Splitting the Heavens

Chapter 1574: Deduction and Guesses

Shang Xia learned from Kou Chongxue that among the major forces that had been lingering around the Essence Ping World’s heavenly screen, all of them were in groups of 7.

That didn’t mean to say that they wouldn’t be able to make a battle formation consisting of 8 to 9 people. However, once the number exceeded 7, the increase in the power of the battle formation was limited. The gains didn’t justify the increase in number of True Immortals they brought.

Moreover, increasing the number of people in a battle formation often means significantly more complex maneuvering. Even for True Immortals, they wouldn’t be able to make so many intricate changes. They wouldn’t be able to bring out their peak combat strength in such a case.

Therefore, after multiple tests that involved actual combat, they discovered that a battle formation consisting of 7 True Immortals was the most effective.

Both the Spirit Mammoth World and the Spirit Abundance World were peak-tier Spirit Worlds in the Heaven Observation Field. They had almost 30 True Immortals, which was the limit of True Immortals in a Spirit World.

After hundreds of years of accumulation, the number of high-level True Immortals in their worlds should be more than 7 or 8. Shang Xia even felt that having 10 of them would be reasonable.

However, the catch was the fact that there was no way all of them were Free True Immortals. There had to be Elysium True Immortals among them!

In terms of the safety of advancement and lifespan among peers, Elysium True Immortals held the firm advantage.

That means that although both realms have enough high-level True Immortals to potentially form a terrifying battle formation consisting of all of them if they needed to send them to the Essence Ping World, there was no way Elysium True Immortals would be able to take part.

In recent years, Kou Chongxue has been with the 3 World Alliance. He told Shang Xia about the battle formation of the Spirit Abundance World and Spirit Mammoth World before. The Spirit Abundance World’s battle formation was made up of 4 high-level True Immortals and the Spirit Mammoth World had 5.

The Star Origin Lord Manor’s experts also had 4 high-level True Immortals in their battle formation, but that didn’t include Dou Jie.

True Immortal Dou Jie, having been severely injured previously in the Spirit Luxuriant World, had been recuperating in the Star Origin Lord Manor. He never participated in the operation against the Essence Ping World. However... His potential to join the battle after his recovery couldn’t be ignored.

Like the Star Origin Lord Manor, the Spirit Abundance World and Spirit Mammoth World might not have sent all the high-level True Immortals they could deploy. They might have a few more hiding in their worlds... However, that should be all they had.

As for the 3 World Alliance... They also consisted of 4 high-level True Immortals. There was Zuo Li, Kou Chongxue, Qu Guan, and True Immortal Shao. The only problem with the 3 World Alliance was that everyone from the other worlds knew that Shang Xia, the strongest among them, had yet to appear. As such, the 3 World Alliance’s battle formation should consist of 5 high-level True Immortals.

That was all they knew, but that wasn’t accurate either. In recent years Luan Jingyi of of the Spirit Thistle World also entered the fourth tier. She advanced right after True Immortal Shao.

After her advancement to the level of Dao Harmony, she only appeared once in the alliance meetings. She disappeared right after and not many outside the alliance knew of her existence.

"... Therefore, if the Spirit Mammoth World manages to deploy a battle formation with only high-level True Immortals, it’s very likely they have called for external help. Those reinforcements have to be from outside our Heaven Observation Field!” Though serious, Kou Chongxue’s explanation was undeniably logical.

At that point, all of them didn’t even have the energy to criticize the Spirit Mammoth World for potentially scheming against their Heaven Observation Field anymore. After all, they were most likely already colluding with outsiders.

Shang Xia thought for a moment and then suddenly smiled. "At least for now, it's not necessarily a bad thing. Although the Spirit Mammoth World does not wish to ally with us, it is an undeniable fact that they are targeting the Essence Ping World. Their increased strength could offset some of the negative impacts of the Spirit Abundance World’s activity."

Zuo Li sighed, "That's all we can hope for now. By the way, given the current situation, are you still not planning to join the battle formation, True Immortal Shang?"

Shang Xia waved his hand and smiled. "Since I did not participate in the battle formation drills from the start, I shall not join. Anyway, I believe I should be capable of ensuring my safety in case anything happens.”

Zuo Li gave Shang Xia a deep look and mumbled eventually, "If that's the case, so be it!"

Kou Chongxue glanced at Shang Xia, seemingly having anticipated what he was planning to do.

The True Immortals of the 3 World Alliance continued forward, forming a battle formation in the void with seven members, with Shang Xia merely accompanying them from outside.

After traveling millions of miles through the void, they began to feel the slight fluctuations emanating from the depths of the void. Those fluctuations were irregular, but being highly experienced in combat, they understood that these were caused by a huge battle taking place in the depths of the void.

Although that was Shang Xia’s first visit, from how the rest were behaving, he understood that they were approaching the heavenly screen of the Essence Ping World.

The slight fluctuations they had initially sensed had transformed into roaring waves, and the 3 World Alliance's battle formation was like a giant ship breaking them to advance.

At this moment, as if sensing something, Shang Xia suddenly turned and looked in another direction.

Despite the turbulent void causing significant interference with his spiritual perception, Shang Xia could still sense someone else approaching.

"It must be people from the Star Origin Lord Manor!"

Zuo Li and Kou Chongxue made the same judgment at almost the same time.

"It seems the battle formation of the Spirit Mammoth World that is made up only of high-level True Immortals drew more attention than us alone...” Shang Xia smiled while waving his sleeves. The void nearly 1,000 miles ahead was forcefully stabilized.

With no obstruction, the group quickly arrived at the heavenly screen.

According to Shang Xia's previous speculation, to contain the Star Origin Lord’s activity in the Essence Ping World, aside from stealing world origin, forcing him to create more clones also also an effective plan.

To achieve that, the most effective method was to send as many groups to fight the clones at the same time.

The opportunity they were presented with was naturally the best for that.

"The disturbance caused by the Spirit Mammoth World is indeed huge. This can’t be achieved by confronting a Martial Emptiness Realm clone.” Zuo Li spoke with certainty, "There are at least two clones fighting."

After assessing the situation, True Immortal Shao spoke, "Actually, if the Star Origin Lord chose to send 3 or more clones, the Spirit Mammoth World’s battle formation would crumble instantly. Why is he always fighting us with just enough clones to stop us but not cause serious damage? Isn’t it better to take care of us once and for all?”

No one knew how to respond.

Reflecting on the previous offensive they made, the Star Origin Lord’s clones might be able to think for themselves but a new one would only appear after an old one died. Rarely were there more than 1 clone fighting a single battle formation.

"So how do we explain this now? The Spirit Mammoth World's battle formation is currently fighting against two Martial Emptiness Realm clones." Qu Guan spread his hands and asked. He didn’t think that it was anything contradictory. Rather, he felt that the situation in the Essence Ping World had changed again.

"Perhaps the Star Origin Lord’s response didn’t change.” Shang Xia speculated, “He might have set up several mechanisms in advance to prevent himself from distraction when taking over the World’s Will. That is why his response is so rigid.”

Qu Guan followed up immediately, "If that's the case, doesn't it mean our attacks on the Essence Ping World wouldn’t really affect the Star Origin Lord? That is why we can’t draw his attention at all?”

Shang Xia thought for a second before shaking his head slowly. "Maybe it's not that we can't draw his attention, but that he can no longer pay attention. Perhaps the Star Origin Lord is also being assimilated by the World’s Will while trying the hostile takeover? Maybe... A problem has already occurred?”