Splitting the Heavens

In the void nearly a million miles away from the edge of the great void whirlpool, three large starships originally aligned in a triangular formation, suddenly began to move toward the edge of the vortex after remaining stationary in their configuration for nearly a month or two.

Their sudden movement instantly drew the attention of those who had been secretly spying on them.

After advancing 500,000 miles, the ships halted once more. It was the furthest they could safely travel while maintaining formation, and they could not afford to remain in the region for long.

Although the visible turbulence still seemed confined within the vortex's original boundary, the actual range of its disruptive effects on the surrounding void had expanded after the recent instability.

It was evident that the sudden movement of the large Star Ships which were suspected to be from the Heaven Observation Star Region, meant that they were about to carry out a huge operation.

Yet just as those hidden in the dark prepared to follow and investigate, more than half were blocked by the dangers lurking in the unstable void.

No matter what, they were bordering the edge of the great spatial vortex. There was no way those people hiding in the dark couldn't really track large Star Ships while still staying hidden.

Without the protection of Star Ships, resisting the turbulent void and lurking threats would require a Sage to act personally. Even high-level True Immortals wouldn't dare to take such a risk.

The movement of the Star Ships of the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field effectively neutralized much of the potential threat from those people.

However, those who still managed to maintain close-range surveillance were certainly powerful experts.

The Star Ships had done everything within their means to ensure their safety.

At the very next moment, all three ships simultaneously launched anchor chains from their sterns, aiming directly at the spatial vortex.

The anchors pierced the void with terrifying momentum. By the time they emerged from the void, they arrived above the vortex.

At that exact moment, as the chains converged above the vortex, a fourth anchor chain suddenly burst out from deep within the vortex below. In an astonishingly precise coincidence, it met the other three and became entangled with them.

In the blink of an eye, the four chains pulled taut!

The three starships, positioned hundreds of thousands of miles from the vortex, began retreating in unison, trying to pull out the ship connected to the fourth chain from within the vortex.

Extracting a vessel trapped in the vortex was no easy feat. Even with all three large Star Ships connected in a faint battle formation, pulling the final ship out was immensely difficult.

Despite the struggle, the three ships continued to move slowly. Meanwhile, the fourth chain emerging from the vortex grew longer, indicating that the ship it was attached to was slowly but surely being pulled out.

Those observing in the dark weren't going to let them succeed so easily. For those ill-intentioned forces, the predicament the ships faced was the perfect chance to strike.

After all... One of those Star Ships housed a powerful Stargazer!

Moreover, as time passed, those watching had not been idle. Though stargazing inheritances were rare, the various powers in the Chaotic Sea of Stars still had mishmashed records of the might of Stargazers.

Because of that, those forces grew even more excited.

Based on their assessment, the Stargazer on board was a Grand Stargazer at least, and it was very likely they were a rank six Grand Stargazer.

As for what that implied...

If they could extend an 'invitation' to such a Stargazer, they would obtain a stargazing inheritance immediately!

Even more enticing, the earlier observations of their arts of stargazing suggested she wasn't alone. Their effort was clearly supported by a team of lower-ranked Stargazers, Astrologers, and apprentices.

Capturing them alive would mean not just acquiring a full set of stargazing inheritance, but an entire system to train future stargazers!

The temptation was simply too great.

Just as the three Star Ships struggled to pull their comrade free, the hidden forces finally made their move.

A cluster of dim spiritual light, nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding murk of the void, with its aura completely suppressed, suddenly shot forward and slammed directly into one of the Star Ships.

The abrupt impact caused the ship commanded by Xiao Yugang to shudder and stall in the void. The battle formation was instantly disrupted, weakening their strength by half.

Not only did the Star Ships stop advancing... They were even dragged thousands of feet back by the pull of the spatial vortex.

Fortunately, the battle formation they had set up and the protection formations on each ship allowed the other ships to absorb close to 20 percent of the force in the sudden strike. Xiao Yugang's ship didn't suffer too much damage.

Even so, the Star Ships immediately adjusted their positions to reform their battle formation. After ensuring the fourth chain was stable, they stopped pulling altogether and braced for further attacks.

"That's Seventh Order energy!" Xiao Yugang yelled, transmitting the message to Song Zhen and Shang Xia's External Avatar aboard the other two ships.

In fact, even without Xiao Yugang's warning, the other two could judge the power level of the attack through the formation.

"It's just the strength of a Sage who had just broken through... It should be the clone of a Sage." Shang Xia's External Avatar quickly deduced.

"What now?" Song Zhen turned to ask Shang Xia's External Avatar.

A thoughtful look appeared on his face, but the next moment, his eyebrows lifted and he replied, "No matter, let's play along. Let's see who else dares to jump in!"

Xiao Yugang and Song Zhen were both momentarily stunned.

Shang Xia's External Avatar grinned. "Actually, the moment the fourth anchor chain was entangled with the others, the Jiao Continent was guaranteed to break free of the vortex's grasp. It's just a matter of time and effort now, nothing more."