Chapter 1924: Return Journey Pt.5
After Kou Chongxue advanced to the Martial Emptiness Realm, his sword dao underwent a qualitative transformation. As a result, the strand of sword qi he sealed in the Hidden Frost Sword, once activated once again by Xiao Yugang, instantly locked on to the third star Sage who was trying to grab the Bing Continent.
Since they were so close to each other, there was no dodging. The third star Sage was forced to take the strike head-on.
Unleashing the sword qi at the very last second clearly caught their opponent off guard. At Kou Chongxue's level, even if he didn't wield the sword qi himself, it still posed a fatal threat to any cultivator of the same level.
Unfortunately... The enemy this time was a third star Sage.
Even though he had split part of his attention to deal with the Bing Continent, it wasn't impossible for him to block the strike. As long as he didn't react too slowly, he might only suffer a slight injury.
Still, unwilling to take any risk of injury in such a complicated battlefield, especially since he believed everything was under his control, the third star Sage abruptly halted the giant palm that was about to grab the Bing Continent and redirected his efforts to neutralize the oncoming sword qi.
Aboard the Bing Continent, Shang Xia's External Avatar let out a subtle breath of relief upon seeing this but also felt a tinge of regret. However, his attention was soon drawn to another change occurring elsewhere in the void.
At the same time, the Ji Continent which had been struck and sent flying earlier, stabilized under Song Zhen's command and was heading back at full speed, clearly intending to re-establish the battle formation.
However, Song Zhen quickly noticed something was off. The Star Ship was moving as fast as possible, yet the objects in the surrounding void weren't moving as quickly as expected. The distance between his ship and the other two wasn't decreasing much either.
Suddenly, an Astrologer seated behind him looked up and exclaimed, "We are locked in place within the void. A Sage has to be behind this!"
With a serious expression, Song Zhen nodded. "I know. Continue to maintain constant communication with Stargazer Xin!"
Song Zhen understood well that their new class of Star Ships, refined through the collective wisdom of many top experts in the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field, was far superior to ordinary ones. With a high-level True Immortal like himself on board, he could draw out its full potential. Even clones created by Sages often had no way to break through their defenses when he stood his ground.
Under such circumstances, the ability to immobilize their large Star Ship mid-flight could not possibly be achieved by a mere clone.
There was no doubt about it. Without their knowledge, a second Sage's true body had quietly descended into the region of space and had taken action to stop the Ji Continent from linking up with the other two Star Ships!
Yet Song Zhen didn't panic. After pushing their defensive formation to its limit, he reached into his sleeve and pulled out a scroll. He slowly unfurled and activated it.
It was a rank six Heaven Liberation Talisman that had been crafted by Shang Xia personally! When activated, it drew upon a small portion of Shang Xia's inner qi to strengthen the user, temporarily granting them strength comparable to a high-level Sage, or might even push them to the limit of the Martial Void Realm!
Under normal circumstances, even with the talisman's boost, Song Zhen might not have been enough to contend with a hidden Sage who had personally descended.
However, the talisman had another mysterious feature. When activated, it was like a guiding light for Shang Xia. The closer the distance, the stronger he would be able to feel it. In fact, if they were close enough and if Shang Xia willed it, he could even send a strand of his divine soul to help the user with the talisman as a medium.
In that sense, calling the Heaven Liberation Talisman a pseudo-rank seven talisman wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Clearly, what Song Zhen aimed to do was draw out the maximum combat strength possible, without exposing Shang Xia.
From the very beginning, Shang Xia had been secretly watching the battle unfold. As soon as Song Zhen activated the talisman, a towering and majestic will silently descended and merged with Song Zhen, instantly calming him.
The next moment, Song Zhen's figure vanished from the Star Ship. When he reappeared, he was already in the void above the vessel, beyond the protection of the ship's defensive formation.
He formed several hand seals, and his abilities, which had reached the level at the peak of the Martial Void Realm, rapidly gathered before his chest. As he pressed his palms forward, a surge of energy rushed into the protection barrier around the ship.
The ship's originally dim barrier suddenly flared with brilliant light. Empowered by Song Zhen's inner qi, the barrier that had been compressed due to the constricting void rapidly expanded outward. Then, upon reaching its limit, it suddenly contracted like a spring rebounding.
The rebound sent out ripples across the surrounding void and shattered the spatial restraints that had imprisoned the Ji Continent.
Already prepared, the Ji Continent accelerated and closed the gap between itself and the other two Star Ships.
"Eh?" A voice filled with surprise and curiosity echoed from somewhere in the void, it was clearly the Sage who had just attempted to imprison the Ji Continent.
However, that person evidently had no intention of letting the Ji Continent go so easily, or rather, more precisely, had no intention of letting Song Zhen escape!
A middle-aged man dressed in blue robes, with a handsome face but deep wrinkles on his brow, stepped out of the void. One of his hands was tucked behind his back, while the other held a teapot.
He gently tilted the teapot in his palm. Formless void currents began to pour out from the spout, forming an ever-widening river that surged with growing momentum, rushing toward Song Zhen and the Ji Continent beneath him.
Above the Ji Continent, Song Zhen, who had begun to distance himself with the ship, suddenly stopped in mid air. As the overwhelming current rushed over, he started to transform. His aura surged, and even his physical form appeared more grand and imposing.
"Break!" A roar left his lips.
The void beneath Song Zhen suddenly split open, and a region of separate space was carved out beneath him. Before the unstable separate space could collapse, it was flooded by the void river.