, the path continued to distort until his weapon lost its target.

The exchange between them seemed like a thrilling battle of offense and defense, but everything happened within a few breaths of time.

During that time, the Spirit Ark, whose speed had earlier slowed, accelerated again without the slightest change in direction. It flew straight at Qin Ming.

A cold snort escaped his lips. Even though their little skirmish had seemed even, Qin Ming was aware that Shang Xia's relentless attacks yielded him no advantage. In fact, Shang Xia showed signs of exhaustion. The final charge with the Spirit Ark seemed like a desperate attempt to scare him into backing off.

"If he's counting on that, then he's made a miscalculation. I was never the only person defending the Essence Frontier Heavenly Field..."

While they had been fighting, the Essence Frontier Heavenly Field Star Ships that had been patrolling the void around the Nebula Forbidden Region had begun converging. Alongside them, several faster vessels from the Heavenly Field had joined the pursuit.

Just as the Spirit Ark seemed to charge uncontrollably toward Qin Ming, over a dozen gathered ships simultaneously launched void chains, aiming to bind the Spirit Ark in place.

Just as their chains were about to land, a cloud fortress emerged from within the Spirit Ark, swallowing the vessel whole.