Splitting the Heavens

Zhang Yusheng's report caused Shang Xia's heart to sink. But when he recalled the overwhelming force that had erupted after the seal on the star fragment broke, it was easy to understand why the situation had become so serious.

"How much time do we have?" Shang Xia asked calmly and gravely.

After a brief pause, Zhang Yusheng replied, "The disruptive force from the vortex will reach this location in about an hour. We still need some time to escape. We absolutely cannot stay here for more than that."

"An hour?" Shang Xia thought for a moment before muttering, "Then we'll do the best we can."

He turned and swept his gaze across everyone on the Star Ship before calling out loudly, "Maximum speed. Activate all defensive formations and we don't have to be stingy with essence crystals! If needed, use origin qi fragments too."

With Zhang Yusheng, someone who had glimpsed into the level of a Grand Stargazer, guiding them, the Jiao Continent was able to find a relatively safe passage despite the chaotic currents around them.

Soon, just before two converging void currents collided, the Jiao Continent entered a pocket of space before reappearing in a sea of flames.

Despite the defensive formations being fully active, the barrier it produced still hissed under the scorching assault.

Even with the barrier intact, the internal temperature on the ship began to rise rapidly.

Fortunately, the cultivators of the Essence Luxuriant World who managed to board the Jiao Continent were elites who had reached the Martial Dipper Realm or higher. The heat wouldn't be able to do anything to them.

So, despite the rise in temperature, no one panicked. Instead, many were astonished by the sheer might of the star fragment's explosion.

"Look! There are so many origin qi fragments!" Someone yelled while pointing to the void.

"Not good! They're dissolving very quickly!" Someone else cried out moments later.

"Hurry, increase speed! We have to reach them quickly!" Many on the ship couldn't help but shout, some wishing they had the ability to leave the ship and fly over.

Thankfully, they still had some sense and knew better than to leap out on their own. Despite being capable of flight in the void, none dared leave the ship in such hazardous conditions.

Before the ship could accelerate further, Shang Xia's stern command halted it again.

Very quickly, Zhang Yusheng, Gao Qin, and Huang Jinghan's voices echoed from various parts of the ship.

"The void ahead is dangerous, no one is to act without orders!"

"The star fragment's residual power is still present. You must follow commands! No reckless moves!"

"Do not let greed blind you to danger. Obey Sage Shang's orders!"

The agitation on the ship quickly settled. Under Zhang Yusheng's direction, the Jiao Continent resumed its strange course, moving through seemingly calm yet treacherous space.

It wasn't until then that the elite cultivators aboard finally saw the reality up close. There were layers of warped spatial folds that made even high-level True Immortals like Gao Qin and Huang Jinghan uneasy.

Amid those distortions, the Jiao Continent approached an area where origin qi fragments were denser.

It was also then that Huang Jinghan called out, "Release the net!"

Five void nets were cast from each side of the ship into the depths of the void toward the fragments.

Those void nets were standard equipment aboard the ship. They were high-grade artifacts, usually used to capture Star Beasts or retrieve rare treasures in dangerous regions.

But as soon as the 10 nets were thrown, two were instantly shredded by twisted space, and two others, though retracted quickly, suffered heavy damage. They were riddled with gaping holes that made them unusable for the time being.

Just like that, four nets were lost immediately. It was enough to silence those who had earlier complained about the ship's slow progress.

Of the remaining six, two missed entirely. It wasn't due to poor control, but because the target fragments dissolved just as the nets reached them.

The last four nets managed to capture fragments, but during retrieval, one was caught between two nearby spatial folds and crushed. The net and fragments were ruined beyond repair.

In the end, two nets returned empty, two damaged, three were completely destroyed. Only three successfully recovered origin qi fragments.

Still, when those fragments were successfully sealed with Shang Xia's help, the cultivators of the Essence Luxuriant World couldn't help but beam with joy.

Compared to the value of the origin qi fragments, the lost nets were nothing.

At Huang Jinghan's next command, four reserve void nets were brought out, and along with the five intact ones from before, nine more nets were cast.

This time, the True Immortals controlled them personally. With their previous experience, none of the nets were torn apart or missed. Each net brought back at least one or two fragments, some even more.

Unfortunately, not everything went smoothly. An unexpected mishap occurred when they were reeling in the nets as one was torn apart by a hidden spatial fracture, while the origin qi fragments in two others crashed into each other and dissolved quickly.

The remaining six nets all yielded returns, and the total haul exceeded the first round.

Actually, both rounds yielded nearly the same amount of origin qi fragments as what Shang Xia obtained from his previous strikes on the Origin Pillar.

After both rounds, they were pretty much done. There were barely any fragments left in the surrounding void and what remained was dissolving too rapidly to be collected.

Following Zhang Yusheng's guidance, the Jiao Continent pressed deeper into the void. The deeper it went, the more dangerous the environment became, and the slower the ship had to move.

At last, they found a relatively rich cluster of large fragments in a semi-stable region. The remaining eight nets were cast immediately.

But this time, the surrounding void was far more treacherous. Though Zhang Yusheng had thoroughly scouted the area and Shang Xia dealt with most dangers, two of the eight nets were still abruptly torn apart.

Of the remaining six, they managed to secure origin qi fragments in all of them, but one was crushed by a sudden spatial fluctuation during retrieval and two others lost their contents when the origin qi fragments collided and dissolved inside the nets.

Only three nets returned with intact fragments.

As the Jiao Continent ventured deeper, the number of origin qi fragments they could retrieve increased, but so did the risks.

Still, the amount recovered by those three nets was on par with the second round.

Only five void nets remained usable on the Jiao Continent, but the cultivators of the Essence Luxuriant World showed no hesitation when risking the high-grade artifacts. With Zhang Yusheng pointing the way, they immediately cast them again.