Splitting the Heavens

In fact, during their last encounter, when Shang Xia's External Avatar had unexpectedly come face-to-face with the Star Origin Lord's Starlight Clone, the latter had already suggested that Shang Xia might already have more than one Fate Star.

Back then, his External Avatar was far too lacking in strength. Under the threat of the Star Origin Lord's Starlight Clone, he was helpless. Because the Star Origin Lord's goal was to test him, he was nearly completely trapped. He only survived thanks to his rank six Six Harmony Teleportation Talisman and a bit of luck.

With Shang Xia's enhanced perception of the surrounding void through the seven suns, and with the assistance of Xin Lu and Zhang Yusheng, he had almost fully confirmed that the Star Origin Lord had indeed found something around the Essence Chong Heavenly Field.

The problem, however, was that the Star Origin Lord's Starlight Clone was supported by a Grand Stargazer. Even with the aid of the seven suns, Shang Xia couldn't precisely determine what the Star Origin Lord had found from a distance.

Truthfully, if Shang Xia hadn't been delayed by the mutation of the spatial vortex or the effort of towing the Spirit Ruling World and the Spirit Frost World, he would have long since ran over.

Now that the fleet towing the Spirit Worlds was close to the Heaven Observation Star Region, and with at least four Sage-level powerhouses on it, including his External Avatar and the powerful fleet, Shang Xia was confident they could repel any attack from mid-level Sages.

Thus, he decided he could delay no longer. He had to personally head to the region around the seven suns to bring a conclusion to all matters.

Without the fleet dragging him down, Shang Xia traveled swiftly through the sea of stars. In less than 20 days, he arrived at the Star Region where the seven stars were.

At that point, if the Essence Luxuriant Fleet had encountered no major trouble, it would have already entered the Heaven Observation Star Region, possibly even nearing the Essence Luxuriant Heavenly Field.

As Shang Xia neared the region around the stars, his ability to perceive the surrounding void through the guidance of the big dipper greatly intensified.

Even without the help of Stargazers, he could now clearly sense traces left behind by the Star Origin Lord's Starlight Clone during his recent explorations.

However, after closely analyzing those traces, Shang Xia was slightly taken aback.

The Star Origin Lord's Starlight Clone, which had been created from the corpse of the former Star Origin Guards Commander, Zhuge Xiang, had actually found something. It was just that... The thing he found might not actually be related to Shang Xia.

First of all, the Essence Chong Heavenly Field had clearly been exposed. Its exact location had most likely already been revealed to the Star Origin Lord's Starlight Clone.

Through the discovery, the Star Origin Lord had likely realized Shang Xia's original scheme. And after breaking free of the mental constraint that there could only be one Fate Star, he had begun searching for other stars in the region surrounding the Essence Chong Heavenly Field.

Though he still didn't know whether Shang Xia had two or more Fate Stars, there was one critical realization. It was something even Shang Xia hadn't anticipated. The criteria Shang Xia used to select the seven suns overlapped heavily with the traditional standards of the Heaven Observation Sect.

As a result, when the Star Origin Lord's Starlight Clone searched the region of the void around the Essence Chong Heavenly Field for possible Fate Stars, he quickly identified several potential candidates. Among them were the four suns located in the Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, and Megrez positions. They were even marked out as his prime suspects.

Shang Xia was certain of it because he had detected traces of the Star Origin Lord's Starlight Clone's presence near each of these four suns. It wasn't just once either, but multiple times.

Although there were other similar solar bodies in the vicinity, the fact that the Star Origin Lord had narrowed it down so much already exceeded Shang Xia's expectations.

What was even more, Shang Xia sensed that the Star Origin Lord was actively working to further narrow the search, using the Essence Chong Heavenly Field as a crucial anchor.

"This Essence Chong Heavenly Field really can't be allowed to exist anymore..." Though still far from both the Essence Chong Heavenly Field and the seven stars, Shang Xia murmured to himself as he gazed into the depths of the void.

There was another issue as well, something else the Star Origin Lord's Starlight Clone had seemingly discovered or harvested in the region.

Strictly speaking, the place they were in was already well beyond the bounds of the Chaotic Sea of Stars. At best, it could only be considered its outermost fringe.

Long ago, when Shang Xia had been searching for suitable suns to break through to the Seven Star Realm, he had stumbled upon a mysterious existence lying quietly within one such sun.

Back then, he was still a True Immortal and Shang Xia hadn't dared disturb such an entity. Nor had he been strong enough to qualify to awaken it.

But the Star Origin Lord's Starlight Clone, while technically just a clone, had been enhanced to far exceed the strength of a typical Sages' clones. In his thorough search for Shang Xia's Fate Star, he would have carefully examined every eligible star and it would not have been difficult for him to discover and awaken such monstrous beings.

Thus, a confrontation between the Star Origin Lord's Starlight Clone and one of those unknown entities had likely occurred.

Shang Xia was certain the Star Origin Lord's Starlight Clone had disturbed them because the destructive aftermath of a full-scale battle between experts at their level was impossible to hide. The impact on the surrounding void was unmistakable.

At close range, Shang Xia could even see more clearly than a Stargazer that the sun he once discovered, which used to house the slumbering beast, had been visibly diminished. Its glow and luster were way weaker than before.

The being that had once slept there was gone. Whether it had been slain by the Star Origin Lord's Starlight Clone or had fled to continue its slumber elsewhere remained unknown.

But Shang Xia was inclined to believe that the creature had merely left.

"Looks like I need to find a way to lure the Star Origin Lord's Starlight Clone to the Essence Chong Heavenly Field... At the very least, I need him surrounded by four of the seven suns."