Splitting the Heavens

If Shang Xia had not pointed it out deliberately, his External Avatar might not have realized that the fleet dragging two Spirit Worlds behind it possessed such immense power.

But his External Avatar quickly responded and shook his head. "A Star Ship fleet of this size, dragging two Spirit Worlds behind it... No one of sound mind would make a move against it."

"Right now, the Original Stars Corner remains quiet. Perhaps it's because the spatial vortex has consumed too much of their attention. But there's another possibility. The Sages of the various Heavenly Fields are secretly forming alliances. Once they decide to stop the two Spirit Worlds from leaving the Original Stars Corner, they might deploy no fewer than three Sages at once. There should also be a mid-level Sage among them."

"The Ying Brothers and the Giant Ape King might count as Sage-level combatants, but they rely on external power. Whether they can sustain a prolonged battle remains doubtful. I may have strength comparable to a second star Sage, but I am still just an External Avatar and cannot endure long combat either. As for Huang Jinghan, who wields the Hidden Frost Sword, he may only have the strength to strike twice. After two blows, he might be exhausted, and he could even suffer injuries."

"But the enemy clearly won't give us the chance to stage a sudden ambush. Once the element of surprise is lost, our inability to fight protracted battles will be obvious to any Sage. At that point, it will be us who are in true danger."

Shang Xia smiled and nodded, clearly agreeing with his External Avatar's analysis. Yet the calm and relaxed look on his face showed that, despite everything, he remained unworried.

Immediately, his External Avatar asked, "What contingency have you left behind?"

As Shang Xia's External Avatar, even without their consciousness linked, he could still vaguely sense certain thoughts from his true body nearby.

Shang Xia chuckled, "Seems like you've guessed it already. It's because of the Heaven Liberation Talisman."

This time, without waiting for his External Avatar to ask, Shang Xia continued, "I've already figured out a way to upgrade the talisman to a rank seven talisman."

Hearing the explanation, his External Avatar did not immediately ask for details. Instead, he uncharacteristically paused for a second before he spoke again. "Is it because you drew inspiration from the Reignition Talisman?"

Shang Xia nodded, but added, "Also, because of the newly created fourth form of the Seven Star Mace Technique, Emberkindled Legacy."

His External Avatar still seemed to have something to say, but Shang Xia didn't give him a chance. "Also, this time, you will represent me!"

Stunned, his External Avatar seemed to have thought of something before nodding silently.

After informing his External Avatar of some of the plans in advance, Shang Xia went on to summon the Ying Brothers, the Giant Ape King, and Huang Jinghan individually to relay further instructions.

During this period, the Star Ship fleet towing the Spirit Worlds had already departed from the Original Stars Corner.

At that moment, a scouting Star Ship, originally patrolling ahead in the void, suddenly seemed to detect something and abruptly turned around, retreating rapidly toward the fleet.

But before the spindle-shaped Star Ship could travel even a few dozen miles, a soft sigh full of regret echoed in the void. In the next instant, the space above the ship tore open, and a surge of energy emerged and formed a massive hand that reached directly for it.

Seated aboard this spindle-shaped Star Ship was a second tier True Immortal from the Spirit Cheng World. Seeing the enormous hand descending, and knowing there was no way the Star Ship could evade in time, he decisively activated a jade pendant he was holding.

As powerful energy erupted from the jade pendant, multicolored clouds of light spread outward and quickly enveloped the Star Ship. In an instant, a magnificent cloud fortress condensed.

Without question, the True Immortal activated a peak rank six talisman, the Myriad Tinted Cloud Talisman.

However, this time, the cloud fortress formed by the talisman was far more splendid than previous iterations of the talisman, and the structure itself seemed denser. Yet compared to the upgraded rank seven version Shang Xia had recently developed, the fortress still seemed significantly smaller in scale.

The second tier True Immortal was not without wits. As soon as he sensed the dense energy gathering above, he activated the talisman. Considering it was given to him by Shang Xia, the talisman was clearly newly created. He immediately guessed that the jade pendant probably incorporated the solidified origin qi from the spatial vortex.

Although his guess was not entirely accurate, it was remarkably close.

The jade pendant that was made into the rank six Myriad Tinted Cloud Talisman was indeed infused with solidified origin qi, but not from the spatial vortex. Instead, it was personally solidified by Shang Xia using his secret art.

Perhaps it was precisely because of his secret art that, after activation, the resulting cloud fortress appeared not only more magnificent but also partially condensed and solidified, its texture resembling that of glazed glass.

In the blink of an eye, just as the glazed cloud fortress took shape, the massive hand started to squeeze.

Crack... Crack... Pop...

As if the fortress truly had undergone some qualitative transformation, the outer layer began crumbling under the force of the giant hand. Wisps of dissipating clouds quickly vanished. Yet the strange creaking sounds produced in the process suggested that the fortress had genuinely become semi-solidified.

The transformation directly increased the cloud fortress's defense by at least 30 percent compared to before!

One had to understand that even in its original rank six form, the Myriad Tinted Cloud Talisman represented the pinnacle of defensive talismans at that level. It was capable of withstanding even attacks from Sages under the right conditions.

Now, under Shang Xia's unmatched talisman-making skill and his innovative technique, its defensive power has grown even stronger. His mastery could truly be called divine craftsmanship.

Thus, although cracks spidered across the cloud fortress as if it might shatter at any moment like a brittle glass castle, it withstood the strike from the mysterious Sage without crumbling. It was a fact that could not be denied.

"Huh? A rank seven talisman? No, wait... How can it be of the sixth rank?!"

A voice full of shock and disbelief echoed from the void. The speaker could not fathom how his strike had been completely blocked by a rank six talisman. That cloud fortress, while appearing fragile on the outside, was still substantially powerful and could potentially resist another strike.

However, the mysterious Sage wasn't going to fail twice.

Since the giant palm he condensed out of origin qi could not instantly destroy the cloud fortress, and since his move likely had already alerted the Sage commanding the fleet, it would be better to go all in and destroy it completely.

As the palm dispersed, the space above the spindle-shaped ship suddenly shuddered. A streak of radiant brilliance, like a silken blade, tore through the air and slashed downward!

Before the blade even struck, its overwhelming aura arrived first. The pressure alone caused the cloud fortress to crack further.

Just as the Star Ship was about to be destroyed along with the cloud fortress, in a flash of lightning, a stone rod pierced through the void and lightly tapped the falling blade!

The overwhelming brilliance shattered in an instant and the stone rod was swiftly pulled back.