Splitting the Heavens

After the great battle outside the Original Stars Corner, the Essence Luxuriant Fleet, towing two Spirit Worlds, encountered no further obstruction.

In addition, the fleet had made every effort to use formations to conceal their movements. Although the concealment appeared rather crude, such that even those in the Martial Extermination or Martial Dipper Realm could detect the ripples left in the void, it was sufficient to evade most surveillance in the vast sea of stars.

Of course, the fact that this fleet had gathered multiple Sages was also a crucial factor in ensuring its safe voyage through the void.

Days passed, and the fleet drew increasingly closer to the Heaven Observation Star Region. Though everyone remained vigilant, the joy of finally returning to their own Heavenly Field gradually spread throughout the fleet.

Even cultivators and beasts from the Spirit Ruling World and Spirit Frost World, and high-level True Immortals like the Ying Brothers and the Giant Ape King used to harbor unease, felt the anxiety of gain and loss. There was no longer the existential dread they once faced.

After losing his connection with his true body, Shang Xia's External Avatar had fallen back to the second star of the Seven Star Realm.

However, thanks to Shang Xia's continued improvements, as well as his External Avatar's adaptation, he had become one of the stronger second star Sages.

During this period, Shang Xia's External Avatar was perhaps the most active presence aboard the fleet. He constantly shuttled between various large and medium Star Ships, meeting new people, conversing, observing, and refining his own consciousness through interaction and experience. Every so often, he would return to the You Continent to report his findings to his true body.

Yet after many such visits, he began to notice a pattern. Each time he stepped onto the You Continent, he would find his true body standing alone at the bow, gazing solemnly at the stars.

Once or twice might have been a coincidence. But every time?

Every single time, he could sense a certain gravity in his true body's expression as he stared into the void. He started to suspect that something was troubling his true body.

After casually asking a few cultivators from the institution aboard the You Continent, he learned that the true body had scarcely moved from the bow in recent days. Even when briefed on important matters, he rarely turned around. Only when the Grand Stargazers, Xin Lu and Zhang Yusheng, came to visit would he engage in private discussion. However, no one knew what they discussed. Both Stargazers kept everything to themselves.

Shang Xia's External Avatar thought about seeking them out for answers, but before he could act, Shang Xia's voice rang in his mind. "No need to poke around. Come here."

His External Avatar chuckled sheepishly and walked toward the bow of You Continent, where he saw Xin Lu and Zhang Yusheng already waiting.

As he approached, he heard Xin Lu.

"... There was some disturbance, but the Essence Chong Heavenly Field seems quiet for now. Still, we can't confirm that person's exact whereabouts."

Shang Xia glanced at his approaching External Avatar and said, "It's perfectly normal not to have found his location. If you had detected him, I'd be more inclined to believe he deliberately set a trap."

Xin Lu considered it, then nodded. At that moment, Zhang Yusheng added, "Based on our joint calculations, it's only a matter of time before they discover the Essence Chong Heavenly Field. Should we try to obscure it?"

Xin Lu quickly interjected, "It won't work. The more we try to hide it, the more likely we are to expose it."

But Shang Xia smiled and said, "That's exactly what I want. I want him to find it. Ideally, I want him to go there personally."

Xin Lu and Zhang Yusheng exchanged a glance, clearly puzzled.

Shang Xia ignored them and turned to his External Avatar with a smile on his face. "Looks like I'll need you to take over for some time."

Shang Xia's External Avatar tilted his head and mumbled. "Haven't the Star Origin Lord given up on finding out Fate Star? Is he to locate the Essence Chong Heavenly Field located in the region of void there?"

Shang Xia merely nodded with a smile.

His External Avatar furrowed his brows. "If you're going in person, have you really prepared to confront the Star Origin Lord?"

Shang Xia chuckled. "It's just a Starlight Clone. He can afford to lose it."

Shang Xia's External Avatar blinked in surprise. His true body's confidence seemed unexpected. But after a moment's thought, he said, "If you leave, there'll be no one anchoring the fleet. If we're attacked again, even with Heaven Liberation Talismans, we might not have the same advantage."

Unexpectedly, Shang Xia tossed his Seven Star Mace over.

With a grin, he said, "Oddly enough, Patriarch Kou's Hidden Frost Sword gave me some inspiration. I'm leaving the Seven Star Mace with you. It contains the fifth form of the Seven Star Mace Technique I've sealed inside. It's strong enough to injure a mid-level Sage."

"Of course, we're nearly at the Heaven Observation Star Region now. Barring surprises, no one should make a move at this point. And once you enter the region, most Sages will still be preoccupied with the celestial phenomenon at the ex-Star Origin Dao Field. No one will dare launch an ambush."

Shang Xia's External Avatar sensed the sealed power within the mace. It was a mysterious force that felt both foreign and intimately familiar. He sighed in awe. "So you've really created the fifth form..."

Shang Xia merely smiled. "There's no need to inform the others about my departure. Let the three of you be the only ones who know."

With that, he vanished silently before their eyes.

The moment Shang Xia disappeared, his External Avatar slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Ah! I forgot to ask... What's the name of the fifth form of my Seven Star Mace Technique?"

Without alerting anyone, Shang Xia left the fleet. Rushing through the void, he followed the guidance of the seven suns to arrive at the void between the suns positioned in the Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, and Megrez positions. It was where the core of the big dipper formation was located.

In truth, the distance between those suns was in the tens of millions of miles, if not hundreds of thousands of miles. However, his real destination this time lay at the heart of all of them, the Essence Chong Heavenly Field.

Shang Xia had always known that the Star Origin Lord had never given up the search for his Fate Star.

But he had always been confident that the Star Origin Lord could never find it, because he had never used a single star to advance to the Seven Star Realm. He used seven of them in total, arranged in the Big Dipper formation.

Even if all seven were discovered, so what?

Their destruction might weaken him for a time, but no more than that.

He could simply search the vast sea of stars again for new stars to rebuild the Big Dipper system and continue his martial path.

But what Shang Xia hadn't expected was just how obsessively the Star Origin Lord pursued the search for his Fate Star.

Finally, Shang Xia decided to make a trip over personally. It wasn't just because the Star Origin Lord had located the Essence Chong Heavenly Field, but also because he suspected the Star Origin Lord had begun to unravel the misdirection Shang Xia had constructed from the very beginning...

The Star Origin Lord was beginning to suspect that Shang Xia's Fate Star might not be just one star at all.